Home to Wyoming

“Thank you.”

Deeply touched, she remained silent for the rest of the film. When it was over, they left and drove to the Boot Corral for their packages. On the way back to the ranch, Jenny got out her new gun. Johnny showed her how to fill the cartridge with a roll of caps. Pretty soon they were both firing their weapons at imaginary bad guys.

The noise didn’t seem to bother Buck. Frank would have asked them to stop until they got home. He was so different from Buck, who seemed to say and do all the right things around Jenny. But it wasn’t fair to compare them. Frank was probably twenty years Buck’s senior.

He drove them to her cabin, and then looked over his shoulder at the kids. “What do you want to do now?”

“Play cowboys!” Jenny spoke up. She and Johnny scrambled out of the back and ran around the side of the cabin, whooping it up.

Buck’s lips twitched, mesmerizing Alex. “I thought he wanted to go riding, but those cap guns are a strong draw.”

“Jenny’s never had one. The novelty will wear off, but I’m just glad she’s having a great time with Johnny. Since I know your work is never done here on the ranch, why don’t you go and do what needs doing. I’ll watch both of them and walk Johnny back to the ranch house later.”

From beneath the rim of his Stetson, he gazed at her through shuttered eyes. Jenny had been correct about their color. In the sunlight they were the shade of new spring grass. “You’re right about the never-ending work, but my main responsibility is to take care of you this week. Behind the scenes, we’ve nicknamed this place the Daddy Dude Ranch for obvious reasons.”

And they did the daddy part better than she could have imagined. “Then I’ll relieve you of that awesome responsibility for a little while, because you deserve some rest.”

“Well, thank you, ma’am,” he drawled. His eyes seemed to focus on her mouth. “In that case, why don’t I come inside with you? While you put the things you bought away, I’ll make us some instant coffee. I could do with a cup.”

Alex’s heart thumped. This was something she knew she should avoid, but after all he’d done for them, she didn’t dare offend him. “Well...I won’t say no to that.”

As they went inside with her packages, the feeling grew stronger that she’d just been on a date with him, and now they were coming home to spend the rest of the evening together. She had to remember this was the middle of the afternoon and it wasn’t a date!

For one thing, he was probably ten years younger than she was, despite his maturity. For another, in the absence of Jenny’s father, it was Buck’s job to make certain this turned into a real vacation for her granddaughter, nothing more. She wished to heaven she could see it that way, but he’d managed to get under her skin. The only way to get him out was to leave Wyoming, but she and Jenny had only just arrived.

On her way into the bedroom with their packages, her cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID. It was Frank calling her back. She’d tried to reach him earlier that morning, but he’d been in a meeting. Guilt pricked her when she thought about Buck being in the next room. The fact that she felt any guilt told her she was in trouble.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to answer my phone.”

“Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”

She shivered, knowing it was true. After shutting the door, she sank down on the side of her twin bed to talk. “Frank?”

“Finally! I waited for your call this morning, but when it didn’t come, I had a business conference to attend. How are you?”

“Good.” Better than good, but he wouldn’t like hearing her say that, since he hadn’t wanted her to leave Sacramento. He was afraid it would open up old wounds for her and Jenny by being around the marines who’d invited them. To her surprise, it was doing the exact opposite. But after meeting Buck, she felt...vulnerable. She could never remember feeling that way before.

“I miss you more than I can say, Alexis.” He’d always called her that at the bank and it had stuck.

When she thought about it, she hadn’t had time to miss him and that made her feel guiltier. “I miss you too. Will you be seeing Cindy and the kids soon?”

“I’m going over there for dinner tonight.”

“I’m glad.”

“Where are you right now?”

“At the cabin. We’ve just come home from town with cowboy boots and a cap gun.”

“Cap gun?”

“Yes. There’s a boy here, Jenny’s age, who has one. They’re outside, running around with them. In a few minutes we’re going to the barn to see his pony. Frank—I-I’m afraid I can’t talk any longer,” she stammered, aware Buck was waiting for her. She couldn’t think with him inside her cabin. “Call me tonight when you’re back from Cindy’s and we’ll talk.”

“I should be home by ten at the latest.”

“Talk to you then.”

“Alexis?”

“Yes?”

“I love you. Let’s hope this trip does Jenny a world of good, because we have plans to make when you get back.”

“We’ll talk about that tonight. Love you, too.” She hung up and hurried back into the living room.

Buck was standing on the front porch with a coffee mug, obviously keeping an eye on the kids. He’d made coffee for her. She pulled it out of the microwave and joined him. “Sorry. That was a phone call I had to take. Thanks for the coffee.” She took a sip.

He eyed her over his mug. “You’re welcome. Everything okay?”

She took a steadying breath. She wasn’t okay, not really. Frank would be horribly hurt and upset by what she had to tell him. She was upset, too. “Yes.”

He turned toward the main ranch house. “They’ve gone to see if they can spot Moppy. If they’re not back in a few minutes, I’ll go get them.”

“I suspect they ran out of caps.”

“You’re right.” He chuckled. “But they decided to take a detour before they loaded up again so they wouldn’t scare the squirrel.”

“Johnny seems to be a busy bee. I think Jenny has met her match.”

“Soul mates at seven,” he mused aloud. “Wouldn’t that be something?”

“Did you ever meet yours?” The question flew out of her mouth before she could prevent it. She shouldn’t have asked him anything that personal, but couldn’t seem to help herself.

“I thought I had in high school. But when I went away to college, she didn’t wait for me.”