Sisters Found

Hope made a disgusted sound. “We didn’t measure—”

“Do you love him, Hope?” Faith interrupted.

“That’s a dumb question.”

“Do you love him?” she asked again.

“Yes.”

“Then keep fighting for him. Put yourself in his way. Keep your distance, but keep him thinking about you.”

Hope hugged her sister. “Have I told you lately what a great sister you are?”

“Nope. But you can sing my praises while Randy drives us home.”

Hope sat, crowded into the front seat of Randy’s pickup, thinking and thinking and thinking all the way home. Jake needed to see how she could fit comfortably into his life. He needed to see what a good partner she would be. And there was only one way to prove herself to him. By being there. The only question was, how could she get herself invited to spend time at Jake’s ranch?

AMANDA COULDN’T BELIEVE HER party had ended in such disaster. She’d watched Jake flatten the cowboy bothering Hope Butler, then stood mouth agape as he hauled Hope off into her house without a second thought for how it would look to their friends. It had been left to her to excuse Jake’s behavior and say good-bye to their guests.

“Amanda, are you all right?”

She turned to find Rabb Whitelaw at her elbow. “I’m fine,” she said, pasting a bright smile on her face.

Ever since Rabb had built the gazebo in her backyard she’d felt self-conscious around him. She didn’t understand her attraction to him. She only knew it was there.

Maybe it was the fact he’d worked all those weeks with his shirt off. She’d wanted to touch his broad shoulders, his bronzed flesh. She’d attributed her attraction to the fact he was so obviously healthy, when she’d spent so many years nursing her mother’s frail form.

She’d been drawn outside again and again to spend time with him, using the excuse of offering lemonade or iced tea on a hot day. And she’d stayed to talk, admiring his strong hands at work, creating something lasting and beautiful.

She realized she was staring at his hands and wondered now, as she had then, what they would feel like on her skin. She felt a frisson of excitement and flushed as she realized what she was doing. Flustered, she said, “Did you enjoy the party?”

She looked into his hazel eyes and was glad to see they revealed no awareness of her wayward thoughts. He was Jake’s brother, for heaven’s sake!

Rabb eyed the gazebo and said, “I’ll be over tomorrow to start fixing that up for you.”

Amanda felt the tears welling as she wandered into the ruined gazebo.

“Watch out!” Rabb caught her arm to hold her in place as he removed a jagged piece of lattice that had caught on her skirt.

He saw the tears and said, “Are you hurt?”

“No.” But she was hurting.

A moment later he had her in his arms. “You’re all right, Amanda. You’re fine,” he crooned.

Amanda sobbed against his shoulder. She hadn’t even cried like this when she’d buried her mother. She had nothing to cry about. Her life was almost perfect. She’d loved her mother, but it had been a relief after eleven years of illness when she finally passed away quietly in the night. Amanda had been eighteen when her mother became ill. She was thirty-two and only now discovering the wonders of pursuing interests of her own.

Was it any wonder she hadn’t wanted to rush into a marriage three years ago where she would have had all the responsibility of caring for a husband? She’d been flattered by Jake’s attention, delighted by the prospect of having a boyfriend, looked forward to dating him and discovering the pleasures to be enjoyed by two consenting adults.

Only that hadn’t turned out quite like she’d thought it would, either.

“Are you okay?” Rabb asked.

He was smoothing her short-cropped brown hair with his hand. It was a comforting gesture; there was nothing sexual about it. Nonetheless, it felt sensual.

Maybe that had something to do with the way her body was pressed against his from shoulders to thighs. She had no idea how her hands had ended up around his neck. Suddenly she disengaged herself and stood back.

“Thank you,” she said. She felt awkward again, when there was no reason for it. Rabb was Jake’s brother. And a friend.

“Jake doesn’t suffer fools gladly,” Rabb said.

“I know,” Amanda said, managing a wobbling smile. “I don’t know as much as I’d like to about him, but I do know that.”

“And he has a soft spot for Hope Butler,” Rabb said.

“It seems so.” She was engaged to a man she admired, and soon they would be married. But there were issues they hadn’t discussed.

One of them was Hope.

Even a blind man could see the girl was infatuated with Jake. Oh, he’d pointedly ignored her all afternoon. Until that cowboy had flirted a little too much and Jake had jumped in to save her. So maybe he hadn’t been quite as unaware of Hope as he’d pretended. What did that mean? Anything?

Amanda felt tears stinging her nose again. If only Jake hadn’t ruined her beautiful gazebo. She loved that silly, impractical structure. She’d planted morning glories all around, and they’d grown through the lattice, creating a cool, sweet-smelling haven when she’d wanted to be alone to think. Now lattice and greenery alike had been ravaged by the fight between her fiancé and one of his drunken hired hands over another woman.

Another woman. She found it hard to think of Hope Butler as a woman. She’d taught Hope in high school, and Amanda still remembered chastising the girl for being late to class, for popping bubble gum, for a dozen other infractions, none of which had kept Hope from getting an A in her class. Hope was smart and she did her work.

The Hope Butler who’d turned up today was trying to look and act like someone much older. And not doing it well.

Amanda surveyed her gazebo and sighed. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer, Rabb. That is, if you let me pay you.”

“There’ll be no charge.”

“I can’t let you do that,” she protested.

“Then I’ll take it out in trade.”

She raised an eyebrow and he continued. “I’ll come by after church tomorrow, and you can make me lunch.”

Amanda smiled. “Done. I’m a good cook. What would you like to have?”

“Meat loaf and mashed potatoes.”

At that moment, Jake appeared at her shoulder, and she realized she was making plans to have a single man other than her fiancé over for supper. His brother, no less.

“Uh, Jake, would you like to join Rabb and me for supper tomorrow?”

“I promised my brother Colt and his wife that I’d take care of their two kids for the next two weeks, while they take a vacation. It’s the last chance they’ll have to be alone before their third child is born. You two want to come over and join me?” Jake asked.

“No,” Amanda said quickly. She was afraid she’d said it too quickly. She didn’t want Jake thinking she didn’t enjoy his company. It was the kids she wanted to avoid. The same aversion to responsibility that had kept her from committing herself to a husband, had also made her leery of kids. She’d had enough of caretaking to last her a lifetime.