LITMIR.BIZ

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disabled and bitter. There’d been no laughter in the Moore household for a long time.

      No one came to the door, so he rang the doorbell. Cheerful chimes pealed through the house, then he heard footsteps coming.

      He wasn’t surprised to see Jodie answer, her head tipped to one side, her dark hair caught back in a loose ponytail, her bangs skimming eyes so blue they looked unnatural.

      They were a different blue than Lauren’s, which were more gray. Cooler.

      He shook that thought off. Lauren was attractive, yes, but he had to keep a level head. Too much was at stake to be distracted by a good-looking woman.

      “Hey, Vic. Lauren said you were coming,” Jodie said, stepping aside to let him in. “I thought you’d be here sooner.”

      “I had to stop at the dealership to get some parts for my horse trailer.” Nestor, who owned the place, had been particularly chatty. Then John Argall stopped in and asked him how Dean was doing and if Vic was coming back to Bible study. Vic had felt bad at the disappointment John had displayed. The past month he had taken on extra work. Work Dean would have done.

      He didn’t blame his brother. Dean wasn’t as sure as Vic was that Keith had made proper arrangements to protect their handshake agreement so he went back to work for Jan Peter, a local carpenter. Vic hadn’t signed anything, but Keith had assured him that he had written something up.

      He just needed to find it. Then Dean could stop working for Jan and they could start ranching together.

      “Come in,” Jodie was saying. “Lauren and I were catching up. She’s trying to talk me out of purple bridesmaid dresses.”

      “You’re not looking for my opinion, I hope?”

      “I thought you could weigh in. When Lauren has an idea, she’s immovable.”

      That didn’t bode well for any negotiations, Vic thought.

      “Can’t say I have a lot of expertise in that area. I’m only standing up for Finn, and he told me to wear clean blue jeans.”

      “Listen, mister, when it comes to wedding attire, you check with me before you check with my future husband.” But she spoke in a cheerful tone, adding a wink.

      He returned Jodie’s smile, wide and open and happy, a much different woman than the one who’d come to Saddlebank with a chip on her shoulder and a cocky attitude. Now, engaged to Vic’s good friend Finn Hicks, she looked relaxed. Happy.

      Vic wondered what Jodie thought of the potential buyer of the ranch and if she liked the idea. He was thinking of asking her but quashed that thought as he toed off his boots. He had to figure this out on his own. Bringing Jodie in would only create complications.

      He set his scuffed and cracked cowboy boots beside Lauren’s high heels, the contrast making him laugh.

      “We’re sitting in the dining room. Do you want some coffee?”

      “Sure. Sounds good.” He followed Jodie through the kitchen. His steps slowed as he passed Keith’s office, which was opposite the eating bar of the kitchen, and he glanced inside the open door.

      Papers covered the desk that ran along one wall. The filing cabinet’s top drawer was open.

      “We’ve been going through Dad’s stuff,” Jodie said, catching the direction of his gaze. “I meant to do it when I first came but thought I would wait till Lauren was here. She’s the organized one.”

      He suppressed the question that nagged at him. He had time yet. Lauren might have a buyer all lined up, but she still had to stay at the ranch for two months before she could make a decision.

      He followed Jodie to the end of the house. Vaulted ceilings soaring two stories high arched over the living and dining room. Light from the upper windows slanted down into the space. A fireplace made of river rock bisected the far wall, framed by large bay windows overlooking the pasture and the mountains.

      To his left a set of stairs led to the loft and a couple of bedrooms above, and the basement with its bedrooms downstairs. He knew the layout of the house because he had spent time here before.

      Though all those stairs might not be best for Dean at the moment, his leg would get better. Vic had to believe that. And when he did, it would be a perfect place for his brother to live. A real home.

      “Sit down. Ignore the mess,” Jodie said as she padded barefoot to the kitchen. She wore blue jeans, frayed at the cuffs, and a gauzy purple and pink shirt that had tiny bells sewn to the hem. The bells created a happy tinkling sound as she took a mug out of the cupboard and poured him some coffee.

      Lauren, in her stark dress and hair still pulled back in a bun, was a complete contrast to her sister. She glanced up from papers strewn over the table. Her dark-framed glasses gave her an austere air. She held his eyes for a moment, then looked away.

      Dismissed once again, he thought, remembering their earlier encounter too well.

      “Finn told me you’re working the rodeo coming up?” Jodie said, setting the mug of coffee on the table.

      “Yeah. Walden was short a pickup man, so I thought I’d help out.” Vic settled in the chair across from Lauren, taking the cup with a smile of thanks.

      “You always were a pickup artist,” Jodie joked as she sat as well and shuffled through the papers in front of her.

      “Oldest joke in the book,” Vic groaned.

      “I feel like I should know what a pickup man is,” Lauren said, slipping her glasses off her face and setting them on the table.

      “See that, Vic?” Jodie said, her voice holding a note of admiration. “That’s why I should wear glasses. People think you’re all smart and important. And when you take them off, it looks like you’re getting ready to do business. People take glasses-wearing people seriously.”

      Vic chuckled as Lauren shot her sister a wry look. “You should take that show on the road,” Lauren said.

      “It’s my only joke,” Jodie said with a grin. “Wouldn’t take me far.”

      “Oh, I’m sure you have more you could add to your repertoire,” Lauren said, smiling back at her sister.

      “You’d have to come with me as my straight man, though. A role you play to perfection.”

      Lauren laughed again and Vic couldn’t look away. She was a beautiful woman in her own right. But now, relaxed, smiling, a glint of humor in her eyes as she teased her sister, the light from the window behind her lighting her hair, she was luminous.

      He groaned inwardly as he took a sip of his coffee, frustrated with his response to this woman. He was here to talk business and he was coming up with mental compliments?

      “Getting back to my original question, what is a pickup man?” Lauren asked.

      Vic waited for Jodie to answer, but she was frowning at a piece of paper, seemingly unaware of her sister’s question. So Vic replied.

      “We ride along the outskirts of the arena during the rough stock events—bareback, saddle bronc, bull and steer riding. We help the guys off the horses if we can, make sure the bulls and horses get out of the arena safely. That kind of thing.”

      “I see,” said Lauren, the vague tone of her voice conveying her lack of interest.

      “I know Walden is glad you’ll be there,” Jodie said. “He told me you guys work well together.”

      “Who’s Walden?” Lauren asked.

      “The other pickup man,” Vic said. “We always work in pairs.”

      “You’ll have to come to the rodeo, Lauren. See Vic in action,” Jodie said. “And that horse that Finn trained. Adelaide, one of his clients, will be riding it in the barrel riding competition.”

      “We’ll

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