Читать книгу A Rancher's Redemption - Ann Roth - Страница 11
ОглавлениеDani opened her eyes. As entertaining and exciting as Dr. No was—and it was so dated that it was both—she’d fallen asleep in the middle of the action. Now she was snuggled against Nick’s side, with her head on his chest. His arms were wrapped around her, holding her close.
When had that happened?
By the steady rise and fall of his rib cage, he’d also fallen asleep. Poor guy was exhausted, and yet he’d come over tonight so that they could cheer each other up. Although he’d done most of the cheerleading.
Tenderness flooded her. She loved him dearly, but cuddling with him stretched the bonds of their platonic relationship.
Doing her best not to disturb him, she gently began to untangle herself from his grasp. Not so easy, as he was holding on tight. Without meaning to, she woke him. His sleepy, sexy smile stole her breath. She was marveling at the power of that smile when he lowered his head and kissed her. On the mouth. He’d never done that before.
As startled as Dani was, she liked the solid feel of his arms anchoring her close. Liked his lips brushing warmly over hers. Dear God in heaven, he could kiss. Without knowing how it happened, she melted into his hard body and kissed him back.
He tasted of chocolate and ice cream and something subtle that she recognized as uniquely him. His big palms slid up her sides, dangerously close to her suddenly tingling breasts.
Okay, this was getting out of hand. Dani stiffened and pushed him away. “Don’t, Nick.”
“Jeezus.” He released her as if she’d burned him. “What are we doing?”
She touched her lips with her fingers, noting that his gaze followed and settled on her mouth.
“I’m not sure,” she said. “All I know is that sometime during the movie we both fell asleep. And then—”
“We were making out. Wow.” Nick scrubbed his hand over his face. “Sorry about that.”
Dani should be, too. Only she wasn’t.
No wonder the women Nick dated went nuts over him. Not only was he sexy and funny with good manners, he also knew how to kiss. Fan-yourself-go-soft-inside kisses that emptied the mind of all common sense.
Dani sensed that he could also do a lot of other equally wonderful things with his mouth. Blushing furiously, she leaned forward and stacked their bowls.
She almost wished...
But no. Nick was exactly the kind of guy she’d just sworn off of, a man who moved from woman to woman and kept his heart under close guard. Besides, he was her best friend. His friendship was important to her, and she wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize it.
Nick lifted the dishes right out of her hands, then stood. “It’s late, and tomorrow will be a long day for both of us. I should go,” he said, taking the words straight from her kiss-addled brain.
Dani wanted him to leave so that she could recover from a colossal mistake. She also rose. While Nick deposited the bowls in the kitchen, she fluffed the throw pillows and repositioned them along the couch.
When he returned, he shrugged into his jacket, which only accentuated his flat belly and broad shoulders.
“I’ll, uh, talk to you later.” He grabbed hold of the doorknob as if he couldn’t get out of her apartment fast enough.
Normally when they parted he kissed her on the cheek. Now that she was tingly and hot everywhere, even the most chaste kiss would be dangerous.
Fluff came running. Why couldn’t he have fallen asleep between them and prevented what had happened? Dani scooped him up and held him to her chest like a shield, poor cat. She opened the door and stood well out of reach until Nick moved through it and strode rapidly down the hall, away from her. After shutting the door, she let Fluff down. She didn’t draw in a normal breath until she heard the elevator close behind Nick.
* * *
NICK WAS UP at the crack of dawn Monday morning, relishing the busy day ahead. After a hearty breakfast he pulled on wool socks and entered the mudroom, where he tugged on boots and donned a heavy jacket. He stepped onto the back porch, his breath puffing from his lips like smoke. It was a cloudy March morning and chilly, but not quite cold enough to snow. Instead, heavy rain was predicted. Not the best working conditions for installing an irrigation system.
As always, the sight of the rolling fields filled him with pride and made him think of his father, a man who had died way too soon. Nick Senior had taught Nick that land was the most important thing a man could own, but his actions had jeopardized everything.
Kelly Ranch had belonged to the family for generations, until Nick’s parents had fallen on hard times—thanks partly to the vagaries of Montana weather, but mostly because of his father’s lavish spending habits. Nick remembered the jewelry, fancy appliances and high-end new car his father had bought his mother. He’d been so wrapped up in keeping her in luxury that he’d neglected the ranch. Neglect that had cost them all in the worst way possible.
Before long, unable to keep up with the mortgage and credit card debt, the family had been forced to sell. Nick’s parents had moved with him and his older sister, Jamie, to the east side of Prosperity. The poor side of town.
Both his parents had soon found jobs that paid regularly and provided a much-needed steady income that helped stave off the bill collectors. But no one had liked living in the city. Nick’s parents had fought constantly, and his mother started working late. She’d taken up with a man at work, someone else’s husband. The affair had ended, but not before it destroyed both marriages and broke up two families.
Breathing in the crisp air, Nick started down the back steps. He’d always wondered what his life would have been like if his parents had managed their debt better and had held on to the ranch. Would they have stayed together? If they had, his life would have been totally different.
But playing the what-if game was an endless circle of unanswerables. Nick didn’t want to remember that time, or the bitterness that had clung to his father like a shroud afterward and until the day he’d died.
He headed across the yard toward the shed where he stored tractors and other large ranching equipment, the cold earth crunching under his boots. The only positive thing to come out of his dad’s untimely death was the insurance policy he’d left Nick. Thanks to that unexpected gift, Nick had suddenly had the funds for a down payment on the family ranch, which had just happened to be on the market. It was rundown and had come dirt-cheap, and he’d been able to put down a decent amount. Using what remained of his inheritance, he was slowly making much-needed improvements.
Unfortunately, the cost of the new irrigation would eat up the last of the money. And there was so much yet to do before Kelly Ranch finally turned a profit. Several outbuildings still required repairs, and the ranch needed a new hay baler. Nick also wanted to add more cattle to his herd. While those things would have to wait, Nick was proud of the fact that the ranch should be fully restored and profitable within in the next two years—as long as he kept his eye on his goal. He wouldn’t slip up like his father, who’d lost everything. All for a woman who’d ended up leaving him, anyway.
At least the land was back in the family, where it belonged.
From the direction of the trailers that housed his ranch crew, a rooster crowed as if in approval. Nick had three permanent ranch hands. Two were married, and their wives raised chickens.
With an eye to cutting costs, he’d commandeered two of the men to help with the grunt work on the irrigation system.
They were waiting for him at the shed. Nick nodded at Palmer, the foreman who’d agreed to stay on when he’d bought the ranch, and Clip, a brawny twenty-five-year-old who wasn’t afraid of hard work. Jerome, the third member of the crew, was tackling the regular chores today.
“Morning,” he greeted them. “Kenny Tripp, the irrigation specialist I hired to install our new system, should be here soon.”
While they waited, they stood around, sipping coffee from thermoses and talking about their weekends.
“Hey, how’s Dani doing?” Clip asked.
She occasionally visited the ranch, and the crew knew that Nick had gone to her place Saturday evening, to console her after her breakup.
Unsure how to best answer Clip’s question, and preferring not to discuss about what had happened between him and Dani, Nick took a long pull on his coffee. He wasn’t often confused by his own actions, but kissing her...
What the hell had gotten into him?
Yeah, he’d been half-asleep when it happened, but that was no excuse. Over the years they’d fallen asleep beside each other plenty of times without him ever making a move on her. She meant too much to him to wreck their relationship by getting physical.
But then, he’d never guessed that kissing her would be so mind-numbingly powerful or that she’d get under his skin the way she had. The feel of her lips under his, the sweet press of her breasts against his chest...
“She’s doing okay,” he said gruffly.
He drained the last of his mug, screwed the cap on the thermos and gave himself a mental kick in the butt. Dani was his best friend. Kissing her or anything beyond that was off-limits. He’d had no business pulling her as close as he could, and no business wanting to strip her naked and get even closer.
At the mere thought, his body tightened. Turning away from Palmer’s narrow-eyed scrutiny, he set his empty thermos on a shelf near the door. Tonight he would call Dani and assure her he wouldn’t be crossing the line with her ever again.
Clip grinned. “Now that she’s single again, I just might ask her out.”
The bachelor cowboy was full of himself.
Nick gave him a warning look. “I wouldn’t.”
“Why not? She’s available.”
“Because she deserves a man who’ll stick around and build a life with her.”
“Heck, I’ll stick to her.” Clip chuckled at his joke until Nick glared at him. The cowboy sobered right up. “Chill out, Nick, I’m only funnin’ around.”
The sound of a truck rumbling toward the shed drew Nick’s attention. “That must be Tripp now. Let’s go.”
He opened the door and Palmer and Clip followed him out.
* * *
ON MONDAYS, BIG MAMA’S CAFÉ was closed. As much as Dani loved going in to work, a day off was always a welcome relief. A chance to relax, read the newspaper from cover to cover and sleep in....
Scratch sleeping in. She’d been getting up before dawn since high school, and the habit was hard to break. Plus, she had a lot on her mind, first and foremost the meeting at Big Mama’s house this morning. Her mother didn’t handle change well, but today, Dani was determined to persuade her that making needed alterations was critical to the restaurant’s survival.
The very thought of that conversation gave her hives.
Then there was Fluff, who expected his breakfast no later than five-thirty. Sitting on her chest, all twenty pounds of him, he batted her chin with his paw and meowed. Loudly and plaintively. “Oh, all right, Mr. Alarm Clock,” she muttered, moving him aside so that she could flip on the reading lamp on the beside table. Yawning and stretching, she fell back against the pillow again.
She’d spent a long, restless night, and not just because she was stressing over the upcoming conversation with Big Mama. Nick Kelly had played a big roll in the tossing and turning.
They didn’t get together all that often, but they touched base frequently, either by phone, text or email. But since Saturday night, Nick hadn’t called or texted her once. Dani hadn’t contacted him, either. Their friendship was hugely important to her, and she hoped those unforgettable kisses hadn’t made things between them all wonky.
Key word: unforgettable. A man didn’t kiss a woman as thoroughly as Nick had kissed her without making a huge impact. And what an impact it had been. Dani wanted more of the same. A lot more.
Which was just too bad, because she wasn’t about to kiss Nick like that again. Ever. The smartest thing to do was to forget the other night had ever happened.
Fluff amped up his cries to earsplitting level. “Will you stop?” she snapped in a sharp tone that caused the cat to grow quiet.
He fixed her with an accusing look that caused an instant case of the guilts. None of this was his fault.
Gentling her voice, she rubbed behind his head. He promptly forgave her and began to purr. What a pushover. “You’re such a sweet boy,” she crooned. “Let me stop in the bathroom on my way to the kitchen. Then I’ll feed you.”
By the time she threw on a robe and padded into the kitchen a few minutes later, the cat was pacing anxiously in front of his food dish. Her heart went out to him. Roughly two years ago she’d adopted him from a cat shelter, not long after he’d been found abandoned and starving. He still worried about his food, and if she didn’t feed him first thing in the morning, he tended to get upset.
Dani needed coffee, but it would have to wait. “You know how I am before my morning dose of caffeine,” she said. “But just this once, I’ll give you breakfast before I put the coffee on.” She filled his bowl. “There you go. This just proves how much I care about you.”
Busy scarfing down his meal, Fluff ignored her. Wasn’t that just like a male? Once you gave him what he wanted, he didn’t spare you a second thought.
“Story of my life,” she murmured.
Twenty minutes later she felt human again. Sipping her second cup of coffee, she read most of the Prosperity Daily News instead of skimming it, an indulgence she had time for only on Mondays.
After a leisurely shower she dressed in jeans and a pullover sweater, then grabbed her purse and a coat, and blew the cat a kiss. “Bye, handsome. Behave yourself while I’m gone.”
When she pulled out of her parking space in the apartment complex, ominous clouds filled the sky. Dani groaned. Not more rain.
Big Mama lived in the same two-story bungalow where Dani had grown up. When she arrived at the house some ten minutes later, rain was coming down hard and the wipers were working overtime.
Jewel Sellers’s old Lincoln Continental was parked behind Big Mama’s SUV, which was in the carport. Jewel was her mother’s best friend and they often palled around. Dani hoped the woman wasn’t planning on staying. She and her mom were supposed to talk about the restaurant.
She parked beside the Lincoln. At the Pattersons’ house next door, Gumbo, a ten-year-old mixed chow female, dashed down the steps from the covered porch, barking a hello. The Pattersons were both at work, and Gumbo was obviously lonesome.
Dani pulled the hood on her coat over her head and stopped at the chain-link fence. Hunkering down, she stuck her fingers through to pat the wet dog, who she swore grinned at her despite the driving rain. “Hey there, Gumbo. You should stay up on the porch, where it’s dry.”
Ignoring her advice, the dog licked her fingers. “Aw, I love you, too,” Dani said. “I wish I could stay and visit with you, but it’s too wet and cold. Besides, Big Mama’s expecting me. When Jewel leaves, we’re having a ‘meeting.’” She pantomimed sticking her thumb down her throat, then lowered her voice. “If you can figure out a way to make Big Mama accept even some of my ideas and trust me enough to quit micromanaging me on weekends, I’d love to hear them. There’ll be a doggie treat in it for you. Gotta run now.”
She raced up the steps of the covered porch. The front door was unlocked, and once she removed her wet shoes and shook the rain water from her coat, she let herself in. After the damp cold outside, the house felt snug and dry. The familiar aromas of lemon oil furniture polish and freshly baked treats that smelled out of this world flooded her nostrils. Salivating, she hung her coat in the closet.
“Hey, it’s me,” she called out, just as she always had.
Her mother bustled in from the kitchen, her gait a little slower than it once had been, but still brisk. Dressed in her trademark off-white blouse and dark pants, bifocals propped on her head, she greeted Dani with a warm smile.
Jewel followed, as petite and trim as Big Mama was large.
“I was hoping to see you before I left.” Jewel tsked in sympathy. “I’m sorry about your breakup.”
“Thanks.” It was no surprise that she’d heard about that. Big Mama kept her well-informed. Still, Dani wasn’t about to discuss the details. “It’s nasty out there, so be careful,” she said.
Her mother peered out the little window in the door. “What a storm we’re having. The weather people are warning about a three-dayer. Lordy, I hope they’re wrong. Be safe, Jewel. I’ll see you Friday night.”
The woman nodded. “Six o’clock, dinner out and cards here.” She patted her large handbag. “Thanks for the cinnamon roll. It will go well with my afternoon coffee. You’re in for a yummy snack, Dani.”
When the door closed behind her, Dani’s mother opened her arms. “How about a hug for your Big Mama?”
Dani stepped into the familiar embrace. Instantly she was enveloped in Big Mama’s warmth and lilac cologne, and for a few seconds all her cares faded. For all their disagreements, Dani loved her dearly.
“What was Jewel doing here?” she asked when they let go of each other.
“You know what early birds we both are. She’s going to knit me a cardigan and wanted to show me possible yarns and colors.”
“That’s nice,” Dani said. “I hope you picked something with a little color.” Not that her mother wore colors much. Everything she owned was either black, brown or navy.
“I did—a soft gray. You hungry?”
Having skipped breakfast, Dani nodded. “Those cinnamon rolls smell wonderful.”
“Of course they do.” Big Mama grinned. “I took a batch out of the oven just before you got here. I left the nuts out, the way you prefer them. There’s a pot of hot coffee, too.”
Eager to eat something, and always up for another cup of coffee, Dani rubbed her hands together. Then she frowned. “Didn’t Dr. Adelson tell you to cut down on fats and sweets?”
Her mother made a face. “I don’t smoke and I don’t drink. Isn’t that enough? Besides, what’s the point of living if I can’t indulge in a few of the things I love?” With a defiant gleam in her eye, she raised her chin. “A treat now and then won’t hurt.”
Before Dani could argue, Big Mama changed the subject. “You have circles under your eyes.” She scrutinized Dani critically and pursed her lips. “You’re not sleeping well. It’s because of Jeter, isn’t it? I didn’t want to ask and bother you while you were at work this weekend, but how are you doing?”
Bother her? She’d only driven Dani crazy with her frequent calls. Dani refrained from pointing this out. She had more important things to discuss. “I stayed up late last night, but that had nothing to do with the breakup,” she explained. “I’m actually doing okay.”
“You’re already over Jeter?”
Nick’s kisses had all but wiped the other man from her mind. Kisses I’m going to forget, she reminded herself. “Pretty much.”
“That was fast—much faster than usual. Let’s get at those cinnamon rolls while they’re still hot. Spending Saturday evening with Nick must’ve done you a world of good,” Big Mama said as they sauntered toward the kitchen. “I just adore that boy.”
Nick was no boy—he was all man. Fighting the urge to glance away from her mother’s shrewd blue eyes, Dani shrugged. “I guess I wasn’t that in love with Jeter, after all.”
“I’m relieved. He wasn’t the one for you. What did you and Nick do to cheer each other up?”
Although the rain had changed into pounding hail, Dani suddenly wished she was outside. Anything would be better than answering that question. “We had dinner and talked. And we ate hot fudge sundaes,” she said. All of which was true. “Then we watched an old James Bond movie called Dr. No.”
“I remember that movie. Ursula Andress co-starred with Sean Connery.”
The scarred old oak table that had been around since Dani’s childhood was set for two, with a couple of jumbo cinnamon rolls on each plate. More than Dani could ever eat. The promised pot of steaming coffee and a pitcher of warm milk sat beside a stick of creamery butter and a vase of pussy willow buds. Ancient furniture and dishes that weren’t all that different from those at Big Mama’s Café—battle-worn, but friendly and homey. The food both here and at the restaurant was always excellent, but it was also very rich. People loved eating it, but these days they also needed other, healthier options.
Pushing that conversation aside for now, Dani sat in her customary seat, facing the window that overlooked the backyard where she’d spent many a happy spring and summer day. The curtains were open to let in the gray light. Hail bounced like white BB’s against the concrete patio.
Seemingly oblivious to the spectacle, Big Mama sighed as she buttered a roll. “Sean Connery—now there’s a man. He’s still as handsome as ever.”
For a long moment neither of them spoke, other than to exclaim over the flaky cinnamon rolls. Dani thought back to when she was six and Big Mama first took her in. At the time her then foster mother had been forty-five and widowed for almost four years.
Big Mama married late in life, and she and Winston had been madly in love. They’d been husband and wife just over a year when Big Mama had learned she was pregnant. She and Winston were ecstatic.
Then one snowy night her husband had died in a twenty-car pile-up on the freeway. A few weeks later, Big Mama miscarried. After that, she’d lost her interest in men, and had spent her days running the restaurant and raising Dani.
“I made a decision I’m sure you’ll approve of,” Dani said. “From now on, I’m going to date only the kind of man who has a steady job. He should also want to get married and have kids.”
Big Mama nodded. “That’s smart, Dani. But I want you to consider something important—you don’t need a man to be happy.”
Her mother had never said this before. Dani stared at her. “Hey, I happen to like men.”
“They are wonderful, but after I lost Winston, I did all right by myself. Especially when it came to you. When you were growing up, we sure had a lot of fun.” She waited for Dani’s nod, then continued. “I may not have given birth to you, but I raised you as my own, and I did it totally without help. And I did a darned fine job of it, if I do say so. You became a terrific young woman. I’m so proud of you.”
Dani flushed with pleasure. “Aww, thanks.”
Big Mama had saved her from what could have been a childhood as awful as the one that Sly and Seth, her brothers, had endured at the hands of a distant uncle. Uncle George had taken them in but hadn’t wanted Dani. At first, that had hurt, but his rejection had turned out to be the best thing for her. Because Uncle George disliked kids—even his own nephews. Poor Sly and Seth had borne the brunt of his animosity.
Whereas for Dani, from the start Big Mama had made her feel welcome and comfortable. She’d taught Dani how to cook and had let her help out in the restaurant. She’d always treated her with kindness and respect—along with a strong dose of discipline. By the age of eight, Dani had become the woman’s adopted daughter, in every way possible. She’d soon inherited Big Mama’s love of feeding hungry diners delicious, homemade food, along with the desire to manage a well-run establishment that brought people back again and again.
That wasn’t happening so much anymore, but if Dani could just make the changes she wanted, she was sure that business would pick up. “I’m forever grateful for you and the wonderful life you’ve given me,” she said. “But I’d still like to have a husband and a baby or two. Don’t you want a grandchild to spoil?”
“Of course I would, but what I want most for you is your happiness.”
With her mother in such an expansive mood, this seemed the perfect moment to get down to business. Tamping down a bad case of nerves, Dani reached for her purse and pulled out a folder. “I put together a couple of new menu ideas that will appeal to health-conscious eaters, as well as an updated look for our menu.” The restaurant’s interior hadn’t changed since Dani had first stepped inside it some twenty-four years ago. It was now dated and not exactly welcoming. In fact, the drab decor and old lighting contradicted what Dani considered important—not only delicious food, but a bright, fun atmosphere in which to enjoy it.
She pointed to the crude sketch she’d made. “I’m no artist, but you get the gist. This design is more contemporary and will suit the new decor perfectly.”
Her mother didn’t bother to put on her bifocals. “Just hold on there, missy.” Her lips thinned into a stubborn line. “I haven’t agreed to any new decor. And we don’t need new menus or recipes, either. We have great food and friendly service, and customers like us just the way we are.”
Here we go. Dani stifled a sigh. “You’re right, but there’s a lot of competition out there now, and we’re steadily losing business, especially since the Poplar Tree opened. If we want to keep the customers we have and attract new ones, we have to make changes and update the restaurant.”
An emotion that Dani swore was fear crossed her mother’s face, gone so quickly that she wondered if she’d imagined it.
“Not on my watch,” her mother stated firmly.
Dani suppressed a groan of frustration. The restaurant was to be her legacy, and she wanted it to survive and flourish for the rest of her life and even longer. “I’m only suggesting these things because I care about the restaurant as much as you do,” she said in what she considered a reasonable tone.
Her mother stiffened and folded her meaty arms over her chest.
Okay, then. “What do you suggest we do instead?” Dani said, oh, so genially.
Big Mama humphed—so much for going the polite route. “We won’t do anything. Big Mama’s Café will remain as it always has been. We serve the best breakfasts and lunches in town. If people don’t believe that, then they should eat someplace else.”
Why couldn’t her mother see that the atmosphere and menu made them look out of step compared to other restaurants? “You are so darned stubborn!” Dani fumed.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Her mother’s jaw clamped shut.
Once again she’d failed to convince her mother to make any changes. Dani threw up her hands. Back to the drawing board.
