Chapter Three
“Hi, Riley,” Val said. “Were you looking for me?”
“No, but I think Liam could use some help.”
“What’s wrong? Is it the baby?”
“She’s fine. Well, sorta. I just left your place, and Liam was having a hell of a time trying to stop Vivian’s meltdown.” He didn’t want to worry her, just get rid of her. Having a meltdown seemed harmless enough. Besides, it could be true.
“Oh, no. I’d better go. Poor Liam flips out at that sort of thing.” She turned to Letty. “Thanks for making the pies. I’ll see you then, if not before.”
“You’re making pies for Thanksgiving?” Riley asked as she left.
“Yes. What are you doing here?”
“Can you take a break and go get a cup of coffee?”
“Depends on what you want.”
“To talk to you.”
“Talk to me or lecture me?”
“Still pissed about last night, huh?”
“Ya think? You were a jerk.”
“Guilty as charged. Let me make it up to you. See if you can take a break.”
One of the other librarians had walked up in time to hear him and said, “I’ll cover for you, Letty.”
Letty frowned. “Thanks, but—”
Riley interrupted. “She’d love that. Thanks a lot.”
Letty sighed but gave in. She picked up her jacket and they chose to walk since it was a mild day. “Want some help with your pies?”
Her head whipped around, and she stared at him. “Since when did you learn how to cook?”
“I haven’t but I can help if you tell me what to do.”
She snorted but didn’t comment. After they got to the Java Café and ordered—black coffee for him and a white chocolate mocha latte for Letty—he found a seat at a table by the window.
“All right, I’m here. Now, what do you want?”
“There’s a country music concert in Livingston tomorrow night.” He named a singer he knew she liked. “Want to go with me?”
“Are you asking me on a date?” She looked utterly incredulous.
“Yeah. Why is that so hard to believe?”
Letty leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because in all the years I’ve known you, you’ve never asked me out.”
“I’m asking now.”
She stared at him, her expression unreadable. Finally she said, “No. I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I’m not buying.”
“It’s not a game. I want to take you to a concert. You’re not involved with anyone, and neither am I. There’s nothing stopping us.”
“What brought this on?”
He had no idea how to explain to her his apparently sudden change of heart.
He didn’t totally understand it himself.
But for him it wasn’t sudden. No, his feelings had been growing for months.
Seeing her last night with another man, one she was clearly ready to leave with, had blown to pieces whatever hesitation he’d had.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. About you. And me. I think we could be good together.”
She sipped her latte, then set it down. “How can I put this? No.”
“When I kissed you, you kissed me back.”
“All that means is you’re a good kisser.”
“You can’t tell me you’ve never thought about the two of us together.”
“Sure I have.”
“Well, then—”
“When I was eighteen.”
“Nothing since?” Okay, it was hurt pride, but the fact that she’d managed to get over him so finally bothered the hell out of him.
Which was ridiculous. She’d been eighteen and had a crush on him. That’s all it had been. And he’d turned her down in no uncertain terms. She’d been way too young for him to take advantage of.
“Look, Riley, you know I care about you. I always will. I love your whole family. You and Val and your parents are as close as I have to family. But you and me together romantically?” She shook her head. “I don’t see it.”
“You’re not even willing to give us a shot?”
“I’ll think about it. But don’t count on it. I’ll see you at Thanksgiving.”
“You said I could help you with the pies. When are you making them?”
“I don’t remember saying you could help me.”
“It’s sad that you’re so young and your memory is already going.”
“Very funny. I’m making them the day before. Bright and early. Can you do that?”
“Yes. I’ll make arrangements.” Both of his new hands were single with no family in the area.
Mercy, the Fletchers’ housekeeper, always made a special meal the day before Thanksgiving for the ranch hands and others who worked on the ranch and had no place else to go.
That usually took place the night before.
Unless the Fletchers had it at their house and then everyone who worked or lived on the ranch was invited to come on Thanksgiving Day.
Since his family were all going to Val’s and Liam’s for the meal, getting someone to cover the ranch for him for both days shouldn’t be hard. Especially since he’d give them a bonus for each of those days they worked.
*
Knowing Val would be up very early between the baby, the horses, and the myriad other duties of a rancher, Letty called her early that morning. “Hey, can you talk for a minute?”
“Yes, but I have to put you on speakerphone. I’m getting Vivian dressed.”
“That’s fine.” She waited a moment. “Have you noticed Riley acting weird?”
“I haven’t but Liam has. Not weird, though. Just unexpected.”
“Meaning what?”
“He thinks Riley is looking to settle down. And you know how he’s always said he was waiting for the right woman.”
“Does he have someone in mind?”
“I think so, but Liam wouldn’t tell me. But if he knows I’ll get it out of him. I have ways.” They both laughed.
After they hung up Letty thought about what Riley had done the other night. He’d not only dragged her out of Grey’s but then he’d also kissed her. Then the following day he’d asked her out. Could she be the person he was thinking of settling down with?
She wondered if he was actually going to show up. Her doorbell rang the moment she thought about it.
Sure enough, Riley stood on her doorstep looking mighty fine.
He was going to have to do a lot more than just look good if he really was interested in her.
She’d managed to write him off when she threw herself at him as a childish crush.
It had bothered her for longer than it should have.
Several years later she’d gotten involved with Kyle Masters.
Kyle, the gorgeous and worthless cowboy who she’d spent way too much time on. A rodeo cowboy who had a woman in every town, although she hadn’t been smart enough or cynical enough to know it. At least until she was hit in the face with proof. After that she stopped dating cowboys.
Riley was a cowboy too, but he wasn’t on the circuit.
No, he was a rancher. Hard-working and dependable.
As far as she knew, he was perfectly happy with his bachelor lifestyle.
Not that there was anything scandalous that she’d heard of.
His parents lived on the ranch too, and that had to put a crimp in any wild ideas he had.
“Can I come in or are you going to stare at me all morning?”
“Sorry.” She stood aside and let him in. She took his coat from him and hung it in the entryway closet. “Do you know anything about cooking?”
“Very little. But I’m a fast learner.”
Letty had never taught anyone else to bake.
It was a lot more fun than she’d realized it would be.
She’d made the dough the day before. This morning she rolled out the bottom layer and placed it in the pie pans, ready for the filling.
Which involved peeling and slicing a whole bunch of apples.
Riley helped cheerfully and they were ready much more quickly than when she did it all herself.
Especially since they had to prepare double the filling.
“Who taught you to bake pies?” he asked as she mixed the rest of the ingredients in with the apples. “I know it wasn’t my mother. And pies aren’t really Mercy’s thing,” he said, referring to the Fletchers’ housekeeper. “She likes baking cakes more than pies.”
“My mom taught me. She made the most delicious pies. After she died, I didn’t make one for a couple of years until I decided it was criminal to let her recipes go to waste.
Now it’s tradition for me to do it every Thanksgiving.
” She transferred the filling into a large pot to cook for a short time on the stove top.
“My family appreciates it. Especially me. I had no idea it was so much trouble.”
“It goes a lot faster with help.”
“I think the filling needs tasting.”
She laughed and put some in a small bowl. Riley started to pick it up, but she smacked his hand before he could.
“I thought you made that for me.”
“I did but it’s hot. Really hot. So, if you want to blister your mouth, go right ahead.”
“I’ll wait.” He watched as she transferred the rest of the filling onto a couple of pans to cool. “What do we do now?”
“We wait. And wash dishes.”
They talked as they cleaned up. It was almost like other times she’d been with Riley over the years. Almost. Of course, there had always been other people around, even if it was just baby Vivian.
One thing that wasn’t like old times was the awareness between them.
She was annoyingly aware that Riley was a damn good-looking man, that he smelled good, that his forearms were muscled and his hands capable.
Capable of breaking a horse, wrestling a cow, building a fence, pitching a hay bale, and who knows how many other things to do with running a ranch.
She suspected those hands could be gentle, too. And arousing. Dragging her gaze away from him, she reminded herself that wondering what his hands would feel like stroking her skin or being buried in her hair as he kissed her was not productive. Because it wasn’t going to happen.
By late that afternoon they’d finished baking the pies. Letty expected Riley to leave but instead he said, “Let’s go get a bite to eat at the diner.”
Eating something besides pie filling, because naturally they’d had to taste-test it, sounded good. But she hadn’t forgotten that Riley had asked her to a concert, even though she hadn’t gone.
“It’s not a date.”
“Of course not,” he agreed. “Just two friends grabbing a quick meal.”
While they ate, they talked about the library and what she did there when she wasn’t helping others, segueing into talk about the ranch and Riley’s horses, particularly his stud, Meteor.
Meteor was a black paint, a gorgeous black and white stallion.
He planned to breed him to Athena, his new mare who was a beautiful dark bay with cream markings.
“So I take it your business is going well.”
“It is. My dad is feeling a little better, and he’s been able to help more, which makes him happy. Me too, or I wouldn’t have been able to help you today.”
“From what I remember Jasper is always grumpy when he can’t work with the horses.”
Riley laughed. “True, although he’s been able to work with them more now than he has in a while, thankfully.”
“I miss seeing your parents.”
“They miss you too. You should come see them more.”
“I know.” She loved seeing Jasper and Lorraine but they were too good to her, always wanting to feed her when she came over and asking when she was going to bring a young man to meet them.
She hated to tell them, but she had no man, young or old, who she wanted to take to meet the only parents she’d had since she was seventeen.
After dinner Riley drove her home. “You don’t need to get out,” she said when they arrived at the apartment complex.
Naturally, he ignored her and walked her to her door. “Thanks for today,” she said.
“Thank you. I had no idea pie baking was so involved. But it was fun.”
He leaned down and she knew he was going to kiss her. Should she? Shouldn’t she? It was just a kiss. No big deal.
He kissed her. On the cheek. “See you tomorrow.”
“For God’s sake,” she said out loud when she closed the door. A kiss on the cheek shouldn’t make her heart beat faster. But it did.