A Family Forever by Helen Scott Taylor

right."
    She nodded, and chewed her fingernails nervously.
    As he had last time, Adam approached the back door but halted at a distance, prepared when the barking dogs charged towards him dragging their chains.
    "Mr. Andrews," Adam shouted. "I need to talk to you."
    After a few minutes, the old man plodded out in dirty rubber boots, his usual scowl fixed on his face. "What d'you want this time?"
    "To help you."
    The farmer pulled up and narrowed his eyes, obviously wondering what Adam was up to. "I don't need no help from you, Cantrell."
    "Actually, you do." Adam explained what he did for a living and how he bought distressed properties for renovation.
    "Willowbrook ain't for sale," Andrews snapped and turned to go back inside.
    "You need to face facts, Mr. Andrews. Small dairy farms are struggling. You're not going to turn this business around. Surely you'd rather sell to me and walk away of your own accord than wait for the bank to move in and repossess the place?"
    The old man's footsteps halted. He pulled off his cap and scratched his head. "I can't leave. I ain't got nowhere else to go."
    That was exactly what Adam had suspected. Despite the farmer's bad behavior, Adam's heart went out to the lonely old man. "You might be wrong there."
    Adam beckoned Felicity. The car door opened and she climbed out and walked towards them.
    Andrews stood still as a statue, his gaze fixed on his daughter, his expression unreadable. For long moments nobody said a word, then Felicity spoke up. "There's a place for you at the Plume of Feathers with us, Dad, if you want it. You have two grandchildren who would love to get to know you."
    Andrews turned away. Adam's breath caught in sympathy for Felicity, who'd really put her feelings on the line for the ungrateful old man. But the farmer didn't go inside as Adam feared. He went to the wall and pulled the dogs back, hooking their chains up short.
    "You'd best come inside if you want to look around the house, Mr. Cantrell," he said. "It needs a bit of work, but it's sound. You can make us a pot of tea, Felicity. Everything's in the same place as always."
    Felicity hurried forward and took her father's arm, but he shook her off. "I ain't no invalid."
    Adam smiled to himself as he followed them in, partly with relief that things had worked out, but also because he couldn't wait to look around the house he hoped he would soon call home.
    ***
    Victoria missed Adam so much. The weeks dragged when he was away. Today was their three-month anniversary—three months from the first day she met him—and she couldn't wait for him and Harry to arrive to spend the weekend with her and Sophie.
    At the sound of the door knocker, she rinsed flour off her hands in the kitchen sink and dashed for the front door. Sophie got there first. Squealing with excitement, her daughter threw open the door and leaped into Adam's arms for a hug.
    Victoria smiled with pleasure at seeing her daughter so happy. Sophie wasn't used to her mum having a boyfriend. It had taken her a while to accept Adam. Now she treated him like a father.
    "Hi, Victoria." Harry came inside and she put her arms around him, smiling against his hair as they hugged.
    "You get taller every time I see you." Victoria had bonded with the boy right away and quickly grown close to him. She put that down to their shared love of nature and photography.
    For all four of them, the last few months had been a gradual process of getting to know and trust one another, but now they were becoming a proper family, something she'd never dreamed she would have.
    Once the children had said hello, they ran upstairs to Sophie's bedroom, chattering thirteen to the dozen.
    "Hi there, beautiful." Adam gave Victoria a crooked smile.
    She stepped into his arms, linked her hands behind his head, and kissed him, then pressed her face against his neck.
    "Alone at last," he breathed in her ear, making her go all tingly.
    "Missed you," she said.
    His hand caressed circles on her