by Myra Johnson
Marie dashed her hand across a damp cheek. “Joseph’s playing one of his video games. I put Eva down for a nap.”
“Good, it’ll be a late night.” Seth’s jaw worked as if he couldn’t decide whether to go or stay.
With a rough clear of her throat, Marie stood. “You look hot. Take my seat, and I’ll pour you a glass of tea.”
Christina decided this might be a good time to excuse herself, but Seth pinned her to the spot with his sharp stare. He didn’t speak, and he made no move to sit down.
The fridge dispenser groaned as Marie filled two more glasses with crushed ice. She poured tea, then handed one of the glasses to Seth. “I’m taking the other one out to your grandpa.”
“Let me—”
“I said sit,” she commanded in the bossy tone Christina was growing all too familiar with. “And keep an eye out the front window. The weekend guests should be driving up anytime now.”
Christina held herself rigid as Seth lowered himself stiffly into the chair Marie had vacated. Maybe if she waited until Marie stepped outside, she could make her escape. She started to reach for Gracie, but the dog chose that moment to get up from her spot next to Christina’s chair and meander across the room. With a gaping yawn, Gracie stretched out in front of the back door. If Christina tried to leave now, she’d have to get her dog to move, and the way Gracie had been acting lately, cooperation didn’t appear likely.
Seth’s tea glass hit the table with a thunk, and Christina flinched. “You realize we’ve been set up again,” he said.
Christina glared at her traitorous dog. “I think Gracie and your grandmother are in cahoots.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me.” Stretching out one leg, Seth heaved a sigh. “I’m sorry for losing my cool earlier. I made assumptions I shouldn’t have.”
“I’m sorry, too. I said I wanted to be friends, and friends don’t psychoanalyze each other.”
Seth’s mouth twitched ominously. “Yeah, about the friends thing...”
“We’ve been through this already. Please, Seth—”
He held up one hand. “Just hear me out, okay? I get all the reasons you want to keep this platonic, and if I was thinking straight, I’d cut my losses and drop the whole thing.” Sitting forward, he inched his hand across the table toward Christina. “But I haven’t been thinking straight since the day I stopped you in the middle of the road so I could move that turtle out of the way.”
Fingers itching to bury themselves in Gracie’s fur, Christina knotted her fists in her lap. “That’s exactly why we shouldn’t be having this conversation—because neither of us is thinking straight right now.”
“Then you feel it, too.” Seth’s gaze sharpened. “Don’t deny it, Christina. You know there’s something happening between us. Why can’t you at least give it a chance?”
“Because—” Closing her eyes briefly, she swallowed hard. “Because I’m scared.”
Seth scooted his chair closer and covered Christina’s hands with his own. Looking deeply into her eyes, he said, “Then don’t you think it’s time we both faced our fears? Whatever the future holds for us, individually or together, I know I’ll be a better person for having you in my life.”
Every ounce of logic within her argued against the wisdom of saying yes. But another voice spoke louder: You know you want this. And you know Seth is right. It’s time to confront your fears—all of them—and see where life takes you.
A teardrop slipped down her cheek and plopped onto the back of Seth’s hand. Freeing one of her thumbs, she massaged away the wetness, then dug deep for the courage to meet his gaze. “Okay,” she murmured, then hiked her chin higher. “Okay. As long as we agree to take things one day at a time.”
Chapter Ten
If six-foot-two cowboys could float on air, that pretty much described how Seth made it through the weekend. When the next round of ranch guests checked in late Friday afternoon, they probably wondered why he couldn’t keep a stupid grin off his face.
He wondered, too, because he hadn’t felt this giddy over a girl since he was a teenager. During a quiet moment in the barn on Monday while he groomed Tango for a training ride, it occurred to him that not even Georgia had discombobulated him so thoroughly.
Tango must have picked up on his jitters, too, acting more skittish than usual as he saddled her up. Out in the arena, she overreacted to every little squeeze of his legs or pressure on the reins. He finally gave up, deciding to postpone their practice session until his state of mind had leveled out.
His grandfather met him in the barn, the kids tagging along. “Quitting already?”
“Seems we’re both having an off day.” Seth secured Tango in the cross-ties and loosened the saddle cinch.
“Guess that makes four of us.”
Seth’s brow furrowed. “Four?”
“You and Tango, plus myself, for reasons you are well aware of.” Opi nodded toward Joseph. “And this little guy’s got something on his mind, too.”
“Oh, yeah?” After dropping Tango’s tack onto a wooden saddle stand, Seth knelt in front of his son. “What’s up, kiddo?”
Thumbs tucked in his jeans pockets, Joseph heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Do we have to do homeschool again?”
“Well, yeah, son. You have to keep up your studies.”
“That’s not what I mean.” Joseph glanced up at Opi, who offered an encouraging smile. “Daddy, I want to go to the real school. With my friends.”
Seth nearly choked on his surprised gasp. “Wow.”
“So can I? It starts in two days, and I’d be in the same class as Darin and Hayden from Sunday school.”
“Public school would be a really big step for you.” And for me. Seth looked deep into his son’s eyes. “Are you sure you’re ready?”
“I’m a big kid now. I’m almost ten years old.”
“That you are.” Standing upright, Seth rubbed his jaw. “In that case, we’d better head over to the school and get you registered.”
A tug on his pants leg drew his attention to Eva. She cupped one hand around her mouth and whispered, “You can still be my teacher, Daddy. I don’t want to go to the big school.”
“That’s just fine, sweetie.” Seth tousled her mop of blond curls. “There’s no rush.”
“Can we go right now, Dad?” Joseph begged. “And then go buy school supplies and clothes and stuff?”
“Hold your horses, boy!” Laughing, Seth waved both hands in the air. “You kinda sprung this on me, so give me a minute or two to get my head around the idea. How about we plan on going right after lunch?”
“Yes!” Joseph pumped a fist. “And can Miss Christina go with us? I want to show her my new school.”
At the mention of Christina’s name, Seth’s heart flipped. “Sure, I’ll ask if she wants to go along.”
Opi shot Seth a knowing wink. “Come on, kids, we’ve got tack to clean after last weekend, and I’m counting on your help.”
While his grandfather took the children into the tack room, Seth brushed the sweat marks on Tango’s back, then led the mare out to her pasture. With a spring in his step, he went looking for Christina—not hard since he quickly spotted Gracie napping on the cabin four porch. Christina must be inside cleaning.
Striding up to the open door, Seth stepped around Gracie and peeked inside. Swishing sounds came from the bathroom, along with the strong scent of disinfectant cleaner. Cleaning up after the Finch boys—a wave of sympathy for Christina swept over him. He tapped on the door frame and called her name.
“Oh, hi, Seth.” Blowing a limp strand off her forehead, she appeared with a load of wet towels. “I had no idea any human being could get so creative with toothpaste. I think there’s even some on the ceiling, but you might have to reach it for me.”
“Glad to.” He gr
abbed a cleaning rag and headed into the bathroom. “Man, I’m sorry you got stuck doing this. The housekeeper we had last year nearly quit the first time she had to clean after the Finches.”
“Wimp.”
Seth swiped at a greenish blob next to the ceiling light. Yep, toothpaste. If the Finches came back next year, the ranch might need to require a security deposit. He checked around for other spots, then tossed the soiled cloth onto the cart.
Christina had started stripping beds, and Seth joined in to help. He shook out a pillowcase. “How much do you have left to do?”
“This one and I’m done. I saved the worst for last.” She gathered up an armful of sheets and dropped them by the door. “I know the ranch needs the business, but I won’t complain about a few days off before the next round of guests.”
“Me neither.” He sidled up next to Christina as she counted out a fresh set of fluffy white towels. Purposely invading her space, he reached around her for a stack of sheets.
She shot him a mock scowl and bumped him aside with her hip. “Don’t you have something else you should be doing? Like maybe filling that bear trap Bobby Finch dug on the other side of the lake?”
“Hmm, might need to catch a bear one of these days.” It had been way too long since the last time Seth enjoyed casual banter with a pretty girl. Sure, he sometimes joked with Diana when he stopped in the doughnut shop, and there was the redhead checkout girl at the supermarket who liked to flirt.
But this was different. This was...special. And it made Seth feel special. With Christina he was more than an old high school chum or a likely target for a single woman looking for Mr. Right. He was more than an overworked ranch manager, more than Joseph and Eva’s dad. When Christina looked at him, he felt hopeful. He felt whole.
He felt like a man.
“Those sheets don’t unfold themselves, you know.”
Blinking several times, he stared at the forgotten stack of linens in his hands. Christina was already halfway upstairs to the loft with three more sets of sheets. While listening to her rustle around overhead, he went to work on the queen-size bed and hoped he remembered how to make hospital corners. He wasn’t nearly as particular about his own room.
Christina finished long before he did and pitched in to help him complete the job. While she gathered up her cleaning supplies, he shoved all the dirty laundry into the canvas bag attached to the maid’s cart.
“Allow me.” With a crisp bow, Seth pushed the cart through the door. When Gracie scurried out of the way, he said, “Sorry, girl. Nap time’s over.”
Ambling along beside him, Christina cast him a whimsical grin. “What would I do without my knight in shining armor to rescue me from this toil and strain?”
He wanted to say, I hope you never have to find out. But they weren’t to that stage of their relationship, at least not yet, and he didn’t want to scare her off. “Think you might be rested up enough this afternoon to go into town with Joseph and me?”
“Possibly. Why?”
Seth told her what Joseph had asked him in the barn earlier.
Mouth falling open, she jerked to a halt. “He wants to enroll in public school? That’s awesome!”
Stopping a few steps ahead, Seth turned to face her, his own disbelief still sharp. “It’s all because of you, you know.”
“Oh, Seth, no.” Closing the gap between them, Christina held out her hands to him, and he took them gladly. “Even in the short time I’ve known Joseph, I could tell he’d be coming into his own soon. He’s smart and fun and such a wonderful big brother to Eva.”
Drawing her closer, he encircled her waist with his arms. “So...you think he would have done okay in spite of having a severely overprotective dad?”
“You’d be surprised how resilient kids are.”
Seth arched a brow. “Is that Christina talking, or Ms. Hunter the social worker?”
In a tiny voice, she answered, “Will I get in trouble if I say both?”
“I’m through dissing social workers—well, maybe except for one who shall remain nameless.” Oh, man, how he wanted to kiss this woman! With a ragged sigh, he released her and locked his fingers firmly around the cart handle. “We’d better finish up so we can grab lunch and get to town.”
“Yes, right.” Did she sound as flustered as he felt just now?
As Christina marched up the hill ahead of him, Seth reminded himself again that she couldn’t be rushed. And for the sake of his own heart, he needed to take things slowly. The deepest part of him reached heavenward to the God he’d mostly been ignoring the last few years.
Lord, I never knew how much I needed Christina until she came into my life. If this is meant to be, it’s all on You.
* * *
Christina felt honored to be invited along to register Joseph for school. Once Seth had filled out all the paperwork and the principal had given them a tour, they headed up the highway to a discount department store. Christina helped Joseph pick out new shirts, jeans and sneakers. Then they checked off items on his school supplies list, including an insulated lunchbox and a fancy gray backpack with silver racing stripes.
It was nearing five o’clock by the time they returned to the ranch, and Christina sighed with a different kind of fatigue.
“You okay?” Seth asked as he helped her get Gracie down from the pickup. Joseph had already made a beeline for the house to show off his new school things.
“Just thinking what a great afternoon we had. Wasn’t it fun to see Joseph’s eyes light up when he saw his classroom?”
“Yeah, that was cool.” He shut the door and rested one shoulder against it, standing so close that Christina could almost count the threads in his shirt collar. “Thanks for going along. It meant a lot to Joseph...and to me.”
How many times in the last few days had she sensed he was about to kiss her?
How many times had she wished he would?
He took her hand, lightly drawing his thumb across her knuckles and sending shivers up her spine. “Have supper with us tonight. You know Omi always cooks plenty.”
She breathed in the faint citrusy aroma of his aftershave. “Thanks, but I left some ground turkey thawing in my fridge.”
“Won’t it keep till tomorrow?” His fingers wove through hers, and his tone grew husky. “Today was really special. I don’t want it to be over yet.”
Gracie nosed between them, a plea in her limpid brown eyes.
Christina laughed. “This time, Seth, I think we’re both outvoted. Somebody wants her own supper.” With a gentle tug, she freed her hand. “Anyway, I really am tired.” And not just physically. As enjoyable as the afternoon had been, it had drained her emotionally, as well. More than once, she found herself caught up in the fantasy of Seth and his children as her family. It had all seemed so normal—taking their little boy to see his new school, shopping for supplies, stopping for ice-cream cones on the way home—as if they really were a comfortable old married couple.
Seth gave Gracie’s head a scratch. “Wouldn’t want this girl to go hungry.” He smiled, but his voice carried a tinge of disappointment. “See you tomorrow?”
“You know where to find me.”
By the time Christina stepped through her cabin door, the turkey tacos she’d planned for her supper didn’t sound nearly as appealing as they had when she’d picked up the ingredients at the supermarket the other day.
No, if she were honest, what didn’t appeal was the idea of eating them alone.
“Nothing against you, girl,” she said as Gracie slurped mouthfuls of kibble. “But your dinner conversation skills are severely lacking.”
With chopped onions, garlic and ground turkey simmering on the stove, Christina diced a tomato and shredded some lettuce. She wrapped two flour tortillas in a damp paper towel and laid them in the microwave, read
y to heat up as soon as the meat mixture was ready.
Feeling a headache coming on, she sank into one of the dinette chairs and rested her head on her folded arms.
The next thing she knew, Gracie was whining and anxiously nudging her side. Catching the acrid smell of burnt turkey, Christina sprinted to the stove and turned off the gas burner. “Thank you, girl!”
After examining the remains of the taco filling, Christina decided enough was salvageable that she wouldn’t go hungry. While the tortillas warmed, she filled a water glass and set out a plate. A few minutes later, she dined on soft tacos with a definite charred flavor.
Climbing into bed later, she let her thoughts drift back over the day’s events...and the look in Seth’s eyes as they’d parted earlier. Oh, she was in dangerous territory now. If she grew any more attached to this man and his kids, how could she ever bear to leave when the time came? And she knew it must, because she could not let herself relinquish hope of returning to the career she loved. The whole point of taking this job was to reclaim her independence, to prove to herself and her family that she was not an invalid in need of special treatment.
Instinctively, she reached for the dog curled up beside her, fingers entwining the soft fur behind Gracie’s ears.
Gracie. Her service dog. A reminder that Christina wasn’t yet whole. If Gracie hadn’t roused her when supper started burning, the whole cabin might have gone up in flames, and Christina with it.
The dog shifted slightly and licked the tip of Christina’s nose.
“I know, puppy-girl. I love you, too.”
* * *
The next few days were easy in some ways, harder in others. With summer vacation coming to a close, cabin reservations slacked off even more, which meant Christina’s housekeeping chores would be minimal until Friday, when a couple of weekend guests were due to arrive.
The hard part was staying busy enough to keep a comfortable distance between her and Seth, because with each passing day he seemed more intent on spending time with her. On Tuesday he invited her along on a horseback ride with him and the kids, but she declined, saying she had some personal things to catch up on.