Page 67 of Let Me Be the One
Liam dropped a bag of debris into the largest can, then hung the saw on the wall. “I’d like my own set oftools like the ones I use with the contractor. He’s great, but someday I’ll want to branch out on my own. People around here are getting used to me being with him. They’re trusting me. When it’s time, I want my own contracting business.”
That was the most he’d ever divulged to her and it made her feel special that he had shared. “It’s a great goal. Have you gotten anything yet?”
“Sure. At my little apartment I pay extra for the garage space so I can store everything. Though to run my own business, I still need a lot.”
Just then, a blinding streak of lightning split the sky. “Wow.” Seconds later, thunder rumbled, sending a tremble along the ground. “I need to get the animals put away.”
“I’ll help you,” Liam said.
“No, it’s fine. I’m sure I have a few minutes yet before the rain starts.” Thanks to her recent practice, she was proficient at handling the animals now. “They’re probably all in their shelters already. I’ll just double-check.” Often they put themselves away and all she had to do was secure the door. “You go on so you’re not running late.”
He stopped, hands on his hips as he studied the sky. “The lightning doesn’t seem close yet.”
“It’s not.” Another thought struck her and she asked, “Would you like me to pay you early?” After his first generous week, she’d insisted on paying him for his continued help. When she’d finally gotten his agreement to take the amount she offered, he’d asked to be paid on Mondays after a full week and weekend.
“I’m still good with Monday, but thanks.”
“You’resure?”
His grin went lopsided. “You and Tanner are two of a kind. I’m good though, so no worries.”
The mention of Tanner made her heart sink, but she worked up a smile for Liam. “Off with you then. Have fun and be safe.”
Jokingly, he said, “Yes, Mom,” and then jogged away.
There. That sweet exchange fixed her heart right up. Who needed Tanner? Not her. She was just fine and dandy without him.
A gust of wind whipped her hair into her face, reminding her that she had to hurry. Concentrating on the animals would also help her put Tanner in perspective. Seriously, she didn’t need to get hung up on a guy right now anyway. Her broken engagement wasn’t that long behind her, and her parents were apparently still irate with her. She’d called her mother once, with no answer. Then she’d texted her twice, and still nothing. Whatever her mother thought of Callie’s “cease and desist” requests, she was keeping to herself. Knowing her mom, that meant she wasn’t ready to give up.
Unfortunately, Sutter had called her twice, but both times she’d kept it short and to the point. They had nothing to talk about, period. She wasn’t cruel or hateful, but she left no room for misinterpretation.
Talking with Glory was Callie’s only contact with her family. Yet even that was…cautious.
Knowing how susceptible her cousin was to pressure, and knowing not to trust her parents or Sutter, Callie kept many of her most private feelings to herself.
Her loneliness, her fear, that sense of being adrift—not fully settled anywhere—ate at her, especially at night when she tried to sleep. She didn’t belong at home with her family and old job, she didn’t have ameaningful relationship, and even in her new home she wasn’t quite fitting in.
Stopping at the chicken coop, Callie found all the hens huddled inside, most of them comfy in their nesting boxes, one on a perch, and one getting a drink. She counted twice to be sure. “Good girls,” Callie murmured low, before securing the door.
Farther back, she looked around for the goats but didn’t see them. Usually where there was one she found the others. Feeling the first drop of rain, she hustled to the shelter, peered inside, and found…three goats. Not four.
Her heart dropped like a stone in a pond. “Oh, no.” How did a person misplace a goat? Frantic, Callie secured the door to ensure the other three stayed inside, then jogged from tree to tree, bush to bush, looking for the fourth. Her pulse pounded in her ears, so she stopped to drag in a few deep breaths and tried to calm her panic. She had to think about this logically.
The front gate had remained closed while Liam had helped her work, so she knew the goat hadn’t gone that way. With the size of her property, that still left a lot of room to roam with thick weeds and brush making ideal hiding places for a cantankerous goat.
“I should have named them,” she said aloud, just to break up the sound of the approaching storm. “Then I could call for him, though who knows if goats come when called.” Another thing she would research, she decided. Alone every evening, she had nothing better to do than research absurd things.
At a brisk pace, she scoured the expanse of the entire yard, but stalled when she found the back gate standing open. She had ten acres in all, much of it dark woods,and it butted up to her neighbors—on both sides. Sadly, she’d yet to mark her property so there was a good chance she would blunder beyond what she owned.
No problem when it came to Tanner, Kam, or Addie.
But Dirk and Lang Garmet? She didn’t want to trespass with them. Unfortunately, the goat wouldn’t hesitate.
Staring out beyond the trees into dark recesses, hanging vines and tangled honeysuckle, it seemed so eerie, made more so by the static of the storm and the time of day. What choice did she have though, with her goat missing?
The urge to call someone made her fingertips tingle, but she’d left her phone in the house as she and Liam had worked. All she had on her was the keys to the back door.
And damn it, she’d left it unlocked.
