Stand-In Rancher Daddy. Renee Ryan
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you?” She leaned forward, practically touching noses with him. “If I didn’t know better I’d say you were up to something devious.”
Chest puffed out, eyes narrowed, Calvin launched into a lengthy defense of his actions, whereby Daisy proceeded to dismantle each and every one of them. The more they argued the happier they seemed.
Molly hid a smile behind her hand. The conversation reminded her of several she’d witnessed early in Ned and Penelope’s courtship.
They’d bickered...er, bantered much like this. It hadn’t been long before they’d fallen deeply in love. Ned had been an attentive, patient, caring husband. Grief had turned him into a different man. But that didn’t have to be how their love story ended. He could still return and become a father to his children, the way Penelope would have wanted.
With hope building in her heart, Molly searched the area for Ned’s rangy build and shaggy brown hair. She found no sign of him. But there, beneath a tall cottonwood tree, stood the rest of the Thorn family.
CJ was larger than life, handsome and clean-shaven and so very capable. He didn’t wear a hat this morning, but still looked like the quintessential rancher, strong and leanly built, yet with shoulders broad enough to carry the burdens of his loved ones.
The girls clung to his hands with utter confidence that he would keep them safe. On closer inspection, Molly realized CJ wasn’t as in control as he seemed. He had that harried look again. His features were weary and a little rough around the edges. He’d had a trying morning.
He needs me.
The thought drew her several steps toward him.
“I’ll be over there,” she said to her sister, “with the Thorn family.” She nodded toward the rancher and two little girls standing beneath the large tree.
Still in a heated discussion with Calvin, Daisy waved her away with a flick of her wrist. As Molly moved in CJ’s direction, she came to the conclusion she should have never agreed to take the morning off.
He was clearly in over his head with the twins. She couldn’t begin to imagine how alone he must feel with Ned gone.
Or perhaps she could.
Hadn’t she, even surrounded by her family, felt alone since returning home?
Well, she wasn’t alone. And neither was CJ.
They had each other. They had solidarity in their common purpose to provide a home for the twins. Their bond wouldn’t last forever, but for now, Molly and CJ were connected.
She moved quickly, suddenly in a great hurry. She’d barely made it halfway to her destination when she made the decision to sit with the Thorns during service instead of her own family.
Deep down, where she understood the pain of loss, Molly knew it was the right thing to do. Nothing could induce her to change her mind, not even the prospect of her mother’s, and possibly even her father’s, disapproval.
* * *
At last, CJ thought. Help was on the way.
With each step Molly took in his direction, he felt the tension draining out of him.
He let out a slow, careful breath. All morning he’d been feeling raw. Too raw. He wasn’t a man who liked to accept defeat. Yet he wasn’t so full of pride that he couldn’t admit, at least to himself, that this morning had nearly done him in and demonstrated just how much he relied on Molly. Not only to care for the girls, but also for the day-to-day running of his household.
She was a calming influence and the stability they all needed—not just Sarah and Anna, but CJ, too.
If she ever left him...
Not the point, he told himself.
He needed to figure out how to thank her for all she’d done for his family since Penelope’s passing. Somehow he would find a way to repay her for her sacrifice.
She looked uncommonly beautiful this morning in a blue cotton dress with a white lace collar and long sleeves. The cut of the garment emphasized her tiny waist and petite frame.
He attempted to swallow past the lump in his throat, without much success. Molly took his breath away.
If he were from a different family...
“Miss Molly,” Anna called out. “Miss Molly, over here! We’re over here.”
Sarah wasn’t content with merely waving. She pulled her hand free of CJ’s and raced to meet Molly across the small expanse of grass. Anna followed hard on her sister’s heels.
Molly greeted both girls with a hug and a kiss on the top of their heads.
“Well, look who it is.” She stepped back and smiled down at the twins. “My two favorite girls in all of Little Horn, Texas. And don’t you look especially pretty this morning.”
“Unca Corny picked out our dresses,” Sarah told her.
“He tried to make breakfast.” Anna swayed her shoulders back and forth with little-girl pride. “He didn’t do so good. He burned the oatmeal and Cookie had to make more.”
Molly’s compassionate gaze met his. “Sounds like you had an...interesting morning.”
Finding humor in the situation now that she was here to share it with him, CJ chuckled softly. “Though I wouldn’t want to repeat the experience any time soon, we survived well enough.”
“Is that so?” She lifted her eyebrows and simply looked at him for a single beat. The pause was small but marked. At least she refrained from reminding him what he already knew. The exasperating morning could have been avoided if he hadn’t insisted she take the day off.
“Miss Molly, look. I’m wearing my favorite pink ribbon.” Sarah touched the floppy bow with reverent fingers. “I tied it all by myself.”
“You did a lovely job.” Under the guise of inspecting the ribbon, Molly retied the bow, then moved it around until it sat straight on the child’s head. “Pink is my favorite color.”
“It’s Pa’s favorite, too.” Sarah’s gaze skittered toward the crowded tent. “I wore it just for him.”
The wistful note in her voice broke CJ’s heart. He shared a tortured look with Molly.
Her ragged sigh told him she was thinking along the same lines as he was. His brother always made it to church, a fact the twins had reminded him of this morning.
“Pa says Sunday is the most important day of the week,” Sarah had told him, while Anna had added, “And we’re never supposed to miss Sunday service. Not ever.”
Somewhere along the way, the two had gotten it into their heads that Ned would show up at church today. CJ wasn’t anywhere near as confident. If Ned didn’t make an appearance, the twins would know that their father was truly gone.
Anger at his brother burned the air in his lungs. How could Ned have done this to his children?
Service was about to begin. CJ knew this because Mrs. Hickey climbed in to the back of the wagon where an ancient piano had been carted in from the schoolhouse. Lips pursed, she positioned her sharp-boned, skinny self at the ancient keyboard and pounded out a wheezing refrain of the opening hymn.
CJ’s muscles went taut. His nerves clawed and scrambled beneath his skin. He looked around, tugged on his collar. The air felt too heavy, too still. A baby’s squall sounded over the din of the organ music.
Where was Ned?
Until that moment, CJ hadn’t realized how much he’d allowed the girls’ enthusiasm to seep through his skepticism. He’d actually been expecting his brother to make an appearance.
“Miss Molly?” Anna’s small, tormented voice sounded a bit weepy, as if she were on the verge of tears. “Will...will you stay with us until Pa shows up?”
“Of