“You don’t have to. I know how busy you are.”
“I’m never too busy for you.”
And that was the truth. Kara Lee was the only family Drew had left, and after all they’d been through, especially her, she deserved to be happy—and to finally be a mom.
“I’m curious,” she said. “Where will you be staying while on the ranch?”
“They’re putting me up in one of the cabins so I can get a feel for the daily routine. It’s not just a retirement home, it’s a working ranch. So the whole enterprise is new and innovative. I’d like to check it out.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks. I’m actually looking forward to having a change of pace—and to being in the same place for longer than a few days.”
“So says the family rover. Maybe you’re more cut out for home and hearth than you think, especially if you meet the right woman.”
“Oh, yeah? We’ll see about that.” Drew turned onto the long, graveled drive that led to the Rocking Chair Ranch. “I’ll talk to you later.”
When the line disconnected, he slowly shook his head. If there was one thing he’d learned over his thirty-one years, it was easier to be a rover than to deal with the countless people who weren’t what they seemed and were bound to disappoint you.
Thank goodness he wasn’t likely to meet any of that type on the Rocking C.
* * *
It had been two days since Mr. Carlton had hired Lainie to write the Dear Debbie column, but she still hadn’t made any headway in answering a single letter.
She’d been busy settling into her temporary job. But that wasn’t the whole story. In fact, none of the problems of people seeking Debbie’s advice had triggered a clever or witty response, and Lainie was stumped.
She sat at the kitchen table, reading through the letters, trying to choose an interesting one or two to include in her first Dear Debbie column. While she pondered, her fingers tapped softly on the keyboard without typing out a single word. She glanced at the clock on the microwave, noting how much time had passed since she’d done the breakfast dishes, and blew out a sigh. Her midnight deadline loomed.
“You can do this,” she whispered aloud. Then she reread the letter on top of the stack.
Last year, I met John, the most handsome, amazing man in the world, and I knew I’d finally met Mr. Right.
Last month, Lainie had met Craig...
Darn it. She had to stop projecting that jerk into each of these stupid letters written by someone who’d either been jilted or disappointed by various people in their lives.
All I’ve ever wanted was to fall in love and get married, but now my heart is broken, and my life is a wreck.
“Tell me about it,” Lainie muttered. Well, not the broken heart. She’d gone out with Craig only three times, but the rest of it sounded pretty darned familiar.
Then, a few weeks ago, a woman who works at John’s office started hitting on him and lured him away from me.
Lainie leaned back in the chair and shook her head. From the comments left on the YouTube video of her that night at the Houston hotel, it seemed everyone in the rodeo world thought she’d targeted a married man and tried to lure him away.
During the blowup, his wife had told him off, implying that he was a serial cheater, a secret he apparently kept from his legion of fans.
“Aw, come on,” Lainie scolded herself. “Focus on this woman, this letter, this problem.”
Yet how could she? She was the last person in the world who should offer romantic advice to anyone, let alone a stranger who hoped for an easy fix.
Darn it. No matter how badly she’d wanted a job at the Gazette—and she needed one if she wanted to support herself—she’d been crazy to agree to taking over for Dear Debbie.
Footsteps sounded in the doorway, drawing her from her reading. She glanced up to see Otis “Sully” Sullivan enter the kitchen. The sweet, kindhearted old man had a jolly way about him. Each time she laid eyes on the retired cowboy, she couldn’t help but smile. With a head of thick white hair and a full beard, he reminded her of Santa Claus, especially today when he wore a solid red flannel shirt.
“Hey, Sully.”
“I’m sorry to bother you, but is there any more coffee?”
Lainie set aside the letter she’d been reading, pushed back her chair and got to her feet. “It’s no bother at all. And you’re in luck. There’s still at least a cup left.”
She poured the last of the carafe into a white mug. “I could make a fresh pot.”
“No need for you to go to any extra trouble.” Sully took the mug she gave him, gripping it with gnarled hands, and thanked her. “That was a nice breakfast you fixed us today. I haven’t had good chilaquiles in a long time. My late wife used to make them for me every Sunday morning, but she usually overcooked them.”
Lainie laughed. “Did she? How were mine?”
“Best I’ve ever had. Nice, crispy tortillas. Perfectly scrambled eggs. Mmm, mmm, mmm.”
Lainie beamed at the compliment. She wasn’t used to getting many. “Thanks, I’m glad you liked them. When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to make them for me and my sister.”
“You got a sister?”
“Yes, a twin.”
Sully brightened. “Where is she?”
Lainie had no idea. The two of them had been separated years ago, when Lainie had been taken from the group home and sent to the hospital to be treated for an undetected congenital heart defect. It had taken a while for the doctors to decide upon a treatment plan, and by the time Lainie recovered from her lifesaving surgery, a couple arrived at the children’s home, adopted the healthy girl and left the sickly one behind. From what Lainie had gathered, her sister’s new parents had been afraid to assume financial responsibility of a child with such serious medical issues.
As a result, she hadn’t seen her twin since, but she offered Sully the happy outcome she’d imagined for Erica. “She’s happily married to her high school sweetheart and has a two-year-old daughter.”
Before Sully could press further, Lainie turned the conversation back to the chilaquiles. “Anyway, my grandmother passed away before she could pass on her recipe. But when I got older, I did some research and a little experimenting until I came up with a batch that tasted nearly as good as hers. I hope they weren’t too spicy.”
“No,” he said, “not at all. The salsa was perfect. In fact, that was one of the tastiest meals I’ve had since I moved in here. Not that Joy, our regular cook, isn’t a good one, but she’s more of a down-home, meat-and-potatoes gal. And I like good Mexican food once in a while.”
“That’s a relief. I knew I’d have some big shoes to fill, taking Joy’s place in the kitchen while she’s on her honeymoon.”
“I haven’t heard any complaints yet. And that’s saying a lot, considering some of the old geezers who live here. They rarely keep their opinions to themselves.” Sully glanced at the letters on the table. “I didn’t mean to bother you. I’ll just take my coffee into the living room and let you get back to whatever it was you were doing.”
“Actually, I don’t mind the interruption.” Although she really should. With each tick and tock of the kitchen clock, her midnight deadline drew closer. And who knew if the ranch internet would work? She might have to drive into town and find Wi-Fi somewhere. Darn it.
“You look fretful, which doesn’t do your pretty face any good. What’s bothering you?” Sully nodded toward the stack of letters. “I hope it isn’t bad news.”
“It’s just...a friend with a problem.” Lainie chewed her fingernail and stared at the pile of unanswered letters. “I’m trying to come up with some wise advice, but I’m not feeling very wise.”
Sully’s smile softened the lines in his craggy face. “Wisdom comes with age and experience. Back when I was i
n my twenties, heck, thirties, too, I was under the false notion that I was as smart as I’d ever get.”
Lainie had thought the same thing after her college graduation, which wasn’t very long ago. Then Craig had taken her for a ride, leaving her with an unearned bad reputation and distrustful of sweet-talking men who couldn’t tell the truth to save their souls. She’d learned a big lesson the hard way, but that hadn’t made her an expert at facing romantic dilemmas.
“Want me to give it a shot?” Sully asked.
Was he offering his advice? Lainie wasn’t sure what the dear old man might have to say, but at this point, she’d take all the help she could get. “Sure, if you don’t mind.”
Sully pulled out a chair, took a seat and rested his steaming hot mug on the table. “What’s the problem?”
Lainie scanned the opening of the letter and caught him up to speed, revealing that her “friend” was twenty-four years old, relatively nice-looking with a decent job and a good sense of humor. Then she read the rest of it out loud.
“Three weeks ago, I found out the guy I was living with, the man of my dreams, was seeing another woman. We had a big fight, and he moved out. I’ve been crying every day, and I’m desperate to win him back.”
Sully clucked his tongue. “A man who cheats on his partner, romantic or otherwise, isn’t a prize worth winning back. That’s what I’d tell her.”
Lainie had once thought Craig was a prize, and boy, had she been wrong about that. It’s a shame she hadn’t had Sully nearby when she’d been taken in by that liar’s soft Southern drawl. But Sully was here now. And providing the wisdom this letter writer needed.
“That’s a good point,” Lainie said. It was clever, too, and a good response for the column. “I’ll mention that to...my friend.”
Male voices sounded outside, growing louder until the mudroom door squeaked open. A second later, Nate Gallagher, the acting foreman, entered the kitchen.
Sully acknowledged Nate with a nod, but Lainie focused on the man walking behind him. She guessed him to be a rancher or horseman, since his stylish Western wear suggested he could afford to hire someone to do the dirty work. He was in his early to midthirties, tall and nice looking, with broad shoulders and a rugged build.
He removed his black Stetson, revealing sandy-blond hair, which he wore longer than most of the rodeo cowboys she’d met. Not that she’d ever been a buckle bunny or even attracted to that kind of guy before she’d met Craig.
And after that awful night, she’d sworn off men indefinitely. Yet she found herself stirred by this one’s presence. He also looked familiar. Had she met him before?
“Meet Drew Madison,” Nate said. “He’s handling the Rocking Chair Rodeo promotion.”
Just the word rodeo sent Lainie’s heart slamming into her chest. Had she seen him while on one of the few dates she’d had with Craig?
No, she’d never forget a man like him.
But if he and Craig ran in the same circles, he might recognize her. For that reason, she’d better get out of here. She didn’t mind being around the older cowboys, some of whom had ridden in the rodeo back in the days before cable television and social media. But a recent connection spelled trouble—and further humiliation.
Nevertheless, she wouldn’t be rude to a ranch visitor. So she placed the letter she’d been holding upside down on the rest of the stack on the table. Then she got to her feet and said, “It’s nice to meet you. I’ll put on a pot of coffee.”
Then she did just that. If there was one thing she’d learned in her short time at the Rocking C, it was that the cowboys, young and old, loved a fresh brew.
As the coffee began to perk, Lainie studied the pot as if it might bounce off the countertop if she didn’t stand guard.
She fingered the side of her head, checking to see if any strands had come loose. She used to wear it long, the curls tumbling along her shoulders and down her back. But after that video had gone viral, she’d pulled it up into a prim topknot—just one of several alterations she’d made to her appearance so she could fade into the background until that ugly incident was forgotten.
When the coffeemaker let out a last steamy gurgle, she poured two cups, then turned to face the younger men. They continued to stand in the middle of the kitchen, speaking to Sully, who was still seated at the table. She was about to excuse herself and leave them to chat among themselves, but her curiosity betrayed her and she took one last glace at Drew, who’d zeroed in on her.
“For some reason,” he said, his gaze intense enough to see right through her, “it seems as if I’ve met you before.”
“That’s not likely,” she said. “I’m not from around here.”
“Where are you from?”
She wanted to ask, What’s up with the third degree? Instead, she said, “I’m from up north—originally. But I’m sure we’ve never met. I just have that kind of face. I get comments like that all the time. Sugar? Cream?”
“I like it black.”
His gaze continued to roam over her, as if removing her façade one piece at a time. But she pushed through the discomfort and handed him a mug.
He thanked her but didn’t take a drink. Instead, those baby blues continued to study her as if trying to pinpoint where they’d met. But wouldn’t she remember if they had? A woman wouldn’t forget a man like him.
No, he was mistaken. She glanced down at the loose blouse and baggy jeans she wore today. She hadn’t used any makeup. Her curls had been pulled into a bun.
But when she again looked at him, when their gazes locked, her heart soared and her hormones flared. For a moment she wished she’d been wearing that red dress Craig had given her for her birthday and insisted that she wear to the hotel that night, their first significant date, where they were to celebrate by having dinner. But she suspected someone who frequented thrift shops had already snatched it up, pleased with their find.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Lainie said, “I have work to do.”
Then she left the kitchen and headed for her room.
After that awful night in Houston, she’d made up her mind to steer clear of handsome cowboys. And Drew Madison was as handsome as any cowboy she’d ever seen.
Copyright © 2017 by Judy Duarte
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Karen Rose Smith for her contribution to the Montana Mavericks: The Great Family Roundup continuity.
ISBN-13: 9781488014543
The Maverick’s Snowbound Christmas
Copyright © 2017 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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