Читать книгу Taming A Fortune - Allison Leigh, Nancy Robards Thompson - Страница 13
ОглавлениеAfter Angie left, Toby went into the bathroom to take a shower and spotted her wet workout clothes hanging over his towel bar. He’d assumed she’d taken them with her, along with her purse and the wet shoes she’d left outside by the door, but apparently, she’d forgotten them after she’d changed.
He’d return them, of course, which would give him an opportunity to see her again soon.
That was a good thing, right?
Less than twenty minutes ago, he’d been tempted to kiss her. In fact, he’d been tempted to do more than that, right there on his living-room sofa—and despite having a house full of kids.
But that wouldn’t have been good. He blew out a sigh.
As long as those three children were depending upon him, he’d better not even think about having a woman spend the night. And since he hoped they’d be living with him until they each went off to college, he’d better get used to sleeping alone—unless he tied a cowbell around each of their necks.
The image of him doing that was actually kind of funny, and he might have even chuckled out loud if being twenty-six and facing the possibility of ten years of near celibacy wasn’t downright unsettling—and unthinkable.
Surely it wouldn’t come to that.
He ran his hand through his hair, then turned on the water in the shower, adjusting the temperature to warm—hoping cold sprays wouldn’t be the only ones in his future.
Something told him this was going to be a long night, and that sleep would be a long time coming.
And he’d been right.
The next day, as soon as school let out, he surprised the kids by driving to the Superette and telling them they could each pick out a snack. As they unbuckled their seat belts, he reached for the plastic bag holding Angie’s now-dry workout clothes.
Then he herded the happy kids into the mom-and-pop grocery store, riding pretty high in the saddle himself. No matter what he told himself, being with Angie always brightened his day.
Trouble was, once he got inside and the kids took off, he didn’t see her at any of the checkout registers.
Where was she? He could’ve sworn that she worked at the market on Thursdays. But it was tough keeping up with her schedule. Had he been wrong? Was she working for Sawyer and Laurel today?
Dang. Was this what his life would be like if he were to actually date her? Would she always be working at some odd job, changing shifts frequently, possibly moving to another city?
She didn’t have a history of stability, and no matter how many family conversations she livened up or how many heated looks passed between the two of them, nothing was going to change that fact.
Just when he began to realize he’d have to take the plastic bag back to his truck, Justin ran up and asked, “Can I have one of Angie’s cupcakes? She put little race cars on top and everything.”
“Slow down, Justin. What are you talking about?”
“I’ll show you.” The boy turned and dashed off toward the bakery section.
Toby followed him to the display case—and to Angie, who stood behind it, wearing a white apron tied around her slim waist.
“See?” Justin said, imploring Toby to tear his gaze from Angie and to look at the tray of cupcakes behind the glass enclosure, each one blue and topped with candy sprinkles and a tiny toy race car.
“You’re a baker, too?” Toby asked her.
“It’s a long story. The baker called in sick, so I stepped in. And when I spotted the toy cars stashed in one of the cupboards in back, I thought they might add a little more pizzazz. Apparently, the customers agreed because we sold the first batch already and the second is going fast.”
“So can I have one for my treat?” Justin asked again.
“I want the one with the purple car,” Kylie chimed in.
“All right,” Toby said. “We’ll take ’em.”
“Do you want to eat them here?” Angie asked. “Or should I box them up for you?”
Justin, always one for instant gratification, said, “I want to eat mine right now.”
Toby laughed. “I’ll never hear the end of it if I make them wait.”
Angie carried the cupcakes to one of the two small bistro-style tables, where the morning customers enjoyed their doughnuts and coffees. She set them before Justin and Kylie, then passed out a couple of napkins, just as Brian walked up with a highly caffeinated energy drink in his hand.
“I’m gonna just have this instead of a snack,” Brian said, as he sat down at the table.
“Oh, no, you won’t.” Toby snatched the can out of the boy’s hand. “Kids aren’t supposed to drink this crap. It’s not good for you.”
“Mike Waddell drinks it all the time at school,” Brian argued.
“Maybe so,” Angie said, as she set a cupcake in front of the boy. “But Mike Waddell got detention last week for jumping out of his seat seven times during that movie in science class. He also had eight cavities at his last dentist appointment.”
As the kids dug into their cupcakes, Toby followed Angie behind the bakery display case and lowered his voice. “How did you know that about Mike Waddell?”
“We live in a small town, Toby. People talk. Especially Brian’s teacher, Mrs. Dawson, and Wendy Cummings, the dental hygienist.” Angie glanced at the plastic bag he still held. “What’s that?”
“The clothes you left in my bathroom.” He handed them to her.
She flushed, then scanned the area as if they were making a drug deal and she didn’t want to get caught. Then she stashed the bag in one of the drawers near the cash register.
Was she embarrassed? Whatever for? It wasn’t as though she’d spent the night at the ranch and left her panties behind, although the thought of her doing that made him smile.
She lowered her voice. “And that’s another thing people have been talking about and why I’m really back here in bakery and not out in front.”
Because people thought she and Toby were...sleeping together?
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“Several people who came through the checkout line asked me about the incident at the pool. They’d heard from a neighbor, who’d heard from a cousin, who... Well, you know how small towns are.”
Yes, he did. And there wasn’t much he could do to stop a rumor like that from getting out. But heck, if he was going to be the subject of gossip, it was too bad he couldn’t have had a night to remember it by.
“Finally, around ten this morning, I asked Mrs. Tierney if she could man the cash register for a while,” Angie said. “And so she let me work back here instead.”
“All because of a little misunderstanding?” Toby shook his head. “That reminds me, though. How is Mr. Murdock?”
“He was here this morning, having coffee and holding court. He gave everyone a firsthand account of what happened. He...uh...also mentioned to Mrs. Rhodes, who was on her way to The Cuttery for her shampoo and set, that I’ve been helping you out a lot with the kids.”
Should that be a secret? Toby wondered. Apparently Angie thought so because the pink flush on her cheeks deepened.
“Actually,” he said, “you’ve been a godsend. And I really appreciate your help more than you can imagine.”
“Even after yesterday?” she asked.
He laughed. “I told you before. I’ve had my share of bad days, too. It happens.”
Angie glanced at the kids, who’d finished their cupcakes and were now racing their frosting-coated cars along the table, then looked at Toby and smiled. “To be honest, I’ve really enjoyed helping you, too. The kids are great, and I’m actually surprised at how much I like spending time with them.”
What about their foster dad? Toby wanted to ask. Do you enjoy spending time with him, too?
But he knew better than to let things get personal, especially when he really did need another favor from her tomorrow. Besides, he’d picked up on what she’d left unsaid earlier.
If Mrs. Rhodes knew Angie was spending so much time with him and the kids, it wouldn’t be long before all the other women getting their hair done at The Cuttery would start linking him and Angie romantically.
He really didn’t mind what people said, but he didn’t think Angie would like it, especially if her mom got wind of it. Doris Edwards had been pushing Angie to find a husband. And if the eligible men in town thought she was already taken, it might ruin her chance of going out with a guy who could offer her more than a cattle ranch and three foster kids.
Although the thought of her going out on a real date with someone else reared up inside of him, throwing him to the ground like an unexpected buck from a mild-mannered horse.
Maybe, in that case, he ought to keep her unavailable for a while—until he figured out where this thing was going. Or where he wanted it to go.
“I feel bad asking you this,” he said, “but I’m in a bind. I’d ask Stacey, but she works and has her hands full with Piper.”
“I’d be glad to help,” Angie said. “What do you need me to do?”
“I have a meeting in Lubbock tomorrow afternoon, and I’m not sure when I’ll get back. Is there any chance you could pick the kids up from school and take them home?”
“I have a few things to do, but it shouldn’t be too hard to reschedule them. Let me work on that. In the meantime, don’t worry about the kids. I’ll pick them up from school. And I’ll have dinner ready for you when you get home.”
Well, what do you know?
He was back in the saddle again.
* * *
The meeting in Lubbock had gone later than Toby had expected, so he called Angie before he left town and told her to go ahead and feed the kids.
“Don’t wait for me,” he said.
“We’re having spaghetti,” she told him. “I’ll keep a plate warm for you.”
“Sounds good. Thanks.”
“Did your meeting go well?” she asked.
“It sure did. I’ve been negotiating a deal on a piece of property that backs mine, and the man who owned it had refused to sell. But he passed away last spring, and his widow doesn’t want to deal with it any longer. Her late husband thought it was a lot more valuable than it really is, so we had to agree upon a price.”
“Great. We’ll have to celebrate when you get home.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Oh,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind, but I told the kids they could have a movie night after dinner.”
“That’s fine. I’ll see you in a bit.”
When the line disconnected, he turned on the radio, letting Gladys Knight fill the cab with her soulful voice as she sang about a midnight train to Georgia.
See, all you Texas country music fans. Willie Nelson isn’t the only one who can sing about the Peach State.
The song had barely ended when his cell rang.
Toby glanced at the lit display, but didn’t recognize the area code. Still, he turned down the volume on the radio, took the call and pushed the speakerphone button. “Hello?”
“It’s Barbara Hemings, Toby.”
The kids’ aunt. He glanced in the rearview mirror, then pulled to the shoulder of the road and let the truck idle.
“Hi, Barbara.” He wanted to ask her how rehab was going, but the woman sometimes became defensive, so he let it be. Besides, he had a feeling this wasn’t going to be a social call, which was why he wanted to have his hands free in case he needed to make any notes about something she said.
“I heard about what happened at the pool the other day, so I put in a call to the case worker from child services. I’m waiting for her call back, but I thought you should know that just because I’m stuck in court-ordered treatment, I haven’t stopped fighting for my kids.”
They weren’t her kids. And she’d had a lot of opportunities to fight for them, especially when she had custody, but she kept blowing it. However, arguing with her wasn’t going to solve anything.
“I’m not sure where you’re getting your information, Barbara, but that incident was blown all out of proportion. Justin was never in danger at the pool. The kids are all safe, and they’re happy. And just so you know, I’ve already called Ms. Fisk and given her a heads-up about the situation. I’m sure she’ll tell you the same thing when she calls you back.”
“Toby, you’re a young, single man with a tumbling-down ranch. And those kids can be a handful at times. There’s no way you can handle them on your own.”
Tumbling-down ranch? He’d turned the Double H around in the three years he’d owned it. And, thanks to the meeting he’d had thirty minutes ago, he’d be running more cattle next year, and that meant he’d be turning an even better profit—if things went according to plan.
“As I seem to remember,” he reminded her, “you were single when you took the kids on, too. And my ‘tumbling-down’ ranch is a hell of a lot nicer than that cockroach-infested motel you had them living in when the state took them away from you.”
“Yes, and that turned out badly. But I’m better now.”
At least the woman was able to admit the obvious.
“Anyway,” she added, “the kids need to be with family. And if they can’t be with me for the next few months, then I want them with one of my relatives.”
What family? If there were any Hemings relatives nearby, wouldn’t they have stepped up by now?
“Do the kids even know these relatives?” Toby finally asked, his fingers gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles ached.
“No, but they’re family, Toby. You of all people should understand about long-lost family.”
She was talking about James Marshall Fortune coming to Horseback Hollow and finding his sister, Jeanne Marie, Toby’s mom. Although, quite frankly, Toby was surprised that she even knew about that.
“I have a cousin in California,” Barbara said. “I’m going to ask him to take the children until I get out of rehab.”
Great. Another upheaval? And just who was her cousin?
“What’s his name? What does he do?”
“His name is Rocky, and he’s looking for work. His parole agent thinks he can find a job by the end of this month. His wife works at a hospital out there, but one of his conditions of parole is that he’s not allowed to work at hospitals anymore, so that’s out. But there are plenty of other places where he can get work.”
His parole agent? He couldn’t work in a hospital anymore? If the cousin couldn’t be trusted in a hospital then he sure as shooting couldn’t be trusted with Brian, Justin and Kylie.
What made Barbara think that the children would be better off with some deadbeat cousin they didn’t even know than they would be with Toby?
“I don’t think that’s in the children’s best interest, Barbara.”
“Honestly, Toby, it’s not your decision. I thought you’d be a little more cooperative, but I guess the kids can’t count on you for that.”
The woman disconnected the call before Toby could throw the phone out his open window, which was what he’d wanted to do the moment he’d heard her voice.
He sucked the country air into his lungs and counted to ten, the way his pitching coach had taught him to do when he’d been on the mound.
Think. Whom did he call first? Ms. Fisk, the case worker? Or an attorney?
He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Crap. It was too late to call anyone today. That would have to wait until tomorrow. He continued to sit in the idling truck for a while, his hands on the steering wheel, his thoughts on the troubling call.
Would the court decide that the kids were better off with a sketchy family member over a stable and caring guardian? It didn’t seem feasible, but then again, anything was possible...
He did his best to shake off Barbara’s threat, telling himself he didn’t have time to worry about that blasted woman. He’d told Angie that he was going to be late, but he hadn’t meant to completely abandon her with the kids.
After checking for traffic, Toby pulled back onto the road and accelerated.
At times like this it was nice to know he had someone to rely on, especially Angie.
People might think that she was flighty—and they might even be right. But either way, she was proving to be a real blessing.
A man could get used to going home to a woman like her.
* * *
Angie sure hoped Toby got home soon, because she was fading fast. She hadn’t slept very well the past two nights, thanks in large part to the residual stress and worry from that 911 fiasco at the Y.
Even her mother had heard all about it and called, asking her what had happened. Sheesh. What a pain that conversation had been.
But at least Toby trusted her enough to ask her to help with the kids again.
It hadn’t been easy to adjust her schedule to accommodate his, but she had. She’d worked a split shift at the Superette, going in early this morning. Then she’d left at ten o’clock to take Mr. Murdock to his doctor’s appointment in Vicker’s Corners. After that, she’d run over to Redmond-Fortune Air to type some letters for Sawyer. And it was back to the Superette for another two-hour shift, after which she purchased the ingredients she needed to make spaghetti for dinner.
She was nearly late picking the kids up from school, but she got there just in the nick of time. Then it was a quick stop at her house for the surprise she’d planned for the evening.
A couple of summers ago, she’d worked at an old movie theater outside of Lubbock. When the Red Raider Cinemas went out of business, the owner gave Angie a projector and several old movie reels. She’d always wanted to have an old-fashioned movie night under the stars, but she’d never gotten around to planning one. That was, until tonight.
Too bad she was about to nod off from exhaustion. She could really use one of those energy drinks Brian had wanted yesterday afternoon.
Hopefully, Toby would be home soon. He’d told her not to wait dinner for him, and they hadn’t. At this rate, she was going to start the movie without him, too. Otherwise, she’d probably curl up on his sofa and nod off before he even got home.
She’d fixed him a plate and left it on the stove. Then she’d cleaned up the kitchen. She’d made popcorn, but had to make it the old-fashioned way, since Toby didn’t have any kind of popper. She’d just salted a large bowl for them to share when Brian came in.
“We’re all done,” he said. “Me and Justin hung up the white sheet, just like you told us. And Kylie made beds for us on the lawn. You ought to see it.”
Angie followed the boys out of the house, where they’d set up the makeshift outdoor movie theater. And, just as Brian had said, Kylie had, indeed, made them a giant bed—with every blanket, sheet and pillow she could possibly find.
“Did you leave any of the beds made up in the house?” Angie asked her.
“Nope,” Kylie said. “Even Toby’s blankets and pillows are out here.”
That wasn’t quite what Angie had in mind, which meant there was going to be a big mess to clean up afterward, when she doubted she’d have the energy to deal with it. But she wasn’t about to scold the kids when the whole idea had been hers in the first place—and when they’d tried so hard to follow her instructions.
Besides, look how happy they were.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
She’d just finished setting up the projector with the Star Wars film threaded in the proper slots, when Toby’s Dodge rolled into the driveway.
“What’s all this?” Toby asked, as he stepped out of his truck.
“Movie night!” Justin yelled, as he barged out of the back door in his pajamas and dived onto the bedding on the lawn, calling his spot.
Toby looked nearly as tired as Angie felt—probably realizing they’d have four beds to make up before anyone could go to sleep tonight.
Angie hoped she hadn’t blown it by throwing the impromptu cinema party in his backyard.
Toby nodded to the old projector. “Where in the world did you get that thing? Wait, don’t tell me. Does it have something to do with an old job?”
His grin and a glimmer in his eye teased her in a way that didn’t make her feel quite so bad about her history of random employment. But she sidestepped his question and asked one of her own. “You look tired. Would you rather we do this another night?”
“And disappoint the kids?” Toby’s grin blossomed into a smile, easing her mind. “No way. Let me get out of these clothes and put on something more comfortable.”
Angie had been so busy reading into Toby’s expression, which hadn’t matched the upbeat tone of his voice when he’d called her earlier, that she’d failed to notice that he wasn’t wearing his trademark jeans, T-shirt and cowboy boots.
He was dressed in black slacks, a button-down shirt and expensive dress boots. He looked sharp—and ready for a night on the town without the kids.
She wondered what it might be like to actually go out on a date with him—if they had a sitter.
That was, if he’d actually ask her to be his date.
As Toby headed into the house, Brian and Kylie followed Justin’s lead, rushing outside in their pajamas and choosing their own spots to spread out on the blankets.
But Angie’s thoughts were on Toby.
“I’ll get the popcorn,” she told the kids. “Showtime is in five minutes.”
She made her way into the house slowly. She didn’t want Toby to think that she was following him.
But what if he’d wanted her to?
Oh, get a grip. She was so sleep-deprived, she was becoming delusional.
She was about to carry the first load of refreshments outside when Toby stepped into the kitchen.
“Thanks,” he said, his eyes contradicting the simplicity of his single word as they bored deeply into her own.
She tried to downplay the intensity in his gaze, as well as her efforts to provide a fun evening for the kids. “It was no big deal.”
“Actually, it’s a big deal to me. You have no idea how much I need this right now.”
She thought Toby was going to pull her in for a hug, and she would have willingly gone—if he’d made the first move. But as her heartbeats pounded off the seconds and he didn’t make the attempt, she realized it was probably more likely that one of the kids would come flying in the door to ask what was holding them up.
So she handed him the bowl of popcorn and grabbed the five ice-cream-filled mugs by their handles and led the way out the back door.
“So what are we watching?” Toby asked as he settled into the only spot the kids had left open, which happened to be right beside Angie.
“Star Wars I,” Justin said.
“No, dude, this is Star Wars IV,” Brian said snarkily, as if Justin was an idiot.
“How can it be number IV when this is the first Star Wars they ever made?” Justin challenged back.
Angie quickly explained the nuances of the Star Wars episodes before the boys came to blows across the blankets.
“So you’re both right,” she said.
The boys conceded, going back to their ice cream.
“Is that my bedsheet?” Toby asked as he studied the improvised movie screen nailed to the side of his barn.
“Well, the boys’ sheets are dark blue, and Kylie’s has a My Little Pony print,” Angie defended.
“Why is there a big brown spot on it?” Toby asked, glossing over the fact that the boys had put nail holes into his sheet.
“Justin dropped his end in some manure while I was on the ladder trying to nail it in place,” Brian explained.
“I’m sorry,” Angie said. “I didn’t know they were going to use real nails. And I didn’t realize they’d dropped it in cow... Well, in...you know. I just thought you had stained sheets.”
Toby looked at her as if she’d been the one to drop the manure outside the barn in the first place.
“Did you try the popcorn yet?” she asked, trying to get the conversation heading in a different direction. “I put extra butter on it for you.”
Toby reached into the bowl. “That stain on the sheet makes it look like Luke Skywalker has melanoma on his face.”
“What’s ‘melanoma’?” Brian asked.
“It’s a kind of skin cancer,” Angie answered.
The pillows looked so comfortable. Maybe she could just put her head down for a second and rest her eyes, maybe even doze off for a moment or two.
“My mommy died of cancer,” Justin said.
“Is Luke Skywalker gonna die of cancer, too?” Kylie asked.
Oh, no. Angie hadn’t meant to mention the C-word.
“Nobody is going to die tonight,” Toby said, trying to save the day.
But that didn’t make Angie feel much better. If her brain hadn’t been so sleep-deprived, she might have thought before opening her mouth.
Here she was, trying to do something fun and nice for the family, but then she’d screwed everything up by reminding them of their dead mother.
No matter what she tried to do, it seemed that she only made things worse. Maybe Toby and the kids would be better if she ran for the hills and stayed out of their lives forever.
They’d be better off. But as she scanned the yard, taking in the sweet kids and the handsome cowboy who’d taken them in and given them a home, she wondered how she’d ever just walk away from them without looking back.
Or did she dare risk it all and stick around until she finally got things right?
