“I told you I’m not hungry.”
He ignored her and went inside to search for something that would fill her up without making her sick. She’d always been a picky eater. Then he remembered she used to like yogurt. He didn’t have any of that, but he did have some ice cream. He grabbed the container out of the freezer then found a spoon and took it out to her.
Cassie stared up at the container, an amused look clearing away some of her disdain. “Butter-pecan ice cream? Are you serious?”
Glad to see her diva attitude kicking back in, he nodded. “Just take a couple of bites.”
“I rarely eat ice cream.”
“Well, maybe it’s time you try. I love it on a summer night.”
She glared at him then took the open container and the spoon. With a defiant dig, she scooped up a mound and shoved it into her mouth.
“See, not so bad, is it?”
She took another bite. “No. It slides down rather smoothly, unlike some of the preconceived notions I have about you.”
Ouch. He deserved that. “I know you don’t want me here, Cassie. But I’m not leaving. I’ve put too much into this place to leave now.”
She put down the ice cream and tossed the spoon onto the table by the chair. “And why exactly are you here, Cal?”
Cal took the ice cream back inside to the freezer then came out to sit on the porch rail in front of her. “Sometimes, I ask myself that same question.”
“I never expected to see you again,” she finally said, her tone so soft now he barely heard her words. “I’d forgotten how much you love ice cream.”
He stared down at her frowning, pouting face, remembering how he used to be able to kiss that pout right off her pretty lips. “Will you listen to me?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Not if you want to understand.”
She sat back in the rocking chair. “Okay, but I need to get back, so talk fast.”
Cal let out a long sigh. “After I left, I moved around a lot, working on farm after farm, doing whatever work I could find. Then I saw this little bit of land up north of here and bought it with borrowed money, thinking I’d settle down and farm for myself since I’d learned everything there was to know about growing food and producing livestock.”
She shot him a wry smile. “Does that include the load of manure you’re about to give me?”
“You said you’d listen.”
She started rocking again, her modern outfit a sharp contrast to the old-fashioned high-backed chair.
“After a couple of years, I made a profit so I bought the neighboring farm and added it to mine. And one thing led to another. I wound up owning a lot of land about fifty miles north of here. Well, actually the bank owns it but I’m making the payments.”
“Why didn’t you stay on your own place?”
He put a finger to his lips. “Listen.”
She rocked back and forth. “All right.”
His gaze hit hers and she looked away. “I was at a land-management seminar in Tifton last fall when I ran into your daddy.” He paused and let out a breath. “He looked like he didn’t feel good and I noticed he’d lost a lot of weight.”
She lowered her eyes then nodded. “Go on.”
“At first, we were kind of standoffish with each other but he finally approached me and told me he’d heard good things about my farm-management experience and how I’d acquired a lot of acreage. He was impressed. He told me the foreman he’d hired after Walt died wasn’t doing a good job and he’d been looking for someone he could trust to take over. Then he offered me the job of foreman for Camellia, right there on the spot. But I had my own land and I didn’t want to work for anyone else, especially him. A few weeks later, he called me and made another offer and told me he was sick. Since I wanted to pay off my land, I took him up on it. I rent out my land now and I work here. I get back up there once or twice a month, just to check on my workers.”
She stopped rocking. “So you’re telling me you turned your own land over to someone else so you could come back here and work for my father?”
“Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but that’s the truth. The rent money helps to pay down my mortgage and the money I’m making here helps me to fix up the place.”
“I don’t believe you.”
He stood up and leaned over her, holding his hands on both arms of the rocking chair. “I don’t really care whether you believe me or not. It’s the truth.”
She lifted her gaze to his, her eyes full of accusation and doubt. “That doesn’t make a bit of sense, Cal. My father is dying.”
“Yes, and he had just recovered from a heart attack when he offered me the job. He needed my help, Cassie.”
She went still again. “He had a heart attack?”
“Yes, but he made me swear not to call you. And since I didn’t think you’d talk to me anyway, I stayed out of it.”
“But you dropped everything and gave up your dreams to help my father?”
He got so close, he could see the light blue of her irises. “Yes, I did.”
“Why? What’s the real reason? I know you always had this dream of owning your own place and now you say you do. But why come back here, after the way my father treated you?” She stopped, took in a breath. “After what happened between us? Why would you even want to come back here?”
He hadn’t planned to tell her that but maybe she needed to know. “You, of course. I did it for you, Cassie.”
She inhaled a deep breath but she didn’t speak.
Then he stood up, his eyes centered on her. “That’s the truth. I did it because your daddy needed someone he could trust and because…you couldn’t be here. I did it to help a bitter old man, but mostly I came back for you.”
CHAPTER THREE
CASSIE STARTED LAUGHING.
Then she gulped in a deep breath, mortified that she’d let him get to her so quickly. She was laughing because this was so unbelievable. But she wanted to have a good long cry. Or maybe a good, long hissy fit. But a Brennan didn’t behave that way. She would show some backbone. Her pride wouldn’t allow anything less.
“Don’t tell me you’re doing this for me, Cal. How can you even think I’d fall for that? I didn’t know my father was ill or that you’d come back to work for him. And you’re not even married to Marsha. You don’t have a child with her. But you were with her again today, of all days. Do you know how many times I’ve thought about that over the years?” She stopped, shaking her head.
