Lasso Her Heart. Anna Schmidt

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СКАЧАТЬ on the ranch.”

      “It’s all wonderful. Thank you so much, Honey. And please thank your daughter for me.”

      Honey grinned. “Get some rest. Erika has been on pins and needles waiting for you to arrive so the two of you can start planning parties. To hear her tell it, you are a master at this and frankly, we’re all excited to see what surprises you come up with for Ian and his lady.”

      “I’ll do my best,” Bethany promised as she walked Honey back to the door and waved good-night.

      Alone after a day of crowds and unexpected schedule changes, she let out a breath of utter exhaustion. The fire flickered and the oversize bed beckoned. Who would have thought a ranch could be so luxurious? She couldn’t wait to call Grace and tell her that maybe things were going to work out after all.

      “After all, it’s a few days and then back to Chicago. I can handle that,” she announced as she showered and changed into the nightgown Honey’s daughter had left out for her. “I can handle anything for a few days.” And for the first time in months, Bethany fell asleep looking forward to what a new day might bring.

      Chapter Three

      Unfortunately, the new day brought with it more than one unexpected problem. The first being the “best view on the ranch.”

      “Wake up, sleepyhead,” Erika sang out gaily as she pulled open the drapes on the bedroom window, filling the room and Bethany’s bleary eyes with sunlight brighter than she had ever before experienced.

      But it wasn’t the sunlight and Erika’s cheery greeting that brought Bethany crashing back to the reality of why she had dreaded the change in plans that brought her to Arizona. It was the sight outside the window.

      A cloudless blue sky and bright sunlight undiffused by smog and pollution brought every detail of the view into sharp distinction. But the focus of that view was none other than a range of immense and—to Bethany’s eye—almost sinister mountains. They were closer than she might have imagined, had she considered it at all. She could actually see details—jagged cliffs and shadowy hollows that seemed to lead into nameless voids. Voids like the one just miles north of here where Nick had fallen and died. She stood staring out at the scene for a long moment, then ripped the drapes closed again.

      “Too bright. Too early,” she explained when she turned and saw Erika’s puzzled look.

      “Coffee,” Erika said. “That’s what you need.” She headed off to the kitchen and continued the conversation while Bethany dressed and made the bed.

      “Did you sleep well?”

      “Fine,” Bethany called as she mentally rehearsed the speech she knew she must deliver before this thing went any further. She dressed in jeans and a white cotton T-shirt enhanced with the turquoise necklace Erika had sent for her birthday.

      “Out here, Bethie,” Erika called when Bethany headed for the kitchen. She followed the sound of her aunt’s voice out to a small screened porch.

      The bistro table was set with woven placemats, contemporary free form plates and tall red-and-black mugs that coordinated with the placemats and the striped black-and-red cloth napkins. Erika looked up, a pitcher of what could only be fresh-squeezed orange juice in hand.

      “You look wonderful, dear. I knew the necklace would be perfect.”

      Bethany fingered the stones and smiled.

      “Sit, sit,” Erika invited as she filled the mugs and then set a basket of pastries and a bowl of fruit on the table. “Not there. Here—where you can see the view.”

      Bethany had deliberately taken the chair with its back to the mountains. “No, this is fine. I’m not used to the brightness. Too used to things being filtered through smog,” she added.

      Erika’s expression sobered and she seemed to consider saying something and then rejected that idea. Instead she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and released it. “It is so wonderful to breathe truly fresh air, don’t you think? I mean you can practically feel yourself getting healthier, stronger.”

      Actually, Bethany was thinking that absorbing the first cup of coffee intravenously might help clear her head. She was still fighting the unexpected twists of her journey and had not slept well, haunted by the usual dreams of Nick. She was going to need to be at her sharpest if she was going to find a kind way to tell her aunt that there was no way she could stay here.

      “Auntie Erika,” she began as Erika filled their mugs. She ignored the food in favor of breathing in the aroma of the coffee.

      “Uh-oh,” Erika said, helping herself to a sweet roll and a banana. “You never call me Auntie unless you want something.”

      This was going to be a lot harder than Bethany had imagined. How self-centered was she that she couldn’t even let the woman have breakfast? She took a long swallow of the coffee and then smiled.

      “I want you to tell me about this idea you have for not one but two engagement parties,” she said and reached for a cherry-filled muffin.

      Three small muffins, a substantial bunch of grapes and two more cups of coffee later, Erika was still dictating a verbal list of events and details that would need Bethany’s expertise.

      “Are you sure we can do all this in a few short months?”

      “If anyone can, it’s you.” Erika glanced at her watch. “Speaking of which, the morning is speeding by. It happens here—you’ll see. Now that I’ve given you plenty to think about regarding the party in Chicago, how about driving into town with me? I have a hair appointment and some shopping to do. Cody can show you the sights, or perhaps that ought to be s-i-t-e-s, since you’ll need to familiarize yourself with venues for the party here in Arizona. Cody can fill you in on the best caterers and florists and such. He knows absolutely everyone in the area and, of course, they adore him. Cody is the nicest man—well, next to his father, of course.” Erika reached across the round table and took the last bit of muffin from Bethany’s plate and popped it into her mouth.

      A car horn tooted in the background. “That’ll be Cody. Go tell him I said to keep his boots on. We’ll be there in a minute.”

      Bethany saw no way to refuse this request. When the horn sounded again, Erika laughed. “Never keep a cowboy waiting,” she advised. “Especially not those named Dillard.” She shooed Bethany toward the front door as she busied herself clearing the table.

      The man was even better looking in broad daylight than he’d been the night before. He was standing next to an oversize pickup truck and was just reaching inside the cab to give another blast of the horn when Bethany opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. “She’s coming.”

      Cody grinned. He folded his arms across his chest and tapped one booted toe. He was wearing jeans and a denim shirt with the sleeves rolled back, revealing tanned and definitely sinewy forearms.

      “Not good enough,” he said. “I was promised the pleasure of squiring two good-looking women today.”

      “I’ll see what I can do,” Bethany replied and prepared to return to the house.

      “Hey, Taft,” he called.

      She СКАЧАТЬ