At the last second, Lainey turned on her blinker and took the exit into Baker City.
Who was she trying to kid?
She already knew her next book would be about the faces of rodeo. If she dared consider the blunt truth, she’d love to put Jason’s good-looking mug on the cover.
When she’d stayed an extra day at the rodeo in California, she’d asked Celia for tips on shooting action shots since she’dnever really tried. Celia had shown Lainey the best settings to use with her camera and a telephoto lens. Lainey had walked away with a bunch of photos that were okay, but one shot had been spectacular. In the image, a saddle bronc rider, arm extended up like he was reaching for a cloud in the blue sky, rode a paint horse. The photograph captured the moment the horse had propelled itself upward, lifting all four hooves off the ground. The leather fringe on the rider’s chaps flew upward on the sides of his legs, and his face was a mixture of excitement and concentration.
Lainey had been so proud of the photo, she’d printed off a copy and framed it to hang in her van to remind her it was a good thing to challenge her abilities and learn new skills.
She had been intrigued with the thought of taking more photos at rodeos, just to see what she and her camera could capture.
As she drove into Baker City, Lainey pushed a button on her cell phone, and a voice began telling her where to turn, although she was sure she already knew the way. It wasn’t too far out of town, as she slowed at the top of a hill, that the voice on the app told her she had arrived.
Lainey paused briefly after turning off the main road and took in acres of green pasture where cattle grazed. In the distance, mountains covered in pine trees provided a scenic background. Sunlight reflected off a creek that wound through the landscape like an iridescent ribbon.
She followed the graveled road to a two-story farmhouse that appeared to have been built in the early 1900s. To complete the storybook image of what she’d built up in her mind, a white picket fence surrounded the yard, and flowers bloomed around the porch.
If she hadn’t been sure by the hanging Circle P Ranch sign she’d passed, the old man who came out the front door andhobbled to the porch steps would have convinced her she’d found the right place.
Jason definitely resembled his father.
Mike Price was nearing ninety, stooped a little, and had a hitch in his gait, but he strode without the help of a cane. When Lainey stepped out of the van, he greeted her with a friendly smile from the bottom porch step.
“You’re just in time for supper. Pull your van around on the side of the house, then you can come in and wash up,” the man said, waving an arthritic-gnarled hand toward the side of the house where Lainey could see a carport. “The girls are bringing dinner.”
At the very least, Lainey had expected him to ask her name, but Mr. Price turned and hobbled back up the porch steps, where two dogs joined him after racing around the corner of the house.
Lainey drove her van around to the carport and backed onto the gravel at the far side of the structure, assuming the small SUV and pickup already parked there likely belonged to Mike and his son, Galen. There were two more pickups parked down by a big barn. Various pieces of equipment, a shop, and several outbuildings completed the scene of the ranch Jason had described to her.
It was even more picture-perfect than she’d imagined.
Feeling out of place, she strongly felt the urge to put the van in gear and flee. Instead, Lainey tamped down her flight response, turned off the van, and retrieved the pan of caramel-filled brownies she’d baked yesterday. When she’d made them, she’d done it with the intention of sharing them with Jason’s family.
This morning, she’d nearly tossed them out, but right now, she was glad she’d stored them in the fridge in her van.
Lainey dropped her keys and phone in her shoulder bag, inhaled a deep, bracing breath, and opened the van’s door just as two SUVs pulled into the carport and parked.
The back door of the nearest vehicle opened, and a girl with bright red hair got out, her long legs making Lainey think of a spring colt. Dani was as cute as Jason had described her to be, and she carried a hint of sass and spunk.
“Hi!” the girl said, opening the driver’s side door as a woman with a belly rounded by pregnancy swung her legs out and used the steering wheel to push herself to her feet.
“You must be Lainey. Both Dad and Shaun mentioned you might stop by. You’re just in time for dinner,” the woman said, offering Lainey a welcoming smile as her hand rubbed over the top of her belly.
“You are Lisa. It’s lovely to meet you,” Lainey said, walking over to shake the woman’s extended hand, then she smiled at the girl. “And you have to be Dani. Your grandfather is quite proud of you.”
Dani blushed but held Lainey’s gaze. “Did you really meet Papa at a rodeo?”
“I sure did. I was taking photos and backed right into him.”
Dani grinned. “I bet Papa didn’t mind at all.”
Lainey had no comment on that and took a moment to study Jason’s daughter. She looked quite a bit like Jason, with darker hair and his strong chin.
A lovely woman with blonde hair gathered into a tidy braid stepped around the end of Lisa’s SUV with a toddler in her arms and a little boy holding onto the back pocket of her blue jeans.
“Hi, Lainey. I’m Brylee, Shaun’s wife. He’s had so many good things to say about you. We’re delighted you stopped by, and your timing couldn’t be better. Lisa picked up barbecue in town for dinner, and I brought salad and baked potatoes.” Brylee glanced at her daughter as the child rested her head on thewoman’s shoulder. “Caitlyn just woke up from her nap, so she’s not yet feeling sociable, and Carter is going through a terrified-of-strangers stage.”
“It’s so nice to meet all of you,” Lainey smiled at Brylee’s two youngsters. “I brought brownies. I hope that’s okay.”
