gaze.
“Mariah Ayers.” They were about the same height and close in age. She felt a connection that surprised her. Another strong, determined woman. Mariah didn’t have her grandmother’s clairvoyance, but still she could tell that Lillie was very protective of her brother.
“I was surprised to hear my brother had hired someone,” Lillie was saying. “But he said he was impressed with your skills.”
“Did he?” she asked, raising a brow as she shot Darby a look. With amusement, she saw that the cowboy looked as if he wanted to throttle his sister.
“And he already gave you a Stagecoach Saloon T-shirt.”
“Actually, I picked this one up at the Chokecherry Festival yesterday,” Mariah said.
“Lucky you.” Lillie cut her eyes to her brother. “So is that where you two met?”
Mariah smiled at Darby and waited.
“We might have crossed paths at the festival,” the cowboy said. “But we didn’t meet until yesterday when she came in looking for a job.”
“What a coincidence,” Lillie said, still studying her brother and no doubt wondering why he looked flustered. “And so lucky we had an opening.”
“Lucky for all of us,” Mariah said.
She told herself that this would be fun for the short time it would last and then she’d be gone again. She couldn’t stay long in any one place. Not if she hoped to stay a step ahead of her past.
“I see you didn’t put down a cell phone number in case I need to call you,” Darby said to her as he busied himself with her paperwork again.
“If you need me, you know where I live,” she said. “Otherwise, I’ll be here.”
They all turned as a blonde, blue-eyed young woman wearing jeans, a Stagecoach Saloon T-shirt and boots came in. The blonde stopped as if she thought she might be interrupting something.
“Kendall, this is Mariah, our new alternate waitress. Kendall Raines, Mariah Ayers.”
Kendall frowned. “Oh.” She took a few steps forward to shake Mariah’s hand. “I didn’t know you were thinking about hiring another waitress.”
“She’ll work my schedule,” Darby said, making Kendall raise a brow.
“With the busy season ahead, it will give us all more flexibility,” Lillie said, clearly bailing her brother out.
Mariah watched the interactions with interest. Her hiring had shaken things up around here. Kendall didn’t look pleased. Was there something going on between the young waitress and the cowboy?
She met Darby’s gaze, saw his disinterest in Kendall Raines and was surprised. Apparently he didn’t go for cute, blonde and blue-eyed. She realized she liked him better because of it and quickly she reminded herself why she was here. Also she warned herself that this wasn’t some easy mark. This cowboy was on to her. He’d caught her red-handed at the festival and yet he hadn’t gone to the law. Why was that? More to the point, what happened now?
He’d be watching her, that was a given. He probably expected her to steal from the cash register like a common thief. He had to know that she was here for her bracelet. But he wasn’t about to just hand it over, was he? She got the feeling he was waiting to see how far she would go to get it back.
Clearly, he was waiting for her to make the next move. She didn’t plan on disappointing him, she thought as she flashed him a smile and saw his eyes narrow.
* * *
DARBY SADDLED UP his horse, anxious to clear his head. After Mariah had left the saloon, he’d felt too antsy to stay upstairs in the apartment. And there was no way he was going to hang out at the bar. His sister wouldn’t shut up about the new hire. She was more curious about Mariah than he was—and that was saying a lot.
He swung up into the saddle and reined the steed toward the rolling foothills past the ranch. He’d been riding horses since he was a year old, but he hadn’t taken to it like Lillie—until recently.
This feeling of being closed-in had been bothering him for a while. He’d been so excited about opening the Stagecoach Saloon with Lillie. That had kept him busy for a while. After it was a success, though, he’d felt antsy again as if uncomfortable in his own skin.
“You need a woman,” their cook Billie Dee had told him one day when he’d paced around the kitchen for no good reason.
“What?” Her words had taken him by surprise.
“Your symptoms. I’ve seen them before. Anxious, bored, unhappy, restless. Haven’t you realized you’re missin’ somethin’?”
He’d shaken his head. “I’m fine.”
Billie Dee had given him one of her don’t-try-to-con-me looks. “You’re going to need a special woman, the way I see it. Someone who challenges you. Someone who keeps you on your toes. Someone who puts the light back into those eyes of yours.” She’d looked remorseful. “Haven’t seen her yet, but if I do, I’ll send her your way.”
He’d told himself Billie Dee didn’t know what she was talking about. But sometimes he thought he couldn’t breathe until he was out here—away from everything. He’d look to the horizon and want to just keep riding off into the sunset as if the answer was just over that next mountain.
Fortunately, he was smart enough to know that the grass wasn’t always greener over that next mountain or even up the road. Until he’d seen Mariah at the Chokecherry Festival, he’d thought the last thing he needed for his malady was a woman.
Now all he could think about—even on horseback and away from it all—was Mariah. It was like she had put a curse on him.
When she’d shown up at the bar, looking for a job, he’d been amused. He’d actually wondered if it was a joke.
But when he’d realized she was serious, he saw it as a contest. He’d hired her out of curiosity, telling himself he was up for a game. What had he set himself up for? He could never trust her. Instead, he’d have to watch her like a hawk otherwise she might try to rob them blind.
He had a crazy thought. What if she turned out to be the perfect employee? He chuckled at that. He’d be surprised if she even made it a week. Maybe even less than that. Hell, she was probably upstairs in his apartment right now taking anything of value—and looking for her bracelet.
He was glad he’d moved it. Let her ask for it back. Let her apologize for trying to steal his wallet. Then, and only then would he hand the bracelet over.
At least that’s what he told himself as he rode up through the ponderosa pines. They shimmered in the afternoon sun, a silken green. The air had that smell of summer that he loved in the mountains. The peace and quiet should have lulled him, should have silenced his thoughts about anything but the beauty of the place.
He reined in at the top of the rise and breathed in the warm spring air, trying to find the contentment he’d always found here. Montana’s big sky was a clear blinding blue with only a few clouds huddling on the horizon. He smiled.
