Page 41 of Hometown Girl

They sat in silence for several more minutes, Beth searching for something to say and Drew probably relishing the quiet.

“My brother wants me to offer you a job.” It wasn’t what she’d intended to say, but she blurted things out when she got nervous.

He barely reacted. “Really?”

She nodded. “Guess you made quite an impression. And Ben’s not easy to impress.”

He looked away, one side of his face in shadow, the other barely lit by the dancing orange of the bonfire in the distance. “I have a job,” he said, his voice quiet.

“That’s what I told him.”

Beth’s mixed emotions wrestled with each other. Part of her was happy he’d be on his way and her nerves could settle down already, and part of her was oddly disappointed. She told herself it was because without him, Ben might refuse to invest, but she knew better.

Her disappointment had nothing to do with Fairwind Farm.

She told herself to focus. The last thing she needed was a crush on a guy who couldn’t even hold up his end of a conversation. Especially when she had to work so hard to hold up her end.

Michael had been great at talking. He wasn’t like other guys that way. He enjoyed conversation, debate. He was smart, and he liked to show off. Too bad he pretty much only talked about himself.

“What’s the job?” Drew leaned forward and stared at the fire, giving her another chance to study his profile. He carried something with him, something heavy. She hadn’t noticed it before, but he’d either let his guard down or grown too weary to cover it up anymore.

He glanced at her, and she realized he’d asked her a question, but she didn’t exactly know the answer. She hadn’t thought of an official title, and she certainly didn’t know farm lingo. What did they call the person who did everything they didn’t know how to do?

Godsend?

“We need someone who understands how to restore old buildings and work the land,” she said. “Molly has good intentions, and I understand business, but you can probably guess we’re both a little ...” She couldn’t think of the right word to describe what they were. She didn’t want to admit how ill-equipped they were for this job.

“A little ...?”

When she met his eyes, she suddenly felt silly for even bringing it up. “Never mind.”

Roxie’s wagging tail against Beth’s feet comforted her. She’d never plunged headfirst into anything without a solid plan. A safety net. But she’d learned the hard way that even the sturdiest of nets could unravel.

Maybe it was her exhaustion, but in that moment, she thought she’d made a terrible, horrible mistake.

“I might be able to help for a little while,” Drew said.

She looked at him, though he was still staring off into the distance. Why had her eyes clouded over? She wasn’t a crier. Crying was another sign of weakness, and like her father had always said,“There’s no place for weakness in business.”

She cleared her throat and played it cool, thankful for the darkness. “That would be good.”

The edge of his mouth pulled upward in a smile so slight she almost missed it.

No one else would ever guess that, deep down, she felt like a scared little girl, but Drew Barlow seemed to be on to her. She’d have to be extra careful around him—she couldn’t let her guard down for one second with this man.

Remember what happened the last time you trusted a man, Beth.

“Would you want to meet me out here first thing Monday morning? We can go over what needs to be done.” She leaned forward, elbows on her knees, hands folded in front of her.

Roxie’s nose found Beth’s hands, and the dog inched forward.

“Rox. Sit,” Drew said. She obeyed.

“She’s a good dog,” Beth said. “Did you train her yourself?”

He stroked Roxie’s head. “I did. She’s a special girl.”

Maybe his only friend?

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