The Rancher Who Took Her In. Teresa Southwick

“Prob’ly ’cause he looks at you funny.”

      Prob’ly he did that ’cause he wished he’d never laid eyes on her or offered her the “stray” cabin, she thought. “I’m flattered that you believe he’s attracted to me. But you know it takes two people to like each other for anyone to even think about marriage.”

      “Yeah, I know.” He kicked a well-worn sneaker into the wet dirt at the lake’s edge. “Do you like my dad?”

      She’d walked right into that one. No way could she answer honestly, that she thought Cabot Dixon was the hottest cowboy she’d ever seen and one look into that handsome face made her heart beat way too fast. But there were too many stumbling blocks. He needed someone who would love the ranch and stay there. She thought it was the most beautiful place she’d ever seen, but she had to go back to her regularly scheduled life and numerous commitments. Letting this child go on hoping for a relationship felt heartless, and she couldn’t let him continue.

      She put a hand on his shoulder. “Ty, your dad is a great guy. He’s a wonderful father and works very hard to take care of the ranch and you. But—”

      “What? You like him.”

      “I do. But my stay here is temporary and you’re talking about forever.”

      “Do you have to go?” His voice was wistful.

      “Yes. I’m just taking a break here.” She squeezed his thin shoulder. “Do you understand?”

      “Yeah.”

      The tone said quite clearly that he didn’t like it, though.

      They were just passing the archery range, an open field where targets were secured on bales of hay. In the summer-camp compound, bows and arrows were stored in an equipment shed. Kate had dabbled in the sport because almost every shooting range where she practiced hitting clay targets also had an archery section. And she’d become friendly with some of the members of the Olympic team. Her roommate had come close to a gold medal but had to settle for silver. Today Kate had given some of the kids pointers to improve their form and accuracy. It had felt good to make a difference.

      Ty glanced over at the field and frowned. “I’m no good at that.”

      “It’s a difficult skill to learn and takes a lot of practice to master it.”

      “Dustin and Maddie are really good.”

      “They’re older and have been to camp for the past several years,” she said. One of the other counselors had filled her in on them.

      “I’ll never be as good as them.”

      Kate looked down at the boy’s expression and recognized it from looking in the mirror twenty years ago. Because of all the moves her family made, she used to be him, on the outside looking in. The loneliness was consuming. Her parents had noticed and that was when her father started including her on his outings to the skeet-shooting complex. She’d wanted to try it and then amazed everyone with her raw ability. The rest was history.

      But her parents were a team. Cabot was a single father and couldn’t be faulted for not noticing his son’s isolation. She suspected Ty wouldn’t say anything because on some level he knew his dad was juggling so many things and didn’t want to be a burden. Or risk that another parent would think he was too much trouble.

      Unlike her, he was growing up in the place where he’d been born, but he still battled loneliness. This boy got to her, and suddenly the words were coming out of her mouth. “I could help you with archery. Privately.”

      “Really?” Excitement shone in his eyes when his gaze jumped to hers.

      “I’d be happy to. Although you should know it’s not my best event.”

      “Horseback riding is my best event,” he said, clearly engaged now.

      “Good for you. I’m afraid of horses.”

      “Really? They’re easy compared to archery,” he said, more carefree and a little cocky now. “I could help you get over it.”

      “I bet you could.” And it would boost his self-confidence. “Let’s make a deal. I’ll teach you about archery and you help me with horses.”

      Tyler took the hand she held out and said, “Deal.”

      Would Cabot’s average charity case be able to do that?

      * * *

      Cabot made sure Ty was sound asleep before starting his nightly inspection of the ranch buildings. It hadn’t taken his son long to be out like a light; camp activities kept him busy and wore him out. Caroline had texted him that everything was fine before she went home for the day. As he walked down the hill all seemed quiet.

      The program was a good one because he hired the best people to run it. His son was busy in a positive way and well supervised during the summer off from school. That meant Cabot could take care of business without worrying about him getting into trouble.

      Earlier Ty had come in happy and excited after having dinner with the campers and said this year he was going to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow really good. That was a direct quote. And Kate was going to teach him. Why the heck would she know how? Maybe she’d had a class in college, but that would have been a while ago. Just showed Cabot how little he knew about the runaway bride.

      He walked past the camp cabins, where he could see dim lights and hear quiet talking from inside. The crickets were louder than the kids, which told him the situation was normal. Moving on, he passed the cabin where Kate was staying and felt the same knot in his gut that he had every night when he forced himself not to look over and see if she was on the porch.

      If he did and she was, the temptation to talk to her could be too much to resist. And if he didn’t resist, there was a better-than-even chance he would make a move on that spectacular mouth of hers and live to regret it.

      No, ignoring her was the smartest play and that was what he did.

      Cabot came to the end of the dirt path, where a patch of grass bordered the lake. The moon was nearly full tonight, and he spotted a lone, slender female figure at the water’s edge. Because the counselors were with kids and Caroline had gone home, he knew whom that body silhouetted against the moonlight belonged to.

      Kate Scott.

      Fate was putting another temptation in his path, but her back was to him. She didn’t know he was there, which meant slipping away quietly was an option. He started to turn and his boot scraped a rock, a small sound that echoed loudly in the quiet night.

      She looked over her shoulder. “Cabot?”

      So much for slipping away quietly.

      “Evening, Kate.” He walked across the grass to stand beside her.

      The sun had gone down. How was it possible that her lips looked even more appealing? Moonlight was sneaky that way.

      “You’re on routine inspection?” No greeting and her tone was cool, clipped, as if there was a chip on her shoulder about something.

      “Yeah. Everything’s quiet.”

      “No three-legged dogs creating havoc or blind cats bumping into trees?”

      “Not that I’ve seen.” Definitely a chip on her shoulder, and he had no idea what was on her mind.

      “That’s a relief.”

      He wasn’t going to bite. Staying neutral and unengaged. “Nice night.”

      “Beautiful,” she said, glancing up at the stars. “The sky is like diamonds on black velvet.”

      He followed her gaze. “Never thought about it like that, but could be.”

      “Tell me something.”

      “Okay,” he said, bracing himself.

      “I can’t imagine