A Rancher To Love

Without thinking about it, she strolled to the window and looked toward the house. She’d heard Tyler’s truck pull in a few minutes ago but saw no sign of him, the little girl or any possible wife now. But a strange pull tugged at Leah. Despite the fact that she’d been most comfortable behind locked doors since the attack, she suddenly felt as if those protective walls were closing in on her. Desperate for air, she jerked open the front door and stepped out onto the porch, leaving the door open behind her.

Despite the fact the heat of the day was still cloaking the ranch, the porch sat in the shade. She inhaled a slow, deep breath as the wave of uncharacteristic claustrophobia ebbed. A bird sang nearby, hidden somewhere in the trees across the drive. She closed her eyes and focused on the notes of its song, which found their way into her and allowed her muscles to relax and a sort of peace to soothe her. For the first time since arriving at Tyler’s ranch, she thought maybe it hadn’t been a mistake after all. She’d wanted peace, and this moment of connection with nature provided it.

She kept her eyes closed, afraid if she opened them the feeling would evaporate. But after several moments, the bird’s song stopped. Leah opened her eyes in time to see a flash of yellow as the bird took flight. Though the bird hadn’t been loud, the quiet it left behind was remarkable. As she listened, all she heard was an almost undetectable breeze rustling the leaves. The absence of traffic noise told her more than the knowledge of its distance that Houston and what had happened to her there were indeed far away.

When the air-conditioning unit for the bunkhouse clicked on, she jumped at the interruption of the quiet. Then she remembered that the front door was standing wide open, letting all the cool air outside.

Leah spun on her heel and walked back inside the bunkhouse. She actually thought she might be able to work now, but not inside. Despite the fact that the songbird had left, she found she wanted to sit outside and soak up more of what this slice of the Hill Country had to offer.

Thinking about what Gina had said earlier at the grocery, Leah selected the necessary supplies to replicate the necklace the other woman had admired. As she placed the materials around the rocking chair on the porch and took a seat, a whiff of her normal joy at immersing herself in work flirted at the edge of her mind, but was quickly gone, so quickly she actually wondered if she’d imagined it. Maybe the simple act of going through the familiar motions would lead her back to where she wanted to be.

Though she wasn’t yet able to capture the usual excitement of creation, it felt good to be doing something productive. Her experience let her put together the necklace without a ton of thought. When she finally finished it, she held it up so that she could examine how it hung on the chain and make sure she hadn’t made any mistakes.

Movement from down the drive drew her attention. The little blonde girl she’d seen with Tyler stood next to one of the farthest trees, about two-thirds of her body hidden behind the trunk of the red oak. When she saw that Leah had noticed her, she stepped farther out of sight.

Not wanting to scare the child, Leah didn’t make any move toward her. Instead, she simply gave her a little finger wave. The girl didn’t respond, instead staring for a couple of moments longer before turning and hurrying back toward the house.

Smart girl, not talking to or coming close to a stranger. Or perhaps Tyler had told her to keep her distance. Leah could totally understand that. Though she was harmless to the girl, Tyler couldn’t know that. He’d barely spoken to her, knew not nearly enough about her to trust allowing his daughter to be alone with her.

Leah watched until the girl disappeared around the back of the house, then returned her attention to her work. A sense of accomplishment, that she’d taken what felt like a huge and important step in her recovery, settled in her chest. Hoping to build on that, she selected the appropriate pieces to make a set of earrings to complement the necklace. If Gina didn’t want them, then Leah could always put them up for sale on her site or offer them as part of the replenishment stock for India’s store.

She was midway through wrapping the wire for the second earring when her phone rang. A quick look at the display showed it was her aunt Charlotte calling. Leah exhaled, afraid she was about to be bombarded with questions despite Conner’s assertion that he’d head that off at the pass. She supposed she was lucky she hadn’t had to face her aunt and uncle before now.

Knowing that she couldn’t avoid them now that they lived in the same town, she answered on the third ring. “Hey, Aunt Charlotte.”

“Hello, dear. How are you settling in?”

“Fine. Just doing a bit of work.”

“Well, hopefully you have time to spare for dinner tonight. Your uncle is grilling steaks.”

Leah wasn’t sure she was up to socializing yet, but then she told herself she needed to be. The quicker she resumed normal activities, the sooner she could truly get her life back and not think about what had happened all the time.

“Sounds great.” Yeah, so great her stomach chose that moment to start spinning in circles.

When she hung up, she spotted Tyler striding from the house to the barn. He glanced her way and after a moment’s hesitation, he lifted his hand for a single wave.

She waved back, her stomach tumbling in a very different way. How was it possible for her to feel flutters of physical attraction so soon after her attack? That question sent awful chills racing over her skin, stinging her everywhere Garton’s hands had touched her flesh.

Her peaceful afternoon shaken, she gathered up her supplies and carried them back inside. When her phone rang again, she startled and nearly dumped everything in her arms. Just the thought of hearing beads fall against the floor and spread out in all directions made nausea rise up within her.

Thinking it was her aunt again, she eased the plastic containers onto the table then pulled the phone from her shorts pocket. Instead of Charlotte, the name on the display belonged to her best friend, Reina.

Anxious to hear her friend’s voice, she quickly answered before the call could go to voice mail. “Hey, there. How’s the mom-to-be?”

“Fat and craving things that shouldn’t be fit for human consumption.”

Leah smiled. “You know you’re beautiful.”

Reina snorted. “That’s a lie but I’ll take it. But the real question is how are you? How’s life in the boonies?”

“I didn’t move to the Australian Outback, you know.”

“Close.”

Leah laughed a little, and it felt foreign and welcome at the same time. “I’m completely unpacked.”

“Good, but that’s not what I mean. Do you still believe it was the right decision?” Reina might tease her about her choice of new home, but she was the one person who’d supported her decision with no questions asked. She also hadn’t pressed for details about the attack, knowing that Leah wasn’t at a place where she could share that yet.

“It will take some getting used to, but I think so, yes.”

“That’s good. Maybe I’ll challenge my GPS to actually find where you live once this beach ball I’m carrying decides to make an appearance.”

That would mean she wouldn’t see her best friend for at least another five months. “I look forward to it. Now, tell me, have you chosen a name yet?”

“Taylor and Caleb.”

“Well, at least you’ve narrowed it down from the grocery list of names you had the last time I talked to you.”

“No, that’s the final names. Seems I’m having twins.”

“Twins?” Leah nearly squealed. “How are you just now finding this out?”

“One of the little boogers has been hiding. If I figure out which one, he’s grounded as soon as he’s born.”

Leah laughed again, and it filled more of her this time, reminding her of how much she’d laughed with Reina over the years.

After they talked about the babies some more and how Reina’s husband, Jacob, was working more hours in order to save up for buying twice the amount of baby supplies than they’d expected, Reina shifted the topic of conversation back to Leah.

“So, tell me about your place.”

“It used to be the bunkhouse on a ranch. Tyler said his father and grandfather used to have a bigger operation and their extra hands lived here.”

“Tyler’s your landlord?”

“Yeah.”

“Good guy?”

“Conner says so. I’ve honestly not had much contact with him. He has a little girl, but I’ve not talked to her at all. Cute little thing, though.”

“So this Tyler isn’t some old coot wearing overalls?”

“Hardly.”

The line was silent for a long moment before Reina said, “Oh?”

Leah heard the caution in her friend’s voice but also the curiosity. The way she’d responded to Reina’s question echoed in her head, revealing more than she’d intended, more than she’d truly realized. Despite what had happened to her and how nervous she’d been around men ever since, especially someone the size of Tyler, she couldn’t deny that she found him attractive. But that didn’t mean she had to go into details with her friend. More than likely, her reaction to Tyler was just a reminder that she could still be attracted to a man. Now if she could just stop being so riddled with fear around them. She had to find the appropriate level of caution that lay somewhere between fear of all men and unconcerned, but right now it felt like finding that place was as likely as her scaling Everest.