The Rancher's Secret Wife. Brenda Minton

      “I’m going back to my place.” Jesse had a nice house on the lake. Reese had the feeling that big old house got pretty lonely sometimes.

      “Could you drop me off at the barbershop?”

      “That I can do.” Jesse touched his arm. “Two steps and then the first step up.”

      “Thanks.” Reese reached the stairs and grabbed the handrail.

      They were on the road before either of them spoke.

      “So how did you end up married?” Jesse finally asked.

      Reese wondered if the word married really fit his situation. There had been a wedding. He’d even kissed the bride. But then he’d taken her back to her apartment, and he hadn’t seen her again until she showed up in Dawson.

      “She needed a break, Jess. She was pregnant, no one to lean on and flat broke.”

      “She isn’t a puppy, Reese.”

      “I’m pretty sure I know that.” He fiddled with the cane, folded and in his hands. “The father of the baby wanted her to get an abortion. And she considered it but then couldn’t go through with it.”

      “That’s pretty rough.”

      “She needed a break, someone to give her a chance to do the right thing.”

      “Do you have any feelings for her?”

      Reese leaned back and rubbed a hand across his jaw. The truck slowed and made a right turn. Did he have feelings for Cheyenne? He admired her. Few women could pull themselves up the way she had. She’d used the money he’d given her to better her life. She’d packed up and moved across the country looking for a fresh start. She was having a baby alone.

      “I’m not sure.” That seemed to be the safest answer at the moment. Because how crazy would he be if he told his brother he might have feelings for Cheyenne? Because she had written him funny, touching letters while he’d been in Afghanistan? She’d shared the pregnancy with him: the first kick, the morning sickness and being upset that she couldn’t fit into her jeans after the fourth month. Those letters had put him front and center in her life.

      He knew that she felt rejected by the family that

      adopted her. She saw herself as their mistake, the kid they wished they hadn’t adopted. She’d been rejected by the man she thought she had married.

      The truck slowed again. “We’re almost there. So do you have a plan?”

      “I’m going to make sure she’s okay and see if I can help.”

      Jesse cleared his throat. “I meant future plans for the two of you.”

      “The plan was to get an annulment when I got back.” He didn’t have much else to say. “Are we there?”

      The truck slowed, and he heard the click-click of the turn signal.

      “Turning now.” Jesse cleared his throat. “Don’t worry. She’s going to be okay. So is the baby.”

      “Thanks.” Reese reached to unclick his seat belt.

      The truck slowed to a stop. “Do you want help getting in there?”

      “No, I think I can handle it if you can give me a few directions.” He reached for the handle and pushed the door open just a little. “And keep this between us for now. I don’t care about myself. I don’t want her to be hurt.”

      “I understand.” Jesse touched his arm. “I parked right in front of the door, parallel to the curb. Get out, take three steps forward and you’re going to step up. Ten steps and you’re at the door.”

      “Is she here?”

      Jesse laughed a little. “Yeah, she’s here.”

      “What’s so funny?”

      “She looked out the window, and I think she’s madder than Mia the day we sold her dolls at a yard sale.”

      Reese had pushed the door open. Now he hesitated. “That wasn’t a fun day.” A day they pranked their little sister and ended up grounded.

      “You’ve got that right. I have to go, so see you later, little brother.”

      Reese stepped out of the car, closed the door behind him and took three steps. He touched the curb with his cane, stepped up and walked to the front of the building. Jesse had given perfect directions. He found the door and pushed. It didn’t budge. He could hear Jesse’s truck pulling out on the road.

      He knocked on the glass of the door. No one answered. Great. He knocked again and pushed. It was still locked. He touched his pocket to make sure he had his cell phone. If she wasn’t in there, he was going to hurt Jesse.

      After a few minutes of knocking and getting no response, he eased down the sidewalk to the bench he knew used to be there. He couldn’t stand up much longer. The bench was still there. He touched it and then sat, stretching his legs in front of him.

      It turned out that in July heat sitting on that bench, even in late afternoon, felt pretty uncomfortable. Even in athletic shorts and a T-shirt, he was roasting. He would knock one more time, and if she didn’t come out, he’d call someone to come and get him. Before he could move, he heard the door click and then open. He remained in one place, waiting, wondering if she’d try to play a game and slip past him. As she walked out the door, he spoke.

      “Marco.”

      She didn’t say anything. He tried again. “Marco.”

      There was no answer, so he smiled and tried charm as he stood to face the direction where he knew she had stopped. “You know, when I say ‘Marco,’ you’re supposed to say ‘Polo.’ I’m not sure why it’s Marco Polo but you get the rules of the game, right? I’m blindfolded and I say ‘Marco.’ You say ‘Polo,’ and maybe I can find you.”

      “I don’t think those are the rules.” Her voice reached him from a few feet away—soft, sweet, maybe a little teary.

      “Why did you lock me out?”

      “Why are you still here?”

      “Because I’m nothing if not gallant. I’ve been told all my life that I’m a real Sir Gala. What was his name?”

      “Sir Galahad? I’m not sure that fits.”

      “I could be Marc Anthony, and you could be... Isn’t his wife a famous singer?”

      She laughed a little. “I think they broke up, and I think that you definitely won’t win points for pop culture or history. Marc Antony and Cleopatra would be the couple you’re thinking of, and I’ve always thought she was tragic and vain.”

      He took a few steps and reached for her. Her hand touched his. “I think you’re not vain. Actually, you don’t realize just how beautiful you are.”

      “Neither of us is tragic, so we can’t be Cleopatra and Marc Antony. Or the other two.”

      “Could we be Desi and Lucy?”

      She laughed at that. “That’s more like it. Why are you here?”

      “Because you need me.” He stepped close, feeling her breath, hearing her sigh. Her hand touched his cheek. It seemed like an invitation, so he leaned, touching his forehead to hers in an easy gesture. “Because I love being needed.”

      “I don’t need anyone. I can do this. My needing you wasn’t part of the bargain. I’m supposed to have this baby and then we get an annulment. End of story.”

      “I know it wasn’t part of the bargain, Cheyenne, but if you haven’t noticed, things have gone south in a big way. I don’t think this was part of the bargain, either.” He pulled off the sunglasses he wore and shoved them in his pocket.

      “You have beautiful eyes.”