Phoebe looked at her mom. “Can I?”
“Yes, you may.”
The little girl rolled her eyes in the universal language of a kid whose grammar was just corrected for the umpteenth time. This was training for the teenage years. Right now she was just a kid who ran after another kid. Girlish giggles ensued along with screeching at a pitch only dogs could hear. But the happy scene touched something inside Sam.
It was a feeling he’d had once before that had gone terribly wrong and left him even more alone. Asking for a child had been the end of his marriage and the beginning of the hell it would take to legally make her go away. He hadn’t thought about children of his own again. Until now.
Watching the girls play made him realize the deep, primal emotion had never gone away. He wanted one of those small humans.
“They can’t get to the pool, right?” Faith was critically considering the high fence around it. “Phoebe can swim but—”
“Don’t worry,” Alex assured her. “Leah is in water safety lessons. But they’d have to be Houdini to get in there. The fencing was designed by my talented and overprotective wife and the crew put it in to my specifications. You probably know I’m in construction.”
“Thanks for the segue,” Sam said. “Faith could use your help.”
Ellie was stacking paper plates. “I didn’t want to bring it up in front of Phoebe. How did she take the news?”
“Pretty well.” Faith glanced at him. “Sam really helped.”
“My brother? No way,” Ellie scoffed. “Who’d have thought?”
“He told her the truth and what to expect. That after it’s inspected and judged safe, we’ll go see what we can salvage. She, of course, was thinking toys.”
“How is the house?” Alex asked.
“The roof needs replacing for sure,” Faith told him. “Walls look to be in okay shape, but parts are scorched. There’s water damage.”
“Probably wallboard will have to be removed down to the studs.” Alex took a sip of his beer and thought for a few moments. “Sam is right. Safety first, then see what can be saved, clothes, toys, kitchen stuff. My guess is the furnishings are gone and will have to be disposed of. After packing up what’s salvageable and trashing the rest, demolition can start.”
“I have a thought,” Ellie chimed in. “It kind of comes under the heading of when life gives you lemons—”
“Make lemonade?” Alex finished. “What are you thinking, honey?”
“Look at it as an opportunity to make some changes. Improvements and updating. Unless you thought it was perfect just the way it was.”
“No.” Faith laughed but there was no humor in the sound. “It’s an older home and could use some modernizing, but...”
“What?” Sam encouraged.
“I’m sure there would be added cost.”
He knew where she was going with this. “You have homeowner’s insurance.”
“Yes, but there’s a deductible.”
He was ready for that. “Like I said, there’s government disaster money and the Sunshine Fund.”
“That will probably get it back to the way it was,” she acknowledged. “But from a financial perspective, I can’t afford to do more than that.”
“Think of it as an investment.” Sam really wanted something good to come out of this for her. “It will add value to the property.”
“Spoken like a numbers guy.” There was defeat in her voice that was uncharacteristic of the feisty plant lady.
Sam had an intense desire to fix that, probably because she fought so hard to be independent. Earlier he’d convinced her to let him be her friend and support her through a first look at the damage to her house. Then she’d thrown herself into his arms and the urge to protect her had been overwhelming. And still was.
“Value is important,” he said. “But you also need to be happy.”
“I’d love that but it always comes back to the cost.” She was trying to act tough, but it was easy to see through that and how upset she really was. Reading between the lines, she was saying it was not in the budget of a single woman who was raising a daughter.
Sam only wanted to make her world right again. “I’ll loan you the money. Interest-free.”
Her gaze snapped to his. “What?”
“I have it. Let me help.
“It’s my problem, I’ll handle it. But thank you.”
“That’s it?” Sometimes, he thought, her pigheadedness was incredibly frustrating. “You won’t even think over the offer? I thought we were friends.”
“We are. And I value that too much to take a loan from you. It’s practically guaranteed to destroy that relationship. Money is the root of all evil. You should know that.”
“And why is that?”
“Look what happened with your ex-wife.” She glanced at Ellie, who was nodding.
Sam frowned at her, the expression guaranteed to reduce anyone to quivering compliance. “I’m sorry I told you about that.”
“I’m not. It’s good information to have. Forewarned is forearmed and all that.”
She was putting up walls, which was pretty infuriating. And ironic since the walls of her house literally had to be put up. “Alex, you have connections. Can you get an inspector to Faith’s house tomorrow?”
“Really, Sam?” Ellie’s tone was teasing. “You’re in quite a hurry. You must really want Faith and Phoebe out of your place pronto.”
“No. My house is their house as long as they need it.” He shrugged and met Faith’s gaze. “I just want to help make her life whole again.”
“And it’s much appreciated,” she said, smiling a little.
But there was something in her eyes, a sad expression that he hadn’t seen before. During their quid pro quo by his pool, he’d had the feeling there was something she wasn’t telling him about her past.
Sam was determined to find out what because he wanted to know everything about her. After he got her safely back into her renovated home maybe this blasted protective streak would go away.
Chapter Eight
Several days after the barbecue with his sister, Sam drove beneath the Dixon Ranch sign again but this time he was alone. He pulled the car to a stop by the ranch house as he had before and found Cabot Dixon himself on the porch holding his daughter. Sam parked the SUV and got out, then walked up to the rancher and shook the man’s hand.
“Good to see you again, Cabot.”
“You, too.” He shifted the wiggly little girl to his other arm. “Faith called and said you’d be picking Phoebe up today.”
“Yeah. She’s meeting my brother-in-law at her house so he can assess the damage and come up with a plan for repairs.”
“How bad is it?”
“Frankly, it’s a miracle that anything is left up there.” Sam dragged his fingers through his hair. “The street signs are all burned and twisted metal. That’s one reason she had to go with Alex, to show him where it is. Across the street from her place, everything is gone. You can see the outlines of foundations but ashes are all that’s left. The bad news is her house isn’t fit to live in right now.”
“Thanks to you, she doesn’t have to worry about where she’s going to stay.”
“Just doing my civic duty.” Although he was pretty sure the definition of “civic” didn’t include wanting to kiss Faith and make her clothes fall off. “Trying to be a part of this town. Neighborly spirit. Doing my share to pitch in...”
The other man half smiled, as if he could read minds. “You’re sure that’s all there is to it?”
“Yeah.” Sam knew brotherly concern when he saw it. He’d almost convinced himself that his feelings for her fell into that category, then she’d hugged him at the house. It had only been gratitude on her part but for some reason his
body hadn’t received that message.
“How’s she holding up?” When his daughter fussed, Cabot lifted her high over his head to get a laugh.
“Amazingly well. She’s a strong woman.” He noticed that the other man was looking thoughtful. “Something wrong?”
“Probably not. But it’s traumatic for the whole family.”
“You mean Phoebe.”
Cabot nodded. “One of the camp counselors mentioned in the daily report that she’s been unusually quiet. Who could blame her?”
“Yeah. Faith tried to break the news gently, but now she knows she’s not going home right away. I’ll talk to Faith about it.”
“Good. I thought it’s something she should be aware of.”
“Here comes Phoebe now.” Sam spotted her walking up the dirt path from the lake where most of the camp activities took place.
Was it his imagination after what Cabot had said, or were her shoulders slumped and her steps dragging? From the first day she and her mom came to stay with him a few weeks ago, Phoebe had been lively, energetic, outgoing. Chatty. Maybe she wasn’t dejected, just tired.
“Hey, Squirt,” he said when she stopped beside him. “I volunteered to pick you up today.”
“I know. Can we go now?”
“Sure.” This was a very different child from the one he had seen this morning. He glanced at the rancher and saw the man frown. He’d seen it, too. “Good to see you, Cabot.”
“Say hi to Faith for me.”
“Will do.”
He and Phoebe walked to the car and he took the pink backpack before opening the front passenger door. Then he remembered something Ellie had said about kids and cars. “Do you need one of those booster things to sit on? Can you ride in the front seat or do you have to be in the back facing the rear?”
Phoebe gave him the are-you-that-dense look. “I’m not a baby, Sam. And I’m tall enough to sit in front. My weight is okay for the seat belt to be safe. Mom checked.”
“I bet she did. Okay then.” He was way behind the learning curve. This role-model, watching-over-an-eight-year-old-girl duty was a tough gig. There was a lot to remember.
Sam waited for her to climb in then closed the door. It was on the tip of his tongue to say she should always insist that a guy be a gentleman and open doors for her. Maybe that was jumping the gun, but he didn’t know how long he’d be around to give her the scoop on boys.
He got in the driver’s side and started the engine. “Is there anywhere you want to go?”
“No.”
Sam glanced over at her before driving back the way he’d come. Her voice was flat, lacking the normal energy and high spirits. “Did you have a good day?”
“It was okay.”
He waited for more that didn’t come. “What did you do?”
“Stuff.”
“Did you swim?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He was running out of conversation starters. Granted, he didn’t speak fluent eight-year-old but it was obvious even to him that she was having an off day. Maybe she just needed some space.
Neither of them spoke the rest of the way home and Sam became increasingly uneasy. He’d bet his beloved big-screen TV that something bad was going on. Still, he was completely out of his depth here and leaning toward staying out of it, erring on the side of not making things worse. Let her mom handle it when she got home. But...
There was always a but. That was a powerful word and could stop something or start it. Potential good or possible disaster. Since the night of the Sunshine Fund benefit he had been acutely aware of the whole role model, responsibility thing. Maybe giving her space was a mistake.
Her father had given her space and now there was a hole in her life that needed to be filled. Even if it was by an amateur who was only temporary.
After hitting the button on the garage door opener, he drove the car into its place of honor and turned off the engine. He got out and opened Phoebe’s door before retrieving her backpack from the rear seat. They walked inside, Phoebe preceding him.
Sam hung her backpack on the stairway post and said, “Do you want something to eat? We can fix it together.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Not even for pancakes?” Sam knew she was really a big fan of those.
“That’s for breakfast.” Not even a glimmer of her normal spunky personality.
“Your stomach doesn’t care about that,” he said.
“My tummy feels funny.” She looked more than a little pathetic.
“Are you sick?” He put his hand on her forehead. Why? Must have been what his mom did when he was a kid.
“No. Can I go to my room now?”
“Sure, but...” There was that word again. “First I’d really like you to tell me what’s bothering you.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Sam might be a beginner but he recognized that she didn’t give him the typical female response that she was fine. So there was something not right. “It might help to get it off your chest.”
“It won’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Talking doesn’t do any good.” It sounded as if she’d tried dialogue without results. Worse, she wouldn’t look at him.
“Telling me might make your tummy feel better.”
“Nothing will help.”
“Are you sure? You won’t know unless you try.” He angled his head toward the family room. “Let’s sit down and give it a shot.” He put his hand gently between her shoulder blades, not nudging but just to let her know that he was there. If she shut him down he wasn’t sure what else to do. So it was a relief when she sighed and moved toward the corner group in front of the TV.
“What’s up?” he asked, sitting beside her.
“There’s a girl at camp. She’s boarding there all summer.” Phoebe glanced up for a moment. “She’s being mean to me.”
“I see.” He didn’t at all. He was pissed. But on some level it registered that letting her know would be unhelpful. “How is she being mean?”
“She makes fun of me in front of other kids.” She sounded so small and vulnerable.
That made Sam want to put his fist through the wall, but again it would only make him feel better and probably scare Phoebe. He blew out a breath. “Have you asked her to stop?”
“Yes. My mom always says to use words but that’s not working. It just makes her do it more. And I can’t tell my mom because she’ll worry.”
Sam’s state of pissed-off-ness went up a notch. This was bullying. If she’d been a boy he would have known what to say but she was a girl. His need to Google anti-bullying techniques bordered on desperation because now Phoebe was looking at him as if he had all the answers. God help him.
Numbers on a spreadsheet were useless to him at this moment, which was too bad because he’d give anything to fix Phoebe’s problem. What would Faith do?
“Have you told your camp counselor what’s going on?” he asked.
“No. That would be tattling.”
And left the tattler open to retaliation. “Has this girl ever pushed you or—?”
Phoebe shook her head. “She likes to make the other kids laugh and makes fun of my clothes and hair.”
So for now it wasn’t a physical threat, not that he felt any less angry while this child was suffering emotional abuse. But thoughtful intervention was appropriate. The kid tormenting Phoebe was trying to be cool in front of her peers, to elevate her own status at Phoebe’s expense.
“It sounds to me as if she’s putting you down to make herself feel better.”
“I guess.” Slim shoulders rose for a moment, then fell.
“You have lots of close friends there. Does she do it when they’re around?”
/>
The little girl thought for a moment, then looked up. There was a speck of hope in her eyes. “No.”
“Then it seems to me you should try to avoid her and make sure you’re with one or more of your friends. If she tries they’ll stick up for you. Right?”
“I think so.”
“Good.” This had to be said. “If that doesn’t work, Mr. Dixon and your camp counselor should know what’s going on. So they can talk to her.” Sam knew Faith needed to make the decision on that because there could be unpleasant consequences for her daughter.
The little girl sat up straighter and met his gaze. “Tyler Dixon is my friend. And he’s older. She never says anything bad when he’s around. She always smiles at him.”
The shrew-in-training had a crush on the rancher’s son, he realized. Best to keep that information to himself. “Then you’re probably going to want to hang out with Tyler. And remember, Phoebe, camp is almost over. That girl will go back where she came from and school will start where all your friends are. But you should enjoy the rest of your summer. If the situation makes you unhappy or uncomfortable, you can’t keep it to yourself. There are people to help. Mr. Dixon, your mom. And me—”
“I’ll remember.” She smiled then.
Sam felt the weight of the world lift from his shoulders and smiled back. “I don’t know about you, but in my opinion this was a good talk.”
She nodded, then without warning threw herself into his arms. “I love you, Sam.”
When he could get words past the lump in his throat, he said, “Back at you, Squirt.”
“I’m hungry. Can we have pancakes for dinner?”
“Anything you want.”
And he meant that. This kid had him completely hooked. How could a father just leave her? That was his loss, because she was terrific and so was her mom. It was a damn shame that the man who should have been there for both of them had taken from Faith—well, her faith.
She wasn’t ever going to trust a man again and anyone who made the mistake of falling for her would suffer the consequences. Sam had already been burned by consequences of his own and once was more than enough.
The New Guy in Town Page 10
