to have some kind of motive, but for the life of her it kept eluding her. The value of the land was so far beyond the debt they owed Jason.
The sun started to sink a little lower toward the horizon and the automatic outdoor lights kicked on as Rina walked out with the wine, a couple of glasses and a cheese tray. Hidden bug zappers under the deck kept the mosquitos at bay. She walked over to the seating area where two lounge chairs sat next to a low side table.
“Thanks for suggesting this,” Molly said as she took her first sip.
“I needed it, too.”
She was just now realizing she hadn’t been the best friend to Rina recently. She’d been too caught up in trying to keep moving so she didn’t break down. She reached across the expanse and squeezed her friend’s arm. “I’m sorry I haven’t been chatty lately.”
“It’s all right. You needed time to get used to things. So did I, but I was just feeling a little lonely. We haven’t had a girls’ night in a while and I figured if I was feeling it you definitely had to be, too.”
“I am. There are too many men here,” Molly said. “You know what I mean?”
“I don’t think that’s the problem. I think you’re more bothered by the one man who wasn’t at dinner.”
“I am,” she said, taking another sip of her wine.
“What happened between you two last night?”
“Nothing. Just a kiss.”
“A kiss. Want to talk about it?”
“No,” she said, fidgeting with the glass. “Maybe. It was nothing. But then it felt like something more. I sound like an idiot.”
“Men do that,” she said.
“Really? I’ve never known a man to do this to me.”
“Some men affect us like that,” Rina said. “The ones who change us.”
“Who affected you that way?” Molly asked, not wanting to believe that Jason could change her. She liked who she was.
“Never you mind,” Rina said. “I met him before I came out here to live with you. And his life kept him in Houston.”
“You could go to Houston, you know?”
“We’re both of us too stubborn to change,” Rina said.
Molly hoped she wasn’t like that, but she had a feeling she was.
They didn’t talk about men anymore that night. Just sipped their wine and watched the sunset. But Jason was on her mind and she suspected that Rina was thinking of the man in Houston. She realized that relationships were never easy and the thought brought her no comfort at all.
* * *
MOLLY STOPPED BY Jammin’ Java for a mocha latte the next morning. It was busy...well, as busy as a coffeehouse in a small town could be. She saw all the usual customers and they nodded and called out hellos to her.
Maybe it was the fact that Jason had awakened something in her when he’d kissed her—forgotten memories of a life she might have had—or perhaps it was because her father had died, but she had a sense that her life was never going to be more than this. That whenever she came into town for the next fifty years, it would play out just the same.
That thought used to bring her ease. Reminded her that she knew who she was and where she belonged. But that kiss with Jason under the stars two nights ago had stirred something inside of her. Something she wasn’t too sure would ever go back to sleep.
Lacey Duvall looked up from behind the counter and smiled when Molly walked up.
“Mocha latte?”
“Yeah.”
“I heard Jason McCoy is back in town,” Lacey said in a questioning sort of way. The two of them had dated a couple of times in high school. Maybe she was hoping to see him again.
“He inherited half of the Bar T. So he’s here to take care of that,” Molly said. “Then he’s going back to Houston.”
“You okay with that?” Lacey asked, turning to the back counter and grabbing Molly’s coffee from her teenaged assistant. “He’s been gone a dog’s age and you haven’t heard from him before now, have you?”
Lacey was a gossip, though not in a malicious way. Molly supposed it would happen to anyone who worked in a small-town coffee shop.
“It was a surprise,” Molly admitted. She smiled and nodded at the kid as she took her coffee from Lacey. “But of course I’m going to honor Dad’s wishes.”
The bell on the coffeehouse door pinged and Lacey turned to greet her next customer with a smile.
“Jason McCoy, I wondered if you were going to stop by,” Lacey said.
Molly stepped over to the bar to add a packet of sugar to her latte and then stirred it slowly. Way slower than was called for.
“I heard this place had the best coffee in town and had to check it out,” Jason said. When he’d left thirteen years ago it hadn’t yet opened.
“It’s the only coffee in town so I guess you are right,” Lacey said. “What’ll it be?”
“Hey, Lacey. Good to see you again. Filtered coffee, please. The biggest cup you have.”
Molly glanced over her shoulder at him. She wanted to play it cool. It was probably no big deal to him to make out with her, but it was a big deal to her. She realized just how limiting her life had been staying here. If she’d gone out and seen the world...maybe she wouldn’t be so fascinated by his damned blue eyes and firm mouth.
He stepped closer and looked down at her, a furrow wrinkling his brow.
“What?”
“I asked how you were,” he said.
“Good. I’d like to discuss a few ideas about the ranch. Maybe we can do that before we head over to see Rupert.”
“Okay. You want to talk here or in the park? It’s a nice day and I saw an empty bench on my way in.”
“Park sounds good to me,” she said. That way the town gossips—and, let’s face it, in a town this size everyone knew each other’s business—couldn’t hear what they were saying. Hell, it didn’t matter what they said—people were always going to talk. Many of them probably remembered how she’d followed Jason around town the summer before he left. How she’d tried wearing makeup and short skirts to catch his attention...
He called out a good-bye to Lacey. Molly noticed Lacey had her cell phone in her hand, furiously texting something...probably about them. She was embarrassed and a little bit...well...excited that she was being linked to Jason. And that was the problem right there.
He wanted her to buy him out or have her accept his offer to turn over his half of the ranch so he could leave. Go back to Houston.
