Today Adam Mackenzie was her neighbor and she stood at the screen door, looking out at the morning, wondering what that meant to her life. Or if it meant anything at all.
Chapter Five
The Dawson Farm and Home Store was pretty close to empty at mid-morning, two hours after Adam nearly made a big mistake. Kissing Jenna would have been that, and more. He could think of a dozen reasons why.
But he didn’t have time for thinking. He walked down the aisle that held horse tack and livestock vitamins, looking for what he thought he might need in the coming weeks. He hadn’t bought farm supplies in a few years.
Instead of shopping for farm supplies, he should have been at home in Atlanta, preparing for a new career. Billy should be here, buying supplies, talking to locals and getting the camp ready to go. Not Adam, a guy who had spent less time with children than almost anyone he knew.
“You might want to grab mineral blocks.” A familiar voice.
Adam turned from the shelf of vitamins and insect repellants. Clint Cameron stood next to him, comfortable with his life of cowboy and local hero. Adam’s boots were still too new to be comfortable.
“Yeah, there’s a lot to get done, a lot to buy.” Including the mineral blocks, Adam realized. And if he needed them, that meant Clint had come through for him.
“I have ten horses.” Clint’s hat was tipped low. “I’m still looking for two more.”
“That’s good. Can you deliver?”
“Yeah, this afternoon if that works for you. I bought tack for them. I’ll bring the bill.”
“I’m sure you will.”
Clint picked up a few cans of fly spray. Adam wondered if he should do the same. But if he did, he’d look like he didn’t know what he was doing, like he was taking cues from Clint. And he didn’t want to look like a novice. He had grown up on a farm. He knew what he needed and what he didn’t.
Clint tossed him a can of the fly spray. “You’ll probably need this.”
“I know that.” His collar felt really tight on his neck.
“Adam, we’re not enemies, just guys who used to know each other and we had a few run-ins. That was a long time ago. Now we’re two guys doing business, and I’m part of the community that wants to help you get this camp off the ground. Maybe you could give us all and yourself a break in the process.”
“Yeah, of course.” He grabbed another can of the fly spray. “I guess I’ll see you this afternoon.”
“Sure, at about two.”
The front door chimed. Clint waved and Adam’s collar felt a little tighter. Jenna, her blond-streaked brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. She smiled at her brother and then at him. Her smile for Adam was different, it was strained. He knew how she felt.
This morning he had wanted to kiss her. Good thing she’d reminded him of the boys and her desire not to get sidelined with someone like him. Good thing, because Clint Cameron was two feet from him, giving him a look that nailed him into the floor.
She adjusted easier than he had, shifting her attention away from him, sweeping that look from her eyes that said she remembered.
“Are you two up to no good?” She had a cheeky expression and a Southern drawl.
“I’m up to good. I can’t speak for your brother.” Adam smiled back. How did a smile change everything?
“He’s always up to good.” She slipped an arm around her brother. “He’s just that way. I’m the bad one in the family.”
“I don’t buy that.”
“It’s true. I’m the rebel. But I’m a rebel with a cause. We’re making a schedule for when people will start showing up to work at the camp.”
“I appreciate that.”
She laughed. “No, you don’t. You’re thinking it’s going to cost you.”
He was, but he shook his head to deny her accusation. “Not at all.”
“It’s going to cost you big-time. Church, this Sunday. You need to be there and thank people, maybe tell them your plans for the camp.”
“I don’t really have plans.” He had plans, but the plans were about his life, his future, not a camp in Dawson, Oklahoma.
“You have to have plans. Oh, and I have a catalog where you can order what you need for the dorms. Do you want me to do that?”
“This afternoon. If you want to come over, we can use my phone and get that wrapped up.” How did he tell her no? She was a pint-sized dynamo, intent on her mission. He nearly smiled.
She hugged Clint and winked at Adam before turning to walk away. He watched her go, but turned when Clint Cameron cleared his throat to get his attention.
“She’s my sister, Adam.”
“I know she is. Don’t worry, I’m just looking to get this camp taken care of so I can leave.”
“This is a real inconvenience for you, isn’t it?”
“It definitely isn’t convenient, Clint. Look, I didn’t set out to run this camp. I’m not a bad guy. I’m not unfeeling. I gave money to my cousin because he wanted to help kids who couldn’t afford camp. He wanted to do something good with his new Christian life. What he did was swindle me and then he had a heart attack.”
Clint smiled. “Adam, sometimes God has a plan that we can’t even begin to imagine. Maybe you coming here was His plan all along.”
“Right, thanks for the sermon.” He walked off, leaving Clint standing in the aisle with fly sprays and vitamins. He couldn’t wait to get out of a store that smelled like chemicals, dusty grain and molasses.
As he stood at the counter paying, he watched Jenna Cameron walk across the parking lot that the farm store shared with The Mad Cow.
Jenna could have imagined a thousand scenarios as she pulled up the drive to the half-finished summer camp that afternoon. She never would have imagined Adam Mackenzie on the back of the big bay that Clint had decided to sell. She eased off the gas and let her truck coast to a stop. The boys jumped up from the backseat to lean into the front and watch the man on the back of the big red horse, black tail flagging proudly as it trotted around the yard.
He looked good on a horse. A tall giant of a man, his white cowboy hat pulled low, his jaw set as he held the reins and controlled the barely broke gelding.
The horse sidestepped, prancing and then bunny hopping as he tried to convince the man in the saddle that he might actually buck. Adam kept the reins tight and his legs visibly tightened around the animal’s middle.
“Let’s get out, Mom. I want to see if that mean old horse starts to buck.” Timmy climbed over the seat and fell into the spot next to Jenna. David remained in the back. She glanced back at him. His eyes were wide and his mouth a firm line of seriousness.
“We’re not going to get out. We don’t want to spook Ready.” The horse had been named Ready, Set, Go as a foal, because Willow thought he always looked like he was about to race.
“It might be fun to see him spooked,” Timmy mumbled.
“That isn’t nice.”
“I don’t want Adam to get hurt. I wanna see if he can stay on.”
Jenna didn’t laugh. Instead she hugged her son and motioned for David to climb over the seat and join them. She loved them so much. And her heart still ached when she thought about how close she came to not coming home to them. She didn’t want to close her eyes, because when she did, it came back—the fear, the darkness, the thoughts of not being there to watch them grow up.
Adam reined the horse in and slid off. Jenna opened her door to get out. “Come on, guys, let’s go see what we need to do around here today.”
“We need to find our turtle.” David slid out of the truck, already searching the grassy area around them. “We might want to feed him some bugs.”
“As long as you don’t eat bugs, that’s fine,” Jenna teased, ruffling her fingers through David’s blond hair as he stood next to her.
The boys looked up at her, eyes wide and twin looks of serious contemplation. Timmy held her gaze for a moment and then looked down, kicking at a clump of grass.
“Boys
, we don’t eat bugs.” Because they really looked like they might have already tried. “Do we?”
“Not anymore.” And then they ran off. She laughed and watched them go.
No more distractions. Nothing else to keep her from joining the men.
Adam was standing next to the horse, tall, making the sixteen-hand horse look small, and talking to her brother with a hint of a smile on his face. She likened him to Goliath. And she really felt as if he had come to devour her kingdom.
Of course he hadn’t, though. That was just her imagination. He couldn’t hurt her. He couldn’t hurt the people she loved. She didn’t know why she had put him in that category to begin with.
He smiled at her and pushed his hat back. “Nice horse, isn’t he? Clint brought ten, and this one.”
“I thought he might like something for himself,” Clint explained.
“You’re just looking for someone to take that grain-eating beast off your hands.” Jenna rubbed the massive head of the bay gelding. “He’s a pain.”
“He’s not. I just don’t have the time to ride him the way he needs to be ridden,” Clint explained, and she wanted to tell him he could have brought the horse to her. But he wouldn’t do that, she knew. He didn’t want her to get hurt.
“Come into the office and I’ll write you a check.” Adam motioned them all to the trailer that had become his residence. Jenna followed the men, their longer strides eating up the ground. She wasn’t in a hurry. A summer breeze swirled through the overgrown lawn, rustling last year’s leaves, and the smell of a freshly cut hayfield carried on the wind. Days like this were for enjoying, not rushing through.
Inside would be stuffy. And crowded.
The boys were playing at the corner of the trailer. They were looking for the turtle, searching the grassy area as if they’d lost a treasure. Of course it was a treasure; it was a turtle. And what boy didn’t consider those a treasure?
Girls liked them, too. Jenna had had her share of box turtles as a kid. She stopped to watch the boys for a second. They talked in whispers about the turtle and Adam falling off Ready. And then they looked up and smiled, a little guilty, too cute.
Adam cleared his throat. “Are you coming inside with us?”
“Oh, sorry, I was watching the boys. They’re still looking for that turtle.”
“I saw him the other day. He’s still around.”
“I hope they find him, not another snake.”
Clint laughed. “It wouldn’t be the first snake they found.”
She nodded and reached for the rail to climb the stairs. “Did they eat bugs when they stayed with you?”
“No, but I did feed them hot dogs. Come on, Jen, you know I wouldn’t feed your kids bugs.”
“I didn’t mean that you fed them bugs. I wondered if you caught them eating bugs.”
“Never. Why?”
“Oh, something they said.” She smiled, letting it go. “Never mind.”
“I ate part of a worm once,” Adam said as he opened the front door for them. “I turned out okay.”
“Thanks, that makes me feel so much better. I want them to grow up to be…” She wouldn’t say driven and detached.
“Strong?” He supplied a word that she hadn’t planned to say, and she nodded.
“Sure, strong.”
The trailer was dark and the furniture was dark. Jenna closed her eyes to give them a second to adjust from bright afternoon sunshine to the shadowy interior of the trailer. When she opened her eyes she could see clearly that it was a mess. Paper plates littered the coffee table and cans of soda sat on the end tables.
“What in the world have you done to this place?” She started gathering trash.
“It’s my mess. I can clean it up.” He took the paper plates from her hands. “I’m sure not asking you to be my maid.”
“You need one.”
“Check, please.” Clint tapped the paper in his hand and held it out to Adam, who handed the plates back to Jenna.
She grumbled and walked into the kitchen, where the trash was overflowing. Had the man ever picked up after himself? She doubted it. He’d probably always been a superstar, even when he was in diapers.
“Jenna, I’ll clean it up later,” he called out as he scribbled his signature on a check.
“I don’t mind. If we’re going to get any work done, I need a clean space to sit down.”
“It’s clean.”
“Give it up, Adam, she’s going to win.” Words of wisdom from Clint. He smiled at her, winking before he turned his attention back to Adam. “I’ve lived with her, and she’s not going to put up with clutter, trash or dirty dishes. Have you seen her place?”
“I’m right here, stop talking about me.” Jenna bumped her fist against her brother’s arm. “Don’t you have a wife that needs you for something?”
“Yeah, she wants me to do the dishes,” Clint admitted with a wry grin.
“I know, when I picked up the boys, she asked me to come down here and make sure you didn’t hang out too long.” Jenna sat down on the sofa, spreading the catalog she’d brought on the table in front of her. “Time to get busy, Mr. Mackenzie.”
“Yeah, busy.” He sat down next to her, the sofa cushion sinking a little with his weight. “Where do we start?”
“We’ll need to order mattresses, and supplies for the kitchen.”
“See you later.” Clint paused at the door. “Jen, call me when you get home.”
She nodded and waved, not wanting to look at him, to see the worry in his eyes. He was too protective.
And Adam Mackenzie knew it. She felt him slide away, putting space between them. He didn’t need to. There was already space between them. His goals. Her need to focus on her boys and living her life.
Those things equaled a chasm the size of the Grand Canyon. And she didn’t have any desire or need to close the distance.
Adam’s phone buzzed in his shirt pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at a familiar number with a local area code. He slid it back into his pocket and ignored the curious glances of the woman sitting next to him.
“So, we need mattresses. Can we get them in time? What about curtains?” He flipped through the catalog as she wrote down numbers.
“Mini blinds, not curtains. You won’t have to take them down to wash them. I’ve called a company about mattresses and I think it is doable if we order them today.”
“Where am I going to find enough people to work here?”
She put her hand on a page and pointed to a model of mini blind. “That one will work. I measured. It’s the right size, a good price and neutral color.”
“Okay, back to workers. I need more than help getting the beds made and the lawns mowed.”
She pulled a paper out of her pocket. “I know. You need people in the kitchen, a few in the stables, we need cleaning crews before—”
“Could you slow down?” He took off his hat and brushed his hands through his hair. She was smiling at him, that cheeky grin he’d seen a few times. Someone should do something about her cheekiness. Not him.
She was the kind of woman looking for long-term, for a father for her boys. He wasn’t the guy she was looking for. He didn’t do relationships.
“Of course I can slow down. What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?” He scrambled, wondering if he had missed something. He ran his finger over the catalog, trying to remember what she’d just said.
“You mean, because you’re looking dazed, staring at the wall and kind of mumbling?” She laughed a little.
“Have you already planned the entire camp?” He tossed his hat on the nearby chair. She was bossy. He didn’t like bossy. It felt like she was taking over his life.
He’d had enough of that. His dad, agents, coaches, a few girlfriends—they’d all had plans for him. Other than Will, he kept a safe distance from people who wanted a piece of the Adam Mackenzie pie.
He knew what she wanted. She wanted this camp.
Another o
f her smiles, this one sheepish. Her eyes were amber and a sprinkling of freckles on her nose caught his attention. She cleared her throat, like she knew the direction his thoughts had taken. “I wrote out a schedule, a tentative menu and how much food I think we’ll need and how many workers. I’m not really taking over, just getting you on track.”
“Fine, you’re hired.”
“I didn’t ask for a job.” She flattened the papers on the table, covering the catalog. “I offered to help. This is volunteering and I’m not asking for anything in return.”
Right. He didn’t mean to sigh, and he didn’t need the look she gave him. But he had a hard time believing she was simply volunteering out of the goodness of her heart.
“You’re better suited for this than I am. You take over and I’ll go back to Georgia.”
“Nope.” She stared him down.
He tucked away the strong urge to look deeper into eyes the color of caramel, but flecked with gold. He wouldn’t move his hand and slide that strand of hair back behind her ear.
She did it, brushing her hair back and looking away from him.
The camp. He didn’t want to run a camp. He wanted to go home before his family caught on, realizing he was a short thirty-minute drive from the home he’d grown up in. He definitely didn’t want to take that journey home, not even in his imagination.
A quick look out the window and he saw twin boys following a turtle, their dog barking. That was what a childhood should be.
“Hello, are you still with me? You’ve forgotten to keep arguing.” Her hand was on his arm.
“Sorry, just thinking back. Your boys are having a great childhood. Every kid should have that.”
“Which is why you should be excited about this camp. Think of kids coming here, finding turtles, chasing lightning bugs and being kids. Some of them will be able to laugh and play like they’ve never laughed and played before.”
He glanced back out the window, and let her words run through his mind, because she made it feel different. Her words made him think about what this camp meant. It meant children playing, having fun. He could give those kids something every child should have.
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