She’d deposited the check. For the first time, she was feeling more comfortable financially. Mr. Morgan had given each of her children what he called inheritances, money that was tucked away in savings accounts for their education. What business arrangements existed between Mr. Morgan and herself were none of his sons’ business. It was the brothers’ fault if they felt uncomfortable around her—they should be ashamed of the stories they’d concocted about their own father!
“Suzy, maybe we jumped to conclusions,” Dane said. She ignored that and went on stirring oatmeal into the pot. “You don’t know Pop like we do, though.”
“It doesn’t matter. Your story is implausible. There’s no way your father knew you’d be here, Dane. You didn’t even know Pete was coming to stay.” She glanced at him. “I don’t want to be dragged into your family issues, and from the way I see it, you have issues with your father. He doesn’t really have them with you.”
Dane and Pete stared at her, their jaws slightly slack. She could tell she had shocked them—but wasn’t that a good thing? These men were taking some childish anger out on an old man who cared for them deeply. “It’s none of my concern,” she said, putting brown sugar and butter into bowls. “Let’s just go on like none of this ever happened.” Even though it had already been said—and Dane had even kissed her! “As far as Pete’s idea of a chaperone, it’s a good one. I’ll take care of that.”
Dane didn’t look too happy, and Pete seemed to realize he’d caused his brother some type of predicament, but what he didn’t realize was that Suzy herself had been reminded of her own mother’s direct criticism of her “looseness.” Suzy was an embarrassment to her wealthy family. She glanced at the brothers—too handsome and too cocky for their own good!—as she seated her daughters at the table and put their bowls in front of them.
Without another glance at the men staring hungrily at the children’s breakfast, Suzy began humming under her breath.
PETE SIGHED AS HE AND HIS brother went out to one of the barns. “Sorry if I’m cramping your love nest. I assumed you’d be alone.”
Dane held in a groan. “I didn’t realize I had company, either, until yesterday. Needless to say, Pop’s probably laughing in the French countryside, enjoying the grapes and the excellent cuisine.”
“I bet. You know, I’ve never liked this place. It was never a home. We were too far from town to have friends, and Pop was too busy to be a father. I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for the money.”
“Got yourself in a bind?” Dane asked curiously, and Pete nodded.
“You, too?”
“Yeah,” Dane said, thinking about his partner. “You’d think with Pop as a role model, I wouldn’t have gotten sucked into a con game, but I did. Lost my savings.” Dane shook his head. “And now it seems we’re getting sucked into another.”
“Not me,” Pete said. “I never got a letter from Pop asking me to look out for a woman. I figure I’m in the clear by now.”
Dane shook his head. “If I were you, I’d be even more wary.”
Pete stopped in the motion of slinging a saddle across a wooden horse. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’ve always feared the unknown most with Pop.” Dane grinned at his brother, enjoying the chance to have the upper hand, if only for a moment. “I know what my full downside is—Suzy. The other shoe has yet to drop for you.”
“Maybe Suzy’s my dream girl,” Pete said, then laughed at Dane’s shocked expression. “Oh, come on, Pop’s not picky about who pairs up with whom, just as long as we pair up with some woman and provide him with grandchildren.”
Dane stopped his work to give his brother a full glaring. “What is a secret agent going to do with a wife?”
“Be very happy,” Pete said. “I’m thinking about settling down.”
Dane laughed. “Like hell you are.” His brother was only thirty and still had the call of the wild written all over him. Tough and sinewy, with glacial dark eyes and cheeks sculpted by demons—at least that’s what Pop had always said—Pete was no ladies’ man.
No man for a lady, and certainly not for a lady like Suzy.
“Feel like a gentle wager?” Pete asked.
Dane raised a brow. “As a former Texas Ranger, I should say no, but curiosity compels me to ask what you have in mind.”
“Suzy falls for me, and you owe me a night of babysitting her little angels so I can romance their mother.”
“That’s heinous,” Dane said, feeling a flicker of jealousy that shook him. “Betting on a woman’s feelings is ungentlemanly.”
Pete laughed. “Bro, you’re taking a leaf out of Gabriel’s book.”
“Meaning?”
“You’re already down for the count.”
Dane snorted and grabbed some neatsfoot oil to clean and shine the saddle. He completely ignored Pete and his dumb observation. The thing that Pete didn’t know was Dane was moving to Mexico where the palm trees waved and the sun shone hot, the tortillas were soft and the ladies were sweet. He hated Texas and nothing—and no one—was ever going to entice him to stay for long.
Unlike Pete, whose job chasing international baddies might be wearing thin. Maybe Pete’s wandering feet were beginning to cool off.
“Listen, Pete,” he said suddenly and abruptly, as if to underline his own mental game, “If you’re frustrated and lonely and looking for a good time, by all means, put on your best show for Suzy. And I might add she’s probably not the only single woman in town. Best part is, these days all roads lead to town pretty quickly, and you’ve got a shiny truck to get you there for all the womanizing you can stand during your break.”
Pete laughed and went looking for something in the barn. Dane put the whole incident out of his mind for a moment, then took a pocketknife out of his back pocket. With a careful stroke, he notched two lines on the wood rail beside the saddle.
Only three hundred sixty-three more days to go.
CRICKET JASPER HAD KNOWN Suzy Winterstone a long time, and if Suzy said she needed help, then Suzy needed help. So without hesitation Cricket packed her bags and headed out from Fort Wylie to spend a week with Suzy at an old house in the deep country.
Cricket wasn’t sure why Suzy wouldn’t come back to Fort Wylie. The Winterstones weren’t the most affectionate clan, but that they missed their only daughter, Cricket was certain. They were still mad about the unplanned pregnancy, but that was over two years past. Surely it was time to put all those hot emotions in the past.
Cricket could feel forgiveness since she was a deacon. And Suzy was like a sister to her—she wanted Suzy to be happy. Family matters weren’t important at the moment, Cricket decided, and parked her little Volkswagen beside the two big trucks in the Morgan ranch driveway, and the smaller, older car that Cricket recognized as Suzy’s.
Suzy came out on the porch, waiting with a big smile and her two little girls beside her. Cricket hadn’t seen the girls since they were born—just tiny babies—so she hurried to sweep them into her arms. “I’m so glad to see you, Suzy. And these two little dumplings!”
Suzy smiled, grateful her friend had arrived. “Thank you so much for coming out.”
“No problem,” Cricket told her with a hug. “The minute you said you needed help, I penciled in vacation time….”