“If he was looking at me at all, it’s because you were sneaking up on me.”
“Nope. He was all moony-eyed. Come to think of it, you were mooning right back at him when you introduced us.”
“He was not. I was not.” Landry whacked her sister’s arm. “You’re imagining things.”
Something bolted through the woods to their left.
“What’s that?” Devree stopped dead in her tracks.
With their arms still linked, Landry jerked back in midstep and almost crashed into her sister. “Probably a deer.”
“You sure?” Devree’s voice quivered, her nails biting into Landry’s skin.
“I can’t believe you were raised in the country.” Landry looked up at the stars peppering the sky and the bright half moon lighting the wooded trail. “It’s beautiful.”
“And creepy.” Devree’s feet got in gear. She practically dragged Landry the rest of the way to the house.
At least Devree was distracted from the Chase subject. But her sister had come too close to the truth. If she wasn’t careful, Chase could light a fire in her heart big enough to warm all of Texas.
Best to avoid any kind of sparks he might ignite.
* * *
Luggage. Chase was beginning to dread the sight of luggage. And to long for an escape. A trail ride, a cattle drive, a camping trip. Something. Anything. As long as it was outside. The bright afternoon sunshine taunted him from every window.
At least climbing stairs with suitcases was great exercise, and this new family of four that was checking in traveled lighter than most guests he’d unloaded lately. The kids chattered to their parents nonstop as he followed the troop up the stairs.
“Anything y’all need?” He set the cases down, unlocked the Tough as Nails Room and made sure the connecting door to the Trail Dust Room was open.
“That should do.” Mr. Adams set his luggage down, his breath coming fast, his paunchy stomach working against him. “We’ll spend most of our days with family and be here only to sleep, so we won’t need meals or anything extra.”
“We clean, supply fresh towels and restock toiletries daily. If there’s something else, just dial the front desk.” He set the cases he’d carried inside the room, then exited and headed back downstairs.
Maybe tomorrow he’d be able to get away and at least pick up the fish they’d caught from the market. But today was Landry’s birthday and her parents would arrive any minute. It wouldn’t kill him to cover for her, so she could enjoy her family. He checked his watch. Should be here anytime.
The front door opened, and a man with a single suitcase shuffled in with a woman following close behind.
“Mama. Daddy.” Landry rushed to them with hugs. “What are y’all doing here?”
“You didn’t really expect your mother to stay away on your birthday, did you?” Laugh lines creased around the man’s kind eyes, the same shade as Landry’s.
She definitely got her coloring from her dad, though his hair was more on the orange side.
“I love your new capris.” Landry hugged her mom. “You look great.”
“I agree.” Her dad winked.
Her mom swatted him and shook her head, her graying light brown curls tumbling. Bone structure so much like Landry’s.
Then she noticed Chase lurking on the staircase above them.
“Excuse me.” He hurried the rest of the way down, ducking his head, and turned toward the kitchen.
“Wait. Come meet my parents.”
He stopped. “Sure.”
“This is Chase Donovan. Eden’s brother, my business partner.”
Chase tipped his hat as Mr. Malone’s brown stare bored into him. The look seemed to be a don’t-trifle-with-my-girl challenge, making Chase want to fidget. What had Landry told her folks about him?
“Tina Malone.” Her mom offered him her hand. “And this glowering teddy bear is Owen.”
Owen’s face went red, the color immediately clashing with his hair. Landry got her blushing from her dad, too. But she was way prettier when she did it.
“Nice to meet y’all.” He clasped hands with Tina, then Owen.
“Did you know about this?” Landry’s gaze met his.
“I’m pretty good at keeping secrets.”
“I’m so glad y’all are here.” She gave her parents a group hug.
“Hey. Y’all made it.” Devree entered from the great room and wiggled herself into the embrace.
“Go spend the day with your family,” Chase told Landry.
“But we have guests.” Landry’s voice came from inside the huddle.
“We also have staff. Now, go on. Get outta here.” He strolled to the kitchen to check on the birthday dinner she still didn’t know about.
Her family had gone to a lot of trouble—taken time away from their store to spend her birthday with her. Driven six hours to get here. Set up a meal of all her favorites with a cake, then planned to turn around tomorrow and return to Aubrey.
Obviously they were a close family. Much like his. More and more, it hit him: Landry was the real deal.
And everything he wanted in a woman. If he let his guard down with her, he might just fall for her. But a one-sided romance with his on-the-rebound business partner would complicate everything. And possibly leave him with a broken heart.
Maybe she wasn’t a gold digger after all. But nothing had changed about their situation. He still needed to keep his distance.
* * *
“That was awesome. Yum.” Landry patted her stomach and glanced around. She was surrounded by her family and the Donovans at a private table in the kitchen. “Thank y’all so much for making my birthday special.”
“But wait.” Elliot stood, hurried to the massive commercial fridge. “There’s more.”
“I can’t hold any more.” She’d already eaten all her favorites. Chicken and dumplings, fried okra, candied sweet potatoes and shoepeg corn casserole.
“You’ll wanna make room for this.” Mama patted her knee.
A familiar scent wafted through the air. Something burning? Surely not. Elliot was an experienced chef. He didn’t burn things.
He returned carrying a layer cake topped with nuts and coconut surrounding her name, which was spelled out in wax-dripping lettered candles, and followed by the numbers 2 and 6. That must be what she’d gotten a whiff of. “Happy birthday to you.” Mama started the song as everyone joined in.
Landry’s eyes misted. She covered her mouth with her hands as they finished. “I haven’t had a cake with my name on it since I was a teenager.”
“Let’s get a picture before we cut it. Owen, Tina, Devree, squeeze in around her.” Janice took several shots with her phone and a digital camera. “I’ll make sure y’all get copies.”
“Thank you.” Surrounded by her family, Landry blinked away her tears. They’d leave in the morning. Without her.
Photo op over, Chase held a plate for his mom while she cut the cake. “Dad’s specialty Italian cream cake.”
“My favorite.” Landry grinned at her mother. “Again.”
Chase handed her the plate. Her fingers grazed his as she took it.
“Thanks.”
Her face warmed as she felt his gaze on her. Glancing around the table, she saw everyone’s eyes were on her, not just his. Her family was probably drawing conclusions about her and Chase. She’d just have to show them otherwise.
She bit into her slice of the cake. “Mmm.” Cream cheese icing, moist, fluffy and delectable. “This is sooo good. Thank you.”
Elliot shot her a wink. “You’re welcome.”
Talk quieted as the gathering dug into their dessert.
Minutes later, Landry polished off her last bite, scraped her fork across the plate to co
llect stray icing and popped it in her mouth. She stood and started to take her dish to the sink.
“Give me that.” Janice whipped it out of her hands. “We’ll clean up. Go enjoy the rest of your day with your folks.”
“Y’all exceeded my expectations,” her mom said as she stood. “Thank you so much for making Landry feel special.”
“It was nothing.” Elliot gathered dishes, silverware clanking together.
Mama and Devree headed for the great room.
“Come sit with me on the porch swing.” Daddy’s warm Texas drawl warmed her insides.
Making her homesick and making her dread them leaving in the morning.
Once outside, she claimed one end of the swing.
The chains creaked as he settled beside her. She pushed off with her foot, setting the swing in a sideways jerky motion. Kind of like her life.
She was glad her father was here. Daddy always did his best to right things for her. With his arm around her shoulders, she felt safe.
“Sorry about the scoundrel and his shenanigans.”
“You’ve always had such a way with words.” She leaned her head against his shoulder. Old Spice and Dial soap filled her senses with comfort. “But I’m really okay—other than being mad and embarrassed. I don’t think I really loved him.”
“He certainly wouldn’t have been my choice. I hate the way it all went down, but I’m glad you didn’t end up married to him.”
“Me, too.” She rose up, looked at him. “How did you know you loved Mama?”
“I couldn’t stop thinking about her.” Daddy grinned, gazed off in the distance. “I couldn’t stand being away from her. She kept me on pins and needles unless we were together.”
“That’s sweet.” She’d never felt that way with Kyle. Not even with all his business trips. “I’m glad you and Mama came. It wouldn’t have been right without y’all on my birthday.”
“Me, too. I wish we could stay longer, but one of my students from Sunday school class is getting baptized tomorrow.”
“I’ll be fine.” She leaned into his shoulder again, his coarse hair bristly against her temple. “Don’t worry.”
“I wasn’t sure about this Chase fella. But spending time with him and his folks, I’m glad they’re here with you. If only I could find somebody reliable for Devree, I might sleep at night.”
“Daddy.” She rose again. “Chase and I aren’t—”
“I know. But I also know he’ll watch out for you. Gives me peace.”
Having Chase near was anything but peaceful. He sent her nerves into orbit. What would it be like to have him really care about her? Her heart could only dream.
Yet she couldn’t allow it to.
* * *
Chase stood off to the side as Landry’s family gave her one more hug in the foyer.
“I wish y’all could stay the rest of the weekend.” Landry’s smile didn’t quite make it to her eyes.
“We’d love to, sugar plum.” Her dad kissed her cheek. “Maybe next time.”
“Travel safe.”
“We will. Take care of yourself.” Her mom patted her cheek.
“Watch out for our girl, Chase.” Her dad caught his gaze over her shoulder.
Was that approval in his tone? “Will do.”
“You’re coming to Ally’s wedding. Right?” Devree asked her sister.
“Of course.”
Whoever Ally was, Landry looked like attending her wedding was the last thing she wanted to do.
The huddle broke up. She waved as they exited. Once the door shut behind them, she sucked in a shuddery breath and swiped under her eyes.
Her family’s visit had gotten to her. And Chase realized she was getting to him. Her vulnerability spoke to his protective side. First she’d been hurting over her ex-fiancé’s engagement. Now she was hurting over her family’s departure.
But he couldn’t allow himself to get too close. He wouldn’t be her rebound guy. Best to keep his distance.
Thankfully it would be easy today since he was scheduled for afternoon lifeguard duty. And Saturdays were usually a busy day at the pool. His cell started up singing out the nostalgic and sappy tune of “Happy Trails.”
Landry’s weak grin turned into a full-out smirk.
“What?” He dug his phone from his pocket.
“I wouldn’t have expected that ringtone from you.”
“Our guests like it.” He scanned his cell screen. Danny, the other lifeguard. “Hello?”
“Hey, Chase, I’m so sorry.” Regret loaded each syllable of Danny’s words. “My wife’s in labor.”
As excuses went... “Well that’s the most exciting thing I’ve heard all day. Go. And keep me posted.”
The soon-to-be-dad hung up without even saying bye. Chase blew out a big breath, pocketed his phone.
“Good news?”
“Danny’s wife is in labor. He was supposed to be on lifeguard duty with me today.”
“I can fill in.”
His gaze swung to hers. “You’re certified?”
“When I first hired on at the dude ranch in Aubrey, they needed a lifeguard, not a chef.”
What couldn’t she do? “I’ll need your certification.”
She dug a slim wallet out of her pocket, handed him the laminated card.
“You’ll find what you need in the women’s locker room.” He handed her certification back, recited the locker combination. “Suit up.”
“You sound like Captain America.”
He snapped his heels together, saluted her.
With a grin, she headed for the exit.
He’d hoped to avoid her. But now he’d spend a day with her. He strolled out to the pool.
Five minutes later, she joined him. “You can take that side.” He pointed to the lifeguard chair at the west end of the pool.
She scanned the pool. “No one’s here yet.”
“They’re eating lunch. They’ll start pouring in any minute.” He checked his watch. “It’s Saturday.”
“It gets pretty busy, I guess.”
“Keeps us hopping.”
“Have you ever thought about opening the pool to the public? That way, our facilities would appeal to the community and not just out-of-towners.”
Might be a good idea. But... “The pool is a privilege for our guests. I don’t want to fill it up with people not even staying here and inconvenience our customers.”
“A valid point.” She tapped her chin with her finger. “Is there a downtime for the pool, like now?”
“Things get active around eight, when the parents can’t contain their kids any longer.” He put on his sunglasses as the glare of the sun popped over the ranch house. “It’s busy until ten or so. Then kicks back up about noon until three, when it’s too hot to do much else. Our guests are in and out from about five to eleven, when we close for the evening.”
“So we could open it to the public from ten until noon and then three until five.” She shielded her eyes from the sun, looked up at him. “Without inconveniencing our guests?”
“We could. But counting you, we have four certified lifeguards. And two of us pull double and triple duty as trail and fishing guides.”
“College kids are always looking for summer jobs. Probably some already certified.” She shrugged. “And if we can’t find anyone certified, see if any of the staff would be willing. We pay for their classes and we’ve got extra lifeguards.”
“The certification costs almost three hundred dollars.”
“Yes. But we charge five dollars for adults and three for kids to swim.” She brushed a stray hair away from her face. “Three or four days and we’d recoup our investment. And we could rent out the pool for birthday parties.”
“That much—for two hours?”
“For the day. We’ll stamp their hands and they can come back for seconds.”
“What if we do this and our guests want to swim during public hours?” He adjusted the strap on his whistle.
“They can. Guests get a swimming pass. And drawing locals here will encourage them to mention us to their out-of-town family and friends.”
“You might be on to something.”
Her whole face lit up as if his approval endorsed her presence. “I know that was hard for you to admit.”
A family headed toward them.
“I’ll think on it. In the meantime, we need to man our posts.” He strolled away from her, rounded the end of the pool and climbed his lifeguard chair.
She was already seated across from him. Her gaze riveted on the water as the family with two small children entered the pool.
Smart. And beautiful. For years, he’d wished he could meet a down-to-earth woman, someone not afraid to get dirty, someone who loved the outdoors as much as he did. Now he finally had. A distracting combination.
Another family with even more kids entered the pool, and Chase refocused. A lifeguard couldn’t afford distractions.
And besides, her heart still belonged to the man who’d broken it. Landry Malone was the most off-limits woman he’d ever met.
Chapter Six
Landry settled in the log chair at the check-in counter, her stomach in turmoil.
Sunday morning and she knew Janice would be along to see her soon. She needed to get out of going to church with Chase’s family. But how? She’d always attended when she lived here before, so his mom would surely invite her. Her best shot would be if this wasn’t their week to go on the rotation schedule. That would buy her time.
Somehow, it just didn’t seem right to go to church mad.
“There you are.” Janice entered from the kitchen, fastening an earring in place. For a change, her short, highlighted hair wasn’t covered by her food prep cap. “Why aren’t you ready for church?”
Her hopes quickly dashed, Landry tried a different route. “Don’t I need to get on the rotation schedule?”
“Nonsense. Come with us this week. Then we’ll see about the timetable.” Janice smoothed a hand down her stylish skirt.
Winning Over the Cowboy Page 7