One of the other waitresses stood at the service counter refilling the coffeemaker. Candy was a bleach-blonde in her late thirties who chewed gum incessantly. She pointed at Jake with her chin. “Who’s the dish?”
i This wasn’t what she needed. Taylor filled a glass of orange juice and tried for an offhand tone. “Him? Just someone I used to know.”
“He’s cute.” Candy craned her head to see across the room. “Is the O.J. for him? I’ll take it over.”
Candy plucked the glass from her startled fingers and swished away, hips swinging.
“Order up,” Sleazy Steve growled.
Taylor put her mind back on her waitressing, but the next time Candy crossed her path Taylor said, “He’s married.” She wasn’t trying to be possessive—even if she had felt a strange spark of jealousy—just warning her co-worker away from disappointment.
“The dish? I didn’t see a ring.”
“Trust me. He’s married.”
Candy snapped her gum, her expression changing to a mix of anger and pity. All traces of her interest in Jake were gone. “So it’s like that, huh? Probably told you he was leaving her, but never did. And he expects you to pine away for him and jump back into his bed whenever he gets in the mood. The skunk. Want me to go pour hot coffee in his lap?”
Taylor almost laughed. “It’s not like that.”
“Uh-huh. Right.”
“He’s married to me, Candy.”
Candy’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”
“We’re married.”
Candy snapped her gum again. “Then why in the world are you living alone and working in this dump? Take him back, girl!”
“I don’t think so,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s too late for that.”
Sleazy Steve dropped two plates on the service shelf. “Order up, Candy,” he barked.
Candy ignored him. “It’s never too late, hon.”
“We don’t like each other.”
“Yeah,” Candy said. “Which is why he’s staring at you like he wants to have you for breakfast.”
He was? Taylor’s heart rate sped up at the news but she forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down. Jake wasn’t here to try to get her back, and she had to remember that.
The cook banged his spatula on the stainless steel counter. “Order up!”
Candy slowly turned and fixed Sleazy Steve with a scorching glare. She popped her gum. “Go suck an egg, Stevie. This is important.”
Taylor wanted to burst out laughing, but she knew she’d get fired if she did. Only Candy, for some incomprehensible reason, could get away with such behavior. “Jake doesn’t like me, Candy.”
“Huh! What’s not to like? You’re a total sweet-heart.”
“Thanks, but Jake—”
“Jake’s gonna get an earful,” Candy declared.
“Don’t,” Taylor said, but Candy wasn’t listening. She took the plates of food from the service shelf and sashayed off.
Taylor stood glued to the floor as Candy dropped her two plates in front of a couple of customers and approached Jake’s booth. She couldn’t hear what Candy said, but from the way the woman stood with her hands on her hips, she guessed it wasn’t friendly.
A minute later Candy came back over.
“What did he say?” Taylor demanded.
Candy shrugged. “Nothing much. I told him you were a great girl and he’d been a fool to leave you. He told me, very politely, that it was none of my business.” She popped her gum. “Not exactly the type to unburden his soul to a total stranger, is he?”
“No.” That was an understatement. Jake was a typical cowboy—stoic and silent when it came to matters of the heart. Even when that matter of the heart was a marriage gone bad.
“He wants to talk with you.”
“I know.”
“He wouldn’t tell me what it was about, but it sounds important.”
“I’m sure it is, but I’m not interested.”
Candy chewed her gum. “Talk to the man, Taylor.”
She started to say, “I’m too busy,” but Candy cut her off.
“I’ll cover your section,” the other woman said.
Taylor glanced around the busy restaurant. “Thanks, Candy, but—”
“No buts. The guy’s your husband. At least go hear what he has to say.”
“Steve’s going to kill me if I take an early break.”
“I’ll handle it.”
As if on cue, Sleazy Steve slammed a plate of pancakes down on the service counter. It was Jake’s order.
“Take it over,” Candy said. “I’ll bring you something in a minute. Eggs and toast okay?”
Resigned to her fate, Taylor reached for the order. “Sure, Candy. And thanks. I think.”
Jake watched his wife cross the room, a plate of food in her strong, slender hands. He’d always enjoyed watching her—the unconscious rhythm of her steps, the sway of her hips, the way she carried her head high and proud.
She put the plate down in front of him and then, to his surprise, slid onto the opposite bench.
He watched as she settled herself, her back straight against the cushion. She didn’t look happy to be there.
“Hello, Taylor,” he said.
“Jake.”
“Thanks for coming over.”
She shrugged. “No problem.”
Jake glanced down at his plate, then up at Taylor. He didn’t pick up his fork. A lot was riding on the next half hour. The future of the Cassidy Ranch was in his hands, and in hers.
Taylor looked so different from how she had the summer before. Her expression was wary and uncertain, not at all like the composed, self-possessed woman he’d married. She was too thin, and her skin had a pallor to it, instead of the healthy glow of before.
For a moment he felt almost sorry for her. If the past five months had been hard on him, they’d obviously been harder on her. He’d only lost his heart. She’d lost her whole life-style—the clothes, the fast cars, the parties.
As soon as his mind formed the thought, his pity vanished.
Taylor glared at him from across the table. “How did you find me?”
“I called your father a couple of days ago.” He paused, then added, “I didn’t know, Taylor.” He wondered whether that would make any difference to her. He’d spent the past five months assuming she was living her carefree life in Boston, never imagining the truth.
Hell, he was still her husband. He still had responsibilities toward her that wouldn’t end until the divorce papers were signed.
Divorce papers. Despite his dislike of Taylor’s behavior on the ranch last summer, despite their differences, the thought of signing divorce papers still left him with a hollow feeling in his gut. Since the day she’d stormed off the ranch, he’d been waiting for the papers to show up in the mail, dreading the moment. But they never had.
After talking to her father, though, he thought he knew the reason. Taylor