“Of course it does.” Lacey wiped her hands on a dishcloth that had been covering a glass bowl. Then she rolled a fluffy ball of dough out of the bowl and onto a floured board. “I’ve learned to be independent. That means doing whatever I have to, to make ends meet. I can’t borrow the money to buy this farm. I have to give it up. No hard feelings. Business is business. I respect that. We can still be friends.”
Alex couldn’t help but admire her strength and resolve. Why couldn’t her cantankerous old grandfather see her worth and help her? The Double J was who she was. She needed this farm, but she also needed her dignity.
“Maybe something could be worked out,” he said. “Let me take your books home to look them over. I’d like to think this over and talk to you about it next weekend. I could come back again next Friday evening, if that’s okay with you.” Alex riffled through the spices until he found paprika, parsley, garlic powder, and white pepper.
“Wait a minute,” Lacey exclaimed. “I’m making that salad with your mother’s recipe. I thought you’d like it that way.”
Alex shrugged. “She never mentions that my dad adds his own ingredients. My mom is not the great cook she pretends to be, but Dad covers for her. Trust me. You’ll like it better this way.”
If he couldn’t charm her out of her panties, he’d at least impress her with his cooking.
Chapter Ten
Alex slammed the tailgate after the supplies had been loaded. He hoped they had everything they needed. Jerrod had gathered five fence posts, three spools of wire, two large bags of cement, a couple of empty plastic feed containers, a posthole digger, a shovel, and an old wooden box with assorted hand tools. It felt weird to let someone else take the lead, especially a kid, and most especially when the kid was Jerrod. The boy wasn’t old enough to have a hair on his ass, but he had a ton of bad attitude.
Alex’s T-shirt and the bandana around his head were already soaked with sweat. It had been a long time since he’d done anything outdoors besides running a park trail or overseeing a development project. He hoped to make it back to Orlando before his muscles locked up. The last thing he wanted to do was wuss-out in front of Lacey, or even worse, Jerrod.
As soon as the boy came back with the truck keys, they’d be on their own. He didn’t have a clue what he’d talk about with Jerrod. He didn’t know a single thing about kids.
Leaning against the fender, he watched Lacey lead a chestnut mare from the barn. She looked so damned sexy in that yellow sundress, old cowboy boots, and beat-up cowboy hat. She was all woman with a little bit of a dirty side. She was fearless. He couldn’t imagine her backing down from any challenge. Yes, she’d lost the blush of youth, but it had been replaced by a fiery passion. Alex figured it was a good tradeoff. He just had to find a way to tap into some of that passion.
“Are we gonna get to work, or do you plan to stay here and drool over my mom for a while longer?”
Alex snatched the keys from Jerrod’s hand. “I’m not drooling, I’m admiring. When you get older you’ll understand the difference.” Jerrod’s age and size were his sore spots and couldn’t resist getting in a dig.
“We’re wasting daylight. If we don’t get that fence fixed this weekend, we’ll start losing cattle. Of course, the bind that would put Mom in would make it easier for you to take this place away from her, wouldn’t it?”
They slid into the truck seat and slammed their doors. Around Lacey, Jerrod seemed to be cooling his attitude, but obviously, that was just for her benefit. Alex decided to try a little psychology.
He headed to the west side of the property. It wasn’t hard to find the part of the fence that needed repair. Already there were three cows hanging around, thinking about the grass on the other side. A couple beeps of the horn changed their minds and they lumbered away.
“Okay, Jerrod, where do you want me to start?”
Jerrod’s brows drew together. “What do you mean?”
“Well, it’s your fence and your job.” Alex stepped out into the grassy pasture. “I guess that puts you in charge.”
As they walked to the back of the truck, Alex could have sworn that Jerrod was walking a little taller.
“You can use a set of side-cutters to snip the bad wire off where it’s still attached. Be careful that it doesn’t snap back at you. And leave enough tail to wrap around the post.” Jerrod puffed his chest out. “I’ve got five posts to replace in this section. I’ve been sinking the new ones in cement. I just about have them all replaced now.”
That would definitely make the fence stronger. He had to admire the kid’s ingenuity.
As fast as he could cut the wire, Jerrod had the ends wrapped and stapled down. When the five rotted posts were bare, Alex dug them out while Jerrod unloaded the new ones. Each hole was made larger to accommodate its share of cement mixed with water from a nearby trough. When the posts were set, they took a break to allow the cement to set.
“Got anything to drink in this cooler?” Alex started toward the bed of the truck.
Jerrod ran to reach the truck ahead of him. “Umm, I think I forgot to bring anything.” He seemed as nervous as a mouse in a lion cage.
Something was up. What could the boy be hiding? He reached over Jerrod’s shoulder and flipped the top up on the cooler. Inside was a six-pack of sodas along with a few bottles of water.
“Are you gonna tell my mom?”
Alex helped himself to one of the cans. “Your mom must be pretty strict. What would happen if I did tell her?”
“No dessert for a month, I bet.” Jerrod kicked a clump of dirt. “She worries about us eating healthy and all that. She worries about everything. I can’t blame her. It’s not easy being a single mom. But dang it, sometimes it’s hard to follow all those rules.”
Alex handed Jerrod a can of soda. “It’ll be our secret then. Besides that, you’ve earned it. You work hard, and you’re stronger than I expected.”
“You mean, because I’m so small,” Jerrod groused.
“I don’t know much about kids, but you don’t seem all that small to me.”
Jerrod sat on the edge of the tailgate. “All the guys at school call me Shorty and Runt and stuff like that. They’re just joking, but it’s embarrassing when girls are around. I’m the smallest guy in my class.”
“I remember those days.” Alex sat next to Jerrod. “Your mom can tell you how small I was as a kid. It seemed like I had a target on my back for every bully in school. I was always the last one picked for a team. My friends made jokes about it too. And yes, it was embarrassing around the girls. It caused me to have a big chip on my shoulder for a while.”
“I think you’re just making that up to make me feel better.” Jerrod sneered. “I looked at mom’s yearbooks last night in my room. You were a big football star in high school. They must’ve had a hundred pictures of you in there.”
“So you were checking me out,” Alex laughed. “I didn’t know you were such a good detective. It’s true that I was big by then. I hit a growth spurt that lasted all the way through middle school. My mom thought it would never stop. She complained all the time about how fast I outgrew my clothes and shoes. By the end of tenth grade I was as tall as I am now. It took a few more years and a lot of hard work to fill out though.”
“Really? You’re not bullshitting me are you?” Jerrod was awe struck. “How old were you when you got as big as the other guys?”
“I guess it was in about eighth grade.” Alex was glad to give the kid a little hope. “By the time I started high school, I was passing half of them up.”
“We’d better get back to work,” Jerrod walked to the truck door and reached under the seat. He pulled out a pair of work gloves and tossed them to Alex. “You may need these.”
“You couldn’t have found those a couple of hours ago?”
“Sorry.” Jerrod grinned. “I just remembered they were there.”
Replacing the section of fence had been hard work. Alex couldn’t believe that Lacey and two children had been doing this kind of thing on their own. That was going to change. And now was as good a time as any to get Jerrod used to the idea. He picked up an old post and threw it into the back of the truck while Jerrod gathered the tools. “These posts and the old wood from the porch would make a good bonfire. Maybe I should pick up some hotdogs and marshmallows before I come back next weekend. Do you think Jenna and your mom would like that?”
“Maybe,” Jerrod mumbled.
Alex tried to think of what to say next. His gut told him that Jerrod’s attitude was taking a southern turn. The old truck slowly bounced and creaked back toward the house.
Finally, Jerrod broke the silence. “Are you planning on coming around a lot, Mr. Benson?”
“Maybe. Are you asking what my intentions are, Jerrod?”
“I guess I am.”
Alex brought the truck to a stop and shut off the engine. He turned to look Jerrod in the eye. The defiant look was back on the boy’s face, he was losing ground again. Damn, this kid was tough.
“Jerrod, you know I’ve known your mom since she was just a baby. What you don’t know is that we were really close at one time. It was a long time ago, when we were barely more than kids ourselves. A lot has happened to both of us since then, one thing being you and your sister. There are still a few things we’ll have to work out. But now that I’ve found her again, I realized I still have feelings for her. I think she may come around to feeling the same. I want to get to know you and Jenna, and hopefully, someday, make you part of my life. It would be a lot easier if you could work with me on this.”
“Maybe.” Jerrod paused. “So, what you’re saying is, you’re thinking of making me a redheaded stepchild, for real.” He swallowed hard and looked out the passenger window. “Did she ever tell you about our dad?”
Jerrod seemed sullen. He’d made a mistake by being so up-front about his intentions so soon. It was too late to turn back now, though. “Jenna said your mom doesn’t like to talk about him. She also told me that he doesn’t know about the two of you and that he’s never been around.”
“Mom said if he did know about us, he’d love us.”
“Jenna told me that too.” The despair radiated from the boy. All he could offer for comfort were words. “I imagine he’d be damn proud to have two great kids like you and Jenna, but don’t you think your mom deserves to be loved too?”
Jerrod turned toward Alex. Tears had collected in his green eyes, but he held his chin out the way Lacey did when she was being stubborn.
“Jenna probably didn’t tell you the rest of what Mom said. She said she’d loved our dad more than she ever loved anyone. She said she’d never love like that again. Will it be okay with you to take second place, Mr. Benson?”
Alex tried to keep the emotion from showing in his expression as they stared at each other. He didn’t want Jerrod to know he’d just delivered the most painful blow he’d ever felt.
“You know, someday you and Jenna will be grown and on your own. Your mom will be all alone. Is that what you want for her?”
“My dad will be back by then. I’m going to find him and tell him everything.”
“How do you plan to do that, kid?”
“Granddad knows who my dad is. I can tell by some of the things I’ve heard him say to my mom. He doesn’t seem to like him much.” Jerrod gave him an angry glare. “But when I get a little older, he’ll tell me who he is. Then, I’ll go find him and bring him back. That’s what I’ve planned to do for a long time now. My mom will be happy then, just you wait and see. If she married you it would just be in order to keep the farm. That’s all you mean to her. This farm isn’t worth that much.”
“Good luck with that, kid.” Alex knew Jarrod hated being called kid. He was just being an ass because the boy had gotten the best of him. He straightened in his seat and started the truck’s engine again. “The sun’s going down. We’d better get back.”
Chapter Eleven
Lacey stepped out to the front porch when she heard the old truck approaching. Jerrod and Alex both looked tired and dirty as they came up the steps.
“Come in and let me get you something to drink while you get cleaned up.”
“I’m just going to grab my things and head home.” Alex followed her as far as the other side of the screen door. “It’s getting late. I’ve already stayed longer then I’d planned. I’ll take a shower at home and fall straight into bed. Morning comes awfully early you know. I have a meeting at the top of my schedule.”
Something had changed about Alex, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. Maybe he’d gotten more hard work and hot sun then he was used to, this weekend.
On the other hand, Jerrod looked downright chipper. He walked up to Alex and offered his hand. “It was nice meeting you, Mr. Benson. You did a great job on that fence today.”
“You too, Jerrod. I wouldn’t mind if you call me Alex.” He shook the boy’s hand. “I meant what I said. You really are a hard worker. Your mom’s lucky to have a guy like you around.”
“We get by,” Jerrod said. “You have a safe trip home, Alex. Maybe we’ll see you again sometime.”
Lacey watched her son walk up the stairs, then turned to Alex. Something had definitely changed. Why hadn’t he said anything to Jerrod about coming back next weekend?
“I hope you didn’t have any trouble with Jerrod today,” she said.
“No. I seriously meant what I said. He works as hard as any man I know, and he’s nearly as strong. You’ve done a damned good job raising him.” Alex still watched the top of the stairs, although Jerrod had disappeared from sight. Was he reluctant to make eye contact? “We talked about a lot of things and got to know each other a little. One thing I learned is that he loves you very much.”
Alex picked up his gym bag and strap it over his shoulder. His words were polite, but his tense jaw said that he could easily rip a tree out of the ground with his bare hands.
“You’re not leaving so soon, are you, Mr. Benson?” Jenna bounded into the living room with her usual exuberance.
“Not without saying goodbye to you doll-face.” His face lit up at the sight of his biggest admirer. “You have to call me Alex, though. I can’t deal with being called by my father’s name. He’s so old.”
“I wish you could stay,” Jenna sighed. “You’re so much fun.”