Chapter 6

Misty met Janie in the kitchen of the cowboy cabin, where she somehow had miraculous started brewing coffee. "You're wearing the same thing as last night," she said playfully. "You didn't go home since I last saw you?"

They grinned at one another, and Janie indicated the second mug sitting next to the coffee pot. "Your boyfriend stopped by with morning essentials."

"He's not my boyfriend," Misty said, giving Janie a look. No, they hadn't talked about how quickly Link had answered his phone last night. Nor Misty's inability to speak to him in front of her friends. Nor how Link had taken perfect care of all of them in the middle of the night—in his cowboy hat, of course.

She poured herself a cup of coffee and asked over her shoulder, "Are we working today?"

"Ralf said we didn't need to," Janie said. "He's calling Patty and Floyd as soon as the office is open in Dallas."

Misty stirred a spoonful of sugar into her coffee and faced her best friend. "Clothes?"

"Ward Glover texted and said there would be clothes, food, first aid supplies, and more at the family barn." Janie's eyes sparkled with delight. "He included a map." She hit the P hard, and she giggled afterward.

"Cowboys have a code," Misty said simply. When she'd first come to Three Rivers, she'd been dead set against dating. She still was, to be honest, but she could admit a cowboy really pulled at her heartstrings. Something about the hat, the boots, the drawl, and the way they took care of the things and people that mattered to them really spoke to the soft parts of her heart.

Misty just didn't have very many of those, as her fleshy heart had been hardened over the years of her life, as she saw man after man march through her life and leave nothing but harsh footprints and pain behind. Link had somehow snuck into the few soft parts of her heart she did have.

"So, we just need to follow the yellow brick road over to True Blue," Janie said. "I was waiting for you to wake up."

"I want to shower," Misty said.

"I'm sure they'll have your favorite shampoo sitting on a table in that barn," Janie said. "Because Link's been working on getting food, clothing, and supplies since you called him, and Misty, that man…he is nowhere near over you."

Misty took a sip of her coffee, something dangerous vibrating in her chest. "So what?" she finally asked. She joined Janie at the table and looked earnestly at her. "I mean that seriously. I'm not over him either, but so what? We have thirteen more months on this project, and then you and I both return to Dallas." She wanted to cry, but she held back her emotion. "Do you know how far Dallas is from Three Rivers?"

"Far," Janie said without missing a beat. Her dark eyes turned into hard marbles. "Do you know what you have waiting for you in Dallas?"

Misty opened her mouth to respond, but she swallowed the retort. Nothing. Nothing was what she had waiting for her in Dallas.

She swallowed and reached for her coffee again. She took a huge sip, which burned her tongue and the roof of her mouth. Now wanting to scream, she managed to get the hot liquid down before she coughed. "My job is in Dallas," she said.

"Oh, yes," Janie said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She still wore that look of steel, and Misty wouldn't get out of this conversation without several wounds, she knew that. "I also forgot how much money Link has, but then, I remembered I could do an Internet search." She picked up her phone. "So I did that, because not only did an incredibly sexy and rich and tall, dark, handsome cowboy bring me coffee and quiche this morning, he brought phone chargers."

Misty noted that her phone was indeed plugged in as Janie tapped on it. "He's not dark," she said, only because it was her only argument against what Janie had said. "He has blue eyes and sandy hair."

"And he's super rich." Janie turned her phone toward Misty. "That man would take care of you every minute of every day for the rest of your life. No job necessary."

Misty didn't even look at her friend's phone. They'd looked up the Glovers and Shiloh Ridge Ranch as part of their town research before they'd even come to Three Rivers. Then again after she'd started dating him. She knew this was the largest and most profitable ranch in the Panhandle. She knew Link was the oldest son of the oldest son here at Shiloh Ridge, and that meant he was in line to run this place at some point.

"I like my job," she said, a completely weak argument. "I don't even know why I'm arguing this. I don't want to be married. I don't want kids."

"Don't you?" Janie asked, and then she got to her feet. "Your non-boyfriend brought toothbrushes and paste. He said he knew you wouldn't even want to come over to the barn without breakfast and brushing your teeth."

She left the kitchen, calling, "So hurry up and eat. Then we need to go get clothes and supplies. Groceries in town. Check on our apartment. All of that."

Misty sat at the eat-in table with her too-hot coffee, her mind spinning. Her phone buzzed, and she reached to plug it into the charger Janie had been using. Link had texted with, Did Janie give you your quiche?

She mentioned it, Misty tapped out. But I haven't seen it or eaten it yet.

I put it in the oven on warm, he said.

Misty simply stared at the words, sure they couldn't be true. The only thing going through her mind was, Why?

So she tapped to call him. "Hey," he said easily. "It's quiche Lorraine, with bacon, not ham."

"Of course it is," she said, her flirty smile matching her tone. They'd gotten quiches at a tiny diner in Parma several months ago, and she'd made a big deal about the quiche Lorraine being better with bacon while the restaurant had made theirs with ham.

"Link, I just—thank you for everything, really. But I want to know why you're doing this."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you brought me a toothbrush. Coffee. My favorite breakfast food in the world—oh, and you put it in the oven so it would be warm when I woke up and finally dragged myself out of bed." She didn't mean to sound so frustrated, but in fact, she felt the same emotion pulling through her. "I wasn't nice to you. I used you. I hurt you, and you have no idea, because I was too weak to tell you, but I feel so guilty about that. I hate it. I hate that I made your life anything but wonderful, and I'm sorry."

She exhaled heavily. She hadn't realized how much the words had been choking her until they all came out. "I can breathe again. Your turn."

"I don't know what you want me to say," he said quietly.

"Coffee? Quiche? You told me you don't cook, so that didn't come from your kitchen, where you said breakfast would be." She knew where he'd gotten their quiches, and that was down in town, at the Ackerman Bakery. That was an eighty-minute round trip, and it was barely eight-fifteen.

"I took supplies to a lot of people this morning," he said. "So stop feeling like you're special."

"Okay," she said lightly. "I'm not special." Except she was, and they both knew it. He'd said exactly that to her before, and she'd fired back at him that she wasn't special. Then he'd hooked one leg over hers and rolled toward her. Kissed her. Told her she was incredibly special to him.

Then, they'd watched the stars awaken in the sky as they laughed and talked. Finally, they'd made their way out of the hills near midnight, and Misty had never felt so special—because Link didn't stay up late and he had for her.

"Janie and I are going down to town to check on our apartment."

"If you can't get in, there are clothes in True Blue," he said.

"Is that where you are?"

"No, ma'am," he said. "I was there until about an hour ago, when I started making deliveries. I'm in the stables now."

"You're going to work today?"

"The horses don't care that there was an electrical fire in your apartment last night," he said dryly. "They want their breakfast, and I'm actually twenty minutes late. Morning Sky huffed and gave me the side-eye and everything."

"Lincoln," she said quietly. "I care about that." And you, she thought, but she caught herself before saying it out loud. "I'm sorry I called you and woke you up."

"Why? You don't need to be sorry about that."

"I'll get a bunch of groceries and make lunch," she said, the idea popping into her head. "Can you come to my cabin for lunch?"

Link didn't answer right away, and that made Misty's heart shrink. She wanted to blurt out more about what she'd make, possibly to entice him with his favorite foods. Or maybe she should tell him that she wanted to apologize in person, as he hadn't even addressed the fact that she'd sorry-vomited all over this call.

"You can bring Morning Sky and finally show her to me," she said, going for what Link loved almost as much as food. Horses.

He chuckled then and said, "I do have to eat lunch."

"Yes, you do," she said decisively. "I'll text you when I get back and get started, so you know when it'll be ready."

"So you're not working today."

"Ralf called us all off," she said. "He's dealing with the office in Dallas, as they'll have to get us somewhere to live if we can't get back in our apartments."

"Mm." Something slammed on his end of the line. "Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Sure thing," she said.

"If you're cooking today, can you make a lot? Bring it to True Blue? We've got a lot of extra people to feed. If you stop by the stable on your way by, I can give you a credit card from the ranch. You won't have to pay for it."

Misty blinked, not sure how to answer. Her mind opened, and heavenly light flowed into it. "Of course I can do that," she said. "Your aunts and momma won't be cooking?"

"They are," he said. "We're doing shifts, though." His voice had turned guarded, and Misty cocked her head as she tried to hear what else he was trying to say.

"What aren't you saying?"

"Your part of town is still without power," he said. "Social media is saying no one is allowed into their apartments. We've got people living here who can't just go buy entire cartloads of groceries or new clothes for themselves and their families."

Misty's heart sank into her stomach. "How long do you think we'll all be living up here?"

"At least a week," Link said quietly. "So we'll be providing meals for a while, and if you're not working today, I'm sure the extra food will be appreciated."

"I'm sure," she echoed. "So yes. I'll bring something to the barn."

"Great. Hey, listen, I have to go. I'll see you later."

"Sure," she said, and he hung up quickly, the same way Link always had. He didn't super love talking on the phone, and when he was done, he was done.

Misty sat there and sifted through the conversation until Janie said, "You haven't even gotten your quiche out?"

She got to her feet and turned away from Janie. "I had to talk to Link for a minute." She opened the oven and found her quiche Lorraine waiting for her. "Link says we won't be able to get into the apartment."

An overwhelming sense of gratitude filled her, because she could stop by the department store and get a few things to wear. She could fill carts full of food and bring it up here to this cabin. She could fill her car with gas and drive it back and forth. She didn't have children to worry about.

"I've been chatting with Phoebe," Janie said. "She just went by, and they turned her away. So yeah." She sighed as she sat down. "We still need groceries, and I need a pair of shoes that actually fit."

Misty glanced at her feet and found a pair of flip flops that were at least a couple of inches too long. "Did Link bring those to you?" Then she opened a couple of drawers until she found a fork.

"He said he noticed I wasn't wearing shoes last night."

Misty grinned at her, glad when Janie smiled back. "Cowboys are observant," she said right before forking up the first bite of her breakfast.

Janie laughed and finger-combed her hair back into a ponytail. "Well, that one is." She gave Misty time to eat and brush her teeth, and as they left Shiloh Ridge, they made a plan to hit the grocery store in their pajamas, and then head to the department store after they opened.

Misty deliberately went right past the stables without stopping. She could afford to buy the groceries for her lunch meal that day, and she really didn't want to face Link in her silky violet pjs again.

She filled Janie in on the conversation she'd had with Link, and when they hit the highway, their sights sent on Wilde Organic, Misty started to panic. She drew in a gaspy breath and gripped the steering wheel.

"What should I make for lunch?" she asked, plenty of fear in her tone. "Link's mom and all his aunts are like, amazing cooks." She looked over to Janie. "His uncles too. Why did I agree to do this?"

"You're an amazing cook too," Janie said. "But yes, to get Link back, you better come up with the most amazing lunch today. Hmm, let's see…."

So much panic paraded through Misty that she didn't even argue that she wasn't cooking today to impress Link. Because she so was.

Now, she just needed her brain to come up with his favorite meal, and she needed the grocer to have all the right ingredients, and then she needed her hands to be skillful enough to pull off the dish.

"What to make, what to make," she mused, and Janie started naming off things Misty had made in the past that she'd enjoyed. None of them struck her right, and as Misty parked at Wilde Organic, she prayed that the aisles of food would hold the perfect inspiration for the perfect lunch dish.

After all, she was going to apologize to Link again, whether he liked it or not, and that required the cowboy's favorite foods to be lined up behind her.