His mother was still talking to Leslie. Catching up, he supposed. Mary had grown up here, as had his father and Tory’s parents. Mary would run into lots of old school friends if she stuck around in Chance Creek.
Liam hoped she’d skedaddle back to Ohio fast if she kept talking about selling the ranch.
For one thing, it wasn’t hers to sell. She’d left his father, after all. The ranch had come down through his family and had been passed to Liam and his siblings when William died. His parents must have come to some kind of settlement years ago, so Mary had a lot of nerve pretending she had any say in the matter now.
“I’ll be here awhile, looks like,” Tory said. “Three years, at least. I’ll live at Thorn Hill while I go to law school in Billings. It’s a bit of a commute, but I can’t beat the price.”
“Guess not. Think you can stand being back here that long?”
“Guess I’ll have to.” She smiled up at him, and her face transformed. She had always been pretty, but with her features lit up like that, Liam thought she was stunning. “Can you believe I’m going to be a lawyer?”
“Sure.” He knew why she asked, though. He had to admit he saw Tory through a certain lens—a Cooper lens. A filter that didn’t allow for the kind of success she was talking about. But then, even though his family was respected, no one seemed to think he could pull off getting his ranch certified organic. More than one person had laughed in his face at the very idea.
He’d find out if he was on the right track late next week when the inspection happened. Officials would check what he’d done so far and go through all the steps he’d have to take to get certified. He couldn’t help worry they’d see something right away that would disqualify him from completing the process before he even got started.
He hadn’t slept right in days. Couldn’t keep his thoughts from racing when he thought about the upcoming inspection. What if it didn’t work out?
“You’ll be a good lawyer,” he managed to say to Tory. She probably would be, he thought. She was tenacious. Small but fierce.
“What are you smiling about?”
Damn pretty, too, Liam thought. If she wasn’t a Cooper, and if her brother hadn’t just stolen his sister—
But she was, and Lance had—and everything was piling on him at once. As soon as this wedding was over, he was getting out of here. His truck was packed. He’d head to his favorite place—get a couple of days of peace before he had to face the music next week.
“I’m smiling at the way life likes to jerk people around.” He took in his mother still talking to Leslie.
She nodded. “You can say that again.”
“What’s her story?” Liam asked before he could stop himself. He jutted his chin in Leslie’s direction. “Seems awful chummy with Mom.” He remembered who he was talking to. It was doubtful Tory had any information he didn’t have; she hadn’t lived in Chance Creek for years.
“She’s probably telling your mom about the hospital,” Tory said.
“What about it?”
“You know it’s probably closing down in a year or two, right?”
Liam’s step hitched, and he had to move fast to cover it up. “Closing?” Hell, that wasn’t good. The town needed its hospital.
“A friend of mine is a nurse,” Tory explained. “She’s already looking for work in Bozeman.”
“Does Leslie work there?” His thoughts were spinning. He’d read an article about this type of thing recently. When a hospital closed, the pharmacy closed next. Specialists moved out. Jobs were lost. The whole town suffered eventually.
“Leslie uses the dialysis unit. It’s on the chopping block first. She’ll have to go to Bozeman several times a week if the hospital closes it.”
“That’s rough.”
“Your mom is being pretty patient with her,” Tory remarked. “Were they good friends back in school?”
“I don’t know.”
The song ended, and Tory stepped away. “See you later. Thanks for the dance.”
He almost asked her for a second one before he remembered Turners weren’t supposed to dance with Coopers. He’d done this once before—danced with Tory to get back at Lance. If he kept at it, people would think they were a couple.
They definitely weren’t a couple, and he definitely wasn’t sweet on Tory Cooper. So why did the night suddenly feel flat when she disappeared into the crowd?
It was just that he was struggling with his future, he decided. So much was up in the air. The thought of being alone tonight, faced with imagining what could happen next week, made his chest tight.
If only Tory was escaping Chance Creek with him.
He nearly chuckled at that thought. He was looking for companionship from a Cooper?
What was the world coming to?
Maybe he’d drunk too much. He had to admit he was reaching for a beer more often than was good for him these days. He’d had so much paperwork to pull together to prepare for the inspectors he’d thought he’d lose his mind before he was done. He knew the officials coming to check out his ranch would ask questions—lots of them. He’d be on the spot when they showed up, and if he didn’t come through—
Well, he didn’t know what would happen. The Flying W was hemorrhaging cash these days. They were falling behind on needed repairs. This drought was kicking their butts, and it wasn’t even August yet. He needed something good to happen—soon.
Liam found himself heading for the bar. He changed direction, toward the doors out of the hall instead. He’d made his appearance. Hung around a little while. He’d even danced. Wasn’t that enough?
If he’d hoped to slip away, it wasn’t meant to be. He’d only made it
