had some extra help.” Her mouth thinned in disapproval. “I can’t say I would have hired Mr. Cade, given his reputation, but if this porch is any indication, I can’t fault his work ethic.”
“His reputation?” Hannah asked as she escorted the other woman inside.
“Did he tell you about the last place he worked? Or how he left after having an affair with the owner’s wife?”
“What? That can’t be right.”
Patricia stiffened, sucking in a breath. “Are you calling me a liar? We’ve purchased three horses from the ranch next to the McCoy place, where he worked. They told us all about him. He’s had a string of jobs.” She made this declaration with a sneer. To Patricia, anyone whose family hadn’t lived on the same property for six generations was suspect. “He was hired to help the McCoys with calving, but ended up destroying their marriage and leaving them in the lurch.”
It was next to impossible to believe he’d abandon an obligation. After all, he’d stayed on Hannah’s ranch initially because of faulty steps and his sense of responsibility, fixing something that was neither his doing nor his problem.
“Well,” Hannah said, “as infallible as secondhand gossip is, I think I’ll judge Colin on what I’ve seen of him.” He was polite to Henry but companionable, too, not talking down to him in a “here, let me get that for you, old man” kind of way. And he was building Evan a playhouse with scraps from her garage and additional materials he insisted on paying for himself, since the project was his idea. They’d argued for ten minutes before she backed down because her budget was strained already.
“You certainly do make some interesting choices about men,” Patricia said with a glint in her eye.
With an inward sigh, Hannah admitted to herself that she’d likely alienated her best client. On the bright side, once you start booking guests, you’ll be too busy to fill all of Patricia’s special-order demands anyway. She’d called twice this week to change her mind about frosting colors for the shower cakes.
Hannah gave her a wide smile, eager to see her on her way. “Need any help getting your cakes to the car?”
It wasn’t until Patricia was driving off that Hannah asked herself the obvious question. Why had she antagonized Patricia in Colin’s defense? She filled a pot with water and placed it on the stove, mulling over the situation as she retrieved a box of assorted tea bags from the pantry. As drawn to Colin as she was, she had no idea what he’d done or hadn’t done up until now. Before yesterday, she hadn’t even known he had a sister. She didn’t know what had happened to his parents. Or who Danny was.
Maybe a woman? Dani could be short for Danielle.
The front door banged open and Colin called into the house, “Whoever just left was driving like a maniac. She almost mowed me down.”
“Don’t worry, I think she fired me, so it’s doubtful she’ll be back,” Hannah answered. Should she tell him the driving might not have been lunacy so much as purpose? Patricia seemed to dislike him strongly.
His boots clacked against the faux hardwood in the living room, then he appeared in the doorway, his expression pensive beneath the brim of his hat. “We need to talk.”
Did he mean about what had happened last night? She clutched the box of tea tight enough to dent the cardboard. “I’m listening.”
“You might need to think about selling your bull.”
“Huh?” It took her mental gears a minute to make the shift, but even once she refocused on the topic at hand, she was confused. Bulls had to be replaced, on average, every five years to avoid defects in the herd caused by inbreeding, but she should still have another couple of years before she did that.
“Last week, he was warning off Henry and me, showing us his side, pawing the ground, tossing his head. Today, he tried to kick me. Luckily, I’ve got good reflexes. It’s not unheard of for bulls to
“His reputation?” Hannah asked as she escorted the other woman inside.
“Did he tell you about the last place he worked? Or how he left after having an affair with the owner’s wife?”
“What? That can’t be right.”
Patricia stiffened, sucking in a breath. “Are you calling me a liar? We’ve purchased three horses from the ranch next to the McCoy place, where he worked. They told us all about him. He’s had a string of jobs.” She made this declaration with a sneer. To Patricia, anyone whose family hadn’t lived on the same property for six generations was suspect. “He was hired to help the McCoys with calving, but ended up destroying their marriage and leaving them in the lurch.”
It was next to impossible to believe he’d abandon an obligation. After all, he’d stayed on Hannah’s ranch initially because of faulty steps and his sense of responsibility, fixing something that was neither his doing nor his problem.
“Well,” Hannah said, “as infallible as secondhand gossip is, I think I’ll judge Colin on what I’ve seen of him.” He was polite to Henry but companionable, too, not talking down to him in a “here, let me get that for you, old man” kind of way. And he was building Evan a playhouse with scraps from her garage and additional materials he insisted on paying for himself, since the project was his idea. They’d argued for ten minutes before she backed down because her budget was strained already.
“You certainly do make some interesting choices about men,” Patricia said with a glint in her eye.
With an inward sigh, Hannah admitted to herself that she’d likely alienated her best client. On the bright side, once you start booking guests, you’ll be too busy to fill all of Patricia’s special-order demands anyway. She’d called twice this week to change her mind about frosting colors for the shower cakes.
Hannah gave her a wide smile, eager to see her on her way. “Need any help getting your cakes to the car?”
It wasn’t until Patricia was driving off that Hannah asked herself the obvious question. Why had she antagonized Patricia in Colin’s defense? She filled a pot with water and placed it on the stove, mulling over the situation as she retrieved a box of assorted tea bags from the pantry. As drawn to Colin as she was, she had no idea what he’d done or hadn’t done up until now. Before yesterday, she hadn’t even known he had a sister. She didn’t know what had happened to his parents. Or who Danny was.
Maybe a woman? Dani could be short for Danielle.
The front door banged open and Colin called into the house, “Whoever just left was driving like a maniac. She almost mowed me down.”
“Don’t worry, I think she fired me, so it’s doubtful she’ll be back,” Hannah answered. Should she tell him the driving might not have been lunacy so much as purpose? Patricia seemed to dislike him strongly.
His boots clacked against the faux hardwood in the living room, then he appeared in the doorway, his expression pensive beneath the brim of his hat. “We need to talk.”
Did he mean about what had happened last night? She clutched the box of tea tight enough to dent the cardboard. “I’m listening.”
“You might need to think about selling your bull.”
“Huh?” It took her mental gears a minute to make the shift, but even once she refocused on the topic at hand, she was confused. Bulls had to be replaced, on average, every five years to avoid defects in the herd caused by inbreeding, but she should still have another couple of years before she did that.
“Last week, he was warning off Henry and me, showing us his side, pawing the ground, tossing his head. Today, he tried to kick me. Luckily, I’ve got good reflexes. It’s not unheard of for bulls to
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