After getting home from church and making lunch, Darcy called Hannah to arrange a time for picking up Emma’s new dog, but as Hannah and Ethan were leaving to check out wedding venues, they promised to drop Bonnie off on their way.
Emma was overcome with awe when Hannah appeared at the front door with Bonnie at her side.
“She’s here! She’s really here!” Too excited to contain herself, she ran in circles and jumped up and down, her arms flailing, then threw her arms around Darcy’s legs.
Clearly terrified, Bonnie yelped and scrambled backward.
“This probably isn’t the best introduction,” Hannah said dryly as she reached down to comfort the dog. “Got any suggestions?”
“Emma and I need to have a little talk.” Darcy said with an apologetic smile. “Can we meet you in the backyard in a couple minutes?”
Darcy closed the front door, then knelt down and rested her hands on Emma’s shoulders. “Have you ever been really scared about something? So scared you just wanted to run and hide?”
Emma nodded.
“Well, poor Bonnie is really scared, too. She had a good home, then ended up at Hannah’s rescue center where there were strange people and noisy dogs that frightened her, because she only knew her quiet home with an elderly man. And now she’s here, facing another change.”
Emma’s eyes filled with worry. “She doesn’t want to come here?”
“She’ll be fun and playful later, but right now we want to make it easy for her to get to know us. So you need to be slow and quiet and very gentle. Can you do that?”
Emma nodded and took Darcy’s hand.
“Let’s go, then. Just don’t forget. Today is a quiet day.”
Hannah was in the backyard with Bonnie still on the leash when they came outside.
The golden lab tentatively wagged its tail when Darcy and Emma approached.
“Let’s sit down on the picnic bench, sweetie, and let her come up to you. But don’t grab her around the neck—at least for now. Dogs can see that as a form of aggression.”
Emma sat quietly as the dog nervously surveyed her surroundings, then slowly approached and sniffed her knee. “I hope you like us, Bonnie. You’re going to be my friend.”
The lab sat down and rested her head on Emma’s lap.
“Looks good to me,” Hannah said. “Now I’d better get going, because Ethan has the car running. Let me know if you have any problems.”
After Hannah shut the gate behind her, Darcy stood and unsnapped the leash. “Let’s let her explore her new home, all right?”
Emma giggled as the dog crisscrossed the yard at a jog, nose to the ground. She explored every nook and cranny. Sized up the fence. When a squirrel chattered from its perch on an overhead branch, Bonnie launched into a volley of barks. Then she stared at the screened porch and tentatively rested a paw on the lowest step. Every few minutes, she came back to Emma and nudged her knee with her nose as if asking her to join her.
“I’d say this went just fine,” Darcy said with a smile. “Let’s let her check out the house.”
Inside, the dog continued checking every corner, until at last she settled down and followed Emma into her room. She curled up on the rug by the bed, watching Emma play with her dolls.
“If everything’s all right, I’m going to go back to the kitchen and figure out what we’re having for supper. Call if you need me, okay?”
Darcy hunted through the freezer and pulled out a package of chicken thighs that she defrosted in the microwave, then threw into the Crock-Pot on high with seasonings, sliced onions and barbecue sauce.
Eyeing the floor, she dropped to her knees and chipped at another section of the vinyl. She sat back on her heels with awe when a large section came up. Thank You, Lord.
The next piece came up just as easily, and soon she had the final section pulled free and the hardwood floor exposed. Overjoyed, she called out to Emma to come see what she’d accomplished.
Emma didn’t answer.
Frowning, Darcy jumped to her feet and hurried back to the bedrooms. “Emma?”
Success.
She was lying on her bed, a book in her hands, with her head on Bonnie’s side. And both were fast asleep.
* * *
When her cell phone rang twenty minutes later, Darcy had finished hauling out the last of the vinyl and was busy scraping at the pools of petrified flooring glue that remained.
Surprised at the Montana number on the screen, she set aside her scraper and answered the call.
“Hey, this is Susan—Logan’s sister. I made him give me your number.”
Baffled, Darcy tried to image any reason why she would call. “Is he all right?”
Susan laughed. “More than. I insisted that I wanted you and your daughter to join us for supper, but he thought you’d be busy—something about a floor. I told him that was a lame excuse to not ask. We’ll eat at six, if that works for you?”
This wasn’t just an invitation, it was an expectation. “I—I guess so.”
“Don’t worry—this isn’t the Inquisition or anything. I’m just curious about what he’s gotten himself into by moving so far away, and figured it would be nice to meet you. He says you’re going to be his business partner.”
Talking to her was like an encounter with a steamroller, and Darcy felt a little breathless. “He did? We’ve discussed it, but nothing is final yet.”
“Whatever. Six, then?”
“That’s good. What can I bring?”
Susan bellowed at her brother, her voice muffled. Then she came back to the call. “He says some sort of easy dessert would be good. Maybe brownies? But you really don’t have to bother. He’s got ice cream here.”
Darcy turned the Crock-Pot to low so the chicken would be done around bedtime and could be refrigerated for dinner tomorrow. Then she considered her ravaged kitchen before reaching for one of the three-ring binders where she kept her favorite recipes protected in plastic sleeves.
Something easy, yes. But she had no doubt about Susan’s intent. Tonight she would be assessed and probably found wanting as part of Logan’s new practice. Darcy had a feeling that people did not pass muster with his sister, no matter who they were.
But she wasn’t going to fail at dessert.
* * *
At six, Darcy pulled up at Logan’s place and helped Emma out of the car, then reached for the handle of her covered pie carrier.
“I think Bonnie will be lonely at home,” Emma said with a worried frown. “Should we go get her?”
“She’s better off at home—especially on her first day with us. She’ll be fine in the house.”
As they walked up to Logan’s front door, Darcy started imagining what they would find. From Susan’s strong voice and no-nonsense attitude, she expected a woman topping six feet with broad shoulders, just like her brother. Someone who was a serious contender in women’s boxing.
When the door opened, Darcy felt her jaw drop.
Susan offered a delicate hand. “You must be Darcy. I’m so glad to meet you—and this young lady must be Emma.”
Susan was all of five feet tall, probably a hundred pounds, with bright blue eyes and a tumble of blond curls down her back. If she wasn’t doing some sort of petite modeling or television work, she was seriously missing a golden opportunity.
Darcy blinked. “So nice to meet you.”
“Logan just put the steaks on, and we’ve got romaine salad, garlic French bread and baked potatoes. That seems to be his only skill set, so I hope it’s all right. Won’t you come in?”
She led the way out to the screened porch in back, where the table was set and a bright profusion of wildflowers had been arranged in a quart-size canning jar.
Logan was at the grill on the stone patio beyond. Setting aside his long barbecue fork, he came inside. “So you’ve met, I suppose? Susan, Emma just won a big award at Sunday school today.”
“You were in church?” Susan eyed him closely, her eyes sharp and assessing. Then she smiled and offered her hand to Emma. “Congratulations. Your mom must be very proud.”
Emma nodded, her gaze veering toward a low set of shelves where Logan kept a stack of paper and a box of crayons. “Can I color now?”
“Of course.” Susan watched her collect the supplies and spread them on a glass-topped wicker coffee table in front of a matching wicker love seat. “I can see that you know where things are around here. Help yourself.”
Susan and Darcy brought out the foil-wrapped potatoes, salads and dressing. By then, Logan was bringing the foil-wrapped French bread redolent with garlic and butter and a platter of juicy rib eyes.
If steaks were Logan’s one achievement in the culinary arts, at least he was a star.
When everyone was seated, Susan gave Logan a pointed look. “Grace?”
He nodded.
They all reached for a neighboring hand and said a simple table prayer. Then Logan passed the steaks. “The most rare are on the right.”
Darcy cut part of her steak and put tiny pieces on Emma’s plate, along with a buttered half of her baked potato and some diced lettuce.
She then cut a bite of steak for herself. “Oh, my. This steak is perfection.”
“It’s the maître d’hôtel butter.” Susan looked up at her. “He adds it on top at the very last minute, then it melts over the grilled meat. Butter, a little fresh parsley, lemon, garlic, salt and pepper. Our mom always used it, too. And growing up on a cattle ranch, we learned to use only prime beef when it comes to steak.”
Darcy looked over at Logan and smiled. “I am in awe. Everything is just wonderful.”
While they were finishing the meal, Susan and Logan intelligently debated politics and world news, then segued into the Colorado Rockies game stats and whether they had a good chance this year.
Whatever his opinion, Susan automatically took the opposite view. The competitive conversation was like watching a tennis match that had been choreographed to a fine point over the years.
Content just to listen, Darcy smiled, intrigued by this side of him.
Susan broke off the debate with her brother and looked at Emma. “I hear you love horses. I’ll bet Logan would saddle up a horse if you’d like to ride. Then we could enjoy dessert afterward.”
Emma nodded vigorously, but Darcy shook her head. “Really, we can’t take more of your time. I’m sure you’d much rather visit with each other. And honestly, we really can’t stay that long. We got a new dog today, and she’s in the house.”
“Kenneled, right?”
“Um...yes, but...”
Susan shrugged. “It won’t take Logan long to bring a horse up from the barn. It looks like Emma is more than a little excited.”
Of course she was. After that enticing invitation, she was bouncing in her chair.
From the look Logan gave his sister as he stood, he suspected that she’d just skillfully engineered a setup.
“Behave,” he said quietly to her as he headed for the screen door.
“Can I come with you now? Please?” Emma quivered with anticipation. “I won’t be in the way.”
He extended a hand. She scrambled out of her chair and held on to it as they headed through the backyard toward the barn.
Darcy rose and began gathering plates, while Susan picked up the serving dishes. “Thanks again. This was all lovely, but I do hope we didn’t intrude on your time together. You leave tomorrow, right?”
“Back to the soap opera that is my life.” Susan raised an eyebrow. “I assume Logan told you about why I’m here.”
“Um...”
“No worries. I assumed he did.” She gave a rueful laugh as she began loading the dishwasher. “I seem to be an expert at finding good men. I’m just not so good at keeping them. So, how about you? Were you married long?”
“What?”
“You have to admit that any good sister would worry about her little brother, especially after what he’s been through. I worry about him making another mistake.”
“Unless you’re talking about a business relationship, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. He and I aren’t...an item.”
Susan stopped, a dirty plate in hand, and turned to give her a flat look of disbelief. “Really.”
“I work at the clinic. I may well buy into the practice and become a partner. And I think we’re becoming friends. Nothing more.” She shrugged. “Anyway, just in passing conversation, he has mentioned that he has no plans to settle down with anyone. Not ever. So take it up with him, but it doesn’t sound like you have any reason for concern.”
“And yet he’s gone to church with you. Twice.”
Darcy gave a helpless little shrug. “As coworkers. Friends. It’s not uncommon.”
“For him it is. Logan has not stepped into a church since our mom and dad died. He’s been angry about what happened to them for so long that I thought it would never happen. And yet he apparently put those feelings aside. For you. And after that deal with Cathy—” She broke off and studied Darcy’s face closely. “So you don’t know?”
“Know what?”
Susan seemed to reconsider her words. “I thought he would never take a chance on someone new, yet here he is. Why?”
“I—I have no idea.” But from somewhere deep in her memory, Kaycee’s narrowed look at Logan and her words glass houses and throwing stones surfaced.
Maybe it was time to do some sleuthing on her own, because neither Kaycee nor Susan was very forthcoming.
“Understand that I have nothing against you. You seem like a great person.” Susan dropped the plate in the dishwasher and shut the door. Her voice gentled, but it also held a thread of steel. “But I didn’t come here to think over my marriage—I already know which way that’s going. I came here because of you.”
Shocked, Darcy stared at her. “Me?”
“Logan and I talk on the phone almost every week, and I could tell something was different. After a lot of badgering, I finally got just a little information out of him. How he’s spending time with you outside work. How much he likes your daughter.”
“But really, there’s nothing going on here. He helps out with some things at my house because of an auction.”
“I think there’s more—at least, on his part.”
Darcy felt a warm little ember come to life in her heart, even though she knew what Susan said wasn’t true.
“Apparently there’s a lot you don’t know about his past, but you won’t find anyone on this planet better than my brother. But I promise you—I won’t let you break his heart. Because if you do, you’ll be answering to me.”