All Summer Long (Fool's Gold #9)

Gil stopped. He glanced back at his daughter who was bright red and still crying. “You swear?”


“We can go see Dr. Galloway if you want. I wouldn’t do that. Not with him.”

Gil glanced between them. “All right, then.”

Clay stepped toward him and lowered his voice. “I’m still sorry, sir. Nate worked for me and that makes what happened my responsibility.”

“Worked?” Gil’s gaze was steady.

Clay nodded.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.”

He motioned for his daughter to get in the car. He got in, as well, and they drove away. Clay watched Khatar work his way free and stroll over. The big horse ignored Nate and walked to Clay, as if showing where his loyalties lay.

Nate shuffled his feet then stuck his hands in his back pockets. “I didn’t do anything to her.”

“You took her out.”

“That’s my business.”

“It is. But I’ve got no use for you here. This is a small town. You don’t respect that or me. I’m going to write you a check for the pay I owe you, plus two weeks. If I see you around here again, I’ll escort you out of town myself. Am I clear?”

Nate nodded and took a step toward the barn. “I’ll go get my things.”

“You do that.”

Getting rid of Nate only solved one problem, Clay realized. It wasn’t that he had chosen the wrong man that bothered him so much. It was the fact that he hadn’t listened to his gut when he should have. He knew better. Now he had to figure out what other mistakes he’d made and how he was going to fix them.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHARLIE TUCKED HER feet under her as she sat on her sofa. “You’re taking this too much to heart.”

Clay, normally easygoing and optimistic, stared past her. His mouth was tight, his expression troubled. “I screwed up. I’m the one who hired Nate. I know about two girls. Who knows how many others there were.”

Charlie wanted to point out the young women in question had at least been over sixteen, but didn’t think that information would help. Nate had been a dog when it came to dating habits. The girls might have been plenty willing, but they were far too young.

“I talked to the police chief,” he said. “She assured me Nate is gone. Last she saw, he was heading over the mountains.”

“Good riddance.”

“It’s not enough. Dammit, Charlie, why did I choose him?”

“Because you thought you were doing the right thing. Because he had experience and when you ran a background check, he was clean.”

“He’s still clean,” Clay muttered. “He didn’t break the law and it’s not illegal to be a jerk.”

“Too bad.” She reached out and put her hand on his. “You made a mistake. Now you learn from it.”

“That’s it? I’d feel better if you’d at least yell at me.”

“Sorry. I’m not in the mood to yell. Everyone screws up. You found out the truth about Nate and fired him. That’s the right thing. You’ll do better next time.”

“I should have listened to my gut. But I went with experience because I didn’t trust myself. Which means there were two mistakes.”

“We can come up with a whole list of them, if you want. Does that help?”

He managed a faint smile. “Using logic against me? That’s kind of low.”

“I get in my hits where I can.”

He laced his fingers between hers. “Thanks for listening. And kicking me when I’m down. It keeps things in perspective.” He drew in a breath. “Maybe I can’t do this.”

“You can.”

She leaned in and kissed him. Despite everything going on, his mouth was willing. Warm and ready to claim hers. A quality she found she liked in a man. She raised her arms and put them on his shoulders.

“I can think of a few things that will make you feel better,” she said, resting her forehead against his.

“Yeah? Like what?”

“I could take all your clothes off and—”

Someone knocked on her front door.

Charlie glanced up and swore. “If that’s my mother, I’m sending her back to New York. Seriously, I’ll pay for overnight delivery.”

Clay chuckled.

Charlie stood and walked to the door. But when she pulled it open she found an unfamiliar man standing there. He was dressed in a work shirt and jeans, but carried a briefcase.

“I’m Miles Tessler,” he said. “I’m looking for Clay Stryker. His brother said I could find him here.”

Clay appeared at her side. “I’m Clay.”

Miles held out a business card for a seed company. “If I could have a few minutes of your time, Mr. Stryker.”

Charlie led the way in to the living room. Miles glanced around, then looked at them. If she had to pick an emotion, she would say he was both nervous and scared. Neither boded well for his news.

“I understand you’ve already planted your fall alfalfa crop,” he began.

“Last week.”

“Unfortunately, the seed we sent you has developed a problem. It’s technical so I won’t get into the details right now. Suffice it to say that it’s poisoned.”