Her Last Chance Cowboy. Tina Radcliffe

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СКАЧАТЬ moved around a lot,” Hannah said. There was no point sharing further details. Her past had nothing to do with the Maxwells other than when it intersected with theirs.

      Emma frowned. “I handle childcare at the ranch and I can tell you that kindergarten is mandatory in Oklahoma.”

      “It’s not in Texas, Kansas and Missouri.”

      “You certainly have traveled,” Emma murmured.

      Traveled. Hannah nearly laughed out loud. Not quite. She had been running from her grandmother’s reach for nearly seven years. Staying one step ahead of the wealthy woman who insinuated that she could take Clementine away from Hannah if she so desired.

      “I’m sure we have some area you could contribute to on Big Heart Ranch.”

      “What’s your background?” Lucy asked.

      “Recently, I’ve been a bookkeeper, cashier and mostly a cook.”

      “All useful skills.” Travis shook his head. “Can you ride?”

      “Yes, absolutely. I have an extensive background with horses. I’ve been riding since I was a kid. I worked in children’s camps and equine clinics when I was a teenager and in college.” Hannah paused and swallowed. “However, there’s something you should know.”

      “What’s that?” he asked.

      “I’m pregnant.” Hannah sat straight and proudly. Yes, she was a single mother whose husband had left her not once, but twice. But she refused to give in to the whispers of shame fueled by her grandmother that had dogged her for the past seven years.

      “Congratulations,” Travis said. He grinned like a preening peacock as he put his arm around his wife. “AJ and I have a baby due in August.” He glanced over at Emma. “And Emma and Zach are expecting a baby in December.”

      “That’s wonderful,” Hannah said.

      Emma chimed in, “When is your baby due?”

      “Late December.”

      “Congratulations,” Emma added, her face lighting up with genuine pleasure. “Oh, my, we’re due at the same time.”

      “I’ll add my congratulations, too,” Lucy said. “As you can see, we love babies around here. Your...um, partner is with you in Oklahoma?”

      “I’m recently divorced.” She cleared her throat and once again focused on her hands, running her thumb over a ragged hangnail. Recently divorced because once he’d found out she wasn’t going to be a wealthy woman, he’d walked away.

      An awkward silence stretched before Lucy cleared her throat.

      “You do understand what we do here at the ranch, right?” Lucy asked.

      “Not exactly,” Hannah admitted.

      “We create a new normal for the children who come to live with us at Big Heart Ranch. We have two ranches here, the boys’ ranch and the girls’ ranch. The children are placed in a real house with house parents, not a dormitory. Though they aren’t a biological family, they are a family of the heart. A forever family. Our children have daily devotionals, lessons, homework and chores, just like any other child.”

      Lucy looked to Travis. “We have been promising Tripp an admin to do the paperwork, scheduling and ordering supplies for about two years now, haven’t we?”

      Travis nodded with enthusiasm. He turned to Tripp, but the equine manager’s face remained stony. The blue eyes flickered and his jaw twitched, though he didn’t utter a word.

      “We’d still have to run a background and fingerprint check,” Emma chimed in. “It’s ranch policy.”

      “Would you consider staying?” Lucy asked.

      “I don’t know...” Hannah murmured with a glance at Tripp Walker.

      “Tripp?” Emma nudged the silent cowboy.

      “If the Maxwells welcome you, then so do I.” The words were a slow drawl, his gaze cautious, revealing nothing to indicate he’d changed his opinion about her.

      Hannah was silent. So what if the horse manager didn’t like her? This wasn’t about her. She wouldn’t knee-jerk and make a decision based on pride. Clementine and her unborn child deserved to be around family, if that’s what the Maxwells really were.

      “Thank you. I’ll stay...for now.”

      She glanced around the table for a moment. Did she dare to hope that Big Heart Ranch might be the end of the road? A place where she and her children would be welcomed unconditionally? Or would she always be searching for home?

      It’s in Your hands now, Lord, she silently prayed.

       Chapter Two

      Disoriented, Hannah sat up in bed. Something was off. Normally, she woke to the spring scents of hyacinths, daffodils and lilac that floated into her furnished apartment from the florist shop downstairs.

      Her searching gaze landed on Clementine, who slept soundlessly in the next bed, cuddled into a softly faded multicolored quilt with her pink stuffed horse clutched to her chest.

      Hannah blinked against the dappled sunlight sneaking into the room through the blinds and realized she was in a guest bunkhouse at Big Heart Ranch. Today was Saturday. She yawned as Friday’s events came back to her.

      “This is it,” Rue Butterfield had announced when they arrived at the bunkhouse yesterday afternoon.

      Hannah had enough money for one night at the Rooster before they’d have to head back to Missouri. Staying at Big Heart Ranch was an answer to prayer.

      “This is where we’re staying?” Hannah had asked Rue. The bunkhouse was a rustic log cabin cottage with six bunks, a small living room and a kitchen area. It was several paychecks nicer than her place above the floral shop in Dripping Falls. Yet, her grandmother would have been appalled.

      “Yes,” Rue had answered. “This is the guest bunkhouse.”

      Hannah had glanced across the room at a neatly made-up bed. “Who else lives here?”

      “That would be me. I stay when I’m needed and, with summer coming up, that will be most of the time.” She paused. “Oh, and Dutch will bring up your car and your bags. He put gas in your Honda.”

      “Dutch?”

      “Dutch Stevens. Senior wrangler. Can’t miss him. He’s bowlegged and has a silver handlebar mustache.”

      “Please tell him thank you. And thank you. For all this.” She had waved a hand around the room.

      “You’re family, dear.” Rue smiled.

      At that moment, СКАЧАТЬ