Summer Days

“Two? Are you sure?”

The horse nodded.

Heidi laughed. “Okay, you win. I’m impressed. And you have too much time on your hands.”

“Sometimes the winters get long,” he admitted, feeding the horse the two slices.

Shane led the way outside.

“As long as Wesley doesn’t expect me to read to him or do math, we’ll get along fine.”

“I’m sure of it.”

“You do have insurance, right?”

Shane glanced at her. “Very funny.”

A delivery truck pulled up and honked.

“I got a package for you,” the woman behind the wheel yelled.

“Been shopping?” Shane asked.

“Sort of,” Heidi said, suspecting the box contained the special paint Annabelle had suggested she order online.

The delivery woman circled around to the back of the truck and pulled out a small box. “You’re going to need to sign,” she said.

Heidi hurried forward and scrawled her signature on the electronic clipboard. Before she could reach for the box, Shane had collected it.

“Where do you want it?” he asked.

Heidi waved as the delivery truck drove away, then pointed to the goat house. “In there, please.”

In a couple of days, Annabelle and Charlie would be by to help her with the cave paintings. Heidi knew she didn’t have a choice, but she still felt badly about her decision to fake an archaeological find. Apparently, she wasn’t suited for a life of crime or even deception.

Fortunately, Shane didn’t ask about the content of the box and put it where she pointed without saying a word. They walked back outside.

“I should probably feel guilty about financing your life of crime.”

She felt her eyes widen and instinctively took a step back. “Excuse me?” How had he figured out what she was up to?

He drew his eyebrows together. “I was kidding, Heidi. I know about the problem with who owns the ranch, and that you want to earn enough to buy out my mom. What I’m paying you will go toward the debt.”

She breathed an inward sigh of relief. “You’re okay with that?”

“Honestly? No. I’d rather she stayed here. She loves the ranch. Always did. So did I. I’d prefer the two of you worked out a solution.”

She thought about the plans Rafe had for the land. “I’m willing, but I don’t think ‘compromise’ is your brother’s favorite word.”

“You’ve met him, then?”

She smiled. “More than once.”

“Then you know Rafe is big on winning. It comes from when we were kids.”

“Because he had to take care of the family? As much as a kid can?”

“You’ve heard the story.”

“Not all of it, but bits and pieces. I know he’s not a bad person.”

“Just difficult?” Shane asked.

“That works.”

She felt his gaze on her, but wasn’t going to say any more. Her feelings for Rafe were complicated. If he wasn’t going behind everyone’s back with those houses, she could like him a lot more. If she hadn’t made love with him, disliking him would be a whole lot easier.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Shane told her.

“Can I get that in writing.”

He touched her arm. “Smell that?”

She took a breath. The blending of meat and barbecue sauce drifted to her. “What is it?”

“Dinner. Mom’s making her famous ribs. Once you get a taste of them, everything will seem a whole lot better.”

“You’re a simple guy.”

“I know what I like.”

“An excellent quality,” she agreed, thinking it was a shame she couldn’t feel that sexual hum when she was around this Stryker brother. Falling for Shane would have made life so much easier.

* * *

HEIDI HAD A BATCH OF FETA to prep before dinner. She’d just collected all the equipment she would need when Rafe appeared at the door.

“Need some help?” he asked.

She wanted to tell him no, that she could handle this herself, but she made the mistake of looking at him before she spoke, and found she couldn’t look away.

There was something about the man’s eyes, she thought. Or maybe just the man himself. Something that made her want to get lost in him, to be held by him, even loved by him. And to think her grandfather had raised her to be smarter than that….

“I’m making feta,” she said.

Rafe groaned. “Why do there have to be so many kinds of cheese? Can’t you specialize in one kind? I could learn how to do one.”

Despite her confusion, the ache in her chest and the way being around him made her breathing uneven, she laughed. “Learning about cheese isn’t part of your job description.”

“Can I help, anyway?”

“Sure.”

He’d assisted her before, so he walked over to the sink to scrub his hands without being asked. When he’d dried them carefully, he pulled on plastic gloves and joined her at the table. Several molds lay on the table.

“Here’s the plan,” she began.

“There’s a plan? This isn’t just random?”

She removed the weights on the molds and then uncovered them. Rafe peered into the first mold.

“Not impressive.”

“It’s cheese. Did you expect it to break into song?”

“If it did, you’d make a lot more money. I’m just saying. So, what’s the next step?”

“It needs salting before we age it.”

He sighed. “Why do I know I’m not going to shake salt on the top and call it a day?”

“Because you’re more than a pretty face.” She pointed to the pans she’d already laid out and the large glass containers of water. “We need a twenty-three percent salt brine solution. They’ll soak in that for twenty-four hours.”

“Twenty-three percent? You’re that precise?”

“If I want the flavor right. After that, the cheese will age in a fourteen percent salt brine solution for about sixty days. We do that at sixty degrees, which is why I use the front part of the cave, where it’s warmer.”

He shook his head. “How do you remember this?”

She pointed to the shelf above their heads. Several notebooks were lined up. “I’ve done a lot of research, I’ve taken classes and I’ve screwed up a lot. I find that’s the best way to learn. I was smart enough to start with small batches, so I didn’t lose too much in the process.”

They carefully transferred the cheese from the molds to the trays, then Heidi and Rafe slowly added the twenty-three percent salt brine. She covered the trays with cloth and stripped off her gloves.

“That’s it?” he asked.

“Until tomorrow. Then I’ll put them into individual, airtight containers with the fourteen percent solution. From there, they go to the caves and do their thing.”

“And it’s cheese in sixty days?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Put me down for five containers,” he told her. “I’ll pay retail. I’m that kind of guy.”

She thought about teasing him, saying that each container would cost him twenty thousand dollars, but found herself unable to speak. Probably because she’d just figured out that either she or Rafe wouldn’t be here in sixty days. No doubt, by then the judge would have ruled and, regardless of the outcome, one of them would be gone.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“SO,       RAFE HAD THIS NEW BIKE that Mayor      Marsha had given him,” Shane was saying. “He rode it everywhere.”

The five of them sat at an old wooden table Rafe and Shane had      brought out from the barn. The trees around the house provided shade, and a      light breeze cooled the air. On the table were the remnants of their meal. The      ribs May had spent all afternoon slow cooking, homemade mac-and-cheese, salad      and ice-cold beer.

Worried about the paint and her plan to deceive the world,      Heidi would have sworn she couldn’t eat anything. But a single bite of May’s      dinner had been enough to make her ravenous, and she’d eaten her share of      everything. Now full and more relaxed than she’d been in days, she leaned back      and listened to the brothers trade stories about their past.

“I loved that bike,” Rafe said, narrowing his gaze. “You stole      it.”

“I traded it for horseback-riding lessons.”

“It wasn’t yours to trade.”

“I wanted to learn to ride a horse.”

“Things went downhill from there,” May admitted. “I found them      fighting in the barn. Rafe had a black eye and Shane’s nose was bloody.” She      glanced at her middle son. “You shouldn’t have taken his bike.”

“So you said at the time.”

“Did you get it back?” Heidi asked.

Rafe nodded.

“Obviously, you learned to ride a horse,” she said to      Shane.

“Yup. Never did do that well on a bike, but that’s okay.”

Everyone laughed. Heidi saw Glen reach for May’s hand. The      older couple was still together, and if she didn’t know her grandfather as well      as she did, she would have sworn they were in love. Glen had always done his      best to avoid any long-term entanglements, but with May, he was different. She      didn’t see any signs of him wanting to get away.

“Remember when Clay brought home that old dog?” May asked. She      laughed. “I’d never seen a dog so ugly. He insisted it was a fine-looking animal      and that we should keep it.” Her smile faded. “We couldn’t, of course. I could      barely feed my children. There wasn’t any extra for a pet. But it would have      been nice.”

“You have your animals now,” Glen reminded her.

“I do, and there’s plenty to eat.” She raised her glass. “To my      boys, who have made me proud.”

Heidi joined in the toast.

After dinner, everyone helped clear the table. Heidi shooed May      out of the kitchen, saying the other woman had done enough with dinner. She was      going to clean up. Glen and Shane drifted away, but Rafe stayed.

“I can do this,” she told him.

“I’ll help.”

They worked quickly together. She was aware of him standing      next to her, taking the rinsed dishes and putting them in the ancient      dishwasher. She wiped down the counters, then wondered how she was going to      escape without having to talk. Something that turned out not to be a problem,      she thought helplessly, as he waited until she’d rinsed and dried her hands      before putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her to face him.

She’d thought he’d try to ask her what was wrong, or, being the      kind of man he was, demand that she tell him. Instead, he leaned in and lightly      kissed her.

She could have withstood a verbal assault, she thought, feeling      the soft brush of his mouth on hers. If he’d insisted, she would have had      righteous indignation on her side. But the gentle pressure was irresistible, as      was the warmth of his fingers. He straightened and reached up to tug on one of      her braids.

“You’re the only woman I know who wears her hair like      this.”

“I know it’s not sophisticated,” she began, then wanted to slap      herself for admitting that.

“I like it, goat girl.” His dark eyes stared into hers. “I like      you.”

Enough to give up his Fool’s Gold housing empire? Enough to      tell Nina to go away? Enough to admit a sensible wife was a really stupid      idea?

“If you could have anything in the world,” she said. “Anything.      Money, fame, sixteen children who adored you, what would it be?”

He hesitated. “Can I get back to you?”

“Sure. But if you asked me that question, I would have an      answer. I want the ranch. I want to live here for the rest of my life. I want      this to be my home.”

He dropped his hands to his sides. He didn’t back away, but he      didn’t have to. His actions were enough.

* * *

ANNABELLE LAID THE OPEN BOOKS on the dirt floor. Charlie had      been by early and set up several powerful portable lights, illuminating the      uneven cave walls. Heidi shivered and zipped up her jacket.

This deep in the mountains, caves were a constant fifty      degrees. The air had a faint, musty quality to it, as if there wasn’t enough      circulation.