A Hero for Her Heart (Truly Yours Digital Editions Book 885) (8 page)

Danny waited near the door, and her heart ached for him. He’d been attached to Michael. Looking back she realized Michael had given Danny attention until Michael had won her heart, then he’d backed off. Danny had noticed and kept trying to win Michael’s approval to no avail. She could never allow that to happen again. Danny was vulnerable, and according to his counselor, going through a stage where he was searching for a father figure. Even now he waited impatiently, eager to show Derrick around. How could she protect her nephew? In just a day and a half, Danny had developed a bond. She couldn’t bear to see him hurt again.

Derrick glanced at his watch. “I’ll probably need to leave soon. I have to. . .um, I have another appointment.”

Another
appointment? Is that what he considered his visit with them? An appointment?

Allie tried to smile. If she were honest, she’d developed a bit of an attachment to Derrick, too. She chided herself for weakness and pointed toward the door. “Let’s get to it, then.”

As they walked out of the house and toward the barn, the wind mussed his thick black hair, sending wisps across his forehead. Their fingers brushed, and she had the sudden thought that it would be nice to hold his hand. Fortunately, Danny jumped between them and interrupted her insane desire.

“Hey, Spiderman,” she said. “Lead the way.”

Danny bounded ahead of them. Their footsteps were silent as they crossed the yard, and the crickets sang their familiar song. Would she lose all this?

Derrick looked over at her. “So how did you get into the blacksmith business?”

“My dad started it. Learned it from his father. He taught me and Luke.” Her breath caught. “He was my brother—”

“Luke was my dad,” Danny said over his shoulder. “He’s dead. So is my mom. And they’re in heaven. There’s no time there, you know. So while I grow up, they’re happy and waiting to see me again.”

Oh the simplicity of a child’s faith. And of course Danny was listening to every word she and Derrick exchanged. They reached the end of the backyard and began walking the fence line toward the barn.

Derrick motioned at a cottage beyond the barn. “What do you do with that?”

“Nothing at the moment. We rented it out for a while, but it needs a lot of work, and we haven’t had time or money to do it.”

Why was she opening up to this virtual stranger? Perhaps Pastor’s prayer had helped after all, but was Derrick a safe person to open up to? She waved to the right. “We lease out these fields to a local farmer. That brings in some money, but it’s not enough. Not with the amount of debt we have to pay.”

Derrick stopped and looked at her intently. “There’s got to be a way to fix this.”

If not for his serious demeanor, she would’ve been amused. “I assure you, my mom and I have tried everything.”

He seemed to be waiting for further explanation, and Allie hastened to change the topic. She pointed at a small building next to the barn. “That’s our. . .my office. That’s where I take care of the business.” She motioned for him to follow her to the weathered barn. When she opened the door, Danny ran ahead of them and disappeared through a doorway in the back—his hiding place. “Danny’s favorite place is the barn. I hope we can keep it when we sell property.”

“Oh man, this is tough.” Derrick almost spoke the words to himself.

“Yes, well. . .” She inhaled the familiar scent of hay and straw, and tears stung her eyes. Two horses in stalls next to each other stretched their necks over the bottom half of the stall doors, and she rubbed the mottled gray face of the first.

“The horses love you, huh?” Derrick smiled.

“I love them, too.” Allie moved to the second stall where a stocky bay horse snuffled gently against her arm.

“Do you have just these two?” Derrick reached out, stroked the horse, and his fingers trailed over her hand. She didn’t move. The rough feel of his fingers warmed her skin.

“Yes. We had to sell the others.” A lump rose in her throat. The time was coming when she might have to sell these as well and her heart would break.

“They’re both quarter horses. The gray is Storm. This guy is Pip. I named him after Dickens’s character in
Great Expectations.
My dad used to read that story to me. He bought me Pip when I was fifteen.” She hugged the horse’s neck and buried her face in his mane. “Pip has been like a friend to me,” she said almost to herself. “I used to hang on his neck and cry during the worst of my teenage angst.”

Derrick went to Storm’s stall and patted his neck. “Beautiful animals.”

Beautiful,
she thought. Derrick Owens definitely cut a striking figure. “Do you ride?”

“Yes. Not as well as you, of course.” His laughter sent a shiver of delight up her spine. “I can’t forget your wild ride at the parade.”

And she couldn’t forget the feel of being in his strong arms. She found herself smiling despite the prospect of losing the land she so loved.

Derrick sobered and looked her in the eye. “Shannon said your father died of a heart attack.”

“Yes.” Allie stared out the barn door in the direction of the mountains. “Seems he had a ticking time bomb in his chest. We didn’t know until it was too late. He was quite a bit older than my mother, but they adored each other.”

“And your brother and his wife died in a car accident?”

“Yes. A terrible tragedy. Sometimes I relive it over and over again in my dreams. It had already been a bad day. They’d been fighting and. . .shouldn’t have been on the road.” Allie took a deep breath. “Well, anyway, thank God Danny wasn’t with them. Last minute, they asked me to watch him.”

“Yes, indeed,” Derrick murmured and cleared his throat. “We should talk business. I know the thought of selling part of your property is hard. You appear to love it, and it’s part of your family history. I understand that.”

“Yes.” Allie met his dark gaze to see if he was sincere. Those eyes—expressive and sensitive.

Allie switched her gaze to Pip, gave him one last scratch, then walked back to the door. She wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the Blue Mountains. Lately she’d felt older than twenty-eight. She worked long hours, and when she did take a break, she felt guilty. The responsibilities were always there like clanging alarms waiting to be turned off.

“What are you thinking?”

She hadn’t heard him walk up behind her. He was so close she could turn and fall into his arms. Being held, having someone to lean on, would feel so good. She shivered. Would Derrick stick around long enough for her trust in him to grow?

“I’m thinking that Shannon has a point when she says we all need balance in our lives.” Allie shrugged. “For instance, I love the mountains in the winter. I ski. Cross-country. I pack food and just go all day. Sometimes Shannon goes with me, but she chatters too much.” Allie snickered. “Though I couldn’t ask for a better friend, sometimes I need the solitude. But when I do it, I feel selfish taking time for myself.”

“I don’t get the chance to feel guilty. My dad’s the travel agent for guilt trips.”

Allie laughed. “Is he?”

“Oh yeah.” Derrick’s eyes crinkled with a good-natured smile. “But I understand your need to be alone.” His voice was low, like he was confiding secrets. “When I want to be alone, I hike into the bare hills around the Tri-Cities. I sit and stare out over the Columbia River. I also ski.”

“Shannon and I are going on a spiritual retreat next week. At a monastery. We have to spend part of our time in silence.”

Derrick chuckled. “That will be hard for Shannon.”

“Yes it will,” Allie agreed, then she shuffled her feet on the floor. “I write poetry.”

“Poetry?” Derrick’s raised brows told her he was surprised. “Really?”

The heat of a blush inched up her face. “It’s silly really, but writing poetry helps get my feelings out.”

“Not silly at all.” Derrick clamped his hands behind his back and looked her in the eye.

“Mr. Derrick!” Danny yelled from the back of the barn. “Come and see my hiding place.”

Allie’s heart pounded hard, and she was relieved by Danny’s interruption. “You go on. I’ll feed the horses. He’ll enjoy showing you his treasures. Danny is so much like Luke, even though he was adopted. From a little boy, Luke would stash things in hiding places. Anyway, when you’re done, tell Danny to bring you to my office.”

Derrick headed toward the back of the barn, and despite her efforts to resist, she drank in his retreating form. He looked capable and strong, like he would protect the people he loved. For a dangerous moment, she found herself longing that Derrick Owens would fall in love with her.

Nine

Sunday evening Derrick hovered in the doorway to Sandy’s bedroom, trying to muster the courage to face his sister. This was his “appointment” that he’d mentioned to Allie and her family. He needed to tell Sandy everything he’d discovered.

The decor was so like her. Creamy yellow walls, bright white curtains open wide to let in the light. The room glowed, even in the dark of night.

He clutched the bouquet of flowers in his hand and stepped through the door. His mother rose from a blue cushioned chair next to Sandy’s bed and came toward him. It seemed Mom had aged overnight, and he hoped his face didn’t give away his concern. Dark roots were visible through her usually perfect blond hair. Lines carved around her eyes and mouth had appeared during the last month.

“Mom.” He gave her a peck on the cheek.

“So glad you’re here,” she said. “Sandy ordered me to wake her when you arrived.”

His sister looked pale and thin under her covers. “Please don’t. I can come back later.”

“I think we should do what she asked.”

Because we don’t have much longer to do it,
Derrick completed his mother’s thought while he fought tears. His mother wouldn’t cry. His parents never did, at least not publicly. They regarded stoicism as admirable, to be worked at and sought after like some people worked at getting fit. His father alleged that displays of emotion made one vulnerable. Something others could use as tools to manipulate.

Derrick sighed. He agreed in part, but there was a time and place for emotional expression. To allow loved ones to know how much they were cared for. He’d seen and felt it this past weekend in Allie, Betsy, Danny, and even goofy Shannon. Allie was the one who withheld the most, but even she showed depth of emotion with her poetry, her horses, and her love for her family.

“Mom is right,” Sandy’s weak voice came from the bed. “You’d better do what I ask.”

“You’re not asleep; you’re just pretending.” Derrick crossed the room, smiling. “And what are you going to do if I don’t do what you ask?”

“Don’t mess with me, D-man. You know I have ways of getting even.”

The light banter helped relieve the knot of dread in his stomach. No matter how ill, Sandy’s sense of humor remained.

She pointed to the flowers. “Wow. A girl has to be dying for her brother to pay attention to her.”

“Sandy!” Mom hissed. “What a horrible thing to say.”

Sandy laughed softly. “Why should I deny it, Mom? I
am
dying. Laughing makes it easier to cope.”

“I find nothing funny about it.” Their mother edged toward the door. “I’ll leave the two of you alone. Your father will be here soon; I’m going to wait for him.”

Derrick watched his mother slip from the room, her high heels tapping hard on the wood floor of the hallway as if clicking their disapproval.

He placed the flowers on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the double bed. “Did you do that on purpose? To get rid of her?”

Sandy shrugged. “Not really, but I’m relieved. I feel bad for Mom. She’s really struggling with this, but she acts like I’m already dead, walking around on tippy toes, turning off my happy worship music when she thinks I’m asleep, and putting on this heavy, funeral dirge classical music. As if she’s afraid anything lively is going to kill me more quickly.”

He laughed and cried at the same time.

Sandy’s smile lit her eyes, making it easier to look at her thin, pale face. “The hospice nurse has been coming in. . .Leanne. She’s wonderful, and we conspire together and think up practical jokes.”

That was so like her, the joker. He feared if he took a breath, the tears he fought would come in a flood.

Sandy took his hand. “It’s okay. You can cry. In fact, do anything you need to do. God’s biggest gift to me is the realization that He isn’t just a stern God, but He’s also a loving Father who wants His children to enjoy life. We’re allowed to laugh and even get mad. Sometimes I’m so mad at God, I could just spit.” She sighed. “Yeah, I know. Some church people would tell me that’s horrible. I should never be mad at God, but He knows my thoughts, so I might as well admit them. Mostly I’m peaceful. I’m beyond grateful I had the opportunity to be born again. And even better, that you and I were born again at the same time.”

The memory of the altar call they’d answered together was clear, like a series of snapshots in his mind. Sandy’s street-hardened expression had melted into peace, taking years off her face.

Derrick swallowed past the hard lump in his throat and kissed her forehead. “It’s so good to see you.” He pulled the worn picture of Danny as a baby with Cindy and Luke from his shirt pocket. “I wanted to return this.”

“Thank you.” Sandy pointed to her Bible on the bed stand. “Put it in there and tell me everything. All about this young man who is my son.”

“I have good news, and I have bad news.”

“Of course. That’s always the way, isn’t it?” She poked his arm. “So get on with it. I really don’t have forever.”

“Okay, here’s the good news. His name is Danny. I’m positive he’s your son. I saw a larger version of that picture you gave me on top of a piano in the living room of their house.” Derrick tucked Sandy’s copy in her Bible.

“Danny.” She smiled. “Short for Daniel.”

“The bad news. His parents are dead.”

Her eyes widened. “What? How?”

“Car accident. A little over a year ago. Now he lives with his aunt and grandmother.” Derrick pulled his phone from his pocket. “I have some pictures. I took these at a picnic at their house today.” He went on to explain about Danny’s award at church while she flipped through the photos. “And I have a surprise for you.”