CHAPTER FOUR
“Come on, you have to go tomorrow night. It will be good for you to get out among adults,” Abby exclaimed as she poured herself another cup of coffee. “We always plan a hayride and an old-fashioned cookout on Friday nights when we have guests.” She rejoined Colette at the table. “And I’ve already spoken to Maria about staying here with Cody and Brook.”
Colette smiled, as always feeling like a willow in a windstorm around her strong, older sister. “Since you’ve taken care of everything, I guess I’ll go on the hayride,” she agreed.
“Oh, honey, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to.” Abby frowned worriedly. “Sometimes I’m too pushy for my own good. You have to tell me to back off.”
“Did I tell you to back off often in the past?” Colette asked with a grin.
“About once a day,” Abby admitted with a laugh. “When you were ten you called me bossy, when you were twelve I graduated to domineering and by thetime you were fifteen I’d reached the pinnacle of big sisterhood and become tyrannical.”
Colette laughed, as always an ache of wistfulness reminding her of her lack of memories. How she wished she remembered those frivolous carefree days of childhood, when her biggest problem apparently was dealing with two bossy older sisters. She picked up her coffee mug and sipped thoughtfully. “Abby, would you tell me what you know about Hank Cooper?” she asked.
Abby’s eyebrows danced upward quizzically. “Why?”
Colette shrugged. “Something about him bothers me…I’m not sure what it is.”
“He hasn’t gotten out of line, has he? I mean, some of the men working on the ranch think we’re all fair game for a quick roll in the hay.”
“No, it’s nothing like that,” Colette replied hurriedly. She frowned and drained the last of her coffee. “I can’t exactly explain…just something about him bothers me and I was wondering what you knew about him.”
“Not much,” Abby admitted. “I do know he’s a natural with the horses. I haven’t seen his kind of talent in years. He showed up here at the ranch looking for a job about a month ago.” Abby smiled ruefully. “I don’t ask for much in the way of references, have never cared about a man’s past. If they do their jobs and keep their noses clean, I’m satisfied.”
Colette nodded, realizing nothing Abby knew could help her where Hank Cooper was concerned. Somehow, some way, she was going to have to figure outfor herself why he bothered her, why it was that his eyes haunted her dreams.
“You okay?” Abby asked, her forehead once again wrinkled in concern.
“I’m fine,” Colette assured her, knowing Abby had enough on her mind in running the ranch without Colette adding to her burden. They both jumped as a knock fell on the back door.
Abby got up to answer it. “Junior,” she exclaimed in delight. “You’ve been neglecting us lately. Come in and have a cup of coffee.”
The man who entered hardly looked like a “junior.” Tall and barrel-shaped, he sported a head of bushy gray hair and matching eyebrows. His face was deeply tanned, and crisscrossed with wrinkles that spoke of age and life experiences.
“Hi, darlin’.” He leaned over and kissed Colette on the forehead. “Heard you were back in town. Good to have you back where you belong.” He thanked Abby as she set a cup of coffee in front of him, then he started talking to Abby about the ranch.
Colette listened absently, instantly drawn to the warmth of the older man’s smile, but more drawn to the safety his sheriff’s uniform implied. Maybe he can help, she thought. Help with what? What could she say to him? That she was in danger but didn’t know why? That she was afraid somebody was after her but didn’t know who?
She looked at her watch and realized she needed to go. “Excuse me, but I need to get going. I’m sitting with the kids for a couple of hours so the adults can go trail riding again.”
“We’ll get a chance to visit and catch up later,”Junior said, flashing her another warm, parental kind of smile.
Minutes later Colette left the house, Brook napping in her carrier. As Colette walked toward the community building, she thought over the past couple of days. It was comforting how seamlessly she’d fit back into the routine of the ranch. She spent the days baby-sitting and caring for Brook. In the evenings the whole family ate dinner together, discussing and sharing all the aspects of their day.
Although Colette usually had little to add to the conversation, she enjoyed the camaraderie between herself and her sisters, the bond that, despite her memory lapse, had not been lost.
Only some things always managed to darken her contentment. A feeling of impending doom increased daily along with the awareness of eyes watching her every movement. That, and Hank Cooper troubled her.
As if summoned by her thoughts, Hank appeared at the side of the barn. Had he somehow known she’d be approaching at that very moment and had timed his appearance to coincide with hers?
“Good morning,” he said as he fell into step with her.
“’Morning.” She didn’t look at him. She was torn between the strange need to somehow distance herself from him and the desire to crawl into his head to see if any of her memories resided with him. It was crazy, but somehow she had the feeling that he was a part of her forgotten past, an integral piece to a frightening puzzle.
“Would you like me to carry that for you?” Hegestured to the diaper bag slung over the crook of her arm.
“No, thanks, I can manage. Besides, I’m sure you have other, more important chores to attend to.”
He grinned, a sexy, lazy smile that caused a coil of heat to unfurl in the pit of her stomach. “I’m on a break. For the next thirty minutes my time is my own.”
