The Rancher's Christmas Match

There was no easy way to dodge these questions and no telling when she’d stop asking them.

“Yes, it’s because of the scar.”

“I don’t have any scars. My mom says sometimes kids just have seizures. And I might outgrow it.”

“That would be good.”

“Will you outgrow your headaches?” she asked, completely serious.

“I might. Does your mom know you’re out here?”

She shook her head and held tight to the kitten, which decided it might be time to make a break for it. “Did I ask too many questions? My mom says I’m nosy. I don’t think I am. I just like to know stuff, and you can’t know if you don’t ask.”

“I guess you have a good point.” He gestured at the tabby, which had started to yowl. “You might want to let that kitten go before you get scratched,” he warned.

The kitten jumped free and scampered sideways out of the stall, hissing as it ran for cover at the other end of the stable. Allie stepped out in turn and watched it make its escape.

“I was going to name him Stripe.” She let out a big sigh.

“I’m sure he won’t mind a name.”

She frowned. “Yeah, but now he’s gone. I’ve never had a cat before. We couldn’t have pets at our apartment in Arizona.”

He beat down the desire to ask his own questions. Questions were dangerous. Because they resulted in answers and that meant knowing a little too much about people.

The young person standing in front of him seemed to be making a valiant attempt to fight tears. If she hadn’t looked sad he wouldn’t have handed her the horse brush. As much as he didn’t consider himself to be a kid person, he’d kind of grown fond of smaller humans since Carson had shown up with his two. Maggie and Andy were as cute as two kids could be. This one seemed the same. She was smart and funny, and when a tear trickled down her cheek she dashed it away with an aggravated flick of a finger.

“How about brushing Shorty for me?” he offered.

She looked at the brush and looked at the sixteen-hand Quarter Horse. She didn’t seem quite as sure of herself as she had when she first peeked up over the stall door.

“So where’s your mom?” he asked as he grabbed a step stool and lifted her to stand on it. She looked unsure, so he guided her hand to brush the horse’s neck.

As she brushed Shorty, Isaac glanced toward the double-door entrance to the stable. No sign of anyone looking for a runaway kid.

“She’s meeting with Mr. West. That’s your dad,” she informed him.

He chuckled and she kept brushing.

“Did you stay in town last night?” he asked. He hated that he was so curious. But there was something about Rebecca Barnes. She was a mix of strength and sweetness, and then there was that slightly wounded and not-so-trusting glint in her eye.

Someone had hurt her. Maybe more than one someone.

He shook off the questions that he considered asking the little girl, who was busy brushing his horse, talking to it as if they were sharing their best-kept secrets.

“Nope.” Allie handed him the brush. “We stayed here.”

“Here?”

She gave him a curious look. “Are you going to be sick again?”

“I wasn’t sick,” he insisted. “And no, I’m not. I’m just surprised. I didn’t know you stayed here.”

“Because you were sleeping,” she said, sounding matter-of-fact. “We had dinner with Jack. He told us Maria made the casserole. It was better than anything my mom can cook. She burns stuff. She says it’s because she’s distracted.”

“She wouldn’t want you telling everyone that she can’t cook,” he warned.

“You’re not everyone. Anyway, we stayed here. In the garage. It’s a nice garage with no cars in it, so I don’t know why it’s called a garage.”

They’d stayed on the ranch. The thought unsettled him.

How much could he or should he ask without seeming too curious? He felt like a sixteen-year-old with a crush on the new girl. That wasn’t happening. No way. No how.

“Hey!” A shout from the front of the stable caught his attention.

“Hey back,” he returned.

Eve, a resident of the ranch, glared at him, then managed to soften her expression as she approached. Smile or no, she didn’t appear to be too happy, and it seemed his pint-size stable hand might be the reason.

“You ran off.” Eve pointed at the girl. “And you didn’t ask permission or tell me where you were going. That really isn’t very nice.”

“Eve,” he warned.

If there was another person on the ranch not naturally kid friendly, it was Eve. She’d come around by degrees as she’d gotten attached to Carson’s children. But she would be the first to admit that she didn’t have a lot of experience with children. She’d been an only child to what she referred to as her “hippy parents.”

He wanted to laugh, because somehow she always got stuck babysitting.

“Do I look like a day-care provider?” she asked him.

“You seemed to do a pretty good job,” Isaac teased. “Except you have a tendency to lose children. That can’t be good.”

“I wanted to see the horses,” Allie explained. “I should have told you, but I thought you’d say no.”

Eve maneuvered her chair around the horse, giving the animal a less-than-trusting glance. Shorty didn’t even twitch.

“What if something had happened?” Eve asked the little girl.

Allie’s shoulders hunkered forward and she sighed. “I didn’t think about that. I just wanted to see the animals. Did you know there’s a llama?”

Eve melted. She could act tough but on the inside she was a marshmallow. “Yeah, I know there’s a llama. Do me a favor—next time ask. And if you’re going to wander, take Maximus. Now we need to head back to the house. Your mom will be finished talking with Jack and she’ll be looking for you.”

“Do we have time to see the llama?” Allie moved close to Eve’s chair and leaned on the armrest.

“I think so. But I don’t do well in the dirt out there, so Isaac will have to take you.” Eve shot him a look.

He glared back, the way he would have done if he’d had a little sister that pestered him. He did have a little sister, a half sister named Daisy. But since they’d never met, he didn’t know if she was a pest.

“I’m kind of busy.”