Sleigh Bells for Dry Creek. Janet Tronstad

already told her she could have the job,” Gracie said as she turned to her son. “I never go back on my word. The job is hers if she wants it.”

      “Thank you.” Amy lifted her chin. At least one Stone family member had confidence in her. “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to accept your kind offer.”

      She shot a look at Wade. “But not because I’m afraid of getting a little dirt on my hands.”

      Wade grunted. “If it’s not the dirt that bothers you, it must be working for the Stones that’s the problem, is that it?”

      He hadn’t said the words loudly, but the force of them carried. The whole café went silent. The ranch hands stopped using their silverware. Linda had stopped walking, the coffeepot still in her hand. Amy could see everyone looking at them. She doubted even the poor lighting in the front of the café would disguise who they were.

      Gracie finally gasped. “Wade—”

      Amy looked him straight in the eye. She’d never seen him look so cold. “I’d be proud to work for your mother.”

      “But not me?” he asked with a twist to his mouth.

      The chill in his manner didn’t lessen any as he spoke. His eyes were almost black. Amy heard the sound of a chair pushing back, and one of the ranch hands rose to his feet, probably to help her if she needed it. Linda gestured for the man to sit back down.

      Amy felt her cheeks burn. “I just—” She didn’t remember Wade ever having this kind of an edge. She was suddenly unsure what to say. “I didn’t say that. I—”

      Wade waved away what was going to be an apology on her part. He ducked his head as if to shake off his feelings. “Forget about it. It’s not a big deal. My mother would be the one you’d be working for, anyway. I’ll stay clear of the house. I have enough to keep me busy outside.”

      Now, he looked defeated. Amy wondered how things had become so bad between them. He might not have come back to declare his undying love for her, but they had been friends at one time. She tried to meet his eyes again, but he was looking everywhere except at her.

      “I’ll take the job then—if that’s okay,” she said softly, changing her mind.

      She never had been able to refuse the Stones anything. And Wade seemed troubled. Besides, she had been praying for years that he would come back, and maybe God had something to teach her now that he had. She’d figured out years ago that losing her parents had made her more vulnerable to the sorrow of goodbyes than most people. Maybe if she spent some time around Wade she would be able to say farewell to him gracefully. Friend to friend. If she did that, she could get on with her life and not just pretend to do so.

      Wade grunted and finally met her eyes. “Before we get started, you might as well know that I have one rule.” He stopped to tip his hat back. “Anything you see or hear is off-limits. You’re not to talk about what happens out at the ranch. Not to reporters or anyone else.”

      An unexpected flash of anger swept through Amy. Did he think she was some kind of a groupie? “Of course I won’t talk. Besides, you might be some big man in the rodeo world, but not everyone around here is waiting for news about what you’re going to do next.”

      “Me?” His eyes widened as he looked at her. She’d always liked his brown eyes, especially when they flashed golden like they were doing now. They turned to cat’s eyes, flaring up with hot emotion. That’s how his eyes had looked that night he kissed her.

      “He’s worried about me,” Gracie interrupted quietly as she took a step closer to her son. “But I can’t imagine anyone wants to know about me, either. Not after all this time.”

      “Oh, I wasn’t thinking. Of course, I won’t say anything,” Amy assured them, feeling foolish. Now she was the one who couldn’t look Wade in the eye. She’d never gossiped about Gracie at the time of the trial; she wasn’t about to say anything now.

      She never had believed Gracie was guilty, anyway, not even after she heard her stand in front of the judge and confess that she had used a shovel to hit her husband on the back of the head while he sat on a bale of hay out by their barn. The courts had convicted her, even after everyone found out about the beatings and abuse, but Amy knew it wasn’t right. Someone like Gracie would never have killed anyone, no matter what that person had done to her.

      “See that you keep your word.” Wade turned to walk out of the café.

      Amy watched him go. By now, the sky was turning a rosy pink, and the light coming through the windows showed up everything in the café. For the first time since she’d realized it was Wade standing there, she remembered how she was dressed. She’d always pictured meeting him while she was wearing some sleek, black dress and high heels on her feet. She wanted to show him she’d turned into somebody. And make him regret not coming back for her.

      But now—she looked down at her work clothes. She certainly had not made the kind of impression she had hoped. He wasn’t likely to regret anything.

      “I just wore my chore clothes this morning.” Amy turned to Gracie and confessed, “I usually look better.”

      Gracie smiled. “Wade doesn’t care what you’re wearing.”

      Amy nodded. She supposed he didn’t, at that. God must be trying to teach her something about the value of humility.

      She followed Gracie to the open door, watching Wade all the time. His back was straight and strong as he walked slowly toward the pickups. His stride was a bit uneven, as though he was holding back a limp, but he seemed stiff rather than pained.

      Suddenly, Amy noticed the bumper sticker on her vehicle and remembered—she needed to be sure Shawn didn’t know Wade was back. Shawn never had known when to keep his mouth shut, and she didn’t want him saying anything to Wade about her waiting for him like some tragic figure in a soap opera. She was willing to try and put aside some of her pride, if that’s what God intended for her, but she didn’t want to be pitied.

      “It’s time we came back home,” Gracie said as she put her arm around Amy. “It’s God’s goodness that we can be here.”

      “Yes,” Amy agreed. She wondered if she should say something to Wade about Shawn’s speculations. She had no idea what that would be, though. Maybe if she just treated Wade with the right touch of friendliness, absent any of the closeness she’d felt at one time, he wouldn’t believe Shawn, even if the other man did say something about her waiting for Wade to come home. Surely, Wade would remember Shawn loved to tease.

      She looked through the door at Wade and almost sighed. She’d reached down and pulled out her feelings for him years ago, like her emotions were tough weeds that wouldn’t die unless the root was all gone. She wasn’t sure if enough of her love for him was left inside her that it would develop into something, but she hoped not. She couldn’t take the heartbreak again.