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She snickered again. “That has got to be the most adorable story I have ever heard.” She continued on her way to the cow that he wanted to look at on the other side of the pasture.
Ian walked beside her, his hands in his pockets. This was nice. Being with her in a normal environment was better than he’d ever imagined. Things weren’t so stiff between them anymore. “What about you? Any embarrassing childhood stories?”
She looked up at the sky, her eyes narrowing and her mouth pulled to the side. “I can’t think of any. I didn’t have any siblings; it was just me and my mom. And I kept to myself most of the time. I was a pretty normal kid.”
“Come on, there has to besomethingyou remember.” Ian hunched down beside the cow to examine her. He glanced up at Jessica, who shrugged.
“I guess I’m just not that interesting.”
“You are one of the most interesting people I know, Jessica.” He’d muttered it under his breath, but she must have heard because her disposition changed. Her eyes darted away from him and she crossed her arms over her chest. A small smile pulled at her lips, but she didn’t say anything.
Jessica watched him do his work. The handful of questions she did have for him were thoughtful and demonstrated her smarts.
“My mom said you didn’t finish school?”
A bright crimson color flooded her cheeks. She shifted the weight from one foot to the other. It must have been a sore subject for her. She cleared her throat, not meeting his gaze. “I ended up going back to get my GED last year. I figured it was better than nothing.”
His brows lifted. “That’s impressive.”
She shot him a confused look. “It’s just a GED, Ian. It’s like I’m holding a sign that said I couldn’t complete something right the first time and that I was a quitter.”
Ian shook his head as he walked around the cow and faced Jessica. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” His gaze searched her expression. It was clear this was an uncomfortable conversation. “Do you know how many people want to be done with school early and test out? They get GEDs so they can move on to other things.”
She snorted. “Well, that’s not how it happened for me, is it? I was one of the people who couldn’t hack it. I dropped out because I was a dumb teenager who didn’t find any value in school.” Her eyes lowered to the ground and her blush deepened.
Instinctively he grabbed her hand. He told himself it was solely to get her full attention, but another small part of him wanted to touch her again, like he had earlier when he helped her off the fence. There had been a connection between them, and he wanted to see if it was still there. He wasn’t disappointed. Her touch sent a tingling ripple up his arm.
Ian gave a sharp shake of his head. What had they been talking about? Oh, right, school. “You may have made mistakes when you were a teenager, but it takes guts and determination to get back in the saddle and fix it. I wouldn’t want to go back to school again after being gone for a couple years.”
“It was seven, actually.”
“Seven?”
She nodded. “I dropped out when I was sixteen.”
So she was about two years younger than he was. If you were able to go back and take that test after seven years, not only does it show how brave you were, it shows your intelligence level too. I have no doubt you could complete a nursing training program if that’s what you wanted to do.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Really?”
“Absolutely.” He grinned at her and squeezed her hand.
For just a moment, she returned his smile. Then just like that, the light in her expression went out like the flicker of a candle. She pulled her hand from his grasp. “It doesn’t matter. There’s no way I’d be able to afford any kind of program. Not only that, but trying to keep a job and going to school just doesn’t seem feasible.” She turned and strode away from him, toward the side of the pasture where they’d entered.
Ian hurried after her. “Why not? There’s scholarship programs and online courses. If you really wanted to—”
She stopped suddenly and whirled around to face him. “If I really wanted towhat, Ian? If I really wanted to go into debt? If I really wanted to risk my livelihood and my job? I’m already living paycheck to paycheck as it is, and that’s with frequent double shifts.” She scowled at him, her hands lifting as she gestured to his property. “I don’t have what you have. No support system. No home security. I probably don’t even have a job to go back to. When this is all over, I will have to start from scratch.” Her hands tightened into fists at her side. “I don’t need you putting hope into my head. It’s just not written in my stars. In fact, I don’t think it’s a very good idea for me to shadow you anymore. Put me to work like you would any other ranch hand. I don’t need any special treatment. I just need an honest paycheck. The last thing I want is to owe a debt I can’t pay.”
Jessica spun on her heel and made her way toward the gate. This time he didn’t chase after her. Anything he could say wouldn’t help change her mind. She’d have to come to that understanding on her own. But it didn’t mean he wouldn’t at least guide her in that direction.
