by Caroline Lee
Bob then held up his hands as if to stave off an interruption Rachel could tell wasn’t going to come. “Now, don’t get me wrong, the water park is a lot of work, but when we incorporated it, it came with its own maintenance staff. We could arrange them to report to you if you wanted, or continue to report to me.”
As Bob spoke, it was obvious Andrew was becoming more and more uncomfortable. He’d shifted twice in his seat already, and she was sure she saw sweat gleaming on his temples. He definitely looked ill.
Was he ill, or was it his reaction to this interview?
Bob seemed oblivious. “Now, the work won’t be as much of a headache, and we’ve only got a staff of four, but I’m willing to offer you a competitive salary. I know you feel a real ownership over at River’s End Ranch, and you should be proud of what you’ve accomplished, my boy! But family’s family, and it’s time you come home. What do you say?”
He finished on a cheerful tone, as if the deal were already made, but that was Bob for you. He’d spent his career being undeniably the man in charge, used to running things. It had led to a hospital visit when his heart had decided he was doing too much, and Rachel had been promoted as a result. Now she took pride in sharing his work, making things easier for him…
And more than anything, right now, she was wishing she’d never set up this stupid interview in the first place, never bribed Andrew into agreeing.
Because he looked as if he was moments away from being sick.
When Andrew didn’t say anything—didn’t look as if he could say anything—Bob smiled hugely, completely unaware there was anything wrong.
“Excellent! I always knew you’d come around, my boy. It’ll be good to have you back with the family where you belong—”
“Excuse me.” Uncoiling his hands long enough to thrust himself upright out of the seat, Andrew sneered down at his uncle. “I’m not taking this job. I’m not even sitting through this interview for one more minute.”
Dismissing Bob—who looked as shocked as she felt—Andrew turned to Rachel. There was a mixture of hopelessness and horror and disgust in his eyes when he shook his head. “I like you, Rachel. A lot. I liked you enough to agree to this stupid game, but I’m done. I can’t even be in the same room with him”–the way he snarled the pronoun left no doubt who he meant—“without wanting to throw up or hit something.”
He did look nauseated and disgusted.
“If sitting through an interview is the only way to date you again, I guess I have my answer. Goodbye.” He shook his head again. “You’re wonderful, but not worth this.”
He stumbled away from the desk without looking in Bob’s direction again, and without meeting her eyes. And as Rachel instinctively reached for him—to stop him? To help him?—she knew the truth:
This was goodbye, and goodbye on the worst terms.
He pulled the door open, almost running in his hurry to leave Bob’s presence, and she felt her heart breaking. Not only for what she’d just lost, but for his pain.
I caused that.
She squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of the door slamming, and it felt as if something inside her slammed shut too.
“Well.” Bob’s voice cut through the silence. “That could’ve gone better.”
I can’t be in the same room with him without wanting to throw up or hit something.
He’d said that. He’d had no intention of coming to this interview, until she’d manipulated him into it, and now she’d lost both Andrew and a chance to bring him back to his family.
Failure. Failure!
She sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I didn’t think—”
“Yes, it’s clear you didn’t.”
The hardness in Bob’s voice made her open her eyes and meet his with a shocked feeling. He’d never spoken to her this way.
“You manipulated that boy into this interview, didn’t you?” He shook his head. “Presumably, because you thought it would be good for the hotel. And I’ve seen what he’s done in Riston. He would be good for the hotel, and it’d be good for him to be here.” Clucking his tongue, Bob reshuffled the papers. “But I told you he’s stubborn, and you just saw that. If you’re smart, you’ll stay away from him.”
Rachel looked back at the closed door, wondering where Andrew had gone.
Was he already driving back to Riston? Would she ever see him again?
No, not after that definitive goodbye.
“You’re probably right,” she whispered. It would be smart to stay away from him.
She sighed. Besides, she had work to do, and an engineer to find.
That’s what mattered, right?
CHAPTER SIX
The saw blade stuck for the hundredth time. Andrew forced himself to stop, to let go of the handle, to shake out his hands. He took a deep breath, then another. Handsaws were temperamental at the best of times, but when he was so angry and disgusted his hands started shaking, it made things worse.
He forced himself to clear his mind, to focus only on the piece of wood in front of him. He was in the animal barn, replacing a leg on one of the counters. Jamal had put the non-emergency call in last week, and even though it would’ve been simpler to pass it on to Brian or one of the guys, Andrew took the call. He liked doing projects like this; they reminded him of why he enjoyed this job, and he tried to do at least one a week.
Finishing the cut, he began to sand the new leg. This would’ve been easier in the shop, but because he needed to be in the barn to do it, he’d only brought a bucket of hand tools. It was more relaxing this way. Although, as he rubbed the sandpaper around the edges, he realized he wasn’t relaxed, and deep breathing wasn’t helping any more.
It had been days since the interview with Uncle Bob, and Andrew was still angry. Heather had noticed it at dinner last night, but he’d forced a smile and told her it was nothing. After what Bob had said to Heather, there was no way Andrew was going to bring up their uncle again to her. But he couldn’t deny he was angry…and disgusted…and hurting.
Hurting because, by being unable to sit through an interview with Uncle Bob, he’d lost his chance with Rachel. If she was going to stand by Bob, her boss, then he didn’t want anything to do with her.
Did he?
Well, heck yes, he wanted something to do with her. He wanted a lot to do with her. But she was smart and kind, so how could she stand to work with Bob? And how could she choose him over Andrew?
Ahhh, there’s the thing.
Andrew was honest enough to admit to himself that’s what he was upset over; he really thought he had something special going with Rachel, but by doing what she did, she showed Bob to be more important to her. And Andrew wasn’t going to stand to be second-best in any woman’s heart.
Was he?
He closed his eyes on a growl, disgusted at himself.
It was her choice, he reminded himself.
No, it was your choice not to fight for her.
He sighed, and ran his thumb over the edge of the leg he was holding.
Was that the truth? Had he given up on her too easily? If he hadn’t given into her ultimatum, if he’d told her no, he didn’t want the job, but still wanted to date her…what would she have said?
“What are you still doing here?”
The question—and the voice—was so unexpected, Andrew’s eyes flew open as he whirled around.
“What?” he barked, recognizing the pair who’d just come in the main door. “What are you doing here?”
He thought he’d be alone in the barn—even the animals were all out in their pens for the kids to look at.
Jaclyn didn’t like his question, judging from the way she frowned as she walked closer. She’d been at the ranch even longer than Andrew had, a fixture everyone knew and loved. And she was half-crazy, talking to fairies and gnomes and carrying her rabbits around. She had a big gray one in a diaper draped over her shoulder right now.
Oh, and she was the
ranch’s resident match-maker. It was something Andrew had watched with a mixture of amusement, disbelief, and jealousy. Over the years, she’d helped dozens of couples to the altar, although she claimed it was thanks to the fairies. And not once had she offered any advice to Andrew.
So he matched her frown for frown, barely paying any attention to her nephew Joshua, who’d followed with a rabbit on a leash and his attention on his phone.
But Jaclyn took offense at the frown. “Don’t look at me like that, young man! I merely asked what you were still doing here.”
Andrew waggled the table leg. “I work here. Jamal needed—”
“No, not here”–she waved her free arm in a circle, encompassing the barn and the outside—“here here.”
“Congratulations,” he said blandly, “You just said ‘here’ three times in a row.”
“Hear-hear,” Joshua muttered from behind her, still looking at his phone.
Jaclyn sent a scowl his way, then turned back to Andrew. “I meant that I’m surprised you’re still working at the ranch. I thought you were getting another job.”
Alarm bells began to go off in Andrew’s head. “What? Who told you that?”
No one knew he’d interviewed on Monday, and Heather was the only one who knew he was considering looking for more work. Well, her and Rachel.
But Jaclyn just gave him a “surely you’re not this stupid” look and her lips tightened. “Who do you think?”
Oh. Right.
The fairies.
Andrew just managed to contain his snort of disbelief. He turned slightly to place the leg on the surface beside him, and continued sanding. “I’ve got work to do,” he said as a way to excuse himself.
Behind him, Jaclyn hummed thoughtfully. “There’s a girl involved?”
“Pretty sure by the time a man reaches my age, I’m supposed to call her a woman, not a girl.”
“Ah-ha! So I was right?”
Yeah, you’re right.
Rachel wasn’t a girl; she was a woman, and she was most definitely involved. Andrew hadn’t been able to get her—or that kiss!—out of his mind for days. She’d connected with him in a way no one else had, and the spark between them was unlike anything he’d ever experienced.
When had he stopped sanding?
Andrew realized he was staring down at the piece of wood in his hand, not seeing it. No, he was seeing a pair of sparkling dark eyes and a wide smile. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself to forget her.
It didn’t work.
“Andrew,” Jaclyn said softly, “let me help.”
He wasn’t able to stop his sharp bark of laughter, so he tossed the sandpaper down on top of the leg. “Fine,” he said as he turned around and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Leaning his hip against the counter behind him, he nodded to the old woman, half-dreading what she was going to do. “Is that why you’re here?”
Jaclyn stepped closer and clucked her tongue. “Don’t be silly. I came because Doodles here wanted to see the other animals. Isn’t that right, Doodles?”
She appeared to be speaking to the lump of gray fur in her arms.
“He’s really quite sociable,” she assured Andrew. “I guess he just doesn’t like you.”
“I’m devastated,” Andrew said cheerfully.
“Yes, I can tell.” She frowned at Andrew again. “I don’t know if I want to handle this one. You remember my great-nephew Joshy, don’t you? Joshy!”
Behind her, Joshua sighed slightly and clicked his phone off. He put it in his pocket, tugged on the leash of the rabbit beside him, and there was a genuine smile on his face when he looked at the old woman. “Yes, Aunt Jaclyn?”
“Come meet Andrew.”
Andrew nodded to Joshua—who probably hated being called Joshy. “We’ve met before.”
Last year, Joshua had married the local midwife, and they’d adopted two pre-teens. His son Collin was the same age as Sophie, and his daughter Nellie was Sean’s age. The girls played on the same hockey team, in fact.
Joshua nodded to Andrew with a smile. “Tell Sophie that was a heck of a goal last weekend.”
“Thanks.”
How was he involved in Jaclyn’s nonsense?
The old woman cleared her throat. “Yes, yes, we’re all friends. Now, Joshy, tell me what you…see.”
To Andrew’s surprise, Joshua complied. Still holding that rabbit’s leash, the man took a deep breath, closed his eyes, then…opened them. And this time, it seemed as if he’d opened them in an entirely different way—as if he was looking at the world an entirely different way. It was weird, and made Andrew stand up a little straighter.
When Joshua spoke, it sounded as if his voice was coming from far away. “I think you belong somewhere else. Somewhere with her. Somewhere…” He shrugged. “With family.”
Andrew scowled. Joshua bought into Jaclyn’s supernatural mumbo-jumbo? The man had a doctorate in astrophysics or something. This was nonsense! He turned back to his work.
“I have a family,” he muttered as he reached for the wooden leg.
Behind him, Joshua didn’t deny that. “Yes, but I mean…a bigger family, I think. Bigger than you and Heather and the kids. Listen to them. Love them. Forgive them.”
Forgive them?
Andrew hadn’t spoken to his cousins or other aunts and uncles in years, because…well, because he was afraid they agreed with Bob. And he’d made sure he and Heather hadn’t needed them; they’d been fine on their own. Forgive Bob?
He snorted softly, dismissing Joshua’s words. “I belong here.”
Jaclyn interrupted their conversation. “Pish! Wade can survive without you. Oh, you’ve built this place with your blood and sweat, we know that, but it’s time for you to move on. Time to do something for yourself.”
Almost against his will, Andrew felt himself turning again, facing them with the length of wood dangling from his hand. “What do you mean?” he asked quietly.
“I mean we love you, but someone else can do this job now. But there’s something out there only you can do, and you need to do it.” Her expression softened to a small smile as she hefted the rabbit in her arms. “You’re balanced on the cusp of something big, my boy. Make sure you fall in the right direction. You can fall back here where it’s comfortable and safe and you know what your life is. Or you can fall there, take a chance, forgive those who need forgiving…and find your happily ever after with her.”
Her.
Andrew didn’t need to ask who Jaclyn meant; he knew the truth in his heart. But was this truth? Was Jaclyn right? Was he really choosing between scary change and comfortable stagnation?
Was Rachel part of his future? If he made that step, the step towards Quinn Valley, could he forgive Bob, if it meant having her in his life? Would it really mean a happily ever after for him?
He shook his head slightly, not sure why or how he was falling for Jaclyn’s mumbo-jumbo.
“Hey, Andrew.” Joshua met his eyes with a smile, which seemed eerily like his great-aunts. “What’s the worst that could happen?” He shrugged, as if acknowledging the weirdness of the situation. “I know it sounds crazy, but just trust yourself. Trust the fairies or the universe or quantum physics or God or whatever you want, just trust yourself to take that step. It’ll work out okay.”
In the ensuing silence, Andrew was sure he could hear the sound of dust hitting the sunbeam through the window above.
Was Joshua right? Would trusting everything would work out make everything work out?
He was getting a headache.
Jaclyn broke the silence when she patted her nephew’s back and smiled. “You’ve been blessed with the gift, Joshy. We’ll have you matching up couples in no time! Now, grab Snickers there, and let’s go visit the piglets. They’re adorable! Bye, Andrew!”
Like a tiny tornado, the old woman was already striding towards the door. Joshua’s smile grew as he nodded to Andrew and tugged the rabbit into movement.
“Good luck
, man,” he called over his shoulder.
Andrew didn’t bother waving—he was still deep in thought.
Trust yourself to take the next step.
That next step was fairly obvious; he could try to forget Rachel, or he could contact her. But could he forgive Bob?
He took a deep breath. He wasn’t ready to think about Bob or the rest of the family…but Rachel? He could think about her. He could take that step.
Placing the wooden leg beside the can of polyurethane, he took another deep breath and wiped his hands on his uniform pants. Then he pulled out his phone and called up the email app.
Trust yourself to take the next step.
Okay…
“So then the guy asks me—no lie—to look at a wart on the back of his neck and tell him if it needed removing!” Brooke Quinn burst into laughter as she finished the anecdote.
Rachel, who was sitting across from her friend in the cute little Valley Ice Cream Parlor, sharing a chocolate peanut butter cup sundae, plopped her spoon back into the ice cream in disgust.
“That’s—that’s revolting! What did you do?”
“I told him the date was over and walked out. Left him with the check and the rest of my pot pie.”
“Oh, that’s a shame.” Rachel mock-frowned. “And Quinn’s does such great pot pies since your cousin hired that new chef.”
Brooke chuckled again. “Hired and got engaged to, I think you mean.” She scooped up another bite of sundae, but before she popped it into her mouth, she sighed. “At least some of my cousins are finding love. Soulmates is a great way to meet people, I admit, and I’m glad you told me about the site, but I guess I’m just a magnet for losers who only want a free medical diagnosis.”
“Well, you are Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman.”
Her friend glared. “Ha-ha,” she said around the bite of ice cream.
Rachel felt a little sorry for Brooke, but at least the other woman could laugh about it. And not all of her cousins were finding love. Andrew, after all, was one of her cousins, and Rachel knew for a fact the poor man wasn’t having any luck on the dating scene.
