Chapter 2 — THE FARMER NEXT DOOR

Thomas Reed kept to himself.

He worked from dawn until dark.

He repaired the barn, cleared the frozen irrigation ditch, and prepared the fields for spring.

Emma often saw him crossing the snow-covered land alone.

There was something familiar about his loneliness.

Perhaps that was why she noticed him more than she wanted to.

One afternoon, Emma found him struggling with a broken wagon wheel.

She stood near the fence.

“Need help?”

Thomas looked up.

“Unless you’ve suddenly learned how to fix wagon wheels.”

“I haven’t.”

“Then you’re probably not much help.”

Emma raised an eyebrow.

“You’re very charming.”

Thomas laughed.

It was the first time she had heard him laugh.

“Sorry.”

“You should be.”

He looked at her for a moment.

Then he said quietly, “I forgot how to talk to people.”

Emma understood.

“So did I.”

They worked together.

Emma held the lantern while Thomas repaired the wheel.

Their hands accidentally touched.

Both pulled away.

Neither said anything.

From that day forward, small conversations became common.

Thomas began stopping by Emma’s house when he had extra eggs.

Emma sent bread to his farmhouse.

Lily became the bridge between them.

She adored Thomas.

One evening, Thomas helped Lily build a small wooden sled.

Emma watched from the porch.

“You don’t have to do that,” she said.

Thomas looked up.

“I know.”

“Then why?”

He smiled.

“Because she asked.”

Lily cheered.

Emma smiled despite herself.

For the first time in years, her home felt less empty.

But Emma was afraid.

One night, she sat beside the window while Lily slept.

She looked at Daniel’s old photograph.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” she whispered.

She felt guilty whenever she laughed.

Guilty whenever she enjoyed someone’s company.

As if happiness meant forgetting Daniel.

Across the field, Thomas had his own photograph.

His wife, Sarah.

He stared at it for a long time.

“I haven’t forgotten you,” he whispered.

Then he looked toward Emma’s farmhouse.

“I just don’t want to be alone forever.”

Neither of them knew the other was saying almost exactly the same thing.