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She smiled, glad that he didn't hold a grudge.
Silently she knew she should be thanking him for coming along and saving her like he did, but she knew he wouldn't appreciate a thank you.
"So, how do you like the dude ranch?" He asked stoking the fire with scraps of wood he had scrambled from somewhere in the house.
"I'm enjoying it."
"And where were you tonight?" His eyes met hers for only a moment.
"I went to a movie." She felt uncomfortable talking about her evening, when she was supposed to be with him, according to her lies.
"By yourself?"
He wasn't going to let this pass. He wanted to know everything. She supposed his job made him inquisitive about everything. But just once, she wished he'd drop it.
She nodded.
"All those drug store cowboys out there and not one offered to take you?"
Drug store cowboys? Is that how he saw them? He seemed so judgmental of people and she wanted to argue the point with him, but this was not the time nor the place. But who did he think he was? She wouldn't have gone if they had asked her to.
"I didn't go there for dates, Sheriff. Actually, I'm doing a layout for a magazine, and enjoying it no end. So how did you happen by... way out here?"
"Way out here, it's still my jurisdiction. Actually, I went to look for you, I got a call from your aunt, she wanted to know if I'd meet her at the airport when she arrives, as Helen's son, the woman she went to Europe with won't be available. I told her about you. She's excited about you being here and wanted me to tell you to hang on, she'd be home by first part of next week."
"Great. I didn't realize you knew her that well."
"Lucy's lived here all her life, she knows everyone. Out here, as you call it, everyone depends on their friends to help them."
"That's nice," Savannah sighed.
He let out a long breath and sighed too, "I'm sorry. About the drug store cowboy thing. And I suppose I shouldn't call them that, some of them are actual ranch hands, but most are there for show. I naturally thought you'd figure that out for yourself. Some of them can't even ride a horse."
"Really?"
"I'm a Sheriff Savannah, and it's my job to know what people do. And yes, I do judge people quickly, but part of that comes from my being a lawman, in this business you have to be able to size people up fast. You might not get a second chance. So, if I seem a little cynical, that's why."
She leaned her wet head against the fireplace and drew a long and deep breath. She wasn't going to fight with him tonight.
She looked down at herself and laughed, "I feel like a drowned rat."
"Yeah, well, we'll have you safely home in no time," he said and cleared his throat and moved away.
She just wanted to get away from here, where things were simple again. This escape was turning into nothing short of a disaster. The lies she had told niggled. But knowing Janet as she did, she knew she would find this little disaster very interesting, too. and before she was threw, she'd blow it up into something it wasn't.
She pulled her legs behind her and squeezed the water from her skirt as she sat by the fire. He was standing at the window staring out. Probably wishing his deputy would hurry and get there.
She tried to sit still and not say a word, maybe even go to sleep, but none of those things worked. Not with Mr. Gorgeous in arm's length from her. It occurred to her that even if he was old and ugly, she'd find him quite impressive. He had a sense of honor and honesty she found refreshing. And his ability to size people up, bothered her, because he could probably read her every thought.
Finally, she went to the window too to stare out in hopes someone would come and rescue her from this misery. A misery she couldn't define.
"So when are you going home?" He finally asked, not bothering to look at her. She figured he wasn't really interested, just indulging in general conversation.
"I don't know. I haven't seen my aunt yet. Besides, I was thinking about going to work." She said quietly.
Now he looked, "Doing what, photographing animals?"
She stared into the firelight, wondering why all of a sudden her plans were changing so much and she didn't seem able to control anything anymore. "I was thinking about trying to make a living with my photography, yes."
