Commitment

Part 16

Gray looked over at Regan. She was doing what he told her to do. "I said it in jest!" Gray grumbled. He'd told her that before she agreed to do that job. Before he realised that she had intended to actually do it. He'd done it to simply scare her. But it had backfired. And then he hadn't the grace to tell her he was just winding her up. Instead he'd allowed her to get started. Assumed she would be tired fast and would give up. But unfortunately for him, she kept working.

"Gray, she's not some skivvy." Sam murmured quietly but his frustration showed up in his tone. He could not understand the problem between his grandson and their 'landlady'. He knew, from his personal experience with both, they had similar values and attitudes, apart from the fact that Gray has an issue with her!

"She volunteered." Gray grumbled more loudly, and used the back of his hand to rub his lips. He was already feeling guilty, because his plan for Regan's work, was falling apart. He was wrong to assign her to that job. It was a dirty job and it was hard work.

"She volunteered to shift the soiled stuff? Really?" Sam's tone challenged Gray's statement. "Gray, I doubt she volunteered." Sam pinned his grandson to the spot as he shook his head at Gray.

Guilt was swamped by his reasons, "Just because she's a doctor does not make her any better than us, Granddad. This is her farm and she needs to take responsibility for it. At least pretend she is interested in it. In any case, she can stop if she wants. It's her choice. Her idea. Her request." Gray rattled albeit to foil his guilt. He ran his hand over his face as he muttered, "She insisted." He knew he had pushed her into agreeing with his plan. Even when he told her want he wanted her to do, she had baulked, until she noted he had banked his smirk.

"So you said." Sam murmured. He looked back over his shoulder and watched as yet another load of manure and hay was carted away. The wheelbarrow nearly tipped over. "This is not ok." Sam said quietly. He looked directly at his grandson and ordered, "You tell her to stop, right now!" Sam shook his head when he noted Gray's guilt in his eyes. "What is going on here, Gray?" This is not normal for his grandson. He was usually kind. Well, at least he was, before the event. Now it would appear that his attitudes had changed. He was now very different. Gray could handling everything, with patience and kindness. He practically ran their farm as the boss, but he was a good boss, a thoughtful boss, a humane boss. Sam watched his grandson's eyes and he could see that Gray was not the old Gray. Obviously when they lost a member of their family, they also lost Gray. The self-assured, assertive, cool and kind boss was replaced with a harsh, forbidding, punishing boss. Albeit only for Regan.

Gray rubbed the back of his neck as he opted to tell his grandfather. "She said Lore wanted to work in town."

"What? Lore wants to work in town." Sam frowned. "That is new to me!"

"Apparently." Well, at least Gray wasn't the only one who was not aware about Loretta's job. Interesting that Loretta had not told her family but told her landlady!

"I pointed out we'd be short handed."

"Yes, I guess so." Sam frowned, while Loretta did not do much on the farm, but what she did was useful.

"She said she'd help." Gray, like his grandfather, watched as Regan picked up the pitch fork once more and started refilling the wheelbarrow. She was not very efficient, but she was by the looks of things, doing her best. Gray ran his fingers through his hair. He accepted he made a mistake. He should have stopped her earlier.

"So you gave her hard labour?" Sam stated in accusation. "Not just hard labour, but probably the one job we all do our best to avoid." Actually the only person who managed this task was Gray, and now Regan. "I don't do that job. Loretta doesn't either. You do it! Because we hate it!"