It’s been two long weeks since I walked out of his house and challenged him to prove himself to me. I’ve spent much of that time here or at Abby’s because when I’m at home alone, I second guess what I did. But I haven’t backed down…although I wonder if I should.
Lincoln texts me at least once a day to see how I’m feeling. I know he’s checking on our baby, but I like to think he’s keeping an eye on me as well. Since telling him he has to prove it, the texts telling me something he loves about me have stopped, and not once has he mentioned the incident in his dad’s hospital room, or tried to convince me to change my mind. I hope he’s just giving me what I asked for: time and space. But I also worry maybe he’s thinking about things differently.
Not hearing his voice has killed me. I’ve been tempted to pick up the phone and call him, but I put the ball in his court, and now I have to wait for him to decide what he wants and make his move.
“You okay?” Mom asks.
“What’s Lincoln doing here?”
“He works here,” she says, slipping on her gardening gloves. I watch her squat down and start pulling weeds from the landscaping. “Your dad hired him.”
“When?”
Lifting a hand, she shields the sun from her eyes and looks at me. “Last week sometime. Why?”
I shake my head. “No reason. Just curious, that’s all.”
She gives me a knowing look and smile before turning back to the landscaping. “Better get those sandwiches to the guys. They’re probably starving. Especially Lincoln. That boy has been coming in at the break of dawn and working until well after dark. I don’t think he sleeps.”
Sounds like Lincoln, I think to myself.
Instead of going right and following the path Lincoln took, I turn left and follow the sound of Dad’s and Rhett’s voices. They’re out in the pasture. Dad is mending a fence, and Rhett is sitting on the tailgate of the farm truck, chugging a bottle of water.
“Just in time,” Rhett hollers when I catch his eye. “I’m starving.”
I pull four sandwiches out of the bag, as well as the chips, and set them on the tailgate. “What’s this new project I’ve been hearing about?”
“I bought old man Miller’s property,” Rhett says, nodding toward the south side of the ranch.
Thomas Miller has been a longtime friend of the family, and his ranch butts up to the back of ours. A year ago, Thomas had a stroke and ended up in a nursing home. I knew his wife had talked about selling the land; I just had no idea my family was interested.
My eyebrows shoot up. “That’s like what? Three hundred acres?”
“Four hundred. We’re going to take out the back fence separating the two properties, rework the waterway, and combine the land.”
“Why?”
“Why not?” Rhett counters. “Dad’s looking to retire, and I’ve always wanted to expand. This is the perfect opportunity.”
“How are you going to expand? You and Dad can barely handle what you’ve got now. What are you going to do when he retires? You can’t run this place by yourself.”
“Not plannin’ on it.” Rhett unwraps his sandwich and takes a bite. “That’s why Lincoln is here.”
I nod, trying to keep my face blank, though I have a million questions. “Mom told me Dad hired him. What is he, a ranch hand?”
“For now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean if things go well, Dad and I are going to make him an offer.”
“What kind of offer?”
Rhett lifts a brow. “What’s it matter? I thought you were mad at him.”
My mouth drops open. I glance at Dad to make sure he’s not paying attention.
“He told you?” I whisper, wondering how much Lincoln revealed.