A Winchester Homecoming. Pamela Toth

wrap her mind around the image of him on crutches. He was too powerful for that, too strong, just like the large immovable boulder in the northeast section of the range.

      “Mom’s cleaned your old room for you,” David added as he took the fork in the road that would lead them to the big house where Kim had grown up. “She and Adam are looking forward to seeing you.”

      The idea that Emily would be as eager as Kim’s father to see her was ludicrous. Although the two women got along, they weren’t close.

      Was David sending up a trial balloon to test Kim? To deduce what her attitude toward his mother might be?

      “That was nice of Emily,” she replied quietly, slipping off her sunglasses and tucking them into her purse. They had been expensive, but she couldn’t seem to care whether or not they got scratched.

      The light glinted off her birthstone ring. Self-consciously she touched the bare spot where her platinum wedding set had been, wondering if David had noticed its absence.

      Drew certainly had when she’d first removed it. He had gone ballistic.

      Determinedly Kim pushed aside the memory as the car rounded the familiar last curve. Despite her catnap, she was still tired. Maybe she would have time for a real rest before dinner. Even though her dad and Emily had two more kids, they’d kept Kim’s bedroom available for her. It was the one refuge in the large house that hadn’t been taken over by her stepmother.

      “Are you still living at the Johnson place?” she asked David. Even though Emily had bought the small spread from Ed Johnson when she and David first came to town and it had since become part of the Running W, everyone still referred to it by the name of its previous owner and probably always would.

      “Yep.” He turned into the wide driveway and pulled up next to a bike lying on its side.

      Toys had never been left out when Kim was small. Fighting the mixed emotions crowding up into her throat, she unbuckled her seat belt with hands that trembled. Swallowing hard, she focused on her simple relief at being here. All the rest—the questions, the explanations, the decisions she needed to make—could be sorted through and dealt with later. For now, she would just enjoy.

      Even though David hadn’t honked, the front door burst open and her half brother and sister spilled out as though they had been watching through the window. They were followed by her father on his crutches.

      The sight of him brought tears to Kim’s eyes. He was bareheaded, his thick, black hair laced with more silver than she remembered. His face, creased now by a wide grin, was weathered by a life spent out of doors. Hunched slightly over his crutches, he appeared older than he had the last time she’d seen him, when he had insisted on flying out to Seattle for her birthday.

      Hovering at his elbow was Emily, looking trim and perky. She even managed to appear pleased by the arrival of her uninvited houseguest.

      Instantly the snide thought made Kim feel guilty. As always, Emily’s smile was cordial. Even after Kim’s outburst in the stable when she’d caught the two of them making out like teenagers and her father had been so angry at her, Emily had pretended to be understanding. If she had done so to impress her new boyfriend with her niceness, it had certainly worked.

      Kim had desperately needed his reassurance, so she’d lashed out like a jealous lover. When he’d taken Emily’s side against her, she’d been totally humiliated. The memory of her bratty attitude still embarrassed her, but the important thing was that Emily made him happy.

      Kim would have to try harder to like Emily while she was here. Her father would be pleased to see the two of them getting along.

      “Hi, Kim!”

      Jake and Cheyenne’s headlong dash and noisy greetings reminded Kim a little of her mother-in-law’s cocker spaniels. She dragged up a big smile, feeling as though her cheeks would split.

      “Hey, how are you two?” she asked, holding out her arms.

      They’d both grown a lot since the last time she had seen them. Cheyenne, blond like her mother, threw her arms around Kim in an exuberant hug. Jake, with their father’s dark hair, skidded to a stop, hands jammed into his pockets. With a young boy’s wariness, he appeared ready to bolt if Kim even tried to hug him. She patted his head instead and he rewarded her restraint with a grin.

      “How long are you staying?” Cheyenne demanded, grabbing her hand.

      The blunt question caught Kim by surprise. She hadn’t thought that far ahead.

      “Why don’t you and Jake help me with the bags while she says hi to your folks?” David suggested, opening the trunk.

      Kim’s attention turned to her father who’d been waiting patiently.

      “Hey, princess,” he said, balancing on one crutch as he held out his free hand.

      “Hi, Daddy.” With a little sigh of relief, she wrapped her arms around his waist while he gave her an awkward hug. When he let her go, she and Emily exchanged air kisses near each other’s cheeks.

      “Welcome home,” Emily said gently.

      Kim’s guilt increased tenfold. She had stopped being jealous years ago, and Emily was way nicer than her own mother, so what was Kim’s problem other than a whisper of disloyalty?

      Before she could puzzle it out, David and the younger kids joined them with the bags.

      “I guess you didn’t have any trouble finding her,” her father said to him.

      “I haven’t changed that much!” Kim protested.

      “You’re thinner,” her father replied with typical male bluntness and a frown she knew stemmed from concern.

      His implied criticism still stung, making her cheeks go hot with embarrassment.

      “Some people say a woman can’t be too thin or too rich,” Emily commented smoothly, dispelling the awkward moment with a hostess’s effortless smile. “Come inside, Kim, and we’ll get you settled.”

      Even though she appreciated Emily’s tact, part of Kim felt like insisting that she would rather stay outside, just to be contrary. And maybe she could throw herself down in the driveway and drum her heels on the pavement, just to show her maturity.

      “Thank you,” she said instead.

      “You might like a nap before dinner,” Emily continued. “It’s just the five of us tonight.” She glanced at David. “Unless you’d like to join us, honey?”

      To Kim’s relief, he shook his head. “Thanks, Mom, but I’ve got stuff to do back at my place.”

      Kim’s father patted her shoulder before his hands returned to the grips on his crutches, his gaze steady on hers. “I’m glad you’re here, Kimmie,” he said quietly.

      “Me, too.” Her chin wobbled, so she turned away to give David a bright, blank smile. “Would you mind taking my bags up to my room before you leave?”

      “Sure thing, princess,” he drawled with a mocking grin.

      Ignoring his jab, Kim followed her father up the front steps. Despite his height and bum leg, he took them with surprising agility, but he’d always been a natural athlete.

      Feeling a little like a spectator at a play about family dynamics—or perhaps a TV sitcom—David hitched up the strap of Kim’s shoulder bag as Jake and Cheyenne both began tugging on the handle of the wheeled suitcase. To head off a skirmish, David dug his keys from his pocket.

      “Who wants to lock the car?” he asked, dangling them like the proverbial carrot.

      Both kids missed the irony of his question. The chance of anyone stealing the sedan from the boss’s driveway was right up there with the likelihood of the two kids being able to get the heavy suitcases up the stairs. Kim must have it filled it with rocks from Puget Sound.

      Jake’s