He also saw the tears in her eyes when she remembered her old room was no longer hers. Working with her this summer would be difficult enough, so he figured he may as well smooth the waters as much as possible early on. He hadn't expected her to freeze up and be repulsed by his touch.
Now, here she sat, directly across the table from him. She was as beautiful as ever with her long dark hair and expressive blue eyes, but there was something about the way she avoided eye contact and kept her head downcast that affirmed what Daniel already suspected.
Something serious drove Riley home.
After the blessing on the food, Emily immediately turned her attention to Riley. "It's good to have you home, Riley. Working with Dr. Nelson must have grown pretty difficult for you to decide you'd rather work on the ranch this summer."
A flash of something—alarm maybe—filled Riley's face before she schooled her features. "No, Dr. Nelson is great. I love working with him."
"Then why did you take a leave of absence this summer?" Jake asked.
Riley's gaze dropped to her plate where she repeatedly stabbed her fork into her meatloaf. "I just...needed a change of scenery."
That was the same answer she'd given Daniel earlier, although he could have sworn she'd almost said she needed a change of address before she corrected herself.
Did she and Paige have a falling out?
They'd been best friends since they were babies. Sure, they'd had their share of disagreements, but they always worked things out. They were too close to stay mad at each other. For Riley to choose to leave a job she loved, something big must have happened. If not with Paige, then with someone else.
A boyfriend, perhaps.
A knot formed in Daniel's stomach. He hadn't heard any of her family mention Riley being in a relationship, but he'd mostly kept to himself since coming home seven months ago.
She was such an amazing woman. It wouldn't surprise him if she had dozens of men after her. Sure, she was opinionated and as stubborn as a mule at times, but he loved that about her. She was also driven and motivated, spunky, and fun to be around. And she was pretty. Her laughing blue eyes and cheerful smile used to brighten his days and dance through his dreams at night.
There was no laughter in her eyes today, though. And nowadays when he saw her face at night, it was in his nightmares. The lifeless face of the little boy who haunted his dreams often morphed into Riley's, and he experienced the pain of losing her all over again.
He shook off the images that drove him to drink and focused on the conversation.
"You realize it's irresponsible to up and quit a job when the going gets rough, don't you?" Jake's expression was grim.
A spark of anger flashed in Riley's eyes and her lips pressed into a thin line for a moment before she spoke. "I didn't quit my job."
"You left Dr. Nelson without a nurse practitioner."
"Dr. Nelson understands that I needed a break. He's the one who suggested I take a leave of absence for a while." Her fork continued to pulverize her meatloaf.
"Well,Idon't understand. If you love working for Dr. Nelson so much, why do you need a break?" Jake was usually patient and soft spoken, but his words were forceful enough that Emily put a hand on his arm to calm him.
Riley's older brothers had always been protective of her, so even though Jake's words sounded critical, Daniel knew he spoke them out of concern for his little sister. He recognized, like Daniel did, how out of character this was for Riley.
"There's a lot of things men don't understand about women." Riley's words were defensive and sharp. "They think they can do whatever they want. Take anything they want. They don't care what we think or what we want." She was on her feet now, shoving her chair under the table. "Excuse me. I've lost my appetite." She was halfway down the hall before she slowed her steps and in a much softer voice said, "Thanks for dinner, Lottie."
At least Riley recognized his mom's effort of making her favorite dinner even if she'd hardly touched it.
Jake set down his fork and ran a hand over his face. He looked at Emily. "I blew it, didn't I?"
She gave him a soft smile. "Just a little."
"I'd better apologize." He started to stand, but Emily stopped him.
"I think she needs a few minutes to calm down." She took a drink of water. "I hate to say it, but I think whatever is bothering her goes much deeper than her job."
The meatloaf in Daniel's stomach turned to lead.
So, there are man problems.
Had Riley been in a serious relationship? Did he dump her? Had she come home to nurse a broken heart?
