Page 52 of Hometown Girl

“I’ll have a detailed plan including an estimated budget by morning,” he said, still avoiding her eyes.

“That would be good. Should we discuss payment?”

“I’m fine with whatever you decide.”

Independently wealthy? He didn’t dress it or drive it. “You sure about that?”

He nodded. “If we’re done, I’d like to get started.”

She hadn’t expected that. What was he going to do out there by himself?

He waited several seconds, and when she didn’t respond, he went around her and pulled tools from the back of his truck. He started off in the opposite direction, but stopped—abruptly—and faced her. “One more thing.”

She looked at him, holding the gaze she’d been working so hard for, until he eventually broke eye contact.

“What are your plans for the house?”

Beth glanced beyond where Drew stood to the old farmhouse that had fallen into the same disrepair as the rest of the farm. Inside, it looked like it had been frozen in time, but it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. She assumed Harold had maintained the house at least a little longer than he had the barns, but it still needed some major updates and a few repairs.

“What do you mean?”

He squinted in the sunlight behind her, then turned his hat around to shield his eyes. “You can pay me a lot less if you let me stay here in the house. I’ll work on it in my free time, get it back in shape. Unless you planned to move in right away.”

“I don’t plan to move in at all.”

“Ever?”

She hadn’t even considered moving in. Would Molly want the house? Someone should live there if they owned it.

“I’m not sure.”

“Well, let me know. The hotel guests don’t like Roxie, so the owner said I need to make other arrangements.” Roxie perked up at the mention of her name.

“By when?”

He glanced at his truck in the driveway. “Tonight.”

Beth laughed. “I don’t think you’re going to want to stay here tonight. We haven’t even cleared out the old man’s things.”

He shrugged. “I’ve stayed in worse.”

Something about this felt horribly wrong, yet before he walked away, she heard herself tell Drew Barlow to go ahead and move his things into the house at Fairwind Farm.

Chapter Fifteen

Drew practically ran away from Beth, away from the house, away from the past. He’d seen the old barn in his dreams the night before. He couldsmellit, and when he’d woken that morning, a torrent of anger flooded his mind. Why couldn’t he remember? What couldn’t he see?

He’d spent hours sweeping and cleaning it out Saturday, and it had done nothing to stir the old memories. Today, walking through the woods, the barn seemed to call his name, begging him to come in for one more try.

Foolishly, he thought the past would give him the answers he’d been waiting for. But as he stood there, begging for the truth, his mind was blank.

Too much time had passed.

He’d felt like an idiot for trying. Why did he think he would ever find closure? In that moment, he’d considered leaving. He could get in his truck and drive back to Colorado. It would be like he’d never even come.

But something had gotten ahold of him—something wouldn’t let him leave.

So, he took the job. If he had any hope of finding out the truth, he had to stay at Fairwind, and taking this new job gave him unlimited access to the farm—and the house—no matter how haunting.

---