The Rancher's Family Wish. Lois Richer
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at all, but you should give me a heads-up before you come,” he said quickly. He liked to be prepared, get his barriers up, Burt would have said. “We’re working on replacement fencing up in the hills and I’m not always here.”
“Okay.” Was Sophie’s hesitation because she was as loath to leave as he was to have her go? “See you.”
I hope so.
He nodded and waved. When the van’s red taillights disappeared around the bend, Tanner let his hand fall to his side, marveling at how alone it suddenly felt in this place that had been his home for so long, the place he enjoyed particularly because of the solitude. Tonight he’d welcome company to stop him from thinking about Sophie, but Moses had disappeared to his little cottage after the kids had fallen asleep.
Tanner walked back inside Burt’s home, then jerked to a stop, suddenly seeing the rooms through new eyes. The updated modernity of the stainless steel kitchen and pristinely tiled bathroom didn’t match the worn and shabby masculinity of the living room. Whenever possible Tanner avoided sitting in Burt’s leather chair, the place where the kids had slept, because it had a spring that hit him in exactly the wrong spot. And it was becoming increasingly difficult to get comfortable on the stained and sagging plaid sofa, which was far too tattered to be restored by simple cleaning.
Tanner kept the place as tidy as he could, but tonight, through Sophie’s eyes, he wondered who in their right mind had chosen the dreary red-and-black wallpaper, which in no way went with the horrible mud-brown carpet that was alternately matted in places and threadbare in others. There was no warm, cozy feeling here, not like at Sophie’s home.
He thought about her suggestions for a day camp, which in his opinion had real merit. But if he pursued it there could be occasions when groups would have to come inside, say if it was raining or too windy outside. Burt had worked hard on the exterior appearance of Wranglers Ranch because he wanted those who visited to see his ranch in top-notch condition. Shouldn’t that include the inside of the house, as well?
This room definitely didn’t say “welcome.” Tanner didn’t have a clue how to achieve a hospitable feel, but he figured there were people in Tucson who did. He’d told Sophie he’d be working on fences, but his ranch hands were more than capable of doing that. He went along only in hopes the open spaces would help him figure out how to make Burt’s dream live. Instead Sophie had showed him how to start.
Tanner went back to the kitchen, grabbed his Bible from a shelf and sat down, prepared to ask God about his next move. Immediately his nose caught Sophie’s citrusy fragrance and his brain framed her laughing face.
Would she come back to Wranglers? Soon?
And why did it matter so much?
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