Page 21 of Twins for the Cowboy Dad
Brett was tempted to yell after her to come back. Or to call her a traitor for deserting him like this. He did not want to be alone with Trish Dempsey. But he wasn’t just alone in the barn with her.
Because she moved closer to the stall, stepping into the small opening with him, to stare at the calf. Her body was so close to him that he could smell the strawberry shampoo she must have used to wash her hair that morning. He heard her sigh when she saw the calf. He was much too aware of Trish Dempsey, but she barely seemed to notice him at all as she went over to the small animal.
In that moment, he knew that he was in trouble no matter what she decided about her father’s will. Maybe in even more trouble if she decided to honor his wishes and stay on the ranch.
* * *
Trish’s pride wasstung from what she’d overheard in the barn just minutes ago, how her cousin thought she was so easy to manipulate. Not that Frankie was wrong.
Maybe that was what bothered Trish most of all: how weak she’d once been. But she wasn’t that person any longer. She patted her burgeoning belly, which reminded her of that. She’d fought to have her babies. And then she’d fought for her freedom from her bad marriage and from her mother.
She wasn’t weak anymore. Except when she stepped too close to Brett Lemmon—then her knees felt funny, a little shaky. Maybe she just needed to lie down; she really didn’t get much sleep last night. That was why she’d begged off before Blake could explain the ranch bookkeeping to her.
Once he’d mentioned how hard it would be to change Brett’s and Frankie’s minds about her, she’d had to find them. And of course everyone had figured they were in the barn. Or somewhere on the ranch, riding around, checking on things. She’d headed to the barn first and found them talking to each other about her. Not that she could blame them for that. She’d caused all this upheaval in their lives.
Or had her father’s death caused that?
She had questions about that, too, but she wasn’t ready yet to hear all the details. She wasn’t weak anymore, but she might not be strong enough for that, not until she got more rest. So she focused on the calf instead, pushing herself past Brett to settle onto a hay bale next to the chocolate brown baby. “She’s adorable,” she said.
The calf nuzzled against her, as if looking for that bottle that Frankie had gone off to get for her. “Sheishungry.”
“She’s growing fast,” Brett remarked.
“Hopefully not too fast,” Trish said. “She would be perfect for the petting zoo I want to start on the ranch.”
“What?” he asked, and he pushed his hat back farther on his head as if he needed to see her more clearly to understand her. “What petting zoo?”
“I want to start a day camp and summer camp for kids on the ranch,” she said, her heart beating fast with the excitement she felt over her idea.
“Where? How?” Brett asked. He sounded appalled. “This is a working cattle ranch. It would be too dangerous for kids to be running around here.”
She patted her belly. “There will be kids running around here someday soon. And they’ll be running around here with your niece, Lucy.”
Now his mouth fell slightly open as his eyes widened. But maybe he was genuinely worried about the safety of the children.
“We could have a separate area for the camp,” she said. “Away from the bigger animals.”
“We?” He repeated the word, and then he arched one dark auburn eyebrow. “You’ve made your decision?”
“About the petting zoo and kids’ camps, yes,” she said. She’d made that decision long ago. Once she’d believed she wouldn’t miscarry this time, she’d allowed herself to start dreaming about where and how she would raise her children. She wanted them to live the life she wished she’d been able to live here, with fresh air and animals, and not just for the summer but 24/7. Then she’d considered how lonely they might be without other kids to spend their time with, and so she’d dreamed up the day camps and summer camps for other kids who’d been like her, forced to spend too much of their lives in the city.
“And about the ranch?” he asked. “Are you going to respect what your dad wanted, his final wishes?”
His question reminded her of why she’d sought him and Frankie out in the first place. Then the calf had distracted her and she’d let Frankie slip away. But she was coming back. While Trish waited, she sat on the hay bale petting the calf, and she noticed another movement in the stall. Some loose straw moved, and then a little furry black head popped out of it. Two topaz eyes blinked up at her. Then, from the back of the hay bale where she sat, another little black furball launched itself at the other one. And the two kittens tumbled across the floor.
“Ah, kittens, too.” Tears stung her eyes at how perfect it was. She could already imagine her children playing here with the calf and kittens. But she wanted more animals. And more children. She wanted her kids to have friends like she’d had in Maci and Frankie. When she’d gone back to the city after her idyllic summers on the ranch, she’d been so lonely without them, but she’d lived on the memories of everything they’d done together at the Four Corners. Riding horses. Feeding the cattle. Camping out under the stars. She’d been so safe and happy here.
“Somebody dumped a litter off here a few weeks ago,” Brett said. “We’ve managed to get rid of all but those two.”
She gasped. “Get rid of?”
He grimaced and looked appalled again. “We didn’t hurt them. Blake delivered one to my dad and two to Maci. And there’s a little orange one living in the house.”
“Why are these two still out in the barn?” she asked. “Are you leaving them out here to take care of rodents?”
They hissed and spit at each as they rolled around the stall floor in their tight embrace. Then one broke free and bounced around on all fours, her back arched high and her hair raised.
“They’re a little young to hunt mice. But they certainly have a lot of energy and that’s why they’re out here,” he said. “The orange one is calm. We couldn’t have these wild ones in the house waking up Lucy. She’s just finally starting to sleep through the night.”
