The Hopeful Heart

by Jaclyn Hardy

  “Sure she has.” Brianna took a bite of her cake and groaned. It was easily the best carrot cake she’d ever had. “Oh, man.”

  “See?” Thomas stood. “See you guys later.”

  Brianna finished her cake and stood. “Off I go to one more test. Remind me not to schedule them all for the same day again, okay?”

  Cassidy laughed. “Got it. See ya.”

  Brianna went back to her classroom and started grading the tests from earlier in the day. Hannah would be thrilled she got an A on the test, while a few of the others didn’t do quite so well. Brianna made notes of topics several of the students missed, then moved on.

  Halfway through the next period, an alarm pierced through the silence. The fire alarm. Brianna’s heart leaped into her chest. “Okay, let’s head out in a single file. Through the front door.”

  The class scattered, the tests forgotten on their desks. Brianna grabbed her purse and attendance sheet so she could make sure everyone was accounted for, then followed them out to the front lawn.

  Students stood in groups while teachers tried to keep the chaos under control. Brianna found her group and caught up with them. Once everyone was accounted for, she looked for Mrs. Dean or anyone else who might know what’s going on.

  Fire trucks came up onto the lawn and surrounded the school. Whatever it was seemed to be real. Stories of a fire in the shop spread through the group, and Brianna’s breath caught. That was Thomas’s classroom. She scanned the crowd, trying to find him.

  A moment later, another group of students exited the school, followed by a rather soot-covered Thomas. Brianna ran toward Thomas.

  “What happened?”

  Thomas wiped his face. “A welding mishap. Thankfully I was able to get it out pretty quickly, but not before it did some damage to the classroom.”

  “That’s terrible. Is everyone okay?” Brianna glanced back at his students who had gathered nearby.

  “As far as I could tell. Everything happened so quickly I didn’t have much of a chance to check on them other than make sure they left.”

  “Can I have your attention?” Mr. Parker, the principal stood in front of the school. “With the smoke from the fire, it’s been decided to end the school day right now. If you need your keys, you can clear it with me to go get them. Otherwise, please go. You can gather your things tomorrow.”

  This was not how Brianna expected this day to go, but a nap sounded really good. Once all of the students were gone, she pulled her keys out of her purse. Thomas was still talking to one of the firemen, but otherwise, the school and lawn were empty.

  She drove back to the ranch with the windows down, enjoying the breeze. Ranch hands were busy working, but she didn’t see Lance anywhere. The tractor wasn’t in the yard either, so he must have been able to do whatever it was with the potatoes that he was supposed to be doing.

  Brianna went inside to change. Maybe she should help out somewhere since she was home early. The only clothes that would actually work for farm clothes were the ones she’d showed up in town with that first day, so she put them on and pulled her hair up into a pony tail.

  Carl was nowhere to be found, so Brianna decided to follow the whistling so she could track down Angela.

  “Hey, I’m home.”

  Angela jumped. “Is it that late already? I haven’t even started dinner yet.”

  “No, you’re still fine. They let us out early today because there was a fire.” Brianna leaned closer. “Wow, that is a gorgeous quilt.”

  “Thank you.” Angela paused and looked up. “Did you just say fire?”

  Brianna nodded. “It was in the shop, but everyone is okay. It’s just too smoky to let us stay, so they sent everyone home. We weren’t even allowed to go back in unless we had to get keys or whatever.”

  “Is Thomas okay?” Angela’s grip tightened on the blanket.

  “Yes, I promise. I talked to him myself. He was a little irritated that it happened, but otherwise he was fine.”

  Angela sighed and adjusted the blanket in the machine. “That boy. He’s going to be the death of me someday.”

  Brianna laughed. “He’s a pretty funny guy. His wife is super sweet too.”

  “Ah, yes she is. I try to get things from her store when I can, but it’s usually as gifts for other people. Her style just doesn’t quite suit me.”

  “I’m sure she appreciates your business even if you don’t wear it.” Brianna leaned against the wall. “I seem to remember her name in the news back in New York. I’m surprised she ended up here.”

  Angela smirked as she sewed along the edge of the blanket. When she got to the end, she stopped to make sure everything was in line to start the next length. “I think we’re all surprised. But then, her best friend and Thomas were here, so I guess that was enough.”

  “Her best friend?”

  “Yep. Like I said before. You’re not the first who’s come from New York.” Angela sewed the next line. “Anyway, here we are gossiping. Was there something you needed?”

  Brianna had hoped to learn more. Anything she could find out about this small town was good. “I just figured I could help out somewhere. Do you need anything? Is there something I can do outside?”

  “Well, outside is Carl’s territory so you’ll want to ask him. As far as in here, unless you have laundry to do, I think we’re good. Dinner doesn’t need to be started for another hour or so.”

  “Okay. I’ll see if I can find him.” Or Lance. But she didn’t want to add that. The kiss from the night before was still fresh on her mind, but she didn’t want to go talking about it until Lance was ready as well.

  She finally found Carl in the barn with the cows. “Hey, Carl. I’m home early. Do you have anything you need help with?”

  “I don’t think so. The smaller chores are done, and I don’t think you’re quite ready to drive one of the tractors. I was about to head into Twin Falls to grab some feed, so I guess you could stay and keep an eye on Daisy here—”

  “How about I shop?” Brianna said, interrupting him. Watching a cow scared her to death, quite frankly. She had no clue what to look for. “I mean . . . I can go get those things for you.”

  Carl frowned. “Have you ever actually been to a feed store before?”

  “Well, no. But if you write down the brands and how many you need, I’d be happy to get it for you. I needed to go shopping anyway.” The idea of buying feed was something she hadn’t ever even thought of doing, but how hard could it be?

  Carl didn’t say anything for a moment. “Fine. But make sure it’s the right brand. I’ll have the list ready for you in about ten minutes.”

  “Great, I’ll go change and meet you back here.” Brianna wasn’t about to go into town looking like this. It was fine for on the ranch, but not to shop for new clothes. She changed quickly and put her boots back on, then made sure she had her wallet and keys.

  Angela poked her head around the corner as Brianna entered the kitchen. “Did you find him?”

  “Yeah, he was in the barn. I’m going to go get the feed and stuff for him. Do you need anything while I’m there?”

  Angela went to the fridge and then the pantry. “Nope. Looks like we’re good. Oh, but if you see anything that might be fun for a birthday, grab it. Carl’s birthday is tomorrow, so we’ll do a little celebration after dinner.”

  “Oh, that’s cool. I’ll see what I can find.” Brianna paused. “Uh, can you tell me how to get to Twin Falls? I haven’t been there yet.”

  Angela grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down basic instructions, then handed it to her. “Super easy.”

  “Thanks.” Brianna took the paper from Angela and went out to find Carl. He went through the list with her, making sure she understood everything she was supposed to get.

  Once she had it down, Brianna climbed in her truck and made sure the directions were where she could see them. She had her GPS on her phone as well, but she wanted to make sure she didn’t get lost and end up three states ove
r.

  Except for a few wrong turns, the drive was nice. The breeze helped keep her truck cool, and she’d found a fairly good rock station on the radio. She missed her New York stations, but this would work.

  The farm store wasn’t too far into the city, so she decided to stop there first. It was massive and had so many different brands, styles, and sizes that Brianna was instantly overwhelmed. She found a store clerk near the front.

  “Hey, I’m new at this, but I need help finding what I need.” Brianna held out the list. “Do you think someone can help me?”

  The older man stood and came around the counter. “I can do that.”

  “Oh, thank you. I’d be here for a few years by the time I finished.” Brianna followed him to the right aisle.

  There were several times when the man stopped and suggested something else, but Brianna insisted on what Carl had told her to get. All of the different numbers and ingredients that man insisted they’d be getting with the other brand made no sense to her, and she didn’t want to mess things up.

  She switched to a bigger cart, and by the time they were finished, she was glad she had the truck. There was no way this would fit into a car. She paid for everything, then headed to find a place to get some more clothes.

  She missed having Rachel and Mandy with her to help decide what looked good on her and what didn’t, but she was pretty happy with the skirts, T-shirts, blouses, and pants she picked out. She also grabbed a pair of sneakers and sandals while she was at it. Even if the boots were starting to grow on her.

  The party store just up the road had tons of really creative ideas, but Brianna finally decided to go with the regular balloons and other party items. She had a feeling Carl wasn’t one to get too excited about themed birthdays. That didn’t stop her from buying a few other things, though. The store had some fun items she could use for prizes at school.

  One last stop to buy herself a laptop and it was time to go home. Brianna had to admit that even though she’d enjoyed being in the small town, a nice afternoon of shopping was exactly what she needed to get over some of her homesickness. And while Twin Falls wasn’t New York City, it was nice to actually see buildings close together again instead of the wide open space she’d had over the last few days.

  Carl was on the front steps when Brianna got home. She checked the time and realized she still had to grab food to take with her to the tractor.

  Brianna caught up to Carl. “Everything is in the back of the truck.”

  Carl smiled. “Thank you for doing that. I’ll have the boys unload the truck when they’re done eating. Make sure to give me the receipt and I’ll pay you back.”

  “Okay, thanks.” Brianna pulled the receipt out of her pocket and handed it to him, relieved that he was the one who brought it up. She had no idea how to ask him for a reimbursement when she was living at their house free of charge.

  Angela pointed to a basket as soon as Brianna walked into the kitchen. “Lance told me you’d be going on a picnic, so I threw a few things in there for you. Lasagna is a little hard to eat out there, so I made sandwiches. You two can have the leftovers if you’re still hungry when you come in.”

  “Sandwiches are great. Thank you.” Brianna took all of her new things upstairs and grabbed a jacket since they’d probably be going until it was dark. Angela was already helping with dinner when Brianna got downstairs, so she grabbed the basket and went outside.

  Lance leaned out of the tractor. “I was just about to come and find you.”

  “Sorry about that. I ended up going into Twin Falls to get a few things and just barely got back.”

  “I’m impressed you found your way.” He took the basket from her and then moved inside so she could get in.

  Brianna laughed and took her seat. “I’m surprised too.”

  Lance started the tractor and drove down a path between a few fields before getting back to the one they’d worked on before. “Okay, so what did Angela pack for us?”

  “So she just packs you food whenever you tell her to?” Brianna took two sub sandwiches out of the basket. “Wow, these are bigger than I thought they would be.”

  “When we’re doing a lot of work in the tractor or combine, she’s used to making lunches we can take with us so we don’t have to take as many breaks.” He pulled the plastic wrap off his. “And if you haven’t noticed yet, Angela never does anything small. She wants to make sure we’re good and full.”

  Brianna sorted through the basket. “I can see that. There’s salad, cookies, and brownies in here. Oh, and a couple of granola bars. And grapes. Man.”

  “Told you.” Lance took a bite. “So what kind of stuff did you get in Twin?”

  “Clothes, a laptop, and I got feed for Carl.” Brianna bit into her sandwich.

  Lance’s eyebrows shot up. “He let you buy feed?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  Lance didn’t answer as he turned the tractor around. “He’s just very particular about what he feeds his animals.”

  Brianna pulled the note out of her pocket. “He wrote down exactly what he wanted, and I went off that.”

  “Still. That’s very brave of you.” Lance took another bite of his sandwich.

  She shrugged. “No reason to be brave if you had no idea it was such a big deal.”

  “You’re very wise for your age.” He ducked away from her. “Oi. Don’t hurt me. I’m the driver.”

  “Don’t insult me. Plus, I’m pretty sure we’re the same age. So, does that make me smarter than you?”

  “Probably.”

  Brianna laughed. “I guess that’s why I’m the teacher, eh?”

  He took her hand, caressing it with her thumb. “You’d better believe it.”

  She couldn’t meet his eyes. Not while her heart was beating so rapidly from his touch. She cleared her throat. “So, what did you do all day?”

  “Same thing I’m doing right now. I had to work in a different field until this one dried out, though.”

  Brianna didn’t want to move if that meant he’d take his hand away. “Why do you have to wait?”

  “We don’t want the tires sinking in, for one thing. And it just works better when it’s dry.” He leaned closer. “At least that’s what they tell me. I just nod and do what they tell me to do.”

  Brianna used her other hand to grab the grapes. “Want some?”

  “Oh, those are perfect.” He took a bunch from her and popped a couple into his mouth. “I have to say, this is much more fun with you in here.”

  “It’s because of my charming personality and the fact that I hand you food.” Brianna held out another handful of grapes.”

  He laughed. “Those are both good points. I’m serious, though. I like hanging out with you. It’s different than hanging out with other girls. Maybe because you get my jokes.”

  Brianna shrugged. “What’s not to get? They’re lame, so I laugh.”

  “Ouch. Here I am, declaring my enjoyment of being with you, and then you have to go and insult me like that. I’m hurt.”

  “I’m sorry. Here, have a cookie.” She reached in the basket, pulled out one of the chocolate chip cookies, and stuck it into his mouth.

  Lance kept it there until he’d turned the tractor, and then took a bite. “That’s a really good cookie.”

  “Oh? Maybe I should try it. Can I have a bite?” Brianna reached for it, but Lance jerked it away.

  “Get your own cookie.” Lance’s face was just inches from hers. He glanced down at her lips and bent closer to kiss her.

  Brianna pulled away. “Aren’t you worried the tractor will veer off or something.”

  He stroked her cheek. “That’s what autopilot is for.”

  Brianna melted into his kiss, but then she registered what he’d just said. “Wait, what? There’s an autopilot?”

  “I’m not sure if that’s the name of it, but yes. There are sensors that make sure it stays on track. So really I’m just pretending to do any of the steering.” He lifted his han
ds up. “See? No hands.”

  “That’s so cool. What else can you do in here?” Brianna set the basket on the floor and Lance showed her what each button and lever was for. His entire countenance changed while he showed her how to work the tractor. It was clear that he loved this farm and the work he did. As much as she loved joking with him, she had to admit she really liked this side too.

  ***

  The sun had fully set by the time they were done marking the field, and Brianna was ready to drop. It had been a busy day, and she looked forward to her bed. As she walked toward the house, she noticed that Carl stood next to her truck. He looked up at her and then turned and went back to what he was doing.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “No, it’s not. This is the wrong feed. I’m going to have to go back tomorrow to get the right kind. Even after I wrote everything down for you.” He threw another bag back into the truck. “You’re going to need to get a ride in with Thomas tomorrow so I can take this one.”

  Brianna stepped back, feeling like she’d just been slapped. “But I got everything—”

  “It’s the wrong feed, the wrong formula.” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have had you go for me.” He slammed the truck bed and stomped off toward the barn, muttering about city girls.

  Brianna blinked back tears and turned toward the house. She smiled at the ranch hands who passed her and waved when they tried to say hi. Lance tried to take her by the arm, but she slid away and ran for the house.

  Angela walked into the kitchen and stopped. “Hey, what’s going on, Brianna?”

  It wasn’t until Brianna made it to her room that she finally let out the tears that had been threatening to spill. She’d made sure she had everything right. She’d checked and double checked, even argued to make sure she got the right things. How had they been off?

  A soft knock came at the door. “Brianna?”

  “I’m fine.” She wiped her eyes and stood to find pajamas. She just needed some sleep. It had been a long, crazy day, so going to bed early sounded really nice.

  The door opened a crack and Angela peeked her head in. “Honey, can I please come in?”