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Blue Moon was still a place rarely visited by strangers, as evidenced by all the local license plates on the vehicles parked in front of Sally’s. Chase found an empty space and pulled his truck into it.
Sally Brogan, the restaurant’s proprietress, was at the cash register when he walked in. Her face lit up with pleasure the instant she saw him, a special light shining in her blue eyes, one that was reserved especially for Chase Calder. A widow of a Triple C ranch hand, Sally had fallen in love with Chase years ago and didn’t bother to hide it anymore, even though she knew friendship was all he offered in return.
“You’re late.” Self-consciously she smoothed a hand over the front of her apron, as if the years hadn’t added a few pounds to thicken her waist and turned her copperred hair to a striking snow-white. “Ty and Jessy were just about to give up on you and order.”
“I got on the phone and the call took longer than I expected.”
Over the years, Sally had come to know Chase in all his moods. That hard, preoccupied look to his eyes was one she instantly recognized.
“Trouble?” she guessed instantly.
As if catching himself showing his feelings a little too plainly, he threw her a quick smile, his dark eyes lighting up for the first time. “Nothing that I haven’t been dealing with for years.”
“Old troubles are always with us.” Sally came out from behind the cash register. “It’s when new ones come along that I worry.”
“You’re probably right.” Chase waited to let her walk him to the table where Ty and Jessy waited.
Out of habit, Chase ran an inspecting glance over his tall, broad-shouldered son, seated next to Jessy. The unmistakable stamp of a Calder was there in his dark hair and eyes, and in the hard, angular cut of his features. On the green side of forty, Ty was a man in his prime. Best of all, except for the sling holding his left arm, Ty was the image of robust vigor. Chase could no longer detect any trace of the sickly pallor that had lurked below the deep tan of his son’s face. There was a sense of genuine relief in that.
Beside Ty sat Jessy. As always, when Chase’s glance fell on this slender woman with honeyed-gold hair, he experienced a mixture of satisfaction and approval. As slim and long-legged as a boy, she possessed a subtle beauty that went beyond simple good looks. There was a strength and a steadiness about her that radiated an aura of calm. Jessy wasn’t the kind of woman to lead a man—or be led by him. But she would stand tall at his side. More than that, Jessy had been born and raised on the ranch. Like the rich tough grass that was the Triple C’s wealth, her roots were sunk deep in Calder soil.
A better mate Chase couldn’t have picked for his son. Or a better mother to his grandchildren, Chase thought as he took note of the protruding roundness of her stomach, made all the more obvious by her boy-slim figure.
“It’s about time you got here,” Ty declared as he slid a possessive hand across the back of Jessy’s shoulders. “Jessy was ready to faint with hunger.”
“That’ll be the day.” Skepticism riddled his response. With a nod to Jessy, Chase pulled out a chair on the other side of his son and sat down.
“I’ll get you some coffee.” Sally started to move away from the table.
“Better take our order first. I wouldn’t want Jessy keeling over for want of food.”
A small, answering smile curved Jessy’s mouth at the twinkling glance Chase sent her direction. But some shading in her father-in-law’s expression told her that he had more serious matters on his mind. She doubted that a direct question would elicit a direct answer. In that she knew her father-in-law well. Whatever was on his mind, he would get around to telling them about it in his own good time.
Instead, she waited until Sally had taken their food orders then asked, “What kept you?”
“I got tied up on the phone,” Chase replied, a telltale grimness coloring his words. He leaned back in his chair and began pushing around the silverware in front of him.
“With who?” Ty asked curiously.
Chase grunted at the question, his mouth twisting in a smile that was without humor. “Which time?” He correctly interpreted the question in Ty’s raised eyebrow. “I called to find out what progress had been made in getting title to that land—and ended up getting the runaround.”
“They’re no closer, then,” Ty concluded.
“Nope.” With that said, Chase made an effort to throw off the dark mood and flicked a finger in the direction of Ty’s sling. “I see you still have that contraption around your arm.”
“It’ll come off next week.”
“Actually,” Jessy inserted, “Ty informed the doctor that if it didn’t, he was taking it off.”
“And I meant it,” Ty stated, on the irritable side. “Four weeks of going around with a wing instead of an arm is long enough. It’s time I started using it again.”
“The doctor said he’ll need at least two months of physical therapy,” Jessy told Chase.
“Getting back to work is the only therapy I’ll need,” Ty replied.
“We’ll see.” Wisely Jessy didn’t argue the point.
Ty flashed her a look of annoyance. Then his eye was caught by the serene calm of her expression. Just the sight of her seemed to be enough to smooth everything inside of him. Almost against his will, a smile twitched at the corners of his mouth.
