Their Rancher Protector

by Sasha Summers

  “Can I take her?” his mother offered. “If that’s all right, Skylar?”

  Skylar nodded. “I’m sure Kyle would appreciate it. She’s getting a little too attached to him.”

  The comment caught him off guard. Kyle would not appreciate it. He was perfectly fine with Greer getting attached to him since he was pretty damn smitten with her. Not that he said a thing. He nodded, carefully shifting Greer from his arms to his mother’s—and instantly feeling exposed and vulnerable.

  But his big brother was studying him, almost hesitant, and Kyle didn’t see much point in delaying. He stepped forward, hand outstretched, and the damn lump in his throat all but closing off his windpipe. “Hayden.”

  Hayden surprised him by pulling him into a hug. Not some one-armed man hug, but a real hug. The sort of hug that added more pressure to his chest and made the lump in his throat razor sharp. “You good?” Hayden asked, still hugging him. “You home for good?”

  Kyle nodded, whatever words stuck on the other side of the lump.

  “I’m glad.” Hayden released him just as quickly.

  “How about we all have some lunch?” their mother said. “Afterward, we can look into getting everyone settled. How does that sound?” she cooed, smiling down at Greer. “Are you hungry, little one?”

  Greer blew bubbles in response.

  “Need help bringing things in?” Hayden asked. “I remember, babies come with a lot of...stuff.”

  She glanced at the truck bed, uneasy. “No.” She spoke quickly. “Not really. I can get Greer’s bag.” Her gaze met Kyle’s.

  He glanced at the truck bed, wishing he knew what was troubling her. “I’ll get it, Skylar.” He nodded.

  “There now, see. Let the boys take care of it and we’ll get these little ladies fed, shall we?” His mother was cooing as she spoke, so caught up in Greer that she didn’t pick up the way Skylar stiffened.

  “I’m hungry, Momma,” Brynn said, cementing Skylar’s fate. “Jet is hungry, too.”

  “Okay,” Skylar said, smiling down at her daughters. “Let’s get something to eat.”

  “I’ll bring Jet along, Brynn,” Kyle said, smiling at the little girl’s thumbs-up.

  With a final glance at the truck, Skylar followed his mother and Lizzie into the house. Leaving him and Hayden alone.

  “You look tired,” Hayden said, giving him a once-over.

  “Last night was a little rocky.” He shrugged, heading to the rear of the truck. “Come on, Jet,” he called, giving the dog’s back a reassuring pat. He and Jet went around to the side of the truck bed and he reached in, when he figured out what was bothering Skylar.

  “Smart.” Hayden eyed the trash bags. “Keep things dry. The rest of their things coming later on with movers?”

  Kyle paused, considering. “She wouldn’t thank me for telling you, but this is everything those girls have in the world. Right here.”

  Hayden’s eyebrows rose but he only nodded.

  “This is a good thing, for her.” Kyle swallowed. “For all of them. Thank you for letting me—”

  “There is no letting you do anything, Kyle.” Hayden ran a hand over his face—a familiar gesture that almost made Kyle smile. “This is your home. If you want Skylar and her girls here, then they’re more than welcome.” He cleared his throat. “I know what you’re doing would mean the world to Chad.”

  “To Chad, they were the whole world.” Kyle’s gaze bounced from his brother to the truck bed and the girls’ meager belongings. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing but he was trying. He had to, didn’t he? Somewhere along the road, it’d become more than honoring the promise he’d made to Chad. He was invested now—in Skylar and the girls. Knowing they were safe and happy mattered to him. They mattered to him.

  Chapter Seven

  “I can’t get over it,” Skylar said, leaning against the back-porch railing, a spring breeze lifting her hair and cooling her neck.

  “Over what?” Kyle asked, handing Mya a pink crayon. He sat, holding a large box of crayons, while Mya and Brynn lay on the porch, lost in the pages of the coloring books Delores and friends had provided with the care package from the hotel.

  Skylar wasn’t sure which was prettier: the rolling green fields dotted with vibrant wildflowers or Kyle, cross-legged and attentive, and her girls. She smiled and stooped to pat Jet on the head. “How beautiful it is here.”

  Kyle nodded. “And green?” His eyes met hers. When Kyle smiled, it lit up his whole face. “I think I mentioned that a time or two.”

  “Did you?” She shrugged, shooting him a smile. “I don’t remember.”

  Kyle’s gaze dipped to her mouth just long enough for her breath to waver.

  “I’m taking it, things weren’t so green where you came from?” Jan asked, looping some yarn around her knitting needle.

  “No, ma’am.” Skylar turned her focus on Greer—not Kyle—who was still sleeping peacefully in Weston’s hand-me-down infant bouncing seat, before returning to the peaceful view. “Not green at all.”

  Jet yawned, stretched, and glanced at Sierra and Charley—Lizzie and Hayden’s dogs, already snoozing on the porch. Charley and Sierra weren’t in the least bothered by a new dog’s arrival, but Jet was still reticent. So far, he’d ventured a few sniffs and circled the other dogs a few times—before promptly returning to her, the girls, or Kyle.

  Skylar understood the feeling. While everyone had been more than welcoming, she couldn’t quite shake off the too-good-to-be-true vibe of it all. She couldn’t help feeling that, at any minute, something would come along and snatch all of this away. Life had been so difficult for so long, it was hard to let go of the knot of doom twisting her stomach.

  “Green,” Brynn said, holding up the crayon. “Pretty pretty green.”

  “Exactly.” Skylar nodded, then crouched by Mya. “Green.” She pointed at the crayon, then made the sign for green.

  Mya nodded. “Gree,” she repeated, her voice thick. She made the sign.

  Skylar nodded, gave her a big smile, then kissed her forehead. “Perfect.”

  “She can speak?” Jan asked.

  “Some. She lost her hearing about eight months ago after catching meningitis. For a while, I thought we might lose her, too.” She stroked the curve of her daughter’s cheek, giving Mya a wink. “But Mya is tough stuff.”

  “Like her momma,” Kyle added, offering Skylar a brown crayon.

  Skylar sat on the porch, took the crayon, and leaned forward to color with Brynn—while taking care to avoid making eye contact with Kyle. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “It was meant as a compliment.” There wasn’t a hint of teasing to his voice.

  She glanced at him—that crooked grin of his—then back at the coloring book. For a minute, the lines and details of the princess dancing with woodland animals became blurred and wobbly. But, after a few blinks and the cold nudge of Jet’s nose against her side, she snapped out of it. With any luck, she’d manage to ignore the uptick of her heart rate and the swirl of warmth in her belly caused by Kyle’s crooked smile.

  It wasn’t the first time she’d been thrown by her reaction to the man. Initially, she’d tried to write it off as gratitude. After all, he was the first person to show her true kindness in so long. But now, other things were getting to her. Like the deep timbre of his voice. The earthy scent of him that lingered on Greer’s onesies when he’d held her close. The way the corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled—how it made his whole face smile. He was handsome, that was plain to see. And then...there was his body. I need to get a handle on this. On the heart thumps and tingles and warmth and all the things she shouldn’t be feeling.

  “Blue?” Brynn asked, holding out the powder-blue crayon. “Like sky.”

  Skylar took the crayon and leaned back, once again staring out at the landscape, mesmerized
by the natural beauty and depth of color from the land below to the endless sky overhead.

  “An’ Kyle’s eye. One of ’em,” Brynn said. “Momma.” She tugged on Skylar’s T-shirt until she had her mother’s attention. Sure enough, Brynn was holding up a deep blue right by Kyle’s face. “See?”

  Skylar nodded.

  “All the boys have brown eyes,” Jan said, her knitting needles continuing to clack. “Kyle is special. One brown, one blue. As bright and blue as the Texas sky.”

  Kyle rolled his eyes then. He made sure to make a production out of it, too, so Mya was in on the joke.

  Brynn and Mya giggled—which was all it took to make Skylar smile. If there was one thing her time with Uncle Frank had taught her, it was to enjoy the little things.

  Jan Mitchell was laughing, too, the clicking of her knitting needles paused. “Now that’s a happy sound.”

  Kyle’s rich chuckle ignited a rapid-burning fuse down the length of Skylar’s spine.

  “What’s so funny?” Hayden asked, coming out the back door with an adorable sleepy-eyed little boy on his hip.

  “I’m assuming Kyle was making faces, at my expense.” But Jan wasn’t reproaching him, she rolled her eyes—the same sort of eye roll that had started the gigglefest, thanks to Kyle.

  But Kyle was up now, regarding his nephew with a mix of trepidation and affection. “He’s a handsome little cowboy.”

  Weston hugged his father, pressing his cheek against Hayden’s shoulder.

  “This is Uncle Kyle,” Hayden said. “He’s big and scary-looking, but he’s not so bad.”

  “Kyle’s not scary,” Brynn said, her face squished up in confusion. “Kyle is nice.”

  “You heard her,” Kyle said, winking at Brynn. “You can’t argue with that.”

  “Mr. Hayden is teasing Kyle, Brynn,” Skylar explained. “Being silly. Like you and Mya. Kyle and Mr. Hayden are brothers.”

  “Oh,” Brynn said, staring back and forth between the two men. “Who’s that?” she asked, her eyes locking on Weston.

  “This is Weston,” Hayden said.

  At the sound of Brynn’s voice, Weston had straightened. Now he was leaning forward, craning around Kyle to see the girls.

  “Down,” Weston said, patting his father on the chest. “Down, Da.”

  “Down, please?” Hayden asked.

  Weston nodded, still staring at the girls.

  Skylar sat watching the three of them. The girls stood, setting aside their crayons, to stare at the toddler. Weston, tall for almost two, stared right back.

  “Weston.” Kyle crouched between the girls. “This is Brynn.” He put his hand on Brynn’s shoulder. “This is Mya.” He put his other hand on Mya’s shoulder. “Girls, this is Weston.”

  Mya looked Skylar’s way then, a little furrow forming between her brows.

  “Weston,” Skylar said, slowly, spelling his name. She paused, deciding on an easier sign, and repeating it several times for Mya.

  Mya nodded. “’Kay.”

  “What was that?” Kyle asked.

  “A sign for Weston.” She showed him. “This is the sign for w. And this is boy. Easier than spelling it each time.”

  Kyle nodded, making the sign.

  Mya was quick to correct Kyle’s thumb placement but, once he got it, she gave him a big smile and patted his arm.

  “Thank you,” Kyle said, signing, “Thank you” at the same time.

  “Here.” Brynn handed Weston a crayon. “Color with us?”

  Weston held the crayon but didn’t move.

  “Come on.” Brynn sat, patting the spot beside her. “Come sit, Weston. Color, too.”

  Weston sat beside Brynn, watching her color.

  “Brynn’s my little mother, always taking charge,” Skylar offered up. “She’s used to helping Mya.”

  “She’s a good sister.” Kyle nodded, watching the children.

  “Had you two met before this week?” Jan asked, her knitting needles still paused as her attention bounced between Skylar and Kyle.

  Kyle shook his head.

  “Sort of,” Skylar said, then laughed. “Maybe not in person. Chad was a letter writer.” And she’d read them all to the girls. She wanted them to know their father in some way. “Needle, that’s Kyle, was mentioned often. He always had Chad’s back.” He still did—why else would she and the girls be here?

  Jan sat back. “I am so sorry to hear you lost your husband.” She swallowed. “The hole in your heart heals some but you’ll never stop missing them.”

  Skylar nodded, tucking her brown crayon back inside the box of crayons.

  “Wanna color?” Brynn asked, pushing the coloring book closer to Weston.

  Weston grinned, leaned forward, then scribbled all over the page.

  Brynn sat back and frowned. “Momma.”

  “Weston is young, Brynn,” Skylar explained. “He might not be able to color in the lines yet.”

  Brynn held up the coloring book. “Nope. He can’t, Momma.” She sighed, closed the book, and set it aside, looking disappointed. It was so precious, Skylar had no choice but to laugh. So did the other adults on the porch.

  “He does like to play ball,” Hayden offered.

  “Like Jet?” Brynn asked, standing and taking Kyle’s hand. “Can we?” she asked, looking up at Kyle for an answer.

  Skylar’s heart rose up and lodged in her throat.

  Kyle glanced her way, surprised—but not displeased. She could see it in the crinkles at the corners of his eyes. One light brown, the other vibrant blue. As bright and blue as the Texas sky.

  She nodded and swallowed hard.

  “Let’s go.” Kyle took her hand. “Mya?”

  Skylar stood again, and leaned against the porch railing as the girls, Weston, Hayden, Kyle, and all three dogs ran back and forth after the various tennis and rubber balls being tossed in all directions. Between the barking and whistles and laughter, it was clear they were having a good time.

  “That right there? That laughter? There is no sweeter sound.” Jan went back to knitting. “I can still remember when it was my boys running around, chasing our old hound dog Old Ben. My boys were pure mischief so it was a good thing that dog had the patience of a saint.”

  “In the few days he’s been with us, Jet has made himself right at home with the girls.” She smiled when Jet trailed after Mya, content to be her canine shadow in all the chaos.

  “He wasn’t your dog?” Jan asked, her needles still clicking.

  “No. He was Chad’s. He’d adopted him when they were deployed and he asked Kyle to bring him to us.” And Kyle had—without giving it a second thought.

  Lizzie opened the back door and walked onto the back porch to join them. “Sorry for not coming out sooner. I had to make a few phone calls for work.”

  “What do you do?” Skylar asked, waving at Brynn.

  “I’m the art teacher for Granite Falls High School.” Lizzie smiled, sitting in one of the wicker rocking chairs with a sigh. “There’s an art show next week and, with Weston’s birthday, I’m trying to get everything lined up ahead of time.”

  “It’s the first time we’ve ever had anything like this in Granite Falls and it’s all thanks to Lizzie,” Jan explained. “Hayden stole her away from the big city and a big, fancy job and we’re all glad he did.”

  Lizzie smiled at the woman. “I am, too.”

  “How long have you been married?” Skylar asked, the affection between the two women obvious.

  “Ten months,” Lizzie said. “I came to adopt Sierra and wound up stranded.”

  “Thank goodness,” Jan interjected. “I always say, things have a way of working themselves out the way they’re supposed to. You were supposed to put that smile back on Hayden’s face.”

  Lizzie was staring out at the man
in question with pure adoration. “Lucky for me, Hayden came with Weston. Without Weston, it would have been a harder sell to get me to stay here.” She laughed.

  Skylar grinned. “He is adorable.”

  “Isn’t he though?” Jan shook her head. “The spitting image of my boys. He’ll grow up tall and handsome, just like his daddy, you just watch.”

  Skylar wasn’t sure what to say to that. This was all so new that it was hard to wrap her mind around everything that happened the last few days. The fact that this was home now? It was going to take some getting used to.

  “Let’s get him out of training pants and talking in complete questions, first.” Lizzie smiled at Skylar. “Your girls are precious. I don’t know how you manage all three of them on your own.”

  “Chad and I were married six years.” Skylar glanced at Greer, who was still sleeping. “But I think, in that time, he was home maybe four months so I guess it’s just the way it’s always been.” Until now, she hadn’t really thought about it. “Kyle’s been very helpful, Mrs. Mitchell, stepping up without being asked. You raised him right.” Mothers needed to hear that sort of thing from time to time. “It’s kind of him but I don’t want to get too comfortable with it. Relying on his, or your, kindness that is.”

  She and the girls needed to find their place here. So did Kyle. He’d been gone a long time and, in that time, he’d let relationships go untended. Now he was back, his focus needed to be on those things—on his life—not on being readily available for her. No, she’d managed just fine on her own with Uncle Frank. We will manage just find on our own here.

  Greer chose that moment to gurgle-squeal, announcing her newly awake state with gusto.

  Skylar unbuckled the seat and lifted Greer, smiling as her tiny daughter stretched and wriggled. “Hello, sweetheart.” She spoke softly, smiling as Greer reached up for her hair. “Did you sleep well?”

  Greer’s toothless grin was the best answer.

  “I appreciate you being independent and all,” Jan said. “Your Chad wasn’t blood, but he was Kyle’s brother and that makes you family. He protected my boy more times than I’d like to think about, watching over him.” Her gaze locked with Skylar’s. “I’d like to do the same for you and your girls.”