The Rancher's Homecoming

Lyndsey flung herself at Annie, and she instinctively held the girl. Sam was a lucky man. She only hoped he realized it.

“Thanks for everything,” he said. Without asking, he accompanied her outside.

“It’s the least I can do. By some miracle those kits survived when few other animals in these woods have.”

“You really think Lyndsey will be okay in the barn?”

“Look, I shouldn’t have said anything earlier. It wasn’t my place.”

“I’m not angry.”

“Honestly, I’ll be surprised if she lasts the entire night. She’ll probably wake you up about midnight, wanting to go inside.”

“Don’t tell me. You’ve spent the night with baby raccoons before.” Amusement lit his eyes.

“Guilty. I was just like Lyndsey and didn’t take my mother’s advice.” She paused at the SUV’s door. “Can I make another suggestion without overstepping?”

“Sure.” He leaned against the hood, crossing his arms and one boot over the other in a sexy stance that was very reminiscent of their younger days.

There’d been a time when she would have leaned against the hood beside him, assuming her own sexy stance.

“Buy Lyndsey a book on raising kits,” she said, focusing her attention on the barn. Anywhere but on Sam.

“Do they sell those in the feed store?”

“If not, order one online or print out articles from the internet.”

“I don’t know.” His brow furrowed. “She’s getting pretty attached to the critters as it is. Learning more about them might make it harder to give them up.”

“Or easier. But that’s not the point.”

He gazed at her with interest. “What is?”

And here she was giving him credit for trying to be an attentive father. “If you have to ask, there’s no use in me explaining.”

“I’m a bit denser than most.”

She huffed. “Spending time with your daughter. Supporting her interests.”

“Like I used to do with yours.”

His grin disarmed her for several seconds, during which a pickup truck and trailer pulled onto the grounds and made its way toward the corrals. Annie recognized the rig and the driver. She also noticed a group of horses she’d missed earlier, milling about in the corral.

“You bought High Country Outfitters’ string.”

Sam nodded, clearly pleased. “I’m also having Lyndsey’s old pony and a few other seasoned work horses from California shipped out.”

“That ought to get you started.”

He didn’t make a move to help Will unload the new arrivals. Then again, Will didn’t require help.

“I hired Will, too. Oh, and Irma Swichtenberg.”

“You hired our housekeeper?” Annie spun so fast the open SUV door caught her in the back.

“Your mother sent her by.”

“My mother!” It couldn’t be true. Sam was mistaken. “Why would she do that?”

“Irma needed a job.”

“She has one with us.”

“Even if you rebuild the inn, it’ll take months. Irma can’t wait that long.”

Annie heard only one thing. “If I rebuild the inn?”

“All right, when. But in the meantime, you have to be realistic. Irma needs to work. She has a lot of kids depending on her.”

“I am being realistic. I’m probably the most realistic person here.”

His brows formed a deep V. “And I’m not?”

“A guest ranch? Seriously? This town is dying a slow death. No one wants to come here and they won’t, not until the forest regrows. And that could take decades.”

“So, why rebuild the inn?”

Anger rushed in, filling the gaping hole left by his careless remark. “The Sweetheart Inn has been in my family for over fifty years. It’s the heart of Sweetheart.”

“I understand that.”

“I thought you did,” she retorted. “Now I’m not sure.”

“As soon as you’ve finished construction, you can hire her back.”

His conciliatory tone didn’t assuage her. “She’ll come, too. She’s loyal to us.”

“Nothing I’d like more than for you to rehire all your former employees.”

That threw her for a loop. “Aren’t you afraid of the competition?”

“No.”

His lack of concern only made Annie angrier. “Because you think we can’t do it.”

“Because there’s room in Sweetheart for two hospitality establishments. Besides—” his grin widened “—there isn’t anyone I’d rather be in competition with than you.”

He was absolutely infuriating.