Free Come On Over by Debbi Rawlins Page A

I’m Shelby,” she said and gave him a bright smile.
    â€œI’m Abe, like it says out front.” He scratched his balding head.
    â€œHave you lived here long, Abe?” She kept her tone casual and picked up a plastic-wrapped pillowcase.
    â€œAll my life.”
    â€œThen you must know the Kimballs pretty well.”
    â€œOh, yeah, I went to school with Trent’s pa. Bob and I used to go hunting together. Now, how is it you’re related to the family?”
    â€œActually, my last name is Foster.” She looked for a sign of recognition in his face and found none. “My great-grandfather and Trent’s were partners at the Eager Beaver.”
    He reared back with a look of surprise. “When was that?”
    â€œWell, way, way before your time, of course.”
    Her subtle compliment registered, and she caught his blush before he turned away. “Louise, Sadie, come over here a minute, would ya?”
    It took all of three seconds for the two women to sidle up to him and check her out.
    â€œThis here is Sadie.” He gestured to the fifty-something brunette with a warm smile. “She owns the Watering Hole.”
    â€œAnd I’m also running for mayor.” She stuck her hand out. “And you are?”
    â€œGood grief, woman, do you always have to jump the gun?” Abe gave a snort of disgust, sounding much like Trent with Violet.
    â€œShelby.” She grinned and shook Sadie’s hand.
    â€œI’m Louise,” the other woman chimed in. “Part owner of the fabric store down the block. So, you’re staying out at the Kimballs’ ranch.”
    Shelby held in a sigh. Yes, it was clear the women were eavesdropping, but it was the
Kimballs’ ranch
reference that got to her. Again.
    â€œDo you two even wanna know why I asked you over here?” Abe looked from one to the other.
    â€œFoster doesn’t ring a bell with me, either,” Louise said.
    Sadie was frowning and shaking her head.
    Abe threw up his hands and walked away.
    For the next two hours, Shelby explored the town and heard “oh, the Kimballs’ ranch” so many times she wanted to scream.
    Sadly, she was starting to like the name Eager Beaver.

6
    T RENT WAS IN the stable when he heard the car pull up. Shelby had been gone most of the day, and he’d wondered if she’d driven all the way to Kalispell. He waited until the car door opened and closed before he strolled outside.
    She grabbed an armful of packages from the backseat and immediately dropped one. He didn’t make it to her in time to pick it up. She scooped it up herself. Standing back, he watched her redistribute her haul and close the door with her hip.
    â€œNeed help?”
    â€œNo, thank you.” She gave him a small polite smile, then started toward the kitchen door.
    If she was still pissed at him over the stunt he’d pulled this morning, he couldn’t tell. She didn’t seem to be in a particularly bad mood but more resigned. Asking around town about the Eager Beaver had probably dashed her hopes.
    Feeling like he was on shaky ground himself, he understood completely. After hanging up with his mom, he’d called Colby. His brother hadn’t heard anything about Foster, or the deal with Violet, either. But that didn’t make Trent feel any less like a damn fool, and he’d wasted half the day because of it.
    And here he had so much to do. Yet he’d been working in fits and starts, preoccupied with memories of the times he and Violet had bickered over one thing or another. A couple of those instances had ended with him threatening to kick her off the ranch. Anyway, she always gave as good as she got. But how smug she must’ve felt inside. To give her credit, she’d never shown it. He had a feeling she knew he had a soft spot for her, but that was a fact he would never, ever acknowledge.
    So far, he hadn’t said a word to her about the conversation