Randall Riches. Judy Christenberry

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СКАЧАТЬ not punching a time clock, Sam. If we leave at eight-thirty instead of eight, it’s no big deal.”

      She ignored him. Turning the key in the ignition, she put the truck in gear and pulled onto the road. She didn’t touch her coffee until she had the truck going at top speed, where there would be no more shift changes. Then she removed the lid to her cup and took a cautious sip.

      “They make good coffee,” Rich said, sipping his own cup.

      Instead of commenting on the coffee, she asked, “How much did you give her?”

      “One of the hundred-dollar bills. I told her I’d promised you. She wanted to come find you to thank you, but I told her it would embarrass you.”

      Relief and gratitude filled her. She hadn’t expected him to be so generous. But she was pleased. It had been worth swallowing her pride. “Thank you.”

      “You’re a strange woman, Samantha Jeffers. You didn’t want to let me pay for a bowl of oatmeal. But for someone else, you’ll accept a tiny bit of what you’ve honestly worked for. I owe you more than that, you know.”

      “More than a hundred dollars?” she asked, staring at him before she turned her gaze back to the road. “For two days of driving? I don’t think so.”

      “Airfare would’ve been a lot more. Probably five or six hundred. Plus they would’ve been shorthanded on the ranch.”

      “Well, consider me paid. I don’t charge that much. How far is Rawhide from your place?”

      “Fifteen miles,” he said, still thinking about what she’d said.

      “Is there a lot of traffic on the road?”

      “You worried about the drive?”

      Sam didn’t want to tell him she was hoping to hitchhike into town. She figured he’s fuss at her. But she hoped to get there before closing time. If she was lucky she might even get hired at once.

      “Why did you ask that?” Rich asked, drawing her attention.

      “I just wondered.”

      “You don’t have to worry about getting back to town right away. We’ve got lots of room. You can rest up a day or two. And have the best meals ever. Red and Mildred can’t be beat.”

      “Who are Red and Mildred?”

      “Red worked for our grandfather as a cowhand, but when our grandmother died, Red raised my dad and his brothers. When all the boys settled down, Red married Mildred. She’s B.J.’s aunt. She moved to the ranch when B.J. came to be our vet.”

      “How nice.” She wasn’t sure why he was telling her this, but it kept him from asking her any more questions.

      “Yeah, she and Red had a double wedding with Uncle Jake and B.J.”

      “B.J. is a woman?”

      “Yeah, kind of like your name. If someone said Sam, I’d think he was talking about a man. Why, last night I— Uh-oh.”

      Now he’d definitely caught her attention. “Uh-oh, what?”

      “Well, I called home last night and my mom— That is, Gabe had called and told them I was—we were engaged. Mom wanted to know what was going on, but I’d taken my pill before I called. Things got kind of fuzzy. I don’t think I explained that we’re just acquaintances. I’m not sure. I can’t remember.”

      “Well you should certainly know by now that I don’t want to marry you. I’ll explain to your mother as soon as we get to your house.”

      “Hell, Sam, I didn’t say you did. I was trying to prepare you for our reception.” He glared at her.

      She didn’t want to think about the kind of reception she might receive if they were engaged, and his parents liked that idea. But as it stood, she would probably face some hostile people, especially his mother. “How many in your family?” she asked.

      “Mmm, twenty-one, I think.”

      She gulped and turned to stare at him. “Twenty-one? My, your poor mother.”

      He, in turn, stared at her. “Why?”

      “Well, having that many children would—”

      “No, you’ve got it wrong. Mom only had three kids.” He chuckled. “Wait till I tell Mom that one.”

      “But you said—”

      “Honey, Mom only had three kids, me and my twin brother Russ, and Casey, our kid brother. Everyone else is a cousin or an aunt or uncle. And Mildred and Red.”

      “I meant, how many people would be at your home?”

      “Well, they all live there, but most of the kids are in college now, so they won’t be home.”

      “You all live together? The house must be huge.”

      “It is. But a few years ago, we built the bachelor pad for all us guys. We still eat at the big house, but we have our own rooms in the pad.”

      She stared down the road, not saying anything.

      “What’s wrong?” he asked, his gaze on her.

      “It’s a little overwhelming. I’ve dreamed about having family, but it never occurred to me that some people had a small country for a family.”

      Rich chuckled. “It all started when Uncle Jake, the oldest of the four brothers, decided someone needed to marry so there would be another generation of Randalls. He did some matchmaking for his brothers, Brett, Chad and my father, Pete. Dad married my mom, Janie. She was a neighbor. Chad married Megan, a decorator from Denver, and Uncle Brett married Anna, a midwife-nurse. Then, the three wives turned the table on Uncle Jake and he married Aunt B.J. She’s a vet. And then they all had kids.”

      “And they all live together? Didn’t any of them want their own place?”

      “Nope. You know that expression about it taking a village to raise a kid? We had our own village. There was always someone around to keep an eye on us. And some of us learned the hard way that we had to mind any adult. Even in Rawhide, we couldn’t get away with anything.”

      “So you left home and went to the rodeo so you could get away with whatever?”

      “No. That wasn’t the reason.” His upbeat tone had changed to something darker.

      His tale had been so happy, so perfect, his dark expression worried her. “What happened?”

      He sighed. “It doesn’t matter.”

      “You’re the one who started this conversation. Did you start hating your family?”

      “No! But Russ got a girlfriend and I felt…left out. It’s juvenile, I know, but my feelings were hurt. Russ and I had always done things together.”

      “That СКАЧАТЬ