The Rancher and the Redhead Read online

  Not for the first time, he wondered if he’d made the right decision. A flock of butterflies seemed to have taken up permanent residence in his belly at the enormity of what he was doing. But he’d promised Alicia he’d take care of her daughter, and he was a man of his word.

  “I won’t be long,” Roni said, settling the tired baby against her shoulder. “I’ll pick up the dinner fixings and give Krystal a holler, too. Maybe she can think of someone else who might be interested in the housekeeper’s position.”

  Picking up the list again, Sam stared at it gloomily. “And anyone whose name isn’t Mary Poppins need not apply.”

  Laughing at his morose expression, she turned and headed for Jessie’s room. “Don’t worry, Sam. I’m sure the perfect solution is right under our noses. It’s simply a matter of finding it.”

  * * *

  Two and a half hours later, Roni pulled her Jeep into Krystal Harrison’s sunny driveway. She felt rather breathless after her quick trip home. Since her widowed mother, Carolyn, had married hardware store owner Jinks Robinson and moved to Austin, Roni had the tiny Daniels homestead to herself, but today the house had seemed more silent and solitary than usual.

  She’d lingered only long enough to check her mail and pick up clean clothes, then headed to the tiny Flat Fork post office to express a piece of advertising art that should have gone off two days earlier. She followed a stop by the library to pick up the latest child development and parenting guides with a visit to the Winn-Dixie for groceries. One more stop to pick Krystal’s brain for potential housekeepers, and then she could be on her way back to Sam’s place. Roni anxiously hoped that he’d managed to hold down the fort without her.

  A trio of towheaded wild Indians erupted from the carport of the single-story brick ranch house that matched its neighbors in this small, tree-lined subdivision.

  “Aunt Roni!”

  “Hey, Mom. Aunt Roni’s here!”

  “Did ya bring us anything?”

  Roni reached for the packs of sugarless bubble gum Krystal’s boys had come to expect, then hastily tucked the hem of a scarlet silk-and-lace teddy back out of sight in her tote bag. No use giving the little rascals any embarrassing fodder for their question mill. After all, if a gal had a secret hankering for flimsy underthings, it was nobody’s business but her own.

  In a town where the pace of life was slow and casual, Roni didn’t have much call for the slinky, sexy dresses she’d worn when she’d been continually on Jackson Dial’s arm. But just because her working attire was jeans and T-shirts, and her going-out attire was clean jeans and a T-shirt, didn’t mean she’d lost her love of feminine frills altogether. In a small, churchgoing town like Flat Fork, however, it was better to keep one’s scandalous predilections private.

  “Hello, boys. Yes, here you go.” Stepping out of the Jeep, Roni passed out gum to Kevin, Kelly and Karl amid a profusion of thanks. “Where’s your mother?”

  “In the backyard,” Kelly replied. “She says to come on back.”

  Roni grinned and ruffled the third grader’s fair bangs. “Thanks.”

  “You gonna come watch me play tee-ball Saturday?” four-year-old Karl demanded.

  “I’m sure going to try, partner.” Roni walked through the carport into the spacious backyard littered with an assortment of balls, bats and toy trucks. Krystal, a petite blonde with a short wedge haircut, hailed her from a lounge chair on the brick patio.

  “You’re just in time for something cool,” she said, pouring a tall glass of ice tea from a plastic pitcher on a nearby snack table. “It’s the lull before the suppertime, homework and ‘oh-Mom-do-I-have-to-go-to-bed-now’ storm.”

  “Sounds good.” Roni flung herself down in a matching chair, smiling. Though she might complain about it, Krystal’s day-to-day family life was bursting with energy and her home full of love—something that Roni thought any woman would envy.

  “I can’t stay but a minute,” she said. “I’m already much later than I thought I’d be, and Sam’s just about helpless when Jessie gets into her evening snit.”

  Krystal handed the glass to Roni. “Seems to me he’d better learn to handle it if he means to keep her.”

  “Oh, he does! You should just see how he melts when she bats her baby blues at him. It’s the cutest thing you ever saw.”

  “Who?” Krystal smirked. “Jessie or Sam?”

  Roni laughed and sipped her tea. “Well, both of them, I guess. She’s got a temper to match those red curls, but she’s a sweetheart. I swear she’s already calling Sam ‘Da-Da.’ He’s just wild to find a housekeeper so she can have some sort of routine, but so far, no luck at all.”

  “None of the ladies I suggested were interested?” Krystal asked incredulously.

  Roni shook her head. “Well, some of them were interested, but Sam’s so hard to please.” She explained who had been interviewed and the various reasons they’d been found unsuitable. “You don’t know of anyone else, do you?”

  Frowning, Krystal hesitated. “I’ll have to think about it. In the meantime, I suppose Sam could enroll Jessie in Pharis Fitzgerald’s Mother Goose Day Care.”

  “What? Drag that baby out of her bed at the crack of dawn every morning and leave her with a bunch of strangers until dusk? Out of the question!” Roni blushed at her own vehemence. “I mean, I’m sure Sam wants to keep her at home. She’s been through so many changes, you see, and she gets upset easily—”

  “Sounds to me as though you don’t want to find someone to hire.”

  “That’s ridiculous.” Roni brushed her curls out of her hot face. “I simply want Sam to find the best person for the job.”

  “So you can get on with your highly exciting life, right?” Krystal nodded sagely. “You can’t fool me, Roni Daniels. You’re having a whale of a time mothering that baby.”

  Roni laughed, unable to deny the accusation. “Can I help it if I’m a pushover for redheaded cherubs?”

  “Got it that bad, huh? So tell me, how’s it really going? Everyone in this town is mighty interested in what’s happening with that baby...and you.”

  “Me?” Roni blinked. “Why me?”

  Krystal gave her friend a disgusted look. “You must be the only female in this town immune to Sam Preston’s sex appeal. Do I have to draw you a picture? You, plus Sam, plus one adorable orphan, emotions running high, close proximity—”

  “Sheesh, Krystal, not you, too!” Roni took a long pull of her ice tea. “I’m just being a good neighbor.”

  “And you never noticed that Sam Preston is one handsome hunk of raw masculinity?”

  Roni fought back a mental flash of Sam clad only in a towel, and said loftily, “I admire Sam for a lot of reasons. He’s my best friend, after all.”

  “Let me tell you, there are plenty of single ladies in this town who’d give their right arms to be in your shoes—especially Nadine Scott.”

  Roni grimaced. Nadine was the new hospital administrator who’d gone out with Sam a couple of times. “Well, she can stop holding her breath. There’s nothing happening between her and Sam.”

  “How do you know?”

  “He told me. Said she’s too aggressive and wears too much makeup. I happen to agree.”

  Krystal laughed and crossed her ankles on the lounger. “So that’s what you two talk about every Friday night. You dissect each other’s dates.”

  “Not always. Well, sometimes,” Roni admitted grudgingly. “Sam warned me Tully Carson was a card-carrying chauvinist. Boy, was he right.”

  “The way the two of you rip each other’s suitors to shreds, it’s a wonder you have any social life at all. And Sam’s going to need one now more than ever.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “While everyone applauds his good intentions regarding little Jessie, that baby’s going to need a mother. But the way things are, no eligible single gal can get to Sam because she has to go through you.”

  Totally taken aback, Roni could only stare. “I—I never though
t of that.”

  “You have to admit that Sam’s one of the few genuinely nice men left around here.”

  “Of course he is.”

  “Not like Jackson.”

  Roni’s lips twisted. “Certainly not like Jackson Dial.”

  Krystal searched her friend’s expression. “You’re really over him, aren’t you?”

  “After two years, the hurt fades. I could kick myself for sticking it out so long, hoping—” She shook her head.

  “He’s got a new movie out, I see.”

  “Yes, I know. Apache Tears. I actually did some of the preliminary sketches for the art direction. For free, of course. That’s Jackson’s style.” Shaking off the feeling of failure that remembering their relationship always evoked, she set down her glass and rose. “I’ve got to run. Call me if you think of anyone else who might want the housekeeper’s position, okay?”

  Minutes later Roni sped down the two-lane blacktop toward the Lazy Diamond, chewing her lip in worry. Could Krystal be right? Had she been doing Sam a disservice by monopolizing his time, to the detriment of any other relationship he might develop? Sam was such a decent man, he deserved a woman who would adore him, someone unlike Shelly, who’d appreciate his strong ties to the land and the little community he called home.

  Forcing herself to look at the situation with brutal honesty, Roni had to admit that she’d grown to depend on Sam’s steadfastness, his lazy humor, the easy, accepting friendship. Since her return, he’d been her sounding board and her shield against loneliness. Now the realization that in her need she’d been depriving him of the chance to find someone special filled her with guilty remorse.

  Krystal was absolutely on target. Sam needed a wife and a mother for Jessie, but he was unlikely to find one with Roni in the picture. If she really loved Sam as a friend, then the most generous thing she could do would be to step back so that nature could take its course—even if Sam ended up with someone like Nadine Scott. The image made her lips twist in distaste.

  Swallowing hard, Roni pushed the sensation aside. Whatever happened, Sam had to be free to make his own choices. Just as soon as they settled the housekeeper situation, she’d have to start disconnecting herself from her dependency on Sam—for his own good. It was the right thing to do. So why, then, did the thought weigh so heavily on her heart?

  Roni was still struggling with this quandary when she parked the Jeep at the ranch house. Juggling two brown paper bags of groceries, she started up the porch steps, only to be met by the sound of Jessie’s wails coming from the rear of the house.

  She rushed to set her burdens down on the kitchen table, calling out as she went. “Sam, I’m back. What’s the matter with Jessie?”

  There was no answer but the baby’s continued sobbing, and alarm raced down Roni’s backbone. She hurried to Jessie’s room, appalled to find her in her playpen, red-faced, alone and wailing as if her heart were broken.

  “Oh, honey!” Roni’s heart tightened at the upsetting sight, and her anger blossomed. Where the devil was Sam? How could he have left the child all alone? Lifting Jessie into her arms, she tried to calm the baby. “Hush, Jessie. Roni’s here. It’s all right.”

  The tiny girl clutched at Roni’s hair, arched her back and howled in earnest, giant crocodile tears streaming down her flushed cheeks.

  “Come on now, sweetie,” Roni said.

  A quick check found Jessie’s diaper dry, and an almost-full bottle in the corner of the playpen proved it wasn’t hunger that fueled the baby’s ire. Noticing the child’s hot cheeks and sweaty neck, Roni carried her to the bathroom for a cooling cloth. But the damp washcloth only infuriated the child even further, and she kicked and squirmed and screamed in a pure tantrum of ill-tempered misery.

  Feeling helpless in the face of such fury, her own frustration spilling over, Roni glanced out the bathroom window and caught a glimpse of Sam engaged in some task down by Diablo’s paddock. Appalled, her own fury ignited, due in part to her inadequacy at dealing with Jessie’s squalling, and in part to her incredulity at Sam’s callousness and utter carelessness. Still holding the struggling baby, she stormed outside.

  Sam heard her coming and laid the cinch straps he’d been mending across the top rail of the paddock. Even Diablo, Sam’s ebony stallion, raised his elegant head from the hay bale he’d been investigating and pricked his ears toward the ruckus.

  Pushing his straw cowboy hat to the back of his head, Sam frowned wearily and demanded, “Why did you pick her up?”

  Roni stared. “What? She’s screaming at the top of her lungs! Are you out of your ever-loving mind?”

  Sam winced at Jessie’s ear-piercing wails. “She’s been at it all afternoon. Finally figured she’d have to cry it out.”

  “How could you?” Roni railed, struggling to hold the flailing child. “You don’t leave a kid alone like that. What if she’s sick? Or hungry? Or—”

  “Dammit, Curly, don’t you think I’ve got sense enough to think of all that?” Sam’s dark glower was mute evidence that he was near the end of his own rope. “Little bit started up not ten minutes after you left and squalled the whole time the county caseworker was here. I tried everything, and not a damned thing pleases her.”

  “That’s no excuse, Sam Preston,” Roni said, her tone accusing. “You left her!”

  “Since all I did just seemed to make whatever it is worse, I thought I’d give her some space. Believe me, I could hear her just fine out here. I’m not a complete dunce.”

  “No, just a heartless one!” Roni shouted to be heard over Jessie’s crying. “You can’t treat a baby like...like one of your damn cows. Of all the insensitive, moronic—”

  “Curse it, that’s enough.” Sam’s expression was black as thunder, and his jaw thrust out at a militant angle. “You weren’t here, and I had to follow my best judgment—which was working just fine until you came along and got her started again.”

  “I did no such—”

  “Don’t try to second-guess me, Curly,” he interrupted brusquely, jabbing his forefinger at her nose. “When it comes right down to it, she’s not your responsibility.”

  Sam’s harsh words landed like a physical slap and took Roni’s breath. She stared at him, feeling the color drain from her face. Hot tears prickled behind her lids. With a small cry that was barely audible above Jessie’s weeping, Roni turned and stumbled for the house.

  “Curly, wait. I didn’t mean—”

  Choking, Roni didn’t pause to hear the rest. Calling herself every kind of idiot, she tried to contain the hurt that bubbled over. The worst of it was that despite the affection and attachment for Jessie already blossoming in her unwary heart, Sam was absolutely right. She had no claim on the redheaded angel who was still making a devilish uproar. No bond of blood or commitment, and certainly no right—best friends or no—to instruct Sam on the upbringing of his new daughter. The knowledge left a bitter taste in her mouth.

  “Roni, stop!” Sam caught her from behind just as she reached the back door, his expression stricken. “Oh, God, you’re crying. You never cry.”

  “You’d better take her,” Roni said around a knot of tears in her throat. “I—” A sob stole whatever else she meant to say.

  Cussing a blue streak, Sam shot a harried glance from side to side, then abruptly dragged Roni, still holding the baby, off the porch and toward his blue Ford pickup. Without further explanation he jerked open the door and thrust her inside. A child’s car seat sat buckled in the middle of the seat.

  “Here, strap her in,” he muttered, then pushed Roni’s fumbling hands aside to perform the task on the screaming baby.

  “Sam, what—? Please...” Distraught and unnerved, Roni tried to slip out past him, but he caught her, buckled her seat belt much as he’d done Jessie’s, then slammed the door.

  “Stay put.” His mouth was grim as he came around to the driver’s side. “We’re going for a ride.”

  “I don’t want to go anywhere with you!” Sniffling,
Roni wiped her tears on the hem of her knit shirt and tried to glare at him. “What’s so all-fired important about taking a ride?”

  “Read it somewhere,” he muttered, starting the vehicle. “Supposed to be soothing to cranky kids or something.” He threw the truck into gear and tore down the dusty drive as if all the demons of hell were after them.

  “That’s if the baby has colic!” Roni shouted over the engine noise and Jessie’s continued bellows of rage.

  “What have we got to lose?”

  “Fine. Suit yourself.” Crossing her arms, Roni stared mulishly out the window and said nothing further.

  Nearly thirty miles later, Jessie’s screams had turned to soft snores. Sam slowed to a more reasonable pace, made a U-turn and headed back toward the ranch.

  “I didn’t mean it, you know,” he said finally.

  Roni clamped down on her bottom lip to hide a betraying trembling, then forced herself to speak honestly. “It’s true anyway, and I apologize. I overstepped my place. She’s not my responsibility.”

  “Roni, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.” Sam squinted against the orange globe of the sun resting on the western horizon and ran his free hand down his square jaw. “The way you’ve pitched in, you’ve got a right to say whatever you think.”

  Roni stroked Jessie’s plump fist, taking care not to wake the sleeping baby. If Sam was offering an olive branch, she would be foolish not to accept it. “Neither one of us has any experience dealing with a little heifer as stubborn as this one.”

  “She’s put me through the wringer, all right. It makes me wonder...” He fell silent.

  Something in the tone of his voice made her glance at him sharply. “What, Sam?”

  He sighed, bouncing his fist on the steering wheel. “If I’m doing the right thing. That social worker, Mrs. Veatch, asked some pretty tough questions.”