Love Finds You in Valentine, Nebraska by Irene Brand

Author:Irene Brand [Brand, Irene]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-07-26T13:35:21+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Derek joined them while they were eating supper. Noticing the lines of fatigue around his eyes, Kennedy wished she could share some of his worries. She took a cup of coffee to him, but when she offered to fill his plate, he held up a hand and said, “Mom had supper ready when I finished work.”

“Haven’t you slept at all?” she asked.

He shook his head and rubbed the muscles in the back of his neck. “My truck cab is a mite small for a bedroom, so I didn’t sleep last night. I had intended to take a nap today, but one of the horses was sick, so I stayed with the vet and let Al sleep. It’s only a week—we’ll manage. Any trouble here last night?”

“Not as far as I know. The girls were so excited that they couldn’t settle down. Their attitudes are good, although Matti says that all of them have terrible family situations.”

“I see Sam coming to relieve Joel, and I’m going home, too. But I’ll have my cell if you need anything.” When she walked with him toward his truck, he asked, “Did you talk to Matti?”

“Yes. She admits that she treated Tony badly, but I think she still loves him. There’s never been anyone else.”

“It’s too bad she had to show up now.”

“She didn’t intend to, but the woman who was supposed to come with the girls suddenly took sick, and there was no one else to fill in. Either Matti had to chaperone or the girls would have had to stay home.”

“But what about Tony? He doesn’t deserve to come to this camp without a warning that Matti is here.”

“She was a little reluctant, but she agrees that Tony should be told so he can stay away if he chooses to. Will you call him?” Shaking his head ruefully, Derek said, “I sure hate to be the one to tell him, but I will. Do you have his cell phone number?” Kennedy reached into her pocket for the phone and checked her directory, and Derek put Tony’s number in his address book. “I’ll call him early tomorrow morning. Will you pray for me? I want to cause him as little grief as possible.” Dreading Kennedy’s inevitable return to California, Derek had a pretty good notion of how Tony had felt when Mattie deserted him. Wondering how much longer it would be before Kennedy left him, he looked at her as if he’d never seen her before.

Her eyes weren’t as sparkling as usual, she didn’t have on any makeup, and the strong prairie breeze blew golden hair around her face and shoulders. She wore his flannel shirt that his mother had altered for her. He’d seldom seen her when she didn’t look as if she’d just been outfitted in one of those high-end designer boutiques. But today she could easily have been a ranch girl rather than the multi-millionaire that he figured she was. For a blissful moment he wondered if she might actually fit into life on the Circle Cross, and he lifted his hand and caressed her cheek.

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