Page 18 of Buttercup Farms

“Having trouble sleeping?” Lucas asked as he came out of the bedroom. “Beer?”

“Love one,” she answered, “and yes, I couldn’t sleep, so I got up to look at the video you sent, and to think about what’s next.”

“What do you mean by next?” Lucas asked.

“I’ve never seen my son act like kids his age,” she answered. “He loves it here, and he is opening up in ways I never thought possible. He actually wants to go outside, and before we went to sleep, he said that he wanted to walk out to the barn by himself tomorrow to talk to the animals.”

“Do I hear a ‘but’?” Lucas sat down on the end of the sofa and pulled her feet over into his lap.

“You do,” she said with a nod. “I like you, Lucas, and Theron thinks you are a superhero, but what happens when we go home? What happens when…”

“What if that never had to happen?” he asked.

“We can’t stay here forever,” Vada said.

“Why? I like having company, and you’re a fantastic cook. I could hire you, and Theron could be my sidekick,” he said. “Why don’t we leave the end date open. You can stay as long as you and Theron want.”

“That’s very generous of you.” Vada smiled. “I just keep thinking that if he’s come so far in less than a week, what could happen if he has more time.”

Lucas reached under the blanket and began to massage Vada’s feet. “We can give him all the time he needs.”

“Thank you for that,” Vada said. “Can you imagine being in college when you were only twelve years old?”

“No, I couldn’t imagine being in college when I was eighteen. That’s why I went to work on a ranch,” Lucas said. “I wasn’t book smart like my brothers, but I loved ranchin’. Still do. I was serious, Vada, about you staying on. You can do your work here. I’ll find a desk somewhere on the ranch for you, and you can cook for me and Theron to pay your way.”

She groaned and then clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Does that mean you hate the idea?” he asked.

See there, you didn’t do it right, the niggling voice in his head said.You should have been more romantic—told her that you wanted her to stay because you have feelings for her, not because you like her fried chicken.

“No, it means that I’ve never had a foot massage before. That is downright glorious,” she muttered.

“Never?” he asked. “Have all the men you’ve dated been idiots?”

“I haven’t dated in years. Theron has…well, you know,” she said.

Lucas slowly shook his head from side to side. “A man would be lucky to get to know that boy. He’s so smart and has such a big heart. He just wants someone to accept him just like he is.”

“Yep, but there aren’t many men like you out there,” she said.

“Don’t I know it,” he said with a sigh.

Vada pulled her feet back and scooted over next to Lucas. She laid her head on his shoulder and said, “Lucas Ryan, I have never met anyone like you—and I like you a lot.”

Lucas slipped an arm around Vada’s shoulders and kissed her on the forehead. It felt oh, so right to sit there in a simple bunkhouse with her in the semi-darkness with a ten-year-old boy sleeping soundly across the room in a top bunk. If this was what having a family of his own felt like, then he wanted to hold on to Vada and Theron forever.

***

The air was so crisp that it looked like smoke came out when Vada exhaled. Her face was chilled by the time they’d gone a hundred yards from the truck, but she could still feel the warmth of Lucas’s kiss on her forehead from the night before. She hadn’t known what to expect when she awoke that morning, but he had acted like nothing had happened the night before.

Enjoy the day and stop trying to analyze everything,her grandmother’s voice seemed to float on the cold wind.

“Yes, ma’am,” she muttered.

“I’m not a ma’am,” Theron said, “Who are you talking to?”

“I was thinking about something my grandmother said,” Vada answered. No way was she telling Theron that occasionally her granny popped into her head. He would be researching the issue of hearing voices and what it meant.

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