Temporary Rancher. Ann Evans

with her arms. In moments she was soaked.

      She took the steps two at a time, nearly twisting her ankle as the wood gave under her foot. Flipping over the flowerpot by the front door, she retrieved the keys and an envelope Avenaco had left for her, then dashed back to the car. The whole ordeal took less than a minute, but by the time she slid into the front seat again, she had to wipe rainwater out of her eyes just to see anything.

      The twins remained silent as she carefully drove toward the barn, splashing through more potholes. Those will have to be filled, she thought, automatically starting a to-do list in her head.

      The map Avenaco had left for her indicated that the apartment was attached to the right side of the barn, a pretty standard setup. Most ranchers liked their second-in-command to be close, with easy access to both the main house and primary barn.

      Riley parked, wrenched open the car door and hustled the twins out. They squealed as the rain hit them. She jammed the key into the lock, and was never happier in her life than when she felt the dead bolt slide back. They practically fell through the opening as the wind and rain swirled around them.

      Gasping and dripping in near darkness, the three of them stood a moment, trying to catch their breaths. Riley’s hand found the light switch by the door. She flicked it on, and the room sprang into life.

      Oh, dear God.

      The place was smaller than Jillian’s. A miniscule kitchen to one side led out to a dining-living room combination. A closed door on the far wall probably accessed the only bedroom. Through another door Riley glimpsed a slice of sink and tub in a very small bathroom. The walls were wood-paneled in knotty pine, giving the place a gloomy, closed-in feel.

      But it was the decor that had them speechless.

      In Texas it wasn’t unusual to decorate a ranch house with a Western flavor. Nor was it uncommon to outfit the manager’s apartment with castoffs from the main house. But whoever had created this nightmare seemed determined to turn the place into a Western theme park.

      There was a dining room table made out of an old wagon wheel. A sagging plaid couch draped with Indian blankets that looked as scratchy as steel wool. Two barrel chairs made out of actual barrels. Battered ten-gallon hats lined one wall, held in place by horseshoes that had been turned into hooks. Branding irons crossed one another like swords over the ancient television, while one corner of the living room boasted a fake saguaro cactus festooned with Indian dream catchers.

      It might have been laughable. In fact, Riley could feel a giggle vibrating in her chest. But there was one big decor issue that would have to be dealt with immediately.

      A white-tailed deer head adorned the space over the couch and seemed to be in a direct face-off with the mounted antelope head on the opposite wall. An angry-looking bobcat sat on the coffee table, posed to feast on a helpless rabbit with beady eyes.

      Wendy’s fingers were already tightening around Riley’s.

      “Mommy…” her daughter began, her voice a mere whisper, as if she’d suddenly found herself in church.

      Riley bent down, bringing her face level with Wendy’s. “I know, honey. I know. But we can fix it.”

      Seeing the fear on Wendy’s face, Riley felt a flicker of annoyance. All right. Granted, this was Texas, a state with some of the best hunting in the country. By why would anyone think stuffing the poor creatures he shot and using them for decoration was a good idea?

      Wendy glanced back over her shoulder. Her features were as pale as milk. “They’re looking at us.”

      Riley had to agree it must seem that way.

      “I think they’re kind of cool,” Roxanna said, giving her sister a superior look, but Riley could tell most of it was pure bravado.

      “Can we put them outside?” Wendy asked.

      “Not right now,” Riley said. “It’s still pouring.” The rain made a good excuse. Truthfully, she wasn’t sure about her options. If they stayed, would Avenaco allow her to get rid of poor stuffed Bambi and his pals? He might be an avid hunter himself and see nothing wrong with it. And he’d expected a man to show up, someone who probably wouldn’t care one way or another about a few hunting trophies.

      She felt Wendy start to shiver, whether from the rain or the taxidermy, Riley didn’t know. Probably both.

      The downpour had slackened, so she made a couple of runs to the SUV to bring in suitcases, bags of groceries and a box of supplies. The girls didn’t move an inch until she tossed them towels and began drying them off.

      Wendy particularly didn’t need to catch a cold. Last year, just before Riley had left Brad for good, a case of the sniffles had turned into pneumonia, putting their daughter in the hospital. They’d nearly lost her. Now, anytime Wendy even looked like she was going to sneeze, Riley’s heart leaped up in her throat.

      She gave her daughters a big smile and nudged them farther into the room. “Let’s check out the place,” she said, even though there didn’t seem to be much else to investigate. “See what the bedroom’s like. I’m going to unload the groceries. I brought the stuff to make spaghetti tonight. How does that sound?”

      Since that was one of their favorites, they nodded absently. Riley headed for the small kitchen, while Roxanna and Wendy drifted slowly toward the bedroom.

      The range and fridge were old, but functional; work space was on the skimpy side, but manageable. There was a decent supply of pots and pans. A maid service card was on the counter. Avenaco had emailed her that he’d had the place cleaned, which was a relief. She wondered what the cleaning crew had thought of all the taxidermy.

      On top of a cupboard she spotted a stuffed flying squirrel in midflight peering down at her. “Don’t even think about trying to tell me how to cook,” she muttered up at the creature.

      “Mom…” Roxanna called from the bedroom.

      Now what? Riley wondered.

      She stopped at the bedroom door. The girls stood on either side of a queen-size bed. The space was less cluttered with tacky Western decor than the living room, and at least the bed looked comfortable. She had planned to give the twins the bedroom, since the setup had worked so well at her sister’s apartment.

      Thankfully, there were no stuffed animals on the dresser or in the corner, looking ready to pounce. A pretty normal-looking bedroom, actually.

      As long as you didn’t mind the huge stuffed buffalo head glaring down at you from over the bed.

      WITHIN AN HOUR, the rain had stopped and sunshine made a welcome reappearance. Covering the buffalo head with the biggest bath towel in the linen closet seemed to reassure Wendy. They unpacked, though Riley couldn’t help wondering if it was a waste of time. When Quintin Avenaco returned, would she and the girls find themselves back on the road?

      Riley decided they should spend the rest of the afternoon checking out their new surroundings. The girls refused to stay in the apartment alone, and trooped after her, with promises not to squabble or wander off.

      The main house was off-limits, of course, much to Roxanna’s disappointment, but there were plenty of other things to see. Since the girls had been raised on a ranch, they didn’t find anything particularly interesting, but nothing scared them, either. Inspecting the barn, the equipment sheds and stock structures, Riley saw that Echo Springs had potential, just as Avenaco had said, but most of it seemed buried under years of neglect.

      There were signs that he had begun to make progress already. Fifty-pound bags of grain were stacked in one corner of the horse barn, along with fresh, sweet-smelling hay and vitamin supplement pellets. Several unidentifiable delivery cartons were tilted up against one wall, plus boxes of cooling blankets, rubber wash mats, breeding hobbles and cross ties.

      They found a late-model ATV parked in a dilapidated-looking loafing shed, probably for quick trips out to the pastures. Both girls wanted to take it for a spin, but Riley found an easy no in the fact that she