thought my underwear was pretty enough,” she whispered, looking over her shoulder. No one was around.
“I like to give presents to the women in my life. Grandma Palmer—”
Laughing, she hit him in the arm. “Let’s not go there. I just wanted you to know in case there’s some kind of backlash against your grandma in town. Not that you go into town . . .”
“Sure I do. I went to the grocery store, didn’t I? I’ve even played pool at Tony’s Tavern.”
“Not since you’ve been living in the bunkhouse.”
“Keeping an eye on me, Brooke?”
“How can I not? I can see your cabin right out my window.”
“How convenient. Maybe I’ll buy some binoculars.”
“Hey, enough of that. In the retriever, soldier.”
He gave her a slow inspection, his eyes sexy and knowing. “Yes, boss.”
They worked as a unit in the stackyard until the hay bales were balanced two high in a long row on the bed of the truck, then they started down the road toward the first pasture to feed. Adam opened a thermos, and the smell of steaming coffee permeated the cab. He offered her a sip, then took one himself.
“You know how I mentioned my conversation with Steph Sweet?” Brooke asked. “She talked to me about this group of bad kids who are causing trouble—nothing too terrible, some graffiti, hanging out too late at night, that kind of stuff. Although one kid’s brother just got out of jail doing a year for arson.”
“That could have been me,” Adam said, his voice impassive.
“I told her she should ask this boy’s brother, Tyler, to join the teen group, that maybe he was bored and needed something to do.”
Adam arched a dubious brow at her but said nothing.
“All right, maybe I’m being optimistic here, but she seemed to dwell on this kid, like she felt sorry for him. And I couldn’t help thinking—what makes some kids, like you, straighten out, and others not?”
He took a thoughtful sip of his coffee. “In some ways, I think it was luck that I tangled with the right person. It was Coach McKee’s car I stole, and you could have blown me away when he showed up at my hearing. I thought he was there to make sure they put me away in juvenile hall to teach me a lesson. Instead, he spoke up for me, said I was a good kid and deserved a second chance.”
Unspoken, but plain as day, was the knowledge that no one except his grandma had ever called him a good kid. She remembered in seventh grade when a teacher had assumed he’d been the one to throw food in the cafeteria, without a shred of proof. He’d just accepted the punishment without protest, as if he knew not to bother. Could that kind of thing be a self-fulfilling prophecy? Brooke’s stomach tightened with sadness. When your own parents treated you like dirt, it was hard to think otherwise about yourself. “I bet your grandma was at the hearing, too.”
He gave a wry smile. “Front row. I was embarrassed to have her see me like that, knew she was trying not to cry, and for the first time realized that my actions affected someone else. She had an encouraging smile for me, and I knew I hadn’t lost her love.” He looked away.
Brooke had to swallow hard as the love between grandmother and grandson warmed her. “So Coach McKee put you on the football team?”
“As a manager. You have to earn the right to play. No matter how sarcastic I was about my ‘job,’ Coach McKee never took offense. He kept track of me just as he did the rest of his players. And by tryouts the next season, I was convinced I was just as good as any of his team.” He glanced at her mockingly. “I thought rather highly of myself.”
“No!” she said, looking at the road as she drove but putting a hand to her chest. “I’d never have thought that after spending some time in your bed.”
“I’d pinch your ass if you weren’t driving.”
She stuck out her tongue at him. “So go on with your story.”
“There isn’t much more to tell. I started from the bottom and worked my way into a starting position. I took some ribbing, but after my parents, there isn’t much that some kid could say that would affect me. I felt driven to prove Coach wasn’t wrong about me. I’d never worked so hard. And there were rewards, too. Guys who’d never given