MacKenzie Fire(73)

I roll my eyes. “In case you haven’t heard, Tate, there’s a whole world out there just waiting for you.” I look around the room. “Any of you. Ginny, Hannah … if they’re not happy here they could move.”

“Easy for you to say. But most of these people have never left here. Not even for a vacation. Their families have been here for generations, working the land and ranching for hundreds of years. And our families have big expectations that are hard to get out from under.”

It all sounds so depressing, not to mention eighteenth century. “Did that happen to you? Are you happy?”

He grins in a nice, easy way. It makes him beautiful and it’s almost as if the sun has come right into the diner to be with us. “Oh, I’m happy enough. And I enjoy my life, even though I admit it can be lonely sometimes.”

I tilt my head to the side, suddenly realizing I’ve done a really poor job of having a conversation with him. “What is it that you do, exactly?”

“I’m a mechanic. My garage is on Main Street.”

A sign with a handsome face flashes up in my memory bank. “First-Rate Tate?”

“That’s me.”

I smile back. “Nice to me you, First-Rate.”

“Just Tate’ll do nicely, thanks.” His face goes charmingly pink.

Two plates bang down in front of us with no warning. “Two waffles with bacon, eggs on the side.”

Hannah’s there and gone before either of us can respond.

He nods at me. “Now you’ve done it.”

“Done what?” I look from him, to my waffle, to Hannah, and then back at him.

“First you stole Ian from Ginny, and now you’re stealing me from whoever has me in her sights.”

My eyes go wide in jest. “Wow. Should I be afraid?” I look around the room, trying to find his stalker. I don’t see anyone looking at us but Hannah.

He leans in close and give me the scary face. “Yes.” He wiggles his eyebrows. “Be afraid. Be very afraid.”

We both laugh it off and dive into our waffles.





Chapter Thirty-Three





I HAVE A LOT TO think about on my drive home. As I pull into the driveway at the ranch, my plan is almost fully put together. If Andie could see me now, she’s probably say my hamster’s about to die of a heart attack, but she’d be wrong. My hamster could compete in the Ironman competition if they’d let him. He’d totally win, too.

“Back so soon?” Maeve asks me as I stomp the snow off my boots in the front hall.

“Yep. Hannah got me a seat right away, and I wolfed down my amazing waffle in record time.”

Maeve looks a tiny bit uncomfortable as her gaze shifts away from me to rest on the floor. “I thought you were having breakfast with Tate Montgomery.”

“Oh, I did. And I wanted to talk to you about that, if you have a minute.”

She’s back to looking at me. “Okay. Shoot.”

“How about over coffee?”

She smiles. “Great idea. I just came in from gathering eggs and my fingers could use a good thawing out.”

She puts the coffee pot on in the kitchen as I take a seat and do a few leg stretches to keep my mind off the fact that her fingers have just been in places mine will never go.

Chicken butts. Shudder.

I’m distracted by this distasteful idea by the state of my muscles. I’m not even sure if I could do a high kick right now the way my legs feel. All this cold is shrinking my body, turning it into a clamped down mess.

“So you enjoy the waffles in town, hmm?”

“Delish. I’d come back here just for those even if Andie didn’t live here.”

She laughs. “Well, I suppose I’ll have to try them then if they’re that good.”

“Don’t you ever go in there?” I’m starting to wonder if this is some sort of town epidemic, this Hannah avoidance-itis.

“Not often and never for the waffles. We have a ranchwomen’s meeting at the diner once a quarter that I attend, but I usually stick to coffee.”

“Definitely try the waffles next time. They’re totally worth the trip, even in this snow.”

“So how did you meet Tate?” Her back is to me as she gets mugs and sugar out.

“Last night at Boog’s party. He and I had a deal, and my end of the bargain was having a meal of my choice with him. I chose breakfast.”

“Hmmmm…” Maeve says.

I get the feeling her response actually means something, but it’s all she gives me.

“I had this idea that maybe he might be able to tell me some things … shed some light on a particular mystery I’ve stumbled across.” I try to make it sound intriguing. She’s a critical part of my plan so I need her buy-in.

“A mystery, eh? That sounds very … mysterious.” She laughs, turning around with mugs and sugar in hand.

“Is Andie around yet?” I ask. She’s not where I can see her, and there are no baby sounds cluing me in to her presence, but I want to be sure that she’s not within hearing distance.

“No, but she should be here in an hour or so. It’s taking her a bit of time getting used to the whole rhythm of things.”

“Maybe we should go over there.”