Windswept Hearts by Robynn Gabel (read novel full .txt) 📕

Anna quickly slipped into a business-like tone. “You’re correct: no basement, but you can get into the crawl space out back.”

Mike produced a stunning, white smile against his darkly tanned face and extended his hand. “Nice to meet you. Do you mind if I call you Anna?”

“No, not at all,” Anna said, smiling back. She noticed his wide hand and gentle grip as she shook it.

Steve retracted the tape measure, putting it on the counter, knocking over a stack of letters perched there. He bent down to retrieve them, staring at the corner of a large white envelope with the return address of the Colorado Bureau of Corrections and Parole boldly stamped there.

Anna quickly crossed the small kitchen, taking the mail from him, noting that his brows pulled together slightly as he stared at her.  I bet he’s dying to ask me what that’s all about. She shoved the worrisome envelope in a kitchen drawer.

“Well, let’s see what we have in the laundry room, shall we?” Steve’s tone was light, his face devoid of any emotion.

Mike followed Steve into the laundry room, glancing back, giving her another smile. She observed Mike walked with a solid, sure step; Steve was lithe in his movements.

Steve pulled out the washing machine to view the flooring, and again, dry, slivered wood showed between the patches of worn linoleum.

“I’m afraid you have more flooring problems,” Mike noted. “Are you staying here?”

“Yes, I am.”

“We can work around your schedule. I’ll have to turn off the water and the electricity here and there,” Mike continued.

“I understand. That will be fine. If need be, I can always stay with my cousin.”

They all moved on to the bathroom.  She watched as Mike opened the sink cabinet, crouching down, tapping on the old, rusted pipes.

 Steve worked to loosen the light plate.  He looked at her briefly. “So, you don’t want to be a rancher?”

 “No, I don’t.  When I get this place fixed up, I’m probably going to put it up for sale.”

“That’s too bad,” he said softly. “You know this is one of the last original homesteads in the area? Been in your family for how long now?”

Anna shrugged, looking away, uncomfortable again. How did she explain there was no attachment to the ranch? It held no meaning or pride as it had for her grandfather and mother. It was a burden, bringing back unsettling memories.

Steve changed the subject. “Your light switch needs wiring work; you noted a second one out. Which room?”

She gestured towards the bedroom at the end of the hall, now devoid of any personal items of her grandparents’, the bed and mattress looking old and stripped, the walls dingy.

He glanced around the room and then removed the light switch plate.  “You know, I helped Herman this spring with the herd. You have some wonderful grazing land and a robust herd of Angus.”

“Yeah, and there’re some soft landing spots out there when you fall off your horse too,” Mike said behind her. 

Steve shot him an irritable look. “Yeah, that’s what happens when Corky hasn’t been ridden all winter. He had a little spring fever and felt like bucking. Stubborn horse.”

Smiling, she decided not to pry further into what sounded like an embarrassing moment for Steve. “You know, I could use some help again next week if you are interested. Herman is arranging a branding crew so we can get the calves ready to push out on to the summer range.”

His eyes crinkled with his grin.  “Yeah, that’d be great. I like working cattle. It’ll give Corky some exercise too. Count me in.

Her heart lurched at his smile. Darn, he’s actually good looking.

He moved on, tapping on the walls and tracking the wiring as Mike wrote the location of studs on the clipboard.

“I know of a really good electrician in town. He’ll have to do this job, I’m afraid I can only do the carpentry work,” Steve remarked.

Anna nodded, and then looked away, not wanting him to catch her staring at him. She noticed he was tall, having to lean his head down just a little to look into her eyes. A slight odor of clean, washed laundry hung in the air when he moved about.

Steve walked out to the porch, appraising and measuring, and Anna followed him.

“If you need help holding the tape measure, I’d be happy to help.”

Steve extended the metal end of the tape towards her. “I didn’t mean to pry into your business.  I was just curious about what you might want to do with a ranch. That way I can get the rumors started on the right track.”

A hint of a smile appeared as Anna turned her gaze out towards the barn. “I bet the rumors are flying.”

“Well, I’m done here. You say the crawl space entry is at the back of the house, right?”

She nodded.  Steve stepped down off the porch and started around the lilac bush to the left, on the side opposite to where Anna had been working. Before she could warn him, two things happened simultaneously. His foot sunk to the ankle in mud that was more water than dirt, and the black-and-white stray she had been feeding decided to shoot out from under the porch.

 “Skunk!” he hollered as he tried to get his feet to move in the muck. Sliding, he couldn’t get his footing, going down with a wet plunk. Anna’s hands flew to her mouth. Mike stepped out in time to see the last of his partner’s ungraceful plop. His loud laughter pealed out, helping to deepen the thunderous look that flashed across Steve’s face.

“Oh, I was going to warn you about the mud!” she gasped. “Let me get you some towels.” Anna ran into the house while Mike helped his partner up. She threw the towel at the mud-covered Steve and then ran around the house for the water hose. They went to work rinsing the mud off of him.

“I’m so sorry. Did the cat scare you?” Anna asked.  Steve gave her a hard look as Mike chuckled.

“Ma’am, that was no cat. That there was a skunk!” Anna looked at him puzzled.

“Where does your septic system drain?” Steve asked suspiciously, sending Mike into another spasm of laughter.

“Septic system? What’s that?” Anna queried.

Steve’s eyebrow shot up. “Lady, it’s where all your sewer water drains to, you know, like the bath water, washing machine, and the toilet.”

“Well, doesn’t it go into the sewer pipes? Is that what you’re asking?”

Steve’s jaw tightened, eyebrows pulling into a thunderous cloud. “Ma’am, I think that you’ve some plumbing problems, right?  Slow drains?”

Anna didn’t like his “ma’ams” and “lady.” She didn’t like the feeling of being uninformed either. She prided herself on being knowledgeable.

Flipping her hair over one shoulder, she stubbornly lifted her chin. “Yes, the drains have been moving slowly, especially after I did about eight loads of laundry to catch up on all the linen in the house. Why?”

Steve’s face turned an unusual shade of red. “Ma’am, if you don’t mind, do you have any clean clothes I might borrow?”

“Yes, yes,” she answered quickly. Tears were running down Mike’s face as she ran into the house, feeling the blush of embarrassment heating her face.

She tore through the plastic bags holding her grandfather’s jeans, finding a fairly new-looking pair, praying they would fit. Then she found a checkered-blue, short-sleeved shirt. She put them in the bathroom and ran back out onto the porch.

Steve was finished hosing everything off and Mike had disappeared around the house to shut off the water.

“Please, come change in the bathroom,” she offered while holding the screen door open. Steve still looked unhappy, walking with a squishing sound across the living room. She followed, frustrated, not knowing how this situation had gotten so out of hand.

“It’s okay. I’ll be out in a second.” His tone was resigned.

Anxiously, Anna stepped back out to the porch. “Please, can you explain what a septic system is?”

“Sure,” Mike answered pleasantly. “Unlike in the city where all the sewage is taken by pipe to the processing plant, rural sewage is taken by pipe to a distance from the house. There, a perforated holding tank under the ground allows the water to seep into the ground around it. Bacteria works to break down the solid waste, but sometimes you need to have them pumped if they haven’t been active for a while. I would say due to the slope of the ground, your septic system is here in the front yard. From the looks of it, it needs some help.”

Again, she felt the aversion of living in the country knot her stomach.  How uncouth of a system. “What do I need to do?”

Mike flashed his stunning smile again. “I’ll give you the number of my cousin’s sewage service and he’ll come out and pump it and let you know if there is anything else you have to do. By the way, do you have many friends here?”

Anna observed he had deep-brown eyes and a bass timbre to his voice. “Oh, I know a few people.  But living out here in the country limited my social contacts during the summer if you know what I mean.”

Mike nodded in agreement. “So you aren’t afraid to stay out here all alone?”

“No, I’m really a loner at heart.  Being an only child taught me how to entertain myself,” Anna said with a shrug. “Besides, I’m an excellent shot.”

He gave a nervous chuckle, shifted his weight, and thrust his hands in his jean’s pockets, looking down. “Well, if you get scared, or want to ever do anything, you could call me.”

She glanced at him quizzically.  He was handsome in a dark way. Thick, jet-black hair, strong features, and a trim frame revealed a hardworking lifestyle.

“Thank you. That’s really sweet.”

His face lit up with the excitement of hope. “Here’s my phone number. Call any time.” He handed her a business card.

Inside, Anna heard the bathroom door squeak. Steve came out onto the porch looking like a farmhand, the jeans and shirt a little baggy.

 “Thanks, and if you have a plastic bag, I’ll take those wet clothes out of the bathtub.”

Anna quickly retrieved one for him, fumbling with the opening, feeling self-conscious. Steve reached for it, taking it from her. “Here, let me.”

Following him to the truck after he retrieved his clothes, she tried again to apologize.

“It’s okay. Thank you for the loan of the clothes. I have your number. I’ll call you with an estimate as soon as I can. Give me a date and time on the cattle ride and I’ll be out. Thank you for your business,” Steve said curtly, swinging the plastic bag over the side of the truck and getting in.

Mike grinned and held out his hand. “Looking forward to working with you. It was nice to meet you.”

Anna took his hand into both of hers.  “Thank you for coming out.  I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” 

His deep laugh rang out. He bent close to her ear. “It was worth it just to see that look on his face!”

He swung into the driver’s side, Steve scowling at him from the passenger side.

Anna watched them drive out of view, conflicting emotions stirring.

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