Falling For The Rancher

Clearly eavesdropping from her seat at the round table, Mabel gave him a smug smile.

“I just wanted to offer a little friendly advice,” Beth continued. “If you can, take things a bit slow. Settle in. Get to know people. And if you’re going to fire everyone at the vet clinic right off the bat—”

“I haven’t,” Logan said quietly. Yet.

“But that’s the word on the street, as they say. Not because your employees are blasting the news all over town,” Beth added quickly. “There might have been...uh...a client who overheard something while in the waiting room...who happened to stop here at the café, where no secret is ever kept. Ever.”

The waitress scuttled up to the booth and delivered his hamburger, then fled back to the kitchen. “Sounds like my hometown in Montana,” Logan said.

“Businesses have failed here over far less, and you don’t want to drive every last client to some other vet practice in the next town. Just be prepared.”

“Thanks.”

“People care about each other here. And they are as friendly as can be.”

He eyed the other customers in the café, who definitely didn’t appear friendly at all. “I’ll have to take your word on that.”

“I promise you, this really is a wonderful town. There are all sorts of seasonal celebrations that draw crowds of tourists. And I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t have at least one pet, so you’ll be plenty busy.” She gathered her purse and stood. “And I know you’ll really like the staff at the clinic when you get to know them. I’ve been taking our pets there all of my adult life, and they provide excellent care.”

“Good to hear.” He poked at his hamburger, which appeared to be very well done, and cold to boot.

“Dr. Leighton in particular—did you know she completed some sort of special residency after vet school? I don’t recall, exactly. Surgery, maybe. Or was it medicine? I know that she received some pretty big honors. There was an article on her in the local newspaper when she first came to town. Dr. Boyd was really thrilled when he was able to hire her.”

So here was yet another pitch, though delivered more skillfully than most. “I’ll be sure to ask her about it.”

Beth nodded with satisfaction. “I’ve got to get back to my store, but it’s been nice to meet you. God bless.”

He waited until she left, then cautiously lifted the top bun on the burger. Though nothing unexpected appeared inside, the patty was charred to the point of being inedible—yet another message from the good people of Aspen Creek.

So maybe it was for the best that Darcy had railroaded him into keeping her on for a few months, he realized with chagrin.

He could now become acquainted around town, try to avoid alienating any more of the residents and thus improve the chances that his vet practice would succeed. With a new clinic website, a Facebook page and announcements in the regional horse magazines, word would spread, and maybe he could start his life over again, away from the shadow of his past.

All he needed was time.

Chapter Two (#ubec16442-5493-5349-889b-d4716c13d638)

After the Easter service at the Aspen Creek Community Church, Darcy drove up the long lane winding through a heavy pine forest to Dr. Boyd’s house, knowing this was probably a big mistake.

Logan certainly hadn’t been friendly when he’d first arrived at the clinic on Friday. He’d been gruff and completely lacking in empathy toward her and the clinic staff. He was clearly looking forward to firing them all.

And he probably wouldn’t accept her invitation anyway. So why had she even bothered to come?

Because, she muttered under her breath, she should treat him as kindly as she would any other newcomer, even if she had yet to find anything likable about him whatsoever.

“What, Mommy?” Emma chirped from her new booster seat in back.

“Just talking to myself, sweetie.” Darcy’s mood brightened. Maybe Logan had a wife and kids, and they were all celebrating Easter by themselves, though something about him made her guess that he was probably alone. That would be no surprise, if he was cold to everyone.

She looked up at Emma in the rearview mirror. “I’m guessing that Dr. Maxwell might not want to join us for dinner, but we’ll see.”

Emma sat up a little straighter to look around and squealed with delight at her surroundings as the house and barn came into view. “Will Barney be here?”

I wish. I wish everything was still the same—that the old sheepdog would come romping out of the barn to meet us, and that Dr. Boyd would be here, too.

He’d been more than a mentor during the seven months she’d worked with him. He’d been kind and perceptive and caring, like the grandfathers she’d never known but had pictured. He’d helped her get through the bleakest time of her life.

But now he was gone, and nothing would ever be the same again.

“Barney lives with Marilyn now, sweetie. Remember? And Dr. Boyd is up in heaven.”

“Can we go see Barney?” Emma asked somberly.

“Of course we can. Maybe tomorrow.” Darcy pulled to a stop in front of the sprawling, rustic log home with river rock pillars and rock siding at the front porch. Set in the shade of towering pines, the house blended into its surroundings and matched the hip-roofed barn and wood-fenced corrals.

It had been the home of her dreams, but the house and clinic had been far beyond her financial reach.

A gleaming black crew cab Dodge pickup with Montana plates was parked in front of the garage, so apparently Logan was home. She stepped out of her SUV, smoothed her peach linen skirt and helped Emma out of her booster seat.

Twisting a strand of her blond hair around her finger, the four-year-old frowned and looked around. “Will there be Easter baskets here?”

“At home,” Darcy promised. She bent down to fluff the layers of pink ruffles cascading from the waist of her daughter’s dress. “We won’t be here long.”

A spiral-sliced ham was waiting in the oven back at the cottage, and creamy mashed potatoes were staying warm in a Crock-Pot. Several colorful salads were finished and in the fridge. But the day seemed strange again this year, with just the two of them to celebrate the joy of Easter.

It had to be different for Logan, as well, assuming he had observed the usual Easter traditions back in Montana. Then again, was he even a believer? Beyond the fact that he’d arrived intending to fire her, she knew nothing about him.

At the sound of hammering out past the barn, she took Emma’s hand and headed that way, taking in the contrast of the many new boards that now replaced the broken ones.

As they rounded the barn, he came into view. He eyed the three-plank oak fence line stretching toward the heavy timber to the west. Tapped a top board upward into perfect alignment and nailed it in place.

“Hello there,” Darcy called out. “Happy Easter.”

He spun around, clearly startled, and frowned as he dropped the hammer into a loop on his low-slung tool belt. He gave them a short nod.

It wasn’t much of a greeting, but she resolutely strode forward with Emma in tow. “Looks like you’ve been working hard since you got here.”

“Yesterday and today.” He tipped his head toward the corral. “I need at least one safe corral finished before I can go back for my horses and the rest of my things.”

Emma had shyly hung back behind Darcy, but now she took a tentative step forward. “You have horses?”

His cool demeanor softened as he looked down at her. “Just two. Drifter is a pretty palomino mare just about the color of your hair, and Charlie is a bay gelding with four white socks and a blaze. I’ve had him since I was twelve.”

She looked up at him in awe. “I want a pony but Mommy says not ’til I’m bigger. That’s too long.”

Darcy cleared her throat, knowing all too well where that conversation was heading. “We actually stopped by because I figured you don’t know anyone in town yet, and thought you might like to join us for Easter dinner this afternoon. I didn’t think to ask you when we first met on Friday.”

“Well, I...”