“Yeah…but that’s not the biggest issue right now.”
“Maybe not, but I’d like to add some security lights and locks for the machine shed if that’s okay with you?”
She nodded and reached into her coat that was hanging off the back of her chair to pull out her wallet. She tossed her credit card onto the table. “Whatever you think is necessary, but try to keep it under five hundred.”
A frown pulled his eyebrows together, a stunned look in his eyes. “You trust me with this?”
“Shouldn’t I?”
He grinned and reached for the card. “Me, yes. Not so sure about anyone else.”
“Me neither,” she said with a chuckle, a little thrilled by the protective note in his voice. “You can take my truck. The keys are on the counter by the garage door.”
He had glanced at the keys and his frown returned. “What about the baling tomorrow? With the weather coming in, we need to get it off the ground. You know anyone with a tractor you could borrow?”
“Not really,” she’d said, shaking her head. “Everyone’s using theirs right now, but I can make a call.”
She had called Veta on the off chance her husband knew someone with a machine they could borrow. Unfortunately, that hadn’t been the case, but he’d had another suggestion, which they were about to implement this morning.
Shrugging into her quilted jacket and zipping it halfway, she smiled to herself. The memory of her conversation with Ivan filtered through her head as she crossed the darkened dooryard.
She could see the changes Cade had made to the machine shed off to the right of the barn. The door stood open, waiting for the others to arrive to help drag the baler trailer out. That wasn’t unusual, but the floodlight at the peak of the roof that filled the area in front of the building with bright LED light was new. She also noticed a new silver latch fastened to the door with a thick, shiny lock hanging from it.
He’d said he made some changes, but she hadn’t had the time yesterday to check them out. She’d needed to get her other work done in order to help him today, but she expected to see more lights and locks around. Sure enough, as she approached, another light near the barn roof temporarily blinded her with its brilliance. The man certainly was a diligent worker. She blinked and looked around, wondering where Cade had gone.
Just then, two trucks came down her drive, followed by a small car, kicking up a dust trail as they rolled into the dooryard. One truck pulled a long, white trailer with Ivan’s suggested resolution for their lack of tractor inside it.
“Are you excited to do some old-fashioned baling?” Cade asked from behind her.
She glanced over her shoulder to see him exiting the barn. He looked so amazing in his boots, faded jeans, and black Carhartt jacket that her heart did a little dance in her chest. She had to stop this stupid attraction she felt whenever he was around before it became a more embarrassing problem. He was her employee, that’s all. And she didn’t want to scare him off by panting after him like a lovesick adolescent.
“Sure am,” she said after working some moisture into her mouth.
Stopping beside her, he tipped his black felt hat back with one gloved finger then stood with his hands on his hips. “I’m glad one of us is.”
“You think this won’t work?” she asked, drawing his blue gaze.
“It’ll work,” he said, turning back to watch as one of the trucks parked by the house and the other maneuvered the trailer around and backed up between the barn and machine shed.
“You don’t sound convinced.”
He met her anxious gaze with a smile. “It’s been a while for me, and I’ve never used horses to pull a baler.”
“Well, it’s a good thing we have help, then.”
“Hey, Addie,” Lana cried with a big smile on her face, but her eyes were glued to Cade and her voice dropped an octave when she greeted him. “Hi there, Cade.”
Anger dropped into Addie’s heart like a rock. She hated the hard edge of jealousy that struck when she realized the focus of Lana’s attention and heard that seductive low tone.
Addie made a conscious effort to relax and breathe. Cade didn’t belong to her, and Lana was welcome to look and flirt as much as she liked.
Unfortunately, telling herself that did little to alleviate her annoyance.
As Lana slipped out of the rear seat of the truck near the house, two young men—apparently from the car that had been following them, now parked next to Ivan’s truck—vied for the chance to help her down. As soon as they appeared, Lana’s attention focused on them and suddenly, Addie could breathe a little easier.
Knock it off, she scolded herself. Lana is just young, and Cade is free to do as he likes. Still, she was gratified to see from the corner of her eye that he wasn’t paying any mind to Lana’s antics.
Veta and Ivan exited the front of the truck at the same time as Lana, Veta flashing irritated looks at the scene with her sister. Shaking her head, Veta joined Ivan in strolling toward the second truck.
“Hi, guys,” Addie replied with a smile and a wave. “Thank you all for coming.”
“We’re glad to help,” Veta replied as she hugged Addie.
“I’m so excited to see the horses work,” Lana said as she came forward to give her a hug and flick quick glances at Cade, with her two admirers following on her heels.
“Well, you’ll soon get your chance,” Addie replied, reminding herself again to let it go.
An older couple exited the second truck and introductions were made. From what Ivan had told her over the phone, Addie had a neighbor who raised horses to help with farm work and as show animals. Their draft horses had been showcased in the local rodeo for years, and they’d even been
