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this
    place in tip-top order, hadn't I?
She left him in the
    kitchen to finish his soup alone.
    Ian put his dishes in the sink and
went out on the front
    porch of the two-story brick house.
Smidge followed him,
    sprawling on the floor beside him.
With his glass of
    lemonade in one hand, Ian leaned
against a porch column
    noticeably in need of paint and
stared out at the oak trees
    lining the driveway. Oak Hill was a
beautiful place. No
    denying that. A lot like Tara must
have looked to Scarlett
    after the war.
    Built in the late 1800s, the farm
had been used to raise
    both cattle and horses until a few
years ago when it went
    up for sale and had since become
run-down.
    Ian had asked his Manhattan real
estate agent to find
    Luke and him a place in need of some
work. The thought
    of that appealed to him, even though
he didn't own a
    toolbox and had next to zero
experience in carpentry work.
    Coming here had been his decision,
but going from a sixteen-
    hour workday to a one-year leave of
absence felt like being
    forced to a halt halfway through a
marathon. He'd consoled
    himself with the thought that he
might spend part of his
    time making improvements to the
house. He'd also hoped
    48
    GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
    that might be something he and Luke
could do together. A
    common ground.
    The agent found him what he'd been
looking for. But
    photographs of the place didn't
reveal just how much work
    the farm would require. The barn was
in dire need of paint,
    and a good number of boards needed
replacing, as wel as
    the roof. The fields beside and
behind the house looked as if
    they hadn't been mowed in years. But
the house itself was
    the most daunting of al , with
peeling wal paper, floors in
    need of refinishing and bathtubs
that needed re-sealing.
    There wasn't a room that didn't need
something done to it.
    He definitely had his work cut out
for him.
    He heard the school bus in the
distance rol to a stop
    and then move on down the road. A
few minutes later, Luke
    appeared at the top of the driveway,
his book bag slung over
    one shoulder, his baseball cap and
loose, baggy clothes
    marking him as the city kid he was.
His expression remained
    set and unsmiling until he spotted
Smidge wobbling across
    the yard toward him, limping on her
bandaged leg.
    Luke looked up at Ian, a worried
frown on his face.
    â€œWhat happened to
her?
    â€œShe had a briar
in her paw. I took her to see the vet.
    She got it out and gave her
something for infection.
    Luke plopped down on the ground and
wrestled with
    the ecstatic dog for a couple of
minutes while Ian watched
    them, a catch in his heart. The boy
loved the dog, and he
    had to admit he wished Luke showed
as much affection for
    him.
    49
    INGLATH COOPER
    Luke had been even less
communicative than usual
    since they'd arrived here at the end
of August, and Ian hoped
    patience would eventual y pay off.
He knew the changes
    weren't easy for him. A new school.
New kids. But
    schoolwork had always come easily to
him. He was smart
    and, if anything, often bored by his
classes. He'd been one
    of the top soccer players at his
school in the city, but
    Jefferson County High didn't have a
team, and so far, he'd
    shown no interest in any other
sports.
    Luke got up and bounded up the porch
steps past Ian
    without saying a word.
    â€œHow was school
today? Ian asked.
    Luke turned around at the screen
door, his gaze on
    Smidge. “Great,
he said, his tone less than convincing.
    â€œIt can't be that
bad. Surely, you like some of the kids.
    â€œThey're all too
wild for me.
    Ian ignored his sarcasm. Despite his
intel igence and
    athletic ability, Luke had a shy
side that made it difficult for
    him to make new friends. “I
started chipping away the old
    paint on the porch this morning, Ian
said. “I thought maybe
    you'd like to help this weekend.
    Luke kicked at a twig on the wood
floor. “You're the
    one who wanted to come out here and
play farmer. I didn't
    want any part of this. Believe