Page 62

“Good.” She inhaled and let the air out slowly. “If there’s nothing to find here, let’s go by the diner and see if Les and Wayne are having breakfast.”

He crossed in front of her and blocked her from stepping out into the Texas sunshine. “Really, Mona, you can’t keep the secret for much longer.” He touched a hand to her belly. “Your condition is becoming more evident by the day.”

She pushed around him and out the door. Her bottom lip trembled and was that a tear leaking from the corner of her eye? “Don’t bother worrying about me. I’ve managed on my own since my father died. I can continue.”

Reed locked Wayne’s office and hurried to catch up with Mona. “Maybe, but you’ll get to the point you can’t do it all by yourself. Then what?”

“Then I’ll hire another ranch hand.” She beat him to the driver’s side and climbed behind the wheel. When he got in the passenger seat, she held out her hand. “Keys.”

His brows drew together but, rather than argue, he handed her the truck keys. At least now he knew for certain Parker Lee was the father. And she was right, the man was mean. If he thought someone was pulling a fast one on him, he’d go for the throat. No wonder she’d kept that information close to her chest.

She drove the short blocks to Dee’s Diner. The crowd was beginning to thin, but there were still a healthy number of cars parked around the eatery.

Mona didn’t wait for Reed to open her door. She was opening the door to the diner by the time he reached her.

“Mona!” Catalina hurried across the smoothly polished black-and-white tile floor, the usual coffee carafe in one hand.

“Hi, Cat. How are you feeling?” Mona stared at her friend, touching a hand to the bruise on her cheekbone.

Catalina smiled. “Besides a residual headache and a couple of bruised ribs, I’m okay and I’m glad I came in. We had a lot of customers and Kelly called in sick. Let me find you a table.” She glanced around the busy room, spotted a table in the far corner and pointed to it with the carafe. “Take that one. I’ll have the busboy clean it up.”

Mona and Reed eased between empty tables littered with dirty dishes and napkins. When they reached the table Catalina had indicated, Mona dropped into the chair facing the door.

Reed sat beside her, not across from her, so that he’d have a similar view.

Mona groaned and dropped her face in her hands.

“What’s wrong?” Reed placed a hand to her forehead. “Are you sick?”

“Yeah. Jeffrey Kuhn just came in.”

Reed recognized the man as the president of Prairie Creek’s one and only bank. He strode in dressed in a suit and shiny leather shoes, his attire standing out among the typical blue jeans and cowboy boots. “So?”

“Look, you might as well know—” Mona took a deep breath “—he’s threatening foreclosure on Rancho Linda if I don’t pay the note in full by the end of the month.”

“Why?”

“I’ve been so busy working the ranch, I didn’t look at all the bills like I should have. Dad had a balloon note due this year.”

“Won’t the bank refinance?”

Mona’s lips thinned. “Kuhn said that the bank has lost faith in my ability to meet my obligations and feels it’s prudent for me to find other means to finance my loan or sell my property.”

Kuhn glanced her way, eyes narrowing. His gaze raked over Reed before he found a table as far away from Mona as he could get.

Coward. Reed started to stand, ready to put his fist through the man’s teeth for giving Mona hell.

Mona grabbed his arm and shook her head. “He’s not worth it. I’ll find a way to manage. Don’t worry. I’ve never missed payroll with my employees.”

“I could care less about payroll, the man has no right to put that kind of burden on you.”

“Well, apparently he does.” She shrugged. “I’ve got loan applications out to several banks in Amarillo, but they tell me my credit rating is in the toilet.”

“Have you ever missed payments?”

“Never. And my father was a stickler for making payments on time.”

“Sounds like someone’s jerking you around.” If not for Mona’s hand, Reed would have stalked across the diner and demanded answers from the banker.