A Rancher's Heart

by Vivian Arend

  “Lisa,” Karen snapped.

  “Frankly, I think she should go because while she’s there, she can ditch him and find somebody younger.”

  “I’ll ditch you somewhere on the drive home,” Karen threatened.

  Without moving her gaze off the hotties at the next table she was batting her lashes at, Lisa reached into her pocket. She swung a keychain around her finger. “Going to be hard to kick me out when I’ll be driving.”

  Karen slapped her pocket before eyeing Lisa evilly. “Thief.”

  “We all need hobbies.”

  Tamara sat back, positive her smile went from ear to ear. “I love you two,” she said impulsively. “I’m glad you’re my sisters.”

  The two of them responded instantly, hands sliding forward to meet in the middle of the table. Fingers grasped, surrounded by empty plates and latte cups. “We’re the three Whiskeyteers forever,” Lisa proclaimed.

  “That nickname makes me think you’re calling us mice,” Tamara confessed.

  Karen snorted. “I always figured we were opening a barbershop.”

  A hoot escaped Lisa. “God, you guys. It’s our family cheer. Get over yourselves.”

  Tamara squeezed her fingers. “To the three Whiskeytee— Nope, can’t say it with a straight face.”

  Lisa rolled her eyes, and Karen snickered, and they were all laughing too hard to say much after that.

  Tamara finally got it together enough to speak. She lifted the last bit of her coffee in the air in a cheer. “To family.”

  “To family.”

  They sent Lisa to the counter to get more goodies in an attempt to keep her out of trouble. Karen shooed her off. “We need dessert.”

  Lisa raised a brow. “Pie after our cinnamons rolls?”

  “You arguing with that idea?”

  “Hell, no. Just wanted to make it crystal clear I won’t be held responsible for my actions after the sugar rush hits.” Lisa turned her full smile on the blond at the next table as she rose to her feet. She looked him up and down then made her way to the counter, hips swaying in an exaggerated matter.

  Karen and Tamara glanced at each other, then at the poor man seated next to them. He’d just taken a deep breath and stretched out his legs, eyes pinned to Lisa’s ass.

  It was impossible to stop from laughing all over again. Warm happiness, familiar and perfect, filled Tamara to the brim. Even though they were many miles from what had been her home, this was right.

  They were together as a family. That made it home.

  Chapter Nine

  Caleb wasn’t sure how they’d gotten along before Tamara arrived.

  Her presence was everywhere. Tasty food hit the table three times a day, the house sparkled—well, maybe not that, but it was a lot cleaner than it had been.

  The girls were tolerating her okay. Emma had taken to following Tamara around like a hesitant puppy dog. His little girl would settle in and play somewhere near enough to keep an eye on what Tamara was doing. Sasha stuck close as well, but she didn’t seem as charmed, as if waiting to defend her sister in case Tamara’s true colours appeared.

  So far he’d managed to stop from following in their footsteps. His issue was he couldn’t get near the woman without wanting to tug her against him and bury himself in her softness. She looked good, she smelled even better, but he refused to give in to the caveman-like urges that woke him in the middle of the night.

  Woke him in the morning with a hard-on that would not quit.

  Distraction. Now.

  Instead of joining Tamara on the porch he forced himself into the office, the mess taunting him. He could deal with just about everything else on the ranch in an orderly fashion, but this was the one area he’d never been able to tackle to the ground.

  It was the section of the ranch where his mom had reigned, and for a moment he got lost in the past. Images returning to mind of walking into the office and finding his mom and dad sharing a kiss. His dad thanking her for the work she’d done, and her winking back.

  They’d been connected—so united in everything.

  The knot of ancient pain Caleb kept under tight wraps in his core got in a sudden jab before he ruthlessly shoved it away. What his parents had must’ve been one in a million, because it certainly hadn’t been the situation with his wife. That oneness, or complete connection.

  Oh, he’d had all kinds of hopes when he’d asked Wendy to marry him. Even though she’d been accidentally pregnant when he asked, he’d honestly felt they had a chance at love. Whatever the hell that meant, because it’d become clear pretty quickly her idea of being a rancher’s wife and reality were very different things.

  He stared at the paper in front of him to discover he’d been doodling hay bales or some such nonsense. He ripped the page off and tossed it behind him.

  It was better if he didn’t think about the woman. It was better if he didn’t think about his parents, or anything else he couldn’t have.

  Instead he’d focus on what he did have. Wendy had given him the two most important things in his entire world. He wasn’t sure he always told them that, but he was trying. Sasha and Emma were the reason he got up every morning and headed out to get things done. They were the reason, even though he hated the task with a fiery passion, he reached for the bills and the chequebook, and forced himself to put numbers on the page so that he could accomplish something before they got up.

  Shockingly, he got distracted enough that the next thing he knew someone was tugging on his sleeve.

  He rolled the office chair back and brought Emma into his arms. “Hey, button. Did you have a good sleep, or do I need to go dig some nasty peas out from under your mattress?”

  A giggle escaped as she buried her face against him and cuddled closer. “No peas.”

  “But it’s morning? Wow. The sun keeps getting up earlier and earlier.”

  Emma laid her head on his chest and held on tight, and Caleb felt his frustrations and sorrows slip away. There was nothing better for a man’s soul than the innocent love of his child.

  He ignored his work and happily cradled her until the clock on the wall warned time was ticking.

  Caleb gave her a squeeze. “Okay, we’d better move. You have a full day ahead of you. We should go see if Tamara slept in.”

  Emma snorted and shook her head.

  “Oh, you’re right. I think she’s up. Do you smell muffins?”

  Emma’s nose rose in the air like a little bloodhound.

  He laughed, setting her on her feet before joining her, enough paperwork dealt with he could ignore the mess for another day. “Let’s check the kitchen and see if Sasha left us anything for breakfast.”

  Sasha sat at the kitchen island looking as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth as she scolded Tamara. “We don’t eat muffins for breakfast,” Sasha said haughtily.

  “There’s those ham-and-egg-type muffins as well, but if you don’t like either of those option, I guess you’re cooking for yourself this morning,” Tamara responded in a light tone. “Because that’s what I made. You want something else, feel free.”

  Emma scrabbled up on the chair next to her sister and reached eagerly for the fresh baking.

  Sasha glanced guiltily at Caleb before smiling primly and pretending she hadn’t just been a stinker to Tamara. “Good morning, Daddy.”

  Heaven save him. She was going to be a handful once she reached her teens. He spoke softly, but sternly. “Apologize to Tamara. You may state your opinions as bold as you’d like, but you’ll do it politely. Yes?”

  Her fake bravado bled away and she was back to being his sweet, protective, worried little girl. “Yes, Daddy.” Sasha lifted her gaze to peek at Tamara’s face. “Sorry I was rude.”

  “Apology accepted.” Tamara lifted the coffee pot. “Caleb?”

  He nodded at Tamara as he stepped close enough to give Sasha’s shoulders a squeeze. “Yes, please. Hey, Emma. You plan to leave any of those muffins for me? They look amazing.”

 
; Tamara made a noise, but when they looked her direction, she was wiping innocently at her mouth. “Sorry. Swallowed wrong.”

  “You’re taking us Halloweening, right, Daddy?” Like a resilient perennial, Sasha had returned to her favourite topic.

  “We had this conversation last night.”

  “But you’re still taking us.”

  He tweaked her nose. “Nothing changed in the past eight hours.”

  She nodded firmly then glanced over to see if Tamara was looking. When the coast was clear, she snagged a muffin and gobbled it down.

  It was his turn to fight to keep from snorting in amusement.

  Caleb was well into his afternoon work when he ran into Josiah Ryder, co-owner of the local veterinary clinic. The man had moved into the community right around the time Caleb and Wendy’s marriage had fallen apart, and once the dust settled, Josiah had become Caleb’s closest friend. It was the best thing to have come out of that time.

  Josiah had been off on holidays for the past couple of weeks, just returned on Sunday, meaning Caleb hadn’t caught him up on the most recent developments. Specifically, the full-time nanny situation. Josiah knew Tamara was there, but they hadn’t talked about how it was working out.

  Caleb shook his head—had it been only two weeks since he’d agreed to have Tamara join them? Everything had changed in the blink of an eye.

  For some reason Josiah was lying flat on his back in one of the horse pens. An empty one, thank God.

  Caleb raised a brow. “Good thing you’re not any uglier, or I might have wondered why there was a pile of shit in the middle of an otherwise clean pen.”

  Josiah laughed as he rolled to his feet. “Jackass. One of your dogs has lead poisoning. Ashton mentioned a few of the pens got redone recently, so I was checking them out.”

  “That’s not the source of the problem.” Caleb frowned. “I had extra time so I did them myself—all new wood, no old paint or toxins.”

  Josiah whistled. “Extra time? You invent a thirty-six-hour day since I’ve been gone? Because I’ve never noticed you slacking off with the twenty-four the rest of us mortals get, and you’ve never had extra time before.”

  “It’s the new nanny,” he admitted grudgingly. “It’s amazing how much more I can get done when I don’t have to keep breaking off in the middle of a project.”

  “I’m glad.” Josiah clapped him on the shoulder. “You deserve a break for a change, so I’m happy to know it’s working out. Maybe I’ll be able to convince you to come spread your wings and start to enjoy life a little more.”

  “I enjoy life plenty,” Caleb insisted.

  “Let me rephrase that. I wouldn’t mind seeing you outside of a work setting, or have you forgotten how to have a good time?”

  Caleb wasn’t sure if he’d forgotten, or if it had been beat out of him. “Always ready for a game of cards. Luke would join us, and Walker, since he’s home.”

  “That’s all good and well, and I like your brothers, but I like doing stuff with you even if it’s just us, remember?”

  Amusement struck, and Caleb pursed his lips to make a crude smooching noise. “Yes, darlin’. I love you too.”

  Josiah retched exaggeratedly. They grinned at each other then put aside the teasing and ran their way through the animals Caleb wanted checked. Easy talk flowed, except when it didn’t, but the entire time they worked.

  The two of them were good enough friends that the silent moments were as comfortable as conversation. Men of the land, working with their hands, helping without a comment when needed. Caleb could fall into that same rhythm with Luke or Walker. Even with Ashton, but it seemed extra special having a friend he hadn’t grown up around who inspired that same feeling of comfort.

  They’d nearly finished for the day when Josiah brought up the topic again.

  “I have to admit it. Every time you say the word nanny, it throws me. I keep picturing someone slightly crazy. You know, like Mary Poppins, with strange outfits—”

  “—magical bag of tricks?”

  A voice that was already familiar rang in the air as Tamara stepped into view.

  She waggled her fingers at Josiah before holding out a hand. “Sorry, but this is one nanny who has not yet figured out locomotion by umbrella.”

  Something in Josiah’s eyes lit up as he took Tamara’s hand willingly. A grin crossed his face, and for one fevered moment Caleb imagined what it would be like to gut his best friend from nose to knees.

  Because Caleb could see it coming. The damn bastard planned on flirting. The way he flirted with everyone of the female persuasion whether they were two years old or two hundred, so the idea shouldn’t burn as hard as it did.

  But that was a logical thought, and logic could get the fuck out.

  Sure enough, Josiah lingered over the handshake. “I recognize you from the coffee shop the other day. You do not look like Mary Poppins, but I bet you could make the medicine go down just right.”

  Caleb rolled his eyes.

  A smile slid over her face. “I know a thing or two about making people’s days brighter. So does my sister.”

  Sister?

  Josiah looked positively gleeful. “Yes, about your sister. She moving to Heart Falls as well? Because I know someone who’d be mighty interested—”

  Caleb coughed abruptly. “You need to take a look at this, Josiah.”

  His friend had forgotten about the animal in the pen behind him, so Caleb pushed the vet into the pen and closed the gate after him as if worried about keeping the colt in.

  Then he turned so he stood between Tamara and Josiah. “Need something?”

  Tamara shook her head. “Not really, although I wanted to check if it works with your schedule for me to go out tomorrow night. Kelli suggested it. I think things are going well with the girls, but it would probably be good to have a little space for a night. I didn’t want to confirm plans until I talked to you.”

  Caleb was nodding when Josiah, the right bastard that he was, popped up again, resting his arms on the top of the gate and whipping out his lady-killer smile. “Sounds like a great plan. Caleb was saying that the girls were settling in well to having you around, but I bet they would appreciate some quality family time.” He aimed the full potency of his flirting at Tamara. “As it happens, I’m free tomorrow. I’d love to escort you and Kelli to Rough Cut.”

  Tamara looked confused for a moment. “Is that somewhere we want to go?”

  “Local bar. Because of the coal in the area, and the nearby town of Black Diamond, but yeah, it’s a great place to hang out for a while. Drinks and dancing. I do it all.”

  He was getting a boot up his ass if he kept this up much longer, Caleb thought darkly.

  He’d had enough. “No objections, but if you’re planning on going out with Kelli, maybe make it a girls’ night out. Luke’s fiancée is around.” He ignored the sudden coughing from the pen where Josiah stood. “Or I bet Kelli could introduce you to some of her other friends. Be good for you to get to know more women in the community. You’ll mostly spend time around guys here at Silver Stone.”

  Tamara leaned a hand on the nearest post, looking Josiah up and down for one long, deliberate moment as if to poke Caleb in the ass before she smiled at them both. “That sounds like exactly the thing I need. The girls’ night out, and all. Josiah, I’ll take a raincheck on the dancing, if you don’t mind.”

  “No problem. I’ll give you my number. I should give it to you anyway in case you ever need to reach me. I hear you’ve got goats on the property.”

  “I’ll call if it’s necessary,” Caleb offered.

  “I am the vet,” Josiah pointed out, completely deadpan. “And I have a phone, and I happen to especially like goats.”

  Caleb was going to kill his friend later. “Oh look, there’s Penny.”

  He put as much enthusiasm into his voice as he could muster, but it took a lot of energy, and he didn’t think he did a very good job because both Tamara and Josiah stared at him a
s if he were possessed.

  Yeah, his tone had been forced for more than one reason. Penny was a nice enough girl, he supposed, but he wasn’t quite sure what Luke saw in her. And the fact they planned on getting married somewhere down the road but never seemed to make any further commitment than that made Caleb uneasy.

  Luke insisted it was because he was still working on their house, which was true. The place was not much more than skeleton framing with a roof, but there’d been so many changes to the plans…

  Enough. Penny hadn’t done anything specific Caleb could point a finger at, but she always seemed to rub him the wrong way.

  Course it wasn’t that difficult to rub him wrong when it came to marriage.

  She wore an outfit that was perfectly suitable for the barns, yet still somehow smelled of money. Her boots were that bit shinier, the cut of her blouse something more than off the shelf at Walmart.

  Caleb checked himself—he didn’t want to dislike her on principle, because it wasn’t wrong to like to wear nice things, and her family had the money.

  It was just something about how she came across. Even now as they stepped forward, she and Luke weren’t holding hands like a couple in love. She’d rested her hand on his arm as if he were escorting her down a grand staircase.

  Luke seemed oblivious, chatting happily. His eyes lit up as he spotted Caleb and Tamara.

  “Hey, Caleb. We were looking for you.” He turned his attention on Tamara. “And you being here is a bonus. I’d like you to meet my fiancée, Penny Talisman. Penny, this is Tamara Coleman. She’s Caleb’s new nanny.”

  “Sasha and Emma’s new nanny,” Josiah corrected. “Although if she’s available for grownups, I’d like to put in a request.”

  Tamara’s cheeks flushed at Josiah’s comment, but she extended a hand to Penny. “Nice to meet you.”

  “You too.” Penny slipped her other hand farther around Luke’s arm, as if she were staking a claim. “Is that something you can take actual training for? Nanny school?”