Chapter Nine

Feeling Caleb’s eyes on her, Laura looked up from her laptop and found him staring at her.

“What?” she asked.

They’d been sitting in companionable silence at the kitchen table for almost an hour. He was waiting for the truck driver to show up, killing time reading Farm and Ranch magazine while she worked on her computer, looking for more breakfast dishes the men might like and checking e-mails. A small television was on a news channel in the background, but she wasn’t really listening to it. Connor had finally gone to take a nap, and the lunch dishes were cleaned and put away.

“Just wondered what you were looking at. You’ve been laughing and not sharing.” He took a sip of pop. “I call that rude.”

“Just reading emails from my family.” She shrugged, not feeling rude at all.

“Tell me about them.” He closed his magazine and leaned back in his chair, stretching out his long, muscular legs under the table.

This was the moment she’d been dreading since she’d landed on the Morning Glory’s doorstep. What could she safely say about her family? How much could she reveal without worry? Did he really care or was he just trying to fill the long moments of silence? She could make up some story about a happy, normal Chicago family, but she’d probably eventually forget the details.

“Why?” Laura pushed her chair back and stood, intent on grabbing one of the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies from the plate on the counter.

Caleb snagged her arm as she tried to walk past. “I want to know.”

He was serious. Almost too serious, but that didn’t prevent warmth of his hand from penetrating her sleeve, running the length of her arm. Desire. Lust. That was all it was. She wanted him, had felt the powerful pull when she met him that very first night.

“Okay.” She nodded and pulled away gently, so as not to offend him.

She kinda liked him holding her, even if it was only her arm. She picked up the plate of cookies, brought it to the table, and set it down in front of him. She sat again, and after pouring them each a glass of milk, she put her feet up on a chair under the table, stretching out her legs. She pushed a cookie toward him. “Tit for tat.” She broke a cookie in half and dunked it in the glass.

“What does that mean, exactly?” His face scrunched up, questioning.

“So, you ask a question, I answer. I ask, then you answer.”

“Deal.” He nodded. “I go first.”

“What about ladies first?” She chuckled.

“It’s my house.” He shrugged.

She snorted. “It’s my house.” She imitated his voice and snorted again.

“Why did you leave Chicago?”

“I answered that last night,” she said, biting into the other half of the cookie. “When you woke me up the first time.” She frowned. “Didn’t I?”

“Yeah.” He munched on the cookie. “But I don’t believe you.”

“Well.” She swallowed, meeting his gaze with her own. “It’s true. I wanted to explore life beyond the lake.”

He looked at her hard, and she was pretty sure he still wasn’t buying what she was saying.

“What kind of restaurant were you working in?” he asked. “How could they let you go?”

“It’s my turn, I think,” she said with a grin.

“Answer me first,” he demanded.

She almost jumped when he touched the hand she had resting on the table.

“It was an Italian restaurant. And yes, I loved it. But I needed a change.” What an understatement. She’d needed an entire life make-over.

She turned her hand upside down and let his fingers rest on her palm. They were holding hands—sort of.

“This is quite a change out here. I went to Chicago on a school FFA trip years and years ago, and I liked it, even though it was a bit overwhelming with the noise and the people.”

“FFA?” she asked.

“Future Farmers of America,” he answered.

“Ah! My high school didn’t have that, I don’t think.” She frowned. The Catholic school had many different groups but nothing about farming.

“Naw, it’s a farm kid thing.” He shrugged. “Each year they hold a national convention somewhere, and one year it was in Chicago. So, I’m wondering: how you are coping with the huge difference?”

“Doesn’t have to be a big difference.” She shrugged. “I can keep cooking my Italian out here, can’t I? Maybe not for as many people, but I can still do what I love.”

“You could cook nothing but Italian for the rest of my life and I’d be happy.” He smiled and paused.

She wondered if he was telling her in his own way that she had won the competition. Phyllis was as good as Laura was, even more well-rounded in meal prep. “Well, that and your biscuits and gravy.”

She laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.” She stared at him long and hard, studying the light whisker growth on his face, the rough angles of his nose that looked like it had been broken more than once. She wondered if the tan on his face reached the rest of his body. He had worn long-sleeved shirts every day since she met him.

“My first question is simple. Did you sleep with Angel or in any way have a sexual relationship?”

“That’s two questions, I think.” He squeezed her hand and smiled. “You sure don’t pull any punches, do you?” He laughed. “No and no. She came on to me, not vice versa. She’s a pretty girl, but I’m her boss—make that I was her boss, and I would not cross that line.”

Well, where did that leave Laura then? She wanted to ask, but he was faster.

“Have you ever been married?” he asked, pulling his hand away to break another gooey, chocolate chip cookie in half.

“No.” She shook her head. “Not even close.” She pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Where is Connor’s mom?”

“Last I heard,” he said around a mouthful of cookie, “she was in Amarillo. She follows the rodeo circuit. Has a thing for cowboys and horses.”

“Is that how you met her?”

“You’re cheating again,” he said, pointing at her. “Where are your parents?”

Here they come, she thought. The stuff she didn’t want to talk about, the details of her life she had changed to be safe.

“My father passed away recently.” True. “That’s what really made me want to leave Chicago. I realized how short life is.” And how short my life could have been. “My mother is grieving as only she would know how. She’s in Florida with her friends.” Well, Mama Vita was in Florida, not visiting friends but maybe, hopefully making a few.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Laura.”

She looked away. If he only knew just how much she had lost.

Time slipped on as they sat quietly. She had so many questions about him, personal ones that were probably inappropriate to ask her boss. Finally, she tapped his foot under the table and caught his attention.

“Did you marry Connor’s mom?” Laura asked quietly. She really was getting personal here, felt uncomfortable asking, but, well….

“No,” he answered simply, failing to elaborate. “Do you have siblings?”

“Yes. A brother and a sister.” She omitted the fact she was a twin. If he happened to check the obituary section of the Chicago Trib, it clearly read that she and Vinny were twins. Caleb would never find a Marshall in that paper, though, which might lead to more uncomfortable questions in the future.

“How did you meet Connor’s mom?”

“Her name is Christie.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin and took her hand again, this time twining his fingers through hers. “I was riding bulls for the hell of it back then, just doing local rodeos.” He took a sip of milk. “Burwell, a town not too far from here, has a pretty big shindig every summer, and I was there. And so was she. We spent most of the summer together and when August came, rather than moving on, she moved in here with me.”

Laura nodded, digesting the facts along with the cookies.

“Where are your brother and sister?”

That was a good question. And she had to recall what their new names were when she answered. This was tougher than it should be.

“Mike is in North Carolina. Liz is in Alaska.” At least she got that much right. “Why did you become a rancher?”

“Why did you become a cook?” He shot back.

He laughed, and so did she.

“It was in my blood,” she answered. “My great grandma lived with me until I was fifteen.” She took another cookie. “She was old when she died, just shy of one hundred. She didn’t speak very good English, so she taught me Italian and how to cook and bake. I knew what I wanted to do from the time I was a child.”

“I could say the same.” He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “My grandfather ranched this land; Dad did, too. I knew I had to carry it forward, especially after Connor was born, ’cause I had to carry on his legacy. Now with Holly pregnant, Josh and I will have to look harder at expanding even further.”

She nodded. She also knew he and Josh didn’t own the place outright. Someone else had stepped in at some point to help them with the financials. “So, Hank gave up on it then?”

“Hank was never involved,” he ground out.

“But I thought you just said—”

“Hank is my stepdad,” Caleb answered before she even finished her thought.

“Sorry.” She frowned. “I misunderstood.”

“You’ll meet him tomorrow,” he said.

The sound of gravel crunching under a heavy load could be heard outside the open window. A deep, loud horn sounded.

Caleb stood up. “Finally.”

She sniffed. “Sorry I wasn’t more entertaining.”

“I didn’t mean it that way, Laura.”

He bent forward and kissed her cheek, just in front of her ear. She turned her face the required few inches to get his lips to rest upon hers. The kiss started slowly and softly, but soon he was parting her lips and twining her tongue with his.

His hands found the sides of her face and held her until a rap at the door pulled them apart.

“Gotta go,” he said quietly, his voice thick. He rubbed his thumb across her lips, caressing the area he’d just kissed, and then walked out the door to meet the driver.

“That was nice,” she whispered and then giggled. She had gotten her answers and a kiss, to boot. Feeling like a giddy teenager, she turned her attention back to the computer, happy she had been able to set up the secret accounts with her family before they all went into hiding, enabling her to still stay in contact, albeit from a great distance.

 

* * *

 

“Bryan found the tank.” Josh caught Caleb just as he was leaving the office for the evening. “It’s empty, but the registration number matches ours.”

“Where was it?”

“In a damn ditch.” Josh chuckled. “Bryan was driving through Fowler’s place and saw it.”

“What was Bryan doing out there? Busting people for making out?”

“I think he was the one screwing some chick.”

Caleb laughed. “He’s got so many women, don’t know how he keeps them all straight.”

“Jealous?”

“Not so much today, no. It would take an awful lot to knock me out of my good mood.” Caleb sat at his desk. “We got a hell of a price for the grain.”

“Is it enough to get us out of the red? Can we finally be done with Don and his stupid ideas?”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” Caleb answered.

“Hot damn.” Josh clapped. “It’ll be nice when the place is running at full capacity under our management, not his.”

Caleb just nodded; he’d thought the same thing for quite a while. Josh left his coat on and replaced the hat he’d earlier thrown on his desk.

“You and Holly want to go to the cattlemen’s meeting?”

“Naw.” Josh shook his head. “She’s so sick in the mornings. We’ll just keep an eye on things here.” Josh crossed his arms. “We’ll save some money that way. I’ve got to get better at setting something aside for diapers.” He laughed and opened the door to leave. “Oh, damn! I forgot to tell you. We found a couple cows down today. It looks isolated, but I’m hauling them into the vet just to be sure.”

Caleb couldn’t imagine the missing fertilizer tank and the cow deaths were related. How could they be? “I don’t have a good feeling about this.” He tended to be the more cautious of the two of them.

“I have to jet. We’ll just have to keep a closer eye on the place.” Josh slapped Caleb’s shoulder and grabbed for the doorknob. “Holly wants to go to North Platte tonight. You going out with everyone?”

“Nope.” Caleb leaned back in his chair, entwining his fingers behind his head. “I’m going to finish the paperwork and then hit the hay.”

“Sounds boring to me. I’ll see ya in the morning.” Josh left the office, banging the heavy steel door closed on his way out.

Boring, maybe, but Caleb didn’t want to leave the ranch tonight. If one cow died it wouldn’t be so strange, but to have two go down? The missing tank was still eating at his gut. Hopefully they weren’t related, but with harvest it was a damn awful time to have unexpected things pop up.

 

* * *

 

Wrapped in a warm, handmade quilt she’d brought down with her from her room, Laura was curled up on the screened-in porch at the front of the house. It had been too many years since she’d slowed down enough to enjoy a sunset. Especially on a Saturday night. Adjusting to the isolation of the Sandhills was going far better than she’d expected when she applied for the job.

The men were a loud bunch tonight, getting stoked for their evening in town. Phyllis was excited too, virtually bubbling the whole time she made supper. Laura had fixed Phyllis’s hair again and helped her with makeup. She was wearing another one of Laura’s outfits, thinking her new look was lucky. She had met “someone special”—that was all she would tell Laura about the guy—and she was seeing him again tonight. They were going bowling, one of the few diversions the town offered.

Laura hadn’t seen Caleb since their private interlude in the kitchen just before the driver arrived to pick up the grain. Her senses had been tingling all day—reeling, really— from the contact she’d had with him, and she found herself smiling from time to time, remembering his kiss.

What in heaven’s name was she doing? She couldn’t let herself get involved with the man—or any man—at the moment. It was far too soon. What if the gangster pricks were still after her? She had no past, could never tell Caleb who she really was. Besides, if she did tell him, chances are he wouldn’t want her anyway. What guy would want to be linked to a mob family?

The hot chocolate tasted good, and with the wind gently blowing on her, she felt calmer, more relaxed than she could remember. She waved and called goodbye to the guys as they loaded up and headed back to the trailer houses to get ready for their night in town.

Phyllis came bursting out the door. When she saw Laura, she stopped. “Sure you don’t want to come? The guys would wait for you to get ready.”

“No. You go on ahead.” Laura waved her off. The idea of bowling or sitting in a bar wasn’t as appealing as drinking hot chocolate and eventually closing her eyes on this screened-in porch, wrapped in the security of the vintage tattered and battered quilt, just feeling the wind gently brush her face…. “Have a great time, and good luck with your date!”

“Thanks.” Phyllis giggled and ran off to the pickup waiting for her.

Laura couldn’t believe how quickly the woman had come out of her shell.

What was Caleb doing tonight? Were he and Conner hanging out, or had he found a different babysitter for tonight? She tried to tell herself the kiss that afternoon hadn’t really mattered. But it did.

She leaned back in the comfortable chair and closed her eyes as she heard the last two pickups pull out of the drive. The chair seemed to get even more comfortable when she shifted, and soon she gave in to the relaxation of the breeze and comfort of the blanket and found sleep.

 

* * *

 

Like a moth, Caleb was drawn to the low light burning on the screened-in porch. He’d figured Laura had trailed off to town with Phyllis, but he’d been wrong. Here she was, as quiet as a mouse, sleeping. He chuckled and sat on an empty chair to watch her. He didn’t want to wake her; he’d done that enough already.

Caleb had gotten off the phone with Jasper a short time ago. He’d called to remind Caleb about the convention in the coming week. Jasper was planning to invite Phyllis to go with him, provided Caleb didn’t need her. Like his mom, Jasper too, had heard about problems out here, knew they were down to two cooks.

“How long have you been out here?” Laura stretched and glanced at the gold watch on her wrist.

“Oh, just a little bit.” He smiled back.

“It’s dark.” She laughed and sat up straighter. “I guess I was tired.”

“Everyone’s gone already. Hope you didn’t want to go to town tonight.”

“Nope. I’m enjoying being lazy.” She stretched again and pushed the quilt off her shoulders. “What a beautiful night.”

“It feels like fall.”

“You don’t like fall?” She grabbed her forgotten cup, took a drink, and made a face. She caught him looking at her and grimaced. “Cold chocolate. Ick.” She stood up. “Would you like something? Coffee, maybe?”

“I’m fine. And to answer your question, I love fall. I think it’s my favorite season. We don’t have the trees you have in Illinois, but the few we do have look pretty this time of year.”

She walked by him with her cup, and he grabbed her free hand. “Will you come back out?”

“Sure.” She nodded and squeezed his hand.

The wall between the kitchen and the porch muffled the sounds. He could hear running water and then the microwave door shutting. He’d enjoyed learning something about her that afternoon. Would she be up for more questions tonight?

His heart was feeling something for her. The purely male part of him had an immediate reaction that first night. Amazing, really, seeing as she wasn’t his type. He thought maybe he was just so desperate for a woman that anyone would do, but after the confrontation with Angel and the evening with Jenny, he’d realized that wasn’t the case.

After the trucker left with the grain in the afternoon, he’d run the budget numbers, using a couple of scenarios, and worked it so he could hire both Laura and Phyllis. They got along well—probably wouldn’t be bosom buddie—but at least they could share the labor. He hoped Laura would consider taking care of Connor as part of her responsibilities; maybe then his mother wouldn’t have to drive out here so often.

“I’m baaaack.” She grinned and plopped down back where she’d been sitting.

“I’m glad.” He rested his ankle on his opposite knee and folded his hands in his lap. “I’ve got more questions for you.”

“You do?” She took a sip from her mug. “Okay.” She put the mug down and rubbed her hands on her thigh then clapped. “Bring ’em on.”

He chuckled. “What do you think about the ranch so far?”

“Hmm…. Here I expected something deep.” She crossed her legs and leaned back in the chair, covering herself with the blanket.

“It’s quiet, desolate. But I like your men and your family.” She grabbed her mug and took a sip. “The kitchen is terrific and having free rein is fun. So, all in all, I like it.”

“What about your family?”

“What about them?” She shoved her legs underneath her and sat in a position his son would call “crisscross apple sauce.”

“Well, you’re so far from all them. Don’t you miss them?”

“Sure.” She shrugged. “But we are so spread out. None of them are living where I would want to, so I guess email and texting is the best way to stay in touch.” She took a sip from her mug. “What other questions have you got for me?”

“Would you like to stay here?” He blurted it out, uncertain how to phrase it.

“Really? You’ve decided already?” Skepticism laced her voice.

“I think I’d like to keep both you and Phyllis on if you want. There would be one more job I’d add in for you, though.”

“Please don’t tell me the cow inventory thing.” She laughed.

He loved her laugh. It was so genuine.

“I don’t think I could do that again,” she added.

“No deal then.” He stood, amused by her face as he pretended to leave and then sat back down. “That was a way for you to see what goes on, on the ranch. There’s a lot more to it, of course, but you got just a taste.”

“Good.” She stretched her legs out in front of her and crossed her ankles. “So, what would these tasks be?”

“I’d let you do all the ordering. I imagine you’ll know better what we need for the kitchen and house. Like I told you, I did it for Stella because of the language problem.”

“That would be fine,” she agreed. “Once I get the hang of it, I can come up with menus ahead of time.”

He chuckled. “Organized, aren’t you?”

“I’m not a big one for surprises, so the better prepared I am, the better I feel.”

He studied her, holding back the urge to pull her over onto his lap and kiss the life out of her, to use his body to make her warm, instead of the tattered blanket she was clinging to.

“I’m not very spontaneous myself. That’s why this whole idea for holding a contest to find a new cook threw me for a loop.”

“Are you mad you let Josh talk you into it?”

“How did you know?”

She chuckled. “Your mom.”

“Figures.” He shook his head and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees.

“What would you think about adding Connor to your list of responsibilities?”

“Babysitting?” She shrugged and pulled back slightly. “Never been around kids. But, sure, I can give it a try.”

She nodded, and he felt as if the whole world had lifted off his shoulders.

“Drive him to school, get him ready, that kind of thing?” she asked.

“Exactly,” he agreed. “Con will be thrilled. He sings your praises from dawn to dark.” He leaned back in the chair again.

“I think he’s pretty special too.” She took a sip from her mug. “Does Christie have any contact with him?”

“No.” It hurt to admit it, even after all this time. “She wrote us off pretty quickly after Conner was born. Stayed on about a year and then got the wanderlust and was gone.”

“Do you still have a thing for her?”

How to answer that one? He didn’t miss Christie, but it was a shame that their son would never know his mother, never have the love of his mother. “Let me put it this way. If she had stayed, I would still be with her. But I’m not pining away for her. I quit that a long time ago.”

“Jenny?”

“That’s just a casual thing with her.”

“What? The sex or the relationship?” she quipped.

He burst into laughter, shocked. “You’re sassy tonight. You must have been tired this afternoon, huh? Your questions were rather tame then.”

“Tame or lame?” She laughed. “I’m just feeling uninhibited tonight.”

Did she feel more comfortable with him?

“Well, you know, two can play this game.” He rubbed his hands together and smiled. “How about a silly game of truth or dare?”

“No fun with only two people.”

“Oh, we could probably make it interesting.”

He saw her hesitate. Did she worry there might be a question she would not want to answer or a task she was unwilling to complete?

“Fine,” she said.

“Ladies first this time. Truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

That surprised him, as did her bright smile.

“Tonight, we’re not boss and employee, got it?” Was that his voice? It sounded seductive…and thick.

“What are we then?”

He shrugged. “Just two people getting to know each other.”

“Agreed.”

She raised a brow in an unspoken challenge for him to come up with something creative.

“I dare you, Miss Laura, to kiss me like you’ve never kissed a man before.”

Laura’s heart rate doubled and she found it hard to breathe. She forced herself to relax, play it cool, but it was difficult. “Hmm, that’s quite a challenge, Mr. Caleb. Should I accept?”

“You don’t have a choice. If you don’t accept it, I get to give out consequences.”

“Sounds interesting, maybe I should refuse just to see what you’d do to me.” She stared at him, trying her best to look seductive and then felt foolish and walked over to him.

He sat still, his hands on his knees, watching her in silence. She snuggled onto his lap and kissed his forehead.

She was done, and she wondered how long it would take for him to realize it.

“That’s it?”

She shrugged. “I have never kissed a man’s forehead before.”

He laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. She knew he’d been expecting more, but she wouldn’t relent. Not yet, anyway. He smelled so manly, a combination of the outdoors and leather. The muscles under his heavy work shirt contracted as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“Truth or dare?” She whispered the question in his ear.

“Truth, I suppose?”

“Did you love Christie?”

“That’s an easy one. You came up with it so quickly, you must have had that one burning in your brain.” He leaned against the back of the chair, looking deep into her eyes. “No. I tried to show her respect because she was the mother of my child, but that was it. She was pretty too. Funny.” He chuckled, as if remembering some private joke. “But I didn’t really love her. If I did, I wouldn’t have let her go.”

Laura nodded, liking the honesty, wishing she too, could reveal as much about herself to him.

“How about another dare?” he teased.

“Truth this time, I think.” She took a deep breath and then exhaled.

“Are you wanted by the law?”

She burst into laughter, relieved she could be honest. “No.”

“It’s not that funny.” He sighed, an offended look on his scrunched face.

“I’m a cook, not a criminal.”

He touched her hair—caressed it really—and then moved his hand to her cheek. “It’s just inconceivable to me that a woman as pretty and cultured as you are would leave Chicago and come out here to the middle of nowhere to cook for a bunch of men.”

“You think I’m pretty?” She grinned. He’d given her a compliment and probably didn’t even realize it.

He cupped the back of her head and pulled her face toward him, touching his lips to hers. The kiss threw sparks in the air. It must have. Laura had no concept of the outside world as she snaked her arm around Caleb’s neck. Just when she thought he’d pull back, he surprised her by deepening the kiss, teasing her tongue with his.

His hand left her hair and trailed down her back to just above her waist, where he let it stay. She was the one to pull away, feeling lightheaded and a bit dazed.

“That was nice,” she said. The understatement of the year.

“Using me for practice, are ya?”

“Dad?” Connor broke their intimate moment. “Dad?” The call got louder as the little boy neared.

“Sorry,” Caleb said quietly to Laura, before calling out, “On the porch, Con.”

Laura hopped off Caleb’s lap and sat back on her chair, feeling embarrassed like she had the time she’d been busted by Pop while making out with her high school boyfriend on the living room couch.

She’d never dated a man with a child. But then again, were they really dating?

 

* * *

 

Laura shut her bedroom door early the next morning, ready to go for her jog and get the day underway. She was excited to see Caleb again, disappointed their time had been cut short last night. Connor was such a sweet boy, Laura could hardly complain about sharing Caleb with his son.

“What the…Phyllis, are you just getting home?” Laura stopped short halfway down the stairs as Phyllis appeared at the bottom.

The woman was still wearing her clothes from the night before, most of the makeup had disappeared, and her hair—well, it looked a little like bedhead.

“Jasper and I, um, got pretty friendly last night.” She flushed scarlet and met Laura on the stairs. “You should see his house! My word, it’s a huge mansion, and the poor man lives all alone. Well, there’s Sebastian, his dog, but no one else. Can you believe it?”

At a loss for words, Laura let Phyllis babble on.

“We get along so well. He’s a couple years older than me, and he’s really good friends with Caleb; in fact, that’s how we met—at the bar—with Caleb. He’s handsome and rich, and I think he likes me a lot.” She stopped to take a breath. “He asked if I would go to a conference with him next weekend!”

“Did you say yes?” Laura asked, thinking the answer was obvious.

“I said I would if it was okay with Caleb. Do you know what he said then?”

Laura shook her head; she had no idea.

“He said, ‘I already asked him!’ Can you believe it?” She tugged harder on Laura’s sleeve. “He called to get Caleb’s okay before he asked. So thoughtful.”

“And to think when I first met you, I thought you’d be as quiet as a mouse.” Laura laughed. “Go take a shower, and I’ll meet you downstairs for a cup of coffee.”

“Oh, breakfast!” Phyllis smacked herself in the forehead. “I forgot.”

“I’ve got it covered.” Laura pointed Phyllis toward her room and jogged down the remaining stairs.

She went into the kitchen to get the coffee going, not expecting anyone else to be up this early.

“Good morning! My, oh my, Connor, you’re up early!” Laura grinned. “Did you make the coffee for me?” she joked.

“No, silly.” He looked up briefly from the handheld game he was playing. “I can’t make that stuff. Dad did. Miss Laura, can I have some more milk?”

Laura reached for it just as Caleb entered the kitchen.

“I’ll get it,” he said.

She met his gaze with a big smile. He was all seriousness today, wearing his usual denim shirt and jeans. He had shaved off his whiskers from the night before and looked good enough to kiss, which she very much was tempted to do.

He poured his son more milk and winked at her, before heading to the coffee pot to pour himself some caffeine energy. He filled a mug for her, brought it to the table, and sat across from her, next to Connor.

“I meant to ask you something last night.”

“More questions, Caleb?” She chuckled.

“Funny girl.” He touched her foot under the table with his boot. “I wanted to know if you would go with me to the cattlemen’s conference next weekend?”

“Oh, the one Phyllis and Jasper are going to?”

“How did you know?” A look of surprise scattered across his face.

“I saw her upstairs as I was coming down.”

“So, she made it home, huh?” He smiled. “Yes, that same conference. We’d stay Thursday and Friday night. There’s a fancy banquet-slash-dance thing on Friday with awards.” He paused. “You’d have your own room, of course.”

“Who will take care of me?” Connor asked quietly, looking at his dad with big, sad puppy eyes.

“Grandma, of course,” Caleb told his son. He turned to Laura. “Ma will cook for the farmhands on those days too.”

“In that case, I’d love to.” Laura’s heart pounded at the idea of spending some one-on-one time with Caleb and really getting to know him.

Getting off the ranch, back into the public, would be a challenge. She had a feeling she would be constantly looking over her shoulder, but what was the chance anyone would know her at a cattlemen’s conference?