Page 20 of Bravo

“I’ll have a cheeseburger with everything, barbeque sauce on the side, and onion rings, please. Oh, and a sweet tea.”

“You got it. How about you, Sammy?”

“Uh, I’ll have the club sandwich and fries, please. And a water.”

“You got it.” Talia takes the menus and heads back to place their order.

“How was work?” I ask Lani, hoping to keep the conversation light because Sammy looks about ready to bolt out of the diner.

“It was good. Had a full day of appointments then headed over to Mrs. Kinsley’s to drop off the prescription I’d called in for her.”

Mrs. Kinsley has been bedridden for the past six months after a nasty fall in her shower. She broke her hip in two places and fractured her wrist. As her doctor, Lani has gone above and beyond to make sure she’s taken care of until she’s back on her feet.

“How’s she doing?”

“Good. She said to tell you hi.”

“Tell her hi back the next time you see her.”

“Will do,” Lani replies.

The bell dings over the door again, and Lani glances over her shoulder as Gibson Lawson walks in wearing his sheriff’s uniform. He heads toward the counter, and Lani’s smile spreads.

“Let me out a sec. I want to say hi.”

Sammy slides out so Lani can slip out of the booth; then she takes her seat as I watch my sister head over toward the deputy.

She’s had a thing for Gibson since they were in high school, but neither of them ever had the courage to do anything. Then she went off to school and he stuck around town. He’d gotten married about three years out of school, but the marriage didn’t last long before she left town with a musician, leaving Gibson to pick up the pieces and pay off all the debt she’d taken out in his name.

It was nasty, and the town rallied around him to offer any support he needed. It’s sad, but I think that divorce is the reason he never asked Lani out even after she returned to town.

When Lani laughs, I turn my attention away from them, not wanting to intrude on my sister’s moment. “So, uh, how are you liking working at the ranch?”

Sammy shifts those gorgeous blue eyes to me. “I like it a lot.”

“Have you always had an interest in animals? Or did you grow up on a farm?”

“Just an interest in animals,” she says. “Never was lucky enough to spend a whole lot of time around them growing up.”

I nod, unsure how to proceed when her answers are very curt and don’t leave much room for conversation. Finally, because I can’t stand awkwardness when a conversation might clear things up, I lean in. “Listen, did I do anything to upset you?”

She looks genuinely surprised. “No. Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know, you just seem standoffish with me, that’s all.”

“I don’t really know you,” she says. “And I’m not much of a small talker.”

“Fair enough.” I lean back. “As long as I didn’t do anything.”

“You didn’t, I promise.”

“Good.”

She offers me a tight smile then turns her head to look outside. It’s dark, so aside from the streetlamps, she’s not seeing much. But in the glass, I can make out her reflection, and her eyes are speaking volumes.

She’s haunted. By what, I’m not sure, and I’m not nosy enough to try and find out. My rules are simple—if it doesn’t affect the ranch, I don’t need to know. And so far, it’s not affecting the ranch even though she’s clearly got a hold on me.

“Sorry.” Lani returns to the table, sliding in beside Sammy. Since the booth we’re in is rounded, she’s forced to scoot closer to me, though she remains a good two feet away.

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