Page 36 of Savage Secrets

But Rainie would be home from her sleepover soon, and Opal had plenty of chores to do before her young daughter came through the door.

She stopped by the line and reached down into the basket, pulling out a damp sheet. She unfolded the bundle and draped it over the line. No need for pins—there was scarcely a whisper of a breeze right now.

Moving down the clothesline, she continued hanging up sheets and pillowcases. The sun on her face made her close her eyes, and she absorbed the warmth with a sigh of pleasure.

Soon, she wouldn’t have days like this. She was on leave from work to mourn her father and get situated on the ranch. Her time was almost up…but she wasn’t ready to go back to being a forest ranger.

She’d always wanted to live and work on the Springvale, but her father kept her from doing that. Now that he wasn’t here, somebody needed to look after the place.

She’d been doing the math too. Each time she made those mental tallies or wrote out lists of expenses, her stomach sank a little more. There was no way she could afford to keep a ranch hand without her income.

How long before the ranch finances were out of the red? She wished her dad had passed on his knowledge to her. He raised pigs and a few beef cows to sell.

When she was growing up, they existed solely on what the ranch earned. She didn’t recall ever wanting for anything. She had food and a new pair of boots every winter. As she got older, her father always seemed to come up with money for prom dresses and other things that young girls wanted.

With the washing hung up, she turned to stare at the back of the old house. The investor was right—the place needed a lot of repairs.

“Opal?”

She leaped at Zach’s voice, carrying through the back door she’d left open.

Pressing a hand over her heart, she took the few steps to the house. When she entered, he was standing in the kitchen, broad-shouldered and rugged, wearing his usual worn jeans and denim shirt with the sleeves rolled over his thick forearms. At some point, he’d swiped a smear of mud down the front of his thigh and she noted that there was a small hole in his shirt pocket as if something sharp had poked through.

His stare latched onto her, and he swept it over her face as if to convince himself that she was whole and healthy.

Now, what made her think such a thing? She was fine. He should know that. She’d certainly beenmorethan fine when he left her bed.

The scent of coffee brewing woke her as usual, but he was nowhere to be seen when she looked outside.

“Is everything all right?” She sounded a bit winded.

He gave her a nod. “Do you expect Rainie soon?”

She searched his eyes. “Yes. Why?” A trickle of worry worked down her spine. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Everything’s fine,” he gruffed out. In two strides, he reached the coffeemaker that was warm at all hours of the day now that he was on the ranch. He grabbed a mug and filled it with the last of the pot.

“That’s going to taste awful. Let me make you a new pot.”

Before she could move a muscle, he drained the mug. Only a twitch at the corner of one eye suggested that it tasted less than amazing.

“I’m headed back outside. I just wanted to make sure you’re good.”

She took a step toward him. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to act around him, but her body craved his touch.

Shaking her head to cast out the thought, she eyed him. “There is something I wanted to discuss with you.”

When he gave her the full force of his dark gaze, her insides clenched with desire and made it difficult to focus on anything but taking off her clothes.

“I’m listening.”

How to begin? She swiped her fingers through her hair, and he tracked the movement.

“My leave is almost over. I’m supposed to return to work soon.”

He stared at her.

“It’s going to be a hard thing, going back. But I need the money to put into the ranch.”

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