"Lucky!" Gage squealed with delight and leapt from the passenger seat of Dane's pick-up truck almost before he had it in park.
"Hey! Be careful." But he couldn't help laughing as the child bowled into the fluffiest golden retriever puppy he had ever seen on his mother's front lawn. He was halfway convinced Lucky thought Gage was another puppy, hell, he was halfway convinced Gage was a puppy most of the time. Little boys were not all that different from little dogs, he had surmised. Dane got out of the truck and let the door fall shut behind him.
Ren and Kerri had gone into town to shop and catch a movie—some much needed quiet time, and much as he hated to admit it, he was jealous that it wasn't him taking her out on the town and spending time with her. For now, she preferred to keep everything under wraps. She said it was for the sake of his family, but he definitely felt there was something deeper at work behind those pretty hazel eyes that had more to do with her own family than his.
"Hey mama." Giving his mother a brief hug and a kiss on the cheek, he observed Gage playing chase with the puppy for a moment before he whistled, catching the boy's attention. He tipped his head in Ella's direction, indicating that Gage should give her the same kind of greeting.
"Nana invited you for supper, least you can do is say hello to her. Lucky will still be there."
The boy remembered himself and ran full tilt for Ella, skidding to a stop just inches before he threw his arms around her legs and gave her a joyous squeeze. If nothing, he had not lost even an ounce of his loving nature despite losing his parents, and it was moments like these that made Dane proud of the job he had done raising him for the last couple of years.
Ella ruffled his strawberry blond hair and hugged him back before sending him off again. "I filled up the play pool for you and Lucky to splash in."
Gage's eyes lit up as he and the puppy took off at breakneck speed for the small plastic pool at the corner of the yard, leaving Dane alone with his mother.
"I made you a coffee." She gestured to the porch where a couple of steaming mugs sat between the porch swing and a rocking chair—both of them providing ample access to watch the boy and the puppy playing.
Dane took the steps a couple at a time and lowered himself onto the swing. The rocker had always been his mama's spot and always would be. She sank into it easily and took up her mug without looking at him.
"Finn tells me you've been spending a lot of time with the Maddock girl."
He couldn't tell a thing from her tone, and he quirked a brow, casting a suspicious look in her direction.
"Well, she is living at the ranch, helping me with Gage. Ain't really easy to not spend time with her." He realized belatedly that in a small town like Three Rivers, gossip about the little display they had put on at the dance hall a few weeks before would have likely gotten around to his mama already—this just happened to be the first chance she had to talk to him about it.
The pointed look Ella gave her son told him she was looking for more explanation. It was a look Dane knew all too well from growing up—the one that coaxed the guiltiest confessions out of the boys. He could feel a flush creeping up his neck. His mama knew exactly what was going on—she always did—and he would not be able to hide a thing from her. He could try, though.
"There's nothing going on."
"Don't tell me there's nothing going on when there is clearly something going on, Dane. I've known you longer than you've known yourself, I can tell when you're not telling your mama the truth."
He shifted uncomfortably, steeling himself with a long drag from his coffee cup.
"She seems like a nice girl, honey. Fits right in with the family, and Gage clearly loves her." Ella continued, in an obvious attempt to coax the real truth out of her eldest son.
Maybe this wouldn't be as painful as he had anticipated. He nodded slowly as his mother listed Ren's good points—she was really just scratching the surface. There was so much more. She was kind, thoughtful, adventurous; she was pretty as a picture and she made his blood sing when they touched. She'd taken to riding like a fish to water, had no fear of any of the livestock, and Rex loved her twice as much as Gage did. Kerri had developed a great rapport with both Dane and Finn and took great pleasure in assisting with the chores as often as she could. He couldn't remember what it felt like to live in the big house at the ranch without the Maddock girls underfoot, and he wasn't sure he wanted to.
"Does it look bad, though? Like I'm taking advantage of her, or I mail ordered a woman?" Truthfully, Dane didn't care what other people thought, but his mama...that was a whole 'nother story, right there.
Ella paused thoughtfully.
"Do you feel like you're taking advantage of her or that you mail ordered a bride?"
Bride...that was a word he hadn't considered.
"I feel like I might be falling in love with her."
His mother's knowing smile said it all. She looked like the cat that ate the canary and Dane would never hear the end of it. Someday, decades from now, she would draw it up out of memory and still be crowing about how she had been aware of what was going on even before Dane himself knew.
"Why do I get the feeling like you planned this all along, mama?"
Ella chuckled. "Well, I didn't plan it, but a power stronger than you certainly did."
Dane resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his mother and leaned back onto the swing with his coffee cup in hand, his long legs stretched out before him.
"So what do I do now?"
"You know, Dane, you've always been a smart boy. I never imagined I'd have to spell it out for you what you ought to do with a woman." Ella's tone was teasing.
Dane looked at her expectantly. While he was independent, he never had a problem deferring to his mother—she did, after all, have a few years on him, and a bit more life mileage to boot. Particularly when it came to women, she had the upper hand. He hadn't always lived by that philosophy but he got hurt a hell of a lot less now that he did.
"You love her, you fool." Ella insisted when Dane didn't reply. She chuckled to herself, shook her head, and rose to call for Gage and Lucky.
Dane let himself roll his eyes this time, shaking his head at his mother, and rising with his empty coffee mug in hand.
"Hey, I know you wanna gloat, but maybe keep it under wraps for a bit before you start planning the wedding? I've only just convinced her that this is okay," he teased, referencing his mother's earlier inference about a mail order bride. Ella loved her family fiercely, including any additions by marriage, and had been over the moon when Gavin and June had announced their pregnancy with Gage. Though she had always recognized Dane had a lot on his plate between the ranch and caring for Gage, he was not completely immune to her occasional comment urging him to give a nice girl in town a second thought or even a second spin around the dance floor.
"I'll give you a couple weeks head start, how does that sound?" Ella was still laughing when she ushered Gage and Lucky into the house.
—SEVENTEEN—
"This one?" Kerri held a top up in front of her that Ren could tell without her even trying it on would show entirely too much of her sister's cleavage. Ren was barely ready to accept its presence in the first place, never mind it being in the line of vision of teen aged boys or even within a hundred miles of Kyle Sullivan.
"Not a chance, lady." Ren handed her one with a more modest neckline. If they could wrangle her into jeans that weren't painted on either, she'd be a happy woman. What was it with kids and the clothes they barely wore these days? She'd never been able to afford to deck Kerri out in all of the latest fashions, but somehow, a piece or two of trendy and barely-there clothing always found itself into her sister's wardrobe.
"So, I think Dane likes you." Kerri spoke loudly from the dressing room where she had disappeared with the shirt. Ren checked the area frantically and was relieved to find the back of the store empty. Evidenced by their time at the dance hall, everybody knew everybody in this town and she wasn't quite ready for her
budding relationship with Dane to hit newsstands.
"Hey, shut up!" she hissed.
"Ooh, so you like Dane!" Kerri nearly crowed with laughter.
Ren rushed the door, poking her head inside and giving her sister, who was midway through changing shirts the dirtiest look she could.
"Quit, seriously. I want to keep my job. You want me to keep my job, so I can buy you that top. Which looks really good, by the way."
Kerri poked her tongue out, then examined herself in the mirror, deciding to add the shirt to the pile of clothing she had selected as acceptable. The girl's eyes held a spark of playfulness Ren hadn't genuinely seen in some time. It was the first time in a long time they weren't pinching pennies to pay rent and groceries and could actually do a little bit of shopping without adding every cent on every price tag together to make sure they didn't come up short at the till. They said money couldn't buy happiness, but Ren had decided when you were dealing with a fifteen year old, it sure didn't hurt.
They made their way to the front of the shop with their arms filled with clothes and deposited them on the counter in front of a bored looking girl around Ren's age. She was a tall bottle blond with a plain face and tight clothes. She lit up when she saw them.
"Hey, you're Dane Baylor's new housekeeper, right?"
"Sort of, yeah." Ren nodded, passing the articles of clothing to the girl.
"He's a dish, isn't he?"
Ren smiled but shrugged noncommittally. "He's a good boss." On the last word, Ren shot her sister a pointed look.
"I went out with him once. It never went anywhere, but we're both a little older now." The cashier, whose name tag read 'Sondra' chatted, her tone conversational and far too familiar as she rang each of their items through. "You know, maybe you could drop a good word for me? It'd be helpful, having 'someone on the inside', you know?"
"I'll do that." She offered the girl a kind smile and grabbed Kerri, who had been standing nearby open-mouthed at the cashier's brazenness, by the arm, pulling her out of the store. "Have a nice day!"
"What the…?" Kerri's voice was shrill and all too loud.
"Shut up." Ren didn't let go of her sister's arm as she dragged her across the parking lot.
Once they were inside the sedan Dane had insisted they take, Kerri narrowed Ren in her sights.
"Did she just think you would invite the guy you like on a date for her?" Her tone incredulous, Kerri's eyes were wide. "Do girls just do that?"
"Again, he is my boss, but yes, girls do that. Some girls think everything they see belongs to them." Ren turned the key in the ignition. "Seat belt."
Kerri slipped the belt over her shoulder. "You did it again, you know."
"Did what?"
"That thing where you don't answer my question so you don't have to lie to me."
Ren rolled her eyes.
"Ren Katherine Maddock. Do not roll your eyes at me." Kerri mimicked Ren's sternest tone with amazing accuracy.
Ren stuck her tongue out at her sister, guiding the car out of the shop's parking lot. She considered Sondra and her request...maybe she wasn't ready to make headlines but now that she'd made up her mind, she wasn't giving up Dane Baylor for anybody.
—EIGHTEEN—
Ren straightened up and arched her back, stretching out the cramp she'd gotten from bending over the weeds in the garden for the last thirty minutes. She had never been in one place long enough to have a garden so she wasn't one hundred percent sure what she was doing but she found the work soothing and it gave her something to do, particularly on these quiet Friday nights.
She'd met plenty of people in town but had yet to make any acquaintances she could really consider 'friends'. It might have been her inclination not to put down roots or it could have come from her desire to safeguard the burgeoning relationship with Dane, but she hadn't found anyone compelling enough to open up to.
"Mama would be some proud of this." Dane's voice startled her, she hadn't heard him approach and who knew how long he had been standing there watching her digging in the dirt like a kid.
"You think?" She smiled up at him from her kneeling position and wiped at her face. Ella Baylor had very quickly become the most trustworthy woman she knew. She always had additional insight on Gage when it was needed and Ren had even asked her for help with Kerri on the occasional phone call.
He nodded solemnly.
"Know what else I think?" He crouched down next to her, leaning close enough to brush a bit of dirt off of her cheek with his thumb. He didn't take his hand away when he was done, but cupped her jaw and tilted her gaze up to meet his. Her heart skipped two beats before she had the sense to think about anything but the desire in his eyes. "I think it's sexy as hell when you play pioneer woman out here."
Ren glanced quickly behind him, checking for children in earshot but they had been tasked to clean up after dinner and she hadn't seen a sign of them yet. One corner of her lips tipped up. She'd never felt so desired, so beautiful, as when Dane Baylor set his eyes on her the way he had right now. It was as pleasurable as a physical touch.
"When are you going to let me take you out and show you off to the world, Ren?" His voice was low and rough.
"You take me out all the time." She was being coy, attempting to lighten the mood. They went out in public with the kids in tow often, usually running errands. To the stander-by, it was as platonic as they came, a straight employer-employee relationship. In truth, there were long looks, brushing hands, simple touches; things nobody else would have ever caught but that meant the world to her.
A frown furrowed his brow. "You know what I mean."
She was still reluctant. In their own little world, in the privacy of his bedroom, she could forget about the implications of their relationship, forget the scars Anita had laid on her emotionally and physically, and the fear that she would not be able to finish what she started. She had become all too aware that the Baylors were a prominent and well respected family in town, particularly the three brothers. It seemed they could do no wrong—women wanted to be with them, men wanted to be them. People would notice where Dane laid his affections, and after she had gone, they would ask, flaying open any carefully mended wounds with good intentions the same way Mrs. Bates had in the grocery store.
She offered him a playful smile.
"I know where you can take me out tonight." The hopeful look in his eyes made her heart seize. "Fair's in town, isn't it? Bet the kids would love to go."
His handsome smile melted her just a little and lightened the mood entirely. It wasn't exactly what he'd meant and she knew it, but she was throwing him a little bone. It was the best she could let herself do right now, and he showed his appreciation.
"Gage has been asking to go. They're barrel racing tonight and he loves to watch."
"Good, then, we'll go to the fair tonight." She tipped back on her heels, dusted her hands off and they rose together, heading toward the house to gather up the kids.
It took Ren less than fifteen minutes to convince the extremely enthused Kerri and Gage to finish the post-dinner chores they had been dawdling over, wash faces and hands, and head for Dane's truck.
The fairgrounds weren't far from the Baylor's store and it took them less than ten minutes to get there. The parking lot was filled to overflowing; like the dance hall had been the night she had gone with Dane. That seemed so many days and emotions ago. Her heart was lighter now—still cautious, but less burdened.
In the distance, she could see the ferris wheel rising high against the dusky skyline and Gage shouted, excited at the sight of it. Dane parked the truck in one of the only available spots and the kids poured out ahead of them.
"Hey! Not too far ahead! And hold hands!" Ren shouted after them, and they paused long enough to lock their fingers together as they raced toward the bright lights of the midway. Dane took her command to heart and promptly slid her hand into his, twining their fingers together as they walked through the dark parking lot. She allowed it, a thrill
lifting through her belly, but loosened her grip once they approached the admission booth where Kerri and Gage were waiting for them, looking through the gate and excitedly discussing which rides and attractions they wanted to see first.
Dane laughed at their excitement and approached the box, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket.
"How many? Oh hey, Dane." Ren would have recognized the bottle blonde's voice a mile away. Sondra, from the clothing shop. Resisting the urge to make a face at the woman, Ren hung back to keep an eye on the kids while Sondra leaned forward on her elbows, offering Dane an ample view of her cleavage as she twisted her long ponytail around one finger. "One adult, one child?"
Her eyes slid past him and landed on Ren, her cheery smile still fixed in place, and she waved. When Dane turned his head to glance at Ren, Sondra raised her eyebrow and jerked her chin in Dane's direction with a questioning look. Ren just shrugged.
"Actually, two adults, two children." Dane said, ushering Ren forward. She stepped forward, but didn't take his offered hand. "The family pass."
As she realized the implication of Dane's words, Sondra's expression soured, as if she'd smelled something off.
"I see. Well, you guys have fun!" She handed him the admission bracelets.
"We will." Ren couldn't resist giving the other girl a slightly smug smile as the four of them marched through the gates onto the midway. Of course, it was petty of her, but she couldn't think of a time in her life when she had something another person had wanted; between her dead father, her awful mother, the responsibility of her sister way before she was ready; there was little someone else could envy...until Dane Baylor.
Gage's eyes were as big as saucers as he took in all of the sights. Ren was sure he had been to a county fair before, considering how well-attended this one was, but it might have been the first year he really cared enough to be excited.
"I wanna go on the teacups! And the ferris wheel! And I wanna eat cotton candy!" Kerri still held one of his hands but Ren dropped her hand on his shoulder lightly, then ruffled his hair.
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