The Rancher's Legacy. Jessica Keller

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СКАЧАТЬ her life when she was ten years old, Brock had stepped in and filled that void. And when her mom died eight years later the Jarretts had moved her onto their property. Rhett’s dad had been family to her—Rhett had been like family to her too. Now they hardly acknowledged each other, and with Rhett’s mom fading fast, Macy couldn’t help but feel like she was losing everyone she cared about all over again.

      “I’ll keep your secret,” she whispered to the image. “I promise.”

      She set the picture down and absently rubbed her thumb back and forth across the raised scar on her pointer finger. A nervous habit she’d tried, unsuccessfully, to break more than once. The scar was Rhett’s fault. Six years ago, he had dropped his cell phone when they were out hiking and she’d crawled back over the large rocks on the trail to get it, disturbing a copperhead in her zest. Of course, Rhett had carried her to safety, rushed her to the hospital as her skin swelled and blistered and the pain intensified, and stayed by her side while she healed. The memory caused a rueful smile to tug at her lips. He had lost his cell phone after everything anyway.

      She forced her thumb to stop moving.

      The scar on her finger wasn’t the only one she blamed him for. The Do Not Cross tape coiled around her heart was all his doing too.

      Macy whirled toward the door to Brock’s—no, Rhett’s—office.

       Enough.

      She marched toward the door and didn’t bother knocking before opening it. “We need to—” The words died on her lips. Rhett wasn’t there.

      The man must have slunk out the never-used back door like the guilty dog he was.

      Macy balled her fists.

      They would have to face each other—have to talk at some point—and today was as good a day as any. She hadn’t been able to get a good read on Rhett with Travis there so she had held her tongue.

       I’m looking into cancelling programs.

      Not if Macy had anything to do with it.

      She grabbed her keys, locked up the office and hoofed it out into the yard. Orange mingled with pink and gold in the sky. A slight breeze carried the chill whisper of the approaching night. The sun had dipped close to the horizon, not quite sunset yet but soon enough.

      Various structures peppered the Jarrett property. The office and main buildings serving the summer camp wrapped through the front of their land, including ten camper cabins and a mess hall that was built into the side of the largest hill they owned. The barns and cattle fields took up the opposite end of their holding, and the family home rested like a gorgeous crown jewel at the end of the long driveway. Macy lived in one of the small bungalows tucked just west of the family ranch house. A handful of staff members lived on the property.

      Macy passed the small corral that housed Romeo, the ranch’s attention-needy miniature donkey, and Sheep, an all-white miniature horse that belonged to Rhett’s niece, Piper. Romeo trotted beside the fence line as she walked, trying to coax an ear scratch out of her.

      “Not now, buddy.” Macy didn’t break her stride. Still, his pathetic bray made her heart twist. She loved the little donkey and all of his quirks—maybe for his quirks. “I’ll bring you apples later, deal?”

      Beyond their enclosure, she spotted a horse and rider picking their way through the bluebonnets blanketing the nearby field. She squinted, trying to focus on the rider. Shannon Jarrett, Rhett’s sister. Despite the fact that none of the women were related, Shannon, Cassidy and Macy had formed a tight-knit sisterhood. Especially during the last five years.

      Macy climbed onto the fence and waved at her friend.

      Shannon nudged her horse into a trot so she was within yelling distance in seconds.

      “Did you see where your rat of a brother went off to?” Macy called.

      Shannon tossed back her head and laughed. “Well, I know you aren’t talking about Boone.” And neither mentioned the other Jarrett brother, Wade. His death five years ago had been the catalyst that set the Jarretts drifting apart. Being Wade’s twin, Shannon had been deeply affected by the sudden loss of him. She hadn’t quite regained the wide, carefree grin she’d been known for as a child. Probably never would.

      “I could hardly call a man training to be a pastor a rat.” Macy joined in the laughter.

      Shannon nodded, her short blond waves bobbing. “Rhett walks Kodiak to the lake every morning and every evening. I don’t think she can last a day without swimming. Rhett says it’s in her breed’s blood.”

      Macy tipped her head in a silent thank-you and made for the lake.

      Red Dog Ranch sat on over three thousand acres of gorgeous Texas Hill Country land and had multiple lakes and ponds. Some of them Macy would need a horse or one of the trucks to reach, but she guessed Rhett had stuck to the one closest to the house. Long ago, she and Rhett had dubbed the body of water Canoe Landing. It was where he’d fished with his dad and where he and his siblings had learned to swim. Macy too.

      Embers of memories burned in the back of her mind. She snuffed them out. A million yesterdays couldn’t help her solve the problems she faced today.

      When Macy hiked over the hill that led to Canoe Landing, she paused. Rhett had his back to her. His shoulders made an impressive cut against the approaching sunset. Rhett had always been taller and broader than his brothers. The Wranglers and starched button-down he wore fit so well, they might as well be illegal. Under his cowboy hat she knew his hair would be naturally blond-tipped and tousled.

      He was the kind of handsome that female country-western singers wrote ballads about, but it was clear he had never caught on to how attractive he was or how many hearts he could have broken if he’d wanted to. Rhett wasn’t like that.

      She fiddled with the end of her flannel.

      Kodiak bounded out of the water, dropped a soggy ball at Rhett’s feet and then leaned around his leg and let out a low growl. Her yellowish eyes pinned on Macy.

      Rhett pivoted to see what had captured his dog’s attention. His eyebrows rose when he spotted Macy. His eyes were such a shocking shade of blue and his tanned skin only made them stand out more.

       I’m sorry I kissed you and ran off.

       I’m sorry I never returned your calls. I was confused. I let too much time pass.

       I ruined everything.

      She swallowed the words rushing through her mind.

      Macy tucked her thumb over her scarred finger. “You snuck out the back?”

      Rhett patted Kodiak’s head before he lobbed the ball in a wide arc. It splashed down in the middle of the lake. The dog became a blur of brown along the shoreline. She dove into the water, going under before paddling wildly.

      Rhett crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t know I was supposed to check in with the assistant before leaving.”

      “Listen.” Macy squared her shoulders and lifted her chin a notch higher to hold his gaze. “We need to come to some sort of a truce here or else work is СКАЧАТЬ