Page 13 of Her Second Chance Cowboy

“I can help.” The words were out of her mouth before she knew she was going to offer.

He looked at her, disbelieving. “You want to help?”

“Why are you so surprised?” Nancy asked, raising her eyebrow. “You don’t think I’m capable of patching a leak?” The look on his face was absolutely priceless, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Relax, Colin, you’re right. I have no idea how to patch a leak, but I’m sure you can teach me.”

Colin thanked her and ran to get the supplies. The real repairs would have to wait until the rain stopped and he could get up on the roof, but he could patch the problem spots temporarily from the inside. They had made good progress and had patched up two of the rooms when Nancy heard the front door of the guest house bang open. “Daddy!” It was Bex, and she sounded scared. Colin practically fell off the ladder.

“Up here!” Nancy called, and they heard pounding footsteps on the stairs.

Bex appeared in the threshold of the room. “I woke up, and you weren’t there.”

“I’m sorry, darlin’,” he said gently. He dropped to his knee, and Bex threw her arms around him. Nancy’s heart sputtered in her chest. “I thought Jessie would have gotten there before you woke up. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Bex patted her father’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Daddy.” She pointed at his ladder setup. “Does this mean I don’t have to go to swimming today?” She looked happy at the thought, Nancy noticed.

“I forgot about that,” Colin said. “But don’t worry, darlin’. I'm sure Jessie can give you a lift.” Bex seemed to slump with the news.What is that about?Nancy wondered.

Colin didn’t seem to notice the girl’s reaction; he was frowning down at his phone. “I missed a text from Jessie,” he said. “Seems she’s got a stomach bug. But I’ll find someone else,” he promised as he thumbed through his contacts.

“I can take her,” Nancy said.

She should have expected the minute frown that twisted his lips, but it still hurt to see. She understood his reluctance to trust other people with Bex’s wellbeing, but she couldn’t help but wonder what it would take to make the grade. She expected him to turn her down, but he said, “Are you sure? You’re not too busy this morning?” Nancywasbusy, but for Bex, she could push it all back a bit. They walked back over to the main house and had some breakfast before getting her swimming bag packed. Colin helped her put everything into her car and gave her a thorough explanation of the booster seat as he installed it into her backseat. “Just make sure you pull on the seatbelt to make sure it’s tight enough.”

Nancy found him to be exhausting and adorable all at once. “I’ve got it, Colin,” she promised.

He smiled, but it was tightly stretched across his face. “I’ll have lunch ready for when you get back.”

* * *

Bex’s beginner swimming class was comprised of ten kids between the ages of four and six. She stood in the shallow end of the community pool, staring at the others as they splashed about. Nancy sat with the group of mothers and looked on. She had been nervous that she’d be the odd man out, but Evie’s bridesmaid, Cady, saw her and waved her over. The mothers welcomed her warmly, impressed at her volunteering to bring Bex. “I’m sure Colin appreciated it,” Cady said with a wink.

Nancy rolled her eyes. “I basically had to beg him to let me.”

Cady’s smile was sympathetic. “He’s just a little overprotective,” she said. “He’s like that with everyone Bex comes across.”

Nancy smiled, grateful for her encouragement, and she turned her eyes to where Bex was resolutely avoiding all of the other kids in her class. “Should I go check on her?” she asked Cady. “Do you think she’s sick or something?”

Cady shook her head. “She’s fine,” she said. “She was dying for riding lessons, you know, and she took it hard when Colin insisted on swimming instead. She’ll get into it eventually.”

Bex’s reluctance to come today made sense now. Of course she’d want to learn to ride—she lived on a ranch! But she understood Colin’s reluctance to sign his daughter up for the same activity that ended so tragically for his mom. Nancy was glad to see that Cady was right, and that Bex got more involved as the lesson went on.

With the kids thoroughly occupied with their instructor, the conversation around her shifted to work. A woman called Therese started complaining about a coworker who kept sneaking her dog into work. “She puts it in her bottom desk drawer,” she said, “and then pretends that we can’t all hear her desk barking when it has to go pee.”

They all laughed. “You think that’s bad?” Nancy asked. “My boss does the pettiest things to anyone who annoys her. After I had an argument with her, she went behind my back and screwed up a catering order on one of my events on purpose, just to make me look bad. She didn’t even care that it made the company look bad, too.”

“She sounds like a nightmare,” Cady said, and the others agreed.

Nancy shrugged. “I don’t need to be best friends with my boss,” she said, “but I wish she’d just stay out of my way and let me do my job.” When the others all sounded off in agreement, she flushed again. They were all sonice. When was the last time she’d met a group of people who were so welcoming?

Twenty minutes later, the lesson was over, and Bex came bounding over to her. “Did you see me?” she asked.

“I did,” she said. Her face ached from her smile. “You were amazing! You’ll be swimming like a little guppy in no time.” Nancy took her into the changing rooms and helped her back into her street clothes. “Ready to head home? I think your daddy has lunch waiting on us.”

* * *

The drive home was nice. Bex chattered away from her booster seat, pointing out all of her “favorite” places in Windy Creek. They turned onto the road that led to the ranch’s entrance, and Bex pointed out the abandoned cottage that sat on the edge of the property. “That’s the rainbow house,” she said.

“The rainbow house?”

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