Lauren jerked her arm away and stared back at Chase. Two minutes earlier she'd gotten the shock of her life as she’d watched him and his father walk across the street from the clinic. She'd almost dropped the tray carrying Mrs. Jenkins’s spaghetti. Luckily, she'd learned to handle unexpected circumstances and recovered quite quickly.
Maybe he's just visiting, she kept saying over and over in her head. He was a lot taller than she remembered, and she had to crane her neck to glare into his chocolate eyes. She slowly crossed her arms over her chest and said, “I don't see how it's any of your business where I work.” She dismissed him and turned to his father and gave him a huge smile. “How are you doing today, Doc?”
“Oh, just fine, just fine. My boy's back in town to stay, and I have a hankering for one of your sloppy joe's and some sweet tea, please.” The older man smiled up at her, then turned to frown at his son, who was still standing beside her and glaring at her. “Sit down, boy. You're making a spectacle of yourself.”
Chase sat without taking his eyes off her. She wrote down the doc's order, then turned and gave Chase a big smile. “What'll you have?”
“An answer to my question.” He crossed his arms and smiled a little. The dimple at the side of his mouth winked and for a split second, she forgot to breath. How had he grown so handsome? Sure, he'd been good looking in school, but nothing like he was now. His hair was a lot shorter, and it looked like he'd dropped ten pounds. He was very lean and had a bunch of new muscles. She was impressed with the ones she could see on his arms as he crossed them over his chest, which led her to look at his chest. It was wider than before. She could see the tension in his shoulder muscles and wondered what they'd look like, what they'd feel like. Shaking her head, she walked away without saying another word.
When she made it to the back, she leaned against the wall and took several deep breaths. What was Chase doing back in town? Why couldn't he just leave her alone? She felt herself hyperventilating. Then the words, “My boy's back in town to stay,” hit her and her hands began shaking. What did his return mean for her and the ranch?
“You okay, honey?” Jamella asked. Her boss was fifty years older and about a hundred pounds heavier than she was. She was Mama in every sense. Her family had owned Mama's Diner since coming to Fairplay from Louisiana when Jamella was ten. Now, after raising her own children, who had all quickly vacated the small town, she was Mama to everyone under the age of thirty. She knew everyone's business, and most important, knew how to keep a secret.
“Chase is back.” It came out as a whisper.
“What? Why is dat boy back?” She poked her head through the window. “Hmm hmph.” Jamella crossed her arms over her chest and nodded her head once. “It's ’bout time he came back.”
“Jamella! He's baaack!” Lauren drug out the last word as if to make her point.
“Well, you knew this day was coming, child. I guess it's time to put on your big girl panties and go out there and see what he want.” She shook her head and pushed Lauren towards the door.
“Thanks,” she mumbled as she half-fell, half-walked out the swinging doors. Lauren turned to the window to see Jamella and Willard, the cook, looking out the order window. Jamella waved her hand towards Chase and mouthed, “Go on, child.”
Lauren straightened her shoulders and turned. Walking up to their table, she looked down her nose at Chase and asked in a clear voice, “What is it you want?”
He looked up at her and a smile slowly formed on his lips. She felt heat rushing to her face. He leaned back and crossed his arms. “Dad tells me you fill in for your sister here every now and then.”
She moved her chin up a fraction. It really wasn't any of his business what she did with her time or money. She looked down at him, waiting.
“He also tells me things are running smoothly at the ranch.” Her eyes narrowed and she could feel her blood beginning to boil. “I suppose I'll head out there later this week, just to check up...on the livestock.” She slowly crossed her arms and felt her face turn red with anger. “You know, since I'll be taking over dad's practice at the end of the year.” His smile got bigger.
She looked over to his dad and frowned. “You're retiring?” He nodded and she felt her heart sink. That meant that...she looked over at Chase quickly and his smile dropped a little. That meant that Chase was here to stay. Her shoulders slumped a little. Feeling defeated, she said. “Yes, I suppose you'll want to stop by the ranch. I'll be there all week.” She knew she sounded a little deflated, but she couldn't help it. She felt that way.
After her shift was over, she drove home and tried her best to hide the fear she felt inside so that her sisters wouldn't see. Before going inside, she walked into the barn and stayed there until she felt like she could control her fear. She walked over to Tanner's stall and leaned her head against his tan one while stroking his blond mane.
“Why does everything have to be so complicated?” she asked the horse.
She heard a noise behind her and when she jolted and turned, she saw Hewitt, her foreman’s nephew, whom she'd hired on a few weeks back.
“Pardon, miss. I didn't know you was in here.” He shuffled his boots and nodded his head. Still, his eyes bore into her, making her feel a little uncomfortable.
Hewitt was a good fifteen years younger and two times larger than Jimmy, the man that had been her foreman since her father had run the ranch. She'd only seen Hewitt a few times and each time his shirt was dirty and untucked, and his jeans had holes in them and looked like they could use a good washing. His hair looked like he'd greased it back with something dark, causing it to look constantly wet. She knew that he and a few other hands smoked, and she didn't mind as long as they didn't do it anywhere near the barn or house, but he stank of cigarettes. But Jimmy had vouched for him so she'd hired him and eleven other men this year to help around the ranch. She only employed six men year-round. The others came and went depending on the ranch needs.
“I was just checking on the horses. Good night.” She nodded as she walked by him. When she reached the barn door, she took in a deep breath of fresh air and headed towards the back door of the house. Haley was sitting at the kitchen table watching the news on the old TV set when she walked in.
“Where's Alex?” Lauren dropped her bag on the counter and leaned against it, then watched Haley lift her shoulders and drop them again, not removing her eyes from the set. Lauren took just a second to watch the news, then turned and started pulling out items to make for dinner. She knew that if she didn't cook, her sisters would grab just about anything, usually cold cereal or leftover pizza someone had ordered for lunch. Haley occasionally got the idea to cook, but Alex steered clear of the kitchen altogether.
Family dinners were a ritual she tried to keep for her sisters. Even if she couldn't cook every night, she at least tried for a few nights a week. Plus, cooking always gave her time to think. On more than one occasion tonight, Chase Graham's image popped into her mind. She was worried what his moving back into town meant, and knowing he was planning on stopping by the ranch later this week set her nerves on high alert.
“Hey.” Alex came in the back door a few minutes later. Her shirt was untucked and she had hay in her hair. Her sister leaned against the counter top, picked up an apple, and bit into it.
Lauren looked out the window and saw a truck spitting up dust as it flew down their drive, heading back towards town. “Is that Travis Nolan's truck I see driving away?” She turned and glared at her sister. She didn't like him coming onto her land anymore, and she was sure he was speeding away since he'd seen her truck parked out front.
Alex just shrugged her shoulders. “He was just returning my stuff and he wanted to talk to me. You know we broke it off weeks ago.”
Lauren walked over and plucked a piece of hay from her sister's blonde hair, then held it up for her to see. “Did you two do a lot of ‘talking’ in the hayloft?”
Haley snickered behind them, causing both her sisters
to glare at her. “Sorry.” Haley quickly looked away.
Lauren walked over and picked up the knife and started chopping items to go into their salad. Alex crossed her arms over her chest and glared. “Wasn't that Chase Graham I saw in town earlier today?” Lauren stopped chopping the vegetables and looked over at her sister.
“Doc's retiring.”
“What?” Haley jumped out of her seat. “Doc can't retire!” She walked over and took a carrot from the chopping block and bit into it.
“He is, and Chase is taking over.” Lauren went back to making the salad as Haley pulled the dishes out of the cupboard and set them on the table. Alex stood there and watched her sisters. “Chase is going to be stopping by later this week.”
“I don't like anyone looking at the herd except Doc.” Haley dumped the silverware on the table and sat back down. As far as setting the table, Lauren knew that was as nice as it was going to get around here, at least with her sisters helping.
“I think we should give Chase a chance,” Alex put in. She had a wicked smile on her face and Lauren immediately knew what was coming next. “After all, he is still single. According to Mary Beth, he's been living in upstate New York for the last four years. Before that he was in Dallas. And according to Mary Beth, who heard it from Cheryl Lynn, who got it straight from Chase's daddy, he hasn't been seeing anyone serious. So...” Lauren rolled her eyes, wishing her sister's speech was over already. “Now that Travis and I have called things off, maybe I'll put on my Sunday best and give Chase a visit.” Alex pulled her shorter hair back into a band and walked over to sit at the table.
Alex sure knew how to push Lauren's buttons, but she wasn’t going to let it get to her this time. Lauren had been sideswiped already once today; there was no way she was letting her sister get under her skin. With her back turned towards her sisters, she smiled. “Go right ahead. I think you two would make a very handsome couple. At least we wouldn't be seeing so much of Travis anymore.”
She heard Haley chuckle and try to cover it up with a cough.
The next morning, Lauren rode Tanner, her three-year-old gelding, out of the barn, her tools for the day packed up in her saddlebag. She knew it was going to be a long day when she started riding the fence and saw that a large branch from an oak had taken out a chunk of the front fence. Pulling Tanner to a stop and tying him to another branch under the oak, she walked the fence and assessed the damage. Luckily, it wasn't all that bad. She decided she could do most of the repairs without heading back to the house to get the chainsaw or needing any of the men to help her.
She put on leather gloves from her bag, grabbed the wire cutters, and got to work. Dingo ran up to her and lay at her feet and Lauren started talking to her. She was enjoying the fact that it wasn't quite summer yet. The cool breeze helped a little as she worked under the hot sun. She'd just finished repairing the largest section when a shadow fell over her. Spinning around, she almost screamed as she took a step back and fell right into the barbed wire, backside down.
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