The Rancher and the Event Planner - By Cheryl Gorman Page 0,56
car. In a few minutes, she and Rafe stepped inside the Bluebonnet. The place was packed despite the rain. JC shivered in the air conditioning and wished she had a jacket, because her wet sleeveless top and shorts were no defense for her sunburned skin against the chilled air.
“Hi, you two,” Grace said. “Quite a storm huh?”
“Yes, I didn’t expect it to be so busy tonight,” JC said.
Grace grabbed some menus. “A storm like this always brings people out. I guess they figure its safety in numbers or something.” She laughed. “Linc’s here. He’s having dessert, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you joined him.”
JC was bone tired and didn’t feel up to chatting but it would be rude to say no. “Sure, why not?”
In a minute, JC and Rafe settled at Linc’s table.
“Evening,” Linc said. “How did the planting go?”
“Don’t grill the woman. She’s had a tough day,” Rafe said before she could answer.
Linc frowned at Rafe. “I’m not grilling her, I’m just asking a question.”
JC’s stomach rumbled along with the thunder outside. “It went fine.” She prayed silently the rain wouldn’t destroy the work they had done.
A waitress came by and took their order. Linc quizzed Rafe about ranch business until their meal was served. “You’ve done a first class job, JC,” Linc said.
“Thanks, Linc, I appreciate it.” She glanced at Rafe hoping he would agree but he sipped his coffee and shoveled down the chicken pot pie he’d ordered. Linc tossed his napkin on the table. “I’ll see you two later. There’s a waitress over there dying for me to come and flirt with her.” Linc walked toward the main counter where a pretty blonde was serving up a slice of pie to a customer.
JC scooped up a spoonful of chicken noodle soup and took a bite of one of Grace’s signature grilled cheese sandwiches. Her skin burned and goose bumps rose on her arms and legs despite the hot soup. She saw Rafe’s gaze skim over her arms.
“Be right back,” he said. In a minute, he draped a sweater over her shoulders.
She grasped the edges of the sweater pulling it around her arms. “Thank you.” He didn’t mention her sunburn. “Why not just go ahead and say it?”
His eyes widened slightly. “Say what?”
“I told you so about the sunburn.”
He shrugged. “I figure you’re already uncomfortable enough, kind of like a hairless cat in a sandpaper factory. You don’t need me to remind you to be more careful.”
She shook her head. “You have a gift for telling someone how stupid they are without coming right out and saying it.”
He studied her for a moment, his eyes soft and probing. “You are far from stupid, Jennifer. You’re one of the most intelligent women I know.” She searched for a reply, but nothing was forthcoming.
One corner of his mouth rose. “You were careless about the sunscreen. That’s all.”
She eyed the redness across his nose. “So were you.”
“Touché.”
The storm slackened only briefly before another one followed on its drippy heels. There were televisions in the corners of the restaurant next to the ceiling and the news was on. Because of the conversation of the surrounding people she couldn’t hear everything the newscaster said, but they had the words streaming onto the screen for the hearing impaired and the news wasn’t good. A string of severe thunderstorms would be passing through the area for the next hour with hail, damaging winds and local flooding to be expected. The counties were highlighted on the weather map and Salvation was in the middle of it. The brunt of the storms was expected to hit within the next hour. “Great.”
“You can’t control the weather, Jennifer. And remember, when a horse throws you, you get up and get right back on.”
The waitress came by with the bill and Rafe paid it before she could get her money out. “Thank you for the meal.”
“No problem.”
After they finished eating, weariness weighted JC down. The food had settled well and now she wanted to go back to Cade’s cabin and sleep like the dead, but she couldn’t. The storms had left the area and she needed to go to the park. She laid her napkin on the table. “Time to get my car and survey the storm damage.”
Rafe started to rise from his chair. “I’ll go with you.”
If the park was a disaster she wanted a chance to make things right again before he viewed the park. She got her purse and slung the strap over her