Big Girls Don’t Cry (Dundee, Idaho #6)(74)
Author: Brenda Novak

A single tear slid down her cheek as she thought of how badly she was going to miss him. Certainly she wouldn’t be very good company tonight.

I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? she wrote.

There was a long pause. Then, What’s going on?

I’m tired.

So we’ll sleep…

Not tonight.

Seriously?

She told herself to say yes and sign off, to let it go at that, but she couldn’t.

When were you going to tell me that your grant came through?

Several seconds passed, but finally, she got another response. I told you from the beginning that it would, Reenie.

I guess you did, she said. Good night.

SLEEP SHOULD’VE COME easy. Isaac had been so involved with Reenie he’d barely closed his eyes the past five weeks. But he didn’t feel as though he belonged in his own bed anymore. He missed having her head on his shoulder while they talked and laughed, missed rolling over whenever he wanted to make love, missed waking with her arm tossed possessively over his torso.

They had so little time left. Why was she wasting it?

The amber numerals on his alarm clock flipped from 3:43 a.m. to 3:44 a.m. He’d be exhausted in the morning.

With a frown, he wondered if whoever had coined the phrase Thank God, it’s Friday, had experienced what Isaac was experiencing right now. He’d never been so grateful to know that Saturday was just around the corner. Only one more day of school. Then Keith would take the girls and he and Reenie could spend the entire weekend together.

If she’d see him. At this point, he wasn’t sure what she was thinking. But he knew what would’ve been the fastest three weeks of his life would turn into the slowest if she decided to break things off early.

Frustrated, he got up and pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. As June approached, the days were getting longer and warmer, but it was still chilly early in the morning.

A light wind rustled the trees as he slipped out the front door and strode to his truck. As usual, the houses around him were dark, the streets empty. He drove through town, parked at the periphery of Elzina Brown’s property, which had become his favorite spot, and walked the rest of the way.

Fortunately, the key Reenie always left out for him was still under the geraniums next to the door, which made him feel slightly better. He let himself in as quietly as possible and peeked into Reenie’s bedroom to see that she was sleeping soundly. Spike was there, lying at the foot of the bed. But he didn’t bark. He knew Isaac. He simply lifted his head, jumped to the floor and followed as Isaac went out to do the chores.

The horse whinnied when he patted her; the chickens followed him, scratching in the dirt until he spread their feed. He was a little earlier than usual, but Jersey, the cow, merely looked back, swished her tail and continued to chew as he milked her.

Once he finished at the chicken coop, he left Spike in the yard to do his business, and took the eggs he’d washed in a basin near the barn into the house. A moment later, a noise down the hall caught his attention. He expected to find Reenie there, but when he looked up, he saw that it was Isabella.

“What are you doing here?” she asked with a curious tilt of her head.

He and Reenie had slept together a lot over the past month or so. Other than that time in the supply closet, they hadn’t come close to being discovered. So he found it rather ironic that Isabella would catch him at the house the one night he hadn’t spent in her mother’s bed. “Feeding the animals and milking Jersey,” he said. “What are you doing up, little one?”

“I had a bad dream.”

She looked flushed. He wondered if she was getting sick. “Come here.”

She padded closer, staring up at him with eyes almost as lovely as Reenie’s while he pressed his palm to her forehead. Sure enough, she felt warm.

“How does your tummy feel?” he asked.

“Kinda rumbly.”

“Rumbly as in hungry?”

She shook her head.

“Do you think you need to throw up?”

A grimace passed over her face. “No. Will you lie down with me?” she asked, instantly brightening.

Isaac didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t mind helping her get back to sleep, but he was fairly certain Reenie wouldn’t approve of the contact. She’d been pretty militant—too militant as far as he was concerned—about keeping him away from her daughters.

“My daddy lies down with me sometimes,” she said when he didn’t answer right away. “When I don’t feel good.”

But Isaac wasn’t her daddy. He opened his mouth to tell her she’d better go get her mom, then paused. He hated to wake Reenie. “Grab your blanket and bring it out here,” he said. “We’ll sit in the rocking chair, okay?”

AT SIX-THIRTY in the morning, Reenie stumbled through the living room on her way to the kitchen. She had to take care of the animals, then shower so she’d be able to get the girls off to school before eight-thirty. But she was having difficulty waking up. Not only was she sleep deprived, she was mentally resisting consciousness. She didn’t want to think about Isaac, and she knew, as soon as she came fully awake, he’d be the first thing on her mind.

“Life goes on,” she muttered to herself, angry that after everything she’d been through, she could still be so vulnerable. But then she saw the basket of eggs on her counter, heard a movement over by the television, and realized it wasn’t Spike.

Heart pounding at the unexpected intrusion, she whirled to find Isaac sitting in the rocking chair next to the fireplace. Isabella was bundled in a blanket on his lap. The noise she’d made while getting up must’ve awakened him because he was shifting in his seat and his eyes were open.

When their gazes engaged, Reenie felt a whole bunch of mixed-up emotions. “What are you doing here?” she whispered, pressing a hand to her heart to slow her pulse.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

She waved to the counter. “So you came over to gather my eggs?”

He grinned. “I figured you wouldn’t mind.”

She didn’t. It had been wonderful having his help over the past several weeks.

She nodded toward Isabella. “What’s up with my baby?”

“She came out while I was putting away the eggs. She wasn’t feeling well and wanted me to lie down with her. I figured this was a better option.”

“Why didn’t you wake me? I would’ve taken care of her.”

“There was no need. I was up already.”