The Rancher's Twins

by Carol Ross

Lydia headed to the bunkhouse, where she and Dusty put together a buffet that they’d planned and prepped for in the preceding days. Opting for traditional ranch-style fare, they prepared fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans, roasted vegetables, fresh-baked rolls and blackberry cobbler. To her surprise, the crew dug in. Even Bethany filled her plate. She’d imagined famous TV people from New York would be finicky and demanding.

  The reporter approached her after the meal. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Bethany Stouffer.”

  “Lydia. It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Stouffer.”

  “Please, call me Bethany. I understand you’re responsible for this delicious meal?”

  “Dusty and I made it together.”

  “He gave you all the credit. He says his food doesn’t taste anything like this. It truly was outstanding. I could eat three more helpings of that cobbler. I’m going to have to do extra elliptical as it is.”

  Lydia laughed. “I’m sorry about the elliptical part but I’m glad you enjoyed the food. I was excited to see that you...” Lydia struggled for the right words and finally went with honesty. “Eat.”

  Bethany belted out a laugh. “I know what you mean. That is a thing with many people in the TV business. Not with me. I’m a farm girl from Michigan. I love food. Grew up on home-cooked meals. This—” she gestured around her “—means everything to me. People like my folks, Jon Blackwell and his grandfather, Big E, are the backbone of this country. One generation after another carrying on the family legacy. My brother runs our family farm now.”

  Hmm. Bethany had obviously done her homework on Jon’s family history. “I agree. Before I came here I never gave much thought to how hard ranchers work. They’re on call twenty-four/seven. This life keeps you so grounded. I love how everyone is so close to the earth. Every day I walk outside, and I’m stunned by the beauty around me. And then I’m overwhelmed by the amount of work and responsibility a rancher has on his or her shoulders. It’s incredibly important and most of it can’t be put off for another day or another time. It’s... Well, for someone from the city it’s offered me a whole new perspective on life.”

  “You’re a nanny for five-year-old twins on a huge ranch in the middle of Nowhere, Montana. Jon told me about everything you do for him. It sounds like you work as hard as he does. I don’t know how you do it. Can I just say...off the record?” Lydia nodded. “With a boss who looks like yours it’s probably a little easier to take.”

  Lydia chuckled. “My nana always said that was the key to life—discovering what you love and then finding out how to do it all the time. I feel lucky I’ve found that. I love this job so much that sometimes I forget that it’s a job. And, my off-the-record response to your off-the-record comment would be that I can’t lie and say I haven’t noticed what the man looks like. But honestly, he’s an easy guy to like, in addition to all of that...um, rancher appeal.”

  Bethany took a moment to laugh. Then she peered at Lydia with the curious, measured contemplation that had helped make her famous. Lydia feared she’d said too much. Bethany shook her head thoughtfully. “You know, you’re genuine and articulate and very beautiful. The camera would love you. Have you ever done any film work?”

  “Thank you. Um, no.”

  “Any chance we could do a short piece with you and Jon? You could give us a tour of the home? Tell us all of what you just said, what it’s like to work for a cattle rancher, what it was like to move here from the big city?”

  Lydia’s heart nearly stopped at the suggestion. “Oh, um, thank you, but no. Absolutely not.”

  Bethany’s brow knitted in surprise. “Seriously? Most people would jump at the chance to be on my show. And that passion I just heard from you. You could offer something special to this story.”

  “Not me. Camera-shy.” Lydia forced out a nervous chuckle. “Just wait until you hear Jon talk about it. You’ll forget all about me.” Please, she added silently, forget about me.

  Bethany gave her another assessing look. “You don’t strike me as shy.”

  “I do my best to overcome it,” she lied.

  Lydia felt a rush of relief when Bethany reached out and gave her hand a light squeeze. “I understand. If you change your mind let me know. You’re going to want to roll your eyes because people say this all the time, but I have good instincts. I like you, Lydia. If there’s ever anything I can do for you, give me a call.” Bethany pulled a card out of her pocket. “This isn’t the card I hand out to everyone. This has my personal cell number and email on it.”

  From the doorway, Bethany’s producer motioned to her.

  “That’s my cue. I’ll see you later. And thank you for lunch.”

  “What was that about?” Jon asked, joining her a moment later.

  “We were just chatting. She liked the food, she appreciates the, um, scenery here on the ranch, wondered if I wanted to film a spot with you.”

  “I like that last one.”

  Lydia gave him a sideways grin. “Not me. The only stars of this show are you and Tom. And Trout.” The dog had already wowed every member of the crew. Jon had given them a demonstration on how he used the dog to herd the cattle.

  He leaned down so his mouth was close to her ear. “I can’t wait until these people leave my ranch. I want this to be over and then I want to sit and look at you and wallow in my good fortune.”

  It was difficult to imagine Jonathon Blackwell being anything but supremely confident, but Lydia realized he was nervous. No one else would ever know it. They were alone, so she slipped her hand around his and gave it a tight squeeze. “You’re going to be great. You’ve got this. I’ll be there. Remember, just like you’re talking to me.”

  A short time later, Lydia felt her spirits soar as she watched him chatting with Bethany like there weren’t cameras and a bunch of people standing around. Like they hadn’t rehearsed every question a hundred times. Talk about a person who was born to be in front of a camera. He looked so handsome it made her ache. He was so charming, she hoped Bethany didn’t fall in love with him, too. Pride filled her up and swamped her to the point that she wanted to weep, but in a good way.

  They wrapped it up by dinnertime. The producer informed Jon they would be back the next day but expected only to stay a few hours. They wanted to film the ranch at sunrise and capture the cattle and horses in the morning light. Lydia couldn’t blame them for any of that.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  WILLA AND PETE had offered to keep Gen and Abby for the night. Exhausted and grateful, Lydia agreed. The next morning, she made muffins for the Good Day USA crew and sent them out with Jon before daylight. Lydia prepared an egg casserole for later, when he returned to the house.

  Thinking she’d have enough time to take care of the animals while it baked, she stepped into the mudroom. Boots on, she was zipping her jacket when she felt the phone buzz in the inside pocket.

  Tanner. Adrenaline surged through her body. Running toward her bedroom, she pulled the phone from her pocket. She stared at the screen. Not Tanner. She didn’t recognize the number, but what if something had happened and he had to call from a different phone?

  She punched the green button. “Hello?”

  “Lydia, thank goodness!”

  “Meredith.” Lydia collapsed onto the edge of her bed. “Where are you calling from?”

  “Work. I’m using a line at the receptionist’s station. No one else is here yet.”

  “Oh, good. What’s going on? Did something happen?”

  “Sort of... Where do I start? Okay, Clive showed up at my house last night ranting and raving about the money. The money this and the money that. I asked him, ‘What money? I don’t know anything about any money.’ And that’s when he said, ‘I know she took it, Meredith. But if she was going to give it away she could have at least given me credit.’

  “I had no idea what he was talking about. He was ran
ting and raving and totally losing it. Even more than normal, I mean. Anyway, there have been all these announcements in the news about anonymous donations to different charities across Philly the last couple weeks. I didn’t think a thing about it. I’m just like, oh, some rich dude died or grew a conscience, how nice of him to do good works with his millions or whatever. Until this morning when I was watching the news. Guess who was on there? I’ll just tell you it was Joanna. It seems the Hatch House Group Home for Teens received a million dollars from this same anonymous donor.”

  Lydia felt flush and her skin was tingling. Joanna was the house’s director. The donation was supposed to be kept out of the press.

  “You stole money from Clive and gave it away, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s dirty money, Meredith. And when I figured out what he was doing, he threatened me. Told me I was stupid for not realizing it sooner. He pointed out that the authorities would never believe I didn’t know about it. Especially when I’d been living on the money myself and I’d better keep my mouth shut or I’d regret it. When I asked what he meant by that, he said, ‘Lydia, just keep doing what you’re doing and you won’t have to find out. It’s not that hard. Add two plus two and give me four.’”

  “What a snake! I always hated how he talked to you.”

  “Me, too. That’s why I left exactly four dollars in every account I had access to.”

  Meredith chuckled. “No wonder he was so ticked off.”

  “When I figured out how he was coming by this money, I knew I couldn’t just take it from him. So, I did something better—I passed it on to people who really need it.”

  “That’s why you left all your stuff...” Meredith paused. “I thought it meant you were coming back. But it’s the opposite, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you, but I thought it would be better if you didn’t know.”

  “Lydia, aside from the fact that I’m devastated by the idea of never seeing you again, there is a much larger issue here. Wherever you are, I hope you are very, very well hidden. Clive made it clear that he...wants to catch up to you.”

  “I know.” Lydia dipped her head and squeezed the bridge of her nose. “Thankfully, he wants his money more. And I’m hidden, Meredith. In fact, I’m hidden so well you wouldn’t even recognize me.”

  They chatted for a few more minutes before Lydia ended the call. The timer beeped, and she removed the casserole from the oven. Then she fed the animals and went to pick up the girls.

  * * *

  SATURDAY AFTERNOON, SHE was removing the last load of laundry from the dryer when she turned around to find Jon watching her. She hadn’t seen much of him since the Good Day USA crew had departed yesterday afternoon. After tackling some of the ranch chores he’d put off for the filming, he’d assisted a heifer with a difficult labor and hadn’t come in until after she and the girls had gone to bed. He’d already left this morning by the time they’d gotten up.

  Lydia caught up on housework and spent time with the girls. She also contemplated Meredith’s phone call. She was going to tell him the truth. Maybe not all of it, but as much of it as she could. When she had to go he’d know why she was leaving. And most importantly, he’d know that she didn’t want to leave. Now, if she could just figure out where to start.

  “Hi,” he said from the doorway, a small smile playing on his lips.

  “Hi yourself. How’s it going?”

  “Pretty great. That last heifer gave birth today. Another calving season is officially complete on the JB Bar Ranch.”

  “Congratulations.”

  “Shaping up to be a good year, one hundred percent survival rate so far.”

  “That gives you something to celebrate tonight.”

  “Oh, I have plenty to celebrate, Ms. Lydia.” He gave her a slow smile. Her pulse took off at a gallop.

  “Good. It’s going to be fun.”

  “It is. But I came in here to tell you that I’m going to have to meet you guys there. I’m sorry.”

  “Oh. Is everything all right?”

  With a frustrated sigh, he raked a hand through his hair. “Yeah... Well, no. I have to run out to Big E’s. I haven’t been able to get out there the last two days. Katie didn’t want to bother me because she knew how busy I was. But they’ve got a stretch of fence down and fifty-some head of cattle straying over onto the Double T.” Lydia had learned that relations weren’t exactly friendly between the neighboring ranch owners.

  “I understand. Are you still going to be able to make it? I don’t want to go if you’re not going.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really. Marilee Inez doesn’t like me and—”

  “Well,” he interrupted, “I don’t like her so that evens things up in the universe.”

  Lydia laughed.

  Gleam in his eye, he took a step farther into the room. Lydia’s throat went dry. “Where are the girls?”

  “In their room, playing. Why?”

  Crossing to her, he took her by the hips and lifted her onto the washing machine. Standing between her legs, he cupped her face, leaned in and kissed her. Nice and hard. And with so much feeling Lydia thought her heart might explode.

  When he pulled back they were both out of breath. Jon’s eyes searched her face like he was making sure she felt it, too. Then he grinned, satisfaction settling over his features. “Because I wanted to do that.” He set her back on her feet. “I promise I will be there. Maybe even before you. I’m taking Trout and Tom’s going with us. Trout and Hip will have the cattle rounded up and pushed back in no time. Probably take longer to splice the barb wire. We’ll use Tom’s pickup and head straight to the Inezes’. I might be smelling like horse, but don’t worry. There’s no way I’d let you be at that party without me.”

  “You know how much I like Eau de Horse. How can I argue with that plan?”

  “I only have one request.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Please don’t slow-dance with anyone but me.”

  “Jon, if I dance with you like that, the whole place is going to know how I feel. I won’t be able to keep my hands to myself.”

  He slipped his hands into his pockets. “I don’t care about that, do you?”

  “Only where the girls are concerned.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that and maybe we should tell the girls. We’re in this, Lydia. And I honestly don’t believe there’s anything we couldn’t tackle together.”

  She’d needed to hear him say that. She wanted to believe it. She would tell him everything. Almost everything.

  But not tonight. He needed this night. Successful calving season, promising interview, a woman who loved him. The girls were thriving. He deserved to relax and have fun before she took some of that joy away. Tomorrow she would figure out what to tell him, and how, and at least she’d be able to say goodbye honestly. He owned her heart and she wanted him to know it.

  “I’ll be able to drive you home. I’m going to leave you my phone, so I can keep you posted. I need to get you a phone.”

  He kissed her goodbye. Lydia checked on the girls and then took a shower. As she got ready for the evening, she felt a curl of excitement in her stomach similar to the feeling she’d get when she and Meredith ventured out to hear a new band. She couldn’t wait to dance with Jon. And hear him play. She knew him, and she knew he wouldn’t get up there in front of all those people if he wasn’t good.

  Sofie had told her people would be dressed in their “nice casuals” so she opted for the slim-fitting jeans she’d ordered online but hadn’t worn yet. She paired them with a knit top that gently hugged her curves without being too tight. Comfort sat a notch above fashion when it came to dancing clothes.

  That’s when she realized she didn’t have any suitable boots. Her rid
ing boots were already too dirty to try and dress up. Pulling out the impractical ones she’d worn the day she’d arrived, she slipped them on and checked herself in the mirror. They looked good. And they reminded her of how far she’d come in the month she’d been here. She felt like a completely different person from the desperate, terrified woman she’d been. She just hoped there was no mud.

  * * *

  LYDIA AND THE girls arrived right on time. She parked on the edge of an open field in a long line of cars. Gen and Abby were bubbling with enthusiasm. Their excitement was contagious, and Lydia felt her spirits lift as they approached the crowd of people. Sofie hadn’t exaggerated. The Inez barn would make the country-chic enthusiasts in Philly lose their minds. Twinkle lights adorned every edge and corner of the structure. The giant double doors were open, and Lydia could see that strings of lights decorated the rafters along with glowing paper lanterns. The wooden floor was bare. Hay bales and long wooden benches provided seating.

  Outside, picnic tables sat upon a fresh semicircle of sawdust. Around the perimeter, metal stakes brandished lanterns already luminous in the fading daylight. A long row of tables overflowed with steaming dishes, and people were lined up and loading their plates with food. Laughter, conversation and the sound of sizzling meat swirled around them. Smoke billowed from three grills. Heavenly odors filled the air. Lydia recognized garlic, chili, cumin and sweet barbecue.

  “Hi! You made it,” Peyton said as she and Sofie appeared before them.

  Sofie said, “Jon and Zach are helping set up the sound system. Let’s fix plates for the girls and we can sit with Zach’s family.”

  Jon had texted earlier to say he was on the way and Lydia was relieved to hear he’d already arrived. Looking around, she recognized quite a few familiar faces—Tom, Dusty, June and Emma from the salon, Zach’s sisters, Brenna and Tess, Nell from Dr. Beazley’s office. Katie was visiting with Grace Gardner, the pretty blonde woman whose parents owned Brewster’s. Lydia waved at Scooter.

  They followed Sofie’s plan and headed for the buffet. The girls were perfectly behaved and the food every bit as good as Sofie said it would be. Scooter and Tom joined them. Zach’s family treated her like one of their own.