Fighting an instant flash of guilt for even thinking such a thing, she averted her gaze before saying, “Put your coat back on before you catch your death of cold.”
He glanced up, his breath a fine, white cloud. “I’m plenty warm. How’s Honey?”
“Better. Doc’s working on his stitches. Looks like he’ll be here a while, but for sure, the worst has passed.”
“Honey’s a lucky fella,” Gage said, midsmack into another log, “that you came along when you did. How’d you even know to look for him all the way out there?”
“He’s always been fascinated by that old trash pile. When he and his mom went missing, that’s the first place I thought to look.”
“Some of that trash didn’t look so old.” He reached for another log, causing his biceps to harden. Again, Jess found herself struggling to look away.
“No. That valley’s always been a favorite dump site. Not sure why—or how—I’ll ever stop folks from using it.”
He grunted.
It’d been so long since she’d been around a man not old enough to be her father or grandfather, she wasn’t sure what the cryptic, wholly masculine reply meant. Maybe nothing. A catchall for the more wordy, feminine version of It’s amazing how downright rude some people can be by littering on a neighbor’s land.
“You, um, really should put your coat back on,” she said, telling herself her advice had nothing to do with the fact the mere sight of that T-shirt clinging to his muscular chest was making her pulse race. “Looks like freezing rain could start any minute.”
Again, she got the grunt.
“Freezing rain’s nothing to mess around with,” she prattled on. “Once it starts, you’d better be sure you’re where you want to be, because odds are, you just may be there a while.”
“Ma’am,” he said, gathering a good eight to ten quartered logs in his strapping arms and adding them to the already healthier pile, “no offense, but I grew up in north Texas. I know all about freezing rain.”
Of course, you do. But do you have any idea how well those Wranglers hug your—
“Mommy!” Ashley cried, skidding to a breathless stop alongside her. “Gramma said if you don’t get in the house, you’ll catch a death.”
Gage chuckled.
The fact that he apparently found not only her, but also her entire family amusing, reminded Jess why she’d even tracked him down. To ask him to leave.
“Please tell Grandma I’ll be right in,” she said to her daughter, giving the pom-pom of her green crocheted hat an affectionate tweak.
“’Kay.” As fast as her daughter had appeared, she ran off.
“She’s a cutie,” Gage said.
“Thanks.”
“Hope I’m not overstepping—” he reached for another log “—but Doc told me what happened to your husband. Must’ve been a comfort having your girls.”
More than you’ll ever know.
Something about the warmth in the stranger’s tone wrapped the simple truth of his words around her heart. Throat swelling with the full impact of a loss that suddenly seemed fresher than it had in a long time, she lacked the strength to speak.
“Anyway,” he continued, “just wanted to say sorry. You got a raw deal.”
Lips pursed, she nodded.
“You should—” he nodded to the house “—go in.”
Though she couldn’t begin to understand why, the fact that he cared if she were cold irritated her to no end. She’d come over to tell him thanks, but no thanks, she and her girls could handle working this ranch just fine on their own, and in a span of fifteen minutes he’d managed to chop more wood than she had in a month. Now, just as Dwayne used to, he was protecting her. Sheltering her from the worst an Oklahoma winter could dish out. Coming from her husband, her high-school sweetheart, the only man she’d ever loved, the notion had been endearing. Coming from this stranger, it was insulting.
The truth of the matter was that in a few months, once she could no longer afford to pay him, he’d be gone. Just like her husband. Then, there she’d be, once again struggling to make a go of this place on her own. But that was okay. Because, stubborn as she was, she’d do just that.
Oh, Jess knew the stranger meant well, but the bottom line was that she was done depending on anyone for survival. And make no mistake, out here, eking out a living from the land was a matter of day-to-day survival.
As a glowing bride, she’d still believed in happily ever afters. She now knew better. Loved ones could be snatched from you in a black second. Twisters could take your home. Learning life doesn’t come with a guarantee had been one of Jess’s most valuable lessons. It had taught her to appreciate every day spent with her daughters and parents and few friends. It had also taught her not to let anyone else in. Even if that someone was only an apparently well-meaning hired hand. For the inevitable loss of his much-needed help would hurt her already broken spirit far more than long days of working the ranch hurt her weary muscles.
“Look,” she finally said, all the more upset by the fact that the freezing rain had started, tinkling against the tin roof and the rusted antique tiller Dwayne had placed at the corner of the yard for decoration. They’d had such plans for this old place. Dreamed of fixing it up, little by little, and restoring it to the kind of working outfit they’d both be proud of. “I’m not sure how to politely put this, so I’m just going to come right out and say it. You’re, um, doing an amazing job with this wood, and there’s no doubt I could always use an extra hand, but—”
“You don’t want me here?”
“Well…” Jess didn’t want to be rude to the man, but yeah, she didn’t want him here.
“Tell you what,” he said, not pausing in his work. “Doc and my dad are pretty proud of themselves for hooking us up, and—”
Her cheeks flamed. “They what?”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Gage said, casting her a slow and easy and entirely too handsome grin. “Just that I’ve needed a change of scenery and you’ve obviously needed a strong back. To a couple of coots like Doc and my old man, I suppose we must seem like a good pair.”
“Oh. Sure.” Now, Jess’s cheeks turned fiery due to having taken Gage’s innocent statement the wrong way.
“Back to what I was saying, how about I stay through the afternoon—just long enough to get you a nice stockpile of wood—then be on my way before the weather gets too bad? Doc won’t even have to know I’m gone ’til I’m over the state line.”
“You’d do that? Pretend to stay, for me?”
“Hell,” he said with a chuckle, “if I’d stand out here all afternoon, chopping wood for you in the freezing cold, why wouldn’t I do a little thing like leaving you on your own?”
His laughter was contagious, and for an instant, Jess’s load felt lightened. Only, curiously enough, her healthier woodpile had less to do with her improved mood than the warmth of Gage’s smile.
Chapter Two
Only a few more hours, and Gage would be back on the road to Texas. He’d expected to feel good about the fact, but the lead in his gut felt more like guilt.
Jess