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Everyone chose a shady spot among the rocks. Jenny watched as they all paired off, leaving her with Evan.
“Relax,” Evan said. “I won’t bite.”
Jenny wasn’t sure about that as she took the spot next to him. It was quiet while everyone concentrated on food. The girls giggled over silly things, Alex and Evan talked, trying to skirt any business topics but not doing too well.
“I hear you’re still running a cow/calf operation,” Alex said.
Evan shrugged. “My plans changed when my brother came back from the army. We’re partners for now. He’s started a cattle-transport business, too. My main focus is still the vineyard.”
“Are you ever going to produce your own label?”
Evan nodded. “Someday.”
Jenny could hear the pride in his voice.
Finally Allison stepped in. “Whoa, guys. There’s no business, remember?”
Soon the girls finished their sandwiches, then asked permission to go and walk along the edge of the creek.
“Just keep in eyeshot, Cherry,” her father said.
Once the girls took off, Alex removed his hat and laid his head on his wife’s lap. “This is the life,” he sighed.
Listening to the soothing sound of the water, Jenny thought she wouldn’t mind a nap, too. She stole a glance at Evan. He wasn’t relaxed at all. She wanted to reach out and help ease the tension from his back.
He turned to her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Soon Alex stood up and reached for his wife’s hand. “I think we’ll go for a walk.” He nodded toward the girls. “We’ll be close by.”
The couple walked off, but Jenny wanted to call them back. She had a feeling that her friends had planned their departure so she’d be alone with Evan.
“How do you like the view?” she asked.
Evan finally looked at her. “It’s nice. Everything about the A Bar A is nice. Of course, when you have money you can have a showplace.”
She laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“If you only knew where Alex came from.”
“I hear he has family in Italy.”
“His mother was American, but she wasn’t around much for her twin sons, Alex and Angelo. They pretty much lived on the streets. Alex has gone hungry enough to appreciate the good life. And now he has Allison and the kids.”
Evan glanced out at the stream. “Hard work is easy when you have someone to share it with.”
Jenny hugged her knees to her chest, hearing the distant tone in Evan’s voice. Was he thinking about Megan? Of course he was. They’d loved each other. “It has to be hard to move on after losing the one you shared your dreams with.”
He glanced toward the creek. “Sometimes sharing is overrated.” He glanced at her. “How serious were you and Perkins?”
Jenny was caught off guard. “Brian? We dated a while back.” She knew now that she’d tried to make it more, but Brian had been right, they made better friends. “It ended when I returned to San Antonio.”
He looked at her with those deep blue eyes. “You’re a teacher.”
She nodded. “High-school English.”
He grimaced. “Not my favorite class.”
“I bet I could have helped change your mind.”
His gaze grew intense. “If you’d been my teacher I would have tried harder.”
The tremor in his voice caused her to shiver, and she had to look away.
“Why aren’t you still in San Antonio?”
“I’m on a leave of absence, but I hope to go back.”
“What happened?”
She wasn’t ashamed about what had happened. “I felt that one of my students was unfairly expelled and lost a chance for a scholarship. I tangled with the principal, and we both decided I needed some time to regroup.”
She felt his heated gaze. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
“What? That I’m in trouble?”
His mouth quirked at one corner. “No, that you put a kid first.”
She shrugged. “It’s my job, Evan. Someone has to be on their side.”
He touched her hand, his broad fingers moving over the backs of hers. “Who’s on your side, Jenny Collins?”
Between his voice and his touch, she had trouble putting together a thought. “My friends, Allison for one.”
“So there’s never been anyone special, except Perkins?”
She fought a shiver. “No one worth mentioning. And Brian is still a friend.”
Another hint of a smile. “They’re all blind then. You’re a beautiful woman and distracting as hell.”
She laughed trying to keep it light. “You have such a way with words, Rafferty.”
“I’ve never had a way with words.”
She doubted that. She also knew she couldn’t give this man anything. That didn’t mean she didn’t want to, but he was too dangerous. “Are you flirting with me?”
Suddenly, he pulled back. Any hint of playfulness was gone. “Just making conversation.”
The sound of the girls caused them to turn. Cherry and Gracie came running toward them, followed by Alex and Allison.
Gracie dropped to the blanket. “Daddy, Cherry asked if I can spend the night at her house.” The girl took a breath. “We don’t have school tomorrow and her mom and dad said I could if it’s okay with you.” Her blue eyes widened in anticipation. “Please, Daddy.”
Jenny could see Evan fighting with an answer. “Are you sure it’s okay with her parents?”
Allison appeared. “It’s fine. The girls are about the same size, so Gracie can borrow something to wear from Cherry. And I’ll bring her home tomorrow morning.”
Both girls turned back to Evan, wide-eyed, silently waiting for his answer. He knew Jenny was watching for his reaction, too. He nodded. “Okay, you can stay the night.”
Gracie jumped up and down along with Cherry, then she hugged him. “Oh, thank you, Daddy.” Just as quickly she released him and returned to her new friend.
“Can we go back now?” Cherry asked. “We want to play in my room.”
Alex took charge. “Then let’s clean up and get going.”
The girls began to pack things in the bags as Alex came up to Evan. “The first time is the toughest,” he said. “We want to protect our little girls, and all they want is to be independent.” Alex looked at him. “It’s no secret you and Gracie have had a rough couple of years. It’s good to let her get out on her own.”
“She’s never wanted to before,” Evan admitted. “Now, she’s asking for things I have no idea how to give her.”
Alex shook his head. “Females. They’re hard to figure out sometimes.” He suddenly grinned. “But they sure make life interesting.” The man turned and shared a glance with his wife. “Oh, yeah, very interesting.”
Evan couldn’t stop looking at Jenny as she helped the kids gather things. She must have sensed his gaze because she turned around. When she smiled, a warm heat shot through him, settling low in his gut.
He tore his gaze away and found Alex watching him. “Jenny’s a special person with a big heart. I’d hate to see her hurt again.”
The message was clear. “I don’t plan to hurt her,” Evan said, knowing the only way for no one to get hurt was for him to stay away from the woman.
He was going to do his darnedest to accomplish just that.
Later that evening, Evan sat on a stool at Rory’s Bar and Grill as his dad worked behind the bar, drawing beers from the tap and mixing drinks. Rory’s wasn’t usually busy on a Sunday night and Evan was glad. He took a drink of his beer and listened to a Carrie Underwood ballad on the jukebox.
Too restless to sit around the house alone with Gracie gone to the Casalis’, he’d surprised himself when he got into his truck and drove into town.
His dad came over. “Can I get you another one?”
Evan stared down at his half-empty glass. “No, I’ll nurse this one for a while.”
Sean nodded. “You should come around more often.”
“I’ve never been the type to hang out in bars. And I usually have Gracie.”
Sean studied his son. “And you were married young, and then Gracie came along.”
Yeah, she’d arrived seven months after the wedding. Evan thought back to those days when Megan had returned from college, fresh with her degree and so many dreams.
He’d been working the Merrick Ranch and saving for his own place. They’d dated only a few times before spending the night together. A few months later, with Megan pregnant, they were standing in front of a preacher. After Gracie’s birth they’d moved into the foreman’s cottage at her parents’ vineyard.
“Socializing seemed to get me into trouble.”
His father smiled. “I think you’re older and wiser now. Besides, you can’t regret that beautiful child.”
“I regret a lot, but never her. She’s the reason I’m working so much. I know I don’t show her the love I should, but it’s hard.”
Sean placed his hands on the bar. “And I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, son, but Megan didn’t help you bond with your daughter.”
Evan took a long drink of his beer. He didn’t want to rehash the past. “Maybe if things had been different …” He knew that he had tried to get close to his wife. Maybe if they had been head over heels in love to start with they could have worked harder at being a couple, a family. He’d tried, but Megan was unreceptive to the idea.
“You can’t change the past, Evan,” his father continued. “So it’s time to move on. Don’t give up on finding someone else.”
“What I need is to concentrate on Gracie.”
“A loving relationship with a woman would be good for your daughter. You’re only thirty-three. It’s a normal thing to want to be with a woman.”
He really didn’t want to hear this. “Didn’t we have this conversation when I was thirteen?”
Sean laughed. “You didn’t listen then either.” His smile faded. “Just don’t give up on making a life for yourself, son.”
He met his father’s gaze. “How come you never found anyone after Mom left us?”
Sean shrugged. “I guess I wasn’t looking, or there wasn’t the opportunity.” He glanced to the doorway. “Not like you.” A slow smile creased his face. “How lucky can you get when that special one walks in the door?”
Evan turned his head and found Jenny standing at the entrance. He didn’t need her here. He didn’t need his heart racing, or his gut tightening into knots at the sight of her, either. Yet lately that seemed to be a common occurrence whenever she was around.
That meant big trouble for him.
Jenny had called herself crazy as she changed out of her comfortable sweats and into a pair of jeans and a cotton T-shirt. Then again when she slipped on a pair of heeled sandals and hurried down the steps of her apartment and out the back of the shop.
She told herself she was wanting a barbecue sandwich and some fries. That was her story and she was sticking to it. Spotting the Rafferty ranch truck from her window had nothing to do with it.
Telling herself she needed to stay away from Evan hadn’t slowed her progress as she crossed the nearly deserted street toward the neon sign of Rory’s Bar and Grill. She took a breath, and walked into the dimly lit room.
A wooden L-shaped bar ran nearly the length of the space. Against the side walls were a half dozen high-backed booths, mostly empty tonight. It was a nice place with a warm atmosphere.
“Hi,” she said, too breathless. Evan looked good, freshly shaved and wearing a starched Western shirt and nice jeans.
He nodded. “Jenny.”
She glanced away. “Hello, Sean,” she called as the older man came around the bar to greet her with a hug.
“Hi, lass. You look mighty pretty tonight.”
She couldn’t even remember if she’d put on any makeup. “Thank you.”
“So you finally decided to check the place out?”
“My own cooking brought me here. I hear you serve a great barbecue sandwich.”
