Home on the Ranch: The Rancher's Surprise by Pamela Britton

Author:Pamela Britton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-04-09T14:59:24+00:00

Chapter 13

He told himself to leave her alone. His aunt was working with her on Fostering Hope, which was what they were now calling the event. His sister had agreed to work with William, the little boy Charlotte was bringing out to the ranch. He hadn’t had any problems with Olivia. No need to interact with her. And yet...

The next weekend when she brought William by the ranch he found himself holding Olivia’s hand as they walked toward the barn together, Sadie following in their wake, drawn to see Charlotte for reasons he couldn’t understand.

“You ready?” he asked Olivia, guiding her down the step of his home.

He’d missed the little girl during his workdays. He’d hired a local mom to watch her. It meant having to drop her off in the morning, but that was okay. He didn’t want to burden his aunt with the task, so they’d set up a schedule. Monday and Tuesday Olivia stayed with Crystal, the rest of the week with Mrs. Rulofson.

“But today we can spend all day together,” he told Olivia, who looked up at him curiously. “Which is why we’re walking to the barn.”

He had the whole weekend off, which was great, especially after a busy week treating cattle with Dr. Mariah Stewart, the local veterinarian, then shifting herds to different pastures, moving some off to new homes. Irrigating had taken the better part of three days. Never a dull moment on Gillian Ranch.

“I’m telling you, Olivia, don’t grow up to be a rancher. It’s a lot of work.”

Big gray eyes peered up at him. She pointed ahead and toward the pasture to her left. “Horz.”

“Yes,” he said. “We’re going to go see the horses. But horses come with cowboys and you need to stay away from those, too. Well, rodeo cowboys. But not Uncle Shane and Uncle Carson. They’re good guys. But some of those rough stock riders. Whew. Watch out.”

He could tell she was trying to understand his words. The longer she’d been in his care the more words she used. Last week she’d added a new one to her vocabulary. Horse. It was clear she loved her four-legged friends. He’d bought her a stuffed Clydesdale last week and she’d gone crazy over it. It’d been a battle earlier to make her leave it in the house.

Sadie ran up ahead of them when they reached the barn, disappearing inside. He could see Charlotte’s little compact car parked out in front of the Spanish-style building, another vehicle parked next to her, probably the foster parents. He would bet Jayden had walked down from the house.

“There’s my darling little girl.” Crystal was standing with a group of people, but she broke away and held out her arms. “Come here, you little beauty, you.”

Olivia needed no second urging. She all but ran into Crystal’s arms.

The group of people turned out to be who he’d guessed. All turned to watch them approach.

“You made it,” Maverick said to his sister, thinking her baby bump seemed to get bigger every week.

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