At the Rancher's Request. Sara Orwig

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СКАЧАТЬ you made it across. We’re supposed to get sleet and later snow. I’m glad you’re back.”

      “We’re thankful to be here. Ray, this is Ms. Grayson. She had car trouble and we left her car at Ed’s. She’ll stay here tonight.”

      “Howdy, Ms. Grayson,” he said, bending down to look at her.

      “Just call me Savannah, please.”

      “Savannah, this is Ray Farndale, my foreman.”

      “Thanks for waiting to help,” she said.

      “Glad our help wasn’t needed. Mike, we’ll see you in the morning. We all better head home before it gets worse. If it keeps up, that bridge will be far enough under water no one can cross.”

      “What about the animals? Do you guys need any help tonight?”

      “Thanks, no. You get Scotty and Ms. Grayson out of the storm. We’re fine, so far. I’ll call if we need you. If the temperature drops the way they say it will, then tomorrow will bring a different set of problems.”

      “I’ll join you in the morning because we’ll need every hand.” He raised his window as he drove past the other men and waved.

      “Scotty slept right through that,” she said. “I have to say, I’m supremely glad the bridge held. You were very calm. You must not rattle easily.”

      “It wouldn’t have helped for me to get worked up.” Mike smiled at her. “Let’s go home,” he said, the words wrapping around her with a reassurance that was comforting.

      In minutes the first lights could be seen through the rain-covered windshield. One truck turned off and headed away. “Where is that pickup going?” she asked.

      “Ray and a couple of guys are headed out to see about our livestock. The men all have phones and walkie-talkies so they can keep in touch.”

      “And you like this ranch life?” she asked.

      He smiled. “Yes, the good outweighs the bad. Everything has ups and downs. There is something new every day and constant challenges.”

      “And you like that?” she repeated, shaking her head. “Good thing you can keep calm. I’d hate to be headed out in the blizzard in the dark.” She wondered about his rugged life that was so different from everything she knew. She looked into the darkness and shivered, thankful to be in a warm car.

      They passed a large hangar. Farther along, Savannah could see lights from houses set back long distances from both sides of the road. Next, outbuildings came into view and then two large barns and corrals. In seconds the road divided, the remaining truck turned and headed away from them.

      “The guys are going home or to the bunkhouse. Some of them have houses and families here.”

      She rode in silence as they passed more outbuildings and an eight-bay garage. Beyond it was a fence and a sprawling three-story ranch house. Mike punched buttons on his phone and lights came on in the house. The drive circled beneath a porte cochere.

      “I guess I won’t have to sleep on the floor,” she said, startled by the size of his home and outbuildings. She turned to him. “All this from raising cows?”

      “All this from having ancestors who were the first cattle barons who settled here. Each generation has built on that. We’ve been fortunate. We still raise cattle.”

      With a hiss the rain changed to sleet and Mike’s smile vanished as he swore quietly. “This we don’t need, but I’m thankful it held off until now.”

      She nodded and looked up. He gazed into her blue eyes and she gazed back. The low dash lights bathed her face in a pink glow, revealing rosy cheeks, big blue eyes and smooth skin. As he looked into her wide eyes, he became aware of her as a woman. A current sparked and he saw her eyelids flutter at the same time he felt electricity ignite between them. Startled, he stared at her while his surprise held him immobile. He hadn’t been aware of another woman since losing Elise to cancer almost two years ago, a year after Scotty’s birth. Shocked by his reaction, Mike forgot how he was staring at Savannah. He looked away, turning to gaze at the rain.

      She glanced over her shoulder. “Lucky boy. He’s still asleep.”

      “I’ll carry him in and come back to get your suitcases,” Mike said.

      “Don’t worry about my things tonight. I’ll get the bag I need and the rest can wait until tomorrow. You take care of your son.”

      “His nanny is away right now or she would come help. Her daughter has a new baby and Nell, Mrs. Lewis, has gone to help for a few weeks.”

      “I’m in no rush,” Savannah said, slipping on a backpack and gathering her laptop, purse and a suitcase.

      Mike unbuckled Scotty and picked him up, carrying his sleeping son in his arms.

      “He’s a sound sleeper,” she whispered.

      Mike smiled. “Thank heaven.” He opened the door and held it wide for her. She stepped inside and turned to hold the door out of his way while he carried Scotty inside and switched off an alarm.

      “Scotty is growing up in a comfortable, beautiful home,” she said as they walked down a wide hall that held green plants, oil paintings of landscapes and Western scenes in ornate frames, Queen Anne chairs and tables along the walls. Doors opened onto rooms they passed, giving her a glimpse of a formal dining room with a massive table that had to seat twenty. She passed a library with ladders and an open beam ceiling.

      “Mike, that’s an enormous library. Do you read constantly?”

      He smiled and nodded. “It’s the family library. Many of the books are very old. Scotty has his own bookshelves in his room, so he doesn’t try to pull out valuable first editions from the family collection.”

      “I don’t know how Scotty finds his way around this house.”

      “This house seems large because it’s new to you. You’ll know your way around in no time.”

      “Which means you think I’ll be snowed in for several days.”

      “Don’t sound so glum. You didn’t mention having a deadline and we’ll find some way to pass the time.”

      He smiled at her and she had to laugh. Was he flirting with her? She didn’t know him well enough to know. They branched off into the front hall with a sweeping staircase and she went upstairs beside Mike.

      “This ranch is my whole life. My brothers have other interests, but my world is here. My sister is like me and has a ranch close by. I also have a house in Verity that I never use and a condo in Dallas that I’m rarely in. Do you live in town or in the country in Arkansas?”

      “Definitely in town,” Savannah answered. “I don’t know anything about country living much less life on a Texas ranch.”

      They walked down another wide hall. “My suite of rooms is at the end of this wing. Any of these bedrooms are empty along here. You might as well be closer so you don’t feel isolated. Scotty’s suite adjoins mine and his nanny has a suite adjoining his СКАЧАТЬ