by Jeannie Watt
“There’s a hole in the barn foundation near the rear door,” Gus called after her.
She raised her hand without looking back and he started toward the equipment.
Henry’s name echoed through the growing darkness as he and Lillie Jean called and called. Gus had a very bad feeling as he searched around the old combines, balers and grain trucks. The air was too still. No whines. No yips.
In the distance Lillie Jean was calling, an increasingly desperate note to her voice. He wasn’t going to give up the search, but soon they’d have to get flashlights. He started back toward the driveway, when a movement caught his eye.
Only Clancy, sitting on top of a post near the pole pile.
Gus shifted course. “What’d you do to him?” he asked the cat, glad that no one was around to hear this bit of madness.
Clancy stretched himself up higher and then Gus heard it. The faintest of whines.
He turned toward the pole pile. There wasn’t much space beneath it. But had Henry managed to push his way under it? He crouched down low.
“Henry?”
He was answered with another faint whine. Gus jumped to his feet and yelled Lillie Jean’s name. She came running.
“You found him?”
“Listen.”
Lillie Jean crouched beside him. “Henry?”
The whimper was louder this time and Lillie Jean’s gaze flashed up to Gus’s face. “How do we get him out?”
“Carefully.”
She reached out to grip his forearm, looking as if she was about to cry. “Thank you, Gus. Thank you for finding him.”
He brought a hand up to cup her cheek. Her skin was cold beneath his touch, and again he felt the urge to draw her close, warm her. Henry made another noise and he tore his gaze away from hers, dropped his hand.
“We need to proceed carefully so we don’t shift the pile onto him...”
It took nearly fifteen minutes of careful moving and shifting of poles until they made a space big enough for Gus to lean into and touch the little dog’s warm body. He snagged a couple fingers into the sweater and tugged. Nothing.
“The sweater is hung up,” he muttered.
“Oh no.”
“I can get it, if I can just reach the buttons...” Gus worked first one button through the hole, then the second. When he pulled his hand back, Henry followed, wiggling his way out and then turning small joyful circles, yipping at Lillie Jean as she tried to get hold of him. Finally she managed to scoop him into her arms and he continued whining as he gave her doggy kisses.
“Your next sweater will have quick-release fastening,” she promised the little dog before looking up at Gus, a joyful smile on her face. Without pausing to think, Gus wrapped his arms around Henry and Lillie Jean, pulling them close, getting a few canine kisses of his own.
Lillie Jean leaned into him, her cheek resting against his chest as she cuddled the dog, and then he felt her go still. Gus casually dropped his arms, stepping back and doing his best to pretend he felt nothing but reunion joy. That he hadn’t been one bit affected by Lillie Jean’s hair brushing his jaw, or the satisfying feeling of having her in his arms.
“Happy ending,” he said gruffly.
“Yes.” Lillie Jean sounded breathless and he had the feeling that she, too, was pretending. “Look,” she lifted the dog so he could see Henry’s face. “He’s bleeding.”
“Cat scratches,” Gus guessed. He looked over his shoulder, but Clancy was no longer sitting atop the post. Well, at least the gnarly old feline had pointed Gus in the right direction.
“I’d better see to them,” she said without looking at him.
“I have ointments.”
“Great.” Lillie Jean started toward the houses and Gus fell into step, keeping a healthy distance between himself and the woman who was driving him just a little crazy.
* * *
GUS PERCHED ON the plaid recliner in Lillie Jean’s living room, holding Henry steady while she crouched in front of him, dabbing antibiotic ointment on the little dog’s nose. Henry rolled his eyes and did his best to pull away, but Gus gently held him in place until Lillie Jean sat back on her heels.
While she’d been focused on treating the deep scratches, she’d been fine. Or close to fine. Now...she was too close to Gus for comfort. She could feel the warmth radiating off his body, smell hay and earth and guy—a surprisingly heady mixture for someone trying to keep herself from going into sensory overload.
“He should have a tetanus shot.” Gus ran a hand over Henry’s little domed head, stroking his ears.
“Yes,” Lillie Jean agreed.
“I’ll get one.”
“Excuse me?” She stood and reached for Henry, who wiggled until she set him on the floor. Gus got to his feet.
“I’ll be back with the syringe.”
“You have tetanus vaccine just hanging around?”
“This is a ranch,” he said. “I also have penicillin and tetracycline. I’ve just got to check expiration dates.”
“Okay.”
As soon as he was gone, Lillie Jean sat on the floor and called Henry. He climbed into her lap and she stroked his ears. “You are never going outside without being monitored again.” Even though Gus had promised to fill in the hole, there was nothing stopping her intrepid little dog from digging another.
“It was that cat, right?” Lillie Jean murmured to the dog. “He led you astray.”
Henry whined as if to say, “Exactly. It was the cat.”
“Now you need a new sweater and—” the door rattled “—it looks like you’re about to get a poke.”
She scooped up Henry as Gus came back inside and sat in the recliner. Gus popped the top off the syringe and knelt down to expertly administer the shot. He was good, because Henry didn’t move. When he was done, he ruffled the dog’s ears.
“Thank you,” she said, hoping Gus didn’t notice how husky and uncertain her voice was.
She was still upset over the Henry scare, but she was also still working her way through the group hug next to the pole pile, and how secure she’d felt in his arms.
Secure. Yeah. Right. Good one, Lillie Jean.
Lillie Jean and her little voice were going to have to have a serious talk one of these days. She was getting tired of small whispered truths ruining her justifications.
She cleared her throat. He was still kneeling in front of her, petting Henry, his fingers occasionally brushing against hers, when he raised his gaze and it was all she could do to keep from swallowing. Oh yeah. He was feeling it, too.
Stop lying to yourself. You like him. You want him.
Lying was better than messing things up.
Yeah? Well, they’re pretty messed up now, so...
“Lillie Jean—”
An odd calm came over her when Gus said her name. Without thinking or wondering or rationalizing, she leaned forward to slide a hand around the back of his neck and pull him toward her, tilted her head, and met his lips in a soft, sweet kiss.
Soft and sweet quickly turned to fiery and hot. She pulled back, while she still could, bringing her back firmly against the recliner cushion. Henry twisted his head to look up at her with a confused canine expression, as if asking why he’d just been squeezed between his two rescuers.
“That was in the name of honesty,” she said.
He gave her a crooked half smile, but his gaze was serious as he said, “I like it when you’re honest.”
“It’s hard.”
He rested his hands on her knees, one on either side of Henry. “I know,” he said softly. “But I’m a fair guy. I don’t believe in taking advantage and I don’t believe in manipulation.”
“You’re not Andrew,” she said with a wry twist to her lips.
His grip tightened on her knees. “Lillie Jean, I have no idea
where this is going, but I think we should stop denying feelings.”
“I’m only staying for so long.” Which was, again, honest. She was going home.
“I know. And if everything works out, I’ll be married to the ranch.”
“So what are you saying?”
He smiled for real, a genuine smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes and creased his cheeks. “I’m not really sure. But I’d like to keep being honest with each other. And that means communication. With each other,” he clarified.
“Point taken.” She reached out to touch his cheek. “Maybe I’d like to continue doing morning chores again.”
“Maybe I’d enjoy the company.” He got to his feet. “We’ll play this by ear, Lillie Jean. Communication and trust.”
“Sounds good,” she said. It also sounded scary. But she was going to give it her best shot—in the name of honesty.
* * *
GUS HAD THE tractor running when Lillie Jean came into her living room, putting on her coat as she walked. She was a little late, but it was actually for a good reason—she’d had a decent night’s sleep for the first time in over a week. Something about everything being out in the open, where it was easier to deal with, rather than wondering what Gus was thinking, or what her next move would be to keep Gus from knowing she was spending too much time thinking about him. Yes, she might be signing up for trouble, but honesty was better than feeling shifty and uncertain.
She’d just grabbed her gloves off the kitchen table when her phone rang. She looked at the phone, then at the idling tractor. No one called that early unless it was important. Lillie Jean reversed course and grabbed the phone off the table, her heart rate bumping up when she saw that it was Kate.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“What? Why?”
“It’s 6:00? In the morning?” A time when she’d normally be out feeding, but Kate didn’t know how ridiculously early she got out of bed.
“Oh.” Kate gave a small laugh. “Time difference and I’ve been up for hours. I would have called last night but I fell asleep when the kids went down. Anyway,” she said, her voice growing serious, “I think you should call Andrew.”
“The guy you told me to block?”
“I ran into him in the hardware store. He’s going to pieces. Taia pulled out of the business. Isabella only wants your designs and is threatening to cancel the order. It sounds like the place is bleeding money.”
“He’s had it for four months.”
“Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.” But Kate’s tone lacked conviction. If Kate felt sorry for Andrew, then he had to be in rough shape. “I think he’d sell the place back to you.”
“I wonder how bad it is? If it can be salvaged?”
“I don’t know. The direction Taia wanted to go was a big flop, which was why she bailed.”
Leaving Andrew holding the bag.
“I thought both she and Andrew wanted to go in the same direction.”
“Not to hear Andrew tell it. Now he’s wishing they’d left things as they were with your aesthetic, instead of going ultramodern minimalistic.” Kate gave a small sniff. “Apparently that didn’t go over well with the established clientele and they haven’t yet managed to attract new customers.”
“Bleeding money. Just the kind of business I want to invest in.”
But the truth was that she wanted her business back—if it could be salvaged. The workroom and the storefront...she wanted it.
“If you did decide to give it a go,” Kate said tentatively, “I’d help you.”
Which was code for “please buy back the business, and let me build it with you.”
“You know none of this may work out,” Lillie Jean felt compelled to point out. “Andrew may prefer to let the business die rather than sell it back to me.”
“If it works out that way, I understand. But at the very least, call Andrew and find out what’s going on.”
“All right. I will.” Lillie Jean ended the call and headed out the door, walking quickly across the gravel driveway to the tractor, her mind going about a hundred miles an hour. Andrew was in trouble. He might want to sell. Yes, she had to look into this.
Gus leaned across the cab to pop the door open as Lillie Jean climbed the stairs. She eased into the jump seat and shot him a quick smile. She’d kissed this man. Twice. She wanted to kiss him again, and it probably showed. “I feel self-conscious,” she said.
Honesty.
He smiled a little and put the tractor in gear. “Me, too. We’ll work through it.”
Lillie Jean let out a breath and felt herself start to relax. And this morning, as she watched his hands on the levers and occasionally glanced at his profile, she didn’t worry about being caught, because when their gazes connected, he gave her that sexy half smile she loved so much.
She opened gates, cut strings on the giant hay bales, then stood near the gate that was holding back the cattle as Gus loaded the hay into the feeders. The calf-stealing cow was now totally mellow and barely noticed as her calf came up to give Lillie Jean a curious once-over. A few more calves approached, scattering when Gus turned the tractor and headed back to pick her up. Lillie Jean waited until he was close by, then swung open the gate and the cattle poured through, some walking, some loping toward the feed. Once again, she climbed the steps and got into her seat.
“Hey,” Gus said as he put the tractor into gear. “Do you want to go to the community spaghetti feed tonight?”
Like a date?
“To tell you the truth, I’d forgotten.” Put it right out of her head. “But...why not?” It’d give her a chance to meet more people. Being totally isolated on the ranch was good for her creativity, but she missed being around people. There had to be a happy medium in one’s life and she hadn’t achieved that in Montana.
“We’d be home by eleven.”
“Are you telling me I’ll need to sleep fast to be up in time for chores?”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Maybe.”
“Do you need help today?” she asked.
“No. I have a little more fencing to do from the four-wheeler, then I’m going to town to get feed.”
“I have calls to make.”
“Real estate?”
She had to give him points for sounding matter-of-fact about a subject that had to twist his gut. “My ex. About the business.”
“Ah.”
He didn’t ask for more information and she didn’t offer any. After he parked the tractor, they went their separate ways, Lillie Jean to her house, Gus to his. She did not want to make this call. Did not want to hear Andrew’s voice again.
Tough.
Lillie Jean pulled off her gloves and hat after closing the front door behind her. She stripped out of her feeding jeans, slipped into her painting pants, then settled on the recliner, phone in hand. Henry jumped onto her lap as she dialed the number to A Thread in Time. Andrew answered, probably because there was no one else around now that Taia had left.
“Hi, Andrew.”
“Lillie Jean.” He sounded stunned.
“Kate thought you wanted to talk to me.”
“I didn’t tell her that.”
“I know.” Lillie Jean waited, allowed Andrew time to get his thoughts together. This wasn’t a call she particularly wanted to make, but if, on the off chance Andrew did want to sell instead of going bankrupt, she needed to know.
After several silent seconds ticked by, Andrew said, “Taia left.”
“I heard.”
“Isabella hasn’t canceled her order yet, but she will if I don’t come up with what she wants.” He cleared his throat. “Would you consider coming back?”
“I would consider buying the business back—if you haven’t ruined the reputation yet.”
“I haven’t been raking in the orders
.” Because he didn’t have Kate out there actively marketing when she wasn’t busy with the bookkeeping. Her friend had a gift that she hadn’t been aware of until she’d gone to work for A Thread in Time. “But I haven’t reneged on any. Yet.”
“Andrew...” Lillie Jean planted a palm on her forehead. Funny how she felt absolutely nothing for this guy other than impatience. Had she ever really loved him? Or had she just been very comfortable?
“Taia’s dad is a lawyer.”
“I know.” What did that have to do with anything?
“He wrote her a pretty decent contract. I...uh...owe her a bunch of money. I also owe the vendors. I’m more than sixty days behind.”
“How...?”
“We went to some trade shows in California and Arizona, thinking we’d rake in the orders. Didn’t happen.”
“You used the vendor money to finance trips to the trade shows?”
“It was a gamble.”
No. It was stupid.
“Andrew, we had a nice little business. It was growing. It had a great reputation.” They were making key contacts in the music world.
“It still has a great reputation.” His tone shifted. Hardened. “If you can buy me out, pay the vendors, A Thread in Time won’t have the stigma of a bankruptcy.”
“Or I could start over with a new name.”
“Your name will still be associated with a bankrupt business.”
“How? I’m no longer part of the business.”
“You were, and you haven’t been gone that long.”
Lillie Jean scowled at the phone. “Are you threatening me?”
“No. I’m offering to let you buy back the business. It shouldn’t be a problem since you’ve come into some money.”
“Have you ever heard the phrase ‘land rich, cash poor’?”
“You’re breaking my heart, Lillie Jean.”
Yeah. What would that feel like? He’d stomped all over her heart.
“Put some numbers together,” she said. “Email me.”
“I’m not blocked?”
“I’ll unblock you. And, Andrew, don’t try to play me. Your name will take more of a hit than mine will if the business goes south.”
