by Zoe York
She’ll only have access to the books, not the accounts. Besides, she’s not Leigh.
Now that he was finally free and clear from that fiasco—financially, at least—he could afford to give a struggling single mother a break. The lingering emotional impacts would take longer to recover from, but maybe striking a deal with Annemarie would be a good step toward healing those wounds, too.
“Gabe?” she called. “Would you come here for a minute?”
“Sure.”
Still pondering his options, he joined Annemarie in her son’s bedroom. The kid was tucked in and ready for bed.
“Cody has something he’d like to ask you,” Annemarie said.
“What do you need, squirt?”
“Will you come out again to visit? Please?”
Wow. Not what he had expected. “Uh….”
He looked to Annemarie, but she wasn’t any help and only regarded him with what he thought might be hope. It was so faint that he couldn’t be sure.
“I can’t make any promises, but I’d love to.” He cleared his throat and shifted his weight. “It would, uh, be great if I could check on Diamond Dot’s colt in a few days and see how he’s doing. If your mom’s all right with that.”
She nodded.
“Good night, squirt.”
“Good night, Mr. Collins.”
“My friends call me Gabe.”
“Does that mean… I’m your friend?”
“You bet it does.”
“Okay. Good night, Gabe.”
After Cody was asleep and dreaming of horses, Gabe and Annemarie adjourned to the dilapidated front porch to take in the night air still clinging to the day’s warmth while they talked business.
“I can’t ask you to work out a deal with me. Not after everything you’ve done for me,” she said quietly. “And I don’t think I could afford even a very generous, long-term payment plan.”
“First of all, you didn’t ask. I offered. Secondly, I think we can come up with a deal that doesn’t include money.”
“What can I possibly give you in return?”
The way she eyed him was so comical that he nearly choked trying to contain his laughter. “Nothing like what you’re thinking, Ms. Garrett, and please don’t take that as an insult.”
“Annemarie,” she mumbled, lowering her gaze in a futile effort to hide the blush that colored her cheeks in a most enchanting way. Relief splashed across her face, but so did something else. Something he thought might be a hint of disappointment.
“I’ll get it eventually, I promise.”
Shaking her head, she let out a huff of laughter. “I’m sorry. I don’t know where that thought came from. You’ve been nothing but polite and professional. I guess I’m just used to dealing with a different kind of man.”
What an odd explanation. Her expression became guarded again, and he filed the comment away for later. “Anyhow…. Regarding this proposed business arrangement, you’re an accountant, right?”
She nodded.
“Would you be willing to trade some bookkeeping for electrical work?”
“What about the supplies you’ll need?”
“I’ll cover it. Let’s make this easy. I’ll put a dollar amount on my services and the materials, and we’ll use that to determine your side of the trade based on what you would make if I walked into your office and hired you. How’s that sound?”
“Perfectly reasonable. And a much better offer than I think I’d get from your competition.”
“I’ll need to figure out my costs—what materials I’ll need, your preferences, how long this job will take—but it’s far too late to do that tonight. Would you mind if I stop out again on Wednesday? We can settle on the details of our deal then, too.”
“That would be great. I can’t thank you enough.”
“You already have. Dinner was delicious.” He strolled out to his truck with Annemarie walking beside him almost as if she wasn’t ready for him to leave yet. He certainly wasn’t ready to go even though it was now half past eight. “Do me a favor, though, will you?”
He turned to face her, and she waited expectantly for him to elaborate.
“Invest in a couple fire extinguishers if you don’t already have them.”
“Are you always so thoughtful of your clients?” she inquired with a note of playfulness entwined with gratitude.
“I try to be.”
He climbed into his truck, tugged his Collins Electrical ball cap on his head, rolled down the window, and leaned out. Tipping the bill of his hat, he said, “Good night, Ms. Garrett.”
“See you Wednesday, Mr. Collins,” she returned with more of that enticing mischief twinkling in her blue eyes. “Any special requests for dinner?”
“You’re going to feed me again?”
“It’s the least I can do. So…?”
“Like I said, I’m happy with chicken nuggets.”
She laughed this time—a rich, musical sound that invited him to join her. “Good night, Gabe.”
“Good night, Annemarie.”
As he drove away through the rapidly cooling Wyoming night, he smiled. He had an inkling that by the time he was finished rewiring her cabin, he’d gladly do it all for free.
Chapter 3
Annemarie set a Belgian waffle in front of her son and settled into her chair to enjoy her own. She cut a bite-sized piece and speared it with her fork, then pushed it idly through the syrup, staring out the dining room window at the cheerfully bright morning. It was a deception, that brilliant sunshine that looked so warm and tempting. When she and Cody had walked down to the barn just before sunup to check on Diamond Dot and her foal—the name Angel had stuck—they’d left footprints in the frost on the grass beside the road. And the forecast called for a high of only thirty-five. Warm compared to last week’s highs in the twenties, but she was ready for spring.
Thinking of their new horse, she smiled. It was Saturday at last, which meant Gabriel Collins would be here soon to start rewiring the cabin. She’d been looking forward to seeing him again since their laid-back discussion on Wednesday evening about her preferences for outlet and switch locations and lighting styles. His offer was beyond generous, and maybe she could blame her excitement on gratitude for his unbelievable kindness and the relief that her electrical problems would all be solved soon… but that wasn’t the half of it.
She was far more excited to see the man himself.
A knock sounded on her front door. She dropped her fork on her plate, jumped out of her chair, and went to answer it with a wide grin and a noticeable bounce in her step. There was only one person it could be, and she yanked the door open still smiling.
Gabe stood on the other side with two coils of yellow-coated wire hanging from one shoulder, a red metal toolbox in one hand, and a cordless drill in the other. How had he managed to knock?
“Good morning. Come on in,” she greeted a little too breathlessly, stepping back to give him room to walk inside.
“Good morning to you.”
“Gabe!”
The clatter of silverware on porcelain and the groan of a chair being shoved back from the table followed Cody’s excited greeting, and half a second later, he zipped around the corner hiding the dining room from the living room and launched himself at the electrician.
“Hiya, squirt,” Gabe greeted with a wide grin as he leaned down to wrap the boy in a one-harmed hug. “You going to be my big helper again today?”
“Can I?”
“As long as your mom doesn’t mind.”
Both the little boy and the big one looked to her expectantly, and her heart lurched. Cody had spent only a handful of hours—maybe eight total so far—with Gabe, but he had taken to the man like she hadn’t seen him take to anyone outside her family but his teacher, Caleb’s mother Jamie, her new husband Tad, and Ginny Grant. She could add Thomas Sr. to the short list of people he adored, but it had taken him weeks to warm up to the gruff rancher, not hours.
Annemar
ie tilted her head. Aside from the blue eyes, her fair-haired little boy looked nothing like Gabe, whose hair was so dark it was almost black, but those matching, hopeful grins triggered an impression of father and son—an impression she’d never once gotten with Cody and Tom even though Tom was his father.
Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe.
No. She couldn’t think like that. She’d let hope blind her once before, and look how that had turned out. Besides, she didn’t even know if Gabe had a wife or a girlfriend. Other than the few appreciative glances she’d caught, he’d made zero moves on her, and she knew all too well that even if he had, it didn’t mean he was single. Tom certainly hadn’t let his marriage stop him from pursuing her… or who knew how many other women.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and somehow managed to say with a level voice, “Fine by me as long as you remember Gabe’s here to work and not to entertain you, Cody.”
“I won’t forget, Mom. I’ll be a big help.”
She ruffled his hair with a fond smile. He was a good boy, and pride in him momentarily overwhelmed her. “Finish your breakfast first. I’m sure it’ll take Gabe that long to get everything ready, anyhow.”
After Cody returned to the table, she glanced up at Gabe. He stared in the direction of the dining room with one corner of his mouth lifted.
“He’s quite a friendly little guy.”
“Not usually. Consider that a compliment, because he’s normally pretty shy.”
“It’s all my nieces and nephews. They’ve turned me into a sucker, and every kid I’ve ever met has this remarkable sucker radar.”
Laughing, she replied, “So that’s what it is. You remembered to bring some bookkeeping for me, right?”
“I surely did.”
Once breakfast was done and cleaned up, Cody wandered off to help Gabe, and Annemarie settled in at the dining room table to tackle Gabe’s books. Despite what he’d led her to believe Wednesday, he was remarkably adept at keeping his own books. She had very little work to do, mostly entering in receipts for the last week and verifying that he’d earmarked the correct amount for income taxes. It took her less than two hours to familiarize herself with his books and update them. Their deal was stacked overwhelmingly in her favor. Surely he had to know that. So why had he made the offer?
People that generous didn’t exist.
Her family would’ve gone to great lengths to help her if she would’ve let them, and had the situation been reversed, she would’ve done the same for them. Because that’s what families were supposed to do. Gabe didn’t have that reason. He was little more than a stranger and had no obligation to help her.
Maybe not such a stranger.
A constant stream of conversation floated up to her through the trap door. She couldn’t believe her son had followed him down into the basement that terrified him so he didn’t miss out on anything Gabe was doing. She paused in her work to listen as Gabe explained how the breaker box worked.
“Annemarie?” he called.
“Yes?”
“I need to turn the dining room and kitchen off.”
“Thanks for the heads up.”
With the familiar clicks of breakers being switched off, the bulb over the trap door went dark. Cody didn’t let out so much as a yelp.
Guess he’s over his fear of monsters in the basement.
Moments later, he clambered up the stairs with a big grin on his face. Gabe appeared right after, and it wasn’t until he’d retrieved his ladder from his truck and set it up beneath the access panel to the attic that it dawned on her why he’d turned off the electricity to this side of the house.
Half a second after that realization, it became clear she wasn’t going to get any work done while he was in here. He appeared to be inspecting the lay of the house and the existing wiring at the moment, and that should have bored her, but she was riveted. The graceful movements of his body, the effortless strength he exhibited when he hoisted himself into the attic and then lowered himself onto the ladder a few minutes later….
Good lord, the man was a pleasure to watch.
Dressed as he had been that first day in jeans that hugged narrow hips and long, muscular legs and a denim button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up not quite to his elbows, Gabriel Collins was an exquisite specimen of masculinity.
Tom exuded that same unquestionable virility, too, but as far as she could tell, that’s where their similarities ended. Tom’s confidence had a haughty edge while Gabe’s kindness and generosity softened her impression of him and perfectly matched his physical grace. Taller and broader than Cody’s father, he had the potential to be intimidating, but there was too much warmth in those striking blue eyes, and they sucked her in.
Stop it, she scolded herself, forcing her gaze away before he caught her staring. Of course he looks good in comparison to Tom. Just about any man would at this point.
Abruptly, she snatched the cordless phone from its base on the counter and marched into the living room to call Jim. She hated to bug him on his day off, but going over their arrangements for the livestock auction this Friday would get her mind off the attractive electrician and onto something that would hopefully put some much-needed money in the bank.
Just when she thought the call would go to Jim’s answering machine, the ringing stopped and she heard a clatter followed by cursing. Finally, the ranch hand answered.
“Jim, it’s Annemarie.”
He swore again, and she steeled herself for bad news.
“I was about to call you.”
“Oh?”
“I have to cancel on you. Again. I just got home from an emergency at the Grants’.” Jim sighed. “I’m sorry, Annemarie. I am.”
“Cancel on me? Not the auction. Please God, Jim, don’t tell me you can’t….” She let her voice trail off, unable to say the words. Tom. He had something to do with this; she just knew it, felt the cold rejection and seething fury churning in her gut that always came when Tom tried to block her. “What kind of emergency?”
“Johnny got stomped pretty good by a bull after slappin’ it on the ass this morning while he and Cam were out feedin’. They just hauled him away in the ambulance. Looks like his back might be broke, but even if it ain’t, he’ll be laid up for weeks, most likely. Goddamned fool’s lucky to be alive for bein’ so stupid.”
Sounds like something Johnny would do, Annemarie thought with a scowl. “I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but why does that mean you have to back out on me?”
“Johnny was supposed to haul cattle to Torrington same day you need to have yours to the auction.”
“Can’t they find someone else?”
“Not on such short notice. And why would they when they have another hand with a CDL?”
“Yes, why would they?” she murmured.
Jim wasn’t being thoughtless, only conveying the Grants’ thought process, but it was one more slap in the face and one more not-so-subtle reminder that Tom couldn’t care less about her or their son.
“I’m sorry, Annemarie,” Jim said quietly with genuine regret in his voice.
She couldn’t help but believe he was sincere, and he often worked so many hours above and beyond his regular duties at the Grant Ranch to help her that she couldn’t entertain even the tiniest shred of anger at him. She wanted to ask if he would come work full time for her, but she couldn’t afford to pay him, and just like everyone else, he had bills to pay.
“I know. We really need that money.”
“I know you do, darlin’, and I know it doesn’t really help, but I admire your spirit.”
“I, uh… I’ll call later to see if there’s any news on Johnny. I do hope he’ll be all right.”
She ended the call as quickly as she could without being rude as her heart lunged in her chest. Her breathing was too rapid and shallow, so she snatched her coat from its hook by the front door and slipped outside before either her son or Gabe noticed her distress.
Hugging herself to wa
rd off the bite of the frosty morning, she sat primly in the rickety rocking chair. It creaked loudly as she pushed against the weathered planks of the porch with her toes.
What was she going to do now? She and Cody needed the money her bred heifers and yearling bulls would’ve brought in at the local auction, but there was no way she’d be able to get them to it now.
Closing her eyes, she forced herself to take deep, measured breaths and concentrated on the icy breeze that caressed her cheeks. The sun was pleasantly hot where her body wasn’t in the shade of the roof, and she imagined it warming away her worries.
It didn’t help. Not really. As soon as she opened her eyes again, the problem would still be there, and her skittering pulse and the acid of panic still simmering in her stomach reminded her of that. She shouldn’t have moved out here from town. She shouldn’t have taken the land. She shouldn’t have given into her stubborn pride and moved across Wyoming in the first place. There was no way she’d be able to make this work—not the ranch, not Cody’s connection to his roots—no matter how badly she wanted it for her son. All she was doing was digging them into a hole so deep they’d never be able to climb out. She should cut her losses and sell the land now.
“Even if I could,” she muttered, wiping beneath her eye with her thumb as a solitary tear slipped her guard, “I won’t. This is Cody’s.”
But maybe, if she could find a way to get their cattle to auction, she should sell off the whole lot, put the money in the bank, and move back to town. Then, when Cody was old enough to decide if he wanted to be a rancher, it would be his choice and not his mother’s stubborn, harebrained whim.
Guess that means there’s no point in Gabe finishing his job.
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she killed it.
Maybe this whole mess was her idea, but there was one thing that made her believe it wouldn’t be so easy to just pack up and move back to town. The horses. Cody loved them, and now that Diamond Dot’s foal had arrived, she doubted he’d want to leave them. Maybe she could board those two at least on a ranch closer to town—no way would she ask the Grants to do it—but that would cost money, eating away at whatever savings she might be able to pile up from selling the cattle and their two other horses. She might be able to leave them out here and have Jim look in on them, except that without her here to make sure that happened, Tom was likely to find every excuse to keep Jim from coming over.
