by R. C. Ryan
Luke looked up. “Are you saying our little brother is going caveman on us?”
At his remark, the others laughed.
Burke nodded. “Take a look at him. Hair to his shoulders. Beard longer than Father Time’s. He’s been spending so much time in the hills, I wasn’t sure he was even human. So I suggested he take a few days here. I’m sure the wranglers can keep his precious herd safe that long.”
Reed ducked his head and continued eating.
It was no secret that he was pinning a lot of hope on a herd he was raising on the north ridge, using no antibiotics to enhance their growth and feeding them only range grass. Since he’d begun experimenting with his special herd back in his teens, he’d never once seen a profit. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the family picking up the cost, he would have had to give up on his dream years ago.
But now, he was feeling even greater pressure to succeed.
On his last trip to Italy, Matt, the family’s designated business manager, had managed to swing a deal with Leone Industries, a successful, well-respected multinational conglomerate. They were willing to take a chance on the fledgling green industry, hoping to corner the market on naturally raised beef. For the first time since he’d begun his project, all Reed’s years of backbreaking work promised to pay off. Not only could he repay the debt he owed his family, but he could also bring their already successful ranch business into the future.
“They’re looking healthy.” He turned to his uncle, who’d accompanied him on his predawn ride. “Wouldn’t you say so?”
Colin nodded. “We did the usual weigh-in, to see if they’re keeping up with the herd getting antibiotics and enhanced feed. So far, they’re matching pound for pound.”
“That’s great.” Frank turned to Matt. “Think they’ll be ready for shipment after roundup?”
“If Reed says they’ll be ready, they will be.” Matt smiled at his wife. “Maybe Nessa and I will go along to make sure they arrive safely.”
“Very noble of you, bro.” Reed nudged Yancy, and the two shared a grin. “I’m sure, while you’re in Rome, you’ll be forced to spend some time at Maria’s villa and sip a few bottles of her family’s wine.” At the mention of their family’s friends and clients in Rome, Vittorio and Maria, the family smiled.
“Just to be sociable,” Matt deadpanned.
Around the table, everyone shared in the joke. Matt had been promising his wife a trip to Italy when their new house was completed. And in truth, no one else was willing to volunteer. Most of them preferred life on the ranch to international travel, even if that travel meant enjoying some exotic perks.
“I need someone to drive me into town today,” Great One announced.
“What time?” Reed helped himself to seconds.
“Noon. I have an appointment with”—the old man stared pointedly at Colin—“Dr. Anita Cross. She wants to check my heart.”
Colin knew his family was determined to find out all they could about his romance with the town’s pretty young doctor. He was just as determined to keep that part of his life to himself. At least for the time being. And so he deflected Great One’s comments with a joke. “Did you tell her you don’t have one?”
At Colin’s comment, the others chuckled.
“This is your last chance to have an excuse to see Dr. Anita, sonny boy.”
“Sorry, Great One.” Colin shook his head. “You know I’ll take any excuse to spend time with her, but it’s my turn to take up the Cessna.”
The family routinely flew across their land to check on herds, outbuildings, and far-flung wranglers, to assess anything that might need their attention.
Reed polished off the last of his eggs. “I don’t mind driving you, Great One. While you’re seeing the good doctor, I’ll load up on supplies and maybe even stop by the Pig Sty and have a longneck with the locals.” He shot a grin at Burke. “Is that civilized enough for you?”
“Just so you don’t spoil your appetite for supper.” Yancy circled the table topping off cups of coffee. “I’m planning on grilling steaks.”
“With your special twice-baked potatoes, I hope.” Frank reached for a pitcher of maple syrup.
“You bet.” Yancy ruffled Lily’s hair before adding, “And chocolate torte for the ladies.”
Grace was all smiles. “You just said the magic word, Yancy.”
“I thought that’d make you happy, Miss Grace.”
Later, as breakfast wound down and the family members made ready for the day, Luke elbowed his younger brother. “I suggest you shave and have Yancy cut that hair before you go to town, or nobody will recognize you. But I’m glad you’re the one stuck taking Great One to town. I’d rather watch paint dry than have to spend hours twiddling my thumbs in Glacier Ridge.” He shook his head as he turned away muttering, “Nothing ever happens in that place.”
Reed halted the ranch truck next to the entrance of the Glacier Ridge Clinic and hopped out, circling around to the passenger side to assist his great-grandfather.
After breakfast he’d taken a seat in the yard while Yancy gave him a haircut, a chore the ranch cook had gladly taken on since Reed and his brothers were kids. Then Reed had shaved his beard before taking the longest shower of his life.
Burke had been right, he thought. He was feeling almost human again.
The minute they stepped inside the clinic, the medical assistant, Agnes, hurried over. “Hello, Mr. LaRou. Dr. Anita told me to take you into exam room one.”
She turned to Reed.
“I’ll call you when Dr. Cross is finished here.”
He patted the old man’s shoulder. “Have fun.”
Great One slanted him a look. “Don’t I always?”
Reed was grinning as he climbed into the truck and drove slowly through town. Knowing Great One, he’d soon have the entire staff mesmerized with his inside stories of Hollywood’s rich and famous.
He spotted a vacant parking slot halfway between the diner and Trudy Evans’s shop, Anything Goes. Minutes later he started walking up the street, enjoying the sunny day as he glanced in the windows of all the buildings that made up the little town of Glacier Ridge.
He paused to wave a greeting at one of the customers in Snips, the local beauty and barber shop, and almost missed the blur of motion that dashed past him and darted into the street.
He was still grinning, but his smile was wiped away when he realized that the blur was a red-haired little boy wearing a superhero cape, legs pumping, arms swinging as he raced headlong into the middle of Main Street.
“Hey. Hold on there.” Reed dashed after the little guy and scooped him up just as a driver in a delivery truck leaned on his horn and veered to one side, barely missing the boy.
Reed’s heart was thundering when he realized how close he’d come to witnessing a tragedy.
He carried the boy to the curb before kneeling down, still holding on to his wriggling bundle. “Didn’t your mother teach you to stop and look both ways?”
“Mama?” The boy shoved round owl glasses up the freckled bridge of his nose and looked around with a puzzled frown.
“Yes. Your mama. Where is she?”
Suddenly the sunny smile was wiped from the cherubic little face, and the boy looked close to tears. “I want my mama.”
“Yeah. So do I.” Now that the danger had passed, Reed’s famous temper flared. What kind of mother let her kid run wild? “Now let’s find her.”
When the little guy tried to wrench his hand free, Reed picked him up to keep him from dashing back into the street. As he walked along the sidewalk, he was peering into the window of each shop.
Within minutes a young woman sailed out of the doorway of a shop, her eyes wide with fear. “Kyle. Kyle. Where are…?”
Seeing her son in the arms of a stranger had the words dying in her throat.
“What are you doing with my…? Where did you…?”
“In the middle of the street. Isn’t he a bit young to be running loose without so
meone looking out for him?”
Reed hadn’t meant to be so harsh, but the thought of what could have happened had the words spilling out in a much rougher tone than he intended.
“My fault completely.” She held out her arms and Reed handed the boy over.
She buried her face in the boy’s hair. “Oh, Kyle. You scared the wits out of me.”
Reed studied the mother and son. It was easy to see where the little boy got his hair. Hers was a tangle of wild copper curls, falling past her shoulders and framing a face so pretty he couldn’t stop staring.
“I was flying, Mama.”
“Yes. I see. But you know better than to go in the street.”
“Cars can’t hurt me when I’m Super Kid.”
She took in a deep, shaky breath. “That’s what I get for going along with your game.” Over his head she met Reed’s disapproving look. “Thank you. I’m grateful you were there to save him. I’m Allison Shaw—Ally—and this is my son, Kyle. He’s four.”
“I’m almost five,” the little boy corrected.
“He’s almost five.” She stuck out her hand and Reed was forced to accept her handshake, though he was still feeling less than cheerful about a mother who let her kid tempt fate.
“I guess almost five can be an… imaginative age.”
“If his imagination was any stronger, I’d have to clone myself to keep up.”
That brought a grudging smile to Reed’s lips. Or maybe it was the tingle along his arm when their hands met. The rush of heat caught him by surprise.
“I’m sure he keeps you on your toes.” He released her hand. “I’m Reed Malloy. Are you and Kyle new in town?”
She nodded. “We moved here from Virginia. I’m opening a business”—she pointed to the sign over a tiny shop that read ALLY’S ATTIC—“and Kyle and I are staying with my uncle. Maybe you know him. Archer Stone.”
“Yeah, I know Archer. Sheriff Graystoke’s deputy. I didn’t know the town’s bachelor had family.”
“I think we’re his only family. I know he’s all we have. He was my mother’s brother.”
Was. Reed didn’t bother to ask more. He was well acquainted with family that was here and then gone in the blink of an eye.
“Come on, Kyle. Time to get back to work.” She set down her son and kept his hand firmly in hers as she started toward the shop.
Reed moved along beside them. “What sort of business is Ally’s Attic?”
“It’s a consignment shop. People can bring in things they have that still work but they have no room or use for. They can set a price, or let me set what I think is a fair price. I get a percentage of each item I sell. It’s also a swap shop. For a fee, I can arrange for folks to trade something they have for something they want in my shop.”
They stepped inside, and Reed looked around at the neat shelves, the clever presentations of items already listed for sale or trade.
Ally pointed. “Like that piano in the window display. Clara McEvoy brought it in yesterday. Her husband and son-in-law delivered it, saying she was glad to be rid of it. No one’s touched it since her daughter grew up and moved away. Just this morning, even though we don’t officially open until Saturday, a woman knocked on the door and left her card with a promise to be back after school today to pay me. Besides teaching here at the school, she wants to teach music in her home, and this piano is the answer to her prayers. She wanted to lock in the sale before anybody else even had a chance to see it.”
“Looks like you’re doing the folks in town a service, while making money doing it.”
She smiled. “That’s the plan. I certainly hope so. I really need this to work out for us.”
Us.
Reed cleared his throat. “So, is your husband helping?”
“I don’t have a—”
Kyle tugged on his mother’s leg. “I’m hungry.”
Reed looked from the little boy to his mother. If he’d heard correctly, she’d been about to say she didn’t have a husband. For some reason he didn’t want to probe too deeply, that comment had his heart lifting.
Ally glanced at the clock on the wall. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. I got so busy, I forgot all about lunch. Come on. I’ll fix some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”
Before she could catch his hand, Reed blurted, “I’m thinking about lunch, too. Have you eaten at D and B’s Diner?”
The minute the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. Apparently his mouth was working ahead of his brain. Or what little brain he had at the moment.
Ally shook her head. “We haven’t had time to visit any of the businesses here in town yet. We’ve been too busy cleaning and stocking the store. It’s easier and a lot cheaper to just catch a snack here.”
He noted her flush of embarrassment. “Well then, it’s time you met the town newspaper.”
At her arched brow he explained, “Dot and Barb. The twin sisters who own D and B’s. They know everything that happens around Glacier Ridge almost as soon as it happens, and they’re more than happy to share the news with their eager customers. In fact, just as many folks come in for the gossip as for their famous sandwiches, pot roast, and pie.”
Though she was laughing, she shook her head. “Thanks for the invitation, but I can’t…”
“My treat.” He stared pointedly at Kyle. “Besides, it saves you from having to fix lunch. You can save the peanut butter and jelly for tomorrow.”
Kyle looked up. “Do they have grilled cheese?”
Reed nodded. “In fact, it’s one of my favorites.”
“Oh, boy.” He turned pleading eyes toward his mother. “Please, Mama.”
She sighed. “All right.” She caught his hand and trailed Reed from the shop.
As they started along the sidewalk, she added, “You had me at not having to fix lunch.”
Reed grinned. “And here I thought it was my charm.”
Chapter Two
When Reed stepped inside the diner alongside Ally and Kyle, he was greeted by Dot Parker, who gave one of her famous throaty wolf whistles.
“Well, now, don’t you look just as handsome as ever, Reed Malloy. Where’ve you been keeping yourself?”
“I’m spending a lot of time up in the hills with the herd.”
“Ranchers. If it isn’t spring calving, it’s summer grazing, or fall roundup. Then, just as you catch your breath, the seasons start all over again.”
Dot, her white hair pulled back in a bun, a polka-dot handkerchief pinned to the pocket of her pink dress, turned to give Ally a long, slow appraisal. “I’m not surprised Reed discovered our newest citizen of Glacier Ridge. This cowboy just seems to be a magnet for every pretty woman in Montana.”
“Dot, this is Ally Shaw. And this is her son, Kyle.”
“Hey, pretty Ally. And you, little guy, are as sweet-looking as your mama. I was hoping I’d get to meet you soon.”
“Ally is opening a shop called Ally’s Attic.”
“I already heard all about it. And all about you,” Dot added to Ally. “I hear you’re staying with your uncle, Archer Stone. Hard to believe that cranky bachelor would put up with a niece and her young son.”
“Not for long. As soon as I can clean the upper rooms of my shop, Kyle and I will be living there.” Ally noted the way everyone in the diner was hanging on her every word.
“Come on. I’ll show you to your table.” Dot led the way, keeping up a running commentary as she did.
Reed threaded his way slowly among the diners, stopping to greet and chat with most of the regulars. All of them had a smile and a handshake for one of the area’s favorite cowboys.
Over her shoulder Dot called, “Folks can’t wait for your grand opening on Saturday. They’re dying to see all the stuff their neighbors are willing to part with. I don’t know how much of it you’ll be able to sell, but I’m betting your shop will be full of nosy neighbors eager to see everybody else’s rejects.”
Dot stopped at a table in the corner of the littl
e restaurant.
“I never think of them as rejects,” Ally said sweetly. “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. In fact, before coming up with the name Ally’s Attic, I’d intended to call my shop Junk-to-Treasure, but I was afraid any reference to junk could turn buyers off.”
“Yeah. It’s catchy,” Dot said with a laugh. “But I like the name you finally decided on better.”
“Hey there, handsome cowboy.” Dot’s twin sister, Barb, looked through the kitchen pass-through where she was working the grill. Instead of the polka dots favored by her sister, she wore pink overalls with a pink checked shirt, the sleeves rolled above her elbows, her hair tied back with a pink bandana. “The specials today are my famous grilled three-cheese on sourdough and fresh apple pie.”
“You just told me what I’m having.” Reed winked at her as he held a chair for Ally.
Kyle scrambled up on the opposite chair and was kneeling to reach the table.
“Kyle, too. Right?” Reed winked at the boy. “He said the only thing he wants is grilled cheese.”
“Then this is your lucky day, Kyle.” Dot was smiling broadly as she handed him a coloring book and a box of crayons. “Would you like a high chair?”
The little boy looked horrified. “Those are for babies. I’m almost five.”
“Oh. Sorry. What was I thinking?” Dot chuckled as she turned to Ally. “How about you? Want the special sandwich, or something more substantial?”
“I guess I’ll have the same as Reed and Kyle. My son will also have a glass of milk, and I’ll have a cup of tea.”
“You got it.” Dot turned to Reed. “Coffee for you, or the usual?”
“The usual.” Reed glanced at Kyle, busy coloring. “And you’d better bring a spare glass. Once a certain someone sees it, he’ll want to share.”
Dot walked away, returning minutes later with small bowls of coleslaw, Ally’s tea, and Kyle’s milk.
When she was gone, Reed looked across the table. “I told you Dot and Barb don’t miss much. If you asked, they could probably tell you where you last lived, for how long, and why you decided to settle in Glacier Ridge.”
She smiled. “They’re hardly secrets. I lived in Virginia.”
