“That’s what they tell me,” Hank agreed.
“Think I’ll go have my smoke and find some better company.” Without a backward glance, Roger left the barn. Hank felt no remorse. He wasn’t here to make friends.
Amnesia. He thought of that moment when he’d first stepped out of the barn and his gaze had caught hers. Had he seen the flicker of recognition in her eyes? He wasn’t sure.
He wondered if she really had amnesia or was only faking. It would be just like her to fake it, pretend not to remember anything, then run when she got the chance.
In any case, if she did run again, he would find her. No matter where she tried to hide.
* * *
“ABBY? Can I talk to you for a minute?” Colette peeked into the office, where Abby sat at a desk, an account book opened in front of her.
“Sure, I could use a break.” She closed the account book and stood. “In fact, why don’t we go to the kitchen and see if there’s any of that cherry cobbler left, something to take the bad taste of ranch finances out of my mouth.”
The kitchen had quickly become Colette’s favorite room in the house. Large and airy, with a huge oak table, the ambience was warm and inviting. As Abby raided the refrigerator, Colette poured them each a cup of coffee, then together they sat at the table.
“Whew, what a day,” Abby said, wrapping her hands around the coffee mug and leaning back in her chair.
“I saw all the guests arriving. Did they get settled in okay?”
Abby nodded. “I think it’s going to be a fun group. They’re all family, here for a reunion. At least with them, I can put off letting some of the workers go for a few more weeks.”
“Things are that bad?” Colette asked.
Abby nodded. “Short of pulling magic money out of a hat, I’m not sure how we’ll make it through the next year.”
“I told Belinda this afternoon that I was going to talk to you about taking over the baby-sitting for the guests. I noticed there were a couple of small children in the group that arrived. It’s the least I can do to help.”
“That would be terrific,” Abby agreed. “I’d twisted Belinda’s arm to take care of the baby-sitting,but I want to use her marketing savvy and put her to work on a brochure for advertising.” She paused a moment to dip them each a generous helping of the cherry cobbler. “We’ve got a playroom set up in the community building. It has everything you should need.”
For the next few minutes Abby conveyed how the service worked, explaining that the guests signed up for baby-sitting needs on a sheet posted at the community building.
“Brook asleep?” Abby asked.
Colette smiled and nodded. “She’s such a good baby.” As always, thoughts of Brook brought a wealth of frustration, as well. “I just wish…it’s so disturbing not to know who her father is, what he meant to me and where he is now.”
Abby frowned and rubbed her forehead tiredly. “Maybe there are things best left not remembered. There are times I wish I remembered nothing about Cody’s father.”
“What happened to him?” Colette asked, hoping the question wasn’t out of line.
“Greg rode off into the sunset when Cody was just a few weeks old,” Abby explained, her voice holding a trace of bitterness. “He didn’t see himself as the father type. So, we divorced, I took back my maiden name, and I’ve raised Cody alone.”
Colette reached across the table and touched Abby’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
Abby shrugged and took a deep breath, her shoulders stiffening as if she summoned some measurement of inner strength. “Most of the time it’s not too bad. I adore Cody and wouldn’t change his presencein my life for the world. Just occasionally a memory comes back to haunt me, makes me think of how things could have been had Greg been a different kind of man.” She shrugged again, then drained her coffee cup. “Well, I’d better get back to work. I’ve got another hour or two of work ahead of me before I can call it a night.”
She started to carry the dishes from the table to the sink, but Colette stopped her. “I’ll do that. You go on and get your work finished.”
“Thanks.” Abby flashed her a quicksilver smile and started out of the kitchen.
“Abby? Could I ask you for a favor?”
She turned back and looked at Colette. “Sure. What?”
“Could you give me a list of all the people who work here at the ranch?”
Abby’s forehead wrinkled with curiosity. “Sure, but why?”
