Home to Wyoming

by Rebecca Winters

  “Let me introduce Willy Felder. He’s one of our staff and will be taking us back to the ranch.”

  “My name’s Alex. How do you do?” She shook hands with him.

  “If you’ll tell Willy which of those bags are yours, he’ll take them out to the van.”

  “They’re the red ones.”

  “Red’s my favorite color,” the little girl piped up.

  Buck smiled. “So I can see.” He squatted in front of her. She was wearing jeans and a red top with a princess on the front. “It’s nice to meet you, Jennifer. I’m glad you’re coming to the ranch. I forget—are you six or seven?”

  “Seven.”

  “Jenny had a birthday last week,” her mother explained.

  “Well, congratulations, Jenny!” he said. “The owner of the dude ranch, Carson Lundgren, has a son named Johnny who’s going to turn seven next Thursday. You’ll meet him at breakfast in the morning. He’ll want to show you his pony, Goldie.”

  “I’ve never seen a real pony.”

  “We’ve got four of them.”

  “Can I have a ride on one?”

  He smiled. “You can pick your favorite and start riding first thing in the morning. Do you know you have the prettiest green eyes?”

  “So do you.” Her comment took him by surprise. She seemed so grown up for a seven-year-old. “My daddy’s were green, too.”

  “That explains their color.” A lump lodged in his throat. This was Daniel Forrester’s little girl, who would have to live without him for the rest of her life. “Your daddy was a very brave man. We invited you to the ranch as our way of honoring him.”

  Her features sobered, but she didn’t tear up. “Were you in the war?”

  “Yes.”

  “How come you’re not there now?”

  “That’s a good question. It’s because I got sick while I was in Afghanistan and had to come home. So did my friends Carson and Ross who run the ranch. They have coughs, too.”

  “I heard you coughing at the airport.”

  “I saw you sleeping, and I’m sorry if I woke you up. I cough a lot, but just remember you can’t catch it from me.”

  “Why not?” She was curious like Johnny, a trait he found endearing.

  “Because it’s not a cough from a cold. It’s from breathing the bad air in the war.”

  She looked up at her mother with an anxious expression. “Do you think Daddy got that cough, too?”

  “I don’t think so, or he would have said something in his emails.”

  Jenny looked a trifle pale. The mention of her father must have upset her. “Let’s get going to the ranch. It’s only a short drive away. I’m sure you’re tired and hungry.”

  “I got sick on the plane.”

  That explained her pallor. “I’m sorry about that. Our plane did get bounced around, but we’re on the ground now. Are you thirsty?”

  “Not yet.”

  Buck got to his feet and turned to the girl’s mother. “Are you ready to go?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  He guessed that she couldn’t wait to get to the ranch and put her daughter to bed. “Then let’s go. The van’s right outside.”

  When they exited the terminal into the darkness, the wind was blowing so fiercely it was a good thing he wasn’t wearing his cowboy hat. He saw lightning flashes followed by thunder. It was going to rain before they reached the ranch. Willy opened the van door to help Jenny and her mother get in. A strong gust caused her skirt to ride up those fabulous legs just as Buck climbed in behind her. Once behind the wheel, Willy pulled away. Two minutes later, the downpour started.

  “Where’s that big mountain?” Jenny wanted to know. She rested her head against her mother, who had a protective arm around her. He noticed she squeezed her daughter harder every time there was another clap of thunder.

  “The Grand Teton is to the right of us, but with the storm, you won’t be able to see it until tomorrow.”

  “I’m scared.”

  Willy had turned on the windshield wipers, but it was still hard to see.

  “You don’t need to be, Jenny. We’re perfectly safe in the van, and in a few minutes we’ll have you tucked in bed in our cabin. You’ll be as cozy as the red squirrel who lives in a hole in the fir tree near the main ranch house.”

  “It’s really red?”

  When Buck smiled, Jenny’s mother reciprocated. “Not exactly like your top. More of a burnt-orange-red color. Moppy likes pine nuts.”

  “Moppy?” Jenny squealed in delight, her fear forgotten for the moment.

  “That’s Carson’s name for her.”

  “I want to see her.”

  “Tomorrow she’ll be running up and down the tree, chattering her head off. You won’t be able to miss her. She has a huge bushy tail.”

  “What if it’s still raining tomorrow and she doesn’t come out?”

  “By morning, this storm will be long gone.”

  “Promise?”

  Buck had checked his smartphone for the weather report before he’d exited the plane. He caught her mother’s eye before he said, “I promise the sun will be out.”

  She kissed her daughter’s forehead. “If Mr. Summerhayes made a promise, then you can believe it, sweetheart.”

  “Please, call me Buck.”

  “That sounds like a horse’s name.”

  Jenny’s comment made him laugh and brought on a cough. When it subsided, he said, “A lot of people say that and you’re absolutely right, but I was named Bradford after my great grandfather. My dad nicknamed me Buck because his grandfather liked the Buck Rogers comic books and thought I looked like him.”

  “Who was Buck Rogers?”

  “A spaceman.”

  The girl glanced at her mom. “Have you heard of Buck Rogers?”

  “Yes. I loved science fiction growing up.”

  Buck had been enjoying their conversation so much, he didn’t realize they’d driven up in front of the guest cabin until Willy turned off the engine.

  He leaned toward the two of them. “The worst of the storm has passed. I’ll unlock the cabin door and then you make a run for it so you don’t get too wet. Willy will bring in your luggage. But before we go in, I have to put on an oxygen mask.”

  Jenny looked startled. “How come?”

  “Because housekeeping has made a fire for you and smoke hurts my lungs. The guys and I have started carrying an oxygen apparatus in all our vehicles because we never know when we’ll need it.” He opened the small locker on the floor and pulled out a mask and canister. “Don’t be scared.”

  “I won’t.”

  “If my great grandfather saw me now, he’d think I really was Buck Rogers from outer space.” He put on the mask and turned on the oxygen before leaving the van. In a minute, he had the cabin door unlocked.

  Jenny and her mother hurried over the threshold into the living room where the glow from the hearth illuminated their faces. Judging by their expressions, they found the cabin welcoming and moved closer to the heat source.

  When he and the guys had built the cabins, they’d decided on wood-burning fireplaces for their authenticity.

  “Ooh, this feels good, doesn’t it, sweetheart?”

  “I wish our house had a fireplace.”

  Pleased with their response to their temporary home away from home, Buck helped Willy take the bags into one of the two bedrooms adjoined by a bathroom. “Ladies,” he said as he came back to the living room, “you have all the comforts of home here. There’s a coffeemaker and microwave. The fridge is stocked with drinks and there’s a basket of fruit, along with packets of hot chocolate and snacks on the table. If you’ll look in the closets, there are extra pillows and blankets.”

  “This is wonder
ful,” she exclaimed, looking around at the rest of the room, her eyes landing on the state-of-the-art entertainment center.

  “If you need anything, just dial zero on the house phone by your bed and the front desk will let me know, no matter the hour.” He studied his guests. “Is there anything I can get you before I say good-night?”

  Jenny stared up at him with a worried expression. “Do you feel okay?”

  “I feel fine. Do I look too frightening?”

  “No, but I feel bad for you. Where do you live?”

  “In the main ranch house. It’s close by, but you couldn’t see it in the storm. I hope your stomach will feel better by morning. We serve breakfast in the big dining room from six to nine. Lunch is from twelve to two and dinner from five to eight.”

  “Will you be there?”

  “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

  “That’s good.” Jenny’s quiet response touched him. “Do you have to wear the mask at the ranch house?”

  “Only if they make a fire in the big fireplace, which doesn’t happen very often.”

  “You’re brave.”

  “No. Your dad was the one who was brave. If you’ve noticed, the thunder and lightning have already moved on. It isn’t scary anymore. I bet Moppy is already peeking out of her hole and planning her breakfast for tomorrow. The rain will have made a lot of pine nuts fall to the ground.”

  The little girl’s face broke into a sweet smile. Daniel Forrester’s daughter was a treasure. It tore him up to think she’d lost her father. “I want to watch.”

  He cleared his throat. “She’ll be up early.”

  “I don’t know if we can say the same thing for us,” her mother remarked.

  Buck was trying hard not to think too much about Daniel’s wife and his unwanted attraction to her. He threw her a glance. “Tomorrow will be your first day here. After coming from Sacramento, you need to get used to the altitude.”

  “You can certainly tell the air is thinner here.”

  “It’s a bit of a change and that flight had to be unsettling to a lot of the passengers. Jenny? You’re a courageous girl to have handled it. Something tells me you’re just like your daddy.”

  When she didn’t say anything, he glanced at her mother and saw tears pooling in her dark blue eyes. “You don’t know how true that is.” Her comment piqued his curiosity, but now wasn’t the time to probe.

  “Good night.”

  “Good night, Mr. Summerhayes.”

  “Buck.”

  “Yes, Buck. Sorry.”

  “No problem. What would you like me to call you?”

  “Alex. It’s short for Alexis,” Jenny volunteered. “Frank calls her that, but she doesn’t like it.”

  “Jenny—”

  Amused, Buck’s gaze swerved back to the seven-year-old. “Who’s Frank?” Might as well learn the truth right now. Hopefully it would help kill his interest in her.

  “He’s going to be my new grandpa.”

  “You mean, your grandmother is getting married to Frank?”

  “Yes. After we get back from our trip.”

  “That’s an exciting thing to look forward to.”

  The little girl’s face crumpled. “No, it isn’t.” Before he could blink, she ran out of the living room into the bedroom where he’d put their bags and shut the door.

  Alex looked shattered. “I’m sorry. She’s been upset lately, but never around anyone other than me.”

  “It’s probably just because she’s not feeling well and the storm scared her. I’ll leave so you can take care of her. I can show you around the ranch tomorrow.”

  “Please don’t go yet. There’s something you need to know. I was going to tell you at the airport, but it didn’t feel like the right time. Jenny needs to cry this out and she’ll be fine by herself for a few minutes. I’m afraid this can’t wait.”

  He felt her urgency. “What is it?”

  “Do you mind if we sit down?”

  Wondering what this was all about, Buck sat in one of the chairs, while she took the end of the couch. “I’ll make this as short as possible. My name is Alex Wilson. I’m Jenny’s grandmother, not her mother.”

  Buck shot up from the chair. Grandmother? It wasn’t possible. She looked so young! His mind had to do a complete thought reversal.

  “Two months after Daniel was killed, my daughter, Christy, died. She’d suffered from leukemia for a short time before her passing. I became Jenny’s legal guardian.”

  A slug to the gut couldn’t have come as more of a shock.

  “When the letter arrived from the Teton Valley Dude Ranch inviting Christy and Jenny to come, I was so touched you couldn’t imagine. But the invitation was meant for my daughter.” He heard tears in her voice.

  “I called Daniel’s commanding officer so he could explain my situation to Mr. Lundgren—Carson—and tell him the reason why we couldn’t accept such a great honor. He told me that since I was Jenny’s legal guardian and had virtually raised her since Christy fell ill, no one had more of a right to come and bring Jenny than I did.

  “I struggled with it. In fact, up to a week ago, I was ready to call the ranch and tell you about my daughter’s death. I wanted you to give this honor to a well-deserving widow and her child. But the commanding officer wouldn’t hear of it. By that time Jenny was so excited to come, I couldn’t disappoint her. With both her parents’ deaths, she’s been through so much grief. But I wanted you to know the truth.”

  Buck couldn’t begin to fathom it. “I’m glad he insisted you come. After hearing what you’ve told me, I speak for Carson and Ross when I say we couldn’t be happier that Daniel Forrester’s daughter and mother-in-law have accepted our invitation. He was a real hero. We’re hoping this trip will let Jenny know how special we thought her father was.”

  Her eyes glazed over. “You’re very kind, Buck. Daniel was a terrific son-in-law. My daughter couldn’t have chosen better. Which brings me to what happened tonight. I’m planning to be married to a man I met over two years ago. He’s been careful because of Jenny’s feelings and has only proposed recently.

  “Jenny knows we’re planning marriage and I’d hoped she was getting used to the idea, but tonight’s outburst has shown me she’s not ready to share me with Frank yet. To be truthful, he was worried about my bringing her on this trip and is still unhappy about it. She adored her daddy and Frank thought meeting more ex-marines might be too painful a reminder of her loss.

  “But she acted so excited about coming here that I couldn’t disappoint her. I’m embarrassed for the way she acted out just now. If I see any more of this behavior while we’re here, we’ll have to leave, and I’ll reimburse you for the airline tickets and any expense you’ve gone to for us.”

  “I’m sure that won’t be necessary. Once she meets Johnny, she’ll be so preoccupied that she’ll forget to be upset. There’s something about this ranch that gives people a new perspective.”

  She stood and walked over to the door. “I hope you’re right. I can tell you one thing. You knew exactly how to calm Jenny’s fears tonight. For that, I’m indebted to you. Thank you for inviting us here. You’ll never know what that letter from the ranch did for me and Jenny. At a very dark hour for her, it gave us the hope that a brighter future was in store.”

  Buck could hardly swallow for the sorrow he was feeling for their family. “I’m so glad it did that for you. Good night, Alex. See you in the morning.”

  Without lingering, he hurried outside and whipped off his mask. After the rain, the scent of sage hung heavy in the air. Willy was waiting for him in the van. “Everything all right, Buck? You look...disturbed.”

  He put his apparatus back in the locker. “To be honest, disturbed doesn’t come close to what I’m feeling.” His thoughts were in chaos.

/>   Willy started driving them along the puddled dirt road toward the parking area at the side of the main ranch house. “Mrs. Forrester is a knockout.”

  That she was. “Just so you know, her name is actually Alex Wilson. She’s Jenny Forrester’s grandmother.”

  “Grandmother—” At that revelation, Willy pressed on the brakes and looked at him. “Come on... You’re joshing me, right? How could she be a grandmother?”

  Buck’s eyebrows lifted. “I don’t know. I’ve been trying to do the math. Her granddaughter just turned seven.” He could hear Willy’s brain working.

  “She would have to be forty or damn near close.”

  “Yep.” But she could pass for ten years younger and was planning to get married. “Her daughter died soon after Daniel Forrester was killed by a grenade.”

  Quiet reigned until they reached the ranch house. “That’s awful. The poor little kid.”

  “You can say that again.” They’d both suffered too many losses. Buck opened the door. “Thanks for the lift, Willy. See you tomorrow.”

  Buck entered the ranch through the front door, coughing his way back to the office to find the guys. What he had to tell them would blow their minds. During those weeks in the hospital when they’d come up with the idea to run a dude ranch to honor soldiers’ families, Buck could never have dreamed up a scenario like this one.

  Chapter Two

  Relieved that Buck Summerhayes knew the truth about everything, Alex locked up and walked back to the bedroom. Jenny was lying on top of one of the twin beds with her head buried in the pillow. Alex sat at her side and started rubbing her back.

  “Did Buck leave?”

  “Yes.”

  “I wish he didn’t have to go. He’s nice.”

  “I agree, but it’s late. He needs his sleep and so do you. Before he left, I told him about your mom.”

  “I’m so glad we came. Do you think he’s in pain?”

  “No. As long as he doesn’t breathe smoke, I’m sure he’s fine.”

  “I like him.”

  “I know.”

  “He has pretty green eyes. They’re lighter than Daddy’s.”