Stand-In Rancher Daddy. Renee Ryan

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СКАЧАТЬ at the innocuous comment about the weather. Clearly, conversation wasn’t the man’s strong suit.

      “Why, yes, it’s a lovely day indeed.” She brightened her smile. “I trust all is well at your ranch.”

      “Very well, thank you.”

      He broke eye contact, placed his palms on his knees and greeted the girls.

      Anna grinned around her spoon. “Hi, Mr. McKay.”

      Sarah showed off her pink bow, which he took considerable time admiring. “It’s very pretty.”

      “I know!” She shoved a bite of her ice cream in her mouth. “I tied it myself,” she announced, after swallowing.

      “Impressive.” He patted her shoulder, then straightened and faced CJ.

      The two men had barely shaken hands before they launched into a conversation about the unpredictable cattle prices this year due to inconsistent demand in the northern states.

      Molly found the conversation fascinating. She nearly joined in the discussion, but the girls chose that moment to finish their ice cream. She took their empty cups.

      As she set them on the table, a movement on her left had her looking over her shoulder. Her friend Lula May Barlow stood beneath the shade of a large oak tree. Her eight-year-old daughter, Pauline, was with her.

      Though Molly’s friend was also a widow that was where the similarities between them ended. Lula May had five children, ages six to seventeen. She was also beautiful and kind, with strawberry blond hair, dark blue eyes and a no-nonsense, take-charge nature Molly admired.

      She waved at her friend. Lula May waved back, then beckoned to her. Molly looked in the direction of her mother, discovering she was engaged in a conversation with Beatrice Rampart.

      Deciding she could use a good chat with Lula May, whose daughter looked as restless and bored as the twins had become, Molly laid a hand on CJ’s arm. “If you have no objection, I thought I’d take the girls away to play with my friend’s daughter.”

      He appeared to consider her request with a hint of indecision.

      Giving his arm a reassuring squeeze, she hitched her chin toward where Lula May and Pauline waited. “We’ll be right over there.”

      “Ah, yes.” He nodded at Lula May. “That’ll be fine.”

      Molly dropped her hand. “It was lovely to see you again, Mr. McKay.”

      The rancher tipped his hat. “Ma’am.”

      “Come on, girls.” Molly placed a smile in her voice and took hold of their hands. “Let’s go say hi to Mrs. Barlow and Pauline.”

      The twins declared this the grandest of grand ideas. They adored Pauline Barlow, as did Molly. Lula May’s only daughter was a sweet girl with bright red hair, a sunny disposition and eyes the same indigo blue as her mother’s.

      Seeming as eager as the twins, Pauline hurried to meet them halfway across a grassy knoll, her enthusiasm propelling her forward.

      “Hello, girls!” She barely stopped to take a breath before asking, “Want to play jacks with me?”

      “I do.” Anna all but vibrated with excitement. “I really, truly do.”

      Sarah frowned at her sister. “You don’t even know how to play jacks.”

      “Neither do you.”

      “I can learn.”

      Anna stuck out her bottom lip. “Well, I can, too.”

      Undaunted by the girls arguing, Pauline stepped between them. “I’ll teach you both how to play. I’m really good, just ask anyone.”

      Once she was given permission by Molly and her mother, Pauline led the girls to a flat spot on the other side of the tree, placed a wooden board on the ground and got down to the business of teaching the twins how to play jacks.

      Not until the three were chattering happily away did Lula May take Molly’s hand and hold on tight. “How are you? And I won’t take a pat answer. I want the truth.”

      Something in her friend’s eyes put Molly instantly on guard. “I’m...fine.”

      Looking far from convinced, Lula May dropped her hand, but continued holding Molly’s stare. She tried not to react to the searching glance.

      Her friend was known for being determined and direct. Sometimes too direct, as evidenced by her next words. “There’s talk going around about Ned and—” she leaned in close and lowered her voice to a hushed whisper “—it’s not very kind.”

      Dread swam through Molly’s mind, thundered inside her ears. She shouldn’t be surprised the gossip about Ned had spread so quickly. Constance Hickey enjoyed spreading rumors, the faster the better.

      Molly noted ever so gratefully that the girls were deep in to learning the new game. Nevertheless, she dropped her voice to the same low tone as her friend. “What have you heard?”

      Darting a worried glance at the twins, Lula May sighed. “Talk is going around that he left town without a single word of warning. And, I’m sorry to say—” she shot another quick glance at the girls “—there’s speculation he isn’t coming back.”

      Molly stared dully at her friend, dismayed at how detailed the gossip had become already. CJ and the twins had enough to worry about without having to fight off the stigma of rumors.

      It was so unfair.

      “I know it’s been rough for Ned since Penelope died,” Lula May said, not unkindly. “But I can’t imagine he would up and leave his daughters without a word.”

      In that, at least, Molly could set the record straight. “He left a note.”

      “Oh. Oh, my.” Lula May’s hand went to her throat. “Then it’s true. He’s really gone.”

      In quick, halting terms, Molly gave her friend the bare bones about Ned’s departure. She stuck to the basics and didn’t mention the whiskey, or that he’d taken CJ’s prize stallion.

      Proving she was a mother first and foremost, instant tears sprang into Lula May’s eyes. “Oh, those poor, dear little girls.”

      Molly nodded, her gaze automatically returning to the twins. They seemed to be having fun, but she couldn’t help but notice that they were more subdued than usual. “CJ is doing his best to fill the void their father left.”

      “I’m sure he is.” Lula May couldn’t keep the obvious distress out of her voice. “It must be difficult for him, though, having to step in to the role without time to prepare.”

      “Ned’s only been gone three days.” Molly spoke the words in a near whisper. “There’s still hope he’ll return.”

      “There’s always room for hope.”

      Yes, Molly thought, there was. With СКАЧАТЬ