From the Boots Up (6 page)

Good, Meg thought. Talk to the hand, jerk-off.

Davey leaned in a little closer to Gina, who stood up
suddenly. She said something to the people she’d been talking to earlier, then caught
Meg’s eye and gave her a smile and wave before she left the circle, probably on
her way to her room.

Meg waved back, and thought about summer crushes and
how they could come out of nowhere and leave you unsettled and uncertain. After
all, she wasn’t even sure Gina was into women. For all she knew, she had a
boyfriend stashed away in California, and she’d be using a calling card on the
ranch’s land line to call him every chance she got. Or maybe she was into women
but had a girlfriend, a reporter like her, and they talked to each other about
all the places they’d visited and all the stories they’d published.

She frowned at the flames, and frowned harder at
Davey, who was watching Gina walk across the parking lot.

What the hell was she thinking? She was just a
college student who grew up on a ranch in Wyoming.

Nothing fancy. Nothing showy. Kind of a loner. Not
much of a chance with someone like a hotshot reporter out of Los Angeles.
Though it looked like Davey didn’t have a shot, either, which helped a little.
That would suck, if anything developed between Gina and Davey. She stood and
said her good nights as well. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day and she
needed to get some sleep.

T
he next day
involved getting fifteen new
guests settled, helping both Davey and Jackson saddle horses for trail rides,
feeding and watering several others, and playing gopher for Stan. She hadn’t seen
Gina all morning, which was probably a good thing, since Gina was a big
distraction.

Around one, she realized she hadn’t eaten lunch yet
so she went to the kitchen, hoping for one of Alice’s sandwiches. “Hey, Alice,”
she said as she entered through the back door and took her hat off and hung it
on one of the pegs near the door.

“I was wondering when you’d show up.” Alice looked up
from the stove. “There are sandwiches in the fridge.”

“You’re a goddess.”

Alice laughed as Meg took a sandwich out. She studied
it through the plastic wrap.

“Turkey and Swiss.”

“Yum. Thanks.” She carried it to the counter by the
back door and sat on one of the stools, facing away from the counter so she
could see Alice. She unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite.

“That is so good,” she said after she’d swallowed.

“Maybe you’re just that hungry.”

“Nope. Your sandwiches are just that good.”

Alice finished stirring what smelled like beef stew
and took one of the to-go cups down from a shelf above the stainless steel
restaurant-style counter behind her and filled it with iced tea from the
refrigerator. She handed it to Meg.

“Thanks.” She took a drink and set the cup on the
counter behind her.

“Chatted with that reporter this morning.” Alice
checked the other pot on the stove.

Meg caught the aroma of baked beans and brown sugar.
She didn’t respond to her comment.

“Sharp.”

“Yeah. So be careful what you say around her.”

She chuckled. “I like her. Have you had a chance to
talk to her?”

The bite she’d just taken was suddenly a lot harder
to swallow. “Not really. Busy.”

Alice shot her a look.

“She just got here,” she said defensively. “She’ll be
here for a while. I’m sure she’ll corner me at some point and drag Diamond Rock
secrets out of me.” But she knew Gina wouldn’t have to do much convincing. One
of her smiles would be sufficient.

“I know you’ll be the best possible diplomat. When
you put your mind to it, you can charm the fight out of a bull.”

She laughed. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Honey, I’ve known you since you were sixteen. You
might pretend to be prickly, but underneath, you’re a sweet and sensitive soul.
Makes you endearing.” She gave her a wink.

“Yeah, well, don’t share that with anyone. It’ll ruin
my rep.”

Alice smiled and Meg took the last bite of her
sandwich and balled the wrapper up then finished her tea. She put the wrapper
into the empty cup and walked both to the trash can in the dishwashing room.

“Thanks, Alice. That was super good. See you at
dinner.” She grabbed her hat from the peg and went out the front so she could
cut the distance to the main office. She was halfway there when the main office
door opened and out stepped her dad. With Gina. Meg ducked behind one of the
SUVs that a couple of guests had driven up and watched them through the windows
as they walked toward the stables.

They hadn’t seen her and she relaxed. Gina made her
all kinds of nervous, and she really didn’t want to talk to her when her dad
was right there. Because he might be able to tell, and how bad would that screw
things up? If he saw that his daughter had a crush on the reporter whose story could
change a whole lot of things for the ranch? She just needed a couple of days to
get this thing under control, and then she’d be fine.

“Hey,” Davey said behind her, startling her. He gave
her a strange look. “Can you take a ride with Floyd?” He asked. “We’re looking
for a few cows and they might be over by the Carlson spread. I’ve got to take a
group up the trail with Mark.”

She almost hugged him, deciding to conveniently forget
about Stan wanting her to stick around this day. It was nearly two, anyway.
She’d be back in a couple of hours. “Sure.”

“Thanks. Floyd’ll meet you at the far side of the
north pasture.”

She collected Rusty from the paddock and saddled him
at the far end of the stable, though she didn’t see either Gina or her dad. She
swung onto Rusty’s back and was on her way before her luck changed, as
ridiculous as it was that she was trying to avoid an attractive woman rather
than get to know her better. She nudged Rusty into a trot. It wasn’t cool to
have a crush on the reporter it had taken weeks to arrange. By the time she got
back, she should be able to handle another dinner with her in a mature and
detached fashion. With that goal, she let Rusty have a little steam, and the
wind on her face and the solid thud of his hooves on the earth cleared her head
a little.

Until she got back.

She’d no doubt see Gina at dinner, and she’d have to
keep it together and hopefully not come across like some damn teenager in lust.
She showered and dressed in clean clothes before she went to dinner. She spent
the next ten minutes fussing with her hair. She should get a trim, at least,
because it fell in unruly dark damp waves to her shoulders and her bangs were
starting to encroach on her eyebrows. She messed with it some more and frowned,
realizing that she never spent this long on her hair. What the hell was she
trying to accomplish? Gina was off-limits.

A guest.

The reporter.

Not an ideal situation for anything besides platonic
professionalism.

She stared at her reflection and laughed, a little
ruefully. Like Gina would have any interest in her beyond an interview for her
article. She was a journalist, after all, and trained in extracting information
and maybe writing stuff that ended up not being flattering after all. She
turned away from the mirror. Maybe having a crush on a journalist wasn’t such a
good idea, because it could end up biting her in the ass, especially if she
told her a story that made it into print in an entirely different context.
Yeah, maybe she needed to re-think this from that angle. That should kill any
kind of crush.

She went downstairs and walked around to the front
entrance of the dining room. Things got crazy in the kitchen around meal times,
so she tried to stay out of the way then unless Alice needed her help with
something. The tables were already half-full with people laughing and talking
over big bowls of stew and thick slices of Alice’s famous cornbread.

Meg filled a bowl for herself and carried it and her
silverware to a vacant spot at the table closest to the door. The table was
mostly empty, though a few guests sat at the opposite end. She smiled at them
before she went back and loaded a plate with salad and fresh vegetables then
carried it back to her seat, where she settled in and poured herself a glass of
water from one of the plastic pitchers that staff put out on all the tables,
along with stacks of napkins. Troy came by with a basket of cornbread that he
set next to her and Meg took a piece, making sure to fold the cloth back over
the remaining pieces to keep them warm and moist.

“Hi, there,” Marjorie said. “Can I join you? Or are
you feeling the need for space?”

She laughed. “Space? I get plenty of that all day.”
She buttered her piece of cornbread.

“Mental space,” she clarified with a smile.

“It’s all good. Have a seat.”

Marjorie sank gratefully onto the bench.

“Did you go on a ride today?”

“I did. I do believe I’m going to be a little bit
sore.”

“Hot shower,” she said sympathetically. “And we have
a supply of sport rub if you need it.”

“I may take you up on that.”

“Do some easy stretches before you go to bed, and
take some Advil. We’ve got that, too.”

“I’ll bet you do.” She took a bit of her stew. “Oh,
this is divine. Where did you find Alice?”

“She found us, actually. Our last cook left when I
was around sixteen. We were lucky he left after the guest season ended because
that gave my dad time to look around for someone. He was getting kind of
worried by January and couldn’t find a good match. Then toward the end of
January, Alice comes driving up in her truck. She parked right in front of the
office and went right in. My dad was there going over the books and she walks
in and says she’s new to the area and she needs a job. My dad asked her if she
could cook.” She grinned. “Turns out, she could. And she kinda liked us, so she
stuck around. Lucky us, huh?”

“And all the guests who are able to experience her
meals.” She poured herself a glass of water and took a piece of cornbread out
of the basket.

“Room for another?”

Meg tried to quell the little kicks in her stomach at
Gina’s voice, but it was a lost effort. “Definitely.” She smiled up at her.

“Hi,” Marjorie said with genuine warmth. “Sit
yourself right here.” She patted the bench to her left and Gina sat down.
Across from Meg. Right in her line of sight. She was wearing a black tee,
tucked into faded jeans. Another round of sparks swirled through Meg’s chest.
Her earlier resolve was clearly not working.

“So what’d everybody do today?” Gina asked. She
tossed a little smile at Meg, but Marjorie answered first.

“A lovely horseback ride, then a stroll up the road. I
spent some time chatting with a few of the other guests. It’s been perfectly
relaxing. And you?” She asked Gina.

“I talked to a few people myself. Did some writing.”

“Do you take notes when you interview people?”
Marjorie asked.

“Depends on the situation. I do generally write a few
things down in a live interview because it’ll help trigger me to remember
details. When I’m doing a phone interview, I type during the conversation, so I
can be as accurate as possible when I quote someone, and make sure that the
context is correct, too.” She looked expectantly at Meg. “And your day?”

“Ranch stuff,” she said with a little smile of her
own.

“Ah. Mysterious. Antelope trafficking, perhaps?” she
asked innocently.

“Definitely. And then I had to go check on the UFO
crash, see how the aliens are doing with their repairs.”

Marjorie giggled and Gina’s smile widened.

Doomed, Meg thought. I’m doomed. The longest week in
the history of weeks was upon her.

“So when can I schedule you for a sit-down with me?”
Gina asked, the hint of an invitation in her eyes.

Or so Meg wished. “Have your people call mine, we’ll
see what we can work out.”

“I’ll do that.”

A few other guests took nearby seats and engaged them
in another conversation about the history of the area, which Meg knew, so
fortunately she was able to maybe impress Gina a little. Marjorie finished and
took her dishes to the bus table as Davey joined the group nearby and proceeded
to try to charm the daughter of one of the guests, a perky, blond, twenty-ish
woman.

“Should I be offended?” Gina asked in a low voice.

Meg glanced back at her. “About what?”

“That Davey doesn’t find me nearly as interesting as
Tiffany.” Her smile seemed to heat her eyes.

She grinned, thinking that Gina probably already knew
all of the other guests by now. “So you’ve already figured out a few dynamics
around here. Not bad for your first day.” And she was secretly pleased that
she’d read her correctly at the bonfire the night before.

“He makes it pretty easy.”

“The funny part is, he thinks he’s slick at it.”

Gina chuckled. “It no doubt works on some women.”

“You don’t strike me as the type his approach would
work on,” she said, and instantly regretted it. Oh, shit.

She regarded her for a few seconds. “And what type is
that?”

Meg swallowed and wished her dad would suddenly
appear and ask her to go check on the horses, immediately. “The, um, type that
sees through come-ons like that.”

“I take it that’s a good type,” and another smile
flickered at the corners of her mouth.

Meg wrenched her gaze back up to Gina’s eyes, but that
view was just as disconcerting. “Unless you like that sort of thing,” she
managed, wincing internally at how stupid that sounded.

“Depends on the context.”

She was about to respond with something that would
change the subject before she was up to her neck when Davey interrupted. She
hadn’t noticed him get up from his seat.

“Hey, Meg. Miss Morelli. Gotta borrow Meg for a
minute.” He flashed Gina a grin that Meg recognized as the one he used to charm
the womenfolk. For her part, Gina simply nodded at him and reached for her iced
tea.