A Little Bit Country: A Little Bit Country / Blackberry Summer. RaeAnne Thayne

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СКАЧАТЬ up to the fourth and fifth generation.”

      A heavyset woman Rorie assumed was the housekeeper entered the kitchen, hauling a mop and bucket. She inspected Rorie with a measuring glance and seemed to find her lacking. She grumbled something about city girls as she sidled past Skip.

      “Didn’t know you’d decided to hold a convention right in the middle of my kitchen.”

      “Mary,” Clay said, “this is Rorie Campbell, from San Francisco. Her car broke down, so she’ll be staying with us for the next few days. Could you see that a bed is made up for her?”

      The older woman’s wide face broke into a network of frown lines.

      “Oh, please, I can do that myself,” Rorie said quickly.

      Mary nodded. “Sheets are in the closet at the top of the stairs.”

      “Rorie is our guest.” Clay didn’t raise his voice, but his displeasure was evident in every syllable.

      Mary shrugged, muttering, “I got my own things to do. If the girl claims she can make a bed, then let her.”

      Rorie couldn’t contain her smile.

      “You want to invite some city slicker to stay, then fine, but I got more important matters to attend to before I make up a bed for her.” With that, Mary marched out of the kitchen.

      “Mary’s like family,” Skip explained. “It’s just her way to be sassy. She doesn’t mean anything by it.”

      “I’m sure she doesn’t,” Rorie said, smiling so Clay and Skip would know she wasn’t offended. She gathered that the Franklins’ housekeeper didn’t hold a high opinion of anyone from the city and briefly wondered why.

      “I’ll get your suitcase from the car,” Skip said, heading for the door.

      Clay finished his drink and set the glass on the counter. “I’ve got to get back to work,” he told her, pausing for a moment before he added, “You won’t be bored by yourself, will you?”

      “Not at all. Don’t worry about me.”

      Clay nodded. “Dinner’s at six.”

      “I’ll be ready.”

      Rorie picked up the empty glasses and put them by the sink. While she waited for Skip to carry in her luggage, she phoned Dan. Unfortunately he was in a meeting and couldn’t be reached, so she left a message, explaining that she’d been delayed and would call again. She felt strangely reluctant to give him the Franklins’ phone number, but decided there was no reason not to do so. She also decided not to examine that feeling too closely.

      Skip had returned by the time she’d hung up. “Clay says you can have Mom and Dad’s old room,” the teenager announced on his way through the door. He hauled her large suitcase in one hand and her flight bag was slung over his shoulder. “Their room’s at the other end of the house. They were killed in an accident five years ago.”

      “But—”

      “Their room’s got the best view.”

      “Skip, really, any bedroom will do... I don’t want your parents’ room.”

      “But that’s the one Clay wants for you.” He bounded up the curving stairway with the energy reserved for the young.

      Rorie followed him more slowly. She slid her hand along the polished banister and glanced into the living room. A large natural-rock fireplace dominated one wall. The furniture was built of solid oak, made comfortable with thick chintz-covered cushions. Several braided rugs were placed here and there on the polished wood floor. A piano with well-worn ivory keys stood to one side. The collection of family photographs displayed on top of it immediately caught her eye. She recognized a much younger Clay in what had to be his high-school graduation photo. The largest picture in an ornate brass frame was of a middle-aged couple, obviously Clay and Skip’s parents.

      Skip paused at the top of the stairway and looked over his shoulder. “My grandfather built this house more than fifty years ago.”

      “It’s magnificent.”

      “We think so,” he admitted, eyes shining with pride.

      The master bedroom, which was at the end of the hallway, opened onto a balcony that presented an unobstructed panorama of the entire valley. Rolling green pastures stretched as far as the eye could see. Rorie felt instantly drawn to this unfamiliar rural beauty. She drew a deep breath, and the thought flashed through her mind that it must be comforting to wake up to this serene landscape day after day.

      “Everyone loves it here,” Skip said from behind her.

      “I can understand why.”

      “Well, I suppose I should get back to work,” he said regretfully, setting her suitcases on the double bed. A colorful quilt lay folded at its foot.

      Rorie turned toward him, smiling. “Thank you, Skip. I hate to think what would’ve happened to me if you hadn’t come along when you did.”

      He blushed and started backing out of the room, taking small steps as though he was loath to leave her. “I’ll see you at dinner, okay?”

      Rorie smiled again. “I’ll look forward to it.”

      “Bye for now.” He raised his right hand in a farewell gesture, then whirled around and dashed down the hallway. She could hear his feet pounding on the stairs.

      It took Rorie only a few minutes to hang her things in the bare closet. When she’d finished, she went back to the kitchen, where Mary was busy peeling potatoes at the stainless steel sink.

      “I’d like to help, if I could.”

      “Fine,” the housekeeper answered gruffly. She took another potato peeler out of a nearby drawer, slapping it down on the counter. “I suppose that’s your fancy sports car in the yard.”

      “The water pump has to be replaced...I think,” Rorie answered, not bothering to mention that the MGB wasn’t actually hers.

      “Humph,” was Mary’s only response.

      Rorie sighed and reached for a large potato. “The mechanic in Riversdale said it would take until Saturday to get a replacement part.”

      For the second time, Mary answered her with a gruff-sounding humph. “If then! Saturday or next Thursday or a month from now, it’s all the same to George. Fact is, you could end up staying here all summer.”

       Three

      Mary’s words echoed in Rorie’s head as she joined Clay and Skip at the dinner table that evening. She stood just inside the dining room, dressed in a summer skirt and a cotton-knit cream-colored sweater, and announced, “I can’t stay any longer than four days.”

      Clay regarded her blankly. “I have no intention of holding you prisoner, Rorie.”

      “I СКАЧАТЬ