Vegas Vows, Texas Nights. Charlene Sands

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СКАЧАТЬ Smart Special, a healthier alternative to a sugary treat. It was a fan favorite for those guilty of indulging over the weekend.

      Her assistant, Lori, knocked on the back door. Katie opened it to her smiling face.

      “Hey, good to see you. How was your trip?” Lori asked, as she walked past her and took off her sweater.

      “Uh, it was okay.”

      “That so? Just okay?” Lori sounded as if she had her doubts. They’d worked closely together for six years and knew each other pretty well. Now Lori was putting herself through college at night aiming for a degree in business, so the bakery hours were perfect for her. The shop closed at two in the afternoon. “Sounds like it wasn’t fun. Did something happen?”

      “No. Nothing. I’m just tired. I overslept.”

      “You never oversleep. Maybe you had too much fun in Vegas.” Lori winked. If she only knew. “You’re gonna have to give me deets. I’ve been cramming all weekend, stuck at my place, fantasizing about your fun weekend.”

      “There are no details.” Katie shrugged. “We had a good time. Saw a show. Got massages, did some dancing. Usual stuff.”

      “You were excited about it when you left here. I thought for sure you’d have some good Vegas stories to entertain me with this morning.”

      Lori put on her apron and they began measuring out ingredients. She started on chocolate ganache cupcakes with marshmallow filling while Katie worked on the special. They had their routine down to a science and being behind schedule meant one or two cupcakes would have to get the boot.

      “Sorry, Lori. Nothing much to report,” she fibbed. “How about we eliminate anything pumpkin, since the fall season has been over for a while,” she said, changing the subject.

      “Good choice.”

      “And if there are any complaints, you know what to do.”

      “Always.”

      It was her motto to keep the customer happy by giving away a free cupcake or two to ward off hostility. Although that rarely happened with her regular Boone Springs customers. They were like family. She knew most of them by name, as well as where they lived and how many kids they had. She often catered birthday parties and other occasions.

      While the cupcakes were baking, she worked on pastries, filling croissants, making cookies and cinnamon rolls. Between the two of them, working nonstop, they’d filled the bakery case shelves by 7:00 a.m. Coffee brewed and her regulars began popping into the shop.

      By nine thirty, there was a lull and Katie flopped into a chair in the small lounge by the back door. Exhaustion set in and it wasn’t just from lack of sleep, but acute mental fatigue over what happened in Vegas this past weekend.

      Lori gave her a sympathetic look. “Why don’t you go upstairs for an hour?” she suggested. “Get in a nap. I can handle things until it picks up again.”

      “Don’t we have deliveries today?” Sometimes they’d get orders from companies or restaurants or clients celebrating big birthdays.

      Lori scanned the list on the bakery wall. “It’s Monday and pretty calm right now.”

      “Thanks, but I’ll be fine in a few minutes. Just need to get a second wind.”

      The second wind didn’t come and by closing time, Katie was truly beat. She had one delivery to make, a last-minute order for a private dinner party happening later tonight. They needed a dozen tiramisu and a dozen lemon raspberry cupcakes, and while Lori closed up shop, Katie arranged the cupcakes in a box and taped it shut.

      “Let me take those for you,” Lori said. “I can drop them off on my way home. This way you can go upstairs now and relax, put your feet up.”

      “I can’t let you do that. You’ve got studying to do.”

      “It’ll take me ten minutes, tops. It’s my way of making up for all the days you let me off early when I had to cram for an exam. Say yes.”

      “You really are such a good friend. Yes. Thanks.”

      Lori smiled. “Welcome.”

      After Lori took off with the delivery, Katie climbed the stairs slowly and once inside her apartment, plopped down on her sofa. She turned on the television, struggling to keep her eyes open until she finally lost the battle.

      Normally, Luke spent most of his time in the office in the main house at Rising Springs Ranch. He took a hands-on approach to running things on the property and had a good relationship with Joe Buckley, their ranch foreman. They worked well together and Luke knew Joe wouldn’t let him down.

      Today he was at the Boone Springs corporate office, sitting in a room with his name plaque on the desk, staring out the window.

      He had Katie on the brain and he’d come into town today, just because he wanted to be close to her. Her bakery was only two blocks away, nestled in between a clothing boutique and a fabric store. Because of the location, the bakery got pretty good foot traffic. Even if it didn’t, Katie would be successful, because her pastries were the best in the county and because Luke had made sure no Boone holdings would ever compete with her.

      A little fact he’d kept secret.

      While he was serving the country, he’d made his wishes known and his brothers had all been onboard. He’d put the Rodgers family through enough and they’d done what they could to make sure Shelly and her family wouldn’t unintentionally suffer any hardships of their doing.

      But for him, it had mostly been about Katie. Wanting to see her succeed, wanting her to have a good life. God, when he’d come back home, he’d wished she had married, or at the very least, been in a serious relationship. Knowing she was still single had made his return torturous, yet he’d managed to keep his distance when he saw her around town or when they volunteered at the horse rescue.

      And then Vegas happened.

      Frustrated, he forced himself to go over ranching reports he’d pulled up on his computer. He had to get some work done, had to feel productive today, instead of daydreaming about seeing Katie again.

      A little after two in the afternoon, his cell phone rang. “Hey, Wes. How’s it going?” Luke usually didn’t hear from the manager of the horse rescue, so he knew this had to be important.

      “Hey, Luke. Sorry for the call, but it’s Snow. I’m sorry to say it might be her time. The ole girl isn’t breathing real well. I’ve had Dr. Hernandez out. He gave her some painkillers, but that’s about all he can do for her. Thought you’d like to know.”

      Luke’s stomach churned. Snowball was a mustang who’d been severely abused and she’d come to the rescue at the same time he’d returned home. He and Katie both had sort of taken the mare under their wing. They had a soft spot for the old girl. She’d been recovering, but the abuse had taken its toll on her and unfortunately with some of the horses, there wasn’t much else to do but ease their pain.

      “Thanks, Wes. Sorry to hear that. I’ll, uh, I’ll СКАЧАТЬ