Harlequin American Romance October 2013 Bundle: Twins Under the Christmas TreeBig Sky ChristmasHer Wyoming HeroA Rancher's Christmas

by Marin Thomas

  “Where’s Andy?”

  “When he was through eating, he went out exploring. I’m almost done and was about to look for him.”

  “Then let’s go together.”

  “What about your dinner?”

  “I had a snack already and will eat later.”

  * * *

  ROSS WALKED HER out into the warm air. The sun wouldn’t be going down for a while. There were half a dozen people in the pool. He nodded to the lifeguard.

  “Hey, Uncle Ross—over here!”

  A dripping wet Johnny Lundgren stood by the diving board talking nonstop to none other than their latest guest. Johnny was a little short for his age. Andy seemed to be tall for a nine-year-old. But the difference in height and age didn’t mean a thing to Johnny. He was the friendliest kid on the planet. Ross smiled at the scene.

  “That’s Carson Lundgren’s adopted son talking Andy’s ear off,” he said in an aside to Kit. “He’s already adopted me and Buck as his uncles.”

  “How sweet,” she murmured with genuine tenderness. She’d just described Carson’s son. They walked to the end of the pool.

  “Johnny? This is Andy’s mom, Kit. They’re from Maine.”

  “Hi, Johnny,” she said with warmth.

  “Hi! I just asked Andy if he wants to come riding with me and Jenny in the morning. He’s never ridden on a pony before.”

  “I think that sounds fun, but we don’t know what Ross has planned for us yet.”

  Johnny turned to Andy. “He’ll probably take you fishing, but I think riding is more fun. Do you want to get in the pool and swim with me?”

  If anyone could make a dent in Andy’s armor, it was Johnny, who’d just given Ross an opening he’d take. “Why don’t we all swim? I’ll go inside and put on my suit. It’s the perfect temperature out here.”

  “Hooray!” Johnny cried in excitement.

  Andy turned to his mother. In a quiet voice he said, “I don’t want to.”

  “Then you don’t have to, but after sitting on a plane for hours, I feel like a swim. I’m going to run to our cabin for my suit.”

  “Mom—”

  “I’ll be right back, honey.”

  Ross could see and feel Andy’s frustration as she disappeared. The fact that she’d taken Ross up on the idea meant she wasn’t about to coddle her son. Again he gave her marks for expecting Andy to deal with this new situation despite his unhappiness.

  “Don’t you guys have fun without me!” he said to the two of them.

  Johnny laughed. “You’re funny, Uncle Ross.”

  No sound came out of Andy. He just looked at him in bewilderment before Ross took off. At least that was a change from the scowl he’d worn during the drive from the airport.

  Ross reached his room and changed into his black trunks. After grabbing a towel, he hurried back down and belly flopped next to Johnny on purpose, causing him to laugh. Ross noticed Andy sitting in a deck chair by himself.

  “Come on, Johnny. Let’s go talk to him.” As he hoisted him on his shoulders, he saw Kit come out on the patio carrying a rolled-up towel.

  “Hi, everybody!” In seconds she removed her wrap. Ross’s breath caught to see her shapely body clad in a light blue bikini dive into the deep end of the pool from the side. When she surfaced, she swam over to her son. “I brought your suit in the towel. If you change your mind, use the cabana.”

  When he didn’t respond, Ross said, “We’re going to play sharks and minnows.”

  Johnny’s head jerked around. “Hey—I haven’t played that game before.”

  “It’s a new one I’ve been waiting to teach you. I’m the shark and you guys are the minnows. I’ll be at the end of the pool. You and Kit get up on the side of the deck. I’ll call out, sharks and minnows, one two three, fishies, fishies swim to me. That’s when you’ll dive in and swim to the other side. If I don’t catch you, then you’ll be the shark for the next round. If I do, then you’ll stay a minnow.”

  Johnny giggled. “That sounds silly.”

  He grinned. “You think? Just wait until I come after you.” His gaze swerved to Kit who’d climbed up on the deck ready to play. Ross had a devil of a time concentrating when he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  “Come on, Johnny. Let’s see if we can beat this big shark at his own game.” The way she’d said it heightened Ross’s anticipation.

  “Yeah!” Johnny got out of the water and walked over by her.

  “Sharks and minnows—” Ross called out after coughing. The game was on. They must have played six rounds, but Ross beat them every time. Both she and Johnny came up laughing and spurting.

  “How come you guys can’t catch me?” Ross baited them. “I thought you said this was a silly game, Johnny.”

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw Andy, who’d come out of the cabana in his suit and was watching. Well, what do you know. Nothing like a little healthy competition.

  “Come on, Andy,” Johnny shouted when he saw him. “Help us win!”

  Once again they lined up along the side, but this time Andy had joined them. “Sharks and minnows—” Ross called out. There was plenty of splashing as everyone dived into the pool. Ross went after the other two first so he would barely miss tagging Andy.

  “Hey—now Andy’s a shark!”

  “He sure is, Johnny.” Ross smiled at Kit’s son. “How did you learn to swim so fast?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You’re good!” Ross climbed up next to Johnny and Kit. She thanked him with her eyes. While he was still staring into them Andy shouted, “Sharks and minnows—” The boy was a quick study.

  By Ross losing his concentration, Andy tagged him and Kit with no problem. That made Johnny the winner.

  “Bravo!” another voice called out.

  “Mom!” Johnny cried. Tracy had just come out to the pool. “Uncle Ross taught us a new game and I won this time! Put your suit on and get in.”

  “Honey, it’s late. The pool is closed now. Time to get out.”

  “Oh, heck.”

  “Your mom’s right, Johnny. But there’s always tomorrow.”

  He scrambled out of the pool to his mother who wrapped him in a towel. After kissing him, she said, “It looks like we have some new guests.”

  “Yup. That’s Andy and his mom, Kit. They’re from Maine.”

  Ross took over. “Kit Wentworth? Meet Carson’s wife, Tracy.”

  “It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Lundgren. Andy and I are thrilled to be here.”

  “We’ve all been looking forward to your arrival, haven’t we, Johnny.”

  “Yeah. Please, will you come riding with us in the morning?”

  Andy shrugged. “I guess.”

  “Goody! We’ll let you pick out one of the ponies to ride, but I think you’ll like Raindrop. She’s a dappled gray. You’re older than we are and she’s a little bigger than the others. She likes apple nuggets for a treat.”

  Ross chuckled. “She does love those.”

  Kit smiled. “I can’t wait to see her. With that settled, we’d better get out of the pool and change. After our long flight we’re about ready for bed and will see all of you tomorrow. Come on, Andy.”

  “Bye, Andy. See ya later.” Johnny walked away with his mother.

  “Bye.”

  Ross turned to his guests. “I’ll meet you in the foyer in five minutes to drive you back to the cabin.”

  “We’ll hurry,” she assured him.

  Before long the three of them met by the front desk where there were a few guests checking in. Ross was pleased to see their normal dude ranch business was continuing to grow.

  Willy looked up. “Hey, Ross—I see they found you.” But his eyes were so focused on Kit, Ross would have laug
hed if the situation weren’t so precarious. Her dark hair still had natural curl when it was damp. She looked good. Too good. He had to remember they were honoring her husband’s memory.

  “We did,” Kit spoke up. She appeared oblivious to Willy’s gawking. “Thank you.”

  Ross walked them through the front door to the parking area on the side of the ranch house. “We’ll go in the truck.” He opened the rear passenger door for them, and they climbed inside.

  Once on their way, he heard Andy talking to his mother in the back. “That Johnny’s funny.”

  “He’s very cute. I think it will be fun to go riding with him.”

  “Ponies are for babies.”

  “Johnny didn’t look like a baby to me.”

  Good for Kit.

  When they reached the cabin, Ross shut off the engine and turned in the seat to expand on her comment. “When you’re seven, a pony is a lot easier to handle. Johnny’s adoptive father, Carson, is a champion rodeo rider who owns this ranch. He got him started on Goldie in June. You should see how he rides already.”

  Ross could hear the boy mulling everything over in his mind. “What happened to his real father?”

  Andy didn’t miss much. “He was a brave marine like your dad who died in the war. Like you, we invited him and his mom to come to the ranch for a week. They ended up staying, and now they’re married.”

  “How wonderful for them,” Kit murmured.

  Ross agreed, but the boy had gone quiet. Figuring he’d said enough for now, he climbed down from the truck and opened the rear door for Kit. They both got out the same side. Kit pulled the key card from her pocket to unlock the cabin door, drawing his gaze to the shape of womanly hips below her waist. As for the curves above...it was no wonder Willy couldn’t keep his eyes to himself.

  She turned to him. “Good night. Thank you for everything.”

  To his surprise he didn’t want to leave. “I’ll come by for you at eight in the morning, and we’ll have breakfast together before planning our day. Good night, you two.”

  Ross got in the truck and took off for the ranch house. Before heading upstairs he made a detour to the kitchen for a sandwich and bumped into Buck stealing a donut on his way to bed.

  These days his friend wore a continual smile. That’s what being deeply in love did for you.

  “Hey—” He nudged Ross, then coughed. “Willy just told me about Mrs. Wentworth and her son. Apparently she’s one gorgeous babe. His words, I swear.”

  “If you like brunettes.”

  “You don’t?”

  “I never said that.” The last word came out on a cough.

  He studied him. “What’s she like? Don’t tell me she’s nice.”

  Ross bit into his ham sandwich. “What if she is?”

  Buck chuckled. “And her son?”

  “He’s got problems.”

  “But nothing you can’t handle.”

  “I don’t know. It’s early days yet.” The conversation Andy had had with his grandfather earlier still puzzled him. Until the phone call, the boy hadn’t said two words. Then he’d switched to talking mode, but only after he’d been urged by his mother to come to the phone. Ross didn’t know what to make of the tension.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Ask me in a week.” Ross couldn’t take more of the interrogation. He finished off his sandwich, knowing sleep wouldn’t come for a while. “Good night.”

  The guys had warned Ross that lightning could strike three times in the same place, and they had the documented video to prove it. He’d laughed off their teasing, but for some reason he wasn’t laughing now.

  Chapter Three

  After washing and blow drying her hair, Kit got ready for bed. When she peeked in their bedroom, she discovered that Andy had fallen asleep. Considering their long day, it didn’t surprise her. Without waiting another minute, she went into the living room to phone her in-laws.

  “Hello, Florence? Andy told me you wanted me to call before we went to bed.”

  “We expected to hear from you before now.”

  “I’m sorry, but we swam until late with the owner’s son, Johnny Lundgren. He’s two years younger than Andy, but a real joy and a lot of fun.”

  Ross’s suggestion that they all swim had turned out to be inspirational. By dreaming up that little competition, Ross had nudged Andy out of his mood. Andy hadn’t been able to resist joining in and had won a round. The praise their host had given him had made a subtle difference in her son, increasing his confidence. Kit could have hugged Ross for it.

  “Where’s Andy?” Charles spoke up from another extension.

  “In bed, sound asleep.”

  “What are your plans for tomorrow?”

  She frowned. “I don’t know yet. Probably riding. Why?”

  “I’m concerned about Andy. The weather can change on a dime out there. I don’t want to hear you took my grandson up on the Grand Teton with all those lightning strikes. You shouldn’t have gone to Wyoming.”

  He’s my son, Charles, she wanted to shout at him. But she understood that after losing Winn, her in-laws were fearful of other losses. Instead she said, “There are too many other activities planned right here on the ranch for you to worry about that. It’s supposed to be warm weather the whole time while we’re here. We’re going to concentrate on riding horses and fly-fishing on the Snake. This is a glorious place.” Like a piece of heaven.

  “I was there years ago. The Snake River can be dangerous.”

  She took a deep breath. “Charles? I promise our hosts aren’t going to allow us to do any activity where we can get hurt. They’re trying to make this an exciting adventure for Andy.” Kit had already been given proof of that at the pool with Ross.

  “But you’re there without Winn.”

  “Andy and I have each other, Florence. Now if you’ll forgive me, I’m exhausted and need to get to bed. It’s late for you, too.”

  “We’ll talk tomorrow,” Charles announced in his imperious voice.

  Oh, she knew that. Twice a day and every night like clockwork. “I’ll have Andy call you after our ride tomorrow. He’ll have lots to tell you, I’m sure. Good night.”

  She hung up and hurried to bed. Moonlight kept the cabin room from being totally dark. Sleeping in the same room with her son was a brand-new experience. When Winn had been home, he’d never allowed Andy to get in bed with them, even when he was a small child.

  And when he’d been away, he’d insisted Andy stay in his own bedroom on the next floor, and his parents had enforced his rule. She’d slept by him a few times over the years when he’d been sick and needed comfort, but this was different. While they were on vacation, she relished this time alone with him so they could really talk.

  Kit turned on her side to face him. As she drifted off, her mind relived those moments in the swimming pool with Ross. She wished she didn’t find him so appealing. She hadn’t come here with the idea of meeting a man. Anything but.

  Unfortunately, Ross was the first person on her mind when she woke up the next morning. The knowledge that he’d be coming for them in a few minutes gave her stomach flutters.

  Andy had already gotten out of bed and was watching TV. She called to him to come and get ready.

  “How did you sleep?”

  “Good.”

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Yeah.”

  She mulled over his answers while they put on their shoes. “Good” and “yeah” were signs his mood had improved. If only he would stay this way...

  “Mom? Did you call Grandfather last night?”

  He’d been her little worrier for years. “I did, but let me ask you something. What would you think if I hadn’t phoned him?”

  Andy swung his head toward he
r. She saw that nervous look he often got. “You know,” he muttered.

  She’d finished doing her hair and put the brush down. “You mean he’d get mad. You can say it, honey.”

  His eyes slid away.

  “It’s not much fun to be around someone grumpy, is it?”

  He didn’t respond.

  “He and your grandmother get mad at me, too.” She applied some lipstick.

  “I know.”

  Her son understood a lot, but she still had to probe to get at the truth of how he truly felt about his life.

  “That’s why it’s nice you and I can be on vacation by ourselves. We all need a break, don’t you think?”

  His faint nod gave her the sign she’d been hoping for, but they both heard a horn honk out front. She would have to continue this conversation with him later.

  “Let’s go.” She put the card key in her pocket. With a happier heart, she followed him out the door into another day filled with sunshine, sage and Ross Livingston as she lived and breathed. He’d dressed in a brown-and-white plaid Western shirt and a pair of jeans that molded powerful thighs.

  She felt his eyes on her as they filed out to the truck. Then they flicked to her son.

  “Hey, Andy—how’s it going?”

  “Good.”

  “If you want, hop up in the back of the truck. You can ride on one of those bales of hay.”

  “Sure.” Kit watched him heave himself up without Ross trying to help. Their host was the opposite of Charles who micromanaged him every second of his life.

  “One of these days Johnny will be able to do that,” he confided to Andy.

  Thank you, Ross. His way with Andy, combined with his goodness, wrapped itself around Kit’s insides, warming her through to the empty spaces in her heart.

  “On the way to breakfast we’ll pick up Johnny. Between him and Buck’s new stepdaughter, Jenny, you’ll be among friends. I know they’re two years younger than you, but they’ll like being with you. You’ve lived in Maine and know a lot of neat stuff they don’t. And one more thing. They’re fun.”

  “Johnny makes me laugh.”

  “He makes me laugh, too.”