She knew this instinctively even without the praises from
Libby and Sarah. And a darn fine looking man, too.
“ Why
not? ”
The question echoed in
her mind. Why not? Phillip had taken everything away from her, or
she had let him do so. Half an hour ago, she ’ d
been ready to confront him, no matter how her courage had wobbled.
Was she also going to let him take away her chance to start a new
life in Coldwater Springs?
She had a nice place to
live, courtesy of Libby, a blossoming friendship with her roommate
and her cousin and shifts at the diner - unless Betty fired her. And
now Luke was offering her a job doing what she did best - accounts.
She looked at him. Was
she ready to take a chance on life? “ Okay.
I accept. ” A shy smile tilted up
the corners of her mouth.
“ Great. ” He grinned and her heart flip-flopped. “ And
I know some other ranchers who would be grateful for some accountancy
help. I can introduce you to them. ”
She smiled back, certain
she'd made the right decision. She was going to stay in Coldwater
Springs.
###
Cassie drove up to the
rambling ranch house. Her car had finally been fixed, and she was
ready to get started on Luke ’ s
accounts. To her surprise, Betty hadn ’ t
fired her, but instead had given her a motherly hug and to let her
know if that “ low down rat ” ever came to town, so she could give him a piece of her mind.
Cassie also found the
courage to tell Libby and Sarah why she had wound up in Coldwater
Springs. Their reactions had been similar to Betty ’ s,
Libby urging her to give her boyfriend, Sheriff Jake Morgan, a
description of Phillip as well as the make and model of his car. “ And I ’ ll
make sure he stops him, ” Libby said.
She giggled, a battle-ready glint in her eyes. “ Which
shouldn ’ t be a problem, because he
likes stopping strangers coming into Coldwater Springs. ”
Cassie remembered Sarah ’ s
lips curving in amusement at her cousin ’ s
private joke and told herself she ’ d
have to ask Libby one day exactly what she ’ d
meant.
She parked the car in
front of the house, butterflies dancing in her stomach at the thought
of being alone with Luke. Now that she ’ d
opened up about her past, maybe she could finally move on.
Unfortunately, she ’ d never been the
kind of curvy girl who ’ d attracted a
flock of men. Was Luke interested in her or was he merely being
nice?
Hoping for the former,
Cassie stepped onto the porch and rang the doorbell. Luke had
suggested afternoon as a good time, so she ’ d
finished an early shift at the diner, ate lunch, and then drove out
to his ranch. Although it was only twenty minutes away from Main
Street, the homestead seemed to be in another world. In the far
distance she could see mountains with a faint dusting of snow,
although it was late April. Cows and horses dotted the lush green
pasture surrounding the house, munching grass or ambling around the
fields.
The door opened and she
drank in her first sight of Luke in three days. Wearing faded jeans
and a blue shirt, the ranch clothes emphasized his powerful, muscular
frame.
“ Hi. ”
“ Hi. ” She cleared her throat as awareness rippled through her. His gaze
swept over her, as if he was taking in every detail of her beige
pants and jade-green blouse.
“ Come
in. ” He ushered her inside and led
the way to a small study.
An old wooden desk
covered in papers caught her eye. Drawing closer, she saw that there
were two main piles.
“ I
sorted them into income and expenses, ” Luke explained, his voice close to her ear. He stood next to her,
and she closed her eyes for a split second to savor his closeness
before focusing on the papers in front of her.
“ Do
you have an accounts program? ”
“ Right
here. I ’ ve already wrestled with my
tax return and turned it in. ” He
reached around her and pressed a couple of keys on the computer
keyboard. An accounts program flashed up on the screen. “ The
last time I did the