LITMIR.BIZ

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seems to know what he’s doing and is doing it right. At least that’s my observation.”

      “I expect that.”

      He wasn’t giving her much to go on, but she continued. “I didn’t see much of Kelly.”

      “Kelly’s helping me with some updates in the barn.”

      “Have you given any thought to hiring a few high school boys to help with those kinds of things?”

      “No, I haven’t. Should I?”

      He was being far too reasonable and it made her nervous. “Glory hired a few last year to help with work on the house.”

      “I’ll think about it.”

      She waited for him to say more, and when he didn’t, she looked up at him. It was the wrong thing to do. He was watching her closely, his eyes smoky and half-lidded. She knew that look all too well. It had always made her feel as if her bones were turning to liquid. It still did.

      She needed to get away, have a little time to herself. Thirty minutes. An hour, at the most. But how?

      He blinked, clearing his eyes, and stepped back. “Lunch is at noon.”

      Her knees weakened at the reprieve. “I’ll go home for that,” she answered, with effort. “What time do I need to be back?”

      “We all go to the café. Together.”

      So much for getting a little time to herself to put some space between them. But she’d insisted on being treated as one of them, so she couldn’t complain now.

      * * *

      JAKE STUDIED THE ice in his glass of tea, wondering if he’d done the right thing by hiring Erin.

      The five of them were nearly finished with their lunch at the Chick-a-Lick Café. He’d noticed immediately when Erin chose the seat farthest away from him. She’d even insisted on sitting in the backseat of his crew cab pickup on the way into town. He reminded himself that this was only the first day. There would be plenty of time to fix things between them.

      He heard her laugh and moved his chair a little more to the left, hoping to get a better view of her. As he did, Darla, their waitress and the café manager, placed the bill next to him. He looked up with a smile. “Great meal, as always, Darla,” he told her.

      “Thanks, Jake,” she replied, and then turned to look down the table. “It’s good to see you again, Erin,” she said with a friendly smile. “You probably don’t remember me. I was finishing eighth grade when you graduated from high school.”

      “Of course I remember you,” Erin answered. “You have three brothers. Patrick was in my class.”

      Darla’s smile widened. “Yes, he was.”

      “What’s he doing?”

      “He moved to the city. He’s a doctor. My mother is thrilled.”

      Erin laughed, and Jake wished she would laugh at something he said. She’d spent the morning staying out of his range, and he’d played it smart by keeping his distance, as much as possible.

      “Eat up, boys,” he said, purposely not mentioning Erin’s name. After all, she wanted to be treated like them. “We need to be getting back soon.”

      “Well, I’ll be danged!”

      Jake looked down the table at Bobby Ray, sitting across the table from Erin and staring at her.

      “I knew there was something about you,” Bobby Ray continued, “but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It just came to me like a lightning bolt. You’re Erin Walker.”

      Putting her glass aside, she leaned back and crossed her arms, her face calm and straight. “That’s my name.”

      Bobby Ray glanced at Jake, who smiled. He had an idea where this was going and knew it would be interesting.

      Shaking his head, Bobby Ray leaned forward. “No. I mean yes, you are, but I mean the Erin Walker, the barrel racer. I’ve seen you compete.”

      She didn’t say anything at first, then spoke directly to him. “Did you rodeo, Bobby Ray?”

      His nod was short and quick. “I did, back in the day. Team roping. By the time I really got the hang of it, the younger cowboys were catching up. I decided it must not be for me.”

      “He’s not being honest,” Jake said, from his end of the table. “He and his partner won several competitions.”

      Bobby Ray shook his head. “Not enough to keep me in it. It’s a tough life. And an expensive one, if you aren’t on the winning side more than the losing.”

      Erin didn’t respond at first, leaving Jake to wonder what was going through her head.

      “It takes more than talent,” she finally said, giving Bobby Ray a smile Jake wished she’d bestowed on him.

      “Well, you’ve got that, for sure,” the wrangler answered.

      “What’s it like, Erin?” Kelly asked. “Traveling around the country.”

      She gave a little one-shouldered shrug. “It’s like living life as a gypsy. Sometimes exciting. Sometimes just a lot of driving. This is such a beautiful country, and I’ve been lucky to see so much of it. But the rodeo circuit, like everything else, has its ups and downs, pros and cons.”

      Jake had never thought her life had been easy, but this was the first time, except for when she’d talked about Firewind, that he’d caught a note of loneliness in her voice. Most of the time it was spit and fire. The years had changed her, at least a little.

      Standing, he announced, “We’d better be getting back.”

      The others started moving, and while he walked on to the cash register, they left the café. When he finished paying the bill, he found them waiting on the sidewalk in front of his truck and joined them.

      “Maybe Erin should sit in front, this time,” Gary said, opening the front passenger door.

      “I’m fine in the back,” she answered quickly. “You and Jake need the extra leg room.”

      “Less crowded with you in the front,” Jake pointed out.

      “Maybe another time,” she said, without looking at him.

      His gaze lingered on her for a moment, and then he walked around the front of the truck and climbed in. “Let’s get a move on, boys.”

      They’d reached the outskirts of town when Bobby Ray leaned forward. “Were you going to look into that cattle sale down in Wichita Falls?”

      “I plan to,” Jake answered.

      “I hear they’ll have some nice horses, too.”

      “It’s two weeks away, so I’ll check into that more closely before I go. Can’t have too many horses,” Jake said, and glanced in the rearview mirror. Erin didn’t seem to hear him as she stared out the window. If only he knew what she was thinking. Or maybe it was best that he didn’t.

      The rest of the ride back to the ranch remained quiet. As he turned the truck into the ranch yard, he tried to think of something he could have Erin do that would keep her nearby.

      He’d just gotten out of the truck and closed the door, when he saw her catching up with Bobby Ray, heading for the large corral. The nearly windless day helped carry her voice, so he watched and listened.

      “I noticed you were having a little trouble this morning, Bobby Ray,” she said, matching his stride.

      “Slow reaction speed,” he answered.

      “I think we can fix that.”

      He turned his head to look at her. “You think so?”

      “Yeah, I do. Would you

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