Читать книгу Rescued By The Farmer - Mia Ross - Страница 11
ОглавлениеBekah wasn’t at all sure what to make of Drew Kinley.
Still dressed in the tank top and beat-up cargo shorts he was wearing when they met earlier that morning, he started working with her around seven o’clock and kept on going. He didn’t try to draw her into conversation but kept his comments to whatever task they were doing at the moment. He was pleasant and upbeat but didn’t go out of his way to make her talk to him.
Most people took her long silences as either rude or evidence that something was bothering her. It was nice to meet someone who understood her reserved nature and accepted it for what it was.
At one point, he fetched them each some bottled water. After a long swallow, he stopped long enough to call someone named Mike. “What can I say, big brother? They need a hand down here, and I’m sure you won’t miss fighting with me all that much.” After a pause, he chuckled. “Yeah, it’ll earn me some brownie points with Erin, too. Don’t think that didn’t occur to me. See ya later.”
He pocketed his phone and turned back to the straw he was pitching into several stalls set aside for larger animals. In the section he’d referred to as the nursery, three goats and a wide-eyed fawn watched him from their temporary quarters in a storage area with a Dutch door. They looked to be assessing his work, and despite the odd turn her day had taken, Bekah felt herself smiling at the image.
She hadn’t done much of that lately, she realized. There hadn’t been all that much to lift her spirits the past few months, and when she thought about it, meeting Drew was the highlight of her year. Pathetic, but true. He’d been so nice to her, she decided she should make more of an effort to be sociable. What better topic to start with than the woman he’d just mentioned wanting to impress?
“So,” Bekah commented in what she hoped came across as friendly interest. “Is Erin your girlfriend?”
He gave her the blankest look she’d ever seen in her life, then broke out laughing. “Not even close. She’s my little sister and the bane of my existence. If I can do something to get on her good side for a change, I will. So a little extra work is totally worth a few days of peace from her.”
Watching him banter back and forth with Sierra had made it plain they were nothing more than friends. For some reason, Bekah was ridiculously pleased to discover this incredibly charming man was unattached. Not that it should make any difference to her, she told herself sternly. She wouldn’t be in town long enough for it to matter whether he was single or not. She was just making conversation. “So, this place was your sister’s idea?”
“Yeah. It’s her pet project.”
He angled his head to glance over at her, and she saw humor twinkling in his eyes. When she got the joke, she groaned. “That’s a terrible pun.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s not true,” he assured her with a shameless grin. Spreading more straw, he asked, “So, what kind of job were you interviewing for over in Rockville?”
“The kind that pays.” Hearing the angry bite in her tone, Bekah winced. “Sorry, that was rude. There was some light factory work I thought I could manage. I’m sure they’ve filled the spot by now.”
“Where are you staying?”
In my car, she nearly blurted before realizing that was more than he needed to know. Beyond that, it made her sound pathetic, and she didn’t want him feeling sorry for her. As her feisty Grams used to say, she was down but not out. At least not yet. “I’m looking for a place that doesn’t break the bank. Do you have any recommendations?”
“I might. Depends on you, I guess.”
What a curious thing to say. In spite of herself, she had to admit he’d snagged her interest with that one. She stopped cleaning the water bottles that hung in the cages for smaller animals and looked over at him. “What do you mean?”
Resting his arms across the handle of his pitchfork, he explained. “You seem to like the animals here.”
“Definitely,” she answered with a nod. “To be deadly honest, I like animals better than people.”
“Yeah? Why’s that?”
“They don’t judge you or make you feel stupid when you mess things up.” One of the scruffy pygmy goats went up on his hind legs and rested his tiny front hoofs on the dividing wall. Reaching over, she scratched between his sprouting horns with a smile. “All they want is to be fed and have a safe place to sleep. Whoever gives them that is their hero, and they love you to pieces.”
Drew didn’t respond to that, and she glanced over to find him studying her with a somber expression. An angry glint appeared in his eyes again, and she recognized it from when he’d noticed the healing bruise on her cheek. It vanished as quickly as it had appeared, but his grim look stayed in place.
“Are you talking about these critters,” he asked gently, “or yourself?”
His perceptiveness was unnerving, to say the least, and she clamped her mouth shut to avoid stammering in shock. Once she regained some of her composure, she replied, “Let’s just say I can relate to where they’re coming from. I’ve been in some places that I have no intention of ever going back to.”
“Making a better life for yourself,” he added, eyes now twinkling with approval. “Good for you.”
“I hope so. Seeing as I don’t have much choice but to keep going forward.”
She wasn’t usually so honest with someone she barely knew, and she held her breath waiting for him to ask her to clarify what on earth she was talking about. Instead, he gave her an encouraging smile that warmed her all over.
“That’s a great way to look at it,” he said. “I think that’s a good strategy for all of us.”
Did he really? she wondered, or was he just being nice? As he got back to work in the stalls, she pondered their brief discussion in an attempt to sort through her conflicting feelings about him. She’d grown so accustomed to guys who said what they thought she wanted to hear, she was constantly on her guard around them. Because of that, she wasn’t sure how to read Drew’s wide-open, friendly personality.
Could it be that by some crazy stroke of fortune, she’d stumbled across a truly honest, straightforward man who said what he meant and meant what he said? Stranger things had happened, she supposed. She just couldn’t recall the last time they’d happened to her.
While she was lost in her brooding, the end door swung open, and Sierra came through lugging two old-fashioned milk bottle carriers filled with what looked like large plastic baby bottles topped with oversize nipples. The residents of the baby section went bananas, bleating and calling for their breakfast while Drew hurried forward to lend a hand.
“Those look kinda heavy,” he said as he took them from her.
“They are,” she acknowledged, a bit breathless. “Thanks for the help.”
“Well, you know how that works.”
Narrowing her eyes, she nailed him with a suspicious glare. “I’m not doing your laundry like I had to when my poor Angels lost the World Series to Cincinnati.”
“Nah, nothin’ like that,” he assured her smoothly, setting the formula down on a nearby hay bale.
“Then what?”
“We’ll talk about it later,” he said with a wink. “Who gets fed first?”
“I think he does,” Bekah replied, laughing as the determined pygmy goat climbed on his buddy’s back trying to get at the bottles.
“You can start with him,” Sierra agreed.
When her meaning sank in, Bekah shook her head. “You mean, you want me to do it?”
“Sure. They know how to eat, so you just hold the bottle up for them and wait till they’re done.” Bleating up a storm, the little goat was butting his head against the wall, and she laughed. “Here, let me show you.”
She climbed into the pen and lifted him out. Grabbing a bottle, she set him on his feet and sat down on the sawdust-covered dirt floor beside him. Eager for his breakfast, he latched on to the nipple and sucked down the formula like it was his last meal.
“Wow, he’s really going to town,” Bekah commented, patting his wiry brindle coat while he ate. “Are they all this easy?”
“The trick is to keep them from running over each other or you. They’re not starving or anything, but babies don’t like to wait in line, do they?” Sierra cooed, tapping him on his forehead while he gazed up at her with adoring eyes. Right then and there, Bekah decided she wanted to experience that kind of heroine worship for herself.
Hoping to make a good impression on her prospective new boss, without being told, she clambered into the pen the way Sierra had and cradled another goat in her arms. Drew held out his hands, and while she appreciated his gesture, she firmly shook her head. “I’ve got it.”
“They squirm a lot, y’know,” he cautioned her.
“That’s okay. I’m stronger than I look.”
Approval flashed across Sierra’s face, and she met Bekah’s eyes with a quick nod. Feeling as though she’d made some progress, Bekah carefully brought out the hornless goat and set her down, settling beside her the way Sierra had done. Really, all she had to do was hold up the bottle, and the little goat did the rest.
Apparently satisfied, Sierra stood and brushed off her jeans with her hands. “Well, it looks like you’re good to go. I’ll have a chat with Drew and come back in a few. Just remember—one at a time. Otherwise, they’ll stampede all over the place, and we’ll have a horrible time catching them.”
Bekah noticed the woman had implied that if she made a mistake, Sierra would help her corral the escapees. Used to fending for herself, she found it comforting to know someone would have her back if she needed them.
Rubbing the back of the slurping goat, she replied, “Oh, we’ll be fine, won’t we, little one?”
“Keep telling yourself that, and it’ll be true,” Drew told her with a smile. “I’ve gotta get going. Thanks to Rosie, I’m later for work than usual.”
“I don’t know the first thing about horses,” she confided. “It must be a fun job.”
“Some days yes, some days no. Today we’ve gotta move a dozen or so of our boarders so we can do some maintenance in their barn.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“Nah. We’ve got a real steady Belgian draft horse named Gideon who’s seen it all, so he never gets rattled by anything, no matter how bad the others think it is. My brother Mike just marches him out first, and the rest of them trail after him like puppies.”
She couldn’t help laughing at the picture he painted. “Those are some seriously large puppies.”
“Most of ’em aren’t a problem when you know how to handle ’em. Mike’s some kind of horse whisperer, so the rest of us just follow his lead.”
Although his delivery was upbeat, she picked up on something below the surface that didn’t sound right to her. Inspiration struck, and she asked, “Do you ever get to be in charge when it comes to the horses?”
He looked surprised, then shook his head with a grin. “Man, you’ve got me pegged. The horses are his territory, and I’m more like a foot soldier.”
“What about the rescue center? You seem to know where everything is, so I’m guessing you put in a lot of time over here.”
“I like animals in general,” he said, scratching the head of a nosy miniature alpaca, “so I enjoy working here when I have the time. But Sierra’s in charge.”
“If you could be your own boss, what kind of business would you have?”
“Something outside,” he replied immediately, as if he’d thought about it often enough that the answer came easily to him. “Maybe a wilderness guide out west or something. I visited Mike in New Mexico once, and I couldn’t believe how incredible the desert and the mountains are. Totally different from what I’m used to, but really beautiful.”
His tone had shifted ever so slightly, the gold in his eyes warming as he stared down at her. At first, Bekah couldn’t define what had changed, then she replayed his words in her mind and wondered if he was referring to something other than the Western scenery.
“Anyway,” he went on as if nothing unusual had happened, “Sierra usually comes down to the house for lunch around noon. You’re welcome to join us if you want, meet the rest of our nutty crew.”
Out of necessity, she’d learned not to depend on anyone for anything. But he’d been so kind to her, she decided it was okay to bend that rule just this one time. “Thanks. That sounds good.”
“I’ll see you then.”
Giving her another encouraging smile, he followed Sierra from the shed, leaving Bekah in charge of feeding the babies. Glancing around, she counted heads and came up with twelve. Two down, ten to go. Surrounded by endless noise and questionable smells, she knew that some people might consider this the worst job in the world.
But to Bekah, this little barn tucked into the backwoods of Kentucky was like paradise, protected from the outside world and bursting with promising new lives. She couldn’t imagine any place she’d rather be.
* * *
“Now,” Drew began when he and Sierra were alone out front. “I don’t want to tell you how to run this place...”
“But you want me to hire Bekah,” she finished for him. The doubt in her dark eyes made it clear what she thought of his idea, but she didn’t say anything else.
Two could play that game, Drew mused. Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it, sparring with his last girlfriend had left him a master at verbal fencing. “Yeah.”
“Why?”
Oh, she was good. Warming to the challenge she was laying in front of him, he said, “I’m not sure. I’ve just got a feeling about her.”
“Again? How many is that this year?”
His reputation as a lady killer had been well-earned, and he laughed. “Not that kind of feeling. I mean she seems like she’s had a rough time of it lately, and she needs a safe place to land.”
While his mind accepted that explanation without question, his Irish heart had another idea altogether. This morning, he’d taken a route for his run that he hadn’t used in months and had hit that section of road just after Bekah’s frightening encounter with Rosie. Something—or someone—had brought them together for a reason. He might not understand why just yet, but he couldn’t shake the belief that he and the enigmatic runaway were meant to connect on that lonely back road.
He and Sierra stared at each other for several seconds, until she finally broke the silence. “I don’t know.”
“Aw, come on,” he pleaded, which was a big stretch for him. He made it a point never to want anything so badly he’d get down on his knees for it. But this was different. Every instinct he had was warning him that Bekah was in trouble and needed help. His help. “She stopped to take care of a hawk that dive-bombed her car and scared her half to death. You’ve seen for yourself how great she is with the animals.”
“We’ve stretched our budget as far as it will go this year. I can’t pay her much more than nothing until January.”
“I don’t think that’s an issue for her. She just needs a job.”
“We don’t know anything about her. She could be in trouble, or running from the police or something.”
The image of that fading bruise refused to leave him alone, and he frowned. “She’s definitely running from something, but my gut tells me it’s not the law.”
“Are you kidding me? I’m supposed to hire someone for a sensitive job like this based on your gut?”
She had a point, he had to admit, and knowing his family, they’d agree with her. Then a solution hit him. “I’ve got a buddy who works in the county sheriff’s office. I can have him run a background check on her, off the record. Would that make you feel better?”
“I guess.”
He could tell he had her on the ropes. Sierra was a caring soul with a generous heart, and he knew she felt genuine sympathy for their mysterious visitor. Now to knock her over the edge and get a full-on yes for his true plan. “One more thing.”
“Here it comes,” she grumbled, glaring up at him. It was a good thing they were such solid friends, or he’d have been worried she might smack him. “What?”
“Judging by the condition her car’s in, I’m pretty sure she needs a place to stay.”
“Don’t look at me like that, Lancelot,” Sierra retorted crisply. “My studio apartment’s more like a closet with a futon in it.”
“Okay, then I’ll ask Mom. I’m sure she can find a spot for Bekah at the house till we come up with something better.”
“Like what?”
Drew mulled the problem over for a minute, then grinned. “What about the old stable manager’s office out back? It’s got a bunk and its own bathroom, along with a small kitchen. I can get a mattress from Mom, and her old fridge is still on the service porch, just waiting to be donated.”
“That room’s filthy, and no one’s used it in years.”
“So it’s perfect. Bekah won’t be in anyone’s way, and she can have some privacy. Beyond that,” he added, going in for the kill, “she’ll be on-site all the time. Once she’s trained, she can take over the morning chores, and you won’t have to come in at the crack of dawn. Ever.”
Glowering at his logic, Sierra opened her mouth to protest, then slowly closed it. She chewed on his proposal for a minute and finally relented with a sigh. “Okay, we’ll give her a try. After your friend checks her out,” she added, stabbing Drew’s chest with a finger for emphasis. “I’m responsible for this center and every one of the animals living here. I won’t risk all that because you’ve got a feeling about a girl.”
“Like I told you,” he retorted, “it’s not that kind of feeling.”
She gave him a long, dubious look that clearly said she didn’t believe him. As she went back into the rear shed to finish doling out breakfast, he put her irritating reaction out of his mind. Right now he had more important things to worry about.
Pulling out his phone, he thumbed down to the number he needed and pressed Dial. A crisp, professional voice answered, and he grinned. “Harley? Is that you? You sound like some rich guy’s uptight butler.” That got him a less than charitable reply, and he chuckled. “Hey, I need a favor, unofficially. I don’t know—cover your monitor or something. Here’s what I need.”
Once he explained, Harley put him on hold to do a quick search of some mystical police database that would at least reveal whether or not Bekah was on the most-wanted list. Subjected to an instrumental version of a creaky old ballad, Drew strolled around the lobby until Harley came back on the line. “Your girl’s clear as far as I can see. Not even a parking ticket.”
“Awesome. Thanks, man. I owe you one.”
“I’ll add it to the list,” his childhood friend assured him with a chuckle. “Take ’er easy.”
“You, too.”
Clicking his phone off as he walked through an unmarked door, he found Sierra measuring out antibiotics for some patient or another. She held up her index finger for him to wait, and when she was finished, she looked up at him. “I can tell by the delighted look on your face that you got the answer you wanted to hear.”
“From what Harley could tell, Bekah’s record is clean as a whistle. I’m way overdue at the farm, but I’m gonna head out back and see how that old plumbing looks. I wouldn’t want to overstay my welcome and step on your pretty little toes.”
“Oh, you’re a real prince. You owe me one, Kinley boy.”
Echoing what he’d told Harley, he shot back, “Just add it to the list.”
“Don’t worry. I will.”
* * *
Bekah didn’t have a watch, but the sun was directly overhead when she and Sierra finally finished taking care of all the animals and their pens. Everything was clean, everyone had been fed and dosed, and at one o’clock they had a family coming in to take home the adorable black lab puppy they’d chosen to adopt. Not long after that, Sierra had told her, it would be time to do it all over again and get everyone tucked in for the night.
Never a dull moment at the rescue center, Bekah thought with a grin. She loved it.
“Okay, rookie,” Sierra announced briskly. “Lunchtime.”
“I’m fine.”
“There are laws in this state, and one of them says I can’t work you to death. Unless I feed you first,” she added with a wink. “Fortunately for you, it won’t be my cooking you have to stomach. Maggie Kinley’s the best cook in the county, and she’s always got room for one more. If you don’t mind walking over to the house, we can chat on the way.”
That sounded promising, so Bekah agreed and quickly washed her hands at a nearby utility sink. Outside, a mild autumn breeze rustled through the trees behind the center, shaking more leaves loose to float lazily down to the ground.
Leaving the cluster of barns where she’d spent her morning, she followed Sierra onto a dirt lane that wound through acres of white-fenced bluegrass with horses of every size and color peacefully grazing in the sunlight. At the other end she saw a rambling white farmhouse surrounded by well-tended gardens. With wide porches and baskets of flowers hanging along the roofline, it had a welcoming look that invited people to stop in and visit for a while.
“You’ve done great today,” Sierra began in her brisk, efficient way. “I threw every job I could at you, and you handled them better than anyone I’ve ever seen. You’ve got a real way with animals.”
Unaccustomed to being praised for simply doing as she’d been told, Bekah felt prouder than she had in a long time. She didn’t want to come across as being needy, though, so she kept her response simple. “Thank you.”
Sierra gave her a sidelong glance and shook her head with a smile. “You’re welcome. I know you’ve only been with us part of a day, but were you serious about wanting something more permanent?”
Excited beyond words, Bekah clamped her mouth shut before she could make a complete fool of herself and destroy Sierra’s positive view of her. Taking a deep breath to steady her voice, she said, “What did you have in mind?”
“It’d be great to find someone who could be at the clinic when I’m not. Sometimes things come up after I’ve left for the day, and I don’t know anything’s happened until morning.”
Bekah heard what she wasn’t saying and frowned. “You mean an animal might take a turn for the worst, and by the time you find out, it’s too late to help them?”
“Yeah,” Sierra acknowledged sadly. “I live in Rockville and take night classes, so it’s not possible for me to be at the center 24/7.”
The regret in her voice made Bekah want to do something to ease her mind. Beyond that, working at the clinic would let her keep an eye on Rosie while she healed. Despite Drew and Sierra’s assurances, she felt a deep sense of responsibility for the wounded hawk.
Still, she hated to make a commitment she couldn’t keep, so she chose her words very carefully. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be in town, but I can cover the open hours at the clinic until you find someone else for the job.”
“Fabulous.” Sierra named an hourly rate a few cents above minimum wage, punctuating that with an apologetic shrug. “I know it’s not much, but that’s honestly the best I can do. The good news is rooms in town aren’t expensive, so you should be able to find a place to stay.”
Once her car was fixed, anyway, Bekah thought grimly. Shaking off the pessimism that had become an ugly habit for her, she decided to start focusing on the good instead of the bad. “I’ll take it. And thank you for giving me a chance. I’m sure I’m not your first choice.”
“Honey, you’re my only choice,” her new boss confided, wrapping an arm around her shoulders in a quick hug. “If we both put our minds to it, we’ll figure out a way to make it work.”
“I’m good at that.”
That comment got her a long, appraising look from the upbeat woman who’d just unwittingly saved Bekah from an uncertain future. “That doesn’t surprise me in the least.”
They chatted pleasantly the rest of the way and stopped at the foot of the back porch steps. The door was open, and through the wood-framed screen Bekah heard what sounded like an army talking, laughing and generally making a ruckus. Over it all, she barely heard a woman’s voice shout, “Lunch is ready!”
Sierra climbed up to the porch, but Bekah’s feet refused to move even an inch. “Sierra?” When she turned back, Bekah asked, “How many people are in there?”
“Oh, usually ten or fifteen, depending. There’s no school today, so there might be some kids, too. Why?”
Bekah didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but the thought of facing so many strangers just about paralyzed her. While she was trying to come up with a polite way to decline, she heard footsteps approaching from behind her.
“Hello, ladies,” Drew’s mellow voice drawled. “Glad you could make it.”
Turning to face him, she felt an unfamiliar hitch in her stomach. His hair was damp, and he’d changed from his running clothes into jeans and a pale green T-shirt that made his eyes glitter like emeralds. A full head taller than her, he had the solid look of someone who’d worked outside his entire life. As he approached her, she was vaguely aware of Sierra continuing up the steps, effectively leaving her alone with the best-looking man she’d ever met.
Why hadn’t she noticed that before? she asked herself. Oh, right, between Rosie and her whirlwind morning at the clinic, she’d been too busy to do much more than glance at him. Now that she had a chance for a better look, it was pathetically obvious she’d missed a few details that morning. Quite a few.
When she realized he was waiting for her to say something, she felt her cheeks warming with embarrassment. She hadn’t paid much attention to the niceties lately, and apparently her social skills had withered a bit. Hoping to cover her slip with a bright smile, she said, “Thanks for the invitation. I didn’t have breakfast this morning, so I’m famished.”
“Then we better get you inside before you drop,” he teased, going ahead to open the door for her. When she didn’t follow, he nudged her. “After you.”
Coming from him, the old-fashioned gesture caught her by surprise. Mr. Jennings had behaved that way toward her, but he was old enough to be her grandfather, and she’d assumed that was the explanation for his gallant treatment of her. Apparently, it was a Southern thing, she mused with a slight grin. Definitely something a girl could get used to.
So with Drew standing solidly behind her, she waded into the most chaotic scene she’d ever experienced outside of an after-Christmas sale. A quick glance around showed her that Sierra hadn’t been exaggerating about the number of people. She saw everyone from dusty farmhands to an adorable blond girl sitting at the table with a slender woman, coloring pictures in a book as if there wasn’t a storm of activity swirling around them.
An older woman was mixing a salad on the huge prep island, and she looked up when the screen door slapped closed. Instantly, she put on a huge smile and wiped her hands on a towel as she came around to greet them.
“You must be Bekah,” she said warmly, shaking her hand and beaming as if she’d just come across a long-lost daughter. “Drew called to tell me you might be coming in for lunch. I’m Maggie Kinley, and on a good day I’m in charge around here. Today I’m not so sure.”
Dredging up her rusty manners, Bekah did her best to smile back. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Mom’s the ringleader of this little circus,” Drew explained with a chuckle. Pointing to a tall man at the head of the table, he said, “That’s my big brother Mike, baby brother Josh...”
“Who wishes you’d quit calling him that,” a slightly slimmer version of the older two protested. “I’m twenty-five, y’know.”
“Whatever.”
Josh growled, and Drew grinned back, clearly not concerned in the least. He went on to introduce the little girl as his niece, Abby, and the lovely woman beside her as Mike’s wife, Lily.
After that, the names and faces blurred together in a mishmash of strangers Bekah was fairly certain she’d never be able to keep straight. But she doggedly smiled and nodded at each one, trying to look more confident than she felt. “It’s nice to meet you all.”
“You look dead on your feet, honey,” Maggie clucked, patting the end of one of the long benches flanking the table. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“I got it, Mom,” Drew answered, opening the fridge to take out a humongous pitcher. “What would you say to some lemonade, Bekah?”
In reply, she held out an empty glass, and he laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”
While he filled it and added ice, it struck her that she’d actually done something he thought was funny. After spending months skulking from one town to the next, doing everything in her power to keep from drawing attention to herself, she was pleased to discover she hadn’t completely lost her sense of humor.
This bright, comfortable feeling might not last, she acknowledged, but for now it felt good. And that was enough for her.
* * *
In a stroke of rare genius, Drew took the end seat, leaving Bekah next to his bubbly sister-in-law. They talked easily enough, and his worry about her ebbed a bit. As a kindergarten teacher, Lily was used to dealing with all kinds of personalities in her students, and she was as accepting a person as he’d ever met. She’d have to be, he mused with a wry grin. Mike was a good guy, but he wasn’t exactly Mr. Congeniality.
“So, Drew, are we gonna see you here on the farm sometime today?” the ogre in question asked from the other end of the table.
Drew recognized that he’d been pushing it all morning, even though he believed he’d been doing something more important than whatever Mike had planned for him. But he didn’t want to start one of their notorious arguments in front of their skittish guest, so he brushed away his annoyance. “I got a few more things to finish at the clinic, but they can wait till tomorrow. So I’m all yours.”
“We’re almost done with the hay,” Josh informed him around a mouthful of salad. “Then we’ll be out fixing the line of fencing those crazy ponies took down during yesterday’s thunderstorm.”
“We should replace that wire with board fences,” Drew commented to no one in particular.
“If we could afford it, we would,” Mike reminded him with a scowl. “Since we can’t, we can’t.”
Bold, blatant logic, and an everyday fact of life at Gallimore Stables. Someday, Drew hoped they could manage the farm the right way, instead of barely holding things together with their bare hands.
When Dad had been alive and training racehorses, they’d never worried about money or how they were going to keep the place going. Now, it seemed like they never quit worrying about it. As much as he loved the farm, sometimes he got tired of the constant pressure they were all under to keep the numbers from sliding too far into the red.
Those were the times he couldn’t help wondering if there might be a better life for him somewhere else. Then his innate loyalty kicked in, and he plastered on a smile while he kept trudging along, waiting for things to improve enough for him to strike out on his own.
“Then I’ll meet you and Josh out in the back pasture,” he said matter-of-factly. Stringing a mile of fence was the last thing he wanted to do, but he was confident that his brothers weren’t thrilled about it, either. Since there was no point grumbling about what had to be done, he switched topics. “On the radio this morning, I heard Tennessee’s favored against Dallas this Sunday. I’m not sure about that one.”
“Dallas is using a backup quarterback who’s never started a pro game, so they might be right.”
The comment came from—of all people—Bekah. She sounded like she knew what she was talking about, and he eyed her with new respect. “You speak football?”
“I’m from Chicago,” she informed him with a smirk. “Speaking football is a requirement.”
“Is that right?” Fascinated, he folded his arms on the table and grinned at her. “Any thoughts on the San Fran game Monday night?”
“They’ll lose. They’re playing in Seattle, which has the loudest home fans in the country. Opponents can never hear a thing in that stadium, and the San Fran front line is full of rookies who won’t be able to communicate well enough to coordinate their moves. They don’t stand a chance.”
They kept chatting back and forth while they ate, and he was amazed by how much she knew about his favorite sport. At one point, he teased, “It’s too bad you weren’t a boy. You would’ve made a great quarterback.”
“Which Drew would know,” Maggie added, ruffling his hair in a proud mom gesture. “He was an All-State quarterback all four years in high school.”
“Really?” Bekah commented, lifting a curious eyebrow. “That’s impressive.”
Normally, he’d take that kind of praise and run with it, but today something stopped him. He didn’t want her to think he was conceited, so he deflected her comment with a grin. “I had a great offensive line, and my senior year we got some sure-handed receivers. Like Josh,” he added, nodding at his younger brother.
“Won the state championship that season,” Josh chimed in right on cue. “Drew was MVP.”
“Wow,” was all Bekah said, but he picked up on something in her eyes he hadn’t seen before. It reminded him of the way Lily had looked at Mike when they were first getting to know each other, a combination of interest and amusement. Even though he knew that kind of realization should make him nervous, Drew was surprised to find it didn’t.
In fact, it was doing the exact opposite. He knew next to nothing about Bekah Holloway or why she was affecting him this way. Then and there, he promised himself that somehow he’d solve that little mystery so it wouldn’t keep on bugging him.
And then, he’d put it past him, and his life would go back to the way it was before he met her. As someone who’d made a habit of effortlessly moving from one girl to the next, that very pragmatic strategy for handling her should have comforted him.
But it didn’t. And for the life of him, he didn’t know why.
His rambling thoughts were put on hold when his mother caught his eye and gave him a questioning look. He came back with a slight nod, and very casually she said, “Bekah, I think we need to figure out where you’re going to sleep tonight.”
“It’s warm enough,” she replied in a bright tone that sounded forced to him. “My car will work until I get my first paycheck.”
Lily frowned in disapproval, and she added a shake of her head for effect. “Not for me, it won’t. Abby?” The way his niece perked up, Drew guessed her stepmother had primed her for what was coming next. “How would you like to bunk with your dad and me for a few nights?”
“You mean, like camping? That sounds like fun.”
Oh, she was good, Drew thought, barely smothering a grin. He’d have to take her for ice cream later as a reward for being such a great sport.
“I can’t let you do that,” Bekah protested, obviously uncomfortable with the idea. “Abby needs her sleep for school tomorrow.”
“And you need yours for work,” Lily reminded her in the gentle but firm tone Drew had heard her use with the students in Gallimore’s riding school. “It’s only temporary, until you can find a place of your own.”
From the concern in Bekah’s eyes, Drew knew his suspicions about her dire financial straits had been spot-on. Even with the job at the clinic, she might not be able to afford rent, much less the repairs her car needed to be driveable. Tonight when he was done at the farm, he’d go back to the rescue center and pick up where he left off.
Bekah had endured enough temporary situations to last her a while. It was high time someone stepped up and gave her something she could count on.
