A Rancher of Her Own

He laughed, more at the mention of his daughter, she was sure, than in amusement over her comment, yet the sudden lightness in his expression sent a rush of pleasure through her.

“Not a wedding,” he said. “It’s for her kindergarten graduation.”

“Oh.” Silly, but the thought of being invited made her feel “extra-special.” She smiled.

To her surprise, he frowned. “It’s not till after the wedding, and you and Andi will be gone. Don’t worry about making excuses to Rachel. I’ll explain to her why you can’t come.”

“Maybe I’d rather make my own ‘excuses.’” There she went, allowing him to push her buttons again. Attending a kindergarten graduation would be the last thing she’d ever find on her agenda, but she couldn’t let Pete believe he could make her decisions for her. “I’ve been good about speaking up for myself ever since I was a kid.”

“Yeah, I’d noticed.”

“You’re not going to let the past go, are you?”

“Past, present. Doesn’t seem to matter when it is—you like to argue.”

“And you don’t?”

“Nope. I just like to keep the conversation going till I get the last word.”

She laughed. “Rachel seems to take after you.”

“Not enough.” Suddenly, he was frowning again.

“She does bear a striking resemblance to your wife.”

“Ex-wife.” He clamped his teeth together so hard, a muscle in his jaw throbbed.

“Ex-wife.”

“And let’s just leave her out of this, all right?”

Now she was the one to frown. “Is that what you say when Rachel asks about her?”

“What I tell my daughter is none—” His jaws clamped shut again.

None of your business.

“Let’s just stick to business,” he added, “like my ex-wife does.”

His flat statement only confirmed her thought about what he had wanted to say. And he was right. His conversations with his daughter were not her concern. Neither was his obviously rocky relationship with his ex-wife.

“And,” he said, “I’d just as soon you not throw out any empty promises to Rachel, either.”

“Empty promises?”

“About helping her with the flowers.”

“That wasn’t an empty promise.”

“No? You didn’t sound interested, but you plan to follow through? Because you can’t just say something like that to a kid Rachel’s age and not expect her to take it to heart.”

He turned to go down the hallway. She stared after him in surprise.

No wonder the poor man had problems in his relationships.

* * *

PETE STOOD BY the corral watching Rachel run across the yard to the house. He knew his housekeeper would come to the porch to acknowledge his daughter’s arrival home, as she always did.

Inside the corral, Cole and another of the ranch hands were finishing up a riding lesson with a couple of guests from the hotel.

Near the barn, the stable hand, Eddie, stood grooming Bingo. They kept the Shetland for the smallest kids, including Jed’s great-grandson, Robbie.

Rachel gave him a quick wave and went inside the house with Sharon.

He thought of Jane’s question about what he told his daughter, then winced as he recalled his response. It sure wouldn’t win him any prizes for politeness.

Maybe he ought to thank her for the question, since his reply would put some distance between them again. Distance he definitely needed, especially after her halfhearted agreement to help Rachel “practice with the flowers.” Her protest to him that she was not making an empty promise had sounded just as weak.

The hotel guests also waved to him on their way to the hotel. In return, he tipped his Stetson.

Cole had handed his reins to the other wrangler and walked up to join Pete. He nodded in the direction of the guests. “They’ve come a long way this week. And they’re talking about another visit to the ranch soon.”

“Jed will be happy to hear it.”

“I see Rachel got home okay.”

“Yeah. Robbie, too,” he added, knowing Cole would ask about his and Tina’s son. He smiled. “Rachel’s all excited about her graduation.”

“So I’ve been hearing. Sounds like it’s going to be a big production.”

“Not nearly as big a deal as the wedding.”

“The ladies are going to town with it, aren’t they?” Cole shook his head. “But that’s what it’s about, I guess. Lucky for us, we just have to get dressed and show up.”

“Sounds like the voice of experience,” Pete said with a laugh.

“That would be you, not me.”

“Yeah.” Not such a great experience, as it turned out.

He led the way to the barn.

Not long after he’d hired Sharon, his divorce had come through. Marina hadn’t requested regular visitation with the kids. She hadn’t even wanted custody, claiming it would be better for him to have full charge, since she never knew when her schedule would take her out of the country.

Her rise to fame had been the kind of overnight success story heard about only in the news. Well, now she was someone making that news, the latest glamour girl whose face and figure showed up on cover after magazine cover. And he couldn’t fault her for being happy about having the life she’d always wanted.

Too bad she hadn’t bothered telling him she’d wanted that life before they’d married and started raising a couple of kids. Not that he ever had or ever would regret having Rachel and Eric.