“But she had a boyfriend.”
“Another judge, in appeals court. They were suited because there was no need for compromise. They both had their lives. And happened to enjoy doing the same things. It was perfect. At least, I thought so...”
Now he had to wonder: What did it do to a girl, growing up with such a strong female influence, and no male influence whatsoever?
Unless... Had the boyfriend been around all those years? She clearly cared about the guy.
“How long were they together?”
“Ten years.”
“Were there boyfriends before that?”
“Not that she actually brought home.”
Her eyes had that sheen again.
Prompting within him another tug that he didn’t like.
“So, what happened?” Best to get through this and move on down the road. She did, that is. She needed to move on down the path to her cabin. And the next evening, when that week’s filming was over, ideally she would drive her SUV and her crew right back to Palm Desert until the following Friday. “Did they have a fight? Was he unfaithful to her?”
“He asked her to marry him.”
And they broke up.
Spencer studied her in the firelight. Could see her struggle. If he let himself, he was pretty sure he’d feel her pain.
And do something stupid, like give her a hug.
Yep. He was having a seriously bad day.
FEELING ABOUT AS stupid and awkward as she’d ever felt, Natasha stood up. She’d outstayed her welcome by a long shot and needed to take her demons to her temporary home.
“Thanks for dinner,” she said, water bottle in hand. “You’ve got great kids.”
Yeah, they’d disobeyed his direct orders, for a chocolate chip cookie. But they’d taken responsibility for their actions.
When he stood, too, she tensed a bit. In a not altogether horrible way. Except that that in itself was horrible.
She was not going to like this guy. He was as different from her as night was from day. And had made his dislike of her quite clear.
When he wasn’t busy being sweet.
“I’ll walk you back” was all he said.
“I know the way. It’s fine.”
“It’s dark. And your people aren’t back yet. Because we turned that part of the yard over to you, it’s pretty much deserted until they return. I’ll just see you to your door.”
Because she was, as she’d just acknowledged to herself, completely out of her element, she accepted his offer rather than take a more normal course of action and assert her independence.
She could hear voices in the distance and see lights shining from the bunkhouse complex. He’d said that they had a kitchen over there—which the ranch hands were responsible for keeping stocked—and that, depending on the season, he employed up to fifteen men in addition to Bryant. He was still running hay while he built his cattle operation and needed men skilled in both business ventures.
He’d already answered any lay ranch questions she might have come up with on their walk in the dark.
When her hand brushed his, she sidestepped. And he noticed. Maybe he’d been more on target than she’d realized earlier. The silence was getting to her.
She was undersensitized.
“Can I ask a personal question?” It was better than stumbling in the dark.
“Yeah. I might not answer.”
“What happened to Justin and Tabitha’s mother?” None of them had mentioned her all day. Even over dinner. They’d laughed and told her about some of their other cookouts. Told her about a time when they’d been having a picnic at a lake on their property—Spencer had inserted that it was just a pond—and Justin, who’d been standing on the shore, had seen a fish and had tried to catch it with his bare hands. He’d fallen into the water instead. It had been only a couple of feet deep, but that was when they’d both had to start swimming lessons. Every day. Until they could each make it across the small lake on their own.
They’d taken several steps since she’d asked her question. He hadn’t responded. As he’d warned he might not.
Her door was in sight. He walked her to the stoop. Waited while she took out her key.
“She left,” he said when she’d opened her mouth to say good-night.
“What? Who?”
“Their mother. They were two. And don’t remember her.”
“She’s never been back? She doesn’t come to see them?”
“Nope.”
She wanted to know why. In the worst way, she wanted to know.
But he wasn’t her friend. Wasn’t even a friendly acquaintance.
So she didn’t ask.
* * *
THE RESTLESSNESS PURSUING Natasha as Spencer walked away might have caught up with her once she was alone inside the cabin, except that her phone rang.
“Do you have any idea how long this stretch is in the dark?” her assistant said in lieu of hello.
“The same sixty miles it is in the daytime, I expect,” she said, grinning. Angela had a cryptic way about her, an almost impenetrable independent shell, but she was as hardworking and loyal as they came.
She was also fabulous at her job.
“It’s really dark.”
“I know. I drove it myself a couple of weeks ago, going the opposite direction.”
“You could have warned me.”
“I believe I did.”
“Yeah, well, you could have made me listen...”
Sitting in the rocker by the unlit fireplace, Natasha relaxed. Really relaxed. This was her life.
Angela was her “people.”
“How were things at the hotel?” she asked, knowing that she and Angela could just as easily have had this conversation in the morning when they met at Natasha’s cabin for an early breakfast. She’d invited Angela to stay with her. Her stage manager had opted to take a smaller cabin by herself, closer to the crew.
“Good,”
