needed to do was to find a way to defuse him.
Clenching her jaw, Josie started unloading the supplies. She was in the middle of trying to figure out how exactly to do that when the kitchen door swung open.
“Josie, would you mind making some tea? Earl Grey, I think. And you’d better brew it strong. I can’t imagine Bart drinking it any other way.”
“Sure, Alcina,” she said, thinking she couldn’t imagine Deputy Quarrels liking tea at all. She figured the lawman would consider it a sissy drink. Then, again, perhaps he’d take anything Alcina cared to offer.
“And afterward, could you check on the Raton Room—that’s one of those two smaller guest rooms in back that has the shared bath.”
“I remember.”
Josie had noted that Alcina named all her rooms—two suites, two rooms with private baths and two with shared bath—after New Mexican towns. The fancier the room, the fancier the town it was named after.
“Could you air out the room, maybe fluff up the pillows and lay out a set of fresh towels?”
“Yeah, sure. I didn’t realize you were expecting another guest.”
“I wasn’t. I met him at the gas station, actually. Tim Harrigan’s his name. A stroke of luck that he was looking for a place to stay for a few days and I just happened to have a room available.”
More than one, Josie knew. Only two couples were currently staying at the bed-and-breakfast, and one of them was checking out the next morning.
“I’ll take care of everything, Alcina.”
“Thanks.”
When Alcina went back to the parlor, Josie realized their conversation had given her adrenaline a rest. She felt far more relaxed than she had a few minutes before. Filling the kettle gave her additional breathing room. She needed time to think was all…on how to allay Bart’s suspicion of her before he stumbled onto the truth.
She could lie outright, of course. Tell him what he wanted to hear. Feed him false information. If she could get away with lying without revealing her hand. The only problem was that Josie suspected she was far better at evasion than lies, and she didn’t seem to be doing too well in that direction to begin with.
The only option left to her was to charm the boots off the man. Maybe if she could loosen up…act more naturally around him…stop acting like someone had stuck a prickly pear under her saddle.
Saddle…she was riding a flaxen-maned sorrel past scores of people….
Josie blinked and the moment was gone. Where had that come from? she wondered, hard-pressed to shake off the weird feeling it gave her.
While the kettle was on the boil, Josie found the cabinet that held an assortment of teapots. Her gaze landed on one that had charm potential. She pulled it out and set it on the counter, then found a tray. By the time the kettle whistled, the tray was loaded. She filled the pot, then carried the tea tray into the parlor.
Alcina was saying, “My daddy isn’t what he used to be, either—not that I would ever suggest as much to him. It’s hard on us, isn’t it? Our parents getting older.”
“Older, but not necessarily wiser. At least not in Pa’s case,” Bart said as Josie set down the tray on the low table between them. “He doesn’t know how to wave a white flag, I guess. And teaching him is gonna be an experience I’m sure I’ll never forget. At least I hope I get that chance. He’s as much as said he could go at any time.”
“What does his doctor say?”
“Haven’t talked to the doc yet.”
His gaze settled on Josie, no doubt because she stood there, staring at him, a wave of empathy washing through her.
Trying to act naturally, she asked, “Want me to pour the tea?”
“I can handle it from here,” Alcina said.
Josie nodded but moved off slowly enough to see if Bart had any reaction to her choice of teapots—a fat white porcelain cat that resembled Miss Kitty. She thought she saw his lips twitch just a little at her joke. Probably as good as she was going to get. When his gaze slid to find her, she gave him a tepid smile—this charm thing didn’t seem to come naturally to her—but his attention was quickly commandeered by Alcina.
“So when is it you expect your brothers to move back to the Curly-Q?” she asked as she poured.
“Who knows if they’ll show at all.”
“I can’t imagine Reed staying away, considering the circumstances.”
The little hairs on her arms prickling again, Josie froze in her tracks. The way Alcina had said Bart’s brother’s name struck a definite chord in her….
“Part of me thinks you’re right on that score. But the way Pa used to beat him down when he was working his butt off…I just don’t know if he’s got good enough reason to come back for more.”
“I would think partnership in a family corporation would be enough. Reed always loved that spread better than anyone—your daddy and you included! Unless he has long-term obligations elsewhere, of course,” Alcina said pointedly.
“Don’t know about any obligations. None to a wife or family if that’s what you mean.”
“Really.”
Really…?
Alcina Dale was obviously more interested in Bart’s brother than in Bart himself, Josie realized as she returned to the kitchen.
Now, why did that lighten her step as she took the back stairs up to the second floor?
Maybe after she finished checking on the room, she’d figure out a way to implement her plan to charm the boots off the lawman.
Josie only hoped she wasn’t tempting fate, somehow….
From the linen closet, she gathered a fresh set of towels, then opened the Raton Room. The room might be narrow with only a single bed, a dresser and a rocking chair, but it was mighty cheerful, what with three windows on two walls letting in so much light. As Alcina had requested, she made sure everything in the room was in order, including opening the windows to let in a cross breeze.
While she was rearranging one of the lace curtains, a fancy new red truck pulled around the building and parked. She gazed down at the tall, fair-haired young man who alighted from the driver’s seat and slapped a well-creased brimmed hat on his head. His jeans and denim jacket seemed equally worn.
Strange, but he didn’t look the type to stay in a bed-and-breakfast, Josie thought as he rounded the truck to grab a single bag from the back.
Then he hesitated and gave the building a long, serious stare.
Not wanting him to spot her, Josie instinctively jumped back from the window. It wouldn’t do to let him think she was spying on him.
Not that she could tell exactly where he was looking through those sunglasses he wore. Even
