“Booker is nothing like Andy,” Rebecca said, her voice soft yet fierce.
Katie looked at the door, suddenly eager to escape. But their food hadn’t even arrived. And she’d ridden with Mike.
“Beck, take it easy,” Josh murmured as if sensing Katie’s panic.
Mike slung his arm over the back of the booth. “Katie’s got a lot to deal with right now. What’s wrong with letting her hang out with me?”
“Nothing’s wrong with it, if that’s what she really wants,” Rebecca replied, resisting Mike’s attempt to lighten the mood. “I’m just telling her what I think because I’m her friend as much as Booker’s.”
“Well, thanks for the input.” Mike squeezed Katie’s shoulder. “You gonna be okay?”
Katie forced a smile despite the unsettling ache in the pit of her stomach. “Sure, I’m fine.”
“Katie?” Rebecca pressed.
Katie reluctantly raised her eyes to Rebecca’s.
“Ever since you moved out, Booker has barely spoken to Ashleigh. He’s barely spoken to anyone, even to me. He works eighteen hours a day. If you care about him, think about the fact that he’s hurting right now.”
Booker’s angry, Katie…because you left us…he doesn’t like it…I know… Delbert’s words, though delivered in a simpler form, mirrored what Rebecca had just said. Could Rebecca and Delbert be right?
“I’m pregnant with another man’s baby,” Katie said, stating the obvious. “This isn’t the time to worry about what I feel or don’t feel for Booker.”
“There isn’t a better time. This is when you need him, Katie.” Rebecca leaned back and crossed her arms. “I think you’re seriously underestimating him, just like everyone else.”
BOOKER SHOVED HIS HANDS in the pockets of his faded jeans as he stood at his office window. He’d done the right thing, forcing the issue with Katie by going home with Ashleigh. It was over. For good. No more “what ifs.” And he was satisfied. Better to put a decisive end to whatever was developing between them than to walk into the same brick wall, right?
But all the logic in the world did little to stifle the regret or the longing that tore through him at the sight of her.
The inside door banged open as Delbert entered the office, but Booker didn’t flinch. He was too mesmerized watching Josh, Rebecca, Mike and Katie leave Jerry’s Diner. Katie had been staying out at High Hill Ranch for more than two weeks, and this was the fourth time Booker had seen her come into town with Mike. Even more telling was that Mike hadn’t been seen with Mary Thornton lately.
Once again, Booker had the privilege of standing by, at close range, while Katie fell for another man….
“Katie’s at the diner, Booker,” Delbert announced. “I just saw her.”
Booker didn’t respond.
“There she is.” Delbert pointed as though Booker wasn’t already staring at her. “She’s leaving right now. Can we go say hello? Can we, Booker?”
“Go ahead,” Booker said. “I’m staying here.”
In the next second, Katie glanced up and met his eyes. The yearning he felt threatened to expose him. So he gave her a look that said he didn’t give a damn about her and turned away.
“MIKE TOLD ME KATIE’S been living out at the ranch,” Barbara Hill said.
Tami Rogers frowned at her best friend. They’d been poring through quilting books in the craft room of Barb’s basement, searching for a pattern they wanted to use for their next project. They both liked to quilt, especially through the long summer evenings, and often worked on a quilt together or shared bits of fabric or patterns. They usually sold their quilts at the church’s harvest festival each fall, and it was a matter of pride that they garnered the highest bids—second only to Roy White’s hand-tooled saddles.
“At the ranch? Since when?” she asked, even though she knew better than to let Barb bait her into having this conversation. Barb didn’t agree with how she and Don had handled Katie and had been looking for a chance to say so.
“It’s been almost a month.”
“Well, that’s a better place for her than out at Booker Robinson’s, I guess,” Tami said, fingering a calico fabric that might be nice for a traditional wedding ring pattern.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Booker Robinson,” Barb said.
Tami raised a questioning eyebrow. “You sure thought something was wrong with him two years ago when Katie was dating him.”
“I didn’t know him then. He’s been around long enough now that I can tell he’s a decent fellow.”
“Since when have you gotten to know Booker Robinson?”
“Since we started taking our cars over there to have them serviced. He’s honest and quick and always respectful.”
“I don’t want to talk about Booker,” Tami said. “I don’t have anything against him as long as he stays away from my daughter.”
Barb began folding the fabric they’d spread out on the utility table and stacking the books. “You haven’t wanted to talk about Katie, either. Meanwhile, my son’s telling me how destitute she is and asking why my best friend, who happens to be her mother, isn’t helping her.”
“Did you tell him it’s because she needs to deal with the mess she’s created?” Tami said, her tone challenging.
“I told him that, yes.” Barb put the fabric away in the plastic containers where she stored her supplies.
“What did he say?”
“That everyone needs a little help once in a while.”
Tami shook her head. Even though she was beginning to have her own doubts about the way they were handling Katie, she knew Don still felt certain they’d made the right decision. Admitting that she no longer fully agreed with her husband felt too disloyal. “She’ll be better off if we don’t rush to her rescue,” she said, repeating what Don always told her.
“Did you say she’ll be better? Or bitter?” Barb replied, sliding her glasses down her nose so she could look over them at Tami.
“Barb—”
“Tami, I know you and Don have strong feelings about this. But it’s tough for me not to offer Katie the help you won’t give her. If we weren’t best friends—if I didn’t owe you my first allegiance—I would’ve gone to her long ago.”