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Rich came in, still looking sleepy, dressed in those split jeans and a clean T-shirt. And he still looked good.
“Morning,” she said cheerfully. But she didn’t say anything else. She couldn’t get used to having someone to talk to in the morning or she’d miss him tomorrow when she was alone again.
“Coffee,” he muttered, reaching for the pot first thing. “Thanks for having it here.”
“No problem. We have the same waitress as last night. She’s working a double shift because her husband’s sick and can’t work.”
He looked sympathetic. But instead of saying something, he studied her. “Have you already paid for your breakfast?”
She frowned. “No, but I figured you understood now.” Darn, she should’ve taken care of it, but the waitress had distracted her.
“Ah. I’ll leave a really generous tip if you let me buy your breakfast, too.”
She stared at him. “She deserves a generous tip.”
“She won’t get one unless you cooperate.” He sounded stern, as if he might really act so badly. She couldn’t see any kindness in his gaze.
“That’s ridiculous!” she exclaimed.
“Your choice,” he muttered and sipped the hot coffee.
The waitress returned with a tray full of food. Most of it was Rich’s. Sam had ordered a bowl of oatmeal.
“I forgot to ask about the ticket,” the waitress said, as she put the food on the table. “Do you want it separated?”
Rich gave Sam a steady look, letting her know she hadn’t answered his offer. She slowly shook her head. “No, the gentleman will be paying this morning.”
With a nod, the waitress hurried away.
He smiled. “Good decision, Sam.”
“Shut up. Blackmail isn’t pretty!”
“I’m not sure the waitress would agree with you. I’d bet she’s got some babies to feed.”
She lowered her eyelids so he couldn’t see the tears pooling there. She never cried in front of anyone. She couldn’t afford to show a weakness. “I know.”
Having broken one of her rules, Samantha felt nauseous. But she didn’t dare not eat. She’d learned that lesson the hard way. She had to stay strong.
There was no conversation after that. As soon as she finished, she slid from the table. “I’ll go load up Bella. You paid last night, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. But I’ll be finished in a couple of minutes and we can go together.”
She turned around and walked out, not bothering to argue with him. He’d thought he could control her, but he had another think coming. She’d only succumbed this morning for the waitress’s sake.
Of course, she wouldn’t know how generous Rich was, because she wouldn’t be there when he paid the bill. But, strangely enough, she trusted him to do what he promised.
When she pulled up in front of the café ten minutes later, Bella safely loaded, Rich strode out with two disposable cups of coffee.
He walked around the truck to the driver’s side. She reluctantly rolled down her window. “Yes?”
“I got you some coffee for the road. I need to collect my gear from the room.”
“Thank you. I’ll wait here.”
“Would you hold my coffee, too?”
She reached out and took it, settling it in the cup holder.
He started to walk away. Then he halted. “Oh, Paula said thank you.”
Then he hobbled toward his room.
While he was inside, she carefully backed the truck and trailer close to his door so he wouldn’t have to walk far. Then she killed the motor and got out to unlock the storage trunk in the back.
When Rich came out, she was standing beside the door and reached for his bag.
“What are you doing?” he asked in surprise.
“Loading your gear.”
By the time he caught up with her, she was relocking the storage trunk. “Hop in. It’s already eight o’clock.”
“We’re not punching a time clock, Sam. If we leave at eight-thirty instead of eight, it’s no big deal.”
She ignored him. Turning the key in the ignition, she put the truck in gear and pulled onto the road. She didn’t touch her coffee until she had the truck going at top speed, where there would be no more shift changes. Then she removed the lid to her cup and took a cautious sip.
“They make good coffee,” Rich said, sipping his own cup.
Instead of commenting on the coffee, she asked, “How much did you give her?”
“One of the hundred-dollar bills. I told her I’d promised you. She wanted to come find you to thank you, but I told her it would embarrass you.”
Relief and gratitude filled her. She hadn’t expected him to be so generous. But she was pleased. It had been worth swallowing her pride. “Thank you.”
“You’re a strange woman, Samantha Jeffers. You didn’t want to let me pay for a bowl of oatmeal. But for someone else, you’ll accept a tiny bit of what you’ve honestly worked for. I owe you more than that, you know.”
“More than a hundred dollars?” she asked, staring at him before she turned her gaze back to the road. “For two days of driving? I don’t think so.”
“Airfare would’ve been a lot more. Probably five or six hundred. Plus they would’ve been shorthanded on the ranch.”
“Well, consider me paid. I don’t charge that much. How far is Rawhide from your place?”
“Fifteen miles,” he said, still thinking about what she’d said.
“Is there a lot of traffic on the road?”
“You worried about the drive?”
Sam didn’t want to tell him she was hoping to hitchhike into town. She figured he’s fuss at her. But she hoped to get there before closing time. If she was lucky she might even get hired at once.
“Why did you ask that?” Rich asked, drawing her attention.
“I just wondered.”
“You don’t have to worry about getting back to town right away. We’ve got lots of room. You can rest up a day or two. And have the best meals ever. Red and Mildred can’t be beat.”
“Who are Red and Mildred?”
“Red worked for our grandfather as a cowhand, but when our grandmother died, Red raised my dad and his brothers. When all the boys settled down, Red married Mildred. She’s B.J.’s aunt. She moved to the ranch when B.J. came to be our vet.”
“How nice.” She wasn’t sure why he was telling her this, but it kept him from asking her any more questions.
“Yeah, she and Red had a double wedding with Uncle Jake and B.J.”
“B.J. is a woman?”
“Yeah, kind of like your name. If someone said Sam, I’d think he was talking about a man. Why, last night I— Uh-oh.”
Now he’d definitely caught her attention. “Uh-oh, what?”
“Well, I called home last night and my mom— That is, Gabe had called and told them I was—we were engaged. Mom wanted to know what was going on, but I’d taken my pill before I called. Things got kind of fuzzy. I don’t think I explained that we’re just acquaintances. I’m not sure. I can’t remember.”
“Well you should certainly know by now that I don’t want to marry you. I’ll explain to your mother as soon as we get to your house.”
“Hell, Sam, I didn’t say you did. I was trying to prepare you for our reception.” He glared at her.
She didn’t want to think about the kind of reception she might receive if they were engaged, and his parents liked that idea. But as it stood, she would probably face some hostile people, especially his mother. “How many in your family?” she asked.
“Mmm, twenty-one, I think.”
She gulped and turned to stare at him. “Twenty-one? My, your poor mother.”
He, in turn, stared at her. “Why?”
“Well, having that many children would—”
“No, you’ve got it wrong. Mom only had three kids.” He chuckled. “Wait till I tell Mom that one.”
“But you said—”
“Honey, Mom only had three kids, me and my twin brother Russ, and Casey, our kid brother. Everyone else is a cousin or an aunt or uncle. And Mildred and Red.”
“I meant, how many people would be at your home?”
“Well, they all live there, but most of the kids are in college now, so they won’t be home.”
“You all live together? The house must be huge.”
“It is. But a few years ago, we built the bachelor pad for all us guys. We still eat at the big house, but we have our own rooms in the pad.”
She stared down the road, not saying anything.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his gaze on her.
“It’s a little overwhelming. I’ve dreamed about having family, but it never occurred to me that some people had a small country for a family.”
Rich chuckled. “It all started when Uncle Jake, the oldest of the four brothers, decided someone needed to marry so there would be another generation of Randalls. He did some matchmaking for his brothers, Brett, Chad and my father, Pete. Dad married my mom, Janie. She was a neighbor. Chad married Megan, a decorator from Denver, and Uncle Brett married Anna, a midwife-nurse. Then, the three wives turned the table on Uncle Jake and he married Aunt B.J. She’s a vet. And then they all had kids.”
“And they all live together? Didn’t any of them want their own place?”
“Nope. You know that expression about it taking a village to raise a kid? We had our own village. There was always someone around to keep an eye on us. And some of us learned the hard way that we had to mind any adult. Even in Rawhide, we couldn’t get away with anything.”
“So you left home and went to the rodeo so you could get away with whatever?”
“No. That wasn’t the reason.” His upbeat tone had changed to something darker.
His tale had been so happy, so perfect, his dark expression worried her. “What happened?”
He sighed. “It doesn’t matter.”
“You’re the one who started this conversation. Did you start hating your family?”
“No! But Russ got a girlfriend and I felt…left out. It’s juvenile, I know, but my feelings were hurt. Russ and I had always done things together.”
“That must have been difficult,” she said softly.
“Yeah. And I didn’t value my family because I guess I’d always taken them for granted. When I got hurt, I realized how much I missed them. I’m ready to go home. I can be happy for Russ. Abby is a nice lady.”
“Good for you.”
“Yeah, it’s good I finally figured out what’s important. Don’t you miss that?”
“What?”
“Not having a home, a family.”
“It’s hard to miss what you haven’t had.”
That raw statement stopped the conversation. She concentrated on her driving, hoping he’d sleep for a while. Her emotions were too raw, hearing about his family and his life, a life she’d dreamed of too many times.
RICH DIDN’T SLEEP.
He was concerned. He wanted to help Samantha. He really did, but he had no idea how he could do so.
Of course he’d ask his mother to find her a job. But even if they found a dozen jobs, Sam might not take them. In fact, she probably wouldn’t. He figured she’d leave Rawhide real soon.
Not seeing her wouldn’t take her out of his head. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She wore no makeup. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail. Her clothes were well-worn and inexpensive. Her nails were short and unpolished. But she fascinated him.
