Can she save the ranch—and keep his love?

Jenna Wood had her new start all planned out when she bought an ostrich ranch in New Mexico. But from day one, nothing is quite what she expected—especially her tenant, Flynn Sutton. Jenna’s daughter, Andee, adores Flynn and his sheepdog, Beezer, but Jenna’s not so sure. She feels a connection, but Flynn’s a pilot, just like her late husband, and his work brings up painful memories. Still, when someone in town seems to have a grudge against Jenna, Flynn is there to protect her and Andee. Together, they’ll find out who’s trying to intimidate Jenna, and why. And along the way, the three of them just might become a family...

Their eyes met, and she ventured a smile.

“I must admit, you have a nice way of making ordinary things special,” she said.

The red on his cheeks got ruddier. “Uh, ordinary things like having supper together in town? It’s pot roast Monday at the diner. Their cook makes the best pot roast in the West. We’ve all had a trying day, so it’s my treat. Say, seven o’clock?”

His offer surprised Jenna, but she only hesitated for a second. “Sounds terrific. I’m not sure how long my errands will take. How about if Andee and I meet you there?”

“It’s a da—” He stopped short of saying date. Jenna could tell Flynn knew it, and so did she.

Unwinding Andee’s arms, he chucked her under the chin and made good his escape, with his dog loping through the open screen door at his heels.

Jenna gave a start when Andee piped up to say, “We love Flynn, don’t we, Mommy?”

Dear Reader,

Parts of this story have percolated in my mind for quite a while. There’s an ostrich ranch off the highway between Tucson and Phoenix. A few years ago the ranch was in the news. Hot air balloons taking off from an empty field frightened the birds, and many were hurt when they broke down fences. I wanted to feature an ostrich ranch in a story, but I didn’t want them hurt. I decided to set my story in a neighboring state. I wanted my main characters to love animals. And because An Unlikely Rancher is a love story, I decided my ranch owner, who isn’t looking for love, falls in love accidentally. I hope Jenna Woods and her daughter Andee’s second chance at happiness with ex-military flyer Flynn Sutton is a story that touches your heart.

Sincerely,

I love hearing from readers. Contact me via Facebook or my website, korynna.com/RozFox.

An Unlikely Rancher

Roz Denny Fox

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ROZ DENNY FOX’s first book was published by Mills & Boon in 1990. She writes for various Mills & Boon lines and for special projects. Her books are published worldwide and in a number of languages. She’s also written articles as well as online serials for www.millsandboon.co.uk. Roz’s warm home-and-family-focused love stories have been nominated for various industry awards, including the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® Award, the Holt Medallion, the Golden Quill and others. Roz has been a member of the Romance Writers of America since 1987 and is currently a member of Tucson’s Saguaro Romance Writers, where she has received the Barbara Award for outstanding chapter service. She’s also a member of the Desert Rose RWA chapter in Phoenix, Midwest Fiction Writers of Minneapolis, San Angelo Texas Writers’ Club and Novelists, Inc. In 2013 Roz received her fifty-book pin from Mills & Boon. Readers can email her through Facebook or at rdfox@cox.net.

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Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

JENNA WOOD SAT at her sister’s dinner table and draped a napkin across her lap. “I have news. Today I finalized buying the ostrich ranch in New Mexico I told you about last month. Movers will collect our things from storage tomorrow. Andee and I will leave at the end of the week. Salad, anyone?” She forced herself not to wince as she passed the bowl across the table to her brother-in-law, but finally set it down when he didn’t take it.

Jenna’s sister, Melody Carter, and her husband, Rob, both dropped the rolls they were buttering.

“You can’t be serious,” Rob, a JAG attorney stationed nearby at the Pentagon, sputtered through a laugh.

“I am. I know you guys thought it was a passing fancy.” Jenna picked up the salad dressing, bracing herself for the full onslaught of their reaction. “My funds were wired and I’ve received confirmation from the seller’s Realtor. I’m now the proud owner of 300 acres, 1,500 birds, a two-story home, plus a single-story, three-bedroom rental in a town near my ranch. Our ranch,” she stressed, smiling down at her serious-faced six-year-old daughter.

Rob frowned at Jenna. “Look, Mel and I know it’s been rough on you to have the Air Force investigating Andrew’s collision with that Navy flyer. Thorough investigations take time. Especially when the planes had to be fished out of the ocean. I can get your contract voided on the basis of your being a grieving widow.”

Jenna stiffened. “I don’t want out of the contract. I want a clean start for Andee and me before her school starts.” She glanced again at the girl, who’d been too quiet and withdrawn since her dad’s accident.

Melody reached across the table and squeezed Jenna’s hand. “I assumed we’d talked you out of this folly. You’ve always lived on a military base. What do you know about ranching?”

“I’ll learn, Mel.”

Rob finally slid the salad bowl over. He gestured with the tongs. “Mel’s right. I hate to say it, Jenna, but you aren’t thinking straight.”

“Mom thinks it’s a good idea. It’s why she stayed on after the funeral, so I could visit a local ostrich ranch. Get a sense of what I’ve got ahead of me.” Jenna poured the salad dressing.

“How reliable is Mom or Dad? They moved lock, stock and barrel to Costa Rica weeks after Dad retired,” Melody argued.

“That’s exactly right. That’s why they’re reliable in this—they’re proof that you can make a dramatic new start at any age. They researched and chose a place where their money will last. And they’re the ones who recommended this place in New Mexico.”

She stopped to study them, acknowledging their concern. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—listen to her own self-doubt. “Look, I can’t thank you guys enough for helping move us off the Florida base and for letting us stay here temporarily. But even here—”

Jenna had to break off, catch her breath, before she said slowly, “Everywhere I turn I see men and women in uniform. We’ve been here ten months.” She lowered her voice, looking hesitantly at Andee. “I think the commission is bent on proving pilot error. They’re discounting Andrew’s countless missions in war zones.” Jenna idly split her roll, barely murmuring, “You know about the reports saying he and the Navy pilot argued. Should that destroy his career?”

“War can mess with a man’s head,” Rob said.

Melody nodded. “Yes, we all saw a marked change in Andrew after his last tour in Afghanistan. You said he refused to go for a physical. Whether or not the commission finds him at fault, you need family now, Jenna.”

She tensed. No one knew how strained her marriage had been at the end.

“Andee, honey, I forgot your milk. Will you go to the kitchen and bring the carton from the fridge?”

Jenna waited until after she’d gone to put a finger to her lips.

Oblivious, Rob continued, “Some chest thumping goes with being a fighter pilot. And rumors always circulate after a non-combat accident. They fade away, so it’s no reason to uproot Andee. Let the commission finish its work.”

Jenna added a dollop of dressing to Andee’s salad. “He was three short years from retirement, Rob. We discussed leaving the East Coast. I’ve always wanted land where I could have animals and plant a garden. Mel, you know how much I loved the Army base in Germany when we were kids and Mom raised chickens.”

Rob ate his salad as Andee scampered back with the milk. “Ostriches aren’t chickens,” he said. “They’re big, powerful birds. They kick and bite.”

After pouring Andee’s milk, Jenna set the carton aside. “Ostriches only act out if they’re frightened, according to the American Ostrich Association website. They’re curious creatures who like shiny objects. The people I bought from advised against wearing jewelry when I work with them. Plus, the couple who owned the farm I toured in Georgia has raised birds for ten years and they’re doing really well.”

“Even so, New Mexico is still the Wild West,” Rob said.

“Please be happy for us,” Jenna begged, suddenly blinking away tears.

Pretending to fuss with Andee’s hair, she gently cupped the girl’s ears and said quietly, “Mel...if we stay here, there are bound to be negative comments about Andrew.” Jenna dropped a kiss on the child’s forehead and smiled because Andee had clearly taken an interest in their conversation.

Melody and her husband exchanged guilty glances.

“Of course.” Melody hastily passed Jenna the meat platter. “But you call us the minute you get there. And if... Well...our door is always open if you want to return.”

* * *

FLYNN SUTTON WATCHED his newest customer jockey a four-passenger Cessna Skylark into the hangar he’d just rented out. It was Flynn’s third rental since he’d finished clearing the runways of the old airpark he’d bought while serving in the Air Force.

That had been before he’d been shot up and landed in the military hospital with a new knee and shrapnel wounds in his hip and thigh.

The cloudless blue sky and shimmering heat of his native New Mexico helped to cleanse the stench of war and dull the painful loss of his best friend.

Chip Talbot had flown the search-and-rescue mission that bitterly cold afternoon when their chopper had been shot down in Kandahar province. Only dumb luck had let Flynn crawl out of the wreckage alive.

He counted himself lucky again that he’d invested in this airpark over the twelve years he’d served Uncle Sam. It gave him the fallback he’d needed when his career with the Air Force was over.

In the beginning it had been his intention to stay in for twenty, retire with a good pension, come here and teach flying in his golden years. He’d had to cut those plans short—or move them up, depending on one’s view of his current situation.

Disability pay covered the cost of his renting the house in town. He’d have money enough to keep his dream alive, providing he filled his hangars and lowered his blood pressure so he could pass his next physical.

Imperative if he hoped to teach flying.

But maybe he was asking for too much. Unlike Chip, he had his life and a future.

Shading his eyes, Flynn tossed a wave to the pilot of a red-and-white, single-engine Piper Cub taxiing to the caliche runway from another stall.

Travis Hines, the twenty-year-old son of a local land developer, was a bit of a grandstander. Or maybe the kid just made him feel old at thirty-three.

Still watching the plane, Flynn idly wiped his greasy hands on a rag. He grimaced as the Piper lifted off in a wobble of wings and a full-throated growl.

Dropping his mirrored sunglasses over his eyes, Flynn dismissed the show-off and limped into his makeshift office. He tucked his client’s check into the bank deposit bag for when he and his dog went home at lunch.

* * *

JENNA TIMED THEIR arrival in Deming, New Mexico, to coincide with the moving van hauling their worldly possessions. Over her sister’s continued grumbling, Jenna had traded her compact car for a Jeep Grand Cherokee. The purchase had seriously depleted what was left of her savings, but as she pulled up outside the realty office, she felt a renewal of hope.

Hope had been missing from her life for longer than she had admitted to anyone.

The office looked like so many other buildings she’d seen in the virtual tour. It was flat-roofed, beige stucco and blended with the sandy landscape.

Taking Andee’s hand, Jenna stepped inside.

The only person in the room was an older man seated at a messy desk. Without hesitation, she introduced herself to him.

“I see, Mrs. Wood. Welcome. I’m Bud Rhodes. Oscar left you an envelope along with the house keys. He said he included notes about his ostrich operation.” Bud pawed through a pile on his desk, found the envelope and handed it to her across the counter.

She stared at it for a moment. “I assumed Mr. Martin would walk me through everything,” she said slowly.

“Sorry. I thought you knew he’d moved to Hawaii.” The Realtor laughed at the oversight. “Oscar employed a local man by the name of Don Winkleman to help with the birds. I reckon he’s been handling things since Oscar skedaddled.”

“I see. I hope his notes are detailed...” She opened the envelope but couldn’t focus on all the paperwork she was seeing. “This business is all new to me. Everything here is new to me.”

“Well, now, we’ve got a right, nice little town. What you see here is our commercial district. You and the little lady,” he said, smiling down at Andee, “need to visit our museum. It dates back to the 1916 raid by Pancho Villa. We’ve even got artifacts from one of the original Harvey Houses that catered to transcontinental railway travelers. It’s open now, if you’d like to take a tour.”

“I’m afraid I can’t.” Jenna glanced at her watch. “I’m to meet our moving van at the house right about now.”

She was exhausted from the long drive and the heat. And admittedly unsettled by the news that Oscar Martin was gone and hadn’t told her he’d be leaving and she’d be plunged into ranching straightaway. Thank heaven, he’d left her with someone to help.

“No problem. I’ll mark where you’re going on this map. Your property isn’t too far off the main highway. It’s about four miles out of town.”

“And there’s a rental home?” she suddenly thought to ask. If Oscar Martin hadn’t told her he was leaving, what else hadn’t he told her? “Here in town, correct? And it’s occupied?”

“Yes.”

Well, that was a relief, anyway.

“Belonged to Oscar’s great-aunt,” Bud continued. “When she passed on, he elected to keep it for added income. The house sits about here.” He pointed to a square on the map. “The address is on the deeds in your packet.” He drew an X approximately two blocks into the square. “It’s currently rented by a nice young fella who lived here as a boy. He returned a few months ago to open a business.”

Bud stood and went to the window to peer out.

“I ’spect you just missed him. Before you came in, I saw his pickup parked outside the bank.”

Relieved to hear that her renter was nice, Jenna thanked the Realtor for his help and guided Andee out.

“Mommy, I’m hot,” Andee complained as Jenna unlocked the SUV.

It was a good thing Jenna had stocked a cooler with ice and water at the motel that morning. She opened a bottle and passed it to the girl. “We need to remember to drink more, sweetie. It’s much drier here.”

“Why?”

“I suppose because there’s no ocean nearby.”

Andee accepted that answer and buckled herself into her kid seat in the back.

After a brief check of the map, Jenna set out.

It took her less than fifteen minutes to find the rutted lane leading to the ranch.

Her first glimpse of the rambling two-story house was a letdown. It wasn’t as white as it had looked in the photos. The porch didn’t run all the way across the front. And the evergreens, maybe spruce, which she had thought shaded the house, were brown. Covered in dust, she guessed, squinting against the hot wind blowing the dust through her open window.

She shut the window and climbed out of the SUV, taking in the tufts of grass in the yard as she opened Andee’s door. She couldn’t really call the grass a lawn.

She had wanted so much for this life-changing move to New Mexico to be exactly what she and her daughter needed. Her family had told her that she didn’t know what she was doing. And she’d blithely argued that she’d done her research.

Nothing in her research had prepared her for what she was seeing now. And maybe that was why the previous owner had left town on the quiet.

There was more “lawn” evident in some of the pens that ran parallel to the highway, which was separated from her property by a strip of land and a perimeter road Jenna hoped didn’t get much traffic.

Groups of gangly birds were huddled under canvas-topped awnings. Since the dry breeze took her breath away, Jenna didn’t blame the ostriches for seeking the least little bit of shade. If Oscar Martin had a manager, there was no sign of him—or any living human being, for that matter.

She helped Andee down and they went into the house, where a second wave of fatigue swept over Jenna. It was only marginally cooler inside, and yet the inspector she’d hired through the Realtor had said the house had swamp coolers. Of course, she knew swamp coolers weren’t air conditioners and they worked better if a couple of windows were cracked open. It was at least reassuring that she could hear the sound of a motor running somewhere.

She had promised to call Melody the minute they arrived. But knowing that her sister and Rob insisted she was making a bad decision—and worried they were right—she decided to wait until she was settled in.

She glanced out the living room window and saw the moving van lumbering toward the house.

Good. A reprieve.

After telling the movers where she wanted her furniture and boxes to go, she and Andee went to unload the SUV. On her second trip, while her daughter remained inside unpacking her stuffed animals, the drone of an airplane directly overhead made Jenna pause. Unable to shade her eyes because she had both arms filled with clothes on hangers, she squinted to scan the sky.

She was surprised to see a small red-and-white plane flying incredibly low. So low, her heart skipped a beat. It swooped over the ostrich pens and for a moment blocked the sun, casting a hulking shadow.

Tearing her eyes from the plane, Jenna saw spindly-legged birds bolt from under the canopies and run awkwardly to the far end of the enclosure. The plane’s shadow followed, causing birds to bump into fences and one another. Then the plane made a right turn and headed for a low rise Jenna thought probably marked the edge of her property.

She held her breath and waited for the sound of a crash. Nothing.

“Mom,” Andee called from the doorway.

“I’ll be there in a minute, honey.”

At the fence, she had no idea what she should do to settle the agitated flock. Thankfully, before she could come up with a plan, they calmed themselves and wandered back to the shade.

Since she hadn’t heard a boom, Jenna assumed the plane must have landed. She had no idea she’d bought property near an airport. That very notion unnerved her.

“Mommy, are the ostriches okay?” Andee asked, appearing at her side.

“I think so.” Turning to go into the house, Jenna muttered, “That plane shouldn’t have flown so low.”

She watched her daughter carefully after that close encounter with the small plane.

She knew neighbors on base had discussed Andrew’s plane crash around their kids. And even though Andrew had been gone too much to be a hands-on dad, their little girl had always tagged after him when he was home. And he’d taken her to see his plane. Flying had been his life. He’d even bought her picture books of planes.

But since Andrew had come and gone so often, Jenna was aware that Andee hadn’t yet fully comprehend his death.

Up to now they’d only casually mentioned that Andrew was in heaven. But Andee was a bright child and Jenna’s mom had said there would be an appropriate opening to discuss what death meant.

This wasn’t the time, though, Jenna decided.

To distract them both, she toured Andee through the rest of the four-bedroom, two-bath house while two of the movers set up their beds.

The wood floors in the living room needed waxing, Jenna noted. And hot as it was, Jenna couldn’t imagine ever needing the beautiful old fireplace at one end of the room. But when she expressed that thought, the youngest of the three movers laughed.

“Nights in the desert can be brutally cold. I grew up in New Mexico,” he added as if to prove his point.

The kitchen was outdated but clean, its cupboards painted a sea-foam green. Jenna imagined she’d like them better in white. But she also knew it’d take time to put her stamp on the place.

After the movers left, she dug out the linens to make up Andee’s bed.

She wished she’d thought to note the call letters painted on the underside of that plane. Even if there was an airport in the vicinity, the plane had flown dangerously low. If the pilot had violated some local flight ordinance, she should report the incident.

The plane could belong to a local rancher. She knew it wasn’t uncommon for ranch owners to fly private aircraft. If that was the case, perhaps he—or she—would respond to a neighborly request to not swoop so low over her pens.

Martin’s ranch manager might shed some light on the matter. Where was he? He obviously didn’t live on-site. Later she would sit and read Martin’s notes. It would suit her if the helper only worked part-time. She hadn’t factored in the cost of hired help.

“There, Andee, your bedroom looks put together. Would you like to help me make up my bed?”

“Mommy, I wish there wasn’t a bathroom between our bedrooms. You’re too far away,” she said as she scooped up Cubby Bear.

“Honey, you’ll be fine sleeping in here. We’ll leave both connecting doors open. You’ll have your animals and dolls to keep you company.”

Andee’s shoulders slumped.

Jenna worried about how clingy she’d become since the funeral. “Tell you what. I need to phone Auntie Melody to let her know we arrived. Would you like to talk to her a minute?”

“No, it’s okay.” Andee wrapped her arms tightly around her much-loved bear and trailed her mother into her bedroom.

Jenna made her bed, then sat on it and punched her sister’s speed-dial number on her cell phone. She kept the call brief, putting a rosy spin on everything. She might have broken down if she’d heard the hint of an “I told you so.”

“Our next step,” she told Andee after ending the call, “is lining kitchen cabinets with the pretty contact paper I brought. Do you want to help peel the backing off after I measure and cut?”

“I guess so. Can we eat first? I’m hungry.”

“Sure. I’ll fix cheese sandwiches from stuff in the cooler and slice an apple for dessert. Tomorrow we’ll find a store and shop to fill our refrigerator.”

“Mommy, why isn’t our house near other houses like where we used to live?”

“This is a ranch and we need more land to raise birds as big as the ostriches.”

“Where are houses with other kids?”

That question stopped Jenna. She cleared her throat. “Soon we’ll hunt up the school where you’ll go in September. And I saw a park on the map the Realtor gave me. I’ll bet kids play there.”

That seemed to satisfy Andee, but it made Jenna wonder why she hadn’t given more thought to how isolated they’d actually be living here.

No, we’ll be fine. Pioneer women survived in much more isolated conditions.

They ate a light lunch, then lined the cupboards, a chore that took most of the afternoon. “Andee,” Jenna said as she pressed down the last piece of contact paper, “I need to look over Mr. Martin’s notes on how to care for ostriches. While I do that, why don’t you color?”

The girl ran to her room and came straight back with two picture books.

Jenna understood that Andee didn’t want to be out of her sight given that she’d left the child with her grandparents for a week after the funeral while she’d visited the ostrich farm in Georgia.

A farm, she might add, that looked much more prosperous than this one.

Then they’d moved in with Rob and Melody, and Jenna had hoped things would settle.

Stifling a sigh, she opened the envelope and started to read.

There were instructions about gathering eggs every other day and choosing some to put in incubators for hatching, similar instructions to those she’d gotten from the Georgia couple. She knew that eggs not sold to a wholesaler stayed in the incubators for forty-two days.

It seemed straightforward. It was as she’d told Melody: raising ostriches wasn’t difficult.

Oscar Martin apparently had derived income from four markets: the sale of eggs, feathers, meat and leather. The last two involved aspects of the business that didn’t appeal to Jenna. But it looked as if the manager was used to handling the meat and leather production for Martin. And it didn’t seem as if the man’s salary would break the budget Jenna had set up for herself.

“Before the sun sets, Andee, I want to inspect the pens, the hatchery and get a closer look at our ostriches. Would you like to come along?”

Nodding, the child closed her book, slid off the kitchen chair, picked up her bear and then reached for her mom’s hand.

“Oh, nice,” Jenna said as they left the porch. “There’s a slight breeze. It’s still hot, but that gives us some relief.”

“Ostriches are funny-looking,” Andee announced. “But they have pretty eyes,” she added, stopping to stare at the three birds that had ventured close to the fence. “They kinda look like Big Bird.”

“They do at that. Look at their long eyelashes.” Jenna pointed to one peering at them over the fence. “Each adult eats about three pounds of food a day,” she said, consulting the notes she’d brought with her.

“What do they eat?” Andee asked. She shifted her stuffed bear.

“Um, mostly grass. I suppose that’s why it’s much greener in the pens than in the yard around the house. We’ll be sowing grass seed in the empty pens, which explains why there are so many empty ones. When the grass comes up, we’ll move the birds and reseed the pen they were in.”

Jenna opened the door to one of several sheds that were really small barns. “Good, these bins are labeled. I see the grass is supplemented with alfalfa and corn that has vitamins mixed in it.”

“What’s supple...supple... What you said?”

“Supplement means ‘added to.’ Like we eat salad with our meat and potatoes. And I give you chewable vitamins as a supplement.” They left the shed and turned to the next page of notes. “The man who owned these birds said they do best living outside in the fresh air. But they need exercise. Each pen is big so they can run around.”

Andee ventured closer to the pen of milling birds. “I like being outside, too. Maybe I can play with them, Mommy.”

“Well, we will have to see about that. Perhaps you can pet some of the babies. I saw eggs under the lights in the incubators, but it doesn’t look like we have any smaller than some juniors in that pen farthest from the house.”

As she finished speaking, a small plane rose out of the direction where the earlier plane had disappeared. This one climbed higher and didn’t fly directly over them. Even so, she knew the noise of an engine winding up could put some of the birds in a flap.

Jenna watched the plane until it became a speck in the distance. The Georgia couple had told her that ostriches were excitable. And Martin, too, had indicated in his notes that being overwrought could lead to disrupted egg production.

Like it or not, Jenna decided, first thing tomorrow she needed to locate where the planes were based and register a complaint.

* * *

THE NEXT MORNING, electing to breakfast at the café she’d seen in town, Jenna gave the waitress their orders for pancake combos and then casually added, “We’re new to the area. Yesterday I saw a couple of small planes in the air, but I don’t see an airport on the map my Realtor gave me.”

The waitress paused. “Airport? There’s none closer than El Paso. Oh, wait. I almost forgot, one of our hometown boys recently moved back and has reopened a defunct private airpark about twenty minutes out of town.” She popped her gum and stabbed a finger in the direction of Jenna’s ranch.

Later, after their breakfast was paid for, Jenna managed to extract from her the name of the road to the airpark. They buckled in and set off.

The road to the airpark was gravel and littered with potholes. After she hit a particularly bone-jarring dip, she muttered a prayer that she wouldn’t blow a tire or break an axle on the Cherokee.

Her sister had been right about that, too. Her old car wouldn’t have survived this treacherous drive.

At last she topped a small rise and looked down on a weather-beaten facility. Definitely the airpark, because runways marked by reflectors fanned out from the opening of a low-slung multiplane hangar.

Slowing, Jenna saw a plane parked outside what might be an office. She braked when she caught sight of a man standing on a ladder, his head buried inside the open airplane engine.

Setting her emergency brake, she fought an unexpected kick to her stomach. It shook her to see the lean man in an olive-drab military jumpsuit, the type Andrew and his fellow flyers wore.

She fumbled with the key as she shut off the motor, grappling with her feelings.

Andee unfastened herself, threw open the back door and raced toward the ladder yelling, “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!”

“No, no, sweetheart.” Scrambling out, Jenna registered the shock on the mechanic’s face as he straightened, dropped a tool and nearly toppled off his tall perch.

Jenna caught up with Andee just short of the ladder. She dropped to her knees, arms encircling her daughter even as her heart spiraled.

The blond stranger’s short-cropped, trying-to-curl hair didn’t resemble Andrew’s dark buzz cut. But he had those clear blue eyes—flyer’s eyes. Eyes the exact shade of a perfect sky for flying. It was the attribute that had first attracted Jenna to Andrew.

As the stranger descended the ladder, Jenna controlled her fast-beating heart as she cradled Andee, who by then had discovered her mistake and had begun to sob.

“Shh, sweetie. Mommy’s right here.” Even as Jenna’s gaze lit on the stranger’s scuffed boots, she heard his taut voice above her.

“Lady, I don’t even know you.”

Moving her inspection up his long legs, past narrow hips to a wider chest, she mumbled, “I’m so sorry. It’s your flight suit. My husband was an Air Force pilot. Andee’s barely six. I’m afraid she hasn’t fully grasped that her daddy’s...uh, in heaven.”

Jenna hugged the child tighter and kissed the top of her curls. She saw the man yank a red rag from his back pocket and wipe his greasy hands. And in the moment before he took a step back, she thought she saw those gorgeous blue eyes cloud with pain.

CHAPTER TWO

FLYNN’S LEGS STILL felt shaky from his near slip off the ladder. His bad leg had buckled when the kid had run toward him calling “Daddy” as if she meant it. That had more than rattled him. Now, though, looking at the attractive woman who’d announced she was an Air Force widow brought back memories he’d wanted to forget.

Such as the duty visit he’d paid to his best friend’s pregnant widow after he’d gotten out of the hospital. Chip’s widow had wept throughout his twenty-minute stopover even while she’d demanded to know how he’d survived the crash when her husband had come home in a casket.

Yes, Chip had been the pilot assigned to fly that mission. Also true, Flynn knew his best friend hadn’t slept well the night before. Maybe the outcome would have turned out the same if Flynn had volunteered to fly. But maybe it wouldn’t have. And that continued to haunt him.

Now this woman and child brought everything hurtling back. What did she want? Flynn hoped it wasn’t flying lessons. He didn’t think he could teach a service brother’s widow to fly.

“Is she okay?” he nervously asked the woman who stood once the little girl’s crying had tapered off.

“She’s better. The concept of permanent loss is difficult for a child to grasp,” the woman said, leaning over to blot the child’s tearstained cheeks with a tissue she’d pulled out of her blue jeans.

He found himself mesmerized by the tender mother-and-child moment.

Flynn hadn’t let himself fall for any woman since the one he’d figured he’d marry had dumped him. Saundra had made it clear that she’d expected him to stay in the military until he made full colonel and could provide her a better lifestyle than...well...than the one he wanted.

“You know,” he said, wading through his memories, “the concept of permanent loss isn’t easy for anyone.” When the woman didn’t respond, he quickly added, “My name is Flynn Sutton. I own this airpark, such as it is. What can I do for you?”

“I’m Jenna Wood. This is my daughter, Andee. I own the ostrich ranch beyond those hills.” She pointed and Flynn turned to look over his shoulder.

“Really?” he said. “I know a guy who raises ostriches somewhere over there. Well...we aren’t actually friends, more like we were introduced. I’ve never visited his ranch,” he said, gesturing with a hand.

“This whole county was mostly small farms when I was a kid. I left to join the Air Force and have only recently returned. Nearly all of my daylight hours have been spent clearing runways and readying hangars to house planes. I plan to teach flying, but for now I’m tinkering with my planes and renting out hangar space...” He caught himself babbling and paused. “Uh, do you own a small plane? Or...is it lessons you’re after? I won’t be offering classes for a while.”

“Oh, no to both. I’m here because a plane flew far too low over my pens yesterday. It scattered my flock, and I worry that if it happens again some of them could be injured. I came to ask if planes could take off and land from a different direction so as not to frighten my birds.”

Flynn frowned. “If your husband was a pilot, surely you know planes take off and land with prevailing winds. Anyway, this airpark had the runways already set when I bought it. But I’m only set up for daytime flying... Although, eventually I’ll install lights so my customers can take off or land at night, but—” Once again Flynn found himself running off at the mouth. “What I’m saying is, the lane directions are what they are.” He gave an offhand shrug.

Jenna filtered her fingers through Andee’s hair. The girl continued to cling so tightly to Jenna’s leg, she couldn’t have left if she’d been ready to give up and go.

“Could you at least ask your customers to not buzz my pens?”

Flynn spread his hands. “Sorry, I only rent to them. I’ve no say over where or how they fly.”

Pursing her lips, Jenna unwound Andee’s arms. “Then thanks for nothing, Mr. Sutton. The way you feel about planes, you may want to tell the plane owners that I fully intend to check to see if they’re breaking any city ordinances.”

Flynn started to say he doubted her ranch would be zoned in the city, but the woman had grasped her daughter’s hand and was prepared to leave.

Just then his dog loped out from the closest hangar. And after giving a couple of excited barks, the part sheep dog, part no-name breed bounded up to the kid and licked the lingering trail of tears off her face.

The woman shrieked and attempted to shield the girl. To no avail, it turned out, since the kid flung her arms around his mutt, instantly all giggles.

“It’s okay, don’t panic,” Flynn assured the woman. “I hoped when Beezer adopted me that clients and visitors might think he’s a guard dog. Really he’s a cupcake.”

“Mommy, he likes me.” Andee petted the dog’s shaggy gray-and-cream-splotched fur.

“I see that, honey. But...we need to go now. Please tell him goodbye.” Jenna shook out the tissue again and this time wiped the slobber off her daughter’s chin.

“’Kay.” The girl clutched the animal’s ears and pressed a kiss on his black nose. When she straightened, she resisted her mother long enough to offer Flynn a shy smile and a hesitant wave.

He lifted his hand in response and returned her smile. He loved kids. On his leaves he’d spent as much time as he could with his sister’s two boys. Really, kids had always figured in his future. A major reason why it was as well he and Saundra had split up.

Man, he needed to forget her. As he kept Beezer from following the cute little girl and her very pretty mother, he could’ve kicked himself for continuing to go back to Saundra.

Beezer rubbed against Flynn’s good leg and whined. “I know, boy. You like people. Sorry, fella, you’re stuck with me.”

After the Jeep Cherokee had driven a ways away, Flynn released his grip on the dog’s collar and briskly rubbed his furry sides. “Remember who found your skinny bones skulking around the hangar and took you in and fed you so that your ribs no longer stand out, you ungrateful mutt.”

He stood and looked after the SUV. “Don’t be swayed by a pretty face.”

* * *

IT HADN’T ESCAPED Jenna’s attention as she’d helped strap Andee into her car seat that the airpark owner’s smile carved a dent in his right cheek that looked suspiciously like a dimple. She was a sucker for dimples. And military men had a way of turning the heads of females in her family, regardless of age. As her six-year-old had just proved.

Here she’d moved them across the country to get away from uniformed airmen only to find a hot-looking pilot owned a business a few hills removed from her new home.

Clamping her back teeth together, Jenna got in and drove off, ignoring how Andee kept waving.

“Mommy, why don’t we have a dog?” Andee asked once the airpark disappeared behind them in a ruffle of dust.

Jenna tilted the rearview mirror so she could see her daughter better. “Well, mostly we lived in apartments,” she said, not wanting to tell Andee that her father had repeatedly vetoed the suggestion of adopting a dog or a cat. Andrew had always been something of a neat freak. But he’d gotten more obsessive on his last few rotations home between tours.

“We don’t live in a ’partment now,” Andee responded.

“No, but I’m not sure if the ostriches would react well to a dog running around.”

“What if he didn’t run around? I could keep him inside the house with me.”

Jenna frowned and realized she wasn’t going to win this argument with logic. “You haven’t even seen baby ostriches yet. I’m counting on your help feeding the babies after they pop out of their eggs.”

“What will I feed them? We don’t have any milk or anything in our ’frigerator.”

“It so happens I see a grocery store in that strip mall across the street from the next stoplight. We’ll go there and buy some groceries—for us, not for the birds. Mr. Martin, the man who used to own our birds, left their food in one of the sheds, remember?

“Ostriches don’t eat people food,” Jenna reiterated after she parked and helped Andee out.

“This isn’t like our old store,” Andee said, standing inside the door as her mother found a grocery cart.

“We’ll probably have to get used to new brands, but the food will be the same. Besides milk, what can you think of that we need to get?”

“Pizza and pasketti.”

“Oh, you funny girl. You’d eat those seven days a week if I’d let you.”

“I like soup and cheese sandwiches, too, Mommy.”

“That you do. Here’s the soup aisle. It’s a good place to start.”

Jenna added up prices as they meandered the aisles. She hadn’t told her family, but she’d had to pay cash for the ranch. It was a shock to learn that she didn’t have a credit rating even though with Andrew gone so much she’d been the one to handle their budgets. She’d never questioned that their on-base housing and utilities had been in his name.

Before his death she hadn’t given much thought to what went on behind the scenes in banking. They’d had a joint credit card.

After Andrew’s death she’d had to apply for one in her name. The bank had issued her a debit card, which she’d needed to watch closely, since Andrew’s benefits had been frozen until the completion of the investigation.

Before their marriage, she’d lived with her parents. After, Andrew had been the sole breadwinner.

Now it was all up to her.

Andee, who had wandered ahead in the aisle, suddenly ran back and plopped a box in the basket.

“Whoa, there. What are you getting, sweetheart?” Jenna picked it up and was surprised to see it was a supersized box of dog biscuits. “Honey, we don’t need this. I said we might not be able to get a dog because of the ostriches. Run and put this back on the shelf, please.”

Andee pouted. “But I can feed Beezer when he comes to visit me.”

“Uh, honey...I know you liked Beezer a lot, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up. We don’t really know his owner. I can’t think of any reason why we’ll see him again. Put the dog treats back. I promise I’ll ask Mr. Martin, the man who owned the ranch, if having a dog would scare the ostriches.”

The girl clutched the box that bore the face of an almost dead ringer for the gray-and-cream-splotched dog she’d taken such a shine to. Then, long-faced, she dragged her feet back down the aisle, leaving her mother once again irritated over the unexpected consequences of her useless meeting with Flynn Sutton.

* * *

IT DIDN’T TAKE long to reach her card’s limit and pack the back of the SUV with groceries.

In short order they reached the ranch. That brought a smile to Jenna’s face—the very fact nothing in this town—even split in two by a major highway—was more than a dozen minutes from home. Most bases they’d lived on were huge and had taken longer than this to navigate from one end to the other.

Locked in thought, it took Jenna a few moments to register that a silver pickup with a skewed back bumper sat in the spot outside her home where she intended to park. She slowed as she noticed a man emerge from one of her sheds.

She pulled around the pickup, stopped and released her seat belt. She heard Andee doing the same. “Sweetie, stay in your seat for a minute. There’s a man, a stranger, over by the ostrich pens. He’s probably the manager the Realtor mentioned. However, I need to have a word with him to be sure.”

“Okay.” Andee leaned forward and pressed her nose against the side window. “Does he have a dog?”

“None that I see,” Jenna muttered. “If he is the interim manager, I’ll ask if he knows of any problems with us getting you a dog.”

“Yay. I hope he says it’s okay.” Andee settled back to slurp the chocolate milk they’d splurged on.

Jenna saw the guy pull a ball cap from his back pocket as she closed the gap between them. He adjusted it to shade his eyes from the midday sun and leaned on a pitchfork he’d carried out of the shed.

Stopping short, Jenna gave her name. “I’m the new owner,” she added. “I assume you’re the man Bud Rhodes said was taking care of the ostriches in his absence.”

“Yep. Don Winkleman. I didn’t come by yesterday because Oscar said you were due in. I expected to hear from you.”

“I didn’t know your schedule.”

“Been working some every day for two years. I wanted to buy the place, but Oscar needed all his money up front and I wasn’t able to get 100 percent financing. You’ll pardon me if I say you don’t look like a rancher.”

Jenna chuckled. “I’m still getting moved in. I have gloves and boots, so I’m sure I’ll look the part of a rancher soon.”

“Still, all the trappings don’t make you a rancher.” Don spat off to his right and wiped his mouth with a blue kerchief he pulled from a pocket in his overalls.

She couldn’t say she liked this guy’s tone.

He set the pitchfork against the shed. “I manage the place. That’s worth more money.” He abruptly named a figure substantially higher than what Oscar Martin had put in his notes.

The new amount he requested bowled her over. But Jenna refused to let his directness cow her. She figured the amount he’d named was for full management. She’d already planned that by working with him she’d soon be able to cut some of his current part-time hours. But she wasn’t about to share that idea with him now.

“I’m not prepared to pay more than Mr. Martin was paying you.”

“Sorry, that’s what my services are worth, little lady. It’s more than fair.”

Little lady?

Jenna studied his iron jaw. He thought he had her over a barrel. Maybe because she was new to the area or maybe because she was a woman. Either way his demand nettled Jenna. “Like I said, Mr. Winkleman, if you want to continue working for me, at the moment I’ll match what Mr. Martin paid you. At some future date I foresee needing less hours, though.”

“That’s not acceptable.”

“Well, you’re free, of course, to quit.”

The man appeared shocked, then his face hardened and he leaned toward her. “Nobody around knows this business like I do. You’ll regret letting me go.”

Still smarting from her failure to make any headway at the airpark, Winkleman’s attitude left Jenna doubly resolved to stand firm. “Please go. Tomorrow I’ll hire your replacement and drop off a check with Bud Rhodes for the hours you worked today.”

Winkleman took another step toward her and fisted his hands at his sides. “You won’t find anyone in town capable of filling my shoes. Soon enough you’ll come begging and it’ll cost you even more to get me back.”

Andee had silently left the SUV, made her way over and was now clinging to Jenna’s shirttail.

Worried that she may have been foolish to provoke this man she knew nothing about, Jenna deliberately set Andee behind her.

She’d never been more relieved to see a vehicle pull into her lane than at this moment. Whoever drove the newer blue pickup, their timing couldn’t have been better.

The three watched as it drove up and stopped adjacent to the Cherokee. Only then did it cross her mind that the newcomer could be a friend of Don Winkleman’s. Just in case, she eased her cell phone out of her pocket and prepared to dial 9-1-1.

What if this area doesn’t operate on 9-1-1?

Stuck between a glowering Winkleman and the blue pickup, Jenna’s heart pounded.

The door opened and Flynn Sutton, the airpark owner, emerged.

Andee let out a squeal. “Mommy, Mommy, look! Beezer did come to visit me. You said he wouldn’t, but I knew he would.”

Andee nearly mowed Flynn down in her haste to meet his seemingly equally excited dog.

“So it is you,” Flynn said, taking off his mirrored sunglasses as he approached Jenna. “I figured it had to be,” he muttered. “After you left I received a fax from my landlord. Oscar Martin said he’d sold everything and now I owe my rent to the woman who bought him out.”

“You? You rent the house in town?” Jenna’s jaw went slack.

Flynn ran a hand over his close-cropped hair. “Seems so,” he said. Then, as if seeing the other man for the first time, Flynn glanced from him to Jenna and asked, “Is there a problem here?”

She ran an eye over the lean yet muscular pilot who no doubt would come to her rescue if she needed help. But she hadn’t come here to rely on another man.

She’d gone from relying on her dad, to relying on Andrew, to relying on Rob and Melody. A single mother at thirty-one, it was time she took care of herself.

“No problem,” she said. “Mr. Winkleman was just leaving.”

“That I am.” Stalking to his pickup, he yanked open the door and vaulted inside. “You owe me half a day’s wages!”

He slammed the door, started the pickup with a roar and cut the wheels in such a tight turn, he scattered sand in his wake.

Flynn reached out to shield Andee and Beezer from flying dirt.

Sputtering in indignation, Jenna rushed to help. “Andee, honey, are you okay? That was uncalled for,” she said, using both hands to dust off Beezer’s shaggy fur.

“What was that about?” Flynn asked, staring after the truck.

She shrugged. “He worked for Mr. Martin and I let him go. I expect he was blowing steam. Is there something you needed other than to introduce yourself?”

Flynn twisted his lips to one side. “I hate to start our business dealings with a complaint...”

She suppressed a groan. Could this day get much worse?

“But when I went home for lunch, my air conditioner was making funny noises. Before I finished eating, it quit. The house is small, so it didn’t take long to feel like an oven inside. I climbed up on the roof to take a look at the unit—”

“You what? You can’t just... I mean, I would be liable if—”

“I know about all there is to know about an airplane, but I’m afraid I know nothing about air conditioners. It’s leaking. I couldn’t tell from where.”

A knot balled in Jenna’s stomach. Because she’d had to deplete her savings to buy out Oscar Martin, and because Andrew’s death benefits were being held up, she was short of working capital. Everything had cost more than she’d budgeted. The property. The insurance. The Jeep. Even groceries. The last thing she needed after her unsettling encounter with Don Winkleman was another costly problem.

Tugging on her bottom lip, she organized her thoughts. “I’m not familiar with any of the reputable businesses in town. I guess I can check with my Realtor. Do you know a repair service that can send someone to take a look at it?”

“I do.”

“Wonderful. If you don’t mind calling them, since you’ll no doubt need to arrange to be home to let them inside, I’d appreciate it.”

She took the grocery receipt out of her pocket, ripped off one end and jotted her cell number on the back.

“Now, I really have to put my groceries away. And with Winkleman gone, I have chores that need doing.” She struggled a moment with panic, realizing chores she’d never done before and repairing things like Sutton’s air conditioner were suddenly all on her. “If you’ll ask the repair person to call me with an estimate, I’m sure we can get you fixed up ASAP,” she said, not feeling confident at all.

Flynn took the paper and tucked it into a side pocket in his camo pants.

She tried not to think how fine he looked in the T-shirt and pants. How well toned.

He opened the door to his truck and snapped his fingers at the dog. “Come on, Beezer, we gotta go.”

Plainly, Andee was reluctant to release her grip on the big dog. “When can Beezer come to visit again?” she asked. “I wanted Mommy to buy him some doggy bones at the store. She made me put them back ’cause she said Beezer wouldn’t come to our house.” Her tone was decidedly accusatory.

Jenna averted her eyes from the scene as her daughter finally let go of Flynn’s pet and the dog leaped into the pickup.

“Oh, wait,” she said as Flynn started to join his pet. “It’s silly since I own the house, and somewhere in the stuff I got from Mr. Rhodes is the address. I really should make time to drive by and have a look at it.”

“Sure thing.” Flynn reached into his glove box. He plucked out a business card, turned it over and wrote his address. “It’s a dollhouse compared to this place,” he said, handing Jenna the card. Their fingers brushed and they both pulled back so fast the card fluttered to the ground.

Flynn scooped it up. He continued to eye her home as he extended the card by its edge. “Your place is big for two people. It’s pretty remote, too. But, hey, I guess Oscar lived here alone.”

In Jenna’s estimation he could have kept those comments about her home being remote to himself. After all, she was still somewhat disturbed by Don Winkleman’s attitude.

“It’s more space than Andee and I are used to,” she said, tucking her daughter against her right thigh. “We’re going to be happy here, aren’t we, munchkin?” She ran a finger down Andee’s dusty nose.

“We’ve got lots of room for Beezer or a dog like him,” the girl announced, causing Jenna to blush.

Flynn laughed. “G’bye.” He again headed for his pickup and it was the first time Jenna noticed he walked with a limp. She wondered what his story was.

She watched as he got into his pickup and shoved the dog over. He closed the door and rolled down the window, waving as he made a slower turnaround than the one Winkleman had.

Beezer leaned around his master, stuck his big head out the window and barked, his ears flapping.

At the sound of her daughter’s joyous response, Jenna vowed to call Oscar Martin that night to ask if a dog might scare the birds.

CHAPTER THREE

“DO YOU THINK Beezer can have a sleepover with me sometime?” Andee sounded hopeful as she peered up at Jenna.

“Probably not, honey. I don’t think dogs understand what’s enjoyable about a sleepover. Not like kids do. Hey, we have groceries to take into the house.” Jenna went to the Cherokee and lifted out two bags. “Will you grab the milk, please?”

“Okay.” The girl kicked at the dust on the way to the vehicle.

“I know our new home doesn’t have kids nearby to play with. But I’m sure you’ll like helping out with the ostriches.”

“What can I do with them? They’re way bigger than me.”

Jenna glanced at her daughter’s long face as she set one bag down and unlocked the door. “It takes a few weeks for chicks to hatch in the incubator. Tonight I’ll study up on how many chicks it’s advisable to add to our flock.”

“I want lots.”

“We can’t add more than the land will support.” Jenna set her bags on the counter, took the milk jugs from Andee and placed them in the fridge. “Mr. Martin’s notes say chicks grow fast. He said it takes an eighth of an acre to sustain an adult bird. That’s why we’ll sell most of our eggs.”

“I’m hungry. Can I have a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich?”

“I’ll fix us both one right after I bring in the rest of the groceries.”

When she returned with the remaining bags, Andee was sitting at the kitchen table snuggling Cubby Bear. She’d gone back into her shell.

As Jenna stored the things she’d bought, she contemplated checking in town to see if the school or library offered summer classes for kids. Swimming, maybe, or little theater.

Before Andrew’s investigation, Andee and her former school friends had loved to dress up and play make-believe.

As if associating with Colonel Wood’s daughter would somehow rub off on their kids.

After she folded the last empty bag, Jenna got down plates and opened the bread. In the middle of spreading peanut butter, Andee suddenly said, “Can Daddy see us here in our new place?”

Jenna fumbled the knife and it clattered against the plate. “See us how?”

“My Sunday school teacher said Daddy could look down and see me from heaven. She said heaven is up above the clouds. Here, there aren’t many clouds.” Andee’s little face crinkled, worry plain in her eyes.

Jenna carried their plates and the jar of jam to the table. Sitting, she slowly spread strawberry jam on the slices of bread that weren’t covered with peanut butter. Still struggling in her own mind, she cut one sandwich in two and slid it across to Andee.

She’d had a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that Andrew had flown extensively in war zones and returned in one piece, only to die practically in his own backyard in a senseless, controversial accident.

She couldn’t—wouldn’t burden Andee with her own uncertainties.

“Heaven is a huge place, and it’s...everywhere. Do you remember when we drove a long way from home to see a rocket launch?”

Andee nodded. “It went up and up and up, and disappeared.”

“That’s right, the rocket went all the way to the moon, but it still didn’t reach heaven. Do you remember how Grandma said he’s with you every time you think about him?”

“Uh-huh.” Andee stared at her sandwich a moment longer. “Do we get milk to drink?” she asked, placing her bear in an empty chair before she picked up half of her sandwich and took a bite.

More than happy to change the subject, Jenna jumped up, took down glasses and poured each of them a glass of milk.

“What was that bad man doing here before Beezer came to visit?”

Jenna swallowed what she was chewing, then chased it with milk. “I don’t think he’s bad, Andee. He wasn’t happy. He worked for the man I bought the ranch from, but he wanted me to pay him more for doing the job he’d been doing. I didn’t—don’t think that’s right. I told him no.”

“So is that why he got mad and left? What if he comes back?”

“Don’t you worry, okay? Mr. Winkleman thinks I can’t do without his help. Tomorrow, we’ll go into town and find someone else.

“If you’re finished with your sandwich, let’s stack these plates in the sink and go see what he was doing with the ostriches. I’ll bet it’s something you and I can handle.”

“Okay.” Andee slid off her chair and carried her plate to the counter. She went back and collected Cubby Bear, then waited for her mom by the kitchen door.

Jenna took off her earrings, tied back her hair, got out one of three pairs of work gloves she’d bought and led the way to the pens.

“I saw Mr. Winkleman set down this plastic bag when he came out of the shed. Shall we see what’s in it?”

Andee trudged not so enthusiastically after her mom. She held her bear tight to her chest.

“Oh,” Jenna exclaimed, “the bag is filled with ostrich feathers.”

Peering into the bag, Andee asked, “Do the feathers fall off?”

“Some do. Mr. Martin used to only take the feathers during molting season—when they fall off—so we don’t have to hurt the birds to get them. The sale of feathers is one thing that makes raising ostriches profitable. That means, what pays us money,” she added because she saw Andee open her mouth.

Instead the girl asked, “Who wants feathers? What good are they?” She picked one out of the bag and studied it. “It’s big.”

“Ostrich feathers are the only feathers that naturally absorb dust instead of pushing it away. Hmm, I wonder if my feather duster is ostrich... I remember an article I read said some car manufactures like ostrich feathers for the final dusting before they paint a car.

“Stay with the bag for a minute, Andee. I’ll go inside and get his notes.”

“Will you come right back?”

“Yes, silly. And I’ll leave the door open so you can see me.”

Andee nodded.

Because Andee acted so uneasy, Jenna whipped into the kitchen and grabbed up the folder of notes. She was out of breath after running back. “Okay, so that didn’t take long, did it? But, sweetheart, I can’t have you worrying any time I’m out of sight. You used to go out to play catch or to ride Brittany’s bike.”

“At our old house there wasn’t so much nothing,” Andee said, sweeping her arm in an arc that encompassed the desert land beyond the ranch.

“That’s the difference between city living and country living.” Jenna knelt and opened the folder of notes.

“What does it say about the feathers, Mommy?”

“It says the ostrich feathers are soft because the birds don’t fly. They use their feathers to warm them on cold nights and to shade the chicks we’ll return to the pens.”

“So, taking the feathers really doesn’t hurt them?”

“No. It’s like cutting our fingernails and toenails. The loose feathers can safely be plucked.” Jenna gazed through the fence at the tall, gangly birds. “We’ll have to blindfold them, though, to help keep them calm.”

“My teacher used one at Tessa’s birthday party when we pinned the tail on the donkey.”

“The very same... Maybe I was too hasty in firing Mr. Winkleman,” Jenna muttered. “I suspect there’s an art to plucking feathers.”

“Is that the blindfold?” Andee asked, pointing to what looked like a black silk scarf draped over the doorknob of the small shed.

“Sharp eyes. I didn’t notice it hanging there.” Rising, Jenna walked over and picked the item up. “I bet you’re right, Andee. This is soft. It’s folded and sewn so it can be tied.”

“I’m not big enough to help.”

“No, you’re not.” Hauling in a deep breath, Jenna slowly let it out. “I sank all of our money into this operation. I need to buck up and do this.”

Just as she made the proclamation, the same airplane she’d seen and complained about to Flynn Sutton appeared over the row of hills and climbed slowly and noisily as it passed over the ostrich pens like a giant predator. As before, the birds ran in circles when the plane momentarily blocked the sun.

Squinting, Andee tipped her head back. “Is that Mr. Flynn? Do you think Beezer is with him?”

Jenna, who’d held her breath as she’d watched her flock scatter in disarray, didn’t answer until Andee pressed her again. “I don’t think it’s his plane, sweetheart. And Flynn is his first name. Anyway, I doubt his dog flies with him.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. That was me guessing. On the other hand, dogs love to ride in cars... I just wish the pilot would stop flying right over our pens. Listen, I’m going to attempt to gather feathers. If you come stand by this fence, you can see into the small pen. I’ll shoo three or four birds in and see if I can blindfold them one at a time. But don’t you laugh if I mess up,” Jenna ordered, grinning at her daughter.

Andee didn’t laugh; she grew solemn. “What if they bite you, Mommy?”

“Then I’ll turn them loose and definitely hire someone tomorrow to take Mr. Winkleman’s place.”

Nervous, Jenna took the blindfold and marched into the big pen. Opening the gate to the smaller one, she waved the blindfold and cornered four ostriches. As if they knew the drill, the birds high-stepped into the small enclosure. Feeling a tad smug, Jenna smiled to herself—until she saw it was a bin of cracked corn clipped to a rail of the fence that had enticed the ostriches.

After three tries, she managed to tie the silk scarf around one bird’s eyes. It stood still enough for her to move to its back. She gingerly tested a few of the longer feathers. One slipped right out. Afraid of hurting the bird, she worked slowly across the tail until the ostrich grew antsy and began digging its claws into the sandy soil. She only had a dozen or so feathers in her bag. All the same, she untied the blindfold and caught the next bird.

“Are you getting lots of feathers?” Andee called.

“Not so many,” Jenna said. “If Mommy doesn’t get better at this, we won’t be supporting ourselves on feathers.”

The second ostrich was larger and she was more successful. Developing a rhythm, Jenna moved to bird number three. She’d barely tied the blindfold when her cell phone rang to the tune of “Bolero” she’d programmed into it. The penned ostriches hissed and bolted at the raucous noise.

Clamping her teeth together, Jenna yanked off one glove and fumbled the phone out of her pocket. “Hello?” she said loudly, fully prepared to tell her sister she’d have to call her back, because who else would phone her?

Before the caller responded, Andee let out a shrill scream, ending in a wail.

“Mommeee! Momm...eee! That bad bird took Cubby Bear.”

Jenna could see Andee shake the fence as she climbed up the rails and extended her arms toward a strutting ostrich that indeed had the stuffed bear by an ear. The bird vigorously shook the toy from side to side.

She hurriedly stripped the blindfold off bird three and hollered, “Stop! Drop that this instant. Oh, for Pete’s sake.”

Scrambling out of the pen, she waved the phone she forgot she had in her hand. Keeping her quarry in sight, she plowed a path through a flock of birds that had begun to chatter.

“Is everything all right?” Jenna heard a disembodied masculine voice waft from her phone.

“Who is this?” she demanded, bringing the phone to her ear, chasing the ostrich that still had a grip on Cubby.

The child’s wailing had risen to a siren’s pitch.

“It’s Flynn. I repeat, is everything all right?”

“No, it’s not,” Jenna said. “An ostrich has Cubby, and Andee is throwing a fit. Whatever you need, you’ll have to call me later.”

“Uh, sure. Can I help?”

Jenna stuck the phone back into her pocket without answering. She waved her arms at the offending bird.

“Andee, please hush! Your crying is making trapping him harder.”

Of course she didn’t stop crying; she wanted her toy. However, she did cut the decibel level enough for Jenna to slow the ostrich, who ran in circles around her. She discovered that an ostrich could cover a lot of ground on those long, spindly legs.

Wishing she had brought some of the cracked corn with her, she took a calming breath and figured out a way to cordon off the thieving bird. Having foiled his escape route, she swatted his scrawny neck with a glove. The ostrich swung around to peck her, dropping the bear. Triumphant, Jenna grabbed Cubby by a leg—but not before the ostrich drilled her left arm with its beak.

Trying not to react—sure her shirt had a hole and afraid her arm was bleeding—she hurried out the gate.

Andee ran to her, arms outstretched.

As Jenna looked for any damage to the bear and herself, she decided this was not a good beginning to ostrich ranching.

Her phone rang again. Once more the birds closest to the fence stampeded for a canopy.

“Yes? Hello?” Jenna did her best to keep her voice calm.

“It’s Flynn Sutton again. What in blazes is going on over there? I’m at the airpark. Do you and the kid need help?”

“No, but thanks for asking.” Jenna sagged against the metal fence rails. “It’s a long story and I won’t bore you with details. I’m sure you didn’t call to check on my well-being—the first time.”

“Uh, no. I called because the air-conditioning guy can check out the unit today. I have an appointment in town at four that I expect will take about an hour. He said he’d stop by at five. But he thought since you own the place, it’d be a good idea if you were there.”

Jenna looked at her watch. It was three forty-five. She didn’t know where the day had gone. She had maybe a hundred feathers for her effort. Andee had Cubby in a body-lock—but she’d retreated to the side of the shed, where she now huddled, looking anxious.

“That was a mighty sigh,” Flynn said. “Look, if it’s inconvenient for you to get away, I’ll make that clear. I’ll have the repair guy write an estimate. But if you don’t mind, I’ll drop it by this evening. I’d like to have it fixed ASAP. I don’t relish sleeping in an oven.”

“My problems aren’t yours, but your problem with the air conditioner is mine. I’ll clean up and be there at five. Maybe it’ll be something the repairman can fix today.”

“I hope so. Thanks. If I’m not right there on the dot, the repairman’s name is J. D. Fuller. He should be in a panel truck marked with Hometown Electric.”

“All right. Goodbye.” Jenna slid the phone back into her jeans. Happy that blood wasn’t running down her arm, she returned to the pen long enough to retrieve the blindfold she’d dropped. Darting past the curious birds, she latched the gate and crossed the dusty yard to where Andee hovered.

“Is Cubby okay?” Bending, Jenna inspected the brown bear that had been Andee’s favorite toy since he’d been a present for her second birthday. Jenna had done the birthday shopping because, as usual, Andrew had been away. But he’d surprised them by coming home in time, so Jenna had let him give their daughter the bear. From then on Andee associated the stuffed animal with having her daddy home.

Since the funeral, the bear had been her constant companion.

“I thought his ear would be ripped off.” Andee inspected the ear, wet from ostrich spit.

Jenna sponged it dry with a tissue. “I imagine the bird was attracted to the red satin bow around Cubby’s neck. Maybe you didn’t hear us the day Auntie Melody, Uncle Rob and I discussed how ostriches are attracted to shiny things. That’s why I took off my earrings earlier. The bird wasn’t being mean, Andee. Just curious.”

“It scared me.”

“I know, sweetie. You scared me when you screamed.” She gathered her daughter, bear and all, in her arms and trudged to the house. “That was Mr. Sutton on the phone. We’re going to change clothes and meet him at his place.”

“I get to see Beezer again! I wish he was mine.”

This time Jenna recognized when she sighed. Flynn Sutton’s dog was another problem.

Inside the house, Andee set her stuffed toy in a kitchen chair. “Are we going to dress up in dresses to go see Mr. Flynn?”

“No. No, of course not.” Jenna tucked her gloves in a drawer. “You probably don’t even need to change. I was in the dirty pens. I need to shower.”

“We always wore dresses when we went to get Daddy at the airport.”

“Yes, well...Mr. Sutton is not Daddy,” Jenna said through her clogged throat as she headed for her bedroom.

“I want to call him Mr. Flynn, or Flynn, ’cause I like that name better.”

“Maybe he won’t mind, Andee.” She stepped into the shower and turned it on. She took the time to wash her hair.

Chasing ostriches around was hot work. Maybe she should have agreed to pay Don Winkleman more.

Rob and Melody’s skepticism about her ability to make a go of the ranch was proving valid.

She vowed, as she dressed, that she’d do whatever it took.

She felt refreshed and upbeat by the time they left the house.

“It’s hot inside the car, Mommy.”

“I’ve turned on the air. It should cool down soon.” As she adjusted the vents, Jenna felt compassion for Flynn Sutton’s predicament with his home air conditioner. She hoped the repairman could offer an easy fix.

“Do you know where Mr. Flynn lives?”

“I have the address,” Jenna said, turning off the main street and driving in the direction the Realtor had marked on the map. The residential area didn’t look overly prosperous. Not that the homes were in decay, but they were far from being as elegant as the residential areas in Florida and Maryland.

“There. It’s that cream house with the dark green shutters.”

“I don’t see Beezer.”

Jenna rechecked the address on the back of Flynn’s business card. It was the right house. “It’s just five o’clock. Apparently we’ve beaten the repairman and Flynn.”

“Ah, you didn’t call him Mr. Sutton, either.”

Jenna frowned and parked at the curb. Oddly, in spite of counseling Andee on what to call him, she’d begun to think of him as Flynn, too. “He is renting from us, honey, so we’ll probably be on friendly terms.”

A panel truck with the Hometown Electric logo splashed across the side pulled to a stop behind Jenna. She got out of the Cherokee and put on her sunglasses.

“Mr. Fuller?” She extended her hand to the young man, who’d also gotten out.

“Ms. Wood, I guess?” He grinned and briefly touched Jenna’s hand. “Flynn said he might be detained. I’ll just run up a ladder and have a look at the unit.”

“Fine, we’ll wait under that tree.” Even now she felt a trickle of sweat under her bra.

J. D. Fuller was on the roof by the time Jenna saw Flynn’s pickup round the corner. He pulled into the driveway and sprang out of his truck, removing his sunglasses as he greeted her. He wore gray pants and a pale blue short-sleeved shirt that matched the color of his eyes.

He looked as handsome in civilian dress as he did in a flight suit. Better, maybe, she thought grudgingly.

She wished she hadn’t changed into her worn jeans.

Beezer leaped from the pickup, zeroing in on Andee, who greeted him with a big hug.

“Those two are quite a pair.” Flynn smiled at Jenna. “Have you been here long? Any verdict from J.D.?” He squinted up to the top of the roof.

“No, but he’s only been up there a few minutes. I’ve heard some banging around.”

“I’d open up and let you inside, but in this five-o’clock heat it’s probably cooler out here.” Flynn put his sunglasses back on.

“That’s okay. I’m pleasantly surprised to see this home is among the nicer ones on the block. And you have flowers along the front. That’s more than I have.”

“Yeah, I even have a nice patch of grass out back. Oscar said the couple who rented before me loved to garden.

“There, looks like J.D. is finished his inspection.” Flynn moved toward the ladder and Jenna took in his limp again.

The repairman stepped to the ground and adjusted his baseball cap. Waggling his clipboard, he beckoned Jenna closer.

She didn’t like the deep grooves between J.D.’s eyebrows.

“The compressor is shot,” he said.

That didn’t sound good. She could see the two men share a look.

“What does that mean in the way of repairs?” Jenna asked.

“It means you need a new air conditioner. As old as this unit is, it’s more costly to replace a compressor than to buy a new unit with a current SEER factor.”

Jenna glanced between the two, silently asking for more explanation.

Flynn undid his top button to open his collar and rubbed his neck as he hooked his sunglasses on the shirt. “SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. New regulations come out every few years.”

“I see. But this house passed inspection a few weeks ago,” she said. “Shouldn’t I have known about this issue then?”

J.D. shook his head. “When these suckers go, they go fast, often without warning. I maintained this for Mrs. Wilson. It operated fine. Now, poof, it’s shot.”

Taking a deep breath, Jenna pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I have brochures in the truck on the types we handle. Any of them could be installed as soon as possible.” J.D. ripped the sheet off his clipboard and passed it to Jenna. He loped off to the open back of his panel truck, where she heard him rummaging around.

“This is a bummer,” Flynn murmured, eyeing Jenna.

J.D. jogged back and gave Jenna three brochures. “The cheapest we recommend is $5,500 on up to $12,000. For a house this size I suggest the one at $8,000. It’s a workhorse and over the long haul will give you the best bang for your buck.”

All Jenna could think was that $8,000 was way more than a buck. Way more than she had in the savings account. “Is there such a thing as buying used?” she asked hesitantly.

The repairman looked sympathetic. “No.”

Not looking at Flynn, she paced back and forth, trying to figure out what to do. “The truth is I can’t afford any of these air conditioners at the moment. I’ll need to arrange for a bank loan, and I worry that since I’m new in town that may take time.”

The men didn’t respond. Flynn ran a hand through his cropped blond hair. “My rent’s paid up for this month. To be honest, I’ve sunk so much into the airpark I’m sort of strapped for cash, so I’m not in a position to front you the money and take it out in rent.”

Jenna glanced at Andee, who sat beneath the tree pretending to read to the dog.

Turning her gaze on Flynn, Jenna took a deep breath and said in a rush, “All I can think to do is to temporarily offer my upstairs. It’s vacant. Two bedrooms with a full bath. One room has a double bed and dresser and a TV. The movers hooked up cable. The second room has a daybed, a nightstand and bookcase. As for kitchen privileges, I can make room in a cupboard and the fridge. We can set a timetable so we don’t trip over each other.”

Flynn scrutinized Jenna for the longest time, then his dog. Even though Beezer sat in the shade, he was panting hard from the heat. “It isn’t ideal,” Flynn muttered darkly. “I’ll give you a month to square things with the AC. Just so we’re clear, there’s no need to get chummy because we’re sharing a house.”

Jenna’s mouth dropped open, then snapped shut. She sensed heat rising to her cheeks and was sure of it when J.D. said, “My card’s stapled to those brochures. Call when you decide which unit you’d like.” He left in a hurry.

Jenna clutched the brochures, locked in a glaring match with her renter.

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