Echoes From The Past (Women of Character) (27 page)

If Christie decided to leave there
was nothing he could do to keep her here and he wasn’t even sure if he wanted
her to stay. Despite his initial anger at her disclosure, a part of him also
felt like he was being unfair. He'd wanted her each day and night since that
one incredible night, but he'd been the one who erected the barriers.

Hannah climbed onto her swing
seat. Garrett stood behind her and pulled the swing back. Over by the barn he
could see Christie talking with Buddy. He clenched his jaw when Buddy grabbed
her arm and leaned down to her. Christie laughed at whatever Buddy said and
patted him on the back.

"Daddy, you can let go,"
his daughter said.

"Hang on tight."
Watching Christie, he gave the swing a push.

Christie leaned down by the water
spigot to get a drink. She laughed as Buddy playfully pushed her face into the
water. Squatting down, she cupped her palms and splashed the water on her face
and neck so that the water ran down her T-shirt. Garrett watched a smile of
enjoyment spread across her face. He could almost hear her murmur of
appreciation, a small sound she made deep in her throat. He remembered it from
their night together. There was a lot he recalled from that night.

He rubbed a hand over his face,
feeling the dryness of his mouth. As he watched, Christie sat down on a bale of
straw and Buddy walked away into the barn.

He couldn’t seem to tear his gaze
from her. She looked up once and seemed to look right into his eyes across the
distance, but then she looked away as if she’d never seen him.

"She’s a good girl, that
one." Ruth said from behind him, startling him.

He turned to Ruth. "Are you
looking for me?"

His housekeeper raised her brows
in surprise. "Why no, Garrett. I’ve come outside to get a breather is all.
I’ve been canning dilly beans all day and the kitchen is like a furnace. We
might have to eat out on the terrace tonight. It’s like a breath of fresh air
out here in comparison." Ruth fanned herself with one hand. Her gaze strayed
toward the barn. "Buddy’s taken a fancy to our Christie," she added
casually, "don’t you think? I heard him asking her if she’d consider
moving into town when her month here is up."

"Our Christie?" Garrett
looked at his housekeeper with a raised brow, wondering if he’d ever really
known her. "When did you become an advocate for Christie?"

"Well, you have to admit she
fits here. Seems like she’s been here longer than the short time she has,
doesn’t it?"

"She’s been here less than a
month," he said, giving Hannah another push on the swing.

"Christie is my aunt,"
Hannah said, clinging to the swing chains.

Ruth looked at Garrett with raised
brows.

"Judith’s sister," he
admitted in a low voice. "I wanted it kept quiet until it was
confirmed."

"I suppose you played it safe
and had Randy check her out."

"Of course. I can’t take any
chances."

"I admit at first I wasn’t
too sure about a city gal -- but Christie’s all right," Ruth said with a
definite nod. "She pulls her own weight. She’s even won Hannah over."

"You’re happy because she
knows how to do her own laundry," Garrett said dryly.

With a stern look Ruth slapped his
arm. "Garrett McIntyre, you know Christie is a good girl. Do you know she
took out that old typewriter that was stored in the hallway closet and typed up
my medical forms for me? I hate dealing with those insurance companies and
their hard-to-read forms. It’s all changed since I left the business. I get all
mixed up. I’m not butting in but you just make sure you treat her right."

"Thanks for not butting
in," he said dryly. She would skin him alive if she knew how he wanted to
treat Christie. How he had already treated her. "She’s leaving in two
weeks," he said.

"Do you want her to
stay?" Ruth asked in her direct manner.

Yes
.

Ruth lifted a brow and chuckled.
"That’s what I thought."

Had he said that out loud?
"Some things aren’t that simple," he muttered. "She’s got her
own life back in New York and I’m sure it’s a far cry from anything we’ve got
down here. She might not like it after six months or a year."

Ruth shook her head in what looked
like despair. "Garrett, haven’t you learned anything in your thirty-one
years?"

"Thirty," he corrected
irritably.

She waved a hand. "Whatever.
Women need to feel wanted. Some of us need the words. Sometimes you have to
take a chance and go out on that limb. God knows there’s no guarantee in this
life."

Abruptly, Ruth turned and walked
back to the house, and he could hear her muttering about thick-skulled men.

Garrett watched her go with a
frown.

"Daddy, you stopped
pushing." Hannah’s voice brought him back from his thoughts. Hannah hopped
off the swing and reached her arms around him and squeezed tight. "That’s
okay, Daddy. I was through anyway." Garrett looked down into his
daughter’s happy face and dropped a kiss on her soft cheek. For Hannah, it was
so simple. Why couldn’t it be as simple for adults?

###

Having finished her chores
Christie sat on a bale of straw beside the barn. Her thoughts felt scattered.
She had tried, unsuccessfully, to block that glorious night with Garrett from
her mind. She didn’t think she’d ever forget how he’d made her feel. Cherished
and special. He had opened her eyes to more than one experience. She had to let
it go, but how do you wipe love from your heart?

She had come to a decision about
where to scatter Ellen’s ashes. In the end it had been so simple and obvious.
The meadow on Garrett’s property was the perfect spot. She had known it the
first time she’d seen it. Then, it had become doubly important to her when
Garrett had gathered a bouquet of flowers from that meadow. She knew Ellen
would have loved it too. Since this used to be Judith’s home, in Christie’s
mind it pulled them all together.

Once she scattered the ashes,
there was nothing to keep her at Winding Creek Farms. She and Garrett weren’t
exactly talking at the moment which made the situation awkward and strained.
Christie chewed on the corner of her thumbnail.

Everything had changed. He looked
like he'd been carved from stone. She couldn't talk to anyone in the barn without
giving herself away, not even Ally, whom she'd become friends with. They’d
shared some confidences, but this felt too close to home and Ally was herself
in the throes of a new relationship with Randy. Christie knew she was on her
own.

"Christie, so are you going
with us tonight?" Buddy asked, exiting the barn with Ally following close
on his heels.

"A night out on the town
sounds good, doesn’t it?" Ally said with a grin. "No work tomorrow,
so we can hang out and have a good time."

"What time are you leaving?"
Christie lifted the weight of her hair off her shoulders.

"Around six." Ally
looked at her watch. "About two and a half hours. We’ll take two cars. You
can ride in with Buddy and I’ll meet you guys over to O’Malley’s."

"Sounds like fun."
Tossing Ally a deliberately lighthearted smile, Christie said, "This might
be the last time we can get together before I leave." The weight of
Christie's emotions threatened to depress her, but she defiantly tossed back
her hair. She wouldn’t chase a man who’d made it clear there was no place for
her in his life. She’d done what she felt was right, not only when Judith had
contacted her but also in telling Garrett.

"There’s Garrett now,"
Ally said, looking past her. "I’ll see if he’s free. Maybe he wants to
ride into town with us." Ally turned away and Christie felt her heart sink
down to her toes. How could she and Garrett pull this off? Spend a night
together, out with others ...

"Hey, Boss!" Ally called
out. "Christie, Buddy and me are going into town for a steak and a few
beers. Are you game for a night out?"

Garrett walked over to where they
had gathered. Christie looked at him, thinking he looked tired and hot. Just a
little while ago she’d watched him split wood. His wide, muscled shoulders
under that white T-shirt had brought back memories of how good he looked
without a shirt. Tightly muscled arms and the strength of his arched back as he
swung the axe over his head had made her feel hot.

A sudden thought hit Christie and
a ray of hope made her sit up straighter. Could he be as miserable as she was?

Garrett gave each of them a nod.
Was it her imagination or did his glance linger on her just a bit longer?
Christie clasped her hands tightly.

"Thanks, but I’m getting behind
on some paperwork so I’ll have to pass. Where are you off to?" he asked
casually. Again, Christie swore his glance lingered on her. She gave him a
tentative smile, then called herself a fool for caring.

"We’re going to introduce
Christie to some of the nightlife. She’s riding in with Buddy and I’m going to
meet up with them later."

Garrett’s glance at her seemed
casual, but she saw the emotion in his eyes for just the briefest moment. He
cared. "Maybe I’ll make it next time. Have fun."

"We will," Christie said
with a bright smile. She turned to Buddy. "I’ll meet you out here
later." She threw Garrett a cursory glance, pretending her heart wasn’t
breaking in two. "See you, Garrett." She hurried away from the barn
before the hurt became too unbearable.

###

Les chugged another beer back,
then wiped his mouth with his hand. From his corner in O’Malley’s bar he’d been
watching that woman of McIntyre’s for the last half hour, but the two she was
with kept pretty close tabs on her. He planned to get her alone one more time
and warn her off for good this time. Les pulled out his wallet and looked at
the meager bills inside. If he didn’t run her off he knew Kim would be out of a
job big time. McIntyre might not hire his Kim back at all if he took a
permanent fancy to that other one.

Les had a notion the doctors were
babying Kim, making her stay off the ankle, but she’d told him every day she
felt stronger. Christ, he’d just about wanted to puke when she told him she’d
gone down to apply for food stamps. He wasn’t taking any charity. No way. Les
banged his glass on the bar top, but it was just noisy enough the bartender
didn’t hear him. Les narrowed his eyes in the smoky interior and wondered if
maybe the bartender was ignoring him. Everybody in this town seemed to have an
attitude about one thing or another. He wondered why he’d stayed around this
long.

Les grabbed his change and
pocketed it, not bothering to leave a tip.

###

Christie took another sip of her
soda and glanced around the crowded room. O’Malley’s had turned out to be an
old bowling alley turned into a bar and pool hall. She’d enjoyed several games
of pool that she’d played really badly, but Buddy hadn’t seemed to mind. Now,
having sunk her fourth eight ball and losing the game again, she walked over to
their table while Buddy went to the bar for a refill.

Ally had been waylaid and was over
by the bar talking with some friends. She and Buddy had shown her a good time.
They’d had thick steaks and fries and she’d been introduced to just about
everyone in the bar. Being a local hangout, everyone seemed to know each other,
a fact which never ceased to surprise her, having lived in an impersonal city
her whole life.

Christie lifted her soda and
chased the straw around the glass for a moment before catching it and taking
several deep swallows. Looking around the crowded room, she suddenly felt as if
she were being watched. Casually, she scanned the room, but everyone seemed to
be enjoying themselves in their own corner. Shrugging off the feeling, she left
the table and walked across the popcorn-strewn floor. As she moved past a
narrow corridor towards the ladies room, a hand reached out and roughly latched
onto her wrist. Another hand covered her mouth and in the shadowy corridor she
was half-pulled, half-dragged backwards. Off balance, she couldn’t get her
footing. A door opened and she was yanked outside into the night air.

The steel door clanged shut and
she managed to get her feet under her. Sweat and alcohol swirled around her
nostrils. Frightened, she bit the fleshy part of the palm covering her mouth,
shoving a hand upwards towards the man’s face, the heel of her hand hitting his
nose a glancing blow. He cursed, his hold slackened and she swung around and
lurched away. She stared into Les Doyle’s face, her chest heaving with fear as
he blocked the doorway. A quick glance over her shoulder showed a fence and a
dark alleyway.

He took a step closer, blood
streaming from his nose.

"Stay away or I’ll scream so
loud they’ll hear me in Lexington."

"I know what you’re
doing," he said furiously, holding a bloody handkerchief to his nose.
"You took my wife’s job. Do you know how much we need that job?"

"We’ve been over this. I
didn’t take her job. When she’s better she can come back. Garrett said
so."

"Don’t play with me. She’s
not coming back if you’re there playing up to the boss. I’m not blind, I’ve
seen you and him."

A chill crept up her back and she
went deadly calm. "What are you talking about?"

Les smirked. "Never mind. If
he’s not careful, he’ll lose that farm and his shirt, too."

"What do you think will
happen when I tell them you forced me out here?"

"Right now my alibi is I’m at
home with my wife and kid, so that makes you a liar. You might better keep your
mouth shut."

"You’re not me."

"You’ve got a real smart
mouth, but I’ll make it simple. All you have to do is leave. Everything was
fine until you showed up."

"Kim broke her ankle before I
came here." She narrowed her eyes at him. "By the way, how did she
break her ankle, Les?"

"She hurt it out in the
yard," he said, his eyes narrowing. "I take good care of her and
little Tommy," he snarled. "I want you out of town fast or next time
I won’t be so nice."