by Jill Sanders
“You’ll be the first to know.” She stepped outside and Dutch followed. “Actually, I was thinking of calling Chase.”
“Is there a problem with one of the animals?” he asked as concern built.
“No, not that I’m aware of. I just wanted to know how old Ollie was.”
He laughed. “As old as the hills. That horse was old when I was born.”
Her eyebrows shot up in question as she glanced his way. He stopped to hold a tree branch aside for her to pass under. The pathway was fairly dark, but there was enough light from the stars and moon that they could see clearly.
“Well, okay, not really, but it seems like it. There hasn’t been a time when I didn’t think that he was old. Maybe he has just always acted old.” He thought about it for a moment. “My uncle had a dog once; I swear Calvin never acted like a puppy.” He smiled.
“You like animals.” The statement kind of threw him off.
“Who doesn’t?” he asked as they walked into the clearing. All of the lights were on in the big house. “Afraid of the dark?” he joked.
She glanced up at the house and frowned. “I’m not used to living in such a large place.”
When they got closer, Rascal and Rusty rushed out to greet Dutch.
“They get along great,” Bella said, smiling as the dogs rushed around the yard, barking and playing.
“Yeah, it’s one of the reasons your aunt brought Dutch in for good. Even Snubs likes him.” He walked up to the door and tried to open it and laughed again when it was locked. “Honey, you’re in the country now. We don’t lock our doors.”
She frowned up at him as she pulled out her key and unlocked the deadbolt. “Something else I guess I’ll have to get used to.”
He walked into the back kitchen, opened the utility room door, and flipped on the light. Instantly, the smell of gas made him take a step back. “Damn,” he said under his breath.
“Problem?” she asked from right behind him.
“Yeah, smells like you have a leak.” He walked over and opened the back window and then turned and pulled her out of the room. “We’ll call the gas company from outside. Grab Beggar. I’ll get Snubs.”
“Is it that bad?” She frowned as she followed him.
He nodded as he snatched up the grumpy cat, who looked at him like he was crazy. “You never want to mess around with gas.” He held the door open and waited until she walked out with Beggar in her hands.
He set the cat down, and he instantly jumped up on his spot on the front swing and started bathing himself. Pulling out his phone, Corey hit speed dial to the police station.
When Cathy, one of the dispatchers answered, he knew what should be a short conversation would end up taking longer.
“Hey, Cathy, I’m over here at Mrs. Thompson’s place with Bella—”
“Oh, is that her niece? I heard she’d come into town. Haven’t seen her myself yet,” the older woman broke in. “Course, everyone in town is talking about how pretty the girl is.”
“Yeah.” He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, she has a gas leak…”
“Oh, you get those animals out and I’ll send over Roy.” He could hear her punching her keys on the keyboard.
“Yeah, everyone’s out. We’ll just wait—”
“You should bring that girl in to Mama’s. Have her meet everyone properly.”
“Will do.”
“I swear, that man is slower than dirt. Hang on Corey. I’ve got to call Roy on the other line.”
“Cathy, we’ll just wait—” But it was no use; the woman had put him on hold. Rolling his eyes, he turned and smiled down at Bella. “She’s getting Roy, who works for the gas company.”
Bella nodded and leaned back against the railing.
“She says I should take you into town to Mama’s Diner. Everyone wants to meet you.”
“Oh?” she asked, frowning a bit. “I’m not—”
But Cathy broke in and he had to hold up a finger to stop Bella.
“Well, he says he’s on the way. Course he was upset that I broke into his game. But that man always has a game he’s watching anyway.” She chuckled. “Now, where was I? Oh, yeah, Mama’s been going on how no one visits anymore. Especially you, Corey. You’ve been so busy rushing around since your pa was taken in, that you don’t have a lot of time for socializing.” She sighed. “Boy your age ought to have a woman on your arm. A good woman. Don’t you agree?” she added and he felt the hit land solidly.
He’d been seen around town the last few years with a lot of different women. Women he’d found out at bars in Tyler. None of them had stuck around longer than a few weeks.
“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded and tried to figure out the quickest way off the phone. “Well, I’d better go. Bella’s standing right here,” he added, winking at her as she looked at him questioningly.
“Oh, yes. You go on and chitchat with that girl. You make sure to ask her out now. Give me a call if you need anything else tonight.”
“Will do. Thanks Cathy.” He hung up and released a sigh. “Sorry, I kind of threw you under the bus there.”
She just looked at him, and her eyebrows went up.
“Cathy will talk your ear off.” He walked over and sat next to the cat. Beggar jumped up onto his lap and he started scratching the cat under his chin.
“How did you throw me under the bus?” she asked, walking over to sit next to him.
“I sort of agreed that I’d take you into town for dinner.”
She turned to look at him as Snubs jumped up on her lap. He was a little shocked, since the cat had never even let him pet him. He must have looked shocked, because she frowned at him.
“Are you okay?”
“How did you do that?” he asked, pointing to the cat. She was now petting the cat and Snubs actually looked like he was enjoying it.
“What?” She looked down at the cat.
“He’s never so much as let anyone pet him before. Not even your aunt. You practically have him purring.” He stopped and leaned closer. Sure enough, there was a light purr coming from the cat. “Amazing.” He leaned back and shook his head.
She chuckled. “I guess he’s just picky who he loves.”
Corey thought about it for a moment. He thought about all of the women he’d dated over the years. Then he looked up into Bella’s blue eyes and said,
“I feel exactly the same way.”
Bella stood back and watched Roy, an older gentleman in green overalls, show her how to light the water heater pilot. He’d spent the first twenty minutes sealing off the small leak she had under the heater.
When he told her it was a good thing the pilot had gone out before the leak occurred, she was determined to make replacing the tank first on her list. Roy filled her in on what it would take to replace the tank and suggested she go with a tankless water heater instead. He told her if she had one, she could have a hot bath within minutes.
“It’ll take this tank about two hours to get warm enough for a bath. You might be best to wait until morning.” He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a bandanna.
She hid a groan. Her muscles were screaming at her from mucking out the stalls. But at least she wasn’t in danger of blowing herself up tonight.
“Two of the burners aren’t working right,” Corey broke in, nodding to the stove.
“Is that right? This old thing needed to be replaced years ago. I told your aunt that many times.” Roy walked over with his toolbox and started working on the burners. “They’re all mucked up,” he said as he worked.
“I’m looking into buying a new stove,” she said to his back.
“Good. This thing isn’t safe. Your aunt always spent her money on those animals instead of making this place safe.” He shook his head as he banged a piece of pipe on the countertop. “Muck,” he said again, shaking his head even more.
Corey chuckled. “Roy, can you get it cleaned or not?”
Roy looked over at him. “Course I c
an.” He banged on the piece again. “See.” He held it up and then spent the next few minutes cleaning the other piece. By the time he was done, all four burners lit up. “Like I said, you’ll want to replace this and the heater soon.”
“Thank you.” She shook the man’s hand. “If you’ll send me the bill…”
“No need.” Roy took out the bandanna and wiped his hands on it. “I owed your aunt a visit anyhow. I should have had this checked long ago.” He shook his head. “Betty was a classy lady. We’re sure going to miss her around here.”
“Thank you,” she said again. She felt her eyes begin to water, so she turned and walked towards the front door. When she opened the screen door, both cats rushed in, followed more slowly by all three dogs.
Roy walked out, carrying his toolbox with him. “It was a pleasure meeting you. You let me know if there’s anything else you need.” He dipped his hat and disappeared into the night.
She sighed and leaned against the door frame and then jumped when Corey walked up behind her.
“That’s how things are done in small towns.” He brushed his hand down her shoulder. “You’re welcome to come over and use my shower or tub if you want.”
Just hearing the low invitation rumble from his chest had images flooding her mind. The memory of seeing him dripping wet, half-naked jumped into mind. She’d never seen a man so sexy before. He was all lean muscle. Tan and hard. She’d never dated a man who’d looked so… raw and rugged before.
“Thank you, but I think I’ll just head up to bed.” She shook the images of his sexy body out of her mind. It wouldn’t do to get distracted. Sure, he was going out of his way to be extra nice to her, but in the end, relationships always ended the same. With bitter disappointment.
“Well, if you change your mind….” He opened the screen door. “Are you coming, Dutch?” He turned and waited.
The dog looked around and then walked slowly to the door and glanced back at his buddies.
“You can stay if you want,” he said to the dog. But Dutch walked outside with his head high.
“Looks like you have a dog.” She smiled and glanced down at the other two dogs, who were lying by the fireplace, watching their buddy leave.
“Yeah.” He smiled, showing her those dimples. For a moment, she second-guessed her decision not to follow him home like the dog was. Then he turned and walked out. But before he stepped off her porch, he turned back. “How about dinner tomorrow night. I’ll take you into town and show you around.”
She thought about it and seeing no harm, nodded.
“Great. Around seven?”
“I’ll be here.” She smiled. “Thanks for your help tonight.”
He smiled. “I stood back and let a seventy-year-old man do all the work.”
She laughed. “You dealt with Cathy.”
“That’s true.” He waved, then turned and started walking home.
Flipping off the lights as she made her way upstairs, she decided that she was too tired for a bath anyway. Her muscles still hurt, but that wasn’t the main reason she’d gone over to Corey’s tonight anyway.
When she was lying in bed, staring up at the dark ceiling, she had to finally admit it to herself. She had just wanted to see him again.
Chapter Five
The next morning, Bella enjoyed her first hot shower in days. Afterwards, she felt so much better and was able to rush around outside doing her chores. Instead of staying inside after lunch, she decided to pull down a saddle and take Lizzie for a short ride.
Lizzie was so excited when Bella walked out of the barn with the saddle. The horse knew instantly she was going for a ride. Bella could already tell she was going to thoroughly enjoy the ride. It had been years since she’d saddled up a horse.
Lizzie stood patiently, waiting and watching, as she fiddled with the harness.
“Well, you can’t blame me really,” she told the horse as she finally got the buckle clipped. “It’s been years since I went to riding school.” She sighed as she leaned up and patted the horse. “Don’t hold that against me though. My parents insisted on it.”
She walked Lizzie over to the fence and, using the bottom rung, climbed into the saddle. “There.” She smiled and leaned down to pet the horse. “Now we’re ready.” She kicked off and Lizzie bolted towards the open field.
Her hair flew away from her face in the cool wind. The speed felt wonderful. She’d forgotten how nice it was to sit on the back of a horse.
They rode to the end of the field where the fence cornered them in, and then she turned Lizzie and rode along the fence until they had gone all the way around the entire property.
Near the back of the property, there was a small pond near a row of pine trees. Pulling Lizzie to a stop, she decided to enjoy the shade for a few minutes as the horse took a drink from the water.
She sat with her back to the tree and thought about her choices. Go back to the city and try to find another dead-end job and an apartment that would cost too much for not enough space, and deal with her family and friend issues. Or stay here. Looking around she took in a deep breath. The air was fresh and there was only the buzzing of bees and the chirping of birds around her.
She was beginning to really enjoy the company of the animals. Even though she hadn’t made it into town yet, she could remember Fairplay from when she’d visited a few times. She remembered thinking that it was small and being disappointed that they didn’t have a McDonald’s or a Wendy’s. In her youth, fast food had mattered a lot to her.
That and escaping her parent’s wrath. Not that they had been mean. Just strict. Very strict. School was her one priority in life, according to them. When she’d finally begged to join a sport, her mother had signed her up for private riding lessons. She’d wanted to be around other kids her own age, but instead had spent hours on the back of a horse, alone.
She didn’t mind, she thought as she looked over to where Lizzie was grazing on the tall grass. People were a bother. At least the handful of friends she’d had had turned out to be. Most of the girls she’d tried to be friends with had turned on her once she’d broken things off with Hugh.
Maybe it was the caliber of people she hung out with. After all, she’d only become friends with Jenny and Tiffany after she’d started dating Hugh. Come to think of it, most of her friends in the past had come by way of her dating someone.
Glancing at her watch, she figured she had better get back and get ready for her date with Corey. Just the thought of the word date made her pause. This wasn’t a date. Not really. He was just showing her around town, taking her out for dinner and introducing her.
Gathering Lizzie’s reigns, she jumped up on the horse’s back and headed back towards the barn at fast speeds. Lizzie seemed to like taking it fast.
“I could become addicted to this,” she said as she rubbed the horse down, cooling her off. Lizzie glanced at her and nodded her head like she understood. Bella laughed. “I could become addicted to you too.” She rubbed the gray horse’s mane. Lizzie used her chin to nudge Bella’s shoulders closer. Laughing, she went in and hugged her. “Okay, I have to go or I’ll be late. I don’t want to be late meeting the town now, do I?”
Lizzie looked at her and shook her head. Bella was sure she was just swatting flies, but still it made her feel bonded with the animal to believe that she had answered instead.
She rushed through a quick shower and then stood in front of her suitcase and frowned. She didn’t have anything that was appropriate for a not-date. What did one even wear for an occasion like this? Jeans?
Tossing her clothes around, she finally found a jean skirt that hit her just above her knees. But she couldn’t find a top that looked right. Opening her aunt’s closet, she found a white knit top and when she tried it on, it fit perfectly. Then she noticed a pair of her aunt’s black dress cowboy boots. When she tried them on, she jumped and dropped the boot when she felt something inside. Tipping the boot up, she gasped when a wad of hundreds dropped out.
>
Sitting down, she unwadded the roll and felt light-headed as she counted out almost ten thousand dollars. Holding her breath, she looked into the other boot but came up empty.
Still, ten thousand dollars would go a long way towards buying a new stove and water heater. Tucking the money back into a wad, she decided it would be best to shove it into another pair of her aunt’s boots. Before she did, she checked all of the other shoes and came up empty again.
As she slid on the boots, she closed her eyes at the comfort and the gift her aunt had left. So much money hidden away that her aunt could have used. Why would the woman hide it away instead of buying herself a new stove or water heater?
When she heard the dogs bark downstairs, she knew Corey had arrived before she heard the knock. Rushing around, she gathered her purse and double-checked herself in the mirror one last time. She looked like a Texas girl. Her long blonde hair was left curly and tied back from her face in a loose braid. The knit shirt was beautiful and showed off her assets just right. Smiling, she did a little turn and decided the boots had been a perfect addition.
When she walked down the stairs, she smiled at Corey, who had let himself in and was loving both of the dogs. When he heard her walking down the stairs, he looked up and she watched his chin drop as he looked at her. His eyes ran slowly over her entire body. She noticed that he took a little extra time looking at her legs.
“Are you ready?” she asked in a breathy tone. The way he looked at her had taken all of the air out of her lungs.
Corey was thankful he was squatting down petting the dogs. Because just the sight of Bella made his knees go weak. She looked even sexier in the short skirt and cowboy boots than the spiky heels and tight skirt he’d first seen her in.
“Are you ready?” she purred with the sexiest voice he’d ever heard.
Now he was afraid of standing up because his dress jeans had gotten a little too tight all of a sudden. He had a moment of fear thinking that his voice would crack when he answered, so he just nodded instead.