"What can I get for you?" asked the blonde waitress.

Seth Connelly looked straight into eyes he'd never forgotten. They were the deep purple of crushed African Violets. Lynn McCoy had been a trouble-making brat for the first five years of their acquaintance then she'd blossomed into a beautiful young woman. One who tempted him to forget that her older brother was closer to him than his own.

"Hello, Lynn," he said. Somehow when he'd thought of those he might see in Sagebrush, Montana; he'd forgotten about Lynn and that one awkward kiss they'd shared the night of her sixteenth birthday.

He'd never returned to the ranch again aware that he'd crossed a line that shouldn't have been crossed. Aware that he'd taken a step that would alienate him from Matt. Aware that it was time to stop running and return home to Chicago.

But his mother's betrayal had made Chicago into a tense place and he'd hit the road hoping to find some semblance of the man he'd become. Because as he'd fallen once again for her lies and manipulation, he'd realized that he didn't know himself anymore.

He hoped Lynn didn't remember the embrace—it was too long ago. But life had taught him that if she did more than likely it haunted her. That one brief brush of lips still plagued his dreams on restless nights, because she had tasted innocent and he never had been.

Her eyes widened in recognition and she smiled at him. There was weariness on her face and an instinctual part of him recognized that expression for what it was. She was running from something as well.

Not your business, old man.

"Hi, Seth. What brings you to our little corner of the world?"

He was a successful lawyer from a wealthy family so he knew all about people who complained when they had plenty and he wouldn't be one of those. He couldn't tell her that he'd come here searching for something that he'd found in his youth. Something he couldn't really explain to anyone. It had been a feeling really, maybe something more but not definable.

"I'm hoping for a cup of coffee and a steak."

"You've come to the right place. It's probably not as fancy as you'd get in Chicago."

"That's okay. The atmosphere's better."

"Really? I'd have thought all those sophisticated people would win hands down."

"Nothing beats the mountains in Montana." Even though night had fallen the view from the diner was one he'd never forgotten.

"You can say that again."

Their eyes met and held in a moment of pure appreciation for what nature had so splendidly given this area of the country.

"What kind of dressing do you want on your salad?"

He told her and she walked away. The quiet conversation that buzzed around him reminded him why he liked Sagebrush. Here in this small town he wasn't the illegitimate son of a Mafioso princess and Chicago's first son. Here he was that wild boy who'd had his ear pierced and wore a leather jacket even in the heat of summer. Here he was a man without a family and Seth needed that.

Here he was a friend of the McCoys and treated as such. That warm feeling is why he'd returned in late fall when winter beckoned around the corner.

Lynn brought his coffee and salad and then hurried away to take care of the rest of her tables. Another waiter brought his food and the beef was perfectly cooked.

It was one of the best meals he'd had in a long time. Simple food prepared for taste instead of presentation and Seth knew he'd made the right decision. The tension that had been dogging him receded. It didn't disappear completely but ebbed enough for him to relax his shoulders.

Lynn looked tired, he thought.

And not unlike Tara had looked when she'd been trying to have Michael declared legally dead. What kind of problems hung on her shoulders? Why wasn't Matt here, to relieve that burden for her? He knew that Matt McCoy and he shared more than friendship but also an overwhelming urge to protect those dear to them.

What was Matt thinking to let his sister work in a diner when there wasn't any reason for it? The McCoy spread was the biggest and most profitable in the area. He knew this not only from his youth but also from his yearly treks to meet Matt for vacations. They always discussed the ranch. But never Lynn.

She stopped by to refill his coffee cup. "Can you join me for a minute?"

"Just real quick."

"You're a hard worker, Lynn."

"Thank you," she said, tentatively.

"Why the hesitation?"

"The last time you complimented me I found myself soaking wet on a cold evening."

"Hey, you're safe for now. I've grown into a boring old lawyer," he said.

"Not boring or old. Lawyer?"

"Okay, get it out of your system," he said, knowing few people could resist the urge to lob a few lawyer jokes when they actually met one.

"What?" she asked all innocence? She looked breath-takingly lovely in the dim light of the diner.

"You've got to have a joke about lawyers."

"Not me. Besides I have nothing but respect for you," she said.

"Yeah, right. If memory serves the last prank you played on me left involved stealing my clothes and leaving me naked at the swimming hole."

"I left your hat, didn't I?"

It had been uncomfortable to be outsmarted by a girl a few years younger than he was. Because at home no one got the jump on Seth Connelly. He still felt a little embarrassed when he recalled the number of times she'd gotten the better of him. "I think we're square."

"Yeah, I think so. Are you here to see Matt?"

"Yes."

"He's not home."

"I thought his tour ended last month."

"It did but he was on an assignment that he felt needed him and re-upped."

Damn. He wasn't going to be able to stay at the McCoy ranch if Matt wasn't there. He'd counted on the wide-open spaces, the cattle lowing in the distance and the fragrance of jasmine to lull him to sleep.

"I'm surprised you didn't call first."

"I didn't know I was coming until I got here."

She nodded. "I've got to get back to work. You take care, Seth Connelly."

She walked away and this time he watched and wanted. She was exactly as he remembered from that late summer night. Sweet and funny but tempered with the experiences life had used to test her. And he knew that it was probably for the best that Matt wasn't here and Seth would be moving on...again.


Excerpt from CINDERELLA'S CONVENIENT HUSBAND, copyright 2002 by Katherine Garbera, Silhouette Desire® #1466, October 2002.