Loving Lauren (9 page)

“The pump is broken. I'll go in and call Billy right now and see if he can come repair it.” She turned to go, but Chase reached out and took her arm.

“It needs replacing.” He watched her eyes heat.

“It will be repaired.” He didn't let go of her arm.

“It needs to be hauled to the scrap yard. Lauren, you need a new pump. There's no denying it.”

She let out a large breath and looked at her sister.

“What?” Alex asked.

“Go on up to the house. I'll be there in a minute.”

Her sister's eyes got big and she slowly crossed her arms over her chest. “I'm not some child you can boss around.”

“Please, Alexis.”

Alex looked between Chase and Lauren, then let out a large theatrical sigh. “Fine.” She turned around and walked away, leaving the door wide open.

Lauren turned back to Chase and for a second he thought she was going to start yelling at him. Then she took a deep breath.

“Listen, Chase. I appreciate all that you've done for us in the past, but I've been running Saddleback Ranch for the last seven years. I know what needs to be done around here. If I say the water pump needs fixing, then that's what'll happen. I can't afford to replace it just yet and the repair will have to hold until I can.”

“Lauren, you have a pile of money that's been sitting in the bank downtown for the past six years. And I know for a fact you haven't touched a dime of it to fix this place up.” He held up his finger when she started to interrupt him. “This place is in dire need of some major repairs. So you can either own up to the fact that this thing”—he pointed to the large pump—“needs replacing or you can call Billy all the way out here and have him tell you it's beyond repair.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked over at the old pump. She was silent for the longest time and he thought he could see tears building in her eyes.

“Fine. I'll go call him now.” She turned and started walking out of the building, but then stopped in the doorway and looked back at him. The light behind her caused a halo to form around her dark hair, highlighting the honey richness hidden within the darker tresses. “I don't appreciate you interfering in the ranch. We had a deal, and unless you're going back on it, you'll stay out of my way.” She turned and was gone before he could think of a reply.

She was right, after all. The twenty-year-old Chase had made a foolish deal. He'd been young and had desperately wanted something. Now, after seven years, he knew he didn't want to…no…he couldn't keep their original deal. He'd just have to amend some of the smaller points. He walked to the door and watched her stomp her way through the light rain to the back door of the old house.

It was true what he'd said. The place needed a lot of repair. Over the last six years, she'd chosen to put money into their joint checking account instead of doing what needed to be done to repair the old place. The white paint needed to be sandblasted and repainted. The whole roof needed repairing. Even the back deck was tilting to one side. He'd only seen the kitchen and dining rooms briefly last night when he'd been over for dinner, but he could tell the old stove was a fire hazard and the refrigerator looked like it was from the sixties. He doubted the upstairs had fared any better.

It had pissed him off seeing how she'd forced her family to live, choosing to be hardheaded about paying him back instead of using her money to live more comfortably. Hell, the small house he lived in at the edge of her property looked better cared for then her own place. At least she knew better than to let her employees live in shambles.

He pushed off from the door frame and walked a few feet in the direction the snake had gone. It wasn't normally his policy to kill an animal, but he knew the darn thing would find its way back to the cool building, and most likely next time he wouldn't be there to pull Lauren away to safety. It took less than two minutes before he heard the rattle and sliced the head off the large snake with the shovel he'd carried from the pump building. Digging a small hole, he tossed the body into it and covered it up. When he turned to put the shovel back, he noticed Lauren standing on the back deck, scowling at him. He reached up and tilted his cowboy hat and smiled the biggest smile he could. She glared at him and then turned to go back in the house.

All during his short drive into town, he thought about that kiss. He knew he wanted to kiss her again. He actually wanted to do more than just kiss her, but thought it would take a lot more kissing to soften her up before he could enjoy the feel of her body next to his. She was sure stubborn. He chuckled and remembered how she'd glared at him. He'd never had a woman glare at him like that before. Even when his mother had been alive and he'd gotten into trouble, she'd never glared at him like that.

Lauren would make a wonderful mother. His mind stopped and for a moment, his entire body went rigid. For the first time in his life, he was actually thinking about having kids. With Lauren. As he stopped at the one stop light in the middle of town, he looked over at the bank and realized what his next step was. He just prayed to God it wouldn't get him killed. He smiled as he parked his truck across from the bank and whistled as he walked across the street.

Chapter Five

Lauren walked across the street and tried not to feel let down. The sun was just rising and she had so much on her mind, she couldn't enjoy the bright colors flooding the sky. She had to pick up a few more hours at the diner just to cover the cost of Billy coming out to tell her the old pump had to be replaced. Now she was looking at having to use the profits from the sale of her old gelding to Grant to help pay for it. She knew that in the next few weeks she'd have to pick up any shifts she could at the diner to finish paying for the new pump.

When she walked in the front door, she groaned silently when she saw Chase and Grant sitting at the counter bar. Just what she needed, she thought. Walking behind the counter and through the swinging door towards the back, she dropped her purse under the counter, grabbed the coffee pot, and poured herself a cup.

“Morning, how's it going, hun?” Her boss, Jamella, walked around the corner with a tray full of food. She stopped for a second and looked at her. “You look like the cat drug you in this morning.”

Lauren let out a quick laugh, wanting to break into tears. “Water pump is broken. Don't ask, right now. I'll be fine. I just need the extra hours. Thanks for letting me pick up today's shift.” She spoke softly, hoping no one in the front heard her.

“Well, you can have as many as you want, since Barbara is out the next few weeks after her surgery.” Jamella turned and walked out the swinging door to deliver a tray of food.

Lauren tried to postpone going out front for a few minutes. She just couldn't stand to see Chase and was hoping he'd leave before she walked out there. Of course, she wouldn't be so lucky.

“Hey there, Lauren.” Grant smiled at her when she walked behind the counter. She avoided looking at Chase and smiled at Grant.

“Hi, there. How's Bob doing?” She started cleaning the counter top, not really thinking about the move as she pulled dirty dishes off and mopped up some spilled coffee.

“He's doing great. It took him a few days to get used to Mr. Tomas, my new Appalachian, but he's settled in just fine.” Grant's smile got bigger. She smiled back. “Chase was just telling me he's living out at your place now.” Her smile fell away and she felt her heartbeat in every vein in her body. Her eyes moved to Chase and she realized he was watching her very closely, a slight smile on his lips.

“The little place by the stream needs some fixing up. I was just enlisting Grant here to help me out.”

She felt her heart slow and the red haze behind her eyes slowly disappeared. “If there's anything major, just let me know. I'll have Jimmy take a look.” She saw Mrs. Roberts, one of the diner's regulars, waving from across the room. “Excuse me.” She left the two men and walked over to the older woman.

“How are you today, Mrs. Roberts?” Lauren was happy for the reprieve.

“Oh, just fine today, Lauren. I heard you were having some work done out at your place today. I hope you aren't having too many issues with the old house.”

Lauren smiled, knowing how fast word spread in small towns. She figured she'd have to explain herself a dozen times by the end of the day. “No, just some minor issues with the plumbing. Billy assured me that everything would be back up by the end of the day.”

“Oh, that's good. I was worried when I saw all those trucks heading out your way. Well, you will let me know if you need anything, won't you?” Mrs. Roberts smiled up at Lauren. Just then the bell chimed for the front door and Lauren looked over to see Mr. Graham and Mr. Holton walk in. The two had been her father's best friends, and since her father's death, their friendship had gotten even closer.

“Lauren, dear.” The men walked over and took a seat in their favorite booth next to Mrs. Roberts. “We'll have our usual,” Mr. Graham said as she walked over with a hot pot of coffee. Pouring each of the men a cup, she walked back to place their orders. Mrs. Robert's words hung in her mind like a broken record. Trucks? What trucks?

Four hours later, her mind was fried. She didn't know how Alex worked here thirty hours a week. She looked over at her sister and realized that, since she had arrived three hours ago, Alex's smile hadn't faltered once. Her makeup was still fresh, not a hair was out of place on her head, and she wore heels on top of it all. Lauren looked down at her black tennis shoes. Her feet were killing her and she desperately wished to soak them in a hot tub, which only reminded her that it might not be possible. A little more of her spirit slid to the floor.

Three more hours. You only have three more hours, she told herself. Then you can go home and sleep in your soft bed. She felt a bead of sweat drip down her back and cringed again at the thought of no shower when her shift was over. Instead, she knew she'd have to make do with a jug of water and a washcloth, like she'd used the last few days.

Growing up in East Texas, she knew that all it took in the summertime was a walk out to your car to be drenched in your own sweat, but spending seven hours on your feet, running around carrying hot plates and being around the hot kitchen, really did her in. She smelled like grease and coffee the second she stepped into the place.

If there was any other place to make a decent day's salary, she would have jumped at it years ago. By the end of her shift, she was completely worn out. Just looking at her sister and noticing how cheerful Alex still looked in the seat beside her made her feel even more down. How could she have so much energy? Alex had always been like that though. Maybe it was the fact that her sister didn't have the burden of the ranch's fate on her shoulders. At least she'd given her sisters that.

When they drove up the long driveway, her sister happily chatting about the day, Lauren looked at the house and hit the brakes, sending her sister jolting forward.

“What?” Alex gasped, “Are you okay? You're not having a heart attack are you?” Her sister quickly unbuckled her seat belt and reached for her.

“What? No!” She would have laughed, but her eyes were fixed on the house. “Look!” She pointed towards the large place. There across the field, with the sun setting behind it, stood her house with a shiny new metal roof on it. The new green sheets almost sparkled in the dying sunlight. The entire roof was done. How had someone done it all in one day? And without her notice? And who had done it?