Long Road Home

“There’s more where that came from. I brought in a small cooler and put it under the table. Consider it your reward for all your fine work.”

“You’re a gem.” He tucked the beer in the crook of his arm, filled a plate with food, and walked over to where Olivia sat on a leather-covered ottoman.

She glanced up, welcome in her blue eyes. “Hi, there. I’d offer you a seat, but there isn’t one.”

“No worries.” Setting his plate on a nearby end table, he crouched down next to her. Rodney took a spot right by his feet. “I’m used to making do.” He unscrewed the cap on his beer and took a swallow. “That’s quite a spread Mary Lou put on.”

“See, I told you to stay for the food.”

He didn’t say what he was thinking, that he’d eat twigs and leaves if he could be near her while doing it. “You were right.” He noticed that Rodney was staring up at him as if he hadn’t had a decent meal in a week. “The dog thinks so, too.”

“Don’t feed him anything. Sarah has him on a special diet. He’s overweight.”

“How can you tell with a basset hound? They’re all sort of roly-poly.”

“Beats me, but she wants him to be able to fit into his life vest and it’s still a little tight.”

Wyatt blinked. “His what?”

“One reason she wanted to adopt him, besides the fact he’s adorable, was his tracking ability. Sarah’s always wanted a tracking dog on the ranch. Butch and Sundance, the two mixed breeds living down in the barn, aren’t particularly good trackers.”

“So what’s that got to do with a life vest?”

“There are streams and ponds all over the property, and basset hounds can’t swim. Their bones are too dense.”

“They are?” Wyatt looked down at Rodney. “I didn’t know that.”

“Me either, but Sarah researched it. If she wants to turn him loose to do his tracking, he has to wear a life vest so he won’t accidentally fall in the water and drown.”

Wyatt took another swig of his beer and glanced down at Rodney. “I’m getting quite a visual here, Rod. I’m thinking YouTube video star, aren’t you?”

Olivia laughed. “I think you’re on to something. Definitely bring a camcorder next time you come to the ranch.” She picked up her empty plate and stood. “Well, time for me to get back to work. You can have the ottoman.”

Wyatt rose, too. “Actually, I think I’ll take my plate, my beer and the dog into the kitchen. I’ll just be in the way out here.”

“I heard that.” Morgan, little SB on her hip, walked toward him. “Don’t think you can sneak out of here that easy. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say we’d love for you to hang around.”

“Yes, we definitely would,” said Dominique from her spot on one of the couches.

Wyatt wasn’t sure where this was headed. He glanced over at Olivia, but she was already settled into her chair and preparing for her next customer. “Hey, I’ll just cramp your style,” he said to the room in general. “Rodney and I will be fine in the kitchen, right, Rod?”

The dog gave him a doleful look.

“Our style isn’t that easily cramped,” Morgan said. “And we need somebody to tend the fire and add wood. We’ll all have fresh manicures and can’t do that.” She looked up at him. “Unless you’re planning to get a manicure, too, in which case we—”

“I’m not getting a manicure.”

“See? So you’d be perfect, then. Instead of a designated driver we need a designated fire tender.”

Wyatt had to hand it to these Chance women. They were very good at maneuvering a guy into doing what they wanted. “Then I’d be honored to watch the fire for you.”

“Excellent.” Morgan beamed at him. “Besides, it’s not every day we get the opportunity to talk to a single guy without our husbands around to kibitz.”

He gave her a wary look. “Talk about what?”

“What else?” Morgan’s green eyes twinkled. “Men!”

4

OLIVIA ALMOST FELT SORRY for Wyatt, who looked somewhat like a cornered animal. But he was a big boy, and besides, she was curious to see how this would turn out.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” he said.

“Let me explain.” Morgan shifted SB to her other hip. “Most of us in this room are married, and the ones who aren’t are getting closer by the day.”

“Not true,” Mary Lou said. “I’m never marrying that old fool Watkins, and you can quote me on that.”

“Emmett still has a burr under his saddle about the size of my bank account,” Pam said. “So I don’t see us tying the knot anytime soon, either.”

All attention focused on Sarah, the remaining single lady other than Olivia. Sarah was blushing.

Morgan paused expectantly. “Well? Do you have news at long last?”

She cleared her throat. “I guess it’s okay to say something.”

Dominique laughed. “At this point, I think it’s required to say something, Sarah. We’re all dying of curiosity. Have been for months.”

“Well, Pete and I have talked about it, but we haven’t set an actual—”

Squeals of joy erupted as everyone ran over to hug Sarah. Olivia, who didn’t feel she knew Sarah quite well enough to be part of the hug fest, motioned Wyatt over to the manicure table so she could fill him in on the meaning of the uproar.

He walked over, carrying his beer. “Who’s Pete?”

“Peter Beckett. He’s a local philanthropist. He and Sarah put together a youth program that begins here in two weeks. They’ll be boarding several problem teens and giving them a chance to work at the ranch for the summer.”

Wyatt’s eyes widened. “Hey, that’s cool.”

“It is. Really cool. And everyone’s suspected a romance between the two of them, but Sarah always denied it before.”

“She looks happy. Is this Peter guy good enough for her?”

“Her sons all like him, so I’d say he has the Chance stamp of approval.”

Emotion flickered in Wyatt’s soft gray eyes. “I have a feeling that’s not so easy to get.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll work out between you and Jack.” She gazed up at him. “You already have a lot of support right in this room.”

“I hope so. I’d enjoy being part of life around here.”