The Long, Hot Texas Summer. Cathy Gillen Thacker
he’d only been at the ranch for half a day. “I am.”
Justin clenched his jaw with frustration. “Is this where you’ve been the entire time she was gone?” he demanded.
“Yeah. So?”
“You were supposed to find me when Amanda no longer needed your help.”
Lamar rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Yeah, well, all you were doing was office work. I’m no good at that.”
Justin gave Lamar a reproving frown. “That’s not for you to decide. This is community service, remember? To get credit for your time, you have to do what you’re told.”
Lamar sat up and dropped his feet to the floor. Belligerence radiated from him in waves. “Is it time for lunch yet?” he asked, completely ignoring Justin’s reprimand. “I’m really hungry.”
Amanda’s stomach had been growling for the past half hour, too. “I’ve got some sandwiches made if anyone wants to join me.”
“Sounds good to me,” the teen said.
Amanda looked at Justin. Temper again under control, he nodded. Then he cautioned Lamar, “Just don’t do that again, okay? For both our sakes, I need to know where you are at all times.”
“Okay,” Lamar muttered.
Relieved to have that settled, Amanda led the way to her trailer. She invited the guys inside, figuring there was safety in numbers. Wrong. The moment they stepped inside, her refuge felt filled to the brim with testosterone. And much smaller. Especially with Justin standing right beside her. Of course, that was probably because at six foot five his head almost reached the ceiling.
“Wow!” Lamar whistled appreciatively as he surveyed the comfortable space she had worked so hard to create. More a mini-apartment than camper, the back half was all bedroom and bath. The front half of the Airrstream housed the kitchen—with a full-size fridge, microwave, stove, sink and even a tiny dishwasher. The butcher-block tabletop between the roomy banquettes doubled as a work space, and there were plenty of built-in racks for her pantry items and cookware.
“You must really like to cook.” Lamar checked out the bins of fresh fruits and veggies, her complex variety of dried chili peppers and some freshly made tortillas.
Amanda nodded proudly. “It’s a hobby of mine.”
“Where did you learn?” the teen asked.
She opened up the fridge and brought out the three large grilled-chicken wraps with lettuce, cheese and Caesar dressing that she’d made from the leftovers of the previous evening’s dinner. “My grandmother and grandfather. Cooking was something they liked to do together, so when I moved in with them I started cooking, too.”
“Sounds fun,” Justin said.
“It was.” It was the first time she’d known what it was like to be part of a happy family.
The handsome Texan’s fingers brushed hers as she handed him a flavored sports drink. “Was? You don’t do it anymore?”
Trying not to react to the husky caress of his voice, the warm feel of his fingers or the tenderness in Justin’s brilliant blue eyes, Amanda shook her head. “Occasionally, but not as much since my grandmother died of congestive heart failure a couple of years ago.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Justin and Lamar said in unison.
Amanda accepted their condolences with a nod, aware of a growing sense of intimacy she didn’t expect. Wasn’t supposed to want. And knew would be unwise to encourage. “So,” she said, pushing her lingering grief away. “Why don’t the two of you tell me a little more about the area. What should I know about Laramie County?”
“There are a number of good restaurants in town,” Justin began.
Lamar nodded. “The Lone Star’s food is good, and they have live music and dancing, too. Since chicks seem to like that stuff,” the teen added helpfully.
Amanda wondered if that was where Justin had intended to take her the first night, when he’d asked her out.
“I do like dancing,” she admitted with a smile.
Justin’s eyes gleamed. “Then you should make it a point to go while you’re here,” he said. “With or without a date.”
Amanda’s middle fluttered with sensation. Adopting her best poker face, she nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Wary of letting her thoughts wander where Justin’s were obviously headed—into forbidden romantic territory—Amanda guided the conversation to mundane subjects, like the new wind farm and a famous sculptor she’d heard about who worked in bronze.
As soon as the meal was over, she rose. Eager to get back to work, she looked at Justin. “Your dad said he brought two fans that would help cool off the bunkhouse till the air-conditioning is installed?”
Justin nodded. “Lamar and I will carry them over for you.”
Amanda smiled. “Great. I’ll meet you guys there.”
A few minutes later they walked in, and Amanda showed them where she wanted the fans set up. Concerned that there was still a lot of friction between Justin and Lamar, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to act as buffer a little while longer.
“I don’t know what you had planned for Lamar this afternoon,” she told Justin, “but my work will go a lot faster if I have assistance mounting the top kitchen cabinets.”
“I’ll do it!” Lamar quickly volunteered.
Justin looked at the cabinet lift Amanda had set up, and the bulky stock cabinets. She knew he could see it was not an unreasonable request, even if she could easily have done the job all on her own. “Can you keep him busy the rest of the afternoon?”
“I won’t let him out of my sight,” Amanda promised.
Justin exhaled, his expression grim. After a long pause, he gazed at Lamar. “No more disappearing acts. Okay?”
The teen nodded, clearly aware he was on very shaky ground with the man supervising his community service.
Justin turned back to Amanda, his eyes devoid of the gratitude she had expected. “I’ll be in the office, working on grant applications, if you need me.” Justin turned on his heel and stalked off.
Watching him go, Amanda knew she had just made another mistake. She should never have stepped between Justin and his charge. In the end, all she had done was make things worse.
As soon as Justin disappeared from view, she did her best to undo the damage. “You need to give Justin a chance.”
His expression stony, Lamar helped her cut a base cabinet out of its cardboard cover. “McCabe doesn’t get me the way you do.”
Amanda bit her lip. “I’m not so sure about that.” While it was true that she could talk to Lamar with ease, Justin seemed to have Lamar’s number in a lot of ways.
The boy’s jaw tightened. “I see the judgment in his eyes when I screw up, Amanda. I don’t need any more of that.”
She had seen the disappointment, too. However, it didn’t mean Lamar had to return it in kind. “You’re going to have to work with Justin while I’m around, and after I leave. So the sooner you try to find common ground with him, the better.”
Lamar picked up the utility scissors. “Maybe I could continue my community service with you, wherever you go after this,” he suggested hopefully.
Amanda was flattered. She also knew it wasn’t the best idea. She cut open the next box. “I don’t think the court is going to go for that. They’re going to want to see that you can follow the rules and act in a positive manner, no matter where you are or who you’re with.”
Lamar sulked but said nothing more.
Her