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Instead, Sam had made their life one grand adventure, often piling her into his old blue Ford pickup to go wherever his work took him. Hope had clothes to wear, toys to play with, and horses to ride. Sam had even found a way to pay for what the scholarships and grants didn't cover for Hope to fulfill her dream of becoming a veterinarian. Since Sam seemed to have everything under control, she never had cause to worry.
At least not until he'd fallen ill, and Hope was forced, much to Sam's displeasure, to look after him as well as his finances. That was when she'd gotten her first glimpse at how bad things truly were.
The house was into its second mortgage, and he had no retirement pension save one small life insurance policy. Thankfully, since Sam had spent eight years in the navy, he was eligible for veteran's benefits, which had helped significantly with his medical expenses. Otherwise, his affairs would have been in much worse shape than they were.
"The life insurance he did maintain should cover his final expenses, with a little left over to pay some of the smaller debts," Lucas continued. "He's about five months behind on his mortgage payments, but with the second mortgage he took out, he owes quite a bit more than the house is likely worth."
Leaning forward, the silver-haired attorney who'd been her father's friend since childhood took Hope's hand. "I tried to get him to let me help him. I wish he’d listened."
Squeezing Lucas's smooth tanned hand, Hope forced herself to smile. "I know you did, but we all know Sam had a mind of his own. He wouldn't bat an eye at giving anyone the shirt off his back, but he'd die before asking for any help for himself."
That was pretty much how her father had lived his entire life. And ultimately, exactly how he'd died.
"It doesn't seem fair, as his sole heir, that you're the one saddled with the consequences of his generous spirit and bull-headed pride, though."
"Well, it's not like I was expecting to hit the mother lode or anything. Don't worry. I'll find a way to take care of all this."
"Can I do anything to help? A loan, perhaps?"
Rising, Hope patted his hand. "That's very kind of you, but I think I'd better try to handle this on my own without incurring any further debt."
Lucas nodded. "All right." He followed her to the door. "But if there is anything I can do, promise you'll let me know."
Hope's smile came easier than she expected. "I promise." She lifted the manila folder of paperwork Lucas had given her. "Thank you. For everything," she added, knowing he'd probably already done far more than was required of him as her father's attorney because of their decades-old friendship.
Still, what a freaking mess! Hope crossed the thick pewter carpet outside Lucas Danforth's cushy corner office. Yep, the old adage, 'when it rains, it pours,' couldn't ring any truer than it did at this moment. Since she couldn't change her predicament, Hope squared her shoulders and made her way to the reception area, where Drew sat waiting. Although she'd assured him she was fully capable of coming to the attorney's office alone, he'd insisted on driving her anyway.
Seemed he could be as bull-headed as she was.
For once, Hope hadn’t argued with him. Instead, she’d simply gathered her jacket and, with an exasperated "Let's go if you're going," tossed over her shoulder at him, she’d stomped out to his pickup.
Now, though Hope would rather cut out her tongue than admit it, relief washed over her at the mere sight of Drew sitting there, thumbing through his phone.
Most men dressed in a chambray shirt, faded Levi’s, and scuffed work boots would look conspicuously out of place in the elegantly appointed waiting area. But not Drew Blackwood. Then again, with the quiet self-confidence he exuded naturally, Hope doubted there was a place on earth he would ever look out of place.
Despite her reluctance, Hope realized more women than she could count would give their eye teeth for Drew to accompany them anywhere, even if it were only across the street to a freaking outhouse. Since the day he’d arrived in Kentucky, the effect he’d had on every hopeful female aged eight to eighty was hard to miss and just as difficult to ignore.
And why not? The man was gorgeous with his closely cropped black wavy hair, piercing baby blues, and sexy five o'clock shadow that usually started to emerge somewhere closer to noon. If that combo wasn't lethal enough, throw in his killer smile and smokin' hot body, and it was a miracle that women didn't spontaneously combust in his presence.
Hope remembered the stir that erupted among the female employees when he’d first come to work at Wakefield. She’d been on summer break from her first year of veterinary school, fulfilling some of her field experience hours while working at the clinic.
Not that she’d been immune to his outrageously potent appeal. Far from it. Like every other red-blooded female in a hundred-mile radius, all her girlie parts had stirred to life the instant he walked in the door. And though she spent most of the time around him dizzy with lust, Hope determinedly decided she would not make a fool of herself over the sexy new vet from Virginia.
Besides, like now, her focus had been on her career. She didn’t need to get wrapped up in a man, especially not one likely to become her supervisor. Plus, in her experience, relationships in the workplace rarely ended on a happy note. Things became messy, awkward, and complicated to the point that maintaining any semblance of professionalism proved impossible.
Thankfully, their one night together hadn’t sullied their working relationship. Yes, the pregnancy did complicate their situation, but so far, they were managing without too many extra hurdles to jump.
“How’d it go?” Drew asked as he slipped into his shearling-lined barn jacket.
“It went.” Hope sighed and crossed the marble floor to the bank of elevators. The doors opened before she depressed the down button, and they stepped inside the cubicle.
“That bad, huh?” Drew replied as Hope hit the button for the main floor and sagged against the wall with another heavy sigh.
"Worse." Well, that might be a little harsh, since Hope had halfway expected Lucas to paint a much bleaker picture. With everything else combusting in her world lately, she was grateful for that small favor, at least.
Silently, they headed for Drew's pickup. Once buckled in, he slung his left wrist over the steering wheel, pinning her with his intense blue gaze. "How bad is it?"
And here was Exhibit A for why Hope hadn’t wanted him to accompany her today. His persistence. The meeting with her father’s attorney had nothing to do with her pregnancy, so what reason did she have to burden him with the results of her father’s financial ineptitude? Besides, once she laid everything out and put together a plan, Hope was confident in her ability to handle the situation on her own.
