Kate Hoffmann - The Mighty Quinns - Dermot-Dex

“Come on, then,” she said.

Trevor picked up the single suitcase they’d brought along and then hitched his backpack onto his other shoulder. Taylor had a backpack of his own.

“I’m going to check the goats,” Dermot said. “We could really use your help in the barn, guys. If you’re up for it, why don’t you change and come out after you’ve had something to eat.”

“Okay,” Trevor said. He put his arm around Taylor’s shoulders as they climbed the porch steps.

Rachel held the screen door open for them. When they reached the top of the stairs, she pointed to the room across the hall from her bedroom. “I hope you don’t mind sharing. It’s the only room with two beds.”

Trevor stood in the doorway, taking in the surroundings. “It’s good,” he said.

“Good,” Taylor repeated. “Do you have Wi-Fi?”

“Wi-Fi? No,” Rachel said. “There’s a cable hookup in the kitchen. That’s usually where I work. You’re welcome to use my computer to write to your friends or go online.”

“We brought our own laptops,” Taylor said. “I can hook up Wi-Fi if you want. I brought along my router and modem if you have broadband.”

“All right,” Rachel said with a smile. “That would be really nice. You sound like you know what you’re doing with computers.”

Taylor returned her smile. “I’m pretty good at computers. I built my own CPU. I couldn’t bring it along, though.”

“So are you going to do your school work on your computer?” Rachel asked.

“We stopped at the school and mom enrolled us,” Trevor said. “Didn’t she tell you?”

Rachel shook her head. Jane had been so distraught that she’d barely said a word. She was doing all she could to keep from breaking down and Rachel could do nothing but reassure her that she’d take good care of the boys. “That’s good. It’s Friday. We could go to the football game tonight. Maybe you’d have a chance to meet some of the kids?” Trevor gave Taylor an uneasy look and Rachel quickly shook her head. “Maybe it’s best to just get to know the farm first. Why don’t you unpack and then come down when you’re ready?”

She walked out of the bedroom and hurried down the stairs. Dermot was pacing the porch as she stepped outside. “I have no idea what I’m doing. They seem so fragile and terrified. I don’t know what to say.”

“Just leave them alone for now,” he said. “Let them lean on each other. Their whole world has been turned upside down. They don’t know who to trust.”

Rachel grabbed his hand and held it to her heart. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Dermot pulled her toward him and kissed her forehead. “Why don’t you make them something to eat. Even though they say they’re not hungry, boys that age will always eat if you put something in front of them. I’m going to go work on replacing that window in the milk house that got broken in the storm.” He kissed her again, this time on the mouth, his tongue teasing at hers. “What are we going to do about this?” he murmured.

“I’ll meet you right here, after they’ve gone to bed. I’ll bring the wine. You bring yourself.”

“It’s a date.”

He walked down the steps and Rachel smiled to herself. There had been so much going on at the farm lately that she’d forgotten he’d be leaving in another week. If she had the power to stop time, she’d turn off all the clocks at this very moment.

She was happy and hopeful and only a bit worried about the decisions she’d have to make about her future. And she was falling in love with Dermot Quinn. Rachel giggled, then spun around and went in to gather things to make sandwiches. It was apparent that Dermot was just as smitten as she was. And she had to believe that once he left, he’d realize the depth of his feeling for her.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” she reminded herself.

Rachel was counting on that. Their relationship was like dream, a fantasy come true. And though they both lived in the real world, the passion they shared was something very special. Would a life with Dermot ever be “normal”? Would their desire for each other fade over time?

A shiver prickled her skin. Just the thought of him touching her caused an instant reaction. Rachel arranged sliced ham on whole-wheat bread. She’d have to ask if the boys liked mayo or mustard. “Potato chips.” She grabbed a bag that Dermot had brought home from the grocery store, then set the cookie jar on the table and peeked inside to see that it was well stocked with the chocolate chip cookies she’d made a few days before.

Rachel walked to the stairs, but stopped herself from calling to Trevor and Taylor. She’d follow Dermot’s advice when it came to the boys. He’d been exactly where they were years ago. He knew what they were going through.

She grabbed her sketchbook and sat down at the kitchen table, then turned to the illustration she’d been working on. Beavers. Rachel smiled. With their funny teeth and flat tails, they made for a humorous image, one that would find its way onto a greeting card sometime next year.

“What are you drawing?”

Rachel glanced up to find Trevor standing in the doorway of the kitchen. She held out the sketchbook. “Beavers,” she said. “I mostly draw animals. I’ve been working on squirrels, too.”

“Wow,” he murmured. “These are good.”

“Do you like to draw?”

He nodded. “I mostly draw robots and alien creatures.”

“I’d like to see your drawings,” she said.

He shrugged. “I left them at home.”

Rachel pushed back from the table and crossed to the desk at the far end of the kitchen. She grabbed a fresh sketchbook and her box of colored pencils, then returned to the table. “Here,” she said. “Take these.”

“Really?”

Rachel nodded. “Yes. You should pursue your drawing while you’re here. When I was younger, I used to draw all the time. You never know where it will lead. When I got out of high school, I went to art school in Chicago. And now I draw greeting cards.” She shrugged. “Well, why don’t you have something to eat. It will be a while until dinner. We have to do the milking first. Where is Taylor?”

“He fell asleep. He was really upset in the car. All the crying kinda wore him out.”

“It’s good that he has you,” Rachel said.

Trevor nodded, then sat down at the table and grabbed a sandwich. He gobbled it down in huge bites and Rachel quickly poured him a glass of milk. He ate a second sandwich, then polished off a handful of potato chips and four cookies, before he was sated.

“Feeling better?” she asked.

He nodded. “I’m gonna go out and see the goats.”

Rachel wanted to tell him to change his clothes, but then decided against it. “There are some rubber boots in the milk house. Take off your shoes and find a pair that fits before you walk through the barn. You don’t want to step in goat poop your first day on the farm.”

Trevor headed out the door and Rachel cleaned up the mess from his lunch. Then she put a plate together, poured another glass of milk and took it upstairs to Taylor. As Trevor had said, he was sprawled across the bed, sound asleep. She set the meal on the bedside table, then pulled the shades against the afternoon sun.

As she watched him sleep, she thought about Dermot and everything he’d gone through as a kid. It was difficult enough losing her parents and they’d lived a long and happy life. But Dermot’s parents had just sailed away, never to return, leaving four young boys to grieve their loss.

Tears pressed at the corners of her eyes and she swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat. Until Jane returned, she’d do her best for Trevor and Taylor. She’d try to be a friend and a confidante, and someone they could trust with their feelings.