Mattie nodded, but her expression seemed void of emotion. “A cousin of ours is getting married. Jenna’s flying in for the wedding. Our whole family will be there.” Her voice edged with tension, and Gil wondered what was coming next.
“I hate to ask, but . . .”
At this point, Gil welcomed any diversion. “Ask away.”
Mattie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “At the risk of having my family swarm around you, I wondered if you might accompany me to the wedding.”
To the wedding, where Mattie’s entire family would be . . . including Jenna?
A shiver spliced through Gil as he considered her request. He suddenly doubted the wisdom in telling Mattie the truth about his relationship with Jenna. The entire situation had disaster written all over it. “Sure. I can do that.” He swallowed the dread that lodged in his throat. “When is it?”
“This weekend. I thought I might have Jenna over for supper one night to catch up.”
He’d hoped never to see her again, and now Jenna was coming to his father’s ranch? Gil could think of nothing worse. “It’s been a long time,” he said instead.
“What secret were you going to tell me about her? I’m sure it was juicy. Jenna always had a knack for getting into trouble.”
Gil stared at Mattie, now the one feeling sick to his stomach. “She’d probably kill me if I told you,” he hedged.
Mattie tossed him a mischievous smile. “Then I’ll have to get her to tell me, won’t I?”
Lord, what am I going to do now? Feeling miserable and his stomach roiling from tension, Gil closed his eyes and pretended to sleep for the rest of the flight.
THIRTY-EIGHT
GIL AND MATTIE CLIMBED INTO HIS LARAMIE AT THE AIRPORT AND headed back to Diamond Falls. As the miles ticked closer to his father’s ranch, Gil saw a puff of gray in the distance. A yellowish haze hung in the sky, and a thick musty smell blew into the cab’s enclosure through the vents. He lowered his truck window to locate the smoke’s origin.
The Lightning M.
Gil gunned the gas pedal, spinning the tires on the loose gravel. A mile down the road, he tore onto his father’s pasture, and the big, heavy truck jolted in and out of the hidden ruts. Rather than ease off the pedal, he darted around the gullies and rocks to get in front of the blazing head fires.
“Be careful, Gil.” Mattie braced herself against the dash.
Despite her warning, he didn’t slow down. “Jake ought to have more sense than to work this fire on his own.” He jockeyed through the glowing obstacle course and veered left to dodge an outcropping of jagged rocks. Thirty yards ahead, Jake’s four-wheeler shot in and out of the fire, his kerosene-filled pipe dragging along behind him.
Gil swore under his breath. “What’s he thinking?”
Then another vehicle emerged from the smoke. Gil accelerated to catch up, and as he neared, he recognized the figure driving the dented black Ford.
Dad?
He slammed on the brake and jammed the gearshift into neutral. “You drive,” he shouted to Mattie, then jumped out of the truck.
As Gil approached the other vehicle, his temper raged as hot as the burning pasture. “What are you doing here?”
“What’s it look like?” His dad stared back with a scowl.
“Scoot over and let me drive.” Gil grabbed the door handle and waited for his dad to shuffle to the passenger side. The truck moved at an idle, and he climbed in without difficulty. Now safely behind the steering wheel, he glowered at his father. “Have you lost your mind? Why didn’t you wait for my help?”
His dad held a box of matches and pitched the small burning stick out the passenger window. “How was I to know when you were coming back?”
“You knew I planned to return this week.” He checked the rear window to assess the fire’s path. “Did you contact the fire department?”
“Jake and I took care of everything. Got a water tank in the back for emergencies.”
Gil noted the two-hundred-gallon sprayer in the truck bed, and his anger lessened. “Still, you have no business being out here. Two old men trying to do the work of four. How many acres are you burning?”
“One pasture at a time.” His dad rubbed his shoulder, then tossed another match out the window. “Was on my way to start another backfire when you came tearing up from behind. Near scared me to death.”