A Rancher to Trust

by Laurel Blount

  “You’re fussing at me about gossiping, Arlene Marvin? Maybe you should pay attention to Pastor Stone yourself! You’re the biggest gossip in this whole town!”

  Arlene’s face flushed a mottled magenta, and Bailey winced. This was rapidly getting out of hand, and her other customers were beginning to take notice.

  “Ladies, please,” she began, but the women ignored her and continued to speak over each other, punctuating their fuss with plenty of I nevers and of all the nerves.

  Bailey felt a reassuring squeeze on her forearm. Natalie Stone had slipped beside her.

  The pastor’s wife cleared her throat. “Arlene?” No response. The other two women were intensely focused on each other, and their discussion had grown so loud it was starting to echo. Natalie tried again. “Arlene!”

  Arlene turned her eyes to Natalie and blinked. Natalie smiled her gentle smile, but Bailey saw a glint of steel in it. “Jacob is looking for you. Apparently the choir robes arrived, and they seem to be the wrong color.”

  “What?” Arlene’s eyebrows, which were already at a dangerous level, rose up into her hairline. “Wait a minute. Are they maroon? Don’t even answer me. I’m sure they are. That Mavis Jones! The committee made it perfectly clear that the robes were to be a lovely pale blue, but she was dead set on that horrible maroon. Kept saying we’d all change our minds if we could just see them. Not likely! The only taste Mavis has is in her mouth. You tell Jacob not to worry. I’ll get those things returned for the right ones.” Arlene hurried toward the door, muttering. “Maroon, my foot! If I don’t give Mavis a piece of my mind.”

  “I think maroon is a lovely color,” Trisha said irritably. “I honestly don’t see how Jacob puts up with that woman, Natalie. She’s so opinionated!”

  Natalie made a noise that could have been a laugh, but she disguised it deftly with a cough. “Trisha, wasn’t your Pekingese outside tied to the bike rack?”

  “Yes. Why?” The florist squinted through the window. The bike rack was empty. “Oh no!” She ran out of the door, leaving her apricots behind on the counter, calling her dog.

  Bailey watched her go with a feeling of relief. “Well, I hope she finds her dog safe and sound, but I also hope it takes her a while.”

  “I imagine it will. Her husband was the one who untied him, so they’re probably at home by now.” Natalie blinked innocently. “Maybe I should have mentioned that, but she ran out of here so fast I didn’t have a chance.”

  “Thanks,” Bailey shook her head admiringly. “You pulled that off like a champ. I owe you one.”

  Natalie chuckled. “No, you don’t. I’m a minister’s wife, and I know what it’s like to be the star goldfish in the town’s fishbowl. This will all blow over, Bailey. Just hang on until it does. And don’t pay any attention to what people say. Things get so exaggerated, particularly on the internet. People will post things online they’d never say in person. Well,” Natalie added with a second wink, “except for Trisha and Arlene. Those two will say pretty much anything right to your face.”

  There was that internet thing again. Bailey frowned. “What are people posting on—” Before she could finish, a car honked from outside. A silver sedan had pulled up to the curb.

  “There’s Cora. She’s coming with me to my ultrasound appointment today. She’s so excited about being an honorary grandmother to this new baby, she can hardly stand it! I’d better scoot on out before she comes inside. The last thing you need is Cora weighing in on your personal business, and I know she wouldn’t be able to resist.” Natalie gave Bailey a quick hug. “Jacob and I are praying for you. All of you. God will work this out for the best. Just trust Him.”

  With one last squeeze, Natalie was gone. Just as she reached the door, Dan walked up.

  He set both of the twins’ carriers on the sidewalk to open the door for Natalie. She paused briefly to exclaim over the babies before climbing in the passenger side of Cora’s car.

  Bailey hurried to the door and held it wide so that Dan could bring in both twins at once. “Thanks,” he murmured, and a tiny smile ticked up his lips. As Bailey stared up at him, all rational thought left her brain, and her heart sped up into what she privately called “Dan gear.”

  One thing was for sure. She was never going to be able to make a sensible decision if this kept up.

  “Where do you want me to set them down?” Dan asked.

  Bailey took hold of the handle of Finn’s carrier. “I cleared off some space on the table behind my counter. That way I can keep an eye on them while I’m working. I’ve got a playpen folded up in the back. I’ll bring it out when they wake up.”

  As they got the babies settled in the middle of the wide wooden table, Bailey fussed over the blankets. She couldn’t resist trailing a finger over Josie’s plump cheek. The infant girl stirred in her sleep, poking a tiny foot out from under her blanket.

  The dainty sock Dan had put on her was half-off, and Bailey gently readjusted it. “How long have they been asleep?”

  “They zonked out on the ride over. I fed them right before I left, and I’ve got a couple of bottles already made up in their bag. We’ll need to stick those in your fridge. I changed them right before I put ’em in their car seats, so they hopefully should be good for a little while.” He glanced around the busy store. “Maybe they’ll let you get a little work done before they wake up. Once they do, though, it’s a whole different ball game. Could be this wasn’t such a good idea, my bringing them over.”

  “Don’t be silly. I’ll love having them here.” She smoothed Finn’s blanket and glanced up at Dan. “Don’t worry about them for a minute. I’ll keep them the rest of the afternoon and bring them home after work.”

  Bailey glanced around the store. Her remaining customers were keeping a wary distance now, shooting curious glances toward them, but not venturing close. She knew that the minute Dan stepped back out the door, they’d be making a fuss over the twins and asking more nosy questions.

  She wasn’t in any particular hurry for that. “What are you planning to work on today?”

  “I’m done with the fence, so I’ll be working inside. I’ve noticed a couple more repairs that I’d like to get done, and I need to pick up some things from the building supply. Then I’ll be heading over to your place.”

  “More repairs?” Bailey frowned, noting the tired lines in the corners of his eyes. “You look exhausted already. With the twins keeping you up most of the night, you sure don’t need to be working yourself into the ground over at the farmhouse all day.”

  He drew in a slow breath. “Got to. I had a call from the ranch this morning. One of the top hands is dealing with everything for me while I’m here. He’s doing his best, but he’s in over his head. Looks like I’m going to have to get back even sooner than I’d thought.”

  Bailey’s heart fell. “When?”

  He paused. She saw in his eyes that he didn’t really want to tell her. But he did. “Soon, Bailey. Within a week. I’m sorry. I know this is rushing you, but I don’t have much choice, not if I want to keep the ranch afloat.”

  Bailey managed a jerky nod. “I see. Well, even more reason not to worry too much over the repairs, Dan. You can’t possibly get much done in that amount of time, and there’s no point wearing yourself out trying.”

  “I want to do as much as I can, though, Bailey. I promised I’d see to this for you.”

  He had. But then, he’d promised her a lot of things. “I really wish you wouldn’t worry about this, Dan. You’ve got enough on your plate right now.”

  “I want to do what I can,” Dan repeated stubbornly. He had his cowboy hat in his hands again, running it around and around like he did when he was uneasy. She felt a sudden urge to snatch it and fling it across the store. That out-of-place hat was a stark reminder that Dan was out of place here, too.

  He waited a second or two then clapped the hat ba
ck on his head. “I’d best be getting on with it. If the twins get to be too much, just call me. And we’ll...” He hesitated. “We’ll talk more this evening. Okay?”

  She knew what that meant. He wanted her answer about Wyoming. And she still didn’t have one.

  “Sure.” She managed a quick smile, but her heart wasn’t in it.

  He nodded, his eyes searching hers. His gaze slid over to the dozing babies for a second, and his jaw tightened. Then he turned and headed for the door.

  Just as she’d suspected, the instant he was out on the sidewalk, her customers flocked to the twins. Bailey smiled wearily as the handful of women exclaimed over the babies.

  She made a sudden, highly unusual decision. She couldn’t take much more of this, not today. Sidling past them, she went to the door and flipped the store sign to Closed.

  Once she waited on these people, she’d take a break. She’d sit down for a few minutes while the twins were still asleep, do some more praying and try her best to figure out what answer she was going to give Dan.

  The customers were in no particular hurry to leave, but finally only Anna Bradley was left.

  The bookstore owner pushed her weekly supply of cookies across the table with a sympathetic smile. “You’ve got your hands full, don’t you? In more ways than one. I felt bad coming in here this morning when I saw how swamped you are, but you were totally right when you suggested these cookies. If I don’t keep a plate of them out by my coffeemaker, my customers will riot.”

  “Believe me, Anna, I don’t mind seeing you, not one bit. How’s the baby?”

  Anna’s face lit up. “He’s wonderful! Oh, that reminds me.” She rummaged in the cloth shopping bag swinging on her elbow and produced a book with a smiling baby on the cover. “I brought this for you. I’ve read just about every baby book out there, and this one is definitely my favorite. No,” she added as Bailey reached for her purse, “it’s a gift. Trying to keep Turn the Page up and running with a baby on my hip is a real challenge. I don’t see how Emily manages twins and the coffee shop, but she does. You’re so blessed to have her as your sister-in-law. She can give you lots of tips about balancing twins and a business, I’m sure.”

  Bailey slipped the cookies into a bag. “Well, it doesn’t look like I’ll be dealing with the twins and a business. It seems like it’s either-or.”

  Anna nodded seriously, twining one long strand of her curly hair around her finger. “Yes, I’d heard Dan was planning to move back to the ranch. But I’d thought maybe, you know, given what people out there are saying about him on the internet, he might be reconsidering staying in Pine Valley.”

  There it was again. This time she was getting to the bottom of it. “Anna, what are you talking about? What’s on the internet?”

  Anna’s eyes widened. “You don’t know? Oh, Bailey. I’m sorry—I assumed you’d heard all about it. The bookstore’s been buzzing with it this morning.”

  Bailey shook her head. “I haven’t heard a word about it. What’s going on?”

  Anna hesitated, but when she caught Bailey’s eye, she reluctantly explained. “Trisha Saunders found a newspaper website for Broken Bow, Wyoming. There was an article posted there about the twins’ parents. And there was a comment option, you know, so people from the town could express condolences or...whatever.”

  “And people were saying negative things? About Dan?”

  Anna nodded slowly. “Some were. About half of the comments were about the McAllisters: what a wonderful couple they were, and what a tragedy the accident was. But the rest of them were all about Dan.” Anna bit her lip. “But I’m not sure you can put a whole lot of stock in that, Bailey. You know how people are. They say all kinds of things that aren’t strictly true. Especially online.”

  Bailey glanced back at the twins. Finn had his mouth open and was snoring gently, and Josie had her head cocked sideways.

  They were so incredibly beautiful. She couldn’t imagine giving them up.

  And Dan. If she let him go back to Wyoming without her, she knew she’d likely never see him again. The very idea made her feel sick to her stomach.

  She believed Dan had changed. She did. But she’d blindly followed her feelings for Dan into trouble before. She couldn’t make that mistake again.

  Probably Anna was right, and whatever was being posted on the internet wasn’t anything worth paying attention to. But given the circumstances, Bailey needed to be sure. She was going to have to find that website and read those comments for herself.

  “Anna? I hate to rush you, but I think I might head home for a little while.”

  “Of course, Bailey. And I hope... I really do hope things work out for the very best. For all of you.”

  “I do, too, Anna,” Bailey said quietly. “I do, too.”

  * * *

  At the building supply, Dan took his time flipping through the book showing windows that could be ordered. He’d already found the one he needed for Bailey’s spare bedroom. That had taken him all of five minutes. Now he was just biding his time until Myron Banks finished waiting on the only other customer in the store.

  Dan had taken the precaution of going by the bank and cashing a check, and his wallet was stuffed with hundreds. But he wasn’t in the mood to have Myron’s sorry-I-can’t-take-your-check-son conversation in front of anybody else. There was enough gossip going around this town already without adding more to it.

  Dan shut the window book and opened the book on doors. That back door of Bailey’s needed to be replaced. He’d noticed some splits around its base, so he figured he might as well add a door to the order.

  Of course, Bailey was right. There was a limit to how much he was going to be able to get done in a week, and he couldn’t stay longer. In fact, given the conversation he’d had with Jimmy this morning, a week was stretching it.

  Jimmy had sounded stressed. “Guy came rolling up with a trailer this morning, had three heifers on it. Said Colt paid him half up-front for ’em and was supposed to pay him the rest on delivery. It was a lot of money, Dan. I didn’t see as I had much choice but to write him a check, but there ain’t much left in the account now. I don’t mind overseeing the cattle and the hands while you’re gone, but this finance stuff is more than I feel comfortable with. You got to tie up whatever loose ends you’ve got hanging down there and get on back.”

  After promising to come back as quick as he could, Dan had sighed, closed his eyes and pressed the hot phone against his forehead. So Colt had finally found some Shadow Lady heifers somewhere—and apparently he’d paid a pretty penny for them. Jimmy wasn’t kidding, either—the ranch wasn’t flush with cash right now. Dan needed to get back there and get down to the business of sorting everything out.

  As best he could, anyway.

  The truth was, he didn’t know much more about the financial side of things than Jimmy did. A little, thanks to helping out Gordon all those years, but not a lot. He was going to have plenty of learning to do—and he’d be doing it with the twins in tow.

  And maybe without Bailey beside him. Her reaction this morning when he’d told her about the deadline had twisted his stomach into a leaden knot.

  It was written plainly on her face. She still wasn’t any too sure about the idea of relocating to Wyoming—or about trusting him with her future. He’d had to fight himself to keep from getting down on his knees and begging her to give him a chance.

  Right now, the hope that he and Bailey could set things right between them was the only sliver of good that he saw left in the world. Well, that and the twins. If he could keep the babies safe and if he had Bailey by his side, then he could handle anything life threw at him. He knew that. But if he had to go back to the Bar M without her...

  Please, Lord. Don’t make me face that.

  “You done hanging around back there, son? You may have the day to waste, but I don’t.”

&nbs
p; Myron’s gruff voice startled Dan out of his thoughts. “No, sir. Truth is, I don’t, either.” He walked up to the rough wooden counter and pushed a handwritten slip of paper across it. “This is what I need.”

  Myron scooted his reading glasses down on the end of his nose and peered at the list. “Passel of stuff again.” The man lifted his rheumy blue eyes and studied Dan over the half-moons of his lenses.

  “How much?”

  “Hold your horses,” Myron grumbled, pulling his adding machine across the counter. “Gonna take me a minute. All this for Bailey Quinn’s place?”

  Dan didn’t bother to hide his sigh. Pine Valley gossip even made it into the building supply, apparently. “Yes, sir, it is.”

  “That’s who you was doing that fencing for, too, so I heard.”

  “That’s so.” He looked pointedly at the gnarled fingers resting idly on top of the adding machine. “You mind getting this totaled up for me? Like you said, I don’t have a lot of time to spend waiting around.”

  “From the look of this list here, you got no choice but to do some waiting.” The man glanced back down the items. “I got some of this in stock, but I’ll have to order the rest.”

  This wasn’t good news. “How long will it take to get here?”

  “Delivery truck just ran yesterday, and it won’t be back for a couple of weeks.”

  Dan’s heart fell. He’d be long gone by then. He’d have to figure out a plan B. “Okay. Just get it ordered, please.”

  Myron nodded, and the keys of the adding machine began to chitter. Dan stood there breathing in the scent of sawdust and studying the calendar tacked crookedly on the wall behind Myron. It was a month behind.

  Dan wished the calendar was right. A month ago, things had been so different. A month ago, he could have kept his promises to Bailey, and the twins would have been safe and happy with Colt and Angie.