Her Cowboy Distraction(9)

       
           



       

"If I were you I'd spend a lot of time in this place," she finally said.  She opened her eyes and found him staring at her intently.

The peace and quiet of the little clearing snapped with energy as, for  what felt like an infinite period of time, they gazed at each other.  Lizzy's heart banged hard and fast as she felt herself leaning forward  slightly, as if unconsciously wanting to get closer to him.

"We should probably head back in," he said as he looked away and straightened from the tree trunk where he'd been leaning.

Lizzy rose to her feet, reluctant to leave this place of peace and the  man she'd momentarily shared it with, the man who she could swear had  just a little bit of hunger in his eyes as their gazes had locked for  that instant.

When they stepped out of the woods, she saw that the horses were near  where they had left them. "They don't just run away or head back to the  barn if you leave them alone?" she asked.

"Some of them will." He watched as she got back into Molly's saddle,  then he mounted his ride. "I have one mare who, if I leave her alone for  a split second, runs for home no matter where she is in the pasture.  Twice I was stuck walking back to the barn from wherever I'd been out in  the fields because Nelly-Bell took off without me."

Lizzy laughed as she envisioned him cursing his way back to the barn to  scold the wayward Nelly-Bell. "Poor Nelly-Bell," she said. "She's just a  homebody kind of girl."

"Guess so," he agreed.

As the outbuildings, the barn and the house came into view, Lizzy was  surprised that she didn't want the day to end. It had to be around noon,  but he hadn't mentioned anything about lunch. He didn't invite you for  lunch, a little voice reminded her. All he'd invited her for was a ride  on a horse.

And she shouldn't want anything else from him. He was a checkoff on her  bucket list, and that's all this would ever be. As they reached the  barn, Lizzy realized some of the darkness had crept back into Daniel's  eyes and tension was back in his shoulders.

"This was really nice, Daniel. Thanks so much for taking the time out of  your day for me," she said minutes later as they walked toward his  truck.

"No problem."

He seemed to have pulled into himself as they'd gotten off the horses.  His eyes had shuttered, his expression once again set in stone.

There had been several times during the morning that she'd seen the true  Daniel Jefferson shining through. A sparkle in his eyes, a wry lift of  his mouth into a smile. She liked that man.

The man leading her back to the truck was the one she'd watched for four  weeks come into the café and order two pieces of peach pie, a man more  than half broken by grief. He had to be thinking about his wife, about  what he'd lost.

"You know, I've always heard that old saying that you should get back up  on the horse that threw you," she said when they were in the truck. "I  hope after enough times passes you can get back on."

He started the truck and then darted a quick gaze at her. "What are you talking about?"

She pointed to the house. "Your home looks beautiful and is obviously  meant for a family. I hope at some point in the future you can put your  sadness behind you, find love again and fill that place with children  and happiness."

"Never going to happen," he said firmly as she saw his hands tighten on  the steering wheel. "I have no desire to ever marry again."

Lizzy wasn't sure why the thought of him forever alone, forever with  those haunted gray eyes, filled her with such sadness, but it did. And  that, more than anything, made her realize she needed to stay away from  Daniel Jefferson for the remainder of her time in Grady Gulch.





Chapter 4

"What are you doing here this morning?" Mary asked Lizzy on Wednesday  morning as she walked sleepy-eyed through the back door and into the  café kitchen. It was five-thirty in the morning and the sun was just  beginning to faintly light the eastern sky.

"Hi, Lizzy." Junior Lempke stepped out of the walk-in refrigerator with a  slab of bacon in his hands. He kept his gaze on the bacon as his cheeks  warmed with color.

"Hi, Junior." She smiled at the big, sweet-tempered guy who was more  child than man and then turned back to answer Mary. "I switched shifts  with Brenda for today." Lizzy stifled a yawn with the back of her hand.

"Oh, that's right." Mary pulled a rack of golden-brown biscuits out of  the industrial-size oven and set the tray on a cooling rack. "She has a  doctor's appointment this morning. Her knee has been giving her fits."                       
       
           



       

Lizzy nodded and yawned again. "I don't know how she pulls herself out  of bed each morning to work this shift. When my alarm clock went off, I  was sure it had to be a mistake."

Mary smiled. "Brenda has been working the morning shift for years. She  loves getting up before the sun and working breakfast." Mary checked her  watch. "And Candy should be here anytime."

"I'll go ahead and get things ready for the early birds," Lizzy said.

"And pour yourself a cup of coffee. You look like you could use a little  caffeine bounce," Mary called after her as she left the kitchen and  went into the dining area.

"Definitely coffee," Lizzy muttered to herself, and she went to the  warmers that were already filled with several pots of the freshly brewed  liquid.

She poured herself a cup, took a sip and then got busy checking the area  she'd work to make sure everything was ready for the morning crowd. The  café would open exactly at six, and there were regular customers who  would be standing at the door waiting when Mary unlocked it to  officially start the day.

It took Lizzy only minutes to make sure her station was ready for  action, and then she did a quick run-through of the tables Candy would  work, making sure napkin holders were filled, salt and pepper shaker  lids were screwed on tight and tables were neat and clean.

She wasn't surprised that Candy was late. The young girl always  complained about being scheduled for the morning shift on Wednesdays.  But then, Candy complained about everything, Lizzy thought.

When she was finished with everything, Lizzy paused to take a few more  sips of her coffee, trying hard not to think about the man who had been  uppermost in her thoughts since their horse-riding time together on  Monday.

On their ride back to her cabin, he'd said very little and she'd babbled  on like a fool about the nice weather and how much she'd appreciated  him letting her ride Molly. The whole time she'd known that he had shut  down, turned off and probably wasn't listening to anything she had to  say.

When they'd reached her cabin, he'd told her he'd enjoyed their time  together. She'd thanked him again and then got out of his truck and  watched as he'd pulled away.

Had she mistaken that look of hunger she'd thought she'd seen in his  eyes when they'd been in the clearing? Had she only imagined it because  she'd felt more than a little bit of hunger for him?

It was definitely time to leave Grady Gulch behind, she told herself as  she finished her cup of coffee. It was time to leave because there was a  part of her that wanted to stay, a part of her that wanted to see more  of Daniel Jefferson, and that wasn't a good thing.

Her intentions were to wait until the weekend and then give Mary her  two-week notice. It was time to move on from the little town that she  feared had the potential to bewitch her and the man whose personal  tragedy and dark eyes would haunt her for a long time to come.

A rap on the door of the café drew her attention from her inner  thoughts. Even though it was still a few minutes before time to open,  Mary hurried toward the door where Sheriff Cameron Evans stood peering  in.

Mary unlocked the door to allow him inside. "Morning, Cameron," she  said, and Lizzy noticed the faint peach color that slid into Mary's  cheeks.

"Mary," Cameron replied, his voice low and deep, and Lizzy thought she  heard more than a little bit of longing in his voice as he said Mary's  name.

Mary relocked the door then turned and walked behind the counter as the  sheriff followed and slid onto a stool. Lizzy busied herself wiping down  a table she knew was already clean as she watched the morning ritual  between the sheriff and her boss.

Mary poured him coffee and the two of them small-talked for a moment,  and then Mary disappeared into the kitchen. But, during those few  minutes of chitchat, there was no question that there was a simmering  tension between the two.

For the past four weeks Lizzy had found it interesting to watch Mary and  the handsome Cameron interact. It was obvious the single Cameron was  very interested in Mary, and although Mary was friendly with him, there  was no question she kept up barriers against him.