Chapter 2
For the first time in his life, Aiden was at a loss for words. His mouth had gone dry. His tongue was numb, and his mind was a slate, wiped clean. The only thing he knew for sure was that Lucy’s hand was still in his.
“It’s a… It’s nice to meet you,” he stammered.
“So, you know Ted,” she said, letting her palm slip from his.
“He’s my brother from another mother. Literally. He was raised by his grandmother, and when she passed, he came to live with us.”
Before Lucy could say anything else, one of the carnival workers approached. The woman wore the same bright yellow T-shirt and purple hat as the rest of the Bryant Bros. Carnival staff.
“Ms. Harris,” she said, “I hate to interrupt. But we need more helium tanks. Do you know where they’re stored?”
“Sure do.” Lucy pointed toward a cluster of outbuildings to the left of where the fair had been set up. To Aiden, they looked like old barns. “They’re all stored over there,” she began. “How many tanks do you need? I know where they are. I can get them.”
“Four or five would be great,” said the woman. “Can you take them to the balloon tent?”
“Give me a minute and I’ll be right over.”
The carnival worker nodded her head in thanks and jogged off.
“Well,” said Lucy, slipping her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “I guess duty calls.”
“I guess it does.”
“It was nice meeting you,” she said.
“Same.”
He watched as she walked away, admiring the curve of her hips and the sway of her ass. Then, she disappeared, swallowed by the crowd. Lucy Harris was someone he wanted to get to know better.
Ted let out a huff. “What the hell, man?”
Aiden turned to his foster brother. “What the hell, what?”
“Why’d you interrupt?”
A sick feeling settled in his gut. Was Ted interested in Lucy? To be honest, she wore jeans and flannels and didn’t seem like his foster brother’s type. But she was also beautiful, and that meant lots of guys would be interested.
The family had joked that Ted would never marry. He was already wed to his job as mayor. But just because it was a joke didn’t mean it was true. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had a thing for Lucy.”
“Me? Lucy? No way. She’s nice and all, but I don’t have time for a relationship. You know that. I was trying to talk to her about a business proposition. Then, the kid interrupted.”
Was it his imagination or was there a bite to Ted’s tone? “Don’t blame Sammy. I pointed you out.”
“Here’s some of my favorite fellas,” said Aiden’s mom as she approached.
Matti and Ryan were right behind.
Ted kissed Emily’s cheek. “You look amazing as always.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked Ted.
“You know, the whole mayor thing.” He pressed his hand to his stomach. “I judged the barbecue cook-off.”
“How was it?” asked Ryan.
“Everything was delicious. It was hard to pick a winner.”
As he watched Ted, Aiden took a bite of his sundae. The ice cream had melted, and the hot fudge sauce had cooled. His stomach churned and it had nothing to do with his dessert. Watching Ted switch from irritated to gracious and back again was giving him whiplash.
He glanced at Aiden. “Everything okay?”
“I was just wondering the same about you.”
Ted took a step away from the group. Aiden followed. “I’m sorry I was short with you before. I was talking to Lucy about buying her ranch.”
Aiden’s head snapped back as if he’d been punched. “This ranch.” He used his spoon to point at the ground.
“Unless she has another one hidden somewhere else, yeah.”
“What would you do with a ranch? You’re the mayor of Red Grove. You need to live in town.”
Ted glanced over his shoulder. Nobody was close enough to hear what they were saying, and he continued. “I made a couple of investments. I have a nice pile of cash and want to do something good with my money.”
Aiden had no idea that his foster brother had a pile of cash kind of money. “What is it that you want to do?”
“You remember how my grandmother used to love animals, right?”
Annie had been a mother’s helper to Emily when Aiden and his five siblings were younger.
She’d spent as much time at his house as she had her own home.
And Ted was right. She loved all animals.
She was forever rehabilitating wounded birds.
Or using a Havahart trap for mice that had gotten into the garage.
“Your grandma was a good person. She loved everyone and everything.”
“Right?” Ted thumped him on the chest with his knuckles. “And what better way to honor her memory than to open a rescue and animal sanctuary in her name. Annie Barrett Animal Rescue.”
“I like it.” Aiden took another bite of his oozing ice cream. “She’d like it, too. But why do you want this ranch? There has to be lots of other land for sale.”
“The county comptroller mentioned that Lucy and her grandad have been late to pay their taxes several times. I don’t want them to lose this property on a technicality.”
If Ted could be that honest, then so could Aiden. “I am sorry that Sammy and I ruined your negotiations. I did more than point you out to him. I encouraged him to come over and say hello.” He paused, not sure if he wanted to confess everything. Then, he said, “I wanted to meet Lucy.”
“What was your plan? To use the cute kid to meet the pretty woman?”
In his opinion, Lucy was a lot more than merely pretty. “It sounds so crude when you say it that way.” He took another bite. Speaking around his spoon, he said, “Anyway, I am sorry.”
“It’s not a problem. Really. I can talk to her again. But do me two favors.” He didn’t wait for a response. “Don’t mention anything to anyone about me wanting to buy property. My finances aren’t a secret, but I never know how voters will react.”
“Sure. What was the second thing?”
Ted pulled his phone from his pocket. He tapped on the screen before sending a text with a whoosh. “Sorry,” he said, jiggling the phone. “Work.”
“You wanted me to do two favors for you. What’s the second one?”
Ted took a step toward Aiden. Grabbing him behind the neck, he pulled him closer. Lowering his voice to just above a whisper, he said, “Stay away from Lucy Harris. She has a past. Trust me, that woman is damaged goods.”
Lucy walked through the crowd. The faces were nothing more than a blur.
And yet, she kept looking for the handsome firefighter.
Aiden Colton. It was more than his looks that made him interesting.
It was the way he’d taken care of his nephew when Ted had gotten prickly.
It was also how he was smart enough to figure out that the Five Steers was named for a bunch of boys, even though Lucy was the one running it for now.
Finally, there were the butterflies that got let loose in her stomach just from shaking his hand. She’d read all about explosive chemistry in her mother’s old romance novels. But honestly, until now, she had thought it was just fantasy.
“Lucy.” A familiar voice cut through all the noise. It was her grandfather. “Where are you going?”
Someone had given Rusty a white bib. The word Judge was emblazoned on his chest in big black letters. “How was the pie contest?”
“Heavenly,” he said. “I picked a peach one for the winner, but they were all real good. You want to come over and have a slice?”
“Not now,” she said, pointing to the old barn where all the helium had been stored. “I need to get some helium tanks over to the balloon tent.”
“Isn’t that what the carnival people are supposed to do?”
Grandpa Rusty was right. The contract they signed said that the carnival staff was supposed to take care of all logistics—including cleaning up afterward. They just rented her land for the weekend. “I don’t mind helping out,” she said. “Really.”
“More like you want a reason to escape.”
“Well, there’s that, too.” She stepped away from her grandfather.
“Wait,” he said, stopping her in her tracks. “What about Ted Barrett?”
“What about him?”
“Well, he obviously wanted to talk to you alone. Why else would he send me to judge the pie contest?”
It was true, Ted did want to have a private word with Lucy. “It’s not what you think, Grandpa. He didn’t ask me on a date or anything. He wanted to talk about business.”
“Yeah? What kind of business?”
She was not about to tell her grandfather that Ted had offered to buy the ranch, especially since he might want to accept.
No, she wouldn’t even start that conversation.
With the money they’d make from the fair, the Five Steers would be able to stay open for another year. If she continued to invite them back again, they’d always be able to make ends meet.
“It was nothing major,” she lied. “He wanted to know what we thought of the carnival. How much we were making, that kind of thing.”
“Seems pretty nosy, don’t you think?”
“Well, he is the mayor.”
Before her grandfather could ask her anything else, she kissed his cheek. “Save a piece of pie for me.”
She walked through the crowd, leaving everything behind. Half a dozen old barns and sheds were clustered together. All the livestock were still in the upper pasture that was used in the summer. After the long weekend, they would all be brought closer to the house.
Lucy pushed the door to the small barn open.
The space hadn’t been used for horses in more than a decade, but still the smell of tack, leather, and hay hung in the air.
The door swung shut, blocking out the lights and the sounds from the carnival outside.
She stood in the gloom. As kids, she and her brother used to play in this barn.
In the silence, she could almost hear his voice.
“The outlaws are circling the homestead, Luce.” Her brother had a wooden gun that Grandpa Rusty had made for him. “There’s no way for us to survive. Unless we shoot it out.”
“Derek, we’re in this together to the bitter end,” she’d said, lying on her stomach and looking between the gaps in the planks.