After hopping in my truck and taking off, I pull out my phone and call a dealer in town for a quick chat. I tell him what I want, what needs to be towed, and where the new truck should go. I know that’s probably going to be a fight. I don’t care. I’ll give Lucy anything she wants, unless that something puts her in danger. After spending the day with her, I know one thing: Lucy is always worried about the people around her. She likes to make sure everyone else has or gets what they need. Well, I’m going to make sure she’s the one getting what she needs.
Chapter 6
Luciana
We stand there as Blake takes off, nearly tearing up the gravel driveway as he goes. I hear Dolly laugh and I look over to see her shaking her head.
“I’m so excited. I finally found something to get under his skin about. Nothing ever gets to Blake. It all rolls off him. Or it did.” She puts her arm through mine and steers us towards the house. “Now let’s see what we can find in here to eat. I have groceries delivered once a week so I have something to cook when I come over. He should be pretty stocked up.”
Her red curls bounce as we enter the kitchen, and she goes to the fridge and starts pulling stuff out like she does this all the time. It’s sweet that she looks after Blake and that their family is close enough that they all watch out for each other. It reminds me of home, and I know not every family is like this. I go over to the sink and wash up, then move to the large island and start chopping some vegetables, thinking about doing this every night for Blake. I love that he has his sister to help him, but I prefer the idea of filling this spot for him.
“So, you’re in school?” I ask, thinking about how I’m so glad to be done with classes. Only clinical hours left, and then taking my certification for my license.
“Yeah, I guess that’s what you’d call it. I’m taking a couple of classes to keep my brothers off my ass, but between me and you.” She looks up and we lock eyes. I give her a nod, telling her she can trust me. “I haven’t signed up for next semester. I don’t want to be in school. I want to do what I’ve wanted to do my entire life, work the farm and raise a family like my ma did.”
I smile, thinking she’s a lot like Fernanda. I can get that. If it’s what she wants, it’s what she should do. My sister is beyond happy and I wouldn’t take that away from her for anything in the whole world. “My sister was the same way. When we were growing up, I had big dreams of leaving home and working. Wanting to go to school and then have a career. My sister was the complete opposite. She fell in love with her husband at sixteen, and as soon as they could get married they did. Then they started making babies, and she’s the happiest I’ve ever seen her. She’s an incredible mother.”
Dolly sighs and puts her chin in her hands. “That sounds wonderful. I just need to convince my soon-to-be-baby daddy that he’s the one.” I think it sounds wonderful, too. I never thought that I could have both those things, a family of my own and my work but being here with Blake has me thinking differently. Maybe I could have both. Have it all. It all seems too good to be true.
“Baby daddy?” I ask, smiling. Wonder what her brothers would think of her using that term. I also wonder who this man is.
“Yeah, he doesn’t know it yet. But he’ll come around.” She winks at me and goes back to cooking.
I pull out some ingredients I need for homemade tortillas and get to work. We’re making Tex-Mex buffet-style so we can all pick what we want. It’s an easy meal, one Dolly and I seem to know by heart, so we work well in the kitchen together. It reminds me of home and makes me feel at ease.
I felt it all day with Blake. The peace of the land and being beside him. Something about this place seems magical. I’ve never felt so calm and at home in a place I’d never been before. Seeing him out on his land and showing me the place, it was like I was meant to come here. I could see how much he cared about his animals and how easily he trusted me with them. It’s as if I’ve been working towards this place all along. It’s all new, yet so familiar. I have dreamed about this a thousand times, and recently he’s started to appear in the dreams, too. How is it possible that it’s all coming true so fast?
“So you and Blake?” Dolly asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
“I’m working here until I get my farm hours.” I shrug noncommittally. I don’t want to jinx it. It’s so new and I don’t have it fully in my grasp yet. I could lose it at any moment. The thought makes a rock sit deep in my stomach. “Once that’s over, I’ll see about working out this way full time. Blake told me that your family has a lot of land and a need for a vet out this way.”
“We sure do. Ty has the most animals, but Blake seems to get the sick and injured ones the most. I think that man has a soft spot for the more delicate ones.”
Warmth spreads in my chest. I’ve seen how tender and sweet he can be. But there is an undercurrent of strength there, too. I catch it every now and then when he looks at me. I get a sense he’s holding something back, and I’m curious to see what would happen if that full intensity was unleashed. Has it ever been before?
“I’ve got dairy cows on my land. I’m a sucker for their big brown eyes. Think Blake might be, too.” She winks at me, and I can feel myself blush.
We talk about movies and books, and I find myself laughing with Dolly. We have a lot in common with our trashy romance tastes, and when she puts on some music, we start dancing as we cook in the kitchen. It’s a happy place here, and I’m falling more in love every second.