A Rancher's Love

by Vivian Arend

  As if.

  She sighed hugely. “How do I tell you that I worry you might get hurt without implying you can’t take care of yourself? Or that you can’t take care of me, because neither of those are true.”

  Tucker paused. The furrow between his brows deepened. “You don’t like it when I fight because I might get hurt? That’s your concern?”

  She made a face. “Dude, I’ve seen you after tussling with Luke. It’s not always been pretty, although I expect that’s currently more luck on my brother’s part than skill. Don’t tell him I said that.”

  His confusion seemed to grow instead of lessening. “My parents said fighting was a clear sign of a low intellect and a morally bankrupt individual.”

  “Fuck off.” The words escaped before she could stop them. “Them, not you. Did they really say that to your face?”

  He dipped his chin, refusing to meet her eyes. “The summer I was fourteen I went home with bruises, and got the mother of all lectures. They nearly stopped letting me come back. It took Ashton and your father persistently calling to make my summers continue.”

  “That is so much bullshit, and cruel, and one hundred percent wrong.” Ginny was ready to go to war on his behalf. “It’s a good thing I don’t know where they live.”

  She might reconsider her no fighting rule if it meant getting to kick their butts.

  “I don’t understand,” Tucker said softly.

  “I’m a really good shot. I wonder if they’d consider a backside full of buckshot a more civilized way to deal with asses.” She glared into the distance, sending nasty thoughts on the airwaves to his unbelievably dense parents. Then she shook her head to refocus and looked him straight in the eye. “Back to the topic at hand. With the way you’ve beefed up? Promise me that you won’t actually throw a punch at my brother. Luke’s profile can’t take his nose being broken. Then again, if you really fought, I bet you’d still hold back for old time’s sake, and then he’d mess up your pretty face, and I don’t want that either.” She threw her hands in the air dramatically. “See what dilemmas your fighting causes me?”

  The next second, she was airborne, landing in his lap.

  He cupped her face in both his hands and took a long, deep breath. “You’re amazing.”

  It was impossible to resist. “I know.”

  His lips twitched. “You really aren’t mad?”

  She considered her words. “Your parents were wrong. Not only about the fighting, but about a lot of things. The way they were never there for you when you were growing up, the way they discarded you. It’s all wrong. You know that, right?”

  Tucker dipped his head slowly.

  “Why did telling me this scare you so much?” she whispered. “Why?”

  He swallowed hard. Her confident and powerful man, uneasy as if this was life and death to him. “I’ve said it before. You’re one of the smartest people I know. What if…” He stalled. Looked away from her as if he didn’t want her to see how much he hurt inside. “What if I don’t deserve to be with you?”

  In that moment, Ginny well and truly hated his parents. “The only thing you don’t deserve are the jerks who were your biological donors,” she said bluntly. “Did my mom and dad ever make you feel as if you were lacking?”

  Tucker didn’t even pause. Just shook his head instantly in denial.

  “Of course not. In fact, you’re far less annoying than any of my brothers, which means you were probably my parents’ favourite.”

  A soft snort escaped him.

  “Promise me that you’ll duck faster if this situation ever comes up again.” She said the words softly, but with everything in her. “You have to do what you think is right, even if I don’t like it. I understand. I still get to worry, okay?”

  The instant her final word escaped, his mouth was on hers and she was being kissed senseless. He groaned, though, and not in a good way, when he finally let her breathe and rested his forehead against hers. “My lip hurts.”

  So stinking amusing. “Sorry, but kind of my point.”

  He snorted. “Okay. I promise not to permanently damage your brother in the future. You have to promise not to shoot or poison my parents at any time in the future, because it would simply be a waste of energy. And finally, I promise to be careful and only use my powers for good.”

  Ginny snickered. “You are a superhero. I knew it.”

  He hummed as he stroked his hands down her back, settling on her hips and dragging her forward into full contact with some very interesting body parts. “You’re a goddess. Make magic with me?”

  Sex in the barn when she was pretty damn sure at least half the hands knew where they were, and what they were doing?

  There was more than one way for her man to prove he knew how to take care of her, she supposed. Although she did her best to keep her moans and shouts to a minimum.

  The next three or four days flew past as Tucker got busy again and Ginny dove full on into research and planning for her new venture. But even checking out recipes and designing product delivery systems for her herbal concoctions only occupied so many hours.

  All her extra time was put toward solving the damn puzzle. Only she tried everything in the book, and it still wasn’t enough. Time to pull out the big guns.

  Ginny took a picture of the well-worn birthday puzzle paper and finally sent the image to her sister.

  Then she printed out a half dozen additional copies, folding them up and sticking them in pockets so she could haul them out and shove them under the nose of everyone she met to ask for ideas.

  2 of 3

  The clear message of the sticky note poked her again and again. If the puzzle page was one, and the journals two, that meant there was a three out there somewhere. She couldn’t stand the idea of not having the final gift from her parents fully understood.

  At the coffee shop, down in the market, everywhere Ginny went she showed people the page. Everyone tried their best, but none of the suggestions helped, and her frustration continued to rise in spite of the other good things progressing in her world.

  Good things like Tucker Stewart smoldering at her across the dinner table as he appreciatively inhaled the roast chicken dinner she’d made for them. Tucker, washing dishes at her side and telling her all about what he’d done that day. Listening with real interest as she shared about her tasks.

  Tucker, scooping her into his arms and carrying her to the bedroom, laughing together until they couldn’t do anything more than make incoherent noises, pleasure overwhelming them.

  Except for the unsolved puzzle, Ginny had to admit her life was pretty damn perfect.

  When outdoor temperatures finally rose enough to enjoy the evening outdoors, Tucker curled his arm around her a little tighter as they sat together on the porch to watch the sunset. “Want to go over it again?”

  “Please.” She leaned her head on his chest. “I must be driving you wild with this unending puzzle.”

  “I don’t mind,” he said, stroking a strand of hair behind her ear. “And I can’t wait for the moment you solve it. You’ll be on fire.”

  “You like me on fire?” Ginny pressed a palm to his cheek. “Silly question.”

  He snickered. “Dirty girl.” But he tucked his fingers under her chin and lifted her face so he could kiss her, and once again all puzzles and long-lost mysteries vanished. Nothing but his taste, his touch…

  She had a Tucker addiction that would not stop.

  He hummed lightly when he finally pulled back so she could breathe. “Where were we?”

  “Who cares?” Ginny mumbled, twisting to straddle his lap.

  A small smirk arrived. “Now, now. No getting distracted.”

  “Evil man,” Ginny complained.

  “Tell you what. Let’s go over it from the very beginning, and if we find something new, I’ll give you a prize.”

  “Ha,” Ginny snorted. “Oh, look, I discovered something new.”

  Tucker clicked his tongue. “Try again. Chris
tmas Day evening, Tamara gives you your present. You bring it home to the trailer…”

  “Wait—” Oh my God. How had she missed this? Ginny lifted her ass far enough off his lap to pull her phone from her back pocket. Tucker looked on with confusion as she connected through to Tamara. “Hey, question for you.”

  “What’s up?” her sister-in-law asked.

  “Putting you on speaker,” Ginny warned before doing just that and continuing. “Tucker and I are poking at the puzzle thing. When you gave me my present, did you say there were other packages stored away?”

  “There were. Ones for Caleb, Luke, and Walker. I passed them on ages ago. Not sure how that helps.” Tamara hummed for a minute. “I can tell you what Caleb got because it was strange enough to make us wonder.”

  “That might help,” Tucker said.

  “Lego bricks. About a dozen of them.”

  Ginny’s excitement faded slightly. “Ugh. This is getting more complicated instead of less.”

  “Right? Considering Caleb would have been twenty-four when your mom wrapped everything up, Legos don’t seem like a logical gift.” Tamara sighed. “They’ve been added to the main Lego bucket, but I can find them if you’d like to see if there’s any other clues on them.”

  “That’s an astonishing yet underappreciated skill,” Tucker said.

  “They were painted like haybales,” Tamara returned with a laugh. “The only ones in the pile.”

  Interesting.

  “Put them aside for me, please?” Ginny asked. “Now to find out what the other guys got.”

  “Good luck,” Tamara said before hanging up.

  “I’ll contact Luke if you want, and you can call Walker,” Tucker offered.

  “Deal. Report back in five,” Ginny ordered.

  “Yes, ma’am.” His eyes flashed. “Hmm, that gives me ideas.”

  She waved him off as she hit her brother’s number. “We can get kinky later.”

  “Promise? Let me break out the ropes?” he said before snorting. “Hi, Luke. No, ignore that.” He rolled his eyes. “I said ignore it, or I’ll cave and tell you exactly what I plan to do with your sister.”

  Ginny crowed with laughter, unfortunately right when Walker answered her call.

  “Dammit, brat. Phone etiquette is a thing for a reason,” Walker grumbled.

  “Sorry. Quick question, and I promise to keep it at low decibels.”

  Five minutes later, Tucker waited for her as she finished her call with Walker.

  “It gets even more impossible,” Ginny complained. “Walker got a Christmas ornament. Square, like a treasure chest you’d put in a fish tank.”

  Tucker shook his head. “I don’t see a theme. Luke says his present was a cross-stitch of a horse.”

  “Did it look like a horse?” Ginny grumbled. “Or did my dad butcher it into having five legs and three heads?”

  “Frustrating, I know.” Tucker pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Now, I said something about a reward for new information, and there’s been mention of a rope, and kinky sex. I vote we go inside and see what kind of mischief those three things can combine into.”

  “You’re distracting me again,” Ginny said, but she was on her feet and tugging him after her into the house. “Get naked. I’ll get the rope.”

  “Nice try.” He caught her by the hand and pulled her flush to his body for a moment. “You get naked.”

  She stepped back far enough to take an appreciative glance at him from top to bottom before reaching for her buttons. “How about we both get naked?”

  Naked time with Tucker was truly the best way to drown disappointments.

  Another good distraction was set up for a few days later as some of her friends gathered in Kelli’s house to help Ginny work on some of her herbal body products.

  Because her future direction had begun to come clear. It involved a steep learning curve but also a lot of fun.

  Kelli stood at the stove and stirred the pot in front of her slowly as directed, sniffing cautiously. “I’m not a very good cook,” she warned.

  Ginny laughed. “It’s for outer body application, not inner, remember? Keep going, you’re nearly done.”

  “Thank you for keeping us at the island, because I was worried that we’d mix up the stuff we can eat with the stuff we can’t,” Tansy teased. She and Yvette were busily stripping leaves from stems as Ginny had demonstrated. None of the herbs were fresh grown from the Silver Stone garden yet, but Ginny figured making mistakes with store bought supplies would hurt her ego less.

  “You have plenty of experience cooking,” Yvette said. “Now if it was me having to decide if this was a body product or a pizza seasoning, then we’d be in trouble.”

  “Wait till I really confuse you and we make a basil body cream,” Ginny said with a smile.

  “Do I want to smell like a pizza?” Yvette asked.

  “Are you kidding? How many people love pizza?” Kelli glanced over her shoulder and gave a knowing wink. “I’m pretty sure it’s a good way to get someone to start nibbling on you.”

  Tansy and Yvette snickered while Ginny looked around the room with satisfaction. She still had a long way to go, and yet every step of the way had become part of the adventure.

  Doing the next thing was working.

  It wasn’t just about the herbal concoctions, either; it was about community. About spending time with these friends and others, and making a small difference, one day at a time.

  Ginny carefully poured the batch into tester containers, one for each of them. The girls sniffed appreciatively.

  “Smells delicious.”

  “Peppermint foot cream. I’m looking forward to my next foot rub from Luke. Hey, that reminds me.” Kelli grabbed something off the side counter and held it out to Ginny. “He said you wanted to see the cross-stitch he got in that mystery gift package.”

  “Ohhh, more puzzle solving.” Tansy rubbed her hands together then wrinkled her nose. “I have herbal hands.”

  Laughter drifted over the room as Ginny accepted the home-crafted picture, examining it closely.

  “It’s definitely my mom’s work.” A single filly, brown with a black mane. Simple, nothing fancy. She flipped it over and discovered a date written on the back in Sharpie, bracketed top and bottom by a seagull shape. “February twenty-eighth. That’s right. Luke was lucky he’s not a leap year baby.”

  “He’s a Pisces, though. Through and through,” Kelli insisted.

  “Likes water sports, does he?” Tansy asked as deadpan as possible. Her stoic expression failed an instant later as shrieks of laughter rang through the room.

  Kelli shook a finger at her. “You’re terrible.”

  “Yup,” Tansy agreed, hand held forward for the cross-stitch. She examined it as she spoke, flipping it over. “Pisces—oh my God, Ginny, where’s your gibberish page?”

  Hope rushed in as Ginny shoved a copy forward. “You see something?”

  Tansy nodded, scanning the page then stabbing one image firmly. “It’s half of a Pisces symbol and constellation, the latter drawn with a ton of artistic license.”

  “What? Wait—the zodiac?”

  “I think so.”

  It suddenly made a ton of sense. “That’s it—that’s the clue we needed.” Ginny spun in a circle before squeezing Tansy and pressing a sloppy kiss to her cheek. Ginny shook the tattered page in the air. “If this is all about the zodiac then my father’s drawing skills might suck, but there’s a book in the house library that I think is what we need. If it’s still there.”

  Kelli waved her arms as if she were herding geese. “What are we waiting for? Time to invade.”

  Five minutes later, Tamara looked over the four women all but vibrating on her porch then stepped aside. “Of course, you can come in.”

  Ginny didn’t wait to explain further. Just kicked off her boots and raced for the office where the floor-to-ceiling library wall still held a multitude of books from her parents’ days. She found the one she
wanted far off to the side and in the top row, then darted back to the kitchen with it.

  “The Complete Book of the Zodiac,” Ginny said, dropping it on the table. “Not so complete now that it’s nearly twenty years out of date, but please let this be the clue we needed.”

  The other women gathered around the island, watching with fascination as Ginny flipped pages and then shook the book by the cover. No papers fell out, though.

  “The numbers Emma found.” Tamara reminded her. “Can you use those?”

  “Right.” Ginny snapped a finger. “Emma also said this picture was a goat. Which Zodiac is goat-like?”

  “December-ish. Capricorn,” Yvette offered. “I think it’s actually called a sea-goat, which maybe excuses your dad’s drawing.”

  “Nothing excuses his drawings,” Ginny said dryly. A moment later she had the book open to the Capricorn title page. “Numbers?”

  “Five—twelve—thirty.” Yvette looked up. “Page, paragraph, line?”

  “Page first,” Kelli suggested. “So you can see if there’s a clue there.”

  Ginny carefully counted pages, and when there were less than twelve paragraphs on that page, she counted lines for the second number instead.

  She wrote down the thirtieth letter on that line on a piece of paper Tamara found for her. “That’s one. Eleven to go.”

  When the first four letters actually spelled a word—WORK—Ginny felt a little light-headed. By the time they’d looked up half the symbols, the room had grown even more crowded. Caleb and Luke had shown up, as well as Tucker.

  Ginny stopped what she was doing to accept his kiss, barely aware of her brothers exchanging glances in her peripheral vision. “Didn’t mean to interrupt you guys.”

  “Are you kidding?” Tucker settled beside her. “This is important. Success is imminent.”

  When they wrote down the final six letters, the message was clear, but absolutely useless.

  W-O-R-K

  T-O-G-E-T-H-E-R

  Kelli frowned. “Work together? What works together? You and your brothers? An ornament, a cross stitch, and a kid’s toy?”

  Tamara wrinkled her nose. “I don’t understand.”