Page 57 of Due North
My brow went up, and she chuckled, her head shaking. “Sorry, dealing with Nash always turns me into a raving lunatic. Anyway, I got the 411 on what happened between you and Caleb from one of the ranch hands. I wanted to clear the air.”
“Nothing to clear,” I insisted, resting my cheek on Poppy’s head.
“But there is because you think that something happened between us that didn’t.”
“I know what I saw. You were in Caleb’s arms, and he was whispering in your ear. Kind of hard to deny that. Then there was all that talk about committed relationships.”
“I don’t deny any of that,” she agreed. I fought hard not to roll my eyes, mostly so I didn’t cry. “What I’m saying is, that wasn’t what you thought it was. Caleb asked me to do something I knew would be a disaster, but I did it anyway. I was yelling at him like I had a right to, tried to get on the horse, and just went down like a sack of potatoes. I lay there in shock, and he picked me up, brushed me off, and offered me a hug. A hug of friendship, nothing more,” she insisted. “Caleb is … different.”
“I know. He’s the kind of guy every woman would be lucky to have in their life. I get it. I do, Tobi. You two are much better suited for each other.”
“Wrong,” she said, her voice filled with laughter. “Are you kidding me? That boy is so in love with you he can’t see straight most of the time. What I was trying to say was, he’s different in that he, I don’t know,” she paused and let out a sigh. “It’s like he feels things.”
“Emotions. Caleb takes what you’re feeling and makes them his own.”
She nodded with agreement. “Yes! It freaks me the hell out if I’m honest about it, but he always makes me feel better when I’m down. Yesterday, when he was whispering in my ear?” she asked, and I nodded with a shoulder shrug. “He told me no one ever said life would be easy, but it is always worth it.” I raised a brow, and she shrugged. “He set me back on my feet and told me his mom used to tell him that all the time, and he hated her for it.”
“He mentioned his mother?” I asked in shock.
“That’s unusual?”
“To say the least.”
“Well, later, after he showed me all the paperwork he’d put together for the therapy school, he told me his mother was the one to teach him that life was hard, but you were the one to teach him it was worth it. He told me one day I’d find the person who makes life worth it for me too.”
My arms tightened around Poppy, and my gaze drifted from hers to the door. “Therapy school? I don’t know anything about that. I don’t know what to think anymore.”
Tobi stood and cradled her hands again. “I think you do. You’re just scared and afraid if you commit to him fully, he’s going to break your heart.”
“I already did, and he already has,” I agreed, but she shook her head.
“No, you broke your own heart. See, Caleb’s heart was broken until you walked into it. You and Poppy are the glue holding his heart together. Just think about it and then talk to him. I don’t want to be the reason his heart gets broken again. I want to collaborate on the therapy school with him, but not at the expense of your relationship. That’s not me. It never will be.”
“I don’t know anything about a therapy school. Caleb told me he couldn’t tell me anything until you decided. I yelled at him about that too.”
“That part is my fault. I asked Caleb not to talk to anyone other than Heaven about it until I’d decided what I wanted to do. He can fill you in, but he can see that my passion has nothing to do with helping overgrown boys learn how to play cowboy. My passion has always been the horses. I dreamed that I’d open a place to help kids like Poppy learn, grow, and find comfort with the horses. Did you know that my degree is in equine training and management as well as equine-assisted therapy?”
“No, I had no idea,” I admitted with embarrassment. “Seems like you could work anywhere. Why Heavenly Lane?”
“Fear.”
“Fear?” I asked with confusion.
“It’s a powerful thing.” That was all she said before she cleared her throat and went on. “Strangely enough, so are dreams. Caleb has a plan that would make my dream a reality, so I think I have to follow that path and see where it leads. As long as you understand that as far as Caleb and I are concerned as a couple, we aren’t. We’re co-workers and nothing more.”
I nodded once. “Understood. Thank you. For helping to find Poppy and for your honesty.” Her nod told me she appreciated the acknowledgment of both. “Did you hurt yourself while you were out tonight? I don’t want to overstep, but I’m concerned about your hands.”
She glanced down at them and frowned, her head nodding a bit as though it was an unconscious action. “I think I did. These hands are probably another reason I need to move forward with the therapy school. They’re not faring so well as a ranch hand anymore.” She held them up and what I saw made me yell Heaven’s name instantly. “No, don’t bother Heaven. I’ll take care of them at the bunkhouse.”
“Heaven!” I quietly yelled again, so I didn’t wake Eden.
Both Heaven and Amity ran into the kitchen, but Heaven was the one to speak. “What’s the matter?”
“Tobi’s hands are a mess. She needs medical care.”
“No,” Tobi said, trying to figure out what to do with her hands so no one could see them. “I’ll just wash them and bandage them up at the bunkhouse. It’s fine.”
Heaven walked over and motioned for her to hold them out. When she did, Heaven’s gasp was loud in the room. “Tobi.”
