Rescuing the Rancher

by Cheryl Wright

  The twins sat in the middle of the kitchen floor, each with a bowl balanced on their lap, and flour from one end of the kitchen to the other. Each bowl was filled with flour and goodness knew what else, as they sat there mixing their muffins.

  “Oh my,” she said out loud, trying to keep calm. Then she remembered the pound cake. She prayed it wasn’t burned.

  She grabbed the kitchen towels and opened the oven door. It was a little brown, but not burned. She lifted it out onto the wooden board that was there for exactly that reason.

  Faith reached for the cake cooler and tipped the pound cake out onto the rack, then glanced back at the children.

  They were completely covered in flour. She wondered what else they’d taken from the pantry, and her gut wrenched. What would Jonah say? She was supposed to be taking care of his children, not letting them get into such a mess.

  She bent over to begin cleaning up the mess, and Leo clapped his hands with joy. Flour hit Faith in the face and she suddenly began coughing, then straightened, trying to get her breath back.

  “Oh my.” It was the only words she got out before the laughter began.

  She glanced across to see Jonah and the workers standing close by, not even trying to quell their laughter.

  “It’s really not funny,” she said sourly, lifting her apron to remove the flour from her face.

  Jonah stepped closer. “You look really cute,” he said quietly, then looked down at his children.

  “Leo, Cora,” he said sternly. “What do you think you are doing?”

  They’d apparently not seen their father until now, because the two began to squeal. “Papa!” they both screeched, and jumped up, toppling the bowls and their contents. They stared at their father for a heartbeat then began to run toward their bedroom.

  “Oh no you don’t,” he said, reaching out and grabbing each child by the collar. He was trying to hold back his laughter, but Faith could see he was having a hard time controlling himself.

  The children both looked down at their feet, and Jonah dropped down to their level. “Look at me.” The twins complied. “That was not a nice thing to do.”

  “But Papa,” Cora said.

  “We’re making muffins,” Leo finished.

  Jonah glanced up at Faith. “Is that right?” he said, then gazed at the children again. “I think you need to apologize to Faith. Look at this mess you have made.”

  “I’m sorry,” Faith told him. “I said we would make muffins. I only took my eyes off them for a few minutes while I made their beds.”

  He held up his hand. “This is not your fault.” He turned to the children. “I’m waiting.”

  The pair turned to face Faith. “Sorry, Faith,” they said together, sounding very remorseful, but the hint of a smile played on their little faces.

  Faith leaned down to pick up the bowls at the same time Jonah did, and their hands met. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I did warn you they could be naughty. But this is far from acceptable.”

  He turned to the children again. “You two sit on the floor over there until we can get you cleaned up.” Without another word, the children did as they were told.

  With the mess cleaned up, Faith began to cut the now cooled pound cake so the workers could eat then get back to work. “I’m really sorry,” Faith said again, and turned to place the cake on the table.

  Jonah smiled at her, then reached out and gently brushed her cheek. “You still have flour on your face,” he said. She lifted her apron to wipe it away, but made it worse. He reached around her to grab a kitchen towel, and his body brushed against hers.

  He stared into her eyes as he removed the last of the flour. “That’s better,” he said, then leaned in closer. “I really want to kiss you right now,” he whispered.

  “Please don’t,” she begged. “Not with everyone here.” He grinned at her, and her heart pounded.

  He turned to his workers. “Everyone make yourself a coffee.” He turned back to her. “Thank you. This looks delicious.”

  He sat at the table and grabbed a slice of pound cake, then staring directly at her, licked his lips.

  Was he trying to taunt her?

  ~*~

  For the next few weeks Faith did her best to keep her distance from Jonah. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do. Living in the same house made it excruciatingly difficult, but she vowed not to continue a relationship with him.

  What would she do if things didn’t work out between them? Not only would it affect Faith and the children, it would also affect Martha, who could no longer cope with either the children or the house on her own.

  Whenever he moved close to her, she found a reason to move away. It was obvious he was confused at this sudden turnaround, but it was for the benefit of them both. She had become quite close to the twins, and despite their naughtiness at times, she knew she couldn’t bear it if she had to leave. They’d become like her own children.

  Martha had become like a mother-in-law.

  The thought took her breath away. What would it be like to be married to Jonah?

  Faith shook herself. The last thing she needed was to let her thoughts run away, to think about the man who was out of bounds.

  At least to her.

  The children were running around the house and going silly. She’d tried just about everything, but they wouldn’t settle.

  She stood in the middle of the sitting room, where they played. “I wonder if there are any children who would like to play outside for a little while? Hmmm.” She looked around the room pretending they weren’t there.

  The pair ran toward her almost knocking her over, as they were apt to do.

  “We do! We do, Faith!”

  She glanced down at them and smiled. “You will need your warm coats and mittens. It’s very cold outside.”

  Cora glanced up at her. “Papa said it might snow soon.” Her little eyes opened wide with excitement.

  “It will be Christmas soon,” Leo added. “Papa told us.” He clapped his little hands with joy. An action that was uniquely Leo when he was excited.

  “Christmas is still a couple of weeks away,” Faith told them quietly.

  They pair ran toward their coats, and tried to pull them on. They pulled on their mittens, then reached for the door handle, which was too high for them. Thank goodness. Faith didn’t want them running outside alone – there were far too many hazards on a ranch for small children.

  She pulled on her own coat and gloves, and helped the children into theirs. Then they made their way down the porch steps. She’d barely been outside since she arrived, so this was to be an adventure for her as well.

  “Let’s go for a walk,” she suggested as the twins pulled her toward the barn. “We can come back later and see the horses.”

  “Please, Faith,” Leo begged, desperate to see the horses.

  Cora had to get in on the act as well, of course. “Please?”

  She was on the verge of giving in, when she remembered the words Martha had said. “You give in once, they’ll expect it all the time.”

  They were mischievous children, especially when they were together, and had to be carefully controlled.

  “We’ll go for a walk first, then we’ll see the horses,” she said firmly. They both pouted but no longer argued.

  They walked the perimeter of the house. Faith found a little vegetable garden around the side, but it had been badly neglected. She bent over and pulled out a few weeds. It already looked better. Weather permitting, she would spend time on this little vegetable patch. Perhaps when the children were sleeping.

  It would only take a small amount of time each day to get it back to normal.

  “Do you know what this is children?” She glanced across at them, but they just stared at her. “This is a vegetable patch. Look,” She grabbed at some foliage and gently pulled. “This is where carrots come from. If I dig deep enough, I’ll bet there are some potatoes in there.”

  She pulled off one glove and dug aro
und. Sure enough, there were.

  “What are you doing?” Jonah’s voice startled her. He sounded annoyed.

  Her head shot up. “We’re checking out the vegetable garden. You didn’t tell me it was here. I…”

  “Leave it.” He moved closer toward her, and Faith stepped back, her heart pounding, her shoulders stiff.

  The children ran behind her.

  She frowned. “Is something wrong, Jonah?”

  He suddenly rubbed his grubby hands across his face. “I’m sorry,” he said, clearly annoyed with himself. “It was my wife’s vegetable garden. My mother was looking after it, but it got too much for her.”

  Now she was confused. “Well someone must be looking after it – we have vegetables in the pantry.”

  “I’ve been buying them from the greengrocer in town.” He squatted down to the children’s level and held his arms out to them. Did he even realize he’d scared them earlier?

  “I won’t touch it again,” she said, feeling deflated at having to ignore such a wonderful source of fresh produce.

  He glanced up at her and frowned, then stood with the children in his arms. “I’m being stupid. And ridiculous,” he said. “You are welcome to do whatever you want with it.” He smiled tentatively, and she felt his pain.

  “Papa,” Cora said, touching her fingers to Jonah’s cheek as she always did when she wanted his attention. “We’re going to visit the horses.”

  He frowned, then glanced at Faith. “Can Papa come too?”

  Did he not trust her to keep the children safe? “I am capable of looking after them you know,” she said. She knew she sounded annoyed, and he must had heard it in her voice because his head shot up.

  “I know,” he said gently. “I thought they might like to ride one of the horses.”

  She jerked her head. “Of course. I can’t do that.”

  He moved closer to her. “No, you can’t. Faith,” he said quietly as he put the children back on the ground. “Do we have a problem? You seem to be avoiding me.”

  She stepped away. “No, not at all.” It was a lie and she knew it. It had proved incredibly difficult to keep away from him. All she wanted him to do right now was put his arms around her and hold her tight.

  “Have I offended you in some way?” His gaze was intense, and she couldn’t look away.

  “It’s nothing like that,” she said, then tore her gaze away and stared at the ground.

  “Uh huh.” He didn’t sound as though he believed her.

  The twins pulled at his breeches. “When are we going to ride the horse, Papa?” He stared down at them.

  “In a minute. Can you wait for just a minute?”

  “Papa,” they said, their tone disappointed.

  He stared at her for long moments, then glanced down at his children. “Right. Let’s go,” he said, as he picked them up and headed toward the barn.

  “Are you coming?” he asked Faith as she stood staring after them, her heart shattering into a million pieces, as it had every time she’d stood firm on her decision to keep her distance from him.

  Chapter Eight

  Faith held the hands of the children while Jonah retrieved all the equipment he would need for the children to ride.

  They then went out to the front paddock where the horses ran free. He climbed through the fence, and coaxed Maisy. She was the quietest of all the horses they had on the ranch, and had always been earmarked for the children to ride. Besides, she was the smallest.

  “You can only ride one at a time,” Jonah said firmly, already believing this was a bad idea, despite it being his own.

  “But Papa…”

  He stared at them. “One at a time or not at all.” He finished fastening the saddle, and checked the reins. It was a long way down if everything was not secure. He reached over and grabbed Cora. “You’re first.”

  Her grin was so wide he thought it would split her face. “I’ll be standing right next to you.” He held her hands in his. “Hold the rein, like this,” he said, showing her how. “Now we’ll go for a short walk.”

  Cora squealed as they began to slowly move around the paddock. “You need to stop squealing or you have to get off. You’ll scare the horse.” Maisy was old and placid. Despite what he said, Jonah knew she wouldn’t even flinch.

  When they returned she had tears running down her little face. He leaned over to Faith and whispered conspiratorially. “She’s a bit over excited, I think.”

  “You think?” she said, a scowl on her face. She cuddled into Cora, trying to calm her down.

  “Leo’s turn now.” He swung the child up into the saddle and began to move around the same area. At least he didn’t squeal like his sister.

  “This is fun, Papa,” Leo said.

  “It can be,” Jonah told him. Perhaps when he was older Leo would want to help out on the ranch. But that was a very long while off yet.

  When the ride ended, Jonah swung him down to the ground and returned him to Faith. “It’s nearly time for their nap,” she said. “I’m not sure they’ll be able to sleep after this.”

  “Sorry,” he whispered. It was the first time they’d done an activity together like this, and it almost felt like they were a family. They had already begun to feel like a family when she’d suddenly pulled back from him.

  A thought suddenly hit him – were the two things related?

  “They can play quietly in their rooms, I guess,” she said, gazing into his eyes. She suddenly pulled them away. “Let’s go children.”

  They both complained loudly.

  Jonah stared after them until they nearly reached the house, then sprinted toward them. It was the perfect time to talk to Faith; the children would be in their rooms, and the adults would finally be alone. Ma was visiting a friend, so the house was otherwise empty.

  “Faith,” he called after her, and she spun around.

  “I have to organize the children,” she said, ushering them inside, out of the cold.

  He motioned for her to continue.

  Jonah helped Leo out of his coat and Faith did the same for Cora. They were a good team.

  “Go and wash your hands and I’ll organize a snack before you have your nap.”

  He groaned inwardly. How long before they’d be alone?

  “Would you like a coffee?” she asked him.

  Not really. He only wanted to talk, but if it meant he would get physically close to her… “Thank you, yes.” He took a few steps toward her. “I can get it myself. You have enough to do.”

  She ignored his comment and pulled a mug from the cupboard anyway. She put some milk on the table for each of the twins, as well as an oat cookie each. They came scrambling out of the bathroom and bounded up onto the kitchen chairs.

  “Cookies!”

  “They are overwrought after their ride,” she told him quietly, and he felt guilty for being the cause of the problem.

  She sat a mug of coffee on the table and he sat down opposite his children, watching them carefully. Assessing the way they reacted to Faith. She was like a mother to them.

  “Have a cookie,” she said quietly, and he reached out, not to grab a cookie from the plate, but to touch her. He’d missed that so much, but she’d kept her distance and it had nearly killed him. He had to find out what he’d done to cause all this.

  The contact with her skin caused electricity to run up his arm. It zinged around his body and exploded in his heart. He stared at her. She quickly pulled her hand back and he knew she’d felt it too.

  “What are we doing?” he asked her quietly. “We both know this is not what we want.”

  “I’m tired,” Cora said, as she yawned.

  Leo yawned as well. “Me too.”

  They both climbed down from the table and took themselves off to bed.

  “I, I need to get them tucked in,” Faith said, and he nodded. She had to do what she had to do. Besides, they might finally get the privacy they needed.

  He drank his coffee and ate his cook
ie, but he was only going through the motions. Just as he’d been doing since Faith had made it clear she wanted nothing more to do with him.

  His work had suffered, and he’d barely been able to sleep. Something had to change, and soon.

  When she returned, she refused to look at him. She made herself a cup of tea and sat at the table opposite him after cleaning up after the children.

  “Do you ever stop?” he asked gruffly. “I need to talk to you.”

  She stared at him, and her expression told him she was afraid of what he was going to say. “I, I can be gone tomorrow,” she said, tears in her eyes.

  “What?” He stood abruptly. “No, that’s not what I want. Let’s go and sit by the fire.” He’d managed to get her to open up there in the past. Perhaps she would again? She’d distanced herself from him so much that he honestly didn’t know anymore.

  Jonah sat on the sofa and Faith sat opposite. His heart pounded. The last thing he wanted was to drive her away. He couldn’t bear if she left them, and he knew the children felt the same way. They were young enough to get over it, but his heart would never be the same again.

  No matter what, they couldn’t continue the way things were now.

  It had been difficult for him to come to terms with his feelings, there was no doubt. He had loved Sarah immensely and thought he’d never love again. Then along came Faith. Beautiful, vulnerable Faith who stole his heart far too quickly.

  “Faith,” he said quietly, balancing on the edge of the sofa. She stared into the fire and refused to look at him. “Please, look at me.”

  She turned her head toward him and glanced in his direction, but didn’t say a word. He could tell she was upset, but for some crazy reason, she thought he was sending her away.

  “Do you like it here on the ranch?”

  She nodded.

  “Do you like working with the children?”

  She nodded again.

  He stared at her, studied her face now that the bruising had finally cleared. “Do you want to stay here?” He swallowed hard. His heart beat roared in his head as he waited for her answer.

  She nodded again.

  “Oh for goodness sakes,” he said quietly. “Can you please speak to me? You’re breaking my heart here.” He leaned back on the sofa and stared intently at her. Why wouldn’t she give anything away? Tell him how she felt. She’d said not a single word since they’d moved to the sitting room.