“She does?” His expression switched from bored to highly alert. “Hey, Lani. What do you?—”
Kieran couldn’t hear exactly what Lani was saying, but her delivery was forceful.
“In my defense, it’s an automatic with power steering. Once she adjusts the seat, she’ll be?—”
Another torrent of words from Lani.
“I’ve never heard of a bear chasing a truck for the tasty people inside. The bear wouldn’t win that race. My truck can outrun a bear.”
He stared at the floor and listened some more. “A flat could happen. That’s why they invented cell phones. But hey, you’re right.” He lifted his head and gave Kieran a long-suffering look. “That’s how we’ll do it.”
Kieran murmuredhow soon?
“What time should I drive over? Can you tell whether your folks are…” He rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not suggesting you go listen at their door. Geez.” He made a face.
Kieran wrote a three, a zero and a question mark in the air.
“How about thirty minutes? Would that be enough time for things to settle down?” He gave a quick nod. “Okay I’ll be there in thirty. Yes, ma’am. My pleasure. Good night.” He handed backthe phone. “She hung up, so I hope you and Sara got things worked out.”
“They’ve been worked out on my end from the first time I saw her. I’ll take whatever Sara offers and expect no more.”
“I admire you for that. I suck at stoicism.”
Kieran grinned and gestured toward the pool table, it’s green felt and dark carved wood glowing in light from the chandelier suspended over it. “Never could’ve guessed it, mate.”
“Okay, so we’ve got twenty-five minutes. What part of your game do you want to work on?”
“There’s no way I’ll keep my mind on pool.”
Rance shrugged. “No worries. We can do this another time.” He picked up both cues and returned them to the rack. Then he rolled the balls into the pockets. “Want more coffee?”
“I thought I did, but that phone call was like a shot of jet fuel.” He gazed at Rance. “How well do you know Sara?”
“Fairly well, considering I only spent a few days with her and Lani in February, but we clicked. We’re a lot alike. She’s spontaneous, likes people, likes to have fun, has a good heart. We get each other.”
Was that a twinge of jealousy? He had no right to feel that. “So you’re good friends, then?”
“If you’re asking if I’ve kissed her, the answer is no.”
“Jaysus, mate! I wasn’t thinking ofthat.” But he was. Exactly that. “Why not? She’s a stunner.”
“I would agree.” Rance walked over to one of the tall stools lining the walls and perched on it. “Last February I seriously thought about making a move. There was a spark, an attraction, but it would have been a mistake to kiss her.”
“Why?” He leaned his hip against the pool table, too jumpy to sit down.
“I was still waffling. It’s bad enough I’ve danced with both of them. Flirted, too. You can’t do that with sisters. I learned thehard way. You need to pick one, and once you do, the other one’s off-limits.”
“You might eventually pick Sara?” He braced himself. He had to be okay with her ending up with somebody else. Wouldn’t he rather have it be someone he knew? No. He’d prefer a nameless, faceless stranger.
“I wouldn’t have set this up for you if that was a possibility. It’s not. I’ve made my choice.”
He sagged in relief. “Lani?”
“Yessir. If you’d gone after her, you wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting near that lady. I would’ve seen to it.”
“Does she know?”
He shook his head. “Sara does, but she won’t say anything.”
