Читать книгу His Small-Town Sweetheart - Amanda Berry - Страница 9

Chapter Three

Nicole swiped at her brow with a rag. The past few days had been beyond hot. She would have loved to go hide in the air-conditioned rooms of the house, but her family was all outside working. This afternoon they planned to go over and help Sam with his fields. She figured if she tagged along with them then and didn’t put in any work now, her brothers would tease her or leave her behind.

Since she left Tawnee Valley, she’d been set on a course clearly laid out before her. Get good grades to get into a good school. Meet a nice guy so she could settle down and have kids. Find a good job that would provide for the life she wanted. Live happily ever after. She’d followed the plan, and it’d backfired in her face.

Now she was back in Tawnee Valley with the guy she’d thought of so often since she’d moved away. She’d enjoyed talking with Sam. He didn’t have any expectations of her. With the exception of her little attraction to him, he was the perfect friend. He barely talked, but she’d always been told she talked enough for at least two people. She didn’t feel as if she needed to censor herself around him. To be honest, though, she didn’t know what she wanted from Sam.

Friendship, definitely. He’d been her rock, even though he hadn’t actually been there. In her mind, he’d become her diary, her confessional in the letters she’d never sent him.

She yanked a weed out of the ground and tossed it into the middle of the row.

More than friendship? That was the question. She really wasn’t in a good place, but she couldn’t sink much lower. She was at a crossroads in life. Jeremy dumping her hadn’t been as painful as it should have been. She’d spent seven years waiting for him. It was almost a relief when he broke it off. At least she finally knew how he felt.

Losing her job had hurt more. She’d never been let go before. She’d done a good job, shown up to work on time. Never questioned her boss or the extra work. Always tried to be a team player. How was she supposed to know that the company would downsize?

When she found a new job, wherever it ended up being, she would move there. It wasn’t as if Tawnee Valley or the surrounding community had a job opening for a forensic accountant. The big-city accounting firms and possibly the FBI were her best bets. In the past couple of days, she’d started her search and sent out résumés to every posting she could find.

After being cooped up and staring at the screen all day, being outside, even in the blistering heat, felt great.

“Nikki’s slacking again, Dad,” Ethan shouted.

She spun around to give Ethan a dirty look. “I can’t believe you are tattling on me. You’re twenty-five years old.”

“Maybe if you’d get your butt in gear, I wouldn’t have to tell on you.” Ethan winked before he disappeared down one of the lines of corn.

“You don’t have to be out here, Nik.” Her father walked over and stood beside her.

“Please call me Nicole.” The old nicknames shouldn’t bother her, but she hadn’t been called any of them for the past couple of decades. They just sounded weird. Besides, why wouldn’t she want to be out here? “I like helping out.”

Her dad looked down the rows of corn. It was as tall as they were and would be harvested in the next few weeks. “It’s a lot of hard work, but at least it’s honest work.”

She put her arm around his waist and leaned against his side for only a second. After all, they were hot and sweaty, but that didn’t mean a side hug wasn’t nice. “You’re a good man, Dad.”

“Wish your mom had thought so.” He took his hat off and hit it across his thigh. “Sun’s a bear today.”

That was about as emotional as her father got, whereas her mother was emotional all the time. “Yup, it’s pretty hot out.”

“Make sure to get that weed over there and check for bugs.” Her father disappeared behind another row.

They’d been out all morning, since 6:00 a.m. She was looking forward to a nice, long shower before running into Sam. Not that she was going to get pretty just to muck about in the muddy pen to drive the hogs into the trailer. But she could at least get rid of a layer of sweat before he saw her.

Maybe she’d sneak away now to get that shower. She glanced around to see if her father or brothers were nearby. Smiling, she spun toward the house and slammed straight into someone.

Strong hands grabbed her shoulders, and when she drew in a breath filled with a manly scent, she knew immediately whose chest she’d almost broken her nose on.

She grinned up at him while rubbing her nose. “Hey, Sam. What are you doing in our field?”

“Working.” He set her back slightly.

She must be disgusting. Even her hair felt sticky. She didn’t even bother to run a hand through her hair or try to primp at all. It couldn’t be helped.

“I thought I wouldn’t see you until we came over to help with the hogs.” She rubbed her gloved hands over her backside, trying to brush off some of the dirt that had surely accumulated there when she’d pulled the last dozen or so weeds. “So what are you doing over here? Did they tell you I wasn’t pulling my weight? Because I can pull a mean weed. Wait, I know! It’s because I don’t know all the bug names, isn’t it?”

“If I help over here, it’ll go quicker.” Sam shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He had on jeans and a long-sleeved shirt as she did. While it kept the plants from cutting up her arms, it didn’t help with the heat. However, he looked as if he’d just stepped out of the shower. His dark hair was slicked back under a cap. The sun made his blue eyes seem even deeper as it drew out the darker shades. She pulled her gaze from those eyes before she lost herself in them or said something stupid.

“That’s great,” she said. “Maybe you can tell me what some of these bugs are called. I think Dad and the brats avoid me because they know I’ll talk their ear off if they come near. But you don’t mind if I talk, do you?” She watched his face carefully.

He shrugged but looked distinctly uncomfortable, as if he really would like her to just remain quiet but didn’t want to upset her. If he wasn’t going to protest, she’d talk his ear off because she liked chatting with him. Even if he was just being polite, she couldn’t help her smile.

“I knew I could count on you.”

When she moved to grab her bucket, he held up a hand. “No hugs.”

She laughed. “Oh, trust me, I’m not hugging anyone smelling like I do. I don’t believe in sharing sweat when hugging. Don’t worry, though...I’ll just hug you more next time.”

When he grimaced, she laughed again.

“You’ll get used to it. I swear.” She bent down to pull another weed.

He walked beside her silently, pulling weeds as he went. Investigating the leaves and corncobs. Occasionally he’d point out an insect and let her know whether it was beneficial or needed to be gotten rid of.

She talked about nonsense the entire time. He didn’t respond, but it didn’t bother her. She was glad for the company. She got only that partial smile, though. Not even a flash of dimple. What would it take to make Sam Ward smile? When her mind started turning over certain ways to make a man like Sam smile, she bent down to tie her shoe to hide her suddenly red face. When they made it to the end of her row, her father was there.

“John,” Sam acknowledged.

“You ready for us?” Dad put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his brow.

“The trailer is at the gate, ready for loading.”

“Good, good.” Her father turned to her as if noticing her for the first time. “You coming with, kid?”

She hated it when he called her “kid.” Even “Nik” was better than “kid.” “Yeah. I was hoping to take a quick shower first, though.”

“No need,” her father said. “Just going to get muddy anyway. Come on.”

They followed him down the hill, where Ethan and Wes waited next to their dad’s truck.

“Why don’t you ride with Sam?” Dad said and left them to join the boys.

“Well, that’s not at all awkward.” Nicole smiled up at Sam. “Do you have room for me?”

He nodded and led the way over to his truck. He pulled open the passenger door, and she climbed into the truck.

She slid off her gloves and put them in her lap, suddenly very conscious of the small space and her current lack of personal hygiene. Her deodorant had given up at least a half hour ago, and while she would have loved to believe her sweat didn’t stink...she was fairly certain she didn’t smell like a bed of roses right now, but more like the fertilizer. “Sorry for the smell. Normally I bathe before getting into enclosed spaces with other people.”

“It doesn’t bother me.” He started the truck and drove up the driveway.

“I suppose when you work with cows, pigs and sheep all day, one stinky human isn’t overwhelming.” She turned to watch his expression.

“You don’t stink.” His tone didn’t imply anything negative or even positive, but the simple comment made her heart sing a little.

“Thanks, but you don’t have to be nice. After all, I’m about to climb into your hog pen and get all muddy. I’m sure the hogs won’t mind the smell.” She glanced out the window as they passed the field where their tree house was. Friends didn’t care if other friends liked the way they smelled. She didn’t know how to act around him. So she did what she did best—talk. “I don’t think I’ve carried my cell phone around with me at all. It’s odd because I always checked it in LA. But the reception is so iffy at Dad’s that I just don’t bother. The funny thing is, I don’t really feel like I’m missing anything.”

“Don’t you have friends who call?” Sam asked.

“Funny thing, that.” She twisted in her seat to face him. “Jeremy got our friends. Turns out they were mostly his to start. The friends I had in college all went their separate ways, but we email once in a while.”

The lack of people to hang out with had made her decision to head back to her dad’s that much easier. She could just imagine what Jeremy was saying about her now that she was gone. For all she knew, he’d already hooked up with someone new. She could name at least two girls in their group of friends who had always wanted him. That gave her pause. Nicole must still be in the numb phase of the breakup, because that didn’t hurt as much as it would have a few months ago. Or would it have hurt then?

Sam turned down his driveway and pulled up next to the barn. She snapped out of her thoughts.

“How many hogs are we loading?” She wished she could find a way to make him talk for longer than a minute and finally see his smile. If he was gorgeous sullen, would he be stunningly handsome full-on smiling?

“A dozen.” He opened his door and got out. Before he could reach her side, she opened her door and hopped down in front of him.

“A baker’s or literal?” Maybe if she were funnier, he would smile. She never was good at jokes or funny stories. Her jokes tended to meander too much, and she always screwed up the punch line.

“Literal.” Not even a crack of a smile. Though she swore she saw a little merriment in his eyes.

“Awesome.” She followed him down to the pen. Her father and brothers joined them.

“Spread out around the outside and then we’ll slowly work them forward,” Sam said and handed her a square board about three feet by three feet and less than an inch thick. It had cutouts for her hands. “If they get past you, don’t worry, but try to keep them in the circle we create.”

He could read the directions to build an IKEA chair and his deep voice would hold her enthralled. Maybe that was the way to get him to talk: read instructions. He raised his eyebrow at her when she didn’t respond. She nodded.

“Don’t slip up.” Wes winked as he passed her.

She wished she’d never taught those two brats to wink. The way they did it was obnoxious, as if they knew exactly what she was thinking about. Ideally Sam didn’t. He didn’t need to know that she had the equivalent of a schoolgirl crush on him. It wasn’t as if she was drawing hearts with their initials in her notebook or anything like that. All he needed to know was that she wanted them to be friends again.

They all moved into the pen, and Sam showed her where to stand before going to his place near the gate. The poor pigs sensed something was up and moved away from them.

When Sam nodded, they all started working the hogs. Moving them out of their comfortable home and into a trailer seemed cruel, but she wasn’t about to become a vegetarian over it. She liked her bacon too much to give it up.

The majority of the hogs were blocked in, and her brothers helped Sam get them into the smaller run that would lead them to the trailer. Of course, the ornery one had to be near her. She pushed it with the tip of the board, but it merely rolled on its side in the mud. The chaos in the rest of the pen hadn’t reached this one’s brain yet. Or it just didn’t care. Maybe it didn’t have a brain. One too many dunks in the mud pit, perhaps.

“You’re making me look bad,” she muttered to the pig. It snorted in response. Maybe a different tactic was in order. “What if I promised you some good slop tonight? The very best carrots and potatoes? What if I dump my whole plate in your slop bin? You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

The pig finally got up and meandered toward the gate.

“Good pig. Who’s going to get a big apple with dinner tonight?” She followed behind with her board positioned between the pig and her. “The biggest pig in here, that’s who.”

Proud of herself and her pig, she couldn’t help beaming at Sam as the animal kept heading his way. His gaze followed the hog, but then those blue eyes focused on her and she stopped in her tracks. His lips curved into a smile so genuine that her grip loosened on the board and her heart beat a little harder.

As if sensing her resolve slipping away, the pig turned. It happened so quickly she didn’t have time to brace herself before the hog plowed into the side of her board and around her. She tried to turn, but the ground beneath her feet was wet for the pigs to wallow in, and the ground slipped out from under her. She set the board into the mud to try to keep herself from falling.

Ethan and Wes would never let her live it down if she fell into the pig muck.

* * *

Sam couldn’t do anything but watch as Nicole’s feet went out from beneath her. The twins were already after the last hog. Sam rushed over to where she fell and knelt in the muck next to her. His pulse raced with fear. She could be hurt. The mud squished beneath the knees of his jeans. The wetness reached his skin. The board lay across her chest. She’d landed faceup in pigpen mud. It covered her back from head to toe.

“If he thinks he’s getting an apple now,” she muttered angrily, “he has another think coming. I can’t wait to have bacon when I get up. And maybe some ham.”

Sam couldn’t help the smile that touched his lips or the relief that flooded through him when he realized she was okay. Even down, she kept talking. He pulled the board off her and tossed it to the side. When he turned back to Nicole, she looked at him as if he were an alien.

“What?”

“Oh, don’t stop. Darn it. I finally get a full smile and it’s over before I can fully appreciate it.” She pushed up on her elbows. The mud sucked at her back and hair. Her face scrunched up. “Oh, that’s so gross.”

“I smile.” He pulled off his brown work glove and brushed some mud off her cheek with his thumb. The touch hadn’t been anything other than an attempt to clean off her cheek before the dirt got in her mouth, but electricity sizzled through his blood. He almost missed her slight intake of breath and widened eyes, as if she felt it, too.

“I’m not sure I can get out of this...mud.” Her smile was softer than the normal grins she gave him. “Would you mind giving me a lift, please?”

He nodded and stood, leaning over and offering his hand. She grabbed his wrist, and he yanked her up. He hadn’t been thinking. The motion pulled something in his chest near his scar. It was enough to take his breath away for a moment.

“Sam? Are you okay?” Her bare hands touched his cheeks, and she lifted his head until she was looking into his eyes. At some point, she must have taken off her filthy gloves. Her forehead was wrinkled with concern.

He focused on the mixture of green and gold within her eyes and took slow breaths, willing the pain away. The color was soothing, like a field of spring grass, soft and damp with morning dew. Her eyes searched his, as if she was looking for some reason why he was acting as if he were an old man trying to catch his breath.

“I’m okay.” He straightened away from her hands and took in a full breath. He rubbed at his chest. He’d felt like an old man before the surgery on his heart. The doctor assured him that he’d feel young again once he was done healing.

“Did I hurt you?” She covered his hand on his chest with her own. “I’m going to blame the mud, because surely I don’t weigh that much if you can bench-press a bull.”

He smiled. He couldn’t help it. Heck, he didn’t want to help it. She always said the oddest things. “I thought it was a cow.”

“If I weren’t covered in more mud and...ew, other stuff than you, I would so hug you right now, Sam Ward.”

“I’ll remember that next time you try to hug me.” He gave her a half smile, which seemed to please her to no end. He hoped she’d forgotten about his chest pain. He didn’t want to see that look of concern that always filled his brothers’ eyes when they looked at him. He’d had a bum valve. It was all fixed now and he should have no issues living his life. Except the odd strain on the healing scar.

“I don’t suppose you are going to let me into your truck looking like this.” Her eyes danced as she met his gaze.

“Brush the mud off and quit playing around, Nik.”

Nicole winced at her father’s voice. “I’m not playing, Dad. I’m fairly certain this is more than a brush-the-mud-off situation.”

“Oh, I can’t go on, either,” Wes yelled. His green eyes twinkled with mischief. “I have a little mud on my pants. I can’t help anymore. I think I’ll go inside and play Xbox for the rest of the day.”

“Shut it, Wes,” her dad said. His gaze went over Sam and her. “Looks like neither of you are up to going into the sale barn, Sam. The boys and I can take the hogs in for you. Hose her down and send her home if you don’t mind, Sam.”

Sam watched the emotions run through Nicole’s eyes. Pain, embarrassment, resignation.

“Yeah, I’ll make sure she gets home. Thanks, John,” Sam said.

Before the twins were born, Nicole had been John’s little helper. After the boys, though, no matter how much she acted like one, her father still preferred to spend his time with them. She could never find her way back into the favorite slot. These were just a few of the secrets shared between best friends in the tree house they’d built.

He couldn’t imagine the pain of having her folks split their family in half. What must that have felt like for her? Had she felt like the last one to get picked? If her mother hadn’t moved so far away, would Sam and Nicole have been split up?

“You ready to get hosed down?” he asked as the truck doors slammed behind them.

She lifted her eyebrow at him. “You aren’t serious.”

“How else are you going to get all the pig smell off you?” Sam flicked a chunk of mud from her shoulder. “I can’t exactly let you into the house looking like that.”

Her smile was downright wicked when she stepped close to him. “If I’m going to get hosed down, then you are, too.”

She put a handful of mud from her leg on the front of his shirt and smiled up at him. “Just so you know, if you hadn’t grown so big, I’d have just tackled you in the mud.”

The images she conjured in his mind were enough to make him welcome the cold hose water. The truck engine vanished into the distance, leaving him and Nicole alone. If she wanted to play with mud, he decided two could play at this game.