But the fact was, he was a man, and though he hadn’t been celibate since his return to Texas, he’d been too busy to make up for all the months he’d been deployed in the Middle East. He needed her gone before he took advantage, and he intended to make that happen tomorrow.
He sighed as he picked up the hammer. At least with Mrs. Thompson here, he didn’t have to worry about the little girl and neither did Tory. In the meantime, he had plenty to do.
Working off a little of his frustration, Josh slammed the hammer against the rotted wood.
* * *
The hours slid past. When Tory checked on Ivy, she found Mrs. Thompson teaching her to play Candy Land. They both seemed to be having fun.
Earlier Josh had suggested Tory bring Ivy out to the barn after lunch to visit the litter of kittens one of the feral cats had recently birthed. Ivy was excited to see them. The little girl ran all the way there.
“Where are they, Mama?”
“In that last stall, sweetheart. They’re curled up in the straw.”
Ivy whirled around, blond ponytail flying, and raced ahead, then slowed to walk quietly into the stall. “Oh, Mama, aren’t they cute?”
Tory smiled. “They’re having their lunch, same as you just did.”
A few feet away, Ivy sank down in the straw to watch them nurse. The mother was gray with white fur on her chest. There were two gray kittens, two orange. Tory had noticed a big orange tom prowling around the barn.
“There’s four of them, Mama.”
“They’re too little to handle yet,” a deep voice said. “But they grow up fast.” Josh stood outside the stall, his arms folded on the top board as he looked down at them.
The grin slid off Ivy’s face. She reached for Tory’s hand. “I wanna go back in,” she said, sinking into herself the way she had begun to do whenever there was a man around. Especially a big man like Josh.
He looked from the little girl to Tory, must have read the concern on her face. “It’s all right,” he said softly. “I was just getting ready to saddle Sunshine and give her a ride. Enjoy the kittens.”
He turned and walked off and Tory could hear him talking in that soft way of his to the palomino mare in the second stall. Leading the horse out of the stall, he began to groom her, his brushstrokes swishing through the air. It didn’t take long before the mare was saddled and ready.
Josh slid a boot into the stirrup and swung aboard, settling himself with impressive ease. As he reined the horse out of the barn, the man looked like every woman’s cowboy fantasy. Every woman but her, she told herself.
Tory glanced over at Ivy, who seemed to be fascinated by the kittens. “We need go back to the house, sweetheart. I have to get to work again.”
The day passed swiftly with so much to do. That night, Tory fell into another exhausted slumber, but she wasn’t as sore as she had been the night before.
She awoke anxious and unsettled the morning of the third day. She knew she’d been doing a decent job, but it might not be enough. A man doing the same work wouldn’t have a child to worry about. A man could have helped Josh stack the heavy straw bales that had arrived from town, or helped him dig postholes where he was putting in new fencing around one of the training rings.
The good news was Clara Thompson showed up again that morning just as she’d promised.
“You’re a lifesaver, Mrs. Thompson. I’ll never be able to repay your kindness.”
“Everyone needs a little help once in a while, dear.”
Not wanting to be late, Tory kissed Ivy good-bye and headed out to the barn. She had almost reached the wide double doors when a dark red Dodge pickup rolled to a stop in front, throwing up a cloud of dust. The two men she had noticed yesterday climbed out of the truck and Josh strode toward them.
When the men spotted her, they stopped and turned, forcing Josh to introduce them, though clearly, he didn’t want to.
“Guys, this is Tory Ford. She’s been working here the last couple of days. Tory, meet Cole Wyman and Noah Beal.”
Tory silently prayed she would still be working there tomorrow and the day after that. “Hello,” she said.
“I’m Noah.” The dark-haired man extended his right hand, the only one he had, which she shook. “That’s Cole,” he said. “He’s not nearly as friendly, but he’s harmless.”
“Thanks,” Cole said darkly. He tipped his blue-and-white Dallas Cowboys’ baseball cap in greeting, then settled it back over his gleaming blond hair. “Nice meeting you, Tory.”
“It’s nice to meet you both. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get to work.” As she walked away, she could hear Josh handing out orders and prayed one of the men wouldn’t wind up getting her job.
