Though the bald-faced question nearly made her flinch, Kelly stopped to think. Was he dying? The medical staff stressed the need for long-term care, but they didn’t know her grandfather the way she did. From sun up to sun down, the man had spent his life outdoors. Unless he could regain the ability to walk, to speak, she feared he’d lose the will to live. Her stomach clenched and she cleared her throat. “I hope not, Noelle.”
“My grandfather had a heart attack last Christmas,” the girl said. “He and my grandmother are on a cruise around the world while he gets better. My mom went with them. I was supposed to go away to school.” She gave a sigh worthy of an actress on Broadway. “Dad made me come here.”
Kelly winced as sympathy for the child squeezed her heart. Abandoned by her mom, convinced her father didn’t want her—the kid’s emotions had to be all over the map.
Noelle crossed her thin arms. “But don’t get used to my face. I won’t be here long.”
The unease of years spent bouncing around while her mother moved from one low-end job to another, one relationship to another, rippled through Kelly’s chest. She quirked a brow. “I thought you were starting school next week.”
The child jerked her head toward her dad. “He’ll send me back. He always does.”
He always does? Kelly scoured Hank’s face where guilt darkened his blue eyes. “Really?”
“Not this time.”
His firm response did little to douse a sudden flare-up of old doubts, painful memories. Her mind flashed to the absolute relief that had flooded her boyfriend’s face the night she’d told him she’d lost the baby. His baby. Noelle’s reaction struck another blow against any hope that Hank’s attitude toward family and children had changed over the years. Kelly sucked in much-needed air. She couldn’t trust a man who didn’t put his child above his own needs and wants. As for his daughter, she’d handled more than one entitled teen in her years at Palmetto Boots. The company gave so many of them entry-level positions that classes in dealing with difficult employees were mandatory. Kelly turned even farther in her seat and studied Noelle until the girl made eye contact.
“Let’s try that again, shall we? Only this time, I’d appreciate a bit more respect.” She extended her hand across the space between them. “Hi. I’m Kelly.”
Noelle’s smirk fell from her lips. Her face reddened. “I’m Noelle,” she said, blinking.
They shook while Hank put the truck in gear and pulled neatly into the flow of downtown traffic. “How’d things go with the lawyer?” he asked, as though the conversation between Kelly and his daughter had taken place in another vehicle...on a different planet.
Kelly glanced at the child, who had retreated to the farthest corner of the vehicle. A casual observer might think the passing scenery had captured the girl’s attention. But blue eyes so much like her dad’s glanced into the front seat often enough to prove that Noelle listened in on every word. Kelly shifted in her seat. Striking a businesslike tone, she said, “For now, let’s just say it didn’t go the way I expected. Not even close.”
By the time they left West Palm’s city limits, the faint strains of an unexpected country rhythm seeped from Noelle’s earbuds. Kelly checked to make sure the child was bent over her cell phone before she pitched a low question to Hank.
“Did you have a chance to run those comps?” They had planned on talking about real estate that morning. Instead, she’d watched the flat land roll past, intrigued by how little the area had changed in the twelve years she’d been away. Oh, the State had resurfaced the two-lane roads. Hank’s truck flew past a new gas station or two. Mostly, though, the long stretch between Okeechobee and West Palm remained home to dairy farmers and ranchers. Green grass stretched for miles, interrupted only by barbed wire fences and wide drainage ditches.
Hank pulled a folder from the center console. “Not too many ranches the size of your grandfather’s have changed hands around here lately,” he said, as she reached for it. “Developers have bought up the land around the cities, but so far, no one seems to be interested in building luxury high-rises in our little corner of the world.”
“Thank goodness.” She might not want the ranch for herself, but she couldn’t bear to think of it being turned into a housing complex. She flipped open the folder. Skimming over land sales throughout South Florida, she felt her pulse quicken at the amount a neighbor had gotten for flood-prone acreage. “The Barlowe place went for that much? I had no idea.”
“With your prime grazing land and good water, the Bar X should bring a tidy sum. Of course, the economy has taken a hit lately, and you have repairs to make. The house...” Hank lifted a hand. “I wouldn’t put a lot of money into it. Most buyers will want to tear it down and start fresh.”
“Pops wanted everything to stay the way Gramma left it.” Come to think of it, Kelly had, too. She pictured worn fixtures and a decor that hadn’t been updated in over twenty years.
Flipping to a page where Hank had estimated a price per acre, she swallowed. “Okay, you’ve impressed me.” Her old boyfriend might not have been much of a father, but he knew his stuff when it came to real estate. “I guess this explains why the tax bill was so high.” Writing that check had all but depleted her savings account. She glanced up. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance Ty would be interested in buying the Bar X.”
Hank shook his head. “I asked him about it last night. He’s stretched a little thin right now. Maybe in another year or two.”
Kelly toyed with her bracelets. She couldn’t wait that long. She needed a buyer, and soon. Her bosses in Houston had already called twice for updates on the Ivey’s account. They’d made it clear she had to close the deal in order to secure her future at Palmetto Boots. Meanwhile, her grandfather’s insurance would cover his care at the rehab center, but once he moved to a nursing home, the bills would mount quickly. The only way to provide him with the best possible care was to sell the ranch for top dollar. Preferably yesterday. With shaking fingers she smoothed a few strands of hair that had escaped from her sleek updo. She stashed the folder in her satchel. Though she intended to ask for more details on projected sales figures, Hank had slowed for the usual traffic buildup on the outskirts of Okeechobee.
“Next stop Eli’s,” he announced a few minutes later. He steered into a parking space and cut the motor. “Noelle packed a little light for her trip.”
In the backseat, his daughter removed her earbuds. Her mouth gaped open as she stared at the fake hitching post that adorned the wood-frame building. “This isn’t the mall,” she protested.
“Judds have been shopping at Eli’s since the day the store opened,” Hank countered. “Trust me. They’ll have everything you need.”
He slipped the keys into his pocket as if that was the end of the discussion, but, from the way his daughter’s face darkened, Kelly sensed a brewing storm. Hoping to ward it off, she aimed a supportive smile at the kid dressed from head to toe in designer labels. “It may not be couture, but I’m sure we can find something you’ll like. Me, too. I was in such a hurry to get here, I only packed a few things.”
Noelle’s gaze bounced between the two adults. Kelly waited until, at last, the child pinned her with an appraising look. “Honest? You shop here?” she asked.
“Every chance I get,” Kelly swore. Truth be told, when she’d been Noelle’s age, she would have given her eyeteeth for a pair of jeans from Eli’s. Her grandfather, however, had insisted that Goodwill was good enough. Which, she guessed, explained the mail-order account she’d established after receiving her first paycheck.
“C’mon,” she urged the child. “You can help me find some work jeans while we pick up whatever you need.”
Indecision played across the girl’s elfin face for a long moment before Noelle reluctantly set aside her electronic gadgets. “I guess I need some jeans to wear horseback riding.”