Page 18 of Sean

“I’ll make sure people are who they say they are.” He could do that for her.

“Thank you.” Her voice was relieved. “I’m just so scared that something will happen to Lucy and Amos. The two of them and my mom are the only family I have, and if their father gets to them, who knows what he’ll do.”

“Give me until the end of the day to run some background checks.” He squeezed her shoulders and let her go while fighting the compulsion to wrap her in his arms and give her the comfort she seemed to need. That wouldn’t be smart since he wasn’t getting involved with her or anyone.

After she left, he finished up with his work and headed to the office in the barn. It had changed little over the years. A newer computer sat on the desk along with pictures of Tara’s daughters. His sister ran the business now with his mom in the role of assistant. He took a seat at Tara’s desk and chuckled when it only took him three tries to guess her password.

He found the social security numbers of the employees so he could run checks on them and was scrolling through the list of names of their boarders when Tara walked in, closing the door behind her.

“What are you doing in here?” she asked in a less than friendly way.

“Screening the people who come onto the ranch.”

She looked at what was on the screen. “Nosing around.”

“Taking precautions,” he countered mildly. “Anyone who works or boards horses here has access, and you have young kids. You should already have run routine checks on these people.”

“Or I could trust that I know them. Most of these,” she gestured to the list of names, “I’ve known for years. If you recall, I stayed connected to the land and our family. They aren’t strangers to me.”

Sean opted not to take the bait. It wouldn’t serve a purpose. “I’m just trying to make sure everyone’s safe. You know, being helpful.”

She raised her eyebrow and pinned him with a look. “I don’t need your help. I’ve been running this business just fine without you. I’ve been raising my girls, too.”

“And doing a fine job of both,” he said to defuse the situation. He wasn’t going to explain his need for security since the less she and the rest of the family knew about Julia’s situation the better, but he didn’t want to ruffle any feathers by making it seem like he was questioning her competence. Clearing out of Tara’s space was his best option. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

He left with most of what he needed to check up on the farm’s employees and others with access. He’d get that information to Owen, who could use his fancy computer programs to dig into the people. After Tara cooled off a bit, he’d approach her with other concerns about security.

Dealing with safety issues was easy, even routine. Dealing with a woman he’d like to kiss again and a sister who was making no secret of the fact that she was pissed at him was much harder. It was a lot to deal with for a guy who’d intentionally isolated himself and preferred it that way. This exposure to family and to Julia was a good reminder of why he’d spent the past four years alone.

TEN

Julia reached for her phone early the next morning. She’d been awake for a few minutes, just listening to the household. It was nice to be part of a family, a big family. She’d never had that experience before and liked it, despite her worry. She checked her messages and saw one had come in from Sophie earlier.

“Call me. We need to talk.”

Julia’s stomach spun and she quickly thumbed back a message. “Emergency call?” Her mind was already busy sorting through scenarios of what could be wrong—more wrong than it already was.

“Non-emer. Just something that’s better said than texted,” Sophie texted back.

“Okay. I’ll call after I get the kids settled this morning.” She got a thumbs-up emoji and put the phone back on the nightstand. Deep breath. She’d been taking a lot of those in the past weeks, forcing herself to be calm. It had worked—kind of. What had worked better were Sean’s hands massaging her shoulders, his closeness and reassurance, his kiss. She sank back against the pillow. She’d relived that kiss many times in the past two days and nights. It had been surprisingly gentle, and she’d wanted to lean into him and demand more.

But it had been just a passing moment, one that she shouldn’t dwell on. He’d offered her needed comfort. That was it. He’d made that clear by keeping his distance from her since.

With a sigh, she flipped back the covers and got up. Lying in bed and thinking about kisses wasn’t going to help her situation. She put that firmly from her mind as she got ready for the day and helped the kids dress and wash.

When they walked into the kitchen, she immediately sensed a different level of tension flowing between Sean and Tara. They were both helping to prepare breakfast and get items on the table, but they were carefully stepping around each other.

When everyone was seated, Kelly broke the ice that had formed. “Get it out in the open, you two.” Her gaze shifted between Sean and his sister. “It’s like when you were teenagers.”

“Sean seems to think that our security is lax,” Tara declared. “I found him looking through employee records on my computer yesterday.”

“Just checking up on employees and people who frequent the ranch,” Sean said. Julia was grateful that the kids were absorbed in their own conversation and ignoring the adults. They didn’t need the added stress of adults arguing.

“Is that really necessary?” Kelly asked. “It’s not like we have strangers around—we know everyone who’s coming and going.”

“But it’s still the smart thing to do,” Sean said. “Simple things, like changing the keycode to access the property frequently, can greatly increase the security. When I arrived the other day, I punched in the same code that I’ve had for years.”

“Surprised you remember it. It’s been a while.” Tara gave him a pointed look.

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