Betting on Love Read online

  “Or maybe he’s just a male chauvinist pig.”

  Gracie frowned. “You have Drew pegged wrong. He’s a good Christian man.” She took a drink of her sweet tea. “By the way, are you planning to come to church tomorrow?”

  Melody wrinkled her nose. Church seemed to be all everyone in this town ever talked about. She’d agreed to go a few times with her aunt and uncle, but she didn’t really care much for it. All the preacher ever talked about was having a personal relationship with the Lord. Well, she’d done just fine without that personal relationship for twenty-four years. Why would she all of a sudden have to have it now? “I don’t know.”

  “Afterward, you could come over for lunch then take a look at our car.”

  Melody squinted. “I thought Christians were supposed to rest on Sunday.”

  Gracie leaned toward her. “Will I be able to convince you to come to church if I promise you can look at my car?”

  Melody grinned at Gracie’s sneaky motives. “Possibly.”

  Gracie smacked her leg. “Then by all means, after church you can come look at my car.”

  Melody shook her head. Since she’d moved to River Run, she’d been working as much as she could to build up her name as a trustworthy mechanic in the area, and Gracie knew she’d like to have the good word of the owner of the town’s hardware store. “Fine. I’ll be there.”

  two

  Drew grabbed the supplies for the house he was going to build then walked up to the counter of the hardware store. In just a few more days he’d have the ground leveled; then he and his friends could start working on the foundation. Having bought the land from his dad several years before, Drew had finally saved enough money to build a modest home.

  After fixing up the cabin Nick had built on his land, Drew had no doubt he and his friends had the know-how to build a small home. Unlike Nick, Drew wasn’t in a rush. They could work on it a bit at a time until it was done. He’d have his own place and no debt. He could use his money as God guided instead of forking it all over to a bank.

  “This all you need?” Wyatt scanned the first item.

  Drew nodded. “For now anyway.”

  Wyatt picked up the spark plug and furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s this for?”

  “The dump truck. I’m pretty sure that’s all that’s wrong with her.”

  “Is it broken or just not running well?”

  “Won’t start up like it should.”

  “Are you sure it’s just a spark plug? Melody came over to the house yesterday after church, and she fixed Gracie’s car in no time flat. I was sure it was—”

  Drew lifted his hand as he peered at his friend. “I believe I know a bit more about vehicles than you.”

  Wyatt raised his hands in surrender. “Hey, don’t be so defensive, man. I wasn’t insulting your abilities. I was just saying Melody really seems to know what she’s talking about—”

  Drew clenched his hand then pounded the counter with the side of his fist. “And you don’t think I do?”

  “What is the matter with you, Drew? Why does she get on your nerves so bad?”

  Drew thought of Melody in the long silver dress she wore as Addy’s bridesmaid. She’d looked amazing with the sides of her thick, dark hair tied in a knot at the back of her head and the rest of it flowing in long curls down her back. Her dark eyes held such depth and mystery. When she walked down the aisle, for a moment, Drew nearly lost his breath.

  Then he’d watched her play with the kids on the merry-go-round. Her expression and body language had been of complete freedom and bliss. Her laughter rang through the breeze with the children’s, and he’d found himself again drawn to her as he’d never been drawn to a woman before.

  Then she’d challenged him to cornhole. The Melody he’d seen when she first arrived in River Run exposed herself. Melody couldn’t simply have fun with the game. She had to win. She had to gloat. Sure, the gloating had only come from her expression, not her lips. Still, Drew had noted it all the same.

  She was the same way when it came to mechanics. She had to prove to everyone that she was the best, that they should trust their transportation to her and no one else. And after years of looking after the vehicles of his family and friends, he took offense to her waltzing into River Run and stomping all over his toes.

  Drew finally looked at Wyatt. “The woman thinks she knows everything.”

  “You mean about vehicles?”

  Drew nodded his head. “That’s one thing she thinks she knows it all about.”

  Wyatt leaned forward against the counter. “She is a nationally certified diesel mechanic.”

  Drew rolled his eyes. “Who cares?”

  “And she’s good.”

  “A lot of people are good. I’m good.”

  Wyatt lifted one eyebrow. “Are you jealous of a girl, Drew Wilson?”

  Drew folded his arms across his chest and growled. “Do I need to whip some sense into you? It’s been a few years since I’ve done it, but you know I can. Of course I’m not jealous of her. It’s her cocky attitude that gets on my nerves.”

  “She did beat you at cornhole.” Wyatt’s mouth curved upward just a tad on the left side, and Drew felt a real urge to punch his friend in the face. Wyatt lifted two fingers in the air. “Twice.”

  Anger boiled within Drew, and he pointed his finger at Wyatt. “Now, look here…”

  Wyatt backed away from the counter. “Actually, you two are a whole lot alike. You’re both so stinkin’ competitive. Have to be the best at everything. But you’re a Christian, and she’s not.”

  Drew’s fury started to simmer. He knew Melody wasn’t a Christian. Addy had prayed for her every night at the dinner table before she and Nick got married.

  Wyatt continued. “Gracie prays for her constantly. She really likes Melody, but the woman’s got some kind of wall all built up around her. She doesn’t want to let anyone in. Not even Gracie, and you know how easy it is for people to open up to Gracie.”

  Drew blew out a long breath. “Addy feels the same way. Nick said Melody was raised by her mom, just the two of them. I guess her mom had to work a lot of hours. Nick said he thought things were kind of hard for Melody.”

  Anger washed across Wyatt’s face as he handed the receipt to Drew. “As long as I have breath in this body, I’ll do everything I can to take care of Gracie and our son. I’d never leave her to fend for herself. I don’t understand a man who could do that.”

  Sobered and feeling thankful for his mother and father, Drew grabbed his bag off the counter. “I’ve got to head on over to the homesite. I’ll talk to you later.”

  His heart felt heavy as he made his way back to his truck. He loved the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. At least he’d always believed he did. Sure, he knew he was a bit competitive and could be a bit mule headed at times. He wasn’t perfect, but he always wanted to be sensitive to God’s guiding and what God wanted from him.

  After turning the ignition, he prayed silently as he started down the road. God, Wyatt’s right. I have been defensive when it comes to Melody. I don’t know what it is about her that rubs me the wrong way. Forgive me, Lord. Help me be a better witness for You.

  He slammed his brakes when a small mutt ran into the middle of the road. The contents of the hardware bag fell out onto the floor of the truck. He saw the spark plugs, and an idea popped into his head.

  He groaned as he lifted his cap off his head, wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand, then placed the cap back on. “God, isn’t there some other way?”

  His heart felt as if it had been nudged again, and Drew cringed as he took the cell phone out of his pocket. “God, I wouldn’t do this for anyone but You.”

  Hands filled with various vegetable seedlings, Melody followed her aunt Renee outside to the newly tilled garden. She felt like a fish out of water helping her aunt with plants and flowers. Melody knew everything there was to know about cleaning a house, doing laundry, and even fixing all kinds of things from televisions to microwaves to car engines, but she’d had absolutely no experience messing with Mother Nature.

  “Okay, Melody.” Aunt Renee set down the plants then pointed to the right side of the huge garden area. Melody followed her lead and placed her plants on the ground. “I’m going to have you put the cucumbers over there. They need plenty of room to spread out.”

  Melody nodded. “Okay. Which ones are the cucumbers?”

  Aunt Renee picked up a tray with six plants. She handed them to Melody with a wry grin. “The ones with the picture of a cucumber on the tag.”

  “Make fun of me all you want, Aunt Renee.” Melody smiled as she gently touched the dainty green leaves on the plants. “You’re the crazy one for letting me touch these poor things.”

  “You’ll be fine.” She handed her a small shovel. Melody had never seen one so small. It was kind of cute. “Plant them about a foot apart.”

  Melody nodded. She headed to her spot then surveyed the area where she was to plant the cucumbers. A foot apart seemed awfully far, but she didn’t know anything about gardening, so she’d have to trust her aunt.

  Melody knelt down and touched the soft earth. It actually felt nice and cool and squishy between her fingers. Her aunt had fussed all morning about getting the garden out about a week and a half later than she normally did, but Nick and Addy’s wedding had taken precedence over the garden.

  Might as well get to it, Melody chided herself. She wasn’t sure how deep to dig. She glanced over at her aunt, who appeared quite busy with what Melody believed were the tomato plants—although she had no idea why her aunt was placing circular wire contraptions over the small plants.

  She shrugged. If the plants had to be a foot away from each other, they probably needed to be around a foot deep. She gazed at the small plants. But the cucumber seedlings were probably only six inches tall at the most.

  Just do it. If I can fix an engine, I can plant a cucumber.

  She stuck the small trowel into the earth and shoveled out several shovelfuls of dirt. Once she had a good-sized mound beside the hole, she firmly stuck the plant inside then covered most of it with the mound.

  I would say the plants need plenty of water, so I’ll build the dirt up around the plant; that way it will kind of be like a bowl to catch the rain.

  Still unsure if she’d planted it deep enough, she looked at the small bit of cucumber plant that stuck out from the circular hole she’d created. She had no idea if it looked right or not. Peering over at her aunt, she watched her put another wire contraption over another plant. Blowing out her breath, Melody decided it was good enough and started a hole for the next plant.

  Once she’d finished three more plants, she realized a shadow fell over her. She looked up to find Aunt Renee standing over her with her hands on her hips.

  “Melody, what are you doing?” Her aunt’s voice was calm and smooth.

  Melody furrowed her eyebrows, unable to see her aunt’s expression because of the sunlight. “I’m planting cucumbers.”

  “Are you planting them or burying them?”

  Melody cupped her hand over her eyebrows trying to shield the sun. “What do you mean?”

  A smile bowed Aunt Renee’s lips, and she turned toward the other side of the garden. “Roy, come over here. You gotta see this.”

  Melody watched as her uncle walked toward them. She looked down at the cucumber plants, trying to figure out what her aunt thought was so humorous. She’d planted them a foot apart. She’d stuck them in the ground, even made kind of a bowl shape around them allowing them plenty of opportunity to hold water. A little bit of each plant stuck up from the top.

  She stood and wiped her hands on her hips while her uncle made his way beside them. An obnoxious laugh snorted from Uncle Roy’s mouth when he looked at her plants. “Melody, what were you thinking?”

  She crossed her arms in front of her chest, trying not to feel foolish or defensive. “What?”

  Aunt Renee bent down and pulled the first plant out of its crater. She filled most of the hole then gently placed the seedling into a much smaller hole and pushed dirt around it. “The plants need to be closer to the top to get the sunlight. And you want the dirt to go downward, away from the plant. The plants would drown the other way around.”

  “I told you I don’t know what I’m doing.” Melody tried to smile as she spoke through gritted teeth. She tried to swallow back her embarrassment as she thought of the many times her mother had chided her about her need to do everything right the first time—her need for perfection.

  “You’re doing fine. You’re learning. You gave us a good laugh this morning.” Uncle Roy patted her back. “Remember the last time you got a good laugh from me.”

  Melody’s mind replayed the time Uncle Roy had tried to fix his muffler with wire and duct tape. She’d been both appalled and tickled by the mess he’d made of the poor car part. She grinned. “I sure do.”

  Aunt Renee shook her head, obviously remembering as well. She pointed to the buried cucumber plants. “Go ahead and fix those. You know how to do it now.”

  Melody nodded and bent down to her work as her aunt and uncle walked back to their spots in the garden. Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Flustered, she tried to wipe as much dirt as possible onto her jean shorts then dug into her pocket for the phone. She pulled it out and pressed the TALK button. “Hello.”

  Silence. She pulled it away from her ear to see if she’d lost the connection. She didn’t recognize the number, but they were still connected. She put it back to her ear. “Hello,” she tried again.

  The caller cleared his throat. “Hello, Melody?”

  She pulled the phone away from her ear to look at the number again. She furrowed her brows. The caller sounded an awful lot like Addy’s brother, Drew. But surely he’d be the last person on the planet to call her. She placed the phone back against her ear. “Yes, this is she.”

  The caller cleared his throat again. “Umm. This is Drew—Addy’s brother.”

  A sudden panic gripped her heart. The only reason he’d call her was if something happened to Addy or to Nick. Maybe he’d called her because he didn’t know how to tell Uncle Roy and Aunt Renee that something happened. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to Addy and Nick?”

  “What?” He sounded confused. “No. No. As far as I know they’re fine. Haven’t heard from them, but then I wouldn’t expect to.” He chuckled then stopped. “I need to ask a favor of you.”

  Suspicion filled her gut. What would Drew Wilson want from her? A rematch at cornhole? To try to make her look silly? He’d made it abundantly obvious he thought she was just a silly little woman. Pride swelled within her, and a slow grin formed on her lips. But she’d proven herself better than him in every way he’d challenged her.

  “Did you hear me? I need your help,” he said.

  “Okay. What do you need?”

  “The dump truck I’m using. It doesn’t start up well. Sometimes I can’t get her going at all. I was wondering if you’d come look at it.”

  Melody squinted. “You can’t fix it yourself?”

  “I need your help.”

  Even over the phone, she could tell saying those four words had taken a lot out of him. And even though she felt he was probably up to something, Melody was itching to have the opportunity to work on some heavy machinery. “Okay. I’ll come over after lunch. Your house, right?”

  “Actually, it’s at my homesite. I’m building my own house. I’ll meet you at my parents’ house and bring you on out here.”

  “Okay.” Melody clicked the phone off. Bending down she tried to focus on the cucumber plants once more. Her heartbeat sped up, and a knot twisted in her gut. It was kind of weird. She’d never been so excited to see an oversized truck.

  three

  Melody admired Kentucky’s idyllic scenery as she followed behind Drew’s pickup. He’d invited her to ride along with him, but she’d insisted she might need the tools packed in the back of her truck. Now she could drink in the rolling grass-covered hills dotted with trees of various kinds and sizes. Cattle grazed on the right side of the road, and Melody smiled as two calves chased each other in the field.

  The old gravel road took them past a slightly swollen, rolling creek. She wondered about the crawdads that most definitely lived within it, reminiscing about a time when she and some friends spent an afternoon fishing for the small lobsterlike critters.

  The ride was peaceful, serene. It was beautiful, awe inspiring. She thrilled at the idea of living in such a place. Though she’d been raised in a small town, her mother could only afford a small apartment in town. She’d relished the times she’d been able to romp the countryside with friends, always longing to live close to Mother Nature and away from people. People didn’t treat each other right. They lied. They abandoned. They mistreated. It was one of the reasons she loved machines so much. She didn’t need someone else to help her work on one. It was a solo activity, most of the time anyway. The road grew narrower and less traveled. For a moment, the trees seemed to grow thicker around them. Then they opened up into a beautiful cleared-out field.

  Melody took in the machinery, spying the dump truck she assumed she was to look at. She noted the flags marking the spot of Drew’s future home. Just beyond the markings, she saw a good-sized pond. He’d practically be able to cast a line off his back porch. The idea of it made her smile.

  Drew stopped his truck then hopped out. Melody followed his lead. He swiped his hand across the expanse of the place. Pride radiated from him. “Here it is.” He looked down at her, and Melody was surprised that his gaze held a hint of need for approval.

  She swallowed the knot in her throat. It was the first time she’d noted any kind of vulnerability in Drew, and if she could allow herself to be honest with him, she’d tell him how amazing she thought the place would be. Instead her defenses took control, and her words came out flat and elusive. “It’s nice.”