Love and Secrets - Kit Morgan Page 0,4
the love of your life. You’ve hardly dated since!”
“Who says I want to date? I’m a free spirit, remember?”
Katie moved the basket of fries out of her daughter’s reach. “Free spirit my foot. I don’t think you’ve ever gotten over him.”
Holly sighed. “Do any of us ever forget our first love?” She popped the fry in her mouth and chewed. She and Zane had dated their senior year, but he wanted nothing more than to leave Clear Creek and head to New York. Problem was, he wanted her to go with him but she wasn’t willing to do it. He never talked about getting engaged or marriage or any of that. Besides, they were too young. He went off to NYU, and she attended the University of Oregon. That was that. They never saw each other again.
“You should date,” Katie said. “It would be good for you.”
Holly laughed. “And who’s the lucky gentleman? You’ll have to tell me because I sure don’t know.”
“Why don’t you date Rhys Cooke?”
“Ha! Like that would ever happen. Besides, every female in town is trying to date him.”
Katie frowned. “Only because of the ranch. To them the Triple-C means triple dollar signs.”
“I wonder how much he’s worth now,” Holly mused.
“When he inherits, you mean,” Katie said. “It’s his parents and grandfather that own the ranch.”
“Yes, but Rhys will inherit when they’re gone, won’t he?”
Katie shrugged. “How should I know? Besides, you’d think they’d split it between all of the kids, not just leave everything to Rhys.”
“What if the rest of them don’t want to run it?” Holly said. “The Triple-C is a lot of work and a lot of time.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter to me,” Katie said. “That’s the Cookes’ business, not ours. You should concentrate on Zane while he’s here.”
“You’re changing the subject,” Holly pointed out and waved another fry at her.
“Yes, I am. Because Rhys will always be around and who knows when Zane is leaving?”
Holly groaned. She wasn’t going to win. Katie would just keep bringing him up. The best she could do was escape. “Boy do I have a lot of errands to run this afternoon.”
Katie gave her a knowing look. “Now who’s changing the subject?”
Holly ignored it. “Let’s see, I have laundry to do, groceries to buy, and a new book to read…”
“Go ahead, ignore me. But you know you’re going to run into him.”
Holly’s brows shot up. “And I know this how?”
Katie laughed. “Because you and Zane Brody are like a couple of magnets. You’re drawn to each other, which means it’s only a matter of time before you bump into him. You know it, and I know it.” Katie gave her a triumphant smile.
Unfortunately, she was right. When she and Zane dated in high school they were always winding up in the same place at the same time. A gas station, the grocery store, the park, and any number of other places. Sometimes it would happen several times a day. It was uncanny. It was also the main reason they started dating. Why fight it?
They dropped the subject of men, finished their meal, and left the café. Holly watched Katie load her kids into her car then gave her a hug. “This was fun. Now go home and take a nap,” she instructed.
“You too. After your errands.” Katie smiled, got into the car and started it. “Oh, and Holly?”
“What?”
She gave her a devilish grin. “Say hi to Zane when you run into him.”
Holly gave her a mock glare, shook a fist, and said, “Oh, you!”
Katie laughed and drove away. Both knew she’d managed to get in the last word.
As soon as she was gone, Holly got into her own car, sat, and took a deep breath. “Oh, boy. Why did he have to come back?” She let the breath out, started the car, and left to go do her errands.
Holly pushed any thoughts of Zane out of her head and concentrated on the new book she checked out from the library. It was a cozy mystery by her new favorite author, Molly Fitz. She couldn’t wait to get home and crack it open. But first she had work to do.
She grabbed the first shopping cart she saw, went to the produce section and perused the vegetables. Maybe she’d just have a salad tonight? Especially after that cheeseburger and fries she had for lunch. She gathered what she needed, headed for the fruit section next and did the same. That done she swung around to head for the coffee