Joe joined the crowd milling around outside the church. He pretended to be looking for his mother but had his eye out for one specific person. There was a lot more to this town than the town council meeting made it seem, but it was hard to see beyond the accusations from Roy and his cronies. He wanted to check on Claire.
He spotted her across the lawn and started toward her, nearly mowing down his brother, Ashley, in the process. “Dude. Watch where you’re going.”
“I was, Josephine. You’re the one who plowed into me.” Ash followed Joe’s line of sight to Claire. “Ahh, the new star of Red Hill Springs gossip. She’s cute.”
“She’s nice. Amelia likes her.”
“Amelia likes her, huh? How’s the little squirt doing? Filling out any?” His brother grinned, his famous dimples making an appearance. Joe would swear that every woman in a ten-foot radius turned to look. Ash, with his model-blond hair and those darn dimples, was like a woman magnet. It was annoying.
“Looking better, finally. Mom puts food in front of Amelia every time she slows down.” Amelia had been severely underweight when her mother dropped her off. She’d gone hungry. A lot. A knot formed in the pit of Joe’s stomach thinking about it.
“Good. If you want me to check on her, bring her in one day this week. Now, I’m going to talk to the woman who will single-handedly give me a bump in my practice when all the delinquents come to live with her.”
“They’re not delinquents, they’re just kids.”
Ash grinned and tossed the words over his shoulder. “I know. It’s just so much fun to annoy you.”
With a sigh, Joe followed his brother through the after-church crowd. A hand on his arm stopped him.
“Here’s the man who helped me get the cows back in the pasture yesterday. He didn’t even curse when his foot got stepped on. He has some kind of way with cows.” Mr. Haney chuckled. He gripped Joe’s sleeve as he talked, the group of old men surrounding him widening as the story spread.
“It’s some kind of way, all right, Mr. Haney, but I’m not sure what. Obviously, I didn’t do much. I think I might need to borrow your cane for a while until the bones in my foot heal, though.” The group of men laughed, one of them slapping Joe on the back, another looking at him with grudging respect.
This group didn’t have to be told that Mr. Haney needed help. As his neighbors, they’d been helping him out with his livestock constantly since his stroke almost a year ago. In this community, that was just what people did.
In fact, it wasn’t like this community at all to back someone into a corner the way they did Claire. With him, it was a little easier to understand. The memories people had of Joe were of him being a juvenile thief and, even after he was adopted by the Sheehans, a bit of a troublemaker.
But the residents of this town cared about each other and they cared about the children who lived here. Surely it wasn’t too much to expect for them to reach out to children in need.
Extricating himself from the group he’d been chatting with, he searched the yard once again for Claire. He found her leaning against a low brick fence, smiling as she talked to the small group of people around her. She was wearing a pretty blue dress that matched her eyes. Her hair lifted slightly in the whisper of a breeze. And his brother, Ash, was standing next to her with his arm draped around her shoulders.
The urge to punch Ash in the face didn’t surprise Joe. He’d had that feeling often enough. It was the reason he wanted to punch him that surprised him. He really didn’t want his handsome doctor brother anywhere near Claire.
“If you’d like to come over for coffee,” she was saying to the person across from her, “and see the house as it’s being repaired, I’d be happy for you to come. Anytime.” She smiled again and it was then that he realized things weren’t what they seemed. Her smile was frozen and something was very, very wrong.
* * *
At that moment, Claire didn’t remember Joe’s brother’s name. She only knew that his arm behind her back was holding her up. She was exhausted and overwhelmed. Somehow in the months leading up to her move here, she had neglected to imagine that there were people out there who genuinely cared more about themselves than they did about children who desperately needed a safe place to grow up.
The older woman sniffed. “This town was here long before you were and we’re not going to let a newcomer with a do-gooder complex ruin it for the rest of us.” She shook her head. “That beautiful old house...”
Claire’s breath backed up in her chest, her ears buzzing.
Joe stepped into the circle. “What’s going on? Mrs. Willis, is there a problem?”
Claire stretched her smile a little wider and shrugged slightly. “No problem. I was just leaving. Like I said, Mrs. Willis, my sister and I would love for you to visit anytime. I’m sorry to leave in a rush, but I have to get back to check on the animals.”
She walked away, hot tears stinging her eyes, trying not to let anyone see how badly she was shaking. She heard voices calling after her. Joe, and probably his sister, too. Lanna, she thought, waved to her, but she couldn’t really see through the haze of tears. Blindly, she walked to her car and got in and started it up.
Claire drove down the oak-shaded highway. It wasn’t like she’d stolen her inheritance. The thought made her laugh. Why would she want to steal a broken-down old plantation house and spend tens of thousands of dollars renovating it?
Claire pulled into her usual parking spot beside the house and jammed the gear shift into Park, scrubbing the remains of the tears from her face.
She didn’t need them. She didn’t need anyone.
It took her about ten seconds to shed the dressier clothes that Jules had let her borrow and pull on jeans and her own broken-in boots. She grabbed her pale pink ball cap from the hook by the back door and strode to the stable. She hadn’t been riding because she was too busy, but she and Freckles both needed a run.
She pushed her way into the dark, cool barn, whistling for him as she went into the corral. She didn’t need a saddle or reins. Freckles knew her well enough to be guided by the pressure of her hands.
It took just enough concentration to stay seated on Freckles that all the negative thoughts could be pushed to the back of her mind. Her hair whipped behind her, and when she turned the corner and started back to the house, her hat flew off. She laughed out loud, letting the wind carry her laughter along with her hat.
What had she been thinking? She had no ties here. Only a dead father she never knew. A falling-down house. And a dream.
She laughed louder.
She had a dream. She leaned over Freckles’s neck and whispered in his ear and he went faster.
The wind in her face, the sound of the hooves, her body moving in unison with her horse. Freedom whispered, Leave it all behind.
Freedom was going to have to stuff it. She wasn’t leaving. She had a dream and a plan and she was going to make it happen. She let her feelings of inadequacy and not being enough fly away with the wind.
Freckles’s pace dropped to a slow trot as they got closer to the house. She eased him into a turn, and as they neared the gate, she slid off his back to the ground. Nudging him toward the water trough, she patted him on the rump as she walked behind him into the corral.
Joe was leaning forward, his muscular arms crossed on the fence, long denim-clad legs and the boots... It was the boots that got her. She stopped and shook her head, her heart jumping in her chest, despite herself. “You didn’t have to come all the way out here.”
“I know, but the women in my family are worried about you. They want me to bring you back to the house for some lunch.”
“I’m fine. My feelings were a little hurt, but I’ll get over it. Sometimes you can’t fix a problem, you just have to learn to live with it. My mom used to say that all the time.” She grinned at him. “Not exactly Pollyanna, my mom.”
“She was right, I think. Some problems you just have to survive, but we can help by letting everyone get to know you. Right now people are focused on the picture that Roy painted for them. We just need to give them a different, more realistic picture.” He smiled, his mouth tipping up at the corner, and she couldn’t help it.
She grabbed the sides of his face and laid one on him. His lips parted, probably in shock, under hers. She stepped back. “Wow. Sorry. I...”
He laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone feel the need to apologize for kissing me. I’m going over to the cabin to try to finish things up so Amelia and I can move in a couple days.” He walked along the fence toward the barn as she walked along on the other side.
“Want some help? It could be fun to actually finish something.”
“Yeah, you can help me haul the furniture I stored in the barn around the pond to the house.” He looked hopeful.
She laughed. “Never mind, that doesn’t sound like fun at all.”
He slid the barn door all the way open and his voice came from inside. “Too bad. You already volunteered. Let’s start with the mattresses.”
Two hours later, all the furniture was loaded in and Claire had collapsed on the front porch of Joe’s cabin with a Diet Coke. The sun was setting over the pond and her muscles were once again aching from exertion. Between the bareback ride and moving Joe and Amelia’s furniture into the cabin, she wouldn’t be able to move tomorrow.
Joe dropped to the porch beside her. “Well, the furniture is in. The mice will enjoy it tonight.”
She laughed and flopped back, too tired to even sit upright. “You know, Joe, the ceiling of the porch would be so cute if you painted it sky blue or sea-foam green.”
“No.” He didn’t even let her finish. “I’m retired from painting. I have neon-green splotches on parts of me that should never be neon green. I get a headache every time I walk in my own bathroom. Never again.”
“Mmm-hmm.” She tucked that little idea for the ceiling away for some time in the future when her own projects were all done. “Amelia is going to freak when she sees all the furniture in there.”
He yawned and hauled her to her feet before starting back to the main house. “I hope she likes it as much as she thought she would.”
“With all the little touches you’ve put in there, I don’t know how she couldn’t. I know you didn’t want flower-shaped lights in the bathroom, but she’s going to love it. She deserves a little bit of childhood.” She wobbled on a loose rock and he wrapped one long arm around her, rescuing her from a certain freezing cold bath in the pond. And after she was steady on her feet again, he didn’t move it. Skin warmed, heart picked up, cheeks flushed, and she had to wonder if kissing him at the corral had been wise. She forced her train of thought back to whatever he was saying.
What was he saying?
“I’ll bring her out tomorrow afternoon and we can make a list of stuff to buy. Maybe we can move in next week.”
Though the secret wanted to burst out of her, she didn’t tell him that she and his mother had made a list and all the “stuff,” as he called it, was in the ballroom at her house waiting for the right moment to load it into the cabin. He and Amelia would be so surprised tomorrow afternoon after she and Bertie got through with the place.
He turned toward her when they reached his truck, his light blue eyes intent on hers. She had an almost irresistible urge to tidy her hair, which she knew had to be a flyaway mess after the ride through the pasture earlier.
“You’re really something special, Claire.” Joe skimmed his fingertips down the side of her face. “My timing has always been terrible. I wish things were different.”
Claire wanted to pretend like she misunderstood him, but she didn’t. Joe had a dream, too—returning to his team. And with the townspeople in an uproar and Amelia just coming into his life, it wasn’t the right time for romance. She understood that.
But he was warm and solid and real and had such a heart to do the right thing. She was practical, but it was there—buried, but still—the wish that somehow the timing was different.
She sighed and smiled. “In some ways, the timing is perfect. We both just moved here. I like kids, you have one. We can be really great friends.”
Joe nodded his head slowly, the regret evident in his eyes as he stepped back. “We are friends. Thanks for the help today, Claire. Don’t let the turkeys get you down.”
Tears pricked in her eyes. “I won’t. Want me to pick Amelia up at school tomorrow?”
“I’m going to bring her out so I can see her reaction when she sees the furniture in there. We’re getting close.”
“You are. It’s a new start for the two of you.”
He swung into his truck and rolled the window down. “See you tomorrow.”
She stood there long after his taillights disappeared. She didn’t need a man in her life, not now. She was rebuilding this place to provide a home and a family for kids. Everyone deserved a place where they belonged.
Maybe she was falling for Joe, but wishing she belonged with him would only make her own loneliness more pronounced.
She started for the barn to feed the animals but dug her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed Bertie as she walked. “Hey! He just left. Want to come over?”
* * *
A few hours later, Joe cautiously approached the front porch of his cabin to retrieve the wallet he’d left there earlier. He’d noticed his mother’s car parked at Claire’s and was slightly afraid of what he might find inside. Pushing the door open slightly, he stopped and gaped. The room he and Claire had left with a few pieces of random furniture had been transformed into a cozy, family-friendly retreat. “What...?”
“Joe!” Claire jumped to her feet from the couch where she was sharing a Coke with his mom. “Um...surprise?”
Mom didn’t move, just sat there with a satisfied smile on her face.
He didn’t know what to say, so instead he looked around at the unbelievable change that had taken place here. Lamps on the end tables threw warm light across the blue velvet hand-me-down couch. Small candles were placed on the mantel and the coffee table. A fuzzy lime-green blanket was tossed across the back of the couch but still somehow looked artful.
Incredulous, he turned toward the kitchen. Neat stacks of white plates, cups and bowls lined the open shelves he’d exchanged for the falling-down upper cabinets. A wooden bowl on the island held a selection of limes, repeating the color from the throw on the couch.
“Joe?” Claire was starting to sound a little worried.
He smiled and then caught sight of the back wall of the living room, and his breath left his chest. Pictures of him and pictures of Amelia had been framed and hung. The center of the grouping was a large photo of the two of them, heads together over the little kitten that Amelia had adopted. He hadn’t even known Claire was taking it.
Turning to these two women who had managed to pull one over on him, he shook his head. “I don’t know what to do with you two. You’ve made a home for me to bring my daughter to. There’s not a thank-you big enough for this.”
From the couch, his mother said, “My legs are too tired to stand up or I would show you, but you should look at the bedrooms, too.”
He wasn’t sure how it could top the transformation in the living space, but somehow it did. Where before there had been bare mattresses and floors, now there were bedspreads and pillows and comfortable-looking things. His room was a haven of masculinity. Dark colors, simple lighting. A leather pillow on the bed made him laugh. Amelia’s bedroom was an explosion of pink. Her throw pillow was made of lavender feathers. Perfect.
“We let Amelia pick out her bedding. We figured it would be important to her,” Claire said from behind him. “I hope we didn’t overstep.”
He laughed. “If you only knew how much I’ve been dreading shopping for all this stuff.”
“We kind of figured. There’s drinks in the fridge and some basic groceries in the pantry.”
“I really don’t know how to thank you.” He followed Claire the few steps back into the living room.
“You don’t have to. It was our pleasure. Plus, when you move, I’m making the pink room my office.” She winked at Mom and walked toward the door. “I’ve gotta run, though. We weren’t planning the reveal until tomorrow, so I’m glad we were finished when you came back!”
“I just can’t believe this place. Thank you, Claire.”
She nodded. “It was fun. Bye, Bertie.”
Joe turned back to his mother. “You two are crazy.”
“I’m crazy. That pretty young woman is crazy about you.” She raised one eyebrow, but her customary sass was nowhere to be seen. She was serious.
He shook his head. “I don’t know about that, Mom. I think maybe she’s like that with everyone. But you, you’re amazing. How did you keep this a secret?”
“A mother never tells her tricks of the trade, darling.”
He walked his mom to her car and held the door for her. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Glancing at the brightly lit windows of Claire’s house, he remembered what his mother said. He wanted to dismiss the thought, but truthfully, he worried about it. He liked Claire—liked her enough to be interested in pursuing this thing and that hadn’t happened in a while.
They had created a home for him and Amelia. Claire was building a life here. His life was in Florida with his team. It just wasn’t fair to pretend that they could have a future.