Nova (31 page)

She smiled and picked up an end of it. “This one was really easy. Just basic quilt blocks that almost anyone can do.”

“Yeah,
almost
anyone. I’m not sure if I’m included in that category.”

She laughed and said, “You won’t know until you try. I think you and I need a few quilting sessions together.”

“She doesn’t have that kind of time for you,” Austin said, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “It’s in the Austin-and-Nova handbook; all of her free time is spent with me.”

“
You squeeze a bird too tightly and it will die,”
Marlo
murmured playfully
.

“We have a handbook?” I asked, turning around to face him.

“Well, uh, yeah…”

“Jeez, then just give me the stupid handbook so I don’t have to put up with so much of your crap.”

“You like putting up with my crap.”

I playfully narrowed my eyes at him. “Hmm, that’s what you think. I think that the handbook would say that you are
full
of crap.”

“Probably,” he agreed with a smile and a nod.

It was Christmas Eve at the Gaines’ home, and after a traditional meal of homemade soup and rolls, we were just about to watch a movie with the rest of the family. My Grandpa Clark was even in attendance, and boy was he excited to be invited up to Bakersfield for the night. Austin and I were going to take him back home the next day and spend Christmas dinner with Meryl and her family, and then I planned on spending the rest of my winter break at Harmony Acres.

School had been going well for me and I was pretty successful in all of my fall classes. Winter semester would begin in January, and after that I could apply for graduation in the spring.

Austin had
finished
first in Phoenix, his last race of the season.
And yes I was there. It wasn’t
even a decision for me because I knew I was going to go no matter what. After his last race in Roseville, I promised myself that I could keep my opinions about racing to myself. Austin’s happiness was more important to me than proving a point, but not only
that,
I knew it wasn’t a battle I would ever win. I could be the doting, supportive girlfriend, right?

Now it was the end of December, and the All-Star Showdown was just around the bend.
Austi
n had been driving every week
, and often I would be at the track with him. I’ll admit that I liked watching him race around the track with only
a few
other cars. Being that they were
just there
fine tuning their skills
instead of competing
with each other allowed me to actually enjoy watching him drive.

I wished he could be content with just that.

My grandpa had even come to the track with us a couple of times, but that old fart grumbled about needing to see a
real
race. He knew he was just getting to me, but I also knew there was a little bit of truth
to
his request. My grandfather loved the fast-paced world of racing as well.

“Well I’ll be damned!”

Speaking of Gramps, he’d just returned to the house with Dave after getting a look at the horses in the stable.

“Austin, it’s a good thing I’ve already gone bankrupt and learned my lesson,” he continued, “because I don’t think I could resist betting on that race horse of yours.”

I rolled my eyes and it made Austin smile. “Your granddaughter would kill me if I
had someone place
your bets
for
you,
”
he told him.

“I certainly would,” I agreed, giving him a nudge.

“She’s not the boss of you,” Gramps told him.

“Sure she is,” Austin replied.

I quietly scoffed and murmured, “Not when it comes to racing.”

I moved to the couch and sat down, just as
Marlo
was putting the movie into the DVD player. Austin and my grandpa gave each other a look, and I heard Gramps whisper, “Now look what you’ve done.”

I really was amused that they got along so well. My grandpa was just one of those guys that everyone got a kick out of, and Austin loved being around him.

Austin sat down next to me on the couch, cuddling me close to him. He knew I wasn’t really upset or any
thing, so while the movie began
and the rest of the family came in and found seats, he whispered things to me that he knew I’d like to hear.
At one point I had to laugh, feeling somewhat embarrassed, and I silently scolded him for whispering such a thing with the risk that someone might hear.

“Oh how I love you, and those rosy pink cheeks of yours,” he
teased me
.

The holidays were pretty great that year because I had Austin and his family to share them with. And it was true that employees of Harmony Acres were treated just like family. Jack was around quite ofte
n, which I loved, and of course
Clara and Heath.

But just because the Tomlinson’s were around didn’t mean that Ben
came around much.
I did see him once in a while
, though
. I wasn’t sure if
he held any particular feeling
about being around the Gaines’, but Dave and
Marlo
treated him just as well
as anyone else that was around
. And I could tell that Ben had quite a history with them because of the way
Marlo
and Dave regarded him. I would even go as far as to say that
Marlo
treated Ben like her own child
since he grew up on the ranch
, and even though he
appeared
a little humbled by that, Ben seemed to always feel uncomfortable in the house.

Between
Austin
and Ben
it was a
s if neither of them were there
and they just avoided each other. There weren’t any spats between them because they just didn’t talk to one another. I wished it didn’t have to be that way, but I completely kept my nose out of it. I did talk to Ben when the occasion was there, but
other than that, we really didn’t talk much.

That changed the day after New Year’s. Austin had headed out early for
Irwindale
to race, and I stuck around the ranch to do some work
for
Jack. I didn’t have to be at school for two more days, so I wanted to take advantage of my vacation time. I’d seen Ben a few times that morning, but we were both doing other things and only had time for a casual “hey.”

I was coming out of the guesthouse after having lunch with Clara when there was a commotion going on outside of the stables. Ben was there, and so were Dave and Heath. They all seemed to be gathered near a visitor’s truck and horse trailer, but what I noticed first was that Ben was holding Chap in his arms
as he walked toward the barn
, and the way he was holding him made my heart
drop
.

“What happened?” I asked, rushing up to the dog to check him out
as we walked
.
Chap was conscious, but I could tell he was in pain. I followed Ben to Jack’s office while he explained that the Hoover’s horse got a little spooked, and Chap happened to get in the way.

“I think his leg is broken,” he said, gently setting him on the table.

“
Aww
, buddy,” I cooed to him, softly petting his head. “You’re supposed to stay away from the hooves, pal.”

“He tried. He was just passing by with Goldie when the horse jumped. The dogs scurried one way, but the horse swung around
unexpectedly
.
And you know that this guy here isn’t that quick.
”

“Will you do me a favor and call Jack?” I asked.

“How come? Can’t you fix him up yourself?”

“Mm, I think it’s his shoulder…” I couldn’t be sure without putting the dog under and x-raying him, so I prepared the anesthesia while Ben spoke to Jack.

“Yeah, she’s doing that n
ow,”
Ben
told him. …“Okay, bye. …
He’s on his way.”

“Thank you.”

Over the course of the next two hours, Jack and I fixed up Chap the best we could. The poor thing was going to be very uncomfortable with the cast we had to put him in, but it was the only option we had
after the surgery that was performed
.
Chap was still out like a light when we left him in the back room, and Jack and I sat down at the counter to stretch our backs and rest for a bit.

“You did good job,” he told me.

“Thanks.”

“I think you could have done it yourself.”

I shrugged. “Nah, I just wanted to pull you away from whatever it was you were doing.”

“Her name was
Melissa
,” he smiled.

I gaped at him and we both laughed.

“I’m just kidding,” he said.

I studied him carefully and could read him pretty good. “But
you were with a
Melissa
, weren’t you,” I stated teasingly.

He slowly smiled. “Yeah, but rushing away to save a dog’s life scored me some points.”

“ ‘
Save
his life’,” I murmured.

“Well it sounded better than ‘I have to go babysit our intern.’ ” I scowled at him and he laughed. “Okay, you’re not an intern. My assistant. My assistant that’s
almost
as qualified as I am.”

“I’m not the one you need to butter up, Jack. But thank you.”

He ever so slightly nodded.

“So? Get back to
Melissa
, you dimwit.”

He looked surprised at first and then shook his head. “Na
h, we weren’t actually together
like on a date or anything.”

“Where were you?”

“Uh, at the Langley
ranch.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Ah,
Melissa
Langley
. Nice, Jack.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, she’s
a pretty nice lady
. She was here a few days ago.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, in fact…she was looking for you.”

He smiled. “Really?”

“Yep.”

“And you kept that from me?”

“Well she had an inquiry that I was able to help her with. I kind of wondered why she hadn’t just called, but then I figured she was already here or something. Jeez, had I known you were hot for each other, I would have feigned incompetence.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Good thing you didn’t. I’ve already bragged about my job here, including you.”

“You’ve bragged about me, Jack? I’m flattered.”

With a shrug he said, “I only speak the truth. You’ll have a lot of options in the future.”

“Wow, I don’t know what to say.”

“Well I was hoping you’d say this was the only place you
’d
want to work.”

“It is,” I smiled.

“Okay, then.”
And with that he got up from the counter and said, “Well, I guess I better find me something to eat. I’m starving. When do you head south?”

“Tomorrow night.”

He nodded. “All right,
if I don’t see you tomorrow, I’ll
see you next weekend then.”

“Bye
,
Jack.”

I sat at the counter for a few minutes, reflecting on the last few hours of the day. I checked on Chap once more and then
headed for the field that contained my horse. Born To Be Wil
d whinnied the second he saw me
and came trotting to the fence.

“Hey, there,” I greeted him.
I pressed my face against his and held it there for a second before I looked at him again. “Man, I’m gonna miss you, buddy. After being here for the last couple of weeks, I don’t know if I can handle going back to school.”

“I know I shouldn’t interrupt a girl and her horse,” I heard Ben’s voice say.
I turned toward the stable to see him arrive with
a halter and lead in his hands
and he handed them to me.
“But he really wants you to ride him.”

I smiled and looked between Ben and my horse.
Wild even made a little whinny,
like he was greeting Ben
or agreeing with him.

“Okay,” I nodded, climbing through the fence to halter him. “But you have to come with me,” I added to Ben.

He looked surprised, and then slightly shook his head. “Nah, that’s okay.”

“What, don’t even tell me you can’t ride a horse, Ben.”