The 15 Lb. Matchmaker. Jill Limber

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СКАЧАТЬ struggled to hold on to her temper. He acted like she was charging him by the word. “How old is your son?”

      He started to answer when a ringing phone interrupted them.

      He reached inside his jacket and pulled a cellular phone out of his shirt pocket.

      Turning her head just a little, Jolie studied him in the gathering gloom. His expression darkened as he listened intently to whoever was on the other end of the line.

      Scowling, he glanced at the clock set in the dashboard. “When?” he barked into the phone, tightening his grip on the instrument.

      His intensity made her uncomfortable. The man certainly didn’t believe in wasting time on conversation. Or manners. Jolie was accustomed to polite small talk, no matter how meaningless.

      “Take care of that now.” He barked into the phone.

      Jolie shifted her gaze to stare out the window at the empty country and the sapphire sky as she listened to his one-word questions and answers. The landscape that had seemed beautiful and wild a few hours ago now appeared barren. She fought down the urge to ask him to take her back to the diner.

      Don’t be a fool, she thought. She was going to be courageous. Besides, she didn’t have any options. She was starting to realize how easy her life had been when she’d let others make her decisions for her.

      She chanted her new mantra to herself. Courage, I live with courage. And because of that courage, she had her first job. She had wanted to work right after college, but her father had always had a reason she should wait. A trip, a charity ball to organize, overseeing the redecoration of the house.

      Griff turned off the main road. She glanced at him and decided she wouldn’t let a little surliness get her down. She’d just have to work on those clever comebacks that always occurred to her an hour after she needed them.

      She could see a house in the distance, sitting on a broad expanse of open plain. The huge building behind the house was probably a barn. Didn’t ranches have barns?

      She thought of a dozen questions, but when she glanced at Griff, who stabbed at the power button on his phone as if he was killing a venomous insect, she decided not to waste her breath.

      She’d talk to Mrs. Price.

      As he parked behind a small, battered, blue compact car, Jolie stared at the enchanting yellow-and-white Victorian house, complete with wraparound porch and gabled roof, and hid a smile.

      The big sour cowboy who had driven her in from Billings did not belong in such an enchanting home. It looked too feminine and had too much charm. His wife must be a lovely woman.

      Without a word he opened the driver’s door and climbed out, then hauled her suitcase out of the back.

      Jolie opened her door and slid out of the truck, following Griff up the front steps. She stepped through the open door and almost bumped into an old woman in the entry hall.

      The woman jammed an ancient black pillbox hat with torn netting over her gray hair while she scolded Griff Price. “About time you got back. Now I got to drive in the dark.”

      She thrust a lethal-looking hat pin through the battered crown of her hat and glared up at him.

      She glanced at Jolie. “Baby’s asleep.” Without saying another word, she headed out the door.

      Baby? For some reason Jolie had pictured an older child. She watched the woman march down the steps and get in the blue car.

      By this time Jolie was not the least bit surprised not to get an introduction.

      Just as the old woman was closing her car door, Griff hollered down to her. “Hey, Margie, did that feed supplier call?”

      Jolie spun around to stare at Griff Price. That was Margie?

      Chapter Two

      So much for making assumptions, Jolie thought. Obviously Margie was not Griff Price’s wife.

      Jolie tore her surprised look away from Griff and looked back to see Margie, driving like someone qualifying for the Indy 500, head out to the main road in a cloud of dust.

      Not meeting her eye, Griff took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair. “She was in a hurry.”

      Jolie choked back a sarcastic remark. He turned to go back out the door, as if that was all the information Jolie needed.

      Was he just going to leave her standing here? She stepped in front of him, grabbing the sleeve of his sheepskin jacket, blocking his path. “Wait a minute. Where are you going?”

      He stared at her for a moment with those sky-blue eyes, then shook her hand off his arm and ran his hands tiredly over his face. “I told you. I have stock that needs tending.”

      Confused, Jolie looked around. “Is your wife here?”

      His face hardened into a scowl. “No wife.”

      Jolie’s hand dropped to her side, and she eyed the big cowboy. Now a few of the pieces of the puzzle that hadn’t made sense fell into place.

      She suspected she knew why he was acting so rude. His wife had left him with their child. He was hurting and he covered it up with anger. How many times had she watched her father do the same thing?

      “I’m sorry.” It sounded trite, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say.

      “Don’t be.” He said curtly and shrugged one shoulder as if he wanted her to think it didn’t bother him. Abruptly he turned toward the stairs. “I’ll show you the baby’s room.”

      She followed him, her heels clicking on the bare wood of the stairs. He stopped at an open door and gestured for her to go ahead of him.

      The only light in the room came from the hall. Jolie could see a crib in the corner and assumed Griff’s son was asleep. Then, as her eyes became accustomed to the gloom, she saw movement in the small bed.

      Jolie turned to ask Griff the child’s name, and the words died on her lips.

      He was gone.

      He had left her standing alone in the doorway, with no information about his son. Jolie felt the outrage grow inside her.

      How could he leave her standing here without even bothering to give her the baby’s name? Angry or not, the man needed to pull himself together for the sake of his child.

      Jolie flipped the light switch. The baby boy sat quietly in the corner of his crib, staring at her, his big blue eyes blinking against the sudden light. He had a head of blond curls and was going to grow up to look just like his daddy.

      Jolie hoped he ended up with a better disposition.

      “Well hello there, little guy,” she said.

      Staying where she was for a moment, she smiled at the child, afraid to approach too quickly and frighten him. She knew some babies were afraid of strangers.

      He СКАЧАТЬ