Page 19 of Starting Our Chance

10 Loretta

I watched Nikki driveher truck up the hill to the broken part of the fence. She pulled the truck in close and parked it up so that the trailer she was dragging blocked the exit.

After dismounting from Willow, I went for the hitch and began unhooking the trailer from the truck. Nikki leaned out of the window to holler out, “I am going to give Duke a piece of my mind when I see him next.”

I chuckled. I could just picture how that would go—his scowl, her jabbering exchange. “So, what exactly is the nature of y’all’s business relationship?” I yelled back, peering up at her face as I passed the truck. “What’s the story with you two?”

“Curious about what the old neighbor boy’s been up to?” she dryly observed.

I ducked my gaze so she wouldn’t see my eyes. When I didn’t answer, she continued, “When I was just starting out, he had a little money from a few good harvests. He threw in his lot with me—a nobody here. Now, he owns a large farm over in Harrisburg, is one of my biggest investors, and actually owns Sweet Briar, Inc. with me.” Nikki narrowed her eyes and gave me a skeptical smile. “My turn. Do you like him?”

By this point, I was behind the truck. I ducked my head back, pretending to be busy, but my lack of an answer must have given it away because when I stood up to slap her truck, indicating that she could pull forward, Nikki was leaning out the window, grinning back at me. “There’s nothing you want to tell me is there, Girly?”

I shook my head as I climbed into shotgun. “He’s not the boy next door that I used to play with, and he’s not the scraggly football jock that I used to cheer for at every game. He’s . . ..” My voice trailed off.

As if she knew my heart’s deepest secrets, as if they were written on my face, Nikki reached over and squeezed my arm. “He’s single. He won’t stop talking about you. And that man doesn’t talk about much that isn’t business related. Keeps quiet and acts like a hermit.”

A small spark lit up inside my chest. Ideas, fueled with the hope that Nikki had offered, flitted through my brain. I bit my bottom lip and decided that the thing to do was to go and talk to Duke myself. Instead of being scared about how our relationship would go, I should just express my fears to him and give this thing between us a chance. I had to try. I was home, starting over again. Why not add a relationship to the mix? And when I thought about it, I concluded pretty quickly that Duke was the man for me. What we had was hot.

As Nikki put the truck into drive, I chewed my lip and watched her from the corner of my eye as I asked, “So, remember how we went to happy hour after the first week of work?”

She murmured assent.

“Well, I’m going back to that off the clock bit we’ve got going on for a moment.” I took a deep breath and then spilled out, “Duke kissed me. Yesterday. Just stopped me in the middle of my run and had me backed up against his truck in no time.”

Nikki let out a long whistle and a, “Damn, girl!”

But I persisted, knowing that if I stopped, I might not get it all out. “I like him. I mean, I’ve always liked him. But if we cross this line, we aren’t ever going to go back to the way we were before: just friends. Close friends. We had each other’s backs; we understood one another so well.”

Nikki must have heard the panic in my voice because her tone was serious, the teasing lilt gone. “Why does that have to change? You can still have each other’s backs while having something more.”

“I know!” I dropped my face into my hands. “I was trying to establish those lines with him and it got all screwed up before I had even begun. Now, he’s gone and blurred what wasn’t there, and I don’t know where we stand.”

By this time, we were in the yard. Nikki put the truck in park. I muttered something about forgetting that I had even brought the subject up, but she stopped my exit by putting a hand on my shoulder. “What do you want out of life, Lore?”

The weight of her words had me crashing back into the seat. Staring out the windshield, I contemplated my answer for a long moment before responding, “I want to feel like I don’t have to hide in my bedroom. That I belong in the same playing field as Sammy and her sister-in-law. I don’t want to be the poor girl, and not just because of the money, but how people look at me. And if I finally take a chance with Duke, I don’t want to lose him.”

“Why are you so certain you’d lose him?”

“I’ve screwed up—big time.” I let out a self-deprecating huff. “He’s got his shit together, and I’m a train wreck.”

“Did you want to do that stupid stuff with Dylan?”

“No!” I bristled that she would even bring that up.

“Then make people know that.” Nikki shrugged her shoulders. “I know there is more going on in that head of yours. Duke does, too. According to him, your mama wouldn’t stop talking about your big old career in the north, but now he’s wondering what made you come running back with your tail between your legs.” My involuntary start forced Nikki to continue with, “You don’t have to confide in me if you don’t want to, but if you’re in trouble and need anything, I’m here.”

How I got so lucky to have this pint-sized woman as a boss, I would never know. “I was in a bit of trouble,” I admitted. “And it is easier to keep on the low as far as location, and I’m not sure I even want to talk about all of that, anyway—”

“Fair enough.” Nikki gave me a curt nod, but her lips were turned up in a smile nonetheless. “See! Cows taken care of. Your life sorted out—for the moment. Now . . . let’s get inside, clean up, and go do some work. When you’re ready to talk more, I’m here and I can help—or probably can help.”

I might not be out of the woods yet, but I felt as though this woman had thrown me a life raft. I was finally able to stop treading water. And she was right about one thing, I needed to talk to Duke and see what he thought of us before I let my head run away with me. My cup might not be overflowing just yet, but I could safely say that I now had a friend in Nikki. On the other hand, was it weird having my boss come take a shower and then borrow a pair of too-large pants? Yep. But hey, this was the South and hospitality was key.

I can do this. How I would pull my wreck of a life together, I wasn’t sure, but I was moving in the right direction.

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