It was a sweet offer, but he could tell by the hesitance in her eyes that she really couldn’t afford it.
“Not necessary. I’m happy to give my shirt to a lady anytime.” As soon as those words left his mouth, he realized they could be easily misunderstood to mean he went around handing his shirts to random women. Feeling foolish, he quickly added, “I mean, if she needs it for some reason.”
What was wrong with him? It wasn’t like him to lose his cool and just blurt things out that way. A strong dose of caffeine was probably in order, he reasoned. Not to mention a shower.
“Okay.” Bekah gave him a long, suspicious look, then a tentative smile. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” He caught Sierra studying him with a curious expression, and he brushed it off with a grin. “Need anything else while I’m here?”
“I’ve got twelve kennels to clean before we open, and I still haven’t fed all of the wild babies yet.”
It was a common problem for them here. As a nonprofit clinic, they relied on donations and grants to keep everything going. That meant they couldn’t pay the staff much, and consistent volunteers were hard to come by. They’d recently lost their veterinarian, and animals of every species kept pouring in from the surrounding area every week. Shorthanded didn’t come close to describing the situation, and Drew made it a point to lend a hand whenever he could spare the time. “I’ve got an hour before anyone will miss me in the barns.”
“That would be awesome. Thanks.”
To his complete surprise, the timid woman he’d met less than an hour ago piped up with, “Are you looking for help around here?”
Sierra flashed him a questioning glance, and he shrugged to say it was her call. Bekah had astonished him, too, but he couldn’t help noticing how she was now looking Sierra directly in the eye. Standing up straighter, too, instead of trying to make herself as small and invisible as possible.
After a few seconds, the clinic’s manager replied, “We’re always looking for help. Mind if I ask what kind of job experience you have?”
“I’m not trained for anything in particular, but I’m a hard worker, and I learn fast. I was working at Jennings’s farm stand until last week when they closed for the fall. Mr. Jennings said I could use him as a reference.”
“He’s an old friend of the family.” Drew added his two cents without hesitation. “He’s pretty hard to please, so if he likes your work, you’re a keeper.”
That got him another, slightly warmer smile from Bekah, and then she turned to Sierra. “I’ll work a week for nothing, so you can check my references and make sure I’m right for the job.”
The desperation in her voice was impossible to miss, and it took all of Drew’s self-control not to pull rank and tell her she was hired. Technically, the Kinleys owned the center, and Sierra worked for them. Realistically, she was in charge of the clinic and its operation, and they’d never stepped in to tell her what to do. He wasn’t keen on changing that arrangement, but something about Bekah made him want to go a few extra steps for her.
While the two women talked about what the position involved, one of his late father’s favorite lines drifted through his memory.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Drew recalled hearing that more than once growing up, when his quick temper got the better of him, and he ended up fighting with one of his brothers or a kid at school who was pestering him. Mike was the oldest, and Josh was the youngest, so they had it easy. Erin was the only girl, which made her the princess. As the middle son, Drew had learned early on that he had a simple choice: he could either live up to his big brother’s solid example or overcome it and be his own person.
He was still wrestling with that one, and he often wished Dad was still around to give him advice. Whether he’d follow it or not was up for debate, but he would’ve appreciated the input. Unfortunately, now it was too late.
Shrugging off his suddenly melancholy mood, he refocused on the conversation that had continued along quite nicely without him. Bekah’s delicate appearance had thrown him at first, but the spirit he saw glowing in her eyes had drawn him much closer than he normally would’ve gone after such an odd first meeting. The fading bruise on her cheek infuriated him, and he honestly hoped he never discovered who was responsible for it. It wouldn’t go well for the monster who’d struck her hard enough to leave such an ugly mark behind.
To his great relief, Sierra finally appeared satisfied and shook Bekah’s hand to seal their arrangement. “Let’s go find a pair of coveralls that fit you. You’re going to need them.”
Bekah wasn’t at all sure what to make of Drew Kinley.
Still dressed in the tank top and beat-up cargo shorts he was wearing when they met earlier that morning, he started working with her around seven o’clock and kept on going. He didn’t try to draw her into conversation but kept his comments to whatever task they were doing at the moment. He was pleasant and upbeat but didn’t go out of his way to make her talk to him.
Most people took her long silences as either rude or evidence that something was bothering her. It was nice to meet someone who understood her reserved nature and accepted it for what it was.
At one point, he fetched them each some bottled water. After a long swallow, he stopped long enough to call someone named Mike. “What can I say, big brother? They need a hand down here, and I’m sure you won’t miss fighting with me all that much.” After a pause, he chuckled. “Yeah, it’ll earn me some brownie points with Erin, too. Don’t think that didn’t occur to me. See ya later.”
He pocketed his phone and turned back to the straw he was pitching into several stalls set aside for larger animals. In the section he’d referred to as the nursery, three goats and a wide-eyed fawn watched him from their temporary quarters in a storage area with a Dutch door. They looked to be assessing his work, and despite the odd turn her day had taken, Bekah felt herself smiling at the image.
She hadn’t done much of that lately, she realized. There hadn’t been all that much to lift her spirits the past few months, and when she thought about it, meeting Drew was the highlight of her year. Pathetic, but true. He’d been so nice to her, she decided she should make more of an effort to be sociable. What better topic to start with than the woman he’d just mentioned wanting to impress?
“So,” Bekah commented in what she hoped came across as friendly interest. “Is Erin your girlfriend?”
He gave her the blankest look she’d ever seen in her life, then broke out laughing. “Not even close. She’s my little sister and the bane of my existence. If I can do something to get on her good side for a change, I will. So a little extra work is totally worth a few days of peace from her.”
Watching him banter back and forth with Sierra had made it plain they were nothing more than friends. For some reason, Bekah was ridiculously pleased to discover this incredibly charming man was unattached. Not that it should make any difference to her, she told herself sternly. She wouldn’t be in town long enough for it to matter whether he was single or not. She was just making conversation. “So, this place was your sister’s idea?”
“Yeah.
