He mulled this over for a moment then asked, “How’d you end up here?”
She swallowed the thick lump in her throat. “It’s complicated.” And shameful. Which made her a straight-up awful person. She ducked her head and resumed her chopping stance. “I should get back to work. And you should probably check in with your dad. Thanks for the help.”
Jaxon kicked the ground and spun away. “Whatever.”
The hurt note in his tone sent a fresh wave of guilt through her. “Hey.” She waited until he stopped, back planted to her. “There’s no way I could’ve done this without your help. And I really do enjoy your company. I just need to finish this, okay?”
He looked over his shoulder, voice hesitant. “So can I stay and watch? I promise I won’t get in the way.”
What was it Mac had said? Just don’t mind them and go about your business as usual.
Dani’s eyes returned to Mac. He’d rejoined the group of guests and carried on a conversation with one of them, his daughters at his side, but he kept shooting looks at her.
She faced Jaxon and studied the hopeful light in his expression. It was so familiar. That vulnerable look of wanting to be given admittance. Wanting to belong and not be brushed aside. It was a feeling she knew all too well.
“Of course,” she said. “I’d like that.”
Smiling, he hustled to the fence and climbed up again, settling on the top rung.
Dani faced the log, tightened her grip on the ax handle then swung. An hour passed with rhythmic thuds of the ax. Sharp cracks of wood and Jaxon’s baseball pounding into his glove reverberated across the grounds. Sweat streamed down her face and back, her soaked shirt clinging to her skin with each swing.
She struck the wood harder and tried not to think about Jaxon, his sisters or their handsome dad. Instead, she paused between each stroke of the ax and took mental notes of the ranch’s layout.
Three paddocks with worn fences were stationed near a large stable. The stable looked sound and efficient but the outside walls were weathered and unattractive.
A fat drop of sweat stung her eye and she flinched, blinking it away to view the structure more clearly. Hmm. Some red paint, a bit of white trim and several strategically placed azaleas and it’d be much more appealing to the eye. It would also induce that good old-fashioned nostalgic feel a lot of people sought when choosing a place to stay in the Smokies.
Body aching, she paused, grabbed the split halves of wood then stacked them in a slowly growing pile. The grounds were in much the same state as the secluded cabin where she’d stowed her bag. So much potential but too much neglect.
“Want me to take over for a while?”
Dani dragged the back of her hand across her sweat-slickened forehead then smiled at Jaxon. “No, thanks.”
“But you look tired.” He frowned, peering over her shoulder. “And they’re laughing at you.”
She glanced around. The group of guests had left for their hike with Tim, and the girls were no longer in the field playing. But Cal and several other hands stood by the fence of a neighboring paddock, sipping from water bottles and grinning as they leered in her direction.
“It’s okay.” Dani hefted the ax into her hands, renewed her grip and smiled. “Let them laugh. I’m used to it.”
Jaxon smiled back but whispered, “You’re all red, though. And you really do look tired.”
“He has a point.”
Big palms settled on the wood handle between her smaller ones and Mac, solemn-faced, stared down at her.
“The stalls need mucking,” Mac said, eyeing her and tugging on the ax. “You can do that instead.”
She tugged back. “But I’m getting it done and there’s a lot more to split.”
“Yeah, and at the rate you’re going, it’ll take you a week to finish.” His expression softened. “You’re getting it done. Just not fast enough.” He pulled the ax from her grip. “I’ve got time to finish this stack now and I’ll do the second one in the morning.”
“But—”
“The shovel and wheelbarrow are in the stable store room. Remove the waste, add clean shavings then dump the load out back.” He grabbed a log and steadied it on the stump. “When you finish, see Cal and he’ll tell you what to do next.”
He positioned his muscular bulk in front of the stump, his hard jean-clad hip brushing against her soft middle.
Her heart tripped in her chest and she stepped back, thighs trembling from her earlier exertions. Gritting her teeth, she forced out, “I can finish this.”
“I’m sure you can,” Mac said, lifting the ax. “But I’d prefer it if you’d clean the stalls.”
A fresh round of male laughter cracked the silence of the fields.
“Break’s over,” Mac shouted. He stepped in front of her and faced the hands. “Get back to work.”
They stopped laughing and dispersed.
Dani froze, staring at Mac’s broad back. Things were no different here than they were in New York. Here, she was brushed aside just as carelessly as in the Vaughn boardroom. Mac and these men didn’t see her. They saw only what they wanted to see—a weak woman.
Face burning, Dani spun on her heels and started toward the stable. Jaxon scowled at his father then hopped off the fence as she passed.
“Jaxon,” Mac called. “Go inside with your sisters.”
Footsteps drew closer at Dani’s back. “I’m gonna help Ms. Dani.”
“I said, go inside.”
The footsteps quickened and Jaxon sprang past her then ran into the stable.
Dani stopped. Mac stared at the entrance of the stable where Jaxon had entered and the look of angry helplessness on his face returned the ache to her chest, forcing her pride to lower its ugly head.
Catching her eyes on him, he jerked back to the wood in front of him, swung the ax and split the wood in one stroke. She watched for a minute then joined Jaxon in the stable. Jaxon no longer smiled or asked questions as she worked. He just shoveled silently by her side.
Dani wheeled the first cart of waste out back, dumped it and stared at the foggy mountainside. The guilty pang of having lied returned. Her presence at Elk Valley exacerbated whatever rift existed between Mac and his son. And her conscience, overruling her pride, wouldn’t allow her to carry on with this charade.
No matter how much Cal laughed...or how many times Mac dismissed her.
For Jaxon’s sake, she’d leave first thing in the morning. But before she crawled into the cabin’s rickety bed tonight, she’d prove Mac wrong. That second pile of wood would be split and stacked before the sun rose. Even if it killed her.
* * *
PREDICTABILITY ENSURED SECURITY. Risk invited chaos. Mac firmly believed both.
“But why?” Nadine flopped back against her pillow, crossed her arms over the pink blanket he’d tugged over her and frowned. “Why can’t we go hiking with the group tomorrow? Ms. Dani said a girl can do anything she sets her mind to.”
Ms. Dani, again. Mac sighed and sat on the edge of the bed in the twins’ bedroom. After he and the kids had retired to the family floor of the lodge for the night, Nadine and Jaxon had talked about Dani nonstop through dinner. It was unsettling how quickly they’d attached to her.
“Ms. Dani is right. But she’s also an adult who can take care of herself. You and Maddie, however, are too young to take off by yourself and Mr. Tim can’t lead