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Turned out this was much easier. Almost everybody was friendly and happier now that the line was moving a little faster.
The guys gave him a howdy, several introducing themselves. It was the Texas way. Young women—and some of the older ones—flirted with him. A little boost for the ego.
None of the females were as tempting as Dani Boatman. He might just be staying around Winding Creek a little longer than originally planned.
* * *
TWO HOURS LATER, the Saturday morning rush had come and gone. Only three tables were occupied and there was no one in line. Constance was off to the movie with her friend.
And Dani Boatman was totally infatuated with the witty, personable, hunky cowboy who’d saved the day. But then he’d charmed almost every woman who’d walked into the bakery. Some men had a knack for winning hearts with just a smile. Riley had it in spades.
“Whew...” Riley said. “Are Saturday mornings always this busy?”
“Unfortunately, no. They’re my busiest day of the week, but not usually this kind of crazy. The sunny day and the wildflowers in full bloom brought out the tourists.”
“I get that. I’m not much of a flower man, but even I noticed the sea of bluebonnets driving in this morning. Damned impressive.”
“You’d be amazed how many people visit the Texas Hill Country every spring just for the scenery.”
“Scenery in here looks pretty good to me.”
“Thanks. I try to make the pastries too tempting to resist.”
He smiled seductively. “I wasn’t talking about the pastries.”
A flush of heat crept up her face. She turned away quickly, hoping he hadn’t noticed the blush. He’d think she was either incredibly naive, or had never had a man casually flirt with her.
Tough to admit, but neither was that far-fetched.
“Did you bake all this?” he asked, motioning to the display cases full of her cookies, cupcakes, scones and other pastries, as well as loaves of bread.
“Yes.”
“And you babysit your niece. When do you have time for a life?”
“This is my life. And I don’t babysit Constance. My sister died this past year. Constance lives with me.”
“So it’s just you and Constance?”
“That’s it.”
“Instant motherhood. That must have thrown your life into a tailspin.”
“It’s been an adjustment, but I’m loving it. We live above the shop so I can be with her as much as possible.”
The door opened again and Sandy O’Malley rushed in, her short skirt swinging around her thighs, her long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. “I’m so sorry, Miss Boatman. My alarm didn’t go off this morning. I mean I know I set it, but it didn’t go off and Mom had gone into work early and I guess I got to bed late and...”
“Take a breath, Sandy,” Dani said, stopping the onslaught of excuses. “We’ll talk later. For now, you can start clearing the tables.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll get right to it.”
“Guess I’m officially replaced,” Riley said.
“Yes, but you saved me from total chaos this morning. If there’s anything I can do to thank you for jumping into the madness...”
“Let me give it some thought. I’m sure we can think of a way. Will I see you at the wedding tonight?”
“Can’t miss me. I’m the maid of honor.”
“How ’bout that? I’m one of the two best men. Pierce had to give his brothers equal billing. I’ve yet to meet the bride, but according to Pierce, she hung the moon and outshines most of the stars.”
“And she’s just as crazy about him. They’re a perfect couple.”
“More than a couple,” Riley said. “They have Pierce’s five-year-old daughter, Jaci, at least part-time. They’ll be an instant family with all the complications that can bring. Glad it’s him and not me.”
Which was in perfect agreement with how Pierce had described his brother. Riley was a rambler, never stayed in one place long enough to get serious about any woman. The love-’em-and-leave-’em type.
“I’ll see you tonight,” Riley said. “Save me a two-stepper. I hear there’s going to be a country-and-western band.”
“Sure.” As if he’d notice a short, plump pastry chef once he was besieged by every other woman there.
“Thanks again for helping out,” she said. “If you ever need a steady job with long hours, low pay and lots of work, give me a call.”
“I appreciate that generous offer, but unfortunately I start to rust if I spend more than a couple of hours indoors. See you tonight.”
She watched Riley walk away. That was when she saw James Haggard staring at her through the window. She braced herself to deal with him, but he made no move to enter the shop. He just continued to stare, every muscle in his face stretched taut.
There was no doubt that he meant to intimidate her, to make her shudder in fear and realize that he’d meant what he said.
She’d lain awake for hours last night, considering his threats, trying to decide what her next move should be. She’d told the truth about the money being in a trust fund—it had been at Dani’s insistence. That didn’t mean that as Constance’s father, Haggard couldn’t challenge her decision.
If he was her biological father.
All she needed was a sample of his DNA to prove him wrong. Or prove him right.
If she could somehow get a sample of his DNA, she could have the testing done without his cooperation. But then why wouldn’t he cooperate? He didn’t want Constance. He wanted to basically sell her for a million dollars.
If he wasn’t her biological father, Dani would report him and his rotten scam to the sheriff. If he was... She couldn’t bring herself to go there now.
She was closing at three today, an hour earlier that her usual time to make the sundown wedding without too much of a rush. She’d search paternity testing labs in San Antonio before she left for the Double K Ranch, to get the facts about how to go about the testing.
And then she’d insist Haggard provide a DNA sample. If he refused, that was as good as an admission that he was lying.
No matter what the results, she had to keep Constance out of the hands of James Haggard. If it came down to it, she’d protect her niece from scum like him with her life.
Chapter Three (#ubff44259-7ca8-5502-955e-235c7d34c854)
Riley propped a booted foot on a bag of feed. It was the first time he’d managed a few minutes alone with Pierce and their younger brother, Tucker. They’d taken a walk out to the barn to get some privacy.
“So you’re serious about staying on here at the Double K?” Riley asked. “As a hired hand?”
“Not exactly. Esther and I have been talking. She’s willing to sell me the ranch as long as she can keep her house, her gardens and her chickens. I’d never dream of taking those from her anyway. As you know, Grace, Jaci and me are living with her now and it’s working out fine.”
“I just never figured she’d sell the Double K.”
“Frankly, she doesn’t have the resources to keep it going, and to be honest, I’ve never been as happy as I’ve been these past few months. I have some money saved and this seems like the perfect investment.”
“Last time we were together, you said you’d never been happier than being a Navy SEAL,” Riley said.
“That was the truth then and exactly what I needed at that time in my life. But this life is the kind of satisfaction that seeps bone-deep. Not just the ranch, though I sure feel I belong here, but it’s Grace and Jaci and, I don’t know, man. It just feels so right.”
“Don’t you just have temporary custody of your daughter until her mother and new stepfather get back to the States?” Tucker asked.
“Yes, but we’re working on more permanent arrangements. It seems Leslie’s new husband will be working on the project in Cuba longer than expected. We’re talking about joint custody, but with Jaci spending summers and most holidays with her mother and the rest of the time with me and Grace.”
“How does Jaci feel about that?”
“She loves the ranch. Well, mostly she loves horses, but she’s handling the divorce like a trouper. We’re family. She even calls Esther ‘Grandmother’ and Grace ‘Mommy.’”
“And Esther seems to love that,” Tucker said.
“So getting married so soon after meeting Grace doesn’t frighten you at all?” Riley asked.
“Not in the least.”
“You’ve definitely been roped and tied,” Tucker said.
“Except I was the one doing the roping. I was hooked from practically the moment I met Grace. When I thought I was going to lose her to a madman, I knew for certain my life would never be complete without her.”
“I guess that explains the rush to the altar,” Riley said.
“I was ready to marry her the day after she said yes. She was the one who encouraged me to wait until you two could actually coordinate your schedules enough to show up for the ceremony. She’s big on family ties.”
“It all sounds great,” Riley agreed, “but you were madly in love before and look how that worked out.”
“I failed in that marriage,” Pierce admitted. “Leslie and I were like two horses pulling in different directions. There was no way we were going to arrive at the same destination.”
“But you got Jaci out of that marriage,” Tucker said. “She’s a terrific kid, so it wasn’t a total loss.”
“Exactly,” Pierce confirmed.
And Riley should probably leave it at that, but what kind of brother would he be if he didn’t say what he was thinking?
“You haven’t known Grace very long. What happens if you and Grace start pulling in opposite directions? Another divorce? More emotional trauma for Jaci?”
“I get your concerns,” Pierce said. “But I have no doubts about Grace or my love for her. It’s about love, but it’s also about shared experiences and trust and knowing that the other person will always be there for you. Grace and I have that.”
“Then I guess you’re ready for the marriage game.”
“It’s not a game,” Pierce argued.
“Right. It’s your life. If you’re happy, then I couldn’t be happier for you.”
Riley meant that. It was just that settling down to one woman, one ranch, one set of options seemed a lot like sticking a horse in one pasture and never letting it taste the grass on the other side of the fence.
“To change the subject, do you guys remember our first day on the Double K Ranch?” Tucker asked.
“All too well,” Pierce said. “I was scared to open my mouth, afraid Esther and Charlie would kick us out if we did anything to annoy them.”
“Same here,” Riley said. “And if we got rejected by the Kavanaughs, that scary old hag of a social worker would take over and place us in three different foster homes.”
“I cried the day the social worker said that,” Tucker said, “but I hid so you two couldn’t see me. At twelve, I figured I was way too old to cry.”
The truth was they’d all had trouble dealing with the grief. One morning they’d had loving parents, a home, security. A few hours later a policeman showed up at the door and told them their parents had died in a car crash.
They’d spent the next ten months with Charlie and Esther before a great-uncle they’d never met showed up and took them to live in Kansas with him until they turned eighteen.
But Riley had never truly gotten over that feeling that he was one second away from a catastrophe. Maybe none of them had. Could be that was why Tucker risked his life almost daily riding two-thousand-pound bulls that would just as soon crack his skull with a hoof as not.
Maybe that was why Pierce had become a Navy SEAL and had been so good at it. And the reason Riley could never commit to anything. There was no certainty of anything in life.
Or maybe they were all just three brothers out there trying to find where they fit.
“I had a few minutes alone with Esther this morning,” Tucker said. “She still seems to think Charlie was murdered.”
“I know,” Pierce said. “I’ve looked in to it some, but there’s just no evidence to support that.”
“Yet hard to believe he committed suicide,” Riley said. “Were there health issues?”
“Not that Esther’s mentioned,” Pierce said. “But like I said, there are lots of money issues. The ranch is mortgaged to the hilt and Charlie was behind in his payments. His bank account is down to a few thousand dollars and he’d been steadily selling off his livestock since the drought two years ago.”
Riley leaned against a bale of hay. “Looks like your offer to buy in came just in time to save the ranch.”
“It’s working out that way,” Pierce agreed. “It’s great for Esther, too. She gets to stay in her home she shared with Charlie for so many years and still tend to her beloved chickens and her vegetable garden. Charlie’s ranch doesn’t fall into the hands of the bank. It’s a win-win all the way around.”
“Except that you’re buying a ranch that you admit has fallen into a state of serious disrepair.”
“I like a challenge. Besides, I had some money saved, thinking I might buy a ranch. Even after I pay off the debts, I’ll have enough left to hopefully make the Double K a profitable operation again.”
“You’ve got your work cut out for you,” Riley said.
“Yep, and I’m hoping my brother the rambler might settle down for a few months and help me out.”
“Why did I not see this coming?” Strangely, Riley wasn’t put off by the idea. He had to be somewhere; might as well be here helping out his brother and Esther—for a while.
“Just don’t get any ideas that I’m going to settle down in Winding Creek forever, big brother.”
“That possibility never entered my mind.”
