Lone Tree by Bobbie O'Keefe Read Free Book Online Page A

says,” she mumbled.
“But I don’t.”
    Calmly, he nodded. “I do what Mr. Reed say, when
he’s right.”
    She raised her chin. “And how often is that?”
    “Most times. Not always.”
    Lainie didn’t want to ask and yet she had to. “And
this time?”
    “He’s right and you’re wrong.”
    She just watched him. As Nelly stared blandly back,
she got the impression he trusted her to come up with the right course of
action in time. And she couldn’t fight that impression any more than she could
fight the man and the kindly way he had about him. She felt her stance ease.
Then she gave in to a chuckle and lifted her hands in surrender. “Okay. I’ll
come see you again after I get my boots.”
    *
    Supper was fried chicken, served cold with potato
salad and hot cornbread. For dessert, Lainie passed up the berry cobbler and
went back for a second serving of bread instead, sliced a big piece in half and
filled it with butter so it melted down the sides.
    Reed arrived late. Carter, a likable and laconic
cowboy who looked a lot like a young Tom Selleck, had just vacated the seat
opposite Lainie. Reed claimed it and said, “Howdy.”
    She glanced at him, nodded at his greeting. There
were plenty of other places where Reed could’ve sat, and she wished he’d chosen
one of them.
    Reed’s plate held four pieces of chicken, a mountain
of potato salad, and an even bigger piece of cornbread than Lainie’s. He must
have an excellent metabolism in order to eat that much and stay so slim. Carter
was taller and heavier, but his plate hadn’t been nearly as full as Reed’s.
    “Appears you like cornbread, too,” Reed observed.
    She nodded without comment.
    Finished with his first piece of chicken, Reed used
his napkin and glanced around with a questioning look, then said pointedly,
“Seems a mite chilly in here this evening.”
    Uh-huh. Well, she had to deal with him eventually.
Lainie leaned back, pushed her plate away and gave him a level look, which he
returned.
    “Smith, huh,” she said, for want of anything better
to say.
    “And Johnson,” he replied.
    Scintillating conversation they had going here. “All
we need is a Jones and we’d have several pages of the telephone book
represented.”
    He grinned. “We’ve got one of them, too. Randy
Jones. Tall and skinny and young. Good wrangler, best we’ve got. You met him
yet?”
    “No. But I met his girlfriend in town, Bobbie Ann,
and her sister, Jackie. They seemed like nice people.”
    “They are. Jackie Lyn owns her own hairstyling
place. You’ll probably be going to her.” He glanced at her hair. “I like the
color, and the way you wear it.”
    “Thanks.”
    He selected a drumstick. “Eyes are on the pretty
side, too.”
    Not even close to his, she thought, but remained
silent.
    “I met Nelly today.” Her voice was carefully
noncommittal.
    So was his. “Good man. Up in years, physically
frail, but still wise.” He finished the chicken leg. “Missed you at dinner.”
    “That noon meal is so heavy it turns me off. I just
eat a sandwich. I explained to Miles, and,” she paused, feeling defensive but
trying to keep it out of her voice. “He doesn’t have a problem with my
problem.”
    Reed shrugged, making light of her concern. “If
you’re thinking you appear antisocial by skipping dinner with everybody, don’t
worry about it. You’ve already been accepted into the family around here.”
    She was surprised at his intuitiveness, and grateful
for it. Then, through with her meal, and having bridged the discord—well, at
least somewhat—between herself and the ranch foreman, she excused herself. As
she carried her dishes away, guessing his gaze followed her, she was aware that
although she felt more comfortable with the situation, she still wasn’t
comfortable with the man.
    Once she was out of Reed’s sight, she found he was
still in her mind. Unwelcome realizations made her frown. The most troubling
fact was that her discomfort had little to