Page 16 of In Love with a Ranger

Christina’s mouth dropped open.

“That’s your solution?!”

“He’s right behind you,” Jill said simply – and Christina flew around expecting to see Gideon… only to hesitate as a faint tinkling laughter sounded in the silence behind her, just as a hand touched her shoulder. “Sweetie, relax. Gideon needs to heal, and you are here for the cows, remember? He’ll be a perfect gentleman toward you, and I’m willing to bet the ranch on that. He was a former Army Ranger, he’s injured, and the man has ethics oozing from his pores. I promise he will do nothing untoward or act inappropriately.”

“Does his wife know about this… arrangement?”

Jill raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

“What?” Christina said defensively. “It’s a legit question. Don’t give me that look. I just want to make sure that someone’s not going to show up and misconstrue something going on.”

“He’s not married, sweetie.”

“I see.”

“Me too,” Jill smiled softly. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“I have a feeling you’re going to anyhow just to get your way with this…” she grumbled in frustration, her mind racing.

“Years ago, a naïve woman put her heart out there when she met a man who was a stranger. Things might be different. We might have met under strange conditions, but whether it’s friendship or more depends on two people – not the simple fact that you are sharing a ten-by-ten cabin.”

Jill paused, looking at her.

“No one is saying anything has to happen,” she whispered knowingly. “Sometimes lifelong friendships blossom – other times you let these moments go and shrug them off. The only person who decides what happens for you, is you.”

“I know, but it's strange… weird.”

“It’s different, but we are all adults. That man is in no condition to attack, molest, or touch you. You might have to deal with a little snoring, someone hogging the covers, or knocking down the pillow wall – if you so choose – but remember, he needs a place to heal while he figures out what to do after his discharge from the Army.”

Christina didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. According to what Jill implied and didn’t say in so many words, is that Gideon has no place to go. The man needs a helping hand, understanding, and empathy for the abrupt changes he was facing.

Friendship, trust, and understanding she thought and looked at Jill.

“You knew I wouldn’t be comfortable with this.”

“I’ve been in your shoes.”

“Houghton?”

The woman smiled softly – and nodded.

“Be a friend, offer trust instead of expecting to be wronged, and try to understand that there is more behind each person’s story that they are sharing… just like you,” Jill smiled and handed her the cup of coffee. “I think you might need this more than me – and I believe my sweet Babe is showing Gideon the horses he’ll be caring for.”

“How’s he going to do that on crutches?”

Jill gave her an evasive smile – and shrugged.

“See you at dinner.”

Christina watched in stunned silence as the woman left her alone, holding a cup of coffee, and full of so many questions. As she left the cabin, Christina saw Houghton walking up to her from the barn and hesitated. Was Gideon out there with the horses – and her cows?

Marching toward the barn, almost protectively, she stepped through the open door, her coffee sloshing as her eyes got accustomed to the gentle, massive can lights from above. She was surprised that Houghton had those because they put off heat, but that was the reason he’d used them. The barn was equipped with both LED for brightness and the old-fashioned filament bulbs that had to cost a fortune to replace when they went out… and they were currently on.

She could hear strains of Duran Duran in the background, and a man softly singing the words to the song that was currently playing. Part of her thesis was documenting how music affected the output of milk, and she left certain playlists running all the time. For the next forty-eight hours, six albums were on repeat for the bovine audience.

Stunned, she peered around the wall that served as a windbreak to the other stalls and hesitated. Gideon was standing in the pen with Larry the Cow, brushing the heifer gently and singing to her.

He was singing to her cow.

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