Chapter Two
As Dr. Sanchez left the house, Tammy watched him go.
Darn it! Clearly, her attempts at flirting had failed yet again. What was she doing wrong?
“Can I get you something to drink, Miss Byrd? Coffee’s fresh. We also have some lemonade or ice tea.”
Tammy turned to Tina, the housekeeper, who’d shown her to the guestroom in which she’d be staying and must have been waiting for her to settle in and then return to the main part of the house.
“Lemonade sounds great,” Tammy said. “Thank you.”
The woman nodded, then left Tammy alone in the spacious living room.
So now what? Should she sit down on the leather sofa again? Or would she be out of line if she wandered around the room, checking out the furnishings and trying to get a handle on the old man who called the Flying B home?
As Tina’s footsteps faded into silence, Tammy crossed the room to the bay window and peered outside, beyond the porch, to see if anyone else had arrived while she’d been putting away her things in the bedroom she’d been assigned.
The Dodge Ram was gone, of course, which was too bad. She would have liked spending some time with Doc and getting to know him a little better.
She’d expected to meet a bunch of new family members, each one bringing a unique personality and mindset to the mix. But she hadn’t been prepared to run in to the handsome doctor making a house call.
Boy howdy, was Doc Sanchez a sight for sore eyes.
When he’d finally introduced himself, a rush of hormones had slammed into her, taking her breath away. She’d never felt anything like it. Even if she let her thoughts roll all the way back to grade school, when the kids teased her and called her Tam-boy, she couldn’t come up with a single fellow who’d set her heart on end.
Yet in one brief moment, Mike Sanchez, also known as Doc, had swept her off her booted little feet.
At least, that’s what it felt like to a woman inexperienced in that sort of thing. And to be honest, it left her a little unbalanced.
Tammy didn’t get flustered too easily, since she usually kept to herself and didn’t pay any mind to mingling, or cultivating new relationships—male or female. And there was a good reason for it, too. Women didn’t seem to find her worth talking to, and men never took her seriously until she showed them her mettle.
But meeting Doc had her reevaluating a few things she’d once thought were carved in stone. It also had her doing things she’d never expected to do—like trying to let him know that she was sweet on him, although it hadn’t worked out too well.
Why in Sam Hill had she tried to flutter her lashes at him?
Talk about awkward and out-of-step.
When Doc had asked if she was okay, her cheeks had burned as hot as the asphalt at high noon in mid-August, and she hadn’t known quite what to say or how to recover her pride.
After that disappointing experience in high school, she’d quit trying to get a guy’s attention—well, not unless she was trying to outdo him at something. And meeting Doc, feeling that rush of hormones, hadn’t been one of those times.
When it was all said and done, she doubted she could best him at anything. Or if she’d even want to.
“Here you go,” Tina said, offering Tammy a glass of lemonade and a napkin to go with it.
“Thank you.”
“I know you’re probably interested in meeting your grandfather, but he just had his medication. I checked on him a few moments ago, and he’s asleep.”
“That’s okay. I can wait.”
Tina clasped her hands in front of her. “Is there anything I can get you? Anything you need?”
“No, ma’am. I’m good.”
Tina nodded, then turned and walked away—heading to the kitchen, Tammy guessed. And that was fine with her. She didn’t like making small talk with people she didn’t know. So she used the time to study the brightly colored southwestern artwork hanging on the walls and to check out the various sculptures and knickknacks that adorned the built-in bookshelf to the right of the hearth.
All the while, she sipped her lemonade, drinking it down. Boy, did that hit the spot.
When she’d finished it, she glanced at the empty glass, wondering what she ought to do with it. Maybe she should return it to the kitchen. So she crossed the living room, heading in the same direction Tina had gone.
As she neared a doorway, the sound of whispers caused her to pause. She listened, overhearing the housekeeper say something about the “family rift.”
Unable to help herself, she stepped aside and leaned against the wall, next to the doorjamb.
“To tell you the truth,” Tina said, her voice low, “I’d given up thinking either of those boys would ever return to the Flying B.”
“I know what you mean,” the other woman said. “After nearly thirty-five years, there’s been too much water under the bridge.”
“You’re probably right. I’ll never forget the day it happened. The awful words they said to each other. The anger…” Tina clicked her tongue.
Tammy stood still, not daring to go closer, not wanting to stop the conversation from unfolding.
“Poor Tex,” the other woman said. “All the family he had left in the world was those two boys. And to think that they would both run off and leave him like that.”
But why? Tammy wondered. Her father had never said, other than to imply there was bad blood between them.
“At least they both came back before it was too late,” Tina added.
“They haven’t returned yet. And after being so stubborn for so long, I suppose anything could happen.”
Tammy’s father had told her he would arrive at the ranch late this afternoon. He wouldn’t back out now, would he?
She leaned closer to the open doorway, trying her best to hear more, to learn more.
Her father and her uncle had been at odds with each other and with Grandpa Byrd, too, which was why she’d never met her other family members. But she’d never heard any of the details. In fact, up until today, she’d never cared enough to ask.
But now her curiosity was mounting with each beat of her heart.
What had caused the rift? And why had it lasted so long?
She waited for several minutes, but the voices stilled, as if the conversation had just vaporized.
When it became clear that neither the housekeeper nor the cook would bring up the subject of the family feud again, Tammy stepped away from the wall she’d been leaning against and entered the bright
