Jeb McCabe, Hank’s older brother, came down off a ladder and sauntered forward. “Hey, Ally,” he said. “Good to see you!” The former rodeo star gave her shoulders a casual squeeze, then turned back to his sister. “As for you-you wouldn’t have trouble in the love arena if you picked good guys to begin with.”
Emily scowled.
Apparently, Ally thought, this was an old and familiar argument.
Holden McCabe, Hank’s younger brother, joined the conversation. Serious and responsible to a fault, even before his best friend’s untimely death a year before, the horse rancher regarded his baby sister kindly. “If you’d just let the men in the family vet your choices first…”
“He has a point,” Hank said protectively. “There’s no way you’d end up with losers if the three of us put them through the gauntlet first.”
Emily glared at all her big brothers. “What you mean is there’s no way I’d ever have another date in my life, if the three of you were involved! Although,” she declared cantankerously, as the front door opened and closed, “I’m not sure that would be such a bad thing!”
Behind her, Lulu Sanderson swept in. Gorgeous as ever, the sophisticated former prom queen made a beeline for where Hank and Ally were standing. Unlike everyone else in the room, dressed for manual labor, Lulu was wearing a Stella McCartney suede jacket, skinny jeans and Jimmy Choo heels.
The petite brunette smiled at Ally. “Hank told me you were back! And here I am, too, doing what I said I’d never do-working for my dad’s barbecue restaurant.”
This was a surprise, given that Lulu had gone to an Ivy League college and business school and-last Ally had heard-was successfully climbing the career ladder on the East Coast.
“Anyway…” Lulu turned back to Hank. She reached into her carryall and pulled out a piece of paper. “You can kiss me now, because I found a crew, and they’ll have half a dozen workers here tomorrow to paint the entire interior. They think they can do it in two days, as long as you email them before six tomorrow morning to let them know the color choice.”
Ally blinked in surprise and scanned the information handed her. “How did you manage that?”
Lulu lifted her hand in an airy wave. “Oh, I have connections all over the place. The crew is coming from San Angelo.” Correctly guessing the reason behind Ally’s concern, she continued, “And don’t worry about the cost. Hank has it covered.”
Ally turned back to him in stunned amazement.
He reassured her with a sober glance. “I know you want it done, as soon as possible, and I figure it’s the least I can do since you let me stay here rent-free the last six months.”
“Don’t let him fool you,” Emily McCabe interjected. “Hank is just trying to soften you up so you’ll let him buy Mesquite Ridge.”
Was that the case? Ally wondered. Was that the only reason he was being so incredibly generous and nice? His expression gave no clue.
WHILE HANK WALKED LULU OUT, Ally retreated to the kitchen to see what she could do about rustling up some refreshments for all the people who had turned out to help her. Emily tagged along, the puppy still in her arms. She knelt to replace the little dog in the warmer and pet Duchess and the other pups for a moment. Then she went to the window overlooking the side yard, where Hank stood, hands in his pockets, conversing privately with Lulu Sanderson.
Moving to the sink to wash her hands, Emily inclined her head toward the window and muttered, “I wish I could figure out what’s going on with the two of them.”
Me, too. Ally pushed aside the whisper of jealousy and worry floating through her. Why should she care who Hank chatted up?
Emily stood on tiptoe to get a better view. “They’re not dating, and yet…they seem almost intimate on some level. It’s like they’ve got something secret going on between them.”
Like Hank and me? Ally wondered, reflecting on the way they’d recklessly kissed…and later made love. No one knew about that, either, Ally thought uneasily. Not that it would have been appropriate to talk about, given the matter-of-fact way they’d hooked up.
Ally turned her attention back to Hank’s sister. Clearly, Emily was worried about Hank in a way Ally had never seen her be with her other two brothers. Was Hank right? Did every member of his family still treat him with kid gloves and think he needed extra protection from whatever life threw his way? It certainly seemed so.
Curious, Ally dug a little deeper. “I gather that bothers you,” she remarked casually.
Emily shrugged and turned away from the window. She knelt down to survey the puppies, many of which were twitching in their sleep, or squirming to get more comfortable. “I never thought Lulu was Hank’s type.” She smiled at the velvety soft little animals sleeping in a tangle, heads pillowed on each other’s backsides.
Then she sighed. “Or that Hank was Lulu’s type, either, since the guy she married was a very savvy investment banker. Of course, he cheated on her and they’re divorced now. And the rumor is Lulu got quite the financial settlement. So maybe she’s just looking for someone steady and dependable, who also wants to live in Laramie.” Emily chewed her lip anxiously. “And heaven knows, Hank is that. Once he commits to a woman, he’s hers, heart and soul. The only problem is, he hasn’t actually committed to anyone since Jo-anne died…”
But he had hooked up. With Ally. And maybe other women, as well. Ally realized too late that she and Hank hadn’t even discussed exclusivity, or the lack thereof. She had just assumed he was single and unattached when he made his move on her. And even though they didn’t plan to continue their relationship past the next few weeks, and maybe not even then, the thought of him with another woman rankled.
Maybe she was getting in too deep. With Duchess and the puppies. The ranch. Hank.
Ally arranged fresh fruit slices on a tray. “He thinks the family worries about him.”
Emily followed Ally’s wordless directions and arranged cheese and crackers on another tray. “I think we all just want to see him settled again with someone, even if it’s not the kind of wildly-and-passionately-in-love kind of relationship he had with Jo-anne.” She frowned. “Because honestly, until he has another woman in his life, long term, who wants the same things that he wants, I don’t think he is going to ever be really happy again.”
If that was true-and Ally had no reason to think it wasn’t-then she was definitely out of the running to be the next woman in Hank’s life. So maybe it was best the two of them kept to friendship and, despite the temptation, didn’t hook up again. Because Hank needed a woman who loved this ranch and the lifestyle that went with it, every bit as much as he did.
“SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?” Hank asked Ally, nearly two days later. Late that afternoon the painters had packed up and left, their check from Hank in hand.
Ally couldn’t stop looking at her surroundings. In many ways, it was like having a new house, 1920s style. All the old blinds and worn area rugs had been removed. As per her instructions, the entire interior had been coated in sophisticated shades of gray that soaked up the light pouring in from the freshly washed windows. The original wide plank floors contrasted nicely with the newly painted high white ceilings and trim.
“I have to tell you I wasn’t sure about the colors you selected.” Hank surveyed their surroundings with a keen eye. “But now…wow.”
“I knew it would work,” Ally replied absent-mindedly, as she hung the long damask drapes she had made at the front windows. “The varying shades of gray are neutral enough to appeal to a buyer of either sex, and support a rainbow of color schemes for the various rooms.” Ally climbed back down the ladder. “I’d say we just upped the value of the property by a good twenty thousand dollars.”