Page 11 of Her Saltwater Cowboy

“Anything.”

“I heard a rumor you once dated one of the hands, well, before Eli, I mean.”

Kit raised one eyebrow and tilted her head, still chewing.

Willow’s mouth went slack. What was she doing poking her head into someone else’s business? So not like her! She’d only done it so she wouldn’t have to answer any questions about herself …

Kit swallowed a bite. “You know it was Chance, right?”

Willow’s eyes snapped open wide.

Kit laughed.

“Honey, that was in high school.” She batted the air with a hand. “Water under the bridge.

“I-I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have been so nosy!” Willow turned away at the rush of heat in her face. She wiped her hands on a towel, letting them linger.

“Something tells me my high school love life isn’t what’s on your mind right now, cook.”

Another text popped up on her phone then, but Willow slid it away from her view. She spun around and pasted on a smile. “I just have a lot to do this week. My mind’s muddled with details for the party Ace is throwing.”

“Let me help you.”

Willow waved a hand at her. “Oh, you’ve got plenty to do, I’m sure! I’ll—I’ll be fine.”

“Willow? I’m offering to help, so you should take me up on that. I may be a little older than you, young ‘un, but I’m not a fake.”

She had not expected Kit to be so direct. Since they’d met, she’d been funny and a little sarcastic, but their relationship had not crossed the line into any kind of enduring friendship. And Willow had been perfectly okay with that.

Kit dragged herself away from the counter. She looked longingly at the empty plate in front of her, then snapped a look at Willow. “I’m here when you need me.”

Willow managed a small smile, though she kept the guard around her heart intact. “Thank you so much.. I appreciate it, and, well …”

“Yes?”

She shook her head. “Never mind. Was a crazy thought anyhow.”

Kit stared at her, as if trying to figure out if she should say more. Eventually, she grabbed her basket and slid it off the counter. “Like I said, I’m here if you need me. Thanks for lunch!”

After she had gone, Willow stood silently for a good, long minute. She’d almost asked a favor of someone she barely knew, and the relief that flooded through her told her she’d made the right decision to change her mind.

What if … she’d asked Kit to keep an eye on the kitchen for a time, and Ace questioned her about it? Or what if it annoyed Chance?

What if … she’d asked Kit for help only to have to divulge why?

Absolutely not. Opening herself up for one question would lead to another, then another still. Thankfully, she had placed a tourniquet on the flood of questions before they even started.

Her phone buzzed. Probably one about her mother again. She snapped a look at the clock. If she left now, she could arrive back at the ranch in enough time to make the stew she was planning for supper.

She slid a tense look at her phone, but it wasn’t a text at all. Instead, a voicemail appeared. Not surprising. Cellphone reception was an issue up here on this mountain, and she had missed a call more than once.

Hello, Ms. Mercer. This is Jack Landson. I’m calling to set up a time to check in with your mother, and I would like you to be there. Please call me at your earliest convenience. I would like to meet with her sometime next week. Goodbye.

Great. Exactly what she needed now. Sometimes it seemed as if the authorities had nothing better to do than make life rougher. Willow had long proved that her mother was no longer capable of chaos—really, she wasn’t behind all that she’d been accused of—and that visits from someone like Mr. Landson would do more harm than good.

But her word wasn’t enough. It was never enough.

Reluctantly, Willow stepped outside, far from the building. She crossed the driveway, then walked up around her small cabin, casting a sour glance at her tiny car. Chance was right—it did sort of look like a clown car. Oh, he didn’t say so, but he didn’t have to. With a sigh, she kept walking. She needed to make a phone call and to do so out of earshot of anyone on the ranch.

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