Chapter Four
With Daisy at his heels, Dylan walked toward Arlene’s front door.
Sunday lunch, he and Carson had been told when they’d joined their cousins on The Weston Ranch, was at Arlene’s in town and they were always welcome.
Both he and Carson had been a bit wary about this arrangement, but after their first taste of Arlene’s cooking, they’d seldom missed a lunch.
Looking at the trucks parked in front of the house, everyone else was already here, even Carson. His brother had left early this morning for Bozeman to drop off some of his photographs with a friend who would frame them.
Before he could knock, the front door opened and Arlene welcomed him inside.
“Hello, Dylan, it’s lovely to see you.”
“Thanks, I’m looking forward to lunch.” As he gave her the bottle of wine he’d brought, everyone else’s dogs rushed out barking to greet Daisy and excited, she followed them into the house. With the six-pack of beer he’d also brought, he stepped inside.
Arlene was always friendly and warm, but he tended to keep his distance.
She knew why his dad and his cousins’ dad had had a fight all those years ago, he was sure of it.
And okay, yes, it didn’t really matter anymore, but he’d like to know what happened, especially if it could explain the reason why his parents had had such an unhappy marriage.
“Come on in, I’m so glad everyone could make it today.” While talking, she walked toward the big living room. “We’re about ten minutes from moving to the dining room. Do help yourself to something to drink. Oh, and June is here. You’ve met her, I believe?”
There was no time to prepare himself before he followed Arlene into the living room.
His eyes found June immediately. Wow. A wet and bedraggled June had had him just about salivating.
Cleaned up and dry, in a pink summer dress that left her gorgeous legs bare and her hair loose and falling around her shoulders, she simply took his breath away.
Carson was with her, clearly intrigued, not that he could blame his brother.
“Oh, hi Dylan,” Hayden called out. “Come on in. What are you drinking?”
June looked up quickly. He nodded, so did she. What had she done to her freckles? He couldn’t even see one.
Forcing himself to look away, he greeted the rest of the family. “I’ve brought beer.”
“Okay, everyone,” Arlene said after a few minutes, “the food is ready; let’s move to the dining room. Ellie, you’ll look after June?”
As everyone walked toward the dining room, Dylan and Carson fell in behind the others.
Carson grinned. “Now I understand why you look as if you hadn’t slept last night,” he said under his breath. “June is gorgeous. You gonna make a move?”
“I just met the woman,” Dylan grumbled. “Besides, she’s only here for a few weeks.”
“So it’s a no? Great, I can’t wait to show her around town.”
Frowning, Dylan followed the rest of the family to the dining room. By the time he entered, everyone was already sitting down. The only open seat was at the opposite end of the table where June was sitting next to a grinning Carson.
Among laughter and talking, everyone got food. When they were all sitting down again, Arlene lifted her glass. “To June, I’m so glad you’ve decided to join us. I hope you’ll enjoy your stay in our pretty town.”
As everyone lifted their glasses, Dylan met June’s eyes over the rim of his bottle of beer. Just for a millisecond, but as he picked up his knife and fork, he was strangely out of breath.
“So June,” Arlene was saying, “tell us about yourself. Have you always lived in Seattle?”
“Yes, ever since I can remember,” June smiled. “It’s a beautiful city.”
“And your family?” Laura asked.
June’s smile slipped ever so slightly. Dylan only noticed because he was watching her.
“I grew up in the foster system, so no family. Just a good friend, Abby who is like a sister to me.”
“You should invite her to come and visit you while you’re here,” Ellie said quickly, putting a hand on Arlene’s arm to stop her from asking more questions.
June nodded. “Yes, we’ve talked about it. It’ll depend on her schedule.”
“Have we mentioned,” Willow said, “we’re all going shopping in Bozeman on Wednesday morning?”
As the women talked about shopping, Hayden turned to Dylan. “I hope you guys know how pleased we are that you’ve joined us here on The Weston Ranch and not only because you’re experts on cattle breeding. You’re family. Are you guys still happy with our arrangement?”
Dylan nodded, glad to be distracted. “Of course. We’re both learning so much from you. The grazing system you guys use to avoid overgrazing makes so much sense. We’ve tried it but watching how you do it makes me understand why we’ve been struggling.”
Hayden’s eyes burn with excitement. “We haven’t looked back since we implemented it a few years ago.
The animals stay packed closely for protection, they eat the vegetation to partial levels instead of all the way to the ground, they disturb the soil only lightly with their hooves which mixes their manure and … ”
“Not at the table, Hayden.” Laura laughed.
“Sorry.” Hayden grinned. “You can literally see how the grazing animals improve the conditions of the soil rather than damaging it. And a significant amount of carbon can be sequestered because the land is always kept covered and the roots and soil microbiome are nourished and mostly left undisturbed. With your knowledge of breeding and seedstock production we can do great things.”
“Are you talking ranching again?” Ellie asked. “You guys are supposed to relax.”
While the conversation moved to other subjects, Dylan’s eyes found June again. His brother was still keeping her busy.
*
By the time dessert was finished, June wanted to escape. Everyone was so friendly and nice, but each time she looked up, it was to find Dylan’s eyes on her. Except for the stiff nod, he hadn’t spoken to her.
Oh, this was ridiculous. Why would he talk to her? He’d given her a lift, arranged for her car to be fixed, but it wasn’t as if they really knew each other. He was still a total stranger.
When Ellie got up to carry plates to the kitchen, she quickly got up to help her. It was at least something to do and it gave her an excuse to slip away quietly.
As she entered the kitchen, Daisy ran closer, body wriggling, tail thumping, jumping up against her legs.
Laughing she put the plates down and picked up the puppy. Giving a few barks, Daisy licked her face. “Oh, you’re a cutie, aren’t you?” She smiled hugging the dog.
“You like dogs?” Ellie asked.
“I’ve never had one, but I met Daisy last night; she’s the sweetest.”
“You should ask Dylan if she could stay with you while you’re here,” Ellie said.
“Ask me what?” Dylan asked, right behind June.
Oh, my goodness, just his voice was enough to send delicious shivers down her spine. What was it with this guy? He was the opposite of every man she’d ever dated, why was her response to him so … so … immediate, so intense? She should get home as soon as possible and go for a run or something.
To June’s chagrin, Ellie repeated her question. “Why don’t you let Daisy stay with June while she’s here?”
“I may not even stay that long,” June said quickly. Fortunately, the next minute, the kitchen was filled with people bringing in plates and glasses and cutlery and she didn’t have to elaborate.
Waving at Ellie, June slipped past everyone and fetched her small bag from the living room. She met Arlene on her way to the front door.
“Don’t tell me you’re leaving?” Arlene asked.
“I had a lovely time, thanks so much for inviting me,” June smiled. “I haven’t finished unpacking yet, and there are a few urgent email messages I have to attend to.”
At the front door, Arlene gave her a warm hug.
“We’re huggers, but you’ll get used to it.
I’m so glad you’ve joined us. Please remember you’re welcome every Sunday.
We were hoping you’ll join our book club while you’re here.
I’m sure we can learn a lot from you. We meet on Tuesdays and have just started with Charlotte Bronte’s Shirley.
We did Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South before, and because of the similarities in the two books, we decided to also read Shirley. I can pick you up if you decide to go?”
“Thank you, Arlene, I’d love to join. I have read both novels, but I love rereading old favorites.”
“If you already have copies of both back home, try Libby, the online library or, if you prefer a copy of an actual book like I do, I’m sure our local library will have copies you can borrow.”
June smiled. “Sounds perfect. Thanks again for the lift. I’m not sure exactly when my car will be returned, though.”
“Oh, but we can ask Dylan …”
“Please don’t worry about it. Thanks again.” And before Arlene could say anything else, June was walking away.
Ellie and Becket had picked her up this morning.
Her house, she’d learned during the short drive, was not far from Arlene’s.
Inhaling the fresh air, she looked up at Copper Mountain.
It really was a beautiful town and somehow, after just one night here, her shoulders were already relaxing.
Her whole being was reacting to the slower pace around her.
Minutes later she was back in Ellie’s house. Inside it was cool and quiet. No dogs running around, no laughter, no excited voices.
She’d picked the small table in the living room downstairs as the place where she would work.
The room was lovely and welcoming, and when she left the sliding doors open the fragrant summer air breezed in.
Working there would be so different from working in the city where everyone seemed to be forever rushing somewhere.
The background sound of her life growing up was loud and noisy and anything but friendly.
It had left her constantly feeling on edge, always worrying the next angry voice would be directed at her.
She couldn’t wait to find her own place, to have silence when she wanted it.
That was part of the reason she loved her work—reading manuscripts also required a quiet room and a quiet mind.
Putting down her bag, she stood undecided for a moment. Was that why she’d left her quiet apartment to come all this way where she’d met this family where everyone talked and laughed and teased and loved loudly and without reservation?
Gradually a strange sound penetrated her thoughts. What was that? Water? Turning her head, she tried to figure out from where the noise was coming from. The kitchen, if she wasn’t mistaken.
As she moved, there was a knock on the front door. It was probably Ellie, checking to see if she was okay. When she opened the door, she didn’t wait to greet Ellie but turned and ran toward the kitchen. “Something’s wrong!” she shouted over her shoulder.
At the top of the steps going down to the kitchen, she stopped. “Oh, no!” she cried out.
What had happened? The whole kitchen floor was flooded with water streaming from the direction of the sink. Fortunately, the kitchen was a level below the entrance hall, and the water hadn’t risen high enough yet to flood into the rest of the house.
As she ran down the steps, she slipped on the last one, fell forward, and skidded in the water toward the sink.
*
The first thing Dylan saw as he looked down at the kitchen, with Daisy at his heels, was water. Then he noticed June’s very cute and very wet bottom. She was on her knees, opening the cabinet below the sink, probably to try and stop the water.
He stepped down and cautiously waded through the water to get to where June was sitting.
“Let me help,” he said as he crouched down next to her.
Before he could reach forward, though, Daisy came charging into him. She’d obviously decided this was a fun game she wanted to join.
“Damn it, Daisy,” he got out as he lost his balance, slipped, and ended up next to June, water streaming over both of them. Within seconds, he was as wet as she was.
Struggling on to his knees, he tried to keep Daisy away from June, but she wouldn’t have any of it. Barking, she playfully jumped up on June’s arm.
June laughed, water running over her face. “You’re not helping, sweetie.”
Dylan moved forward, “Let me try to stop the water.” They were both sopping wet.
“I can do this …” June insisted, moving forward.
“Let me find the shut-off valve stop,” he said.
“The what?”
“The stopcock, it controls the flow of the water.”
Dropping her hands, she moved away at the same moment he bent forward to get to the shut-off valve.
She lost her balance and fell forward. Her hands shot out to steady herself and landed on his upper arms. He tried to steady her, but she fell forward, her soft curves pushed tightly up against his chest.
They both froze. The water was still streaming over them, Daisy was yapping and playing in the water, but everything faded until all he could hear was June’s soft breath, all he could see was what a gorgeous shade of blue her eyes were, and all he could feel was how perfectly every inch of her body fit against his.
Daisy chose that moment to jump up against their arms.
Looking down at the dog, June’s mouth twitched, he held his breath. Was she going to cry? He had no idea what to do with a crying woman.
She wasn’t crying, though, but without moving her hands from his arms, she burst out laughing “Look at us, dripping wet again.”
Relieved, he grinned. “I like you wet …” Touching her face, he traced her freckles before he realized what he’d said had another not so innocent meaning as well. “I mean, now I can see your freckles.” Instead of the joking voice he was going for, though, his voice was hoarse.
She swallowed and moved away. “You should probably try to find that stop … stop …” her cheeks turned rosy “… thingy.”
His gaze dropped down to where her wet dress was clinging to her body, the outline of her protruding nipples clearly visible.
Their eyes met, she crossed her arms.
“Damn, woman, you’re killing me,” he growled before he moved to the sink. “You mean the shut-off valve? Let me see if I can find it. You should maybe call Ellie to find out which plumber they use.”
With his blood rushing through his veins, his body on fire, it took him longer than necessary to find the stop thingy as June had called it. Damn, another minute and they probably would have been rolling around in the water.