The First Lady of Three Rivers Ranch: An Inspirational Western Romance (Three Rivers Ranch Romance Book 8) by Isaacson Liz & Johnson Elana

Author:Isaacson, Liz & Johnson,Elana [Isaacson, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: AEJ Creative Works
Published: 2016-12-04T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

Frank’s anxiety grew exponentially with every passing moment. No one had seen where Heidi went. It seemed impossible that the person who provided twenty-five men with dinner could go unnoticed for even a moment.

Anger burned through him. Had someone said something to her? She’d seemed distracted in her kitchen, something he thought couldn’t happen. Had he upset her somehow? Was she nervous about his father coming to dinner?

And where in the world had she gone? He’d checked inside her cabin, even going so far as to knock on her bedroom door and open it. He’d practically ran out of the house when she wasn’t there.

“Ben,” he said, and Frank didn’t have to say anything else.

While Ben did the same thing, Frank turned and gathered three men together for a quick discussion about where they should look before sending them off. He’d taken two steps toward the homestead, thinking maybe she’d gone there to escape the noise and chaos at her cabin when he caught movement to his right.

He turned and there she stood. “Heidi,” he breathed, rushing toward her. Before he reached her, he saw she’d been crying. His heart twisted and back-flipped and everything in him wanted to make sure she never had reason to cry again.

“What’s wrong?” He gathered her close, closer, stroking her hair and holding her tight as her shoulders shook. Wanting to shield her from the other men, he pulled back and said, “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

He ducked around the front of the house and caught Ben by whistling as he started to go into the horse barn. His brother came back out, and Frank waved both hands above his head, a symbol the boys had used in irrigation for years. It meant, “Water’s here. All’s well.”

Ben strode toward him. “You found her?”

“She’s upset. Can you let everyone know she’s okay, and they can go back to eating?”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Dad still needs to come over.” Frank felt pulled in a dozen different directions. “He needs help crossing the lawn. It’s too uneven for him.”

“Frank, I’ll take care of all of it.”

Gratitude filled Frank. “Thanks, Ben.” He returned to Heidi, gently guiding her around the cabin and away from the crowd. She’d stopped crying, but her eyes were puffy and red.

“You wanna walk?” he asked.

She nodded and took off at a pace he’d never seen from her. He kept up easily, giving her a few minutes to slow down and settle.

“You wanna talk about it?” he asked.

“It’s stupid,” she said, her voice much too high. “And I’m crying over it.” She shook her head, an angry blaze in her eyes that actually struck fear in Frank’s core.

“I’m sure it’s not stupid,” he said. “Tell me about it.”

“I’m just tired,” she said.

“Heidi, come on.”

She stopped suddenly and faced him. “I just—everything I feel is so close to the surface, you know? And Chase asked about Maggie, and I said I hadn’t talked to her in a while, and he made it sound like she was upset about that, and she probably is, because I told her I’d call.

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