Falling for the Rancher

by Roxanne Rustand

  “I’d say this went just fine,” Darcy said with a smile. “Let’s let her check out the house.”

  Inside, the dog continued checking every corner, until at last she settled down and followed Emma into her room. She curled up on the rug by the bed, watching Emma play with her dolls.

  “If everything’s all right, I’m going to go back to the kitchen and figure out what we’re having for supper. Call if you need me, okay?”

  Darcy hunted through the freezer and pulled out a package of chicken thighs that she defrosted in the microwave, then threw into the Crock-Pot on high with seasonings, sliced onions and barbecue sauce.

  Eyeing the floor, she dropped to her knees and chipped at another section of the vinyl. She sat back on her heels with awe when a large section came up. Thank You, Lord.

  The next piece came up just as easily, and soon she had the final section pulled free and the hardwood floor exposed. Overjoyed, she called out to Emma to come see what she’d accomplished.

  Emma didn’t answer.

  Frowning, Darcy jumped to her feet and hurried back to the bedrooms. “Emma?”

  Success.

  She was lying on her bed, a book in her hands, with her head on Bonnie’s side. And both were fast asleep.

  * * *

  When her cell phone rang twenty minutes later, Darcy had finished hauling out the last of the vinyl and was busy scraping at the pools of petrified flooring glue that remained.

  Surprised at the Montana number on the screen, she set aside her scraper and answered the call.

  “Hey, this is Susan—Logan’s sister. I made him give me your number.”

  Baffled, Darcy tried to image any reason why she would call. “Is he all right?”

  Susan laughed. “More than. I insisted that I wanted you and your daughter to join us for supper, but he thought you’d be busy—something about a floor. I told him that was a lame excuse to not ask. We’ll eat at six, if that works for you?”

  This wasn’t just an invitation, it was an expectation. “I—I guess so.”

  “Don’t worry—this isn’t the Inquisition or anything. I’m just curious about what he’s gotten himself into by moving so far away, and figured it would be nice to meet you. He says you’re going to be his business partner.”

  Talking to her was like an encounter with a steamroller, and Darcy felt a little breathless. “He did? We’ve discussed it, but nothing is final yet.”

  “Whatever. Six, then?”

  “That’s good. What can I bring?”

  Susan bellowed at her brother, her voice muffled. Then she came back to the call. “He says some sort of easy dessert would be good. Maybe brownies? But you really don’t have to bother. He’s got ice cream here.”

  Darcy turned the Crock-Pot to low so the chicken would be done around bedtime and could be refrigerated for dinner tomorrow. Then she considered her ravaged kitchen before reaching for one of the three-ring binders where she kept her favorite recipes protected in plastic sleeves.

  Something easy, yes. But she had no doubt about Susan’s intent. Tonight she would be assessed and probably found wanting as part of Logan’s new practice. Darcy had a feeling that people did not pass muster with his sister, no matter who they were.

  But she wasn’t going to fail at dessert.

  * * *

  At six, Darcy pulled up at Logan’s place and helped Emma out of the car, then reached for the handle of her covered pie carrier.

  “I think Bonnie will be lonely at home,” Emma said with a worried frown. “Should we go get her?”

  “She’s better off at home—especially on her first day with us. She’ll be fine in the house.”

  As they walked up to Logan’s front door, Darcy started imagining what they would find. From Susan’s strong voice and no-nonsense attitude, she expected a woman topping six feet with broad shoulders, just like her brother. Someone who was a serious contender in women’s boxing.

  When the door opened, Darcy felt her jaw drop.

  Susan offered a delicate hand. “You must be Darcy. I’m so glad to meet you—and this young lady must be Emma.”

  Susan was all of five feet tall, probably a hundred pounds, with bright blue eyes and a tumble of blond curls down her back. If she wasn’t doing some sort of petite modeling or television work, she was seriously missing a golden opportunity.

  Darcy blinked. “So nice to meet you.”

  “Logan just put the steaks on, and we’ve got romaine salad, garlic French bread and baked potatoes. That seems to be his only skill set, so I hope it’s all right. Won’t you come in?”

  She led the way out to the screened porch in back, where the table was set and a bright profusion of wildflowers had been arranged in a quart-size canning jar.

  Logan was at the grill on the stone patio beyond. Setting aside his long barbecue fork, he came inside. “So you’ve met, I suppose? Susan, Emma just won a big award at Sunday school today.”

  “You were in church?” Susan eyed him closely, her eyes sharp and assessing. Then she smiled and offered her hand to Emma. “Congratulations. Your mom must be very proud.”

  Emma nodded, her gaze veering toward a low set of shelves where Logan kept a stack of paper and a box of crayons. “Can I color now?”

  “Of course.” Susan watched her collect the supplies and spread them on a glass-topped wicker coffee table in front of a matching wicker love seat. “I can see that you know where things are around here. Help yourself.”

  Susan and Darcy brought out the foil-wrapped potatoes, salads and dressing. By then, Logan was bringing the foil-wrapped French bread redolent with garlic and butter and a platter of juicy rib eyes.

  If steaks were Logan’s one achievement in the culinary arts, at least he was a star.

  When everyone was seated, Susan gave Logan a pointed look. “Grace?”

  He nodded.

  They all reached for a neighboring hand and said a simple table prayer. Then Logan passed the steaks. “The most rare are on the right.”

  Darcy cut part of her steak and put tiny pieces on Emma’s plate, along with a buttered half of her baked potato and some diced lettuce.

  She then cut a bite of steak for herself. “Oh, my. This steak is perfection.”

  “It’s the maître d’hôtel butter.” Susan looked up at her. “He adds it on top at the very last minute, then it melts over the grilled meat. Butter, a little fresh parsley, lemon, garlic, salt and pepper. Our mom always used it, too. And growing up on a cattle ranch, we learned to use only prime beef when it comes to steak.”

  Darcy looked over at Logan and smiled. “I am in awe. Everything is just wonderful.”

  While they were finishing the meal, Susan and Logan intelligently debated politics and world news, then segued into the Colorado Rockies game stats and whether they had a good chance this year.

  Whatever his opinion, Susan automatically took the opposite view. The competitive conversation was like watching a tennis match that had been choreographed to a fine point over the years.

  Content just to listen, Darcy smiled, intrigued by this side of him.

  Susan broke off the debate with her brother and looked at Emma. “I hear you love horses. I’ll bet Logan would saddle up a horse if you’d like to ride. Then we could enjoy dessert afterward.”

  Emma nodded vigorously, but Darcy shook her head. “Really, we can’t take more of your time. I’m sure you’d much rather visit with each other. And honestly, we really can’t stay that long. We got a new dog today, and she’s in the house.”

  “Kenneled, right?”

  “Um...yes, but...”

  Susan shrugged. “It won’t take Logan long to bring a horse up from the barn. It looks like Emma is more than a little excited.”

  Of course she was.
After that enticing invitation, she was bouncing in her chair.

  From the look Logan gave his sister as he stood, he suspected that she’d just skillfully engineered a setup.

  “Behave,” he said quietly to her as he headed for the screen door.

  “Can I come with you now? Please?” Emma quivered with anticipation. “I won’t be in the way.”

  He extended a hand. She scrambled out of her chair and held on to it as they headed through the backyard toward the barn.

  Darcy rose and began gathering plates, while Susan picked up the serving dishes. “Thanks again. This was all lovely, but I do hope we didn’t intrude on your time together. You leave tomorrow, right?”

  “Back to the soap opera that is my life.” Susan raised an eyebrow. “I assume Logan told you about why I’m here.”

  “Um...”

  “No worries. I assumed he did.” She gave a rueful laugh as she began loading the dishwasher. “I seem to be an expert at finding good men. I’m just not so good at keeping them. So, how about you? Were you married long?”

  “What?”

  “You have to admit that any good sister would worry about her little brother, especially after what he’s been through. I worry about him making another mistake.”

  “Unless you’re talking about a business relationship, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. He and I aren’t...an item.”

  Susan stopped, a dirty plate in hand, and turned to give her a flat look of disbelief. “Really.”

  “I work at the clinic. I may well buy into the practice and become a partner. And I think we’re becoming friends. Nothing more.” She shrugged. “Anyway, just in passing conversation, he has mentioned that he has no plans to settle down with anyone. Not ever. So take it up with him, but it doesn’t sound like you have any reason for concern.”

  “And yet he’s gone to church with you. Twice.”

  Darcy gave a helpless little shrug. “As coworkers. Friends. It’s not uncommon.”

  “For him it is. Logan has not stepped into a church since our mom and dad died. He’s been angry about what happened to them for so long that I thought it would never happen. And yet he apparently put those feelings aside. For you. And after that deal with Cathy—” She broke off and studied Darcy’s face closely. “So you don’t know?”

  “Know what?”

  Susan seemed to reconsider her words. “I thought he would never take a chance on someone new, yet here he is. Why?”

  “I—I have no idea.” But from somewhere deep in her memory, Kaycee’s narrowed look at Logan and her words glass houses and throwing stones surfaced.

  Maybe it was time to do some sleuthing on her own, because neither Kaycee nor Susan was very forthcoming.

  “Understand that I have nothing against you. You seem like a great person.” Susan dropped the plate in the dishwasher and shut the door. Her voice gentled, but it also held a thread of steel. “But I didn’t come here to think over my marriage—I already know which way that’s going. I came here because of you.”

  Shocked, Darcy stared at her. “Me?”

  “Logan and I talk on the phone almost every week, and I could tell something was different. After a lot of badgering, I finally got just a little information out of him. How he’s spending time with you outside work. How much he likes your daughter.”

  “But really, there’s nothing going on here. He helps out with some things at my house because of an auction.”

  “I think there’s more—at least, on his part.”

  Darcy felt a warm little ember come to life in her heart, even though she knew what Susan said wasn’t true.

  “Apparently there’s a lot you don’t know about his past, but you won’t find anyone on this planet better than my brother. But I promise you—I won’t let you break his heart. Because if you do, you’ll be answering to me.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  On Monday, Logan took Susan back to the airport—a strangely silent trip. Then he returned to Aspen Creek and discovered two emergency calls added to his already full schedule.

  The rest of the week sped by—equally hectic, despite the fact that few mares were still foaling in late May, and the breeding season for next year was essentially over.

  He’d barely seen Darcy since dinner last Sunday afternoon beyond some passing, casual greetings at the clinic. But today he was done and back at the clinic by five, determined to catch her before she went home. He’d spent the week feeling edgy and out of sorts, like he’d lost something but didn’t know how to get it back.

  And he suspected Susan had something to do with it.

  He waited until Kaycee and Marilyn left for home at five thirty, then found Darcy in the lab running a CBC in the hematology analyzer. “Is this for someone in an exam room?”

  She shook her head. “A dog we’re keeping overnight. What’s up?”

  “I couldn’t get a thing out of my sister before she left, but I get the feeling that she might have been—” he searched for the right word, but when it came to Susan, that could be a challenge “—intrusive.”

  Darcy’s shoulders sagged as she turned to face him. “I honestly had no idea what she was talking about, but she seemed to think an awful lot of hanky-panky was going on around here. Apparently—don’t laugh—between you and me.”

  “I figured as much.”

  “She also hinted at all sorts of big secrets in your past. And—” Darcy gave a helpless laugh “—I actually think she threatened me, sort of. Not that I took her seriously. I mean, she’s got to be under five feet tall.”

  “That’s where a lot of people underestimate her,” he said with a wry smile. “She wrestled me to the ground and broke my arm when she was only ten.”

  “Maybe so. But as an adult, she seems like a wonderful sister who just wants to watch out for her brother, and I respect that.”

  He sighed, remembering some of the times when she’d tried to interfere a bit too much. “I’d like to discuss this a little more, but not here. Could you meet me for dinner tonight—just you and me?”

  Her gaze flickered. Then she turned back to the analyzer. “I’ve got Emma, remember?”

  “Could you find a sitter for an hour or two? There’s a little restaurant out by the lake. Excellent food, and it’s quiet.”

  “I just don’t have anyone I can call on such short notice.”

  “At least let me stop at your house so we can measure the cabinets. Then you can get them ordered whenever you’re ready.”

  “The sooner the better.” She glanced up at the clock. “I’ll have just forty-five minutes before I need to pick her up, so we’ll have to make this quick.”

  After closing up the clinic and setting the alarm, Logan followed Darcy to her house and parked in front. From inside came the sound of loud barking until Darcy unlocked the door and called out Bonnie’s name.

  “I’m glad to have an alarm system again,” she said with a smile as she let the dog out into the backyard. “She sounds so fierce, no one would ever guess she’s such a softy.”

  “So it’s worked out well?”

  “More than. She’s housebroken, she doesn’t chew on things and she’s totally devoted to Emma—follows her around like a shadow and sleeps on the foot of her bed.” Darcy filled a stainless-steel dog bowl with kibble and set it back down on the floor. “I always recommend that clients check the local shelters for an older dog before bringing home a puppy, and this is why. How’s Cedar?”

  “A little better,” he admitted. “I brought her home a week ago. She’s had three dips in scabicide, so the mange is clearing up and her bald spots have peach fuzz coming in. I keep telling her she’s quite the fashion plate, but I don’t think she believes me.”

  Darcy laughed. “Just don’t let her look in any mirrors.”
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br />   “The housebreaking is going fairly well. I don’t think she’d ever been inside before, so that scared her. And she hadn’t ever learned all of the good citizenship rules. But it’s coming along. Once her coat has grown back, I’ll start taking her to the clinic and on calls with me so she’s not alone all day.”

  “A perfect life, then, if she can be with you 24/7.” She looked at her wristwatch. “So, what did you want to discuss? I’ll need to go after Emma before long.”

  He blew out a long sigh. “As I started to say at the clinic, I want to apologize for my sister. When she got Emma excited about riding Drifter last Sunday and sent the two of us off to the barn, I figured she had a reason. I thought she might pry a little, but not that she’d go so far.”

  “She’s worried about you.”

  “But it wasn’t appropriate for her to interfere, or to try to warn you away.”

  “It was lovely to see someone who cares so much for family that they’ll try to intercede. But as much as I do like her, it wasn’t really necessary.” Darcy gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “You’d already made it clear that you aren’t looking for any relationships here in town. It sounded to me like you were saying ‘been there, done that, not going through it again.’ And as you might imagine, I can totally empathize. So, case closed.”

  “I need to talk to you about something else that I should have told you already, but it’s a little complicated, and we don’t have enough time.” His gaze fell on a stapled, typed list several pages long that she’d left on the counter. “Veterinary equipment?”

  A blush rose to her cheekbones. “With costs, for either a storefront office or a mobile vet clinic. It makes me a little dizzy to look at those numbers, but I want to be prepared either way.”

  “You talked about buying into the practice. Staying on board,” he said slowly. “Is that off the table now?”

  “Of course not. But we haven’t really sat down to talk it over yet, either. Without any concrete numbers, I don’t know which direction is the best way for me to go. So I just want to keep my options open.”