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Despite the fact she’d only been officially single for two weeks, it felt like a lot longer than that to Gretchen, whose heart had checked out of her relationship with Briggs years ago. It didn’t help that she used romance novels as an escape from her shitty existence, so that eighteen-year-old girl—who’d chosen so fucking wrong—was now twenty-four and couldn’t help dreaming big. Couldn’t help but wonder if there was a man out there like the heroes in her books, who would love her for who she was, who would be kind and protective and…not hit her.
She pushed those thoughts away, because even if Theo was as nice as he seemed, he wasn’t the guy for her.
“Theo tells me he’s teaching you to drive,” Claire said.
“He is. I grew up in a city with good public transportation, so I never bothered to learn.” So far, everyone had accepted Gretchen’s explanation for not being able to drive at face-value.
Claire took a sip of wine. “My boys have been driving around the farm from the time they were thirteen years old, Theo even earlier. He was the third boy, after Levi and Sam, and I swear he spent his entire childhood trying to keep up with his big brothers. I knew it had gotten out of hand when I caught him behind the wheel of our old farm-use truck, sitting on one of the pillows from my couch to give him the extra inches he needed to see out the windshield.”
Gretchen’s eyes widened. “How old was he?”
Claire shrugged. “He probably wasn’t much more than ten years old.”
“Did he wreck the truck?”
His mom laughed. “Good Lord, no. The only reason I caught him was because I was hanging clothes on the line when he returned. That boy pulled up, cool as an evening breeze, put the truck in park, and climbed out like he was king of the universe. I told him flat out he was too young to drive, and that I’d better never catch him behind the wheel again. Even threw in that ‘wait until your dad gets home’ line, because I was hopping mad.”
Gretchen couldn’t help but grin as Claire told her story with serious country charm. “What did Theo say?”
“That scamp hadn’t just taken a joyride around the farm. He’d driven down into the valley!”
“What?” Gretchen couldn’t imagine a ten-year-old driving off the mountain, then around town, even if Gracemont was small and traffic was always light.
“He had the nerve to claim I couldn’t be mad because he’d done me a favor. Apparently, he’d driven all the way to the Mills’ farm to buy some eggs because we were out.”
“Mr. Mills didn’t take the keys away from him?”
After she asked the question, Gretchen glanced at Tim Mills and Edith, only to discover they’d finished their own conversation and were now listening to Claire’s story.
“Oh, I would have,” Tim reassured her. “But I’d been out in the field and my wife was in the kitchen baking. At the time, we had an honor system on egg pickup. Folks put their money in an envelope with their name on it and helped themselves to eggs. When Claire called to tell me Theo had gotten eggs from us, I went out to the money box and sure enough, there was Theo’s name on an envelope, the cash inside.”
Gretchen couldn’t help but laugh. “Wow. He sounds like he was a handful.”
“That’s what you took from that story?” Theo asked, joining their small circle.
“What should I have taken?” she asked.
“Obviously, that I was an extremely thoughtful, considerate child, and a brilliant protégé, destined to be a titan of industry or NASCAR driver or both.”
Claire reached over, lightly slapping Theo’s forearm. “I don’t know about all that, but I’ll agree you are thoughtful, and you can charm honey from the bees with that smile of yours. Gretchen, I swear he was so sweet and sincere as he handed me those eggs, I forgot to be mad.”
“You might have forgotten, but Dad’s a tougher nut to crack. I spent the entire next day washing and detailing that truck, the tractor, and the family car. Every time I thought I was done, he pulled up another vehicle.”
“An appropriate punishment,” Claire said. “Theo had an aversion to cleaning anything. His room when he was a teenager was despicable. Told him he was living inside a trash can.”
“At least he’s gotten a little better about it,” Sam chimed in. “Of course, Levi and I had to nag the hell out of him after he first moved in with us, to whip him into shape.”
Theo snorted. “I thought this was a welcome party for Gretchen. Must have missed my invitation to the Theo roast.”
Sam threw his arm around his brother’s shoulders. “Seems only fair Gretchen has a clear picture of exactly who she’s working for.”
“Gretchen.” Theo shook off his brother’s arm, gesturing toward an old wooden picnic table that was laden with food. She had to hand it to the citizens of Gracemont. They sure knew how to eat. “Dinner is served. As the guest of honor, you get to go first.”
Apparently, Gretchen picking up a paper plate was the signal to go, as the football game abruptly ended, everyone jostling for position in line to fill their plates.
She’d finished her second helping when her cell rang. Pulling it from the pocket of her jacket, her heart raced when she saw Brenda’s name.
Gretchen excused herself, stepping well out of hearing distance as she answered.