Home on the Ranch--Tennessee Homecoming

by April Arrington

  Nate, blond, tall and built, was every bit as handsome as Katie remembered.

  “It’s so good to see you, Katie.” Amber hugged her then whispered in her ear, “I just wish it were under better circumstances. Jennifer was a wonderful woman. If there’s anything I can do...”

  Katie returned the hug then stepped back, blinking away a fresh sheen of tears. “Thank you. Being here helps. It was good of Landon to invite me.”

  “That’s Landon, all right,” Nate said, lifting a third toddler from the back seat of a SUV and setting him on his feet beside another boy and girl the same age. “Considerate. Staid and dependable.”

  Landon looked away, an odd look of displeasure crossing his face. “Don’t wear yourself out on the compliments, Nate.”

  Nate flashed a mischievous grin. “What?”

  “You make me sound like someone’s stuffy grandpa.”

  “Okay. How ’bout strong, courteous and fantastic dad material?” Nate winked at Katie then glanced down at the blond triplets standing at his feet. “Whatcha think, kids? A woman would be lucky to get ahold of your uncle Landon, wouldn’t they?”

  Oh, great. Katie tucked her hair behind her ear and avoided Landon’s eyes. Just what they needed. Another well-meaning family member meddling in their already uncomfortable situation.

  Landon’s disgruntled groan made her cheeks burn hotter.

  “Cut it out, Nate.” Amber nudged him with her elbow then muttered, “You’re embarrassing them.” She smiled at Katie. “Let me introduce you to our gang of two-year-olds.”

  The two boys stared up at her, eyes curious. The little girl between them grinned.

  “This is our adventurous Mason.” Amber tapped one blond head then another. “This is our strong, silent Dylan. And this—” she urged the little girl forward “—is our little diva, Savannah. Go say hello, sweetie.”

  Katie grinned as Savannah toddled over, her blond curls rippling in the breeze, cheeks rosy and pink overalls the cutest things she’d ever seen. She crouched and beckoned Savannah closer, imagining how much fun it might be to play with kids who had no preconceived notions about her.

  “Hi, Savannah. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Savannah steadied herself with a hand on Katie’s knee. She picked a straw of hay from Katie’s jeans then looked up, her nose wrinkling. “Stink.”

  Amber gasped. “Savannah.”

  Oh, Lord. How embarrassing—but brutally true.

  Katie smiled and waved Amber’s concern away. “It’s okay, Savannah’s just being honest. I spent the morning working in the stable.” She returned her attention to Savannah and shrugged helplessly. “I apologize. I assure you I smelled much better four hours ago and, normally, I smell just fine. It’s just today, you know?”

  Savannah lost interest. She flung the hay on the ground then ran to Landon, chortling, her arms outstretched. “Up, Unc Andon.”

  He complied, propped her on his hip and kissed her cheek. “There’s my gorgeous girl.”

  Laughter tinged his voice and the kind adoration in his tone made Katie appreciate the sight of him even more. No doubt Nate was right. Landon would make a great father...and husband.

  Oh, no. None of that. Katie shoved to her feet. Landon was hot—she’d admit it—but he wasn’t why she was here. And he didn’t own the title of Good Parent to the exclusion of everyone else. She could be just as good with kids if she put her mind to it.

  “Thanks again for watching them,” Amber said, smiling at Landon. “We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

  Landon frowned. “I thought y’all had planned to drive up the mountain for the day.”

  “We did,” Nate added. “But all things considered, a couple hours is enough of a break for us. We decided to drive into town, have a relaxed lunch then swing back by and pick them up.”

  Landon shook his head. “You don’t have to cut your trip short. I’m happy to watch them.”

  Nate held up one hand as he opened the SUV’s passenger door for Amber with another. “Trust me, two hours of uninterrupted conversation and a finished meal without three toddlers is a break for me and Amber. Plus—” he cast a sympathetic look at Katie “—I figured y’all could use some peace and quiet this afternoon.”

  Katie glanced at Landon, the sadness she felt welling back up inside her reflected in his expression. He nodded, waved them off then smiled at the five kids on the ground and the one in his arms. “Let’s go inside and grab a bite to eat.”

  “Then we can play?” Emma asked, chasing Mason, who laughed as he chased Rascal around Sophia’s stroller.

  “Yep.” Landon gestured in Matthew’s direction. “Bring Sophia in and help your aunt Katie put her in the high chair, okay?”

  Scowling, Matthew dropped his head but pushed Sophia’s stroller toward the house. “Whatever.”

  Twenty minutes later, they had just sat down at the kitchen table to eat sandwiches Landon had prepared when his cell phone rang. He left the room briefly then returned, frowning as he shoved his phone into his back pocket.

  “That was Nate’s brother, Mac.”

  For a second, Katie’s heart froze. “Are Amber and Nate okay?”

  Landon smiled as he sat at the table. “They’re fine. Mac was calling about his ranch. One of the horses kicked out a fence and six of them escaped. With Nate gone, he needs an extra hand rounding them up. Nate suggested he call me. Said Nate thought I could leave the kids with you for an hour and help him out.”

  A wave of terror rippled through Katie. She glanced around the table. The triplets sat quietly in their booster seats, eating the ham and sliced grapes Landon had set in front of them. Emma hummed as she spooned pureed carrots into Sophia’s grinning mouth and Matthew narrowed his eyes at her as he chewed a bite of his sandwich.

  The kids were relaxed and content. And Landon would only be gone for what? An hour, he’d said? What could go wrong?

  “Yeah,” Katie said slowly. “That’d be fine.”

  Landon’s hands stilled halfway to his mouth, a tomato sliding from his sandwich and plopping onto his plate. “What’d you say?”

  “I said that’d be fine. Go ahead.”

  He stared. “You’re kidding, right?” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “You want me to leave you alone with six kids?”

  She straightened in her seat. “It’s only for an hour. It’ll take us at least half that to finish lunch, so it won’t be for long anyway.”

  A laugh burst from his lips. “No way.” He turned back to his sandwich. “Forget it.”

  Oh, boy. That had hurt. Much more than she’d expected it to.

  “Why? Because you don’t trust me? Because you think I’m irresponsible?”

  Catching herself, Katie stilled and glanced at the kids. Emma and Matthew were enthralled, looking from her to Landon then back.

  Leaning closer, she whispered in his ear, “I’m not a loser, Landon. I’m perfectly capable of watching six kids for one hour.”

  “I didn’t mean to—” He winced, sneaked a glance at the kids then mumbled, “All right.”

  Reluctance laced his tone, but Katie smiled anyway. It was, at the very least, a step in the right direction. “Great.”

  “You still have my cell phone number, right?” At her nod, he slowly stood. “Call me if you need something. And I mean anything. And if something serious happens, call 91—”

  “Yes, yes, yes. Now get out.” Katie shoved him toward the door and exchanged a laugh with Emma. “We’ll be perfectly fine.”

  Landon kissed the kids then walked away, hesitating on the threshold of the kitchen to look back at the kids before exiting the house.

  After he left, Katie grabbed a napkin and held it out toward Emma. “Gum, please, Emma. You can’t chew a sandwich with gum in your mouth.”

  Emma smiled, a look of pride
in her eyes, and plucked her gum out.

  Katie reached for it, but Savannah’s sippy cup slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor, prompting Savannah to cry and struggle to reach it. Sighing, Katie squatted between the chairs and retrieved the cup, rinsed it in the sink then returned it to Savannah.

  She held the napkin back out to Emma. “Okay. I’ll take your gum now.”

  Emma frowned. “I already gave it to you.”

  Katie looked at the empty napkin. “No, you didn’t.”

  “Yes, I did.” She opened her mouth to prove her point then picked up her sandwich.

  “Then where did it go?” Katie asked, searching the floor.

  Emma shrugged and continued eating. Matthew smirked.

  The sippy cup hit the floor again and Savannah resumed crying. Startled, Sophia joined her. Mason and Dylan covered their ears, climbed down from their booster seats then toddled off down the hall.

  Welp. Katie twisted her hands. This hour might be more challenging than she’d thought.

  * * *

  Three hours after Landon left home, he returned.

  He got out of his truck, eyed the silent surroundings then blew out a breath as he stared at his house. “Still standing.”

  Thank the good Lord. After helping Mac round up half of the missing horses, he’d called Katie’s cell phone to check in, knowing the task at hand would take longer than the estimated hour. She’d answered on the second ring, her voice strained, but had insisted everything was fine.

  He’d asked to speak to Matthew who’d answered his concerned questions with one-word responses and a subtle hint of amusement. Speaking to Emma hadn’t helped much, either. Laughter and a breathless “Gotta go” had been all he’d received before the connection had been severed.

  It’d taken every ounce of polite upbringing and self-restraint he possessed not to leap in his truck, gun the engine and fly back to the ranch to see for himself that the kids were okay. But that would fracture the tenuous trust he’d tried to establish with Katie. Not to mention it would undermine the very reason for bringing her to the ranch in the first place. He’d wanted her to spend time with the kids and, like it or not, that’s exactly what he’d left her to do for three hours.

  Picking up his pace, he walked across the front lawn, ascended the steps then stopped abruptly on the porch.

  Rascal sat by a rocking chair, licking his paw. An orange substance speckled his brown fur and a thick glob of it rested on top of his head.

  “Whatcha got there, buddy?” Landon bent close and sniffed. It smelled familiar. Kinda like... “Did you get into Sophia’s carrots?”

  Rascal lifted his head, licked Landon’s cheek then resumed cleaning his paw.

  Groaning, Landon scrubbed his cheek with the sleeve of his T-shirt. Yeah. Definitely carrots.

  He followed the crooked trail of orange goo from the porch through the front entrance and into the living room. The TV blared the upbeat pings and booms of a video game. Matthew and Emma were stretched out on the floor, eyes on the screen and their fingers flying over game controllers.

  “Where’s Katie?” Landon asked.

  Neither one of them stopped playing or looked at him but Emma lifted her chin and said, “Sophia’s room.”

  “The triplets?”

  Matthew answered this time. “Aunt Amber and Uncle Nate picked them up an hour ago.”

  “Why is Rascal covered in Sophia’s lunch?”

  Emma giggled. “He jumped on the kitchen table when Aunt Katie chased Mason and Dylan outside.”

  Landon froze. “Why was she chasing Mason and Dylan?”

  “Because they got the front door open and ran away while she was changing Sophia’s diaper.” Emma glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “They wanted to play.”

  Aw, man. He’d forgotten about the diapers. Had Katie ever changed one before?

  “I’m going to check on Sophia. You two—” he pointed at them “—don’t move.”

  No chance of that. They’d already been sucked back into their video game trance.

  Heart pounding, Landon eased down the hallway and into Sophia’s room. Baby wipes, a dozen mangled diapers and four onesies littered the bedroom floor. A thick layer of baby powder coated the changing table, a portion of the carpet and the nightstand.

  “Good night above.”

  Shaking his head, Landon crossed the room and peeked inside the crib where Sophia slept peacefully—and in one piece—then glanced at the nearby rocking chair. Katie was sprawled in it, sound asleep, her head resting at a crooked angle and one arm slung over the crib’s top railing.

  Baby powder and pureed carrots stained the front of her T-shirt. Her dark hair was mussed, her pink lips were parted and her chest lifted on deep, even breaths. She looked exhausted and it’d be a shame to wake her. Still, he wouldn’t be doing her any favors by letting her get a crick in her neck.

  He lowered to his haunches and drifted his thumb across her flushed cheek. “Katie, wake up.”

  Her thick lashes lifted, fluttering softly against his fingertip as she opened her eyes and focused on his face. “Oh, no. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” She blinked hard then struggled to sit upright. Panic flickered across her expression. “Are the kids all right?”

  “They’re fine.” He lowered his hand, squeezing her knee to calm her. “Sophia’s sleeping and Matthew and Emma are playing video games.”

  “What time is it?”

  “Three thirty.”

  “In the morning?”

  He grinned. “In the afternoon. Matthew said Nate and Amber picked up the triplets an hour ago, so I’m guessing you fell asleep after that?”

  Katie nodded, a dazed look in her eyes. “They asked about you. I told them it took longer than you thought to round up the horses.” She looked down and red blotches spread across her neck. “I think your sister thinks I’m incompetent. I mean, she was nice and all, but she just gave me this look as though...”

  “As though what?”

  “Everything went okay for a while, and then things just kind of fell apart.” Her voice trembled. “I don’t know what happened. The kids were all okay but it was...” She spread her hands, searching for the right word.

  “Overwhelming?” he asked.

  She nodded slowly. “Landon?”

  “Hmm?”

  “You were right.”

  “About what?”

  “I am a loser.” Her cute face crumpled. “And I have gum in my hair.”

  He rolled his lips together and stifled a laugh. Her eyes were puffy and red, and tears spilled down her face, but even so, she was damned adorable. “Where?”

  Her breath caught on a sob. “What?”

  “Where in your hair is the gum?”

  “Above my right ear.” Her hand lifted then stilled in midair, a horrified expression crossing her face. “I’ll have to shave my head.”

  She doubled over, her shoulders jerking on heavier sobs.

  “No, you won’t.” Smiling, he rubbed her back in slow circles. “We’ll get it out.”

  “H-how?”

  “A little trick I learned. Come on.” He scooped one arm under her knees and the other around her back then stood and lifted her to his chest. “It’ll be out in five minutes, tops.”

  She buried her damp face against his neck and looped her arms tight around his shoulders as he carried her farther down the hallway and into his bathroom. He tried his best to ignore how good she felt in his arms.

  “Sit here for a minute,” he said, lowering her to the edge of his tub. “I’ll be right back.”

  He waited until she balanced herself into a seated position then went to the kitchen and grabbed a jar of peanut butter. When he returned, he sat beside her and sifted through her hair until he found the gum.

  She wiped her
face with the back of her hand. “Peanut butter?”

  “Yep.” He scooped a small portion out of the jar and applied it to her hair, rubbing the strands between his fingertips. “Had to do the same thing for Emma last year.”

  After saturating the sticky knot in her hair, he set the jar aside and washed his hands in the sink.

  “You said I wasn’t allowed in your bathroom,” she whispered.

  He caught her eyes on him in the mirror and smiled. “Today, I’ll make an exception. Might even consider letting you use the tub.”

  She smiled back. “Because I stink like horse poo, carrots and peanut butter?”

  Laughing, he grabbed a comb and sat beside her. “Nah.”

  Quite the opposite, in fact.

  He placed a hand on her soft hair and combed in gentle sweeps. The scent of hay, horse hide and sun-warmed honeysuckle—a mix he remembered best from his childhood summers in Elk Valley—released with each movement. She relaxed and eased back against his chest, the soft weight of her sending a pleasurable tingle through him.

  “You smell like home,” he said softly.

  She twisted against him, looking over her shoulder. “Like what?”

  He cleared his throat and continued combing. “The hay in your hair. It reminds me of playing in the stable when I was kid. Like the outdoors in springtime. It’s familiar and earthy. Nostalgic, I guess.”

  “Oh.” Her eyes grew heavy as she gazed at him. Her upper body swayed with the slow rhythm of his hand in her hair. “I don’t think I can do this.”

  He stared at her mouth, wanting to part her lips with his. To taste her again. “Do what?”

  “Be a good aunt or a good mom.” Her chin trembled. “Matthew’s right. I don’t know the first thing about him, Emma or Sophia. I don’t have a clue how to reach them.”

  This was his chance. The moment he’d been hoping for when he’d invited her to stay with them, and it had come much sooner than he’d expected. All he had to do was agree, reassure her the kids were better off with him, then she’d leave next week.