More Than a Rancher. Claire McEwen

about the shape of your hands—even what part of your foot hits the floor first. Go slow and pay attention to all that.”

      Paul nodded, his face serious. He was obviously taking in every word. “I’ll do that. Thanks, Jenna.”

      He stuck out his hand and she shook it awkwardly. “Do you know where you’re going from here?” he asked. “Want me to set you in the right direction?”

      “That would be great. It’s Jack Baron’s place? It’s off of...” Jenna tried to picture the name of the street, scrawled on a piece of paper in her car.

      “I know it,” Paul said. “He’s a friend of my brother’s. Head back to the highway and go south about a mile and a half before making a right turn. The road will take you back behind the town, then out toward the mountains. There’s a driveway off to the right that heads uphill. Take the left fork on that driveway and you’re there.”

      “I’m lucky you came along.” More than lucky—profoundly relieved. “Good luck, Paul. And thank you again for the rescue.”

      “Glad to help.” He tipped his hat in her direction and went to get his horse. Jenna watched him go. Kids were her soft spot. Especially teenagers. Maybe when she finally got her own dance studio, she’d create some kind of program for kids like Paul, living out in the country with no support for their dreams. They could train with her for the summer and stay with host families. Kind of like foreign exchange students but an exchange from rural to urban.

      She looked around at the landscape that in some places looked more like a moonscape. The sun was getting high and a dry heat was building, baking the sagebrush and filling the air with its spicy scent. If this was Paul’s home, then a chilly summer in San Francisco really would be like a stay in a foreign country. And as for her, a city girl, this rocky pasture felt even stranger than that. An alien world, Jenna decided as she got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. And she was ready to get back to nice familiar planet Earth.

      She turned the car around and started back on the rutted dirt road she’d somehow thought would lead her to Samantha’s ranch. Knowing now what it could do to her tires, she crept along, heart pounding. Watching Paul had given her some idea of what to do if she had another blowout, but she was already riding on her spare.

      Gratefully, Jenna saw the highway getting closer. Motion in her rearview mirror had her glancing back. Paul was riding behind her, a little ways off the track to avoid the dust her wheels kicked up. She smiled. What a good guy—making sure she got back to the main road safely. This was why she loved working with young people. No matter how murky or dismal the future might seem, they always gave her hope.

      Meeting an aspiring dancer out here was such an odd coincidence. Jenna remembered the way Paul’s face had lit up when he talked about dance. Maybe she’d ended up in the middle of nowhere for a reason—to encourage him in his dream. If that was the case, then she’d been wrong about the meaning of that exploding smoothie. Maybe today was somehow meant to be.

CHAPTER TWO

      “WHERE WERE YOU?” Samantha came rushing out of the beautiful log-and-glass house and down the stone steps. “I was thinking about calling the sheriff!”

      “Sorry to worry you,” Jenna apologized, getting out of the Mini and giving her friend a huge hug. “I had a small mishap on the way, but everything’s fine.”

      Jenna held her friend at arm’s length, admiring her glossy black hair and the way the mountain sun had sprayed tiny freckles across her porcelain skin. Samantha was wearing green to match her eyes—eyes that looked happier and more relaxed than Jenna had ever seen them when her friend had lived in San Francisco. “You look wonderful!” Jenna exclaimed. “Being engaged suits you!”

      Samantha laughed and waved her hand with the huge emerald ring on it. “Can you believe it? In three months I’ll be married. Who would have thought?”

      “I would.” A deep voice, ringing with its customary humor, had both women turning to where Samantha’s fiancé, Jack, was approaching from the barn, two border collies trotting at his heels.

      “Jack!” Jenna smiled in delight.

      “Red!” Jack grinned, teasing her with the nickname he’d given her in honor of her hair. It was amazing how fast, how perfectly, Jack had fit in with his fiancée’s best friends. Jack wrapped her in a hug and squeezed her so hard he lifted her off the ground. “Thanks for coming out here and entertaining Sam for a few days. I hope you’re up for a lot of bridal magazines and seating charts.”

      Jenna realized she hadn’t thought this through. How was she supposed to muster any enthusiasm for weddings when she’d just been so royally betrayed? She plastered a smile on her face. “I’m not surprised about the charts!” Jenna forced out a playful wink, but it must have come out more like a grimace, because Samantha looked momentarily alarmed. “What else would we expect from Miss Organization?”

      Samantha shrugged sheepishly and Jack went over to put his arm around his future wife, kissing the top of her head. The love in his expression was so vivid that jealousy bit its sharp teeth into Jenna’s heart. How incredible to have a man look at you as if you were the only thing that really mattered. Would anyone ever feel that way about her? At this moment, it seemed pretty unlikely.

      Shaking off that dream, she pasted on another smile. “We can’t just sit around reading wedding magazines! I have a competition in a month and you promised me lots of exercise!”

      “Excellent. We’ll exercise and talk about weddings.”

      Jenna hoped she could. Knowing how much heartache she was carrying around right now, she’d probably burst into tears the first time she opened one of Samantha’s magazines.

      “I’m just glad you’re here, Jenna,” Jack said. “As much as I can’t wait to marry this woman, I could use a break from debating the merits of lace versus tulle!” Jack hugged Samantha even closer as he teased her. “I’ll be hiding in the barn this weekend. Doing manly things.”

      Samantha looked up at Jack with a radiant smile and then turned and held out her hand to Jenna. “Come see the house.” She pulled her friend close and put an arm around her. “Jack, if you’re so into manly things, would you mind bringing Jenna’s bags in?”

      “Yes, ma’am.” Jack tipped his hat to his wife in mock subservience.

      Jenna loved Jack. He was more of a big brother than her own would ever be. Maybe she was a little jealous of Samantha and Jack’s love, but she was genuinely happy for her friend. That happiness was what she needed to somehow keep her focus on this weekend. Her woes and heartache would have to wait until she got back to San Francisco on Sunday.

      She followed Samantha up the steps and walked across the planks of the broad porch. It was furnished with wooden rockers and a porch swing. “This place is beautiful!” It really was. Another thing to focus on besides Jeff. “Look at the views!” Pine trees and mountain meadows rolled out to one side of the house. Pasture unfolded on the other. And the granite crags of the Sierra Nevada gave a majestic backdrop to all that beauty.

      “I promise, it was Jack I fell in love with.” Samantha gave her a wink as she pushed open the heavy front door. “But I have to admit, I really like his house, too.”

      Jenna gasped when they walked inside. “I can see why!”

      A massive great room with a slate floor opened in front of them, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling arched windows that let in the light and framed the spectacular scenery outside. A river-rock fireplace rose on one wall.

      Samantha led the way upstairs and Jenna tried not to envy the bedrooms filled with light and huge four-poster beds, the bathrooms Zen-like with limestone and more slate. When she saw the fitness room, bigger than her entire studio apartment in San Francisco, Jenna did a few pirouettes across the floor and stopped in front of the large mirror on the wall. “I think I’m in heaven!