Page 19 of The Cowboy's Temporary Solution

"I've never gotten all the details. Ranger and his father were having trouble agreeing on the ranch operations about that time. Ranger had been spending a lot of time with Bernadine and her kids, but then Brett came back and wanted to give their marriage another try. Bernie made it clear she and Ranger were together, but in the end, she agreed to give the marriage a shot. Ranger left the day she told him. I think it broke his heart."

I try to hide the emotions tearing through me by mentally tallying the cost of what nearly equates to a new wardrobe as I follow Kimberly to the registers.

"Oh! We should get you a hat!" Kim exclaims, veering right at the last moment to make a beeline for an entire wall of cowboy hats.

The stack of jeans, blouses, and boots in my arms is already going to set me back a month, but it's obvious that Kimberly is enjoying playing cowgirl make-over with me and I silently justify the expense by reassuring myself that I'll have use for these clothes with all the other small towns I'll be visiting once I get the field researcher position.

Which is the reason I'm really in Slow River Valley, and the real reason I'm playing pretend girlfriend with Ranger O'Leary-- who just needed a fake girlfriend to take to his father's memorial service and now I know he just wanted to save face in front of the woman who jilted him-- twice.

I'm going to max out my credit card on cute, country girl vibes clothes, spend the rest of my week interviewing the locals, then I'm going home and Ranger and Bernie can work out their second chance romance and live happily ever after while I...something.

I'm still in a daze when Kimberly swats at my hand, insisting that I put my card away and let her pay for the shopping spree.

"It's only fair, I'm the one who dragged you out shopping after all." She taps her card against the terminal while a cute, teenage girl with her hair in pig tails bags my things. "And, like you said, you don't really have any use for all these things back home. I just couldn't resist, everything looked so cute on you."

Kimberly O'Leary is sweet. She's been talking non-stop since she ushered me into the big, SUV as soon as I'd finished my first cup of coffee.

Under different circumstances, I think she'd be the kind of mother-in-law I'd feel comfortable calling "mom." She's been kind, generous, and welcoming. By the time we return to the ranch, she's happily told me the entire history of the Delta O, her family and the O'Leary history in Slow River, and shared her personal sadness of losing her husband and her frustrations with four grown sons who haven't given her any grandchildren yet.

But she's also given me all the information I need to know that whatever chemistry Ranger and I might have-- chemistry isn't enough to compete with personal history if you hope to land a Slow River Valley rancher.

Ranger

It'snear supper time when I see Mom's car parked back up at the house.

Glad to get out of Gunner's hair down here at the office, I let the men know I'm calling it a day.

Gun grumbles as I go but it's an improvement over the cussin' he's been doing every other time I've stepped foot on the working side of the property, so I figure things are going well enough between us.

The person I need to touch base with is up at the house after being trapped with my mother all day, listening to God knows what stories about me.

"Heard Ma took you to town?"

I lean on the door jamb of the guest room and grin at the sight of my girl trying to fit a stack of denim into her already-stuffed suitcase.

Seri nods without saying anything.

"She take you to the big ranch shop and make you try on everything in the store?"

To this, I get a chuckle.

"Pretty much, yeah," she answers softly without looking up at me.

"You girls get dinner while you were gone? If you're hungry, we could go grab something to eat." I want to go to her, grab her up in my arms and kiss her, but the way Seri's acting, I get the feeling that maybe I'm the only one that expected last night to change where we stand.

"Oh. Actually, I called for a ride up to the Walking Y. I'm going to stay with Singer for a few days so I can get the ranch history from her before I head back."

Suddenly, it dawns on me that I'm not just watching Seri put away the new duds Mom talked her into, she's packing up to leave. And I don't have a clue why.

"Seri?" I move farther into the room, closing the door behind me for some privacy. "Is there some reason you don't want to stay here anymore? Did last night..."

"Last night didn't happen, Ranger."

"I admit to not remembering much of anything past getting through those stocking of yours, but don't tell me it didn't happen just because you want to forget it did."

Serenity latches her suit case and hoists it off the bed and onto the floor.

"No, Ranger, it didn't happen." She huffs indignantly as she rolls the case toward the door despite my attempt to block her way. "You passed out while I was in the bathroom, so nothing happened."

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