alternating with brutality.
“Damn. We’re not even on their radar.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Lila whispered, mesmerized by the hopping and hissing. “Good thing Bingo isn’t around. He’d be right in the thick of it.”
“You were close.” And he wasn’t letting her go.
They were close. She turned her head and looked up at him, and for a moment he was as deep into her as the snake was into the badger. Just as surprised. Just as engaged. Her eyes were crystalline, as blue as the sky, and damn if they weren’t almost as big. They had power.
It wasn’t until she turned back to the combatants that he was able to draw breath. He loosened his arms reluctantly but didn’t let go, and she seemed a little reluctant to be let loose. An even match, neither could gain without yielding. It was too late to compromise, too soon to take prisoners.
Too late for a handshake; too soon for a kiss.
“I can’t tell who’s winning,” she whispered.
He chuckled. All things considered, he’d made gains.
“No, really,” she insisted. “Can you?”
“I think they’re both hurtin’. Probably both wishing they’d never met.”
Finally the two animals jumped apart as though someone had blown a whistle, then turned tail and took off in opposite directions.
“What do you s’pose that was all about?”
“Home.” His arms were a little lazy about letting her go. “Some dank hole in the ground. Had to be. They sure as hell weren’t fighting over the same female.”
“As long as it wasn’t about my dog.”
“I didn’t hear either one call out, ‘Bingo!’”
“You’re funny.” Her little smile settled the urge to apologize. “I like that.”
“You really love your dog. I like that.” He grinned. “How about going to supper with me?”
“You’re expected at the other house.”
“That’s what I mean. How about going with me?” He shoved his thumbs into his front pockets. “When I get my first paycheck I’ll take you to the best café in Short Straw.”
“I thought you’d been to Short Straw.”
“I’ve been to Bucky’s Place. Had a sausage-and-egg sandwich there this morning. Fresh out of the microwave.”
“I can make you some lunch.”
“My stomach’s still working on that sandwich. Iron gut chippin’ on a rock.”
“It doesn’t get much better in Short Straw. As for Flynn ranch fare...” She glanced past him, nodded toward the road to the other house. “Here comes your boss. Do you have much experience working cattle?”
“I’m a good hand, yeah.”
“Don’t let Brad get to you. He likes to give orders.”
The red Chevy short box turned off the road and sped across the grass in their direction. Brad leaned out the window. “Hey, Fox, you ready to get to work?”
“Been ready.”
“Hop in and I’ll show you around.” He pulled on the brim of his straw hat. “What’s up, Lila?”
“Have you seen Bingo?”
“What, that old dog? You lost him?”
“I can’t find him.”
“Then he must be dead somewhere. I guarantee you, nobody would steal him.” Brad caught Del’s eye, expecting an ally. “Good for nothing, that dog. Except making a lot of noise.”
“Only when you come around,” Lila said.
“Recognition of the alpha. One thing about dogs, they know their place.” He stroked his scraggly mustache with thumb and forefinger, then grinned, basking in the perfection of his observations. “I’ll keep my eyes peeled. If I see hide or hair, you want me to bag it up for you?”
“If you find him, I’d like to have him back. Del’s already searched the right-of-way.”
“Del, huh? Just remember he works for me, Lila.” He watched Del slide into the passenger seat. “Don’t let her boss you around, man. She likes to give orders.”
“Just something to do while I was waiting on the boss.”
Del’s smiling eyes connected with Lila’s as he propped his elbow on the open window and gave her a conspiratorial wink.
Lila wasn’t taking the new hand seriously. She’d known he was kidding when he asked her to go down to her father’s house with him for supper. She had managed not to look out her kitchen window more than once or twice, checking for signs of life at the bunkhouse. She told herself she was only parking her horse in Dad’s corral now because it was time to check in. She hadn’t seen her father in more than a week, and she was suddenly missing him.
She stuck her socks in her boots and left them in the elaborate mudroom June had added to the plans for the new house, padded through a kitchen filled with the smell of beef and fresh bread—interesting, since she’d never known June to bake bread—past the kitchen table normally used for meals and ventured into the dining room.
“Well, look who’s here,” Brad said. “There’s an empty chair next to me and one beside our new hired hand. Take your pick.”
“Your new hired hand asked me to go to supper with him.” Del almost managed to get out of his seat and pull out the chair before she claimed it herself. Lila tamped down a smile. “So I choose him.”
“You should’ve told me you had a date, Del. We could’ve picked her up.” Brad peered across the table at Lila. “How’d you get here? Don’t tell me you finally decided to put the crazy woman in the closet and get behind the wheel of a car again.”
She eyed him right back. “The horse I rode in on is helping himself to your hay.”
Frank laughed. “My daughter is no crazier than I am, son. I’m taking up bread making. Watched one of them videos and got the recipe off the internet. How’d I do?”
“I knew he’d find it relaxing,” June said. Her red hair looked freshly styled, the color skillfully revived. Dar’s Downhome Dos had done it again. “It’s very good, my darling. And you notice, the baker in the video was a man. The best chefs are men. So it doesn’t surprise me that this bread is delicious. No more store-bought for us.” She flashed Frank a doting smile. “No surprise, he especially enjoyed kneading the dough.”
“What
