The Texas Rancher's Return. Allie Pleiter

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СКАЧАТЬ a broad smile. “I am so very pleased to meet you, young lady. I like a gal who goes at her research with gusto.”

      Brooke walked up to Gunner and said quietly, “Thanks for this, but I do remember you saying Daisy could be irritable. Are you sure this will be okay?”

      Gunner pushed his hat back on his head. “For any other animal I’d say maybe it would be a problem. We do have plenty of bison who don’t much take to folks. Only, I think Daisy will be okay. And whatever questions Daisy fails to answer—” his eyes took on just a sliver of a cordiality “—Gran and I can fill in the blanks.”

      “Can I get my picture with her? For the report?” Audie asked.

      “I think we can manage that,” Mrs. Buckton replied. “And when we’re done, you just happened to come on a day when I made cookies.”

      Gunner raised one eyebrow in a suspicious glance at his grandmother that told Brooke just how much of a “coincidence” that really was.

      “Thank you,” Brooke offered again, meaning it. “I know you’re busy and...”

      “Nothin’ to it.” Gunner cut her off. “We’re all about community awareness out here.” The words sounded recited, as if he didn’t really mean them.

      “Really?” she replied. “I didn’t take you as the kind to welcome visitors.”

      “I’m not the kind to welcome DelTex, if that’s what you mean.”

      Brooke stood as tall as she could. “I’m not here from DelTex, Mr. Buckton. I’m just a mom with a little girl who wants to do a school report.”

      Gunner pushed out a breath. “Well, in that case, more people need to understand how important the bison are and value them. The bison—and all of us—need the land to thrive. That’s something people need to understand.”

      “Especially third graders,” Audie offered.

      “And maybe a few big companies I could name,” Gunner added in low tones.

      Brooke squared her shoulders, trying not to feel small against the man’s broad stance. Having met the grandmother, she noted his features took on an odd duality—so like Mrs. Buckton’s and yet with such a different attitude. “How about,” she said as quietly as she could, “we agree to leave the politics out of this and just let a little girl write a report?”

      He shot her a dubious look, crossing his lean arms over his broad chest as Mrs. Buckton took Audie’s hand and they stepped down off the porch to walk toward a series of outbuildings. “Is that even possible?” he said the moment the pair was out of earshot.

      “Do you really think I set this up as some kind of stunt for work? That I’d use my own daughter to weasel my way onto your land?”

      His resulting expression told her that was exactly what Gunner Buckton thought. “You work for DelTex.”

      “Look, your family may have a file inches thick and a long, thorny—” she used the word on purpose “—history with my boss, but I assure you, I haven’t studied it. That’s not even my department, and at this moment it’s definitely not my concern. This is about Mrs. Cleydon’s third-grade class and nothing else. If you want to blame someone for setting the whole thing in motion, blame Daisy.”

      “Daisy did what bison do. You’re the one who sicced your daughter on my grandma.”

      Brooke put her hand to her forehead. “She said she needed to learn about buffalo and I’d run into a buffalo...bison,” she corrected when his eyes narrowed, “just hours earlier. Any parent would have done the same thing.”

      “Would any parent have let her daughter do the asking so that I’d look like a heel if I said no?”

      He had her there. Brooke knew letting Audie make the call worked in her favor. But the truth was Audie was fearless and wanted to make the call. Brooke hadn’t talked Audie into anything, but she was guilty of knowing that putting Audie on the phone increased her chances of success. Really, was that so awful if it made today’s visit possible?

      An argument wouldn’t help Audie get her interview, so Brooke squelched her frustration at Gunner and let out a long, slow exhale. “Are you going to let Audie meet Daisy? Because if you’re not, then I think it’s best I go get her now. But,” she added with an effort to keep the edge out of her voice, “I’d really appreciate if you would.”

      Gunner exhaled himself, although it sounded far too much like a hiss through his teeth. “No, I’ll do it. I’d never hear the end of it from Gran if I didn’t.” He turned to look at her. “I have your word this isn’t a setup?”

      It was common knowledge that there was no love lost between the Bucktons and Mr. Markham, but it was a little chilling to see how deep the enmity ran. Brooke wasn’t fool enough to miss that her boss had his share of critics—every successful man did—but she couldn’t shake the way this man’s glare settled in the pit of her stomach. “I promise you this is just what it seems—a little girl doing a project for school. One she’s really excited about.”

      Brooke lowered her voice and swallowed her pride. “Since my husband died, things have been a bit on the tight side, and I don’t get to pull off many amazing-mom moments. I’d be grateful if we could make this one stick.”

      A squeal, followed by peals of little-girl-and-old-lady laughter, came from the barn. “Okay,” Gunner said. He gave her a look just a few notches softer than his previous glare. “For science and all.”

      “For science,” she echoed as they stepped off the porch in unison. And not-so-amazing single moms everywhere, she added silently.

      * * *

      Audie looked shocked once they turned the corner to the small fenced-in yard where Daisy was currently being held to keep her wandering tendencies in check. “Mr. Buckton, she’s peeling!”

      Gunner had to laugh at that. Daisy’s coat was sloughing off in big batches, but he’d never thought of it as peeling before. “Well, actually, she’s just losing her winter coat. It’s called molting.”

      “Does it hurt?”

      “I suppose it itches. She and the other bison rub up against things to help the old hair come off.”

      Audie cocked her head to one side, braids bobbing. “Doesn’t she need her hair?”

      “Yes, but not that hair. It’s too thick for spring.” Okay, so maybe he was enjoying this a tiny bit. Still, he wasn’t going to give Brooke Calder the satisfaction of letting it show. He pointed to Daisy as she stood on the far side of the pen. “Daisy has lots of different kinds of hair on her body, which she uses in lots of different ways.” Audie stood on the fence rails, her tiny shoulders coming up to Gunner’s chest as he pointed out parts of the animal. “The big long eyelashes keep the dust out of her eyes so she can see. And even though she’s molting out of her winter layer now, she still has her undercoat—that’s the thick fuzzy part underneath that keeps her cool in the summer and warm in the winter.”

      Audie turned to look at Gunner, wobbling enough on the fence to make Brooke send a protective arm out around her daughter. As she stood on Audie’s other side, Gunner noticed that Brooke wasn’t much СКАЧАТЬ