Skylar's Outlaw. Linda Warren

stared at Sky, who wasn’t sure how to explain this to Gran. Damn Cooper Yates.

      Gran patted Maddie’s hand. “Since your sisters seem to be tongue-tied, tell me what’s going on.”

      As if it was the easiest thing in the world, Maddie started to explain. “Sky has a problem working with Cooper.”

      “What? That’s ridiculous. Cooper is a very nice and polite young man.”

      “We were trying to explain that to Sky, but she feels differently, and we have to respect her feelings. That’s the reason Cait offered to come back.”

      “Respect, my ass,” Cait whispered under her breath.

      “Cait’s not coming back to High Five to work,” Gran stated firmly. “She has a husband, a home, a baby on the way, and she doesn’t belong here, running a ranch.” Gran patted Maddie’s hand again. “Neither do you, so go home to your husbands. Sky and I will sort this out. If worst comes to worst, I can run the ranch.”

      A collective gasp echoed around the room. Cait mouthed at Sky, I’m going to kill you.

      “I can see you, Caitlyn,” Gran stated.

      “Gran…”

      She held up a hand. “Go home, my baby. That’s where you belong.”

      “But you can’t run this ranch.” Cait couldn’t leave well enough alone.

      Their grandmother bristled. “You don’t think I can.”

      “Cait didn’t mean that.” As usual, peacemaker Maddie tried to soothe the ruffled feathers.

      “Good.” Gran nodded. “Sky and I will talk about this. We’ll let you know how it turns out. Goodbye, my babies.”

      “I’m going to kill you,” Cait muttered once again as she walked out the door. Maddie looked anxious, but followed her.

      Don’t go. Don’t go.

      As upset as she was with her sisters, Sky did not want to face her grandmother alone. Gran would pick away at her emotions like a buzzard gnaws at a carcass, laying bare every fear, every anxiety she kept hidden.

      Gran took Maddie’s seat, her back straight, her hands folded in her lap. “Now, young lady, what’s the problem?”

      Oh, God. When Gran sat as a proper Southern woman and called her “young lady,” Sky knew she was in trouble. However, she wasn’t a little girl or a teenager anymore. She was now an adult and able to handle her grandmother.

      Yeah, a little voice mocked her, like when cows can vote.

      She pushed the nervousness away and decided to be honest. “Gran…”

      “Just so we’re clear.” Gran held up the forefinger on her left hand, and Sky noticed her platinum-and-diamond wedding rings. Sky had always loved them. When Cait married, Sky had felt sure Gran would give them to her, but Judd had had his own ideas for Cait’s rings, as Walker had for Maddie’s. Sky was the only granddaughter left, and she would never wed. She would never again open her heart to a scum like Todd Spencer, who had shredded her emotions like confetti.

      “You are not leaving High Five.” Gran’s declaration broke through her musings. “Kira loves it here and you can’t keep uprooting her. She needs stability. It’s time to stand up to Todd’s parents, but that’s another discussion. Right now I want to talk about Cooper.”

      For once Sky would rather talk about Cooper, too. Ever since Todd’s parents had found out about Kira, they’d wanted a paternity test done, in hopes of gaining custody of their only grandchild. Sky had been on the run since then. She would fight with her last breath before she’d let the wealthy Spencers take her child.

      She forced Todd’s parents out of her mind. “Cooper doesn’t like me and I’m not that crazy about him, either. I don’t see how we can continue to work together.”

      “How do you know he doesn’t like you?”

      “He won’t speak to me and he avoids me. When I tell him to do something, he ignores me.”

      “Well, that’s just rude.”

      Sky blinked. Hot damn. Gran was on her side. She didn’t expect this.

      “But, my baby, you’ve been rude to him, too. Cooper doesn’t even eat at the house anymore because of you and your intolerance. I’ve taught you better than that. Being part owner of this ranch gives you certain rights, but prejudice isn’t one of them.”

      “Gran!” She could feel Gran stripping away all her defenses and her rights as she envisioned them, exposing a painful reality that wedged its way into her heart—she’d disappointed her grandmother once again.

      Gran shouldn’t be able to ignite her guilt. But she managed to, because Sky loved her. Gran and Sky’s father had been the only stability she’d ever known in her life. And disappointing them had always taken a slice of her pride. Like now.

      “But my granddaughter will not be treated that way. I will have a word with Cooper.” Gran slowly pushed to her feet.

      Guilt screamed full blast through her conscience, awakening a barefaced truth. Since when had she needed anyone to fight her battles? This wasn’t Cait’s, Maddie’s or Gran’s problem. It was hers. And it was time to stop acting like a fifth grader and run this ranch with authority, as Cait and Maddie had. Cooper Yates would not make her turn tail and run.

      “No, Gran.” Sky rose to her feet with confidence, stopping her at the door. “I’ll talk with Cooper. It’s my job and this time he will not ignore me.”

      Gran fingered her pearls. “I wondered what had happened to your fighting spirit.”

      She winced. “Momentary insanity.”

      “Baby, give the man a chance. High Five can’t afford to lose him.”

      “Cait said the same thing.”

      “Well, then, enough said. Pull up your big-girl panties and get this done…the Belle way.”

      Sky’s laughter echoed around the room. “Gran, you’ve said that since I was small, and I still don’t know what the hell it means.”

      “But you get the gist? And no cursing, please.”

      Sky wrapped an arm around the old woman’s thin shoulders. “Yes, ma’am.”

      “That’s all that matters, and thank you. I really didn’t want to saddle up in the morning.”

      Sky stopped and stared at her grandmother. “You had no intention of saddling up. You played me like a fine-tuned violin. You knew if you made me see how selfish I was being, I’d relent.”

      Gran shrugged. “Whatever works.”

      “Mommy. Mommy,” Kira called, running from the parlor, with Etta, the housekeeper, on her heels.

      Before the child reached Sky, she fell headlong onto the hardwood floor. Loud cries filled the room. Sky immediately scooped her up.

      Don’t ask if she’s hurt. Don’t ask.

      Her four-year-old daughter had been diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and the doctor warned about constantly asking if Kira was hurting. It would make the child paranoid and deeply aware of her condition. Kira would tell her if she was in pain. Still, Sky couldn’t help thinking about it constantly.

      Kira’s cries grew louder. Sky rubbed her back. “You’re okay, precious. Shh. Mommy’s here.”

      Raising her head from Sky’s shoulder, she wiped at her eyes. “I fall down.”

      Sky kissed a wet cheek. “Yes, you did.” Kira fell a lot but the doctor said that was normal. There was nothing normal about her baby hurting, though.

      Kira’s right