Tobias’s laugh was little more than a small puff of breath. “I can’t say you’re wrong about me not bein’ thrilled. Truth be told, I’m not. But who you spend time with isn’t my choice to make. As for the benefit of the doubt, well, I meant what I said. You’re a smart girl. Stubborn, like your momma. I believe you’ve earned a bit of faith from me.”
“Oh.” The words hit Marley unexpectedly hard, right in the solar plexus, and she swallowed once. Twice. “Thank you.”
Tobias nodded, the lines bracketing his mouth deepening. “That said, if Greyson does wrong by you, your brothers aren’t gonna hesitate to deliver a whuppin’, and I’m not gonna stand in their way.”
“Fair enough,” she said. She might not ever understand the weird dynamics of small-town family life, but she knew better than to think she could change all of it. At least, not tonight. “But I meant what I said, too. Greyson might have a bad reputation, but he’s a good man.”
“You really have a care for him, don’t you?” Tobias asked, his expression surprised in one breath, then chagrined in the next. “Ah, that’s none of my business. I shouldn’t have presumed to ask.”
“No, it’s okay.” The words vaulted past Marley’s admittedly feeble brain-to-mouth filter, but she didn’t try to haul them back. “I don’t mind.”
This was far different than the conversations she’d always had with her mother, but God, she’d missed those so much. Talking to Tobias felt oddly comforting, and even though a tiny voice in the back of her head whispered that she should be wary and keep her distance, she ignored it.
“I do care about Greyson, and we’re working on some great projects over at the shelter.”
“Are you, now?”
The question was a lead-in, Marley knew, just as she knew that she could take it, or cut it short.
She smiled, her chest feeling light despite the fatigue in her body. This didn’t have to be huge, and it didn’t have to be forever, but right now, it felt too good to turn down.
“We sure are. Why don’t you make me some warm milk and I’ll tell you all about it?”
26
Greyson wasn’t a balloons and confetti kind of guy. In fact, he wasn’t even close. But as he looked around the now-tidy yard behind the animal shelter, with its gates wide open and folks milling around with cups of lemonade, reading pamphlets about giving a cat or dog a forever home and petting a few of their most people-friendly candidates, he had to admit it.
This open house wasn’t so bad.
That wouldn’t have anything to do with its coordinator, now would it?
Since Greyson couldn’t answer that internal question with anything other than a resounding “hell yes”, he rocked back on his heels to slide a look at said coordinator beneath the brim of his baseball hat. Marley stood about a dozen paces away, holding the orange tabby she’d named Marmalade so Moonpie Porter’s son, Ethan, could pet it, laughing as the kid—who had to be maybe seven—went all wide-eyed and happy. Moonpie’s wife, Jenny, was already looking at him with a can’t-we-keep-her-please in her eyes, and that would make their third request of the day for adoption papers.
The idea for the open house had come on quickly, last Saturday night (aka, The Day After They’d Almost Gotten Arrested…Again) as he and Marley had split a pizza in his tiny kitchen. She’d taken the whole event from concept to reality in a week, start to finish. They’d had to spend every evening at the shelter in order to prep for it, putting in extra hours each time, but once she’d gotten the idea, she’d been relentless. Greyson and Louis both had had no choice but to go along with the well-thought-out, well-executed plan to get as many animals adopted as possible.
Marley lifted her chin, her eyes moving over the crowd. As soon as she caught him looking, her smile lit up, so bright and beautiful that Greyson actually felt it smack in the center of his chest, and damn, he would worry that he’d gone completely soft, except for one tiny thing.
He knew he had, and it felt so good, he didn’t care one whit who knew it.
The sound of a voice clearing from beside him had Greyson’s head turning on a swivel, his gut tightening at the sight of Louis’s ultra-serious expression.
“Louis,” he said, testing the water.
The other man nodded, one lift of his beefy chin. “Y’all did okay with all of this.”
Annnnnnd talk about the last thing Greyson had been expecting. “I just did the heavy lifting,” he said past his surprise. “Marley’s the one to thank. This adopt-a-pet open house was her idea.”
Louis scowled. “I’m tryin’ to say thank you. I don’t reckon I’ve ever had so many folks out here in a day, lookin’ to adopt, and the truth is, these animals deserve good homes.”
“Oh.” Cue up another batch of surprise. “Well, you’re welcome.”
“You were a bit ornery when you started, but…” Louis broke off, looking at the dog run Greyson and Marley had busted their butts to build, where a handful of people were ooohing and ahhhing over a few of the dogs. “I might’a misjudged you a little bit.”
Greyson knew he should want to go hoarse from crowing. Louis had misjudged him. But instead, Greyson said, “I didn’t make it easy. All the same, I appreciate the apology.”
Louis grunted, and although his expression wasn’t quite as cross as usual, it was far from qualifying as happy. Still, he shook Greyson’s extended hand. “Right. Now that that’s done, I’m going to see to getting Boomer’s paperwork processed. Curtis Shoemaker wanted to take the old dog home today. Normally, we do a home visit, but Curtis has worked the same farm since the dawn of the ages, so…”
“That he has,” Greyson agreed. “Go on and work on applications for as long as you need. Marley and I have got this covered.”
He watched Louis trudge off to the office. If only calling a truce were so easy with his old man. They still hadn’t done much other than trade clipped conversations about day-to-day operations at the farm, along with a couple of glares and hard frowns. But even those were wearing thin for Greyson, as if putting all that effort into pushing back was more exhausting than it was worth. Better to save that energy for what mattered, like the farm itself, and Marley.
Before he could let the thought sink in with the sort of gravity it deserved, she appeared at his side.
“Hey! I think the Porters are going to adopt Marmalade. Isn’t that great?”
“It is,” Greyson agreed. “Louis just said Curtis Shoemaker’s taking Boomer home, too.”
Marley’s grin doubled, her blue eyes putting the perfect summer sky to shame. “Oh, good. Boomer’s such a sweetheart. Now we’ve just got to work on finding the perfect home for Snickers. He’ll be lonely without his buddy. But I saw Billy down at the co-op earlier this week when I went in for canning supplies. He said he’d love to have a dog to keep him company on his fishing trips. I’ll bet he and Snickers would get along great.”
“You’re really good at this, you know that?”
The words were out before he could stop them, and they made Marley laugh. “What, hooking people up with their perfect pets?”
“Fitting in,” he corrected, putting his arm around her. “You see all these folks out here?” He gestured to the handful of people scattered over the yard, playing with the dogs and flipping through photo albums of the animals who were resting or snoozing inside. “They’re part of this community. And so are you.”
Her face flushed, prettier than any peach he’d ever picked. “I just want to help. And anyway, you worked just as hard as I did. Maybe harder.”
“Doubt it.” Chucking decorum out the window—not that he’d ever been its number-one fan to begin with—Greyson pulled her close for a PG-13 kiss. Marley kissed him back with a laugh, both of them jumping slightly at the sound of an oddly familiar voice laughing along with her.
“My, my,” said Judge Abernathy, her smile as big as her cartoon eyes behind her glasses, which today were framed in bright green polka dots. “I must say, I never imagined cats
and dogs to get on this well, but I’m certainly glad y’all’s community service turned out to be a success.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Greyson grinned, tipping his hat at the judge. “I suppose we have you to thank for it.”
“Only if you’ve learned the error of your ways. I don’t expect I’ll be seein’ either of you in my courtroom again, now, will I?”
Marley shook her head. “No, ma’am. You sure won’t.”
Judge Abernathy gave up a knowing smile. “Mmm. Well, it’s right nice to see how far this place has come, along with the folks who are working in it. Louis tells me you put in a lot of work to spiff this place up and get it running right, plus extra hours all week to make this open house happen.”
She hung the statement between him and Marley like a question, so Greyson replied, “We did, but finding these animals homes in the community is a good cause. Plus, Marley and I, uh, clearly don’t mind spending time together.”
The twinkle in the judge’s eye said she understood exactly how much he didn’t mind spending time with Marley, and damn, maybe the old biddy was a whole lot less crazy than he’d thought. “Regardless, your dedication deserves recognition. After all, what is community service for if not to serve the community? You’ve both done it well enough that I believe we can consider your sentences complete.”
“We don’t have to do the rest of the hours?” Marley asked, her shock obvious, and yeah, make that two of them.
“No, sugar bee. I think you’ve both learned your lesson, and something tells me Louis is more on his feet than he’s been in a long while, thanks to the two of you.”
“Wow. Thank you, Judge,” Greyson said.
“Don’t thank me.” Her smile became a cat-in-cream grin as she turned toward the lemonade tent with a wave. “Just do us all a favor and don’t go turnin’ up in my courtroom again, either.” She took a few steps, not even bothering to drop her voice as she murmured, “A Cross and a Whittaker. Who’d have thunk it?”
Marley waited for the woman to be out of earshot, but only just, before she said, “Oh, my God. Talk about something I wasn’t expecting.”
“Me, either.” The sudden concern on Marley’s face tugged at him just enough to make him add, “We can always check in with Louis from time to time to make sure he’s on the level.”
She nodded. “That’s a good idea. You know, just in case.”
They moved through the yard, stopping to talk with a few folks here and there. Greyson went to get ol’ Gypsy from her pen inside the shelter, not getting much farther than the threshold when a flash of blond braids and a gap-toothed grin caught his attention.
“Greyson!” Sierra hugged him tightly. Man, she’d really come out of her shell in the couple of weeks she’d been helping out around here. She looked happier, not to mention healthier, although that was likely due to the groceries and produce he and Marley had still been sneaking onto her back step a few times a week.
“Hey, Little Bit,” he said, applying the nickname he’d given her on her second day of dog-walking duties. “How’s it going?”
“Good. Come on!” She grabbed his hand, firmly enough that he couldn’t do anything other than follow her through the yard, shrugging at Marley, who Sierra scooped up with her other hand a few steps later, leading them both toward the gate. Greyson’s heart beat faster in the oh-crap kind of way as he realized the girl’s destination; or, more importantly, who was standing there. Marley must have realized, too—the resemblance between Sierra and her mother was impossible to miss, and the woman looked none too thrilled—but there was no getting out of this. Even if they wanted to.
Sierra came to a halt beside her mother, dropping both Greyson and Marley’s hands. “Mom, these are the two I’ve been telling you about. Greyson and Marley, this is my mom.”
“Jade Beckett,” the blonde said quietly, offering her hand to them each in turn.
“Greyson Whittaker. It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” Greyson tipped his hat with one hand, keeping his grip on Gypsy’s leash firm with the other. “Thanks for letting Sierra come help us with the animals. She’s a natural.”
Jade nodded, running a hand over her threadbare sundress. “When I spoke with Louis, he assured me she wouldn’t be under y’all’s feet. Thank you for keeping her busy. My work schedule is…unpredictable.”
“It was no problem at all.”
Jade’s smile grew tight, and she turned to look at Marley. “Sierra tells me you’re the one who’s been leaving groceries on our step.”
Although surprise parted Marley’s lips, she didn’t hesitate, nor did she drop her gaze. “That’s true. I am.”
“I’m not looking for a handout,” she said, but the words were far from argumentative. They were simple. Factual.
Which was exactly how Marley answered them. “I know.”
“That said”—Jade’s chin dropped, just a degree—“it’s very kind of you. Things lately have been difficult.”
Marley looked at Sierra, who had gone solemnly silent, her lips pressed together. “Sierra mentioned that you’re looking for full-time work.”
Jade blinked, and wait, where was Marley going with this? “I clean some houses here and there, for people in Camden Valley,” Jade said. “But it’s just temporary. I’m trying as hard as I can to find something steady. Something better. I’d just…I’d like to stay closer, to be with Sierra when she gets home from school once the new term starts, and there aren’t a lot of job opportunities here in Millhaven, is all.”
“I might know of one.”
Greyson’s brows shot up as Jade’s furrowed together. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand,” she said.
Marley smiled, and right then and there, Greyson knew not just what she was about to say, but that he was head over boots in love with her.
“I manage the storefront at Cross Creek Farm. It’s a fairly new establishment—the storefront, not the farm”—she paused for a self-deprecating smile—“but we’re growing like weeds out there. In fact, business is booming so much that I just got approval to hire an assistant manager.”
A soft gasp crossed Jade’s lips as she followed Marley’s meaning. “You think I could do that job?”
“I think it’s a lot of hard work, and you’d have to be committed to it,” Marley said. “But I wouldn’t mind training the right person, or holding off on placing an ad online until you and I had a chance to talk about it some more.”
“Why would you do that?” Jade’s cheeks turned red, and she shook her head quickly. “Not that I’m not grateful for the opportunity. I’d love to talk with you some more. But why are you so willing to help me and my daughter?”
“Because I’m part of this community,” Marley said, nothing but honesty in her words. “And I know what it’s like to need someone to show you back to the path so you can walk on your own.”
Jade dropped her chin and whispered, “Thank you.”
“My pleasure. Why don’t you come by Cross Creek on Monday at about ten, and we’ll talk some more.”
Sierra hugged her mother and grinned, bending down low to pet Gypsy, who was still tethered to the leash in Greyson’s hand.
He cleared his throat and sat back on his heels. “Maybe we should introduce your mother to Gypsy.” The old dog was the little girl’s favorite.
“She’s cute,” Jade said, laughing as Gypsy flopped onto her back and Sierra obliged her with some belly rubs.
“Mommy, can’t we adopt Gypsy? Please? She needs a forever home, and you’ve always said how much you’d love to have a dog again, like you did when you were a little girl.”
“Oh, honey.” Jade tried on a look that Greyson would bet she knew all too well, one that said she wanted to say yes, but she knew she was going to have to disappoint her daughter. “Gypsy’s very sweet, and I would love to adopt her,” she said with honesty in her tone. “But dogs are expensive. It says right here on the flyer that there’s an adoption fee, and—”
Greyson shook his hea
d, canceling out the rest of her words. “Normally, that’s true, but Sierra here is our star volunteer.” He’d cover the adoption fee himself if Louis had a problem with waiving it. “It’s still up to your mom, of course, and you should take your time to decide. Owning a dog is a big responsibility. But as for the fee, that’s covered.”
“Please, Mom? I already know how to walk her, and everything!” Sierra took the leash from Greyson’s hand, leading Gypsy around in a circle in the grass as proof.
“She’s already spayed and up to date on all of her shots, so you won’t need to take her to the vet. We can get you all of her records,” Marley murmured, softly enough to keep the information away from Sierra’s ears in case Jade still wanted to pass.
The smile flickering over Jade’s face was answer enough, though. “Why don’t we go see Mr. Kerrigan in the office to at least take a look at the paperwork?”
Sierra grinned, hugging him, then Marley, before grabbing her mother’s hand. Jade and Marley exchanged a pair of “see you on Monday”s, and the day had been so perfect, she was so perfect, that Greyson didn’t think twice.
“Everyone around here is adopting pets. Even Blue found the perfect place to live.” His farmhand, José, had adopted the rambunctious dog, who—as it turned out—was a great cattle herder. “Have you thought about maybe giving Shadow a forever home?”
Marley stopped. Blinked. Blinked some more. “He’s a sweet dog,” she finally said. “My favorite, if I’m being honest, and I know he’s taken a liking to me.”
“News flash. That dog adores you.” He’d certainly lived up to his name around her over the last few weeks. Whenever he wasn’t following Marley around the yard, he was curled up in her lap or sitting on her sneakers.
“Okay, yes,” she agreed with a laugh. “I love him, too, but…well, I don’t really have a home to give him.”
“You could.”
Greyson’s heart pounded like thunder in his chest. They’d been interrupted the first time he’d said it, but this was worth repeating. A thousand times. Through a megaphone. Hell, he’d rent a fucking skywriter if that’s what it took to get her to see it.
Crossing Hope (Cross Creek Series Book 4) Page 25