Read Online Love Lift Me by Synthia St. Claire - Free Book Online

my favorite
things to do after I got home from high school or when I came home for visits
during college. He was a fully grown stallion by now.
    “Nice
to have good help ‘round here,” father said lazily and finished off his glass
of tea. “Paid ‘em both ten dollars for their trouble. You shoulda seen ‘em race
outta here to go spend it. Why, ten dollars was more than I made in a month pullin’
tobacco when I was that age. Now, you can’t even fill up a tank of gas with it!”
    “Maybe
tomorrow, after I get back home with Momma, I’ll go see if Zip wants to run
around the field a bit.”
    Daddy
gave a heavy nod and said, “Oh, I suspect he will. I swear that horse has been
missing you , darlin’. Hain’t acted the same since you left for school. Ruby’s
just as dumb as ever, though. Damn horse still goes left when I pull ‘er
right.”
    “She’s
headed for the glue factory,” I said, echoing one of Daddy’s favorite,
not-actually-serious expressions about the old mare. That got another quick
laugh out of him.
    “Dang
right. I couldn’t do it, though. I’ve had that horse for twenty some odd years,
and for some reason, she sure does love your momma. Obeys for her. She’d give
me more hell than the devil if I ever did somethin’ like that to her.”
    “When
was the last time Momma took out Ruby?”
    He
pushed up his glasses and lifted his chin. “Oh, been a good while, Lil’ Bit.
Maybe back this spring, but I don’t rightly recall. She tol’ me she aims to get
out for another ride on the old girl as soon as she’s all better.”
    “She’s
determined not to let this slow her down,” I said.
    “Nothin’
slows her down. The car could have four flat tires and she’d still make it to
church on time. That’s just how she is.”
    “I
know. Just don’t let her push herself too hard, Daddy.”
    I
crossed my bum leg underneath the other one. It was getting tiring to look at.
    “I’ll
do my best. There’s somethin’ else you should probably know about,” Daddy said
uncomfortably and shifted in his chair. “I was gon’ wait till after supper but
I guess now’s as good a time as any.”
    “What?”
    “Had
somebody else call me up the other day, lookin’ for work. He don’t know much
about farmin’, and ain’t the most reliable sort, but he’s got some skill as a
mechanic.”
    At
first, his words glossed over me. A second later, I realized who he was talking
about and asked, with a ill feeling in my gut, “Wait a minute…are you talking
about Hale Ellis?”
    He
nodded slowly, keeping his eyes on me. “I am. And I hired him, at least for the
pre-harvest that is. My ol’ tractor is in a state and the rest of the equipment
needs serious maintenance.”
    I
couldn’t believe it. Even after everything that happened, my father sure was
quick to hire my ex-boyfriend. Now I’d be seeing him around the farm all the
time, and I knew he wasn’t going to spend all his time working in the garage.
    “Daddy!
Have you lost your mind? Why can’t Dale take care of that stuff? He did all
your maintenance for the past ten years. And Hale? Why on Earth would you take
him on? You know how lazy he is. You’ll be lucky to get more than one hour of
work out of him a day.”
    My
father’s easy voice settled into a more serious tone as he explained, “Honey,
I’ve been runnin’ this farm a long time. Dale is almost seventy years old. He’s
getting’ too old to be welding and climbin’ round underneath them machines. He
tol’ me he could run the harvester, but if he had to keep doin’ the maintenance
this year then he’d have to jus’ go on and retire. He probably ought to, anyway.
I’m too old to do that stuff and Francis, good worker that he is, ain’t got the
first idea how to fix those machines. We needed somebody young, with
experience, and Hale Ellis fit the bill.”
    “But
why Hale? Can’t you find somebody else?” I complained.
    “Slim
pickin’s around here, that’s why. Most of