Twins for the Rancher

by Trish Milburn

  “Yeah, seems the area wildlife has it in for us.”

  “At least the deer didn’t hit you in the head.”

  After Greg gave Adam the estimated price and said he needed a couple of days to complete the repairs, he asked if Adam needed a ride anywhere.

  “No, thanks. Got a couple things to take care of in town.” He’d figure out how to get back to the ranch after that.

  Greg waved as he picked up his ringing phone.

  Adam started walking toward downtown Blue Falls, thankful the day was overcast so he wouldn’t be sweating buckets by the time he reached his destination. Now he needed Lauren Shayne’s business more than ever. He’d launched the branded-beef business with his family’s blessing, hoping to contribute his part to the diversification that would allow the Rocking Horse Ranch to stay solvent and in the family, something that had been touch-and-go on more than one occasion. But if he didn’t land some big accounts soon, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep seeing money going out without enough coming back in.

  Sure, the business was less than a year old, but there wasn’t a day that went by when he wasn’t conscious of the figures in the operation’s balance sheet. None of his siblings, or his parents, had said anything about his shuttering the operation, but he was also aware that his attempt to carve out a distinctive place for himself in the family’s business was costing more than Ben’s saddle-making or Angel’s photography supplies.

  By the time he reached the restaurant, he’d managed to adjust his attitude from his earlier annoyance to being the friendly, approachable local businessman he needed to be to meet a potential customer. A small blue hatchback sat alone outside the building. He grinned at the big yellow smiley face sticker on the hatch. It was surrounded by several other stickers—a few flowers, one that said I Brake for Cake, one of a stick figure lying beneath a palm tree and another that read Don’t Worry, Be Happy.

  Lauren Shayne seemed to be a happy-with-life type of person. He supposed that was easier when your business was a roaring success. Although her car didn’t look as if it was driven by one of the rich and famous.

  Well, if nothing else, maybe some of her happy vibes would rub off on him and finish vanquishing his frustration and concern.

  He took a deep breath, stood tall, fixed his pitch in his mind and walked through the large, wooden double doors. The first thing he saw when he stepped inside was Lauren Shayne standing on the top step of a ten-foot ladder, stretching to reach a banner hanging from one of the large posts supporting the ceiling. His instinct was to steady the ladder, but he was afraid any sudden movement would cause her to fall. Instead, he stood perfectly still until she gave up with a sound of frustration and settled into a safer position on the ladder.

  “Would you like some help with that?”

  She startled a bit, but not enough to send her careening off her perch, thank goodness.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  He couldn’t help but smile. “I thought that’s what I was offering.” He pointed at the banner.

  She stared at him for a moment before descending the ladder. “That’s not necessary. I’ll get some help in here at some point.”

  “I don’t mind,” he said as he walked slowly toward the ladder, giving her ample time to move away. His mom had taught him and his brothers to never make a woman feel as if she was trapped or threatened. The fact that there was only one vehicle outside and no signs of other people in the building told him that Lauren was here alone. “You almost had it anyway. My just being a little taller should do the trick.”

  She didn’t object again so he climbed the ladder and nabbed the cloth banner bearing some unknown German coat of arms and several years’ worth of dust. When his feet hit the wooden floor again, he held up the banner.

  “This thing has seen better days.”

  Lauren made a small sound of amusement. “That it has.”

  He shifted his gaze to her and momentarily forgot what planet he was on. The picture on Lauren’s website didn’t do her justice.

  “I’d introduce myself, but I’m guessing you already know who I am.” She didn’t sound snotty or full of herself, more like...

  “I suppose you’ve already had several visitors stop by.”

  “You suppose correctly.”

  “Small town. News travels fast.”

  “Oh, I know. I grew up in a town not much bigger than Blue Falls.”

  He found himself wanting to ask her about where she grew up, to compare experiences of small-town life, but his visit had a purpose. And that purpose wasn’t to keep Lauren talking so that he could continue to appreciate how pretty she was or how much he liked the sound of her voice, which for some reason reminded him of a field of sunflowers.

  Wouldn’t his brothers—heck, even his sisters—hurt themselves laughing over the thoughts traipsing through his head right now?

  “So, the question remains, what brings you by?”

  Right, back to business.

  “I’m Adam Hartley, and I wanted to talk to you about locally sourced beef from the Rocking Horse Ranch.”

  “No mistaking this for anything but the heart of Texas. You’re the second beef producer to come see me in the last hour.”

  Someone had beaten him here? He silently cursed that deer for making him later to arrive than he planned. A sick feeling settled in his stomach.

  “May I ask who it was?”

  Please don’t say Carrington Beef. They’d claimed a number of contracts he’d been in the running for, and if he missed out on being first with this huge opportunity because of hitting a deer, he might have to go to the middle of the ranch so he could scream as loud as he was able.

  “Carrington Beef.”

  Somehow Adam managed not to curse out loud, though the parade of words racing through his head was certainly colorful.

  Lauren pulled a business card from her pocket. “A rep named Tim Wainwright.”

  It was as if Fate said, “You think I can’t make your day any worse? Here, hold my beer.”

  Chapter Two

  “Honestly, it’s going to be a while before I’m ready for any sort of food products,” Lauren said as she shoved the business card back in her pocket. She lifted her gaze to Adam Hartley’s in time to see a flash of what looked like frustration on his face before he managed to hide it.

  “I understand,” he said, back to the friendly, engaging man he’d been since his arrival, as if the moment when he’d clenched his jaw and then finally let out a breath had been nothing more than a figment of her imagination. “I’d appreciate it if I could tell you about our products, however.”

  His approach was different enough from Tim Wainwright’s that she wanted to give him a chance. It was possible that his good looks—dark wavy hair, lean build and a face that was far from difficult to look at—might be a factor in her decision, too. She wasn’t interested in getting involved to any extent with anyone—might never be again after what Phil had put her through—but it didn’t hurt anything to look.

  And while Tim Wainwright had also been attractive, his personality was a little too slick and polished—a bit too much like Phil’s, she now realized—for him to appeal to her in that way. Granted, it could all be an act he put on for work, but it didn’t really matter. She was so not in the market for a man. The market wasn’t even on the same continent.

  “If you don’t mind talking while I work, go for it.”

  “Okay,” he replied, sounding a bit surprised by her response.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. It’s just that I have limited time to get a lot done, and I’m running behind.” Which hadn’t been helped by all the interruptions. Well-meaning ones, but interruptions nonetheless.

  “No need to explain. I should have called ahead and made an appointment to meet with you.”

  “
Hard to do when you don’t know the number.”

  “True.” He smiled, and wow, did he have a nice smile. He ought to be able to sell beef to half of Texas on that smile alone.

  But she also knew better than to trust smiles alone. Phil had an attractive smile, too—until you realized it belonged to a snake.

  “The Rocking Horse Ranch has been in my family nearly a century. Everyone who works there is family, and we have a history of producing high-quality beef products—steaks, ground, ribs.”

  As she listened to Adam’s sales pitch, she grabbed one of the tables she aimed to get rid of and started dragging it toward the front wall.

  “Here, let me help you with that.” Adam lifted the opposite side of the table and together they carried it away from the middle of the large dining room.

  Before she could voice an objection to his continuing to help her with manual labor, Adam launched back into his spiel.

  “I’m sure you already know that diners are more and more interested in where their food comes from, and with our products you’d be able to tell them it’s from a few miles down the road, raised by a family that’s been part of Blue Falls for a hundred years.”

  She had to give him credit—he certainly was passionate about his family’s business. Considering her own strong ties to family and the hard work to share her love of food with others, she admired that passion. Still, when it came down to the decision-making, it would have to be based on the price and quality of the beef. Adam Hartley could have all the charm and belief in his products the world had to offer, but it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t deem his ranch’s beef good enough to associate with her own brand.

  “Sounds as if you have a fine operation,” she said. “If you’ll leave your card, I’ll call for a sample when I’m closer to making those types of decisions.”

  After a slight hesitation, he nodded and retrieved a card from his wallet, then handed it over. The ranch brand was like none she’d ever seen before, a little rocking horse like a child might use. She made a mental note to provide rocking horses for the girls when they were old enough.

  “Interesting brand.”

  “With an interesting story behind it,” he said as he helped her move another table.

  “Well, don’t keep me hanging.”

  “Shortly after my great-grandfather bought the first part of the ranch acreage, he found out my great-grandmother was pregnant with their first child, my grandfather. He used part of a tree he cleared where the house was to be built to make a rocking horse for the baby. And he made the first sign with the name of the ranch using what was left.”

  “That’s sweet.”

  “Yeah, my mom gets teary every time she tells that story. Oh, by the way, I was informed by my sister to tell you that our mom is a big fan of your show.”

  “I appreciate that. Are you a fan?” For some reason, she couldn’t resist the teasing question.

  He placed one of the old chairs next to the growing collection of furniture she needed to get out of the way. “I’m just going to be honest here and say that before today I didn’t even know who you were.”

  She caught the look of concern on his face, as if maybe he’d just shot a giant hole in his chances to land her business. Even seeing that, she couldn’t help but laugh.

  “I can’t say that I’m surprised. I wouldn’t peg you as the main demographic.”

  “If it helps, I do like baked goods. I don’t think I’ve ever said no to pie, cake or cookies.”

  She pointed at him. “And that’s what keeps me in business, the country’s collective sweet tooth.”

  Without direction, Adam rolled an old salad bar toward the rest of the castoffs. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but if you’re known for baking—”

  “Why a barbecue restaurant?”

  “Yeah.”

  “My grandfather has won more blue ribbons than I can count in barbecue competitions. I want to feature his recipe. He’s actually the reason I’m here.” She gestured toward their surroundings, glancing up at the high ceiling with the log beams that she imagined gleaming after a good cleaning and polish. “He grew up in Blue Falls.”

  “I wonder if my parents know him.”

  “Probably not. He left about fifty years ago.”

  “Has he moved back?”

  She shook her head. Not unless you counted the fact he was camped out at their hotel babysitting while she worked.

  “No, and yet he somehow convinced me that this was the place to launch the next phase of my business.”

  “Blue Falls is a good place to settle.”

  “I won’t be living here, either,” she said. “I’ll just be here to get this place up and running, then I’ll leave it in a manager’s hands and go back home.”

  “Which is where?”

  That felt a little too personal to reveal to a man she’d just met.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to pry.”

  Settling for a compromise answer, she said, “North Texas.”

  Lauren realized when they picked up the next table to move it that it was the last one. “So, have you been helping me haul all this stuff in the hopes I’ll award you a contract?”

  “No, ma’am. Just being neighborly.”

  He seemed genuine with that answer, but she wasn’t sure she totally bought it. Or maybe she was just extra cautious now, having been so recently burned in a very public way. She wondered if Adam Hartley knew about that. She found herself hoping not, and hated the idea that her recent troubles were what sprang to mind when people saw her now. Maybe if he hadn’t known who she was before today, he didn’t know all the ugly backstory, either. That would be refreshing.

  “Okay, neighbor, I could use a suggestion of who to call to make all this stuff disappear.” She pointed toward the pile of furniture they’d moved. It was still serviceable but not at all like what she had in mind for her restaurant.

  “Actually, I know someone who would probably love to take if off your hands at no cost. She repurposes things other people don’t want anymore.”

  “Sounds great.”

  He pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his contacts until he found what he was looking for, then extended the phone to her. She added Ella Bryant’s name and number to her own phone before returning his to him.

  “Well, I best get out of your hair,” he said as he slid the phone back into his pocket.

  “Are you kidding? You helped me make up for all the time I lost this morning.”

  “Glad to help, ma’am.”

  “Lauren, please.”

  “It was nice talking with you, Lauren. I look forward to hearing from you about that sample.”

  As he walked toward the front door, she thought that if she was any other single woman who’d had any other recent past than the one that she’d just experienced over the past eighteen months, she might want a sample all right. A sampling of Adam Hartley.

  * * *

  ADAM HURRIED ACROSS the parking lot of what had until this morning been his dream purchase. Well, he supposed it was still technically a dream, but one that wasn’t going to come true. But maybe he could still salvage something positive from the unexpected turn of events. Though he didn’t have any sort of commitment of her business, he thought the meeting with Lauren had gone pretty well. He’d even managed not to allow his instant attraction to her show. At least he hoped it hadn’t. Now he just needed to get out of sight of the restaurant before she noticed he’d arrived on foot. It wouldn’t speak to his professionalism and the success of his company that he didn’t even have a running vehicle to drive.

  Thinking about his damaged truck brought to mind the fact that he’d almost beaten Tim Wainwright to the punch this time. It was as if the man had spies all over Central Texas, feeding him advance information about potential customers. Judging by the number
of accounts Adam had lost to the man, he’d wager Wainwright’s commission income was quite a tidy sum. Enough to make him cocky. The times they’d crossed paths, Wainwright acted friendly but it was in that way that said without words that he knew he was always going to win the day. He really hadn’t changed that much since his days as quarterback at Jones-Bennett High, one of Blue Falls High’s biggest rivals.

  Adam’s jaw tensed just thinking about the guy’s smug look if Carrington Beef convinced Lauren to go with their products. That commission alone would probably send Wainwright on some Caribbean vacation. He likely didn’t have a family ranch he was trying to take to the next level, to save for future generations. The idea of Lauren doing business with him stuck in Adam’s craw.

  Though their initial meeting had gone well, Adam felt as if he needed to do something more to bring Lauren over to his side. But he couldn’t be pushy, wouldn’t put on a practiced smile and say whatever necessary to garner her business. There had to be a happy medium. He just had to figure out what that was, and quickly.

  His stomach let out a growl that would make a grizzly jealous. Thankfully the sound had held off until he was out of earshot of Lauren. Before he texted some member of his family for a ride home, he aimed to settle the ravenous beast. Lunch at the Primrose Café would be a perfect solution. Maybe while he downed the daily special, some tremendous idea for guaranteeing Lauren went with Rocking Horse Ranch beef would occur to him.

  At the sound of an approaching vehicle, he moved farther onto the side of the road. When the car slowed and stopped next to him, he looked over and saw Lauren staring back at him. She looked confused, probably because she hadn’t passed any disabled vehicles between her building and him.

  “Need a ride?”

  “I’m good, thanks.”

  As if to negate his words, a rumble of thunder picked that moment to accompany the overcast skies.

  “I wouldn’t be very neighborly if I let you get drenched, would I?”

  With a sigh, he opened the passenger-side door and slipped inside the car just as the first raindrops fell.