The Hopeful Heart

by Jaclyn Hardy

  “Thanks. I like being here. My room is bigger than my entire apartment back home.” Brianna laughed.

  Angela left the room and came back to get the other tray. “You never told me how school went.”

  “Fine. The kids are great. It’s just going to take some getting used to. Everyone knows everyone else so it’s a little hard trying to fit in.”

  “Want my advice? Don’t try to fit in. Do your thing and they’ll realize how amazing you are.” Angela took the salad dressing from the fridge. “You bring something to the table that not a lot of other teachers have. We tend to get a lot of people who grew up here and haven’t seen the world. You can provide that.”

  Except that the world Brianna knew was so different from this one. She forced a smile. “Thank you.”

  Once they were done with the rest of the meal, Angela went out and rang the bell for everyone to come in. Brianna debated sitting in the dining room with everyone else, but decided she’d better work on her lesson plans for the next day.

  She filled her plate and sat at the table in the kitchen. Noise erupted from the dining room as the ranch hands filed in, talking about the storm and the horses. Brianna found herself listening for Lance’s voice, but she pushed it away. She really did need to get her work done.

  With the school year being almost over, most of what she had to do was prepare them for end-of-year testing. There were a few big things they still needed to go over before then, but thankfully they were subjects she’d already taught a couple of weeks before. She wished she had her notes, but she wasn’t about to ask Dr. Lachele for them again. Her head throbbed at just the thought of it.

  “Everything okay?” Angela set her plate across from Brianna’s.

  “Yep. Almost done with my lesson. I could really use a laptop, though. There are a few things I need to double check, and my phone only works so well.”

  Angela stood and went into her office, then came back with a laptop. “It’s older, but you can use this until you have the chance to get a new one.”

  “Thank you.” Brianna opened it and held in a laugh. When Angela said older, she wasn’t kidding. It was several updates behind, and she was pretty sure it was still set up for dial up internet.

  Carl came in a few minutes later and wiped his forehead. “It’s still coming down out there.”

  “Hopefully the flooding will stay minimal.” Angela looked over Brianna. “Sometimes the rain is great—well, most of the time, the rain is great. But with the planting just happening, there’s always the fear the seeds will wash away or rot.”

  “Neither of those sound ideal.” Brianna pushed her work to the side and took a bite of her roast beef.

  “No, not really.” Carl chuckled. “Oh, I have something for you.”

  He pulled out a set of keys and tossed them to Brianna. “We fixed up one of our trucks. It still needs a few things fixed, but it’ll get you to and from work.”

  “Thank you.” Brianna shook her head. “Both of you have been so sweet since I got here.”

  “Well, this means my employees won’t need to take you to and from every day—not that it’s been a big deal—so it works for both of us.” Carl pointed outside. “It’s a blue Chevy with a white stripe down the middle. You can’t miss it.”

  Brianna stared at the keys. Her first car. Well, truck. She hadn’t needed one in New York, and never even thought of getting one. Her driver’s license was pretty much just another form of ID up until now. “Thank you. Seriously. Thank you.”

  Brianna grinned as she took another bite of her food. Maybe, just maybe she’d finally have the freedom she’d always wanted.

  Lance stood and wiped his brow. Yesterday had been so stormy, and the weather seemed to want to make up for it today with the heat. The fields were still too muddy, so instead of marking potatoes, he was at the hotel trying to fix the roof until the professionals could get there.

  He reloaded the nail gun and finished up the last patch, making sure no water could get in. Guests wandered the lawn below, and there were a few people going through the maze. Lance had figured out the whole thing months before and loved to take dates there so they’d be so surprised he could get through it.

  “How’s it coming?” Patrick stood on the ladder behind Lance. He was totally a city guy who fell in love with Rachel and ended up staying here. He knew how to run a business, but he let others do the repairs.

  “Just got done for now. I can’t believe you didn’t reroof this when everything else was getting renovated.” Lance scooped up his tools and dropped them into the toolbox. “Here, take that and I’ll be down in a sec with the nail gun.”

  Patrick took the toolbox, but paused on the next step. “We did everything the inspectors told us to, and the roof was deemed safe. We wouldn’t have just left it otherwise.”

  Lance didn’t say anything as he put away the nail gun. When he looked up, Patrick was already down. Patrick was a good guy and didn’t deserve the criticism. Lance sighed. He really needed to learn when to stop talking.

  The ladder was a little tricky while carrying the tools, but he managed to get down without falling. He caught a few of the younger guests staring up at the ladder. That would not go over well if they got any ideas.

  “You may want to move the ladder sooner rather than later.” He took the toolbox from Patrick. “I need to head back to the ranch. If there’s anything else that needs to be done, let me know.”

  “Will do.” Patrick turned away and took the ladder down. “Thanks again for your help.”

  “No problem.” Lance took his stuff to his truck and climbed in. He had time to eat lunch and milk the cows before Brianna got home, and he wanted to see if her day had been better than yesterday.

  The ranch yard was pretty quiet when he pulled in, which meant lunch was still going on. As he walked to the dining room, Thomas met him coming from the barn.

  “I’ve been trying to find you. Ed Smith just put his land up for sale.” Thomas grinned. “You’ve been eyeing that for months haven’t you?”

  “You’re sure it’s for sale?” Lance wanted something between this ranch and town, and Ed’s land was in the perfect location. After Ed’s wife died and the kids left for school, Lance figured it was just a matter of time before the land would go up for sale. He felt bad for even thinking about being happy about it.

  Thomas pulled out his phone and handed it to him. “Mandy texted me after she left for work this morning. The sign went up sometime last night. You better grab it soon, though. It won’t last long, and he has enough water rights to make anyone jealous. Heck, if I didn’t already have a place, I’d think of grabbing it.”

  Lance pulled out his phone and dialed the number on the sign. “Hey, is this Philip?”

  “Yes, speaking.”

  “Hey, I’m interested in looking at one of your properties. Sooner rather than later. It’s the one out near Cottonwood.”

  “Ah, that’s quite the property there. I have a meeting right now, but I can probably meet you in half an hour or so.”

  Lance grinned. “That would be awesome. Thank you.”

  “See you then.” The realtor hung up and Lance stared at the phone.

  “You’re going to go see it?” Thomas asked.

  Lance nodded and fist bumped Thomas. “I’m not sure I can afford it, but it can’t hurt to look, right?”

  “You won’t know till you try.” Thomas slugged his shoulder. “Now come on. I’m starving.”

  Lance chuckled and followed Thomas into the dining room. Several of the guys were just finishing up, but there was still plenty of food left on the table. Lance filled his plate high with sandwiches, chips, and potato salad. He ate quickly and went to find Carl.

  Carl stood next to a pasture where Bessie and her new calf were outside for the first time. Lance leaned against the fence next to him.

  “Think you could come and check out a house with me?” Lance hated even asking, but he didn’t have anyone else to ask.r />
  “I figured you’d be talking to me about that land sooner or later.” Carl never took his eyes off the calf. “When are you going?”

  Lance checked his watch. “I’m supposed to meet them in about ten minutes.”

  “Guess that means we better get going.” Carl straightened his hat and strode toward his truck.

  Lance jogged to catch up and climbed in the passenger side. “How’d you hear about the property?”

  “He called yesterday offering to sell some of the farmland.”

  The property sat to the southeast from the ranch, and they pulled in right as the realtor did. Lance’s stomach did a somersault as he tried to convince himself to leave the truck.

  “You going to sit here all day?” Carl asked with an eyebrow raised.

  “Maybe.” Lance forced himself to open the door and climb out.

  The realtor stood outside leaning against his car. He glanced between Carl and Lance before holding out a hand. “I’m Philip. Listen, I have another client coming in about fifteen minutes, so if we could go through the house quickly, that would be great.”

  Lance nodded, trying to hide the sense of panic. He’d wanted this property for a long time, and if someone else was already looking, he had to make the decision soon. The land was amazing, with already established fields. The barn was smaller than Carl’s, but would still hold a good amount of cattle. There were some upgrades that needed to be done and it looked like the roof would need replaced. It wasn’t nearly as bad as the hotel’s at this point, but still not great.

  The red brick house had two stories, and the floorplan was open and welcoming. It was obvious that a guy had lived here by himself for a while by the lack of decor and the boring browns and grays of the couches.

  The four bedrooms were a little small, but they’d work great for younger kids. The master bedroom had a killer view of town and the mountains in the distance. The bathroom had granite countertops and a walk-in shower that was fully tiled.

  “Ah. I see you found the bathroom.” Philip stood behind Lance. “A pipe broke last year, and Ed decided to update what was here before. He’d planned to continue to the rest of the house, but never got around to it.”

  “This is beautiful.” Lance checked the fixtures and faucets to make sure they all worked. “Did they check for mold when it happened?”

  Philip nodded. “Everything was inspected since to make sure there was no residual moisture that would cause it.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “We’ll do another inspection before closing just to be sure.” Philip checked his phone. “Let’s go see the kitchen.”

  Carl looked under the sink. “Everything seems sound. No odd smells. Well, except for Ed’s cheap cologne.”

  Lance laughed. “I thought I was just imagining that smell.”

  Lance stopped when he got to the living room and kitchen. He could see himself here. He would want to update the kitchen with granite countertops, but the hunter green Formica worked for now.

  The image of Brianna making dinner with him in this kitchen came to mind, and he tried to push it away, but it stuck in his mind. He barely knew the girl, and he was picturing her here in this house. Great.

  “I’ll leave you two here to talk while I go get the next family.” Philip left the house.

  “What do you think?” Carl asked. “There are a few things I caught that will need to be fixed, but it’s a great house.”

  Lance leaned against the counter and closed his eyes, trying to picture himself here—without Brianna this time. It felt right. But he worried that the money wasn’t there for him to buy it. He’d saved over the years, but this house with its few hundred acres of land had to be way out of his price range.

  But he wanted it.

  “I think it’s amazing. I just don’t know if I can do it.” There. He said it. And it hurt worse than when the words were inside his mind. He really wanted this house.

  Carl rubbed his chin. “How far off are you?”

  “I . . . don’t even know. I called before I even looked at the price.” Lance hated having to admit that.

  “It’s right around half a million. Which is actually pretty good considering the water rights and the house.” Carl leaned against the counter. “You’re going to need to decide soon. I don’t think this is going to last long at that price.”

  Lance shook his head. “I don’t have even close to that. And the down payment is going to be what, fifty thousand?”

  “You don’t have the fifty thousand either?” Carl asked.

  Lance shook his head. “I have close, but not quite.”

  “We can make that work. Listen, I need to chat with Angela, but I think we can help you out.”

  “But—”

  “Trust me. It’ll help both of us.” Carl clapped him on the shoulder and nudged him toward the front door. “We’ll talk in the truck.”

  The other clients were with Philip by then. It was a small family, and the man looked, well, not like a rancher at all. Lance felt strangely protective of this house and wanted to make sure that whoever had it would take care of it.

  Carl waited until they were in the car and on their way before saying anything. “Remember how I told you that Ed had offered me some of the land to farm?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What if I were to go in with you on the house, and as payment, you’ll let me farm some of the land?” Carl glanced over at him.

  Lance raised his eyebrows. “You’re serious?”

  “Yes. You can’t afford to run all of that land yet, and I’d like to expand mine for at least a little while. Until you’re on your feet.”

  “How much of it would you want?” Lance ran numbers in his head. He’d saved up quite a bit, but if he put it all into the land, he wouldn’t be able to pay for repairs, equipment, or the animals he’d want.

  “Let’s say half.” Carl turned down the road to his house. “It’s up to Angela, but if you’re up for it, we’ll help you out.”

  Lance pulled up the ad on his phone and stared at the photos of his house. This wasn’t a small decision. He wanted to get a house, and this was a great way to do it, but was it the right way?

  As they pulled in, Lance finally nodded. “Let’s see what she says. And if you’re for sure on board with it, we can put in an offer.”

  Carl opened his truck door. “I’m going to talk to her right now. I’d like to get an offer in as soon as possible, so don’t go too far.”

  “I was going to work on the tractor today anyway, so I’ll be in the shop yard.” Lance went to the bunkhouse to change. He dropped onto his bed. He could be done living here soon. It had been his home for so long.

  After a quick change into work clothes, Lance headed to the shop to work on the tractor. It was giving them fits again because of the mud, and he wanted to make sure everything was okay before he went back to marking spuds.

  Carl came out an hour later holding a pile of papers. “Angela has agreed to make this work as long as you’re okay with the agreement. We don’t want you resenting us for farming on your land when you could be using it.”

  Lance straightened and wiped the grease from his hands. “You’re the one who gave me this job when I needed a place to go. And if you don’t go in on this I won’t be able to afford it. I’m going to do my best to pay you back with what I earn from the ranch. So, no, I don’t mind at all.”

  Carl set the papers on the hood of the tractor. “Fair enough. Let’s have you sign these papers and we’ll put in the offer.”

  “Thank you.” Lance took the pen and signed in each of the required spots. “That’s it?”

  “That’s it for now. If our offer is accepted, there will be more steps.” Carl paused. “One more thing. Do your parents know you’re thinking of buying land here?”

  Lance tapped the pen on the tractor hood. “They know I want to stay here. I haven’t told them about this property, but I don’t think they’re going to care.”

 
Carl placed a hand on his shoulder. “You know you’re part of our family. I just want to make sure your parents are okay with all of this. Even if you’re an adult.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll talk to them.”

  Carl chuckled as he walked away with the papers. Lance was sure he got a mumbled ‘sir’ in there.

  Lance shook his head and grinned. He knew he should call his parents. This was a big deal. And it wouldn’t be fair to them if he didn’t include them.

  “You look like the weight of the world is on your shoulders.” Brianna’s voice made Lance jump.

  “Oh, hey. You’re home. How was school?” Lance tightened a bolt and moved on to the engine.

  Brianna shrugged. “It was school. A few people talked to me during lunch. And I’m going out with Thomas and his wife for dinner tonight. Which will be a little awkward, but what can you do?”

  “Nah. Thomas and Mandy are fun to hang out with.” Lance pointed to the toolbox. “Can you grab the wrench?”

  Brianna handed him a wrench. “It’s broken again?”

  Lance tightened another bolt before answering. “The fields are too wet still so it’s a good time to make sure everything is working right.”

  “Ah. That makes sense.” Brianna peeked over his shoulder. “So how do you know what needs to be fixed?”

  “Well, see this here? If it’s leaking, it’s bad.”

  “Makes sense.” Brianna leaned in, her shoulder brushing his. “And if that doesn’t run?”

  Lance breathed in her scent. “Well, it’s the engine . . . so it wouldn’t go anywhere.”

  Brianna blinked.

  “I’m kidding. But it is the battery, so you need it too.” Lance laughed as he ducked away from her.

  Brianna glared, but her eyes danced. “I see how it is. I’m going to go change and work on my lesson plans.”

  “Sounds good.” Lance picked up the wrench.

  “Oh, um, if you want to come with me to dinner . . . that would be cool. You know, since I don’t want to be a third wheel.” Her face reddened. “I mean, unless you have work to do or something.”