Page 45 of On His Ranch

“Piper? You done yet? I wanna see.”

The experience of the last two hours had taught her that Patti wouldn’t be put off. She was bound and determined, and Piper would have to comply. Still, she was very shy when she emerged from the dressing room.

Patti just stared at her for several long moments without speaking while Piper felt more embarrassed with each passing second. The matriarch, though not as brusque as the men in the family, didn’t mince words. She usually handed out her pronouncement pretty quickly. The silence put an already nervous Piper on edge.

“Well?” she asked at last.

“It… it suits you,” the older woman decided.

“You think so?”

“Very much. In fact, I bet if we braided your hair, it would look even better.”

Piper flushed with pleasure and moved by the older woman seeming to accept something she couldn’t explain, she grabbed her hand impulsively. “Thank you so much, Patti. I… I have enjoyed getting to know you.”

“Well, I hope to get to know you better still, over time,” the older woman had said with a wink.

Piper had walked away with several new outfits including the baby doll dress and the pair had ended the evening with ice cream sundaes as they chatted like old friends.

The only dim spot on the evening was when they’d arrived home to find Chase still had not returned. Patti and Senior had both turned in almost immediately, but Piper had been so fueled with enthusiasm after the shopping trip she’d waited up, hoping to share it with him. Or, failing that, to at least say goodnight.

But he’s sure to be home by now!The realization and the previous night’s excitement made her scurry to get dressed. She pulled the green dress on, eager to show it to Chase. Patti had thrown in a cute pair of boots, so she put those on, too, instead of the work boots she’d been wearing around the ranch.

She’d braided her hair and added a little lip gloss before she’d been completely satisfied by her reflection. Piper was practically humming with excitement as she let herself out the door. It had been early when she’d first woken up, but by the time she was descending the stairs, wonderful smells of breakfast had already begun to fill the house.

Her heart stilled in her chest when she saw Chase sitting at the bench on the left side of the table. She was several feet closer before she realized his shoulders were slumped and his hands grasped around a cup.

“Chase?”

He looked up, and she gasped at the bruise across his face and his bleary expression. He turned back to his coffee, lifting it to his lips and drinking deep.

“Oh, my gosh, what happened?” she asked, reaching out for him before she thought better of it. Just before her fingers brushed his face, she pulled her arm back. She wasn’t sure where they stood. Did he want people to know about them? Were they even athemor was what happened yesterday a one-time thing? She’d probably better figure that out before she went touching him in the kitchen in front of his mother. But that didn’t mean she could hide her concern. “Chase?”

He reluctantly put his cup down, which his mother came forward to refill without a word. Then he regaled them with the story of how he had spent the last thirteen hours tracking down the missing stallion.

“At least you found him,” Patti said, the words a sigh of relief.

“Yep.” Chase’s mouth was in a firm line and his eyes were distant. “Then I took him straight over to Buck’s to be checked out.”

“I’m surprised he was up that early.”

“It pays to have friends in high places, I reckon.”

“He was fine?”

“In a manner of speakin’. There was nothing wrong with him physically, but I can’t stop thinkin’ about what had them so spooked. It couldn’t have been just seein’ a stranger, had to be more than that.”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t think on it anymore. All’s well that ends well, hmm?”

“I don’t have that luxury, Ma, you know that.”

“Where’s Senior this morning?” she asked, pushing a plate of corned beef hash with home fries across the table to her son.

“He left as soon as I got back,” Chase said, his fork immediately setting to work. “He took Sterling to be delivered and he’ll take the other horses to auction tonight.”

“Hmm. We’d get more for them if you wait a bit.”

“You don’t think I know that?” he asked as he forked food into his mouth. “We don’t have a choice.”

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