got turned upside down in one awful day. You can’t put a price on that. We need stability now. We need to be able to know from one day to the next that after all our hard work, we aren’t simply going to be turned out.
“An oil company isn’t going to want to keep us as tenants, you can be sure of that. They’ll want the land for testing, although why they think there’s oil there, I don’t know. I haven’t lived in Royal all that long and even I know the land is barely suitable for grazing, although with the drought that’s questionable, too.”
She fiddled with the salt and pepper shakers in front of her. “No, the Winslows did the right thing turning the ranch buildings into the Courtyard. Mellie assures me they’re not selling. I only hope nothing happens to change her mind. None of us there can afford to have our businesses fold or see our rents increase. What with the cost of increased insurance premiums and setting up all over again, it wouldn’t take much to destroy us.”
A pang of guilt pulled at him. If he was successful in changing the Winslows’ minds, and Rafe got hold of the Courtyard, Nolan knew there were no guarantees that his boss would keep the tenants. And it was true. Raina had a point—while the greater Maverick County area had yielded some successful oil fields, none had been in this general area. Nolan shifted uncomfortably. For the first time he was seeing the personal face of his assignment: someone who’d be directly and negatively impacted by his boss’s plan. And he didn’t like it. Not one bit.
He took a sip of his water and decided a change of subject might be in order.
“So, the tornado. That must have been terrifying. People are pretty resilient here, though,” he commented.
Raina smiled and once again he was struck by how natural and effortless her beauty was.
“Sometimes I think Royal is the epitome of the ‘get down and get on with it’ ethic. Some people have moved on, which is completely understandable, but most have just licked their wounds and carried on. And of course there are also the lucky ones who are benefiting from the damage. Tradesmen have been at a premium in the district and we’ve seen an influx of out-of-towners coming in to fill demand. Bit by bit Royal has found its way back to a new normal. Is that what brings you here? The rebuild?”
Nolan was saved from immediately answering as their waitress dropped their meals in front of them with a smile. “Good to see you back, Nolan,” she said before racing off to her next customer.
Raina looked taken aback. “You’re local?”
“No, not anymore. I’m here to see family.”
“You grew up here, then?”
He nodded. “Yeah, but I’ve been living in California for several years. I’m only here for a visit.”
“Then I’m sure you would have heard all about the tornado from them.” Raina’s voice held a note of reserve that had been missing before.
“From their point of view, yeah. Dad’s in family law, and he said he’s seen an unfortunate upswing in business in the wake of the tornado. Families breaking up under the strain of trying to put their lives back together—more domestic abuse.”
Raina nodded. “Yeah, it’s sad. So often these events pull people closer together, but if they don’t they seem to have the complete opposite effect. I guess I’m lucky I didn’t have to factor that in. It’s just me and JJ, and my dad. Dad’s retired and usually travels around the country, but he came to stay in the trailer park just out of town so he could be on hand to help me reestablish Priceless and get me and JJ back on our feet again.”
Nolan couldn’t help it: a swell of relief that there was no partner in Raina’s life bloomed from deep inside. He pushed the sensation away. She was still out of bounds. She was the kind of woman who had long-term written all over her, while he was only planning to be here long enough to complete the land purchases to Rafiq’s satisfaction.
And then there was the kid. He certainly didn’t want to take on a package deal of mother and child, no matter how much his libido sizzled like a drop of water on a hot skillet whenever he was anywhere near Raina. He needed to keep his eye on the main goal. He was here to do business, not dally with the locals or become emotionally involved in the town he grew up in. He’d made his choice to walk away from Royal and all the pain it represented seven years ago. He had no plans to stick around. Even so, he perversely wanted to know more about the woman sitting opposite him.
“So, what brought you to Royal?” he asked.
She laughed, the sound self-deprecating. “I followed a man. He left and I stayed. It’s as simple as that.”
Somehow Nolan doubted that it was quite as straightforward as she said.
“Mommy, my hands dirty.” JJ spoke up from beside him.
“Use your napkin, JJ.”
“But it dirty,” he grumbled.
“Here, use mine,” Nolan offered.
JJ held his hands up for Nolan to wipe them. “P’ease?” he implored.
Nolan automatically enveloped JJ’s hands with the large paper napkin and made a game out of cleaning the little boy’s fingers. When he was done, he wiped a bit of sauce from JJ’s chin, as well.
“Hey, you’re good at that,” Raina said with a smile. “Are you sure you don’t have kids?”
Nolan swallowed. This would be the perfect opportunity to segue into the past, to admit he’d had a wife and child, but he couldn’t bring himself to say the words. It just opened up the floor for too many questions—questions that had no answers and only evoked pity, which he hated.
“Maybe I’m just a clean freak,” he joked, scrunching up the used napkin and tossing it on the table.
“Can we go now, Mommy?” JJ asked.
“No, son. Mr. Dane and I haven’t finished our meals.”
For a second it looked as though JJ would object, but then Nolan remembered his earlier promise.
“What about some ice cream? You never got to finish the one you had before, right?”
“Oh, but I said you didn’t need—” Raina began to protest.
“Need doesn’t enter into it when ice cream is concerned,” Nolan interrupted her smoothly. “What do you say, JJ? Do you want a junior sundae?”
“Wif sprinkles?”
“Sure, my treat.” He looked across at Raina. “How about you? Do you want a sundae with sprinkles, too?”
JJ laughed next to him. “Mommy doesn’t have treats, she’s a mommy!”
Nolan read the subtext in JJ’s words. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Raina went without so that her son could have little treats every now and then. How much had she foregone to ensure her son could still enjoy special things while she rebuilt her business and kept a roof over their heads? Again that urge to protect swirled at the back of his mind.
“Even mommies like treats sometimes, don’t they?” he asked, looking straight across
