Kyle let his arm drop, and looked at her. “What? You don’t like it? Or — oh, of course. You want to see the inside of the house first.”
Wendy shook her head. “I don’t care about the house. It’s the land that matters. What I’m wondering is whether we can afford it. Because — have I got this straight? You’re counting on my salary from the bank to help make the payments?”
“Well, yeah,” Kyle admitted. “I’m due for a raise at the end of the year, and then I might be able to swing it on my own. But the property’s for sale now, at such a good price that it’s going to get snapped up like that!” He snapped his fingers for emphasis. “That’s why I was thinking that together, with both our salaries —”
“The thing is,” Wendy said quietly, “I am about to quit the bank job.”
Kyle didn’t say a word and didn’t even ask why. Although she hadn’t discussed it with him, she knew he would know why she had made that decision. Months ago he told her that carrying all that cash across the parking lot in plain view of traffic going by on the street was just inviting trouble.
Kyle’s face had turned sad with disappointment, but Wendy was pretty sure he was glad that she had made up her mind not to take that risk anymore. He would not ask her to stay on at the bank even if it meant missing a chance to buy his dream farm.
Wendy looked out across the land again. “It needs to be fenced,” she said. “And the sooner we get some trees in, the sooner we’ll have some real forest back there.”
Kyle shook his head. “You should quit that job,” he said. “But if you could find another one right away —”
“What we could do,” Wendy interrupted, “is use my savings to make a bigger down payment. That way we might be able to handle the payments on your salary alone. Or something. We need to sit down with the owners and crunch some numbers.” She grinned at him. “Working at the bank, I have learned a few things about financing.”
Kyle put his arms around her and hugged her so tight that she yelped from the squeeze. “You can do the negotiating,” he told her. “You’d probably be better at it than I am, anyway. Just make sure you keep back enough money to fence the place. I know you’ll want a horse, and —”
“Not a horse.” Wendy’s blue eyes smiled up into his hazel ones. As she lifted her lips to his, she said softly, “A llama.”
Kyle drew back in surprise. “A llama?”
“That’s my proposal,” Wendy said. “I’ll help buy the place and live out here with you as long as a llama, and any other animals I want, can live with us.”
“Deal!” Kyle said, and kissed her before she could begin to list all the other animals that might end up living with them.
10
PLANS
As she was driving home from what had been her last day of work at the bank, Wendy saw Danny standing on the steps of the library talking to Mrs. Armstrong. He was a likeable kid, but didn’t seem to have any friends his own age.
A little while later, Danny showed up at her apartment. He didn’t come inside, but instead went around to the back where the animals were. Wendy went out to talk to him.
“Danny, do you know Kyle and I are getting married?”
Danny nodded and kept watching the raccoons, who were busily dipping kibble in their water to make it easier to swallow. “Mrs. Armstrong told me.”
“Did she tell you we bought a farm?”
Danny turned to stare at her. “No! Where?”
“About ten miles out of town.”
“When are you moving?”
“I’m moving some of my stuff out there this afternoon. And the rest little by little over the next week. Want to ride out with me and see the place?”
“Sure!” Danny exclaimed.
• • •
As they were driving out to the farm, Wendy asked, “How long have you known Mrs. Armstrong?”
“Quite a while.” He was silent a moment, then added. “I know her secret.”
Wendy smiled. “You mean about Tripod?”
“Yes,” Danny said. “She said you know because you helped save his life. And her grandchildren, but they don’t live here. We’re the only ones in town who know.”
“I guess she told you because she trusts you,” Wendy said.
Danny nodded. “She said most folks think you’re crazy if you love animals as much as you love humans. But a few special people feel like that.”
Wendy grinned across at him. “Guess you’re one of those special people.”
Danny smiled with serious pride. “Yeah. Both of us. And Mrs. Armstrong.”
When they reached the farm, Danny helped Wendy carry in the boxes of stuff she had brought along. He paused in the doorway. “Where do you want me to put it?”
“That big box has sheets and blankets. It goes in the master bedroom upstairs.” Wendy went ahead of him with two lamps, which she set on the floor of the empty room. Danny put the two boxes he was carrying down next to them.
“That small box is office supplies. I’m going to use the small bedroom down the hall for my office. There’s another bigger one downstairs that will be the guest room.” Wendy went ahead of Danny and showed him the upstairs room at the front of the house that would be her office. “Now come downstairs and see the best part.”
Danny followed her through the living room and kitchen, out on to a big screened-in back porch. “What do you think of this?” Wendy asked. “Won’t it be great for keeping nest boxes with baby animals that have to be fed at night?”
“Except when it’s cold,” Danny agreed.
“Oh, sure. Then I’ll have to bring them inside.” Wendy pointed to the weed-covered field behind the house. “And out there I’ll have other animals.”
“Like cows and horses?” Danny asked.
Wendy cut him a sideways grin. “Like a llama.”
“You’re kidding!” Danny exclaimed. “A real llama?”
“A real one,” Wendy promised. “But not right away. Llamas are expensive, and we’ll have to fence the place first.”
“Can I help?” Danny asked.
“Sure, if you want to.” But as she said it, Wendy was remembering that Danny did not have a bike. Considering that it would take him a good two hours to walk out to the farm, she didn’t think she’d be seeing much of him.
“When are you going to start living here?” Danny asked.
“Next Saturday,” Wendy said promptly.
Danny frowned. “Mrs. Armstrong said that’s when you’re getting married.”
“That’s right. And we’re getting married right here.”
“Here?”
“Well, not back here in this weedy field. Around front, on the lawn.”
Wendy led him back through the house and out front to show him how pretty it was with all the flowers in bloom. “We were going to get married in a church, but Kyle’s mom and mine got in an argument over whose church it would be in so I decided we’d have it here. Afterwards we’ll send everybody home and spend our wedding night here, too.”
“Aren’t you going on a honeymoon?”
“No, Kyle doesn’t have any vacation time