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“I was coming to tell you I’ve almost got the food ready. Let me give you a quick tour of the farmhouse.” She loved her home and it seemed important that he liked it, as well.
“Open concept—nice,” he said.
“The guest room and attached bath is off to the right, adjacent to the main sitting area, which pretty much takes up that side of the house, and a powder room under the staircase. The primary suite takes up most of the back and has its own private deck and en suite. Over here on the left is the dining space and kitchen. Off the kitchen is a pantry and laundry room.”
Spence admired the open vaulted ceiling over the main living space. “And the loft over the kitchen?”
“My office. I don’t need much privacy as it’s just me, but I wanted a place that I could walk away from and be done working. When you own your own business, it can be tough to separate the two. I find having a distinct space for work helps me do that.”
“I like your home, Harper. It’s beautiful, gracious, and it makes sense—sort of like the woman who built it.”
She could feel the color rising in her cheeks. They headed to the table, where Dusty was already seated. Harper spooned the hash she’d made onto a platter and put it and a basket of biscuits in the middle of the table. Dusty had ensured there were various jams, butter, and honey on the table, as well as salt and pepper.
Harper handed Dusty a bottle of water and put one down beside her own plate. “What’ll you have, Spence?”
“Water works for me, thanks. These smell delicious.” He took a bite of one of her biscuits. “Oh, my God. These things should be illegal.”
Dusty laughed. “I know! The damn things are downright sinful!”
Harper smiled. She loved cooking for people, loved watching them enjoy the food she prepared. “Well, dig in boys. You don’t want it to get cold.”
Spence did just that. He took a bite of the hash and decided Dusty had not been exaggerating. “Sweet potatoes?”
She nodded. “Yes, along with two other kinds of potato. I like the mix of textures and flavors.”
“I can see why the smokejumpers insist on having you as their grill cook.” Spence continued to eat with a healthy appetite, and the three talked and ate like old friends, while studiously ignoring the elephant in the room.
When they were finished, Spence shooed Harper out of the kitchen. “I’ve got this. You were at the World Show for two weeks. You go on and do what you need to do.”
“I suppose I should be a better hostess and insist that you sit while I clean up, but if you’re sure, I’d like to at least go through my mail and make sure there isn’t anything hanging out there that needs my attention. By the way, pay attention to where things are. I don’t wait on people. You want a beer? Get off your ass and get it yourself.”
He laughed. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll keep that in mind. After you’re done in your office, I’d like to talk to you some more about Dulcie if you think you’re up to it.”
“Absolutely. I’ll do whatever I can to help catch whoever did this.”
“Good. I’ll take care of this, and you take care of what you need to. After, maybe we could saddle up, go for a ride, and talk.”
Harper headed up to her loft to catch up with anything needing to be done while she’d been away, wondering what Dulcie might have thought of her burgeoning relationship with Spence and how it had started. Harper had no more than completed the thought, when she could hear her sister’s voice inside her head,‘I always told you I’d find the right man for you.’
CHAPTER7
After he finished in the kitchen, Spence went to the bottom of the stairs and called to Harper. “Mind if I come up?”
“Not at all.”
He ran up the stairs and entered her lofted office. Now this was something he could get used to. Her desk had a commanding view of her acreage to the west. “I’ll bet the sunsets are spectacular from up here.”
Her office on two sides was lined with rustic shelves. Championship trophies and win pictures took up a great deal of the space. Cookbooks also dominated the books that actually took up space on the shelves. There were also a few books about the Appaloosa horse and the Native Americans who had first purposefully bred them, the Nez Perce. The front of the loft looked out over the living space and through the huge windows to the west. Behind her desk was a leather chesterfield sofa sitting under another huge window with an astounding view to the east and to Yellowstone.
“They are. What’s up?”
“If you’re feeling up to it, let’s go get the horses and go for a ride.”
“Think the questions you need to ask will be easier if we’re riding?”
“Not necessarily. I do want you to know if it gets to be too much, you can safeword out.” Harper blushed; he needed to know as much as she knew about her sister, but at this point in the investigation, it wasn’t critical. “What I was thinking was that I might get to know you a bit better, and through you Dulcie, which could be beneficial.”
“In what way?”
