Page 66 of Hometown Girl

His eyebrows shot up.

“That came out wrong.”

He took off his ball cap and set it on the table between them.

“I just meant we’re hardly paying you. You said you liked your job on the ranch. I’ve been trying to figure out why you would stay here, unless you’ve got some kind of hero complex and feel like you need to save us.”

He held her gaze for a long few seconds. “I’m here to help. Does it matter why?”

She’d noticed all the work he’d done in the house. If she had to guess, this man slept a total of two hours a night. But maybe he was right—maybe it didn’t matterwhyhe was here. Just that he was. And she should shut her mouth and thank the Lord.

But she couldn’t. It wasn’t in her nature to leave things alone.

“Where’s your family?” She chewed the inside of her lip.

“My parents retired near Denver, but they’re all over the place. Last I heard from them, they were in San Diego.”

“Siblings?”

“One sister. Sharly. Pain in the neck.”

“I know something about that.”

His smile was so faint she almost missed it. “Your sister’s okay.”

“But you have to admit, she’s a pain in the neck.” Beth set her pencil down. “She bought a goat, for Pete’s sake.”

Drew laughed. “It’s a sheep.”

“Same difference.” Wasn’t it?

Drew looked like he wanted to correct her but didn’t.

“You’re a hard one to figure out,” she said. “I feel like you could be making more money anywhere else.”

“I could say the same about you.”

Beth’s shoulders stiffened.

Yet it wasn’t an indictment. It wasn’t an accusation. He wasn’t saying someone like her shouldn’t be here in sleepy Willow Grove, just that she didn’t have to be.

Drew looked away. “I’m not here for the money.”

“Obviously.” She waited until their eyes met again. “So?”

He ran a hand over his chin. “Sometimes you just need a change.” He stared at her as if he knew she could understand. After all, wasn’t that why she was here too?

That and her second chance.

She watched him for a few long moments, but he seemed to be done talking. At least about this. She’d already pushed him enough, so she decided to let it go.

She stood and pulled his house to-do list off the refrigerator, noting all the tasks that had already been checked off. “You’ve been busy.”

He put his baseball cap back on his head.

“Do you sleep?”

He laughed. “Not well.”

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