Page 61 of The Cowboy's Christmas
Kissing Quinn had helped.
And being gently rejected had given her something to think about while surrounded by holiday festivities and old memories. A blessing in disguise. She should be grateful for being turned away at Quinn’s door.
She was not.
Sophie tugged her hand and Savannah smiled. “How could I not be okay with two shopping buddies? Good luck with the interview,” she said over her shoulder as the girls pulled her forward. “We’ll see you in an hour.”
*
Quinn’s gaze followedSavannah as she and the girls headed down the sidewalk. He couldn’t go with her and protect her, but he wanted to. He wanted to do a lot of things with Savannah, which had caused him a sleepless night.
It would have been so easy to invite her into his apartment the night before, and let nature take its course, but he wasn’t about to add another facet of concern to the woman’s life.
After Savannah and the girls disappeared around the corner, he followed Deke into the diner, where he got a double take from the hostess before she realized that he wasn’t who she’d thought he was. Surprisingly, it was one of the first double takes of the day. Before it had felt as if everyone recognized him as a Harding the instant that he stepped out of his hotel room. Now he realized that it was only a few of the old guard. People who’d gone to school with Austin and Ty or knew them from their rodeo days. Every time it happened, though, it made him reflect on the fact that he had brothers. Brothers. Was he going to forge a relationship? Or let time and distance do its thing?
He’d been certain of the latter when he’d first agreed to meet them, but now he wasn’t so sure.
“That’s him,” Deke said to the hostess, pointing to the back table as they went inside the diner. “Red coat and black hat.”
Jeff Barnett got to his feet as Deke and Quinn approached, then began his interview with the handshake of dominance, seemingly oblivious to the fact that dominating his interviewers might not be the best strategy for getting the job.
“I see you have an injury,” he said to Deke as the older man carefully slid into his chair.
Deke explained about his fall and Jeff slapped the table. “Black ice. Let me tell you what happened to me once with the black ice. Trailer full of cattle, had to get to the sale yard in time to unload, and the kid who was driving figured the weight alone would keep the tires on the road.” He went on to describe the rounding of corners, forcing a driver off the road, then finally laying the trailer on its side. “That trailer popped like a balloon. Dazed cattle wandering everywhere.”
“Did you think to clue the kid in?” Deke asked.
Jeff set his palm on the table. “Here’s the thing. Sometimes you gotta learn things the hard way. That kid was fired by the end of the day, but now he knows about black ice.”
“And the cattle?” Quinn asked.
“Most of them were just fine.”
Quinn had assumed that they’d just moved past the low point of the interview, but no. Jeff had several tales to share in which he sat back and allowed the people working with him to learn lessons the hard way.
But, he assured them, he knew his stuff.Heknew how to do things right.
“Has anyone been hurt or killed working with you?” Quinn asked, only half kidding.
“Nope.” Jeff answered the question with a serene look.
After the interview ended and Jeff had departed, Deke leaned back in his chair. “Maybe if he rode the trailer and just cut strings.”
“Yeah. Couldn’t do much harm there,” Quinn agreed. “But that doesn’t matter, because I’m staying.”
No way was he letting Jeff Barnett loose on the Dunn Ranch.
Deke gave a satisfied snort. “Thank you.” He signaled the server with a small wave. “I’ll get the check.”
*
“The interview didn’tgo well?” Savannah spoke in a low voice as she and Quinn walked behind Deke while the twins regaled him with the details of their shopping adventure.
“Deke would probably do him bodily harm within a matter of days.”
“But could he do the job?”
She sidestepped a little boy who raced past them, bumping up against Quinn. Instantly she put space between them. Maybe too much distance, because he gave her a questioning look before saying, “It doesn’t matter right now because I’m staying until I have to go. Deke and I talked, and it seems like the best option.”
