Her Wyoming Hero

“Don’t you guys have fun without me!” he said to the two of them.

Johnny laughed. “You’re funny, Uncle Ross.”

No sound came out of Andy. He just looked at him in bewilderment before Ross took off. At least that was a change from the scowl he’d worn during the drive from the airport.

Ross reached his room and changed into his black trunks. After grabbing a towel, he hurried back down and belly flopped next to Johnny on purpose, causing him to laugh. Ross noticed Andy sitting in a deck chair by himself.

“Come on, Johnny. Let’s go talk to him.” As he hoisted him on his shoulders, he saw Kit come out on the patio carrying a rolled-up towel.

“Hi, everybody!” In seconds she removed her wrap. Ross’s breath caught to see her shapely body clad in a light blue bikini dive into the deep end of the pool from the side. When she surfaced, she swam over to her son. “I brought your suit in the towel. If you change your mind, use the cabana.”

When he didn’t respond, Ross said, “We’re going to play sharks and minnows.”

Johnny’s head jerked around. “Hey—I haven’t played that game before.”

“It’s a new one I’ve been waiting to teach you. I’m the shark and you guys are the minnows. I’ll be at the end of the pool. You and Kit get up on the side of the deck. I’ll call out, sharks and minnows, one two three, fishies, fishies swim to me. That’s when you’ll dive in and swim to the other side. If I don’t catch you, then you’ll be the shark for the next round. If I do, then you’ll stay a minnow.”

Johnny giggled. “That sounds silly.”

He grinned. “You think? Just wait until I come after you.” His gaze swerved to Kit who’d climbed up on the deck ready to play. Ross had a devil of a time concentrating when he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Come on, Johnny. Let’s see if we can beat this big shark at his own game.” The way she’d said it heightened Ross’s anticipation.

“Yeah!” Johnny got out of the water and walked over by her.

“Sharks and minnows—” Ross called out after coughing. The game was on. They must have played six rounds, but Ross beat them every time. Both she and Johnny came up laughing and spurting.

“How come you guys can’t catch me?” Ross baited them. “I thought you said this was a silly game, Johnny.”

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Andy, who’d come out of the cabana in his suit and was watching. Well, what do you know. Nothing like a little healthy competition.

“Come on, Andy,” Johnny shouted when he saw him. “Help us win!”

Once again they lined up along the side, but this time Andy had joined them. “Sharks and minnows—” Ross called out. There was plenty of splashing as everyone dived into the pool. Ross went after the other two first so he would barely miss tagging Andy.

“Hey—now Andy’s a shark!”

“He sure is, Johnny.” Ross smiled at Kit’s son. “How did you learn to swim so fast?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re good!” Ross climbed up next to Johnny and Kit. She thanked him with her eyes. While he was still staring into them Andy shouted, “Sharks and minnows—” The boy was a quick study.

By Ross losing his concentration, Andy tagged him and Kit with no problem. That made Johnny the winner.

“Bravo!” another voice called out.

“Mom!” Johnny cried. Tracy had just come out to the pool. “Uncle Ross taught us a new game and I won this time! Put your suit on and get in.”

“Honey, it’s late. The pool is closed now. Time to get out.”

“Oh, heck.”

“Your mom’s right, Johnny. But there’s always tomorrow.”

He scrambled out of the pool to his mother who wrapped him in a towel. After kissing him, she said, “It looks like we have some new guests.”

“Yup. That’s Andy and his mom, Kit. They’re from Maine.”

Ross took over. “Kit Wentworth? Meet Carson’s wife, Tracy.”

“It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Lundgren. Andy and I are thrilled to be here.”

“We’ve all been looking forward to your arrival, haven’t we, Johnny.”

“Yeah. Please, will you come riding with us in the morning?”

Andy shrugged. “I guess.”

“Goody! We’ll let you pick out one of the ponies to ride, but I think you’ll like Raindrop. She’s a dappled gray. You’re older than we are and she’s a little bigger than the others. She likes apple nuggets for a treat.”

Ross chuckled. “She does love those.”

Kit smiled. “I can’t wait to see her. With that settled, we’d better get out of the pool and change. After our long flight we’re about ready for bed and will see all of you tomorrow. Come on, Andy.”

“Bye, Andy. See ya later.” Johnny walked away with his mother.

“Bye.”

Ross turned to his guests. “I’ll meet you in the foyer in five minutes to drive you back to the cabin.”

“We’ll hurry,” she assured him.

Before long the three of them met by the front desk where there were a few guests checking in. Ross was pleased to see their normal dude ranch business was continuing to grow.

Willy looked up. “Hey, Ross—I see they found you.” But his eyes were so focused on Kit, Ross would have laughed if the situation weren’t so precarious. Her dark hair still had natural curl when it was damp. She looked good. Too good. He had to remember they were honoring her husband’s memory.

“We did,” Kit spoke up. She appeared oblivious to Willy’s gawking. “Thank you.”

Ross walked them through the front door to the parking area on the side of the ranch house. “We’ll go in the truck.” He opened the rear passenger door for them, and they climbed inside.

Once on their way, he heard Andy talking to his mother in the back. “That Johnny’s funny.”

“He’s very cute. I think it will be fun to go riding with him.”

“Ponies are for babies.”

“Johnny didn’t look like a baby to me.”