ready to leave the past behind and move ahead with something new. Until then, he had to shrug it off. He’d taken his best shot.
No big deal
. She wasn’t even that pretty.
Only Barney knew that she hid her natural beauty. In different clothing, with a touch of makeup and her hair loose, she’d been gorgeous. Why was she so determined to hide her light under a bushel? It made no sense to him.
At least, he consoled himself, she wasn’t dating anyone else, even if she didn’t want to date him.
• • •
Taffeta awakened the next morning with the awful feeling that something was wrong. She leaped from bed, her first thought being that something had happened to Sarah.
Ridiculous
. She was just in a sad mood. That was all.
After staggering sleepily to the bathroom, she stared at her puffy eyelids and red nose. Somewomen looked beautiful after a good cry. Taffeta wasn’t one of them. And, along with a ravaged face, she always had a headache the next morning. She knew from experience that she wouldn’t look normal again until late in the afternoon. Thank goodness Barney wouldn’t drop by her store today. He’d instantly know she’d been weeping. He wasn’t a man who missed much. She couldn’t withstand a barrage of questions right now. She might lose it and answer them honestly.
After a quick shower, Taffeta put ice on her swollen eyes. She didn’t want all her customers to see her like this. Sitting at the table with a cup of bitter black coffee, she held the pack against each eye socket until her brow and cheekbones throbbed.
She was on her way back to the bathroom to check her face when her cell phone rang. She dashed back to the tiny kitchen to collect it from the table. With a glance at the caller ID panel, she saw that it was Bud Pierce, the private investigator she’d hired in Erickson, Oregon, to give her weekly reports on Sarah’s well-being.
“Hello,” she said.
“I’ve got disturbing news, Ms. Brown, and I’ll apologize in advance for failing to tell you sooner.”
“Is Sarah all right?” Taffeta heard the panic in her voice. “Please tell me she’s okay.”
“She’s fine for the moment, but the situation isn’t good.”
Taffeta sank onto a chair. What the investigatortold her next knocked her orderly little world clear off its axis.
• • •
Barney’s personal cell phone seldom rang while he was working. Mostly only his family members had his number, and they knew not to bother him unless it was an emergency. He drew the communication device from his jacket pocket and took his gaze off the road just long enough to see who was calling.
Taffeta?
He answered on the second ring.
“Hello?” The truck bounced over a rut as he pulled over onto the shoulder of the road. “Sorry about the noise. You caught me driving. What’s up?”
“I, um, was wondering if you’d meet me tonight for dinner in Crystal Falls.”
Her voice sounded shaky. Barney decided it must be due to a bad connection. “I thought you had a no-dating rule.”
“I do,” she replied. “Or at least I did. Please don’t say no. I have a proposition for you.”
A proposition? What the hell did that mean? “Where do you want to eat?”
She gave him the name of a little out-of-the-way Italian place. He knew of several establishments that served much better food and at least offered decent ambience. Maybe she wasn’t familiar with Crystal Falls. Or maybe she didn’t wish to be seen with him. And why the sudden about-face? Yesterday, she’d given him the boot. Now she was asking him out on a date?
Hell. Why not? “Sure,” he agreed. “What time works for you?”
“Seven is good.”
He wondered why she wanted to take separate cars. It made more sense to take one vehicle. Maybe she was just extra cautious. Whatever the reason, he wasn’t going to pass on this unexpected opportunity to see her again. “Seven it is. It’ll be tight timing for me, but I can make it.”
“Thank
No big deal
. She wasn’t even that pretty.
Only Barney knew that she hid her natural beauty. In different clothing, with a touch of makeup and her hair loose, she’d been gorgeous. Why was she so determined to hide her light under a bushel? It made no sense to him.
At least, he consoled himself, she wasn’t dating anyone else, even if she didn’t want to date him.
• • •
Taffeta awakened the next morning with the awful feeling that something was wrong. She leaped from bed, her first thought being that something had happened to Sarah.
Ridiculous
. She was just in a sad mood. That was all.
After staggering sleepily to the bathroom, she stared at her puffy eyelids and red nose. Somewomen looked beautiful after a good cry. Taffeta wasn’t one of them. And, along with a ravaged face, she always had a headache the next morning. She knew from experience that she wouldn’t look normal again until late in the afternoon. Thank goodness Barney wouldn’t drop by her store today. He’d instantly know she’d been weeping. He wasn’t a man who missed much. She couldn’t withstand a barrage of questions right now. She might lose it and answer them honestly.
After a quick shower, Taffeta put ice on her swollen eyes. She didn’t want all her customers to see her like this. Sitting at the table with a cup of bitter black coffee, she held the pack against each eye socket until her brow and cheekbones throbbed.
She was on her way back to the bathroom to check her face when her cell phone rang. She dashed back to the tiny kitchen to collect it from the table. With a glance at the caller ID panel, she saw that it was Bud Pierce, the private investigator she’d hired in Erickson, Oregon, to give her weekly reports on Sarah’s well-being.
“Hello,” she said.
“I’ve got disturbing news, Ms. Brown, and I’ll apologize in advance for failing to tell you sooner.”
“Is Sarah all right?” Taffeta heard the panic in her voice. “Please tell me she’s okay.”
“She’s fine for the moment, but the situation isn’t good.”
Taffeta sank onto a chair. What the investigatortold her next knocked her orderly little world clear off its axis.
• • •
Barney’s personal cell phone seldom rang while he was working. Mostly only his family members had his number, and they knew not to bother him unless it was an emergency. He drew the communication device from his jacket pocket and took his gaze off the road just long enough to see who was calling.
Taffeta?
He answered on the second ring.
“Hello?” The truck bounced over a rut as he pulled over onto the shoulder of the road. “Sorry about the noise. You caught me driving. What’s up?”
“I, um, was wondering if you’d meet me tonight for dinner in Crystal Falls.”
Her voice sounded shaky. Barney decided it must be due to a bad connection. “I thought you had a no-dating rule.”
“I do,” she replied. “Or at least I did. Please don’t say no. I have a proposition for you.”
A proposition? What the hell did that mean? “Where do you want to eat?”
She gave him the name of a little out-of-the-way Italian place. He knew of several establishments that served much better food and at least offered decent ambience. Maybe she wasn’t familiar with Crystal Falls. Or maybe she didn’t wish to be seen with him. And why the sudden about-face? Yesterday, she’d given him the boot. Now she was asking him out on a date?
Hell. Why not? “Sure,” he agreed. “What time works for you?”
“Seven is good.”
He wondered why she wanted to take separate cars. It made more sense to take one vehicle. Maybe she was just extra cautious. Whatever the reason, he wasn’t going to pass on this unexpected opportunity to see her again. “Seven it is. It’ll be tight timing for me, but I can make it.”
“Thank
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