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  “How can I help you?” the woman asked, and Rowan realized she had yet to say anything.

  Great start, Rowan thought. Ogling makes me look very professional.

  “I’m Rowan Barnes from On the Range,” she said. “I’m here to meet with Warren Landreth. Is he available?”

  “I’m sorry, he’s not. I’m Kate, his daughter. I’ll be helping you out today.”

  Rowan frowned. Daniel had given her explicit instructions about what she needed to discuss with Warren Landreth, owner of Landreth Ranch.

  “I assure you I’ll provide the same quality service,” Kate said.

  She stood an inch or so taller than Rowan, and gazed down with summer-green eyes. Rowan stood for a moment, held by that gaze. She could see that she was not going to be able to speak with Warren. For a moment she warred with herself, but decided that ultimately Daniel wanted her to return with the beef for their soft launch. She would be sure to pass along the same explicit instructions to Kate.

  “We’ll need about thirty cuts today. More next week for our official launch. If all goes well, we’re hoping to make this an ongoing partnership.” Rowan recited the numbers and figures that Daniel sent her with: their anticipated weekly demand and their specifications for type, sizes, and cuts.

  Kate nodded and motioned for Rowan to follow her.

  Rowan went with Kate into the office. It was a small building with only two rooms. One room had a desk, computer, and filing cabinets, while the other, which Kate led Rowan into, was lined with deep-freeze refrigerators, each marked with a different type of beef: Longhorn, Angus, and Wagyu. A poster on the wall illustrated the various cuts of beef.

  Excitement swelled within Rowan as she took it all in. In the kitchen, she considered herself to have more-than-average knowledge of beef. She knew how to cook a steak to desired doneness, and could state the exact internal temperature required for an order. She knew how long to marinate, how to get the best sear, and how long to rest a steak after cooking. In this room, she felt like a novice. This, though, was the real deal. This was the whole idea behind a farm-to-table restaurant. This was the authenticity Rowan craved in her career.

  “You’ll see that they’re all uniform in weight,” Kate said, as she pulled individually packaged steaks from the fridge. “Ten ounces, each of them. There’s a scale on the far counter. Feel free to weigh each one.”

  Rowan did, not because she didn’t trust Kate, but because she’d been instructed to check each aspect of the steak to ensure perfection. She checked the color and marbling on each, and once she was certain that everything met Daniel’s specifications, she said, “Looks good.”

  Kate smiled, and the smile melted her cool exterior and made her green eyes shine. Rowan found herself drawn to this much warmer Kate. The smile was gone too soon, replaced once more with Kate’s distant professionalism.

  “I’ll get those packaged for you and ring you up.”

  “Thanks,” Rowan said.

  She watched as Kate gracefully scanned and packaged the beef into two foam coolers with ice. They each carried a cooler out to Rowan’s car, and Rowan found herself sad to be leaving so soon. She wanted to see Kate smile again.

  “Your ranch is beautiful,” Rowan said as she placed the box in the backseat.

  The look of pride was clear on Kate’s face. “Thank you. I’m quite fond of it myself.”

  “Is this where you grew up?” Rowan asked.

  Kate nodded. “I moved out for a couple of years for college, but now I’m home again.”

  She couldn’t decipher the wistful look that crossed Kate’s face at that sentence.

  “How about you?” Kate asked. “Your accent. You’re not from Texas.”

  “No, no I’m not.” She realized as she said the words that she might have sounded a bit too happy about that fact. “I only just moved here last week for this job. I’m from Portland.”

  “Well then, welcome to Texas!” Kate said. “How are you liking it so far?”

  She chose her answer carefully. “The heat is killing me.”

  “Bless your heart.” Kate laughed, a warm, rich sound, her green eyes sparkling. “It’s not even really summer yet.”

  “I may die.” Rowan gave a single resolute nod, nearly certain that death was going to happen.

  Kate held her with her gaze. “I hope not.”

  A spark passed through Rowan.

  “Well, assuming I survive, I’ll be back next Wednesday for our full order.”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” Kate said. “And I’m looking forward to doing business with y’all.”

  Rowan slipped into the driver’s seat and started her car. As she turned out onto the dusty highway, she realized she was still smiling. She shook her head. She was there on business. It was hardly the time to be all swoony over the pretty country girl.

  She laughed out loud as she cranked her stereo and imagined the look on Kate’s face if she were to flirt with this Southern girl from the Bible Belt. Kate would probably pray for her and run for the hills.

  Maybe not the best for business.

  So, she could enjoy the view, but she would try to refrain from all swooning, flirting, or related shows of gayness. She could do that.

  Surely.

  Chapter Two

  Kate walked the familiar route through the inpatient wing of the rehabilitation hospital, eager to be out of the sterile building with its stark white walls and lingering smells of disinfectant and disease. Seven weeks ago the hallways were a maze, but now she navigated through them effortlessly.

  “Hi, Daddy,” she said, stepping into the small private room where her dad lay in his bed. She set her duffel bag down on the chair. “Ready to go home?”

  Warren Landreth frowned, a distant look in his eyes as he echoed the word, “Home.”

  “I know it won’t be the same,” Kate said. “But it sure as heck beats being here, right? You’ll be back on the ranch with your animals. And I’ll be there to help you.”

  “You don’t have to do this, Katie.”

  The words were old and hollow. She’d made up her mind seven weeks ago.

  “We’ll sell the ranch,” he continued. “It’s worth a pretty penny. I’ll retire, we’ll pay off these hospital bills, and your life will keep going as it was.”

  “Oh, would you hush? This is what I want. I love the ranch as much as you.”

  He huffed. “I don’t know about that, but you’re certainly as hardheaded as me. Just promise me, you’ll sell the place if you need to. I don’t want you giving up your dreams for this.”

  “Let’s get you home,” she said, not about to promise any such thing.

  Warren pushed back the blue hospital bedsheet, and she helped him swing his legs over the side of the bed. Once he was upright, she went to the duffel bag and pulled out a pair of her dad’s brown leather cowboy boots. “Let’s get these on you,” she said, sliding them onto his feet.

  “It’s not like I’m needing them.”

  She hated the dejection she heard in her dad’s voice. “Yeah, well, you came in here a cowboy and, darn it, you’re going to leave here a cowboy.”

  “Katie,” he began, but she cut him off.

  “Not another word.”

  “Hardheaded, I swear,” he said under his breath.

  Kate got the boots on her dad’s feet and then patted his knee. “I’m gonna go get the nurse to help me get you into this chair,” she said.

  He harrumphed, and she went into the hall to the nurse’s station.

  “Miss Landreth, are you here to pick up your daddy?” Her favorite nurse, Cynthia, set down a clipboard and gave Kate her full attention.

  “Yes, ma’am. Time to go home.”

  “Well, now it’s about damn time, isn’t it? We’re gonna miss your daddy and his big ol’ sense of humor around here, though.”

  “Uh huh,” Kate said with a laugh, “I can just imagine the jokes he’s been tellin’.” Her dad had always had a knack for ma
king people laugh, but it was usually by ribbing them. And he’d had an even harder edge to his jokes than usual since the accident. His spirit was just not as light and jovial as usual.

  Cynthia gave a loud belly laugh. “Yeah, you probably can. But with him gone, who’s going to keep Bonnie in line for me? She hasn’t worked this hard in the entire time she’s been at this hospital.”

  “Well, we’ll just have to come say hello while we’re up here for PT,” Kate said. “Make sure Bonnie’s still doing her job.”

  “Please do,” Cynthia said, this time in full seriousness.

  Kate nodded. She wouldn’t miss the hospital, but she’d miss the nurses, Cynthia especially. They’d been good to her dad, and she had to admit she was terrified of getting home and being on her own.

  Cynthia headed toward Warren’s room. She grabbed his wheelchair from its spot by the window and pushed it over to where he still sat on the edge of his hospital bed.

  “Mr. Landreth, I see you’re escaping today. I could not be more pleased for you.”

  “You’re just happy to be rid of me,” Warren said.

  “No, sir. And I’d tell you if I was. You know I’m not about the bullshit.”

  Warren gave a coarse chuckle, his throat dry and crackly beneath the laugh. “Yeah, you would, too.”

  Cynthia smiled at him and squeezed his hand. “All right, ready? Time to bust out of here.” She motioned for Kate, and they each took a side. Kate grabbed her dad’s right arm as Cynthia grabbed his left.

  Together the two of them managed to lift Warren down from the hospital bed and into the wheelchair that Kate had purchased five weeks earlier.

  “It’s going to be an adjustment at first,” Cynthia warned. “For both of you.”

  “We’ll be okay,” Kate said.

  “Oh, I don’t doubt that, darling. But I’ve been around here long enough to know everyone has a hard time adjusting to being home without all of the supports for the first while. The home-care nurses will come out three times a day for the first couple of weeks to give you a hand with getting in and out of the chair, and figuring out ways to maneuver specific tasks. After that they’ll only come out as needed. But you have all of the numbers to call if you need any help. Don’t hesitate to reach out. Y’all aren’t alone in this, got it?”

  “Got it,” Kate assured her. She knew it wouldn’t be easy, but she was beyond ready to have her dad home and out of the hospital. She was done with the chemical sterility; the harsh white walls and lights; and juggling time between the ranch, the hospital, and the drive between the two. Her dad, she knew, was sick of nurses and hospital food, and the 24/7 noise of people and monitors. Home was, well, home. Besides, she’d spent the past seven weeks reading up on everything that they would need. Owen and Dean, their two ranch hands, had helped build a ramp up to the front porch so that her dad could wheel in and out. They were working on making the barn and office wheelchair accessible as well. Whatever her dad needed, she was going to make sure they made it happen.

  Kate wheeled her dad out of the hospital, Cynthia following behind. It was a bright May afternoon, and she watched as her dad covered his eyes against the sunlight. He used to be outside from sunup to sundown, but she couldn’t say if he’d been wheeled out even a handful of times while in the hospital.

  She reached the truck without a word, guilt constricting around her. She had wanted to be at the hospital more. She’d wanted to take her dad for strolls outside and help with his physical therapy, but the ranch wasn’t going to run itself, and she had to make sure it was still there for him to go home to. That ranch was everything to Warren.

  “Let me,” he said after she opened the passenger door to the truck.

  She had to refrain from stepping in. She knew that her dad wanted his independence, but that didn’t make it any easier to watch him struggle. His upper-body strength made it easier for him to haul himself up into things than down currently, but he would get better at both. Soon he’d be getting in and out of the chair on his own.

  Warren reached his hands up onto the seat and with a great effort pushed himself into the truck. She refrained from helping as he struggled to pull his full weight into the truck, but she did hold out her hands to spot him.

  “I’ve got it,” he said gruffly once he slid into the seat.

  Kate raised her hands in apology and stepped back.

  “Thank you for everything, Cynthia.” She pulled Cynthia into a hug. “You’ve been a godsend these past seven weeks.”

  “Oh, believe me, it was my pleasure, darlin’,” Cynthia said. “Now you two go and get settled in at home. You must be sick to death of this place.”

  “Well, now, that’s a grim thing to say at a hospital,” Kate said, her lips quirking into a half smile.

  Cynthia laughed a big warm belly laugh. “Yeah, I suppose it is.”

  Kate hugged Cynthia again, a final hug for good measure; then she shut her dad’s passenger door and climbed into the driver’s seat and started the ignition on her truck. The familiar twang of country music came through the speakers, and already life felt halfway normal.

  She looked over at her dad who gazed out the window at the hospital.

  “Come on, cowboy,” she said. “Your ranch awaits.”

  Her dad didn’t look over. “Your ranch now.” The grief was heavy in his voice.

  Kate wasn’t about to let him give up so easily. She pulled out of the parking lot, heading toward the highway. “Our ranch.”

  ❊ ❊ ❊

  Rowan pulled the final steaks from the grill and tented them with tinfoil to rest until they were ready to be plated.

  I did it. This is real. The steaks were done correctly. She was certain of it. She half felt as if she were in a dream, hardly able to believe her years of hard work had finally landed her the role of grillardin in a professional kitchen. Daniel fucking Stanford’s kitchen, to be precise. She’d followed his quickly rising career in cooking magazines and would never have believed she’d even get the chance to meet him, never mind work for him. But the pleasant ache in her legs and back told her that she was very much awake.

  Smoke from the grill wafted through the kitchen. The smell of nicely charred meat was layered with the sweet and spicy scents of the onions and poblano peppers being sautéed a few stations over. The symphony of aromas alone was enough to tell Rowan that their team had killed the soft launch.

  Daniel Stanford oversaw the expediting of the final few plates while Rowan and the rest of the kitchen staff began cleaning their stations.

  The dishes had been sent out, but even so there was no time to stand back and celebrate.

  If you have time to stand, you have time to work.

  The night wasn’t over until their executive chef said it was over.

  Finally, Daniel walked into the kitchen, both hands raised in victory.

  “Great job tonight, y’all,” he said.

  Rowan could practically hear the collective sigh of relief from all of the kitchen staff, and the shift in mood was palpable.

  It was only the soft launch, she reminded herself. The kitchen would only get busier and the stress level higher. Still, she felt she had proved herself. As grill chef, in charge of steaks, there had been no room for error. She had been responsible for, arguably, the most important of the proteins. The comment cards from the selected guests had yet to come back— the true measure of how well she’d done— but she was confident in the quality of the steaks she’d sent out. She’d been focused and precise, giving each cut of meat the care and attention it deserved.

  Rowan, Daniel, and the rest of the kitchen staff wiped down the counters and moved the dishes into the industrial dishwasher.

  “I think we’re ready for next week,” Daniel said. “We had the stripped-down menu, so it was relatively easy to stay on top of our game, but if we all continue to work together as we did tonight, then I expect everything to go smoothly next week. Our menu will be expanded, but it will still be kept clean
and simple. There’s no reason things should get too out of hand. Tonight we were a team. Every one of you did the team proud— did me proud. This place is going to be a hit.”

  Rowan knew in her gut that he was right.

  “Now go get some rest. Y’all earned it.”

  Rowan said her good-byes and then picked up her knapsack, which she slung over her shoulder as she pushed her way out the back doors to her car.

  It was nearly midnight, but while it had cooled significantly since her arrival, the air outside was still warmer than the air in the kitchen. This time, Rowan barely felt the heat as she skipped across the parking lot. Her first night had been a success!

  Once inside of her car, she turned on the AC and pulled off her bandanna, allowing her short, dark hair to fall over her forehead. She turned on her stereo, cranking the volume on her favorite punk album. The energy from the blast beats on the drums and the power chords on the guitar matched the energy she felt coursing through her. She bobbed her head and sang along loudly as she drove back to her place. The roads were quiet, devoid of the traffic that congested the streets during the daytime. The lights of downtown Fort Worth reflected off the Trinity River, and Rowan soaked in the view of her new city.

  With the traffic cleared, it was a short drive back to her apartment. She parked in the empty spot next to Dave’s giant pickup. She rolled her eyes at his bumper sticker, but refused to let it detract from her good mood. She continued to hum the song that had been playing last as she made her way up to the apartment.

  She pushed open the door and was greeted by quiet dark. Too quiet after the buzz of energy that had enveloped her all evening. She turned on the lights and saw her half-unpacked boxes littered around her living room. Disappointment landed square in the center of her chest.