A Little Bit Country: A Little Bit Country / Blackberry Summer. RaeAnne Thayne
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Halldorfson retired last year, a month after the building was finished,” Kate told her, flipping on the lights, “and the town’s budget wouldn’t stretch to hire a new full-time librarian. So a number of parents and teachers are taking turns volunteering. We’ve got a workable schedule, unless someone goes on vacation, which, I hate to admit, has been happening all summer.”
“You don’t have a full-time librarian?” Rorie couldn’t disguise her astonishment. “Why go to all the trouble and expense of building a modern facility if you can’t afford a librarian?”
“You’ll have to ask Town Council that,” Kate returned, shrugging. “It doesn’t make much sense, does it? But you see, Mrs. Halldorfson was only part-time and the Council seems to think that’s what her replacement should be.”
“That doesn’t make sense, either.”
“Especially when you consider that the new library is twice the size of the old one.”
Rorie had to bite her tongue to keep from saying more. But she was appalled at the waste, the missed opportunities.
“We’ve been advertising for months for a part-time librarian, but so far we haven’t found anyone interested. Not that I blame them—one look at the size of the job and no one wants to tackle it alone.”
“A library is more than a place to check books in and out,” Rorie said, gesturing dramatically. Her voice rose despite herself. This was an issue close to her heart, and polite silence was practically impossible. “A library can be the heart of a community. It can be a place for classes, community services, all kinds of things. Don’t non-profit organizations use it for meetings?”
“I’m afraid not,” Kate answered. “Everyone gets together at Nellie’s when there’s any kind of meeting. Nellie serves great pies,” she added, as though that explained everything.
Realizing that she’d climbed onto her soapbox, Rorie dropped her hands and shrugged. “It’s a very nice building, Kate, and you have every reason to be proud. I didn’t mean to sound so righteous.”
“But you’re absolutely correct,” Kate said thoughtfully. “We’re not using the library to its full potential, are we? Volunteers can only do so much. As it is, the library’s only open three afternoons a week.” She sighed expressively. “To be honest, I think Dad and the other members of the Town Council are expecting Mrs. Halldorfson to come back in the fall, but that’s unfair to her. She’s served the community for over twenty years. She deserves to retire in peace without being blackmailed into coming back because we can’t find a replacement.”
“Well, I hope you find someone soon.”
“I hope so, too,” Kate murmured.
They ate a leisurely lunch, and as she’d promised, Kate gave Rorie a tour of the town. After showing her several churches, the elementary school where she taught second grade and some of the nicer homes on the hill, Kate ended the tour on the outskirts of town near Garner’s Feed and Supply.
“Luke’s here,” Kate said, easing into the parking place next to a dusty pickup truck.
“Luke?”
“Our foreman. I don’t know what Dad would do without him. He runs the ranch and has for years—ever since I was in high school. Dad’s retirement age now, and he’s more than willing to let Luke take charge.”
Kate got out of the car and leaned against the front fender, crossing her arms over her chest. Rorie joined her.
“He’ll be out in a minute,” Kate said.
True to her word, a tall, deeply tanned man appeared with a sack of grain slung over his shoulder. His eyes were so dark they gleamed like onyx, taking in everything around him, but revealing little of his own thoughts. His strong square chin was balanced by a high intelligent brow. He was lean and muscular and strikingly handsome.
“Need any help, stranger?” Kate asked with a laugh.
“You offering?”
“Nope.”
Luke chuckled. “That’s what I figured. You wouldn’t want to ruin those pretty nails of yours now, would you?”
“I didn’t stop by to be insulted by you,” Kate chastised, clearly enjoying the exchange. “I wanted you to meet Rorie Campbell—she’s the one Clay was telling us about the other night, whose car broke down.”
“I remember.” For the first time the foreman’s gaze left Kate. He tossed the sack of grain into the back of the truck and used his teeth to tug his glove free from his right hand. Then he presented his long callused fingers to Rorie. “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”
“The pleasure’s mine.” Rorie remembered where she’d heard the name. Skip had mentioned Luke Rivers when he’d told her about the Grange square dance. He’d said something about all the girls being attracted to the foreman. Rorie could understand why.
They exchanged a brief handshake before Luke’s attention slid back to Kate. His eyes softened perceptibly.
“Luke’s like a brother to me,” Kate said fondly.
He frowned at that, but didn’t comment.
“We’re going to let you escort us to the dance tonight,” she informed him.
“What about Clay?”
“Oh, he’ll meet us there. I thought the three of us could go over together.”
Rorie wasn’t fooled. Kate was setting her up with Luke, who didn’t look any too pleased at having his evening arranged for him.
“Kate, listen,” she began, “I’d really rather skip the dance tonight. I’ve never done any square dancing in my life—”
“That doesn’t matter,” Kate interrupted. “Luke will be glad to show you. Won’t you, Luke?”
“Sure,” he mumbled, with the enthusiasm of a man offered the choice between hanging and a firing squad.
“Honestly, Luke!” Kate gave an embarrassed laugh.
“Listen,” Rorie said quickly. “It’s obvious Luke has his own plans for tonight. I don’t want to intrude—”
He surprised her by turning toward her, his eyes searching hers. “I’d be happy to escort you, Rorie.”
“I’m likely to step all over your toes... I really think I should sit the whole thing out.”
“Nonsense,” Kate cried. “Luke won’t let you do that and neither will I!”
“We’ll enjoy ourselves,” the foreman said. “Leave everything to me.”
Rorie nodded reluctantly.
A moment of awkward silence fell over the trio. “Well, I suppose I should get Rorie back to Circle L and see about finding her a dress,” Kate said, smiling. She playfully tossed her car keys in the air and caught them deftly.
Luke tipped his hat when they both returned to the car. Rorie didn’t mention his name until they were back on the road.
“Luke really is attractive, isn’t he?” she asked, closely watching Kate.
The other woman nodded eagerly. “It surprises me that he’s not married. There are plenty of girls around Nightingale who’d be more than willing, believe me. At every Grange dance, the ladies flirt with him like crazy. I love to tease him about it—he really hates that. But I wish Luke would get married—I don’t like the idea of him living his life alone. It’s time he thought about settling down and starting a family. He was thirty last month, but when I said something about it, he nearly bit my head off.”
Rorie nibbled on her lower lip. She inhaled a deep breath and released it slowly. Her guess was that Luke Rivers had his heart set on someone special, and that someone was engaged