Stranded with the Rancher by Tina Radcliffe

Author:Tina Radcliffe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

“I’m so glad Joe made it home safely,” Elsie said. She sat up in the hospital bed, looking regal, despite being attached to IV, oxygen and cardiac monitoring leads.

“The roads are much better,” Beth said.

“So what do you think of my Joe?”

Beth did a mental comparison between the two brothers. Dan was tall and lean and dark, with a nice chin. His older brother was also dark, but with a build like a football player, and not nearly as tall. Dan had that meltingly sweet smile in his favor, along with those clear gray eyes. When he wasn’t being a jerk, he was her choice, hands down. “He’s very nice,” she answered.

“Very PC, dear, but it’s obvious you only have eyes for Dan.”

“I, um...I like both your sons. You should be proud. You did a fine job raising them, Elsie.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at the answer. “My girls are coming on Saturday. But after you’ve gone. I do wish you could have met them. I’m sure they’d love you.”

Beth smiled and crossed her arms, unsure what to say.

“Dear, you do know that Dan cares for you, don’t you?”

“I’m leaving Saturday,” Beth murmured, the admission painful. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t made it very clear from the beginning. From the very moment she’d met Dan at Ben’s house she’d been up-front. She had plans, and a job waiting in New York. Paradise was only a short detour on the road between California and New York. A few more days and she would be gone. That was what she needed to focus on, not the color of Dan’s eyes, or the way she felt when he looked at her.

Besides, she had been in Colorado only a week. It was crazy to think she could have developed feelings for Dan Gallagher—or him for her—in such a short amount of time. Crazy! Right?

“You know you are always welcome here,” Elsie said, still smiling. “If you get to the city and you don’t like it as much as Colorado, then you come back. Because, Beth, there’s only one thing worse than a bad decision.”

She raised her brows in question.

“And that’s living with a bad decision.”

Beth sighed. Elsie was disturbingly and insightfully correct, as always.

“So, what shall we do about tonight’s dinner?” Elsie asked, changing the subject.

“Do you cook dinner every night?” Beth countered.

“Oh, no. I stopped that nonsense years ago. I generally make Sunday dinner after church. I send the boys home with leftovers. Unless Amy is staying with me. I’ll cook for my granddaughter, but otherwise, I figure that I’ve done my time, so to speak. But I do try to keep the freezer stocked for emergencies like this. Do you cook for yourself?” Elsie asked.

“I am quite skilled with a can opener and I can reheat really well.”

Elsie chuckled. “That’s in your favor, because there happens to be dozens of meals wrapped up and labeled in the freezer, waiting for you to heat up. Pull out the chicken tortilla soup and dump it in a kettle.

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