LITMIR.BIZ

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she’d been front and center when Gretchen dumped him at the church’s commencement reception those many years ago. For crying out loud, what kind of dope proposes in front of a roomful of people unless he’s one-hundred-percent sure—and then some—that the answer will be Y-E-S? But maybe, like her, he’d never dreamed any woman in her right mind would turn him down.

      Of course, it wasn’t as if Gretchen hadn’t cranked up the charm to grab his attention from the moment Olivia introduced them, so why would he have thought otherwise?

      Maybe he blamed her for that, too?

      She closed the pantry door harder than intended. Gave it a soft kick for good measure.

      “Take it easy, Liv.” Paulette’s voice intruded into her thoughts as she swept into the kitchen to plunk a box of assorted staples on the table, her handbag skidding across the surface where she’d tossed it. Then folding her arms, she leaned against the work island and—not unexpectedly—got right down to business.

      “So, if you and Rob knew each other in college, why don’t I remember hearing you talk about him?”

      Olivia moved to the table to inspect the box’s contents, determined not to let her sister fluster her.

      “No reason to, I guess.”

      Even back then she knew better than to bare her soul to her sister’s scrutiny. She removed two containers of peanut butter from the box and deposited them in the pantry.

      “You expect me to believe that?” The tone of Paulette’s query was reminiscent of the probing Olivia recalled from her childhood. Big sister who acted more like her mother than her mother did.

      She shrugged. “We didn’t know each other that well.”

      “I got the impression from that exchange that there are coals still smoldering. He made it clear he’s not into digging up old bones.”

      “Actually,” Olivia speculated, determined to put a positive twist on his response to their reunion, “it sounded to me as if he’s overwhelmed with Singing Rock management at the moment. No time to spare.”

      Paulette’s expression clearly stated she wasn’t buying it. “You were in classes together? He’s older than you, isn’t he?”

      “He was a grad student my freshman year and helping with the church’s college outreach program. We played together on their co-ed volleyball team that winter, Bible study, mission trips, things like that. I didn’t even cross his radar.”

      Sad, but true.

      “That’s it?” Paulette’s tone still echoed disbelief. “No ill-fated fling with you dumping and running?”

      “Sorry to disappoint you,” she said with a clear conscience as she continued to unpack the box. “So how’d he end up as Singing Rock’s manager? He put himself through school working for a property management business, but I didn’t think that was his ultimate goal. And certainly not in a dinky town like this.”

      Paulette shifted her weight. “You missed the wedding last spring, but he’s our cousin Joe’s new in-law. His wife, Meg’s, brother. Guess he recently had a run-in with armed drug dealers in Vegas. A close call.”

      Olivia winced. Did that account for the bruises and scrapes? “That’s scary.”

      “He hightailed it out of the city, looking for an out-of-the-way place to land. Can’t get much more out of the way than Canyon Springs. Joe says he doesn’t like to talk about the incident, so don’t say anything to him, okay? Don’t want him to think people are gossiping about him.”

      “I won’t.” But a good-looking single man, new to town, would be bound to stir up talk. Speculation. “This is temporary, right? He’s not a permanent manager.”

      “If he works out—and I think he will—he’s exactly what Mom and Dad need. An answered prayer.”

      Olivia set the pickle jar on the table. “You can determine that this early? He’s barely been here a couple of weeks.”

      “That’s longer than you stayed the last time.”

      Gut-punched, Olivia forced a smile, unwilling to let her sister drag her into a war of words. Again.

      “Mom and Dad like him?”

      “You think they’d be gadding about this time of year if they didn’t? I admit he’s on the uptight side. But once the rawness of that Vegas encounter wears off, I imagine he’ll fit in here fine.”

      Uptight might describe him now if his earlier, curt remark could be used as evidence, but that wasn’t an accurate description of the Rob she knew in college. Her memory flashed to a long-cherished image of him. His eyes closed. Humming softly. Fingering the strings of his guitar as light from a campfire played across his features.

      “He certainly was motivated, ambitious, but never uptight.”

      “People change, I guess.” Paulette glanced at her watch, then snatched her purse from the table. “Gotta go. Have to be at work by eight-fifteen.”

      “You’re working now? Outside the home?” Her sister had always been adamant about being there for the kids. Vowed they’d live off beans and soup until her offspring graduated if that’s what it took to be a full-time mother and homemaker.

      Paulette scowled, her tone defensive. “The kids are in public school now.”

      “I didn’t mean—”

      “Wyatt’s Grocery. Clerking.”

      “Busy place,” she commiserated, hoping to establish common ground with her too-sensitive big sis. She remembered her own demanding high school schedule at the local grocer’s bakery and deli departments. “On your feet all day.”

      Paulette grimaced and turned away toward the living room as if she’d already shared more than she’d intended. “So, how long are you staying this time?”

      Too long to suit her sister, no doubt. Mom and Dad were understanding when she popped in and out of town. Not Paulette. And maybe not Mom and Dad if hiring Rob was any indication. She couldn’t blame them for that. After all, hadn’t she herself told them—after her oldest sister pummeled her self-confidence—that it wouldn’t work out?

      “I don’t know,” she said, following her sibling to the adjoining room. It had been so clear on the drive home that she’d given up too easily last year, hadn’t stood her ground. But with her parents turning to a stranger to fill the Singing Rock management role …

      “One word of advice.” Paulette jerked open the front door and stepped onto the shaded porch. Her hand still on the doorknob, she turned with an uncompromising glare. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing coming back here right now, but don’t go getting any ideas about Rob McGuire.”

      “Excuse me?”

      “You know what I’m talking about. He can’t be another notch on your love life gun belt. The future of Singing Rock is riding on him and you can’t come bounding in here with your typical puppy-dog enthusiasm, straining a working relationship with Mom and Dad’s new manager. I think you owe them that.”

      Her sister pulled the door firmly shut behind her.

      Olivia stood riveted to the floor. Her love life gun belt? Puppy-dog enthusiasm? And what did she mean the future of Singing Rock was riding on Rob? Just because Mom and Dad were eager to retire and none of their daughters or sons-in-law had an interest in carrying the torch of the family business? That may have been true at one point. But not now. Not after she’d regained confidence, had time to reconsider.

      But, of course, if it was up to Paulette, she’d never get that opportunity—unless she could wrest the job from Rob without her sibling’s knowledge and prove to the family once and for all she could do it.

      Back in the kitchen, she opened a can of mixed fruit and sat down to

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