Reunited with the Cowboy. Carolyne Aarsen
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the yard toward the ranch house, Adana in his arms and her diaper bag slung over his shoulder. The sun was gaining strength, he thought, looking across the yard to the mountains beyond, cradling the basin. He could feel the promise of spring in the warmth on his back and the sound of water trickling across the driveway as the last of the snow melted.
He heard cows bawling, gathered in the lots. They would be calving in a month. If things went well, and Monty accepted his proposal, John would soon be a partner in the ranch. He would have a personal stake in the success and health of the calves.
He wasn’t going to jeopardize that in any way.
With that in mind, he headed directly to the main house. Tanner’s truck was parked in front. Obviously, Keira’s fiancée had come by to see Heather.
John got to the front door and Adana banged her hands on his shoulders, squirming away from him. “No. Not go to house. Go on the wagon,” she protested, as he struggled to hold her wriggling body while he opened the door.
As soon as he stepped into the house and tried to set her down, she started crying loudly. The diaper bag slipped off his shoulder and fell to the floor, the contents spilling out.
“Do you need some help?”
John was crouched down, Adana still crying, sitting on his knee as he tried to gather up the cups and diapers, so he had to look up at Heather.
Her hair hung loose today, the morning light from the windows beside the door making it shine. She wore a simple white blouse and blue jeans, and had an empty laundry basket resting on her hip.
She looked so much like the old Heather that his traitorous heart did a slow flip.
He hid his reaction to her by grabbing the diapers, dismayed when he realized that they had been lying in a puddle of melting snow from another pair of cowboy boots.
“Here, let me help you,” Heather said, setting the laundry basket on the blanket box and picking up various items that had spilled out. “We’ll need to clean these up.”
“Pwetty, pwetty,” Adana called out, her mood switching with lightning speed.
Except now, instead of reaching for the door, she was leaning toward Heather, arms outstretched. The sudden shift made John wobble on his feet.
“Can you take her?” he asked, trying to not drop everything again as he straightened. Wouldn’t that be just amazing, if he ended up on his backside right in front of her.
“Um. Sure.” He didn’t have time for her hesitation. He shifted his arm, pushing Adana toward Heather. She took the little girl just in time and he managed to regain his balance and keep his pride.
“Guess I can just throw these away,” he muttered as he picked up the remaining diapers.
He glanced again at Heather, who held Adana in an awkward grip. He knew Mitch wasn’t the kid type. He had made that loud and clear at his bachelor party. But John had always thought Heather would want children.
Her forced smile and the self-conscious way she held his little girl showed him quite clearly how different Heather was from the girl he had once dated.
“I’ll take her now,” he said, setting the diaper bag back on the floor and reaching for his daughter. “Come on, sweetie.”
But Adana ignored him. Instead, she had her hands planted on Heather’s shoulders, grinning as she babbled away, clearly fascinated by her. “Pwetty, pretty,” she said.
“I think she likes my earrings.” Heather seemed uncomfortable, her expression hesitant.
But Adana wasn’t looking at the pearls hanging from Heather’s ears; her eyes were on Heather’s face.
“Probably,” John agreed. He caught Adana under the arms and was about to pull her away when she screeched her objection.
“No! No, Daddy! Pwetty!” She leaned away from him, then laid her head on Heather’s shoulder.
Heather shot him a flustered look. “I’m sorry.”
He didn’t know why his daughter had suddenly formed this attachment to a woman she didn’t know. Adana was an easygoing girl, but she didn’t quickly go to strangers.
Heather turned then, shifting her arms so that John could more easily take Adana from him.
“Hey, you two, are you coming in or are you going to keep yapping?” Tanner called out from the dining room.
Heather gave John an apologetic look, then walked into the kitchen. With Adana wriggling in his arms, he followed her.
“Hey, John.” Tanner leaned back in his chair, grinning as Heather sat down. “Coffee’s on. May as well join us. Monty’s in no rush to head out to feed cows this morning.”
John glanced around the room. Tanner, the son of the neighboring landowner, Monty and his two daughters were all sitting around the table.
And there he was, the son of the foreman, standing awkwardly, feeling like the outsider.
“Sure. I’ll join you,” he said, as Keira got up to take Adana from him.
“Hey, muffin,” Keira said, cuddling the little girl close. “You’re as cute as ever.”
John walked over to the coffeepot, grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured himself a cup. He knew his way around this kitchen as well as his own.
“So, John, what’s Monty got you doing today?” Tanner asked.
“Got some fences to fix,” he replied. “The corrals need a few repairs.” He looked to Monty. “You still figure on processing the cows on Saturday?”
“I got that part for the hay bind coming in on Saturday morning first thing, but yeah. After that we can get ’er done.”
“I’ll have the cows ready to go, then,” John said, taking a sip of his coffee.
“You know, I could use a capable guy like you at my place,” Tanner said, grinning at him. “Why don’t you quit working for this character and come work for me?”
“You trying to poach my best hand?” Monty protested.
“Never hurts to ask,” Tanner said with an unapologetic shrug.
“John’s a Refuge Ranch man,” Monty said, with a broad grin. “Just like his daddy before him.”
John tried to tamp down his reaction to the banter between Monty and Tanner. Right now that was his reality. He was only the foreman like his daddy before him.
He thought of the proposal sitting in Monty’s office. Now that he was so close, he wanted it done. Then he glanced over at Heather, just as she looked up at him. Their eyes met and she looked away. But even in that brief moment, he was disappointed at how quickly the old feelings taunted him.
He turned to his daughter, feeling a need to get back to work. To keep himself busy. “Hey, muffin, Daddy has to go to work. Wanna sit with me before I go?”
Adana looked at him, then her eyes skittered to Heather. “Wanna sit her,” she said, wriggling away from John’s outstretched hands.
“C’mon, honey. Come sit with Daddy,” he coaxed.
“Sit her,” she insisted. Before anyone could stop her, she slid off Keira’s lap, scooted around John’s chair and headed straight to Heather.
“Guess you got dumped by your own daughter,” Tanner teased.
John was far too aware of the irony of the situation. Getting dumped by his daughter in favor of the woman who had dumped him.
He caught the look of wariness on Heather’s face as Adana toddled up to her, then her discomfort as the child tried to climb up on her lap.
John was just about to rescue his daughter when Heather finally picked her up. But Adana wasn’t