“Brody, this is Lou. We just took a swim. We were about to…”
“I can see what you were about to do, John. There’s no need to explain. You’re a chip off the old block.” Brody punched John softly in the arm with a knowing smile.
John had the decency to flush before turning to Lou. “Lou, this is my cousin, Brody.”
Lou extended her hand to shake his. “Nice to meet you, Brody.”
He grasped her hand firmly, allowing his gaze to roam freely up and down her body. He wasn’t completely sure if it was because he wanted to unnerve her, or because he enjoyed the view. He was taken aback by the spark of sensation he got when her dark eyes finally met his, yet he forced himself to hold firmly to her hand. He raised one brow at her and she tore her gaze from his.
Lou disentangled her hand from his with a gentle twist, pointing toward the house. “You guys go ahead. I’ll meet you both back at the house. Do you mind?” Lou asked.
“If you asked my mother,” he drawled with a slight southern accent. “She would tell you that I never did mind very well.”
Broden James Wester, III was home.
Chapter Two
Brody clapped John on the back as they walked side-by-side to the big house. “Your girlfriend is something.”
“Who? Lou? Oh, no, it’s not like that, Brody.” John stammered, shaking his head. “She’s just—”
John’s thought was cut off mid-sentence when an excited squeal arose from the porch. “As I live and breathe! It’s Brody!” Sadie shrieked as a huge grin erupted on her face.
Brody dropped his bags and rushed forward, wrapping his arms around Sadie’s waist to lift her ample body from the ground and spin her slowly. “Well, aren’t you the prettiest thing I’ve seen in years, Sadie?” He placed her on her feet. “And light as a feather, too,” he said, unable to keep her excitement from flooding him as well. He placed a kiss on her weathered cheek.
“Oh, you, stop. I ain’t no such thing.” She reached up to tousle his sandy hair. “Ain’t you a sight for sore eyes, boy?”
“Sadie, I left the boy back on the farm twelve years ago.”
“I can see that, Brody.” She stepped back to look appraisingly at him. It was like he’d never left. Like he hadn’t been gone for twelve years.
“What’s all the racket out there on the porch? You would think you had seen a snake,” Jeb said as he walked outside. His eyes lit up as he saw Brody, and he extended his hand. Brody bypassed the outstretched hand and embraced him.
“Your mama is going to be so happy to see you, boy,” the man said low against Brody’s ear.
“Where is she, Jeb?”
“She’s in her room. You can run right along and go see her. She needs you right now,” Sadie said with a gentle push toward the door.
****
Lou circled the house and went in through the front door, in hopes of avoiding Mrs. Wester’s son, particularly in her wet and bedraggled state. She cringed at the knowledge that that man had seen her in her wet underwear. Even now, her wet hair clung to her face and her clothes stuck to her body. She went up the stairs to her room and stripped down to nothing. She turned on the shower and stepped beneath the spray. A few moments of solitude to redirect her thoughts were all she needed. She appraised herself in the mirror, and then walked from her room and down the grand staircase toward the kitchen. She walked by Mrs. Wester’s room and stopped to listen at the sound of a male voice chuckling. She paused in the doorway and quickly stepped back, hoping no one would see her.
Mrs. Wester still sat in the chaise lounge, her book laid delicately on the arm of the chair. Brody sat at her feet, leaning toward his mother. His sandy-colored hair hung lightly over his forehead. Mrs. Wester raised her weakened hand to brush the lock of hair to the side. He grabbed her hand in his and lowered it to her lap but did not release it. His steely eyes were full of worry, his brow knit with concern. His six foot two inch frame dwarfed Mrs. Wester’s smaller one.
Lou stood in the doorway for a moment longer and then coughed gently to announce her presence. Two sets of eyes met hers as she walked into the room. Mrs. Wester’s were welcoming; her son’s were not.
“Are you ready for bed, Mrs. Wester?” Lou had taken it upon herself to be sure Mrs. Wester was clean and placed in bed before she went to bed at night.
“I can take my mother to bed, thank you,” Brody said, his jaw tight.
“Why don’t you do it together?” Mrs. Wester asked, as she patted his hand gently.
Lou filled a basin of water in the bathroom sink and carried it to the chaise lounge where mother and son sat. She wet a cloth with a small amount of soapy water and passed it to Mrs. Wester. She had quickly learned Mrs. Wester valued her independence and wanted to take care of her own needs as much as she could. Mrs. Wester washed her own face, neck, and hands. She passed the cloth to Brody and he handed her a clean cloth to dry her face. He took the basin from Lou and went to pour it in the sink as Lou chose a nightgown from the wardrobe. Brody turned his back as she helped Mrs. Wester to disrobe and don the nightclothes.
“Ready to move to the bed?” Lou asked gently. Mrs. Wester was often so tired after washing her face that she needed help to get to the bed. Lou placed one arm beneath her legs to swing them gently to the floor. At that moment, Brody placed a hand on Lou’s shoulder and moved her out of the way. He put an arm beneath his mother’s shoulders and one beneath her knees, and gently lifted her from the chair.
Lou moved ahead of him to turn down the bed. He laid his mother gently between the sheets and Lou arranged the covers around her. She fluffed the pillows and made sure the matriarch was comfortable. She then took Mrs. Wester’s hand in her own and bent to kiss her on the cheek. “Good night, Mrs. Wester.”
She stepped back and tried not to listen when Brody whispered, “Good night, Mama,” before he did the same.
Mrs. Wester fell asleep with a smile on her face before they ever left the room.
Lou turned with a smile to Brody to say thanks for all the help. She was met with cold, gray eyes that seethed with anger. He was obviously furious.
“How long has she been like this?” he demanded, stepping into the hall and pulling the bedroom door shut behind him.
“She started to go downhill about two weeks ago,” Lou replied as they walked into the kitchen.
“Why didn’t anyone call me before now?”
“She told us not to. As she became weaker and weaker, Sadie and I decided you needed to know,” she added. “She seemed very happy to see you. How long has it been?”
He sighed and some of the anger left his eyes. “It’s been twelve years.” The silence hung like a cloak as she waited for him to elaborate. He didn’t. “I talk to her on the phone every chance I get. I just didn’t think that I would be coming home.”
“We’re glad you did.” She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. “Good night.” She turned and went back up the stairs.
****
The next morning, the alarm clock buzzed loudly beside Lou’s ear at five a.m. She reached over and tapped it lightly. She rolled over in the big bed, slid from beneath the covers, and headed for the bathroom. She pulled her long, dark waves of hair into a high ponytail. Shedding the T-shirt in which she normally slept, she put on a pair of shorts and a cotton top, and then laced up her sneakers. She quickly checked herself in the mirror, brushed her teeth and headed down to the kitchen. The day started early on a ranch this size. When Lou had first arrived at the ranch, Sadie was still taking care of the breakfast and feeding all the hands who worked the stables. As the years passed, Sadie still made the plans, but Lou did most of the work. Sadie stood by to help, but Lou did the physical labor, lifting and serving.
Lou wiped the sleep from her eyes and entered the kitchen. Brody, Sadie, Jeb, and John were seated at the kitchen table drinking coffee and looking over the day’s news.
“Good morning,” she chimed.
Brody looked up with a surprised look
on his face. “Morning,” he mumbled as he crossed to the coffeepot. “Want some coffee?” he asked, extending the pot in her direction.
“No thanks. No time. I’ll put on more for the hands, though,” she said, taking the pot from his hand. She quickly filled the reservoir, added coffee, and started the perk. She then grabbed a basket and headed out to the hen house to get the fresh eggs for breakfast.
She returned to the house with a basket full of eggs and the beautiful day made her add a spring to her step. She started cracking eggs into a bowl. For the next thirty minutes, she scrambled eggs, fried piles of bacon, and boiled grits. She took out biscuits Sadie had cut by hand the day before and warmed them in the oven. When she was done, she rang the bell to beckon the hands to come in for breakfast.
****
In the kitchen, she washed her hands before heading back upstairs. Brody watched it all trying to keep his admiration for her from showing on his face. He turned to Jeb. “Does she do that every day?”
“Five days a week,” Jeb replied.
“She certainly earns her keep.” John went to join the hands at the buffet table.
“I thought she was your girlfriend, John?” Brody asked. Several of the hands snickered behind their hats.
“Who? Lou? Nope. She’s works on the farm, just like the rest of us.” John’s face reddened.
Just then, Brody heard small feet scurrying down the stairs. Lou followed, and held out her hand for the brush and ponytail holders the child held.
Brody leaned closer to John. “Who’s that?”
“That’s Sarah.”
“But, Mom, I want Sadie to fix my hair!” The little girl screeched with a flurry of activity.
She ran around the room and landed at the Sadie’s feet, wrapping her arms around the old lady’s thick calves.
“Do you mind, Sadie?” Lou exhaled.
“Nope,” Sadie replied. “How do you want them, princess?”
“Two ponytails, please.”
“You look like a pony’s tail, squirt,” John said, pulling Sarah’s hair gently.
“I do not!” Sarah squeaked.
“Enough!” Lou said, just as Sadie finished working magic on the unruly mass that the child had for hair. “Go and get your breakfast.”
The dining hall was filled with twelve hungry men, all of whom wanted their breakfast. However, the line parted swiftly as one of the hands offered Sarah a plate and helped her to fill it. She sat down among the men as though she belonged and started to eat her breakfast.
“Uh, hum.” Sadie coughed gently.
Sarah laid her fork beside her plate. Every head in the room bowed as Sarah said, “Thank you, God, for this food, for the people who are here, and for our health. We pray You keep everyone safe while they do their chores today and that You will keep an eye on Mrs. Wester. Amen.”
A chorus of twelve amen’s joined hers and the commotion began anew.
Brody stepped in line behind Lou. “Which of the guys does that little nymph belong to? And where’s her mother?”
“You’re looking at her,” Lou replied, her eyes meeting his, daring him to pass some judgment about her daughter.
“Does her father live here, too?” he asked casually.
“No,” was her only reply.
Lou joked with one of the men about a date he had been on the night before, and another of the hands quizzed Sarah on her spelling homework. Then Lou rose, placed her plate and cup in the sink, and grabbed Sarah’s backpack from a post by the door. She beckoned for her daughter. “Move your butt, little lady. You’re going to miss the bus.”
“I’ll take her down, Lou,” John said, grabbing the backpack and bending over so Sarah could climb on his back. They walked over close to Lou so she could get a peck on the cheek.
“How about me?” John asked with his bottom lip poked out.
Lou smacked him soundly on the rump before she said, “Giddy up.”
The hands all laughed as John walked out the door with a false look of dejection on his face.
Through the screen door, all the hands could hear Sarah say, “I’ll give you a kiss, John.” Then she squealed with laughter.
Lou stood in the doorway and watched them walk to the end of the lane. Then she turned and started clearing the dishes from the table as Sadie loaded the industrial sized dishwasher. When the task was complete, Lou threw the towel down and looked at her watch. “Sadie, I’m going for my run. Be back in about an hour.”
“Jogging?” Brody asked.
Lou just nodded, glancing at her watch with impatience.
“Care if I join you? I want to talk to you anyway.”
She looked slightly annoyed. “Can you hurry? I have a lot of work to do today,” Lou replied.
“I’ll meet you outside in five minutes. I just need to change my shoes,” Brody said.
****
True to his word, Brody stepped off the back porch steps no more than five minutes later. Lou could almost feel his gaze on her as she stretched against the board rail fence. Her right leg was extended in the air, her ankle resting on the top rail. She bent with her nose nearly touching her knee. She flexed and extended her arms toward her toes, taking full advantage of the stretching position.
She dropped her leg. Her eyes met his, not comprehending the reason for the sudden darkening of his slate gray eyes.
“Ready?” she asked, checking her watch.
“Always,” replied Brody.
She started the jog down the trail slowly, regulating her breaths as her feet hit the path. The jogging trail took them down the dirt drive that led to the bus stop. Lou then turned and cut across a small path that led around the edge of the property. The path was well worn and wide enough for the two of them to run abreast.
“Do you run every day?” Brody asked between breaths.
“Five days a week,” Lou replied shortly, still timing her breaths to her coincide with her footfalls. “You?”
“Every day, if I have an opportunity. I am on a tight schedule at the hospital.”
“You’re a doctor, right?”
“A surgeon.”
“I thought so. When I called, they said you were in surgery. How did you get here so fast?”
“They interrupted me during a procedure. I caught the first plane out. Sorry about catching you in your undies with John. I didn’t mean to ruin the moment.”
“What moment?” she asked, nearly tripping over an exposed root.
He reached out to catch her fall and her eyes met his. What she wouldn’t give to know what he was thinking.
“You were in your underwear and John was shirtless so I just assumed.” He shrugged.
“You know what they say about people who assume, right?”
“They make an ass out of you and me?” he asked with a smirk on his face.
She did not reply but merely picked up the pace of their run, making it harder to talk. The path became too narrow to run side-by-side so he dropped in behind her. She was almost relieved, until she realized he was in a perfect position to watch her butt muscles flex with every step. She winced at the very thought. And wished she hadn’t had ice cream two nights the week before.
The path widened and he moved back up to where he could run beside her. She tried not to look when he grabbed the tail of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head. He then pushed the tail of the shirt into his waistband. Lou turned her face to him and couldn’t draw her gaze away. It moved as though of its own accord from his steely gray eyes to his neck. His strong jaw was clenched with concentration. Her gaze stopped when she met the hair on his belly that dipped into his waistband.
“You want me to remove those, too?” he asked with a smirk.
“Suit yourself,” she said, as heat crept up her cheeks. Damn him for noticing her appraisal.
A small chuckle was his only response. “You can take yours off, too, you know.”
“You couldn’t pay me enough,” she replied.
“So mone
y is a motivator? Is that why you have attached yourself to John? You think he might be worth part of the farm some day?”
Her breath stopped in her throat as she realized his meaning. She stepped in front of him and stopped abruptly. He stopped short, nearly knocking into her as she blocked his path. Her back straightened as though her five foot eight inch frame could meet his six foot two. She poked a finger in his chest and forced herself to speak around heaving breaths.
“How dare you! You don’t even know me! How dare you make an assumption about my motives?”
He placed two hands up in mock surrender. “I just know I saw you almost naked. You’re living here with your child who has no father, freeloading off my mother. You have Sadie and Jeb wrapped around your pretty little finger.” He held his little finger up in the air and swirled it like a lasso. “What else am I supposed to think?”