Page 35 of Rancher's Return

“Apparently my son is being chivalrous with my money.” Buck smiled. “Get out of here, you heathens.”

And that left the two of them standing there, by themselves.

“You want to come in?” he asked.

Did she want to come into the house where it would just be the two of them by themselves? She found that she did, perversely. But she also felt like she probably shouldn’t. Of course, her feelings could be entirely one-sided. That was most likely. Also, they were adults. They were not hormonal teenagers who needed supervision to be alone in a room together. That was Colton and Lily.

Another potent reminder of why nothing was ever going to happen between the two of them.

There was ruining your kid’s life, and then there was ruining your kid’s life by having the hots for her boyfriend’s father.

Wow. What a horror show.

“Sure,” she said. She stepped inside, almost to prove that she could. Almost just to prove that there was no real bogeyman here. There was no lack of control she needed to be worried about, no attraction that was beyond the both of them.

It was just silly to think in those terms.

“You want to stay for dinner? You and Lily, when she gets back. I have a feeling they’re all going to be overfull from what they’re eating at the theater.”

“Sure.”

“I have these great preprepared meals,” he said.

She laughed. She laid the bag on the counter. “I mean, there’s a little bit of work yet to do.”

“I can help.”

“There’s not much to it. We just need to put the chicken in the oven, along with the roast vegetables. Since there’s time yet before they’ll return.”

“Sounds good.”

She started getting the ingredients out. And compulsively, she began to put away the other preprepared meals she had brought, because she was here, so she might as well.

She could feel him looking at her.

“Sorry,” she said. “I probably overstepped.”

“No,” he said. “You haven’t overstepped with anything.”

“The permits got submitted,” she said, taking a deep breath and wondering if the subject change seemed too weird. But there was something so warm, so lovely about being in here with him, and she was pushing against that reflexively. Against the feeling of contentment that had begun to bloom in her chest.

Maybe that was silly. Because over the last couple of weeks Buck really had become a friend. He had brought the boys to her parents’ house to throw the ball around with her dad. Now the boys were considering trying out for the baseball team at school. Buck was part of her life. It might be unexpected in a lot of ways, but it was definitely reality. So maybe she just needed to stop being awkward.

“Glad to hear it,” he said.

“Oh yeah. I am especially glad. I can’t believe it, though. I can’t believe that everything is progressing. I just... A month ago, I wouldn’t have thought I would be here.”

He looked around. “Specifically in my kitchen?”

“Well. That too.” She paused for a moment. “It’s a good thing. Because Lily is going to college.”

“I know.” He grimaced. “I do worry. About Lily and Colton. And the logistics of that relationship.”

“I know,” she said. “So do I.” She took a breath and tried to ease the knot of tension in her chest. “He’s a really good kid, Buck. Apart from being in my daughter’s room that first day I met him, I mean.”

“Yeah. Well. He is a good kid. A little bit feral, but he’s trying.”

“I know. I don’t want either of them to hold each other back.”

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