Harlequin Love Inspired March 2020--Box Set 1 of 2 by Patricia Davids

Author:Patricia Davids
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

The sun made an appearance on the horizon as Mitch guided his pickup along the Rebel Ranch north entrance.

“Everyone still awake back there?” he asked.

“We are,” Grace called from the backseat of the pickup.

Seth popped his head between the front seat’s headrests. “Where are we going fishing, Mr. Mitch?”

“We’re there.”

“That sign says Rebel Ranch,” Seth replied.

“That’s right.” Mitch parked the truck and turned in his seat to address the young boy. “The ranch has a stocked pond. That means they put the fish in there for us.”

“They do?” His blue eyes rounded with wonder.

Next to him, Grace silently followed the conversation, her dark eyes moving back and forth.

They were good kids, courteous, articulate and soft-spoken. About the same age as Kate when Mitch took over the care of his family. The surprise was that today’s excursion had stirred up some good memories. He’d thought all he had were the painful ones.

“A pond stocked for fishing. That’s a very odd phenomenon,” Daisy murmured from the front passenger seat.

“It’s a guest ranch, everything is about the guests. Reece hired someone to monitor the water quality, oxygen content, water temperatures, stocking densities, species selection and restocking. Pond management is a science.”

“I guess so.” She yawned and stretched.

Mitch reached for his travel mug before he got out of the truck, then went around to open Daisy’s door. “Have you ever cleaned a fish?” he asked.

“I’m sure I could if I tried.” She met his gaze. Blue eyes peeked out from beneath the brim of the ridiculous olive-drab fishing hat on her head.

He tried to keep a straight face as he continued. “Is that a yes or a no?”

“Truthfully, outside of a restaurant, the only fish I’ve ever spent time with were wrapped in white paper and came from the fish market.”

Mitch laughed. “I guess that’s a no.”

“Why did you ask?”

“I wanted to know who was cleaning today’s catch. Me or you.”

“Oh, sorry. I’m definitely washing the dishes.”

“Works for me.” In fact, it all worked for him. The idea of cleaning fish while Daisy did the dishes made him smile. He pulled a faded ball cap from his backpack and slapped it on. “Does everyone have sunblock on?”

“Sunblock.” Daisy pulled it from her backpack and handed it to the twins before slathering the white lotion on her own exposed skin. Then she faced him. “Okay. I’m ready.”

“There’s a blob on your chin.” Mitch wiped it off with the pad of his finger a second before his good sense kicked in. Touching Daisy was not a good idea. Even sitting close to the woman in a vehicle did something to his sensory processing, causing his hands to fumble and his tongue to trip over itself.

“Thank you,” she murmured. Her gaze remained fixed on the bottle in her hands. “I’m working on freckle mitigation.”

“I like your freckles.”

Her face pinked. “That makes two of you. My grandmother says freckles are a ginger’s superpower.”

Mitch stared at the sprinkling of copper across her nose and scattered over her shoulders. So that was the secret lure she had over him.

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