Harlequin Special Edition July 2018 Box Set 2 of 2 by Melissa Senate

Author:Melissa Senate
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Under normal circumstances, Clay never would have intruded upon a private lunch, but he hadn’t been able to stay away from this one. Not when he’d been so damn curious about what his mother might be saying to Rickie.

Or what Rickie might tell his mom.

“Well, look who’s here!” Margie handed Clay a menu. “I’d heard you got out of the Army and came back to run the Bar M for your grandpa. How’s it feel to be home?”

Margie, bless her heart, had better radar than a fighter jet. Too bad her intel wasn’t very good. But she wouldn’t get squat out of him. Not if she spread it around town that he wasn’t happy to be home. Or to be looking at spending the rest of his life ranching.

“It feels good to be moving around without a cane,” Clay said, hoping to appease her. “But I won’t need that menu. I’ll have what the sheriff ate.”

“You got it.”

As Margie walked away, his mother sat back in her seat and smiled at him. “I’m glad you’ll be eating a hearty meal for a change.”

“I’m really not very hungry, but ordering the special was easier than taking time to read the menu.” He glanced across the table at Rickie, who looked especially pretty today with her soft brown curls tumbling over her shoulders. “How’s the job going?”

“Great. At least, so far. It’s nice being in a clinic again. Only this time I get to work with families instead of soldiers.”

“Speaking of clinics and families,” his mother said, “do you have an obstetrician?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Oh, good. Is the office around here?”

“No, it’s in Jeffersville.”

Clay wanted to put a halt to the rapid-fire questions, but he cleared his throat instead, reminding his mother of his presence and hoping she’d take the hint. But she didn’t.

“Do you have other family and friends living in Jeffersville?” his mother asked.

“No, not really. I only lived there when I was a teenager. After high school, I joined the Army. I’ve been away six years, and my friends have all moved for one reason or another.”

“That’s too bad,” Mom said, unable to just leave it at that. “Not even a neighbor?”

Clay stiffened. He was tempted to answer for Rickie, but he bit his tongue. If she wanted to have a relationship with Sandra Masters, she’d have to get used to being quizzed about subjects she might not want to talk about.

“No, I’m afraid not. I had a twin sister, but she died when we were nine.”

“Oh, no.” His mother reached out and placed her hand around Rickie’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

Clay sympathized, too. But unlike his mom, he usually pulled away when things took an emotional turn.

“It was hard when Lainie died,” Rickie said, “but I’ve adjusted. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be just fine.”

Yeah, right. Telling his mother not to worry was like telling a duck to stay out of a pond. But shouldn’t someone in his family be emotionally supportive? Someone who’d

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