“You are horrid.”
“Thank you. Thank you very much. I’m here all day. How you holding up?”
“I’ve sweat off five pounds. And it’ll probably be a long time till I eat another hot dog.”
“Amen. Well, you might be interested in knowing that we’ve sold about six hundred of the greasy little tube steaks.”
“Really? Wow. That’s three thousand dollars.”
“A job well done, wouldn’t you say? And we have tonight and tomorrow yet.”
“Good afternoon, hot dog maiden. Is this where we can purchase the famous Kennison Falls hot dogs?”
Her lips curved into a grin. David stood at the window, flanked by Kate and Stella.
“I was wondering when the Bridge Creek contingent would show up.”
David grinned back, and for a moment they didn’t say a word. They’d passed all week on the way to jobs, and shared brief conversations at dinner, but there’d been no more surreptitious kisses, as much as Rio wished there’d been. Even had there been time, Kate had turned herself into David’s shadow when she wasn’t comparing paint samples to fabric swatches with Stella.
“Three more, Bud,” Rio called, then turned back. “Did you just get here?”
Kate beamed, grasped David’s upper arm, and drew herself to his side. “It’s my fault, I’m afraid. I heard he was going to ride the cross-country courses this morning so he could check the lines and put up the flags, so I begged him to take me along. We had a lovely ride, but I admit I slowed him down. Even though Tully is a dream, it’s been a while since I’ve jumped. Still, I made it through the water complex.”
The thrill at seeing David sank in a pit of ugly, clawing jealousy. Kate had ridden with him? Ridden Tully, Rio’s horse?
Jumped?
The memory of David’s arms around her in that water obstacle swirled through her belly and followed all the other memories into the jealousy pit. This was ridiculous. So she had a crush on David. That didn’t give her private claim to him. And Tully wasn’t any more hers than David was.
“Here you go.” She held the hot dogs out the window.
David disengaged from Kate’s hold and took the dogs. His fingers grazed Rio’s, but this time she turned away from his gaze, embarrassed by her thoughts.
“You look very hot,” he said.
Her mouth twitched in spite of herself. “Thanks. Best line I’ve heard all day.”
He didn’t miss a beat. “You look like you could use a cool swim.”
Even Kate looked askance at that, and Rio flushed to her roots. As far as she could tell, David ignored both reactions.
“Doesn’t sound half-bad,” she managed to say.
“How long does Bud have you trapped in that thing?”
She checked her watch. “Another half hour. Then Claudia comes.”
“We’ll come back for you then?”
Her heart swelled just enough to peek out from the hole of childish envy she’d dug for it. “You don’t have to worry—”
“Not worried,” he said.
“Do you have things to drink back there?” Stella asked. “You look positively wilted.”
“A few bottles of water. A little warm now, but wet.”
“There’s a lemonade booth just back where we entered the park. We’ll go and get you a cold drink so by the time you’re done, you’ll be a little more refreshed.”
She started to protest, but this was Stella being honestly kind, and the thought of something cold and tangy made her mouth water. “I would absolutely love that,” she said. “Bud, would you like a lemonade? I can give you some money,” she said to Stella.
“Nonsense. You’re doing a lovely service to the town. Our treat.”
“I’m good with the water,” Bud said. “Lemonade’s too sweet. But thanks.”
“One lemonade it is,” David said. “Be back in a jiff.”
There was no way Rio could miss how Kate linked her arm through his as they sauntered off. He held his elbow stiffly, but he didn’t remove her hold. Rio swallowed her anger.
Oh brother, she was in deep, pathetic trouble.
T
HAT EVENING, AFTER
everyone but Bonnie was home from the park, Stella announced that she’d “done up a roast and set it in the slow cooker” before she’d left home. Dinner would be at six, and afterward they could all have a relaxing evening, perhaps even “watch a nice film on the telly.”
To Rio’s disappointment, Stella had pretty much usurped the dinner hour over the past week and planned it with the same flair that she planned her two room redecorations. She was a decent cook, if a little like Julia Child on crack. As much as Rio loved cooking in David’s amazing kitchen, she quickly learned it was better to let Stella go it alone.
Nonetheless, she couldn’t imagine a worse time than sitting around the perfect living room with perfect Katherine and bubbly Stella, staring at a movie. Worse were the quilting fabrics and paint swatches temporarily spread across a table and two chairs, ostensibly so David could have input into the colors. Rio already knew David couldn’t have cared less. The only place he seemed to have any color opinion of his own was in the paint schemes for his jumps. He would simply look at his mother’s suggestions and rubber-stamp them. Knowing this irritated Rio as much as losing her cooking privileges did.
She formulated possible excuses for him right up until David arrived from the barn, where he’d fit in two quick rides after getting back from town. The instant he appeared, breeches stained along the inner leg from saddle polish, hair flattened from his helmet and then finger-combed, and his soft leather belt holding in only half his shirt hem, Rio almost lost her breath. She had no explanation except that he looked ruddy and pleased and content, and as sexy as any soaked T-shirt could have made him look. She would sit through the worst movie ever made if he’d sit and watch it, too.
“Goodness, look what the wind blew in.” Kate looked up from setting the kitchen table. “Smart fellow. In plenty of time to change from those barn clothes. By the time you shower, we’ll be all ready.”
David actually looked down at himself and shrugged. “Not that bad, is it? Change the breeches and Bob’s your uncle.”
“Really, David.” Kate gave a polite, airy laugh. “You wouldn’t want to ruin the amazing aroma of your mum’s dinner with barn smells, would you? You’ve got plenty of time.”
Bonnie interrupted the scolding by breezing in, flushed with excitement.
“Hello, Bonnie, my pet. Did you have fun at the park today?” Stella cooed at her. Bonnie, unlike Rio, was positively adored.
“It was great! I had a blast. Rio, would you care if I spent the night with Kim? Dawson’s dad is home. I’d get to hang out with Gray Covey!”
Rio’s heart sank. So much for a comrade to suffer with her, yet she could hardly say no.
“It’s fine with me if it’s all right with Kim’s mom. But I didn’t cook tonight, so you really should ask Stella if she’d be offended if you didn’t stay for dinner.”
“Goodness, no, this isn’t a formal event.” Stella waved her hand to dismiss the concern. “Have a wonderful time, pet.”
“Just you behave yourself with that boy, young lady.” Rio grinned and stuck her tongue out.
“You’re completely mean.” Bonnie returned it.
“Nice to know I’m not losing my touch. Oh, and sis?”
“What?”
“Have fun.”
When she was gone, David put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re good with her,” he said. “You’re relaxing a little and worrying less. It’s nice to see. You okay?”
How did he seem to know just what to say?
“Yeah. About her, I am.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “As for you—I like a little barn mixed with my roast.”
D
AVID RETURNED TO
the kitchen after defying Kate and changing without showering. He hadn’t argued. Arguing never went well for him. He was used to losing control of his life with his mother. She didn’t muck in his affairs when she wasn’t here, so he didn’t really mind giving her free rein when she was. Kate, on the other hand . . . Why she felt she had regained the authority to tell him when to shower he didn’t know.
At least he had Rio. Practical with a dash of subversiveness. Her naughty little grin when she’d told him he smelled fine had delighted him to the core.
He returned to the kitchen to find Kate and his mum, but no Rio.
“I’m the luckiest man alive to have a house filled with good cooks right now.” David kissed his mum on the top of her head, making her beam.
“Not much better than compliments from your son, is there?”
“We’re just about ready.” Kate smiled, too.
“Where’s Rio?”
“She went outside. Asked if we’d be upset if she waited on dinner, too. She said she’d eaten several hot dogs and wasn’t hungry.”
That didn’t sound right. Rio loved her food—making it and eating it.
“She’s a bit of an odd thing, isn’t she?” Kate asked. “You never quite know what’s going to set her off.”
“Set her off? Hold on. What actually happened?”
“Not a thing. We started talking about riding, and I mentioned what a wonderful jumper you had in Tully, and she got a bit testy. A few minutes later she was out the door.”
“Ah,” he said, although he didn’t understand a thing. “She’s been riding Tully, too.”
“Yes, she said that.” Kate shrugged. “I thought perhaps that would give us something in common.”
That seemed logical. But there was nothing logical about dealing with women. Likely Tully had nothing to do with anything. And likely Rio had told the truth about not being hungry. Although that still didn’t sit right. He sighed and rubbed one temple and gave up. Call him clueless.
He didn’t have to say but ten words during dinner. The two women regaled him with stories of his old hometown, his mother caught him up on how things were going with the bed-and-breakfast, and Kate waxed on, as she’d done for the past week, about how fortuitous her entire trip was turning out to be. He listened with half an ear wondering how so much chat in such a perfectly appointed, cheery room could be so colorless and dull.
“You’ve built a lovely place here, David, in case I haven’t told you. Thanks ever so for being gracious about me showing up with your mum.”
Kate dragged him back into the present with the compliment.
“I’m sorry it’s such a busy two weeks. I hope Mum is offering to show you ’round the area. There’s a lot to see. In fact, you two should plan to take a few days and go up to Minneapolis. Stay in a posh hotel, visit the Guthrie Theater, shop at the Mall of America.”
“But we couldn’t do all that without you.”
“I’ve been to the Mall. You most certainly can do it without me.” He smiled.
“Never mind, we’ll get time with him after the show.” Stella patted Kate’s hand. “Speaking of, David love, I’ve looked through your calendar, and I saw the weekend of September the fourth is free. I’ve taken the liberty of sending out a few feelers to some friends, asking if they can come for a small party. Perhaps twenty or thirty. Just something simple. Let them meet Katherine and—”
“Mum, now hang on. What the bloody hell?”
“David, really.”
“Oh, sod it.” He slapped his fork onto the table, making both women jump. He sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just, that’s my only free weekend between now and the end of September. I wish you’d asked before making official plans.”
“Nothing’s set in stone,” she replied, not the least bit flustered or apologetic. “But let me say, you don’t have to do a thing. It’s just a few hours on the Saturday, and all you need to do is show up.”
“And do you know how much small little parties of the Stella Pitts-Matherson variety cost?”
“It’s no problem. You know I’ll help.”
“Help? Mum, I know you’re doing well, but you’ve already splashed down too much on material and paint for the bedrooms upstairs. The truth is, aside from not having the time, I need to economize. I told you that last time we talked.”
“We can most certainly economize. But, pet, when have you ever worried about the odd dollar on something for your business?”
“We’re not talking about my business.”
“Of course we are. It never ever hurts to have your peers see how you’re doing. Word of mouth goes a long way in any business.”
“Mum, I’m telling you, this is not my favorite idea.”
“Of course I will call off the party if you wish. I told you it’s not set in stone. But all work and no play.”
“Really? That’s what you’ve got as an argument? I play plenty.”
“You play not at all.”
He wanted to tell her
she
played too much, but it simply wasn’t true. Back in England, his mother did yeoman’s work at her business. She was shrewd and used to making things happen. And people loved her.
“You’re very driven,” Kate added. “Remember how I told you you’d changed so drastically in Iraq? I was completely right. You did. But you’ve grown into that change. I like softer, more gentile David. You fit this elegant skin well now.”
Elegant? Softer? Gentile? Before Iraq, Kate had thought she’d loved the real him—the him trying so hard to emulate his blustering father. To make that father proud. It had taken Iraq to show him he could never be like his father or be what his father wanted.
“This is not ‘new’ David,” he told her. “This is who I’ve always been. Mum, plan this little do of yours, but I am serious—this has to be a shoestring operation. And no more surprises.”
“Brilliant! I’m ecstatic, David. You’ll have a great time.”
He ignored the prediction and the fact that she hadn’t agreed to his stipulation. He stood.
“Dinner was fantastic, Mum. Leave the cleanup and go watch the movie you recorded earlier. I’ll come back and do this after I feed the horses and make sure Rio didn’t get sick or something.”
“I can come out with you,” Kate started to stand, too.
“No, no. No need for that.” That was the last thing he wanted. “Seriously, you’ve both been running since you arrived. Take some time to relax. Feeding will go faster by myself, and I’ll come finish the movie with you later.”
It wasn’t that hard to convince them to stay inside. Kate had never been as outdoorsy as he and his mother were. Riding this morning and spending two hours at the park this afternoon had probably been Kate’s allotment of fresh air for days.