CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Addy enjoyed showing Estelle the ropes. The woman was a natural organizer, and Addy only had another week before her time was up. She knew once she informed everyone of the McGowans’ intentions, the group would most likely be moving on to join the rest of the FREE members.
She hadn’t had too much time to stop and think about her own future. Other than she knew she wanted to keep a close eye on her mother for the first few months.
She had received word that her mother had called the library and scheduled her first volunteer day.
When she told Trent about her plan, he’d told her how proud he was that she’d done something so wonderful.
She was coming back to her trailer from Estelle’s tent late one evening when she bumped solidly into Brian.
His hands went to her shoulders. Instantly her guard went up. She tried to take a step back, but he held on to her. She’d always tried to avoid being with him alone since he usually gave her the creeps.
“I . . . um, heard about your old man,” he said, loosening his hands slightly. He wasn’t hurting her, it’s just that she didn’t like being so close to him. “I’m sorry. I know how hard it is. Dealing with suicide.”
This behavior was so out of character for him that it took her a moment to remember that his own father had killed himself long ago.
“Thank you,” she said, relaxing slightly.
Just then, footsteps sounded close by and Trent walked onto the path. His instant frown when he saw the two of them dimmed her smile. Then she realized Brian was still holding her arms.
She took a step away and toward Trent, instantly blocking him.
“Brian was just talking to me about my father. Saying he was sorry.” She reached over and took Trent’s hand. His entire body tensed, ready for a fight.
“Don’t get all bent out of shape, McGowan,” Brian sneered. Gone instantly was the thoughtful man who’d just talked to her, replaced by someone who was ready for a fight. “I’m out of here.”
She tugged on Trent’s arm as she threw a “Good night, Brian” over her shoulder. He’d already disappeared quickly into the darkness.
“What did he want?” Trent said when they reached the trailer.
“Like I said, I just bumped into him. He was sorry to hear about my dad.” She opened the door and climbed inside.
“That man has been trouble since the day he was born.” Trent moved over and sat down.
She shook her head at the frown on his face. “I’ve been handling Brian since long before you gave me a second look,” she said as she grabbed a bottle of water to cool her sudden temper down. “Just because you now have eyes for me doesn’t mean I can’t handle a little unwanted attention.” She put her hand on her hip.
“He’s an ass,” he growled.
“You used to be an ass too.” She walked over to the fridge to look for something to eat.
“That was different,” he said.
“Oh?” She glared at him, then pulled out her gallon of ice cream and started scooping some into bowls. “How so?” Anger food. Maybe the ice cream would work better than the water.
“I wasn’t a psychopath.” He crossed his arms.
“I don’t think Brian is either. I think he’s just . . .” She set Trent’s bowl down and tilted her head, thinking about it. “Misguided.”
Trent laughed sarcastically. “Right.” He nodded toward the gallon container. “Why are you having ice cream?”
“Well, initially it was because my mother showed up last night for Bonco and I was going to celebrate. But now it’s because you pissed me off and I need something to cool myself down with.”
“What the heck is Bonco?” he asked, breaking her angry streak.
She was thankful the conversation moved to her mother and away from Brian for the remainder of the evening.
By the time Trent left her place, she felt like everything had taken a turn for the best.
Her life really was starting to feel like she knew where she belonged. The fact that it was with Trent McGowan was still cause for concern. Sure, she was starting to trust him more and more, but there was something deep down inside her that struggled with allowing him in all the way.
That weekend started out like shit. Bessy was acting up. It took Trey and Trent almost two hours to change out a spark plug, which happened to cause Trent to bang his knuckles more than a half dozen times. Now he had bloody knuckles and a sour attitude.
By lunchtime, the rain had started and his mood went from sucky to worse.
Just as Trent finished up his cold turkey sandwich and stale potato chips, Addy drove up. He slogged his way to her muddy Jeep in the rain.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, as she rolled down her window.
“I came to help with the work,” she said, glancing around his land.
“I think our workday is a wash,” he said to her through the opened window. “Why don’t you head back? We’re just going to try and finish things up so the electrician can do his job tomorrow.”
She surprised him by getting out of the Jeep and smiling. “I’m not going to let a little rain spoil my time.” She checked out the sky. “Besides, it looks like it might clear up in a few minutes.”
“You don’t have to get all wet and muddy . . .” he started, but she was already walking to where his brothers sat huddled under a makeshift tent, finishing their own lunches.
“Well,” she said, stopping in front of them. She was wearing an older pair of jeans that hugged her in places he had to stop and admire. She wore a rain slicker, and a black cap covered most of her head. Her hair was tied back in a tight braid that fell to the middle of her back. She looked ready to work and prepared to get muddy.
“Really,” he said, catching up to her. “I think we can handle . . .” He dropped off when she turned and gave him a look that said he wasn’t getting rid of her anytime soon.
“Where do you need me?” she asked.
“You can drive Bessy,” he suggested. At least that way she’d be inside a glass case out of the rain. Besides, he’d finished most of the hard work already. The land where his house was going to sit had been cleared. The foundation smoothed out. They had cleared a small patch where her trailer would sit; all they needed to do now was spread the gravel that had been delivered earlier that morning.
The electrician was due to arrive first thing in the morning and set up a hookup for the trailer before starting on the main house power cable.
The well had been finished, but the plumber was currently installing a fresh-water line and drain for the trailer.
Trent figured that after the house was in, they could keep the trailer parked in the spot full-time. He might even build a small covering later for it to sit under.
“Really?” She turned to the machine and smiled.
“Of course, you’ll need some schooling first.” He took her hand and walked with her over to Bessy. He helped her up into the machine, then climbed in after her. When he shut the door, he smiled down at her.
“See, this feels nice and cozy. I knew you two would like each other.”
She chuckled and pushed his knee playfully.
“Show me how this beast runs.”
“Oh, now, you’re going to hurt her feelings. She’s a sexy little thing.” Trent flipped on the ignition and had Bessy purring. “See, she likes you.”
Addy rolled her eyes. “What do I do?”
For the next half hour, he taught her how to push the gravel into place. He and his brothers had set up stakes earlier for the gravel area, and by the time he jumped out of Bessy and left Addy alone to finish the job, she was an expert.
“She’s pretty good at that.” Trey slapped him on the back. It had stopped raining less than fifteen minutes after Addy showed up. Now the sun was shining and burning Trent’s neck and arms. He pulled on a hat to keep most of the sunshine out of his eyes as he helped chop and haul the wood to the massive pile they had going.
“You’ll have plenty of firewood for years to come.” Tyler twisted to stretch his back. “We both will.”
“How’s it going over there?” Trent asked Tyler. He felt bad that he hadn’t been able to help his brother out more, but he’d been so busy trying to get his house ready he had spent less and less time over at his brother’s land.
From where they were, he could just make out the double-wide trailer Tyler and Kristen lived in. He knew that he would be able to see their house once it was done.
“Electric and plumbing are in, and we’re ready to pour the foundation.” Tyler looked up at the sky. “As soon as we can guarantee the weather.”
“Yeah, we’ll probably pour at the same time. Once my place is set here, I’m all yours on my spare time.” Building a home was a hell of a lot harder than having a kit home set in place.
“If you have any left. It seems to me that Addy would get a lot of your spare time,” Tyler joked as he walked away.
By the time Addy was done leveling the gravel, Trent put her on the job of clearing the road. The rain had caused several sinkholes, and he sent her off down the pathway to make sure they were smoothed out before the second load of gravel was delivered next week.
He was thankful she had a Jeep so she could get in and out of the area until he could get the entire pathway smoothed out. The fact that it was almost a quarter of a mile had caused him some headache.
At sundown, he rode with Addy back to his mother’s house since she had planned on a big dinner for everyone. He let Addy use his shower first and then climbed in after her to rinse off.
When he walked into the kitchen, it was to a room full of laughter, including Addy’s. She was hugging her legs against her chest as she sat with her back against the fireplace. Her long hair was still damp from the shower and her face was clear of any makeup. She looked amazing. She looked right.
When she noticed him, she patted the spot next to her on the stone hearth and scooted over. He walked across the room and sat next to her.
“Your mother was just telling us about the time the three of you got into it with a skunk.”
“It was Trey’s fault,” Tyler said. “He wouldn’t stop trying to get the cat to come to him,” he said, laughing.
“What did I know? I was six,” Trey chimed in, chuckling.
It felt good, so good, to have his family there, to have Addy by his side. Even now, Kristen and Trisha had become so much a part of the clan that they felt comfortable adding to stories or poking fun at the three brothers.
He could tell Addy had loosened up by the end of the evening to where she truly felt part of his family. He couldn’t explain what that did to him. How it made him feel. Other than that he wanted more.
As they drove back to her trailer, she filled him in on Estelle’s progress.
“She’s as ready as she’ll ever be. Actually she is in a much better position than I was. I didn’t have someone to walk me through all this,” she said, pulling the Jeep to a stop. “It wasn’t as if Beau or Joy had enough time to show me the ropes. We were busy in California fighting to save the condors.”
“I bet that was amazing. I’ve only ever seen one on TV.”
“They’re bigger than they look.” She turned to him and smiled. “I never thought I’d be scared of a bird, but . . .” She shivered visibly. “They’ve got almost a ten-foot wingspan. Just watching them . . .” She sighed. “They’re almost prehistoric.”
She’d done and seen so much since leaving Haven. He realized he’d squandered his short time away from the town. He hadn’t done anything except focus inward. He had never really set out to help anyone other than himself. She had touched and helped so many others that he couldn’t even begin to appreciate how wonderful she was. His hand tangled in her hair, gently tugging her toward him over the center console until they touched lips.
“You’re amazing,” he said softly next to her skin.
“Why? Because I fight for birds?” She gave him a teasing smile.
“No, because you fight for what is right. You make the world a better place for birds . . . and for me.” He kissed her again.