Loving the Rancher's Children by Mindy Obenhaus

Author:Mindy Obenhaus
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-03-07T20:59:19+00:00

Chapter Nine

Jake’s Saturday had gotten off to a frenzied start. The owner of the new bull he was planning to pick up on Monday called late Friday night to notify him that he was going to be leaving town Sunday and asked Jake if he could come by and get the Charolais today. Knowing the kids would be with their grandparents, he was fine with that, though it meant he needed to be ready to brand, tag and vaccinate the animal.

So while the kids were still asleep, Jake slipped out to the barn, the app for the video monitors in the kids’ room open on his phone so he could keep an eye on them while doing some prep work. Yet while he routinely checked on the kids, he lost track of time. The next thing he knew, it was seven thirty, and the kids were still asleep. Now he’d have to rush to get them fed, dressed and ready before their grandparents arrived.

He was on his way back to the house as Alli drove up. What was she doing there on a Saturday? Not that he minded. He’d take as much time with her as he could get.

His insides turned to Jell-O when she stepped out of her Jeep wearing a pair of cotton gym shorts, an oversize T-shirt and flip-flops with her hair piled atop her head. Even without a trace of makeup, she was gorgeous.

Smiling, she said, “One pony shirt, good as new.” She unfurled the purple T-shirt she’d picked up for Maddy the other day. The one his daughter had a meltdown over late yesterday when a portion of the sparkling pony applique had come unattached at some point during the washing and drying process. So Alli had graciously agreed to take it home and fix it so Maddy could wear it to the wildlife park today.

“You’re a lifesaver.” Not the first time either. Alli hadn’t so much as batted an eye the other day when he’d asked—more like begged—her to take the kids clothes shopping. Though he had felt kind of bad about it after learning she’d run into that poor young mother who’d lost her little girl. Her story was yet another reminder of just how blessed he was to have Maddy and Connor. He couldn’t imagine life without either one of them.

Alli arched a brow. “What are you doing out here? I thought you’d be getting the kids ready by now.”

“I got tied up in the barn.” He explained about the bull.

“You’d better get a move on, then. Need some help?”

He released a sigh. “Would you?”

“So long as you’ve got coffee.”

“Come on, then.”

While Jake went to wake up Connor, Alli headed into Maddy’s room.

Moments later, he heard his daughter’s joyful voice saying, “You fixed it!”

Both kids wanted frozen waffles, so Jake put those in the toaster while Alli scrambled up a couple of eggs.

She spooned some alongside the waffles he’d just plated and looked at the kids. “Waffles are yummy, but you need protein, too.

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