on the Holiday Ranch.
Brody had found love with Mandy and they now lived on a big spread. Everyone knew he was just biding his time before quitting the Holiday place.
For the first time in his life, Sawyer had wanted to step up and take on additional responsibility, but Cassie had turned him down. She’d said something to the effect that she didn’t believe the other men respected him enough to follow his lead.
That night he’d carried a bitter disappointment with him to the bar and he’d tried to drink it away. He’d guzzled his beer down with purpose and, like usual, he hadn’t remembered anything after the first couple of beers.
Cassie refusing to consider him for the foreman’s job coupled with believing he had made love to a woman while drunk and having no knowledge of it had made him rethink his drinking.
Hell, he didn’t even enjoy it that much. Before he could get a nice little buzz going, he always passed out. Was it really possible Janis had a genuine concern about him?
She didn’t appear to be the type of woman who would do something like that just for grins and giggles. Maybe she really had done it because she cared about him.
At the moment he was too confused to do anything but head home and get a good night’s sleep. He’d figure out how he felt about Janis tomorrow.
He climbed into his truck and instantly spied a piece of paper tucked beneath his windshield wiper.
“What now?” he muttered. He rolled down his window, reached out to grab the paper and then turned on the dome light.
Stay away from her.
Printed in bold, black letters, the words stared up at him. His heart had been racing with anger but it instantly quieted. He looked up and down the street once again, but there was still nobody to see.
As he looked at the note once again, his heart began to beat more quickly. What in the hell? There was no question in his mind that the “her” was Janis.
What was going on? Was this the same work as the person who had spray-painted the back of the bar? If that was the case, he had serious doubts the culprit was Zeke Osmond.
Then who? Did Janis have another boyfriend? Somebody she’d been seeing that Sawyer knew nothing about? Did she maybe have an ex-boyfriend who might be ticked that Sawyer was moving in on what he still thought of as his territory?
The anger he’d felt toward Janis slowly ebbed away. He liked her and he wanted to pursue a relationship with her to see where it led. The note only made him more determined to not stay away from her.
He sat in his truck and thought about everything until it was closing time. Once the bar went dark, he pulled around to the back, got out of his truck and knocked on her door.
She answered immediately, surprise on her features. “Sawyer,” she said and opened the door wider to allow him inside.
“We need to talk,” he said.
Her gaze searched his face. “I was afraid you’d never want to talk to me again.” She motioned him toward the chair. When he was seated, she sank down on the edge of the bed.
“I was definitely angry with you,” he admitted.
“I know.” She seemed miserable with her shoulders slumped slightly forward and her expressive eyes radiating despair.
“I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that you didn’t fool me out of any meanness.”
“Oh, Sawyer, being mean to you wasn’t ever a thought in my head.”
“Then I think it best if we put all that behind us and we start over.”
“Really?” Her eyes instantly lightened and relief was evident on her pretty face. “I’d like that a lot.”
“And now there’s something else I want to talk to you about. Are you seeing somebody else?”
Once again she looked at him in surprise. “Heavens, no.”
“Is there an ex-boyfriend lurking around who has been trying to get back together with you?”
“The last boyfriend I had was over two years ago. He didn’t even live in Bitterroot and I heard through the grapevine that he got married two months ago. Why are you asking me these questions?”
He stood and pulled the note from his pocket. He unfolded it and handed it to her. “That was under my truck windshield wiper when I left here.”
She stared at the note for a long moment and then looked back up at him. “Are you sure this is about me?”
“I’m not seeing anyone else and haven’t for a very long time. It’s definitely about you.”
She dropped the note next to her on the bed as if it burned her fingers. “I can’t imagine who would do such a thing.”
“I can’t, either, but I think we need to call Dillon.”
“Do you really think that’s necessary?”
He nodded, pulled his cell phone from his back pocket and sat back down in the chair. “I do. This needs to be reported, especially on top of the spray-painting incident that took place. I’ll call him.”
“Sawyer, I just want to tell you again how very sorry I am,” she said when he’d finished making the call.
“I accept your apology and, if truth be known, I should probably thank you,” he admitted.
“Thank me?” She looked at him curiously.
He heaved a deep sigh. “Between you and Cassie, my eyes have been opened to my drinking issue.”
“Cassie?”
He frowned thoughtfully, remembering his conversation with his boss.
“Last Saturday morning, I decided to talk to her about me possibly taking over the position of foreman when Brody leaves. Since he got hooked up with Mandy Wright, he’s been living on that big ranch of hers and we all know he’s about ready to quit the Holiday place to ranch on his own.”
“So, what did she say?” She leaned closer to him, her gaze soft and her evocative floral scent swirling around his head.
“She basically said she didn’t think I had the respect of the other men because of the nights they have to put me to bed drunk, although she didn’t say in it those exact words.”
“Why do you drink?”
“I always thought that’s just what we did. We worked hard during the week and then went to the bar to drink on Saturday nights,” he replied.
“Do you like the taste of beer?”
He frowned thoughtfully. He’d never really considered the things she was asking him about before. “It’s all right,” he replied.
“I think you’re allergic to
