Almost Home

by India Masters

  ”Well you’re definitely a body I wouldn’t mind sneaking up on, sweet pea.” He pushed off the door and ambled inside, making his way to the kitchen, peeking into her grocery bags. “I was gonna invite you to dinner but it looks like you’ve got it taken care of. What say I come back later and we fire up Jack’s grill? These steaks look pretty good.”

  Haley raised an eyebrow, folded her arms over her chest and allowed herself a good, long look. “I reckon most women probably think you’re charming, Mr. Brody, but I ain’t one of them. I’ve spent enough of my life around cowboys to know trouble when it comes a knocking.”

  His grin never faltered. “Now that’s a little hasty, honey, seeing as how you don’t even know—”

  “Wait.” She took a step toward him and snapped her fingers. “You’re the neighbor, the one who found my aunt. You’ve been looking after the place for Mr. Petrie.”

  He swept his hat off his head and set it on the counter. “Yes ma’am, that’s me. I’m sorry for your loss, though Holden told me you didn’t know Jack.”

  Haley’s throat ached and she blinked back unshed tears. “That’s right. My daddy never mentioned I had kin.” She crossed the room and stuck out her hand. “Thank you, Mr. Brody, for…well, everything. Petrie said you and Aunt Jack were close?”

  She didn’t miss the moisture welling in his eyes before he looked down, studying the tips of his boots.

  “Jack was our neighbor since before I was born. I lost my own ma while I was still in diapers, so Jack just stepped in.” A wistful smile curved his full mouth. “I always figured she and my pa would hook up, and it looked like they were headed that way until the cancer took him. Broke Jack’s heart, seeing him go downhill that way.” He got his emotions in check and dazzled her with that deadly smile. “He tried to break things off with her, didn’t want her wasting her time on a man who wouldn’t…but she’d have none of it. Told him he was full’a shit and kept on doing what she always did. She was a hell of a woman, your aunt. Couldn’t have loved her more if she’d been blood.”

  Haley nodded. Her insides were feeling a little squishy and her heart a little tender knowing this man had been given the love from Jack Kilpatrick that her own daddy had denied her. She didn’t begrudge him, exactly, but it still ached deep in a heart she’d thought impervious to painful yearnings. “Wish I’d known her.” She stepped around him and busied herself putting the groceries away.

  He cleared his throat. “So what are your plans for the place? You gonna sell?”

  Haley sighed, closed her eyes for a moment. “I don’t know, Mr. Brody.”

  “Wyatt.”

  “Mr. Brody. I haven’t even put my groceries away. My horses are still in the trailer and I’ve gotta ready stalls for them.” She put away the last of the food that needed refrigerating and grabbed her hat. “So if you’ll excuse me, I gotta get to work.”

  “Stalls are ready,” Wyatt said, taking his hat off the table. “Come on, I’ll give you a hand.”

  “I don’t need a—” But the look in his eyes said it wouldn’t make any difference, so she merely nodded toward the door. “After you, Brody. You’re the one knows his way around the place.”

  Brody chuckled. “You always give in so easy, Haley Kilpatrick? Because I’m a man that likes a challenge.”

  Haley snorted and gave him a shove out the door. “Look up ‘challenge’ in the dictionary, cowboy, and you’ll find a picture of me looking back at you. Answer your question?” His laughter was a sheer joy to the ears.

  “Oh darlin’, you just made my day. I do love a sassy woman.” He turned around, walking backward as he aimed that sinful grin at her. “We’re gonna be good friends.”

  “Says you.” She had to force herself not to smile. Much as she hated to admit it, he was a charming devil and she found she wasn’t as immune to that charm as she’d hoped. “God help me, I hope there’s a shovel in the barn ’cause the manure is surely getting deep around here.”

  Chapter Two

  Settling into bed that night Haley experienced a twinge of something she couldn’t quite identify. On the one hand, there was a sense of disconnect. She’d never had a regular bed, with a comfortable mattress and fresh smelling sheets. It felt a little surreal to know all of this was hers. But there was also that sense of belonging. The kind she figured most folks got when they’d been on a long, hard journey and were almost home. A feeling of security in knowing that you couldn’t be turned out because this was where you belonged.

  Early morning chores were the same—feeding and water the stock, taking inventory of the tack to see what needed oiling and repairing, checking to see that the grain bins were clean and free of any soured feed, figuring out how much feed and hay she’d need to purchase until she made up her mind if she was staying or selling.

  The temptation to stay was strong. In all her twenty-five years, Haley had never called one place home. The One-Eyed Jack was a fine ranch. Never in her life had Haley dreamed she’d come into such wealth. To own land, to live in a house the first Blue Norther’ wouldn’t blow down. The dreamer inside her screamed she should stay. The pragmatist said to sell and get while the getting was good. Buy a ranch in Argentina. Some place no one would think to look. Before her brother and her father found out. They’d want a piece of this place. Would demand it. Maybe even try to take it from her. She heaved a heavy sigh, let the two horses out onto separate grassy paddocks and set about cleaning stalls. If she stayed, she’d have to fight to keep the place.

  From the enclosure, her stallion, Geronimo, neighed and laid himself down for a roll in the fresh grass. They were a far cry from the hardscrabble dirt ranch she’d rented for herself and her brother, Conner. Her horses deserved a place like this and so did she. She figured it was worth fighting for, so she finished her chores and pointed the practically new ranch truck toward town and Petrie’s Ranch Supply to put in her order.

  The combined scents of bacon and coffee wafted from across the way and Haley remembered she hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, so she crossed the street to Margie’s Diner. The gossip mill, Wyatt had called the place. She paused at the door, having second thoughts, then gave herself a mental shake and went inside. The bell over the door jingled and the place went from the low hum of mutual conversation to dead silence as every head in the place turned to look at her. The scald of a blush rushed to her cheeks and she would have bolted for the door but for the heavyset woman bustling toward her.

  “Well, hey there, honey, I was wondering when you’d get ‘round to stopping in,” the woman said, giving her a toothy smile. “I’m Margie, the owner of this place.” Middle-aged, with bouffant hair sprayed stiff with Aqua Net, Margie looked like one of those people who could find the silver lining no matter how dark the cloud. Haley liked her immediately. “Don’t pay them no never mind.” She swept the room with a disapproving glance. “The novelty will wear off soon enough. Until then, I’ll put you in a back booth. That way folks will have to be rude and turn clean around to do their gawkin’.”

  Haley followed behind the woman like a puppy hemmed in by a pack of big dogs. Most of the people had the good manners to look down at their plates in embarrassment. She slid into a booth and set her hat on the seat beside her.

  “You a coffee drinker, honey? I can bring you a cup or a carafe.”

  “I could drink a cup or two,” Haley admitted. “Cream and sugar?”

  “Sure thing, hon.” Haley took the proffered menu but Margie leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, “You look like a hard-working sort. I recommend the biscuits and sausage gravy.”

  “Sounds good. I forgot to eat this morning so I’m pretty hungry.”

  Margie nodded. “Better make it a full order then. I’ll be right back.”

  The entry bell rang again and Haley looked up as Tracie Owens entered, looking around. When the girl spied her, she smiled and headed straight for her.

  “You mind if I join you? I purely hate eating by myself. I always feel like f
olks are looking at me, wondering what’s wrong with me that I have to eat alone.”

  Haley laughed in relief. She’d been feeling much the same. “Kind of makes ya feel like you got two heads, the way folks look at ya. Especially when you’re new in town.”

  “I hear that. When we moved here from Houston, you would have thought we came from outer space. We were so city and Junction is so not city. But it’s a friendly town and people are always willing to lend a hand. I don’t think I’d ever go back to Houston, not in a million years.”

  Margie returned with a tray carrying two cups of coffee and two orders of biscuits and gravy. “I seen ya come in, Tracie, figured you’d find your way back here.” She looked at Haley. “Glad to see you making friends so fast, Miss Kilpatrick.”

  “Name’s Haley.” Haley smiled and nodded toward her new friend. “I met Tracie at Fischer’s yesterday.”

  Tracie giggled. “Sure did. Tried to save her from that scamp, Wyatt Brody, but he was bound and determined to get to know her.”

  Both women’s eyes sparkled with mischief as they looked at Haley but Margie gave her shoulder a reassuring pat. “Wyatt’s good boy. A little wild when he was a young’n but he grew up fast when his pappy took sick. He was real fond of your aunt, too.”

  Haley nodded. “Yes, he told me she all but raised him.”

  Margie raised an eyebrow. “Did he now? Huh. Looks like Wyatt’s turned into more of a talker than I figured.” At Haley’s questioning look, she continued, “It’s just that Wyatt’s always kept his private life private.” The woman boomed a laugh. “Unlike some folks around here, there’s been durn little to gossip about where Wyatt Brody’s concerned.”

  Haley shrugged and dosed her coffee with cream and sugar. “Gotta say I agree with that policy but he offered it up and I figured it’d be rude not to listen, seeing as how he’s been taking care of the place since Auntie Jack passed.”

  Margie gave her another shoulder pat. “We were all real sorry about that. Me and Jack were pretty good friends once upon a time. I was sorry to see her pass. You need anything you let me know. You girls enjoy your breakfast, ya hear?”

  As soon as Margie bustled away, Tracie leaned forward. “So, you and Wyatt Brody. Anything there?”

  Haley coughed and nearly spewed coffee all over the table. “For heaven’s sake, Tracie, I just met the man. So, no, there ain’t nothing there. He’s likable enough, I reckon, but I’ve rodeoed my whole life and seen a hundred just like him. Ain’t met a single one I’d hitch my wagon to. So you can just forget that.” She jabbed her fork at Tracie’s plate. “Now eat your food before your gravy grows skin.”

  Tracie made a face, then laughed happily. “Okay, fine, so you ain’t in the market for a husband. You wanna go out dancing at the Horsin’ Around Saloon this Saturday night?”

  Haley laughed aloud. “There’s a bar called Horsin’ Around?”

  “Yup. It’s between here and Kerrville. House band’s called Big Sky and they’re real good.”

  Haley worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “Probably shouldn’t. I…I ain’t much for dancing. Never learned how.”

  Tracie reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Then it’s time you learned. I’ll come out to your place around seven on Saturday night and we’ll get ready together. Even if you don’t dance, you can listen to the music. It’ll be fun. Trust me.” The bell jangled and Tracie turned to see who’d arrived. “And talk about fun, look who just walked in the door.”

  Haley looked up at the exact moment Wyatt spotted her. He grinned, shook his head at the waitress and made his way to the back of the room.

  “Well, if it ain’t my new neighbor,” he said, giving her a nudge. “Scooch over, sweet pea, Bea’s bringing me some coffee and breakfast.”

  Haley’s pulse jumped and her brow to puckered in dismay. How was it that this man could make her feel things she’d never felt with others like him? She slid over, catching the fresh scent of soap, water and fabric softener. God, he smelled good. “I was just fixing to leave.”

  It was a big fat lie and the smile he turned on her said he knew it. He put his hand up to his mouth and huffed a breath against his palm. “Nope, it ain’t my breath that’s causing you to run. What is it, darlin’? You scared of me?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “I ain’t scared of nothing, cowboy. I just got an order waiting on me over at Petrie’s.”

  “It’ll hold.” He took off his hat and handed it across the table to Tracie. “Set that down on the seat, would you, Trace?”

  “Sure.” She took the hat and set it down, then leaned back against the booth. “So how you doing, sugar?” she asked Wyatt. “You been pestering poor Haley?”

  He gasped and gave her a good-natured grin. “Now, I wouldn’t do something like that, would I?” He turned to Haley and gave her a shoulder bump. “Am I pestering you, darlin’?”

  Haley uttered a deep sigh and gave him her best don’t-mess-with-me scowl. “Not ‘til just this minute.”

  A sharp bark of laughter escaped him, he shook his head and slapped a hand on his chest. “Stabbed right in the heart.”

  Haley snorted. “Heart’s on the left side, Brody. If there’s one in there.”

  Tracie gave a shout of laughter. “She’s got you there, Wyatt. This scoundrel durn near broke my heart in high school.”

  “I never did,” Wyatt protested. “Hell, I hardly knew you in high school.”

  She looked at Haley. “See what I mean? Didn’t even know I was alive.”

  The teasing went on for another few minutes, until Wyatt’s food arrived, then Tracie grabbed her bill and slid out of her seat. “I gotta run, Haley. I’m opening the store this morning. I’ll see you Saturday night around seven.”

  Haley cringed when Wyatt looked up from his plate. “What’s happening Saturday?”

  “Oh, Haley and I are heading over to the Horsin’ Around. I’m going over to her place so we can get ready together.”

  “Is that right?” A look passed between Wyatt and Tracie and Haley had the feeling she’d just been set up. He nodded. “Well, you girls have fun.”

  Tracie waved and strode off to pay her bill and Wyatt turned to Haley. “Give any thought to whether or not you’re gonna sell the place?”

  “Not sure. I ain’t hardly seen any of it yet.” She forked a bit of cold biscuits and gravy into her mouth with a grimace.

  Wyatt waved his server over. “Could you heat Miss Haley’s food up, Bea? Or bring her some fresh?” She would have stopped the woman if she could have but she was hustling back to the kitchen before she could say a word. “How about I come on over tomorrow morning and give you the tour? I know the property lines like the back of my hand.”

  She gnawed on her bottom lip for a minute, then nodded without looking at him. “Sure. That’d be a big help. Thanks.”

  “Does it make you uncomfortable, me sitting this close?”

  Haley shrugged but the heat spreading from her neck to her cheeks told her she was blushing. Again. Seemed like that was all she ever did around this man.

  He touched her hand gently, then scooted out and took Tracie’s seat. “It’s all right, darlin’. I don’t mean you no harm.”

  She straightened her spine and looked him in the eye. “Never crossed my mind you did.”

  Ah god, there was that heart-stopping grin again. Wyatt Brody was going to be the death of her, she just knew it.

  “Glad to hear it,” he said, then winked at the waitress who arrived with a fresh plate of biscuits and gravy for her. “Now, let’s eat up. I expect you got chores to do if you got an order waiting for you across the street. I know I got a busy day ahead of me. What say I head over to your place around eleven or so tomorrow, give us both time to finish our morning chores?”

  * * * * *

  There was no doubt about it—Haley Kilpatrick was the hottest thing to hit Texas hill country in a long time and that was saying something because Texas had a reputation for p
roducing beautiful women. She wasn’t traditionally beautiful, not like the magazines said a woman should be. Her mouth was a little too wide and there was a scar bisecting her bottom lip. And her nose looked as though it might have been busted once upon a time and then there was that adorable sprinkle of freckles across the bridge that he bet would get darker with the summer sun. But there was a natural quality about her that transcended the made-up perfection of women who knew they were beautiful. Unless he missed his guess, Haley didn’t think much about her looks. Her mane of sun-streaked golden hair was natural and her eyes were the color of a dark chocolate pie. Her body was slender, honed by hard work, but her breasts were full and upturned. Or so he imagined. He’d bet she didn’t own much in the way of makeup either, which suited Wyatt just fine. He preferred his women fresh-faced and wholesome.

  By God, but she was a sassy little thing. Not that she was particularly small. The woman had some height to her, though he stood a good head taller. She seemed almost painfully shy but there was no doubt in Wyatt’s mind she’d go toe-to-toe with any man who thought he could boss her, buttermilk thick accent and all.

  Wyatt laughed as he pulled the front door shut behind him. He’d met with his foreman early, discussed what needed doing around the Flying W, and let the man know he’d be unavailable for the rest of the day, barring an emergency. The delightful Miss Kilpatrick might think she was immune to the Brody charm but he was determined to show her differently. She had her guard up, that was for sure. He’d flirted like crazy when they’d first met and again at the diner but she’d flat out told him she didn’t find him the least bit charming. He guessed she meant what she said.

  He couldn’t recall a time, in the distant or recent past, when a woman had evoked such a single-minded reaction in him. Why he was determined to change Haley’s mind was a mystery to him, but change her mind he would. He intended to see just how far he could push Miss Haley Kilpatrick—hopefully all the way to his bed where he was sure she’d prove to be just as challenging. He had to adjust himself before climbing into his truck. He just hoped this hard-on would disappear before he got to her place.