Читать книгу The Long, Hot Texas Summer - Cathy Thacker Gillen - Страница 9
ОглавлениеChapter Two
“I’d rather work with her.” Lamar pointed at Amanda, soon after arriving the following day.
Justin motioned Lamar back to the stacks of paper he had been trying to organize. Some were for state licensing and registration, others were for federal, state and private grants. The biggest—a quarter-million-dollar endowment from the Lone Star United Foundation—was due by the end of July. In addition to that, there were more fund-raising solicitations to send, thank-you letters to write, a tight budget to manage and local building regulations to comply with.
Justin had figured the teen would show up with an attitude, but he wasn’t going to let him dictate how things were done. “Not an option.”
Lamar slouched in his chair, a scowl on his young face. “How come?”
“Because Amanda’s not in charge of you,” he reminded the boy mildly. “I am.”
The teen returned his glance to the window. “That wood she’s carrying looks heavy.”
Heavy enough to require the sleek muscles of her gorgeous shoulders and upper arms, Justin noticed appreciatively. What it did for her legs wasn’t bad, either.
Justin dragged his glance away from the statuesque beauty in the sleeveless red T-shirt, denim coverall shorts and sturdy work boots. “If Amanda needed our help, she would’ve asked for it.”
“Sure about that? I mean, isn’t this place supposed to be about turning kids into well-mannered guys? What kind of Texas gentleman lets a lady hoist all that stuff by herself—even if she is a carpenter by trade?”
Good question. And one meant to make Justin bend to Lamar’s strategy. “Nice try.”
The kid held his palms aloft. “Hey! I’m just saying...”
Justin eyed the paperwork still needing attention. “Did you get how to use the scanner? Or do I need to explain it again?”
Lamar turned back to the desk with a huff. “I’m not good at this computer stuff.”
Which was an understatement and a half, Justin soon found out. In the next thirty minutes, Lamar managed to accidentally shut down the operating system, re-enter a single document three times and delete two files Justin had initially scanned as examples. The only thing worse than his own mounting frustration was the fact that his young charge seemed equally annoyed at his own ineptitude.
“So maybe office work isn’t your thing,” Justin said finally, ready to admit that all this assignment had done so far was cost both of them precious time and patience.
Lamar looked wistfully out the window at the vast blue horizon and dazzling sunshine. “Sure you don’t want me to go out and at least offer to give Miss Amanda a hand? She still has quite a bit to unload.”
The goal was to get Lamar doing something constructive on his very first day, so Mitzy could report back to her superiors that things were going well.
Figuring it would be okay if they both assisted Amanda, Justin stood. “All right. Let’s go ask.”
Justin and Lamar walked out of the lodge. By the time they reached the pickup truck that Amanda had parked just in front of the door, she had re-emerged from the bunkhouse. She looked from one to the other. Sweat beaded her face, neck and chest. “What’s up?” she asked, blotting the moisture on her forehead with one gloved hand.
Justin turned his attention away from the pretty color in her cheeks and the radiant depths of her eyes. “We thought we’d give you a hand with the unloading,” he explained.
Amanda stiffened. “That’s okay. I’ve got it.”
Lamar gave the pretty carpenter a pleading look. “If you don’t let me help, he’s going to make me go back to the computer—and I’ve already messed things up in there pretty bad.”
Amanda had no problem turning Justin down.
Lamar, it seemed, was another matter entirely.
She sized up the teenager. “The bunkhouse air-conditioning isn’t installed yet. My guess is, even with all the doors and windows open for maximum airflow, it’s about a hundred degrees inside. Add physical exertion to that, and it’s going to be a workout and a half,” she warned.
The tall, lanky teen was evidently unconcerned with the hard physical labor ahead of him, so long as he got out of any more office work. “Okay with me,” Lamar said cheerfully.
Justin smiled and offered, “I can help, too.”
Amanda frowned. “That’s okay...you don’t have to. Lamar and I can handle it.”
Justin didn’t like feeling expendable.
But if this was what it took to get Lamar to realize he could actually enjoy being out here on the ranch, Justin figured he could spare him for one day. “Let me know when Lamar’s work for you is finished,” he told Amanda briskly. “I’ll take it from there.”
* * *
AMANDA KNEW SHE had hurt Justin’s feelings. There was no helping it. She could not have him underfoot. He was too handsome, too distracting, and she couldn’t afford to lose her focus for even a moment.
“You know, if you don’t want me around, either, I could go off somewhere and just get lost for a while,” Lamar suggested casually as soon as Justin had gone back into the lodge.
Chuckling, Amanda clapped a gloved hand on his shoulder. “Nice try, kid. But you told Justin you’d help carry all this wood into the bunkhouse, so that is exactly what you’re going to do.” She rummaged around in her truck and returned with a pair of leather work gloves for him.
Awkwardly, Lamar inched them on. “You don’t mind taking orders from him?”
Did she? Normally, Amanda liked to maintain her independence and set her own work agenda. That was what made these rural gigs so appealing. The clients were so busy with their own work, they were less inclined to micromanage her. Best of all, at the end of the day, she could really get away from it all in her home-away-from-home travel trailer.
“Justin McCabe runs this ranch. It’s my job to make sure he is happy with the work I do. Yours, too, for that matter, since he’s overseeing your community service.”
Silence fell.
Lamar stacked more trim wood in the corner, next to a pile of interior doors that needed to be installed. “Don’t you want to know what I did to get sent out here?”
Amanda brought in a stack of doorknobs and latch kits. “Truancy, right?”
Lamar scowled. “Justin told you.”
They walked back outside for another load. “Yep.”
Lamar peered at her from beneath his blond bangs. “Aren’t you going to use this opportunity to lecture me on how I’m ruining my life and all that?”
Amanda took in the front of his Pirates of the Caribbean T-shirt. It depicted a rollicking fight scene. “Would you listen?”
“No.”
She handed him a bundle of trim wood. “That’s what I figured.”
Lamar cradled it against his chest. “Which is why you’re not lecturing me.”
Amanda grabbed a bundle for herself and walked with him toward the door. “I figure there has to be a reason you keep cutting class.”
Lamar put down his bundle of wood with more than necessary force. “I hate it. It’s boring.”
Regular school had been a pain for Amanda, too. Figuring they could both use a rest, she went to the cooler in the corner and brought out two icy grape-flavored electrolyte drinks. She tossed one to him. “What does interest you?” she asked.
Lamar wiped the moisture away with the hem of his shirt. “I like watching TV. Listening to music.”
Amanda took a long drink. There had to be something that would help him connect with others. “Do you play any sports?” Even if Lamar didn’t qualify for school teams, there were always private athletic leagues to provide a little fun and make him feel involved.
“Nah.” Lamar finished half his bottle in a single gulp. “I’m no good at sports, either.”
So Lamar had suffered multiple failures, socially and otherwise. Catching sight of his dejected expression, Amanda’s heart went out to him. She knew was it was like to be a teenager who didn’t seem to fit in anywhere. “What are you good at?”
Abruptly, mischief crept into his expression. “Getting out of stuff I don’t want to do.”
Amanda could see that. “You can’t really make a living as a no-show.”
“So maybe I’ll be a security guard,” Lamar boasted, “and sit around and watch those TV monitors.”
Amanda couldn’t think of anything less interesting, but leery of discouraging him, she smiled. “Could work.”
He paced to the window and back. “You’re not going to try to talk me out of it? Tell me I have to finish high school and go on to college?”
Amanda held his gaze. “College isn’t for everyone.”
“Did you go to college?”
Amanda shook her head. “I didn’t like high school, either, so I got a GED instead and learned carpentry from my grandfather.”
His face grew pinched. “I don’t know about the GED,” he grumbled, as if it were the worst idea in the world. “All that studying and having to take those tests...”
Amanda could see where even the idea of that would be overwhelming for Lamar, given he’d skipped so much he had to be way behind on his studies. They walked back out to the truck to finish unloading supplies.
“Do you like being a carpenter?” Lamar asked eventually.
“Very much.”
He slanted her a wary glance. “How come?”
Trying not to think about the failures in her own life, Amanda offered him a faint smile. “Because I like building things that will last.”
* * *
IT WAS NEARLY noon when Justin looked up from behind his desk to see his dad striding into the lodge. As he walked across the spacious living area, Wade McCabe held a large high-velocity floor fan in each hand.
Justin strolled out of the administrator’s office to greet him. “Hey, Dad. Thanks for bringing those out.” Wade set them down next to the overstuffed sofas and chairs that had been donated by a local furniture store. “Some reason you couldn’t run into town and pick them up yourself?”
A very good one, as a matter of fact. “I’m supervising a teenager’s community service right now.”
His dad looked around, perplexed, noting they were quite alone.
“Lamar’s in the bunkhouse, assisting the carpenter. He’ll be back in here as soon as they’re finished carrying in all the wood from the pickup truck.”
His dad paused. “So this is a one-day thing?”
“All summer.”
Wade blinked in surprise. “You’re not really equipped for that, are you son?”
Justin tensed. Here we go again. He turned and walked into his office. “Dad, if this is where you tell me if I’m serious about all this, I need to go back to school and get a degree in psychology...”
Wade looked around the sparsely decorated administrator’s office, which at the moment was littered with the paperwork Justin was still trying to get through. “Your mother and I raised you to find what you’re good at and do it to the best of your ability.” He sank into a chair in front of Justin’s desk and gave him a long, level look. “What you are good at, Justin, is finance and accounting.”
Justin slid a stack of papers into a mailing envelope, sealed it shut and ran it through the postage meter. “I’m doing that here.”
Wade steepled his hands in front of him. “To a much lesser degree than what you were doing five years ago.”
Which, for his ambitious father and mother, was unacceptable, Justin knew. They wanted all five of their sons to have the same kind of financial security and success they’d built for themselves, while still holding on to their core values. “It’s important work, Dad.”
Wade’s expression softened. “I’m not discounting that. It’s why I made a sizable donation to help get the Laramie Boys Ranch up and running and accepted a position on the board of directors.”
Something Justin was beginning to regret. In hindsight, he saw answering to his father, even among a group of other involved adults, might not be such a good thing. “Then...?”
“Your mother and I are worried about you.”
Justin grimaced. “Why?”
“Clearly, you’ve yet to get over everything that happened in Fort Worth—first your broken engagement to Pilar, and then...”
Justin heard a feminine throat clear, followed by a knock. He and his father turned to see Amanda standing in the open door.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said, looking gorgeous as ever, despite her hot and sweaty state. “But have either of you seen Lamar?”
* * *
ACTUALLY, GIVEN THE conversation she’d overhead inside the ranch’s office, Amanda wasn’t at all sorry to interrupt. It sounded as though Justin McCabe needed a break. Having been the target of a great deal of parental lecturing growing up, she knew just how demoralizing such sessions could be. Not to mention the damage they inevitably did to the relationship. Although, unlike her mom and dad—who had seen her mostly as a stumbling block to their happiness—Justin’s parent seemed to genuinely care about him.
She continued, “I just got back with more wood and...”
Justin shot out of his chair, his expression filled with concern. “What do you mean you just got back?”
Why was he making a big deal out of this? “I had to run to the lumberyard to pick up the rest of the baseboard.” She paused. “He didn’t tell you?”
Justin shoved a hand through his hair. “I haven’t seen him. I thought he was with you.”
Justin’s father looked on with a mixture of resignation and disapproval.
Amanda felt for Justin. Whether or not the two of them should have seen this coming was a moot point. She swallowed uncomfortably. “He should have reported back to you about an hour and a half ago....”
Justin stalked around the desk to her side. “Where could he be?”
Amanda turned to let Justin through. She caught a whiff of soap and man as he passed by. “I don’t know.” She was, however, willing to help search.
Together, the three of them looked through the lodge. Eventually, they found Lamar sound asleep in the lounge on the second floor. The TV was on, the sound turned all the way down.
Relieved yet still disapproving, Wade McCabe told his son curtly, “I’ll leave you to handle this.”
Tense with embarrassment, Justin nodded at his dad. “Thanks again for bringing the fans.”
Wade nodded and left.
Lamar opened his eyes, stretching lazily. He smelled of sweat and bubblegum. “Hey,” he said to Amanda. “You’re back.”
“Yes.” She tried not to think about how much trouble Lamar was already in, and he’d only been at the ranch for half a day. “I am.”
Justin clenched his jaw with frustration. “Is this where you’ve been the entire time she was gone?” he demanded.
“Yeah. So?”
“You were supposed to find me when Amanda no longer needed your help.”
Lamar rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Yeah, well, all you were doing was office work. I’m no good at that.”
Justin gave Lamar a reproving frown. “That’s not for you to decide. This is community service, remember? To get credit for your time, you have to do what you’re told.”
Lamar sat up and dropped his feet to the floor. Belligerence radiated from him in waves. “Is it time for lunch yet?” he asked, completely ignoring Justin’s reprimand. “I’m really hungry.”
Amanda’s stomach had been growling for the past half hour, too. “I’ve got some sandwiches made if anyone wants to join me.”
“Sounds good to me,” the teen said.
Amanda looked at Justin. Temper again under control, he nodded. Then he cautioned Lamar, “Just don’t do that again, okay? For both our sakes, I need to know where you are at all times.”
“Okay,” Lamar muttered.
Relieved to have that settled, Amanda led the way to her trailer. She invited the guys inside, figuring there was safety in numbers. Wrong. The moment they stepped inside, her refuge felt filled to the brim with testosterone. And much smaller. Especially with Justin standing right beside her. Of course, that was probably because at six foot five his head almost reached the ceiling.
“Wow!” Lamar whistled appreciatively as he surveyed the comfortable space she had worked so hard to create. More a mini-apartment than camper, the back half was all bedroom and bath. The front half of the Airrstream housed the kitchen—with a full-size fridge, microwave, stove, sink and even a tiny dishwasher. The butcher-block tabletop between the roomy banquettes doubled as a work space, and there were plenty of built-in racks for her pantry items and cookware.
“You must really like to cook.” Lamar checked out the bins of fresh fruits and veggies, her complex variety of dried chili peppers and some freshly made tortillas.
Amanda nodded proudly. “It’s a hobby of mine.”
“Where did you learn?” the teen asked.
She opened up the fridge and brought out the three large grilled-chicken wraps with lettuce, cheese and Caesar dressing that she’d made from the leftovers of the previous evening’s dinner. “My grandmother and grandfather. Cooking was something they liked to do together, so when I moved in with them I started cooking, too.”
“Sounds fun,” Justin said.
“It was.” It was the first time she’d known what it was like to be part of a happy family.
The handsome Texan’s fingers brushed hers as she handed him a flavored sports drink. “Was? You don’t do it anymore?”
Trying not to react to the husky caress of his voice, the warm feel of his fingers or the tenderness in Justin’s brilliant blue eyes, Amanda shook her head. “Occasionally, but not as much since my grandmother died of congestive heart failure a couple of years ago.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Justin and Lamar said in unison.
Amanda accepted their condolences with a nod, aware of a growing sense of intimacy she didn’t expect. Wasn’t supposed to want. And knew would be unwise to encourage. “So,” she said, pushing her lingering grief away. “Why don’t the two of you tell me a little more about the area. What should I know about Laramie County?”
“There are a number of good restaurants in town,” Justin began.
Lamar nodded. “The Lone Star’s food is good, and they have live music and dancing, too. Since chicks seem to like that stuff,” the teen added helpfully.
Amanda wondered if that was where Justin had intended to take her the first night, when he’d asked her out.
“I do like dancing,” she admitted with a smile.
Justin’s eyes gleamed. “Then you should make it a point to go while you’re here,” he said. “With or without a date.”
Amanda’s middle fluttered with sensation. Adopting her best poker face, she nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Wary of letting her thoughts wander where Justin’s were obviously headed—into forbidden romantic territory—Amanda guided the conversation to mundane subjects, like the new wind farm and a famous sculptor she’d heard about who worked in bronze.
As soon as the meal was over, she rose. Eager to get back to work, she looked at Justin. “Your dad said he brought two fans that would help cool off the bunkhouse till the air-conditioning is installed?”
Justin nodded. “Lamar and I will carry them over for you.”
Amanda smiled. “Great. I’ll meet you guys there.”
A few minutes later they walked in, and Amanda showed them where she wanted the fans set up. Concerned that there was still a lot of friction between Justin and Lamar, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to act as buffer a little while longer.
“I don’t know what you had planned for Lamar this afternoon,” she told Justin, “but my work will go a lot faster if I have assistance mounting the top kitchen cabinets.”
“I’ll do it!” Lamar quickly volunteered.
Justin looked at the cabinet lift Amanda had set up, and the bulky stock cabinets. She knew he could see it was not an unreasonable request, even if she could easily have done the job all on her own. “Can you keep him busy the rest of the afternoon?”
“I won’t let him out of my sight,” Amanda promised.
Justin exhaled, his expression grim. After a long pause, he gazed at Lamar. “No more disappearing acts. Okay?”
The teen nodded, clearly aware he was on very shaky ground with the man supervising his community service.
Justin turned back to Amanda, his eyes devoid of the gratitude she had expected. “I’ll be in the office, working on grant applications, if you need me.” Justin turned on his heel and stalked off.
Watching him go, Amanda knew she had just made another mistake. She should never have stepped between Justin and his charge. In the end, all she had done was make things worse.
As soon as Justin disappeared from view, she did her best to undo the damage. “You need to give Justin a chance.”
His expression stony, Lamar helped her cut a base cabinet out of its cardboard cover. “McCabe doesn’t get me the way you do.”
Amanda bit her lip. “I’m not so sure about that.” While it was true that she could talk to Lamar with ease, Justin seemed to have Lamar’s number in a lot of ways.
The boy’s jaw tightened. “I see the judgment in his eyes when I screw up, Amanda. I don’t need any more of that.”
She had seen the disappointment, too. However, it didn’t mean Lamar had to return it in kind. “You’re going to have to work with Justin while I’m around, and after I leave. So the sooner you try to find common ground with him, the better.”
Lamar picked up the utility scissors. “Maybe I could continue my community service with you, wherever you go after this,” he suggested hopefully.
Amanda was flattered. She also knew it wasn’t the best idea. She cut open the next box. “I don’t think the court is going to go for that. They’re going to want to see that you can follow the rules and act in a positive manner, no matter where you are or who you’re with.”
Lamar sulked but said nothing more.
Her point made, Amanda focused on the cabinet installation. She kept Lamar busy until his foster father showed up to collect him at the end of the day.
Only when she’d had a chance to get a shower and clean up a little did she go in search of Justin again.
She found him on the back deck of the lodge with his dogs.
“Got a minute?” she asked, aware she owed him an apology, but unsure if he’d accept it.
Justin measured kibble into five stainless-steel bowls. He had the same brooding look he’d worn when he’d been talking with his father. “It’s probably not the best time for us to talk, Amanda.”
Not an encouraging start. “We need to clear the air.”
After each dog had a bowl of food he turned to her. “Go ahead.”
She swallowed. “I’m sorry if I got in the way of whatever you were trying to accomplish with Lamar this afternoon. But I thought a time-out between the two of you might help. And I used the opportunity to tell him he should give you a chance.”
His gaze drifted over her before returning ever so deliberately to her eyes. “Bet that went over well.”
Like a lead balloon. “He’ll come around.” Amanda punctuated her words with a hopeful look.
He stood, legs braced apart, arms crossed in front of him. “Is that all?”
She wished. “I have a feeling you blame me for Lamar skipping out on us this morning.”
“I’m sure he would have done the same thing whether you were here or not.”
She lifted her chin. “Then why are you ticked off at me?”
Leaving the dogs on the patio, he turned and strode back into the lodge. “I’m not.”
“And if I believe that, you’ve got a lake in Odessa you’d like to sell me.”
Justin walked down the hall to his office where stacks of paper and letters littered every available surface. Frustration emanated from him in waves as he took a seat behind his desk. “Let’s just say it wasn’t the best day for me, okay?”
Amanda refused to give him sympathy. He was throwing enough of a pity party all on his own.
“I don’t deny there were issues,” she countered. “But to be honest, the problems were also of your own making. I mean, really,” she continued, goading him with thinly veiled exasperation, “could you have given Lamar a worse task on his first day here?”
Justin’s glance narrowed. “What do you mean?”
Not about to let him pull rank on her—because in this instance they were equals—she moved around the front of the desk and leaned against it, facing him. “Lamar was sent here because he can’t stand school. So the first thing you do is give him paperwork?”
His full attention on her, Justin rocked back in his swivel chair and waited for her to go on.
Her frustration with the situation boiling over, Amanda continued, “Does anyone know why he is skipping so much? Has anyone even asked him?”
Justin’s handsome features sharpened with chagrin. “I don’t know what he’s told others, but I can tell you that I haven’t discussed it with him.”
Hands cupping the edge of the desk, her arms braced on either side of her, Amanda leaned close enough to search his eyes. “Don’t you think you should?” she persisted.
Justin’s brooding expression returned. “I’m not his counselor.”
Amanda exhaled and sat back. She knew this wasn’t her problem, and yet it was. “Then try being his friend.”
His jaw hardened. “He’s got to respect me first.”
Amanda knew better than anyone that a solely disciplinarian approach never worked with a kid like Lamar, just as it had never worked with her when she was ticked off at the entire world. “Set a good example. Inundate him with kindness and patience. The respect will come.”
Silence fell between them. She couldn’t tell what Justin was feeling. Wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
Restless, Amanda stood and began to pace around the room. She paused to look at some of the awards hanging on the wall. There were several for community service and fund-raising, as well as his bachelor’s degree diploma from the University of Texas. Also on display were a model and numerous sketches of the Laramie Boys Ranch as it would look when it was completed with a dozen residential bunkhouses, barns and corrals, basketball and tennis courts, and a swimming pool. But the walls were devoid of the kind of pictures that one would expect to see—portraits of family and friends, and kids he had helped in the past. Truth be told, there was nothing uniquely personal here.
Wondering if his quarters at the ranch were any different, she swiveled back around. “I know your heart is in the right place,” she said softly, determined to help him succeed with Lamar.
He raked his hands through his shaggy hair and stood. “You just don’t think I’m cut out for this.”
Amanda paused, her hands curving over the back of an armchair. It was difficult telling someone what they didn’t want to hear. For whatever reason, with Justin, it was ever harder. She met his eyes. “Kids like Lamar are complicated. They’re tough to reach because they play everything so close to the vest.”
His broad shoulders relaxing slightly, Justin roamed closer. She inhaled the brisk masculine scent of his skin and hair, her pulse picking up another notch.
“So how did you get through to him?”
Feeling as if the room was a little too warm and small for comfort, Amanda turned and walked into the spacious living area with its abundant couches. She sank into a big armchair, wishing she could find the right words to reassure him. “I didn’t. Not really.” Pretending she wasn’t oh-so-aware of every masculine inch of him, she looked Justin in the eye, then lamented, “All I can tell you for certain is that Lamar’s self-esteem is incredibly low.”
Justin rubbed the underside of his handsome jaw. “Which is why he’s acting out.”
Trying not to notice how good it felt to be with Justin in such an intimate setting, Amanda fought back a flush. “Right.”
Justin sat on the sofa opposite her. “Still.” Justin paused to look her over lazily, head to toe. “You connected with him a lot more than I did. He followed you around like a lost puppy.”
Tingling everywhere Justin’s gaze had touched, and everywhere it hadn’t, Amanda shrugged. She knew that what she and Lamar had shared had, for the most part, been superficial, that there was much more going on with the teenager than he was divulging. There had to be, given the fact Lamar had been abandoned by his parents before becoming a ward of the state.
Aware Justin was still studying her intently, Amanda slanted Justin a haphazard glance. “Lamar had never actually seen any carpentry work being done, so he was interested in what I was doing.”
“Plus,” Justin guessed ruefully, “Lamar was trying to get out of more desk work, assigned by yours truly.”
“Good point.” A more companionable silence fell, and they exchanged smiles. “I want this to work out for you both,” she said.
Really listening now, Justin leaned forward a bit. “Then where would you suggest I start?”
Amanda tried to keep her eyes off the sinewy lines of his shoulders and chest. She did not need to be wondering how it would feel to be held against him. And she certainly didn’t need to be wondering what it would be like to kiss him!
Amanda smiled and advised, “By doing something with Lamar tomorrow that would get you both out from behind a desk. Something that needs doing that he can feel good about at the end of the day.”
Justin took her advice to heart. “I’ll work on it,” he promised, leaning toward her. “In the meantime, I have a favor to ask.”
