“I’ll wait for him. I want to explain why I’m going in.”
“Yeah, otherwise he might think you’re doing the big reveal.”
“That would be a mistake.”
“I think so, too. You — oh, dear God. Rance is with him.”
“What’s so bad about that?”
“He asked if I wanted to go riding this morning before he had to go in to work and I told him I was too busy.”
“You are busy. You’re reading a manuscript.”
“And wasting my time. We won’t be buying it.”
“Then go riding.”
“But if I do, he’ll think… oh, what the hell does it matter what he thinks? I’m going.” She handed the manuscript to Sara. “Would you please take this in for me?”
“You bet.” She pressed her lips together to keep from smirking. Would Lani ever admit she had a crush on Rance? Then again, nothing could come of it, so maybe her sister was smart to resist.
While Lani hurried to catch up with Rance as he headed for the barn, Lucky turned toward the porch steps, his long legs making quick work of the distance. “Hey, Sara.”
“Hey, Lucky. I’m going in as a silent observer today.”
“Oh?” He climbed the steps.
“Kieran said I could and I’m dying to see the meeting of Desiree and Granny.
“He won’t mention you’re there?”
“Nope. I’m just eavesdropping.”
“I won’t be saying much, either. This is Mom’s turn.” Crossing the porch, he held the door for her.
“When does Oksana get her turn?”
“Tomorrow. We’ve got somebody covering the shop so we can both be on the call. We don’t want to overload Granny’s circuits and she and Mom will have a lot to say to each other.” He gestured toward the kitchen. “Let’s take the shortcut.”
She made a quick right and he followed. “By the way, why didn’t Rance ride over with Kieran since they’re in the same cabin?”
“He wasn’t ready when Kieran had to leave, so he called me. I just happened to be running late or he would’ve been SOL.”
“Why didn’t you park by the back door of Rowdy Roost like before?”
“I was gonna. Then Rance saw Lani sitting on the porch and asked me to park where she could see him get out.”
Sara gave a hoot of laughter. “It worked. She decided to go riding, after all.”
“Saw that.” He chuckled.
“I’m worried she’ll break his heart.”
“He’s a big boy. He knows she’s set on living back East. He’ll either change her mind or learn the hard way that she’s not the one. What’s that you’re taking in with you? Did someone write up a script for this call?”
“It’s a boring manuscript. Lani’s catching up on submissions. By the way, she was really bummed her company didn’t get Oksana’s book.”
“They had no chance once it turned into a bidding war.”
