LITMIR.BIZ

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Neal was such a nice boy,” Annie pointed out, protesting the whole idea that their marriage had been a mistake from the beginning.

      “Yes, he was and he still is,” Julia readily agreed. “But we got married because it seemed like the right thing to do and nobody should get married thinking pragmatically like that. When Neal and I were married, there was no magic, no chemistry, no starbursts—and those are three very important qualities to have in the foundation of a marriage,” Julia stressed.

      Leaning in, Julia affectionately pressed a kiss to her mother’s forehead. “So stop beating yourself up. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be and when the time is right, I’ll go on to another phase of my life. Until then,” she said, rising to her feet again, “why don’t you make sure all the eggs are out of the refrigerator in the storage room?”

      The bell that hung over the entrance to the grocery store rang, signaling the arrival of the store’s first customer of the day.

      “You do that,” she told her mother, “while I go see what this customer wants.”

      Turning from her mother, Julia found herself looking straight up at Liam Jones. She wasn’t a short woman—five foot eight in her bare feet and her feet weren’t bare—but at six foot three Liam literally seemed to tower over her. Especially, she noted, since he was wearing boots that added another inch and a half to his height.

      Seeing him here surprised her—when was the last time he’d come to the grocery store?—but Julia managed to recover quickly enough.

      “Wow, twice in one week,” she joked, referring to seeing him. “Are the planets about to collide or something equally as dire?”

      Liam was frowning. She was beginning to think that his face had set that way, like some grumpy old man who whiled away his days parked in a chair on a front porch, scowling at the world.

      “I don’t know about the planets, but we sure are,” he told her darkly.

      “And exactly what is that supposed to mean?” Julia wanted to know.

      “I came to hear you say that it’s not true.”

      “Okay,” Julia said obligingly. “‘It’s not true.’” She waited for him to say something. When he didn’t, she gave in and asked, “What’s not true?”

      “The rumors I heard.”

      They were back to this again, she thought, frustrated. “Okay, I’ll bite. What rumors?” she asked, gritting her teeth.

      What was it about this pompous cowboy that set her so completely on edge every time they were within ten feet of each other?

      She couldn’t answer that, which only made the whole situation that much more frustrating for her.

      “The rumors that say you’re trying to convince those damn Fortunes to stick their noses where they don’t belong and open up some high-falutin’ restaurant in Horseback Hollow.”

      Now how did he know she’d been talking to the Mendozas?

      “‘Damn Fortunes’?” she echoed. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you a Fortune?” she challenged.

      His sharp, penetrating blue eyes narrowed as he said, “Consider yourself corrected.”

      That caught her off guard for a second. Had the stories she’d heard been wrong? “So you’re not a Fortune?”

      “No.” He all but spit the word out with all the contempt he could put into the two-letter word.

      And then she remembered something else she’d heard. Something that completely negated what he’d just told her. “Funny, your mother was in here the other day and she seems to think that all of her children have now adopted the Fortune name.” She had him there, Julia thought.

      To her surprise, Liam didn’t take back his statement. Instead he said, “My mother is too softhearted for her own good. She’ll believe anyone. And don’t try to turn this thing around so I lose track of the question. Are you or are you not trying to talk those people into bringing their tainted business into our town?”

      She seized the word—but not the one he would have thought of.

      “That’s right, Liam. Our town. Not your town, but our town. That means I get a say in what happens here, too, not just you and your incredibly narrow vision.” The man was practically medieval in his outlook. If it were up to him, everyone would still be living in the dark ages.

      Liam looked at her coldly. “So it’s true.”

      She might as well spell it out for him, otherwise she had a feeling that she would have no peace from this man. Why was he so against progress, anyway?

      “If you mean am I trying to show Wendy and Marcos Mendoza that building another one of their restaurants here in Horseback Hollow is a very good idea, then yes, it’s true.” The restaurant would attract business and provide jobs. There was no downside to that.

      He succeeded in taking her breath away with his very next question. “Why do you want to destroy the town, Julia?”

      For a second she was so stunned she was speechless. And then she found her tongue. “Are you crazy? This wouldn’t destroy the town. This would be an incredibly good thing for the town.”

      “Right,” Liam sneered. “‘A good thing,’” he echoed contemptuously. “And after they build this restaurant, what’s next? Bring in chain retail stores? Or maybe a shopping mall? Don’t forget, they bring in a chain store, that’ll be the end of this little family store of yours, as well.” He gestured around the store. “You and your parents will be out living on the street—and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.”

      How could he come up with all this and still keep a straight face? It was just beyond her. “You know,” she told him, “you should really be a science-fiction writer with that imagination of yours.”

      Annie Tierney picked this moment to emerge out of the rear storeroom. Seeing Liam beside her daughter, the woman beamed and came forward.

      “Hello, Liam,” she greeted him. “Tell me, how is your mother feeling these days?”

      Chapter Three

      Annie Tierney’s unannounced appearance caught Liam off guard.

      He offered her a polite smile. “She’s feeling fine, Mrs. Tierney.”

      Julia’s mother laughed, the look on her face telling him that he had misunderstood her question. “I’m not asking after her health, dear. I’m asking how she feels about finding out that she’s actually the long-lost daughter of such a very well-to-do, powerful family. The Fortunes,” she added when Jeanne Marie’s son didn’t immediately respond. “Personally, I find it all very exciting,” Annie went on to confide. “It certainly would be a load off my mind if I found out that I was related to them.”

      The older woman turned to look at her daughter. There was unmistakable affection in her eyes. “The first thing I’d do is send my girl off to the very best college that money could buy instead of letting her slave her life away here.”

      “I’m not slaving, Mom,” Julia reiterated the point she’d made before Liam had burst into her store with his annoying accusations. “And this is a conversation we can continue later, when we’re alone.” She deliberately emphasized, then looked directly at Liam. “Which will be soon because Liam’s just leaving. Aren’t you, Liam?” Julia asked, looking at him pointedly as she did her best to muster the semblance of a friendly smile, strictly for her mother’s benefit.

      “Yeah, I guess I am,” he agreed, his eyes never leaving hers, “seeing as how I was never any good at banging my head against a brick wall.”

      “Oh, you poor dear,” Annie declared, instantly sympathetic. As she spoke, Annie reached up to move Liam’s

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