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“Broken.”
“And you haven’t used it yet?”
“No. It’s the pivot...” She indicated the damaged wheel. “You didn’t bang into it or anything when you moved the lawnmower, did you?”
“Hey, I didn’t touch it, honest.” He crouched down to inspect the damage. “It looks like it can be fixed.”
“I sure hope so. A new sod cutter would cost thousands of dollars. I don’t know how I would pay for it. I don’t even know how I can pay for the repair.”
She was still managing website orders for Sew Fine, mostly at home, but she might have to arrange more hours at the store to make extra money.
Rick straightened. “Hey, it’s going to be all right. Calm down.”
“I-I’m sorry.” Now that he was closer, she could see the part of his face not hidden by the sunglasses. He appeared concerned. “I’m a little strapped for cash lately, and I’m a single mother, so I have to worry about how I’m going to feed my kids.” Though she didn’t want to rely on anyone else, her family would come through for her if she ran into a financial problem. She took a deep, calming breath. It would all work out somehow.
“You have kids?” He sounded a little surprised. “Plural?”
She nodded. “Two. Twin girls. Addison and Taylor. They were six last month.”
“Six-year-olds?” Now he sounded amazed. “How old are you?”
Remembering he’d called her that community college girl, she asked, “How old did you think I was?”
“I don’t know. Nineteen. Maybe twenty.”
She smiled despite herself. “Thanks, but I’ll be twenty-five in a few months.”
“You could have fooled me. You did fool me.” He reached out and gently touched her shoulder. “I can see why you’re worried with kids and all. But relax already. Your company must have insurance on its equipment.”
“I—I guess.” Appreciative of his sympathy, she said, “I hate even telling them something’s gone wrong on the first day. I was hoping this would turn into a full-time job after we finished this project.”
“Maybe you won’t have to tell them anything,” Rick said. “I probably can fix the wheel.”
Thinking of the way he’d wrestled with the lawnmower, she asked, “Seriously?”
“Just because I don’t know my way around a lawn doesn’t mean I don’t have other talents. I used to take cars apart and put them back together for fun. Yes, seriously, leave this to me. I’ll take care of it.”
Starting to like Rick more than she thought she would, Heather let out a relieved sigh. “If you can do that, I’ll...well, you deserve some kind of reward. I’ll owe you.”
His mouth curved slightly in a ghost of a smile. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
She blinked at him and swallowed hard. “Um, when do you think you might be able to get around to fixing it?”
“I have a couple of things to take care of first that won’t take long. If I don’t need to order a new part, I should have it to you early this afternoon.”
“Thank you!” She could hardly believe he was being so great to her after her negative thoughts about him. “I guess I’d better tell my crew our plans have changed. We need to build a composter anyway, so we can recycle the sod we remove. We’ll start on that.”
Luckily, she’d had her workers bring the materials to create a couple of large composter holding units—wood and galvanized chicken wire. Not pretty, the composters would be built at the far end of the property and hidden by native grasses that would reach six feet high by midsummer.
Shifting into a positive mode, she started to leave but turned back when Rick called her.
“Hey, Heather. If anything else unexpected happens—not just to your equipment but anything else that bothers you around here—make sure you let me know. I’m going to take care of everything.”
She suddenly felt warm inside.
“Will do,” she agreed, wondering why his assurances made her feel so good. Maybe it was because she hadn’t had the protection of a caring male in a very long time.
But as she headed back toward the beach area, she wondered what Rick meant by “anything else” that bothered her.
It almost sounded as if he expected something to go wrong.
* * *
A GUT FEELING convinced Rick that the sod cutter had been damaged by their mystery intruder. When he’d stooped down to get a closer look at the pivot wheel, he’d noticed a smear of dirt on the machine that looked like a footprint. Someone had stood on it, and perhaps the weight had bent the wheel.
The question was...why would someone stand on it?
After his discussion with Cora, he was pretty convinced the person was looking for entries to the secret tunnels. Maybe he’d had to climb over the equipment to search.
Who knew?
Rick had to admit the coach house was a perfect place for a secret entrance. Not much traffic in here, so low probability of any witnesses. He started inspecting walls for some indication of a hidden door, but the paneling made it hard to see any irregularities. And the lack of good light everywhere but in the storage area frustrated him.
And as he searched, he thought about Heather Clarke. At almost twenty-five, she was still eleven years younger than he. But why was he even thinking about the difference in their ages? He might like her, but he wasn’t looking for someone to date. He was looking to do his job—to stop whoever was up to no good around the estate.
Still, he was distracted. He couldn’t shake Heather’s distraught expression from his memory. As a single mom, she obviously had some money concerns.
Stooping down to take a better look at the sod cutter’s pivot wheel, he remembered how Heather’s tension had eased when he’d told her he could probably fix the equipment himself. And when he did, he hoped to see a big smile on her pretty face.
All the reward he would need.
CHAPTER THREE
HEATHER PUT A tuna casserole into the oven. She was grateful that Rick had come through for her and that she and her crew had been able to make short work of cutting out the two areas for rain gardens. Now she wondered what she could do to properly thank the man. Not that she had time to think about The Terminator at the moment. The nickname made her smile, made her want to think more about the resourceful man.
But right now, she had to concentrate on getting Addison and Taylor fed. Which meant making a salad to go with the casserole. A salad they would complain and fuss about before she got them to eat it. She fetched lettuce and a tomato, then carrots from the fridge and took them all to the sink, where she rinsed everything off. Addison loved carrots and Taylor could be bribed to eat them with a little French dressing on the side. She glanced around. The kitchen could use a makeover, but thankfully, it was spacious enough to be eat-in. The house was a neat bungalow with a living room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a single bath. All she’d been able to afford using her late husband’s life insurance.
A screech from outside made her wonder what was going on now. Apparently a morning of school followed by an afternoon of day camp wasn’t enough to wear out the twins. She grabbed a bowl and a cutting board and began chopping. The girls were playing in the backyard, and from the sound of their squeals and heated words, they had energy to spare.
Putting together the salad, Heather couldn’t even remember what that kind of energy felt like. Although she loved her time with the girls, they took everything out of her. She simply couldn’t keep up with them no matter how hard she tried. At one point when she was managing her Aunt Margaret’s store, she’d considered giving up on school. But then her sister, Kristen, had returned to Sparrow Lake and taken over Sew Fine. Having lost her fancy marketing job in Chicago, Kristen hadn’t known what she wanted to do at first but, luckily, her family and a new romance with the town’s police chief meant she was in Sparrow Lake to stay, and Heather was thankful for that.
She smiled wanly, thinking about how gladly she’d stepped down from the store manager job and taken the easier one of overseeing online sales. Much of which she could do at home after the twins were in bed. The only problem now was money. They were living on an even tighter budget than before.
A budget that would have been ruined if she’d had to pay to repair the sod cutter.
Rick crept into her thoughts despite her determination. There was just something about him...
And he certainly had come to her rescue this morning. Nothing she did could possibly convey her gratitude because she was hoping this internship would be the turning point in her life. If EPI hired her full time, she could give up working for Sew Fine for a fulfilling job with enough pay and benefits that she could finally relax. Then she would have more time to concentrate on the girls.
Which sounded like heaven after the past four years of pushing, pushing, pushing. Whoever had thought it was possible to “do it all,” especially if you were a single mom, was deluded. Yeah, you could do it all if you didn’t mind feeling like a zombie half the time. Her own mother had remarried and moved to California about the same time Scott had died, so Heather had been on her own.
“Hey, look what we got!”
Hearing Taylor’s chirpy voice, Heather smiled and turned to see. But though her daughters were both beaming at her, her own smile quickly evaporated. Standing between them was a scruffy dog with orange-brown and white fur and a pointed nose. The same dog who’d been watching them get into the SUV that morning.
“Whose dog is that?” Heather had hoped it belonged to a neighbor and had simply been wandering around.
“He’s ours!” Addison said. “We found him!”
Heather shook her head. “Oh, no, he’s not ours.”
“Yes, he is, and he’s starving.” Taylor went to the refrigerator and pulled out a package of turkey slices. “He needs to eat.”
Heather was about to say no when she took a better look at the dog. He did seem a little thin and he was staring at that package of lunch meat with the most hopeful expression on his sad little face. “Okay, one slice of turkey.”
But when the dog practically swallowed the slice whole, Taylor pulled out another and gave that one to him, too, saying, “His name is Kirby.”
“Sweetheart, don’t give him a name because we’re not going to keep him.”
“Why not?” Addison asked. “He’s real nice.”
Watching the dog devour a third slice of meat, Heather said, “I’m sure he is. But—”
“C’mon, Mom,” Taylor wheedled.
“I don’t have time to take care of a dog.”
Or the money. Being a responsible owner meant paying for shots and vet bills in addition to food, and the family budget was at the straining point now. Not that she wanted to burden her six-year-olds with her financial worries.
“I’ll take care of him by myself!” Taylor insisted.
“No,” Addison protested, “I’ll help.”
Heather knew Taylor couldn’t take care of the dog herself, not even with Addison’s help. The twins didn’t have that kind of focus yet. When something interested them, it was only for a short while. And then they moved on to the next thing.
“You can take care of him for tonight. But tomorrow, I’m driving him to the local shelter. They’ll either find his real owner...or they’ll find him a good home.”
“Mo-o-om!” the twins cried in unison.
“That’s enough.” Noticing the lunch meat package was empty, Heather said, “Well, it seems the dog has had his dinner.” She pulled a bowl out of the cabinet and filled it with water. “Now it’s time for you to get ready for yours. Go wash your hands so you can set the table.”
She put down the bowl of water out of the line of traffic. The dog immediately stuck his muzzle in and started drinking as he gazed up at her with shiny brown eyes. He was such a cutie. She couldn’t help herself. She patted his side. Whistling through his nose, the dog immediately whipped his head around and licked her hand. She melted inside just a little.
“Don’t worry, boy. I’ll make sure you get a home.”
As long as it wasn’t hers.
* * *
AN HOUR LATER, the kitchen was clean and Heather was on the computer, which she had set up in the bay window area of the living room. Someday it would be nice to have a bigger place, one with a real office space. She was going through Sew Fine’s newest online orders and figuring out what supplies she would need to order to replenish stock.
Directly after dinner, the twins had absconded with the dog to their room. Heather could hear them now, talking to him and giggling. She smiled sadly. They were having a good time, and she hoped their little hearts wouldn’t be broken when they had to give up the dog in the morning.
Hearing a vehicle stop in front of the house, she left the computer to see who it was. To her surprise, her sister was coming up the walk. Wearing a lavender dress and four-inch heels to match and her blond hair gathered in a sleek ponytail, Kristen was carrying a dress bag. Apparently, she was delivering Heather’s bridesmaid’s dress. Kristen and Alex’s wedding date was approaching all too rapidly.
Heather opened the door. “Hey, Kristen, what a great surprise.” They hugged, and she took the dress bag from her sister. “You didn’t have to deliver the dress, though. I could have picked it up myself.”
“But then I wouldn’t have been able to see my favorite nieces,” Kristen said as the twins came running out of their bedroom, the dog on their heels.
“Aunt Kristen!” they yelled together, each twin launching herself onto Kristen, who laughed and gave them big hugs.
The dog stopped short and started barking.
Kristen started. “Whoa, what’s this?”
“Our new dog,” Addison said.
Before Heather could object, Taylor added, “His name is Kirby.”
Over the twins’ heads, Kristen locked gazes with her. Heather squinched up her face and shook her head No. In return, Kristen rolled her eyes.
“Girls, give your aunt some breathing room. It’s time to take your baths.” When Taylor’s face lit up, Heather clarified, “I mean the two of you, not the dog. You’re not to let him in the tub. Understood?”
Taylor’s face fell. “Okay.”
“While the tub is filling, get your pajamas ready and brush your hair and teeth. And don’t get in until I tell you it’s okay.”
She let them wash themselves now but not without supervision.
The girls flew to the bathroom, the dog trotting behind.
“You actually think they’re not going to let their four-legged friend get in with them?” Kristen asked, laughing. “I remember that time I babysat and gave them a bath. When my back was turned, they brought every doll and toy horse into the tub, even though I told them not to.”
Hearing the water running, Heather laughed. “I’d like to say they’re more mature than they were a year ago, but that’s wishful thinking. Maybe I’d better get the dog and keep him with us in case they get any ideas.”
She went into the bedroom, where the girls were tossing their pajamas back and forth over the dog’s head so that he kept jumping, trying to get the clothes whipping through the air.
“Enough. I’m going to take the dog into the other room with Aunt Kristen.” She looked straight at the dog and tapped her leg. “C’mon. C’mon, boy.” He sat down. She patted her leg again. “Let’s go.” She whistled. “C’mon, boy.” He yawned.
“His name is Kirby,” Taylor sing-songed, and the dog got to his feet and trotted over to her. “See?”
Naming him was a mistake, but what else could she do? “C’mon...Kirby.”
The dog now came to her. Heather patted him on the head. “Let’s go see Aunt Kristen.”
By the time she got to the living room, Kirby trotting ahead of her and looking back to make sure she was coming, Kristen had already opened the garment bag to reveal the bridesmaid’s dress made of sheer apricot-colored material.
“Oh, it’s gorgeous.”
