The Prodigal's Christmas Reunion. Kathryn Springer

green eyes widening in disbelief.

       Maybe because Erin never left early. As the owner of the café, she was the first one to arrive in the morning and the last one to leave at night.

       “Only a few hours.” Erin winced at the defensiveness that crept into her tone.

       She never got defensive, either.

       Kylie tipped her head. The movement sent a tumble of light brown curls over one shoulder. “Is everything all right?” she asked hesitantly. “You’ve been a little…distracted…lately.”

      Lately being the past forty-eight hours, Erin thought. And if pressed, she could take it a step further and pinpoint the exact moment it had started. When she’d overheard a customer casually mention that Lucas Clayton was back in town.

       As much as Erin had both dreamed of and dreaded the possibility of that happening, nothing had prepared her for the reality.

      Lucas. In Clayton. For a year.

       Erin knew all about the conditions of George Sr.’s will.

       It had been the talk of the town since July. One by one, the Clayton cousins had returned to their roots—all except Lucas.

       Every time the bells above the door of the café jingled, Erin’s nerves would jingle right along with them. It didn’t matter that the logical side of her brain knew he wouldn’t seek her out. When it came to Lucas Clayton, the hopeful side had always prevailed.

       Which proved she still hadn’t learned her lesson.

       Which, in turn, made her pathetic.

       Harboring feelings for a guy who’d claimed to be in love with her—and then left without a backward glance.

       Erin was tempted to confide in Kylie, but even now, after all these years, it felt as if she would be breaking a promise. At Lucas’s request they’d kept their high-school romance a secret from friends and family. He’d claimed he didn’t want his reputation to cast a shadow on her and Erin had reluctantly agreed, afraid her mother wouldn’t approve of her dating that “wild Clayton boy.”

       Even when the truth about their relationship would have squelched the malicious rumor that Vincent Clayton, Lucas’s cousin, had started about him and Susie Tansley, Lucas had held Erin to that promise. That’s when she’d started to wonder if there was another reason he had insisted on keeping their relationship a secret. A reason that had more to do with his being ashamed of her than some of the things he’d done…

       Kylie snapped her fingers two inches from Erin’s nose. “See what I mean? Distracted.”

       “I’m fine. Really.” Even as she said the words, Erin wondered who she was trying to convince. Kylie? Or herself? “It’s Diamond I’m worried about. She seemed a little agitated this morning before I left for work, and she’s due to drop her foal any day now. I’d feel better if I checked on her.” It was the truth—and a legitimate reason to escape the memories pressing down on her.

       “You’re such a softie.” Kylie chuckled. “You treat those animals of yours like children.”

       Erin knew her friend was teasing but the words still stung. She was twenty-five years old. Her friends were either engaged or already married and starting a family, something she’d always dreamed of.

       With Lucas.

      Stop.

       For Kylie’s benefit, Erin mustered a smile. “So, I’ll leave everything in your capable hands for a few hours.”

       Kylie reeled her in for a quick hug. “Don’t worry about coming back to close up. I’ll take care of it.”

       “We got six hours ’til then.” A gravelly voice snarled from the kitchen. “So how about you take care of the orders piling up in here before you talk about shutting the place down for the night?”

       “Be right there, Jerome,” Kylie sang out. Lowering her voice, she winked at Erin over her shoulder. “From the way that man carries on, you’d think he’s the one who signs my paychecks, not you.”

       The two women exchanged a grin. Everyone in town knew the old cook’s bark was worse than his bite.

       “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” Erin shrugged on her coat and shook her ponytail free from the sheepskin collar. “And Kylie…thanks.”

       “No problem. Zach is meeting me here after he gets off work. He claims he can’t pass up one of Gerald and Jerome’s famous barbecue rib dinners, but I have a hunch he wants to keep an eye on me.” Kylie’s expression clouded. “Now that Lucas is back in town, Zach thinks it’s going to rile up Vincent and the rest of his family even more.”

       Erin kept her expression neutral, although her heart plummeted at the mention of Lucas’s name. “Samuel’s side of the family has always enjoyed causing trouble,” she murmured.

       “You’re telling me.” Kylie couldn’t suppress a shudder. “I almost married into it. I thank God every day that He saved me from making a huge mistake—and brought Zach into my life.”

       So did Erin. Zach Clayton, the second of the cousins to return to Clayton after the reading of the will, treated Kylie the way she deserved to be treated. With love and respect. Unlike Vincent, who Kylie had caught kissing another woman on the day they were supposed to exchange their vows.

       “Vincent can put on quite a show.” No matter how many times he’d denied it, Erin had known that Vincent, George Sr.’s nephew, had been behind Susie Tansley’s attempt to destroy Lucas’s already shaky reputation by claiming he was the father of her unborn baby.

       Erin hadn’t believed the malicious rumors flying around town about Lucas’s relationship with Susie, but Lisette Clayton did. The fact that his own mother hadn’t believed the truth had finally pushed Lucas over the edge. By the time the truth came out and Susie’s claim had proved to be a lie, the damage had been done.

       He’d shown up at Erin’s house a little after midnight with a beat-up duffel bag, eyes dark with pain and a reckless offer that had quickly deteriorated into their first—and last—argument.

       In the end, Erin had watched Lucas drive away, praying with all her heart that he would change his mind and stay in Clayton. And stand up to the people who’d spread rumors about him.

       She’d watched the brake lights on his truck glow red at the stop sign. Left would take him home. Right would take him out of the city limits. He’d turned right.

       Toward his dreams. And away from her.

       “…Better get back to work before Jerome fires me.” Kylie’s teasing voice tugged Erin back to the present as she breezed toward the door of the office.

       Erin’s heart clenched as she followed Kylie into the dining room and her gaze swept from table to table.

      Be strong, she silently lectured herself.

       Clayton boasted a population of less than a thousand people. Eventually, she and Lucas were going to come face-to-face.

       And when they did, Erin knew exactly what she would do. She would hold her head up high and look him right in the eye. Her polite smile would show Lucas that she was doing all right. She’d moved on, too.

       He’d never have to know that he’d taken her heart with him when he left.

      Chapter Two

      “Easy girl.” Erin ran a soothing hand over the flank of the mare stretched out on the floor of the stall. “Hang in there and you’ll be a momma in no time.”

       The horse thrashed weakly in response to the sound of her voice, and Erin felt needle-sharp tears poke at the back of her eyes.

       Where was Tweed?

       She’d put in an emergency call to the local large animal vet over an hour ago.