Loe raamatut: «Need You Now»

1

MELANIE KNOWLES ENTERED Safe Haven’s cheery new office and sighed at the stack of papers sitting on the old desk. Well, no one said running a large-animal sanctuary would be easy. Though the next time someone asked for a volunteer, she’d at least stop and think for two seconds before jumping in with both feet. It would take half the evening to order more feed and cross-reference invoices, another three hours to grade her junior English class essays, and she still had to proofread her father’s sermon before Sunday.

Oh, she doubted she’d find a single typo, much less a grammatical error, but her father insisted she have a look. Just as she’d done every week since her freshman year in college. That was ten years ago and so far she’d found only two misspelled words. No one could ever accuse him of not striving for perfection. He’d argue the point if she mentioned it. Not that she would. She’d always been a good girl, the perfect pastor’s daughter. That was why she was living in the same small Montana town she’d grown up in and teaching at the same school she’d attended.

She made sure her jeans weren’t too filthy, then sank into the new leather chair. So many changes had been made lately, all thanks to the generosity of the sanctuary’s former director and her new husband. Annie and Tucker lived outside of Dallas but Annie still kept close tabs on Safe Haven. She probably felt guilty about leaving before her position had been filled. But Melanie honestly didn’t mind temporarily sharing the responsibility with Shea, another volunteer, who also headed the board.

With all the new construction over the past few months, the job had been overwhelming at times. Thanks to funds from Tucker’s charitable foundation, Safe Haven now had a new quarantine stable, a bigger barn, completely stocked medicine cabinets, a new irrigation system, equipment that actually worked and an almost-finished three-bedroom cabin for the next director. The list of improvements went on, but the bottom line was, so many more animals were being saved.

Someone knocked just before the door opened. One of her students hovered in the doorway. “Come on in, Susie.” Melanie smiled at her. Susie stepped inside, her gaze sweeping the clean white walls and small galley kitchenette. “Wow, it’s nice in here. You even have a window.”

“What a difference, huh?” She’d opened the blinds earlier, giving her a view of the west corral, which held a pair of abandoned roan geldings that had arrived yesterday. In the distance she could see the Rockies. “They finished last week.”

“Shoot. I wanted to help you paint.”

“You can still help me put up the volunteer board and feeding schedule. Some posters would be nice, too, don’t you think?”

Susie nodded, already distracted by the two roans outside. She reminded Melanie of herself at that age, smaller than anyone else in her junior class, quiet, a bit on the shy side, always eager to please. Another similarity was Susie’s strong affection for animals. When Melanie had come up with the idea of having her students volunteer at Safe Haven, she hadn’t been surprised that Susie’s hand had shot up first.

The other kids had shown enthusiasm—whether to get out of the classroom or because they genuinely wanted to help was anyone’s guess. But the project had progressed nicely to three afternoons a week and covered everything from lessons on money management to animal husbandry. Now the kids even received academic credits. Melanie had David Mills to thank for that. She just wished the new principal would stop asking her to coffee or lunch.

He always made a point of mentioning an upcoming school event or the program’s progress, but his interest wasn’t purely professional. Melanie may have led a sheltered life, but she wasn’t stupid. And she’d never date her boss, even if she were attracted to him, which she wasn’t. David was nice enough, probably too nice. At least for her. Wouldn’t her father’s congregation be shocked to know she secretly harbored a thing for bad boys?

Well, not crazy bad, just wild enough to bend the rules, someone who could kiss her senseless and not give a crap that her father was Pastor Ray. In high school she’d had huge crushes on two of the McAllister brothers. But guys like them had never given her a second look.

“Ms. Knowles?” Susie turned away from the window. “May I bring apples for the new roans? I hate seeing their ribs.”

“They’ll fill out soon. Doc Yardley thinks they’re in fairly good shape.” Melanie glanced at her wristwatch. “We have to leave in ten minutes. Have all the animals been watered?”

“I think so.” Susie pushed the thick dark hair away from her face. “Are you coming back after you drop us off?”

“Probably.” Getting to her feet, Melanie eyed the invoices, wondering if she should take them with her instead of making the thirty-minute round-trip later. Her gaze caught on the day planner she and Shea shared, and she groaned.

“What?” Susie moved closer. “Is something wrong?”

Melanie shook her head. “I forgot I have an appointment later.” She massaged her left temple. Shea had agreed to meet with a representative from the Wild Horse Training Program. Unexpectedly, she’d had to fly to California for her job, so that left Melanie. “Susie, would you please make sure everyone is at the bus in five minutes?” she said, picking up the day planner and squinting at the name Shea had scribbled. The woman was brilliant when it came to computers but she had the worst handwriting.

“Sure, Ms. Knowles.”

By the time Susie closed the door behind her, Melanie had decided the man’s first name was Lucas. She gave up trying to decipher what came after that and set the planner aside. No doubt Shea had noted the meeting on the computer, but there was no time to boot up. Lucas could introduce himself. She patted her pocket, remembered she’d left the keys in the bus, glanced at the schedule board, then went outside. Kathy, a longtime volunteer, was coming out of the barn and pulling off her work gloves. She and her husband were the most dedicated of all the volunteers. They worked long and hard, and everyone had hoped they would take over from Annie, but Kathy wanted to move closer to her grandbabies.

“You taking the kids back to school now?” Kathy brought her hand up to shade her eyes. At 3:00 the September sun was still bright and warm.

Melanie nodded. “I’ll be back by five.”

“Levi’s at the dentist but he’s coming to help me dispense meds. No need for you to be here, too.”

“Tell you the truth, I wouldn’t mind getting home early for a change but I have to come back.” She saw Brandon, the class troublemaker, threaten two girls with the hose spray, and she motioned for him to knock it off. “Shea made an appointment with someone from Prison Reform Now. It’s an activist group out of Denver. They want to talk to us about fostering mustangs for the Wild Horse Training Program. Have you heard of it?”

“I think so.” Kathy turned and saw Brandon still messing around. “That kid keeps annoying Nell, and he’ll end up getting kicked in his behind. He sure rubs that mare the wrong way.”

“Oh, well, that wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen, now, would it?” She smiled, and Kathy laughed.

“You have an evil streak in you, Melanie Knowles, and I for one am glad for it. Lord knows these kids nowadays need a firm hand.” She turned away from Brandon. “The Wild Horse Training Program... It’s big in Wyoming and Nevada prison farms, isn’t it? The inmates do the training.”

“Yes, that’s my understanding. Guess I should do some reading before I meet with him.” She looked at her watch. Not much time for her to do anything but get the kids back to school, load her briefcase and take a quick shower. She hoped this Lucas knew there was no motel in town. The closest place for him to stay was Kalispell. “Come on, everyone. We have to go.”

“I’ll go chase out any loiterers in the stable,” Kathy said, already charging in that direction. At sixty, she was small and wiry and didn’t take guff from anyone.

Melanie should learn from her. One thing she sure could use was tips on how to say no. The bus doors were open, but only Susie sat inside, right behind the driver’s seat, staring out the window at the roans. The image tugged at Melanie’s heart. High school had been a lonely period in her own life. Friends she’d had in elementary school had decided it wasn’t cool to hang out with the minister’s daughter. Books and animals had been her escape.

Susie’s face brightened when she saw Melanie board. “I told everyone we had to go.” She shrugged her narrow shoulders. “I hope they were listening.”

“Well, they’d better have been or else they’ll find themselves busy studying for an extra quiz.”

The girl grinned and looked out the opposite window. A group coming from the stable was headed toward them.

“Everyone here?” Melanie asked once the kids had finished jockeying for seats. Despite the chorus of yeses, she did a quick head count in the rearview mirror as she started the engine.

Another recent improvement was the extended parking lot. Before the pad was paved, the gravel had scattered so thin the summer dust rose thick enough to choke the horses. She slowly reversed the small bus, swinging wide to the left. A loud pop startled her and she briefly lost control of the steering wheel. The bus lurched to the side, and she heard the kids’ surprised yelps.

She tightened her grip on the wheel but the bus seemed to have a mind of its own. She scrambled for the brake and engaged it with all her strength. At the sickening clang of metal hitting metal, she jerked a look in the side mirror and saw the black truck she’d just hit. The bus had finally stopped, but her pounding heart nearly drowned out the kids’ excited murmurs.

They all rushed to the back window, crawling over each other to see the damage.

“Please, everyone, be quiet and take your seats.” Melanie hesitated before opening the door. She pretended to wait for the kids to obey but mostly she was trying to stop shaking. “Now,” she said in a sterner voice, and they finally sat back down, still straining to watch the man slide out of the truck.

He was tall, wore his dark hair close-cropped, but he was far from clean-cut. At least three days’ worth of stubble covered his jaw. Very calmly he walked around to the hood of his vehicle and assessed the damage.

Melanie sucked in a fortifying breath, then climbed out. She paused to stick her head back in the bus. “Everyone stay here. Understand?”

She got a few nods. Unfortunately, they came from the kids who didn’t worry her. Dragging her clammy palms down the front of her jeans, she rounded the rear of the bus.

The man glanced up. He had blue eyes. Really blue. The kind of blue that made her forget what she was going to say. Then he smiled. She knew her mouth was open and she’d better think of something fast.

Rubbing a hand over his short hair, he turned to the bus’s bumper. “Could’ve been worse.”

“I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “I don’t know what happened.”

“Right there.” He gestured with his dimpled chin.

Her gaze followed his to the rear left tire. “Oh. A flat? I should’ve felt that before I even started the engine.”

“No, it blew out while you were reversing.” He glanced at the curious faces pressed against the back window. “Good thing you weren’t on the highway,” he said and crouched down for a better look, frowning at the other tire. “This happen often?”

“I don’t think so, but I’m not the regular driver. I’m their teacher. I only use the bus three times a week to bring them here.”

Squinting against the sun’s glare, he gave her another look.

“Are you Melanie Knowles?”

“Yes.” It didn’t register at first, and then her insides did a little tap dance. “Are you from Prison Reform Now?”

“Lucas Sloan,” he said, pushing up and offering his hand. “I’m early.”

Thank goodness she had the presence of mind to wipe her damp palms on her jeans again. His hand dwarfed hers, the skin rough and calloused like that of most of the men who worked the ranches in the area. But she couldn’t recall a man’s handshake ever sending a jolt of electricity up her arm. Had to be his eyes. Staring into them was dangerous. She’d lost track of the conversation.

She recovered quickly, and they both let go at the same time. “How’s your truck?” She moved away to check his bumper. It wasn’t as horrifying as she’d expected. “The school has insurance. Of course, we’ll take care of it.”

“I’m not worried. We’ll let the insurance companies duke it out.” He smiled, his teeth so white against his tanned face. “Let’s focus on getting you back on the road with these kids. I assume you have a jack and spare.”

“I hope so. We should.” She paused for a moment, pretty sure she’d seen something of that nature behind the last row of seats. She turned to go have a look, then realized she was being rude. Melanie glanced over her shoulder to tell him that...

He was staring at her backside.

Her breath caught. Men didn’t stare at her like that.

Again she lost track of what she was going to say. Swallowing, she tucked her unruly hair behind her ear and hurried onto the bus.

“Who is that, Ms. Knowles?” Chelsea was kneeling on the last seat to peer out the rear window. “He’s hot.”

Cody made a sound of disgust. “That guy’s old enough to be your father.”

“No, he isn’t.” Chelsea tossed her long hair and smiled at Lucas. Everyone knew Cody had a crush on her, including Chelsea.

“Excuse me, Chelsea. You’ll have to move.” Melanie could access the equipment without displacing the girl, but she doubted Lucas appreciated being ogled by a seventeen-year-old going on thirty. Or maybe not. What did she know about him? “One of you boys, help me pull this out, please.”

Cody and another student jumped up. Cody was lean but strong and used to manual labor. Russ wasn’t a weakling, though he was more the studious type.

Darn it. Great time for the husky football players to be at practice. She could’ve used them to change the tire. Now she’d have to call her boss to send someone. It would take forever.

She saw Lucas watching her, his brows raised in question. She gave him a nod, then asked the rest of the kids to stand aside so the boys could drag the tire and tools down the short aisle. Getting out of the way herself, she grabbed her phone off the driver’s seat and left the bus.

“I think we have everything,” she told Lucas. “It can’t be much different than a car, right?” Her finger poised for speed dial, she stepped farther back so she wasn’t blocking the door. “But if you notice we’re missing something, I’d appreciate knowing before I call someone to come out.”

He frowned, then turned his attention to the two boys wrestling the oversize tire and large metal box to the door. Without hesitation, Lucas hefted the box from the bus to the ground. It landed with a thud. Good grief—she’d had no idea it was that heavy.

Cody had some trouble getting the tire out, but she noted that Lucas seemed careful not to jump in and take over. He stood back, watching the boys work it out. While he was occupied, her gaze meandered down his lean body. His jeans were on the worn side but his white shirt was spotless, the sleeves deftly rolled back to the middle of his muscled forearms. Someone had taken care to iron that shirt. A wife perhaps? His ring finger was bare but that didn’t necessarily mean anything.

Once the tire hit the ground, Lucas put his booted foot out to stop it from bouncing.

“Think you guys can give me a hand swapping out the tires?” he asked the boys.

“Sure,” Cody said with a shrug as if it were no big deal.

Russ pushed his glasses back in place and nodded, not looking quite as confident.

Melanie shook her head. “I’m calling the school to send someone....”

“No need,” Lucas said, unfastening the buttons on his shirt.

Melanie’s gaze went to the wedge of chest he’d exposed. By the time she could speak, he’d undone two more. “No, really, we’re close enough to town, Mr. Sloan. It won’t take someone long to—”

“It’s Lucas.” He shrugged out of the shirt. “Would you mind?” he asked, holding it out to her.

“Of course not.” She checked her hand to make sure it was clean but also to redirect her attention. Staring stupidly at his muscled chest wouldn’t do.

After handing off the shirt, he took the spare and rolled it to the rear of the bus. His back and shoulder muscles were equally well developed, and if not for the three senior girls fogging the bus’s windows, Melanie might not have caught herself staring a bit too intently. She motioned for them to go back to their seats, but they took her hand gesture as a cue to rush to the door.

“No.” She met them before Chelsea left the bottom step. “Stay inside. The guys don’t need an audience.”

Leaving the tire with Cody, Lucas approached her, a faint smile touching the corners of his mouth. “They all need to get off so we can jack up the bus.”

“Oh, right. I knew that.” She watched him pick up the box of tools and head to the back of the bus.

The girls came spilling out. Mia and Chelsea had both applied peach-tinted lip gloss. “Oh, for goodness’ sakes,” Melanie muttered. Lucas looked to be in his early thirties. Teenage girls these days had no shame and few boundaries.

As if it had a will of its own, her gaze went to Lucas’s bulging biceps. Apparently, neither did their teacher.

“Want me to hold that for him?”

Melanie blinked at Chelsea. She meant his shirt. “No, I’m putting it out of harm’s way. You girls stay back. Leave Mr. Sloan some breathing room.”

“He said we could call him Lucas,” Chelsea said with a cheeky grin.

“No, he told me to call him Lucas. You may call him Mr. Sloan.” Melanie realized she was crushing his shirt collar and hurried onto the bus to find a safe place to hang the garment.

Brandon was still in his seat texting. Mark sat behind him, one with his smartphone.

“Come on, guys. Get off now.” She draped the shirt over the steering wheel, then followed the boys out.

“She really is a cool teacher. Our favorite.”

Melanie heard Chelsea’s voice coming from behind the bus. She paused and smiled. Though she wasn’t bucking for teacher of the year, it was nice to know what the students thought of her.

“Even if she is old-fashioned,” Chelsea said just as Melanie was about to join them.

The awful term stopped her cold. She almost turned around and headed for the office. The girl didn’t know she was there. But Lucas did. From his crouched position, his gaze swept up to briefly meet hers. Melanie managed to find a smile for him but it was too late. He’d already shifted his attention back to loosening the lug nuts.

Old-fashioned? That was how the students regarded her? Maybe she shouldn’t be shocked... No, not shocked so much as hurt. Though why should she care? She was their teacher. But she was only twenty-seven, barely ten years older than most of them.

“I’m going to call the school and let them know why we’re late,” she said. “Lucas, we have some water and soda in the office. May I get you something?”

“No, thanks. I’m good.” He gave her a smile that should’ve made her breath catch.

Instead, she sighed as it sank in that Chelsea was right. Melanie wasn’t anything like the exciting and daring women she saw on television. And she certainly wasn’t a woman a man like Lucas would look at twice.