She smiled and stood as he tried to lick her face and he jumped up. She caught his paws in her hands and his tail was wagging so fast that it almost knocked her over.
“What’s this?” Olivia said between giggles.
Fred couldn’t help himself. “I think it’s a dog.”
She squinted at him, even though she was smiling. “I know it’s a dog. But where did it come from? Whose is it?”
Fred walked over knelt, scratching it behind its ears. “No collar. You hungry, boy?”
He stood and reached into the saddlebags, holding out another ham sandwich to the dog.
“Boy, he sure is hungry,” Olivia said with a frown. “Should we give him some water?”
Fred emptied a water bottle into a cup and held it for him as the dog drank it down as fast as Fred could fill it.
“He doesn’t seem too bad off. Maybe he just got lost from his owners. Maybe recently,” Olivia said. She shielded her eyes from the sun and looked around. “I don’t see anybody.”
“Neither do I,” Fred said. “But we’ve got to get going. I’m sure they’ll find each other soon.”
The dog ran in circles around the two horses, and Fred was relieved that neither horse seemed bothered. They were long-time trail horses and would have had lots of dogs around, so they just trudged forward toward the property with the dog following them.
They entered the bigger clearing quite a bit ahead. Olivia walked around for a bit, taking in the view, and while he met with the surveyor, she gave the dog more water and another half of a sandwich. He watched from the corner of his eye as she petted him until he fell asleep—Olivia fell asleep, too—and he was almost sorry when he had to wake them up to head back to town.
He waved at the surveyor as he headed down the opposite trail on his four-wheeler, and Olivia and Fred guided the horses back down the mountain.
“It looks like he’s going to go with us,” Olivia said, her voice sounding concerned. “What if his owners are looking for him?”
“Nothing we can do short of tying him to a tree, and that’s not right.”
“No,” Olivia said. “We could stop at the main house and see if anybody’s been looking for him.”
“Sure. And if they haven’t, we could take a picture of him and maybe make a flyer.”
They spent the rest of the trip enjoying the sun, the view and the sound of the water below. Fred took a quick glance at the glen his father had taken him to so many times, and said, “I miss you, Dad,” under his breath, too quiet for Olivia to hear.
Just before they got back to the ranch, Olivia asked, “Who was that property for?”
“Oh, some clients. It’s pretty, isn’t it?”
“Gorgeous. I can imagine what a house there would look like.”
He shouldn’t probably have said anything, but when he opened his mouth, it just came out.
“It’s meant to be home sites. It’ll be perfect for a few houses. They’ll be worth quite a bit when they’re finished.”
“Hm, I guess they would be,” she said as they dismounted and guided their horses into the stable.
“So how was your first ride?” Wyatt asked Olivia as he took Belle’s reins from her and began to unsaddle her.
“It was fantastic. Just gorgeous country up there.”
Wyatt tipped his hat back and looked up on the ridge. “Yep. One of my parents’ favorite places. Ours, too. We used to go up there and camp even though it wasn’t part of the ranch.”
“It’s not?” Olivia asked and Fred thought maybe he should change the subject, but he wasn’t quick enough.
“No, it isn’t, and it’s too bad. Would love to get our hands on it if we could,” he said. “We’ve never been able to find out who the owners are.”
Fred’s stomach tightened as he emptied the trash from the saddle bags. He gave the last half of the ham sandwich to the dog who kept jumping on him.
“Who’s this? I didn’t know you’d gotten a dog.”
Fred shook his head. “I didn’t. I don’t know who he is. Anybody been asking after a mutt that looks like this? Kind of looks a little like a beagle and a terrier.”
Wyatt rubbed the stubble on his chin. “No, nobody’s been asking. No collar, but he doesn’t look like he’s been out there for too long on his own. I’m sure his owners will turn up.”
Fred looped his horse’s reins around the hitching post and cut in as fast as he could. “Need any help?”
“No, we got it. You two go on,” Wyatt said with a smile. “We do this every day.”
Fred tipped his hat at Wyatt in thanks. He held his arm out for Olivia as they walked toward the main house, and when she looped her arm through his, he felt—good, somehow. Calmer. Lighter.
The dog followed them the whole way, and as they got to the porch and were headed in to see Wade, Mrs. Weston came through the door.
“Oh, hello. I was just going to head to Riston to see you. You saved me a trip.”
“Perfect,” Fred said as he smiled and they all took a seat on the covered porch, Mrs. Weston in a rocking chair that had been there as long as Fred could remember.
Olivia absently scratched the dog behind the ears.
“How are things coming along?” Mrs. Weston asked.
Olivia looked up at Fred and smiled encouragingly.
“Very well, Mrs. Weston. We’re actually a bit ahead of schedule,” Olivia said.
“Fantastic,” Mrs. Weston replied. “I’m so terribly excited to reveal this all at the Halloween party.”
“I’m sure everyone will be thrilled,” Fred said with a smile. “You’ll have to tell us all about it.”
The dog’s tail thudded on the wooden porch, but Fred looked from Mrs. Weston to Olivia and then back again as they looked at him in horror.
Mrs. Weston broke the silence. “You absolutely must be there, Fred. You have to be. And you, too, Olivia. You’ve worked too hard not to see the outcome.”
“Oh, I’m not really one for parties, Mrs. Weston. You’ll have all the information by then,” Fred said quickly.
Olivia stopped petting the dog and sat up straight, squaring her shoulders. “I’d really like to go. This is the big culmination of our entire project. Besides, I was hoping to see you dressed in a costume, Fred.” She turned to Mrs. Weston. “What are you dressing up as?”
“I haven’t decided yet. Mr. Weston wants to come as Roy Rogers with me as Dale Evans, but I wanted something a little more dramatic. We’ll see,” she said as her eyes lit up. “You simply must attend, the both of you. I won’t take no for an answer.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Weston,” Olivia said as she wiggled her eyebrows at Fred. “We’ll be there.”
Mrs. Weston pushed herself up from her chair and reached down to pet the dog. “And who is this? Did you get a new dog, Fred?”
Fred rubbed the back of his neck. “No. He’s a stray that followed us down from the ridge. We were going to take a picture and see if we should do a flyer to find the owner.”
“Oh, the ridge,” she said as her eyebrows rose.
She headed down the wooden steps and the dog jumped up and followed her. She stopped after a few steps and said, “Go on home, boy. Go back to your owners.” She pointed at Olivia and Fred, who called the dog but he still trotted after Mrs. Weston. No matter what she said, he wanted to follow.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Weston,” Fred called after her.
“I’m sure Mr. Weston has some pot roast scraps he can have. Make that sign and see if you can come up with his owner. I’m not sure Galahad will like this.”
“What a traitor,” Olivia said, her hands on her hips. “Not an ounce of loyalty in him.”
Fred shook his head. “I’ll say.”
“We only knew him for a couple of hours, but I guess I’ll miss him,” Olivia said as she burst into laughter and the dog followed Mrs. Weston all the way to the RV park.
Chapter 14
The Halloween party was just a few days away now, and
Olivia was getting nervous. They’d been back to work nonstop since their one day off for the trail ride—which Fred had said was work, anyway—and they’d both eaten at their desks ever since.
Thank goodness for Mrs. Wharton and Mrs. Green. Between the two of them, there were plenty of bagels, sandwiches and delivered dinners to keep them going. But nervous as she was, Olivia did see light at the end of the tunnel.
She’d made a complete list of all the files she’d taken from the River’s End Ranch office on the first day, and she’d checked everything off down to the last couple of items. She’d spent a fair amount of time looking for one she couldn’t locate—some plot maps and deeds, if she remembered correctly—but no matter where she looked, they weren’t there. She made a mental note to ask Fred later, and she proceeded on to the next item on her list.
Mrs. Wharton set down a sandwich in front of her and she sighed in gratitude. She’d really become fond of the older lady, and as she and Fred were working on the big project, Mrs. Wharton had taken over most of the day to day operations of the bank, and she was really good at it. She also took really good care of Fred and Olivia, joking with them when they were too pooped to pop, bringing levity when she could. She was also their best cheerleader.
“How are you holding up, my dear?” she said as she sat in the chair beside Olivia’s desk.
Olivia leaned back in her chair and rolled her head in circles, her hand on the back of her neck.
“I think when this is all over I’ll need a massage.”
Mrs. Wharton snapped her fingers. “There’s a great spa at the ranch. As soon as you’re done, we’ll get you an appointment with Maddie.”
Gosh, she even knew about that stuff, too. Spending time with Mrs. Wharton just made her miss her mom, but she was grateful that Fred was willing to share his.
“Have you two thought about costumes for the Halloween party yet?” Mrs. Wharton asked as Olivia took a bite of her sandwich.
After she’d swallowed the bite of the delicious Italian sub sandwich, she said, “Fred said he doesn’t want to go.”
“What? He has to go.”
“I know. That’s what Mrs. Weston said. She really wants him there.”
“Of course she does,” Fred said as he walked in Olivia’s office, carrying his plate with his Italian sub and chips. He sat down in the chair on the other side of Olivia’s desk. “That doesn’t mean I have to go.”
“Now, Fred, even though you never liked to dress up as a child, you need to put your feelings aside. This is one of our biggest and best clients. And our friend. I’m going.”
Olivia almost choked on her sandwich. “You are? What are you dressing up as?”
“I’ll never tell,” Mrs. Wharton said with a wink. “But really, you two need to go. After you eat, why don’t you take a break and go to the party supply store down the street. It won’t take but a minute, and you’ll be ready to go if you change your minds.”
“Fred?” Olivia asked, wiggling her eyebrows. “You game?”
Fred dropped his head on the back of his chair and closed his eyes. “I really don’t want to, but if you two insist, I’ll check out the options. I really don’t like to dress up.”
“This, coming from a man who wears bow ties and an apron,” Olivia said as she and Mrs. Wharton shared a laugh. “It’ll be good for you.”
Olivia brushed the crumbs off her desk when she was finished with her sandwich and went to get Fred. She loved Halloween and was excited to find a costume. Since they’d decided to go, all kinds of options had been running through her head. A mermaid? A cowgirl? Wonder woman? The possibilities were endless.
Fred was ready to go when she passed by his office, and he followed her to the door.
“Good luck, you two,” Mrs. Green said with a wave. “Get something good.”
They turned left out of the bank, and Olivia followed Fred. He quickly stepped to the street side of the sidewalk, between her and the cars. Her dad had always done that, saying, “It’s a man’s job to make sure women are safe and protected,” and she had to admit, she felt that way around Fred.
He opened the door of the party supply store and waited for her to enter before he followed. Olivia suggested they ask one of the clerks if there’d been a run on any particular costumes and she smiled, pointing to the Bigfoot aisle.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into people, but man, those costumes have flown off the shelf.”
“That’s weird,” Olivia said as she headed toward the aisle the clerk had indicated hadn’t been pillaged already from party-goers.
“Not if you know the Westons. Kelsi is obsessed with Bigfoot, and her brothers are obsessed with—well, teasing her about Bigfoot. I’m not surprised at all.”
Olivia smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the pirate display.
“We could go as pirates. Aaaarrrrr,” she said as she held up an eye patch and winked at him with her other eye.
“How about this?” Fred said, and he held up a wand with a glittery star on the end and tinsel glittering from the bottom.
“You want to be Tinkerbell?” Olivia asked through fits of laughter.
Fred looked at the wand in horror, throwing it back on the shelf as if it had burned his hand. “No, not me. You!”
Olivia was still laughing as they strolled down the aisle. There were elf ears, purple wigs, hula skirts and just about anything you could think of.
“How about this?” Fred asked, and she turned around to see him with a big sombrero on and a fake, black plastic mustache strung under his nose. “I think this would look good on you.
She laughed as he placed a mustache on her, too, and a sombrero on her head. She danced around a bit in a circle in her best Mexican dance impression, and he grabbed her hand and spun her faster.
When she stopped, she was dizzy and she fell against him, her mustache falling to the floor as she rested her head on his shoulder.
She stepped back, looking up at him, happy to see his dimples in full force. His eyes met hers, and she couldn’t tear her gaze away. Maybe she was just still dizzy, but she was lost in his eyes, and when he took off his plastic mustache and leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers lightly, she sank happily into the sensations—safe, warm in his arms.
They both came to their senses at the same time, and Fred cleared his throat. He put his hands on her shoulders and took a step back, setting his sombrero on the shelf. Olivia blinked quickly and set hers down beside his.
Fred ran his hand through his hair and looked up and down the aisle. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. It was untoward.”
“Untoward?” Olivia asked. “Who uses that word?”
Fred sighed. “A man who respects a woman, that’s who.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to insult you. It’s very sweet.”
“Sweet? Not sure I want to be sweet, Olivia.”
Olivia cocked her head as she looked at him, taking in his bow tie and deep brown eyes.
“Well, you are. It was a compliment, and I don’t mind telling you, I didn’t mind one bit.”
Pink splotches crept up Fred’s neck as he turned away and continued looking at the Halloween costumes.
He rummaged along the rows as Olivia followed along, wishing he hadn’t backed away so quickly. Now that he had, she realized that she’d wanted him to kiss her. And for quite a while, too. And when he did, it was everything she’d known it would be.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to face her, smiling apologetically.
“I’m sorry, Olivia, I don’t think I can do this. I mean, I don’t even want to dress up, let alone pick something out. I’ll head back to the bank. Why don’t you just pick out something for both of us and put it on your expense statement? I’ll wear whatever you want.”
Olivia’s heart sank as he turned on his heel and walked away.
Chapter 15
Fred had his door closed when Olivia got back to the bank. She passed straight by
and headed to her office. She set the bags holding their costumes in the corner and plopped down in her chair, her elbows on her desk and her chin in her hands.
She spent the remainder of the afternoon working down her list. There really wasn’t any time to spare, even for matters of the heart, and she’d gotten to the bottom of her list as the sun faded, and the light streaming in her window dimmed.
She was down to the last item on her list and she still couldn’t find it. Everything else was accounted for, and if she could just find that file, they’d have a chance of having this all sewn up by the party the day after tomorrow.
She stretched and looked out the door of her office. She’d completely missed the five o’clock hour and the bank seemed to be closed. A light shone from Mrs. Wharton’s office still, and she opened her door and rapped on Mrs. Wharton’s.
“Hello, Olivia. How are you doing?” Mrs. Wharton asked as she looked up from the ledgers on her desk, her eyes questioning. “I have something for you to eat for dinner, if you’re hungry.”
“Thank you, but I’m not quite hungry yet. I’ll wait until we get home. It’s my turn to cook for you and Fred.”
Mrs. Wharton cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, my dear. Fred went for a walk and I’m not sure when he’ll be back.”
Olivia thought Mrs. Wharton looked a little uncomfortable as she looked at the closed door of Fred’s office and Olivia was uncomfortable, too. How could he leave after they’d shared a kiss? It seemed like he was sorry it happened, but she sure wasn’t.
“All right,” she said, resigning herself to the fact that she’d have to talk to him later about it. “I’m looking for one more file and I think maybe I can finish up tonight after dinner. I can’t find it anywhere in the bankers’ boxes that Fred and I brought back from the ranch, though. He’s got one more in his office. I’d like to see if I can find it.”
The pen Mrs. Wharton was holding stopped in mid-air and she paused for a moment, glancing around Olivia at Fred’s office door. She hesitated for a moment before she said, “Of course, Olivia. Go ahead.”
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