Sherman gave them all instructions for future training sessions, and the guys dispersed to do their separate duties. Theo needed to do some trail maintenance, but luckily he could search Jordy’s other hiding spots on the way.
He barely poked his head inside the hay shed, when Max called his name.
Stomach clenching, Theo turned to the ranch hand.
“What are ya doin’? I thought you were going out to clear the trails.”
“Thought I might have left my gloves in here.”
Max glanced around him. “They’re in your back pocket, son. You losin’ your mind?”
He clapped a hand over his back pocket and the gloves dangling from it. “These are my spares. I lost my good ones.”
“Ah. Well, if I see ’em I’ll pick them up for you.”
“Appreciate it.” He hated fucking lying, and to a friend no less. This kid better be worth it in the end. The trouble he’d put Theo through since he’d been here seemed to be compounding by the day.
He exited the hay shed and pulled the door securely closed behind him. He hopped on an ATV loaded with a chainsaw for cutting downed trees across the trail, as well as a shovel and other tools in case he needed them. When he pulled his gloves on his hands, he felt a stab of irritation for lying to Max. Huxley too.
“Dammit,” he muttered and set to work. Throwing himself into hard labor helped his anger fade, and he drank in his surroundings.
The wide open sky didn’t have a cloud to mar its blue beauty, and the sun was bright but not overly hot for Georgia. The scent of grass filled his head, though it didn’t override the lingering memory of Sadie he couldn’t shake.
God, the woman was pure fire to his libido. Every time he was in her presence, he couldn’t keep his hands off her. She also intrigued the hell out of him. Part of him wanted to follow her around just watching her ideas spark and how she executed them, both in her line of work and in the schoolhouse.
After another hour, he finished the job and returned the ATV to the storage building. When he swept the interior for signs of Jordy, he heard angry voices. Kaoz’s first and then Cort’s.
Shit, that couldn’t be good.
He followed the voices and found both men standing in the pasture that had flooded, checking out a horse.
While Theo’s instinct was to make a run for it, he manned up and approached his bosses. They looked up at him, wearing almost twin frowns even though they were cousins and not brothers.
“What’s goin’ on?” he asked.
“This horse looks to have a skin infection around his hooves.”
Theo bent to look for himself. “I’ve seen similar. Not here, but on the ranch where I worked as a teenager. The vet will have some salve for it.”
Cort held his stare. “That’s not the question—the question is why five other horses who have been kept in this pasture all have the same condition in various levels of severity.”
Theo’s chest tightened. “You think the field getting flooded has somethin’ to do with it?”
“Yeah, I do.” He gave a nod and then turned back to the horse.
Theo didn’t know what to say or do. He respected the hell out of Cort and Kaoz, and the fact both men were looking at him like a careless, worthless clod made him want to kick puppies.
Well, maybe not puppies. But a certain young boy’s ass, for sure.
Fact was, his bank account had taken a hell of a hit after he paid for the supplies to rebuild the burned shed. He didn’t have funds to cover a vet’s fee for five horses, even if making the offer was the right thing to do.
Cort straightened and looked to Kaoz. “I’ll phone the vet. Every animal stays outta this field until we figure out what’s causing the skin infections.” He set off toward the house in long, clipped strides, leaving Theo to ask himself if he really was to blame. Even after he drained the pasture and got it to dry out, the mud might have started it.
He met Kaoz’s gaze. “If this is my fault…”
Kaoz shook his head. “No one is blaming you, Theo. But fact is, flooding can cause bacteria to linger in the soil and infect horses, and we did turn them loose in the pasture before it was fully dry. That was my call, so I’m as much to blame.”
Damn, could he feel any worse?
He scuffed at the ground with his boot. “If I can do anything, I’m willing. I’ll work longer hours or—”
“And work in the dark? Maybe by light of the moon?” Kaoz offered him a crooked smile, which didn’t make Theo feel better even though he was grateful for the overture.
Kaoz pointed to the other horses grazing in the same area. “Help us get them rounded up and keep them quiet while the vet examines them. All right?”
“Yeah, man. Of course.”
Jordy. Something had to change. He needed a different life and a school, a family who could watch over him and keep him out of trouble.
Theo knew this day was coming, that he couldn’t keep the kid hidden on the Bellamy forever. But he didn’t expect to feel the pang of sadness at knowing his days with the boy were limited.
* * * * *
Sadie fizzed with excitement as she stepped back to study the progress made in the schoolhouse.
She flicked her eyes over the two walls that enclosed her newly allocated kitchen and utilitarian areas from the cozier parts of the home. Everything played out in her mind, a puzzle being built from wood beams and two-by-fours to plasterboard, paint, moldings and even the pretty art she’d hang there.
“I love it!” Turning to Theo, she gave him a happy smile.
He moved to stand next to her as if he’d get a better view of their handiwork. His brows drew into a V. “It was good luck the structure started with a small room here in the old days.”
“I think it might have been where the schoolteacher lived back in those days.”
“I’m sure you’re right. I love the history.” His stare traveled over the walls to high ceilings, which were in remarkably good condition after standing empty so long.
“Me too.” She bobbed her head in agreement.
“When does the crew come to build the loft?” He looked toward the place she had drawn into the floorplan with a narrow loft running the length of one wall. It would look down over the living room and provide her extra space for a guest room/office combo.
“Tuesday. Thanks for referring me to the crew. The kitchen guys too.”
“I guess it’s all about who you know in Crossroads.”
With a happy sigh, she gazed upward, dreaming of how quaint the place would be after all her improvements.
All at once she became aware of Theo’s hot stare on her. The feel of his eyes smoldering into her had her heartrate bumping up in rhythm. She was already a little sweaty from the manual labor and the warm Georgia day, but when she turned and met Theo’s stare, dampness trickled between her breasts.
Neither of them moved for several seconds.
He grabbed her around the hips and threw her over his shoulder. She squealed at the shock of being manhandled, and a deep belly laugh bubbled from her as he stomped through the framework of her new bedroom door and lay her on the bed.
She clamped her hands on his shoulders and grinned at him. “We’re lying on the drop cloth I put down so the bed didn’t get sawdust on it.”