The Rancher's Surprise Baby

by Trish Milburn

  “Hey,” Devon said as she walked to the front of the shop from where she’d been stocking embroidery thread. “What’s up?”

  “We’ve come to see what you all think of an event we’re tossing around for Labor Day weekend,” Keri said.

  “A street fair with all the downtown merchants plus booths from other area businesses, independent artisans and craftspeople, food trucks, whatever else we can think of,” said India Parrish, owner of Yesterwear Boutique.

  “I personally think there should be a dunking booth.” Elissa Kayne, who owned the local nursery and garden center, looked as if she might have some dunkees in mind already.

  Mandy immediately thought how satisfying it would be to sink Shantele and Fancy, but they’d never deign to do something like a dunking booth. Not when they probably spent an hour each morning just on their hair.

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Mandy said.

  “I agree,” Devon added.

  “Well, now that we have that settled,” Elissa said, “what’s up with you and Ben Hartley?”

  Mandy nearly banged her head against the counter. How had something that was basically nothing taken on such a life of its own?

  “He hit my car and now feels guilty, so he’s given me a couple of rides. Greg should have my car finished soon.”

  “Speaking of Greg, did you hear he’s offering a reward for information about the identity of the people who wrapped his truck in pink streamers?” Keri asked.

  “A reward?” Mandy barely kept the guilt out of her voice.

  “Yeah. I heard he was going to press charges for vandalism.”

  “What? Since when is the equivalent of TPing vandalism?”

  “I agree. It doesn’t seem like Greg,” said India.

  “Unless it’s his way to dish out a little payback,” Devon said.

  Mandy caught how Elissa and Keri were staring at her. Did they know? How could they possibly know? Devon wouldn’t have told them.

  “I wonder where someone got that many pink streamers.” The look on Elissa’s face made Mandy want to fidget. It was as if she knew exactly what had happened and who had perpetrated it but wanted to hear Mandy admit it.

  “Well, whoever did it, I think it was hilarious,” India said.

  “And high time someone did something like that to Greg,” Keri added.

  “Listen to that—the sheriff’s wife advocating vandalism,” Elissa said.

  “A harmless prank is not vandalism in my book. It wasn’t as if they keyed his truck or slashed his tires.”

  Mandy had just thought how thankful she was the conversation had veered away from Ben when Elissa leaned her hip against the front counter and gave her a mischievous grin. “So you’re not interested in Ben?”

  Mandy sighed. “Why does everyone think accepting a ride with someone automatically means you’re on the road to romance?”

  “Rides,” Elissa said.

  “What?”

  “Rides, plural.”

  “Yes, because my car is still not fixed and it’s not as if I can hoof it to work and back every day. I’d die of heatstroke about the time I got to the Wildflower Inn.”

  The front door opened again, thankfully customers this time. Their friends left with a promise to get back to them about details on the street fair. By the looks on their faces, particularly Elissa’s and Keri’s, they wouldn’t let the subject of Ben go either. It was enough to make Mandy second-guess her belief that Devon hadn’t said anything.

  When the customers left with their purchases, she confronted her oldest friend. “Did you say something about what I told you regarding Ben?” Devon’s look of surprise was so genuine that Mandy immediately waved off her question. “Never mind.”

  “Why are you so sensitive about this?”

  “Honestly, I don’t really know.”

  “Maybe it’s because you’re resisting the idea when there’s no real reason to.”

  Mandy let that thought percolate throughout the day and had half decided to ask Ben out on a date when she received a text from him that he couldn’t pick her up. Her heart sank until she saw the reason, and then she felt guilty.

  At clinic with Mom. Rolled her ankle. Taking X-rays to see if broken.

  She typed back, Sorry to hear that. Hope she’s okay. No worries. Will get another ride.

  Except that her mom was in Fredericksburg, Devon had gone home an hour ago and she wasn’t about to ask for a lift from anyone who’d been grilling her about Ben already. She glanced around the shop and figured it wouldn’t hurt to spend a single night here. Maybe it was even a sign that her plan to ask out Ben hadn’t been a good one and she’d been saved the mortal embarrassment of his declining.

  Chapter Six

  “You need anything else, Mom?” Ben asked as he adjusted the pillow under his mom’s foot.

  She looked tired and a little pale, but she still smiled as she patted him on the cheek. “I’m okay. It’s not as if I broke anything. Few days and I’ll be good as new.” She glanced around at his brothers and sisters and dad, all ready to jump to her aid. “I’m just going to rest and watch some TV for a while.”

  As they dispersed, leaving only their dad and Angel near enough to help should the need arise, Ben was thankful he’d been walking toward his truck when he’d seen his mom’s ankle roll, causing her to fall on her way back from the garden. He’d been the only one around to help her with everyone else away from the house for one reason or another.

  He strolled into the kitchen and nabbed one of the double-chocolate cookies his mom had made before taking her tumble. They were so good he’d normally be able to clean the plate of them himself, but the thought that his mom could have been more seriously injured or that she might have had to sit on the ground waiting for help for hours had zapped much of his appetite.

  Adam came in behind him and snatched a cookie for himself. “What a day.”

  “Yeah. You know she’s not going to want to stay off that foot either.”

  “We can’t let her outside by herself right now, though. There was another sighting of that mountain lion a couple of miles away, over by the Francis place.”

  That wasn’t good news, for anyone. His thoughts shot to Mandy. He needed to make sure she’d gotten home safely and that she knew the cat was still in the area. When Adam headed for the barn to check on the horses, Ben pulled out his phone and dialed Mandy’s number. It rang three times before she answered.

  “Hey, how’s your mom?”

  “Not a break, thankfully, but a pretty bad sprain. She needs to be off her feet for a while, which is going to be difficult for her. She’s not a woman to sit around doing nothing.”

  “Sounds like my mom. I’m trying to get her to cut back on work, but she’s been hesitant. Old habits die hard, I guess. May be some hope on the horizon, though.”

  “Are you at her house again tonight?”

  “No.”

  “You’re home, then. I’m going to drive over and check out the surrounding area. The mountain lion was spotted again today.”

  “Uh, I’m not there.”

  Not home and not at her mom’s. Was she at Devon’s? That probably put a damper on Cole’s night. Or...

  “Oh. Sorry if I interrupted your evening.”

  “No, I’m just doing some catch-up paperwork.”

  Now he was even more confused. “Wait. You’re still at work?”

  “Yeah. It’s nice and quiet when we’re closed and I can work without distractions.”

  “You’ve been closed for hours. You’re not planning on spending the night there, are you?”

  “It’s not a problem. And world’s shortest commute in the morning.”

  “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

  “Ben, t
here’s no reason for you to come get me.”

  She wasn’t spending the night in a store not set up for overnight guests. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” He hung up before she could protest again.

  * * *

  AFTER A FEW hours alone, Mandy had finally accepted that her intense attraction to Ben was a passing infatuation and shouldn’t be acted upon. But now she had to face him again because of that dang chivalrous streak of his.

  She finished the file she was working on and closed down the computer. Left with nothing to do but wait, she paced up and down the aisles. Why was she letting herself get so worked up? It felt totally ridiculous—but not as ridiculous as her yelp when Ben knocked on the front door of the shop.

  With her heart knocking against the inside of her chest, she made her way toward the front, grabbed her purse then unlocked the door. She placed a hand on her hip and looked up at him.

  “Anyone ever tell you that you’re stubborn?”

  “More times than I can remember. Including you, if I remember correctly.”

  “I would have been perfectly fine here. We have a couch in the back that’s darn comfortable.” A sudden image of dragging him to that couch made her drop her gaze and start fidgeting.

  “Well, I’m here now. Come on so we can go get something to eat.”

  “You haven’t eaten dinner?”

  “Nope. We got Mom settled and much to her dismay turned over the kitchen to Sloane. I figure eating in town is in my own best interest.”

  She stepped out the door and locked it. “Does Sloane know you talk about her this way?”

  “Believe me, she’s getting off easy. You should hear how she talks about me.”

  “I wish I had a sibling to trade insults with.”

  “Want to borrow one of mine?”

  She laughed at that as she walked toward his truck. “You don’t fool me, Ben Hartley. It’s obvious you and your siblings are thick as thieves.”

  He shrugged as he rounded the front of the truck. “I guess I’ll keep them.”

  Mandy thought that she’d like to keep him. Somewhere private.

  “So, where to?” he asked when he slipped into the driver’s seat.

  “Don’t care. I’m up for anything.” Well, couldn’t that be taken the wrong way?

  “Fajitas it is.”

  “You know we could walk there.”

  “True, but I’m not gonna. Way my luck is going, I’d twist my ankle on the way.” He started the truck, circled the block and drove the short distance down the street and parked closer to La Cantina.

  When he held the door of the restaurant for her, Mandy’s heart irrationally skipped a beat. Guys held the door for her all the time—grandpas, little boys and even the occasional handsome cowboy with whom she crossed paths. But having Ben hold the door for her did funny, fizzy things to her middle.

  As they waited in the foyer, she struggled to think of something to say. She almost asked how his mom was but remembered she already had. Still...

  “How long is your mom going to have to stay off her feet?”

  “Not sure, but it’s a doozy of a sprain.”

  “Well, if I can help in any way, just let me know.”

  “Thanks, but we should be able to handle it.”

  After they were seated and chips and salsa had been delivered to their table, she received a text. A quick peek had her shaking her head.

  “Well, that was fast,” she said, half to herself.

  “What?” Ben asked before popping a tortilla chip in his mouth.

  She debated whether to tell him but decided she was tired of being anxious where he was concerned. She was going to be her normal, open self and just see what happened. She extended the phone so he could see Elissa’s message.

  Hear you’re on a date with Ben. Told ya.

  Ben snorted. “She’s taking after her aunt. Would have never guessed she’d follow in Verona’s matchmaking footsteps.”

  What did that reaction mean? Was he dismissing the idea of them dating as nothing more than the goal of busybody matchmakers? Okay, only friends it was. Good to know before she did or said something to make a complete idiot of herself.

  After they ordered, she glanced around the restaurant and thought she caught a couple of too-interested looks before the people turned away. Though it likely had more to do with curiosity about why they were together, it reminded her of the other topic that had filled her with stress throughout the day.

  “I heard a bit of surprising and potentially problematic news today,” she said, keeping her voice quiet enough that only Ben could hear her.

  “What’s that?”

  “Greg is offering a reward leading to information about who wrapped his truck in streamers so he can file charges of vandalism.”

  “How much? Maybe I’ll turn you in.”

  “Ben!” Judging by how she attracted the attention of the people at the surrounding tables, she’d spoken much too loudly.

  Ben, drat him, just laughed. “I’m kidding, and he has no intention of filing charges. Too many people know stuff about things he’s done.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “He’s just doing it to try to flush out who it is because he has no idea. That must be eating him alive. Have to say that’s more satisfying than knowing he had to rip all those streamers off his truck.”

  As they ate, they talked about the saddle he was working on, the upcoming street fair and how she was trying to get her mom to slow down and work less.

  “She works two jobs?”

  “Yeah. When I was growing up, she had three. She probably still would but the little grocery store where she worked closed down when I was about twelve or thirteen.”

  “And your dad didn’t help?” His tone was hesitant, as if he wasn’t sure he should be asking such a personal question.

  “No. He took off when I was one. We haven’t heard from him since. I have no idea where he is or if he’s even still alive.”

  “Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

  “It’s okay. It’s not a sore subject. I don’t even remember the man. I feel more sorry for my mom. I can’t imagine what it was like to be abandoned with a baby.”

  “Seems she did a good job of raising you on her own.”

  “She did. I’ve got the best mom in the world.”

  “I’d argue that point, though I’m sure your mom is a fine woman.”

  Mandy scooped a chip into her guacamole. “Ditto.”

  As the meal progressed, she felt herself relaxing. Sure, she was still superattracted to Ben, but she would be fine just being friends. She didn’t have to follow in Devon’s footsteps on the whole friends-to-more-than-friends path. She didn’t feel right letting him pay for dinner, but no amount of arguing on her part swayed him. And the young waitress took his side.

  It was difficult not to wonder about more, though, when it seemed everyone watched them with knowing grins as they walked out of the restaurant.

  “It feel to you as if half the people in there already have us walking down the aisle?” he asked.

  Though surprised not only by his perception but also his acknowledgment of it, she laughed. “I swear some were actually humming the wedding march.”

  “Not sure why people around here can’t understand people can be friends or even date without wanting to get married.”

  And just like that, his words popped a hole in the happy balloon of her evening. So he was one of those guys who didn’t want to get married. Also good to know, if disappointing. Not that they were anywhere near that point. Heck, they hadn’t really even been on a date.

  “Yeah,” she muttered, not knowing what else to say. It didn’t seem the right time to launch into how she actually did want to get married
someday and have a lot of kids.

  To avoid any awkward silences on the drive to her house, she launched into some funny stories from the knitting group that met at A Good Yarn. She loved those ladies, but their combined age was about equal to Methuselah’s.

  “Oh, this is the best one,” she said. “Cora Steenburgen’s husband had been talking about them getting a place on a beach somewhere, then started teasing her that it should be a nude beach. Well, she was having none of that—said that he had to at least cover up his ‘nether regions.’ And she knitted him an honest-to-goodness thong.”

  “Oh, eww! Now, why did you put that image in my head? I’m going to have to bleach my brain when I get home.”

  Mandy laughed so hard that she had to hold her ribs.

  “That deserves payback of some sort.”

  “Um, you ran into my car.”

  “After I was hit in the head with a pigeon.”

  “Still milking that for all it’s worth, huh?”

  “Hell, yeah,” he said.

  His answer made her start laughing all over again.

  By the time he pulled into her driveway, she finally had her laughter under control and was again wondering if she might ask him out. He didn’t have to be the marrying type in order for her to enjoy some casual dating, right? She’d been overthinking everything since her unexpected attraction had made its presence known. She just needed to chill and have some fun.

  She didn’t expect him to cut the engine and walk her to her door, and yet she experienced a pang of disappointment that he made no move to do so.

  “Thanks again for dinner and for the ride home, neither of which was necessary.”

  He looked across the cab at her. “So you’ve said, and you’re welcome.”

  Not wanting to rob him of any more of the time he needed to work or spend with his family, she opened the door and hopped out. “Good night.”

  “Good night.” For some reason he sounded distracted, and she figured he must be thinking about what he’d do when he arrived home.

  She already had her front door open when Ben turned off the engine of his truck. Her pulse jumped as she looked back at him.