LITMIR.BIZ

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Rafe began.

      His mother waved him into silence. “I want this, Rafe. I want to be a part of the ranch, and I don’t think there’s any reason Heidi and Glen can’t be a part of it, too. There’s room for all of us.”

      Heidi liked the sound of a compromise, but she would reserve judgment until she heard all the terms. Or had the money to pay May back. Although she had a feeling that the latter was going to take a little longer.

      “What did you have in mind?” Heidi asked.

      “I want to make a few improvements,” May said. “The barn needs to be fixed and the fence lines. This house…” She glanced at the aging appliances. “Those were old when I lived here. I hated that oven.”

      “Me, too,” Heidi admitted. “One side doesn’t heat.”

      “So you have to keep turning everything. I remember. There’s painting to be done and maybe new floors.”

      “Slow down,” Rafe told her. “Let’s take things one at a time.”

      May set her mouth. “I’m sorry, Rafe, but I’ve been waiting to get back to this ranch for twenty years. I’m here now. At my age, I can’t afford to slow down.”

      “At your age.” Glen shook his head. “You’re barely out of your teens and too young for me. More’s the pity.”

      May ducked her head. “I have four grown children.”

      “Even looking at Rafe here, I can barely believe it.”

      Rafe’s jaw twitched. “Maybe if you made a list.”

      Everyone stared at him.

      “Of what you’d like to do at the ranch,” he clarified.

      “Good idea,” his mother said.

      “Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn from time to time,” he muttered.

      Heidi hid her grin behind her mug and thought maybe she’d been a bit hasty in judging Rafe’s sense of humor. As much as she liked May, she could see that the older woman wouldn’t be all that easy to deal with. The combination of sweetness and determination could be daunting. Not that Glen was any less complicated.

      May put down her mug. “Rafe and I should be going. I want to get right on making that list. You know where we’re staying, right? At Ronan’s Lodge? Oh, let me give you my cell number, and I’ll take yours.”

      “You’re staying in town, then?” Heidi asked.

      Rafe answered. “Yes. Until this is settled, we’re not going anywhere.”

      More threat than promise.

      “Lucky us.” Glen took May’s hand in his. “I look forward to seeing you again, very soon.”

      “Me, too,” May whispered back, her gaze locking with his.

      Heidi didn’t know if she should leave the older couple alone or insist on being a chaperone. Either way, she was going to have a very long talk with her grandfather.

      Even as she wondered how she was going to convince him to see reason, she saw Rafe studying Glen. Because they weren’t in enough trouble already, she thought grimly, confident he would continue to protect what was his. She could only hope his matchmaker person found someone fast. With Rafe distracted, she might have a prayer of surviving the disaster that was her life.

      * * *

      HEIDI WAITED UNTIL RAFE and his mother had driven away, then walked into the family room and stood in front of her grandfather. Glen had already settled into his favorite chair to watch TV.

      “Not so fast,” she said, taking the remote from him. “We have to talk.”

      “About what?”

      He sounded so innocent, she thought grimly. “May Stryker. You have to stop it. I can see what you’re up to.”

      “She’s a beautiful woman.”

      “Yes, she is, and not someone you can get involved with.” She sank onto the ottoman in front of him. “Glen, I mean it. Don’t do this. Don’t mess with her. You know what will happen. You’ll sleep with her a few times, get her to fall in love with you and then you’ll lose interest.”

      “Heidi, that’s harsh.”

      “Maybe, but it’s true. This is important.”

      “I know.” He leaned toward her. “I’m not playing around.”

      “You’re flirting.”

      “I like her.”

      “You like all women.”

      His expression turned serious. “No. I like her. This is different.”

      She stared at his familiar face and wondered if she was strong enough to shake some sense into him. “There’s no way you’re going to get me to believe this would be more than a fling. All my life you’ve told me that love is only for the foolish and weak-minded. That if I felt myself falling in love, I should run in the other direction.”

      “I know, I know.” He held up both hands. “You’ve got me dead to rights on that one. But I’m getting older, Heidi. Even I have to admit that. And growing old alone is starting to feel like an unnecessary mistake. What if there’s something to this ‘till death do you part’ thing—with the right woman.”

      Heidi shook her head. “No. You don’t get to suddenly announce everything you believed in was wrong.”

      “Why not? People once thought the world was flat. That’s not true. Like I said, maybe I was wrong. And May’s not like any other woman I’ve met. I can’t ignore that.”

      Heidi covered her face in her hands. “Don’t do this to me.”

      He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “You’re a good girl, Heidi. I love you. You know that, right?”

      “Yes, Glen. I love you, too.”

      “Then have a little faith.”

      * * *

      “MARGARITA WITH AN EXTRA shot,” Heidi said.

      Jo, the owner and main bartender at Jo’s Bar, raised both eyebrows. “You’re not an extra shot kind of girl.”

      “I am tonight.”

      “You driving?”

      Some people would find the question annoying or presumptuous. Heidi loved it. The concern, the meddling, were all vintage Fool’s Gold and only one of many reasons she and her grandfather had wanted to settle here.

      “Glen dropped me off,” Heidi said. “He’ll be picking me up when I call.”

      “Okay, then. An extra shot it is.”

      Jo left. A few minutes later, Annabelle and Charlie walked in together. They scanned the place, saw Heidi had already claimed a booth and hurried toward her.

      “You won’t believe the rumors,” Annabelle said, sliding in first. “Did the judge really order you to sleep with Rafe Stryker?”

      Heidi choked. “No. Of course not.”

      “Too bad,” the petite, redheaded librarian said with a sigh. “I saw him yesterday. He’s delicious.”

      “Is that really the rumor? The sleeping part,” Heidi added. “Not him being delicious.”

      Charlie rolled her eyes. “No. Annabelle, I swear, you need a man. You’re getting desperate.”

      “Tell me about it. I promised myself that I was done with relationships. The good guys never fall for me. I just didn’t think the sex thing through. Do you think the judge would order Rafe to have sex with me?” She brushed her long,

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