“I’m thinking that makes me just about the perfect job candidate.”
“No,” Shannon said, swiping her forearm across her forehead. “The perfect job candidate would be an animal lover. I don’t remember you being one of those.”
“Is that a requirement for the job?”
“If it is, I may be in trouble,” Freddie Jo said.
“What do you mean?” Shannon said. “You’re an animal lover.”
“Not all animals. I’m not too crazy about the llamas. They spit.” She turned to Luke. “But as long as you treat them right, that’s all that matters.”
Shannon had to admit that even though Luke had never clucked and cooed over the puppies and kittens, he certainly hadn’t mistreated them, so that was no excuse for not hiring him now.
So what was her excuse?
“You don’t want the job,” she said. “Trust me. It pays next to nothing.”
“I don’t need much.”
“The apartment is tiny. You can barely turn around in it.”
“It’s a place to sleep and shower. What else does a man really need?”
“There’s no TV.”
“Who needs a TV?”
“You’re a man,” she said. “It’s part of your genetic makeup. You can’t go against nature.”
“It’s only for a little while. Three months. That’s it. Once I’m ready to climb back up on a bull again, I’ll be out of here.”
“Right. And that’s a problem. I’m looking for a permanent employee.”
“Yeah? How’s that been working out for you?”
Shannon opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Damn it. Why was he doing this to her?
“He’s right,” Freddie Jo said. “Somebody temporary beats the nobody we have right now.” She turned to Luke. “You’re hired.”
Shannon whipped around. “Excuse me?”
“It’ll take me a bit to get you set up on the payroll,” Freddie Jo went on. “But soon as I do—”
“Hey!” Shannon said.
Freddie Jo blinked innocently. “What?”
“You can’t hire people!”
“Really?” Freddie Jo said. “But you told me I could.”
“When did I tell you that?”
“Two weeks ago when that Labrador mama was having her babies. You stayed overnight in the caretaker’s apartment and said the bed was like sleeping on a sack of rocks. You said, ‘Freddie Jo, I’ve had enough of this. If you run across somebody for the caretaker’s job, you hire him on the spot.’”
“You know I didn’t mean it like that!”
“Well, then, you’d better watch what you say, honey. You know me. I’m a little slow. I take things kinda literally.”
Shannon frowned. “Can I see you outside?”
Without waiting for a response, Shannon grabbed her by the arm and hustled her out of the barn. Once they were clear of the door, Shannon spun around.
“Do you have any clue who that is?” she whispered.
“Sure I do, honey. Luke Dawson.”
“Exactly! So you must know I don’t want him around here!”
“Yeah, I know. But when you were talking about him, you left out the part about him being one fine-looking man.”
“You’re a married woman. What would Carl say if he heard you talking like this?”
“Just fighting fire with fire. You should hear what he says about the girls on the Harley Davidson calendar.”
Shannon closed her eyes and shook her head.
“Okay,” Freddie Jo said. “Let’s forget for a minute that Luke Dawson is a hundred-and-eighty-pound box of eye candy. You need a caretaker, and he’s willing to take the job. Who else you gonna get who doesn’t mind living in that dinky apartment and getting paid next to nothing?”
Shannon couldn’t believe this was happening. She felt the weight of her history with Luke welling up inside her. She didn’t want to do this. She just didn’t.
“In the time it takes you to feed the horses,” Freddie Jo went on, “you could be on the phone scrounging up more money for this place. Writing more grant proposals. Begging a few more goodies from pet food companies. That’s what you’re good at. And you wouldn’t be wearing yourself to the bone.”
“I don’t mind doing everything.”
“I know you don’t. But honey, taking care of the animals…that’s hard work.”
Shannon felt a stab of guilt. “I know it is. You’ve taken on a lot, too, and I appreciate it. I’m just sorry to have to ask you to do it.”
“You know I’ll help you till I drop dead. But it’s you I’m worried about. As much as the rest of us pitch in, you do twice as much. And that’s not good for any of us.”
Freddie Jo was right. She was tired right down to her shoe soles.
“None of us has to do nearly as much if we can find somebody to do it