Rust Creek Falls Cinderella. Melissa Senate

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СКАЧАТЬ always try to do the right thing,” he said. “But trust me, dinner with a lovely woman is hardly a chore, Lily. I’d love to take you out to dinner if you’re up for it.”

      Her expression changed from wary and pissed to surprised. She lifted her chin. “Well, when you put it like that.” She flashed him a smile, a genuine smile that lit up her entire face. For a moment he couldn’t pull his gaze off her.

      “You’re probably wondering why I’m wearing a hoodie and sneakers on a date,” she said. “I just changed back into my work clothes. I could put the dress on again if you want to wait a few minutes.”

      “You look incredibly comfortable,” he said, tugging at the collar of his button-down shirt. “Trust me, I’ll take jeans and a T-shirt over a button-down and tie any day. Luckily, as a rancher, I’m not often forced into a tie.”

      She smiled that smile again. “Well, then, guess we’re not eating here. Unwritten dress code. And to be honest, though I love the food at the Manor, I have it all the time.”

      “Perk of the job, but I get it,” he said. “Casual always works for me. I’m new around here, but I already know Ace in the Hole and Wings to Go pretty well. Either of those sound good?”

      “Ooh, I’m craving chicken wings—in extra tangy barbecue sauce.”

      “Woman after my own heart,” he said, gesturing toward the door.

      She stared at him for a moment, then rushed outside as if she needed a gulp of air. “Uh, Wings to Go isn’t very far.” They started walking, Lily stopping to pet a tiny dog with huge amber eyes, then to look at a red bird on a branch. He liked that she noticed her environment—and animals in particular. Xander’s mind was always so crammed with this and that he’d walked straight into a fence post the other day. Two of his brothers had a good laugh over that one.

      Once inside the small take-out shop, they ordered a heap of wings and four kinds of sauces. Lily got out her wallet, but he told her to put it away, that tonight was on him.

      “Well, thank you very much,” she said. “I appreciate that.”

      “My pleasure.” He glanced out the window. “Given that it’s such a gorgeous night, want to take our dinner to the park? We have a good hour of sunlight left.”

      “Perfect,” she said with a smile. “And good thing my dachshunds aren’t with us. Dobby and Harry would clear out the wings before we could unpack them. They’d even eat the celery on the side because it smells like chicken wings.”

      He laughed at the thought of two dachshunds attacking a piece of celery. He held the door open, and they exited into the breezy night air. She sure was easy to talk to, much more than he expected. Not that he’d expected anything since the only thing he’d known about Knox’s date was her name. “I’ve always wanted dogs. Maybe one day.”

      On the way to the park, they chatted about dog breeds and Lily told him a funny story about a Great Dane named Queenie who’d fallen in love with Dobby but ignored Harry, who was jealous. He told her about the two hamsters his dad had finally let him get when he was nine, and how they were so in love with each other they ignored him. She cracked up for a good minute and he had to say, she had a great laugh.

      Rust Creek Falls Park was just a few blocks away and not crowded, but there were plenty of people walking and biking and enjoying the beautiful night. Since they didn’t have a blanket, they chose a picnic table and she sat across from him. For a moment they watched a little kid try to untangle the string of his kite. He looked like he might start bawling, but his mom came over and in moments the green turtle was aloft again. Xander swallowed, the tug of emotion always socking him in the stomach when he saw little kids with their moms. Big kids, too. He was always surprised at how the sight affected him. After all these years.

      He turned his attention back to Lily and started opening the bags containing their wings. “My brothers and I love the food at the Maverick Manor. We’re there for lunch and dinner pretty often. I’ll bet you have something to do with that.”

      She popped open the containers of sauces. “Well, thanks. I hope so. I love cooking. And I love working at the Manor. I can try all kinds of interesting specials and the executive chef always says yes. Lamb tagine was last night’s special and it was such a hit. Nothing makes me feel like a million bucks more than when someone compliments my food.”

      “I love how passionate you are about your work,” he said. “Everyone should be that lucky.”

      “Are you?” she asked.

      He dunked a wing in barbecue sauce. “Yes, ma’am. One hundred percent cowboy. A horse, endless acres, cattle, the workings of a ranch—it’s what I was born to do.”

      She stared at him, her green eyes shining. “That’s exactly how I feel—about cooking! That I was born to be in the kitchen, with my ingredients and a stove.”

      He held out his chicken wing and she clinked hers to his in a toast, and they both laughed.

      Huh. Whodathought this night would work out so well? When he’d heard his brother Knox arguing with his dad earlier and then calling his date and canceling, he’d been livid. Not so much at his brother for not just sucking it up and going on the date, but at his father for being such a busybody. Knox might have gone on the blind date if he hadn’t learned his dad had been responsible for it in the first place. Xander and Logan had told the other four brothers what their father was up to and to hide behind all large tumbleweeds if they saw Viv Dalton coming with her phone and notebook and clipboard, but Knox had thought the whole thing was a joke. Until Viv had apparently cornered him into going on a blind date with one Lily Hunt. He’d agreed and had apparently meant to cancel, then had put the whole thing out of his mind. Until his dad had said, “Knox, shouldn’t you be getting ready for your date tonight?”

      Knox’s face: priceless. A combination of Oh crud and Now what the hell am I gonna do?

      “What’s so terrible about you going on a date?” Maximilian Crawford had said so innocently. “Some dinner, a glass of wine. Maybe a kiss if you like each other.” The famous smile slid into place.

      Knox had been fuming. “I always meant to politely cancel. I’ve been working so hard on the fence line the last couple days that I totally forgot about calling Viv to say forget it.”

      “Guess you’re going then,” Max had said with too much confidence.

      Knox had shaken his head. “Every single woman in town is after us. Who wouldn’t want to marry into a family with a patriarch who has a million dollars to throw around? No thanks.”

      “Well, it is a numbers game,” their dad had said.

      Knox had been exasperated. “I don’t want to hurt my date’s feelings, but I’m not a puppet. I’m canceling. Even at the eleventh hour. She’ll just have to understand.”

      Would she, though? Getting canceled on when she was likely already waiting for Knox to show up?

      So Xander had stepped in—surprising himself. He’d avoided Viv Dalton, the wedding planner behind the woman deluge, like the plague whenever he saw her headed toward him in town with that “ooh, there’s a Crawford” look on her face. But c’mon. He couldn’t just let Knox’s date get stood up because his brother was so...stubborn.

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