tank top, hair tied back, tiny curls framing her flushed face.
She ran the back of her hand over her damp forehead as she stopped in front of him, breathless.
“Sorry to bother you. I was hoping to go into town again this afternoon, but my car has a flat tire. Do you know whom I can call to get it fixed? Jodie is in Bozeman and not answering my calls. And Aunt Laura has been gone the past few days.”
“I can change the tire for you.”
“No. You’ve got your own work to do,” Lauren said, turning down his offer with a flutter of her hands, her bright red nail polish flashing in the sun. “I don’t want to be any trouble.”
“If you’ve got a decent spare, it’s no trouble.”
“I should know how to do it myself, but living in the city...” She shrugged her shoulder. “I’d just call roadside assistance.”
“Well, even if you called the tow truck, it could take a couple of hours before Dwayne got here.” Vic gave her a crooked smile. “So, that leaves me, I guess. Unless you want to wait.”
“I feel bad asking you.”
Vic didn’t even answer, just headed over to her car. The rim of the front driver’s side tire was resting on the ground, the tire a puddle of rubber underneath it.
“Doesn’t get much flatter,” he said. “Where’s your spare and jack?”
“All I know is that it’s in the back. Sorry.”
“No worries. I’ll figure it out.”
He opened the trunk and a few minutes later managed to finagle the full-size spare tire out of its compartment. When he dropped it on the ground, instead of a little bounce, it landed like a rock on its rim, as flat as the tire he was supposed to replace.
“Oh, no. I forgot that I’d already had a flat tire a couple of weeks ago,” Lauren said with a note of disgust. “Stupid of me.”
“I’m going into town now,” Vic said. “I’ll bring the tires in and get them fixed.”
Lauren nodded, but Vic saw that she looked disappointed. Then he remembered. “You said you needed to go into town yourself. I can bring you where you want to go.”
She hesitated, then gave him a sheepish smile. “That’d be great. I feel silly about that, too, because I was in town this morning and when I came home I realized I forgot some groceries.”
“Get in. I’ll drop you off and get your tire fixed.”
“I just need to change, if that’s okay.”
“No problem,” he said, though he wondered why. He thought she looked fine.
Of course he wasn’t one to judge what was suitable, he thought, glancing down at his grease-stained blue jeans and dirty shirt.
He manhandled the tires into the back of the truck, getting even more dirt on his shirt. He called the machine shop to see if he could get the part in, and thankfully they could repair it while he waited.
He brushed some hay off his shirt, beat his dusty cowboy hat against his leg and ran his fingers through his tangled hair. That was about as changed as he was getting.
A few moments later Lauren came down the walk and Vic felt even shabbier. She wore a blue-striped button-down shirt, narrow black skirt and white canvas shoes. Her hair was pulled back again into a ponytail and she had even put on some makeup.
In a mere ten minutes she had transformed from a country girl to a city slicker.
“We’ll bring your tires in first, then I’ll need to drop my part off at the machine shop, if that’s okay,” Vic said as they got into the truck.
“You’re doing me a huge favor. I can hardly dictate the terms of the arrangement,” Lauren said, setting her purse on her lap.
Vic acknowledged that with a nod, then headed down the driveway toward the gravel road and town.
“I noticed you were haying. How many acres of the ranch are in hay?” Lauren asked.
“About two hundred and fifty.” He wondered why she asked.
“Is that a lot?”
“It’s enough to keep my cows in feed. My dad and I turned our own hay fields on the ranch into pasture, because the land here is more fertile and gets me better yields.”
“But there is some pasture here?”
“Oh, yeah. I run some cows here, too. Mostly up in the high pasture behind the ranch and across the road.”
“I see.” Lauren folded her hands on her purse and gave him a quick glance. “Sounds kind of silly that I know so little about the ranch. I never paid much attention to it. Erin was the one who liked to help. She’d spend hours wandering the back fields and occasionally working with our father.”
“I remember Erin. She was a sweet girl.”
“Very sweet. Hard to believe we were twins. She always made me try to be a better person. Somehow, she was the only one of us girls who got along with our father when we came back here. She never resented leaving Knoxville like Jodie and I did.”
He kept his eyes on the road, but half of his attention was on Lauren.
“So you didn’t like it here?” he asked. “Coming every summer?”
“I missed my friends back home and I always felt bad leaving Gramma behind, but there were parts I liked.”
“I remember seeing you girls in church on Sunday.” Jodie had usually worn some goofy outfit that Vic was sure Keith had vetoed, Erin a ruffly dress and Lauren the same simple clothes she favored now.
“Part of the deal,” Lauren said, but a faint smile teased one corner of her mouth. “And I didn’t mind that part, either. I liked hearing Aunt Laura play, and the message was always good, once I started really listening. I can’t remember who the pastor was at that time, but much of what he said resonated with me.”
“Jodie and Erin would attend some of the youth events, didn’t they?”
“Erin more than any of us. Like I said, she was the good girl.”
“I remember my brother, Dean, talking about her,” Vic said, surprised to see her looking at him. “I think he had a secret crush on her.”
“He was impetuous, wasn’t he?”
“That’s being kind. He was out of control for a while. But he’s settled now.”
Vic thought of the journey Dean had made to get to where he was. Which brought up the same pressing problem that had brought him early to the ranch.
His deal with Keith.
“So, I hate to be a broken record,” he continued, “But it’s supposed to rain tomorrow. I was wondering if I could come by the house then? To go through your father’s papers?”
Lauren’s sigh was eloquent as was the way her hands clasped each other tightly.
Vic tamped down his immediate apology. He had nothing to feel bad about. He was just doing what he’d promised himself he’d do after Dean’s accident. Looking out for his brother’s interests.
“Yes. Of course. Though—” She stopped herself there. “Sorry. You probably know better what you’re looking for.”
Vic shot her a glance across the cab of the truck. “I’m not trying to be ornery or selfish or jeopardize your deal. When I first leased the ranch from your father, it was so that my brother could have his own place. And I’m hoping to protect that promise I made him. Especially now. After his accident.”
Lauren’s features relaxed enough that he assumed he was getting through to her.
“I’m