about the drill team brought Janey Mayfield suddenly to mind.
He frowned, wondering why thoughts of her continued to sneak up and bite him on the butt. Although it disturbed him to have to acknowledge it, he’d actually thought a lot about her since their last encounter.
He’d seen her at the football game, too, though he’d made sure she hadn’t seen him. He’d told himself to look away and forget her. Instead, he’d found himself watching her every move; her slender hands as they had clapped in an exciting moment, the vulnerability of her exposed throat when she’d swallowed, and that hint of sadness in her eyes.
It was the sadness that had remained with him. Perhaps it would never leave her. After all, no one could come through such a horrible ordeal unscathed.
He certainly hadn’t, so he couldn’t very well pass judgment. But that was exactly what he’d been doing. Hell, at one time he’d been bitter, too. But the difference in them was that he’d put the past behind him and gone on. He suspected she hadn’t.
In some ways it had probably been easier for him. He hadn’t had a child to consider. Thinking of Robin made him smile. As a young adult, she was already lovely. When she really matured, watch out. She would be a knockout.
In her own way, so was Janey. Robin seemed to have some of her dad’s personality, though.
Thinking of Keith Mayfield darkened his mood again. Despite the fact that they had been friends, he’d never felt comfortable with Keith, probably because the man had a controlling nature and drank far too much. Even before the divorce, Dillon had often wondered why Janey stayed with Keith. Robin, of course.
Suddenly he shook his head to clear it. What the hell had gotten into him? Janey Mayfield and her daughter were the last people he wanted to occupy his mind.
But as long as Robin was a student in his school, he was bound to come into contact with Janey. Most likely she would become involved in her daughter’s activities, especially the drill team. Eventually all moms did their part, even the working ones.
So she’d better get off her high horse and treat him as if he belonged to the human race. Just the thought of the small-town rumor mill having any more grist sent a chill through him—though that wasn’t likely to happen. He and Janey were old news. Still, he wasn’t about to take a chance. He abhorred the idea of anyone talking about him in the past or present, except when it pertained to his job.
His personal life was off-limits.
Ah, to hell with it. What did it matter what Janey thought about him? It didn’t, not really. Besides, there wasn’t one thing he could do about it. He wasn’t about to avoid her.
If she had a problem with him, that was her concern, not his. It would all come out in the wash, anyway, as his granny used to tell him. And it usually did.
With that uppermost in his mind, Dillon concentrated on brushing down his mare, then feeding her. He was striding outside when he looked up and saw his foreman and brother-in-law, Mike Townsend.
“How’s it going?” Mike asked in his lazy drawl.
“I just finished giving Dandi a workout.”
Mike was tall and wiry, with ruddy cheeks and what looked like a beer belly, though he didn’t drink. Instead he fattened up on Allie’s cooking.
“I just finished taking care of the creek in the upper pasture,” Mike said, wiping sweat off his brow with the back of one hand.
“What was wrong?”
“Debris and leaves had the flow blocked.” Mike led his horse to the drinking trough.
Dillon noticed immediately that Mike seemed to be dragging his leg more than usual. Thanks to the injury he’d gotten while on the oil rig, Mike now walked with a strong limp. However, that didn’t usually slow him down. He was always on the move, looking for new projects to keep the farm in tiptop shape. Dillon prized his work and couldn’t have maintained the place without Mike.
Another plus was that Mike loved the outdoors, and so did Allie. With someone living on the property, Dillon never had to worry about anything, especially his horses.
Mike faced him again. “Anything in particular you want me to do? I have several things going, but nothing I can’t put on the back burner if need be.”
“Not right offhand,” Dillon said. “It looks like you’re pretty well caught up.”
“How did Dandi do today?”
“Fairly well, though she seemed to be moving slower than usual, now that I think about it.”
“I sorta noticed that, too. I’ll check her over.”
“For sure,” Dillon said, trying not to push the alarm button. Nothing could happen to Dandi. She was the one he was counting on to jump-start his business.
“Are you coming to the house for lunch?”
“Speaking of lunch, how’s your better half? Last time I saw her, she was feeling a bit under the weather.”
Mike rubbed his slightly grizzled chin. “Still is, as a matter of fact.”
“Has she been to the doctor?” Dillon asked.
Mike snorted. “You know better than that. She’d have to be dying before she’d take off from work and tend to herself.”
“She might not have any choice,” Dillon said sharply.
“Well, you try and tell her. She’s not happy if she’s not burning the candle at both ends.”
Dillon slapped Mike on the back. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks for the lunch invite,” Dillon added, “but I had a late breakfast. Anyway, I’m headed back to town. I’ll see y’all after a while.”
Later Dillon couldn’t say what wild hair had made him head to the candy shop instead of home. He wanted to think his motive was nothing more than to purchase a box of candy for his sister in hopes of making her feel better. However, he couldn’t be sure why he’d done something so out of character for him. Maybe it was to clear the air between Janey and him, using Robin as an excuse.
When he opened the shop door, disappointment socked him in the gut. Someone else, an older woman, was behind the counter. But then Janey walked out of the back room. She saw him and pulled up short.
“Hello,” he said, then cursed silently because his voice sounded unnatural, even to him.
She looked as good or better than he’d ever seen her, dressed in a pair of print leggings that called attention to her slender legs, and a long pink summer sweater that left no doubt as to the swell of her breasts.
He swallowed hard as he jerked his eyes off that part of her anatomy before he got caught. When he was drawn back to her, he concentrated on her red hair, pulled back in a ponytail with some loose tendrils at the neck.
She looked young enough to be Robin’s sister instead of her
