Betting on Love (15 page)

His heartbeat sped up as he got closer to the house. He was determined to ask her. In fact, he’d made up his mind that he would not pull out of Roy’s driveway until he had.

Trying to get up his nerve, he slowed the truck just a bit. No sense in getting there any faster than he already was. His stomach started to churn.
Please, God. Help me through this. I’ve helped cows birth their calves, killed more copperheads than I can count, but the thought of asking this woman on a date absolutely terrifies me.

Unable to go any slower, he finally had no choice but to pull into the driveway. Melody smiled at him as she reached for the door. “Thanks for the ride, Drew. It was fun.”

She turned the handle, and Drew thought he might be sick at any moment. She couldn’t leave. He had to ask her on a date. He reached across her and pulled the door shut. She gawked at him in surprise. A mixture of anger and panic flashed across her face. He sat back in his seat. “Wait a minute, Melody. I want to ask you something.”

She stared at him, and for a moment Drew wondered if reaching over her like that had been a bad idea. He couldn’t think that through right now though. He had to get up the nerve to just spit it out.

“Okay?” Melody’s tone was sarcastic, and he knew he needed to say it and quick.

Grabbing the steering wheel, he gripped it with all his might. “I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me sometime.”

He blew out a long breath. There, he’d said it. He’d finally gotten the nerve to ask her out. Now he only needed to hear her say yes. He looked at her, but he couldn’t read the expression on her face.

“I’m sorry, Drew. I can’t.”

Before he could respond, she opened the door, stepped out, and raced into the house.

Melody lowered into Gracie’s oversized leather recliner and nestled Wyatt close to her chest to feed him his milk. Already a little grumpy and ready for his afternoon nap, Wyatt whimpered and reached for the bottle. She stuck it in his mouth, and he closed his eyes and gulped it down. “I still can’t believe Drew asked me out.”

She rocked the chair, and Wyatt reached up and grabbed a strand of her hair and twisted it around his hand. In a matter of moments he would be fast asleep.

“I’m not surprised.” Gracie popped a chocolate-covered peanut into her mouth. “It was obvious he was falling for you.”

“How so? All we ever did was fight.”

“That was how we knew.” She popped another peanut. She pointed to the almost-empty plastic container. “You know this is why I’m still not losing my baby weight.”

Melody grinned. “How would us fighting make you know he liked me?”

Gracie gave her an exasperated look. “Do you know how many girls have hit on Drew Wilson over the years?”

A niggling of jealousy crept up Melody’s spine. Just how many women had liked Drew, and why did it bother her that they had? She looked down at Wyatt. His bottle was already almost gone, and he’d fallen asleep. She gently lifted him up to her shoulder and patted his back. “No. I guess I don’t.”

Gracie flipped her hand. “Let me tell you, there have been plenty, but he’s never given any of them the time of day. Until you.”

Wyatt burped, waking himself. She continued to pat his back, and he snuggled into her shoulder until he had fallen asleep again. “I never chased after him.”

“I know.”

“So, why?”

“Melody, you’ve always been a terrific person, and you’re beautiful, even if you do try to hide it behind a ponytail.” Gracie popped another chocolate-covered peanut in her mouth then waved her arms in the air. “And now that you’re a Christian, you are simply a–mazing.”

Melody bit her bottom lip and grinned at Gracie’s dramatics. She sobered and closed her eyes. “I can’t go on a date with him.”

“Why?”

Melody took a long breath. She wasn’t sure she wanted to tell Gracie.

Drew spent the last several days trying to get over Melody’s rejection. He’d wanted nothing to do with women before her, so he should be able to just move on with life as normal. Yet he couldn’t get her out of his mind.

He’d tried putting all his effort and energy into the house, and he’d gotten a lot accomplished, but he’d also had to redo things because he couldn’t concentrate properly. Most of the plumbing and electrical work was finished except for the more cosmetic things.

About to install the kitchen sink, he moved a few scrap boards and stray nails in search of the supplies he needed. He hollered into the other room, “Nick, have you seen a marker?”

Nick walked into the kitchen holding a black one in his hand. “Looking for this?”

“Yep.” He pointed to the template he’d already taped in place on the counter. “Just need to mark this, and I can cut my hole.”

Drew outlined the template then picked up the drill, ready to drill holes in each corner. He was getting kind of hungry, as he and Nick had been working for quite a while, but he figured he could at least get the hole cut into the countertop.

“Hang on, man.” Nick lifted his hand to stop him. “Look, it’s a bit off center.”

“No way.” Drew inspected his markings. They did seem a bit off, but he’d measured twice before he’d taped down the template. Exasperated, he pulled out a tape measure and measured both sides. Sure enough, Nick was right. He’d almost drilled holes a full three-eighths of an inch off center. He placed his hands on the counter and ducked his head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“I’ve got a hunch.”

Drew turned around and leaned his backside against the counter. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. He’d worked so hard on this house. Didn’t owe a penny for it, and lately, he’d been wasting a lot of pennies with little mess ups like the one Nick just prevented. “Your hunch is probably right.”

Nick grabbed the cleaning spray and a paper towel off the floor. He sprayed the counter then wiped off the marker. “Don’t give up on her. She just needs some time.”

Drew scoffed as he pointed at his own chest. “Me? Give up? When have you ever known me to give up on anything?”

Nick threw the towel at Drew’s chest. “Never. And that was what I wanted to hear.”

Drew didn’t want to give up on her, but his pride stung a bit, too. Part of him couldn’t stop thinking about her, day and night. That part told him to just keep praying and that when the time was right she’d want to go on a date with him. The other part of him wanted to throw in the towel, to somehow get her out of his mind for good.

He glanced at his watch. “It’s getting pretty close to lunchtime. I think I’m going to take a break.”

“Yeah. I’ve got to go. I promised Addy I’d come home for lunch.”

Just as Drew figured, his sister, Addy, had his best friend on a tight schedule. Nick used to do what he wanted when he wanted. Now he always had to do things with Addy. He never thought the day would come, but Drew wanted that with Melody.

They left the house and got into their trucks. Drew stuck his arm out the window. “Thanks for the help. See you later.”

Nick nodded then drove off. Drew made his way into town. He planned to grab a bite of some real food at the diner before he headed back to work on the kitchen sink again. Maybe a little protein would help his overworked mind to focus better.

He passed AJ’s shop, and it felt as if a knife twisted in his gut. She was there. He was sure of it. AJ had been as tickled as a boy who got his first bike on Christmas ever since Melody started working for him. From what Drew heard, they could hardly handle all the work she’d brought in. AJ had even hired another worker to do nothing but oil changes.

He pulled into the diner’s parking lot. It would be so easy to just walk over there and talk to her. They were friends, and there wouldn’t be anything wrong with him saying hello to a friend. He envisioned her rejection and how she didn’t even look back to say good-bye as she rushed into Roy and Renee’s house.

He was probably the last person she wanted to see. But he cared about her, and he wasn’t a quitter. He couldn’t just give up on his feelings without at least finding out why she’d dismissed him so quickly.

Fighting the urge to walk over to the shop, he made his way into the diner. Mike had a lot to do on the farm today and wouldn’t be meeting Drew for lunch. Wyatt and Nick rarely ate with them anymore, now that they were married. But Drew didn’t mind being alone today. He was tired of thinking, but he really didn’t want to do any talking or explaining either.

The place was unusually busy, so Lacy simply took his order, brought out his food, and left him alone. He was glad for that. The meat loaf was good. It was always good. But it didn’t do much for the ache that just wouldn’t leave his gut.

God, I can’t stand this. I have to try again. At least get her to tell me why she doesn’t want to go on a date with me.

Before he could change his mind, Drew paid the bill and walked straight to AJ’s. He saw the most adorable, coverall-covered, female legs stuck out from beneath a truck. Not wanting to startle her, he waited until she’d slid herself out from under it. Her eyebrows lifted in surprise when she saw him.

“Hello, Melody.”

She sat up and pulled a cloth from her front pocket. She started to wipe her hands, and Drew thought by the sparkle that seemed to light her eyes that she was happy to see him. “Hi, Drew.”

“I need to ask you a favor.”

She averted her gaze but still nodded. “Okay.”

His mind raced trying to think of something he needed her help with. He couldn’t come up with anything, but he had to have some reason, some favor to ask of her. He needed the chance to talk to her. “I need you to come look at my tractor.”

She looked back at him with an unconvinced expression across her face. She opened her mouth to say something then shut it. Smiling at him, she nodded her head again. “Okay. I’ll come by after work.”

Drew’s spirits lifted. She was going to stop by his house. He was going to have the opportunity to talk to her again.

He waved and almost tripped over his own feet as he walked out of the garage. The only problem was there was nothing wrong with his tractor. A twinge of guilt tickled his conscience, and he knew he was going to have to head out there and pull a belt off that tractor.

Melody was going to tell Drew the truth. She prayed for guidance as she drove out to his house. It seemed like forever since she’d been there. She remembered how much fun they’d had fishing together. He’d been so cute when he apologized for the way he acted at the tractor pull, and she knew he had been sincere.

It had been several weeks since she drove through the thick patch of trees. She gasped when she reached the clearing. The house! It looked like a house. And he’d made it a log cabin. It had a porch that extended the full length of the front. Surely he’d have a deck on the back. It only made sense.

Wondering what it looked like inside, she knew she wouldn’t be able to ask Drew about it. For a moment, she imagined a dark brown leather couch and love seat around a stone fireplace. She’d seen the coolest lamps with stick bundles as pedestals that would look perfect in a log home. She loved deep red accents, and she knew the color would look perfect as part of the rug and possibly in a few pictures in the home Drew had built.
What am I thinking? Why am I decorating his house in my mind?

She shook the thoughts away. She didn’t know what he would think of her once she told him everything. She should just get over her past. She’d put her trust in God, and Drew would probably think she should no longer have this fear of losing control. But a girl didn’t change something that had gripped her for so long overnight. God was working on her heart, but she wasn’t ready to date.

Drew already stood beside the tractor he needed her to look at. She grinned. She knew he didn’t need her to look at it. The man knew how to fix a broken belt.
If it’s even broken.

After parking the truck, she hopped out and walked over to him. Before she could say hello, he handed a belt to her. “I can’t lie to you. I took it off to get you to come out here.”

Despite her nervousness, Melody laughed outright. She grabbed the belt from his hands. “Thanks for the honesty. Now you get to help me put it back on.”