Page 97 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
When she got to the ranch, Damien led a horse from the pen to the barn. He smiled tightly. “Morning.”
“Morning.” She fell into step beside him. They passed Gabe, but Damien averted his eyes and Gabe did the same, tension twisting between them. She leaned closer to Damien. “Ummm, did I miss something?”
“No. You should go find my dad. He probably has a job for you.”
She gave him one more long look before turning on her heel and heading toward the house.
“Hadley.” Mrs. Lee smiled warmly when she entered the kitchen. “How are you this morning, dear?”
“Good, thanks.” For once, she was. Outside, blue skies lit up in the morning sun with only a few puffy white clouds. Not to mention it was warm. Basically, as perfect a day as could be found in Florida.
Then there was Spencer, the boy who made her smile just by living in her thoughts.
“Do you mind if Roman comes out here for lunch?”
Mrs. Lee’s smile widened. “Of course not. Any friend of yours and Damien’s is a part of the family.”
Mr. Lee entered the kitchen, his heavy-booted steps clopping on the tile. “Hello, ladies. Hadley, Gabe is going to be busy with a few lessons today, so you and I will be scrubbing down the goat barn. Now that it’s warmer, it’s time.”
“You mean I get to spend all day with the goats?” Her face brightened.
Mr. Lee chuckled. “Cleaning up after them, yes.”
“I don’t care what I have to do.” She rubbed her hands together. “Let’s go.”
The Lees shared a look she couldn’t decipher before Mr. Lee led her from the kitchen.
Spencer sat atop Harbinger in the distance, but Hadley could still see the tension in both horse and rider.
“Can I go talk to Spencer for a moment?” She watched Mr. Lee for his reaction, but he only shook his head.
“He’s busy at the moment. Harbinger is being difficult enough, so it’s best not to distract him.”
She wouldn’t lie and say she wasn’t disappointed, that she hadn’t hoped Spencer would seek her out as soon as she returned. He didn’t even look her way.
At least there was enough work to take her mind off him. Following Mr. Lee into the small barn housing the goats, she listened to his every instruction and let herself disappear into the task at hand.
* * *
After a few hours of work,Hadley sat back on her heels and wiped sweat from her brow. The goats bleated from where they were blocked off in the pen, not allowed to come into their home.
“Scrub this place down,” she grumbled. “I’ll be there to help.” Only, Mr. Lee disappeared to deal with some trouble Gabe told him about with one of the horses, leaving Hadley with the once-yearly task.
In her mind, it was just busy work, not something that actually needed done. But what did she know? She wasn’t a ranch girl, that was for sure.
A lock of hair fell into her eyes, and she blew it away as she pressed her hands to her thighs and got up. Dropping the brush in the bucket, she jumped back when it splashed gross water up her leg.
Her eyes traveled from Stammer who looked in at her to the window where she could see Spencer working with Harbinger. He still hadn’t come to find her.
Glancing toward the house to see if Mr. Lee was anywhere near, she edged her way around the barrier into the goat pen before pushing through the swinging gate and latching it behind her.
She wiped her filthy hands on her jeans and sprinted toward the horse paddock.
Spencer didn’t turn when she approached.
Propping her hands on the wooden rail, she let out a low whistle. “Hey, good looking.”
His posture stiffened, and the minute he turned, she knew she wasn’t going to like whatever expression he had on his face. So, she didn’t look, instead focusing on Harbinger who came at the sound of her voice.
