Brokenhearted Beauty(Divine Creek Ranch 19)(9)

“In a manner of speaking, yes, Vincent did send me. I need you to do something for me.”

“What’s that?”

“Follow me out to our place.” Before she could say a word he gently cut her off with a hand on her shoulder. “Just trust us? We don’t want anything from you except a few minutes of your time.”

“James, it’s been a long day.” He could hear her hesitancy, so much like the day he’d met her. It’d been just a few years before, in the store after an altercation with a former employee that could have cost her life.

“Our only goal is to make the day better, honey. Please. Just give us a chance and hear us out. It’s important, otherwise I wouldn’t ask.” He said no more, just waited as he gazed down at her.

Her hazel eyes were in shadows as she considered his request but he could see the pain on her face as she scanned his eyes and swallowed audibly. “I shouldn’t.”

“Why shouldn’t you?”

Her chin quivered slightly and she wrapped her arms around herself as though she was cold despite the warm temperature. He wasn’t sure if it was wishful thinking but she seemed to lean toward him just a little before moving back again. “I’m not…” She looked back at the store for a moment and then at his truck. “All right, I’ll go but only for a little while. I’ve got to work tomorrow and then I have to prepare for a trip.”

The reminder only firmed his resolve to give this his utmost effort. “Of course.” But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do his best to make her want to stay.

When they arrived out at their place on the river, she parked next to Patterson’s old ’86 Chevy 4x4 short-bed pickup.

“I love these older trucks. I remember Patterson saying he’d found one to fix up at an auction,” she said, patting a gray primered fender.

James grinned. “He did. Maybe we’ll do it for him. Add a lift kit.”

“That’d be something worth seeing, but I’d need a ladder.”

“Nah, we’d lift you into it,” he replied, noticing her assumption about future rides in the truck. Fine and dandy by him. In the outdoor lights, he saw the deepening hint of pink in her cheeks as she looked up at the log structure. She’d never been to the house before. Every light in the place was on, casting a golden glow out in the dark as Vincent opened the front door, wiping his hands on a dishcloth.

“Supper’s ready.”

“You didn’t have to cook anything on my account.”

Vincent leaned forward and kissed her forehead as she came to the threshold and he smiled. “We just got off a little bit ago and we hoped maybe you hadn’t eaten yet either. I fried catfish. I hope that’s okay?”

James noticed the beginnings of a surprised smile cross her lips before it faded. Seeing that happen strengthened his resolve.

“It sounds just fine. I told James I can’t stay long.”

“That’s fine,” Vincent replied, casting a look his way. “I’m glad you decided to follow him out. I suggested just kidnapping you.”

Leah chuckled but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Kidnapping. How would that look on your official record?”

“There would’ve been coercion, too,” Vincent parried. “We really wanted to talk to you. I was concerned when I saw you this afternoon.”

Instead of acknowledging his words, Leah looked around the living room. Her eyes lingered on the entertainment center where soft music was playing, and said, “I like your log cabin.”

“Mom and Dad had it built when we were kids,” James said, slightly relieved by the hint of a sparkle in her eyes as she gazed up at the exposed beams and the vaulted ceiling.

“You grew up here?”

“Yeah, and we fished in the river in the summer. The creek isn’t very far off either.”

“Is your dad home?” she asked, looking around the room.

“No. He’s not living here anymore. He remarried last winter. Our new stepmom, wanted to start fresh so he turned the place over to us and they have a house in town.”

Her eyebrows rose and she said, “I didn’t know that. I hope it’s gone well for him.”

Vincent nodded. “So far, so good. He got to a point where he was ready to move on. Why don’t you come into the kitchen? I have everything set up on the breakfast bar.”

“Smells wonderful,” she said, rubbing her little hand across her stomach. James wondered how well she’d been eating. He’d always liked her full, curvy figure, but in the light, he could see she was thinner than he was used to seeing her. The instinct to feed her and take care of her grew in strength.