Sky's Pride And Joy. Sandra Steffen

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      Chapter Three

      “Ohhh.” Meredith closed her eyes and moaned softly, her hands braced on either side of the toilet rim. The only thing she’d gotten out of her system yesterday morning had been breakfast. It happened again today.

      She wasn’t well.

      Cautiously testing the condition of her poor stomach, she rose to her feet in the little powder room near the front of her store. Evidently, South Dakota had more than the Badlands and winds that never ceased to blow. It had a strain of flu unlike anything she’d ever had before. It seemed to play hide-and-seek with her appetite and energy level. At times, she felt fine. She could be humming one second, and making a run for the bathroom the next.

      She stared at her reflection in the antique mirror, then took a deep breath. Although she wasn’t officially open for business, her first potential clients were due to arrive any second, and she so wanted to show them that she was quick-witted, knowledgeable and welcoming. She looked ghastly. Her skin was normally pale. Today, it was unnaturally so, her eyes red rimmed, her lips dry. She looked as if she’d been up all night, when in reality, she’d slept like a log for a solid nine hours two nights in a row. That was understandable. She’d been working hard. Why, she would have been worn out even without this unusual case of the flu. Her paint and wallpaper supplies had arrived yesterday. She’d unloaded boxes and boxes filled with gallons of paint, and cartons of wallpaper paste and wood stain, and cases of brushes and stencils and rollers.

      Those sweet Anderson brothers had organized several of the other Jasper Gents to help her haul everything off the truck and into the store where she’d arranged the items on shelves. Sky hadn’t been among them. She hadn’t expected to see him. And she hadn’t, unless she counted the moss-green eyes and legendary, one-of-a-kind swagger that had filtered through her dreams the past two nights.

      She definitely wasn’t well.

      She splashed her face with cool water, then rinsed her mouth with mouthwash. She was dusting a little blush on her cheeks when the bell jingled over the door in the front of the store. Taking a calming, fortifying breath, she hurried from the powder room to greet her first clients.

      “You would like your entire house redecorated?” Meredith asked the couple seated on the other side of the polished antique oak table.

      “Not redecorated,” Jake McKenna said matter-offactly. “Decorated. It belonged to my father. It’s no secret that he was a cold man. Maybe he cared about me in his own way, maybe he didn’t. It’s hard to say. If he did, he didn’t show it. The house reflects his personality, and Josie and I want to turn it into not only a home, but our home.”

      Josie McKenna tucked a lock of long, wavy red hair behind her ear. “I’d like to do it myself, but…”

      Jake covered his wife’s small hand with his large, work-roughened fingers. “Josie’s already added so much. Now that there’s a baby on the way, there’s just too much for her to do.”

      They looked at each other, seeming to get lost in each other’s eyes. Reluctant to intrude on their moment, Meredith made a few notes on her sketch pad. Josie McKenna exuded warmth and friendliness. Jake, who owned the second largest spread in the entire area, was more reserved. He was a foot taller than his wife, and wore his hair a little too long to look civilized. On the surface, he appeared intense and intimidating. Anybody who took the time to look deeper saw a good, kind-hearted man completely besotted with his wife and her young daughter.

      Meredith wondered how it would feel to be loved like that. The local bachelors had filled her in on the circumstances surrounding Jake and Josie’s union. No matter what reasons they’d had for marrying last spring, they were deeply in love now.

      “Jake’s right,” Josie said quietly. “It is a big house, and I don’t want to overdo. But I’d really like to help.”

      “Of course,” Meredith said, smiling. “You can be as involved as you’d like to be. Let’s start by setting up a time when you can show me through the house, room by room. Then, you can tell me what you envision, what you’d like, what you don’t want, that sort of thing.”

      “How about this afternoon?” Josie asked.

      The redhead’s enthusiasm was contagious. With her pen poised over her notepad, Meredith grinned. “I’d love to drive out this afternoon, but I promised Wes and Jayne that I’d watch Logan and Olivia.” Not that Meredith bought that story. But if Jayne wanted to pretend that Meredith didn’t believe with her whole heart that Jayne was simply helping Meredith form a loving bond with the children, who was she to argue?

      “Bring them along,” Josie insisted. “Kelsey loves to play with other children.”

      Meredith considered it for a few seconds before nodding. “I’ll clear it with Jayne and Wes. If it’s okay with them, we’ll be there this afternoon. I’ll need directions.”

      Jake took over. “The Lone M is fifteen miles southwest of town.”

      The Lone M?

      Meredith hoped no one heard her sharp breath. Although she jotted down names of roads and landmarks, it was only for the sake of appearance. She’d spent part of a night there in the bunkhouse where Sky lived.

      Oh, she knew the way.

      Two nights ago, he’d made his views regarding relationships crystal clear. Even if his touch had indicated that he was fighting a strong attraction to her, his words, his expression, even his stance had let her know exactly where he stood. No matter how much he wanted her physically, he wasn’t planning a repeat performance. Evidently, to him, that was all it had been: The first act in a one-curtain play. She was the only one who had to know how much it had meant to her.

      According to the Jasper Gents, Sky Buchanan was Jake’s right-hand man. It stood to reason that if she worked with Josie to redecorate the main house at the Lone M, her path would cross Sky’s. He wouldn’t like that.

      Meredith flattened her hands on the table’s smooth surface. Whether sparks flew between her and Sky or not, she needed this project. She needed the work, the money, the sense of purpose and accomplishment it would bring.

      Seeing Jake and Josie McKenna to the door, she decided that all she could do was stand back as far as possible, where those sparks couldn’t reach her.

      Five minutes into her visit to the Lone M, Meredith had relaxed. She needn’t have worried about running into Sky. Jake had introduced her to two young ranch hands when she’d first arrived, but she’d been lucky. She hadn’t seen so much as a glimpse of Sky. It was the middle of the afternoon, and he was probably out on the range. It was turning out to be her lucky day.

      Her luck held throughout the tour of the McKenna house. What a place. They started in the kitchen. By the time they’d gone through the entire house, Meredith was giddy with excitement. Josie had already done a lot toward making it homey, but there was so much more Meredith wanted to do. The open staircase could use a new runner, the stone fireplace a colorful screen. All the heavy draperies would go, new fabrics, patterns, colors added to every room. Jake liked leather; Josie preferred floral prints. Meredith planned to incorporate both tastes in the decorating scheme. Her mind whirled at the possibilities.

      “Well?” Jake said from the front porch СКАЧАТЬ