ma’am, though not on a regular basis.”
Reaching the ground, she yanked off her gloves. “Do you have any experience with woodworking equipment?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Masonry?”
“Some.”
“What about roofing?”
He stepped out into the yard and looked up at the roof to judge his abilities. Finding it was a tin roof, he breathed a sigh of relief. Tin he could deal with. If it had been a tile roof, that would’ve been a different matter. “I can make what repairs are needed.”
“What about water wells? Do you know how to deal with them?”
“I couldn’t dig one, but I can keep a well pump running.”
“Do you have any references?”
He panicked a moment, but decided honesty was the best policy, even if he did sort of stretch the truth a bit. “I’ve done work for the Tanner brothers. I suppose they’d vouch for me.”
The mention of the Tanner brothers didn’t seem to please her. Scowling, she stuffed her gloves into the rear pocket of her jeans. “The pay is minimum wage and the work back-breaking. Twenty hours a week is all I can afford, and when the remodeling’s completed, the job is over. Understand?”
“Yes, ma’am. I do.”
“I expect you here by seven each morning. It’s cooler then. You can leave at noon, and not a minute sooner. I expect an honest day’s work from you, and I won’t accept sloppy craftsmanship. Any job worth doing is worth doing right.”
“I don’t have a problem with that.”
“Do you have a preference for what days you work?”
He lifted a shoulder. “No, ma’am. Like I said, I’m flexible.”
“Then we’ll play it day by day. See what works best. You can start tomorrow. Seven sharp.”
She started up the ladder and Luke turned away, figuring the interview was over and the job was his.
“How’s the dog?”
He turned back, surprised that she cared enough to ask. “As good as can be expected, I guess.”
“Were any bones broken?”
“No, ma’am. Took thirty-two stitches to close the wounds, but nothing was broken.”
Her shoulders sagged in relief. “Thank God,” she murmured, and started up the ladder again.
Anxious to leave, Luke headed for the side of the house.
“Hey!” she called, stopping him.
He glanced back over his shoulder. “Yes, ma’am?”
“You didn’t tell me your name.”
“Luke. Luke Jordan.”
She opened her mouth as if she intended to ask him something else, but clamped her lips together and stomped up the ladder to the roof.
After his interview, Luke drove straight back to the Bar-T and knocked on the back door of the ranch house.
“Door’s open!” Ry called.
Dragging off his hat, Luke stepped inside. Ry sat at the table, reading the evening paper. Kayla, Ry’s wife, stood before the stove, stirring something in a pot. The aroma drifting from it made his mouth water.
She glanced over her shoulder and offered him a bright smile. “Hi, Luke. How’re you doing?”
That she could look at him without wincing never ceased to amaze Luke. Never once had she shown any sign of disgust. Not even prior to the surgeries Ry had performed to repair the burns to his face and hands had she ever appeared repulsed by his scarring.
He offered her a smile in return. “Fine, ma’am.” He turned his attention to Ry. “I got the job. Start tomorrow.”
Ry set the newspaper aside. “Any problems?”
Luke shook his head. “Gave me the third degree but seemed satisfied with my answers. The older woman grilled me pretty hard, too.”
“That would be Rhena,” Ry explained. “She’s worked for Lauren’s family for years. If what we heard is correct, she was more of a mother to Lauren than an employee.”
Luke knew nothing about Lauren or her family, so remained silent.
“How was she?” Ry asked. “Did she appear upset or worried about anything?”
Luke considered Ry’s question for a moment, then shook his head. “She seemed all right to me. She was working on the roof above the back porch when I got there. Came down off the ladder to talk to me, then went right back up when we were done.”
“How did the place look?” Ry asked curiously.
“I could tell that some repairs have been made. Electrical wiring’s been replaced. Looked like a plumber’s been there, as the ground around the septic system appeared freshly turned. But there’s a lot more to be done.”
Kayla bit back a smile as she joined Ry at the table. “You missed your calling, Luke. You should have been a detective.”
He snorted a laugh. “I hardly think noticing a few new wires and freshly turned dirt qualifies me as a detective.”
“I wouldn’t have noticed those things,” she replied, then glanced at her husband. “Would you, Ry?”
He shook his head. “Can’t say that I would.” He winked at Luke. “But since Luke did, that proves we chose the right man for the job.”
Luke shuffled his feet a moment, curious to know about the Tanner brothers’ relationship with their cousin but reluctant to ask. “I’m not trying to get in your business, Ry, but would you mind telling me why you want me to keep an eye on the woman?”
“I told you. She’s our cousin, and we’re worried about her.”
“Yeah, but it seems it would be a heck of a lot easier for you or one of the others to just drop in on her every now and again and check on her.”
“You’re right,” Ry agreed. “It would. Unfortunately, our father, Buck, made that impossible.” He lifted his hands in a helpless gesture. “You know how Buck was, Luke. He alienated more people than most folks meet in a lifetime. He treated family even worse. After Randall, Lauren’s father, refused to sell him the lodge, Buck disowned him. Cut him out of his life as if he never existed, and never spoke to him again. That was over twenty-five years ago.” He shook his head sadly. “I don’t know how much Randall told Lauren about his relationship with his brother, but whatever it was must have shed a bad light on us all, because she doesn’t want anything to do with any of us.
“When
