The Rancher's Family Wish
- -
- 100%
- +
“He will.” Beth smiled dreamily, her mind obviously elsewhere. “Do you think the rabbits are happy, Mama?”
“On a ranch? I think they’re ecstatic. That means very happy,” she clarified when Beth frowned.
“Mr. Cowboy will be really nice to them.” Beth went back to coloring her oversize rabbit-picture-thank-you card for the rancher.
“How do you know that?” Curious to hear the response, Sophie listened before completing a last-minute mental check on her catered meal.
“’Cause he was really nice to me. Only he’s got sad eyes. I think he hurts inside. I don’t think he has anybody to love him.” Beth added a few blue lines to her drawing before she murmured, “I love him.”
I could almost love him for taking those rabbits. Immediately Sophie quashed the errant thought. Never falling into that trap again, she reminded herself. Independence is too precious.
“I love Mr. Cowboy lots.” Beth sounded the way Sophie had felt when she was fifteen and Marty Armstrong, the coolest guy in school, had first shown an interest in her.
“That’s nice to say, sweetie, but Mr. Johns is a stranger. You can’t love a stranger.” It was the wrong thing to say to her very literal daughter, and Sophie knew it the moment Beth’s blue eyes darkened to storm clouds.
“The Bible says to love everybody.” She glared at her mother, her voice accusing.
“That’s right. Thank you for reminding me, Bethy.” Sophie pressed a placating kiss against her daughter’s head, then checked the kitchen clock. Where was the man? She had to leave for her gig in less than five minutes. “Maybe that’s him,” she said when the phone rang a second later.
It wasn’t Tanner Johns calling.
“I can’t babysit, Sophie. I’m so sorry.” Edna Parker’s breathy voice sounded horribly weak.
“What’s wrong, Edna? Where are you?” Sophie asked worriedly.
“At the hospital. My son brought me. I fell and broke my hip while you were out trying to get rid of the rabbits. They’re going to do surgery soon.” That weepy tone told Sophie her elderly neighbor was very frightened.
“You stop fussing now,” she said gently. “The doctors will make everything better.”
“But I can’t babysit for you tonight,” the woman wailed in a feeble voice.
“I’ll get someone else to watch the kids. Don’t worry about us. And I’ll run over later and look after your cats. I have your key, remember? Everything’s going to be fine.” She heard a sigh of relief. “The kids and I will come see you as soon as we can. Don’t worry, Edna.”
“Thank you, dear.” Somewhat calmer, Edna chatted for a moment before saying, “I’m so glad God sent you into my life.” Then she hung up.
“I wish God would send me someone into my life. Where am I going to get a sitter at this time on a Friday night?” Sophie couldn’t mess up this catering job. She needed it to pay next month’s rent. “I need help, God.”
A loud rap on the front door startled her out of her silent prayer.
“It’s Mr. Cowboy,” Beth yelled, having raced to answer the door. Then to Sophie’s utter dismay, her daughter said to Tanner, “Houston, we have a problem.”
Tanner’s startled gaze moved from Beth to Sophie. One corner of his mouth kicked up. Dark green eyes, which earlier had been hidden behind sunglasses, were startling in his tanned face. Sophie gulped. Tall, lanky and lean, with wide denim-clad shoulders that looked perfect for leaning on, Tanner Johns was every woman’s fantasy cowboy.
Not her fantasy cowboy, of course, but—
“What’s the problem, er, Houston?” His gaze rested on Sophie while his fingers gripped the black Stetson he’d removed when he stepped over their threshold.
Sophie couldn’t explain because there was something wrong with her breathing. As in, she couldn’t. Then Davy came racing down the stairs, tripped on the perpetually loose runner at the bottom tread and tumbled headlong into the cowboy’s arms. Tanner grunted as he caught her son and held on just long enough to make sure Davy could stand on his own.
“Something I said?” he joked, winking at her.
The man winked at her! The control Sophie had almost recovered vanished. She figured she probably looked like a beached fish, gulping for air. Stupidly, she wished she’d had time to fix her hair.
Where’s your independence now?
“Our babysitter can’t come,” Beth explained. “Mama’s gonna lose this job and we need it to pay our bills.” The words were an exact repeat of her mother’s earlier meant-to-be-silent mutterings.
Sophie almost groaned out loud. Tanner so needed to hear that sad story, he of the billion-acre ranch with money coming out of his ears, thanks, according to church gossip, to Burt’s generosity. Now he’d feel sorry for her. Sophie thrust back her shoulders, independence reasserting itself.
“That’s enough, Beth. You and Davy get your sweaters. You’ll have to come with me and sit quietly in a corner of the kitchen while I work. Go now. Monica and Tiffany will meet us there.” She said hello to Tanner and beckoned him to follow her to the kitchen.
“Monica and Tiffany?” he said in a dazed voice. “You have more children?”
“They’re my catering helpers.” Sophie pointed. “Your pies.”
When there was no response, she paused in lifting the pan holding her perfectly sliced roast from the oven to look at him. Her heart gave a bump of pure sympathy. The poor man was gazing at her pies as if he hadn’t eaten for months. So maybe his massive inheritance couldn’t buy everything, but she had no time to think about that now.
“Tanner?” She said it more crisply than she intended. He lost the hungry look and snapped to attention. “Sorry to rush you. You’ll have to wrap them yourself. The foil’s over there. I’ve got to load up and get going.”
“I’ll help you.” He took the heavy metal server from her and insisted she lead him to the garage where the van was open, waiting. He stored the container where she indicated, then carried out the other dishes, refusing to let her lift even one though she assured him she’d done it many times before.
“Thank you for your help,” Sophie said when everything was placed so it couldn’t move during the trip. “Now I must leave. Beth. Davy,” she called.
“Aw, Mom. Do I have to go?” Her son glared at her. “I’m not a baby, you know.”
“I know you’re growing up fast, but you’re still too young to stay alone. Now please come on. I don’t have time to waste arguing.” Too aware of Tanner standing next to her, Sophie reached out to grab her son’s arm to draw him forward.
“I could take your children back to the ranch with me while you work.”
The cowboy’s offer stunned her. It must have stunned him, too, because Tanner gawked at her, green eyes stretched wide as if he was in shock.
“It’s very kind of you to offer but you’re a stranger,” she said as nicely as she could. If only she could accept. It would save— What was she thinking? It was impossible.
“There will be eleven other men at the meeting. One will be Pastor Jeff and at least two others are church board members. You can call any of them for references if you want.” Tanner waited. Could he know how desperately she wanted to accept his offer? “Please let me help,” he murmured when she’d wasted several more moments. “These pies—you’ve no idea what they mean to me. I’d like to return the favor, if you’ll let me.”
“You already did by taking the rabbits,” Sophie reminded. He only smiled and waited, watching her with that intense contemplation that had turned more hazel now that flecks of copper glinted in the depths.
“Can we go to his ranch, Mom?” Davy’s hopeful voice broke the silence.
“What about your meeting?” Sophie knew Davy wouldn’t settle while she was working, and that would disturb Beth, which would distract her. She desperately needed tonight’s job to go right. Dare she risk leaving her kids with this man?
“I draw up the usher schedules ahead of time. It’s just a matter of everyone confirming dates and then sampling your pie.” Tanner’s grin made her stomach swoop so she felt off balance. “It’s an excuse for guy time. Your kids won’t be an issue, Sophie. Moses will make sure of that.”
As Tanner explained to the kids about a Native American man who lived at the ranch, Sophie could no longer resist his offer. She lifted her cell phone from her pocket and dialed the pastor’s number. Once she’d laid out the situation, Pastor Jeff gave his wholehearted reassurance.
“Tanner’s a great guy, Sophie. He’s going to turn Burt’s ranch into a kind of outreach camp. I’m hoping our church can partner with him.” His effusive praise for the rancher went on and on. When she didn’t immediately respond, Jeff said, “If you’re still worried, know that I’ll be there to make sure nothing happens to Beth and Davy.”
“I appreciate that, Jeff.” She ended the call, closed the phone, then looked at Tanner. “Thank you, I’d like to accept your offer.”
He nodded and turned away, probably to hide the embarrassed flush rising up his neck. Sophie regretted causing that but she had to be sure the kids would be safe. She drew Davy aside and stared him straight in the eye.
“Same rules as at home, buddy. You don’t go anywhere on the ranch if Tanner isn’t there. You obey him and Moses without question. If I hear one word—”
“You won’t.” Davy eagerly grabbed his jacket and held out his sister’s. “Come on, Bethy. We’re going to a real ranch.”
Davy’s use of the old pet name for his sister made Sophie smile. His good mood probably wouldn’t last, but while it did she’d enjoy it.
It took only minutes to store the now-covered pies in the side boxes of Tanner’s truck, minutes more to kiss her babies and promise to pick them up as soon as she was finished working. Sophie searched her brain, worried she’d missed something, forgotten something important.
“Go do your job, Sophie.” Tanner’s quiet reassurance brought back the reality of time. “I promise I’ll keep Beth and Davy safe for you.”
“Thank you,” she said sincerely. A moment later, with her kids safely belted into their seats, Tanner drove away and Sophie left home with her meal, clinging to her wobbly faith that this time God would be there for her.
She’d almost forgotten the Sunday she’d been on cleanup duty after a potluck at the church and overheard Burt speaking to someone about Tanner.
“He had a rough childhood and his teen years weren’t much better. His past dogs him. But there isn’t a man I trust more than Tanner Johns. His integrity, honesty and uprightness are part of what makes him tick.”
The old man must have truly trusted Tanner to bequeath his beloved Wranglers Ranch to him. Burt’s latest dream for the place was something the whole congregation had learned about from a presentation he’d made a few weeks before his death. The reason Sophie remembered that specific conversation, though, was because of Burt’s last words.
“As I keep telling Tanner, we must fan into flame the gift of God inside us.”
So, Sophie wondered, what was Tanner’s gift? Knight in shining armor?
The mental image of him riding a white steed, or in this case his white truck, to her rescue made Sophie blush. She got back to work forcing away that image and the memory of the way her senses had reacted to the big cowboy, especially to that slow, easy smile of his. She’d been this route before with Marty, and life had been a painful teacher.
Her husband Marty’s greatest attraction had been his charm. He’d been as big a kid as his own children, fun-loving, living for the moment, never giving a thought to tomorrow, often to the detriment of his family. In the two years since his death Sophie had finally put her life back together and regained control. Sure, every day was a struggle to make ends meet, but it was her struggle, her bank account to hide away for real emergencies. She was the person she depended on. No way was she giving up her independence or security now.
Sophie wasn’t ever going to be dependent on any man again, even if he was a big strong cowboy with a smile that made a zillion butterflies skip in her stomach.
Chapter Two
“I’m afraid I wore out your kids.” Tanner liked the way Sophie’s upswept hair left her graceful neck free for his inspection.
“I hope they behaved.” Three and a half hours later the cook’s black fitted blouse and slacks still looked pristine. In fact, Sophie appeared relaxed and calm, exactly the type of competent professional you’d want catering your occasion. “Davy...”
“Loves horses. I could barely keep him from saddling up. His enthusiasm is great.” Tanner chuckled at her surprise. “No kidding. He’s a natural cowboy. They’re sleeping in the other room. Want to check?” She nodded so he led the way.
Sophie’s lovely face softened when she saw Beth curled in Burt’s chair in front of the fire next to Davy, who’d thrown his arm across her shoulder in a protective manner. Tanner pointed to the kitchen and after a long moment she nodded and followed.
“Thank you,” Sophie said quietly.
“They’re good kids. After my meeting ended I took them out to feed the rabbits. They approve of the bunnies’ new home.” He smiled at her eye roll. “How did the job go?”
“Perfectly. I have just enough beef left over to make us a stew tomorrow and not a spoonful remains of my chocolate cherry trifle.” Despite the lines of weariness around her eyes, Sophie looked happy. “And I have two new jobs.”
“Great.” He motioned to the stove. “Do you have time for tea? I just made a pot.”
“I’d love a cup. Thank you.” Sophie sank into the chair he offered. “Somehow I didn’t see you as a tea drinker.”
“Burt only drank coffee in the morning. He refused to make it after that. Since my coffee is worse than mud it was easier to drink whatever he made. It’s pretty hard even for me to mess up tea bags.” He poured tea into two mugs before realizing he should have used the good cups. “I have some pie left. Would you like a slice?”
“No, thanks. I like making pie but eating it is bad for my waist.” Sophie frowned at him. “Which kinds were left?”
“One apple and one strawberry rhubarb.” He sat down across from her thinking that there was nothing wrong with her waist. “Don’t make that face. It wasn’t because they didn’t like them,” he reassured her. “They did. I knew most of them would take seconds or thirds so I hid two pieces before they got here.”
She frowned. “Why?”
“Because I wanted some for tomorrow.” He shrugged when she grinned. “Self-preservation. You make very good pies.”
“Thank you but I’m sure your housekeeper keeps you well fed.” Sophie’s gaze moved around the kitchen.
“I don’t have a housekeeper. The hands are all married and eat at home. Moses prefers his own cooking. It’s just me.” She looked dubious. “It’s true. When he was alive, Burt did the cooking or we ate out.”
“What a shame with a kitchen like this. It’s a cook’s dream.” A soft yearning look filled Sophie’s face as she studied the stainless steel appliances. “You have every piece of equipment any cook could dream of.”
“Probably.” He shrugged carelessly. “Burt had this room redone several months ago and then asked the Public Health Department to certify it as commercial. He hoped to use it for meal preparation when he got the camps going.”
“When will that be?” Sophie leaned back in her chair, mug in hand, and let the steam bathe her face.
“Good question.” Tanner forced himself to stop staring at her and admitted, “I’m struggling to get things started because I don’t have Burt’s gift for striking up conversations with kids. I’m not even sure how to start a camp or whatever for them. Actually I’m scared witless at the thought of hosting a group of troubled kids for a whole week, but that was Burt’s goal.”
“Why must you start with a full-week camp?” Sophie tilted her head, her face thoughtful. “Couldn’t you try a one-day riding camp first, maybe get some practice at running that before you branch out?”
Tanner blinked. He’d been overwhelmed by the scope of Burt’s impossible dream, but this smaller step seemed feasible.
“How do you see that working?” He waited with a wiggle of excitement flaring inside, for Sophie to expand on her idea.
“Hmm. Maybe the kids would arrive Saturday morning between seven and eight? You could have a buffet breakfast while they assemble. Kids are always hungry.” She smiled, her full lips tipping up in a way that set his heart thudding. “After that they could mingle among the horses.”
“That way we could assess their skills without being too obvious.” Logical and organized. Tanner liked that about Sophie. “Also they could get to know their ride. But we’d need some time to prepare the horses,” he mused with a frown.
“So maybe a little explanation about the horses while you prepare. After that you tell them the rules for the trail ride and what to expect.” Sophie glanced at him, eyebrows lifted in a question. “Then you mount up.”
“And just ride?” He thought that sounded boring.
“You could break up the ride.” Sophie didn’t laugh or mock him for his lack of ideas. Instead she chewed on her bottom lip, a frown marring her smooth forehead as she thought it through. “Maybe you’d stop along the way to explain about the desert, the animals that live here, talk about Wranglers Ranch and how it came to be—stuff like that.”
“That’d be Moses’s job,” Tanner said, thinking how easily her plan came together. “He knows everything there is to know about this spread and the desert adjoining us.”
“Perfect.” Her smile made him feel as if he could handle this.
Suddenly Tanner didn’t find Burt’s dream quite so daunting.
“At the end of the ride you might have a campfire picnic or maybe a chuck wagon dinner.” Sophie studied him, assessing his response. “Doable?”
“Sure. We could follow that with stories, maybe bring up God’s creation,” Tanner added thoughtfully. “It’s a good plan. A small group would give us a chance to do a trial run, iron out problems.”
“It wouldn’t be hard to turn that into a two-day camp, either, if you had somewhere on the ranch for people to camp out overnight. Breakfast in the desert, ride back to the ranch for lunch, then head home. It sounds—” Sophie’s smile faltered. “You’re frowning.”
“Because I don’t see how this plan attracts street kids.” Tanner avoided her gaze. “They were Burt’s primary focus.”
“Maybe to get there you have to start with other kids,” Sophie said in a thoughtful voice. “Maybe if you got a buzz going about this place, street kids would come out of curiosity. There are lots of needy kids who could benefit from coming here. Building a rapport with a horse and the people who care for them could be a bridge to reaching many kids.”
“You think?” Tanner hadn’t considered that.
“Sure. I’d enroll Davy in a program like that if it was available and I could afford it.” Sophie set her cup down and placed her hands in her lap. Her voice dropped. “Actually I’m willing to try almost anything to engage him. He’s not yet nine but he’s already gotten in with a bad bunch of kids. His behavior and attitude are suffering at school, too. I’m his mother but I feel like I’m failing him.”
“I sincerely doubt that.” Tanner didn’t think a caring mom like her would ever disappoint her child or abandon him as his own mother had.
“I homeschool Beth and that takes a lot of prep time, but I have to do it. She just wasn’t progressing at her school.” Sophie sighed. “By necessity she gets a lot of attention from me. So does my job and when I’ve finished that—”
“You’re wiped out,” he completed, seeing the weariness in her posture.
“Yes.” Sophie’s head drooped. “And Davy suffers. His ‘friends’ have already persuaded him to steal a candy bar. I reprimanded and punished him but I’m worried about what comes next. I don’t know what to do. I’m doing the best I can but...”
Tanner had to say something to erase the misery on her face.
“Davy was great tonight. He even offered to help Moses muck out stalls.” He grinned as astonishment filled Sophie’s face. “Don’t worry, I didn’t let him. I said we’d need your permission first, but Davy is definitely intrigued by the animals. He went from tough bravado to quiet gentleness in about three seconds flat when he met an abused horse someone dropped off today.”
“My son—gentle?” Sophie’s big brown eyes stretched wide. “Davy?”
“Davy,” Tanner affirmed. He liked her honesty about her son. “Maybe that’s an interest you can build on, which is also why this idea of yours could be worthwhile.” His brain whirled with ideas. “If Wranglers helped only Davy it would at least be a step toward making Burt’s dream come true.”
“Doing that means a lot to you?” she said softly.
“It’s the only reason I accepted his legacy of Wranglers. I have less than two years left to turn Burt’s dream into reality. Maybe a day camp is the way to finally start down that path.” Tanner grabbed a pen and pad of paper from near the phone. “For me the biggest issue will be the food. Hey!” He grinned at her. “Could we hire you to cook?”
“I’d need to check dates but I’m sure we could work out something.” Sophie didn’t look at him as she asked, “Maybe I could cook in lieu of Davy’s fee to attend?”
“We could talk about that.” Tanner saw hurt flicker through her eyes when he didn’t immediately accept and mentally kicked himself for causing it. But his strong reactions to this woman scared him. He didn’t want to encourage anything that could be construed as personal with her. Or anyone else. “I need to keep everything businesslike,” he excused quickly.
“Of course. So do I.” The hurt look disappeared as she nodded. “Profit and loss to make it official. Then when you’ve done several camps you’ll have built a résumé that you can use for schools or public agencies so they’ll see you’re not just playing at this. Good idea.”
It hadn’t been his idea at all. It was hers. And a good one at that.
“Thank you for understanding, Sophie. But I would like to have Davy attend the first camp.” He saw her surprise. Don’t say anything about what he did. Don’t get involved, his brain ordered. Too late.
“Why?” Sophie’s gaze narrowed. “Because you feel sorry for him?”
“Sorry?” How could he phrase this without offending her? “No. I see Davy as sort of a guinea pig. Maybe I should say ‘test subject.’” Sophie’s dark eyes narrowed so Tanner hurried to clarify. “If Davy was part of the first ride, I could question him afterward and see from his perspective where we missed a need or should do something differently. I wouldn’t want to ask a guest those kinds of questions. But if Davy was part of my team—” He saw skepticism in her intelligent gaze. “You don’t want that.”
“I think it’s wonderful of you and he’d love it, I’m sure.” The frown furrowing her forehead returned. What a concerned mother she was. “But what if he does something he shouldn’t? What if he messes up?”
He already has.
“Then we’ll learn from that, too.” Tanner smiled at her. Somehow it seemed important to reach this boy. At least he could do that, couldn’t he? “Davy’s a little kid. What could happen?”
“You’d be surprised.” A wry tilt of her lips told Tanner Sophie’s equanimity was returning. “Okay, but I hope you don’t regret this idea. You do realize Davy doesn’t know how to ride.”
“So we’ll teach him.” Tanner shrugged to show her it was no big deal. Suddenly he wanted to know more about Sophie. “Your husband must have been glad of your quick thinking.” Immediately shutters dropped over her eyes, telling him it was the wrong thing to say. “That’s private. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine.” She huffed out a sigh and then sipped her tea. Just when he thought she would get up and leave, Sophie lifted her head and looked him in the eye. “I guess Marty did depend on me. He certainly didn’t have a head for business.”
“Is Davy like him?” Tanner asked, curious about the man this lovely woman had married.
“I hope not.” Sophie smiled at his startled look. “I loved my husband but he wasn’t what you’d call responsible. Marty was like a big kid, carefree, enjoying himself without worrying about the future.”