Page 20 of Home to the Cowboy's Arms

“I have had my fill,” she said, placing her napkin beside her plate. “I believe you said lunch was on you, so I’ll leave you to it. Give Jilliebean my love. We’ll go shopping next weekend as promised.” Tori made a concerted effort not to glance in a certain direction as she moved toward the doorway. And she almost made it, but Leslie Wright—a member of the council—stopped her as she was almost to the doorway.

“There you are, Tori,” she said. “I was going to call you later, but I know you’re a busy woman. Then I saw you here and might as well strike while I can. We wanted to get your opinion on something we want to try for the October Fest list of events. We think it will make quite a good deal of funds for the furniture for the addition to the children’s play area in the hospital.”

“Sounds interesting. What is it?”

“A bachelor auction! Isn’t that fun? Only we might call it something like Cowboy Roundup or something fitting in with the western theme, or we could even do something like masks and masquerade…but what do you think of the idea?”

Tori had not planned on having this conversation with the woman in the café. She wanted to distance herself from the vicinity of Cade and his lunch date.

“Let’s step outside and free up space for this lunch crowd. Or you can call me later and tell Wallace I asked you to call.” She began moving to the door. Once outside, she felt she was home free but that thought had come too soon.

“Tori, just one more thing,” Leslie said, having hustled outside right after her. “Another option to think about is why not make it an auction for both men and women? Wouldn’t want to leave anyone out. Of course, it would be notable members of the community who we would ask to volunteer to be auctioned. It could be such fun!”

“That’s quite an idea,” Tori responded, moving slowly yet determinedly farther away from the café. “Why don’t you run it by the event committee members, get their input, have a vote and then if all are of the same mind, you can bring it before the council next Monday evening with all the specifics attached.”

“That would be wonderful. I am so glad that we can count on your support. And you know, we must add both you and your brother’s names to our list of auction stars. And we will line up others before the meeting, also. I am just so excited now…thanks, Mayor!” She hurried off and Tori felt relief. She crossed the street in the direction of the courthouse. As she was about to enter the building, she caught sight of the familiar black truck—for once, not parked in her reserved spot. And Cade and his companion had just arrived between it and a convertible parked next to it.

Tori stepped inside slowly but not so much so that she couldn’t see the couple. They stood for a few moments talking, then the woman stretched on tiptoe and gave the tall cowboy a hug. Which he returned easily, even adding a brief kiss on the cheek before opening the female’s door for her and shutting it once she was comfortably inside. And that is all Tori needed to see.

None of my business.He was a grown man. They both appeared old enough to be consenting adults. Why did it matter in the least? Tori had appointments to keep and she headed upstairs to her office. But her mind wouldn’t vacate the scene she had witnessed outside a few minutes earlier. The woman obviously wasn’t a stranger to Cade Lockwood. But she wasn’t someone local…Tori had not met her before. She would certainly remember if she had. And Matt was in the dark about her identity also. Her car was an expensive luxury model as were the fuchsia cowl-necked sweater and black slacks with her long black hair as shiny as a raven’s wing. She reeked of money. Tori shouldn’t be surprised. That would be the type of woman who would attract a wealthy rancher like Cade Lockwood. Money attracts money.

“Lunch not sit well?”

Tori had sat her shoulder bag down with a thud on the edge of her desk. She took a seat on her chair behind her desk, swinging around to face the window behind her. Wallace’s question brought clarity back to her thoughts. She turned the chair around to face her assistant.

“Sorry, just a lot on my mind about what I need to accomplish today. Let’s get the reports for the proposed street work on the east side. We need to be up to speed when the engineers bring in their budget proposal.”

“Will do.” He turned to leave and then stopped. “By the way, Mr. Lockwood has called twice now and would like to schedule some time with you today. I did tell him you were busy, but I thought I would run it by you just in case you wanted to try to fit him in?”

“No,” she said in response. “My schedule is full. And it will be tomorrow also…and the next. He just can’t call at the last minute and expects to be fitted into our workday. He is not to be treated any different than anyone else in this town.”

“I see. Well then, I shall handle that.” He closed the door behind him.

Great way to handle that.But he just couldn’t expect any favors from her office. Let other women rearrange their schedules for him.What is your problem?

And as soon as she asked that of herself, she slammed the door before an answer could wreck the rest of her day.

*

“I told youto wait until I could get over there and take care of those leaves.”

Tori stood on the second-to-top rung of the ladder, balancing her cell phone between her shoulder and ear, while she tried to reach the clump of leaves and debris that was lodged just at the top of the drainage pipe from the gutter on the corner of her covered porch. She had managed to remove the first clump, but the next one was giving her some issues. She was already as high as she wanted to go on the ladder. It had seemed an easy project to handle when her brother had to cancel at the last minute for an issue in his office. Surely, she had told herself, she could handle such a project and be done with it.

“I am not helpless, and I have almost got this. But I need to get off the phone with you to do it. Now go be sheriff and let me finish this. Bye.”

She clicked off and the phone slipped. She tried to make a saving grab for it but the ladder shifted a bit and it was either save the phone or jump for it. The phone made a thud when it hit the grass. Thankfully it looked in one piece. But her nerves weren’t. Her fingers gripped the edges of the ladder until she was certain it wasn’t going to move again. Maybe just one more step upwards and she could get the whole thing over with.

“Are you crazy? Get down from there before you drop something besides your phone.”

The voice shocked her, and her foot missed the rung. Just when she thought she was done for, a solid frame of warm body was right behind her on the ladder, breaking any chance of her fall. Then she looked over her shoulder, and her worst expectations were confirmed.

“What are you doing on my ladder? You scared me and I could have fallen.”

“Excuse me, but you did not fall because I managed to get up here and keep that from happening. Any falling from a ladder would beyourfault for being up here in the first place.”

Being pressed between the hard metal of the ladder and the hard male body behind her was the last place she needed to be.Try to maintain some semblance of composure.

“This is neither a place for a lecture nor a discussion. Kindly get down so that I might get off this thing.”

---