do the story on him. If anything, he’d appeared hesitant to believe her and had required considerable convincing on her part.
Carolina liked to think of herself as a good-hearted person,but Jake was right. She wouldn’t lay her job on the line for just anyone. It prompted her to wonder exactly how strong her attraction to Neil was and what, if anything, she should do about it.
“Let me see how Ward acts on Monday,” she said, speaking over Jake and Vi’s silly argument. “He might not mention the story again. Depending on how it goes, I may call Howard.”
“Good.” Her declaration appeared to satisfy Jake. “I’ll be right back,” he said when the trill of a phone sounded through the partially open door. “Briana, watch the girls, please.”
Rachel waited until Jake was inside to pin Carolina down. “So, you going to ask him out?”
“No!”
“Why not? You want to go out with him.”
“She may want to go out with him—” Vi sent her sister a superior look reminiscent of when they were teens “—but that doesn’t mean she prefers to do the asking.”
Briana, who hadn’t returned to the hot tub, vacillated between watching the younger girls and observing the adult goings-on with starstruck fascination.
“You know me.” Carolina lifted one shoulder in a casual shrug. “If a man appeals to me, I have no qualms about making the first move.”
“That’s true,” Vi agreed, “if you don’t like him all that much. If you do, then you suddenly go from laughing in the face of convention to strictly traditional.”
Carolina winced. “I do not.”
“Come on, sis. When’s the last time you hesitated about taking the initiative?”
She could pinpoint the day exactly. It had been on her disastrous double date with Neil. She’d hoped he would pick up on her attraction to him and respond in kind. Luckily, she hadn’t shared the details of that night with her sisters. Or not luckily, she thought, after hearing Vi’s next remark.
“It was Lonnie, right?”
Not that Carolina was having fun in the first place, but why did her sister have to bring up the dreaded ex-fiancé?
“I’m sure there’s been someone else I’ve hesitated to ask out since him.” There had to be. Carolina racked her brain and came up blank. Uh-oh. Her sisters were right. She really did like Neil. Damn!
“I think one of the girls got water up her nose,” she said, but her plan for distracting the four unwavering stares fixed on her failed. “I can’t concentrate with all this pressure.”
“See?” Vi sat back in her chair. “Told you.”
“Aunt Carolina’s crushing,” Briana said in a singsong tone.
“I’m not crushing on Neil.” Carolina was afraid it might be far worse. Like total and complete infatuation.
“So, prove us wrong and ask him out.”
Jake’s timing couldn’t have been better. She’d never felt so glad to see him come through a door.
“Hey, you’re—” she began to say, but the disturbed look on his face stopped her midsentence. “What’s wrong?”
“That was Gary on the phone,” Jake said, referring to their manager of guest amenities. He started picking up damp towels and hanging them on the railing to dry. “Come on, girls, we have to go inside. Party’s over.”
“Aw, Dad,” his daughters chorused.
“Sorry. Something important came up.”
Sensing his urgency, Carolina rose and began to help. “What did he say?”
Gary had been an employee for over thirty years and knew the operation of the ranch better than anyone except the immediate family. For him to phone Jake at home signaled a serious problem.
“Little José was on the north ridge this morning where it butts up against federal land checking the high trails beforethe weather turns.” Clearing trails of debris was a task the ranch hands regularly performed every March and October. “He found something. Gary drove out there this afternoon to verify it in case Little José was wrong. He
Carolina liked to think of herself as a good-hearted person,but Jake was right. She wouldn’t lay her job on the line for just anyone. It prompted her to wonder exactly how strong her attraction to Neil was and what, if anything, she should do about it.
“Let me see how Ward acts on Monday,” she said, speaking over Jake and Vi’s silly argument. “He might not mention the story again. Depending on how it goes, I may call Howard.”
“Good.” Her declaration appeared to satisfy Jake. “I’ll be right back,” he said when the trill of a phone sounded through the partially open door. “Briana, watch the girls, please.”
Rachel waited until Jake was inside to pin Carolina down. “So, you going to ask him out?”
“No!”
“Why not? You want to go out with him.”
“She may want to go out with him—” Vi sent her sister a superior look reminiscent of when they were teens “—but that doesn’t mean she prefers to do the asking.”
Briana, who hadn’t returned to the hot tub, vacillated between watching the younger girls and observing the adult goings-on with starstruck fascination.
“You know me.” Carolina lifted one shoulder in a casual shrug. “If a man appeals to me, I have no qualms about making the first move.”
“That’s true,” Vi agreed, “if you don’t like him all that much. If you do, then you suddenly go from laughing in the face of convention to strictly traditional.”
Carolina winced. “I do not.”
“Come on, sis. When’s the last time you hesitated about taking the initiative?”
She could pinpoint the day exactly. It had been on her disastrous double date with Neil. She’d hoped he would pick up on her attraction to him and respond in kind. Luckily, she hadn’t shared the details of that night with her sisters. Or not luckily, she thought, after hearing Vi’s next remark.
“It was Lonnie, right?”
Not that Carolina was having fun in the first place, but why did her sister have to bring up the dreaded ex-fiancé?
“I’m sure there’s been someone else I’ve hesitated to ask out since him.” There had to be. Carolina racked her brain and came up blank. Uh-oh. Her sisters were right. She really did like Neil. Damn!
“I think one of the girls got water up her nose,” she said, but her plan for distracting the four unwavering stares fixed on her failed. “I can’t concentrate with all this pressure.”
“See?” Vi sat back in her chair. “Told you.”
“Aunt Carolina’s crushing,” Briana said in a singsong tone.
“I’m not crushing on Neil.” Carolina was afraid it might be far worse. Like total and complete infatuation.
“So, prove us wrong and ask him out.”
Jake’s timing couldn’t have been better. She’d never felt so glad to see him come through a door.
“Hey, you’re—” she began to say, but the disturbed look on his face stopped her midsentence. “What’s wrong?”
“That was Gary on the phone,” Jake said, referring to their manager of guest amenities. He started picking up damp towels and hanging them on the railing to dry. “Come on, girls, we have to go inside. Party’s over.”
“Aw, Dad,” his daughters chorused.
“Sorry. Something important came up.”
Sensing his urgency, Carolina rose and began to help. “What did he say?”
Gary had been an employee for over thirty years and knew the operation of the ranch better than anyone except the immediate family. For him to phone Jake at home signaled a serious problem.
“Little José was on the north ridge this morning where it butts up against federal land checking the high trails beforethe weather turns.” Clearing trails of debris was a task the ranch hands regularly performed every March and October. “He found something. Gary drove out there this afternoon to verify it in case Little José was wrong. He
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