Her Cowboy Inheritance

Not that the boys were Erin’s problem. Or Nicole’s. Which was why Leah hated the idea of having to find a job and asking her sisters to watch them.

“I could see if anyone needs an accountant,” Erin said. “I haven’t worked in a while, but I’ve kept up my CPA license.”

“If you’re serious, I know several ranchers, myself included, who could use your help.”

Erin smiled. “That would be great. I don’t like to complain, but I would appreciate having the mental challenge again. Sometimes it’s hard being alone with my own thoughts.”

Strange how her sister could be so different. All Leah wanted was the chance to be alone for a while. But she supposed they both had their own ways of dealing with pain.

“Great. If you give me your information, I’ll pass it around.” If Leah wanted to accuse Shane of merely tossing them a bone to get them to agree to lease their land, it wasn’t obvious by the look on his face.

Erin would tell her that she was being too cynical. And perhaps she was. But Leah had lost everything except her sons because of her blind faith in others.

As if he knew she wasn’t quite ready to trust him, Shane turned his attention back to Leah. “Helen and I always operated by handshake agreement, but I’m sure you’re expecting something more formal. My attorney is drawing up the papers for the lease. I’ll bring it by when it’s ready.”

He was going out of his way to be fair. But Leah also couldn’t bring herself to give him the same wide-eyed look her sister had. Perhaps the difference between Leah and Erin was that Leah’s life had been destroyed by someone she trusted, whereas Erin’s tragedy was simply one of those random terrible things that tears a person apart.

“That would be good, thanks,” she said. “You can bring them when you come to dinner.”

At least no one could accuse her of being inhospitable. But she hated the way he smiled at her, trying to make her like him. If she was honest with herself, there was probably a lot to like about Shane. But she’d been burned by too many smiles that said, “Trust me,” and she wasn’t willing to take a chance again.

Especially because she could feel tiny flutters of... No. She wasn’t going there.

To take her mind off the uneasy feeling in her stomach, she took a bite of the bear claw. It was every bit as good as she’d hoped. She looked around the small café, watching these cowboys, who were probably her neighbors, interact. Why couldn’t Shane be one of those older men with the handlebar moustaches that were so completely unattractive that she wouldn’t have a problem looking at him?

Fortunately, Erin started grilling him about the area, which took Shane’s attention off Leah. At least mostly. He still kept stealing glances at her like he was trying to figure her out or gauge her reactions. Like he cared about what she thought.

But that was one more distraction she didn’t want, either. All she wanted was to establish a new life for herself and her sons with her sisters. There was no room in her life for some cowboy.

She drained the rest of her coffee, then looked at her sister. “We should get back. The boys probably have Nicole tied up by now. And we should discuss what’s next with her.”

Erin nodded. “You’re right. We’ve tossed out ideas, but it’s not fair to not include her. I know she was really in love with the idea of having some Highland cows. And chickens.”

“And horses and goats,” Leah said, grinning. Nicole had been the most excited about having a ranch. She might hate the idea of leasing the land and not making a go of things on their own.

Shane stood and gathered their trash. “You can still have animals. I’d be happy to help repair the chicken coop. It shouldn’t take much since Helen had chickens up until about a year ago.”

There he went again, being helpful.

“Yes, it will,” Erin said. “And while we appreciate all your offers, we don’t want to take advantage. You’d be surprised at how capable we are of taking care of ourselves. Leah has already done a lot of work on the ranch. You wouldn’t believe how good she is with a set of tools. It’s amazing how much the three of us can do when we work together.”

At least Leah wasn’t alone in wanting to do as much as they could on their own. The women had discussed their frustration at feeling helpless at the end of their respective relationships. It was good for them to do things for themselves.

Shane nodded like he understood. “I’m always happy to lend a hand. That’s what neighbors do.”

Neighbors. Leah’s had all pretty much abandoned her when Jason had begun his downward spiral. Her sisters hadn’t seemed to have had any to speak of, at least none who’d befriended them. Helen used to talk about being neighborly, and Leah vaguely remembered barbecues and picnics. But she wasn’t sure how to translate that all into her life now.

She wanted to believe the expression of kindness on his face, but where would trusting him get her? She’d been hurt and heartbroken too many times already. Holding out hope for someone who was probably only going to let her down was a waste of effort. Leah had her sisters and her sons, and that was enough.

It had to be.

Chapter Three (#ua2a5a2ed-4dd7-5a6e-a1ee-eb0f28938f02)

Though the invitation had been friendly enough when it had been issued, Shane couldn’t help feeling unwanted when he arrived for dinner later that week. It wasn’t that they had put out a mat in front of the door that said Go Away, but they might as well have.

Leah ushered him into the kitchen with a frown so deep, it almost made him wonder if someone had died. But since all his previous attempts at humor had gone astray with her, he wasn’t going to mention it. The house was quiet, and while he would have liked to have asked about the boys, that also hadn’t gone well the last time. Usually, he got along with everyone. But for whatever reason, he couldn’t connect with Leah.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked, hoping he sounded friendly and nonthreatening.

With most people, he’d have given up by now. But he couldn’t forget the sadness in Helen’s voice whenever she’d talked about her girls and the difficulties they’d had in life. He wanted to think that whatever kept them so closed off was more about the tragedies they had suffered than anything he had done. But maybe it was a good place to start a conversation.

When the shake of her head was accompanied by yet another scowl, he knew he couldn’t let it go.

“Have I done something to offend you?”

She stopped, holding the pitcher she’d just brought over to the sink. “No. Why do you ask?”

“You seem distant. Like you don’t want me here. You’ve barely said a word to me, and everything I can think of saying to you, I’m afraid it will only make the distance greater.”

Leah looked genuinely wounded by his words. Like he’d called her out in a harsher way than he’d intended.

“I’m sorry,” she said, setting the pitcher on the counter and wiping her hands on her apron. “It’s been a rough day. Erin is interviewing at a nearby ranch to do their books, and Nicole ran to the store for more bread. The boys are asleep on the couch, and when you got here, I was focused on being quiet so they wouldn’t wake up.”

He followed her gaze as she looked around the kitchen and realized that the room was in shambles. “I’d hoped to have everything cleaned up before you got here, but time got away from me.”

She gave a small shrug, then pointed at the oven. “But at least dinner is cooking, and that part I know will be all right. If you can bear with me, I promise it will get better.”

A small cry came from the other room. Leah rubbed her head. “I’d hoped they would sleep a little longer, so I could get things cleaned up.”

Shane felt guilty for having judged her. Now that he was really looking at her, he could see the signs of an exhausted mother trying to do her best.

“I’ve already gathered that you don’t like accepting help, but please, tell me something I can do to make it easier for you until your sisters get here.”

Ryan walked in, wearing a shirt and nothing else, carrying a diaper. “I all wet,” he said.

“Let me help you, buddy. Can you show me where your mom keeps your diapers?”

Leah looked like she was going to argue, but Shane shook his head. “I’ve changed a diaper or two in my lifetime. I’ve got this. You finish doing what you need to get dinner ready. I’ll keep the boys occupied.”

He could see her hesitation, but then Ryan pointed at his cowboy hat. “I wear hat?”

Her resigned sigh felt less like a victory than he’d wanted, but at least she nodded. “Thanks.”

“Let’s get you in some clean, dry pants, and then we’ll see about fixing you up with my hat.” Shane held his hand out to the little boy, who grinned.

“I be cowboy!”

As he took Ryan’s hand, he could see the tension ease from Leah’s face. It was hard to tell what was going on in her mind, but at least she seemed more relaxed. She turned back to the sink, and the little boy led him out of the room.