“Excuse me a minute,” she said.
The girls had crossed the café and taken over the row of stools lining the counter in the back of the room. They looked innocent enough. Clean and respectable, too. A big contrast to the kid he’d given the cash to earlier.
The same thing people had thought about him when he’d lived here. He gripped the handle of his coffee mug, trying to get hold of his anger. At that age, neither he nor that kid had the power to control their worlds. Couldn’t folks understand that?
He shook his head and looked again at the girls. Eight, nine years old, maybe. He’d seen plenty like them in his days on the circuit. Just a bunch of giggling kids who cared only about hanging out at the rodeo with their friends. Nothing to worry about with girls that age.
It was the older ones you had to watch out for.
Eyes half-closed, he sat back and admired the view of Tess’s yellow shirt riding above well-fitting khakis as she marched toward the group of girls.
When she came up to them, they swung around on their stools. The sideways glances the four of them shot each other said plainly they hadn’t expected to run into her here.
She leaned close to one of the kids, a pint-size version of Tess with dark curls and a stubborn chin he’d recognized easily. Had to be Tess’s little girl.
All the coffee he’d swallowed that morning suddenly churned in his stomach.
The kid stuck that chin out now and shook her head. Then she crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from Tess. Trouble there, for sure.
The girl looked around the room at anyone and anything but her mama. Her gaze zeroed in on him, and her eyes widened to about the size of his competition champion belt buckles.
“Mom, look!” she said in a strangled whisper. She might’ve been trying to keep her voice down, but he could hear her clear across the room. She tugged on Tess’s shirt. “Mom, do you see him?” Her voice rose with every word. She waved her arms frantically at her friends. “Guys—over there, in the corner. That’s Caleb Cantrell.”
The trio surrounding her squealed like a sty full of pigs discovering a replenished trough. A familiar enough sound.
He smiled in satisfaction. Now, this was one group in Flagman’s Folly he wouldn’t need to work at impressing.
All four of them jumped off their stools.
To give her credit, Tess made an attempt to grab hold of her daughter and the girl next to her. They likely didn’t even feel her hands on their shoulders as they slipped from her grasp. At that moment they were driven, with one goal in mind.
Getting to him.
From the look on Tess’s face, she wanted to be anywhere but here.
Carefully, he set his half-full coffee mug aside, moved his Stetson out of reach and braced himself, knowing what would happen next.
The girls headed toward him. No tumbleweeds rolling gently along now. Their eyes shining, their mouths tight with suppressed excitement, they stampeded across the room.
“ALL RIGHT.” Tess looked from one girl to another, stopping at Nate. “You remember that list of chores you promised to do for Miss Roselynn in exchange for the sleepover tonight?”
They all nodded.
“Well, that’s a start.” She had spent more time than she could afford trying to drag their attention away from Caleb.
As rodeo-crazy as Nate and her friends were, she should have known Nate would recognize the champion bull rider immediately. If only the girls hadn’t come into the Double S just when she happened to be there with Caleb. But that was a faint if only—and a useless one. In a town the size of Flagman’s Folly, everyone would run into him sooner than later.
In the minute it took for those thoughts to flash through her mind, the girls had edged closer to Caleb again.
She tensed. “Get started now, girls,” she said. “Miss Roselynn will be waiting for those groceries.”
Even to her own ears, she’d sounded as firm as a blade of wet grass. Looking across the booth at Caleb, she felt just about as sturdy. After this run-in with him, she really needed peace and quiet. And time to practice the calm front she would have to present whenever he was around.
But there wasn’t time enough in the world for that.
Besides, the way he sat smiling at her left no doubt he’d noticed her staring at him. He’d probably already seen right through her. As bad as the girls, she now had to drag her own attention away from the man, who obviously had plenty of experience in the spotlight.
“You’ve got the list for Harley’s,” she reminded Nate and her friends. “And you’ve got the money, too?” At their nods, she added, “Great. Then please get the shopping done—and don’t forget to use the coupons.”
Every penny saved meant a penny more she could use to help her mother put food on the tables at the bed-and-breakfast. The Whistlestop Inn might be empty of guests now, but with any luck, Roselynn would soon have every room occupied. And not by a houseful of chattering girls.
That was all she needed tonight.
After a burst of giggles and goodbyes to Caleb, the group ran toward the door.
One voice rose above the laughter. “’Bye, Mom. See ya later.” The door slammed in her wake.
Tess sank back onto the booth’s bench seat.
“Sleepover?” he asked.
“They’re celebrating school letting out last week.” She exhaled heavily. With the way Nate had behaved lately, she’d skated very close to not having this party. And if things didn’t improve, it could turn into a very long summer.
The thought that Caleb might be there for a good part of it left her choking on her indrawn breath of dismay. She swore she’d do whatever it took to have him on his way as soon as possible. Focusing on him again, she realized she’d missed the beginning of his response.
“—can’t be a bad bunch at all,” he was saying, “if they’re willing to do chores that cheerfully. And your daughter sure takes after you.”
The blood seemed to rush from her head, making her dizzy. There were many subjects she never, ever wanted to discuss with Caleb Cantrell. On a scale of zero to ten, the topic of her daughter ranked at three hundred.
“Yes,” she said shortly. She shoved one shaking hand through her hair. With the other, she picked up her canvas bag as she rose from the bench. “Well, I’ve got your information. Time for me to go and start working on it.”
She turned away and waved a brief goodbye to Dori. The older woman stood with her elbows resting on the counter at the back of the room, taking a much-needed break.
“You’ll come see us again soon?” Dori asked, directing the question to Tess but then quickly looking past her toward Caleb.
Was no female over the age of five immune to the man’s charms?
“I’m sure I will,” Tess said firmly.
“Be a real pleasure, Dori,” he drawled. “For both of us.”
Tess shivered and grabbed the door handle. She didn’t want to share any kind of pleasure with him. Not now or in the future. And she refused even to think about their past.
Once outside, she stopped on the sidewalk near his pickup truck. He had driven them the couple of blocks to the Double S, and the close confines of the truck’s cab had nearly left her hyperventilating. The two blocks had stretched to forty miles.
No way did she want to share that vehicle with him again, either.
“So,” he said, resting against the