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It had been almost two years since Nick had repurchased Kelly Ranch, once owned by his family and then sold. Now he was slowly and painstakingly making improvements on the property, which, because it had been neglected, was rundown. His current project was the leaky barn roof. He could have hired a professional roofer, but he was watching his bank balance. Also, he claimed to enjoy doing the work himself.
“I’d prefer snow to the icy stuff we got. And yeah, I thought a lot about dinner while the sleet was pounding my head. I could eat a whole cow.”
As if in agreement, his stomach growled loudly—just as the oven timer pinged, signaling the casserole was ready.
“If that isn’t great timing,” Dani teased. “Come on.”
They linked arms and headed toward the kitchen of her little apartment, swapping fond looks with each other. “What’s next on your agenda, Mr. Ranch Fixer Upper?” she asked.
“Mending fences so that we can move the livestock when the spring grass comes up. Now that it’s March, that’s just around the corner. I also have to install the new irrigation system soon.”
“You’re keeping busy, I’ll give you that.” Too busy to reflect much on his recent breakup. “Ever notice how you use physical labor to avoid thinking about certain things?”
He shrugged. “Hey, if it works...”
He did seem in a better frame of mind than he had when they’d talked the previous evening. “I wish I was as good at distracting myself as you,” Dani said with envy.
He peered closely at her. “You’ve been crying.”
She pulled herself to her full five-foot-six-inch height. “I was, but I’m finished now. I’m excited to spend the evening with my best friend—eating, sipping wine, having ice cream, watching a movie, eating more ice cream....”
She expected a laugh, and Nick didn’t disappoint. “You and me both,” he said.
While he uncorked the wine, Dani donned oven mitts and brought the casserole to her cottage-style kitchen table. “When did we last have a pity party together?” she asked as they sat down in their usual seats.
“You mean at the same time?” Nick’s thick-lashed, mocha-colored eyes narrowed in thought. “I don’t believe we ever have. It’s usually either you or me hurting, never both of us at once.”
“A first for us, then, and after sixteen years of friendship.” They’d met in middle school at the age of fourteen, and had bolstered each other up through too many breakups to count.
“Bummer, huh?” Nick said. “If this is a first, we should make a toast.” He filled the glasses. “To no more breakups at the same time.”
“I’d rather toast to no more breakups, period,” Dani said. “But I know us both too well for that.”
Neither of them stayed in a relationship for long.
After setting down his glass, Nick eyed the casserole. “I’m sorry about Jeter, but I gotta say, I sure enjoy your choice of comfort food.”
Dani laughed. “You always cheer me up.” His sense of humor was one of his many positive qualities. “And I agree, there’s nothing better than mac and cheese with hamburger.” She nodded at the steaming dish. “Help yourself.”
“After you.” Beaming the sexy smile that made women swoon, Nick nudged the casserole her way.
He was such a gentleman, which was also sexy. “Have you heard from Mandy since you broke up with her?” she asked when they’d both filled their plates.
“You want to talk about this now.” He gave her a wary frown. “Are you trying to ruin my appetite?”
“Is that even possible? It’s just that I remember how Jasmine stalked you with phone calls and texts when your relationship ended.” Jasmine had been Nick’s previous ex.
“She was unstable. Mandy isn’t like that. We both knew we weren’t going to make it.”
“Too bad—she was great.” Dani sighed. “What a shame she wasn’t your Ms. Right.”
Nick almost choked on his wine. “You’re such a fairy-tale romantic. I’ve told you, there is no Ms. Right, not for me.”
His track record so far certainly proved that. He never went too deep into the reasons why he found his previous girlfriends lacking, but it happened over and over. Dani suspected that his issues stemmed from his mother’s extramarital affair and the subsequent breakup of his parents’ marriage when he was a kid. That and the broken heart he’d suffered in his early twenties.
In all the years they’d been friends, she’d only seen Nick in love that once. He’d met Ashley in college. They’d dated for nearly a year before they graduated and moved in together. Within months of that, they were talking marriage. Then Ashley’s mom, who lived in Missoula, had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Ashley had gone home to take care of her. She was only supposed to stay for a few months, but her relationship with Nick had fallen apart, and she never returned.
Nick claimed he’d been relieved. Even so, it had taken him ages to get over what had happened. Or maybe he never had, because he hadn’t let a woman into his heart since.
Whereas Dani fell head over heels several times a year.
“And I’ve told you that all it takes is the right person,” she said. “You can deny it until you’re hoarse, but I believe that your true love and mine are out there.”
“I’m not opposed to love, Dani—you know that. I just don’t do it.” With a shrug, he bent his head toward his plate.
“Sly used to say the same thing, and look at him now. He’s happily married, with a little girl.” Dani’s brother and his wife, Lana, had an adorable two-and-a-half-year-old, the happy result of Lana’s miracle pregnancy.
“If it can happen to Sly, it could happen to you,” she went on. “And to me—I hope.” She crossed her fingers and held them up.
Nick failed to comment.
“Out of all the women in the world, one is perfect for you,” she said. “Someday when you meet her, you’ll see.”
“Trust me, between the available women in Prosperity and the summer tourists who come through every year, I’m a happy man.”
“Except before, during and after the breakups.” She bit her lip. “I did everything I could to make Jeter love me as much as I loved him. What’s wrong with me?”
Nick shook his head. “That’s the wrong question. You should be asking, what’s wrong with Jeter? You’ve got to quit trying to please the guys you date and be yourself. You’re great just as you are.”
Nick had always been wonderful at boosting her self-esteem. “You’re sweet,” she said.
“I mean it, Dani. Now, about the guys you date. You say you want to get married and have a family, but you pick guys who don’t. Guys like me.” He shook his head. “Most of them are jerks, too. That’s why you get hurt.”
“So you and Sly keep pointing out.” Dani fiddled with her napkin. “I guess I’ll take a little break from dating.”
“That’s probably a wise idea.”
Except that she hated sitting home alone on a Saturday night. “I’ll make plans to go out with some of my girlfriends instead.” But that posed a problem, because at the moment, most of them were either in a relationship or married. “That is, if I can find someone who’s free to get together on a Saturday night.”
“I’m available,” Nick said. “You can hang with me.”
“Until your next girlfriend comes along.”
“That could be a while.”
“Ha.” Dani hated being single. Maybe her plan to take a break from dating had been made too hastily. She let out a heavy sigh.
Nick gave her a measured look. “You’re already wishing you had another guy in the wings, aren’t you? Just do me a favor. The next time you date someone, hold on to your heart until you’re sure he’s worthy enough to give it to.”
“And just how do I do that?”
He stroked his strong chin pensively. “It might help if you try going out with a different kind of guy than your usual type. Someone who isn’t a bum.”
He was right, most of the males Dani dated were pretty much jerks. As she sipped her wine, she thought about why she made such poor choices. There was nothing more attractive than a good-looking man with a spark of wild in his eyes and a devil-may-care attitude. She’d certainly fallen for enough of them.
And where had that gotten her? Every new relationship started out filled with promise, making her ever hopeful that this time, this boyfriend would love her and treat her right. And although she tried everything to make him happy, from wearing clothes he liked to embracing the activities he enjoyed—even when she didn’t—sooner or later things always soured.
Nick just might have a point. She sat up straight. “You’re right—I should try dating someone I wouldn’t normally choose. Drumroll please. When I do decide to date again, I’ll pick a man I wouldn’t usually look twice at.”
Nick frowned. “Define a man you ‘wouldn’t normally choose.’”
“Well, someone hard-working, with both feet on the ground. And he has to have a good job.” That way, he wouldn’t ask to borrow money from her, as Jeter had. “If he’s impatient about getting physical and refuses to move slowly, he’s out.”
“Having a regular job doesn’t make a man a decent human being,” Nick said. “At first, guys tend to put their best foot forward. How can you tell the square shooters from the jerks until you get to know them?”
“Hmm.” Propping her chin on her fist, Dani pondered the question. “Well, I’ll do what you said, and hold my heart in check for a while. And maybe, instead of waiting for the man to ask me out, I’ll do the asking. I’ll start by observing him for a while when he isn’t looking, and I’ll pay attention to how he treats other people. That’ll give me a glimmer of an idea of his character.”
Nick gave an approving nod. “That’s not a bad plan. It’s definitely worth a try.”
Dani smiled. “So glad you approve, Mr. Kelly.”
* * *
AFTER THREE HELPINGS of mac and cheese, Nick’s belly was satisfied. He and Dani lingered at the table, both of them relaxed. He was also too beat to move. Fixing up the ranch and making it profitable was an all-consuming job, filled with unexpected obstacles and on-going challenges. Not that he minded. He loved his land. But with another full day starting at oh-dark-thirty tomorrow, he was ready to head home and fall into a dreamless sleep. Dani appeared to be just as tired.
“Are you sure you want to watch a movie tonight?” he asked after she yawned for the second time. “You have to get up even earlier than I do, and with Big Mama riding your case....”
“Don’t remind me.” Dani grimaced. “Ever since the Poplar Tree restaurant opened and the Prosperity Daily News ran that story about them, business at the café has been slipping. How many times have I told Big Mama that we need to step things up and make some changes in order to compete? Does she listen? Heck, no.”
Everyone who knew Trudy Alexander called her Big Mama. The nickname suited the five-foot-eleven, two-hundred-plus-pound female. Although she towered an intimidating five inches over Dani, Dani gave her as good as she got. They were both strong-willed women, and they often butted heads. And yet, their love for each other was obvious.
At the tender age of four Dani had lost her mother to cancer. Two years later she’d also lost her father, when a tree limb had crashed through the windshield of his car, killing him instantly. The freak accident had left Dani and her two older brothers orphans. The boys had been taken in by an uncle in Iowa. He hadn’t wanted a girl, and Dani had gone into Prosperity’s foster care system. Luckily for her, she’d been placed with Big Mama. A couple years later, the older woman had legally adopted Dani, with Dani keeping her original last name.
“I know our customers,” Dani went on. “I should—I’m there six days a week, from five o’clock in the morning until we close at 2:00 p.m., and often for a few hours after that. I waitress, I order food and supplies, help with the hiring and firing, and I sort the mail. Most of those are responsibilities I’ve handled since I was in high school. The only things I don’t do are the cooking and the financial stuff.”
“You work hard,” Nick agreed. As hard as he did, for which he respected her.
“And I do a good job—a really good job. So why doesn’t Big Mama trust me to make decisions that could help our restaurant?” Dani snickered. “Heck, she doesn’t even trust me to get through a Saturday or Sunday without nagging me about one thing or another.”
Presumably Dani’s mom, now in her late sixties, would retire someday and Dani would take over. But handing the reins over to anyone, even her daughter, wasn’t proving easy for her. For now, Big Mama preferred to run the business her own way, keeping Dani on a tight leash. Nick had been hearing about it from Dani for several years now. “Of course she trusts you,” he said. “She just prefers to be in control.”
“If she trusted me she wouldn’t have to be in control. You wouldn’t believe the day I had, much of it courtesy of her.” Dani grimaced again. “Which is a long way of answering your question. No, I don’t want to call it a night just yet. I’m so ready to escape into a movie, and I want to do it with my best friend.”
As bone-tired as Nick was, Dani needed him and he wasn’t going to let her down. She and Big Mama were like family to him. He was a lot closer to them than to his own sister and mother. Dani was loyal to the people she cared about. Even when she was in a bad relationship, she stayed true to her boyfriend. His fickle mom, on the other hand, didn’t know the meaning of loyalty.
“Today was worse than usual?” he asked.
“It was pretty bad.”
“What happened?”
Dani slanted her head. “Are you sure you want to hear about this?”
If talking about her day took her mind off Jeter, Nick was all for it. “Sure.”
“How long have I been running the restaurant on weekends so that Big Mama can take a few days off?” Dani grumbled. “As if she’s ever really ‘off.’ Business has slacked a little lately, but that doesn’t mean I stand around, twiddling my thumbs. She must’ve called ten times today, making sure I’d done this chore and that one. Have I cleaned the tables and reset them after customers finished and left? Have I checked the salt-and-pepper shakers and the sugar bowls to make sure they’re filled? You’d think I was a new hire. I just wish she’d get that I know what I’m doing and let me do it.”
She didn’t expect a comment, so Nick just nodded.
“I’ve done tons of research on steps we could take to increase our business,” she continued. “But no, she finds something wrong with every one of my ideas. I even suggested she watch Restaurant: Impossible, the Food Network show about saving restaurants from going under, so that she could see what other restaurants are trying. She claims she doesn’t have time for that.”
Dani’s lips pursed in irritation. She was definitely in a tough situation.
“Maybe I can help,” Nick offered. “Big Mama’s crazy about me.” She always had been. As a teenager, he’d spent more nights at her dinner table than his own mother’s. “Let me talk to her.”
“No, thanks. I’ll handle this myself. Besides, she’s so stubborn that not even your Kelly charm could budge her on this. It’s enough that you’re letting me whine.”
Dani had always been an independent female—except when it came to men. She fell in love fast, and tried way too hard to please whoever she was with.
Nick didn’t do love, period. What was the point of falling for a woman when love would ruin a man’s life? Because sooner or later, the relationship was bound to end. Women were fickle and not to be trusted—Dani excepted.
“Big Mama started her business forty years ago,” he said. “Anyone would have difficulty letting go.”
“And I get that, but it doesn’t make my working life any easier. I want her to trust me, Nick.” Dani needed her mother’s trust. Owning and running a restaurant wasn’t easy, and Big Mama wasn’t getting any younger. She deserved to retire and let Dani take over. “Okay, I’m through complaining—for now.” She switched gears. “Let’s watch a movie so that I can forget about work and Jeter.”
“Soon,” Nick said. “But first, ice cream with hot fudge sauce, if you have any. Let’s eat in front of the tube.”
Her eyes lit up. They were an unusual silvery-blue, the same color as Sly’s and those of their brother, Seth, whom Nick had met a few times when he and Dani had first become friends. But then Seth had left town, and Dani and Sly hadn’t seen or heard from him in years. They had no idea where he was.
“I like the way you think, Mr. Kelly. And yes, I happen to have bought a fresh jar of hot fudge sauce on my way home today—just for you.”
Nick had been to her apartment so often, he knew where she stored everything. In the pine cabinet to the right of the sink, he found the bowls. The drawer next to the stove yielded the ice cream scoop. Dani opened the jar of fudge sauce and heated it in the microwave. By the time he piled ice cream into the bowls the fudge sauce was nice and hot.
“I want first crack at that sauce,” Dani said with a teasing twinkle in her eyes. “Otherwise, you’ll eat the whole thing.”
Nick gave her a look of mock hurt. “I’d never do that.”
“Ha. Your sweet tooth is so big that mine dims by comparison. But you never gain an ounce, you lucky man.” She sighed. “I wish I could eat whatever I wanted and not put on weight. That’s the one good thing about my breakup with Jeter. I won’t have to diet anymore.”
Jeter had ridden Dani’s case about her weight but Nick thought he was nuts. “What do you care about some Neanderthal’s opinion?” he said. “You’re perfect the way you are.”
And she was. Curvy in all the right places. With pretty eyes and a plump mouth made for kissing, she could attract any man she wanted. Plus, she was warm and friendly, with a heart as big as the Montana sky.
Nick was crazy about her, but not in a sexual sense. As attractive as Dani was, he considered her a cross between sister and best friend. That was the whole reason they’d stayed close all these years. Sex would just mess up their relationship.
Dani finished drizzling a stream of hot fudge sauce over her rocky road. “Have at it.” She handed Nick the jar of sauce, but kept the chocolate-coated spoon for herself.
After slathering his ice cream with enough chocolate to satisfy his sweet tooth, he stuck his finger in the jar and scraped it clean.
