the dessert to serve at Annie’s party. She would personally see to it that Slade got a very large slice.
* * *
Slade gave Val a pleading look on Friday afternoon when she turned up at the stables to remind him they had to go into town to shop for the party. He reached into his pocket and started to peel off a wad of bills.
“Can’t you and Annie go? I’ve got work to do.” He held out the cash.
Val ignored it and met his gaze evenly. “No.”
Slade blinked. “No? Just like that? You won’t even consider it?”
“No,” she repeated. “Just like that. Annie and I have done all the planning up until now. The deal was that we would all go shopping. I’m not letting you renege.”
“I told her she could buy a bathing suit if you helped to pick it out,” he said, as if that might convince her of his honorable intentions.
He could have saved his breath. Val had an agenda here and she didn’t intend to be deterred. “That’s very generous of you. She really needs one.” She grinned. “But you’re not getting off the hook by throwing more money our way. She needs to spend time with you, too.”
“I guarantee she’d have more fun if the two of you went without me,” Slade said.
“Could be,” Val agreed readily. “Unless you work really hard at getting through to her.”
He gave her a sour look. “Lady, you drive a really hard bargain.”
She nodded unrepentently. “That’s why Laurie pays me the big bucks. And just so you know, thanks to her, I have lots of practice at getting my way.” She winked at him. “Five minutes, cowboy. We’ll meet you at the car.”
Slade turned up five minutes later, still looking none too pleased. After a disconcerted glance at Val, who was already behind the wheel, he climbed into the passenger seat with obvious reluctance.
“Everybody belted up?” Val inquired pointedly.
Slade heaved a sigh and put on his seat belt.
She grinned at him. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
She had already made a mental list of possible topics to try to get Slade and Annie talking. By the time they reached town, she had exhausted most of them, right along with her nerves. It had been the most frustrating half hour of her life. Slade answered in monosyllables. Apparently picking up on her father’s mood, Annie retreated into sullen silence.
“What shall we do first?” Val asked when she’d parked on the main street in Los Piños. She turned to Annie. “Shall we try to find a bathing suit?”
“Whatever,” Annie said.
Undaunted, Val led her scowling companions to the general store, one of the few places in town that carried clothes and the only one that carried bathing suits. The selection wouldn’t be the greatest, but she doubted she could have coerced Slade or Annie into going over to Garden City instead. They obviously didn’t want to spend one more minute in each other’s company than they had to.
Because Annie was dragging her feet and Slade looked as uncomfortable as if she’d coaxed him unwittingly into a lingerie shop, Val seized the initiative. She selected several bathing suits in various styles from the rack and held them up for Annie’s inspection.
“That one, I guess,” Annie said without enthusiasm, pointing at a bright red one-piece suit.
Val held it up for Slade’s approval. “What do you think?”
“Whatever Annie wants.”
Val wanted to shake the pair of them. “Well, I like the green,” she said instead. “It’s the color of your eyes. Try them both on,” she instructed, handing them to Annie.
When the girl had gone off to the dressing room, Val whirled on Slade. “Could you possibly manage to show just a little enthusiasm? You’re acting as if this is a worse chore than mucking out stalls.”
Something that might have been guilt flickered in his eyes. He sighed. “Okay, you’re right. I’m being a pain in the butt.”
“Any particular reason or is this just your general nature?”
“Shopping’s not my thing, okay? I don’t know what she should get.”
“Then, unless it is totally inappropriate, let her pick what she likes.”
“How am I supposed to know that? She looked pretty miserable no matter which one you held up.”
“That’s because she’s reacting to your mood. Now when she comes back out here, give her a compliment. Tell her she looks great. Tell her she looks grown-up. Just show some enthusiasm. Fake it, if you have to.”
He regarded her with unexpected amusement. “You’re recommending that I lie to my daughter? You, the queen