Rescued by the Farmer (11 page)

At the bottom of the steps, he gently took her arm and guided her beneath a large oak that had shed most of its leaves into a crunchy pile on the grass. Gazing down at her, he frowned. “I assumed you wouldn’t mind folks knowing we’re friends. Was I wrong?”

For some reason, her heart drooped a bit, and she bit back a sigh. He thought they were just friends, and she couldn’t blame him for that. She’d resolutely kept him at arm’s length ever since they met, giving him no reason to think of her otherwise.

“No, it’s fine,” she finally said, searching for a way to justify her odd behavior. She was more than a little relieved when she hit on one she thought he’d accept. “I’m just not used to small-town gossip, I guess. Where I’m from, even next-door neighbors don’t really know each other.”

“I can’t imagine that,” he commented with a chuckle. “Around here, sometimes folks know what’s going on with me before I do. And then they tell Mom.”

“Awkward.” Grinning, she couldn’t help thinking it was kind of cute how this tall, capable man was still intimidated by his petite mother.

“Tell me about it. I’ve only proposed once, but according to the hens, she’s had about a dozen prospective daughters-in-law.”

The revelation absolutely floored her, and she didn’t bother trying to hide her shock. “Who on earth would turn you down?”

He shrugged. “Someone who was looking for something different than I was.”

Even though it was absolutely none of her business, she couldn’t help asking, “And what are you looking for?”

“I’m not sure. I figure I’ll know it when I see it.”

Something she couldn’t begin to define warmed the gold in his eyes, pulling her closer even though he hadn’t moved. Completely mesmerized, she couldn’t have looked away if she’d tried. Searching her paralyzed brain for words, she finally came up with “Okay.”

The corner of his mouth quirked with a grin, and the moment passed by like a gust of wind that nearly knocks you over and then vanishes.

“We’d best get to the center,” he said, stepping back for her to go ahead of him. “From what you said earlier, we’ve got a lotta work to do before we can move the animals back in.”

His quick switch from intensely personal to all-business nearly gave her whiplash, and she had no idea how to respond. Unable to come up with anything better, she nodded and followed him to his truck.

All the way out to the farm, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something very important had just happened between them. But because she’d never experienced it before, she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.

Chapter Seven

A
fter dropping Bekah at the clinic, Drew swung by the farm. When he walked into the kitchen, he let out a low whistle of appreciation. “Mom, you’ve outdone yourself. Again.”

“Do you think it’s enough food?” she asked, surveying the loaded-down table and counters with an anxious expression.

“For an army.”

She beamed at him, then nudged him with an elbow. “Don’t you worry. I made plenty of extra for you this week. There’s a stack of plastic containers in the fridge on the back porch.”

“Awesome. You know I’d die of hunger without you, right?”

“That’s not what I heard from my friends after church this morning,” she teased with a knowing smile. “Speaking of which, how’s Bekah today?”

Drew wasn’t quite sure how to answer that. He didn’t want to get her hopes up about him finally finding someone to be serious about, but he couldn’t deny that of all the women he’d dated, Bekah Holloway was by far the most intriguing of the bunch. Because he wasn’t ready to share that with anyone, he kept it simple. “Fine.”

“Fine,” she mimicked, adding a long-suffering sigh. “I wish your father was here, God rest him. You’d tell him everything that’s rattling around in that head of yours, and then he’d tell me, and I could quit wondering what in the world is going on with you.”

“Whattya mean?” he asked, popping a grape into his mouth. “If there was anything to tell, I would. It’s not like I live to torture you the way Mike does.”

“Our darling Lily has softened a lot of that out of him,” she said, affection bringing out the Irish lilt that still crept into her voice now and then. “I’m hoping someday you’ll find the one to help you do the same.”

“Well, when I do you’ll be the first to know. I promise.”

She rewarded him with a proud mother’s smile. “That’s my boy. You know you’re my favorite, don’t you?”

Drew grinned. It was an old family joke among the Kinleys, because all of them had been her favorite—and the bane of her existence—at one time or another. Standing, he kissed her cheek before picking up a huge camping jug full of ice water. “Yeah, I know. See you over there?”

“As soon as I make a few more peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches for the kids.”

Nodding, he lugged the water out to his truck and lifted it into the bed before returning for more of the food and drinks Mom had been preparing. Once he had it all, he closed the tailgate to keep everything from sliding out onto the rough field road that led to the rescue center. When he drove over the small hill, he couldn’t keep back a smile.

There were at least a dozen cars and trucks parked in the grass near the road, and some genius had thought to drop a Dumpster next to the ruined barn. Some of the same firefighters who’d answered the early-morning call were there, dressed in protective gear while they poked through the rubble, searching for hot spots. Behind them, volunteers armed with pitchforks had started dumping waterlogged hay and straw into wheelbarrows that other people wheeled up the Dumpster’s ramp before heading back for more.

Because of the old barn wood and piles of pine shavings, the air smelled more like a campfire than a disaster. Thank God for small blessings, Drew thought as he angled his truck into a tight spot near the refreshment tables Lily, Abby and Parker were setting up.

“This is a nice spot,” he said approvingly as he brought in his first load. “Who picked it out?”

“I did,” Parker confided quietly. “I thought people would be cooler in the shade.”

That was the longest sentence he’d ever heard the kid say, and Drew rewarded his courage with a broad grin. “Great idea. Where would you like the drinks?”

The boy glanced timidly at Lily, who smiled at him. “It’s your call, Parker. You’re in charge.”

“Yeah?” Drew asked. “How’d you manage that?”

“We drew straws,” Abby informed him proudly. “Parker’s was the longest, so he gets to be the captain today.”

Over their heads, Drew met Lily’s eyes, and by the twinkle in them, he assumed the kindhearted teacher had devised a way to make sure Erin’s shy foster son got a turn in the spotlight.

“Maybe you can talk your daddy into doing that at the farm,” Drew said. “I wouldn’t mind being in charge once in a while.”

“You should tell him that,” Abby suggested in her fearless way.

“You think he’d listen?”

“Sure. If he doesn’t, you can tell Grammy. She’ll take care of it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, cowgirl,” Drew agreed with a grin. “Thanks for the suggestion.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Man,” he muttered to Lily as she followed him to his truck. “Is it just me, or does she sound more grown-up every day?”

“It’s not just you,” his sister-in-law told him, casting an adoring look back at her stepdaughter. He handed her two light bags full of rolls, and she laughed. “I can carry more than that.”

“Not while I’m around.”

Tilting her head in the way that made him think she saw more than most people, she smiled. “Are you like this with Bekah, too?”

“Like what?” he asked, lifting two large hampers filled with sandwiches from the back of his truck.

“Protective. Considering all she’s been through, it must be comforting for her to know you’re there for her if she needs you.”

“I wouldn’t know,” he hedged, uncomfortable talking about Bekah with someone else. “I guess you’d have to ask her.”

Lily laughed quietly. “Judging by that deer-in-the-headlights look you’re wearing right now, you’d rather not have me discussing your relationship with her.”

“There’s nothing to discuss,” he insisted a little more forcefully than he’d intended. “We’re friends, and we both enjoy working with the animals here.”

Lily didn’t press, but there was no way he could miss the feminine smirk that came onto her face the second she turned to unbag the rolls and add them to the platters already on the tables. Since anything he might say now would only make the hole he was in deeper, Drew kept his mouth shut and unloaded the supplies as quickly as he could. On his last trip, he pivoted to find Bekah standing behind him with a cup of lemonade in each hand.

“I came over to get something to drink,” she explained, “and I thought you might be thirsty.”

“Thanks.”

He drained the paper cup and crushed it in his fist. Apparently, his brisk response didn’t sit right with her, and he felt terrible when she gave him that hesitant look she’d worn so often when she first arrived in town. “You’re welcome.”

She turned away, and he felt like a complete heel. His instinct was to reach out and catch her hand, but he knew folks were watching and didn’t want to do anything that might embarrass her.

“Bekah.” She glanced back, and he winced at the uncertainty clouding those beautiful eyes. Fighting the urge to take her in his arms, he stepped closer to make sure no one else could hear him. “It was real nice of you to think of me.”

“You’ve always been so good to me,” she pointed out in a hushed voice. “I wanted to do the same for you.”

“I appreciate that. I guess I’m a little out of sorts today.”

“All people can talk about is the fire and us,” she confided with a sigh. “The first one is understandable, but I don’t get the other.”

She’d given a voice to his own frustration, and her bewildered look made him chuckle. “Things are a little slow around town these days. Eventually, something else more interesting will happen, and they’ll forget all about us.”

She gave him a long, pensive look. “Is that what you want?”

For the second time that morning, he’d been asked a question that he didn’t have an easy answer for. Knowing she’d take it wrong if he stalled for too long, he punted. “How ’bout you?”

“I asked you first.”

She tipped her chin back with a defiant look, and it hit him that this was the first time he’d seen that kind of reaction from her. He wasn’t normally all that cautious when it came to women, but he decided it would be wise to tread carefully with this one. Very carefully. “Yeah, you did. To be honest, I’m not sure what I want.”

The hardness in her features eased a bit, giving way to a wry smile. “Neither am I. Where does that leave us?”

“You’re the brains, sweetheart,” he commented with a grin of his own. “I’m just the muscle.”

“I think you’re a lot smarter than you let on,” she said in an accusing tone. “You like for people to underestimate you, so they don’t expect too much.”

Wow, she’d nailed him but good. She had him dead to rights, and he figured he could either growl back like Mike would or laugh and give her credit. Since this was Bekah, he went for the second option. “You got me there. How’d you figure me out so fast?”

“I used to be the same way. Thanks to you, I’m not anymore.”

With that, she pivoted on the heel of her work boot and dropped her cup into a trash can on her way toward the baby barn. Drew watched her for a few seconds, marveling at how the terrified runaway he’d met not long ago had evolved into this determined, self-confident woman capable of standing toe-to-toe with him without flinching.

As he strolled over to join the grimy work crew, he felt proud knowing that he’d had something to do with her metamorphosis. But in the next moment, that pride was dimmed by something completely unexpected.

Somehow, when he wasn’t paying attention, Bekah had snuck around his usual defenses and gotten firmly under his skin. With Colorado calling to him louder every day, he wasn’t in a position to get involved with anyone right now. Especially not someone as vulnerable as Bekah.

It figured, he groaned silently. Just when he was seriously considering leaving Oaks Crossing, he’d stumbled across another very personal reason to stay.

* * *

“All right, Bekah,” Erin announced after she’d been working for about an hour. “Break time.”

“I just got started,” she protested, her voice muffled by the dust mask the very practical Erin had insisted they all wear. “I can go for a little while longer.”

Their self-appointed foreman gave her a stern glare. “Not a chance. Normally, I appreciate your work-till-you-drop attitude, but in this case it could be hazardous to your health. The sooner you quit arguing with me and go, the sooner you’ll be back.”

Bekah had never been treated to this no-nonsense side of Drew’s petite sister. She was beginning to see why Erin’s three brothers did everything they could to avoid making her angry. “Okay. Half hour, right?”

“And not a minute less. I’m timing you,” she added, tapping the large face of a man’s analog watch that looked as if it had been through a lot over the years. Since she didn’t seem to have a choice in the matter, Bekah gave in and left the wrecked storage barn.

Stepping outside, she took off her mask and had to admit Erin was right about the change of scenery. Bekah didn’t realize how the soot and burned chaff had been choking her until she took in a lungful of the crisp autumn air and started coughing. Reaching into a huge tub full of ice and water bottles, she took one out and gratefully swallowed nearly half of it before stopping for a breath.

While she adjusted to the cleaner air, she looked around her at clusters of people who were doing a variety of jobs throughout the site. The pastor, his wife and three of their children were cleaning and refilling water troughs that had been set up outside the main building. Several men she now recognized from church were lugging pails of filthy water out from the main building to dump them into a nearby drainage ditch and fill them in the troughs. They paused just long enough to grab doughnuts from a nearby table, shoving them into their mouths whole before hauling their buckets back inside.

She poured some of her own water into her palm and scrubbed it over her face, grimacing at the diluted charcoal that came off her skin. When she was fairly sure she’d gotten the worst of it, she heard footsteps as someone came up behind her. “Excuse me?”

She turned to find a slender young man in khakis and a blue polo shirt approaching her. His wire-rimmed glasses made him look slightly owlish, and the notepad in his hand was a dead giveaway. “You must be the reporter we heard was coming. The clinic’s director, Sierra Walker, is around here somewhere. If you wait here, I’ll go find her for you.”

“Actually, I’d like to talk to you.” Offering a hand and his business card, he introduced himself. “Connor Wells. I cover human-interest stories for a small daily paper in Louisville, and we’re always looking for items that will touch our readers and also get some play online. This is exactly the kind of thing folks love to read about.”

“A fire that endangered the lives of dozens of helpless animals?” she demanded, furious that anyone would even consider leveraging this tragedy to sell a few newspapers or online ads.

“A possible tragedy that was averted by someone who cares very deeply for those helpless animals,” he corrected her with a smile. “From what I’ve been hearing, you’re a real hero.”

This was the last thing she needed, Bekah thought, her anger quickly turning to panic. While she felt safer in Oaks Crossing than she had anywhere else, that confidence depended heavily on her being just another resident of this sleepy bluegrass town. While her efforts to promote the clinic’s wildlife projects hadn’t been enough to alert Richie to where she was currently living, calling any more attention to herself wasn’t on her agenda right now. Maybe not ever.

But since Connor was intent on getting a story, she knew she needed to give him something else to snag the attention of his readers. “I did what anyone would have done if they’d been here, so you shouldn’t be wasting your time on me. The real news is all these people,” she explained, sweeping a hand at the groups of volunteers scattered around the property. “The Kinleys started this rescue center to rehabilitate injured wild animals and find homes for unwanted and abandoned pets. The entire town supports their efforts, and all these folks put their plans for today on hold to come and help us with the cleanup.”

“I understand you were the one who called in the alarm,” he went on, scribbling as he talked. “Do you live close by?”

You have no idea how close
, she thought wryly. Her unusual living arrangements were absolutely none of his business, so she skirted around that detail and did her best to angle his attention back to Oaks Crossing in general. “Yes. I’m new in town, but I can tell you this is a community filled with generous, caring people who pitch in when their neighbors need a hand with something. In this me-first world, that’s a real find.”