"You will die aslow, boring death here, Russ. I can't believe the old man did this tous." He shook his head and lifted his bottle for another drink, halting asit reached his lips. "I wonder if there is any way we can fight it?"
Russ looked at hisbrother and wondered how they had come from the same parents. Why Cade couldn'ttake things as they were never ceased to amaze him. Always the one to rock thecart, he had to change everything to suit himself.
"I'm pretty sureDad would have considered every angle of doing what he did, and Tory is prettyswitched on, you know that. You wouldn't get him to look over your contracts ifhe wasn't."
"Yeah, well it wasworth a thought. I don't know how I can make it work for me though. I need tobe in the city. Training isn't something I do when I feel like it. We have aroutine, you know."
"Look, Toryalready said you don't have to be here every day. You could work it out if youreally wanted to." He crossed his ankles and leaned back against thecushions feeling relaxed for the first time in months. "You don't have tobe back in the city for...six weeks or so…to see the doctor about yourknee?"
"Yeah, aboutthat…look, I don't want to discuss it today." Bitterness crept into hisvoice and Russ glanced his way.
"Well you havethat long to relax and make up your mind. Just remember there is more toconsider than yourself in this situation. Rooney might be ready to come homeand she deserves a chance to make up her own mind."
"We'll see."
They sat on the verandatalking off and on for the next couple of hours, watching the sun dip in thesky. Russ was almost asleep when the sharp tattoo of boots on the woodenveranda startled him.
"I told you tomove your car, Cade. Give me the keys or do it yourself, but do it now or I'llhook it up to the tractor and pull it out." She stood over him, her jawset in a hard line.
"Aw come on,Katie. Don't be like that." Cade smiled at her, trying to work his usualmagic but she was immune to his charms.
"Keys." Sheheld out her hand.
"No one drives mybaby, no one." He leaned down and grabbed his crutches. "I fail tosee why you should have the shed anyway. I believe I own this place along withmy brother and sister. Shouldn't that mean something?"
"No, not to me. Ilive here too and the sheds have always been for farming equipment. Not thatyou would know that since your life is no longer here. If you want your car outof the weather, park it in the barn." She turned on her heel and walkedaway. "I'm hooking up the tractor in 10-9-8-7…" her voice faded awayas she rounded the back of the house.
Russ chuckled, lovingthe way she got under Cade’s skin and rattled him. "She’s not going to actlike your other groupie girlfriends, not by a long shot."
"How the hell doyou know what my girlfriends act like? It's not like you've met any ofthem." Cade stood and headed inside.
"No," Russsaid softly to himself. "We were never invited into your circle to mixwith them." When Cade had become one of the popular boys in the localleague club, he’d changed, and slowly but surely stepped away from his oldfriends to hang out with the popular kids. That had always stuck in Russ'sthroat.
Chapter Seven
"So tell me,Rooney, apart from seeing Stevie again and having to explain why you didn'ttell him about his daughter, what's stopping you from moving back home?"
She looked across the tableat him as he shovelled spaghetti in his mouth. While she’d cooked dinner,Rooney had run through her excuses in her head, arguing and changing her mindmore times than she could count. "Seeing Stevie again is going to hurt. Itrusted him and he let me down. "She put down her fork on the edge of theplate and crossed her arms. "Look, I think it could be a good move for us,but things have been happening in the city. Pete came to see me the other dayand gave me some devastating news. Julie has Alzheimer's."
"Oh God, I'm sosorry. I know how much you love those two." He sighed and shook his head.
"Yeah, it waspretty tough. Anyway, you know I was saving up for a deposit to buy thebusiness?" She took a deep breath. "Well, someone offered Pete goodmoney to walk away and he has."
"Shit."
"Yeah."Rooney rubbed her hands over her face. "Not that I blame him in theslightest, you understand. The thought of having my own business has kept megoing. I'm not sure I want to work for someone else after having free rein forthe last year or so."
"I can lend youthe money to buy your own practice, Rooney, you know that." He smiled ather and dropped his gaze back to his plate.
"And you know theanswer too, Tory. I want to do this on my own, same as raising my daughter. Idon't want to have to lean on anyone. Please don't take it personally."She chewed her bottom lip. "You were the only one who did understand. Ihaven't changed."
"Yeah, I know. Butthe offer is there any time you decide differently."
Tory wiped his mouthwith a napkin and met her gaze, a smile lifting the corners of his mouth.
"What?" Sheleaned forward, grabbing his arm across the table. "Tell me."
"Do you rememberold man Skillings, the vet out on Putty Road?"
"Uh uh, he was thegrumpy guy, if I recall. Hated doing house calls, didn't he?"
"That's the one.Well, he retired recently and because of the terrible state of his practice,it’s still on the market." Tory watched her let the words set in.
"What do you meanby the terrible state of his practice? What's wrong with it?" A buzz racedunder her skin and her brain worked, already sensing an alternative prospect.
"He should haveretired long ago, Rooney. His health hasn't been good for quite a while, andthat impacted on how he treated customers. I hear he was pretty bitter towardsthe end and lost most of his
