Reese was in the office when Shay returned. He heard the screen door open and close. Coming out of his office, he walked down the hall, meeting her as she entered the kitchen. “Well? How did it go with Maud?” he asked, watching her hang her hat and purse on a peg.
“Unbelievable,” she said, turning to him. “I wish I’d talked to Maud a long time before this.” Shay gave him a warm look and gestured to the table. “Sit down? I’ll tell you everything.”
Nodding, Reese walked over to the table, pulling out Shay’s chair. “You look happy.” But he also saw redness in her eyes, as if she’d been crying. He wasn’t sure what that was about. Going to the sink, he poured them glasses of water and brought them over to the table. Earlier, Garret had made a mulligan stew with chicken, and the spicy aroma was permeating the kitchen, making his mouth water. Tonight, the vet was going to make sourdough biscuits that were presently rising in a huge bowl covered with a cloth on the counter.
“Thanks,” Shay said, taking the glass from him.
Reese sat down at her elbow, his fingers tingling. Damn, he wanted any excuse to touch Shay. “Tell me what happened.” He sat and listened to her bubble excitedly about her lunch and discussion with Maud Whitcomb. When she was done, he smiled a little.
“No question, Maud Whitcomb is a dynamo,” he said. “And I’m glad I’ll get to meet her and Steve.”
“Maud is going to call you in a few days,” Shay said. “She wants to get you and Steve together. Wants to meet here to organize the arena-raising—a planning session is what she called it.”
“Good,” Reese said, seeing the excitement burning in her blue eyes. His chest flooded with warm feelings. He wanted to always see that hope in Shay’s eyes. Reese had to tear his gaze from her eyes, and from the lips that he swore he could feel beneath his own. He coveted her in the worst of ways. And a part of him felt guilty because Shay wasn’t even aware of his interest in her. Maybe, in time, when he’d proven himself as a person she could rely upon, he could let her know in small, subtle ways, that he wanted to know her better on a purely personal level. Everything was so tentative. How could she be interested in him at all? Now or later? He was not successful. Just the opposite. That cold wash of reality flowed through Reese and he gently tucked his yearning for Shay away.
“Do you want to help in the planning, Reese?”
He smiled, forcing himself not to reach out and touch her hand. “Absolutely. Anything that can get that arena enclosed is money just waiting to come into your bank account.” He saw her glow, a flush coming to her cheeks.
Shay reached out, gripping his hand, squeezing it. “I owe this all to you, Reese. It was such a great idea! I’m so glad you pushed me into talking with Maud.” Reluctantly, she released his hand.
Reese felt his body respond to her unbidden touch. Did she realize what she did to him? No, she didn’t. She was a spontaneous wild child of sorts, and he liked her that way, but it was playing hell on his hungry body. He grinned. “Well, give yourself a little credit. You took the idea and ran with it.”
“Oh!” Shay touched her cheeks. “I forgot to tell you! Maud is going to have twenty pounds of buffalo meat dropped off at the ranch every Monday! She’s only charging us forty cents a pound. Can we afford that?”
Chuckling, Reese said, “Yeah, Garret will stop bitching about having no beef to cook with. And I’m far enough into the ranch books to see you can afford to pay Maud that amount for the meat.”
She laughed huskily and smiled at him.
His heart flew open. The look in Shay’s blue eyes went straight into his heart and he held it gently. In that moment, Reese realized he was seeing the unfettered Shay Crawford, not the woman who had been told by her father she was stupid and of no importance. His heart ached for her, and Reese desperately wanted to love this woman who was chained to her past with her truculent father. As long as Ray was alive, she was going to be under his influence. Reese wanted to change that dynamic, but he wasn’t sure how he could do it. Silently, he admitted Shay triggered every protective instinct he owned. She deserved to be held, loved, and kept safe.
“Garret will do a dance when he hears buffalo meat is going to be delivered,” Reese said with a chuckle, finishing off his glass of water.
“Yes, we’ll never hear the end of it.” Shay laughed softly, scooting the chair back and rising. “I need to get to work.”
“Me too.” As he stood, he said, “You told me your father keeps the accounting book for his savings account at the nursing home?”
“Yes. Why?”
Shrugging, Reese walked over to the sink with her. “It would be nice to see it. It’s part of the ranch’s financial health and history. Part of the moving pieces that help me understand the financial ups and downs a ranch goes through. I know it’s his money and he’s not loaning any of it to you.”