Page 8 of Wild Highway (Runaway 2)

“Honey, you are just . . .” She let me go to look me up and down. “Stunning. Though you always were.”

“And you are as beautiful as always.”

“Please.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m old.”

The lines around Carol’s eyes and mouth had deepened over the years but her hair was the same bright white, braided in a long, thick rope that draped over one shoulder. Her eyes were the same welcoming brown.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “Where have you been all these years? Can you stay for dinner?”

I laughed, thinking that Benjamin would love Carol and her endless string of questions. “I’ve been living in Boston, but I’m on a vacation of sorts.”

Permanently.

“Great.” Carol’s hands flew into the air, then she rushed around the side of the counter and began shaking a mouse to wake up a computer. “Do you want a king-size bed facing the valley? Or a queen with the mountain view?”

“Oh, no. That’s okay. I’ve got a room in Missoula.” It was forty miles away and the perfect excuse to leave before I wore out my welcome.

She ignored me. “King or queen?”

“Really, I don’t need a room. I just wanted to swing by and see the place. If Katherine is still here, I’d, um . . . I’d love to say hello.”

Understanding filled Carol’s gaze and she nodded. The look wasn’t harsh, and it didn’t hold judgment, but she knew what I’d done to Katherine. She just wasn’t holding it against me.

Carol might be the only one here who didn’t.

“Yes, Katherine’s here,” she said. “She’s in her office working. I’ll take you up there after you tell me what room you want so I can have one of the boys haul up your luggage.”

Maybe I’d known or hoped this would happen, because my luggage was packed in the Cadillac and I hadn’t extended my reservation in Missoula. I’d just asked the clerk this morning if they had vacancies in case I returned.

“Queen, please.” I wanted the mountain view. “My credit card is in my car.”

“You’re not paying,” she said as she clicked and scrolled, eyes glued to the screen.

“I insist.”

“Honey, I know it’s been a lot of years but a smart girl like you, I’m sure you remember who’s in charge around here.”

I laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Better.” She clicked one last time, then shoved the mouse aside.

Carol was in charge. She and her husband, Jake Sr., had started the Greer Ranch nearly fifty years

ago. After their livestock operation had become successful, they’d expanded to start the resort, eventually passing it all down to their son, JR.

JR had been the manager of the entire operation when I’d worked here. Maybe he still was.

Or maybe Easton had taken over.

Regardless, Carol was in charge. She told the men exactly what she expected and heaven help them if they didn’t follow orders.

Carol came around the counter and looped her arm through mine. “How did Boston treat you?”

“Quite well for a time.”

“I can see that.” She gave me another appraisal. “You always were classy. Even without a penny to pinch between your fingers, you had that air of sophistication about you. That air is still there, but I see you’ve got the pennies now too.”

“I’ve saved a couple.” My net worth was close to twenty million dollars. Yet standing beside Carol, I was the poor person in the room.