“How?” she asks, taking it from my hand.
“Four years of babysitting.” Over the last year I was able to scrape up more money with odd jobs after I got Gram’s old car. After picking up random jobs cleaning homes and helping at the Sunday farmers’ market in town, I have a nice stash of cash. Well, what I would think is a nice stash. To someone like Judge, I’m guessing it’s nothing.
“I shouldn't take it because it’s your money and you worked hard for it. But now this means I can text you every day.” She throws her arms around me, hugging me tight. My eyes sting with tears because I’ve never been without Kat. Unless you count the first eleven months of my life, which I don’t remember anyways.
“It’s nothing fancy.”
“It’s perfect. It calls and texts you, and that’s all that matters.” She lets me go. “Did you put our numbers in?” She’s smiling now, and a weight lifts off my shoulders.
“Of course.”
“Good. I want to know everything about this Clay Walker.”
“Why?”
Clay Walker is the man I’m going to be working for. He needs a live-in housekeeper that can cook too, and it’s part of the reason I applied for the job to begin with. I won't have to worry about where I’ll be staying, and I can save extra money. If someone looked close enough, they might think I’m trying to save enough money to run away and take Kat with me.
“I might have done some poking around,” she hedges, and I roll my eyes. Of course she did because she’s the nosiest person in the world.
“Well?” I mean if she has some info, I want it.
“I think he could give Judge a run for his money. And I mean money.”
Wow, that’s saying a lot. Clay lives two towns over and it will take me an hour to get there. Not forever away, but it’s far out enough to give me a taste of real freedom for a moment.
“Clay’s money is none of my concern.”
“I heard he’s handsome too.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “You might fall in love.”
“I’m getting married.” Something flashes across Kat's face, but she masks it quickly. I’ve caught it a couple of times now.
“I know.” She gives me a bright smile. “Let me help you get your stuff into the car.” She hops off the bed, changing the subject. I want to push, but pushing Kat never works well. When she gets backed into a corner, she runs, and she can be as skittish as her name.
I grab her hand and pull her in for another hug. “I need an adventure. You know I’ll always come back for you.” She nods and hugs me tighter.
I just had no idea what kind of adventure I was getting myself into.Chapter TwoClay“Goddamn it,” I grunt as I use the pliers to take off the horseshoe.
“Easy, girl,” I hear my foreman Otis say as he coos to the horse.
I roll my eyes and get back to the business of cleaning up her hooves and doing the real work. But we both know he’s the horse whisperer, especially when it comes to the females. They all give me a side eye, but I’m used to it. They let me do what I need to so I can take care of them, but they’re not running over to see me when I come to the fence like old Otis. It might also be that he keeps apples in his pockets for them. Cheater.
Otis has worked on this farm longer than I’ve been alive. He ran the place for my grandfather and then my father until he passed away when I was ten. He ran everything until I was old enough to take over, and he’ll be here until his last days. We had a talk about it once when I asked him why he never got married or had a family. He told me I was all the family he needed, and he didn’t want to be anywhere else.
I’ve thought about that as I’ve gotten older and realized maybe I’m in the same boat. I don’t remember my grandparents, and my mom took off after I was born. Women are nothing but trouble, so maybe Otis has the right idea.
I toss the old horseshoe in the bucket and step away to let the horse run. She trots over to Otis to get her treat and then out into the pasture with the other horses. I’ve been up since four this morning taking care of them, and I’m worn out. But as the cool breeze of fall creeps over the hill, I know winter is coming, and there’s lots to be done before the first snow.
“The boys in the barn got the sheep inoculated,” Otis says as he grabs his gear and we make our way to the other side of the fence.