She watched at the screen, hoping for a quick reply. A minute or so passed by and there was nothing.
Caytie glanced up when Jace cleared his throat. “Tell him that Jace is going to change a tire this evening and ask him if he wants to be there to see it.”
“I take it Kellen will know what you’re talking about?”
“Yep.” He grinned. “And I’ll bet you a steak dinner that he’ll reply within thirty seconds.”
“Make it a grilled chicken dinner and you’re on.”
He walked over to her and held out his hand. “Deal.”
Tentatively, Caytie extended her hand. As their palms met, a flash of heat radiated the length of her arm. Her eyes flickered up to his and the warmth she’d seen earlier had ignited into something much more powerful.
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze then released his hold. “Go ahead and text him.” He twisted his wrist to view his watch. “I’ll time it.”
Caytie typed in the cryptic message and pushed send. At exactly twenty-two seconds Kellen replied.
Tell him I’ll be there.
***
Jace balanced himself on the crutches, hoping he could pull this off. Behind him, Kellen sat in his wheelchair, a scowl etched on his face. Not even Caytie could get the kid to crack a smile, even though she kept trying. Jace knew if he failed with this evening’s demonstration, Kellen would be stuck in that wheelchair for a long time, possibly the rest of his life. He was that stubborn.
A trickle of sweat rolled down Jace’s back as he pivoted around to address the gathered crowd. He skimmed over the faces, everyone all smiles except for Kellen. Actually, Ilene might be smiling but she was twisting her hands in her apron and her eyes kept straying to her grandson.
“Kellen and I made a deal that if I could change a tire without using my left leg, he would get his butt out of the wheelchair and go back to physical therapy to be fitted with a prosthesis.” Jace met Kellen’s hard stare. “Right, Kell?”
The scowl on Kellen’s face deepened. Jace watched his hands clench and unclench, like the kid wanted to pop up out of the wheelchair and deck Jace. He wished he would. Getting a fist in the face would be worth the pain if it would help Kellen.
Just then Ian’s truck pulled into the yard. Hadn’t he already checked on the mare? Jace’s eyes flickered over to Caytie to see if she would be pleased by his friend’s impromptu visit. He felt relieved she wasn’t paying attention to Ian but was busy texting. When Kellen’s phone dinged a second later, he figured she was bugging him again.
Kellen pulled his phone out of his pocket, read the message, and then miraculously the corner of his mouth edged up into a smile. He typed in a reply and sure enough Caytie’s phone chimed an incoming text.
A thread of jealousy wove its way through Jace’s chest. Not because he thought Caytie was interested in Kellen in a romantic way, but because of the bond the two of them shared. A bond he had once shared with Kellen before the accident.
Ian cut the engine and climbed out of the truck. His German shepherd, Molly, jumped out and started barking as he made his way toward the group. “What are you doing?” Ian said, following his dog.
“Not much,” Jace said. “I was—”
His words were cut off by a shrill scream as Molly bounded over to the gathered crowd. Jace watched as Caytie screamed again and then jumped into Kellen’s lap.
“Caytie, honey,” George said, looking at his niece with concern. “Molly won’t hurt you.”
“Unless she licks you to death,” Kellen said dryly as he awkwardly patted her on the back.
Ian whistled and called for Molly to come back to him. The dog frolicked in front of Kellen’s wheelchair, making Caytie bury her face into Kellen’s shoulder. Ian called again and this time Molly obeyed.
“Sorry, Caytie,” Ian called, hooking a leash on the dog’s collar. “She really won’t hurt you, but I’ve got her on a leash now, and she’ll be happy to stay by the truck.”
Caytie lifted her head, genuine fear evident on her face. “It’s okay. I’m just afraid of big dogs, especially German shepherds.”
“And you thought a cripple could protect you?” Kellen asked incredulously.
Anger flashed in Caytie’s eyes. She punched Kellen in the shoulder before climbing off of his lap. “You are such an idiot. You’re also strong, funny and very handsome, yet all you do is see yourself as a cripple.”
Kellen stared at her in disbelief as Caytie angrily wiped away a tear. “Jace shouldn’t have to pull some kind of stupid stunt just to get you to stop feeling sorry for yourself.” She backed away. “You have no idea how lucky you are to be surrounded by people who love you so much.”
She sniffed and looked like she wanted to say more, but instead she just turned around and ran back toward the house. There was complete silence. Even Molly sat completely still.
“Ilene, can you go talk to her?” George asked. “Or should I?”
“I’ll go,” Kellen growled. “Give me the stupid crutches, Jace.”
Still shocked by Caytie’s outburst, Jace took a second before he handed over the crutches. Kellen grabbed them and hoisted himself up. “Don’t think you’re getting out of this, McAllister. A deal is a deal.”
Everyone watched Kellen storm away. It was pretty impressive how the kid moved so quickly and precisely, following the same path Caytie had just taken.
Ilene laughed, and leaned into George’s side. “I love that girl.”
“I do too,” George said, putting an arm around Ilene’s shoulders.
They both looked at Jace expectantly. He wasn’t about to admit what feelings he might have for Caytie. “I love she just accomplished what I’ve been trying to do for months.”
George grunted in agreement while Ilene studied Jace with a little smirk on her face. “I hope Caytie decides to stay here indefinitely. She brightens up this place and it’s nice having another woman in the house.”
That was easy for her to say since Caytie’s presence wasn’t messing up her groove.
“I’d love nothing more than to have Caytie settle down here and find a nice young man to marry,” George said. “I wonder who would tickle her fancy?”
Ilene’s mouth stretched into a wide smile, her eyes pinning Jace to his place. He braced himself as he waited for her to say something about the possibility between him and Caytie. If she did, would George be okay with that?
George jerked his thumb toward Ian. “What about Ian, Jace? Do you think he would be interested in Caytie?”
An intense feeling of irritation twisted Jace’s gut. He knew Ian would be more than interested. “No,” he lied through his gritted teeth. “Ian’s already got a girlfriend. If I think of someone I’ll let you know.”
“That’s very kind of you, Jace,” Ilene said. “You always were such a thoughtful boy.”
Jace shot Ilene one last annoyed glance before pivoting around toward the truck. Ian was crossing the yard again. Jace met him halfway, hoping to find out what his friend’s intentions were. “Hey, you here to check on the mare?”
“Yeah, I just examined her.” Ian pushed the brim of his hat back. “No signs of infection, and the wounds are healing nicely.”
“That’s good.” Jace eyed him for a few seconds. “Did you need anything else?”
One of Ian’s brows lifted. “I saw everyone outside and thought I’d stop by to say hey. I didn’t mean to scare Caytie or tick…anyone off.”
“Kellen’s always ticked.”
A smile played at Ian’s mouth. “Yeah, but he’s not who I’m talking about. ”
Jace guessed he was referring to himself. He tried to curb his irritation. “You want to stay for dinner?”
“I wish I could.” He held up his phone. “I just got a text from Lance Christensen. I guess he just bought a pony for his fiancée’s kids, and he’s worried it might be sick.”
Ian’s eyes moved toward the front of the house where Caytie had gone. “Will you tell Caytie I’m s
orry?”
“Sure.” The muscle in Jace’s jaw tightened. “By the way, I’m taking Caytie to Billings tomorrow so you don’t need to worry about it.”
Ian gave a low chuckle and took a step backward. “Okay.” He took another step back and said, “You might want to see if Victoria wants to go too. You know, since women like shopping better than men.”
“Victoria and I aren’t dating.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” Ian said, turning around and striding toward his truck.
Jace ground his teeth together. How had his life gotten so complicated? He needed to talk with Victoria. It wasn’t going to be fun, but it wasn’t fair for her to think what the rest of the town already thought. That they were a couple.
Then he needed to figure out what to do about Caytie. Dating her would be a lot more complicated. George was the only father Jace knew. If things didn’t work out with Caytie it could ruin their relationship.
Chapter 13
Caytie ran around to the front of the house and sat on the porch steps. She felt so stupid, and couldn’t believe she’d just completely lost it in front of everyone because of her fear of dogs. Worse, she’d yelled at Kellen and told him to stop feeling sorry for himself. Even if he deserved it, she still should’ve used more self-control, but the minute she’d seen the German shepherd exit the truck, fear had struck her so swiftly she hadn’t been able to move. The rest was sort of a blur, and the next thing she knew she was once again crying in front of her uncle and his family. She wasn’t a crier.
Leaning over, she hugged her knees and buried her face against her arms. What she needed was a day of shopping or even better, a day at the spa. If Ilene couldn’t go with her, she was going by herself.
A loud thumping noise alerted her someone was coming around the house. Wiping her eyes, she sat up and was surprised to see Kellen using the crutches. He caught her watching him and for a second it looked like he might smile.
“Are you okay?” he asked, coming to a stop in front of the porch steps.
“Yes.”
He studied her for a few moments and Caytie realized he was waiting for an apology. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, Kellen.”
“What about punching me in the shoulder?” he said in a teasing voice. “You should say sorry for that too.”
Caytie was so relieved he was joking around with her. “I’m sorry I hit you.”
He grinned and maneuvered around to sit beside her on the stairs. “So, you think I’m handsome?”
She nudged him in the arm. “You know you are.”
The grin fell away. “No, I really don’t.” He shook his head. “The thing is no matter how hard I try, I can’t see past my missing leg.”
Caytie wasn’t sure what to say. She thought for a moment and then said, “Do you want to know my first impression of you?”
He swallowed. “Yeah, I guess.”
“You came into the kitchen, and I was thinking to myself wow, he’s really cute. Too bad he’s so young.”
He rolled his eyes. “You can cut the crap. I can handle the truth.”
“You didn’t let me finish.” She nudged him in the arm again. “The next thought was how sad I was that you’d lost part of your leg. I could tell you were angry, and your grandma had already shared with me her frustration with you because you were the perfect candidate for a prosthetic leg but you refuse to get fitted for one.”
“Thanks a lot Grandma,” he muttered under his breath.
“Kellen, you really are a nice looking guy. You’re sweet and have a great sense of humor.” She looked at him sidelong. “By the way, if you agree to be in the bachelor auction I’d totally bid on you.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I’m serious.” She waited until he was looking at her. “Look, of course people will notice you’re missing part of your leg, but then most of them are going to move on and want to get to know you better.”
“That’s easy for you to say since you’re all perfect.”
“I’m not perfect.”
He snorted. “What’s not perfect about you?”
Caytie glanced down at her feet. In no way did her missing toe compare to Kellen’s injury, but she could empathize.
“I know this isn’t the same thing, but when I was a little girl I lost the tip of my pinkie toe.” She removed her shoe and showed him her foot. “I have never, ever shown any one, other than my best friend Julia, my missing toe so be nice.”
Kellen studied her feet and she could see a smile on his lips. “You have cute feet.”
“Thanks, but I’ve really struggled with it.” She quickly slipped her shoe back on. “I mean when was the last time you went shopping for women’s shoes?”
One of his eyebrows rose up skeptically. “Like never.”
She laughed. “Okay, that was a bad example but the point I’m trying to make is nearly all the shoes out there are open toed and I could never buy them.”
Kellen lifted up a cowboy boot. “Not these.”
“Right, but hello, I’m a girl and I like to wear shorts and skirts and they would look terrible with cowboy boots.”
“You don’t watch very many country music videos do you?”
“Like never,” she said, mimicking him.
“We’ll watch a few later on and maybe I can change your mind.”
“Fine, but do you have any idea how hard it was growing up by the beach and never wearing sandals or flip flops or going barefoot?”
“Why? You can hardly tell it’s missing.” He grinned. “Besides, with you in a bikini I doubt the guys were looking at your feet.”
She laughed. “Um, up until my sophomore year I wouldn’t have been caught dead in a bikini.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not ready to divulge that story yet.” An idea hit her and she said, “I’ll make a deal with you. On the day you get your prosthetic leg, I’ll tell you my sob story.”
Kellen studied her for a long time. “What’s with people making deals with me? First Jace and now you.”
“People love you, Kellen. They want you to be happy.”
A mischievous grin crossed his face. “I have a deal of my own. Since you love me and all, I want you to go out with me and then I’ll make the appointment.”
Caytie smiled. “I’ll go out with you as your friend. Our age difference would raise more than a few eyebrows.”
“A couple of years won’t matter.”
“Do you know how old I am?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe twenty-one?”
“Thanks for that,” she said as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m turning twenty five in a couple of months.”
“That’s not a big deal.”
“Um, you’re nineteen, right?”
Kellen nodded his head.
“Yeah, well, they have a name for women who date younger men and I’m pretty sure I heard Uncle George say they shot one last night for threatening the livestock.”
Kellen started to laugh. “All right, we won’t date. Besides, Jace would probably kill me if you went out with me.”
This time it was Caytie’s turn to snort. “Why would Jace care who I went out with?”
“Because he’s into you.”
“He is not. He can’t even stand being in the same room with me.”
“Yeah, because you’re a pretty girl and you rattle his cage.”
Caytie felt all warm and tingly inside, sort of how she felt walking into her favorite boutique on Rodeo Drive for a preview of Louis Vuitton’s newest line of handbags.
“Doesn’t he already have a girlfriend?”
“No, not really. He and Victoria are friends, but everyone knows Victoria is in love with Jace, well, everyone except him.”
Victoria. Caytie wondered if she was the woman in the pictures with Jace and the little boy.
Before she could ask any more questions about Victoria, the front door opened and Ilene came out onto the porch. “There you two
are. I was getting worried.”
“Sorry, Grandma,” Kellen said, “but I’ve been trying to explain to Caytie that even though she finds me extremely handsome, all we can ever be is friends.”
Caytie smacked him on the shoulder again. “Now I know what it’s like to have an annoying little brother.”
Ilene looked relieved. “If he gets to be too big of a tease, Caytie, I’m still capable of disciplining the boy by feeding him bran muffins instead of bacon.”
Kellen looked horrified. “I promise to be good.”
Ilene laughed. “George is firing up the grill for steaks so don’t eat anything to spoil your appetite.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kellen said as Ilene retreated back inside the house.
Caytie stood up and held out her hand to help Kellen up. “Come on, let’s go let Jace off the hook. Then you and I are going to do research on what kinds of cool prosthetics are available. I’ll bet we can even get you a special pair of cowboy boots to wear.”
“Research, ha!” Kellen said, securing his crutches under his arms and swinging himself up the last two steps. “You just want to go shopping.”
“You already know me so well,” Caytie said.
Kellen laughed as they walked inside the house. Caytie noticed Jace lingering in the kitchen, watching them both expectantly.
“Everything okay?” Jace asked.
“Yeah,” Kellen said. “I was just trying to talk Caytie into buying a pair of cowboy boots, but she isn’t sure they’d look good with her shorts.”
Caytie was about to make some sarcastic remark about streetwalkers, shorts and boots when she noticed Jace staring at her.
“What?” she said, trying to figure out what was wrong now.
Jace cleared his throat. “Nothing.”
Kellen snickered. “Oh come on, Jace. Just tell her she’d look great in cowboy boots.”
The poor guy looked trapped. Caytie slugged Kellen in the shoulder again. “Will you stop being so annoying?”
“Ow,” Kellen said. “I’m gonna have a bruise if you keep hitting me.”
Caytie patted him gently in the same place. “Sorry.”
Jace cleared his throat again. “I’ve got to drive into Billings tomorrow, so I can take you to get your jeans if you want.”
Summer in Snow Valley (Snow Valley Romance Anthologies Book 2) Page 9