Ozark Sweetheart

by Helen Gray

  “Don’t worry about the truck.” Trace ran a hand over her forehead. “Are you hurt? I hope I didn’t squash you.”

  She rolled her head back against the seat. “I’m okay. But I’ve wrecked your truck. I’ve smashed it, and we’ll never push it out of this ditch. I’m so sorry.” Her voice rose to a wail.

  “It’s not your fault, Callie.” He pulled her to him. It was an awkward position with them both practically lodged beneath the steering wheel. “Just sit still and let your head clear.”

  Too dizzy to argue, Callie let her head loll against his shoulder and fought to control her lurching stomach. As the world gradually righted and the blackness cleared, she became aware of the wind still whipping around the truck in the dark. The truck practically lay on the driver’s side, up against the side of the ditch. They would have to climb out on the passenger’s side.

  She forced her eyes open and tried to ease away from Trace. But they were wedged in tight. She heard him chuckle and felt his chest vibrate.

  “At least I got to hold you again. Will it hurt your head too much if I blow the horn?”

  She frowned, slow to understand.

  “We’re close enough to your house that someone should hear it and come help us.”

  “If the guys aren’t still down at the barn, they should hear us. But if they had to go back and finish chores after supper, they might not.” Slowly regaining her senses, Callie reached up and pressed the horn herself. The loud bleep rang in her brain as she held it down.

  When she couldn’t stand the noise any longer, Callie released the horn.

  Trace looked over at the passenger door. “If I can raise that door and get out, I’ll pull you out after me. Just sit tight.” Using the steering wheel and dashboard for leverage, he eased his way to his knees on the seat and pushed the door upward. He was trying to figure out a way to keep it from falling shut when they heard shouts from up the road.

  Barely visible behind the beam of a flashlight, two figures came toward them.

  “It’s my brothers.”

  Trace eased the door down. Moments later it was pulled open from the outside. Hands reached inside. “Let’s get you out of there,” Riley’s voice said.

  “I’ll have to come first.” Trace sounded reluctant, but he was between Callie and the door. He let Riley and Delmer hoist him out. Then he leaned in and extended both hands to Callie. “Come on, pretty girl. Let me pull you up.”

  Callie ignored the endearment and pushed herself past the steering wheel. She reached up, and he grasped one of her hands firmly in each of his. Moments later she climbed over the running board and jumped to the road.

  “We met Bossy back there,” Delmer said. “Did she cause this?”

  Trace gave a good-natured chuckle. “There was a cow, but she didn’t give me her name.”

  Riley knelt on the roadside and swung a flashlight beam underneath the truck. “I think you should leave this here until daylight so we can see to check the damage. If it’s all right, we’ll pull it out with the horses.”

  “We’ll take you home in the buckboard,” Delmer added.

  Trace took Callie’s hand. “Sounds like they know best.”

  The four of them set out walking the short distance to the house, Riley pointing the way with his flashlight. Trace turned off his flashlight and gave Callie’s hand a secret squeeze that made her feel cherished.

  “We’ll hitch up the team and be right back,” Riley said when they entered the yard. The house was dark. The Blake family went to bed early and got up before dawn. “You stay here and keep Callie company, town boy.” He and Delmer disappeared into the dark.

  Trace chuckled. “I’ve been put in my place.”

  “You don’t sound upset.”

  He steered her over by the gate and closed the space between them. “We should take advantage of these few minutes alone. I’m sure they expect it of us.”

  Callie leaned into him as his mouth covered hers in a gentle kiss that made her legs go weak. He raised his head and ran a palm over the curve of her cheek. Then he grazed his lips over hers once more. “You should go on in now, or I’ll keep doing this,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ll be back for the truck in the morning.”

  “I’m sorry...”

  A finger came across her lips, silencing her. “Don’t worry about it. The same thing would have happened if I had been driving.”

  Callie edged away and started toward the house. When she reached the doorway, she looked back at him. He waved from the gate. “Good night, Callie.”

  Hearing her brothers returning, she turned and went inside.

  Callie listened from inside the door as the buckboard rolled away. Then she got ready for bed. She stared up at the ceiling as a haze of moonbeams glimmered through the window and gave the room an eerie light. Her emotions ran hot and cold.

  Trace’s face floated in her mind—handsome and lean, those intense blue eyes and ready smile—and brought familiar warmth through her entire being. But worrisome thoughts followed.

  I’ve damaged his truck. He made light of it, and I’m sure my savings would not be enough to fix it.

  Callie shifted from her back to her stomach. Then back again.

  “Be quiet over there. I’m trying to sleep.”

  Clem’s growl from the next bed made Callie go rigid and silent. She closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep. Whispering a prayer for wisdom, she slipped into a fragmented slumber. And woke before daylight to the sounds of creaking harnesses and plodding hooves.

  She had no idea how Riley and Delmer had managed to leave the house without waking her, but they had hitched the team and were headed to Trace’s truck. Which meant he must be out there. She glanced over and saw the shadow of Clem’s form still in bed.

  Callie grabbed her robe from the foot of the bed, slipped her feet into her shoes and hurried to the kitchen and out the back door. Clutching the robe to her, she made a quick trip to the outhouse, scanning the yard and road for her brothers and Trace. She spotted the three of them hunkered down on the roadway, peering under Trace’s truck, apparently trying to hook it to the singletree positioned behind the horses.

  She resumed her trek and then hurried back to the kitchen where Mom now puttered around starting breakfast. Callie brushed her teeth and gathered two jars of pickles and a bag of squash. “Mom, will you have Clem bring these when she comes to the swap meet? I’m going on ahead to help Jolene get the room ready.”

  Mom frowned at her. “You’re not going without breakfast, are you?”

  Callie reached into the cabinet and grabbed a cold biscuit. “I’ll eat this on the way.”

  She hurried back to the bedroom and scrambled into her blue dress that happened to be clean. Then she ducked out the back door, ignoring her mother’s questioning look.

  Walking briskly, Callie circled around behind the barn and cut across the woods past her frog pond. She circled around the place in the road where Trace and her brothers were working with the truck, and emerged onto the main road.

  When she got to the turnoff to the Delaney farm she stopped to get her breath. As she had hoped, Jolene came driving up the lane five minutes later. She stopped and rolled down a window. “Hop in.”

  Callie slid into the passenger seat and studied her friend’s appearance. She looked tired, but the color in her face had improved. “How are things going with you?”

  Jolene shrugged and pulled onto the road. “We’re learning to live without Mother, but missing her like crazy. Going back to school has been good for me because it keeps me too busy to mope. Irene seems to be doing all right, but she keeps so much to herself that it’s hard to tell how she’s really feeling.”

  “Being back in school and around children her age has to be good for her,” Callie said.

  Jolene
sighed and rubbed a palm across the steering wheel. “She’s a good kid. Almost too good. Mother was sick so much that Irene grew up too fast.”

  “She was fortunate to have you.” Callie reached over and gave Jolene’s hand a squeeze. “I know you’ll continue to be more of a mother than a sister to her. If you ever need someone to keep her so you can spend more time at school, or you just need a break, please let me do it.”

  Jolene gave her a sad look. “Thanks. I’ll do that.” Then a bit of a smile crept over her face. “Are you and Trace Gentry getting serious?”

  Taken off guard, Callie’s mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.

  Jolene made a right turn into the area behind the car dealership. She parked and faced Callie across the seat. “He’s shown a lot of interest in you, and you deserve a good man.”

  “He’s a good friend.” Callie shook her head, her voice catching.

  “I see.” Jolene nodded as if she had just figured out the secret of the universe. “I think you care more about him than you’re willing to admit, even to yourself.”

  Callie hauled in a huge breath and let it out in a rush. “Maybe I do. But it can’t come to anything.”

  Jolene’s eyes narrowed. “Why not? He’s a good catch. So are you. And people have noticed you together.”

  Callie gave an unladylike snort. This conversation was getting way too uncomfortable. “I’m sure they have.”

  * * *

  What’s going through that girl’s mind?

  Trace hit the brake too hard as he pulled in behind the building, hanging on to the handle of the damaged driver’s door to keep it from flying open. He sat for a moment, taking in the number of cars and wagons parked there.

  “This is a good thing they’re doing here,” he muttered, as if convincing himself. Memories of last night’s kiss caused images of Callie’s lips to mingle with memories of Joanna. He was treading dangerous waters—and heedlessly moving deeper rather than heading for the shore.

  Determined to find out why Callie had left so much earlier than Riley said she normally did and was already gone when he went to get her, he slid from the truck seat and stalked toward the building. At the door he paused to compose himself. Calmer, he went inside. It only took a moment to spot her, looking as appealing as ever. When she glanced up and saw him, she suddenly became very busy. He pretended he didn’t recognize the avoidance and marched toward her.

  He stopped before her table and watched her push items around on it. “Callie, why didn’t you wait? I would have given you a ride to town.”

  She raised her head, but looked more at his shoulder than right at him. “I needed to get here early, and you had to get your truck out of a ditch and fixed. Which I will pay for.”

  So that was it. She insisted on taking responsibility, and she didn’t have the money to do it. “Callie, I told you not to worry about it. It was an accident. Like I figured, there wasn’t much damage, just a flat tire and a sprung door. I can fix all that myself.”

  She faced him directly now, as if gauging his honesty. “Okay, so you can fix the door. But you’ll need a new tire. Get one and charge it to me.”

  “I will not.” He spoke in an exasperated huff. “I’ll fix the one I have.”

  “Now that gardens are finished, we’re only going to do this every other Saturday.”

  He nodded, interpreting her change of subject as acceptance. “That makes sense. I’ll put a sign on the door, and I assume Jolene will put the information in the newspaper.”

  “That sounds good.”

  “How about we go out to my brother’s later this week and pitch some horseshoes with him and his wife. They have friends over every Friday evening, and they’re always asking me to come and bring someone with me.”

  She frowned. “I need to stay closer to home. My mother counts on me.”

  He shifted his feet, wishing he could hug her and reassure her. “What about you? Don’t you think it’s time to consider your own needs and wants? Do you plan to spend the rest of your life taking care of them?”

  She shrugged. “It’s my life, how it’s always been.”

  “Don’t you ever plan to marry, have a family of your own?”

  She released a startled gasp. “I can’t think about such a thing right now. I have too much to do here.”

  He reached over and gripped her arm. “At least go to dinner with me, just the two of us.” He had never had to pressure a girl to see him, and couldn’t believe he was doing it now.

  She pushed his hand away and stepped back. “I can’t, Trace.” She headed toward Jolene, as if running from herself.

  * * *

  Monday evening at the end of supper, Riley pushed back his chair and got up. “I’m going out to split some more wood while there’s still a little light.”

  Callie bounced to her feet. “I’ll help you.” Clem could do the dishes.

  She got her coat and followed him out the kitchen door to the lower edge of the backyard where a mallet and an ax leaned against a tree. A woodpile about four feet high stretched between that tree and another one almost eight feet from it.

  Riley picked up the maul and swung it with one hand at the wedge he held in place with the other hand. Callie watched him work, happy to have him back to his normal, strong self. He had always been her protector and confidant. Taller than Delmer, he had an engaging smile that didn’t get used nearly enough, and he loved to tease her. She wondered if he stayed single because the folks needed him, or whether there could be other reasons.

  “What’s on your mind?” Riley asked as she gathered an armload of the pieces.

  He knew her too well. “I don’t get a chance to spend much time alone with you.”

  He propped the ax upright against a chunk of log. “Yeah, but you followed me out here in a hurry. I think there’s more on your mind.”

  She bit her lip, unsure how to ask. “Well, I was kind of wondering if you might have any idea how I could even things up with Trace.”

  He frowned. “I don’t follow you.”

  “I feel bad about his truck. I was driving it, so I think I should pay for the damage. But he says it’s not hurt much and for me to forget it.”

  “But you can’t, huh?”

  She shook her head. “Is the damage as little as he makes out?”

  Riley rubbed his chin. “It didn’t look bad. The door’s sprung enough he has to hold it shut while driving, but he says he can fix it. And we had to take off a flat tire and put on his spare.”

  Callie trusted Riley. That agreed with what Trace had said. She breathed easier.

  “You like him a lot, don’t you?”

  Callie became evasive. “Everyone likes him.”

  “Sure, they do, but not in the way we both know I’m talking about. From what I’ve seen, he likes you just as much. And both of you deserve to find someone special. You have my approval.” He grinned with mischief. “Which you must have if you plan to pair up with him.”

  She swatted at him. “Stop spouting nonsense. Trace and I are good friends, is all.”

  “Yeah, yeah, if you say so.” His face lost its teasing look. “You want to do something for him, don’t you? You feel beholden, even if you shouldn’t.”

  “Yes.”

  He looked upward, as if he could find ideas in the stars that were beginning to dot the sky. “I know you have a little savings meant for a car. I also know he would never take it. So what could he use that we could give him?”

  “He owns a piece of property that he planned to build a house on after he and Joanna got married.”

  Riley snapped his fingers. “That’s it. If he had the lumber, he could build a house. We cut timber and make lumber. You’re the one who believes in swapping things. We’ll cut some extra lumber and take him a load
. Delmer will help. It won’t build a house, bit it’ll give him a start if he wants it.”

  Callie’s face broke into a grin. “That’s a good idea.” Then her countenance fell. “But you and Delmer don’t have time to cut an extra load.”

  Riley went solemn. He hesitated, as if unsure how much to say. “We’re not all that busy anymore. No one has any money to order lumber. I think Dad’s worried. I’ve tried talking to him, but he won’t tell me how bad things are.”

  A knot of tension formed in Callie’s gut.

  They worked for a few more minutes. Then Riley stopped. “It’s too dark to do any more. You go on inside, and I’ll be in after I put this ax away.”

  Callie started to leave, but stopped. “Riley, you have my approval if you want to court Jolene. You’d like to, wouldn’t you?”

  “What I’d like and what’s possible aren’t the same. Now, get in the house before I tan your hide for meddling.”

  Callie wished she could see his face clearly, but it was too dark. “You and who else?” she teased, backing away. Then she turned and ran for the house.

  Over the next two weeks Callie concluded that Riley was right. Her parents were tight-lipped and evasive. They refused to answer questions about anything other than daily routine.

  Watching the growing number of worry lines in her parents’ faces, their lack of talkativeness and unsmiling expressions had her a nervous wreck. She dreaded knowing the truth, but by Thursday she couldn’t stand it any longer. She waited until Dad and her brothers went back to work after lunch, and Clem took the slop bucket to the barn to feed the pigs.

  “How bad is it, Mom?”

  Dessie just shook her head and didn’t speak. Her mouth tightened and quivered.

  “I have to know, Mom. We’re all affected. What kind of money trouble are we in?”

  Mom’s lips trembled. “It’s...pretty bad,” she choked.

  Callie took her mother’s hands and guided her down onto a chair. Then she sat in the one facing her. “Tell me. We all have to know if we’re going to help.”