Pamela Nissen – Rocky Mountain Homecoming (страница 8)

A silence, broken only by the gentle ticking of the hall clock, filled the room. He held her gaze, struck by the expert way she instantly cloaked any hint of vulnerability.

Perhaps it was just as well. He had no business rifling through Ivy’s past, present or future. If he knew what was best for him, he’d keep his distance.

But what was best for her?

She raised her chin a notch, her expression an unreadable mask.

“Well, if ever you want to talk …” he began, sidestepping his resolve yet again. He couldn’t seem to help himself when it came to Ivy. “I’d be glad to listen. I’m pretty good at that, you know.”

A dim smile inched across her face. “And how did you get so good?”

Leaning back, he draped an arm over an adjacent chair. “B-b-brothers who insist on communication when things get tough. Sisters-in-law who talk circles around them,” he added, keeping his words slow and steady in the hopes of limiting his stuttering. “And,” he continued, holding up his index finger, “I spent plenty of time not t-t-talking when I was younger.”

She pinned her gaze to the table. Fingered the tatted edge of her napkin. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then stopped herself with a jarring suddenness.

He searched her expression. Did she remember—was she even aware of just how difficult things had been for him then? “Just know that the offer st-stands,” he finally said, refusing to bend to any amount of self-pity. “All right?”

“Thank you,” she breathed.

When the sound of footsteps came from the long hallway leading from Mr. Harris’s office, Zach glanced up to see Ben coming to a stop at the dining room entrance.

“Come join us.” Zach motioned his brother in.

“Hope I’m not interrupting dinner.” Ben set down his bag at the end of the long table.

“We just finished.” Standing, Zach shook his brother’s hand. “Thanks for c-c-coming out. I know how busy you’ve b-been.”

His brother’s brow crimped for a brief, questioning moment, as though caught off guard by his stutter. “I was just finishing up for the day when Hugh found me at my office.”

As the oldest Drake brother, Ben had done all he could to encourage Zach in those years when Zach’s stutter had been so bad. But Zach had refused to be mollycoddled. His brothers had never known what, exactly, had transpired to cause the impediment. So they’d never known how closely connected it was to Ivy Harris. And that every beat of his childhood heart had been spent on her.

“D-d-do you remember Ivy, Ben?” Zach motioned across the table to her.

Ben grasped the back of the chair and slid a confused gaze at her. “I do. It’s good to see you again, Ivy.”

She pivoted in her chair to face Ben, the gracious tilt of her chin commanding Zach’s attention more than he cared to admit. “And you, as well. Should I call you Doct—”

“Ben is fine.” He held up a hand. “So what brings you back to Boulder?”

Ivy swerved her gaze to her plate as though unsure of what she should say.

“Violet sssss—” The word got stuck somewhere between his head and his mouth.

“Violet sent for me,” she finished for him, the gesture grating his pride. “My father’s been sick.”

He hated when he couldn’t speak clearly. Loathed even more when others, well-meaning though they may be, completed his sentences for him.

“Well, as far as your father’s concerned, there’s nothing wrong.” He pulled a hand over the shadow of a beard darkening his face. “As far as I’m concerned, with the dark circles under his eyes, the hollowness of his cheeks and a few other symptoms I noticed, he has to be fighting some kind of sickness. But he flat out refuses to let me check him over.”

“That comes as no surprise,” she murmured with a frustrated shake of her head.

Ben crossed his arms at his chest. “I’ll say one thing for him … he’s—”

“Stubborn,” she supplied, her eyebrows arching. “He always has been.”

“A family trait,” Zach put in on a muffled cough. He gave Ivy a quick wink, half surprised and pleased that he could hold his own with her.

She pushed up from the table, her scolding focus set on him in halfhearted chastisement.

Zach bit back a grin and casually swung his gaze to his brother. “Sorry you made the trip out for n-n-nothing, Ben.”

“Oh, it’s never a waste of time.” His brother tapped the top of his bag with hands that had eased many a patient’s pain—even his own wife’s, after she’d shown up on his doorstep, half frozen and nearly drained of all hope. “After all, Violet said she’d wrap up a pie for my trouble, and it’s not every day I get to see my baby brother.”

“Baby?” Zach challenged on a sigh. Clasping his hands behind his back, he stretched, unable to miss the wide-eyed way Ivy’s attention flitted to him. “Are you sure you want to ssstick with that?”

Though there’d never been a pecking order with his brothers, they’d all teased about it as though a certain hierarchy was well-established. In truth, Ben had been the family’s saving grace after their parents had both passed away when Ben was just seventeen. He’d raised his brothers, and Zach was grateful. But that didn’t mean he’d let Ben get away with treating him like he was still a young child.

“I’d think he’d be used to the title by now.” Ben directed his words to Ivy. “But for some reason, it ruffles his feathers every time.”

She gave a restrained smile, veering her cautious gaze to Zach. “Feathers?” she mouthed.

A grin tugged at the corners of Zach’s mouth. Poor thing. She hated birds, and yet it seemed she couldn’t get away from them. She was sure never to step foot in the barn again if she knew that Zach’s pet owl, Buddy, resided in the rafters.

“So, how long are you here for, Ivy?” Ben buttoned the front of his dark brown coat.

She slid her chair into the table. “I haven’t decided yet.”

“Maybe you’ll get to meet my daughter, Libby, and her friend, Luke, in a couple days.” He shoved a hand into his coat pocket.

The eager smile that tipped her full lips seemed to brighten the room. “I’d love to.”

“That’s right,” Zach commented, remembering how much he’d enjoyed the last time Libby and Luke had visited. “They’re c-c-coming out this week, aren’t they?”

“Once every two weeks, that’s what you said, right?” Ben pulled a hand over his shadowed jawline.

“Absolutely,” Zach put in, nodding. “It was fun having them t-tag around with me last t-t-time.”

Ben’s low chuckle rumbled quietly in the room. “After those two begged me like a pair of unmannerly pups, I finally relented and asked Zach if he’d mind if they came out every now and then and helped around the ranch.”

Her quizzical gaze hadn’t left Zach. “That certainly is nice of him.”

He grasped the chair, trying to remain unaffected by her rapt attention as he willed his throat and mouth to relax so that his words could come out whole. “I’ll mmmmake sure to find some tasks for them to d-do.” He took a long deep breath to settle himself. “That is if they sssssstill want to come out.”

Obvious concern flashed momentarily in Ben’s gaze, but he seemed to know not to bring it up right now and for that Zach was inordinately grateful.

“Are you kidding me? They talk about their time here, nonstop.” Ben lifted his hat and raked a hand through his hair. “But you really don’t have to pay them this time.”

Zach scowled. “A good man is worth his wage. It’s a g-g-good lesson for them to learn.”

After a long pause, Ben gave his head a single nod. “All right. You drive a hard bargain. If you insist on paying them, then go ahead.”

Zach wouldn’t have it any other way. He loved his seven-year-old niece and Luke, an eleven-year-old boy Ben had taken under his wing two years ago. The boy’s mother had lived a harlot’s lifestyle. Ben’s caring influence on the boy had gone a long way in giving the child a chance. When a fire had nearly taken the boy’s life, and his mother’s, she’d made a dramatic turn for the good. She’d even worked alongside Ben and his wife, Callie, to get the Seeds of Faith Boarding House, a refuge for women in need of a fresh start, off the ground.

Ivy cleared her throat. “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I am so tired I think I may fall over.”

Jerked out of his discomfort, Zach stepped around the table to stand beside her. He’d caught her in his arms once already today. He’d catch her again, if need be.

“You’ll have to come over and have dinner with my family when you’re feeling rested,” Ben remarked.

The smile she gave Ben had Zach wishing for one himself. “Thank you. I would love that,” she replied.

Ben nodded her way. “You’ll let me know if your father needs anything. Right?”

“Yes, of course.” Her eyelashes whispered down over her eyes.

“G-G-Good night, Ivy,” Zach said, keeping his voice low as he ushered her to the stairway. He would’ve walked her on up to her bedroom door just to make sure she was all right, but in no way did he wish to appear overly eager. Nor did he want to seem at all inappropriate.

“Good night, Zach,” she responded, the hint of jasmine wafting to his senses as she ascended the generous staircase.

As her footsteps faded, Zach turned to face his brother.

Ben gave a long sigh as Zach walked back into the room. “All right. Tell me what’s going on.”