Rescued by the Farmer (14 page)

“Haven’t gotten a taste for sweet tea?” he asked as they sat across the counter from each other.

“Not really. I like the strawberry lemonade at the café, though. It’s delicious.”

Drew tucked that bit of information away for later and finally thought of asking her about her day. If only he’d done that earlier, he groused, he wouldn’t have lost his footing and made a complete idiot of himself.

“Actually,” she told him in between bites, “the animals are all doing well. It’s the website that’s giving me fits.”

“Computer problems again?”

“No, I zapped all the viruses, and it’s fine now. The problem is I’m not thrilled with the site design, and I’ve stared at it so long, I can’t figure out what’s not working. Another set of eyes would really help, but I hate to ask Sierra when she’s so stressed about her finals.”

“I’ve got a set of eyes,” he reminded her with a grin. “I’d be happy to take a look and give you some unhelpful advice.”

That made her laugh, and he realized that he’d been hearing the joyful sound more and more lately. The cloud that had been hanging over her when she’d arrived in town seemed to be losing its grip, leaving a brighter, more optimistic outlook in its place. He wished he could come up with a way to tell her that without making both of them feel uncomfortable, but he couldn’t.

Instead, he settled for being practical. “I’ve got a laptop in the living room. After dinner, we can take a look at the screens you’re worried about.”

“Are you sure? I mean, you look totally beat.”

“You’ll be doing the hard part, so I can manage.”

A little grin tugged at the corner of her mouth, giving her a playful look he hadn’t noticed before. “Do you ever get tired of being my hero?”

“Not so far.”

The instinctive reply startled him, but her grateful smile made him glad he’d said it. The connection he felt with her was unusual for him, to say the least. Since Kelly had left, his relationships with women had been either friendly or romantic. Hard as he’d tried, he still couldn’t figure out where he and Bekah fell on that scale, and the uncertainty should have scared him to death.

But it didn’t. What that meant, he couldn’t say. But he had a feeling his nice, quiet little life was about to become very interesting.

Once they were finished eating, he piled the dirty dishes and pans in the sink. When Bekah started the water running, he waved her off. “You cooked, I’ll get these.”

“When?” she asked, eyeing the stack that constituted a significant portion of the cookware and dishes he owned.

“Tomorrow after church.” She gave him a skeptical look, and he laughed. “Really. You can even come back and check to make sure I did it.”

“Is that your cool-guy way of inviting me to visit again?”

“Actually, I thought it was pretty straightforward.”

“I’m sure.”

Her tone was hard to interpret, but the sparkle in her eyes told him he’d hit the right note this time. It wasn’t easy with her, but for some reason, he kept on trying. She was the most challenging woman he’d ever met, and not long ago he never would have put in this kind of effort to get to know her. But something kept nudging him forward, convinced that in the end, everything he was doing would be worth it.

“So,” he commented, tossing the oven mitts onto the counter by the sink, “let’s have a look at the website.”

They settled side by side on his hand-me-down sofa and powered up the one high-tech gadget he’d splurged on not long ago: a shiny new laptop. When the screen blossomed into an aerial view of the farm, Bekah said, “Wow. I had no idea how big Gallimore Stables is. What’s all this over here?” she asked, pointing to a section of unused land to the east.

“Dad used to call it the Buffer Zone. It’s about fifty acres and separates us from the dairy farm in the next valley.” Drew looped a finger farther out from the developed acreage, circling all the land the Kinleys owned. “There’s a great stream running through it, with trout and bass nearly as big as you are.”

That got him another dubious look. “Seriously?”

“They’re big,” he assured her with a grin. “I’ll take you fishing out there sometime. You can bring along a tape measure and judge for yourself.”

Gazing at the screen, she commented, “It’s really pretty, all wild and untamed like that. I’ve never spent a lot of time outdoors, but around here everything’s so beautiful, it’s impossible not to.”

“Yeah, I like it, too. We all do,” he added quickly to avoid sounding too personal. The moment stretched out awkwardly, and Drew covered his discomfort by handing off the computer. “Take it away.”

“Okay, but remember it’s still in development. Things aren’t polished yet.”

“Gotcha.”

After a few quick keystrokes, she opened up the new website she’d been designing for the center. The first thing he noticed was that she’d found a way to reproduce their logo, which arched over the center of each page to give them all a cohesive look. She clicked through various sections, explaining what was there and what she wanted to add.

When she got to the video section, an idea popped into his head. “We still have to put that webcam in the baby barn.”

“I totally forgot,” she commented, clicking over to a digital notepad to add the suggestion, along with one about uploading the video of Rosie’s school visit. “We just have to buy a webcam and mount it in there.”

“I don’t think they cost much. If we do more than one, people could pick which kind of animal they want to watch.”

“We could even put them in the puppy and kitten areas,” she suggested brightly. “Once people see how adorable they are, they’ll get adopted faster.”

“No doubt.”

While they kicked ideas around for improving certain sections of the site and adding things that weren’t there yet, Drew felt himself warming to the project. Normally, he was a hands-on kind of guy, and brainy pursuits like this didn’t hold much appeal for him. But cozied up on the couch with this unexpectedly creative woman, he was surprised to discover that he didn’t mind using his head for a change.

Just another aspect of his life that had changed since he met Bekah, he mused with a grin. Who could’ve guessed that while he was trying to improve her life, she’d end up doing the same for him?

* * *

Monday morning was unreal.

Bekah stood at the counter in their freshly scrubbed lobby, opening email after email inquiring about how to donate to the rescue center’s rebuilding fund. Many of the locals who’d come to help with the cleanup had not only given their time and effort, but left behind checks and cash whose total still blew her mind. With Animal Palooza right around the corner and people from outside Oaks Crossing interested in donating, the center just might earn a much-needed sense of financial security.

All that generosity showed Bekah what could be accomplished when a bunch of regular people came together and devoted their energies to a common cause. It was a good lesson for someone like her to learn, and she’d taken it very much to heart.

The phone rang, and the caller ID told her it was Sierra. “Morning, boss. How’s your cram session going?”

“Long and tedious. I think my eyes are starting to cross, so I decided to take a break. How’re things there?”

“Do you want the good news or the good news?”

The center’s director answered with something between a yawn and a laugh, and Bekah explained. “We got another set of donations in this morning’s mail, and more emails from folks asking what we still need. As if that wasn’t enough, our new media pages are trending online. It’s unbelievable.”

“That fire might turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Erin and I were looking over the books last night, and if Animal Palooza brings in the crowd we’re expecting based on the number of RSVPs, it seems like we’ll be able to afford to keep you on after the end of the year. If you want to stay, that is.”

For once, Bekah didn’t hesitate, buying time to consider all the possible angles and how things could go wrong. Delighted by the offer, she quickly said, “I love working here, so I’d be thrilled to stay on. Thank you so much.”

“You’ve totally earned it, but you’re welcome. I’m hoping we can give you a raise, but Erin and I will have to do the year-end books to make sure.”

“What I’m making now is fine,” Bekah assured her, smiling even though no one was there to see it. “If you’ve got extra money floating around, use it to get a top-notch veterinarian in here.”

“See? That’s what I love about you.”

They were both laughing when the front door opened, and Bekah glanced up to see who’d come into the lobby.

Abruptly, she stopped laughing and stared at the man who’d been the star of her worst nightmares for months. Richie raised his hand in greeting, then folded his arms in a clear message that he was willing to stand there and wait until she talked to him.

Bekah’s heart leaped into her throat, and she swallowed hard to force it back to where it belonged. Taking a deep breath to steady her voice, she said, “Sierra, I have to go. We’ll talk more later.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Something just came up that I have to handle. I’ll call you back.”

She hung up before Sierra could say anything more and faced her unwelcome visitor with a grim expression. “Richie.”

“Bekah.” Glancing around, his dark eyes settled on her with an approving look. “It looks like I was wrong.”

She wasn’t falling for that. A few months ago, she might have taken his admiration at face value, but she was stronger now, more confident. His talent for deception was epic, and the woman she’d become no longer trusted him. “About what?”

“That you couldn’t make it without me. It doesn’t happen often, but I have to say I’m pleased to be proven wrong.”

He moved a few steps closer, and she was grateful to have the sturdy oak counter as a buffer between them. “How did you find me?”

“You can find just about anything on the internet these days.”

Of course, she moaned silently. Between the media campaign for the clinic and the article Connor had written, her name was out there for the public to see if they knew where to look. The thought that Richie would somehow locate her had once nearly paralyzed her with fear. Now that he was here, she realized this little reunion would have happened sooner or later, even without the online exposure.

Summoning the spunk that Drew had admired so many times, she faced her ex with a stern expression. “Well, here I am. What do you want?”

“What I’ve always wanted. You.”

He reached out for her hand, and she jerked it away, glaring at him for all she was worth. “I’m not interested.”

“But I came all the way from Cleveland to see you,” he wheedled, some of the obstinance she remembered slithering into his fond expression. “The least you can do is hear me out.”

“I don’t think so.”

In the time it took her to blink, he grabbed her arm and yanked her partway over the counter. “You have something that belongs to me, and I want it back.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she stalled, groping around the shelf hidden behind the facade, praying to find something she could defend herself with.

And then, out of nowhere, Drew appeared behind Richie and tossed him halfway across the lobby as if he was a rag doll. Standing between him and Bekah, Drew planted his hands on his hips and scowled at their unwelcome guest. “You heard the lady. Time to go.”

“I don’t know who you think you are,” Richie protested, shaking off the manhandling with a violent look. “But this is strictly between Bekah and me.”

Drew didn’t say a word, but he took a single menacing step forward. Even though they were about the same size, Richie backpedaled toward the door. She’d never seen him look frightened before, and it occurred to her that very few people had ever challenged him the way Drew was doing now.

“All right, I’m going, but I’ll be back later when your Doberman isn’t around.” Tossing a business card on the counter, he added, “You know why I’m here, and I’m not leaving until I have what I came for. Call me when you’re ready to talk.”

“You’re wasting your time and your breath,” she shot back, pleased to see him shrink away from her for a change. “Go home, Richie. I’ve got nothing to say to you.”

Leveling a furious look at Drew, Richie carefully maneuvered around him and out the door. When his car was out of sight, Drew turned to her with a grim expression. “You okay?”

“Yes.” Giving him a wry grin, she lifted the heavy industrial stapler she held in her shaking hand. “He should thank you. You saved him from a beaning.”

Her rescuer laughed, eyes twinkling proudly as he came around the counter. “Good for you. When I saw him grab you, it was all I could do not to put him through the wall.”

“Then we’d just have more to fix,” she teased, able to joke now that her pulse was dropping back into its normal range. “But it’s nice to know you would’ve done something like that for me.”

The grin he was wearing mellowed into something else, and his gaze warmed considerably. “Haven’t you figured it out yet, sweetheart? I’d do anything for you.”

“I—what?” she stammered, mesmerized by the emotion simmering in those hazel eyes.

“You’ve been under my skin since the first day I met you,” he murmured, drawing her into his arms with a lazy smile. “Stuff like that never happens to me.”

She’d have given just about anything for a witty comeback, but the best she could scrape up was a meek, “Really?”

“Uh-huh. Why do you think that is?” She mutely shook her head, and he rested his forehead on hers with a heavy sigh. “I’m hoping you can help me figure it out before it drives me crazy.”

“Umm...okay.”

Pulling his head back, he gave her another one of those heart-skipping grins he seemed to pull out at the best possible times. Brushing a kiss over her lips, he murmured, “I’d appreciate that.”

What she’d appreciate was another kiss, although she couldn’t summon the nerve to ask him for one. Somehow he picked up on what she was thinking, and as usual he didn’t disappoint her.

Cuddled against him, she let out a deep, contented sigh. “This is nice.”

“Yeah, it is.”