LITMIR.BIZ

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prayed to see Brooke as at ease with a child as she appeared to be with this one. After Lucy’s death, Brooke had vowed never to have children of her own. Now here she stood, rubbing noses with little A.J. and making goo-goo eyes at him while Gabe looked on with fierce pride and obvious love.

      They moved into the living room to visit for a few minutes. Talk centered on the day’s events, starting with Zach’s swearing in that morning and culminating with the breakup of Vincent and Kylie. Though shocking, the news that the wedding had not taken place pleased Brooke.

      “We weren’t invited, of course, being from George’s side of the family, but I couldn’t help wondering if she knew what she was getting into.”

      The two brothers—George Sr., Zach’s grandfather, and Samuel, Vincent’s grandfather—had come to a parting of the ways more than fifty years ago. Sadly, the two sides of the family considered themselves enemies.

      “Kylie was very kind that day,” Gabe said, stroking A.J.’s tiny head. The boy had gone missing while in Brooke’s care and been found by Kylie a quarter mile away in Vincent’s backyard.

      Eventually the little party began forming up to leave. “So, where are we going for dinner?” Zach asked.

      Brooke and Gabe looked at each other, then turned as one to him. “To the Cowboy Café. Where else?”

      Zach chuckled. He had thought that they might drive over the mountain to one of the more touristy communities with their review-rated restaurants. Evidently, his little sister had well and truly settled back in Clayton. Leaving town hadn’t even occurred to her.

      Some minutes later—getting a child into and out of a vehicle proved to be more complicated than Zach had realized—Zach followed his sister, Gabe and A.J. into the little café in downtown Clayton.

      The old place hadn’t changed, despite the little American flags peppering the place. A couple hands from the ranches outside of town turned on their stools at the counter running down one side of the long, narrow room to see who had come through the door. Others sitting at the rustic tables crowded into the front of the room looked up to wave or nod as a raucous country and western tune blared from the jukebox near the door.

      Gabe and Brooke chose a table in one corner near the antique cash register at the end of the counter, helping themselves to a battered booster seat along the way. While they settled A.J., Zach shook hands with an old schoolteacher who had recognized him. He’d barely put his backside to the chair when a slender dervish in skinny blue jeans and a red T-shirt plunked down glasses of water, including a plastic cup with a lid for the toddler. The long, golden-brown braid hanging down her back swung across her shoulder as she bent to bring her face close to A.J.’s.

      “Hi, sweetie! How are you? Gerald’s made up some mac and cheese that you ought to love.” She tapped the tip of his nose with a bare, neatly trimmed fingernail and straightened. “Meatloaf to go along with it for the rest of you, if you’re interested.”

      Feeling a jolt of combined recognition and surprise, Zach blinked at the waitress. She blinked back at him. At almost the same instant, they both blurted, “You!”

      Obviously, Zach had underestimated Kylie Jeanne Jones. This morning she’d canceled her wedding, and this evening she served tables in the most public venue in town, sans the fake fingernails. No shrinking violet here. Just a very pretty one.

      Zach couldn’t help smiling.

      Sitting at home and indulging in a pity party after her canceled wedding had not appealed to Kylie one bit. She knew from experience that, when disappointment derailed one’s plans, keeping busy helped. That’s what she’d done since leaving college just months shy of graduation to come back here and help out at home financially.

      She’d thought marrying Vincent would ease her family’s situation, but after spotting him making out with another woman in a parked car in the lot at the church where she had just arrived for their wedding, she hadn’t been able to go through with it. She felt surprisingly relieved about canceling the ceremony, even though it meant that her family would continue to need her wages to keep from losing their business. All things considered, after the debacle at the church, picking up an extra shift at the café had seemed like the thing to do. However, she hadn’t expected to bump into the one individual, besides her dad, who had actually witnessed the humiliating scene with Vincent today.

      The deputy sheriff’s good looks struck her again. The dark blue of his eyes almost matched his navy shirt, and his smile carved that single dimple in the lean plane of his cheek. Brows and lashes a shade darker than his light brown hair, which the sun had bleached gold at the tips; a strong, straight nose and wide mouth completed the picture.

      “I understand you’ve met my brother,” Brooke said wryly.

      Kylie’s head snapped around. “This one’s your brother?”

      Brooke inclined her head, eyes shining. “That’s our Lump-head. Better known as Zach.”

      “Watch it, Gigglebot,” he shot back.

      She smiled, and Kylie realized that Brooke had the same dimple. Funny, she’d never noticed that before, and she’d known Brooke since high school. She’d known, too, somewhere in the back of her mind, that Brooke had an older brother, but he’d been long gone by the time Kylie had come to Clayton.

      “Then I guess your brother’s told you …” She waved a hand, unwilling to say more about canceling the wedding here in the diner. Everyone knew, of course, but they were curbing their curiosity out of sheer civility.

      Brooke nodded. “To tell you the truth, I’m relieved.”

      “Why is that?” Kylie knew how deep the animosity ran on both sides of the family, but she couldn’t imagine why Brooke would be concerned for her one way or another. It had been years since they’d been even casual friends, and Kylie had put herself in the enemy camp, so to speak, by becoming engaged to Vincent.

      For answer, Brooke just glanced at her brother, who drawled, “Because no woman in her right mind would get involved with Vincent.”

      Kylie stiffened. “Oh, really?”

      Today’s events had left her emotions raw, and the criticism sounded particularly harsh coming from the man she’d been thinking of as her personal hero. Obviously, his intervention today had been all about sticking it to Vincent rather than rescuing her.

      At the tone of her voice, Zach Clayton frowned. “I didn’t mean—”

      Kylie interrupted him, stung and embarrassed. “What can I get you folks? I highly recommend the special, but it’s up to you.”

      Gabe flashed Zach a sympathetic look and said, “Meatloaf sounds great to me.”

      They all ordered the meatloaf. Gabe and Brooke chose iced tea with theirs. Zach preferred a cola.

      Kylie tried not to glare at him. She didn’t care what he had to drink or know why his comment bothered her so much. Yet, for some reason she especially resented hearing her rescuer describe her as “not in her right mind.” At least he had the decency to look uncomfortable about it. Well, that made two of them.

      “Suit yourself,” she barked, hurrying away.

      She regretted her tone immediately. Maybe coming to work had been a bad idea after all. Feeling weary, she suddenly wished that it had been anyone but Zach Clayton standing there in that uniform today. She’d have much preferred old Diggers to have witnessed her humiliation. Then again, Diggers might not have even intervened. Everyone knew that he and Pauley, Vincent’s father and the town’s part-time, unpaid mayor, were thick as thieves.

      Besides, she had much bigger problems than a little embarrassment. No matter what her father said, Kylie knew that he’d been counting on Vincent’s grandfather to buy out his share of the ranch in which they’d invested together. If only her dad hadn’t followed Samuel’s advice and put up Jones Feed & Supply as collateral for the loan. If only he hadn’t bought into the ranch with

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