Loving the Country Boy

Or his own father’s death.

Thinking about the grandfather she’d never met still made her misty, especially when she was standing here in the middle of the property he’d cherished so much. She’d learned that it hadn’t been easy to keep it in the family, with developers drooling over the acres of untouched woods around the picturesque Sterling Creek. If he’d given in and sold out, he and Gram would have had enough money to travel wherever they wanted to go. Instead, they chose to hold on to the land and live more modestly in this sleepy little town that didn’t warrant even a dot on a state map.

“Something wrong?”

Heath’s voice broke into her musings, and she glanced over at him. She was about to give her customary “no” when something stopped her, and she frowned. “I’m not sure. I was just thinking about how my grandfather never wanted to give this place up, even when people offered him a ton of money for it. My father always thought Granddad was crazy.”

“Sounds like you agreed with him.”

“I know it sounds disrespectful, but yes, I did.”

Heath rested an arm over the railing on the front porch steps and cocked his head with a curious look. “And now?”

“I think I get it, at least a little.”

As the breeze rustled through a nearby stand of trees, she admired the spectrum of colors waving along the branches and caught the flash of a white tail as a deer bounded back into the woods. Add in the chiming of dozens of birds and the telltale scent of wood shavings, and her appreciation for the Barrett legacy deepened. Peaceful but teeming with life, this place was a lot more than a chunk of prime real estate. And it was infinitely more valuable than even her brilliant father could possibly fathom.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to meet Will,” Heath said gently, as if he’d picked up on her melancholy train of thought. “He was one of the kindest, most generous people I’ve ever known.”

She knew Heath meant for her to view the comment in a positive light, but it only made her choke up again. Pulling herself together wasn’t easy, but for both their sakes she dredged up a halfhearted smile. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I was fine at the cemetery with Gram yesterday.”

“That’s ’cause he’s not there. He’s here.” Heath nodded in the general direction of the rushing water.

The rugged mechanic didn’t strike her as the philosophical type, and she eyed him with curiosity. “You really believe that, don’t you?”

“Sure. I know it’s not a big, exciting city, but for most of us, this little swath of land beats them all, hands down.”

He said it without hesitation, but something flickering in his eyes made her suspect that for him, there was more to it than mere loyalty. Since neither of them had the time for a story right now, she opted to let it go. “Since you said you were dropping off that old truck, I’m guessing you need a ride back into town. Did you want to come in and say hello or get going now?”

“No hurry,” he replied with a grin. “This is Barrett’s Mill, remember?”

Yes, it was. She still wasn’t sure what that meant exactly, but she was looking forward to finding out. She and Heath climbed the steps together, with Boyd lumbering up behind them. When Heath pulled open the door, the dog eyed the lobby then turned his large brown eyes on Tess as if he were waiting for her.

“What nice manners you have,” she cooed, patting his head on her way past. Paul was standing inside, and she teased, “Did you teach him to do that?”

“Yeah, right,” he laughed before hugging her. “So, whattya think of the old place?”

“It looks fabulous, just like you described it.” The praise came easily, because even a totally non-mechanical person like her could tell how much effort had gone into bringing the archaic family business back to life.

“Thanks.” Shaking hands with Heath, Paul added, “How’s the old beast running these days?”

“Are you kidding me?” Heath growled, although the proud twinkle in his eyes gave him away. “She makes a Swiss watch look like a clunker.”

“That’s great, ’cause the lease just ran out on one of our trucks, and we could use another delivery vehicle around here.”

What he wasn’t saying, Tess noticed, was that he hadn’t renewed the lease. Which meant finances weren’t in the best shape right now. Maybe she could do something about that, she thought, relishing the idea of using her college education for something more worthwhile than catering to wealthy customers. She couldn’t imagine anything fitting that bill better than pitching in to help improve the mill’s bottom line.

For now, though, she needed a way to get herself to and from work. “Speaking of vehicles...”

“Don’t tell me,” Paul groaned.

“It was an accident. Gram and I were up late, and I couldn’t find the bag with my shoes, and—”

“I sort of cut her off turning onto Mill Road,” Heath interrupted with a sheepish look that would have convinced the most jaded Hollywood director to hire him on the spot. “The damage isn’t bad, and I’ll have it fixed in a couple days, tops. For free, since it was my fault.”

Even though he’d told her the same thing earlier, Tess still couldn’t believe he was so blithely taking responsibility for their run-in. She was trying to figure out why when a soft voice asked, “Are you all right?”

Tess glanced over and saw Paul’s wife, Chelsea, silhouetted in the hallway that separated the front end of the mill house from the saws on the production floor. Wearing a burgundy dress with a high-waisted tie, she slowly waddled over to join them.

Not wanting to worry her very pregnant boss, Tess forced a smile and stepped forward for a reassuring hug. “Just embarrassed to be late for my first day of work. How are you?”

“Fine. I wanted to be up front when you got here, but the baby’s been pounding on some uncomfortable places this morning.”

Tess caught Paul’s concerned scowl and studied his wife more closely. While she was clearly trying to hide it, she appeared to be far past exhausted. Beyond that, the way she was standing betrayed the fact that she was actually in pain.

“Chelsea,” Paul began in a gentle voice, “I think you should sit down.”

“I’ve been sitting down,” she snapped in frustration. “I took a walk, I lay down on that old settee in the store room. Nothing I do makes any difference, so I’m going to stand.”

Obviously accustomed to a hormonal mood swing or two, he didn’t respond but met her stormy look head-on. She glared at him for a moment before relenting with a frustrated sigh. “I’m sorry, everyone. I’m just having a bad morning.”

“It’s not the first one,” Paul pointed out. “I’m glad we’re seeing the doctor today.”

“Our appointment’s at one,” she said to Tess. “I hate to leave you alone so soon, but you can call me if you have any questions.”

“Not a problem at all,” Tess assured her warmly. Looking around, she noted the feminine touches in the waiting area, from the gingham cushions to the curtains waving in the breeze. Admiring the framed photos of the mill from its Civil War beginnings to the present day, she turned to Chelsea. “Everything looks great. You’ve done an amazing job in here.”

“You should check out the saws,” Heath piped up enthusiastically. “It’s awesome to see them when they’re all running.”

While she appreciated his enthusiasm, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to his boyish reaction than simple nostalgia. In deference to her sanity, she didn’t normally dwell on her less than stellar past. But Heath’s fondness for his made her wish she held that kind of affection for the life she’d been living.

Pushing her brooding aside, she shifted her focus to Paul. “At the wedding, Chelsea told me your dad converted the equipment to run on electricity years ago. What made you decide to go back to water power?”

“Waterwheels are cool,” the two guys said in unison, making her and Chelsea laugh.

“Well, I can’t argue with that,” Tess allowed. “Do you have time to show me now?”

He grinned proudly. “I’m between runs, so come on in.”

Giving in to her fatigue, Chelsea waved them along. “Daisy and I will be in the office when you’re done.”

“Your kitty assistant,” Tess recalled. “How is she?”

“More trouble than ever, and since she’s deaf she can’t hear me scolding her. I keep telling myself it’s good practice for when I’m chasing after a toddler who won’t listen.”

As she headed into her office, Tess saw her take a pair of sound-canceling headphones from a hook near the Dutch door. Probably a good idea for herself, too, along with finding a good place to buy more casual clothes and some sensible shoes. This was a far more rustic work environment than she was accustomed to, and she was ridiculously overdressed.

Paul handed her and Heath some shop headphones before donning his own. Then he did a quick visual check of the waterwheel through an opening in the floor and gave them a thumbs-up. With some effort, he pulled a wooden handle that looked to be original to the building and stepped back to join them.

Once everything got up to speed, the entire structure shook as the leather belts whipped around and through the mechanism that ran the huge saws. Used for ripping timber into usable planks, it was hard to believe so much raw power came from damming up one small stream that bubbled so pleasantly through the woods.

When Paul shut everything down, he was all but humming with excitement for what he’d accomplished. “So?”

“It’s amazing. I can’t imagine they make most of the parts anymore. Where did you find replacements?”

“Some are still around in one form or another,” he explained. “When I could, I modified them to work. When I couldn’t, I made ’em myself.”

That kind of technical expertise was way beyond her realm of understanding, and she was impressed by his resourcefulness. Not to mention his dogged determination. Resting a hand on his arm, she smiled up at him. “Granddad must’ve been thrilled when you got this all put back together again.”

A bit of the sorrow she felt moved through his eyes, telling her just how much Will Barrett’s grandson still missed him. “I’m glad he got to see it.”

“So am I.”

* * *

Heath held the front door open for Tess, admiring her ability to walk in those silly shoes.

“Chelsea, you just put your feet up and relax while I’m gone,” Tess ordered as she moved toward the exit. “Make a list of what needs to be done, and you can walk me through it before you and Paul go to the doctor.”

“That sounds wonderful, but there’s no need to rush back here. Things are pretty quiet right now.”

Her claim didn’t match up with the job list he’d seen posted in the carpentry area, and Heath gave her a long look. Which she artfully ignored. Once Tess had sidled past him and onto the front porch out of earshot, he leaned his arms on top of the half door and winked at Chelsea. “I know what you’re up to, Mrs. Barrett, and you can forget about it.”

She blinked at him with all the innocence of a springtime fawn. “What?”

“No need to rush back here.” He imitated her musical drawl in a passable falsetto, then switched back to his own voice. “Ya gotta be more subtle if you’re planning to take up matchmaking.”

“Was it that obvious?” she asked with a laugh. “I thought I was being pretty smooth.”

He knew she meant well, so he eased back with a smile. “People get married, start having babies, they get all gooey about stuff like that. I get it, but I don’t want you getting any ideas about pairing me up with Tess. I’m not looking for anything serious right now, and she made it clear she’s not interested in anything but helping you out while you’re on maternity leave.”

Brutally clear, he added silently. He didn’t know why her icy warning still stung, but only a complete moron would ignore it.

“She’s only been in town a couple of days,” Chelsea reminded him. “When she gets more comfortable here, her feelings might change.”

“Not hardly,” he said evenly. “Besides, she’s not staying that long, so there’s no point in trying to make something out of nothing.”

“But you would try, if she wasn’t going back to California?”

Heath hesitated. Would he? Their unexpected run-in had knocked him for a loop, and he hadn’t quite regained his usually even-keeled perspective. He kept trying to convince himself that was a normal reaction for someone who’d narrowly avoided an accident and was now late for work. The explanation made sense, but part of him knew that wasn’t the reason he still felt off-kilter.

It was Tess.

Thinking that way would only get him in trouble, Heath knew, so he shoved the thought back into the corner of his mind he didn’t visit very often. “You take care of yourself and that little one. Your assistant will be back soon.”

With a good-bye wave, he trotted down the porch steps and met up with Tess just as she was finishing a call. She hit the end button and said, “Gram wanted me to tell you hi and thanks for lending a hand with this.”

“Lemme guess,” he replied with a grin. “She couldn’t care less about the car, and she wants to pay me for the repair work.”

“So you’re a mind reader,” she teased with a mischievous grin that reminded him of her cousins. “What am I thinking?”

The tone was more playful than flirtatious, which was fine with him. Closing his eyes, he rested his fingers on his temples as if he was concentrating very hard. “You’re thinking your coffee is cold by now, and you need to get some more while you’re in town. Around here, the best place for anything food-related is The Whistlestop.”

“Wow,” she said around a barely muted yawn, “you’re good.”

“Not really.” He chuckled. “That’s the third time you’ve yawned since we got here. Either you’re incredibly bored, or you’re not totally awake yet.”

He opened the driver’s door and motioned for her to get in. When she blinked at him, he realized she wasn’t following along. “It’s all yours.”

“You want me to drive?”

“You’re dropping me off, so that’s the easiest thing to do.” The sunlight glinted off the flecks of gold in her eyes, and he caught a spark of something he couldn’t quite put a finger on. But anyone could see he’d hit a nerve with her. “Am I wrong?”

“No, it’s just—” She stopped abruptly, and he waited for her to continue. Thankfully, her annoyance drifted away, leaving behind appreciation. “My ex always drove, even if we were in my car and he didn’t know where we were going. It kind of bugged me.”

“I can see why.” He could also understand why the guy was an ex. Anyone that heavy-handed wouldn’t last long with this very headstrong woman.

“It’s refreshing to be treated like someone with a perfectly good head on her shoulders,” she confided with a sigh.

“I can’t imagine treating you any other way,” Heath blurted before it occurred to him how a comment like that might come across to her. Her grateful smile eased his concern, though, and he was glad he’d spoken his mind.

“Thanks, Heath. That might not seem like much to you, but it means a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome. Want a hand up?”

“No, I’ve got it.”

Standing on the toe of one high heel, she grasped the interior handle and pulled herself into the cab of the old pickup. He shut the door behind her and strolled around the truck before settling in on the other side. With a little coaching from him, she quickly got the hang of the vintage equipment, and he said, “You’re a natural. That clutch isn’t the best, but you’re doing fine.”

“You mean, for a girl?” she teased with a smirk.

Busted, he thought with a grin of his own. Since she didn’t seem offended, he figured it wasn’t an issue for her. “Sorry, but yeah. The women I’ve known couldn’t handle a brand-new manual transmission, much less this one.”

“I guess I’m not like them.”

That was an understatement, but he managed not to tell her so. Instead, he pointed out the turn that led to Main Street. With no power steering, the mill truck took some strength to maneuver, and as she made the sharp turn, she groaned with the effort. “This thing handles like a pontoon boat.”

Heath chuckled. “Driven a lot of those, have you?”

“Trust me, once was enough.”

“Must be a big change, coming here after spending so much time in California.”

“Yes, it is.”

She didn’t offer anything beyond that, but his instincts were telling him it wasn’t because she had nothing more to say. They were basically strangers, but he couldn’t shake the suspicion that she was holding something back.

None of his business, he cautioned himself as she pulled into the lot at Morgan’s Garage and put the truck in Park. All the Barretts were known for their stubborn streak, and despite her upper-class background, Tess seemed to have inherited it in spades. Harsh experience had taught him that the quickest way to irritate a woman was to step in where he wasn’t wanted and try to solve a problem she was confident she could handle on her own. Even if she was wrong.

Getting out, he walked over to the driver’s window and leaned his elbows on the frame. “If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

Her puzzled expression made it clear she had no clue what he was talking about. Then, slowly, understanding dawned in those stunning eyes, and she rewarded him with a grateful smile. “That’s sweet of you, but I’m fine. Really,” she added emphatically, as if she was trying to convince herself as much as him.

He thought he knew better, but he also knew this wasn’t the time to press. Pushing away from the pickup, he said, “Remember this old girl’s only got three gears, and her top speed is about forty. Any questions?”

“Actually, I do have one.” Angling to face him, she went on. “Why do so many guys refer to cars as female? I mean, women don’t call them ‘he’, so why do you call them ‘she’?”

She punctuated her question with an arched brow, and he couldn’t help laughing. “I got no idea. Keep her under forty, though, and you should do okay.”

“Not a Ferrari.” She added a sassy grin. “Got it.”

Stepping back, he waved as she left the parking lot and headed for the diner where he’d recommended she get her coffee. This morning had turned out nothing like he’d expected, he mused while he strolled inside to punch in.

With Tess in Barrett’s Mill for an extended visit, he had a feeling things around this quiet little town were going to get very interesting.

Chapter Three

The next morning Tess was pulling her hair into a chignon when her cell phone began playing the ringtone she’d assigned to Chelsea. It was too early in the day for a social call, and she dropped her brush in midstroke to answer it. “Hi, Chelsea. Is everything okay?”

“We had a terrible night, so we’re meeting the doctor at his office in half an hour. I’m so sorry to do this to you now. We barely had time to cover anything yesterday.”

The stress in her voice came through loud and clear, and she sounded on the verge of tears. The kitchen phone started ringing downstairs, and she assumed it was Paul calling Gram with the same update.

Wishing there was more she could do, Tess summoned a confident tone to reassure her distraught cousin-in-law. “He told you everything was okay at your appointment yesterday, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sure it’ll be the same today. Don’t worry about a thing except you and the baby. If I need something, the boys will be there to help me.”

“Jason and Scott?” Chelsea scoffed, “They don’t even know where we keep the coffee.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Tess promised, hoping she came across as self-assured and reliable. Handling things on her own today was the only option available, so there was no point in considering anything else. “Call when you have some news.”

“I will. Thanks so much, Tess. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

Because no one had ever viewed her as more than just a pretty face, she’d never gotten that kind of praise in her life. Hearing it now felt incredible, and despite the very grown-up situation she now found herself in, she was smiling when she hung up. Her privileged upbringing had given her plenty of novel adventures through the years, but there was a lot to be said for being in a place where people valued you more for what you could do than how you looked.

When she was ready, she assessed her reflection and was stunned by the enthusiasm lighting the face that stared back at her. Without a drop of makeup, she looked better than she had in months, and she shook her head in amazement. After enjoying herself so much at Scott and Jenna’s wedding, she’d expected to appreciate the change of scenery here, but this was something else again.

Buoyed by the energy she felt, she all but skipped down the stairs into the kitchen. Gram was waiting there with a small paper bag and Tess’s stainless-steel travel mug, which was giving off the enticing aroma of something exotic. Taking them from her, Tess inhaled and grinned. “This is my favorite blend. Where on earth did you find it around here?”

“Diane brought it by on her way to the teen center earlier,” Gram explained. “She picked up a bag of it over in Cambridge for you.”

“I’ll have to thank Auntie later.” Taking a sip, she continued. “I’m assuming that was Paul on the phone a few minutes ago.”

Anxiety shadowed her grandmother’s eyes, and she nodded. “I’ve been praying ever since.”

“I’m sure they appreciate that.”

While Tess wasn’t big on religion herself, she knew it brought her grandmother a measure of comfort to feel as if she was doing something constructive rather than just worrying. Then again, if God listened to anyone, it wouldn’t surprise her to learn Olivia Barrett had a direct line to heaven.

“Have a good day, dear,” Gram said, giving her a quick hug. “If those cousins of yours give you too much trouble, you let me know and I’ll set them straight.”

Tess laughed, mostly because she knew the Barretts’ petite matriarch was only half kidding. “I think Jason and Scott know better than to mess with me, but it’s good to know you’ve got my back.”

Waving good-bye, she headed out to where the old mill truck sat in the driveway. Tess was certain Heath had fixed all its annoying idiosyncrasies, so she was totally unconcerned as she buckled herself into the driver’s seat and stowed her breakfast before blithely turning the key. Almost as if it was protesting the early hour, the engine began whining but refused to catch.

The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, and Tess wasn’t overjoyed about starting yet another day with car trouble. She couldn’t wait to get Gram’s stalwart Buick back, she groused silently. It might not be fancy, but it was a large, solid car, and while it wasn’t hers, it hadn’t given her a bit of trouble.

Unlike that fussy little sports car Avery drove, she thought with a frown.

Born into one of Napa Valley’s original vineyard families, at first he’d been enchanted by her undeniable independent streak. More than just a pretty face, she could still hear him saying during their engagement party, smiling proudly at the woman he’d chosen to spend the rest of his life with. If she’d known just how short-lived his devotion would be, she would have shoved him into the pool at his family’s estate instead of accepting the five-carat diamond ring he’d slipped on her finger.

Water under the bridge, she reminded herself, letting out a frustrated breath to cool her temper. Right now she had to get to work, so she notched the key back in the ignition the way Heath had showed her and tried again. Same result, with an annoying little ping thrown in to test her rapidly fleeting patience.

Someone tapped on the window, and she all but shot through the roof in alarm. When she saw it was Heath, she rested one hand over her racing heart and cranked the window down with the other. “You scared me half to death.”

“Sorry about that, but I was driving by when I heard the engine straining. What’s up?”