Raising The Rancher's Family. Patricia Thayer

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      The following morning, Holt came out of the barn to find a compact car pull up at the house. Leah Keenan climbed out and walked toward him. She was dressed in a white blouse, a pullover red sweater and a pair of jeans that molded to that curvy little body of hers. How could someone no bigger than a minute have such long legs?

      His gaze moved to her face. Her shiny, wheat-colored hair was pulled back into a ponytail, exposing flawless skin void of any makeup. She walked toward him and her rich brown eyes slowly widened and her full mouth creased in a big smile. Something in his chest tightened when she took off running then he realized her attention wasn’t directed at him.

      “Zach,” she cried as she flew into the arms of the old man standing in the doorway of the barn.

      The ranch foreman, Zach Shaw, took her into his arms and hugged her. “Leah,” he said. “I heard you came home.” He stood back to look at her. “Well, if you aren’t still the prettiest girl in town. It’s about time you came to see me.”

      “And if you aren’t the biggest fibber ever.” She sobered. “I’m so sorry about John. I hope he didn’t suffer.”

      Zach shook his head. “No, it was his heart. He was gone in minutes.” The old guy blinked, then smiled. “John talked about you a lot. And he sure enjoyed all the postcards you sent him. He said you’d gone to places whose names he couldn’t even pronounce.”

      “I couldn’t pronounce them, either.”

      They both laughed as Holt watched her wipe stray tears from her eyes and he suddenly felt like the intruder. His own father had known this woman, but never had taken the time to know his own son.

      He’d had enough of their friendly chatter. “If you two are finished reminiscing, we need to get started.” He walked past them into the barn.

      Leah followed. “Just tell me which horse you want me to saddle,” she said.

      He stopped at the stall. “It’s already done.”

      Zach came up behind them. “I thought you’d do best on Daisy.”

      Leah patted the mare’s neck. “You’re a pretty girl,” she crooned, then glanced back to Zach. “You didn’t have to saddle her.”

      “I didn’t,” the old man said. “Holt had her ready before I got the chance.”

      Holt led his mount toward the door. “I thought it would save us time.”

      “I’m ready,” Leah insisted as she opened the gate, grabbed the reins and followed close behind. “Zach, you want to go with us?”

      “No thanks, darlin’.” He glanced at Holt. “I’d say this is a two-person job. I’ll hold down the fort here. Besides, the little rustler might decide to come back here and steal again.”

      Leah’s gaze shot toward Holt. “Are you sure it was the boy?”

      Holt shrugged. “We’re short a couple of blankets, a flashlight and some food. What do you think? He came right into the house when we were out with the herd.”

      “The kid is pretty careful about not being seen,” Zach said. “If he’s running from someone, that probably means he isn’t being treated right.”

      “And we need to find him,” Leah said as she climbed up on Daisy.

      “Just be careful, you two,” the old man told them. “Holt, you can handle a horse just fine, but there’s a lot in this country you don’t know. Leah does. She can lead you to the caves.”

      Holt nodded. “We should be back in a few hours,” he said.

      Zach glanced from Holt to Leah and grinned. “Well, if I was a young buck again and had such a pretty companion, I wouldn’t be in such a hurry to get back.”

      Holt grimaced. Damn if the old man wasn’t matchmaking.