A Rancher's Pride(29)

Kayla rolled her eyes. She had always made it a point not to spoil the child. Not too much, anyway. But Becky sure knew what buttons to push.

Yet it had been a long while since breakfast. And Becky had expended a lot of energy playing with Pirate that morning.

Besides, the cookie would keep Becky occupied while Kayla talked with Dori.

After parking the car, she released Becky from her booster seat and ushered her through the doorway of the Double S.

Most of the tables and booths in the café were filled with customers. Becky ran ahead to the dessert case. Kayla crossed to the counter at the rear of the room. Maybe she should have come earlier, instead of letting Becky and Pirate have their fun. Dori might not have a chance to chat immediately, and Kayla would risk Sam walking in during the middle of their conversation.

Fortunately, after just a few minutes, Dori bustled across the room toward them. “Good morning. You’ve come for more of my sweets, yes?”

Kayla laughed. “Since Becky has her nose nearly glued to the dessert case, I guess I have to admit she has, at least.”

“Very good.” Briskly, Dora turned to pour a cup of tea for Kayla. “I am happy to see you.”

She soon settled Becky on the stool next to Kayla’s with a chocolate-chunk cookie and a glass of milk in front of her. “Sam is at his ranch this morning, I’m sure. A very hard worker, that man.”

“Yes.” Kayla leaned forward eagerly. Dori couldn’t have given her a better opening. “He doesn’t seem to leave the ranch very much at all.”

“Now he does, more than he did before. But there was a time…” Dori’s eyes looked sad, her face grave.

“You mean…?”

“When he would not come in to town at all. When he wouldn’t talk to anyone, after his wife went away.”

Kayla swallowed a groan. This was not where she’d expected the conversation to go. Worse, thinking of that time only reminded her how much Sam resented her for helping Ronnie. How much he hated her for wanting to take Becky from him now. She pushed the thoughts away. She should be focusing on what she needed to do to accomplish just that, not on how Sam felt about her.

“But if he never bothered to spend any time with his wife…” At Dori’s incredulous expression, she faltered.

“What is this, not bother? He works hard on his ranch from morning to night. For his wife. And now, for his little girl.”

They both looked at Becky, who had pushed hard against the counter to make her seat swivel in a circle.

“I know,” Kayla said, “but—”

“He’s a good provider,” Dori interrupted, nodding emphatically. “Like my Manny. Is that not right?” She directed the question to the person who had just slid onto the stool on the other side of Kayla’s.

Kayla turned quickly to find Ellamae, the court clerk, looking at her.

“If you’re talking about Sam Robertson, Dori, you’re one hundred percent right. Now he’s grown-up and gotten over his teenager ways, you couldn’t find a better daddy this side of the Mississippi.”

So Ellamae was fighting her, too, in her own way. She was probably here this morning directly from the judge’s courtroom, trying to find out anything she could to help Sam.

The two women began an intense discussion about a new item on the menu.

Kayla took a deep breath and let it out. Of course these women would support Sam. He’d probably deceived everyone in town. They wouldn’t know about all the things Ronnie had said, about the way Sam had treated Ronnie and rejected Becky, about all Sam’s lies.

Look at that story he had told about not even knowing he’d had a child. No matter how Sharleen defended him, Kayla couldn’t believe that. Ronnie had contacted Sam repeatedly, hoping he would want to get in touch with his daughter. Finally, after years of no response, she had stopped trying.

Yet, knowing all that, Kayla had let herself get swept up in thinking crazy thoughts about him yesterday afternoon. Then she had almost let herself reach out in sympathy last night. She’d come so close to falling for that hurt look in his gray eyes.

Her thoughts wavered just as her words had faltered at Dori’s disbelief. Had Sam really tricked everyone into thinking he was so wonderful?

Or had Kayla been the one deceived—by Ronnie?

Before she could even begin to recover from that shocking thought, Becky cried out. Kayla recognized it as a sound of happiness.