Her Wyoming Hero. Rebecca Winters

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      “There are two bedrooms.” They followed him past the front room to the hallway. “The bathroom is behind that door. Which room would you like, Andy?” One room had a queen-size bed, the other contained twin beds.

      “I guess that one.” He meant the one on the right with the two beds.

      “Good.” Ross set down the case.

      His mother joined them and lowered her case to the floor. “This cozy room will be perfect for both of us. We’ll figure everything out later. Let’s go check out the snacks.”

      Andy put the other suitcase down and gave his mother a startled glance before they all moved to the other room. “We’re going to sleep in the same room?”

      “Why not? We don’t ever get to do it at home. I think it will be fun. We’ll read stories to each other.” She walked over to the table near the minifridge. “What’s in these little pouches?”

      “Pine nuts gathered on the ranch.”

      She smiled at Ross before putting a couple in her mouth. “Umm...nummy. Here, honey. Try some. Put out your hand.” When Andy did her bidding, she poured a few in his palm, then she turned to Ross. “What about you?”

      How could he say no? He didn’t like admitting it, but she had a disarming way about her. “Thank you.” He tossed back a few. “Just so you know, the maids come in daily to do housekeeping. If you need wash done, put it in the laundry bag hanging on the bathroom door and they’ll return your clothes before evening.”

      “Talk about being pampered,” she murmured. Just as he was thinking what a statement for her to make when you considered her background, her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket to check the caller ID. It wiped the smile from her face.

      “Excuse me. I need to answer this.” She clicked on and said hello. After a minute she said, “I planned to call you, but we just walked in our cabin with Mr. Livingston.”

      Another pause, then, “Yes. He’s right here.” She called to Andy, who was looking in the minifridge. “Your grandfather wants to talk to you.”

      “Do I have to?” he grumbled.

      “I think you better.”

      Andy didn’t look happy about it, but he walked over and reached for the phone. “Hello?” There was more silence before he said, “It’s a nice ranch. I guess we’ll be going riding. Mr. Livingston’s going to take us.” Whether that explanation was meant to satisfy his grandfather on some level or whether the idea of it actually sounded interesting to Andy, Ross didn’t know yet.

      “I’ll be careful, but I’ve got to go now.” Another pause. “I will.” He hung up and whispered something to his mom.

      Mother and son needed to be alone. Ross eyed them. “If you’ll forgive me, I have an errand to run before dinner.” Because of the smoke in the air he needed to take his medicine. “The dining room will be open in an hour. Shall I come by for you in the Jeep, or would you like to walk and meet me there? We’ll discuss an itinerary for you while we eat.”

      “Oh, walk! Definitely.” She escorted him to the door where he stepped out on the porch. “Thank you for everything, Mr. Livingston.”

      He detected a catch in her voice. His little talk to Andy would have affected her, too. She’d lost her husband, yet was trying to remain upbeat for her son. Ross admired that. Somehow her emotion had gotten under his skin. Facing her he said, “You’re welcome, Mrs. Wentworth. Call me Ross.”

      “I’m Kit.”

      His brows lifted. “Is that your given name?”

      “No. I was named Kathryn, but the grandmother who raised me after my parents died called me Kit and it stuck.”

      Ross liked it. She was the antithesis of the woman he’d been expecting once he’d known her background. Despite his initial misgivings, there were a dozen questions he wanted to ask, but this wasn’t the time.

      “I’m sorry about Andy,” she said in a quiet voice.

      “What do you mean?”

      “He’s been going through a bad time and knows better than to whisper in front of company. My father-in-law wants me to call him before I go to bed, that’s all.”

      She hadn’t owed him an explanation. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you later then.” He climbed in the Jeep and took off without looking back.

      After parking at the rear of the main ranch house, he entered the back door and strode swiftly down the hall to the stairs. He kept his medicine in his bathroom on the second floor.

      “Hey, Ross?” At the sound of Willy’s voice he swung around. “I saw you drive up when I was outside. You had a phone call that sounded important, if you know what I mean.” He handed him a piece of paper with a phone number on it with a wink.

      Ross was afraid he did. “Thanks.” He took the stairs two at a time. When he reached the bedroom, he medicated himself and then lay down on the bed to find out who’d called him. It was Cindy. He needed to put an end to her hopes. She answered on the second ring.

      “Hey, cowboy. Am I going to see you tonight?”

      Cindy Lawrence had been a lot of fun, but the hungry kiss she’d given Ross last night had offered too much. He should have enjoyed it. The beautiful moonlit night, unusually warm, should have worked its magic. But if Ross hadn’t known on the bar’s dance floor that it would be the one and only hour he spent with her, he knew it now.

      He’d made the mistake of asking the flirtatious waitress to do some line dancing with him because he hadn’t wanted to go back to the ranch house last night until he was ready to crash. The upstairs of the house was too empty.

      “Much as I’d like to drop in tonight, I won’t be able to,” he said, trying to let her down gently. “A new family of a fallen marine just arrived in Jackson this afternoon. They’re our guests on the dude ranch for a while and I’m in charge. Thanks for the dancing. It was fun.”

      The eagerness faded from her voice. “In other words you’re not coming back anytime soon.”

      No. The attraction simply wasn’t there. He’d been with a lot of women since coming to Wyoming, but so far all his relationships had been fleeting. “You never know. It’s a busy time on the ranch. See you around, Cindy.”

      Without wasting any more time, Ross phoned the oil company he’d been researching and arranged for a meeting on Monday out at the site. Then he hung up and set his watch alarm. The medicine was working on him, making him drowsy. He closed his eyes, realizing that when he was awakened in an hour, he’d be seeing Kit Wentworth again. The thought shouldn’t matter to him, but somehow it did.

      * * *

      KIT WATCHED HER son go through the DVDs in the entertainment center. “Have you seen a movie you’d like to watch?” She got up from the kitchen table with a granola bar in her hand to look through the stack with him. The luxury of them being free like this had already gone to her head.

      “How about Up? I СКАЧАТЬ