Lassoed by Fortune

After that, the store became her haven, her home base. It was the one thing she could always depend on to be there. After a time her job became so ingrained she went about her day’s work routine practically on autopilot.

Before unlocking the door, she first prepared the store for customers. Produce was put out and carefully arranged in the appropriate bins. The breads, pastries and especially the doughnuts were baked fresh every morning—she saw to that even though it meant she had to get up extremely early to get the goodies to the store in time to arrange the display. It was her one creative outlet and she looked forward to the scents of sugar and butter in her kitchen each morning.

Aside from that, there were always a hundred different little details to see to and Julia kept a running checklist in her head at all times, making sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.

She did all this by herself and even, at times, found the solitude of the store comforting at that hour.

So when she saw her mother in the store, Julia was more than a little surprised. Her mother was sweeping the aisles, a chore Julia normally took care of just before opening, a full hour before she normally came in. Annie always arrived after having made breakfast for her husband.

Judging by her presence—not to mention the look on her mother’s face—something was definitely up.

Julia approached the problem—because there had to be a problem—slowly by asking, “Mom, what are you doing here?”

Looking far from her normally sunny self, Annie answered, “It’s my store. I work here. Or have you forgotten?”

“I know you work here, Mom,” Julia said patiently, “but you don’t come in until after eight. Everything okay with Dad?” she asked, suddenly concerned.

Julia realized that was the only thing that would make her mother break with her regular routine. Her mother was nothing if not a creature of habit. It was Annie who had taught her that a regular routine would give her life structure.

And she had been right.

If it hadn’t been for her routine, Julia was certain that the act of setting her goals and dreams aside would have crushed her spirit so badly she wouldn’t have been able to function and come through for her parents the way she had. She had taken everything over, becoming what her mother was quick to point out was not just her right hand, but her left one, as well.

Julia owed that to a well-instilled sense of structure, not to mention to a very keen sense of family loyalty.

“Your father,” Annie said, answering her question, “is the same as he was yesterday and, God willing, the same as he will be tomorrow. Well, but not perfect.” She paused to smile at her daughter. “But then, no man is ever perfect.”

It was a familiar mantra that her mother had uttered more than a handful of times.

What was different this time was the sadness around the edges of her smile. And the deeper sadness she could see in her mother’s eyes.

Taking the straw broom out of her mother’s hands, Julia leaned it against the closest wall. She then took both of her mother’s hands in hers and said, “Mom, if your face was hanging down any lower, you wouldn’t need that broom to sweep up all that imaginary dust you always see on the floor. You could use your chin. Now come clean. What’s wrong?”

Annie took a breath, apparently struggling to find the right words.

“It’s you.”

Julia stared at her mother. Whatever she’d expected to hear, it wasn’t that.

“Me?” she cried incredulously.

Her mother’s answer had succeeded in stunning her. How could she possibly be responsible for that look of utter devastation on her mother’s remarkably unlined face? Hadn’t she all but lived and breathed family and the business for twelve years now, leaving aside her own hopes and dreams?

In her view, that would have been cause for her mother to celebrate, not look as if someone precious to her had just died.

“Mom, how can you say that? What more can I do? I’m almost knocking myself out every day to make sure the store stays open and running,” Julia pointed out.

Her mother shook her head, her expression telling her that she just didn’t understand. “That’s just it, Julia. You shouldn’t have to be knocking yourself out. This is the time of your life that you should look back on fondly when you get to be my age. You shouldn’t be forced to feel like you worked your life away.”

“But I don’t feel that way, Mom,” Julia protested with feeling. Granted, there were times when she felt as if she did nothing but work, but for the most part, she did fine running the grocery store—not to mention putting out her baked goods in a little area that was set aside for the shopper who required a cup of coffee and a pastry to jump-start their morning.

Rather than look relieved, her mother looked as if she was growing agitated for her.

“Well, if you don’t, you should,” her mother insisted. “You should be resentful that your father and I stole twelve perfectly good years of your life away from you by allowing you to be here for us.”

Still holding her mother’s hands, Julia led her to a chair over in the corner, just behind the main counter, and knelt in front of her, looking directly into her mother’s kind, warm eyes.

“Mom, what’s this all about?” she asked gently.

“Maybe I’m seeing things clearly for the first time in years. This isn’t fair to you, honey,” she insisted, “making you work here day after day. You’ve sacrificed your education, your career, your marriage—”

“Hold it,” Julia declared, holding up her hand. “Back it up, Mom. First of all, I didn’t sacrifice my education. I can always go back to college. It would take a little doing, but it’s not impossible. Second, I do that. I can get a career going. And besides, the one I had my eye on back then didn’t ultimately require having a college degree so much as it required dedication—it still does,” she said, unlocking the front door, then walking back to her mother.

“And third, working here was not what killed my marriage. Mutual, soul-snuffing boredom did that.” Julia sighed, feeling a wave of sadness taking root. She had never failed at anything before, but it was about time she accepted the fact that she’d failed at marriage. “Neal and I should have never gotten married in the first place.”

“But Neal was such a nice boy,” Annie pointed out, protesting the whole idea that their marriage had been a mistake from the beginning.

“Yes, he was and he still is,” Julia readily agreed. “But we got married because it seemed like the right thing to do and nobody should get married thinking pragmatically like that. When Neal and I were married, there was no magic, no chemistry, no starbursts—and those are three very important qualities to have in the foundation of a marriage,” Julia stressed.

Leaning in, Julia affectionately pressed a kiss to her mother’s forehead. “So stop beating yourself up. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be and when the time is right, I’ll go on to another phase of my life. Until then,” she said, rising to her feet again, “why don’t you make sure all the eggs are out of the refrigerator in the storage room?”

The bell that hung over the entrance to the grocery store rang, signaling the arrival of the store’s first customer of the day.

“You do that,” she told her mother, “while I go see what this customer wants.”

Turning from her mother, Julia found herself looking straight up at Liam Jones. She wasn’t a short woman—five foot eight in her bare feet and her feet weren’t bare—but at six foot three Liam literally seemed to tower over her. Especially, she noted, since he was wearing boots that added another inch and a half to his height.

Seeing him here surprised her—when was the last time he’d come to the grocery store?—but Julia managed to recover quickly enough.

“Wow, twice in one week,” she joked, referring to seeing him. “Are the planets about to collide or something equally as dire?”

Liam was frowning. She was beginning to think that his face had set that way, like some grumpy old man who whiled away his days parked in a chair on a front porch, scowling at the world.

“I don’t know about the planets, but we sure are,” he told her darkly.

“And exactly what is that supposed to mean?” Julia wanted to know.

“I came to hear you say that it’s not true.”

“Okay,” Julia said obligingly. “‘It’s not true.’” She waited for him to say something. When he didn’t, she gave in and asked, “What’s not true?”

“The rumors I heard.”

They were back to this again, she thought, frustrated. “Okay, I’ll bite. What rumors?” she asked, gritting her teeth.

What was it about this pompous cowboy that set her so completely on edge every time they were within ten feet of each other?

She couldn’t answer that, which only made the whole situation that much more frustrating for her.

“The rumors that say you’re trying to convince those damn Fortunes to stick their noses where they don’t belong and open up some high-falutin’ restaurant in Horseback Hollow.”

Now how did he know she’d been talking to the Mendozas?

“‘Damn Fortunes’?” she echoed. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you a Fortune?” she challenged.

His sharp, penetrating blue eyes narrowed as he said, “Consider yourself corrected.”

That caught her off guard for a second. Had the stories she’d heard been wrong? “So you’re not a Fortune?”

“No.” He all but spit the word out with all the contempt he could put into the two-letter word.

And then she remembered something else she’d heard. Something that completely negated what he’d just told her. “Funny, your mother was in here the other day and she seems to think that all of her children have now adopted the Fortune name.” She had him there, Julia thought.

To her surprise, Liam didn’t take back his statement. Instead he said, “My mother is too softhearted for her own good. She’ll believe anyone. And don’t try to turn this thing around so I lose track of the question. Are you or are you not trying to talk those people into bringing their tainted business into our town?”

She seized the word—but not the one he would have thought of.

“That’s right, Liam. Our town. Not your town, but our town. That means I get a say in what happens here, too, not just you and your incredibly narrow vision.” The man was practically medieval in his outlook. If it were up to him, everyone would still be living in the dark ages.

Liam looked at her coldly. “So it’s true.”

She might as well spell it out for him, otherwise she had a feeling that she would have no peace from this man. Why was he so against progress, anyway?

“If you mean am I trying to show Wendy and Marcos Mendoza that building another one of their restaurants here in Horseback Hollow is a very good idea, then yes, it’s true.” The restaurant would attract business and provide jobs. There was no downside to that.

He succeeded in taking her breath away with his very next question. “Why do you want to destroy the town, Julia?”

For a second she was so stunned she was speechless. And then she found her tongue. “Are you crazy? This wouldn’t destroy the town. This would be an incredibly good thing for the town.”

“Right,” Liam sneered. “‘A good thing,’” he echoed contemptuously. “And after they build this restaurant, what’s next? Bring in chain retail stores? Or maybe a shopping mall? Don’t forget, they bring in a chain store, that’ll be the end of this little family store of yours, as well.” He gestured around the store. “You and your parents will be out living on the street—and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.”

How could he come up with all this and still keep a straight face? It was just beyond her. “You know,” she told him, “you should really be a science-fiction writer with that imagination of yours.”

Annie Tierney picked this moment to emerge out of the rear storeroom. Seeing Liam beside her daughter, the woman beamed and came forward.

“Hello, Liam,” she greeted him. “Tell me, how is your mother feeling these days?”

Chapter Three

Annie Tierney’s unannounced appearance caught Liam off guard.

He offered her a polite smile. “She’s feeling fine, Mrs. Tierney.”

Julia’s mother laughed, the look on her face telling him that he had misunderstood her question. “I’m not asking after her health, dear. I’m asking how she feels about finding out that she’s actually the long-lost daughter of such a very well-to-do, powerful family. The Fortunes,” she added when Jeanne Marie’s son didn’t immediately respond. “Personally, I find it all very exciting,” Annie went on to confide. “It certainly would be a load off my mind if I found out that I was related to them.”

The older woman turned to look at her daughter. There was unmistakable affection in her eyes. “The first thing I’d do is send my girl off to the very best college that money could buy instead of letting her slave her life away here.”

“I’m not slaving, Mom,” Julia reiterated the point she’d made before Liam had burst into her store with his annoying accusations. “And this is a conversation we can continue later, when we’re alone.” She deliberately emphasized, then looked directly at Liam. “Which will be soon because Liam’s just leaving. Aren’t you, Liam?” Julia asked, looking at him pointedly as she did her best to muster the semblance of a friendly smile, strictly for her mother’s benefit.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” he agreed, his eyes never leaving hers, “seeing as how I was never any good at banging my head against a brick wall.”

“Oh, you poor dear,” Annie declared, instantly sympathetic. As she spoke, Annie reached up to move Liam’s light brown hair off his forehead so she could examine it, but he took a step back, preventing her.

“No, ma’am, don’t worry. I didn’t hit my head in your store.”

When Annie looked at him quizzically, Liam knew she was waiting for him to explain his comment. He was forced to lie so that the woman wouldn’t think he was being flippant about the Superette. He really liked Annie Tierney. She was friendly, always saw the good in everyone and had a kind soul. In his opinion, Julia could have stood to learn a few things from her mother.

“Then where did you hit your head?” Annie asked.

“At the ranch,” he told her, trying to ease away from the topic. “Last week,” he added to forestall any further questions.

“Oh, well mind you watch yourself,” Annie cautioned. “Head injuries aren’t something to just be shrugged off.” And then the serious look on her face vanished as she told him, “I just put on a kettle in the back. Would you care for some tea?”

“No, but thank you for the offer.” Since he knew it seemed rather odd that he’d come into the grocery store without buying anything and was now leaving empty-handed, he told the older woman, “I just came by to have a word with your daughter.”

“Oh.” The thin face lit up, completely erasing the very few lines that were evident. “Well, then by all means, have words,” Annie said encouragingly. “Don’t mind me. I’ll just be in the back, having my tea,” she told them as she made her way out of the store and retreated to the storeroom again.

“She’s a very nice lady,” Liam commented to Julia, watching her mother leave.

Well, there at least he would get no disagreement from her, Julia thought. That was possibly the only area that they wouldn’t clash over. For the most part, he had the very annoying ability of making her want to say “black” whenever he said “white.”

“Yes, she is,” Julia agreed quietly, deliberately avoiding making any eye contact with him.

Liam obviously had no such inclination. Instead he turned to look at her. Julia could tell by his expression that the temporary truce that had been silently called while her mother had been in the immediate vicinity was officially over.

“What would she say if she knew?” he suddenly challenged.

Okay, maybe she just wasn’t sharp today, Julia thought shortly. What the hell was he talking about now?

“Knew about what?”

He looked at her as if she’d suddenly turned simple. She caught herself wanting to strangle him.

“That you’re seriously thinking about trying to get the Fortunes to bring their big-city blight right here to Horseback Hollow.”

“If you’re still referring to my wanting to encourage Wendy and her husband to open up their second restaurant here, she would probably say, ‘Go for it, Julia.’” She raised her chin like someone bracing for a grueling battle. “My mother has always been very supportive of my dreams and I’ve had this one for a very long time.”

His eyes became blue laserlike slits as he regarded her. “So you’re telling me that it’s your dream to destroy Horseback Hollow?”

She wasn’t saying any such thing and he knew it, Julia thought angrily. How could she have ever been attracted to this Neanderthal? She must have been out of her mind.

“No,” Julia contradicted with feeling, struggling not to raise her voice and yell at him. The last thing she wanted to do was to have her mother overhear her giving Liam a piece of her mind—even if he did sorely need it. But she’d had just about all she could take of his holier-than-thou pontificating. “It’s always been my dream to build the town up.”

He laughed shortly. “Right now, that’s the same thing from where I’m standing.”

And just who had died and made him the reigning authority on things like this?

“Well, then, maybe you’d better move and get the sun out of your eyes because you certainly aren’t seeing things clearly.”

“The town’s doing just fine as it is,” he insisted. What was wrong with her? “Why can’t you see how destructive it would be to allow outsiders’ interests to take over Horseback Hollow? What do we need with another restaurant, anyway?” he challenged her.

Just how blind was he? she wondered, frustrated. “Does the term ‘freedom of choice’ mean anything to you?” she returned frostily.

His mouth curved in a humorless smile. “Only if it means I’m free to ignore you.”

“Go right ahead,” she declared, gesturing toward the door. “But you’re going to have to do it outside my store.”

The next moment she’d suddenly put her hands against his back and began to push him toward the door.

She managed to move Liam a few stumbling feet only because she’d caught him by surprise. But once he regained his balance, Liam employed his full weight as a counterforce and there was no way she could budge him more than a couple of shaky inches.

“I just want to say one more thing—” he began.

Exhausted by her effort to move him any farther toward the door, Julia dropped her hands to her sides. “I’ll hold you to that,” she told him sharply.

“How are your folks going to feel when this store is forced to close down?” His tone was surprisingly mild as he put the question to her. He looked like a man who felt he’d scored his winning goal and was just waiting for the fact to sink in with the opposing team.

Julia, however, looked at him as if she thought he’d just lost his mind.

“Why would this store be forced to close down?” She wanted to know his rationale.

Like a parent introducing a new concept to a child, he began to patiently explain. “Hey, chain drugstores aren’t going to be the only thing that’ll be turning up here once you open the floodgates and start ‘building the town up.’ Big chain supermarkets will be horning their way in here, too.” Liam paused to look around the grocery store that had remained relatively unchanged for most of his lifetime. He found that rather comfortingly reassuring. “And this store, with its neat little aisles and limited selections will be boarded up faster than you can say ‘I told you so,’” he concluded.

“I wouldn’t be saying ‘I told you so.’” There were small, sharp daggers coming from her eyes, all aimed at his heart—if he actually had one. “That would be your line,” she retorted.

“Yes,” Liam agreed, grinning from ear to ear. “It would be.”

The strange thing about that grin, Julia later recalled, was that it didn’t seem to reach his eyes. In her experience, any smile or grin that was genuine in scope always included the eyes. Without the eyes being involved, the person who was smiling was only trying to fool people as to his mind-set.

Sometimes, she couldn’t help thinking, they were out to fool themselves, as well. The first time she noticed the difference between real smiles and ones that were entrenched in deception, consciously or otherwise, was when she’d caught a glimpse of her own face in the mirror on her wedding day.

Her eyes hadn’t been smiling then, either. At the time, she was doing what she felt was the “right thing.” It had taken her three years before she’d admitted that to herself.

“Look,” she told Liam, “either buy something or leave. I’ve got work to do and I don’t have time to let you go on badgering me like this because you’re so small-minded you can’t see that you either progress or wither and die on the vine. And you might be content to let Horseback Hollow stagnate, but I want it to flourish.”

He looked at her for a long moment, as if he was debating saying anything to her or not. Finally he said, “There’s a third alternative in that multiple choice of yours.”

She didn’t see it and couldn’t imagine what his point was. “Enlighten me,” she told him.

He laughed at her choice of words. “That’ll take a lot longer than I have right now. But let me just tell you what that third choice is.... It’s maintaining the status quo.”

That was just theme and variation of one of the two choices she’d presented to him.

“In other words, stagnating,” she declared. But before he could say anything further to contradict what he’d just labeled his so-called “third” choice, Julia started talking rapidly to get her point across.

“Nothing ever remains the same, no matter how much you might want it to. Change is inevitable and you can’t stop it or stand in its way. But you can guide it,” she emphasized.

Liam frowned as he shook his head, the ultimate immovable object to her irresistible force. “Sorry, it’s going to take a hell of a lot more than that to convince me to surrender to the boys with the deep pockets. I’d rather just go my own way.”

“Why don’t you?” she said encouragingly. The next moment she’d crossed the floor to the door and held it wide open for him, her meaning clear. “Nobody here will stop you, that’s for damn sure.”

Rather than do exactly that and just leave, Liam pulled himself up to his full height and seemed to just loom over her, his bearing fully emphasizing just how much taller than her he really was.

“No, but someone should really stop you,” he told her in a voice that was completely devoid of any humor. “Before it’s too late and we all wind up suffering the consequences.”

Again Julia raised her chin defiantly, her eyes flashing as she barely managed to suppress her anger.

“It’ll take a better man than you to do it,” she informed him hotly.

“Maybe,” Liam allowed, “but that doesn’t mean I can’t try.”

Before Julia could ask him just what he intended to do, Liam did it.

Did something he hadn’t even foreseen himself doing—at least not in the heat of this exchange. Although if he were being completely honest with himself, he would have had to admit that he had envisioned exactly this transpiring more than just once or twice in his head—as well as in his unguarded dreams.

One second they were exchanging glares and hot words, the next it was no longer just the words that were hot.

It was the two of them.

Liam had caught her by her shoulders and brought his mouth down on hers.

There was the argument that doing this was the only way to stop her from talking and, more importantly, from espousing the so-called cause she seemed so intent on pushing.

There was a whole host of arguments and half-truths he could have told himself about why he had done what he’d done. But deep in his soul, he knew that there was only one real reason he was doing this.