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“Nothing is wrong with the food,” he assured her. “It’ll be fine.”
“I’ve seen the big guy in here before,” Jessi commented. “I think his name is Wes. But I don’t remember seeing the woman. Mighty pretty. I noticed she came over and said hello.”
“And I’ve noticed you noticing,” he told the waitress.
She scowled at him. “Well, what’s wrong with that? When I see something out of the ordinary I take a second glance. And it isn’t like you to have a lady at your table.”
“She’s just an old acquaintance, Jessi. Nothing more.”
“Oh. Well, I almost made the mistake of thinking you were human,” she said with a shake of her head.
He shot her a tired look.
Laughing, she touched his shoulder. “Okay, okay. I’ll let up on you. Besides, that darned Ben Harper is motioning for me. Why can’t I have just one morning where I don’t have to see that silly grin of his?”
“Don’t complain, Jessi. He’s clearly human.”
With a good-natured groan, the waitress left and Clancy tried to concentrate on his meal. But instead of seeing the sauce-covered eggs on his plate, he was seeing Olivia’s pretty face.
I’ve already tried marriage. It didn’t work.
Her revelation shouldn’t have surprised him. After all, years had passed since she’d left him during his final year of college. A lot could happen to a person in that length of time. But hearing her say that she’d been married had been like an axe to his back. During their time together, he’d asked her to marry him and she’d accepted. He’d put a diamond on her finger and they’d started to make all sorts of plans for their future together. Then she’d learned about her mother’s illness and suddenly everything that Clancy had hoped and dreamed for was over and finished. She’d gone back to Idaho and clearly forgotten he’d ever meant anything to her.
And that’s what he needed to do now, Clancy thought. Once and for all, he had to forget Olivia Parsons.
* * *
Clancy Calhoun. From the moment Olivia had learned she was being transferred to Carson City, the idea of running into him again had hung like an ominous cloud over her head. She’d tried to convince herself that the probability of it happening was slim to none. But deep down she’d known it was inevitable that someday, somewhere, she’d meet up with him.
From the moment she’d stepped foot in this town more than two weeks ago, she’d found herself looking at faces, searching for a tawny head of hair and a pair of long, strong legs. Yet this morning, of all mornings, she’d not searched the Grubstake Café. Instead, she’d heard a voice behind her. A voice so familiar that her heart had practically stopped.
Oh, Lord, just thinking about the way he’d looked was still making her insides shake. Ten long years had honed his lean features and long body into one rough, tough specimen of a man. Thick, tawny hair had curled around the back of his collar, while beneath the brim of his gray cowboy hat his green eyes had traveled over her with a raw sensuality that had practically taken her breath away.
She’d not dared to ask him if he was married, but a glance at his left hand had shown no evidence of a wedding band. Did that mean he didn’t have a wife now? Had he ever had one?
Damn it, that fact was none of her business, Olivia thought crossly. She’d given up her chance to become Clancy’s wife long ago. Her time with him had been over and done with for ten long years. There wasn’t a glimmer of a chance that a fire could be rekindled from those dead ashes. And she didn’t want to try to start one. Her job was enough to keep her happy.
Through the open door of the office she shared with Wes, she could hear her coworker talking in the outer room with Beatrice, the secretary who kept things in order for Olivia and Wes.
“I got to meet ranching royalty this morning, Bea. And it just so happens that Olivia already knew the man.”
“Oh. Who was that?” Beatrice asked, her voice clearly indicating that she was preoccupied with something on her desk.
“Clancy Calhoun. You know—the Silver Horn ranch. Seems this guy is the manager.”
“A Calhoun! Olivia is acquainted with the Calhoun family? I don’t believe it! She’s only been in town a couple of weeks.”
Olivia cringed as she heard Beatrice’s chair squeak and then the woman’s heels tapping across the tile until they reached the open doorway.
“Olivia, is Wes telling me the truth? You actually know the Calhouns?”
Stifling a groan, Olivia swiveled her chair toward the young secretary. Beatrice wasn’t exactly a gossiper, but Olivia would rather talk about anything besides Clancy.
“Clancy and I were in a few college classes together down at UNLV. That’s all. I hadn’t seen him in years.” She wasn’t about to tell the secretary or Wes that she’d once worn Clancy’s engagement ring. The two would never quit hounding her with questions.
Resting her shoulder against the door frame, the perky blonde smiled impishly. “Hmm. I’ll bet he thought you looked pretty hot.”
“I seriously doubt it.” Even though she was trying to sound bored, she could feel a tinge of heat on her cheeks. “The years have changed both of us.”
“Well, from what I hear only one of the Calhoun boys is married now. Rafe, the foreman. That means Clancy is still eligible.”
Beatrice was only having a bit of fun. The other woman had no idea that Olivia had once loved Clancy very deeply. Leaving him had nearly torn her heart out. And this morning, when she’d spotted him in the busy café, the loss had whammed her so hard she’d hardly been able to think.
“Thanks for the information, Bea. But I’m not interested in finding a husband. I’ve had one of those before. And I sure as heck don’t want another one.”
The pretty secretary shook her head in a disapproving way. “You sound like you’ve been eating green persimmons.”
Olivia tried to laugh, but she wasn’t quite in the mood to make it sound believable. “Wrong. I’ve been eating brain food—you know, like blueberries, salmon and nuts. That’s how I know to avoid men.”
Beatrice laughed, while Wes suddenly appeared in the doorway behind the secretary’s shoulder. “Hey. I don’t think I like the sound of working with a man hater. In case you can’t tell, I happen to be a man.”
Olivia waved a dismissive hand at him. “You’re different. You’re like a pestering brother.” Which was true, she thought. From the moment she’d met her coworker, the two had bonded like brother and sister, which made working together very easy for the both of them.
He said, “Well, little sister, put that paperwork away and grab your backpack. We’ve got to do some work in the field.”
And it couldn’t have come at a better time, she thought. She needed something—anything—to get her mind off of the only man she’d ever really loved.
* * *
That same evening at the Silver Horn ranch, Clancy splashed a measurable amount of brandy into his coffee cup, then carried it across the family room. Sinking down on a long couch, he noticed his brother Rafe studying him over the edge of the latest issue of the Reno Gazette.
“What’s the matter?” Clancy asked him. “You’re looking at me like I’ve got the measles or something.”
Rafe inclined his head toward Clancy’s coffee cup. “The brandy.”
Leaning back against the cushions, he crossed his boots out in front of him. “I’m cold. That’s all. I’ve been cold all day.”
His younger brother rolled his eyes. “Hell, the weather today was pleasant. What are you going to do when it really gets cold? Hang around the fire and wait for spring to come?”
Clancy took a long bracing swig of the laced coffee. He’d always envied the fact that Rafe’s days were never confined to four walls, a phone or computer. As foreman of the Silver Horn, Rafe spent most of his time in the saddle, roaming the endless ranges of Horn land, tending the thousands of cattle that bore the C/C brand. He truly lived the cowboy life. And now there was even more reason for Clancy to wish his life could be more like his brother’s. Rafe had a wife, Lilly, and baby daughter, Colleen, to fill his days with love.
“Spring is months away,” Clancy said. “I’ll just drag out a heavier coat.”
Rafe lay the paper aside and turned his full attention to Clancy. “Did you and the fence contractor come to some sort of deal today?”
“We did. He’ll be starting next week. I told him the area down by Antelope Creek needed first attention.”
“Good. That stretch of fence is definitely in the worst shape. Are my men supposed to help with the fencing or does he have a big enough crew to handle the job?”
“Leave it up to his crew. We’re paying him plenty enough. That will give your men a chance to rebuild some of the corrals down at the ranch yard before you get too busy with the winter feeding.”
Rafe smirked. “They’re sure as heck not going to like doing carpentry work. But it’s got to be done.”
“They can’t play on horseback every day,” Clancy muttered, downing more coffee as he turned his gaze to the wide wall of glass that looked over the backyard of the ranch house. During the daylight hours, the view would stretch for miles beyond the yard to where the distant mountains created a ridge between the ranch and the state of California.
“You have something on your mind, Clancy?”
He glanced at his brother. “Why do you ask that?”
Rafe shrugged. “I’m not sure. You just seem different tonight.”
Clancy released a heavy breath. There wasn’t any point in keeping it a secret, he thought. Sooner or later his family would hear about Olivia being in Carson City anyway.
“I saw Olivia this morning.”
Scooting to the edge of the couch, Rafe stared at him. “You mean the Olivia—as in your ex? You saw her in person?”
Grimacing, Clancy nodded. “In the Grubstake. I went there early so I could have breakfast before I met with Reynolds about the fencing.”
Rafe let out a low whistle. “Oh, man. Did you talk to her?”
Talk? When she’d walked up to him, so much had been going on inside of Clancy that he could hardly remember talking. He mostly remembered feeling a great sense of loss and humiliation. No man wanted to be dumped. Especially by a woman he’d been deeply in love with.
“Briefly. She was there with a man—a coworker. She’s living here in the Carson City area now. Working for the BLM.”
Rafe continued to study him closely as though he feared his big brother was in danger of collapsing or having some sort of mental breakdown. The notion caused Clancy’s jaw to tighten. Olivia might have cut him up pretty bad all those years ago, but he’d survived and grown tougher for it. He needed for Rafe and the rest of his family to understand that.
Rafe shook his head with wonder. “Amazing. Of all the places for her to wind up—right here in your backyard. Reckon that happened on purpose?”
Clancy drained the last of his coffee before casting his brother an annoyed glance. “Not hardly. You know how those types of jobs are—you go where they send you.”
Rafe made a palms-up gesture. “But she could have put in a request for this area. Is she married now?”
“No. Divorced. And apparently no children. At least, she didn’t mention any.” He wasn’t sure how he would feel if he discovered she’d borne another man’s child. Cheated, he supposed. “Arlene, Olivia’s mother, died about a year before Mother passed away.”
“How ironic.”
His throat thick, he said, “That’s putting it mildly.”
Rising to his feet, he carried his cup over to a bar that angled across one corner of the spacious room. If there had been anyone else in the room, Clancy would’ve never brought up his meeting with Olivia. But out of his four brothers, Clancy was closest to Rafe. Though he wasn’t sure why. The two men were very different. Where his brother had always been the first to speak up and the first to lose his temper, Clancy mostly preferred to keep his thoughts to himself and his temper in check. But in all truth, Rafe was the man who kept this ranch pulled together and running at a profit and Clancy greatly admired him for his loyalty to the family business.
“So are you going to see her again?”
Glancing over his shoulder, Clancy frowned at him. “I doubt it. Not unless it happened by accident. I wasn’t about to suggest we might meet somewhere and talk over old times. When a man has been run over once, he doesn’t want to lie down in the middle of the road and beg for it to happen again,” he said flatly.
Rafe shot off the couch and crossed the space to where Clancy stood. “You’re being a fool! If the woman isn’t married, now is your chance.”
“For what? To pick up where we left off?” Clancy countered. “Think about it, Rafe. Could you trust a woman who’d dumped you?”
Shrugging, Rafe said, “Well, Lilly tossed me out for about three weeks and I married her anyway.”
“Try ten years,” he said bitterly, then wiped a hand over his face. “Look, brother, I realize you want me to be happy. But frankly, Olivia doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. I’m not interested.”
“Really? Then why did you tell me that she’s back in town?”
“Like they say, news was light tonight,” Clancy said with sarcasm. “I thought we needed something else to talk about.”
“Don’t try to kid a kidder, brother. You’re not fooling me.”
Turning his back to Rafe, Clancy poured himself another cup of coffee, but this time avoided the brandy. “Okay. If you want me to fess up, then I’ll give it to you. It was jarring as hell to see Olivia again. Especially with her looking so damned pretty. Tell me, Rafe, you’re an expert on women. How does one manage to look sexy wearing a pair of jeans and a plaid work shirt?”
“If she has the right kind of curves she’ll look sexy in anything. And out of it.”
“Yeah. Well, I certainly won’t be privy to that last scenario,” Clancy muttered, then turned to face his brother. “To tell you the truth, Rafe, when I looked at her face this morning, it was like those ten years had suddenly vanished. I wanted to—”
“Grab her up and never let go?” Rafe finished for him.
Clancy released a heavy sigh. “Something like that. Damned fool, aren’t I?”
“No. You’re human. You’re remembering and wondering. And the way I see it, you don’t have a choice. You’ve got to see Olivia again and decide for yourself whether you really want to grab her up and never let go.”
Frowning, Clancy stared down at the brown liquid in his cup. “She might not want to see me again. And she sure as heck might not want to be grabbed up by me.”
“Clancy, you’re a good-looking guy. Persuade her.” With an encouraging grin, he patted Clancy on the shoulder. “It’s almost Colleen’s bedtime. She’ll be expecting me there to tuck her in. I’ll see you in the morning. In the meantime, think about what I told you.”
His brother strode away, and as Clancy stood there in the empty room, he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to curse or laugh. Persuade Olivia? He’d not managed to do that ten years ago. What made him think he could do it now?
He didn’t have the answer to that question. But he was certain of one thing. Seeing Olivia again had proved to him that things had never completely ended between them. At least, not for him.
Chapter Two (#ulink_6f8e7c11-0769-505f-9f0a-bc951b993280)
During the following week, the weather turned colder, but Olivia had always lived in an area where the winters were long and the snowdrifts high. Being outdoors in less than perfect conditions was nothing new to her. Even so, it was a relief when she and Wes finally wrapped up their work in the field and arrived back at the office and out of the cold wind.
She was hanging her coat on a hall tree and dreaming of a hot cup of tea when Beatrice walked up behind her and whispered.
“There’s someone waiting to see you. He’s back in the break room. I thought having him wait there would be better than in your office.”
Perplexed by Beatrice’s covert attitude, she asked, “He? Who is it?”
“Clancy Calhoun.”
Everything inside Olivia suddenly froze and the numbness she was experiencing had nothing to do with the long hours she’d spent out in the cold today.
“Oh. Well, thank you, Beatrice.”
Quickly, she walked out of the room and down a short hallway to the break room that she, Wes and Beatrice shared with the other workers in the building. Since there was no door, she paused at the opening to see Clancy was sitting alone at the end of a long utility table. A brown cowboy hat was resting on his knee and beneath the fluorescent lighting, his hair gleamed with copper lights.
He was facing the opposite end of the room, but as soon as he heard the sound of her footsteps, he turned and quickly rose to his feet.
