Claimed by a Cowboy - Tanya Michaels 3 стр.


He could almost hear his former landladys chiding voice. Oh, and you were a real charmer during that encounter? You didnt even give her a chance. With a sigh, he glanced back over his shoulder, then retraced his steps.

Through the window in the door, he could see the brunette slumped in a chair at the kitchen table, much the same way hed been last night. As soon as he turned the knob, her backbone went ramrod straight. Her expensive-looking cinnamon-colored sweater dress was probably hot and itchy on a day like this. Over it, she wore some kind of full-body vest in an even darker brown. In contrast, he couldnt help recalling the way Wanda had cheerfully embraced colorsthe brighter, the better.

Forget something? Lorelei asked without turning to look at him.

Just wanted to say, names Sam Travis. I was a good friend of your mothers. Damn fine woman. He paused a beat, to see if Lorelei recognized his name or had any comment. Did she know what Ava suspected, that Wanda had altered her will in the past year? Im the one who found her. Yesterday.

Red-rimmed eyes met his, and Lorelei swallowed, struggling to speak. Do you think she was in pain?

She complained of a headache when she went to bed the night before, but no, I dont think she suffered. Doc Singer made it sound as if it was about as peaceful as passing can be.

Lorelei drew in a shaky breath. Thank you, Sam.

He nodded uncomfortably. I wont be back for a couple of hours, but is there anything I can bring you from town? Anything you need?

Her gaze clashed with his, naked and vulnerable. For a split second, all he saw was need. Then she blinked, eradicating the defenselessness so fast he could pretend hed imagined it.

That wont be necessary, she said. But I appreciate the offer. By the way, Ive decided to take the wolf suite.

The one farthest in the house from his.

Good. Maybe they would only bump into each other a minimum of times before the memorial service on Saturday.

He knew from Wandas lawyer that the reading of the will would followWandas way of making sure that on the same day her loved ones were honoring her, shed get to express her love for themand Sams attendance was requested. Considering how much Wanda had adored her prodigal daughter, would she really have left Sam the inn?

And what the hell was he going to do with it if she had?

Chapter Three

Lorelei hung up the phone with a sigh and glanced across the kitchen. Ava was stocking the refrigerator with all manner of casseroles and comfort foods. Judging by the dozens of containers shed arrived with an hour ago, shed been cooking nonstop since yesterday.

That was the last one, Lorelei said wearily. Shed gone through her moms reservation file at the computer and called to cancel all the guests scheduled for the following week. After that Well, surviving this week was the first step.

Lorelei didnt really know what she would do about the inn. She supposed hiring someone to manage it for her was a possibility, but shed never really warmed to this place. When her motherwhod worked previous jobs as a cook in another hotel and an administrative assistant in the town tourism bureaufirst said she wanted to open her own inn, Lorelei had thought it would be a good fit for her, assuming Wanda could get the necessary loans. Ever since her husbands death, Wanda had slipped into more and more elaborate flights of fancy. She used to wake Lorelei up in the middle of the night to excitedly tell her, Your daddy visited me again. Hes watching over us, honey, and hes real proud of you. Lorelei had wanted to shake her, had wanted to yell at her mother to stop it. It was so hard to let go and heal when Wanda kept his specter alive and well in their home. Lorelei had foolishly presumed that running a business would keep Wanda more grounded.

Shouldve known better. There were lots of bed-and-breakfasts and guest ranches dotting the Hill Country. Wanda had tried to set hers apart with its theme. Her place served as sort of a museum for Hill Country folklore and ghost stories. Each guest room was based on some local legend.

For instance, Loreleis room, from the comforter printed with running wolves to the hand-carved figures on the wooden vanity, centered on the wolf spirit that haunted nearby Devils Backbone, an area also rumored to host the apparitions of monks, Native Americans and Confederate soldiers. Sams suite was based on the famed Faust Hotel, a historic haunted site, and Wanda had decorated it based on old photos shed seen of the establishment. The only creepy room was the one based on a cave, in which Wanda had blacked out the windows and bat noises played periodically through a hidden speaker. In addition to the themed decorating, Wanda had also arranged tours that took visitors through the region from one unexplained phenomenon to another. And Wanda had always been a hell of a storyteller, probably because she believed the outlandish tales she shared.

Shell be missed, one of the scheduled guests had told Lorelei, choked up by the news that the inns proprietor had died. My husband and I came to the Haunted Hill Country every year for our anniversary, and we just loved Wanda. Your mother was a special woman.

Ava came toward her with two cups of coffee. You look like you could use some. Then she reached into a cabinet beneath the counter and procured a bottle of whiskey. And maybe a shot of this with it.

Lorelei gave a dry laugh. She wasnt much of a drinker, but she appreciated the thought. Thanks, Ava.

Least I can do. Ava slid her glasses up on her nose with a finger. I wish you had let me help with those calls. You didnt have to take care of them alone. Cant be easy to tell people over and over that your mamas gone.

I wanted to. Saying it forced her to accept it. Running from the truth wouldnt change it. I needed to be doing something, keeping busy.

Ava cast a sheepish look over her shoulder, at the crammed full refrigerator. Guess I can understand that.

Lorelei poured a modest token shot into her coffee and raised her eyebrows questioningly at Ava, who nodded and pushed her own mug across the counter.

Hit me, barkeep. Ava waited for her own more generous slug, then stirred cream into both mugs with a cinnamon stick.

Lorelei inhaled deeply. Her mug smelled like heaven. Ava, can I ask you adelicate question?

The older woman nodded, her faded grey eyes earnest. I know we havent seen much of each other in the years since you got your degree, but Wanda was the closest thing I ever had to a sister. Id be honored if you thought of me as kin.

Was there something romantic going on between Mom and Sam Travis?

Ava spluttered, choking on coffee.

Sorry. Lorelei handed her a couple of napkins, feeling guilty as Ava continued to cough.

What a thing to suggest! Ava finally managed to say, cream dotting her upper lip. Of course there wasnt anything romantic. Thank God you asked me and not Sam. Hed be horrified.

Loreleis face grew hot. Now that shed voiced the question, it did sound absurdespecially given how devoted Wanda had remained to her late husband. Well, I didnt think so, but I wanted to be sure. Its not like she was always conventional with her beliefs, so she might have overlooked the age difference. He was cryptic and grudging. All he told me was that they were good friends. But hed obviously talked to her right before she went to sleep and he was the one who found her in her bed.

Had Sam Travis been the person to hear her mothers final words?

Lorelei couldnt help flinching, recalling her moms last words the last time theyd spoken. Ill be here. The mug trembled in Loreleis hands. Shed taken for granted that her mother would, indeed, always be here.

She cleared her throat. The biggest reason I wondered about their relationship is because of you.

Me? Ava squeaked.

Well, you didnt mention him to me when we spoke on the phone and you said all the guests had gone. A heads-up that someone else was going to be under the same roof with her would have been nice. But every time hes come up in conversation this afternoon, youve

Ava turned away, busying herself with a rag and wiping down the long expanse of already clean counter.

Youre acting weird about Sam. Almost guilty, which had made Lorelei speculate that maybe Ava harbored a secret about her mom and the cowboy. Something was clearly bothering Ava.

Is there anything you want to tell me? Lorelei prodded.

Only that its wonderful to see you again. Ava put the rag down and smiled sadly. I just wish you could have come home before this. There was no accusation in her voice, but that made it even worse somehow.

Lorelei was tempted to agree with Ava, to say I wish I had, too, but Lorelei had given up wishing a long time ago. When her dad died, shed wised upno wishing wells or first star I see tonight or fairy stories for her. Those were all just pretty guises for denial. Lorelei needed to live in cold, hard reality. And that meant she knew what to do with the inn.

Shed sell the property and use the money to help with her staggering college loans. Wanda would approve. Her mother had been proud that Lorelei got into such a prestigious school and shed always fretted that she couldnt do more to take care of her daughter from so far away. The woman whod once given her crystals and dream catchers for protection would be assisting in protection from debt, a far more useful security. It was something tangible and parental Wanda could do for her, which made Lorelei feel, for a moment, closer to the mother shed lost.

Lorelei bit her lip, wondering if she should tell Ava what she intended to do. But it seemed cruel just now, with the inn being the most visible reminder of Wanda. Lorelei didnt want the kind-hearted woman to feel as if she was losing her friend twice in one week. Ill tell her after the memorial service Saturday.

With the decision made to sell, Lorelei felt as if she could breathe easier. As an adolescent, grieving for her father, shed hoped that they could move away, start fresh somewhere his memory wasnt so potent. At the very least, shed wanted Wanda to date, to set the example that it wasnt a betrayal to move on with life. Instead, Wanda had continued to talk about him as if he were a member of their household. On holidays and special occasions, she set a place for him at the table. She talked about having spirit conversations with him in her dreams and seeing his ghost in his favorite recliner. The lack of closure had ripped at Lorelei.

Not this time. After the service and the will-reading, when she officially inherited the inn, shed call the would-be guests in her moms files and break the news to them. Shed sell the B and B to someone who could create their own niche here, and shed return to her life in Philly, her ties to Fredericksburg severed. Lorelei would have the closure she so desperately needed.

SITTING IN THE MIDDLE of a semi-circle of pictures, Lorelei debated opening a window. Its stuffy in here. Given the high ceiling of the great room and the dropping evening temperatures, she knew the stifling sensation was in her imagination. Raising a window would be yielding to her sudden illogical claustrophobia. Lorelei was a pragmatic woman. She refused to start acting squirrelly just because it was late and she was all alone in the inn.

Sams estimated couple of hours of being gone had turned into all afternoon and evening. Ava had insisted on staying long enough to have dinner with Lorelei but then had returned home to her husband. Both women had listlessly pushed their food around on Wandas sunset-colored ceramic plates. During the meal, Ava had tentatively broached the subject of the eulogy Lorelei needed to write for Saturdays memorial. There was also the task of selecting pictures for display at the funeral home. A salon decorated with mementos of Wanda Kellers life would open an hour prior to the formal service so that loved ones could gather to share their recollections. And their grief.

The service would take place there at the funeral home. Wanda, never really a churchgoing woman, had decided against having her final farewell at one of the local chapels. Since she was being cremated, like her husband before her, there would be no graveyard burial, either.

Lorelei shoved her hands through her hair. Her first attempt at drafting a eulogy had been disastrous. Shed thought that pulling out all these old photos, conjuring the memories, would help organize her thoughts. Sort of like an outline for a college paper. But seeing her mothers life, now ended, spread out on the carpet around her

A jagged keening broke the silence, and she pressed her fist against her mouth, trying to stem the dark wave of despair. Though she was usually comfortable with solitude, right now the overpowering sense of aloneness choked her. She gripped her cell phone, wanting to escape by talking to someone outside of Fredericksburg. But it was too late to call any of her work friends back in Philly, especially given the time difference. Rick, maybe?

No. She recalled with a grimace his distant response when shed learned of her mothers death. Hed said he was sorry, naturally, had even offered the rote if theres anything I can do But hed sounded more like a lawyer giving a client bad news than a potential lover. Can I send flowers? hed asked. Or was she one of those people whod prefer a donation to charity, in lieu of?

A metallic jiggling cut through Loreleis thoughts and she stiffened. The B and B had never seemed creepier than it did at that moment.

Once she realized that what shed heard was the back door being unlocked, she expelled a shaky breath. Sam. When theyd met earlier today, all shed wanted was for him to get the hell out. Tonight, though, she was grateful for his presence. She almost called out to him but bit her lip, embarrassed by her neediness. Hed come through here anyway to get to his suite.

Sure enough, a moment later, booted footsteps sounded in the short, hardwood hallway leading from the kitchen. Then Sam appeared at the edge of the spacious living room, his face shadowed by his cowboy hat and the dark hall. It probably would have been better for her nerves if shed turned on more lights than the standing fixture in the corner and a stained-glass antique table lamp.

She felt exposed in her circle of photos and muted light. The fact that she was wearing a tank top and flannel pajama bottoms didnt help. Hi.

He leaned against the wall, seeming caught by all the images of Wanda. Cant believe shes gone. His quiet murmur didnt completely mask the emotion in his voice. Once again, Lorelei wondered how Sam and her mother had met and what their relationship had been. It was easy to picture Wanda and Ava as best friends, laughing over botched recipes and antiquing together on the weekend. But what had Sam and Wanda shared?

Im supposed to pick photos for the funeral home, she told him, her voice cracking only the slightest bit when she said funeral.

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