21

Sarah had tried on and rejected three different outfits, and fussed at herself for doing so, by the time Chris picked her up Sunday evening. She had also told Brandon about the dinner, and he had not been happy.

“It’s only dinner,” she had told him. “Just a chance to get out for the evening with a friend.”

“Don’t you have any women friends?”

“Married women friends, with small children. And Last Chance is just not a girls’ night out kind of place. Families sort of pull in their sidewalks in the evening. What kind of question is that, anyway? I’m only allowed to have women friends?”

He had gone silent, and she tried to coax a better mood.

“We’re just going as friends. Promise. Besides, he knows all about you and that I’m coming to see you next month. I told him.”

“And he decided to try to move in anyway. Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Brandon, I’m going to ask you something, and I want you to be completely truthful.”

He didn’t say anything, and Sarah took that as agreement.

“In all the time you’ve been away, have you never had a dinner or a lunch or a cup of coffee with another woman? Not even once?”

“Well, yeah, co-workers.”

“And the difference would be?”

“They don’t mean anything to me, at least not like you do. They’re someone to talk to so I don’t always have to eat alone, and that’s how they feel about me too.”

“And that’s exactly how it is with Chris and me. Just friends.”

There was a long silence on the phone before Brandon finally broke it.

“You know, when you say you just see this guy as a friend, I believe you. I know you, and if there were something more, you’d tell me.”

Sarah had been pleased at his trust and was about to say so when Brandon went on. “But I don’t trust this Chris guy any farther than I can throw him. If I were there, I’d knock his teeth in for him.”

“If you were here, Brandon, I wouldn’t be going to dinner with Chris.” And I’d like to see you try to knock Chris Reed’s teeth in. Sarah had been suddenly so done with the conversation.

“All I’m saying is be careful.”

“Good-bye, Brandon.”

“Call me as soon as you get home.”

“Bye.”

After she had hung up from talking to Brandon, Sarah had almost called Chris to cancel. Truth be told, she felt a tiny twinge of guilt at Brandon’s confidence that she would tell him if she felt anything more than friendship for Chris. Yes, Chris was just a friend. And yes, they had agreed that this was to be a dinner between friends, and friends only. And yes, she was as committed as ever to seeing where things went with Brandon. But being honest with herself, she knew she would never have tried on three different outfits to have dinner with Megan.

She finally decided on some dark jeans, a crisp white shirt, and a leather jacket—nicely casual and yet sharp too. She was tying a red scarf into her dark curls when the doorbell rang and she found Chris standing on her doorstep holding a pie.

“Come in.” She opened the door for him and accepted his gift. “A pie. How nice. Thank you.”

“Hey, if there were a florist within forty miles of here open on Sunday, I’d have brought flowers.” Chris gave her shoulders a quick one-armed squeeze. “I guess I could have brought candy. I think Manny has a few packages clipped to a rack down at Otero Gas and Oil. But I went for the pie. I hope you like it. Just made it this afternoon.”

Sarah laughed. “It looks delicious, although why you’d want to spend your only afternoon off cooking is beyond me.”

Chris shrugged and followed her into the kitchen to put the pie away. “It relaxes me. I put on some jazz, make a huge mess in the kitchen, and before I know it, I’ve forgotten what was bothering me.”

“So what was bothering you?”

He shrugged again. “I don’t know. I’ve forgotten.”

Telling herself that the surge of joy she felt was because she was going out for dinner for a change, and because Chris made her laugh, and because it was good to have a friend, Sarah led the way out the door and to the Jeep parked at the curb.

Elizabeth hadn’t drawn her drapes against the evening yet, and when they drove by they could see her sitting in her recliner with Olivia leaning over the arm.

“I sure appreciate your grandmother letting Olivia come over this evening. I really hesitated asking since she has Livvy all week after school.”

“Gran’s the one who volunteered, remember? She loves Livvy. And despite my earlier misgivings, I think Livvy’s really good for her too. They’re a couple of buddies. I think she said they’re going to make waffles and then crochet.”

“Yeah, Livvy showed me this crochet chain she’s been working on. It’s about ten feet long and growing, but she’s really proud of it.”

“I can see it now—the two of them sitting side by side crocheting the evenings away.”

“We’ll have to bring in another recliner.”

Sarah smiled and let the highway disappear beneath them a while before talking. The October sun was just slipping below the horizon, and soft jazz came from the radio. It felt good to just be.

“So, where are we going?” Sarah broke the silence. “You never told me.”

Chris glanced at her before looking back at the road. “I guess I should have checked with you, huh? I should have warned you that with me it’s way more about the food than the atmosphere, so sometimes the places I go might be a little short on charm, but the food is always outstanding.”

“Well, that sounds promising. At least I’m not underdressed.”

“You look incredible. Didn’t I mention that? I meant to.”

Sarah smiled. “Thanks. But you still haven’t told me where we’re going.”

“It’s called Papa’s. Have you heard of it?”

“No. Where is it?”

“About forty miles from here, up in the mountains. They do steaks over mesquite coals, and that’s about all they do. But the steaks are supposed to be out of this world. And there’s live music on the weekends.”

“Sounds perfect.”

The conversation comfortably drifted after that, slipping from the food editor’s visit to the Dip ’n’ Dine, to Sarah’s second graders, to Olivia and her new riding teacher. It had been a long time since conversation had been so easy, and Sarah was almost disappointed when Chris turned off the road and brought his Jeep to a stop next to the pickups in the gravel parking lot.

The smell of wood smoke permeated the cool air, and they could hear that the band had already begun. Papa’s had a wide porch across the front and half doors that opened on a large room paneled with varnished pine and filled with well-scrubbed wooden tables. Cattle brands had been burned into a border around the top of the room.

Chris bent down to whisper in Sarah’s ear when they walked in. “I warned you. Not much charm, but we can still hope the food measures up.”

“Are you kidding me? This place is loaded with charm. I love it.” Suddenly she grabbed Chris’s arm and pointed to the border. “Look! There’s the Rocking JC, our brand. I wonder how it got here.”

She asked when the hostess came to show them to their table, and the hostess, who looked as if she could have been there the day Papa’s first opened, stopped and looked up. “Well, the first few years we were open, we let ranchers bring in their branding iron. We’d heat it up in the coals and let them brand the wall. Can’t do it now. Blamed fire marshal made us quit.”

“That’s our brand right up there. The Rocking JC.” Sarah was still excited.

The hostess nodded and led them to their table. “Every now and then someone comes in and recognizes their brand. It’s good to see some things are carrying on.”

“Sounds like you’ve been here awhile yourself.” Chris smiled at her as he held Sarah’s chair for her.

“Oh, yes, honey. I’m Mama.” She handed them their menus. “Just a word about the steaks. You can get them any way you want them, but anything doner than medium has no guarantee whatsoever.”

“Oh, Chris, I like this place. I can’t believe it’s been here all this time and I’ve never heard of it.”

Chris looked up at the brands circling the room. “I wonder who brought your brand up here? Your dad maybe? Or your granddad?”

“One of the hands, more likely. They were the ones who liked going out on the town, such as it was. My parents and grandparents always stuck pretty close to home.”

The steaks, ordered medium rare, lived up to Papa’s reputation, and the sides—beans, slaw, and biscuits—were the perfect accompaniments. Finally, Sarah leaned back from the table and her completely empty plate.

“That had to be the best steak I’ve ever had. I am so full I’m about to pop.”

“I have to say I am in awe.” Chris grinned at her. “For such a tiny thing, you can really pack it in.”

“You all about ready for dessert?” Their waitress appeared at the table. “We’ve got peach cobbler, berry cobbler, and chocolate cake.”

Sarah groaned and Chris shook his head. “I think we’re about done here, thanks. We really enjoyed the meal, though.”

“I can see that.” She put the check on the table and picked up the empty plates. “Well, I hope you all come back soon, and try to be hungry next time, you hear?”

“Well, that’s embarrassing.” Sarah slipped her jacket over her shoulders and headed for the door with Chris’s hand gently resting in the small of her back. “Even the staff is commenting on what a pig I made of myself.”

“No greater compliment than having someone scrape the design off the plate. And I speak as a professional.” Chris took her jacket off her shoulders and held it so she could slip her arms into the sleeves.

She shivered when they went back into the mountain night, and he put his arm around her and held her close. “I’ll get the heater on and we’ll be warm in no time.”

The ride back home seemed so much shorter than the ride to Papa’s, and the conversation was even easier. Sarah watched Chris’s profile, gently lit by the lights from the dashboard. She was glad they could be friends. She still had no idea what the final outcome with Brandon would be, but she had promised to see that through, and she intended to do just that. She hoped that didn’t mean giving up this new friendship. Brandon had seemed to think that’s exactly what it meant, but Sarah was sure once he knew Chris, he’d have to like him too. After all, what was there not to like?

As if he could feel her looking at him, Chris glanced over. He grinned. “What are you thinking?”

“Oh, lots of things. I was thinking that life can get so complicated when all you want is simple. I was thinking that someone a long time ago took a branding iron from the ranch and burned our brand into the wall, and I was trying to picture that night. And I was thinking that my jeans are about to cut me in two, and if you will kindly keep your eyes forward, I’m going to unsnap them so I can breathe.”

A little later, when they stood on Sarah’s front porch, she found that she wasn’t quite ready for the evening to end.

“Can you come in for a cup of coffee?” She smiled up at him. “I’ve got pie.”

Chris shook his head. “It’s getting late, and I need to go rescue your grandma. Maybe next time.”

“Gran’s a real night owl. She’s never in bed before midnight.” Chris’s comment about “next time” had not gone unnoticed. “Why don’t we get the pie and take it down to her house? I can’t wait to tell her about Papa’s and the brand.”

Despite everything Sarah thought of to prolong it, the evening had finally come to a close. Chris lifted a pajama-clad Olivia from the bed in Elizabeth’s guest room and draped her over his shoulder.

“You know, it would be the easiest thing in the world to just let her sleep.” Elizabeth took the purple and lavender afghan from the back of the sofa and handed it to him to drape around Olivia. “I could give her some breakfast and she could ride to school with Sarah.”

“I need to get her home.” Chris smiled down at Elizabeth over his purple and lavender bundle. “But I can’t thank you enough for letting her come over tonight. I think she was more excited than I was, and that’s saying something.” He winked at Sarah.

Sarah walked with him back down the street to his Jeep and stood next to the car while he propped Olivia up in a corner of the backseat and fastened the seat belt around her. When he straightened up and turned to her, she knew he was going to kiss her. She could read it in his eyes.

“No, Chris.” She placed her hands on his chest when he took her in his arms. “I can’t. You know that.”

He took a deep breath, and she watched his face change. “Yeah, that was the deal, wasn’t it? Sorry if I stepped out of line.”

“No, listen.” She couldn’t let him leave thinking even one thing had gone wrong with the evening. “This was the nicest time I’ve had since I don’t know when. I loved every minute of it. Really. I hope we can do this again.”

“Sure. I’ll give you a call.”

Chris had changed. Sarah saw it in an instant. He waited by his car door until she reached her porch, and when she stopped to give him a last wave, he waved back and then drove away.

Not knowing whether she should be mad at herself, or Brandon, or even Chris, Sarah let herself in the front door. She just knew that what had started out as the world’s most perfect evening had somehow gone south. Fishing her silenced phone out of her bag, she saw there were three missed calls and two messages, all from Brandon, and the first had come in at about 9:30.

“Nine-thirty, Brandon? For crying out loud.” She carried the phone back to her room with her and tossed it on the bed. “You can just wait till tomorrow. It’s late.”

She heard the phone while she was brushing her teeth, and by the time she got back to her room, it had gone to voice mail. That would make message number three. She had a feeling that those messages would just keep coming all night till she took a call, so she stabbed at her phone with one finger and waited.

“Where are you?” Sarah couldn’t tell if Brandon sounded mad or just worried.

“Right here, Brandon, at home. And it’s past midnight. Why are we talking?”

“You said you’d call when you got home.”

“No, I don’t think I did.”

There was a long pause, and Sarah was just about to say good night when Brandon spoke up again. He seemed to have decided to drop the attack.

“So, did you have a good time?”

“I had a great time. We ate at this little steak place up in the mountains that I didn’t even know was there.”

“Tell me about it.” Brandon’s cheerful interest sounded forced and also plain weird for 12:30 in the morning, actually 1:30 his time.

“Another time. I have school tomorrow and I need to get to sleep.”

“Shall I call you tomorrow night?”

“Yes, do. I think we have a lot to talk about.”

There was another long pause. “Okay. Sleep well, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Sarah had turned off the light and snuggled under the covers when her phone signaled an incoming text. As she groped for the phone and turned it over, the glow of the tiny screen lit the room. “DFILY.” Don’t forget I love you.

When Chris saw Sarah wave good-bye and go inside, he would have kicked himself if he could have managed to do that and drive too.

You couldn’t leave a perfect evening alone, could you, Reed? She laid all her cards on the table before she even said she’d go out with you, and you agreed to it. Then you had to go and ruin everything.

He tried to picture this Brandon she was trying to work things out with. Smooth and sophisticated, no doubt. Made for the city. A man with a brilliant career and a bright future, and ready to lay it all at her feet.

A loud snort from the backseat drew his eyes to the rearview mirror. Olivia was slumped in the corner with her head thrown back, mouth hanging open, and a trickle of drool finding its way down her chin.

And what did Chris have to offer? A diner that made its way from month to precarious month while consuming his every waking hour and, at least for the time being, a wounded little girl who owned his heart and beat people up on the playground.

Some contest. He parked in the carport next to the yellow-and-white singlewide and opened the back door of his Jeep to carry Olivia inside.