Dreams Unspoken

by R. J. Layer

  Chapter Six

  As promised, the movers arrived with her things on Tuesday. Setting up her house demanded more hours in her day, but at last she was ready for the rest of her horses. Well, except for the matter of hiring new hands to help take care of them. She was in the barn fiddling around with tack the following Saturday, waiting for a fellow to show up for an interview when she heard a car outside. When she went to greet him, however, she discovered it was the sheriff’s car again. Jo stepped beside the car as Kate Tyler got out.

  “Problem, Officer Tyler?”

  Kate immediately shoved her hands in her pockets. “Uh, no…I was patrolling out this way and thought I’d stop and see if you’re settling in okay.” She smiled nervously.

  Jo nodded. “Fine, thanks.”

  They both turned at the sound of another vehicle. It was the guy about the position as her farm manager.

  The older Chevy pickup pulled alongside the cruiser and a young man who looked to be in his teens said through the open window, “I’m looking for Jo Marchal.”

  His voice was deep and didn’t come close to matching his boyish face. “I’ll be right with you.” She turned back to the deputy. “You’ll have to excuse me. I’m working on hiring someone to help me run this place.”

  “That’s the other reason I stopped,” Kate said. “I saw your sign on the board in Millie’s diner up the road about the job. I may know someone that’s interested.”

  “Sure, tell him to give me a call. Number’s on the sign.” She turned to walk away.

  “It’s a her.”

  Jo turned back around. “Okay, tell her to call.”

  “Yeah, I will. I’ll see you.” She tipped her head.

  The young man climbed out of his truck and thrust his hand at Jo. “Tucker Lawson, ma’am.” He gave Jo’s hand a strong, firm shake. When she looked him over, he grabbed his hat off his head. “Sorry, ma’am.”

  Jo scrunched her face. “This will go much better if you don’t call me ma’am.”

  “Sorry, ma’—sorry.”

  She smiled. “Let’s talk in the barn.”

  “Nice spread you got here,” he said as they walked.

  “Thank you.” Jo hardly considered her modest farm a spread. A spread was one of those places out west that consisted of thousands of acres. She did note he was dressed for the job, right down to his big silver belt buckle. “Exactly how old are you Tucker?”

  He rotated his hat in his hands. “Twenty, ma’…uh, sorry again. I know I look like a kid, but I’ve spent years workin’ for my dad on his farm. I’m a hard worker and I learn things real fast.” Tucker’s head bobbed. “I’m hopin’ to get my own farm someday an’ have my own horses.”

  Jo tilted her head. “You’re a handsome young man. I bet you’ve got all kinds of girlfriends.” She liked the boy, but she didn’t want to have to deal with one in the throes of sowing his “wild oats,” as most fellas did at his age.

  He shook his head. “Nah, me an’ Judy go out every once in a while, but it’s not serious, and I don’t go carousing around with a gang of guys neither. This kind of job is a lot of responsibility. I know I can do it if you just give me a chance. My pops says I can do anything I put my mind to.”

  Him calling his dad “pops” tugged at Jo’s heart.

  “The position is more than physical labor. I’d need you to be able to assist me hiring help when needed and supervising them.”

  He nodded. “I get along real good with people and I can learn anything you can teach.”

  She’d never worked with anyone so young, but considering all the major changes happening in her life, one more would hardly ripple the water.

  “That’s a fine belt buckle you’ve got there.”

  He smiled broadly as he rubbed his fingers over the silver. “Got this for a junior roping and riding competition at the fair a few years back.”

  “So you know horses pretty good then?”

  “Oh, yes, ma’am.” He slapped his hat on his leg. “Dang, I’m sorry. I can’t quit saying that.”

  Jo laughed. “Do you have brothers or sisters, Tucker?”

  “Two older brothers.”

  “And how old are they?”

  “Twenty-seven and twenty-nine.” His face flushed red. “Think I was an accident.”

  Normally she would ask for some references, but something about Tucker reminded her of Tom. When she’d hired Tom she trusted her instincts. Just like she trusted them now. “Maybe you can think of me like a big sister, and call me Jo.”

  He grinned. “You mean—”

  “What do you say we try it and see how it goes?”

  His head bobbed. “Sure thing! You wait, you’ll see, I’m the best darn guy you could hire for the job.” He reached his hand toward Jo and gave a vigorous handshake. “You won’t be sorry. When do we start?”

  “Bright and early Monday.”

  He looked at the bales of hay that had been delivered the day before. “You sure you don’t need me today?”

  Jo considered how much help he could be today getting the bales up in the loft. It would take her until past dinnertime working alone. If she could even finish.

  “We haven’t even discussed your pay.”

  He settled his hat on his head and waved a hand. “I trust you to pay me fair.”

  Jo smiled again. She really liked this kid. Maybe, when I’m old and gray—and alone—he and his family will adopt and take care of me. If…she could keep him around.

  “I got gloves in my truck. Be right back.”

  By the middle of the afternoon they’d finished in the big barn and moved to one of the smaller out buildings to straighten and clean it out. At four thirty, Jo halted work.

  “Time to quit. I don’t want your mother holding dinner for you and mad at your new boss on the first day.”

  He shrugged. “I can call her.”

  Jo was beat. She’d thought a young man full of energy would be a big asset, but she was second-guessing that assumption and wondering whether she could keep up anymore. She placed a tired hand on his shoulder.

  “Tucker, this stuff isn’t going anywhere. I can say with certainty it’ll be here come Monday morning.”

  He pulled off his gloves and tucked them into his back pocket. “So, no work tomorrow?”

  She chuckled. “We won’t work on Sundays.”

  Her parents had instilled in her the notion that Sunday was a day of rest. And after today’s physical labor, she’d need to rest. They entered through the back of the house so Jo could get more bottles of cold water. Tucker took in the haphazardly placed furniture and boxes stacked everywhere.

  Out on the porch he nodded toward the house. “I could get my mom to come over and help with that in there.”

  “I don’t think there’s any help for that mess.” Jo laughed. “But thanks for the offer. I’m more concerned about where they live.” She pointed to Daisy Mae standing at the fence by the big barn. “Them and as many boarders as we can fit in. They’ll be our bread and butter.” She turned her gaze to Tucker. “We may have to build another barn if we can get enough horses to board.” His eyes brightened as if he lived for hard manual labor. He stepped off the porch.

  “See you Monday, Tucker.”

  “Yep, bright and early, Jo.”

  As soon as his truck was out of sight, she dropped into one of the lawn chairs and leaned her head back. Maybe she was getting too old for this kind of work. She drained her water bottle, reminded that the truly exhausting physical labor would only last until things were in order. It dawned on her that she’d not given a thought to her family’s ordeal while she and Tucker were working. A tiny smile curved the corners of her mouth as she remembered the time when she and Tom had done the same, down in Kentucky. Tucker was like a young version of Tom. She felt confident in her decision to hire him.

  She pushed up from the chair, her smile quickly fading under the protest of her thoroughly aching body. She traded the water bottle for a bee
r, ran the tub full of hot water and slid her well-used body into it for a long soak.

  * * *

  Jo thought she was dreaming the pounding in her ears until she rolled over and felt the cool, hard floor. The bright sunlight through the barren window was blinding and the pounding was actually at her door. She struggled up with great effort and trudged to it, rubbing sleep from her eyes with aching hands. She opened the door to the largest woman she’d ever laid eyes on. This woman dwarfed Cecile. With a grin, she looked Jo up and down.

  “Something I can help you with?”

  The woman’s grin widened. “I sure hope so.”

  Jo yawned and tried to shake the fog from her brain. “Excuse me?”

  The woman shifted her weight to one foot and slipped her hands in the back pockets of her tighter than tight jeans.

  “I came to see about the job you posted at Millie’s up the road. I been tryin’ to call since late yesterday, but only been getting voice mail. Kate…Officer Tyler that is, suggested I might stop in if I couldn’t reach you this morning again, so here I am.” Her eyes traveled the length of Jo’s body and back to her eyes. “I sure would like the job.”

  Jo became conscious that she was wearing only a T-shirt and boxers. And it seemed the woman was interested in more than a job. She crossed her sore arms over her chest where the woman’s penetrating eyes seemed focused.

  “The job’s been filled. I’m sorry.”

  “That’s a shame.”

  “Yes, well, I planned to take down my postings today. I apologize you drove out here for nothing.”

  She waved a hand. “I’m not.” She looked Jo up and down once again. “Maybe sometime we could go out and do something.”

  Oh lord! She’s looking for a date.

  “Running this place will take all the time I have, but thank you for the invitation.”

  The woman nodded. “Well, okay, maybe I’ll see you around.” She appeared puzzled.

  “Something wrong?”

  She shook her head. “You are the best damn lookin’ woman I’ve seen around here in years. Such a shame.” She turned to leave but stopped. “I really do hope to see you around sometime.”

  “You never know.”

  The woman had a swagger like Cecile’s, and it didn’t surprise Jo to see her mount a large motorcycle when she left. Her mind had simply been too exhausted to notice the sleeveless black T-shirt, black jeans and boots she’d been wearing.

  As badly as she wanted to flop back on the couch, Jo waded through the boxes stacked everywhere to get to the kitchen to make coffee. With the brew cycle started, she located her cell phone on the counter—and discovered it had a dead battery.

  “Damn! Where the heck is the household charger?”

  While coffee dripped she pulled a pair of jeans over her boxers and walked barefoot to her truck to plug in the phone. Back inside she poured a cup, but instead of sitting on the back deck like she really wanted to, she went to shower.

  She’d promised her mom she would start coming to Sunday dinner after church. Her mom was pleased. However, neither parent suggested that Jo might attend church with them. She figured her dad thought she would burst into flames if she crossed the threshold of a church. And her mom, she was sure, probably felt Jo had no business going to a place of worship unless she was there to repent. She let out a big sigh and reminded herself that she was doing this so she wouldn’t live her life in regret for not having attempted to reconcile things between them earlier.

  As she eased her truck down the road to her parents’ home, she listened to no fewer than nine voice messages. Six were from the motorcycle woman, whom Jo now knew was named Bobbie. She deleted those and returned calls to three others that had called inquiring about the job.

  Today’s visit wasn’t any different than the last. Her father was obstinate and curt and her mom struggled at conversation. After dinner and clean up, she and her mom sat out in the swing. When silence lingered too long, Jo launched into conversation about her newly hired farm manager. Her mom barely uttered a word. Frustrated, Jo finished her coffee and made the excuse she needed to get home to unpack boxes and move furniture since she couldn’t find anything.

  She walked in the door at home, gave a quick look around, then located a clean T-shirt, her jeans, boots and hat. She headed to the barn. The unpacking could wait. She placed a bridle on Cobalt and mounted him bareback.

  Leaning down, she hugged his neck. “Let’s take a little stroll, boy.”

  They ambled out to the gate that divided the east and west pastures. After closing the gate she let the horse graze a few minutes while she climbed on the fence to look over her property to the south. This was living—the great outdoors.

  She was proud of what she’d accomplished so far. The farm was a hundred fifteen acres, nearly double the size of her Kentucky farm, and the eighty acres that stretched to the south was planted with hay. She’d have to contract someone to harvest it for her, but it would be enough for her needs and leave plenty to sell. She was anxious to ride through the fifteen wooded acres that backed up to the local reserve, which had a small lake. If she could acquire the surrounding farms, maybe one day before she was too old to ride, she could turn her place into a Midwest vacationing dude ranch.

  * * *

  Jo had been up for hours on Monday when Tucker arrived promptly at seven. He was hard-working and easygoing. A Tom, Jr., if there ever was one.

  Things continued to fall into place at the farm. The landlines were installed and Jo received a few calls to board horses. She gave Tucker the responsibility of hiring a fellow part-time for an extra pair of hands. All was coming together nicely, with the exception of her personal space. She looked around at the mess and figured since her life was in such turmoil, the house might as well be too.

  The following Saturday, when the now-familiar sheriff’s car appeared again, Tucker found Jo in the tool shed to let her know. She rolled her eyes.

  “You want me to deal with whatever it is?”

  Jo gave his shoulder a pat. “Thanks, I’ve got it.”

  He walked with her only as far as the big barn and ducked inside. She found the deputy leaning against the cruiser door.

  “I must be the best protected resident in the county.”

  Kate stepped away from the car and shoved her hands in her pockets. “I was patrolling close by, thought I’d stop and see how things are going.”

  Jo said only, “Great,” creating an uncomfortable silence.

  “I noticed on your sign you board and train horses.”

  “Uh huh. You have a horse?”

  “Oh no! Don’t even ride them.”

  Jo cocked her head. “Really? It’s a great way to relax.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.”

  Jo nodded. “Your motorcycle friend stopped by about the job—”

  “She’s not really my friend. She’s someone I’ve run into a few times at a bar. She mentioned she was looking for a job so I said to call you. You say she stopped by, though?”

  Jo smiled. “Yeah, woke me up Sunday morning.” She thought she saw a flash of something in the deputy’s eyes, but it happened so fast.

  “Guess I must’ve mentioned where your farm was. Sorry.”

  Jo shrugged. “No harm, but I’d already hired someone.” She stood waiting but Kate said nothing further. “Well, I need to get back to work.” When she started to step away, Kate caught her arm. Jo’s arm tensed as she quickly spun around.

  Kate removed her hand. “Sorry, uh, I was…uh wondering…maybe we could catch some dinner in town sometime. I know all the best restaurants.”

  Jo slipped her hands in the pockets of her baggy cargo shorts, clenching her hands. “That’s a real nice offer, but I’m so busy with this place here I don’t really have time for socializing.” Kate nodded and pulled open the door of her car, her expression showing what looked like disappointment and embarrassment. “Thanks for stopping by.”

  Kate slid behin
d the wheel and called through the open window while starting the car, “Yeah, well maybe I’ll see you around.”

  Jo gave a nod as she drove off. When she headed for the barn, Tucker came out, wiping his brow with his bandana.

  “Everything okay there, boss?”

  “Yes.” She smiled. Definitely a Tom, Jr.

  He followed her back inside to the tack room where she pulled bottles of water from the mini fridge. She leaned against her saddle on its perch while he pulled the stool from under the old scarred wood desk and sat.

  “You know how you told me to think of you as a big sister?” Jo tipped her head. “Well, I been thinking ‘bout that and I think if I had a big sister, I wouldn’t mind her being you.”

  “Thanks, Tucker. I appreciate you telling me that.”

  His cheeks burned red. “Yeah, and I try not to judge people.” Jo raised a brow. He took a gulp of water and looked down at his feet. “That lady cop, she’s interested in you, isn’t she?”

  Jo studied him for a minute. “Do you think she is?”

  He met her eyes, but only briefly. “Oh yeah, but it’s okay with me…I mean, I don’t rightly care if you don’t like guys. It’s none of my business.”

  Such open-mindedness was the last thing Jo expected from a young man raised in the rural Midwest.

  “Well, thanks for sharing with me, Tucker. I officially feel like a big sister.”

  He smiled awkwardly. “If she’s bothering you, well…I…I’m here if you ever need any help with anything.”

  Jo walked to the waste bin to toss her empty bottle and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Thanks, Tucker. I like knowing you’ve got my back.”

  He stood. “I mean it. If you need anything, I’m your man.”

  It was immediately obvious from his expression that he realized the potential awkwardness of what he’d said. His cheeks were a bright rosy hue.

  “I’m going to the tool shed. You can call it a day.”

  He tossed his bottle and joined her out in the barn. “I can help you out there.”

  “Nah, you’ve put in enough hours this week. Go on home and take your girlfriend out to a movie.”

  “You sure?”

  “Absolutely. See you Monday, Tucker.”