moaning kicked in somewhere behind the wall, traveling up the pipes and into the faucet. As if that wasn’t disheartening enough, it was followed by a rust-colored trickle of water from the tap. The pressure gradually increased, and the water began flowing at a more normal rate.
“The bathroom fixtures aren’t any better right now, I’m afraid,” he told her. “I know it looks bad, but the water’s been off for a long time. I’m sure it’ll clear up soon. I ordered a new toilet, and Mom said you’re welcome to shower at the house until things are okay in here.”
Doing a slow pivot to take it all in, she stopped when she came around to Drew. “You did all this for me?”
“Well, cleaning’s not my favorite chore, but once I got started, it didn’t make sense to quit until everything was decent for you.” He gave her another one of those charming grins that he seemed to have quite a collection of. “Gotta admit I’m a little jealous. Your place is cleaner than mine.”
“I’m confused,” she confided with a frown. “Why would you go to so much trouble for someone you just met yesterday?”
“It seems like you need a place to land, and I wanted to give you one.”
“Why do you care?”
He started to answer, then grimaced and sighed. “I’m really not sure. It just felt like the right thing to do.”
“Do you always follow your gut like that?”
“Pretty much.”
That had never worked out well for her, so she’d stopped doing it long ago. But now, standing here with this man who’d taken it upon himself to help her, she was beginning to wonder if the problem wasn’t with her, after all. Maybe, she thought for the first time, it was the fault of the people who’d disappointed her so badly.
While she mulled that over, she noticed that he wasn’t trying to pressure her into gushing about his generosity, or even accepting it. Instead, he gazed at her with a patient expression that was simply amazing to someone who’d been pushed, goaded and manipulated into doing far too many things she should’ve had the good sense to refuse.
And because he was allowing her to choose for herself, her decision was an easy one.
“Thank you, Drew,” she finally said, smiling up at him in gratitude. “You did a great job, and I think I’ll be very comfortable living here.”
* * *
By the time Drew had finished the chores that had been piling up and showed his face in the hay barn that afternoon, Mike and Josh had stacked more than half of the small bales waiting to be tucked away in the overhead lofts.
“I know,” Drew said, stalling the expected dressing-down with both hands in the air. “I’ll work extra time tonight to make it up.”
His brothers exchanged a very male look and then, to his astonishment, started laughing like maniacs.
“Did I miss something?” Drew asked, perplexed by their attitude. Normally, going AWOL for hours on end was an invitation to a very unpleasant big-brother scolding, complete with folded arms and a heavy dose of scowls. For some reason, today it was hilarious.
“Josh,” Mike began, pointedly ignoring Drew, “when’s the last time you heard of Drew putting off one backbreaking job to take on another, even dirtier backbreaking job?”
“Well, now, let me see,” the youngest Kinley drawled, tapping his chin with a leather-gloved finger. When he was done stalling, he grinned at Drew. “I’m thinkin’ never. Then again, he didn’t meet Bekah till this week.”
“Very funny,” Drew grumbled. “Can we get to work now?”
Mike laughed at that. “Not just yet, Romeo. My wife pointed out something about Bekah after dinner last night, and I wanna run it past you.”
Lily had an uncanny set of instincts when it came to people, so Drew couldn’t resist hearing what his very intuitive sister-in-law had to say about Bekah. “Okay.”
“That girl out there,” he pointed in the general direction of the rescue center, “is running from something, and
“The bathroom fixtures aren’t any better right now, I’m afraid,” he told her. “I know it looks bad, but the water’s been off for a long time. I’m sure it’ll clear up soon. I ordered a new toilet, and Mom said you’re welcome to shower at the house until things are okay in here.”
Doing a slow pivot to take it all in, she stopped when she came around to Drew. “You did all this for me?”
“Well, cleaning’s not my favorite chore, but once I got started, it didn’t make sense to quit until everything was decent for you.” He gave her another one of those charming grins that he seemed to have quite a collection of. “Gotta admit I’m a little jealous. Your place is cleaner than mine.”
“I’m confused,” she confided with a frown. “Why would you go to so much trouble for someone you just met yesterday?”
“It seems like you need a place to land, and I wanted to give you one.”
“Why do you care?”
He started to answer, then grimaced and sighed. “I’m really not sure. It just felt like the right thing to do.”
“Do you always follow your gut like that?”
“Pretty much.”
That had never worked out well for her, so she’d stopped doing it long ago. But now, standing here with this man who’d taken it upon himself to help her, she was beginning to wonder if the problem wasn’t with her, after all. Maybe, she thought for the first time, it was the fault of the people who’d disappointed her so badly.
While she mulled that over, she noticed that he wasn’t trying to pressure her into gushing about his generosity, or even accepting it. Instead, he gazed at her with a patient expression that was simply amazing to someone who’d been pushed, goaded and manipulated into doing far too many things she should’ve had the good sense to refuse.
And because he was allowing her to choose for herself, her decision was an easy one.
“Thank you, Drew,” she finally said, smiling up at him in gratitude. “You did a great job, and I think I’ll be very comfortable living here.”
* * *
By the time Drew had finished the chores that had been piling up and showed his face in the hay barn that afternoon, Mike and Josh had stacked more than half of the small bales waiting to be tucked away in the overhead lofts.
“I know,” Drew said, stalling the expected dressing-down with both hands in the air. “I’ll work extra time tonight to make it up.”
His brothers exchanged a very male look and then, to his astonishment, started laughing like maniacs.
“Did I miss something?” Drew asked, perplexed by their attitude. Normally, going AWOL for hours on end was an invitation to a very unpleasant big-brother scolding, complete with folded arms and a heavy dose of scowls. For some reason, today it was hilarious.
“Josh,” Mike began, pointedly ignoring Drew, “when’s the last time you heard of Drew putting off one backbreaking job to take on another, even dirtier backbreaking job?”
“Well, now, let me see,” the youngest Kinley drawled, tapping his chin with a leather-gloved finger. When he was done stalling, he grinned at Drew. “I’m thinkin’ never. Then again, he didn’t meet Bekah till this week.”
“Very funny,” Drew grumbled. “Can we get to work now?”
Mike laughed at that. “Not just yet, Romeo. My wife pointed out something about Bekah after dinner last night, and I wanna run it past you.”
Lily had an uncanny set of instincts when it came to people, so Drew couldn’t resist hearing what his very intuitive sister-in-law had to say about Bekah. “Okay.”
“That girl out there,” he pointed in the general direction of the rescue center, “is running from something, and
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