The Texas Rancher's New Family

Tess’s glance bounced among Copper, Sophie and Glenno before she sat. “They look like Lolly’s,” she offered, tilting a smile toward Sophie’s eager eyes. Actually, Glenno’s eyes looked just as eager.

“But do they taste like Lolly’s?” he encouraged, sitting beside Tess so that she was between him and Sophie. “That’d be the million-dollar question.”

With all three sets of eyes fixed on her, Tess picked up the square and had a bite. It seemed like ten minutes went by, even though Cooper was pretty sure it had only been seconds, before she smiled.

“Mr. Glenno, I think you lived up to your reputation.”

Glenno beamed. Sophie giggled happily. The tension Cooper had felt tighten his chest all day in how he was going to give Sophie the best day he could unwound a bit at the culinary victory.

“These are ninety-nine percent Lolly’s. And I couldn’t rightly say that the lacking one percent isn’t just pure loyalty to Lolly.” She took another bite as Sophie leaned in to watch.

Cooper made a big show of absconding with one of the blondies from the plate and began eating.

“Hey!” Sophie cried out. “No fair. I can test again, too, can’t I?”

As if he could deny Sophie anything on her birthday. Cooper slid the plate toward her while Glenno gave a grunt of victory and picked up the last confection. For a moment everyone ate in blissful silence. Cooper sent a prayer of thanks heavenward for the tiny, spontaneous party.

“You can’t tell her you’ve done this,” Tess said eventually. “I love Lolly too much to let her know you’ve figured out her recipe.”

“I promise you,” Cooper said, not bothering to hide his grin, “she’ll never know.”

“I’d never undercut the woman who made these,” Glenno said. “I’m not out to get anyone. I just like the challenge.”

“I just like the results,” Cooper said as he licked his fingers.

“I just like the eating,” Sophie said, sending them all into laughter. “Glenno, you’re the best. You should do Miss Tess’s brownies next.”

Tess shot Cooper a look. Cooper shot his daughter a look. “Sophie, hon, I promised Miss Tess we wouldn’t let Glenno swipe her grandma’s recipe.”

“Brownies?” Glenno looked intrigued and put out at the same time.

“I saw Dad hide ’em in the hall cabinet.” Sophie pronounced. “Want me to go get ’em?”

She began to slide off the stool until Cooper popped up and snatched the crutches out of her reach. “We’d better have another little chat about the virtues of discretion.”

“Dis-what?”

“Not telling secrets that aren’t yours to tell,” Cooper explained. “What do I always say?”

“Everybody doesn’t need to know everything.” Sophie turned back around and plunked her elbows on the counter. “But you love Uncle Hunter and you say he likes everybody to know everything.”

Proving my point exactly. Sophie was a little sponge, picking up on everything he said whether he liked it or not. “I do love Uncle Hunter. But I don’t always agree with him. Brothers are like that.”

“How would I know?” Sophie had been on a rant lately about not having siblings. He hated how lonely her childhood had been. He had good reasons to keep her from the Pine Method fans and fans from her, but that made for more seclusion than Grace would have ever wanted for their daughter.

Grace, God rest her soul. He seemed to miss his late wife more than ever these days. Back when it had been the three of them, their family unit had felt perfect and complete. But now he was constantly aware of just how thoroughly he’d let Grace carry the burdens of parenting—and how inadequate he was to handle it without her, even with Glenno’s help. There just weren’t enough hours in a day to be the Pine Method professional the world expected him to be and the father Sophie needed him to be at the same time.

And it wasn’t like there was other family to turn to. Hunter had no interest in domesticity and with Grace’s parents halfway around the world and his own folks gone, family was in short supply. Cooper didn’t really feel connected anywhere.

And that was going to change. He pulled Sophie into a hug, ruffling the curls that were so much like her mother’s. “You don’t know, that’s why I’m telling ya.” It was one of the reasons he was trying to get off the Pine Brothers’ tour so he could make a go of settling down somewhere good for her. It had been different when she was very small and Grace was around, but hopping from tour to tour with Glenno and him was proving no way to grow up.

“Do you have brothers, Miss Tess?”

“Two of them. And a sister, too.” She’d caught on to Sophie’s pout, for she added, “They’re not as much fun as you think some of the time.”

“Miss Tess here’s a twin.”

As diversionary tactics went, it was a fine one. “No fooling! Does she look just like you?”

Tess laughed. “I hope not. My twin is my brother Luke. My older sister, Ellie, she’s having twins and they’ll be a boy and a girl, too. Luke and I are going to be their godparents. They’ll be here in June, and I’m sure they’ll be cute as buttons.” She turned her eyes to Cooper. “Will you be here in June?”

“We’ll be here forever,” Sophie cut in.

He really needed to watch what details he gave that girl—or at least make her understand which ones to keep to herself. They still needed to play this close to the vest until he could get over the hump of extracting himself from Hunter.

“Forever?” Tess repeated. She’d caught the split-second exchange of glances that flashed between him and Glenno. “So you are buying?”

Sophie said, “Yep!” at the same time Cooper said, “Maybe.”

How to cover that? Cooper wasn’t foolish enough to doubt his secrecy led to speculation within the Texas community. It was perfectly reasonable for folks to think this ranch would simply take its place on the Pine Brothers’ tour the way Hunter’s ranch north of Houston had. Clearly, the Bucktons wouldn’t be lining up to buy tickets.

This would all be better once he told Hunter. He just had to play it quiet until he could settle it within the family. Then he could exit the show and move forward with his plans to open a therapeutic horse ranch for kids like Sophie

For now he just nodded at his daughter and said, “How about those braids now?”

Chapter Three (#uc92f9a23-bffc-57bf-a886-3c9a261c7cb3)

“So...” Ellie said as she eased her swollen frame next to Tess on the overstuffed wicker couch on Gran’s front porch the next day. “What’s Cooper Pine like?” Ellie and her husband, Nash, had a house in town near the office where Nash was sheriff, but on days when Nash was on duty Ellie often came out to the ranch house where Gran loved to fuss over her very pregnant granddaughter.

“I’m just taking care of my girl,” Gran would always say—even though at eighty-five Gran ought to start letting other people take care of her. Some days it was hard to judge which woman’s body gave her more grief; swollen Ellie or aging Gran.

“He’s nicer than he looks on television,” Tess offered.

Gran gave a scandalous wink. “That must be pretty nice. Those Pine brothers are some fine-looking men. Good horse trainers, too,” she added when Ellie rolled her eyes.

“His little girl is darling,” Tess explained.

“So he’s not married—or not married anymore—but a single dad?” Ellie asked. “How come no one knows about his little girl?”

Fishing for the right words to explain the girl’s situation, Tess offered, “I hope it isn’t her disability. She doesn’t seem to let the fact that she has one leg slow her down a bit.”

“One leg?” Gran’s eyes popped. “Like an amputee?”

“I don’t know,” Tess answered. “She was wearing a frilly dress long enough that it was hard to tell anything beyond the fact that there was only one boot and that she walked with crutches. I didn’t think it was right to ask. She wasn’t wearing a prosthesis, though, and it certainly wasn’t a new injury. She was faster than me on those things.”

“I had no idea,” Ellie said. “Like I said, they never mention a daughter on the show. Yes, I watch,” she admitted when Tess gave her a look. “I have to spend a lot of time off my feet these days and they’re entertaining when they bicker. Reminds me of Luke and Gunner.”

“Or Luke and you, for that matter,” Gran said to Tess. “There were days I thought you two would skin each other alive the way you fought. Did you find out his plans for the place? Is Gunner right to be worried that it will become some tourist attraction?”