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right back to me.”
    “That’s great, but it doesn’t mean he likes me ,” she said, looking doubtful.
    Blake grinned. “I’ll introduce you tomorrow morning when we go out to the barn to take care of the calves. You’ll see. He’s as gentle as a lapdog.”
    She looked skeptical, but didn’t comment until they had finished their meal. “I can help you feed the babies, but I’m afraid riding a horse tomorrow is out of the question. I didn’t expect to be away from home more than a couple of nights and I really don’t have anything to wear that would be suitable for a horseback ride.”
    He smiled at the relief he heard in her soft voice. He’d bet every dime he had that she’d spent the entire meal trying to think of a way to get out of riding.
    “We’ll remedy that tomorrow morning after I get the feeding done,” he said, smiling as he helped her clear the table. “We’ll make a trip down to Eagle Fork’s Western store and get everything you need.”
    “That sounds like a lot of time and trouble for a pair of jeans,” she said as she put containers of leftovers into the refrigerator. “And besides, I don’t want to interfere with the work you need to get done.”
    “It won’t be any trouble at all,” Blake said, barely able to keep from laughing at her attempts to escape his plans. He was not only determined to find out what she wasn’t telling him, he was also going to give her a ranch experience she’d never forget. “I need to get a new shirt for a Labor Day barbecue on Monday anyway and you’ll need something to wear to that as well. In fact, it would probably be a good idea to get you enough clothes for a few days since there’s no telling how long the strike will last.”
    “I can’t crash your friend’s party,” she said as she turned to wipe off the kitchen island.
    “You won’t be crashing the party.” Blake wasn’t about to take no for an answer. “You’ll go as my date.”
    “That would be rather awkward,” she insisted.
    “Only if you make it that way,” he said, even though he knew she was right.
    “How on earth would you even introduce me?” She gave him a pointed look. “We may be married right now, but we’re little more than strangers on the way to a divorce. We wouldn’t even be married if the papers had arrived as they should have. I’d just as soon avoid a lot of questions about our hasty marriage and the upcoming divorce.”
    “Easy. I’ll just tell them that we met in Vegas and you came for a visit,” Blake explained.
    She stared at him before she frowned. “Do you really think it will take that long for the strike to be settled?”
    He shrugged. “It’s a holiday weekend. There’s really no telling. Even if they come to an agreement over the weekend it’s going to take at least a day or two for the airlines to get all of the schedules lined up and the passengers from the canceled flights who haven’t found other means of transportation on their way again. And with Labor Day on Monday that’s going to delay things even more.”
    “I suppose I could drive from here to Lincoln County,” Karly said, looking thoughtful.
    “I know you want to get this divorce over with, but do you really want to drive fifteen or sixteen hours in holiday traffic?” he asked. “You couldn’t possibly get there tomorrow before the courthouse closes and it won’t reopen again until Tuesday. By that time the strike might be settled and you’d be able to fly.”
    She didn’t look happy about what he was saying, but she finally nodded. “You’re probably right.”
    “I know I am.” When she yawned, he pointed toward the hall. “I can finish cleaning the kitchen. Why don’t you go ahead and turn in for the night? Mornings around here start early.”
    “How early are we talking about?” she asked, hiding another yawn with her delicate hand.
    “I’ll start feeding the livestock in the barns around dawn,” he said as he loaded the dishwasher. “That will