A Rancher to Love

by Trish Milburn

  “Hey, would you like an ice-cream cone?”

  Maddie looked at him and he could tell from the bright look in her eyes that she wanted to say yes.

  “I think I’ll have one, too. I like peach flavor. What do you like?”

  “Strawberry.” Her response was almost a whisper, but at least it was something.

  “Strawberry, good choice.”

  They waited in line behind a small group of women who, judging by the bags they held, were in town for a day of shopping. When it was his and Maddie’s turn, he placed the order.

  “This must be your niece.”

  He turned at the sound and saw Verona Charles with her own niece, Elissa Kayne. “Yes, this is Maddie.”

  Verona smiled as she leaned down to eye level with Maddie. “Well, aren’t you just the prettiest little thing.”

  Maddie remained quiet, and he sensed that part of her wanted to take a step away from the other woman. Too many new people coming into her life too quickly.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Maddie,” Elissa said, speaking to her in a normal adult tone, not that cutesy kid voice most people used.

  “You, too.” Two whole words. Progress.

  Tyler met Elissa’s gaze, and he saw the questions there. But she was kind enough not to pry. No doubt the whole county had heard how Kendra had abandoned her daughter. He really hoped that knowledge didn’t trickle down to any of the kids who would be Maddie’s classmates because kids could be cruel to each other. And even though he didn’t know the specifics, he knew in his gut that Maddie had been through enough.

  When their ice cream was handed through the window, he grabbed them and extended Maddie’s to her. She immediately took an enthusiastic lick, making him smile.

  “She’s got the right idea,” Verona said. “Give me a double scoop of strawberry.”

  As Verona started to turn toward him, he said, “We better be off. Work calls.”

  The thing about living in a small town and everyone knowing your business was that you knew theirs, as well. And the mission in life for Verona Charles was to make sure she paired up every single person within a twenty-mile radius of Blue Falls. No, thank you. If he ever got married, it would be to a woman of his choosing with no outside prompting. But right now marriage was the furthest thing from his mind, although the thought had flitted through his noggin more than once that maybe having a wife would make Maddie’s transition easier.

  But he wasn’t even dating anyone, so he’d have to figure this out on his own.

  As he drove toward the ranch where he’d be working this afternoon, he let his thoughts wander over ways to up his income. He got along fine by himself plying his trade as a farrier and running a small herd of cattle. But things had changed the moment Maddie had become his responsibility. He supposed he could advertise his farrier services farther out from Blue Falls, but he figured most people with horses in the area already knew about him.

  Maybe he’d get lucky and someone would rent the bunkhouse. The rental notice he’d put up on the community bulletin board at the Primrose Café had been up less than twenty-four hours, but he kept hoping it would bear fruit.

  The bunkhouse had sat unused other than for some storage for years, so it made sense to try to make it generate some income. It wasn’t fancy, but it was sturdy and had a good roof.

  Sure, he’d have to deal with someone else coming and going from the ranch, but it seemed the most expedient way of getting what he needed for his niece now and for however long she was with him. Kendra hadn’t said when she’d be back for her daughter, and Tyler wasn’t sure his sister would even remember she had a child. He knew one thing for sure. No way was Maddie going with her mother unless he was convinced Kendra had gotten her act together and was clean.

  He glanced over at Maddie as she licked her ice cream. He might feel like a clueless wonder regarding how to interact with her, but there was no denying he’d do whatever he had to in order to protect her and give her what she needed, two things he feared his sister hadn’t done in a long time.

  Just as he parked next to the barn where he’d be working the next couple of hours, his phone rang. When he answered, Conner Murphy was on the other end of the call.

  “I saw where your bunkhouse is for rent,” Conner said. “Is it still available?”

  “It is. You looking to move out of town?”

  “No, it’s for my cousin Leah.”

  Now that he had an actual bite on the bunkhouse, Tyler experienced a moment of doubt about having someone else on his land. But he glanced over at Maddie and thought about how much easier it would be to provide for her with extra income. He had the feeling she had wanted for a lot in her young life, and he didn’t want that to continue while she was under his roof.

  After he and Conner discussed a few particulars, they set a time for Leah Murphy to come see the bunkhouse.

  Tyler knew nothing about Conner’s cousin, but because of Maddie he felt better about possibly having a woman living next door than a man. He just hoped he was making the right decision about having anyone there at all. Though Maddie would likely have little or no interaction with his tenant, it was still another change. And the way he saw things, he and Maddie had both had enough changes for a good long while.

  Chapter Two

  Leah’s stomach churned at what suddenly felt like a ride on a runaway roller coaster. She hadn’t expected to find a potential new home so soon. If she were honest, she’d hoped it would take a while, time during which she could prepare herself for living alone again. Having to face that less than an hour after arriving in Blue Falls hadn’t remotely been part of her plan.

  Leah knew she should be thankful, should take this as a sign that her decision to move to Blue Falls was the right one. Besides, there was no guarantee waiting longer would make the transition any easier. And the truth was that even if Conner’s place wasn’t currently uninhabitable, it was too small for two people who weren’t a couple and didn’t mind the close quarters.

  “Tyler said he wouldn’t be home for a couple of hours, so what do you say we go grab something to eat?”

  Leah didn’t feel much like eating, but what else was she going to do to pass the time? Attempting to eat and talking with her cousin sure sounded better than sitting around waiting and allowing her anxiety to grow.

  “You can’t beat that for timing,” Conner said as they headed down the street to the Primrose Café. “And Tyler’s a good guy.”

  But a guy nonetheless.

  Not wanting to appear ungrateful for Conner’s understanding and willingness to jump right in to help her, she gave him a smile. “Thank you.”

  “That’s what awesome cousins are for.”

  Her smile grew into a genuine one. She appreciated his levity.

  Somehow she made it through the meal, managing to say the appropriate things at the appropriate times, both to Conner and all the friendly locals. By the time Conner had to head back to work, she was thankful for the blessed quiet of her car. When she slipped into the driver’s seat, she simply sat for several minutes, watching the comings and goings of the people who were going to be her new neighbors.

  Using her phone, she pulled up a map of Tyler Lowe’s address. Conner had told her the bunkhouse wasn’t far from Lowe’s house. He’d shared that fact in a tone that meant he thought that would assure her, but once again her stomach twisted into knots.

  Lowe’s ranch was a few miles out of town. Sure, she’d wanted peace and quiet, but would being out that far alone be even more frightening than what she’d left behind? If someone attacked her there, would there be anyone close by to hear her scream?

  She shook her head, telling herself for the umpteenth time that just because she’d been attacked once didn’t mean it would ever happen again. Realistically, it probably meant the chances we
re less than they’d been initially. Plus, if there were fewer people around, didn’t that mean there was less of a chance that one of them would be the type to attack her in the first place?

  The what-if game could drive her mad if she let it, so she gave herself a mental smack and looked in the rearview mirror. She smoothed her hair and made sure she didn’t look like death. She needed to convey “I’m a responsible adult who pays her rent on time.”

  At least she hoped she could pay her rent on time. Thus, the need for getting her mind off what had happened and back on work. On finding her creative spirit again.

  She paused with her hand clasping the keys in her ignition and took a slow, deep, calming breath before she ventured toward a new part of her life. On her way to her destination, she ran positive thoughts through her head. She would love this new place. She could afford it. She would feel safe and refreshed, inspired to create even more beautiful jewelry to sell in retail shops and online. It would feel like home.

  When she reached the mailbox with the appropriate address, she turned off the highway onto a gravel drive that curved a couple of times before revealing a modest-sized house that had a few decades on it. Beyond it sat a barn and another structure that looked like a small wooden house with a low porch running the length of the front. That must be the bunkhouse, she guessed.

  She talked down the part of her that wanted to turn around and retreat back to the safety of Conner’s presence. Common sense prevailed as she spotted a dark blue pickup truck parked in the shade, telling her that Tyler Lowe was most likely inside one of the buildings. When anxiety tried tying her insides in knots again, she reminded herself that Conner had told her Lowe was a good man. She had to trust that her cousin would never put her in harm’s way, especially not after she’d told him what had driven her to Blue Falls in the first place.

  Of course, she hadn’t told him everything. She didn’t plan to ever share that with anyone she didn’t have to in order to make sure her attacker stayed in jail for as long as possible. Reliving those horrible minutes made her skin crawl.

  Rallying the friendly personality that had been second nature to her before the attack, she slipped out of her car and went in search of Tyler Lowe. Her first instinct would be to approach the house, but a metallic banging drew her to the barn instead. As she crossed the space between where she’d parked and the barn entrance, the sound stopped. Her nerves started firing again, more so with each step she took toward the barn. What if Conner was wrong about Lowe?

  Stop it!

  Common sense told her that not all men were the type who’d attack a woman. After all, she’d gone more than twenty-nine years without being assaulted by any man whose path she crossed. She’d simply become the unlucky victim in the statistics game.

  Leah approached the open barn door, determined to greet Tyler Lowe with her friendliest smile. She hadn’t counted on nearly colliding with a giant.

  Her feet slipped on the gravel at the same time she gasped at the size of the man who’d stepped out of the barn. He reached toward her, probably to keep her from falling, but the gesture sent warning bells to clanging in her head and she managed to evade his touch. She took a couple of steps back as she righted herself.

  “Sorry,” he said in a deep voice that matched his impressive height and solid build. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

  After a couple of moments in which Leah fought hard against the visceral need to spin around and race toward her car, she somehow managed to wave off his concern. “It’s okay. I... I’m looking for Tyler Lowe.”

  “You found him. Leah Murphy?”

  She nodded, trying not to think about how the man in front of her was easily twice her size, maybe more, and could crush her without breaking a sweat.

  He extended his hand and smiled. “Conner said you’d be coming by. Nice to meet you.”

  Even though his smile seemed genuine, not the evil type her attacker had worn, it was all she could do to force her own hand toward his for a shake. The moment his big, undeniably strong hand wrapped around her much smaller one, panic exploded inside her. What if he didn’t let her go?

  But after a quick shake, he thankfully released her. Judging by the curious look he gave her, she wouldn’t be surprised if he thought her a complete lunatic. She needed to pull herself together if she wanted to even have the choice of whether to rent this place.

  “You, too,” she finally said.

  “Come on,” he said with a nod to his right. “I’ll show you the place. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s in good physical shape. Has lots of space.”

  When Lowe started walking along the gravel drive that led past the barn, her brain didn’t seem to want to send the appropriate message to her feet to follow him. Before he noticed her hesitation, she hurried to catch up. Of course, that was easier said than done considering his long legs easily outpaced hers without him even seeming to try.

  As she tried to close the distance between them, she noticed just how wide his shoulders were, how solidly built he seemed to be. His tanned arms were no doubt strong if the cut of the muscles were any indication. His worn jeans clung to obviously muscled thighs and, she had to admit, a nicely made backside. Even with her nerves doing their best to overwhelm her, she still wasn’t blind to the fact that Tyler Lowe was a finely made man not much older than her, if she was guessing correctly. There was no hint of the older man she’d for some reason assumed him to be when Conner had told her he had a place for rent.

  “This used to be the bunkhouse for the ranch hands when my father and grandfather had more acreage and ran a bigger herd,” he said as he stepped onto the long porch.

  She imagined the inside as sparsely furnished and smelling like a locker room.

  When Lowe opened the front door and motioned for her to precede him inside, her panic ratcheted up a notch. How could she possibly allow herself to be trapped inside by a man she didn’t know? But then she remembered the pepper spray in her purse and held on to the strap even tighter as she forced her foot across the threshold.

  The main room into which she stepped wasn’t going to be featured on the cover of any home decorating magazines, but it wasn’t as bad as she’d imagined it either. The room was filled with an older couch and chairs toward the front and a kitchen area on the back side. A long, wood, farm-style table and accompanying wood, ladder-back chairs divided the two areas. Off to the sides were doors leading to what appeared to be a couple of bedrooms and a bathroom.

  “If you take it, feel free to spruce it up however you like. Doesn’t exactly have a feminine feel to it.”

  No, it didn’t. But already she was imagining spreading out her work along that long table and having more space to store her supplies. That was a good sign considering she’d been completely unable to work since the attack.

  Leah crossed the room and looked into the bedrooms and bath. Definitely an older feel, like it hadn’t been used in a while and needed a good airing out, but the space was nice and it was quiet. Still, she wondered if her mind and her fear would let her relax here, feel safe as she once had in her apartment.

  She told herself she wouldn’t know the answer to those types of questions unless she took the leap. She had to live somewhere, and it wasn’t going to be Houston or her cousin’s couch. She turned to face the man who seemed to take up an inordinate amount of space in the room.

  “You live there?” she asked as she gestured in the direction of the house down the drive.

  He nodded. “I do. But you’ll have plenty of privacy. I do work on the ranch, but I’m gone a fair amount, too. I’m a farrier, so I’m called out to other ranches.”

  Even so, would she be able to find any calm with him so close by? She considered telling him she’d think about it and then look for something in town, but a part of her just wanted to have the decision done.

  “I’ll t
ake it.”

  Her answer seemed to surprise him for a moment before he nodded. “Good.”

  They talked a bit about the rental agreement, and the fact that it was simply verbal without all the paperwork a place in the city required eased her concern some. The simplicity of life in a place like Blue Falls was just what she needed. She’d just have to get used to seeing Tyler Lowe and not imagining how easily he could hurt her.

  * * *

  TYLER HAD TO focus way harder than he should as Leah asked him how soon she could move in. But he really couldn’t be blamed for how difficult he was finding it to talk about mundane rental details when facing a woman as beautiful as Leah Murphy, could he?

  Somehow he found the correct responses as his gaze roamed over her wavy, honey-blond hair and the pink tinge to her fair skin. He towered over her, and he wondered if it made her nervous. The way she eyed him and kept her distance made him think so. Which he supposed was understandable. He doubted he’d be comfortable around someone double his size and at least a foot taller than him either.

  As they exited the bunkhouse, he wondered if he’d made a mistake renting it to the first person to express an interest. The last thing he needed right now was a distraction, and Leah Murphy was definitely that. He’d known Conner for years, so how in the world had he never met his stunning cousin?

  Maybe he wouldn’t see her that often. Like he’d said, he was gone a good amount. And now he had Maddie to care for. Plus, Leah would have her own work. What did she do anyway? It had to be something that would allow her to move to a town as small as Blue Falls.

  He glanced back at the bunkhouse as they walked away from it. He should be thankful he’d rented the place so quickly. The extra income would alleviate his concerns about providing for Maddie, and the bunkhouse had just been sitting there empty for a long time.

  And he wasn’t exactly sure why he thought so, but something told him that Leah needed the place as much as he needed to rent it. Her reasons weren’t any of his business, but he couldn’t deny the curiosity. Conner had mentioned she’d lived in Houston. Moving to Blue Falls was a big change, and people usually had big reasons for that type of move.