circled around the new white pickup parked along the curb, she kept her gaze glued on the empty road ahead. She didn’t want Justin to think that she was looking for him through the sun-washed windows. The afternoon would prove to be tough enough without adding the memories of their old romance to the mix.
Chapter Two
Justin swiped the last two steak fries through the puddle of ketchup on his plate and jammed them into his mouth, already rising from the kitchen table. Eating takeout was getting old, especially since the town diner’s menu variety was limited, but it was better than the alternative.
“Hey, not so fast, bud.” His sister, Autumn, strawberry blonde and fragile-looking, unhooked her leg from the chair rung, snatched her tan Stetson from the sideboard and stole a wedge of pickle from his plate. “It’s your turn to clean up.”
“I’ll do it after supper.” He loped toward the back door and the mudroom, where his boots were waiting. “I’ve got fences to repair and a lupine patch I gotta spray.”
“That can wait ten minutes. Dad, tell him, will you?” Autumn, two years younger and the bane of his existence when they were little, snagged a water bottle from the fridge. “If I’m stuck with a kitchen mess again, I’m going to chase you down, big brother, and rope you like a calf.”
“Best listen to her, son.” Frank glanced up from the current issue of a cattleman’s magazine. “I wouldn’t mess with a woman when she’s got that tone in her voice.”
Autumn shot him a triumphant grin on her way out the door. “And wipe down the counters and the table, too. Use soapy water, not a wet paper towel. Or my threat stands.”
An empty threat, but still. What was the world coming to? He had a good eight more hours of work to do for the day, and the Sunday-morning service and errands in town hadn’t helped. “What we need is to lure Aunt Opal out of retirement with a huge raise.”
“Not going to happen. Don’t think I didn’t try it.” Frank slapped the magazine shut. “Might as well clean up. Got that interview in a few minutes.”
“Great.” Justin stuck his head in the mudroom to give Autumn a few instructions on the yearlings, but she was already outside. Determined to catch her, he hit the screen door, sending it flying against the wall with a bang.
A horse neighed in protest, he heard a woman’s “whoa!” and a thud of something hitting the dry dirt. A dust plume rose, shielding the rider who had taken a fall. Justin shrank a few inches, recognizing the red gelding skittish in the driveway.
Copper.
A tall, willowy figure rose up, at first a slim feminine shadow in the dust, but as the cloud began to settle, details emerged. The things about Rori he would never forget—the swirl of her long straight hair in the Wyoming breeze, the curve of her porcelain-cut chin, and the way she looked classy even wearing a battered baseball cap.
“What are you doing here?” He heard the venom in his words and winced. He hadn’t meant to sound harsh. His thoughts had somehow influenced his voice, the same unexplainable way he had found himself mysteriously on the edge of the lawn without realizing he’d moved a single inch off the porch.
“I’m falling off my horse, apparently.” She dusted herself off. “Copper still doesn’t like loud sudden sounds.”
“If you’re out of practice riding, then you are out of practice falling.” There were a couple of dried blades of grasses stuck in her hair and a streak of dirt on the hem of her shorts. “Hurting anywhere?”
“I’m tougher than I look.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her soulful eyes. He didn’t know what her life had been like in Dallas, but the bright sparkle that used to light her up was gone.
“Howdy again, Rori.” Frank’s voice behind him was deep with amusement. “If your grandfather wasn’t able to replace that shoe for you, I can take Copper to the barn and get it done.”
“Really? I don’t want to put you to any trouble.”
“Me? No trouble for me. I didn’t say I would do it.”
Yep, leave it to Dad. Not that he wouldn’t have made the same offer, but his old man didn’t have to sound so pleased about it. “I’ll take the horse. Go back inside and finish your lunch, Dad.”
But did Frank listen? No. “You and Rori go on inside and get settled. I’ll be back to start the interview in a few.”
“Interview?” His brain screeched to a stop. He meant to set out after his father to take the horse and get Copper shoed, but his boots mysteriously stuck to the lawn. Rooted in place, he tried to shake the fog out of his head. He couldn’t have heard that right. “Interview?”
“For the housekeeping position.” Frank tossed over his shoulder as he took the reins from Rori. “Don’t let his bark trouble you none. Justin’s gotten cranky over the years. We manage to put up with him because he’s family.”
“I’m sure that’s the only reason.” Her laugh was like a trill of a creek, bubbling, quiet and inviting, leaving him thirsting to hear more. Unaware of her effect on him, she shoved a stray strand of hair beneath her baseball cap. “Thanks, Mr. Granger.”
“If you’re gonna be working for me, you’ve got to call me Frank.” He clucked to the gelding, who followed him confidently, and the two set off down the gravel and dirt road to the horse barn.
“Thanks, Frank,” Rori called out with a smile, earning a wave as man and horse turned the corner and disappeared from sight. She faced him, looking a little pale. “I guess you didn’t know I wanted the job?”
“Would I be standing here with my jaw dropped if I did?” He jammed his hands in his jeans pockets, mostly wanting something to do with them. Throttling his dad didn’t seem like a good idea, and it certainly wouldn’t solve his problems with Rori. “Why didn’t you say something in town?”
“I thought you knew.”
“If you’re looking for work, then that means you’re staying around and this is not a quick trip home for Terri’s wedding.” Anger unrooted his feet and he marched toward the house. “You lied.”
“No, I am going to Terri’s wedding. I assumed your dad told you that I was here for an extended stay.”
“Dad didn’t tell me anything.” Nothing unusual about that. He could guess at what his father was up to.
The wind gusted as if it were in cahoots with his dad because it brought the faint whiff of Rori’s rose-scented perfume. He strode the same path they used to walk hand-in-hand. He marched up the back porch and ignored the swing where they’d spent many a summer afternoon sipping homemade lemonade and doing their homework.
Judging by Rori’s silence, she might be remembering, too.
“Maybe I should ask. Do you want me to apply for the job? I understand if you don’t.” She swept past the screen door he held for her and waltzed into the mudroom like she’d done hundreds of times a dozen years ago. “The thing is that I need a job, and there aren’t many positions available in town. Nothing else, as a matter of fact. That’s the only reason I answered your dad’s ad.”
“Sure,
