Don't Tell Your Mother

By Ransom Noble

Ethan Porter wants to grow up to be just like his dad - until a long-lost neighbor family, the Chases, return to their farm community. Dad warns Ethan to stay away from new girl Beth Chase and not to tell Mom. His best friend Milly becomes best friends with the new kids, and Ethan's quiet life turns upside down. Ethan wants to know why Dad doesn

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wanderlust Books
• Release date: Jan 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9798869116864

Book preview

DON’T

TELL YOUR

  MOTHER

RANSOM NOBLE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Wanderlust-books

Copyright © 2023 by Ransom Noble 

Cover Design Michele Maakestad

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review. For more information, address: [e-mail].

Dedication

for anyone who has chafed under someone else’s rules

Chapter 1

The Invitation

Ethan Porter walked with his father alongside the cornfield. Tractors left their marks on the lane between the field and the fence. His family had owned the land nearly one hundred and fifty years, and Ethan felt proud to be part of it. He wanted one of the new tractors with the GPS in the cab, though he knew it would take time before they were affordable.

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it, instead hanging on Dad’s every word about the corn and the coming harvest. The corn stood well over both their heads. He watched for evidence of smut, bugs, or weeds but found none in the several yards they’d trekked from the house. Think we got rid of the buttonweed?

Probably not. Those seed pods can stay in the ground for fifty years. We might never be rid of them. That herbicide seems to work good. Remember what brand we used this year?

It’s in the records. We can check when we go inside.

Dad nodded.

The two of them continued down the dirt path. The dry earth cracked and curled where the grass didn’t hold it together. August had broken heat records, but the corn had gotten the rain it needed early in the summer. At the field’s edge, Dad pulled an ear of corn from the second row from the outside and shucked it. He poked it with his short, work-hardened fingernails and handed it to Ethan.  The corn shone golden yet felt hard under Ethan’s hand.

Dad frowned as he turned back up the lane. Won’t be ready to harvest for another month.

Ethan nodded, and they returned to the shop in silence. He checked his phone and responded to the message, then slipped it back in his pocket. Dad left Ethan at the shop to work on the tractor so he could do chores.

Ethan turned at the sound of a car in the driveway, a wrench dangling from his hand. The partially reassembled tractor sat forgotten behind him in the machine shop. Can I help you? He smiled at the driver, a blonde girl about his age. When she returned it he noticed dimples in her cheeks.

This is for your family. She handed him a colorful invitation. We just moved and want to meet the neighbors.

Where? He glanced at the paper then back at the girl. The sunglasses and hat blocked his view of her face. He wondered what color her eyes were. Her arms showed hints of muscle, making Ethan think she wasn’t the type to laze about.

Tuckers’, on Sugarbottom Road.

Ethan nodded. The Tuckers lived about three miles down the road. He wondered if she was related. He hadn’t heard of anything happening to the old couple, but clamped his jaws together to prevent stray comments. He definitely didn’t want to look stupid in front of her.

See you there. At school, too. I start next week. She put the car in reverse. I’m Beth.

Ethan. He waved with the wrench-hand, losing his grip and clutching it before it slipped out of his fingers and hit her car.

She flashed a smile, then turned the car around. The dust flew from the gravel lane as she sped out of his drive.

Busy watching her, Ethan missed Dad’s reappearance. Who was that?

Ethan scanned the flyer and handed it to Dad. Tuckers’ granddaughter.

Dad scowled. You shouldn’t be around her. What would your girlfriend think?

Milly’s not my girlfriend.

Don’t let it happen again.

Ethan shook his head. He’d done nothing to deserve Dad’s lecturing tone. What do you mean? I don’t know her. She just dropped by.

Dad grunted, turning to the tractor. You going to finish this tonight?

Think so. The gear box went together well.

They stood there for a moment in silence. Mom drove past them. Dad shrugged and walked behind her car to the house.

Ethan returned to the tractor parts strung around the shop. His faithful calico kitten jumped on the tool bench and stared at him. What do you think, Callie? Should I make this thing run better?

She swished her tail, as if to remind him what Dad would say.

Yeah, I know. He scratched under her chin while he remembered which part went in next. The order came back to him, and he appreciated the cold metal under his fingers that fit almost as well as when he took it apart. Within an hour he had the tractor back together.

Dad joined him, looking over the work. Neither spoke. Tools littered the shop floor, and Dad helped put them away. Ethan checked the animals on his way into the house.

Mom fidgeted over dinner. Anna said the Tuckers’ girl moved home with her family. They’re having a party!

We‘re invited. Ethan looked up from his plate.

Oh, we are? We’ll have to go. It’s only polite. Mom grinned. Wonder if she’s changed any since we last heard of her? Oh, how long has that been, twenty years?

Dad’s jaw tensed. We don’t need to go gawking. 

Oh, it’ll be fun, Gerald. We’ll see the neighbors and catch up.

Ethan thought his father looked cross, but he’d never known the man to have a good time at a party. The Tuckers rarely came up in conversation, and he didn’t know why Dad seemed irritated with them. He saw the thoughts circling in his mother’s head, already figuring what she’d wear and comparing notes with Mrs. Smith or Mrs. Kline. Word traveled fast along the river farms, and his mother loved to share the talk.

Did you get the invitation, Ethan? Who brought it?

Beth. She’s going to start school next week. He shoved the potatoes on his fork then into his mouth. He remembered Beth’s smile and hoped Dad got over his thing with the Tuckers.

Don’t talk with your mouth full. What’s her last name? Did you see her, too, Gerald? Mom’s eyes flitted from one to the other.

Ethan shook his head. Nope.

Saw her leave.

He and his father both lapsed into their customary silence. He struggled for something to say, but Mom passed the potatoes to him and he gave up.

You two are no help. I’ll just have to speak with Anna after dinner. I can’t believe Tammy Tucker came back to her folks’ place.

Patty, that’s enough. Dad frowned at her. Ethan doesn’t need to hear you chatter about the poor woman.

Mom nodded. You’re right. She put her fork down. So, did you have a good day?

Ethan shrugged. His father grunted. The silverware clattered against the plates, clanging in Ethan’s ears as he wondered about the mysterious Tuckers. The old couple was known for their kindness, though they were separate from the general hubbub of the neighborhood. He’d ask Milly what she heard. Her parents let more slip than his parents did.

Maybe she’d even have ideas on how he could approach Beth.

Chapter 2

The Party

Mom must have won the struggle, because Sunday afternoon Ethan arrived with his parents at the Tuckers’ place. Dad’s arms were crossed every moment of the car ride. He didn’t say anything, but Ethan felt the tension between his parents, sticky as the August heat. He stared out the window and hoped he could find his friends quickly. Mom parked the car at the edge of the barnyard with more than a dozen other vehicles. Looked like everyone from Dutch Hollow to Jigsaw Road had arrived for the welcome party.

The buildings had roughly the same layout as his farmyard, but the paint on their horse barn peeled from the old wood and the chicken coop sat empty. While his parents ambled toward the Smiths and the Klines, Ethan made his way to Milly and a tall blond boy. Hey.

Ethan! Milly beamed. The top of her head was less than his eye level, and her brown hair and doe eyes held a softness unmatched by her muscular form. Ethan knew she worked as hard as he did on the farm. Most of the kids here did. I haven’t found Beth yet.

The boy extended his hand. Unlike Ethan’s, his was mostly un-calloused. I’m Ned Chase, Tuckers’ grandson.

Ethan shook his hand. Ethan Porter. I live on Dutch Hollow.

Ned grinned.

Beth joined the group with a bag in her hand. Hey, everybody! I have bocce ball, or we could play horseshoes behind the house. What do you think?

He recognized the four teens behind Beth. Lauren Smith and Ashley Brooks giggled behind their hands and Ethan figured they’d be fighting over Ned before the party finished. They were silly that way, not like Milly. He liked her for her practical demeanor and shy smile. On Beth’s other side stood James Kline and Chris Trotter from the other side of the valley. He didn’t see them often since they attended the junior high.

Ned seemed at ease with them. Ethan wondered where they lived before but not enough to ask. He knew the girls would get to it; Lauren and Ashley had a knack for nonstop chatter. If they hadn’t touched on the subject already, they would soon.

Ethan had little time to stare at Beth in the chaos of the group. He was determined to play whichever game she picked.

Milly said, Horseshoes, as Chris said, Bocce ball, and soon the group split with Ned, Chris, Ashley, and Lauren playing bocce ball and Milly, Ethan, Beth, and James playing horseshoes.

Beth handed the black horseshoes to Milly and kept the brass ones for herself. You and I on one side and the boys on the other. Who’s your partner?

Ethan.

Why couldn’t she have picked James? It didn’t matter, he’d still be able to watch Beth. Ethan ground his teeth. Milly was his best friend; he should be happy she picked him. For a moment he let himself daydream the way he’d rather have it, with Milly and James behind the far stake, and he and Beth talking...

Beth interrupted his daydream as she turned to the other boy. Okay, so I’m with you, uh-? I’m Beth.

James.

Ethan and James moved to the far stakes, staying far enough from the flying horseshoes for safety, since they both knew Milly well enough to know anything she threw might end up wide of the mark. Milly and Beth took forever to pick up the horseshoes and throw. Ethan thought it unfair they came so close to the stake despite their apparent lack of aim. He noticed they chattered nonstop and tried not to compare them with Ashley and Lauren. He dreaded another pair of senseless girls running around.

James picked up the shoes. What do you think they’re talking about?

Ethan shrugged. Your guess’s good as mine.

James frowned in concentration as he threw, but his horseshoe fell short. Ethan followed. He was glad his aim matched the girls’. Milly stuck out her tongue. Beth stared at him with both hands on her hips. Ethan still couldn’t hear them, and it unnerved him.

He and Milly won the first game, though he wasn’t sure how the girls managed to throw so well with their conversation. They didn’t pay attention to their aim. He had trouble focusing on his aim and it showed, and James had worse trouble.

The second game Beth threw three ringers. James ran his fingers over his nearly shaved head. Should’ve picked bocce ball.

Ethan shook his head. She’s your partner.

She’s making me look bad!

Not just you.

James lined up his first throw for the tiebreaker game. Sure we can’t quit now?

Ethan waited to see where it landed before replying. We’ll never hear the end of it.

James nodded.

Ethan watched the girls. Beth and Milly seemed as close as Ashley and Lauren after only an hour. He hoped Milly mentioned his good qualities to Beth. What good was a best friend if she wasn’t going to talk him up to the girl he liked?

As the third game ended in Ethan and Milly’s favor (though mostly Milly’s), the bell rang for the meal. They walked around the house to the buffet tables. Old Mrs. Tucker and Mrs. Chase, who introduced herself as Beth’s mother and Mrs. Tucker’s daughter, stood near the food and greeted each guest. He followed Beth and Milly through the line, nodding at the hostesses on his way to the food.

Beth looked at him with a raised eyebrow when he grabbed two plates, but he only grinned. He always started with the hot plate. Two slices of honey ham placed straight in the middle of the plate, with little crockpot smokies on one side and mashed potatoes just above them. He continued around to create a circle around the ham with green beans and bacon, macaroni