A Rancher To Love. Trish Milburn

the road for me. She already turned me down. Can you believe that?”

      Tyler braced his hand atop the gas pump. “Wait, you’ve already asked her out and she’s only lived here a day?”

      “Nah, it was a few months ago, when she was here visiting Conner and his family. I pulled out my best stuff, too.”

      A bark of laughter escaped Tyler. “And she turned you down. That’s got to be a first. I don’t know the woman well, but at least now I know she has taste.”

      “Cold, man. Cold.”

      Tyler laughed again as he rounded his truck. When he caught sight of Maddie coloring yet another page in the book she’d gotten at the café, he reined in his laughter.

      “You must really like that coloring book.”

      Maddie hesitated in the strokes with the red crayon she was using before finally nodding. He went back over what he’d said, wondering how her five-year-old brain had interpreted it. Because he’d sensed concern as she’d paused in her coloring.

      “That’s good,” he finally said, hoping to ease whatever was on her mind. “We can get you some more soon, if you’d like.”

      When he thought he caught a hint of a smile trying to tug at her lips, his heart lightened. He’d buy her a hundred coloring books if it would make her really smile and maybe let down her guard. Because even though she was only five, that’s what was happening. For some reason, there were walls erected around his niece.

      As he pulled out onto the road, she closed the coloring book and watched everything they passed the way she did every time they went anywhere. She was like a tourist in a foreign country for the first time, soaking up all the unfamiliar sights. He searched for some way to engage her in conversation but came up frustratingly empty. Instead, he let his mind wander back over the events of the day until they landed on the brief conversation with Greg, specifically the fact that Greg had asked Leah out.

      He tried to imagine Leah with Greg, and he couldn’t picture it. Leah seemed like a quiet person, reserved, perhaps a touch shy. Which was surprising considering her cousin was not that way. But he guessed if siblings could be like night and day, it shouldn’t be a surprise if cousins were.

      As he drove back toward the ranch, he wondered about his new tenant, if the situation would work out. He’d probably already made mistakes, such as not even asking what she did for a living and where she intended to work, if perhaps she already had a job before moving to Blue Falls. But really, as long as she paid her rent, didn’t host wild parties and wasn’t doing anything illegal, he shouldn’t care. He admitted to himself he was more curious than anything.

      When he pulled up beside the house a few minutes later, he saw no sign of her other than the fact her car was parked next to the bunkhouse. He supposed she was still getting settled. As he got out of his truck and Maddie released herself from her seat and headed for the house with her coloring book and crayons, he resisted the urge to go check on Leah, to see if she needed anything. He reminded himself that distance was a good thing. His number one concern was his niece, followed by his work, which meant he didn’t have a lot of free time for chatting up his new neighbor.

      No matter how pretty she was.

      * * *

      LEAH OPENED A box of beads and ran her fingers across the familiar and colorful glass, hoping a flash of inspiration would shoot up her arm to her brain. She went from box to box, knowing she had to work no matter if she felt inspired or not, but it would certainly be easier. She needed something, anything to spur her creativity.

      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.”