Leigh set the drawer down with a grin.“My, how quickly you’ve become used to having a big, strong man around.”
Freddy gazed at her sister.“It’s a little scary, isn’t it?”
“I think it’s lovely,” Belinda said, patting her last files into place.“Now, I’d better go see how everyone’s coming along in the kitchen.”
“Thanks, Belinda,” Freddy said.“We couldn’t have?—”
“I found them!”Ry strode into the room waving a piece of paper.“Cunningham Trucking bought out Good Guys sixteen years ago.”
Freddy was almost afraid to ask.“But do they have any records that go back that far?”
Ry’s jubilant grin provided the answer.“The senior Mr.Cunningham saves everything, according to a disgruntled secretary.She promised she would have no trouble locating the receipt, and she was glad that there was some justification, at long last, for keeping all those dusty files.I gave her your fax number.She expects to send it within the hour.”
Freddy had hurled herself into his arms before she realized it.She kissed him soundly and whirled away to pump Dexter’s arm.“You did it,” she said, grinning at both of them.“What a team.”
Both Dexter and Ry looked immensely pleased with themselves.Ry turned to the old man and held out his hand.Dexter shook it with enthusiasm.
Leigh sauntered up, eyes sparkling.“Congratulations, and all that.But it’s time to get back to work, Ry, my friend.Freddy says you’re the man to call when it comes to hefting file drawers, and we’ll have dinner guests coming in any minute now.”
“No problem.I’ll?—”
“In fact,” Leigh said, glancing around Ry, “someone just came through the front door with a suitcase.Freddy, were we expecting another guest tonight?”
“Not that I know of.”She looked at the man silhouetted against the open doorway, a battered suitcase in his hand and a cowboy hat on his head.“Maybe he’s looking for a job,” she said in a low tone.“I’ll go see.”
But before she could approach the stranger, he plunked down his suitcase and strode into the dining room, his boot heels hitting the pine floor with a confident thump.“T.R., is that you?Didn’t recognize you without your briefcase and three-piece suit.”
Ry turned in surprise, and his eyes widened.“Lavette!Where did you come from?Why didn’t you let us know you were heading in?”
“Thought I’d surprise you.”He shook Ry’s hand.
Freddy assessed the man’s clothes, dusty but new, and smiled.Another urban cowboy had arrived.He looked less than thirty years old, with a devilish gleam in his green eyes and a dimple in his cheek.Thick dark hair reached to his collar.She was already figuring out which horse to put him on, when Ry turned to her.
“Chase Lavette, I’d like you to meet Freddy Singleton, the foreman,” he said.
“Glad to meet you.”He offered his hand in a firm grip.
“And Freddy’s sister, Leigh Singleton, the head wrangler,” Ry added.
Leigh responded to his handshake with a smile.“Welcome to the True Love.Do you speak French, Mr.Lavette?”
“Nope.”His grin was disarming.“I only know how to kiss that way.”
“Easy, Lavette,” Ry said, winking at Leigh.“These women can rope and hog-tie you in under thirty seconds if you’re disrespectful.”
Chase touched the brim of his hat.“No disrespect intended.Can’t afford it with my back.”
“How’s the healing coming along?”Ry asked.
“Pretty well.Sometimes I have good days, sometimes not so good.Today’s been good, so far.”
“What’d you do, walk from New York?”Ry asked, peering at the dust on his friend’s clothes.
“Just from the main road.Hitched from the airport, for the fun of it.If I’d had a saddle on my shoulder, it would’ve been perfect.”Chase laughed.“I see what you mean about the way the city’s moving in this direction, McGuinnes.This land is solid gold.”
As if in slow motion, Freddy looked at Ry.She saw the flash of panic in his eyes and her heart began to freeze.Then he turned from her and put his hand on Chase’s shoulder, as if to guide him away.
But Chase seemed determined to deliver his observations, oblivious to the dead silence that had settled over the room.“I’m sure that before long, this will be a subdivision, like you predicted, T.R., so I figured bad back or not, I’d better get out here and enjoy the place while I can.”
