Chapter Eight #2
There had also been time to slip into a pet store. Even though she wouldn’t have a cat until she moved into her house, she couldn’t resist the cat tree scratching post with activity center she’d seen. It was too big for her to carry, but they’d promised to ship it to her.
A warm hand touched her elbow. Becket. And just like that, the mushy feeling was back.
How on earth could she sit at a table across from him and talk about mundane things when just a touch of his hand could leave her breathless?
What would they talk about? Would he even be interested in talking about the usual things or were his corny lines the extent of his conversation?
She really hoped he wasn’t going to try and flirt with her all night.
A smiling waiter approached them. “Becket Weston!” he greeted. “We haven’t seen you in a while. Welcome back.”
“Hello, Jim, how are you?” Becket asked, taking the bags from Ellie. “Those two little girls keeping you busy?”
As they followed the waiter to their table, Becket kept up a friendly banter.
Becket turned toward her. “I’m not having wine, because I’m driving, but what about you?”
Sexy and considerate. “Just water, thanks.” Around this guy she needed a clear head.
As they sat down, Becket put the bags under the table. “It looks as if you’ve had a successful shopping trip. May I also say you look…” As his eyes raked over her, they darkened, “…beautiful.
“Thank you. I can’t remember when last I went shopping. Most of my things are still back in Phoenix in storage and I haven’t brought enough for the warmer weather. Did you get what you wanted?”
“Yes, thanks.” Leaning back, Becket looked at her. “You’re so easy to be with, thanks for agreeing to come with me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Stop flirting!”
“It’s not a line, I promise you. You do feel the way we connect, don’t you?” Fortunately, the waiter returned to take their order and she didn’t have to answer. They ordered food and when the waiter left Becket talked about the ranch.
Any concern Ellie had that things would be awkward, that Becket would keep trying to flirt with her, was soon gone.
To her surprise, he’d stopped trying his lines on her was easy to talk to.
By the time the waiter returned with their order, they’d covered topics from the ranch to her shop and even books.
Becket Weston was a reader—who would’ve thought?
“So, what is your role on the ranch?” she asked when the waiter left.
Becket put down his glass. “You should eat before the food gets cold. There’s always a lot to do on a ranch, even during winter.
Hayden is the rancher in the family, though.
I follow his lead. He just looks at everything differently, sees possibilities where others don’t.
It’s also becoming more of a scientific enterprise lately, with the focus on managing the ranch in a responsible, sustainable way so that soil, water and other resources are protected for present and future generations. ”
Putting down her knife and fork, she stared at him. What he was telling her was interesting, but he hadn’t really answered her question. “So, what are you saying? Ranching isn’t what you really want to do?”
He chuckled. “You see way too much for my peace of mind. Enough about me. You mentioned you grew up with your grandma. Tell me about her?”
“Becket,” she sighed. “You can’t really be interested in my grandma.”
“But I am. She raised you and you’re a remarkable human being, so yeah, I really want to know about her.”
Marcus had never been interested in anything about her, she realized.
She couldn’t remember a single time he’d asked her about her life, her day, her dreams. She should keep in mind that this one here was a charmer, she shouldn’t read too much into this.
He’d probably been beguiling women since he’d been in diapers; of course he would know all the right things to say.
“She was strict, but fair. I only realized as I grew older how very hard it must’ve been for her to take in a five-year-old at her age.”
“Your parents?”
“Really? What’s up with all the questions?”
“I want to know about you.”
“I don’t know anything about you either.”
“Not true. You know about my reputation,” he chuckled.
“Everybody in the state of Montana probably knows about that.”
Laughing, he lifted his water glass. “You’re a sharp one, Miss Ellie Campbell. We’re just getting to know each other.”
“Okay, I’ll answer a question if you answer one.”
Warily, he put his glass down. “You know my mom, my brothers and my sister. You’ve heard all about Willow and Coop’s instinctive knowledge about people and animals, whereas I know nothing about you except that you have a shop in Marietta and you love to read.
My mom talks about your book club all the time.
I know you’re beautiful, easy to talk to and I know you have me tied up in knots. ”
She rolled her eyes. “Urgh! Enough with the corny lines.”
“Tell me about your parents,” he insisted.
“Okay, but then I get to question you.”
“Okay. You first.”
Sighing, she played with her serviette. She never talked about her parents.
Never. So why was she talking to Becket, someone she scarcely knew, about something she’d rather forget?
Somehow, though, it was easy. Probably because he was a stranger.
“Ours wasn’t a happy home. I don’t remember much about them, really, but I do remember always feeling scared. ”
Becket frowned.
“My dad was always angry and he… hurt my mom. And then one day, he turned on me. Memories of that time are vague, but that was the last time I saw him. My mom left him at some point but she couldn’t deal with me and, well, that was when I went to live with Grandma.
Both my parents died a few years later.” Inhaling shakily, she cleared her throat.
“Then I got engaged to someone exactly like my dad. He was always trying to change me, finding fault with everything I did. The first time he hurt me, though, I walked away. Grandma died soon afterward. That was when I stored my stuff, got in my car and decided to find Marietta, the town she never stopped talking about.”
Becket reached out and put a hand on her arm. “And that’s your reason for wanting to stay single?”
She nodded. “It’s also why I find it difficult to believe your lines. It’s going to be difficult for me to believe someone really wants to be with me as I am, warts and all. I’d rather be safe and boring and not get hurt again. No reckless behavior.”
A slow grin lit up his face. “Aah, but you’re something else when you’re reckless, Ellie Campbell.”
Before she could answer, the waiter was hovering near them again.
“Do you want anything else?” Becket asked. “Coffee?”
She shook her head. “No, thank you. I think it’s time for my question.”
As the waiter cleared their plates, Becket asked for the check and then leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. Mmm, still a bit wary. Interesting.
“What makes you excited to get up in the morning?” she asked.
He wiggled his eyebrows.
“Come on!” she scolded. “Be serious.”
The waiter arrived with the check and Becket signed it.
As the waiter left, Ellie looked at Becket. “Come on, we had a deal. I answered your question, now it’s your turn.”
Clearly uncomfortable, he fiddled with his water glass. “I… doodle. Sometimes.”
“What do you mean, doodle?”
Patting his pockets he took out a small notebook and a pencil. As she watched, he opened the book. The next moment, the pencil was flying over the page. He turned the notebook around and showed her what he’d done.
He’d sketched her. In a cartoon kinda way. Everything a tiny bit exaggerated. The curly hair, generous boobs, frilly top, hand on chin as she’d sat watching him. But it was the expression in the cartoon Ellie’s eyes that had her gasping softly.
“That bad?” he asked and held out his hand.
Ignoring him, she kept looking at the picture he’d sketched.
It had taken him no more than two minutes to do this, but he’d somehow managed to capture much more about her than she was comfortable with.
He’d seen her vulnerability and even worse, he’d also picked up on how smitten she seemed to be with him.
“That good,” she got out. “You have real talent, Becket. This is much more than doodling. Shouldn’t you be doing this full time?”
Quickly taking the notebook from her, he pushed it back into the pocket of his pants. “It’s just a hobby. I enjoy it. Shall we go?”
“I just need to go to the restroom before we leave.”
“I’ll gather the bags and meet you at the door.”