Belonging to Them - By Brynn Paulin Page 0,3
said, noticeably dropping into a deeper accent.
“Don’t you use that brogue with me,” she laughed, the mirth lightening the unease. She still had to think, but it was a relief to know she wasn’t as stunned by this as she’d felt at first blush. In fact, aroused was a far better descriptor than stunned to express how she felt at the moment.
Stepping outside, she let the warmth of the spring day settle into her while her mind rattled about in a muddle.
The O’Keefes wanted her to be their lover for the week…
This small town had a short supply of women…
She looked around, recalling what she knew of this area. Not a lot. That didn’t stop her tourism gene from kicking in like a defense mechanism. Back east in North Carolina, she’d been a tourism researcher and had helped tons of businesses and small towns like this one build their revenue through attraction. None had been as small as this one, but that didn’t make it completely unsalable.
Rather than going to the diner across the street, she walked toward the edge of town—away from the O’Keefes’ Victorian—and noted the town’s features.
Small. No, quaint. It was the proverbial one-road town—with no stoplight and no stop signs, but the speed limit on whatever road she’d been on had slowed to twenty-five coming into the stretch. She’d left Highway 212 a while ago and gotten promptly lost. So…this is off the beaten path, she mentally catalogued. The diner doubled as a grocery store. Well, less grocery than mercantile. She’d seen quite a mix of general merchandise and food. A bar sat next door.
On further inspection, she saw a few small roads branching from the main road, but there weren’t any buildings to be seen. She knew this area was big for ranching. The roads probably led to various spreads and probably branched off several times. Not for the first time, she thanked her stars that she hadn’t ended up broken down on one of those.
She made it to the end of the walkway and almost laughed at the lack of structures along the way. A house sat at the end of a small drive across from O’Keefe’s. A gas station-garage, a diner-grocery, a bar, a police station and a few other buildings she couldn’t identify. Definitely a tourism hub, she decided dryly. The bar pointed to there being more than the handful of people she’d seen. Most must work and live at the outlying ranches.
Turning, she crossed the street and headed back. The bell over the door to the restaurant chimed as she went inside. A optimistic number of tables filled the space. She did a quick count—four tables, four booths along the windows, eight stools along the counter. She took a seat in the booth where she’d sipped coffee earlier.
Resting her chin in her hand, she sighed and studied the gingham curtains lining the top of the window. In the reflection she saw a woman come from the kitchen and head for the table. “Welcome back,” the woman said in a cheery voice. “That was quick.”
“My car is a disaster,” Rayna replied. She shifted to look at the blonde woman who was about her age.
“Cars…they’re awful, huh.” She held out her hand. “I’m Leena. My guys and I own this place and the bar next door.”
Leena waited as if expecting some sort of reaction to “guys” but Rayna wasn’t surprised at this point. “Patrick mentioned a severe lack of women around here.”
“Severe doesn’t begin to cover it. Welcome to Daly. Population one-fifty-nine. Women, seven.”
“Holy Pete,” Rayna whispered.
Leena sat in the booth across from her and set down her order pad. “You look a little shell shocked, and I did hear you scream a little bit ago. You okay?”
“Well, I’m lost. My car’s dead. Really dead. My ex-fiancé has managed to get my cell phone turned off and freeze my bank account. And…” Rayna wasn’t sure if she should say, this being a small town and all, but since Leena obviously was involved with more than one man, Rayna supposed it wouldn’t appall her. “And Patrick just proposed something to me that I’m not sure I should entertain.”
“The O’Keefes are as good as men get,” Leena told her. “And don’t tell my guys I think so, but geez, they have that rough around the edges vibe that’s just hot.”
Rayna smiled. “I noticed that. I’m Rayna Halliday by the way. It’s the big and rough around the edged that caught my attention. And well…” She