Page 1 of Sweet Deal
Chapter One
Even her mother’s strong coffee wasn’t quite enough to cut through the pre-dawn chill, or the bone-deep weariness Rachel Sweet felt as she stood by the kitchen window. Outside, the eastern sky was just beginning to blush pink, promising another long West Texas day. A day that would start, like all the others lately, with ranch chores before the sun was fully up, followed by a full day of her real job, the one that paid her a salary, and likely more ranch chores after that. She stifled a yawn and refilled her favorite oversized mug, the one that declared, ‘World’s Okayest Social Worker’. Some days, ‘okayest’ felt like a stretch.
The quiet shuffle of footsteps announced Jillian before she even appeared. Her twin eased into the kitchen, looking just as tired, her usual bright energy dimmed around the edges. She bypassed the coffee pot and went straight for the kettle.
“Tea morning?” Rachel took a long slow sip of the scalding coffee.
“Yeah, I need something soothing.” Jillian yawned, leaning against the counter while she waited for the water to heat. “My brain is already running through candle scent combinations and inventory spreadsheets. It’s hard to switch off.”
“Tell me about it.” Rachel looked out the window again, past the familiar shapes of the barns and paddocks just starting to emerge from the dark. “Sometimes I dream about client files and broken fences.”
“Don’t forget the looming threat of foreclosure,” Jillian added dryly, pouring hot water over a tea bag in her own mug.
Rachel winced. “Way to bring down the mood before sunrise.”
“Sorry.” Jillian sighed, joining Rachel by the window. They stood in comfortable silence for a moment, sipping their respective drinks, the shared burden hanging unspoken between them.
Swallowing the last drop, Rachel rinsed the mug and set it in the dishwasher. “I’m heading for the barn.”
Doing the same, her sister turned on her heel. “Right behind you.”
Already at work mucking stalls, Garret turned to face them, his expression set with the quiet determination he seemed to wear constantly these days. “Morning.”
Leaning the shovel against the wall, he straightened, stretching his back.
Rachel glanced around this side of the large barn. “Where’s everyone?”
“Carson and Clint are off rounding up some cattle that broke through the east fence.”
“Again?” This was the second time in as many days. Rachel knew that these things happened from time to time, sometimes more often than they’d like, but two days in a row?
“What about Preston?” Jillian asked.
“Right here.” Their other brother came out of the tack room. Lately he’d taken to working at the small desk in the corner of the packed room when he didn’t want to take any chance of their mom stumbling onto what they were doing to save the ranch.
“I don’t like that look on your face.”
“It’s the only one I’ve got.” Their brother’s effort at humor fell flat.
Jillian groaned softly. “I’d like to think with three weddings in the family that we’d be in a better place, but that expression doesn’t scream good news.”
“No, there is some good news. Thanks to Garret’s contribution,” Preston’s gaze darted to his brother and back, “we were able to replace the main well pump for the north pastures. No doubt it probably hadn’t been maintained in years.”
“Nice of it to wait till Garret and Jackie were married to finally give out.” Rachel half-heartedly chuckled. “So, what’s the bad news?”
“While we’ve been able to keep up, meeting the next bank payment is going to be rough.”
“I’ll bite.” Jillian remained focused on her brother. “How rough is rough?”
Preston blew out a long breath. “I can’t make the math work.”
Her brother didn’t have to say the rest of the sentence out loud: unless one of the remaining single Sweets tied the knot. The unspoken pressure landed squarely back on her and Jillian. With Kade deployed overseas, unreachable for this kind of crazy scheme, it was down to them.
“Blast.” Jillian kicked at the ground. “I’ve got nothing.”
Rachel managed a weak smile. “Me neither. I haven’t been able to find anyone even worth suggesting a temporary deal to, never mind being rejected because of the no sex clause.”
Garret leaned back against the stall wall. “We need a solution, and it doesn’t look like Prince Charming, even a temporary one, is riding in on a white horse anytime soon.”
