by Susan Crosby
“Technically, you only have seven new mouths to feed—assuming the puppies and kittens are being fed by their mothers.”
He glowered and she held up a hand. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”
“Try a different tack.”
“I apologize for what happened. What can I do to help?”
“You can tell Estelle you made a mistake and let her spread the word.”
“You could do that yourself.”
“You need to eat a little humble pie, princess.”
She crossed her arms. “I’m supposed to fly back home in a few hours.”
“Then you’d better get crackin’.” He spun on his heel and took off, feeling her eyes on him as he strode to his truck. By the time he started the engine, she’d moved to the front of the porch, watching him.
She’s leaving… .
He’d sort of been waiting for her to show up uninvited again, figuring she didn’t like being denied something she wanted, and she’d made no bones about wanting him. He’d been flattered and aroused by it. Dreams of her had become jumbled with renewed nightmares of the tornado. He wondered if hers had gone away for good.
He took off for home. It wasn’t the dogs and cats that would take up his time, except for finding them homes—it was the horses. They took a long time to work with, especially if they’d been injured or abused. These two new arrivals were skittish, not yet letting him check them out, so he didn’t know what he was dealing with. But the time involved in caring for them took away from his work, and his work brought him an income. Without money he couldn’t continue to support his animals.
For the moment, however, he needed to make boxes to contain the puppies and kittens, a job that shouldn’t have been necessary in the first place.
Why had she done it? Did she think he wasn’t good enough as he was, so she wanted to make him seem more charitable, therefore better, to the citizens of Red Rock?
Cursing the tornado that was the source of all his current problems, he pulled up in front of his barn and unloaded supplies. He spent the next couple of hours working in the barn, surrounded by the sounds of puppies yipping and kittens mewling. Strange and familiar dogs milled around, with Pete asserting himself as alpha dog to settle down the new arrivals and establish their place at the ranch.
Garrett had just moved the mamas and babies into their respective stalls when he heard a car approach. The new dogs barked or hid. The rest went to greet the visitor. Garrett didn’t recognize the car—or the one that pulled in behind it. Or the next one, which also towed a horse trailer. But as the people emerged, he recognized several from the Red Rock branch of the Fortune family, and a couple of Mendozas, as well.
An hour later, he was still standing outside his barn feeling bewildered when he spotted Victoria’s rental car coming up his driveway. She bounded out of the vehicle, her face glowing.
“Well?” she asked.
“I gave away four dogs, one horse and two kittens—when they’re ready. What’d you do? Strong-arm your family?”
“Who doesn’t want a well-trained pet? They sold themselves. I think more people will show up in the next week, too. Everyone eating at Estelle’s got the word, and she’ll spread it further. You may run out of animals.”
She looked pretty proud of herself—understandably—but she’d also just turned his life upside down. People would be coming to his ranch, interrupting his life. He didn’t want that.
“You’ve got jeans and boots on again. Aren’t you leaving?” he asked.
“I changed my flight. I needed to right my wrongs before I left.”
He crossed his arms and angled toward her more. “Why’d you do it, Victoria? Why’d you tell people what you did?”
She frowned. “I was trying to help you.”
“Help me how?”
“I thought to improve your standing around here.”
“Why would that matter to you?”
“Because I know you’re a better person than your reputation.”
He couldn’t remember a time when someone had defended him. Certainly no one had mounted a public relations campaign on his behalf. It made him distinctly uncomfortable.
“May I see the newest members of your menagerie?” she asked.
He figured the puppies were about two weeks old and the kittens only days. The three new adult dogs were all mixed breeds and skinny but gentle. Food and a little attention would turn them into good pets before too long.
Victoria oohed and ahhed over the babies and cooed to the mothers, telling them what good mamas they were. Garrett watched her crouch low to talk to them, her hair curling down her back, her jeans cupping her rear. He wouldn’t mind putting his hands there. Wouldn’t mind it one bit.
She looked up at him. “How can I help?”
“I’m gonna give the new dogs baths. They all need to be brushed and have burrs cut out. A two-man team works more effectively than one.”
She stood and rolled up her sleeves. “Just tell me what to do.”
One by one they bathed the dogs, muzzling them first, washing, rinsing, combing, snipping. He treated their ears, checked their skin, then turned them loose, figuring they’d go roll in the dirt. He was right.
Victoria sighed beside him. “That didn’t last long.”
“They like to smell like the stuff they like.”
She was wet and muddy. At some point she’d twisted her hair into a knot at the back of her neck. She didn’t seem worried about the way she looked, however, didn’t fret about her appearance at all.
“What do you do for a living?” he asked.
“This ’n that,” she answered, giving him a sly grin.
He came close to laughing. “Guess I deserved that.”
“Guess so, but since I’m not as secretive as you—”
“Private, not secretive. There’s a difference.”
“The end result’s the same,” she countered.
He shrugged at her logic, not giving in.
“Anyway,” she continued, “I’m the assistant director of sales for JMF Financials.”
“JMF being your father’s business?”
“Yes. He started it himself when he was twenty-four. We sell and manage financial portfolios, mostly for corporations, specializing in retirement plans.”
“So you sell 401(k)s?”
“Sounds exciting, hmm?” She rolled her eyes.
“It could be, if it’s what you want to do.”
“I don’t know what I want to do.” She kicked at the dirt, as if measuring how much she should say. “Actually, according to my parents, my primary job is to find a husband, but I haven’t cooperated. I did finish college while I was husband hunting, however. My degree is in marketing, but I haven’t been invited into that tight circle at work. My family didn’t want me floundering after college, so my dad made my brother Shane take me as his assistant director. I think there’s resentment from all my brothers because they had to work their way up. I had a pretty good title to start with.”
“But?”
“It’s a job. I want a career.”
“Being a homemaker could be a career.”
“I’m not ready for that, much to my parents’ disappointment.”
Abel bumped her from behind, knocking her legs out from under her. Garrett caught her by one arm before she landed on the ground. She laughed and wagged her finger at Abel, who barked and jumped around her until she knelt and rubbed him.
She glanced up at Garrett. He didn’t release her immediately, but almost pulled her against him.
“I should get going,” she said. “Wendy and Marcos are throwing a little party.”
He dropped his hold on her. “Special occasion
?”
“Oh, someone they want me to meet,” she said dismissively.
The way she said it implied it was a man. He tamped down a surge of jealousy, unfamiliar and unwanted. “I thought you were leaving.”
“I extended my vacation a while longer.” She met his gaze. “I won’t be missed at work, and it’s been fun hanging out with my cousins.”
He walked with her to her car, not knowing what to say. “Goodbye” would’ve been the best and easiest choice, but he had a feeling he would see her again.
Or maybe not, depending on how her dinner date went tonight.
She opened her door then turned to him, pulling something from her pocket and shoving it at him. “Here. To help with food and shots and stuff.”
He glanced at the check, which was folded in half. He had no idea how much she’d written it for, but he figured it was enough to cover his expenses for a while. She thought he was that poor?
“I don’t want your money.” Insulted, he held it out to her.
“I got you into this mess. At least let me help pay for what I did.”
“I don’t need it.”
She ignored him and got in the car.
“I won’t cash it,” he said.
“That’s your choice.”
When she reached for the handle, he held the door tight, then he shoved the check in her shirt pocket. Her breast was firm and full. He pulled his hand out fast, after barely two seconds of contact.
Don’t go. Don’t go back to Red Rock for a blind date. Don’t go back to Atlanta… .
He didn’t say any of it. She looked at him the way Jenny Kirkpatrick had twenty years ago. He’d had to leave town because of that look—and what Jenny had wanted from him, which he hadn’t wanted in return. He’d made a life for himself finally, a life he wasn’t willing to risk, not for a fling—because surely that’s all it would be—and he’d given up high-maintenance, demanding women.
“Goodbye,” he said to Victoria.
“Bye now,” she said cheerfully, then shoved the check under his belt so fast he barely felt it, but his imagination dragged out the moment.
He didn’t watch her drive off, not giving her that satisfaction, but Abel looked at him as if to say, “You let her go?” before he turned tail and walked away. Even Pete seemed disgusted with him.
Curiosity got the best of him, however, and he opened the check, whistled at the amount, then ripped it up. She probably brought in an above-average salary for someone of her age and experience. He’d bet she got annual bonuses, too, maybe even had a trust fund.
Well, he wasn’t running a charity, but doing what made him happy. He could afford the life he’d chosen. He’d been angry at her for what she’d done and had wanted her to feel guilty.
Apparently he’d been too successful at doing that. She’d stayed on in town instead of flying home, would continue to be in the area for however long and she was about to be introduced to someone her family obviously approved of.
It was for the best, he decided, especially as his head filled with memories of Jenny Kirkpatrick.
When he’d been a senior in high school, Jenny had been one of Red Rock’s golden girls, a sixteen-year-old, straight-A student with a desire to become a doctor. At eighteen, he was older but really no wiser, not knowing how the world worked then. He just knew she was pretty, and he liked her fine and she liked him, too. Was fascinated by him, in fact. Kind of like Victoria.
Garrett looked out at the horizon now, taking his time to think about Jenny, something he hadn’t done in years, knowing it was his meeting Victoria, another golden girl, that was spurring the memories. He needed to analyze the past now, because it could have bearing on his future.
After he and Jenny had met, her grades took a nosedive, and he’d gotten blamed for it. Her parents forbade him to see her. Her father’s wrath had struck fear in Garrett, so he’d done the right thing and told Jenny they were through dating until her parents okayed it.
The never-before-denied pampered daughter had rebelled by running away from home—all the way to San Antonio. Without money, she’d shoplifted food at a convenience store, and the owner had called the police and her parents, getting her the attention she’d wanted.
Somehow that had been all Garrett’s fault, too. The Kirkpatricks were the richest people in town, and Jenny the most spoiled girl. Garrett was just…Garrett—poor, fatherless and with a mother who didn’t care enough to parent him. He’d finished his senior year then joined the army. Jenny had been sent away to a private school.
Pete barked, pulling Garrett out of his thoughts. Another car was coming up the driveway, towing a trailer, a horse inside it.
Maybe he’d ripped up that check too soon.
* * *
Victoria yawned as she carried empty dessert plates into Wendy’s kitchen, Emily at her heels.
“What was Wendy thinking?” Victoria whispered. “He’s such a bore. And so full of himself.” He was a high-tech innovator from San Antonio and let everyone know how successful he was.
“She was thinking he would distract you from your infatuation with Cowboy Freud.”
“Seriously?” Victoria looked toward the kitchen door to make sure they weren’t being overheard. “And she thought that man out there would do the trick?”
“Okay, I can’t put this on Wendy. Your mother set it up.”
Victoria plunked her fists on her hips. “I haven’t spoken to my mother about Garrett, at least not since the first night when I told her I’d been to see him.”
“Your mother talked to our mother, who had talked to Wendy. She hadn’t thought anything about Mom’s curiosity, just answered questions that apparently your mother gave her to ask. Wendy commented that you seemed taken with Garrett. She didn’t know she was being grilled, Vicki, although she is worried about you a little.”
“She doesn’t need to be.” Victoria swiped the dessert plates almost violently with a sponge under running water.
“Really?” Em said, coming up close. “Wendy and I both think you’re headed down a dangerous path chasing after him, Vicki. You’re bound to be disappointed when he doesn’t live up to your expectations.”
“You’ve barely met him and you’ve decided I’m going to be disappointed?” Fury welled inside her. First, Garrett kept her at arm’s length, thinking she was some kind of pampered daughter of society, and now her own family wasn’t acknowledging her as a competent adult. “What does Marcos say? He, at least, knows Garrett some.”
“You’ll have to ask him.”
“I will.” She dried her hands and returned to the living room.
Her “date” stood. “Wendy and Marcos are putting the baby down,” he said.
She sat in a chair next to him. “You never mentioned what company you work for, Derek.”
He shifted in his seat. “TexTechtronics.”
Ah. “JMF Financials handles your retirement plan.”
“Oh, that’s right. They do.”
Like he didn’t know that.
“Would you like to go for a walk?” he asked in an obvious change of subject.
“No, thank you.” She couldn’t get mad at him for doing her father a favor. He’d been used as much as she had. “I enjoyed meeting you, Derek, but I don’t see this going anywhere. I’ll be headed back to Atlanta very soon.”
He looked relieved. “I see.” He offered his hand. “I think I’ll head out, then. Please thank Marcos and Wendy again for the meal. It was top-notch.”
Marcos had brought it home from Red—delicious, as always. He’d taken a break from work to have dinner and would return before closing later. Friday was a busy night. He’d probably been perturbed at his presence being required.
“Where’s Derek?”
Wendy asked when she and Marcos emerged. Emily came out from the kitchen at the same time. There was little doubt she’d eavesdropped.
“Vicki sent him on his merry way,” Em said. “She got the whole messy plan figured out.”
“Oh.” Wendy put a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, Vicki.”
“I’ll leave you all to sort this out,” Marcos said, giving his wife a kiss.
“A word before you go, please,” Victoria said.
He stopped at the front door, looking resigned.
“Should I be afraid of Garrett? Or worried in any way?”
Marcos shrugged. “He lives a quiet life, doesn’t cause trouble. It’s true he hasn’t made friends in the sense that we think of. He doesn’t have parties or go to parties. But he’s fair in his business dealings, always pays his bills.”
“Why does he have a reputation?”
“He’s years older than I am. I don’t know what happened, except he left town when he was eighteen because of a scandal over a teenage girl. When he came back he picked fights in bars. He left again. Since he came back, he’s been a hermit.” His shoulders shifted. “He does entertain women, I’ve heard, but I haven’t heard any complaints about his treatment of them. That’s all I can tell you.”
How often did he entertain? And why did he turn her down? “And you don’t know how he supports himself?”
“What am I? The town private investigator?”
Victoria crossed her arms. “You run a restaurant. You must overhear stuff.”
“Not anything related to Garrett. He’s always seemed okay to me. Look, I’ve got to get back.” He kissed his wife goodbye again and rushed out.
“Why are you so protective of Garrett?” Wendy asked Victoria. “He doesn’t even have a job. He likes animals a whole lot more than people.”
“Maybe he has good reasons for that. Maybe he was railroaded out of town. Injustice makes me angry.”
