From City Girl to Rancher's Wife. Ami Weaver

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СКАЧАТЬ be back in time for lunch, but the men had taken box lunches with them when they went out that morning. She heard Luke asking his mother if she’d be okay while they were gone. Patty, the wife of one of the ranch hands, would be in the house, watching TV with her, but Josie understood his hesitation. He didn’t want anything else to happen to her.

      She waved him off. “Luke. I’ll be fine. We are just going to watch True Blood and knit. It’s not as if you’re leaving me for a week to fend for myself. I’m healing well and this place is crawling with people.”

      Josie shrugged into her sweatshirt with a smile. Luke might be grumpy toward her, but he clearly had a protective streak a mile wide when it came to his mother.

      She stepped out on the porch to wait. It was a lovely morning, but not what she was used to. When was the last time she’d stood outside and appreciated the morning? It wasn’t really quiet—the birds were chattering up a storm and she could hear some of the hands down by the barns, their laughter carrying on the still morning air. The grass was damp with dew and the air smelled—fresh. No exhaust, food scents, the general smell of a city in a hot climate. Nothing like what she was used to. It wasn’t eighty degrees already—in fact, it was cold—and there was no smog or traffic noise.

      It was a little unsettling. As was the fact she’d nearly overslept. Again.

      The door opened and closed behind her and she turned to see Luke standing there. “Sorry about that. I just had to make sure Mom was okay.”

      She smiled at him. “No problem. I understand.” She wondered what her own mother was doing right now. Of course, her own mother was much younger than Luke’s. She must have had the boys at a much older age.

      “Let’s go, then. You’ll need to follow me. It’ll be easier for you.”

      Josie got in the little rental car and followed the big truck down the lane to the road. He was absolutely right that this kind of car wasn’t suited to this area. But the SUV she’d reserved at her aunt’s suggestion had been given away when she hadn’t made it to the rental place before the cutoff time. This was what they’d had left.

      The trip in the daylight was eye-opening. The views were killer and she could see, after they’d gone a half hour before seeing another vehicle as they neared the small town of Powder Keg, just how remote the Silver River was. The roads near the ranch were rough, too. She wondered if that was by design, to help discourage people from tracking Luke down. Or if it was simply that the county had other things to do than maintain roads that were hardly driven.

      They drove through the little town with its general store that, from the signs on its front, advertised it sold everything, including animal feed, groceries and clothing. There were two bars, a diner, a bakery, a drug store. A couple churches. One stoplight. The streets were wide and the little town seemed to crouch down in the shadow of the mountains. It was a working town, not a tourist town, but Josie thought it had an Old West appeal all its own.

      Having left Powder Keg behind, it was another fifteen minutes before they reached the highway that took them to Kalispell. Josie spotted a couple huge elk grazing off the road and figured a collision with one of them would end badly for all involved. Especially in this car, which probably weighed less than one of those elk.

      Kalispell was much busier. A tiny fraction of the size of Los Angeles, but traffic was one thing she knew how to navigate without problems, and there was plenty of it here. The town was charming, something she hadn’t appreciated when she’d first arrived, thanks to all the drama she’d endured. Luke pulled in the rental car place at the airport and she parked the car beside him. He opened the door to get out but she shook her head at him. “This will just take a minute.”

      She ran in and went through the process. The guy came out and gave the car no more than a cursory glance over, even though she’d told them on the phone it had slid in a ditch. When she had her paperwork, she hurried back out to the rumbling truck and hauled herself in rather awkwardly.

      “Thanks,” she said. “Where to now?”

      He put the truck in Reverse. “The equipment dealership.”

      She hesitated a second, then said, “Would it be all right if we stopped at the grocery store, too? I know you’re in a hurry, but it won’t take me long. There are a few things I’d like to stock up on while we’re here.”

      “Sure. Actually, why don’t I drop you off there. There’s a grocery store just down the road from the dealer. I’ll just come back and wait in the parking lot.”

      She agreed, and he left her at the store and she went in, pulling her list out. There were a few things she didn’t know if she could get that she might have to order. She’d have to ask how that worked—did the delivery couriers come all the way out to the ranch? She wasn’t even sure how mail got there. Maybe she could arrange for delivery in town somewhere and then pick it up. She made a mental note to ask Luke when he came back.

      She grabbed a cart and wheeled it down the spice aisle. This store was bright, with wide, well-stocked aisles. They had a surprisingly good collection of spices and fresh items. She loaded up and checked out. When she came out, she spotted the big red truck, Luke at the wheel, his hat tipped back on his head. He pulled forward, stopping in front of her.

      “You find what you needed?” he asked as he opened the back door of the truck, and she settled her bags on the floor.

      “I did. They’ve got a lot in there. Just out of curiosity, if I need to order anything, where is it delivered?”

      They got in and shut the doors. He put the truck in gear. “Schaffer’s—the general store—is where all Silver River deliveries go. Couple times a week someone goes in and gets the mail from the post office and anything that gets delivered. Hungry?”

      She hadn’t realized it until right that moment, but yes, she was. “Yes.”

      “There’s a good little diner up here. That okay with you or would you rather do a drive-through?”

      She laughed. “I can’t think of the last time I ate at a drive-through.”

      He arched a brow in her direction. “Food snob much?”

      She shook her head. “Not so much. Just too busy to bother.” It was true. It was also true she’d never left the restaurant hungry.

      That thought gave her a little twinge.

      “Well, this place has great burgers,” he said. “And it won’t take long. I know you need to get back.”

      He pulled in the parking lot of a dingy-looking building. The flowers had clearly not been watered in weeks and the blacktop was cracked and weeds grew through them. Luke gave her a full-on grin, and it stole her breath how it transformed his face. Even with the dour expression he usually wore he was handsome. But the smile was something else. “Don’t worry. Trust me, okay?”

      “Okay,” she said, and got out of the truck. The day was starting to heat up. She took her sweatshirt off and tied it around her waist and followed Luke to the door.

      Inside it was every bit as small as it looked from the outside. Eight booths and four tables made up the whole place. Three of those were occupied. The floor was cracked vinyl, but clean. The booth the waitress led them to was slightly sticky in the way all diner booths seemed to be, and while it, too, was faded and old, it was clean. The whole place smelled divine. СКАЧАТЬ