Rescued by a Rancher by Mindy Neff

Author:Mindy Neff
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Linc kept a sharp eye on the little old lady inching closer to him. Bitsy Jeeter was her name—she’d told him so just before she’d patted him on the behind.

Good God Almighty, the woman was old enough to be his great-grandmother. If she took one more step, he was going to run like the devil.

Hope Valley Convalescent Home offered both independent living and “skilled care” facilities, so there was a diverse group of people wandering around. The seniors’ center was a fairly new gymnasium-size addition to the complex, providing the residents with a second dining hall that also doubled as an activities room.

He wasn’t quite sure how he’d been roped into gutting pumpkins so they could be used as bowls for the floral centerpiece project. Probably because he was the only one with steady-enough hands who could be trusted with a knife.

“Want me to help you scoop the seeds, Uncle Linc?” Tori asked as she joined him in the kitchenette that was open to the rest of the room.

He looked down at the front of his shirt, now decorated with slimy strings of orange. “Heck, yes. But we’d better find you an apron. Your mama’ll skin me alive if I let you mess up your pretty sweater.”

“Naw.” Tori grinned up at him. “She don’t really skin people. She just threatens Daddy.”

Linc figured his brother could handle himself pretty well. Jack had been in love with Sunny since high school—although he’d screwed up royally and lost her for ten years. Thank God he’d gotten a second chance. Jack was a different person these days, and one would never guess that Sunny wasn’t Tori’s biological mother. They were the quintessential perfect family in Linc’s eyes, and one of the major reasons he was back in Hope Valley.

Because deep down, he wanted what Jack and Sunny had.

He wanted a family.

“Come here, doll.” An older woman beckoned to Tori from her wheelchair. “I’ll fix you up with this napkin. We’ll tuck it in like the Italians do when they eat their spaghetti.”

Tori danced over to the lady and allowed herself to be bibbed. “Uh-oh.”

“Uh-oh, what?” Linc spun around to see what was wrong now. He’d already had to hide the extra knives in his hip pocket—and had nearly forgotten once and sat down on them.

“Sneak’s got somebody else’s slippers,” Tori said. “Sorry, Uncle Linc. I better go get them.”

She charged off after the mischievous dog, leaving Linc at the table with four smiling grandmas breathing down his neck as they impatiently waited for their pumpkins.

That was the third pair of slippers Sneak had stolen. Usually Dixie ran herd on the terrier, but the shepherd was busy being lavished with affection by several of the other residents. He had no idea where Buck had gotten off to, but was confident the Lab would mind his manners. Surprisingly, Simba wasn’t doing too badly either, other than knocking over a stack of folding chairs with his enthusiastically wagging tail.

Linc hadn’t realized the dogs would have the run of the place.

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