Raining In My Heart (Book One of the McKay's) (28 page)

She slumped against the wall of the house by the door, and
stared into his eyes
;
it took her breath away
,
the way he talked
and she stared with a tear in the corner of her eyes.
"
Goodnight
,
Cade."

"See you in a month
;
we'll do something different the next time
,
"
h
e promised and left.

Julie
watched him pull out of the drive and head down the hill to the bunkhouse. She touched her lips and sighed again. She missed that kiss too
;
she could almost taste the whipped cream
.

Chapter
Fifteen

"Well, don't just stand there, tell me all about it
,
" Letty said as she stood in the doorway of
Julie
's room. "I want every detail."

Julie
came out of her trance and stared at her sister somberly for a moment. "There's not a lot to tell
;
we had dinner, went dancing and came home."

Letty shook her head and put her hand on her hip
.
"Oh no, you don't get off that easy. I saw the look in your eyes and I haven't seen that since you had a crush on
Wade
."

Julie
almost laughed
.
"It was a lot of fun, and interesting. I'm…getting to know Cade better now.
I guess that's a good thing, since he's
Kellie
's father.
"

"Really. And exactly what do you think of him, now?" Letty teased.

"That maybe…"
S
he glanced at Letty and smiled. "I had a crush on the wrong brother."

"I knew it…you like him, don't you?" Letty gushed as she came to sit on the edge of the bed.

"I do like him. He was a complete gentleman and we had a nice talk
,
"
Julie
confirmed.

"And what about him….?" Letty asked.

"I don't know. He didn't kiss me or anything. He sort of described what it might be like."

Letty laid back on the bed and giggled
.
"How romantic. I didn't think
Cade
had it in him. Well…this is interesting."

"You know
,
when
Kellie
suggested this to us, we were both skeptical about dating each other. But the way she laid this out, I don't know…I like it."
Julie
smiled.
"It will give us both time to think and reconsider our feelings, I suppose."

"You're falling in love with him…" Letty stared at her.

"Oh, I don't know about that, but it was a nice date. In fact, it's the best date I've had…"

Letty sat up
.
"Really?"

"Really."
Julie
began undressing and putting her gown on. "Where's
Kellie
?"

"Her and
Wendy
are watching a horror movie
;
Halloween is coming up and that's all that is on. They turned the lights out in the living room and are sitting in the dark."

Julie
looped her arm in Letty's
.
"Shall we join them?"

"Why not
.
" Letty laughed and they went downstairs
both in their pajamas
.

"One thing
…
"
Julie
stopped her on the staircase
.
"I don't want to get
Kellie
's hopes up about anything, so don't mention what I've said, okay
?
"

"My lips are sealed," Letty reassured her.

"You know…I like you an awful lot, Letty."
Julie
chuckled.
"Funny how we sort of grew into each other, isn't it? Especially after all these years."

***

Two weeks later
,
Julie was still trying to
get the date with Cade out of her mind.
She found herself staring out the window to get a glimpse of him, wondering if he might be thinking of her too.
And the fantas
ies she had about that kiss were hot enough to melt chocolate on a cold day.

But on
e day she wandered down to the barn after her chores were done and found
Caleb
alone in the barn.

For a moment
,
Julie
studied him. Something seemed familiar about the man, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Whether it was his clear, calm voice, or his very nature she wasn't sure, but she felt as though she'd met him before…somewhere. But where?

His hair was neatly trimmed as was his beard
;
he stood barely taller than her five foot five. He was a little stooped at the back, but his piercing brown eyes seemed to look right through her. That was it, it was his eyes. Still, she felt as though she she'd met him somewhere.

"Good afternoon," she called to him.

"Good afternoon," he mumbled, not turning around to see who it might be.

"Excuse me, but I sense something familiar about you
Caleb
, I just can't put my finger on it. Have we met before?"

"Not that I know of…" he muttered
, his glance darting off the barn wall as though hunting something to stare at
.
"You probably seen me around."

"I haven't been around,
Caleb
."

His voice brought goose bumps, haunting goose bumps.

When he paid her no mind
,
Julie
became curious. "My daughter really likes you
,
Caleb
. I'd like to get to know you better
, myself
."

"Ain't much to know," he mumbled again.
"I'm just an old horse wrangler."

"Oh, I don't know. Y
ou seem to really open up to
Kellie
.
And she needs friends about now."
Julie
rubbed her boot against the soft dirt.

"Everyone needs a friend, now and again
,
"
Caleb
said
,
bending down to check a hoof on Lightning.

"He's a handsome stallion
,
"
Julie
admired from a short distance.

"Yep, one of the best,"
Caleb
added.
"Only the
Weston
's ride him. He's still got a wild streak."

"Maybe that's what is so familiar about you
;
my dad was one of the best horse wranglers around."

"Do tell."

"You don't like me much, do you
Caleb
?"
Julie
frowned when he wouldn't give her some of his attention.

"Shore, shore I do. Just don't talk much
,
"
Caleb
responded.

"You talk to
Kellie
, though."

"She's a kid. Full of curiosity…."
Caleb
chuckled to himself.
"Besides, talkin' to kids is like talkin' to horses, they listen."

"I'm glad she has someone she can talk to when things are rough for her."
Julie
moved to look at the man closely, but he moved again and she still didn't get a good look. Why did he avoid her so? What was he hiding?

"I heard it was your idea about me dating
Cade
for five months
.
"
S
he thought she might get a reaction from him by getting to the point.
"And only once a month. Kinda unusual, don't you think?"

"Just an old fashioned notion, I guess. Gives a person time to sort things out and decide."

"Decide what?"

"Whether they like each other or not. Whether they are anxious for the next date."

"Never looked at
it
that way, but I guess you are right."

"Long time ago, people didn't have a lot of time to make up their mind about whether they liked someone or not. They might not see them for ages. It's the looking forward
-
to's that make things quicken up in a relationship."

"No wonder
Kellie
likes you so much
;
you are a pretty deep thinker for a horse wrangler."

"Thanks."
The old man nodded
.
"
Kellie
wants a mother and a father. Pretty normal if you ask me."

"Yes, but it's an unusual dating schedule if I ever heard one."

The old man moved far back into the corner but faced her. She couldn't see his face that well, because of the shadows, but at least she fe
lt she had his full attention
.

"
Guess so.
It'll be good for
Mr.
Cade
;
he works too hard around here. 'Bout time he shuffled those boots in a different direction."

"Hasn't he ever had…anyone…I mean…a girl of his own?"

"Nope, not Cade. I think he was sweet on someone a long time ago, but he keeps himself busy doing good things for himself and others, gotta admire that in him.
Don't think your Pa appreciated him enough, nor saw all he did. That's a downright shame.
Wade
got most the credit fer runnin' this place.
Cade's shy, he don't want no limelight. He's a self
-
made man, kinda like your Pa was.
Maybe why your Pa didn't see it.
"

"Yes,
even
I can see that now…"

"A girl would be loco to let him get away."
Caleb
eyed her for a mome
n
t then turned away again.

"You think a lot of him, don't you?"

"You betcha."

"Well, for what it's worth, thank you, for being there for
Kellie
."

"
She wants what every kid wants, a happy home life. And from the sounds of it, she hasn't been getting it.
Late nights with sitters, no father figure, a mother that had to work all the time to support her.
I figured up the time schedule for the dating, because I figured if I gave her enough time, she'd adjust to how things are, and…it would give the two of you time to figure out, how you really feel about each other. 'Course I don't know about that, just figured time would tell
,
"
h
e explained then went back to work on Lightning as though the conversation was ended.

Julie
nodded slowly as she thought about it
.
"You know, that was pretty smart thinking, giving her time to adjust to it all. Do you have a family,
Caleb
?"

"Oh sure, sure. Got kids, all grown and moved away. No wife though, she died some time ago. So I'm pretty much on my own
,
"
h
e informed her.

"You don't see your kids much?"
Julie
questioned.

"Nope, they're too
busy."
Caleb
shrugged.
"Life sorta gets in the way of things, if you know what I mean."

"I'm sorry. But I guess I'm guilty as anyone of that myself. So I can't judge them
,
"
Julie
murmured.
"Sometimes we don't mean to be too busy, but paying the bills and taking care of things get in the way of feelings."

"
Yes ma'am.
Sorry about your Pa. I liked him
,
"
Caleb
mumbled.

"Thank you, I'm sorry too. Sorry I didn't come to see him
.
I didn't let
Kellie
get to know him. Just another thing I didn't do right…."
Julie
admonished herself.

"Ain't no right or wrong to it. It's the way things are today. People are too busy, too consumed with making money, getting ahead. They don't take time for the small stuff…until it's too late
,
"
h
e added.