The Texas Rancher's New Family. Allie Pleiter

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       Chapter Three

      “So...” Ellie said as she eased her swollen frame next to Tess on the overstuffed wicker couch on Gran’s front porch the next day. “What’s Cooper Pine like?” Ellie and her husband, Nash, had a house in town near the office where Nash was sheriff, but on days when Nash was on duty Ellie often came out to the ranch house where Gran loved to fuss over her very pregnant granddaughter.

      “I’m just taking care of my girl,” Gran would always say—even though at eighty-five Gran ought to start letting other people take care of her. Some days it was hard to judge which woman’s body gave her more grief; swollen Ellie or aging Gran.

      “He’s nicer than he looks on television,” Tess offered.

      Gran gave a scandalous wink. “That must be pretty nice. Those Pine brothers are some fine-looking men. Good horse trainers, too,” she added when Ellie rolled her eyes.

      “His little girl is darling,” Tess explained.

      “So he’s not married—or not married anymore—but a single dad?” Ellie asked. “How come no one knows about his little girl?”

      Fishing for the right words to explain the girl’s situation, Tess offered, “I hope it isn’t her disability. She doesn’t seem to let the fact that she has one leg slow her down a bit.”

      “One leg?” Gran’s eyes popped. “Like an amputee?”

      “I don’t know,” Tess answered. “She was wearing a frilly dress long enough that it was hard to tell anything beyond the fact that there was only one boot and that she walked with crutches. I didn’t think it was right to ask. She wasn’t wearing a prosthesis, though, and it certainly wasn’t a new injury. She was faster than me on those things.”

      “I had no idea,” Ellie said. “Like I said, they never mention a daughter on the show. Yes, I watch,” she admitted when Tess gave her a look. “I have to spend a lot of time off my feet these days and they’re entertaining when they bicker. Reminds me of Luke and Gunner.”

      “Or Luke and you, for that matter,” Gran said to Tess. “There were days I thought you two would skin each other alive the way you fought. Did you find out his plans for the place? Is Gunner right to be worried that it will become some tourist attraction?”

      Tess thought about the way Cooper had dodged her questions about his long-term plans. “Sophie said they would be there ‘forever,’ but he only said a very vague ‘maybe.’ Why hide plans no one would object to? I got the clear impression he isn’t eager to tell anyone what he’s up to.”

      “Well, he hasn’t bought yet.” Gran stirred her iced tea and looked out over the Blue Thorn pastures. “That gives us some time to figure out what’s going on.”

      Tess followed her gaze, seeing the ranch with fresh eyes after being gone for as long as she had, traveling around the world on freelance photography assignments for a collection of travel guides. Over a hundred bison now roamed the grassy stretches Gran and Grandpa and then Dad had worked when the Blue Thorn was a cattle ranch. Gran had a right to be fiercely protective of what happened around the Blue Thorn. Bucktons had fought long and hard for generations to keep this ranch up and running, and no one wanted it to become the sideshow to a Pine Brothers’ publicity circus.

      Gran set down the glass. “We should get to know him. It’s the right thing to do, and useful besides. How old did you say his girl is?”

      “Six as of yesterday. Although she reminds me of Audie—a lot smarter and more mature than her years. I get the feeling nothing gets by that girl.”

      “Even better. You go on back over there tomorrow, bring them some bison burgers, and invite them to supper Saturday. Audie won’t have school so the two girls can meet, and we can throw us a barbecue like he’s never seen.”

      Tess laughed. “They barbecue in Australia, Gran. They barbecue in Korea, for that matter. And he’s spent a fair amount of time in Texas. I think he’s seen barbecue.”

      Gran grinned. “Not ours. The man’s already tasted my brownies—how could he possibly turn us down?”

      Tess envisioned Glenno dissecting Gran’s brownies behind Cooper’s back and just gave her grandmother a sigh. A second unannounced visit to Cooper and Sophie? Would that look odd? It wasn’t like they had a phone number she could just call. She was pondering about how to word her invitation when she became aware of silence on the porch, and Gran’s eyes fixed on her. “I’ll go over there tomorrow.”

      “That’s fine and dandy, but let’s talk about you.” Gran picked up her knitting—a baby blanket in cheery blocks of turquoise and white. Ellie was working on a sweater of the same color combination from her spot on the couch. “I’m glad you’re back, but you still haven’t really said why.”

      “I’m home to see Ellie’s twins being born. To do the whole godparent thing with Luke. For Luke and Ruby’s wedding. There are plenty of reasons to be here, so why wouldn’t I visit now?”

      Ellie shifted her weight on the couch. “You came home with four suitcases and two cameras. This isn’t a visit.” After a moment Ellie added, “Is it?”

      How could she give an answer she didn’t yet know herself? It was so, so good to be home and yet at the same time, she didn’t know what her place was here anymore. Her other siblings had settled so thoroughly into the running of the ranch and its side businesses. Where did she fit? Tess felt like the missing piece in a nearly finished puzzle—everything else was in its place but her. “I’m staying through the wedding, but I don’t know my schedule after that.”

      That was a very sketchy way of glossing over the fact that she’d sold all the rest of her equipment and her furniture, walked out on an apartment lease and didn’t have new work lined up. “I СКАЧАТЬ