Reunited With The Rancher

He stopped and headed back down the stairs. Before she could protest, he took Maggie so that he held a child on each hip. And then he tromped back up the stairs.

“Which door?”

“Second door on the right,” she told him as she caught up. “It has a double bed and a twin with a trundle.”

He opened it and entered the room. She watched as he set both kids down on the bed. “Stay with Kylie. I’ll be right back with clean clothes.”

“You’ve got this parenting thing down,” she said as he brushed past her to leave.

Her words stopped him and she saw the change in his gray eyes. A soft smile played at the corners of his mouth. “Yeah, I’ve kind of had to figure it all out on my own.”

She touched his arm, stopping him from walking away. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t.” He paused there, just a breath of space between them. “I’d guess you have your own story. Life never turns out how we expect it to, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t. And I think Jack isn’t who you expected, is he? You thought you’d show up and everything would be the way it was when you left. You thought Jack would be the same person.”

“Maybe,” he said with a shrug of broad shoulders.

Time and circumstances had changed Carson the same way they had changed her. The boy she’d known had been fun-loving. In spite of his circumstance he had laughed and found the best in each day. The best in people. He seemed to have lost that side of himself.

The man standing in front of her had jagged edges.

Chapter Four (#ucbfaa4e2-df25-5a88-8977-a4fc030e02ab)

Carson woke up Saturday to the gray light of early morning stealing through the curtains of an unfamiliar room. Across the room in a twin bed, Andy and Maggie were cuddled together, still sleeping. From downstairs he could hear the sound of water running and dishes clinking. Sneaking from the room so as not to wake the children, he made his way downstairs.

If either of the children woke, he’d hear them or see them as they came down the stairs.

He had expected to see Kylie in the kitchen. Instead Isaac stood at the sink filling a coffee pot with water. He glanced at Carson, grinned, then went back to work.

“Expected someone prettier, did you?” Isaac poured the water in the coffeemaker. “She’s working dogs. Want some breakfast? Or are you heading out early? Chicago is waiting.”

“In a hurry to get rid of me?”

“I like the kids. You I could do without. I can do without your suspicious looks. I can do without your judgment. So can Jack. You haven’t lived his life. Have you ever been to war? Have you ever wondered if the last shot you took...”

Isaac shook his head, raising a hand when Carson tried to tell him they didn’t need to have this conversation.

Isaac poured himself a cup of coffee. “We have to talk about the fact that you think you know everything. But until you talk to people and find out their side, their experiences, you don’t know them. And you don’t know your father...”

Carson grabbed a cup from the cabinet and watched the coffee drip into the pot, ignoring the younger man that he assumed was his brother. He should just ask. As Isaac said, you don’t know a person until you know their story.

“You’re probably right. But I guess that goes both ways. You don’t know my story, either.” Carson met Isaac’s gaze, held it for a minute.

“Shoot,” Isaac said as he raised his cup.

“Shoot?”

“Go ahead. Tell me your story.”

Carson shook his head. “Where’s Jack?”

“Gone to town already. You can’t keep a good man down.” And he put emphasis on good.

Carson glanced out the window and saw Kylie heading toward the house. She was dressed in boots, jeans and a T-shirt. A dog followed along behind her. She was smiling, talking to the animal. For whatever reason, she made this place bearable.

“Is that why you’re still here?” Isaac said, more of a teasing tone in his voice.

“No. I’m here because Jack had an angina attack last night and because I couldn’t put Andy and Maggie back in the car after the long day of driving we had yesterday. They needed a chance to rest.”

“Right. Of course.” Isaac finished his coffee and put the cup in the dishwasher. “The past has a way of catching up with us. Now if you’ll excuse me, Doc, I have work to do. If you’re bored, you can always saddle up and help out. Do you remember how to ride a horse?”

“I remember how to ride a horse, but I have Andy and Maggie, if you remember. And I need to check on Jack.”

The door opened and Kylie entered, looking from one to the other of them. She carried a basket of fall tomatoes and squash that she put on the counter before heading for the coffee.

“Are the two of you circling each other like old barn cats?” she asked as she grabbed a cup.

Isaac grinned at Carson as he headed for the door. “Nah, only one of us remembers what a barn looks like. Carson is more of a domesticated house cat.”

“If Kylie will watch the kids, I’ll meet you out there in fifteen minutes.”

“I didn’t realize you’d be so easily triggered.” Isaac laughed. “Do you even have boots?”

“I’m sure Jack has a pair I can fit into.”

“Suit yourself.” Isaac headed for the back door.

“Would you be able to watch Andy and Maggie for me?” Carson asked Kylie.

“I don’t mind, but I do have work to do today. And we need to talk about Jack’s suggestion of a service dog for Andy.”

Her tone was cool, professional. It didn’t match her. It didn’t match the warmth of her expression, or the freckles that dusted her nose. It was for him, that cool, distant tone. It was meant to keep him at arm’s length.

He should have appreciated the gesture. Instead it had him feeling as if he was missing something.

“What’s your opinion on a service dog?” he asked.

“I did some research this morning. I think the idea has merit. A service dog for a child with autism can help with social settings and sleep patterns, can stop repetitive behaviors and can also keep him from wandering.”

Impressive. She’d done her homework. He had thought he’d done everything possible to give his son the most opportunities, including this planned move to Chicago. But he hadn’t considered a service dog.

“If I did this, would it take time to train the dog? Would we need to come back?”

“You would have to stay,” she said as she pulled a carton of eggs out of the fridge.

He couldn’t see her face but he knew the idea of them staying bothered her. He knew his reasons for wanting to leave, but her reasons for wanting them gone were a mystery.