the girls in the school had had a crush on him. Too bad she had been one of them.
The initial view of his backside hadn’t been bad when she’d caught him on that ladder, either. She would have paid more attention, but she’d been too afraid he was a transient ready to steal the machine or strip the interior. One good look at him had been all she needed to recognize him, but she hadn’t allowed her somersaulting stomach to overrule common sense and caution. Just because she knew him didn’t mean she could trust him. And he obviously hadn’t recognized her, even when his bourbon-colored gaze had met hers.
“Girls, this is Dusty McPherson.” While she spoke, Aggie’s attention was on the biscuit she was slathering with butter. Nodding in the direction of each of the girls, she introduced them. “These are my nieces. That one’s Kate and this one’s Trish.”
Dusty looked up to smile at Trish. “This is great,” he said, pointing at his plate with his fork.
“Oh, I didn’t—”
“Kate did the cooking,” Aggie said from across the table.
Kate felt Dusty’s gaze on her, but pretended she didn’t.
“You cooked this breakfast?” he asked.
Across from her, Kate saw Aggie’s go-ahead nod, encouraging her. She knew what her aunt was thinking. It wasn’t the first time she had tried her hand at matchmaking. But Kate wasn’t interested.
“You’ll find dinner filling, too,” Aggie said, frowning at her. “We’ll be cutting wheat in the field here at home to start, so we’ll eat here at the house. When we get farther away, Trish brings it out to the field.”
“And you’re on your own for supper,” Kate added to set the record straight.
“But I’ll bring sandwiches in the evening,” Trish chimed in. “We wouldn’t want anyone wasting away.” Her smile produced the twin set of dimples she was famous for, second only to her sweet disposition.
Dusty looked to Aggie. “Who’s your truck driver?”
“I am,” Kate answered sharply. What did he think she did, anyway, besides pointing shotguns at strangers?
His penetrating gaze fell on her again. “Any other talents? Other than cooking and firearms experience, I mean.”
Ready with a hot retort, Kate looked up to see a spark of mischief in his eyes and knew better than to take the bait. Feeling his gaze slide over her, she lifted her chin to deny the warmth that went through her. “If worse comes to worst, I can drive a combine, change the oil, grease it and do minor repairs.”
He rewarded her with a slow grin. “Multitalented.”
“She really is,” Trish agreed. “I wish I had her talents.”
Dusty turned to her. “Each of us has our own.”
“His or her own,” Trish corrected and blushed fiercely.
“Trish is a teacher,” Aggie explained. “Second grade. We all get corrected at one time or another. She’s a writer, too. Just sold her first children’s book.”
Kate only half listened to the conversation around her, relieved that the subject had turned away from food. She loved cooking and baking, but it was a part of herself she didn’t understand. She didn’t know where her cooking flair came from. Her mother had been a good cook, but nothing spectacular, and Aunt Aggie was much the same. Somehow Kate had taken to it and added her own touch. She had even been providing pies and cakes to the local café and barbecued beef to the local tavern for the past few years. But it wasn’t something she liked people making a big deal about. Farming was and always would be her first love.
Aggie pushed away from the table and stood. “When you’re finished, Dusty, go on outside and I’ll show you around.”
If he had been anyone else, Kate would have offered to show him the farm and machinery, but because it was Dusty McPherson, she was glad she wouldn’t have to. She had never reacted to any man the way she was reacting to him. Until she could get some control over that, being around him wasn’t a good idea, but there wasn’t much she could do about it until harvest was over.
Dusty laid his fork on the plate and rose from the table. “I can go out right now,” he said, but his gaze lingered on the stack of biscuits.
“No need,” Aggie said with a wave of her hand. “But Kate can add those biscuits to a basket. No reason why you can’t enjoy them while driving the combine.” She stepped into the hallway and turned around. “Kate, I need to speak with you.”
Following her, Kate suspected her aunt had a few words to say about her rudeness. It wouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes. Kate knew the routine well. She would apologize for being too outspoken and Aunt Aggie would forgive her.
Aggie waited until they were alone in the hall to speak. “I didn’t want to say anything to Trish yet, as it doesn’t affect her as much as it does you.”
“What doesn’t?”
Rubbing a fist across her forehead, Aggie hesitated for a moment before she met Kate’s gaze. “I’ve decided to lease the farm after this harvest.”
Kate couldn’t believe what she’d heard. “You what?”
“I’m leasing the farm.”
“No, you can’t!”
“I have to, Kate. Fuel costs are up, and fertilizer, too. Repair on the machinery is costing a bundle, and getting a loan for new is out of the question. Even without those expenses, there aren’t enough of us to do the work. With Trish getting married—”
“She doesn’t have that much to do with the farming,” Kate pointed out quickly, her heart hammering in her chest. The farm meant everything to her.
“Someday, you’ll be doing the same.”
Kate had no intention of getting married. “Then you don’t know me as well as I thought you did,” she said through lips stiffened by the panic she felt.
As if she hadn’t heard her, Aggie continued. “I’m not getting any younger. I know we’d planned on you taking over the farm, once I retire, but you can’t handle it on your own, Kate. Farming needs to be self-sufficient, otherwise it’s nothing more than a hobby. And an expensive one, at that.”
“We can find a way,” Kate answered, determined not to let go of the farm. It had become her life.
Aggie laid a hand on her arm. “If the time comes when farming pays off again, you can end the lease.”
“But—”
“No buts. I’ve made up my mind, as hard as it was to do. I don’t mean to break your heart, but I don’t want to lose the land, and that’s what it could come to. You can understand that, can’t you?”
Kate knew things had been getting worse over the past few years. After all, she did the bookkeeping. But she’d never dreamed her aunt would stop farming and lease the land to someone else. “If I can come up with a new financial plan for the
