Alaskan Sweethearts (7 page)

“Just use the account, okay?” he said. “I’ll have the attorney add something to the contract saying the Jacobson Ranch will pay for supplies and not charge you anything. We’ll put a new roof on, too.”

“I don’t take charity,” Scarlett said, crossing her arms.

“Make an exception.”

Scarlett was about to argue the point, but she heard a piercing scream outside. Her heart stopped for a beat. It was Joey—she’d recognize his voice anywhere. She spun around and started to run until she realized the scream wasn’t one of pain or terror. When she reached the door from the kitchen to the outside, she saw why. Joey was kneeling in the mud on a small rise beside the barn and he had his arms wrapped around a dog that looked like a collie. Mr. Jacobson and another man were watching him. Nothing was wrong.

Scarlett stopped to catch her breath and turned to Hunter who was just behind her.

“I was so scared.” She sank back in relief.

He must have stepped forward because, before she knew it, she was leaning into his embrace.

“Me, too,” he whispered.

Then he wrapped his arm closer around her. Just to steady her, she told herself, refusing to assign any other motive to it because she had no intention of moving away. In the year since her divorce, the one thing she’d missed about her ex-husband was having someone to worry with. Not that he had showed much active concern, but she had thought it was better than nothing.

She turned slightly and she felt something press against the top of her head. Had Hunter kissed her there?

She kept turning and, before she knew it, she was looking up into his eyes. Without his hat, there were no shadows to hide the frank intensity of his gaze.

Hunter reached out and touched her cheek.

“I’m glad the boy’s okay,” he said, and she could see his relief.

It struck her forcefully that he’d been more frightened for her son than Joey’s father would have been. “Thank you.”

He looked as though he wanted to say more, but he didn’t.

If he had kissed her, it was more parental than romantic, she told herself. Hunter apparently worried about everyone. She squashed the flicker of disappointment that he hadn’t followed through and given her a real kiss.

She stepped away and turned to walk through the door. He followed. She needed to remember that his kindness could be a ruse to make her give up the property she’d been promised.

Once outside, they walked side by side to where Joey and the men stood. The cat was already racing ahead of them.

The day had warmed now that the rain was over and the mud was starting to dry, which just meant it stuck even more to the soles of her shoes. She wondered how she was going to get the knees on Joey’s pants clean given the way he was squirming around on the ground, playing with that dog. And now the cat had joined them.

“Mommy,” Joey squealed when she got close enough for him to notice her. “I found my dog. She came to me. And the cat came, too.”

She had never seen bliss like this on her son’s face. Suddenly mud and laundry weren’t so important.

She knelt beside him, grateful Linda had loaned her a pair of jeans. Then she put her hand on Joey’s back. “That’s not your dog, sweetie. And the cat belongs to the Jacobsons.”

She nodded toward the man standing with the elder Jacobson. He was dressed in dark wool trousers and a billowing white shirt. He had an untrimmed beard, most of it white. He must be the shepherd Hunter had told her about. “I think the dog belongs to this kind gentleman here.”

The man tipped his black hat in acknowledgment.

“You have your teddy bear,” she told her son, hoping to make him feel better. He’d left it in the pickup he’d ridden over here in. He didn’t even acknowledge her words.

Instead, Joey studied the man skeptically.

“He keeps his sheep on this land,” Scarlett told her son. “It’s his job.”

Joey nodded, but he wasn’t smiling anymore.

“And those sheep need a good collie dog to tell them where to go,” the man said as he walked over to Joey. “But don’t you worry none. She makes a good friend, my Sally does. I’ll bring her by to visit when I can. Would you like that?”

“I could be her boy,” Joey said shyly.

“Sally would like that,” the shepherd assured him.

Joey nodded again, but he scooted back from the dog so that he was closer to Scarlett. The cat kept close to him and crawled up into his lap as though to comfort him. The boy had lost so much in his young life already. He deserved more than a stuffed animal to hug. She wanted to promise Joey that she would get him both a dog and a cat of his own, but she didn’t dare—not until she knew what their future was going to be.

Suddenly her temper rose. It wasn’t fair to keep them waiting.

“So are you going to give us this place or not?” Scarlett asked as she stood and faced the two Jacobson men.

* * *

Hunter moved forward and reached out his hand to Scarlett. He prayed that she would take it. She just stared at him, though, looking miserable. He heard his grandfather walk over to Mr. Cleary, the dog following him. Everyone seemed to be giving him plenty of room; even the cat stayed on Joey’s lap.

“You can trust me,” he said to Scarlett. “We’ll figure it out. I suppose we could always rent you the house and some of the land.”

She didn’t reach for his hand.

He wondered if he was being unreasonable as he brought his hand back to his side. He didn’t know how his grandfather was planning to cheat the Murphy family. Maybe Scarlett was right and the man had had a change of heart. It could happen, he told himself, trying to believe it. He realized how right Scarlett was when she said faith could not be forced. No matter how he looked at things, Hunter didn’t believe his grandfather was really giving away this place as he’d said he was.

Suddenly, Hunter heard a meow and the cat was licking Joey’s hand. The boy looked happy as he bent to cuddle the feline. He’d never seen any of the cats adopt someone this way before. They usually reserved their affection for the Jacobsons.

“I’ll call Mr. Monroe the minute we get home,” Hunter finally said, turning his attention from the cat. “Set up an appointment. If he’s not coming out here, we’ll go there. If he gives a go-ahead, then I’ll never say another word about it. Our family certainly owes your family.”

Even the cat seemed to know that, Hunter thought.

Scarlett nodded emphatically. “And not just to let us rent something. My granny still remembers how hard she had to scrape to get by after my grandfather died. They lived on bone broth with vegetables that whole first winter. She lost ten pounds. The only thing of value she had was her engagement ring and she couldn’t bear to sell it. The first thing she said when she got your grandfather’s letter was that finally she could stop worrying about us all starving.”

Hunter looked up in surprise. “I had no idea things were that bad.”

“They’re not anymore,” Scarlett said. “But my grandmother still fears they might come to that. That’s what your grandfather robbed her of—her peace of mind. She just worried for so long that she kept it up even when things became better. That’s why she needs to own her home. It would be in her name—in all our names. She wouldn’t have to worry about getting evicted or anything.”

“I’m sorry,” Hunter said. If he’d known that, he would have demanded restitution for the older woman even if his grandfather hadn’t made the first move.

Scarlett didn’t say anything, but he could feel the tension leave her.

“I’m sure the attorney will have some words of wisdom,” Hunter said.

“Isn’t your attorney the same as your grandfather’s?” Scarlett asked.

Hunter shook his head. He’d had his own counsel since he’d turned eighteen. It was the only way he could make sense of the problems his grandfather caused.

“Okay, then,” Scarlett said.

Joey was the one who led them all back to the house. He carried the cat and stopped midway to rub against her fur. His hair had some of the copper color of his mother’s and, in the sunlight, the orange fur of the cat blended with it. The calicos were all good listeners. Maybe the cat had sensed the boy was upset and that’s why she’d been so kind. Hunter wondered what other disappointments the boy and his mother would face before they left Dry Creek.

They were almost to the house when Joey stopped again.

“What’s that?” he asked as he pointed.

Hunter saw the small circle where concrete had been poured to form holes. He looked around until he found the other three circles.

“Part of the base for the swing set me and my brothers had.” Hunter squatted to pull some of the weeds away. “The metal poles to the swing set fit into the concrete right here.”

“But where are the poles?” Joey asked as he turned around. “I don’t see them.”

“They’re in the barn,” Hunter said as he stood upright again. “In storage. We outgrew the swing set and took it down.”

Joey looked over at Hunter. “Can you put it back up?”

Hunter glanced at Scarlett. “I don’t know.”

“I’ve never been on a swing,” Joey said wistfully, his eyes downcast. “I don’t know how to swing.”

“It’s not hard,” Hunter said.

At the same time Scarlett said, “He’s afraid.”

“Ah,” Hunter murmured.

“You could teach me.” Joey looked up at Hunter, his eyes making an appeal.

Hunter knew he should refuse. That something as simple as a swing set would only add to Joey’s disappointment when everything fell through.

“I already don’t have a dog,” the boy said, and Hunter knew he was being played. But there was nothing insincere about Joey when he added, “Please.”

Hunter looked over at Scarlett.

“You don’t need to,” she said. “There’s a swing set at the school he goes to next year. I mean, if we’re still in Alaska. He can wait and learn then.”

Joey stuck his chin out. “But I want to know how before I go to school. I don’t want the other kids to make fun of me if I fall.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Hunter said automatically. But then he remembered how worried he and his brothers had been when they’d gone to school for the first time.

No one spoke for a minute.

“The first thing to do,” Hunter finally said, “is to go to the barn to see if all the poles are still there. I won’t take long to set it up if they are and we can give Joey a few lessons at least.”

“Really?” Joey beamed for a moment and then stopped. “What if I do fall?”

Hunter knelt by the boy. “It’s not a high swing. Six foot tall at most.”

“He still gets nervous,” Scarlett said with a worried look at the boy. “Don’t ask me how, but his father had him convinced he’d fall if he did anything.”

“I suppose there’s a chance you could.” Hunter kept his eyes on Joey, but he had a ridiculous urge to comfort Scarlett at the same time. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll teach you how to tuck and roll if you want. That way it won’t be so bad to fall.”

Joey’s nodded but his apprehension was still visible.

“I’ll even tell you my secret word,” Hunter said then. “It’s what boys for generations have said when they fall.”

The boy’s eyes started to sparkle as he looked up at Scarlett. “I’ve never had a secret word before. Can I?”

Scarlett’s gaze seared Hunter before she turned to her son and nodded.

“We should look for the ladder, too,” his grandfather said.

The older man had walked up and joined them without Hunter noticing him.

“That roof needs to be patched before it rains again,” the old man added.

“You’re not going up on the ladder,” Hunter said and turned to his grandfather to make sure he understood. “Promise me.”

“Well, that roof isn’t going to fix itself,” he protested. “And I’m perfectly able to—”

Scarlett took a step closer to his grandfather and put her hand on his arm. “I’m going to need some help with the windows. I think half of them are painted shut and until we have some air going through there, the roof can wait.”

Hunter could see how pleased the old man was that she’d asked him to help. He and his grandfather only knew how to butt heads when they disagreed. It took someone else to see another way.

For the first time he hoped that his grandfather really was going to give the land to the Murphys. It was lonesome with only the two of them rattling around on all this acreage. Having close neighbors would be nice. The ranch had grown so large over the years that they’d barely miss the old place, except for the income from that wheat crop he was hoping for. Maybe he could run a few more head of cattle elsewhere to help.

“Can we go back and find the swing now?” Joey asked.

Hunter looked over at Scarlett and she nodded.

The four of them walked to the barn.

Hunter had to push to open the main door since the hinges were rusty. The air inside smelled of musty hay, although they hadn’t stored any bales inside for years. The light was streaming in from the outside, though, and it was plain to see where the poles to the swing set were leaning against a stall along the far side.

“Here we are,” Hunter said as he walked toward the metal bars. He looked down and stopped. “Everyone watch where they step. There might be some screws and bolts lying around.”

“Well, who’s been in here?” his grandfather muttered and frowned at the cluttered ground.

“Birds maybe,” Hunter said as he picked his way through. He hesitated to mention mice, but that was possible, too. “When no one’s around, all kinds of critters find their way inside.”

The cat meowed and Joey let her down to wander on her own.

“Mice,” Hunter said softly as the cat’s tail switched.

Just having the feline walk around would make the mice leave for the fields.

Hunter saw the metal box that had fallen. Then he looked over at Scarlett’s face. “Or maybe the wind just blew that box over and everything spilled.”

“That sounds better than mice,” Scarlett said from just behind him.

Hunter turned to grin at her. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of mice? After facing down bears?”

“Bears don’t crawl up your leg,” Scarlett answered back. “I don’t like spiders, either.”

Hunter chuckled until he looked behind Scarlett and saw Joey’s face. “You okay?”