Harlequin Love Inspired March 2021--Box Set 1 of 2

by Marta Perry

  Rounding the corner, she picked up her pace. It was time to accept reality. While only twenty-six, she might never get married or have children. The guys around here weren’t interested in her and never had been. If she didn’t take charge of her life soon, another five years would pass by with little to show for them, either.

  The faded maroon awning above the coffee shop entrance came into view. Maybe she could finish her degree in early childhood education and get a job teaching preschool. Or expand her babysitting services.

  “Howdy, Eden.” Mr. Jenkins, her favorite usher from church, tipped his cowboy hat to her as he walked his two black Labs. He got around well for a man his age. “Think it’ll snow tonight?”

  “I hope not. I’m ready for warmer weather.” She gave him a smile and petted the dogs. Their tongues lolled as they lifted pet-me eyes to her. Chuckling, she scratched behind their ears.

  “At least it’s Friday, right?” His brown eyes twinkled. “You have big plans?”

  She did not have big plans. She didn’t have any plans.

  “I’m keeping it low-key.” She gave the dogs’ ears a final scratch. “What about you?”

  “There’s a World War II documentary on I’ve been looking forward to.” He tugged on the leashes, and the dogs moved forward. “Well, I won’t keep you. See you Sunday.”

  “Enjoy yourself.” She opened the door to the coffee shop. Her night sounded even less exciting than Mr. Jenkins’s. At least he had a documentary to look forward to. She had nothing. Normally, she offered to babysit Noah so Mason and Brittany could have some couple time, but the three of them had other plans this evening.

  The coffee shop was almost empty, and why wouldn’t it be? Friday nights were for hanging out with friends, ordering pizza or going to Roscoe’s for burgers—not for heavily caffeinated beverages.

  The warmth of the room and hardwood floors drew her forward, and she ordered her favorite latte. While the teenager behind the counter prepared the drink, Eden turned to stare out the front windows. A young couple laughed as they strolled past arm in arm. Across the street, Eden could just make out Stu Miller helping Gretchen Sable out of his truck. Stu and Gretchen were in their seventies, and they’d managed to find love. Why couldn’t she?

  She couldn’t even get a date. It was like she was invisible to men. Was it too much to ask for a little romance?

  “Here you go.” The girl handed her the cup and began wiping down the counter like her life depended on it. The shop didn’t officially close for another hour. She probably had plans, too.

  Back outside, Eden braced herself against the chill. Her apartment wasn’t far. Last year she’d moved out of her parents’ house into the apartment above Brittany Fanning’s dance studio. Eden was glad Mason had married Brittany, although it was strange to think of him married to anyone other than her sister.

  What was she going to do about her future? She loved babysitting, but it didn’t offer benefits like paid vacations or retirement plans, and taking care of her best friend Gabby’s eighteen-month-old daughter, Phoebe, a few days a week wasn’t exactly paying the bills. After selling the family ranch last year, Eden’s parents had blessed her with a lump sum of money. She kept her expenses low, but it was a relief to have the financial cushion now that Gabby no longer needed her to babysit Phoebe full-time.

  Pale pink and lavender streaked the sky as the sun slid down the horizon. She wrapped both hands around the takeout cup and sipped it as she turned onto Third Street. The coffee warmed her insides, kicking her pulse up a notch. She barely glanced at the bungalow converted into a dentist office or the parking lot with dead grass poking out of the cracked blacktop. Up ahead, the dance studio and her apartment beckoned.

  Her phone dinged. She pulled it out of her pocket.

  Ryder.

  Blech.

  Of all the people she did not want to deal with tonight, Ryder Fanning topped the list. It was inconceivable that Mason could have an identical twin so unlike him. Where Mason was quiet and thought things through, Ryder lacked patience and didn’t consider how his words or actions affected the people around him.

  The man annoyed her.

  She shoved the phone back in her pocket and took a long drink of the coffee.

  Her stride lengthened as she neared the dance studio. She cut through the side parking lot, headed to the rear and climbed the stairs leading to her apartment. When she reached the top of the landing, she paused. As she stared at the door, a terrible loneliness crept in.

  Everyone she knew and loved was moving on. Her closest friends were either married or engaged. Even her parents had embarked on a new life, traveling around the country in their RV. She wasn’t sure she could spend another night alone flipping through the channels.

  For a moment she wished something—anything—would happen to relieve the monotony of her life.

  Her phone dinged again, and she unlocked the door and went inside. Did she even want to know why Ryder was texting her? It wasn’t only his lack of filter she resented.

  He was the one who’d bought the family ranch.

  After Dad told her in January that Ryder Fanning was buying the only home she’d ever known, she’d driven to her special place outside town and cried until her tears froze. It had put the first deep crack in her hopes for the future. The life she’d always imagined truly had no chance of reviving at this point.

  She’d thought she’d get married and spend Christmases in the old farmhouse, baking with her children, hanging out with her parents. But all those hopes died when Ryder bought the ranch.

  Next week he was moving to Rendezvous from Los Angeles. For the past two months he’d been having the house remodeled. Her house. Hopefully, she’d never have to go inside. It would break her heart. She’d made a million memories there with Mia. They’d shared secrets, held grudges, played games.

  Eden sighed, juggling the coffee as she took off her coat and kicked off her shoes. Her phone began to ring, and she glared at it until it stopped.

  She had nothing to say to him.

  When it started ringing again, she marched down the hall to the kitchen, gritting her teeth the entire way. Persistence was Ryder’s middle name. He’d just keep bothering her until she answered. She might as well get it over with.

  “What do you want?” she asked.

  “Oh, hey, you answered.” Ryder’s low voice had the same effect on her as the warm latte. It heated her insides and jolted her pulse to life. Unlike with the latte, she didn’t enjoy the sensation. “I’ve got something to ask you.”

  His phrasing implied a favor, and she didn’t do favors for him. Eden adored Ryder’s cute five-year-old identical twin girls, but she did not like their daddy. Not one bit.

  “Eden?”

  “I’m busy.” A bold lie, even for her.

  “I know. It’s important, though, and I don’t want to discuss it over the phone. I’m in Rendezvous.”

  “Sorry, I can’t.” Won’t was more like it. And she wasn’t sorry. Not at all.

  “I’ll only take a minute of your time.”

  A twinge of guilt hit her conscience, but she didn’t respond.

  “Will you give me one minute, Eden?”

  A minute. Would she, the one who gladly gave hours and days and weeks to any of her friends at the drop of a hat, really deny Ryder sixty seconds?

  It wouldn’t kill her to hear what he had to say.

  Then again, it might.

  “Please?”

  She’d never been able to turn down a heartfelt please. “Okay, but just for a minute. You can stop by my apartment.” She looked around her place, grateful she was a neat freak.

  “Good, because I’m right outside your door.”

  Of course he was.

  Her heartbeat started doing the annoying hammering thing it tended to do in his vicinity. She w
as 99 percent sure it was her body’s way of saying don’t even think about it.

  The man was good at getting his own way.

  She, on the other hand, was used to letting other people have their way.

  No wonder her danger signals were off the charts.

  This was what she got for wishing something—anything—would happen instead of spending another Friday night flipping through the channels.

  God surely had a sense of humor.

  Eden padded to the door, girded her shoulders and took a deep breath. Don’t do anything stupid. It was probably too late for that. Answering his call had been her first mistake. Opening this door was sure to be her next.

  * * *

  Ryder couldn’t afford to make any more mistakes with his life. That was why he had to convince Eden to babysit the girls.

  Starting over as a cattle rancher in the same town as his identical twin was the best decision he’d made in years. He’d have community, friends and the slower lifestyle he craved, not to mention he’d be able to raise Harper and Ivy out in the country far from Los Angeles.

  It had been a dream come true to buy the large ranch from Eden’s parents. His brother, Mason, was familiar with the property since he’d been married to Eden’s sister before she died, and Ryder appreciated the fact Mason had urged him to purchase it. The renovations to the large farmhouse were almost complete. Ryder and his daughters were set to move to Rendezvous one week from tomorrow.

  The life he wanted was within his grasp. And it was funny, but he hadn’t even known he wanted it until recently.

  He knocked on Eden’s door. His nerves jittered as he tried to figure out how he could get her to agree to help him. He’d have to wing it. This conversation would be easier if she liked him. But she didn’t. Not by a long shot.

  He’d made a bad first, second, third and fourth impression on Eden. Had he ever made a good one?

  Probably not, and it didn’t matter. This was about his girls. They needed someone they could trust, who would love them and help them transition from a somewhat chaotic life in LA to a slower routine in Wyoming. And he needed to rest easy knowing Harper and Ivy were being well taken care of while he learned the ins and outs of raising cattle.

  He knocked again.

  His career as a CPA and financial planner for Hollywood bigwigs along with the divorce settlement from his ex-wife, actress Lily Haviland, had made him wealthy enough to buy the prime Wyoming property. And since he’d spent the first twelve years of his life on a sheep ranch, he wasn’t a complete novice at ranching. But cattle? He didn’t have much experience with those. Mason had been giving him tips every weekend that Ryder could make it back here, but he still had a lot to learn.

  “Eden, it’s me.” He got the impression she was standing on the other side of the door. He could practically hear her breathing. Maybe that was wishful thinking. She was probably shimmying out a side window to escape.

  The door opened, and he stared into the prettiest brown eyes he’d ever seen. A surge of warmth filled his gut. Every time he saw Eden, it was the same thing—he’d take one look at her, feel all warm and gooey inside and say something stupid. The woman had no idea how she affected him, and he wanted to keep it that way.

  He wasn’t getting entangled in a romance again. Look at how easily he’d been fooled by Lily. He’d believed every word that came out of his ex-wife’s mouth, and they’d all turned out to be lies. The worst part about it was he didn’t think Lily even intended to deceive him. It came as naturally to her as slipping into the roles she played on television and the big screen.

  The pain of being discarded by her still cut deep.

  “Thanks for letting me come up.” His voice was scratchy, although he’d downed a bottle of water on the way over.

  Eden wasn’t quite five and a half feet tall, and her body was slender, graceful. Dark brown hair fell in a silky curtain over her shoulders. Her delicate eyebrows arched just so under a high forehead. She wore slim-fitting black pants and a burgundy sweater hinting at curves underneath. She didn’t crack a smile, but then, she was serious by nature.

  Maybe that was what he found attractive. Her reserved personality. He’d never seen her flirt with any guys. She was generous to a fault with everyone—well, everyone except him.

  “Come in.” She pivoted and walked down the hallway. After closing the door, he followed her. He’d never been inside her apartment before.

  “Nice place.” He shrugged his arms out of his jacket and slung it over a bar stool near the counter. “The outside doesn’t do it justice.”

  “It’s been remodeled. Brittany let me help pick out everything.” Eden sat on a chair in the living area and tucked one leg under her body.

  The apartment was full of Eden touches. Cubbies and shelves brimming with children’s books and toys lined the back wall of the dining area, and a colorful rug housed a pretend kitchen, doll crib and other assorted play items. The living room was all adult. Framed photos of Eden’s parents and friends were placed on bookshelves along with novels, candles and photographs of nature.

  “Did you take those?” He pointed to a collage of photos depicting the same view of nearby Silver Rocks River in spring, summer, fall and winter.

  “Yes.” She hugged one knee to her chest.

  “They’re great. I like how you captured it in all four seasons.” When she didn’t reply, he gestured to the gray couch. “Mind if I sit down?”

  “Go ahead.” She licked her lips and stared as if she wasn’t quite sure what to do with him.

  “The move is all set for next Saturday.” Was that a flicker of anger in her eyes? Why would she be mad? “What? What was that look for?”

  “Nothing.”

  “I know I’m not your favorite person, but do you have a problem with me moving here?”

  “No.” No emotion came through. “I don’t love the fact you bought my parents’ ranch.”

  “Oh.” It had been on the market for a year. Her father had seemed relieved to sell it to him. He hadn’t realized Eden wasn’t in favor of the sale. “Why not?”

  He regretted asking as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He braced himself for the truth. She probably thought he wasn’t qualified to raise cattle and was assuming he’d fail at it.

  He couldn’t fail at it. He needed this change—needed to belong here.

  “It’s my childhood home.”

  “And?” His muscles unlocked. At least she hadn’t accused him of incompetence.

  “And I didn’t want them to sell it.” Her voice trailed off at the end, and she directed her gaze to the wall.

  “Did you not want them to sell it to me?” he asked. “Or did you not want them to sell it at all?”

  “At all.”

  Okay, he could work with that. As long as it wasn’t him personally she objected to.

  “Why are you here, Ryder? I know it’s not to ask my blessing about you moving to my ranch.”

  Her ranch. His lips twitched. There had been a time in his life when bluntness would have put him on the defensive, but after everything Lily had put him through, he found bluntness—Eden’s especially—refreshing.

  “I need you to babysit the girls through the summer. This fall they’ll be in kindergarten all day, but in the meantime, they need someone like you to help them adjust to their new life here.”

  A wistful smile brightened her face for a moment, but it disappeared behind a frown. “Chandra Davis runs a good day care program in town. Talk to her.”

  “I already did, and she’s booked. She can’t take the girls.”

  “Then find someone else.”

  “I’ve tried.” He kept his tone gentle as frustration started to build. “Martha McNally has agreed to come to the ranch early every day so I can do my morning chores. She’ll get the girls dressed and fed, then drive the
m here, so you wouldn’t have to do anything but open your door for them at eight in the morning.”

  “Maybe Martha would watch them all day.” She wouldn’t meet his eyes. Annoyance flared up, catching him off guard.

  “Look, Eden, I know I’m not your favorite person. When we first met, you were right to call me out for arguing with Lily on the phone in front of the girls.”

  “Your relationship with your ex-wife is none of my business. If the girls hadn’t been completely crushed at the time, I wouldn’t have mentioned it at all. It was ages ago. I’m over it.”

  Then why did she avoid him whenever he was in town? It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her. However, that was not why he was here.

  “Hey, I take full responsibility for putting my foot in my mouth a few times since then, too,” he said. “I’ve tried to make things right with you, but I don’t know how. And at this point, it really doesn’t matter if you resent me or think I’m a class-A jerk. I just need my girls to be in good hands. You’re the only one I trust them with.”

  Her stony expression softened a fraction.

  “I’d need you to watch them Monday through Friday. Obviously, I’d make it worth your while financially.”

  “I’m sorry, but no.” She stood and crossed over to the window, rubbing her forearms as if chilled.

  “What can I say that will convince you to agree?” He forced himself to stay seated.

  “Nothing.”

  He’d hoped Eden would see this for what it was—a business arrangement—and agree. Maybe her dislike of him was stronger than he’d thought.

  Had he been mistaken about her? Was she the best person to take care of his twins? When it came to women, he didn’t always see clearly.

  Still…his gut was telling him the girls needed Eden. And he’d do anything for his daughters.

  * * *

  She wanted to say yes.

  Eden gripped her biceps as she stared unfocused out the window. Ryder’s twins, Harper and Ivy, had wriggled into her heart the moment she’d met them over a year ago. But she had to decline. She was supposed to be working on her long-term plans, not drifting into another babysitting job.