Clara jotted down a quick note in her planner. Moving on to the next agenda item, she asked John about his stance on yet another policy. Then she asked him again, since he seemed to have tuned her out about five policies ago. The list of things he needed to go over or make decisions on seemed to be getting longer by the minute. And since his patience with her questions was clearly growing thin, she didn't think there was much hope of even making a dent in her ever growing inbox full of questions and lunch date requests.

Instead of repeating her question a third time, Clara looked up from the stack of papers on her lap. Since she'd yet to see anything that could hold her new boss's attention for longer than a few moments, she was curious to see what had captured it so completely. John was sipping his third cup of coffee and smiling as he looked out over his front porch. There were three teenagers laughing wildly as they practiced a variation of the same silly tiktok dance that Clara had seen all over social media for the last week. The girl's alternative look made Clara smile. With her blue hair and stacks of beaded bracelets laddered up both her wrists, she looked out of place on John's cattle farm. But that didn't seem to be stopping the two young men from trying to impress her with their dancing skills, or lack thereof as seemed to be the case.

"You've been practicing that same dance for an hour," John said, rising from his chair and calling over to the kids. "I think even I know it by now!" Clara laughed, tossing her paperwork on the table next to her chair so she could join John at the porch railing. The two boys were laughing at his comment. But the girl cocked her hand up on her hip and regarded him with a sassy look.

"If you think you're so good, why don't you come on down here and show us?," she asked. Clara expected John to wave the kids off and return to his coffee. She was shocked when he called the girl's bluff and headed across the yard towards them. The younger of the two boys laughed as he called out some encouragement.

"Yeah Grandpa!"

Clara felt a laugh escape her. And she wondered if the boy was just making a joke about John's age, or if John was in fact his grandfather. From the man's lack of reaction to the comment, she was guessing the latter. In theory, she knew that John's children were old enough to have children of their own. But actually seeing him interact with his grandkids gave her a different perspective on the man. Maybe he wasn't such a hard ass after all, she thought.

After the blue haired girl got everyone positioned where she wanted them, she poked at her phone and rushed back into place. The music started blasting. And Clara guessed it was loud enough that someone inside the house heard it and decided to investigate. Because a pretty native american woman poked her head out. She took one look at what was happening in the yard and darted back into the house, reappearing with John's daughter Beth at her side.

"Does he know he's about to be all over tiktok?," Monica asked between giggles. Clara shook her head.

"I don't think he knows what tiktok is," Clara admitted. John sort of seemed like he fell out of a different dimension. Clara was surprised he even knew how to check his emails.

"He's about to find out," Beth said, heading towards the edge of the porch where she could get a better look at the day's entertainment.

Since the video Dakota was making was only 90 seconds long, they were almost done by the time Monica and Beth got outside. When the music ended, the two women broke out into a round of applause that was followed up by a lot more laughter. The boys started jumping around, trying to get John to stay and horse with them some more. But he'd clearly reached his limit of annoying pop music for the day, because he waved them off with a promise to take them fishing later that afternoon. Dakota was busy on her phone, heading close enough to the porch that she would have enough wifi to upload her video. When she was done, she crammed her phone into her back pocket and took off after the boys to go look at a baby cow in one of the barns. Clara couldn't help but feel slightly jealous. She would much rather be playing with a baby animal than dealing with a mountain of paperwork.

"You can go with them if you want," John teased. Clara smiled, realizing she must have been watching the kids run off with more longing on her face than she realized. She shook her head and returned to her seat, pulling her paperwork back into her lap. They managed to get through a few more items on her list when John mentioned that his spring branding was happening in a few days. He was the one that suggested they make an event out of it, but Clara immediately realized the potential in his idea.

"Can I make a guest list?," she asked. John gave her a skeptical look. "You could get through two weeks of lunches in an hour," she suggested.

"Make the list," he agreed. Clara nodded, quickly whipping out her phone and starting a list of names. While she scribbled in her notepad, John noticed his own phone was ringing. He thought about ignoring it. But then he saw it was Lynelle calling. And she didn't usually make social calls. So it was probably important. He swiped his finger across the screen, answering her call.

"Nice moves!," she teased, not even bothering to say hello.

"Huh?," he replied, unsure of what she meant. He'd been playing around, dancing with the kids. But there was no way she would have known that.

"John," she said, the laughter audible in her voice, "...you're all over the internet."

"What?," he huffed.

"A video of you dancing with your grandkids," she clarified. "It was posted on social media. Someone just sent it to me."

Clara immediately put her hands up in the air and shook her head when she noticed John was looking at her like she might be to blame for sending a video of him dancing to whoever was on the phone.

"Must have been the kids," John said, "I'll tell them to take it down." His comment resulted in more laughter from the other end of the phone call.
"Good luck with that," Lynelle teased before she hung up her end of the call.

Clara closed out her contact list and opened up tiktok. And sure enough, the video had already been shared hundreds of times. There was no taking it down. It had most likely already been downloaded and shared onto several other platforms by now, plus messaged and emailed to who knows how many people. Beth leaned down, clicking on the comment section. Her eyes widened a little when she saw the remarks women were making about her father.

"Holy shit," she murmured. Raising the volume of her voice Beth added, "Dad, you're about to be drowning in pussy!"

"For god's sake," John huffed, shaking his head at her inappropriate comment. Clara glanced at him, trying to gauge how angry he was with the situation before she added her opinion to the mix.

"I mean, she's not wrong," Clara finally said with a sheepish shrug of her shoulders.

Seeing that her first comment had gotten a rise out of her father, Beth began reading some of the thirstiest comments aloud for everyone to hear. I'd rather see him do the no pants dance. Montana's Magic Mike. He can do the hokey poke me. Save a horse, Ride a cowboy. And one woman simply posted her phone number with the comment Governor Dutton, call me!

"Do you want her number?," Beth teased. Noticing that her father's face was starting to turn slightly red, she turned back to the phone, preparing to read a few more choice phrases from the comment section. But before she could, a dark cloud moved to shade the sunny morning she was having. Jamie's car was coming down the drive. She released her grip on Clara's phone and stood up, crossing her arms under her breasts and preparing herself for battle.

A small cloud of dust kicked up from the gravel where Jamie parked his large black suv. Beth narrowed her eyes at him, sucking in a hard breath when she saw that instead of heading straight for the house, he moved around to the passenger side of the vehicle and opened the door. He ought to know better by now than to bring his little office flings back home to the ranch. Because Beth always made sure the scheming little opportunistic whores never came back. Someone had to look out for Jamie's dumb ass. Not that he ever showed her any appreciation to her for any of her hard work.

Just as Beth was preparing her most biting comments, she realized she knew the woman that was exiting the car. It wasn't some little legal secretary looking for a payday or career advancement. It was Rachel, Rip's sister. What the hell is she doing with Jamie? And they were smiling at each other too. Beth didn't like this new development. Not one bit.

"I got a flat tire," Rachel explained with a nervous smile as she climbed the porch steps. She wasn't sure what the situation was between Beth and her brother. But the woman was looking at him like he pissed in her cornflakes. Rachel felt pressed to explain why she had arrived with him and not in her own car. "My phone doesn't get service out here. Jamie stopped and gave me a ride."

"Well wasn't that nice of him," Beth said, her voice ripe with sarcasm. Rachel raised an eyebrow at the other woman. The uncomfortable tension on the porch was growing thick. And whatever was going on between Beth and Jamie, Rachel decided that not only was it not her business, but she also didn't want any part of it. She stepped away from the man, speaking to John instead.

"I heard one of your cowboys was having a birthday today," she said. "I was wondering if I can use your kitchen to bake a cake?" John smiled. People asked him for favors all the time. But this was one he was more than happy to grant.

"Rachel, I already told you that while you're here you can make yourself at home," he told her with a smile. "You go right ahead into the kitchen and make anything you want." Her face lit up into a big smile and she thanked him profusely before she rushed away into the house. Beth noticed Jamie's eyes followed the woman as she moved across the porch. And he kept staring even after the door swung shut behind her.

"How well do you know her?," Jamie asked, not directing his question to anyone in particular.

"Not very well," John admitted, "...she just got here yesterday." It was clear from his tone that while he didn't know the woman, he liked her. Because he didn't seem to appreciate Jamie's question. "Why?...," John added.

"Someone slashed her tire," Jamie responded. "There was a knife sticking out of it when I picked her up." John breathed a silent sigh of relief, realizing that Jamie was not concerned about Rachel but for her. It was an unusual development. Jamie didn't usually show concern for anyone but himself.

"Probably just someone down at that rat trap motel she was staying at," John said. "...at least she didn't get stranded there." Jamie nodded, not totally agreeing with his father's assessment of the situation, but not really interested in arguing with him about it either. Instead he brought up the reason he had happened across Rachel in the first place. He had other things he needed to talk to John about besides a slashed tire.

Rachel flipped on the oven light, checking to make sure her cake wasn't getting overbaked. She didn't know the birthday boy. But she figured it was hard to go wrong with a vanilla cake. She thought about making a smaller vegan cake for Summer. But then she remembered the woman didn't eat gluten either. Without flour, eggs, and butter, that didn't leave much to make a cake out of. But Rachel thought she might research some recipes online later. She offered vegan cupcakes at her bakery. They cost the same as the regular ones to make. But she charged double for them and people paid it without question. Rachel wondered what they would pay for a cake that was vegan and gluten free.

A light tap on the doorframe pulled Rachel out of her thoughts. She immediately felt the heat rise in her cheeks. And she pulled the handle forward on the large stand mixer she was using, turning it off. Jamie was standing in the doorway. His tie was hanging more loosely around his neck than before and he'd discarded his suit coat somewhere inside the house. She raked her eyes down over his body before she could stop herself. Rachel knew she was blushing. And she'd tied her hair up into a big sloppy bun on top of her head before she started baking. So she couldn't pull it forward to hide her face. She turned back to the buttercream frosting she was making, dipping her pinky finger into the large metal bowl and bringing it to her lips to taste it.

"I put your bags in your room," he said.

"Thanks," Rachel said, trying not to think about how that must mean he was just in her room. Her mind started racing, images of what she might like to do with him in her room flashing through her brain in rapid fire. Instead of leaving, like she was sort of hoping he would, Jamie moved across the kitchen towards her. He leaned forward, peeking into the bowl she had on the mixer stand.

"What kind of cake are you making?," he asked. He was standing close enough that she could smell his cologne. And mixed with the sweet smell of baking cake and frosting, he smelled even better than he did in the car.

"Uh…" she stammered, trying to remember what in the hell she was doing in the kitchen. Finally it came to her. She was making a vanilla cake. Because she didn't know the person whose birthday it was so she wanted to make something basic that everyone would like. "Vanilla," she finally spit out. And she should have stopped there. But her big mouth kept going. "I'm a plain vanilla girl," she added, ready to kick the snot out herself the moment the words came out her mouth. What the fuck did I just say that for? Jamie snorted out a little laugh. And Rachel was sure that her face was as red as her dress. Jamie poked his finger into the bowl, imitating what he just saw her doing as he dipped his pinky into the frosting. When he stuck his finger in his mouth and sucked the frosting off, Rachel felt her stomach do a flip. And she had to fight the urge to grab him and see if he tasted as sweet as the frosting.

"It's good," he said.

Jamie wasn't sure what he came into the kitchen for. He really just meant to poke his head in and tell Rachel that her stuff was in her room. But with the height advantage he had over the woman, he could see down her dress. Her hair was tied up, revealing the long taut cords of her neck. She smelled amazing. Like sugar and vanilla and something more citrusy that he guessed must be her shampoo. And there was flour streaked across one of her round cheeks. Her eyes were big and blue and framed in long dark lashes that fluttered when she blinked. And before he realized what he was doing, Jamie had her hand in his, rubbing his thumb back and forth nervously across the back of her palm.

"Have dinner with me?," he asked. Rachel swallowed hard, her throat bobbing with the effort. She bit at her lower lip, considering his request. Then she gently pulled her hand away from his.

"I don't think that's a very good idea," she said, her voice soft and almost sad. "If we start something up and it doesn't work out, that would make for some pretty awkward family holidays around here, don't you think?"

"Family holidays are already awkward around here," Jamie countered.

Rachel wanted nothing more than to accept his offer. She wanted to go out with Jamie. But she was nervous. She hadn't been on a real date since before she was married. And her ex-husband's threats began to float back to her, filling her with fear. Daniel said he'd kill her if he ever caught her with another man. And he meant it. He didn't care that they were divorced. He said divorce was a white man's game and those rules didn't apply to him. Plus, Daniel was crazy. He already tore up her things and slashed her tire. She didn't want to think about what he might do if she really did something to anger him. And she also didn't think it was right to bring someone else into her problems. If Daniel saw her with Jamie, he might be next in line to get his tires slashed. Or worse.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said. "I just can't."

She thought Jamie might press on, trying to get her to agree. But instead he just turned and walked back the way he came. She watched him go with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Jamie didn't stop to grab his coat from the hook. He just kept walking. All the way out the door and down the porch steps and across the yard until he was in his car slamming the car door shut behind him.

"Something wrong?"

Jamie jerked, his body reacting to the sudden presence of someone he hadn't realized was there. Beth was in his passenger seat, picking her nails and glaring at him like a total psychopath.

'What the fuck do you want now?," he asked. After what just happened in the kitchen he wasn't in the mood for Beth's particular brand of bullshit.

"I just came to give you a little piece of advice," Beth announced. Jamie rolled his eyes, knowing that he was about to hear whatever she came to say whether he liked it or not.

"Then give it and get out," he huffed. Beth scowled at him and he fought the urge to ask her if she fucked her husband with that face.

"Rachel's off limits," Beth hissed, leaning across the car and into his personal space. "So stay the fuck away from her."

"She wouldn't go out with me anyway," Jamie admitted, "...so just get the fuck out of here!"

"Good," Beth said, her face twisting up into a wicked grin at the thought of his unhappiness. She gave him one more evil glare before hopping out of his car and slamming the door shut behind her. Jamie watched her walk back up to the house, hoping she might step in a gopher hole and break her face. But sadly, she didn't. Once she was out of sight, he fired up the engine of his car and headed back towards town and away from the woman he knew he wasn't going to be able to get off his mind.