Summer Day Dreams

by Verity Norton

  He pressed the store number on his cell phone and waited for Sally to pick up. “You okay alone for a while?”

  “Sure, boss, what’s up?”

  “Oh, just some things I want to take care of at the farm before I come in.”

  “But you will be in today, right?”

  “Oh yeah.” Considering that Sophie was coming in this afternoon to learn the routine at the store? Definitely.

  “Hello, ladies.” Sean rode up alongside their horses. “How is the lesson going?”

  “Great!” Sophie said gleefully.

  “A coincidence?” Skye eyed her brother suspiciously. “Or are you here to annoy us?”

  “I had to deliver some things to the Callahan ranch, thought I’d get in a quick ride before heading to the store, after scarfing down some of mom’s pancakes, of course,” Sean said as casually as possible, wondering why he was explaining himself in the first place.

  Skye looked at him hard. He turned his attention to the reins he was holding. “See you later.” He quickly guided his horse toward the trail. He would have stuck around but with Skye’s keen eye that was as astute as Cassie’s, he figured it was safer to hit the trail.

  Sophie couldn’t help watching as Sean rode off on his horse. He looked just like the hero on horseback in the westerns she’d watched on television at Arielle’s when they were growing up. They weren’t her favorite movies, but because they wanted to keep Arielle’s little brother Davie company, they watched what he wanted to watch. After a while, they’d grown on her, especially when, much to Davie’s chagrin, there was a romantic theme.

  “Did you hear me?” Skye asked.

  “Hunh? Sorry. What?”

  Skye looked at her askance. “Why are you watching my brother?”

  “Uh, he’s a good rider, isn’t he?”

  “Yeah, I guess,” Skye said. “So do you want to try a trot?”

  She had Sophie’s attention now. “This is only my third lesson. Do you think I’m ready for it?”

  “Sure. Why not?” As long as she could keep her focus on the horse instead of the man.

  Sean rode for all of ten minutes, turned his horse around, and headed back toward the arena. He stopped just out of sight and watched Skye teaching Sophie how to trot. He’d never seen anyone take to horseback riding the way she had. And he’d never seen anyone get so excited over every accomplishment. He could have sat there watching her forever. He sighed. Forever.

  When they climbed off their horses and led them toward the stables, he nudged his horse in the same direction. The three of them untacked and groomed the horses and put them in their stalls. Sophie glanced up at him every time she walked behind one of the horses, careful to put her hand on it to let the horse know she was there.

  “You’re looking good out there,” he told her as they walked toward the house.

  “Thanks.” She was beaming with or without his compliment.

  “You’re learning really fast,” Skye said. “Are you sure you haven’t secretly taken lessons before?”

  “I wish.”

  “Alex will be impressed. He’ll want to take you riding himself.” Skye was staring at Sean as she spoke.

  Of course Alex would want to take her riding himself. And of course he would be impressed. She was, after all, his fiancée. Sean quickened his pace. “I’ll see you at the store,” he mumbled as he turned and headed toward his truck, fully aware that his foul mood had returned.

  Ivy McCullough set a bowl of soup and a large piece of cornbread in front of each of the girls, snatching a small piece for herself, staring at it for a moment, and then setting it back down as if it were a hot potato.

  “Thanks, Mom. You’re spoiling me,” Skye said.

  “My pleasure. You girls enjoy your lunch. I have to head into Winslow to pick up some supplies for the bed and breakfast.”

  They gobbled down their food, both hungry after their ride. Sophie broke the silence with a question she had wanted to ask since her first day here. “So, why are none of the McCullough cousins married?”

  “Never met the right mate?”

  “Right.” She wasn’t buying it. She wondered if they were so content that they didn’t feel the need to run off and get married young.

  “Matt was married. Briefly.”

  “Until his wife ran off to pursue her career?”

  “And escape small town life. Kind of put the rest of us off marriage—until now.” She grabbed Sophie’s hand, admiring the diamond ring again.

  “But surely some of the rest of you must have . love interests.”

  “Oh, sure, we’ve all dated. Some have been hot and steady for a while. Matt’s been there, done that. Megan is next in line if we go by age. If she weren’t the only doctor in the village, she might have a minute to meet a man.”

  “Let’s see. Her name begins with an M so she must be one of Matt’s sisters.”

  “You’re learning. Of course there’s Anne who’s definitely been in love, but unfortunately as soon as she goes out on tour to dance, the guy disappears. And some of the cousins, I can’t imagine ever settling down, like Kieran who thinks he’s a writer and is trying to live the angst and torment of a writer in the 1930’s, say a Hemingway or an F. Scott. And then there’s my little brother Sloan who—let’s just say it will take a mighty strong woman to tame him.” She laughed as she said it. “But most of the cousins have plenty of time yet to think about marriage, being in their late teens and early twenties. Except Matt, Sean, and Megan. But I do believe Matt is now dedicated to bachelorhood. Just like me.”

  “And Sean?” Sophie asked casually.

  “Sean? He’s had plenty of girlfriends, especially when he was living in the Bay Area during college and the few years after when he was working up there, but apparently none of the relationships was serious. I’m not sure what it will take for him to settle down.”

  The part about his having had plenty of girlfriends did not surprise her. The part about none of the relationships being serious, did. “I suppose living out here makes it hard to meet people.”

  Skye shook her head. “That’s what everyone thinks, but the truth is, it’s a great place to meet people, especially at the pub. A lot of young people come through on their way to or from camping, or they come out here to ride the trails, especially guys.”

  Sophie laughed at the gleam in Skye’s eyes that was borderline lecherous.

  “And of course, Winslow is a great tourist destination. If we get bored here, we go hang out there. There’s an inn on the highway where Matt and Sean like to hang out.” She raised an eyebrow. “Supposed to be a great place to meet women.”

  Suddenly Sophie was anxious to change the subject. “So, when do we get to ride again?”

  “Tomorrow morning is good for me,” Skye said.

  “You don’t mind doing this, do you?”

  “Well, don’t tell anyone, but hanging out with you is a real pain. I’m only doing it to earn points with the family.”

  “I’m serious. Let me know if you get bored and want to go riding on your own. Don’t you have to get to work?”

  Skye looked at the kitchen clock. “I do. Need me to drop you somewhere?”

  “If you don’t mind—don’t answer that!” Sophie said as she rinsed their bowls and set them in the dishwasher. “Could we run by the ranch so I can change out of these dusty jeans? Then you could drop me off at the store. I’m helping Sean out while he does some research for me.”

  “Sure.” Skye looked at her new friend warily. Why did she get the feeling that wasn’t such a good idea?

  It took Sean less than an hour to teach her how to scoop ice cream, make root beer floats, sundaes, milkshakes, and banana splits, work the cash register, stock items, keep track of inventory, and smile at customers.

  “Fast learner,” he said.

  “I have an advantage. I’ve spent enough time at ice cream counters to already know how to make the novelties.”

  “And smile,” h
e said.

  “Right. I’ve done that a few times in my life. When do I learn the sandwiches?”

  “Tomorrow? Right now I want to spend some time on the computer.”

  She wasn’t about to deter him from that. “Is it okay if I fiddle with the book display a little bit?”

  “You can fiddle with anything you’d like,” Sean said, biting his tongue a moment too late.

  Fortunately there was nothing but a literal interpretation on her part. “Oh, and I thought maybe I’d try on some jeans.”

  Sean smiled in amusement as he resisted gloating. “Have at ‘em. Sally should be back from her break soon, but if you need me, just call me.”

  Sophie slipped a quarter into the juke box but before she could press B6, he reached around her and pushed B17. Too late he realized that “A Kiss to Build a Dream on” was just as bad as “The Nearness of You”, especially when all he could think about lately was kissing those sensuous lips of hers. Something about his movement had caused her to blush. Either that or the song.

  He cleared his throat and rasped, “I’ll be in the office, researching your mother.” And swallowing ice cubes.

  Sophie felt anxiety bubble up in her stomach. She couldn’t believe that she might actually find her father after all these years. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t tried before now. She had spent numerous hours over the years, with Arielle’s help, searching websites and combing through her mother’s hidden stash of shoe boxes for a clue. But apparently Barbara Weldon had successfully buried that part of her life. Even the detectives she’d hired once she was teaching and had her own money to spend, had hit dead ends.

  In an attempt to distract herself, she went to work dusting some of the gift shelves, tweaking the displays here and there. Then she headed for the books. They too needed dusting, and definitely a more dynamic display. She turned some so the covers were facing out and others, she stacked on their sides to make the display more interesting. By the time she had finished, Sally had returned and she took advantage to try on some jeans.

  She chose two pairs and paid Sally for them. “You get a discount if you’re working here,” the older woman told her.

  Sophie shook her head. “I’m not really. I’m just helping Sean out while he’s doing some research for me.”

  “You get a discount if you’re a family member then.” Sally rang up the jeans and subtracted fifteen percent. She winked at Sophie. “I hear you’re engaged to Alex.”

  Sophie nodded and pushed more money at her. “Just engaged. Not quite family yet.”

  The afternoon went quickly with customers coming and going and Sophie making milk shakes and sundaes for numerous children on their summer vacation. She rang up a couple gifts, five books, a few small appliances, and several pieces of penny candy. At a quarter, it was still a bargain. When they didn’t have customers, she and Sally unpacked boxes and stocked shelves. Her conversation with Sally flowed easily as she wanted to know everything about how she had met Alex and how he had proposed. Sophie dumped the conversation back in Sally’s lap and asked her about her husband and children. It worked like a charm. Most people did like talking about themselves. She must have been the exception. Either that or she was just tired of talking about her engagement.

  Skye McCullough glared at her brother. “Stay away from her, Sean!”

  “Who?” As if he didn’t know. “What are you talking about?” As if he didn’t know.

  She gave him her infamous don’t-BS-me look.

  He took a long swallow of his Belhaven and looked her straight in the eye. If he couldn’t out-BS his sister, there was no hope for him.

  “Okay, be a jerk. We both know perfectly well who and what I’m talking about. You like her and you know it. Sophie, in case you’re going to continue to play dumb. Not that you aren’t dumb, but in this case, I know you know.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  She set down her tray of empty beer glasses a little too hard, knocking one onto its side. Sean righted it for her. “I’ve seen the way you look at her for one. Two, you were rude to her.”

  Damn. His little sister was way too smart for her good. “If I like her, why would I be rude?”

  “To chase her away so you won’t do anything stupid. What I don’t get is why you’ve done this turn-around and started being nice and treating her like she’s not engaged to our cousin.”

  He was not about to divulge the reason for his change in attitude—that he had found hope in the form of her fiancé mooning over his first love. “So what do you suggest?”

  “Stay away. Stop coming out to ride when we’re riding. Tell her you don’t need her help at the store.”

  “Hey, she’s the one who started hanging out at the store. Is it my fault she has a thing for chocolate sodas with chocolate chip ice cream?”

  “Exactly my point. You’ve known me for almost twenty-five years and don’t have a clue what my favorite ice cream flavor is.”

  “Rocky road.”

  “Well, okay, but only sometimes.” Skye slapped her towel across the bar. “That’s not the point. The point is that you now have her working there?” She raised her voice. “What are you thinking?”

  Sean wasn’t sure he should answer that, but he knew he could trust Skye to keep a secret, even from the chain of McCullough cousins. “I’m helping Sophie with some research, and since Sloan and Allie and Aidan aren’t here to cover the summer shifts, I need some help at the store.”

  “Ask Gramps to come in.”

  “Right and what excuse would I give Sophie for suddenly not needing her?”

  “I don’t know. Think of something. And what are you helping her with anyway?”

  “I don’t know if she wants anyone else to know.”

  Skye nodded impatiently. “I haven’t divulged a secret yet. So?”

  “Okay, I’m helping her find her father. She’s never met him, doesn’t even know his name. She wants him to walk her down the aisle.” He had trouble getting that last sentence out.

  “Oh.” So it was legitimate. She couldn’t very well tell him to stop helping her.

  “Got any other suggestions?”

  Skye thought for a moment, putting up a finger to acknowledge that she had seen a customer’s request for another beer. “Yeah, I do. Find a reason not to like her.”

  Yeah, right. That was like telling Sophie to stop liking ice cream sodas.

  Skye stared at him. “Whatever you do, stop lusting, Sean.”

  Yeah, right. That was like telling a hound dog to stop howling.

  Skye wasn’t finished with him yet. “And while you’re at it? Remember just whose wedding it is during which she wants her father to walk her down the aisle.”

  It wasn’t getting any easier. Skye was probably right but nothing was going to work, short of wearing a blindfold. Actually, with his keen memory and the image of Sophie Imogen Weldon that was forever etched in his brain, he’d have to install an off button to have even a moment of relief from thinking about her. And he sure as hell hadn’t found anything he didn’t like about her, other than the fact that she was engaged to his cousin.

  “Want to show me how to make sandwiches and espresso drinks?” Sophie invaded his thoughts as usual. She was just as excited as she’d been the day before.

  “The sandwiches are pretty basic. Nothing fancy. Should be a breeze for you.”

  She looked up at him to see if he was being sincere or sarcastic. She decided on the former.

  “I heard you’re a great cook.”

  “I’m okay.”

  “Your mom taught you?”

  Sophie frowned. “My mother didn’t usually get home until late. She never cooked, which was the reason I learned. It was either that or eat TV dinners every night.”

  He couldn’t imagine what that was like. TV dinners alone instead of sitting down to a home-cooked meal with a family.

  Sean struggled to keep his eyes on the task at hand and away from her tight jeans and her equally
tight tank top and her curly golden hair and her eyes that were filled with passion . for life. And her mouth. God, that mouth. He glanced at the juke box and sighed. Hell, he didn’t even need a kiss to spend all his days and nights dreaming about her.

  Taking deep breaths, he took her through the drill on how to prepare a Canden Village General Store sandwich.

  “I don’t want to waste food. Shouldn’t we just pretend?” she asked.

  He glanced at the clock. “It’s lunch time. Why don’t you make me a tuna on rye. Sally, hungry for lunch?”

  Sally looked up from the romance novel she was reading behind the cash register. “Sure. Turkey and swiss on whole wheat.”

  “Make one for yourself while you’re at it. What’s your favorite?”

  Sophie laughed. “I doubt it’s on the menu.”

  Sean raised an eyebrow. “Okay, now I’m curious.”

  She turned her attention to the bread that she was spreading with mayonnaise and mustard per his instructions.

  “You know I’m going to stand here until you spill.”

  She gave him an impish smile and picked up the mustard and tilted it as if she were going to spill some on him.

  “Smart aleck.” He grabbed it out of her hand and set it on the counter. He reached out and tickled her, stopping abruptly when he heard the bell on the front door jingle, indicating that a customer had walked in. If it was Skye he was in deep shit.

  He turned slowly to see some hikers headed for Sally’s counter. “Okay, so what is your favorite sandwich? If it sounds good, we might add it to the menu.”

  Sophie laughed again, placing the turkey and cheese on the whole wheat bread. “I seriously doubt it. Banana.”

  “Banana what?”

  “Banana sandwich. It’s my favorite.”

  “That’s it?”

  “I butter the bread first. Hey, I invented it when I was five. What do you expect?”

  How could anyone be so incredibly adorable and sexy at the same time? Sophie finished making Sally’s sandwich and set it on a plate on the counter for her. Before finishing Sean’s, she grabbed two slices of bread, slapped on some butter, snatched a banana from the ice cream counter, cut it into quarters, set the slices on top of a piece of bread and closed the sandwich.