The Rancher's Surprise Baby

by Trish Milburn

  “Hey, Mandy—”

  The greenish-gold glow of eyes from the edge of the darkness drew her attention, and in the next moment she saw the mountain lion edge into the light, its focus on Ben, who didn’t see him.

  “Ben, watch out!”

  Ben turned, the cat moved closer and Mandy reached inside the house and grabbed Ben’s rifle all within the space of one breath. She brought the rifle to her shoulder and for the first time in her life fired a weapon.

  Chapter Seven

  Ben jumped at the sound of the shot, but he wasn’t the only one. The big cat jerked then sprinted away into the darkness. Without taking his eyes away from the spot where the mountain lion had disappeared, he started walking backward toward Mandy’s tiny house.

  “You okay?” he called out.

  When she didn’t answer, he spared a glance toward her to find Mandy standing there with a wide-eyed, stunned look on her face.

  “Mandy?”

  “I’m fine,” she said, but her voice disagreed.

  He closed the distance between them and took the rifle from her. Even without touching her, he could tell she was shaking. He gripped her shoulder and guided her inside, following close behind with a searching look out at the surrounding darkness. The cat was probably still running in the opposite direction, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

  He closed the door, propping the rifle in the corner next to it.

  “I shot a gun,” Mandy said, sounding as astonished as if she’d just completed a triathlon.

  “Yep, but that cat’s lucky you’re a terrible shot,” he said, trying to lighten the mood.

  She shook her head. “I didn’t aim at him. I was afraid I’d shoot you instead.”

  “That would really beat the pigeon to the head.”

  She looked up at him then pushed both hands against his chest. “It’s not funny. I thought that lion was going to attack you.”

  He sobered at her obvious concern, how the encounter still shook her despite the moment of danger being over.

  “Hey, it’s okay.” When she bit her lip, he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. That she sank against him and didn’t make a funny remark told him just how scared she’d been. “We’re both safe.”

  Mandy tried to shake her head, but it didn’t really work with her cheek next to his chest. Despite how a part of him wanted to keep her right where she was, he didn’t prevent her from stepping away and taking the few steps available toward the back of the small structure. When she turned to face him, she planted one hand on her hip and gestured toward the outdoors.

  “This wouldn’t have happened if you’d just listened to me and let me stay at the shop.”

  Irritation flamed up inside him, but before he said something he couldn’t take back, he remembered that this was how Sloane handled things when she felt threatened or was scared. She lashed out. Maybe Mandy used the same coping mechanism.

  He crossed his arms and just stared at her, unwilling to give her more fuel.

  Unlike with Sloane, his lack of response seemed to douse her anger. With a wilting exhalation, she sank down onto the small couch. He dropped his arms and sat beside her.

  “If this hadn’t happened tonight, it might have been some other time when I wasn’t here,” he said. “I really don’t like you being here alone with that lion lurking around.”

  “I can’t uproot my entire life. Not having my car is bad enough.”

  He pulled out his phone and started a text.

  “Who are you texting?”

  “One of the wildlife officers I know. They need to take care of that cat.”

  She suddenly gripped his arm. “Don’t let them kill it. He’s only doing what’s natural.”

  Ben knew the end result depended entirely on if the cat was found before someone was hurt or worse, but he nodded before sending the message. He continued to stare at his phone as he considered his next words.

  “I think you should stay at our house until the lion is caught.”

  “I appreciate your concern, but I’ll be fine. Believe me, I’m not stepping foot outside the door. And I might be sleeping with that rifle right by the bed, as uncomfortable as that makes me. That or a skillet. I doubt he’d enjoy a skillet to the head.”

  Ben shook his head slowly. “Now who’s stubborn?”

  “Birds of a feather, I guess.”

  Her fear of a few minutes before had faded, leaving behind the personality that she must have had all along but that for some reason he’d only just noticed in the past couple of days.

  “Would you like to go out sometime?”

  She turned her head to look at him in a way that made him think that perhaps she thought she’d misheard what he’d said.

  “You heard me right. That’s what I was going to ask you before I was interrupted by ‘Mr. Kitty.’”

  She smiled at his use of her too-sweet moniker for the mountain lion. Then she looked down at the floor for a moment before nodding.

  “Okay.”

  “Well, don’t sound so excited about it.”

  She pushed at his leg. “Don’t push your luck. I might change my mind.”

  He kept his mouth shut.

  * * *

  MANDY STARED OUT her kitchen window, wondering where her feline visitor of the night before was. The cat’s second appearance had scared her so much more than the first. The fear she’d felt when she’d seen the cat creeping toward Ben still made her sick to her stomach.

  But she had to say the night had ended pretty darn well, though his asking her out created a different kind of fear. She couldn’t remember ever being this excited and anxious at the same time. And she didn’t like not knowing why things happened, and she really didn’t know why it was Ben who got her all twisted up inside and why now. It wasn’t as if he was one of the rodeo cowboys who came to town and turned her head, someone she’d never met before. Some of her friends had fallen for just those types of men.

  But then her best friend had fallen for someone she’d known for years, albeit someone she’d once had a crush on. Mandy had never thought much about Ben other than the obvious realization that he wasn’t ugly. Of course she’d never spent much time with him either. Would she have felt this way sooner if she had?

  Honestly, the answers to those questions didn’t matter. The fact was she had the hots for him now, and his asking her out gave her the opportunity to do something about it. He wasn’t going to be her Mr. Forever, but she didn’t mind him being Mr. Right Now. There were certainly worse ways she could spend her free time. She just needed to be sure that her mom didn’t think they were serious.

  She paced the length of her tiny house a couple of times, and for the first time she wished it was bigger. But only because she needed more pacing room. What was she going to do with an entire day off when she was hesitant to go outside and didn’t have a car at the ready? She might not make it to her date with Ben, whenever that ended up materializing, because it was quite possible she was going to go crazy from being trapped in a twenty-by-twenty-six-foot box.

  With nothing to do, she looked up the number to the wildlife management office and dialed for an update on the search for the mountain lion. When the man on the other end of the line answered, she identified herself and why she was calling.

  “You’ve got perfect timing,” he said. “I just got a call that they tranquilized the lion about ten minutes ago. They’ll be relocating him to a more remote area.”

  “How far away?”

  “Couple hundred miles.”

  Mandy exhaled in relief, then had a troubling thought. “Could there be more than the one of them?”

  “Not likely. There’s no evidence of more than the one male.”

  “Thanks. You have no idea how you’ve ma
de my day.”

  He chuckled. “Here to serve, ma’am.”

  Mandy felt as if she’d been sprung from solitary confinement and immediately went to open the front door. It didn’t matter if it did feel like an oven outside, she was going to breathe fresh air. She was well aware that many times she’d spent an entire day indoors reading or watching movies with no thought to craving the great outdoors. But she supposed it was the allure of the thing you couldn’t have, like chocolate cake when you were trying to lose a few pounds.

  Or Ben Hartley in her bed right now when he was probably out doing whatever ranchers did.

  “Ha! Where did that come from?” But she knew. Her attraction to Ben had been building from the moment they’d faced each other in the Primrose Café parking lot. That attraction had led to a lot of fantasies.

  Stop thinking about a naked Ben Hartley.

  But the image refused to vacate her mind. Oh, well, she had nothing better to do, so she might as well go visit. Maybe she’d see if his mom needed any help. She’d claim she was just being neighborly, when in reality it would be one part paying him back for dinner the night before and all the rides to and from work and one part the opportunity to ogle. She was young and in her prime, after all. A bit of ogling was perfectly natural, maybe even a health benefit.

  Her mom had taught her to never arrive at someone’s house empty-handed, so she whipped up a batch of homemade cheese straws because she needed something that was easy to carry. And if Ben happened to like them, so much the better. She wrapped the bag of cheese straws in an ice pack so they wouldn’t be ruined by the time she reached the Hartley ranch. She tossed the bag and her purse into a small backpack and retrieved her bike from underneath its cover beside the house.

  Cognizant that the country roads didn’t have more than a few inches of gravel shoulder, she was careful to listen for vehicles and to get past blind curves or hills as quickly as she could. In a couple of spots, she got off the bike and walked beside the road. By the time she reached the Hartleys’ driveway, she thought perhaps she was insane. Why had she thought that showing up hot and sweaty would make Ben go, “Oh, yeah, I’m so glad I asked her out.”

  Oh, well, she wasn’t about to turn around and retrace her route now. Considering she’d not even had the foresight to bring a bottle of water with her, she’d probably die of dehydration on the way back. So she needed to deliver the cheese straws, availing herself of the Hartleys’ air-conditioning and a glass of water for a few minutes, at the very least.

  Her stomach grew nervous as she made her way up the drive toward the stone house and adjacent garage. She spotted the barn and a few other outbuildings and wondered which was Ben’s leather shop. An image of him in there working on a saddle wearing nothing but a pair of snug jeans had her thinking she might just have to stick her head in Mrs. Hartley’s freezer.

  Since there were so many members of the Hartley family, she was surprised to not see anyone out and about on her approach. Not even a dog came out to greet her. She leaned her bike against a tree and made her way toward the front door, fanning her face in an effort to relieve some of the heat that seemed to throb in her cheeks. Just as she was about to knock, she wondered if that was a good idea. What if Mrs. Hartley was home alone and she wasn’t supposed to be on her feet? Surely they wouldn’t leave her without at least one person to help her.

  The sound of quick footsteps inside led her to believe it wasn’t Ben’s mom hurrying to the door. It turned out to be his younger sister Angel.

  “Mandy?” She looked past her to where the vehicles were parked. “How did you get here?”

  “Would you believe I took temporary leave of my senses and rode my bike?”

  “Yep, you’re crazy. Get in here before you melt.” Angel stood back and ushered Mandy inside. Mandy thought she’d been thankful for air-conditioning when she’d arrived home the evening Ben had crashed into her car. That was nothing compared to now. She was in danger of figuring out time travel just so she could go back in time to lay a big ol’ smooch on Mr. Carrier’s face for inventing AC.

  Angel led her to the kitchen, where Mrs. Hartley was sitting at the table with her foot propped up on another chair, a fluffy towel below it and an ice pack on top.

  “Honey, you’re as red as a tomato.”

  “I might have forgotten sunscreen.” She really hadn’t thought this trip through beyond “Ben is sexy. Want to see Ben,” had she?

  When Mrs. Hartley made to stand, Angel pointed her finger at her mother. “Don’t even think about it.”

  Mrs. Hartley made a sound of frustration deep in her throat. “They’re treating me like an invalid.”

  “Your ankle is swollen and purple. Mine aren’t.”

  Mrs. Hartley shook her head then patted the table in front of the chair across from her. “Have a seat before you fall over.”

  Mandy placed the backpack into another empty chair and pulled out the cheese straws. “Thought maybe you could use some snacks totally devoid of nutritional value.”

  Mrs. Hartley laughed at that. “I haven’t had a cheese straw in forever. I’m going to have to hide these or they’ll be gone in two minutes flat as soon as the rest of the gang arrives.”

  Angel set a glass of lemonade in front of Mandy, and she barely resisted pressing it to her cheeks and forehead. “Bless you.”

  “So what brings you over here?” Angel asked as she slipped into the chair at the end of the table between her mom and Mandy.

  If she wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of a grin tugging at the edges of Angel’s lips. Was Mandy that transparent or had Ben said something? If the latter, what had he said?

  And what was she, fourteen years old? This was obviously payback for how she’d teased and prodded Devon to go for it with Cole.

  “Ben said you’d gotten hurt,” Mandy said, directing her answer at Mrs. Hartley rather than Angel. “I wanted to see if I could do anything to help. I know running a place like this must take all hands on deck.”

  “We do need some help with the bull castrations,” Angel said.

  Mandy couldn’t see herself, but she was pretty sure her eyes widened like those of a cartoon character.

  Angel’s immediate laughter let Mandy know that not only was she being teased but that Ben wasn’t the only one in the family with a sense of humor.

  “You should have seen your face,” Angel said.

  “That’s just mean,” Mrs. Hartley said. “I swear I didn’t raise them like that.”

  “Now, don’t you sit there and act as if you’ve never stretched the truth,” Angel said. “I distinctly remember a time when you told me that carrots were candy. That’s why the Easter Bunny liked them.”

  Mrs. Hartley grinned. “Got you to eat your carrots, though, didn’t it?”

  “But I haven’t eaten one since fourth grade.”

  “Oh, well, it was a good run.”

  Mrs. Hartley took a bite of one of the cheese straws. “Mmm, that’s good.”

  “I can’t make them too often. I inhale them. I’d end up looking like a giant cheese straw.”

  “Nonsense. You’re a lovely girl. I told Ben the same thing.”

  Mandy nearly choked on her cheese straw.

  Angel shook her head. “At least I was trying to be subtle about it.”

  Mandy looked at the youngest of the Hartley siblings. “Sorry to tell you, but you weren’t very successful.”

  Mrs. Hartley reached across and table and patted Mandy’s arm. “I like you.”

  The feeling was mutual.

  “Since you’re here,” Angel said, “do you mind staying with Mom while I go get Julia from the school bus?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Thanks.”

  Angel had barely made it off the porch when Mrs. Hartley asked, “Have you
cooled off enough that we might venture out to my garden? The girls say they’ve been taking care of it, but I’ll admit I’m particular about my garden.”

  “My mom is the same way.”

  Mrs. Hartley nodded. “I remember your mom winning quite a few blue ribbons at the fair with her vegetables. She’s got a magic touch.”

  “She does indeed. I’m trying to get her to stop working her second job and instead make food products we could sell in the shop. So far, she’s only agreed to think about it.” With strings attached, but Mandy wasn’t going to tell Ben’s mom about that little detail.

  “We old ladies are set in our ways.”

  “You’re not old.”

  Mrs. Hartley pointed at her ankle. “I sure felt it when I pulled that klutz move.”

  “You’re supposed to stay off it,” Mandy said, finally responding to Mrs. Hartley’s earlier question.

  “I have crutches, and if I stay in this house a minute longer, I might go completely bananas. I wasn’t made to sit still.”

  “I’m beginning to think you and my mom are sisters separated at birth.” Mandy retrieved the crutches from where they were leaning against the kitchen counter and handed them to the other woman. She gave Ben’s mom a helping hand in standing and getting to the back door.

  As they approached the garden, Mandy retrieved a sturdy metal lawn chair, not one of the flimsy fold-up types, and placed it at the edge of the garden. When Mrs. Hartley sat down, Mandy grabbed a five-gallon bucket and turned it upside down for her to use as a footstool.

  Mrs. Hartley started to give her direction, but she stopped midsentence when she noticed Mandy had already begun to weed around some of the tomato plants.

  “Well, I see you have experience in your mother’s garden.”

  “Some of my first memories are of sitting in the garden playing in the dirt as my mom weeded and watered and generally coaxed the most she could from every plant.”

  “Sounds as if she understands that a garden is just like a pet or a child. They all need time, attention and a lot of love.”