Chapter One #2
Aubrey’s hair reminded Lil of princess hair, silken with a gentle wave, unlike Lil’s unruly dark mane that needed a good braid to keep it under control.
“I just visited my grandmother and thought I’d swing in and deliver these.” Aubrey gestured with her head toward the back seat of her car.
“What are these?” Lil asked.
“Seed potatoes and onion sets. Grandma had more than she needed.” Aubrey opened the door and leaned inside to pull out a box that leaked dirt from the corner. “And she also sent some iris bulbs.”
Lil took the box from her friend. “I’ll need some guidance with the flowers.
” They’d always planted a garden at the old ranch, but it was more of a lettuce, carrots, corn operation.
No flowers except for the wild ones that invaded the lawns and fields.
There hadn’t been much time for tending plants, and she had no reason to believe she’d have more time now, but the idea of having perennial flowers coming up year after year appealed to her.
“Happy to help,” Aubrey said. “We’ll need to get these into the ground ASAP. The spuds and onions should do fine even though it’s late. You won’t get flowers from the bulbs this year, but we’ll grab some annuals at Big Z’s. Class up the place.”
The place didn’t really need to be classed up, but Lil wanted to add her own personal touches.
The last two years had been hell, losing her dad and the family ranch within months of one another, the latter very much the result of the former.
The unpaid debts had proven insurmountable when coupled with the cost of the care facility where her dad had spent his last days.
Insecurity was one of the realities of ranch life, but she’d always believed they’d find a way to pull through …
until they hadn’t. And while Lil and Meg had moved forward, they were still dealing with the aftermath of the last two years.
The insecurity. The sense that the rug might get pulled out from under them at any moment.
Maybe that was why Lil wanted to add touches to the ranch that made it feel like her own. Or maybe she just liked flowers.
“You want to come in?” she asked Aubrey as dirt dribbled from the open corner of the box onto her boot.
Aubrey shook her head. “I have things to do before we meet up tonight.” She gave Lil a stern look. “We’re still on. Right? No animal emergencies on the horizon?” The usual reason Lil had for cancelling at the last minute.
“Hopefully no. I think Meg could use a night out.”
“Meg.” Aubrey made a face. “Right.”
Lil couldn’t help but smile. Aubrey knew that carrying the burdens of the past few years had changed Lil.
It was like the vigilance never stopped and she’d forgotten how to relax.
Aubrey was trying to remedy that. Turn her friend back into the person she’d been when they’d gone to school together in Dillon.
Lil appreciated the effort but knew she was never going to be as na?ve about things working out for the best as she’d once been.
“Meg ran into a guy on the mountain, and it spooked her.” She explained about the escaped cattle and the man on horseback. “She honestly could use a night out.”
Aubrey made an ah noise. “If he was all cowboyed up, he’s probably a local.”
“I know. And so does Meg. Now.” It was hard to explain how knee-jerk reactions overpowered logic to someone who hadn’t been through a similar situation, even a best friend who thought she understood. “We can’t stay out too late. Big meeting tomorrow.”
“The new owner?”
“The new owner,” Lil echoed.
The meeting was a formality because her lease continued no matter who owned the property, but she was so used to things going sideways that she couldn’t help a stab of anxiety.
Plus, she had matters to address, which added another level of apprehension.
Before this meeting was over, she and the new owner were going to come to an understanding of what was necessary on his part to be in compliance with the terms of the ground lease.
She hoped it would be a collaborative meeting, but if it wasn’t, she’d have to hold ground.
She’d let things slide for too long due to the late owner’s illness and her older sister, Maya, leaving the man’s employ.
Now that his heir was taking over, things would be different.
The ranch that she was coming to love would get the maintenance it deserved.
*
“It could be a lot of fun,” Aubrey said over her shoulder as she led the way into the Graff Hotel four hours later. The hotel bar was surprisingly crowded, considering the fact that it was only eight o’clock.
“Sounds like it,” Meg answered as they made their way to a table.
On the walk from the pizza parlor to the hotel, Aubrey had explained how her grandmother was looking for a logistics person to travel with her and some friends on an Alaskan cruise in the fall, hinting that Meg might be the perfect person to wrangle the group.
“I can take Meg’s place on the ranch while she’s gone,” Aubrey said to Lil, as if that would sweeten the deal.
“Right,” Lil replied, barely suppressing an eyeroll.
Aubrey’s ranch skills were nil, and she was afraid of cows.
“I’d love to travel with your grandmother,” Meg said earnestly. “The only problem is that I doubt that the school district will let me take time off at the beginning of the academic year.”
“You got the job?” Aubrey asked on a gasp.
Meg beamed. “Got the call two days ago and I sign papers tomorrow. I’ll be officially employed!”
Aubrey turned to Lil, suddenly serious. “Can you handle the ranch alone?”
“The stuff that needs to be done,” Lil assured her.
“Good, because I was totally lying about taking Meg’s place.”
“No kidding.” Meg’s smile suddenly froze as a group of people vacated the table next to them, giving her a clear view of the bar. “That’s him!”
Lil turned to see three men standing near the bar. “Who?”
“The spy.”
Aubrey pushed her glasses down to look over the top.
“That’s Jordan Matthews. He’s local and harmless.
” She bit the edge of her lip as she canted her head to one side.
“I take that back. Not harmless. He’s broken countless hearts, mostly by accident.
But he’s cowboy through and through. Not a stalker or anything. ”
“Jordan Matthews?” Lil gave Aubrey a stunned look. “That’s the name of my new landlord.”
“No way.” Aubrey gave her head an adamant shake. “I mean … No. Way.”
“Why?”
“Jordan’s dad died in jail years ago. The guy was a cattle thief of all things.”
“Wow,” Lil said softly, studying the dark-haired cowboy.
He was strikingly handsome, with chiseled cheekbones and a pirate-y smile that flashed as he talked to his friends.
“What about his mom?” Meg asked, obviously intrigued by the cattle thief angle.
“She also died,” Aubrey said, “which is why a local rancher adopted Jordan when he was little. He was two years ahead of me in school. His origin story made him double romantic, you know. Being drop-dead gorgeous didn’t hurt either.”
Lil tried to keep from staring, but the guy was an eyeful, with a perfect profile, easy smile, and a holy-shit build.
She blew out a breath. “I wasn’t expecting … him.”
“It can’t be him,” Aubrey said.
“So why had he been spying on the property just before I’m supposed to meet with a man named Jordan Matthews?”
A few thoughtful seconds passed before Aubrey conceded, “You’ve got me there.”
Lil looked away just as Jordan casually swung his gaze her way.
She was very glad to have seen the man in the wild, because it gave her an indication of what kind of guy he was.
Comfortable in his own skin. Quick to smile.
He looked like he could charm a cranky grandmother into mending his torn jeans.
“Do you know the people with him?” Meg asked.
“Trev Matthews, his brother, on the left, and Burke Thurley, local wild man, on the right.”
“I hope he’s good with a hammer,” Lil murmured. “I have stuff that needs to be done.”
“You do set the bar low,” Aubrey replied as the server approached their table.
She declined another round while Lil continued to low-key study the man who might be her landlord. His friend, whose name Lil had already forgotten, nudged Jordan, and his gaze suddenly swept her way, catching her mid-stare.
Damn.
Even at a distance, she saw a questioning expression form on his handsome face and felt her cheeks grow warm.
Surely a guy like that was used to being stared at, so she didn’t look away.
He could make what he liked of it. For all he knew she was staring through him.
Then, after a few very long seconds, she casually turned her attention back to Aubrey who was once again discussing why her Jordan Matthews couldn’t be their Jordan Matthews.
Lil was ninety percent sure that he was indeed the owner of the place, and she didn’t care how it had come about. She just wanted the man to honor the language of the lease and repair the things that had started to go wrong on the place.
And to maybe not recognize her as the stalker in the bar.