A Home of Her Own

How much were her dreams worth? “I don’t know,” she said. “But somehow I always seem to be asking for too much.”

MIKE DIDN’T FEEL like driving back to the ranch. The roads had to be nearly impassable by now and were only getting worse, making his decision to stop in at Jerry’s café a risky one. But he didn’t care. He wasn’t the unruffled, conservative guy he’d been just yesterday. He was restless and edgy and—

The bell over the entrance jingled. Brooding, Mike glanced up from his coffee to see Gabe roll in and wasn’t sure whether he was excited to see his old friend or not. He decided he wasn’t. Gabe had seemed more like himself when he visited the ranch yesterday, but Mike didn’t want the added pressure of trying to maintain their strained relationship right now. He was still too annoyed about what had happened with Lucky. But he waved anyway. He could hardly go unnoticed. He was the only one in the diner besides Judy, the waitress, and Harry, the cook.

“What are you doing in town in the middle of such a bad storm?” Gabe asked as he wheeled closer.

Too grumpy to bother smiling, Mike propped an arm on the back of the booth and watched his friend. “I was wondering the same about you.”

“I had a meeting with the mayor yesterday and stayed too long. Haven’t been able to make it home since.” Gabe remained in his chair instead of hauling himself out and sliding around the booth as Mike had seen him do before, when the restaurant was busy.

“Too much snow?”

Gabe nodded.

“Considering that you bought the most remote piece of land you could find, I’m not surprised.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Did you stay at your folks’ place last night?”

“I did. My father and I sat up talking politics.” He smiled faintly as though he’d enjoyed it, and Mike was glad that Gabe had at least remained close to his father.