Page 78 of One Kind Soul

“Glad to hear you’ll be back.”

Shelly finally met Nicole’s gaze. The woman had pretty green eyes that complemented her auburn hair and fair skin. “I’ve been coming here for a few years now. I never miss opening week.” She wiggled the bag. “Not only are the muffins heavenly, but something about this farm is . . . I don’t know . . . soothing.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Nicole said. “I’ve only been here a few weeks, but this place has gotten into my veins, you know?”

Shelly nodded. “Mr. Shepherd was a bit rough around the edges, but the new owner is friendly.”

“Do you know Christian?” Nicole wondered how old the woman was. She looked about her age. Did she happen to be among the women Christian had dated only to become friends?

“Not personally, no,” Shelly said. “But I’ve seen him around here and he’s always smiling. It adds to the good vibes of the place.”

“He’ll be happy to hear that.”

“You know him?”

“I do and he’s an expert in good vibes.” Wanting to help Shelly if she was indeed a victim of some abuse, Nicole said, “Do you like horses, Shelly?”

“Sure.”

“Want to meet some?”

“Here?” Shelly’s eyebrows rose and she let go of the tight grip she’d had on her sweater. “Right now?”

“Yeah. Christian has two horses, Zip and Clover, and they are the sweetest.” Nicole turned toward the field beside the barn. “C’mon. I’ll introduce you.” Not waiting for Shelly to answer—and potentially say no thanks—Nicole marched away. She was encouraged when shuffling footsteps caught up behind her.

This might not be leading Nicole to a plan for what to do about Lynda, but Shelly looked as if she needed a friend. Thinking first of Tessa and then of the new friends she’d made here in Maplehaven, Nicole knew how powerful friendship could be. If she could extend that to Shelly, she would.

Then she’d deal with Lynda.

****

“We ought to get a newer one of these.” Christian was elbow deep in the old tractor’s guts, trying to diagnose today’s problem. He serviced all the vehicles he used on the farm, but this puppy had seen better days. At some point he’d have to concede that repairs no longer made sense and money would be better spent on an updated model.

“I drove her out here fine,” Ben said. “Then as soon as I got ready to go to work, she made an awful noise and wouldn’t start up again. I tried to figure out the problem myself, but you’re better at this than I am.”

“We all have our special skills at this place,” Christian said. “Our combined areas of expertise are what make us successful.” He groaned as he attempted to loosen a hex nut. “I need other tools.”

“I’ll get ‘em.” Ben stepped to the utility vehicle Christian had used to drive out to the east field. “Fetching tools is more productive than standing around watching you work.”

“Keys are in the ignition still,” Christian said.

“Be right back.” Ben buzzed off, taking a little time to goof around on the utility vehicle by peeling out.

Christian couldn’t blame him. Half the fun of having all these vehicles was seeing what they could do.

He hummed while he tinkered around in the tractor’s engine, imagining tonight when he and Nicole would sleep in the farmhouse again. She had to leave in two days, but knowing she’d be back and he’d have the rest of the details in the farmhouse taken care of by her reappearance made him able to deal with her impending departure.

He worried though. About Lynda. She hadn’t made any overt moves during the past few days, but that didn’t mean she’d given up. From the way Nicole had described the woman, revenge wouldn’t be something she’d bail on. She wanted Nicole to pay for putting her in jail and she’d most likely not quit until she’d achieved her goal.

But what was her exact goal? Because so far she’d attacked Christian directly. His store, those pictures, snooping around his truck at the lumberyard. They’d all been hits to him. Sure, they upset Nicole, but they weren’t tragic.

Not yet anyway. Would Nicole’s trip back to Kauai offer Lynda the opportunity to get Nicole alone?

Christian let out a growl as he thought about this crazy chick getting anywhere near his woman. He’d spent a long time searching for his soul mate and now that he’d found her—and she actually loved him—he didn’t want anything to stand in their way to the happy future they both deserved.

He banged around in the tractor’s engine for a few more minutes then hopped in the seat. He turned the key and was surprised when the thing roared to life. He couldn’t be sure what it was he’d fixed, but something had worked. For now anyway. It was time to start shopping around for a used tractor in better condition than this one though. A farmer was only as good as his machines.

Christian wiped gunk off his hands on a rag Ben had left behind then he pulled out his phone.