“See?” Charlie gloated, preening. “I told you he was a man with a lot of talents.”
Reese felt uncomfortable with such enthusiastic praise, but stood as relaxed as he could. Shay Crawford might be attractive as hell, but she was a woman with a lot of confidence and she wore the mantle of leadership well. There was no wedding ring on her left hand, but that didn’t mean anything. He was sure she was in a relationship. He didn’t see her being snooty, bossy, or power hungry because she was in control. Instead, she seemed pensive, studying him openly and without apology, searching his eyes, looking over his face and body. Reese thought he might as well be a horse she was considering buying. He was waiting for her to ask him to open his mouth so she could look at his teeth.
“I’m dying of hunger,” she told Reese. “Would you like to come over to Kassie’s Café and have a cup of coffee with me? I can give you a lot more information about the Bar C there. If the place isn’t too much for you to handle. I can always find somewhere that is quieter, with fewer distractions.”
Reese looked at her and felt his heart stir. The honesty in this woman’s eyes held him in thrall. He was shaken over her last comment. Only someone with PTSD would ask that kind of question. He stared at her, trying to decipher more of who she really was. She stared back fearlessly, unafraid of his intense inspection. And if Reese wasn’t mistaken, he thought he saw interest in him as a man, in her eyes. Which, he thought, was his imagination because he was clearly drawn to her. In the back of his mind, Reese was sure she was either married, engaged, or had a steady relationship. There was no way a woman like her was single and alone. No freakin’ way.
“Kassie’s sounds fine. I can handle noise for a while,” he said, nodding, settling the gray Stetson on his head. “Lead the way to the café.”
Charlie put Reese’s purchases beneath the counter, saying he could come by later and pick them up. Reese thanked him and took long strides to the door, where he opened it for Shay and saw her blush. Her glance up at him was appreciative, and something else. But what?
As Reese followed her out to a dark blue Ford three-quarter-ton pickup, he watched the sway of her hips down those six wooden steps to the asphalt parking lot that held spots of melting snow. Several other pickups drove in and parked. Cowboys emerged. Reese decided it was a pretty popular place for ranchers. But given Charlie owned it and he was a good person, Reese could see why he’d get business from the hardworking ranch crews.
He opened the door of the truck for Shay before she could reach for the handle.
Flustered, Shay turned and looked up at him. “Really, I’m not helpless, Mr. Lockhart. I’ll open my own doors from now on.”
He gave her an apologetic glance. “As I said, habits die hard in me.” And he smiled a little, seeing the warmth come to her eyes for a moment as she climbed in.
“Military men are like that,” she admitted, a little breathless as she closed her own door.
Reese liked her backbone. She was a strong, self-assured woman. He opened the door and climbed in, his hopes rising. Shay Crawford would not have invited him to coffee if she wasn’t going to hire him. His chest swelled with relief that nearly overwhelmed him. Reese had never worked for a woman before, but that didn’t grate on him at all. His mother had raised him to always respect women and be courteous toward them. And as she backed the truck expertly out of the dirt parking lot, Reese buckled up, feeling like today was his lucky day.
Chapter Two
Shay sat with Reese Lockhart at Kassie’s Café. Midafternoon, there were very few patrons in the small, cozy restaurant. Kassie was behind the counter and waved hello to them. Twenty-nine and single, she had lively green eyes, long black hair that was usually styled in a set of braids, and she and Shay were the same height.