Page 81 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

Most of all, he noticed her mother and dad, who worked efficiently at their jobs. Watching them, it was obvious they cared deeply for each other and had a strong marriage. They were constantly aware of each other and worked as smoothly as two trapeze artists high above an audience. And they were amazingly polite to each other and all around them. It made him realize that he had never been around an older couple who were in love and happily married.

He hadn’t ever seen a family like this one. Blake’s half brothers had a mother who loved them, but she had divorced their dad. She was often gone, and when she was home she seldom had male guests.

Some of Blake’s friends had two parents who seemed happy with each other, but they didn’t have the warmth and love that radiated in subtle ways from Sierra’s parents.

In this big family, everyone seemed to love and care about everyone else and be genuinely welcoming to their guests.

Blake began to see why money was not of the utmost importance to Sierra. She had a supportive family. They were all there for each other, and she was grounded in that assurance. His gaze shifted to her as she came out of the house, her arms loaded with equipment. He hurried to take it from her, his hands brushing hers.

“I can get this stuff. This is heavy. I’ll come get the next load.”

“That’s it for now,” she said. “Thanks for helping.”

“You have an interesting family,” he said, wishing they were alone so he could give her a hug. “They’re all very likable people.”

“Thank you. I think they’re great, and we’ll all have fun tomorrow. You’ll see.”

A little boy came around the corner of the house, crying loudly.

“Someone is unhappy,” she said. “I’ll go help.” She went to pick him up. Blake had no idea which child he was or to whom he belonged.

As he continued to help load the truck, he watched Sierra wipe away the child’s tears, set him on his feet and hold his hand. Whatever she told him brought a smile to his face, and together they disappeared into the house.

By ten o’clock that night, when most of Sierra’s family had said good-night and gone to their own homes, he sat alone with her in the big family room of her parents’ two-story house. He smiled at her and shook his head. “I’ll never get all the names. We’ll go back to Texas before I have half of them figured out.”

She smiled at him—an enticing smile that flashed with warmth. “You’re being modest. You did pretty well tonight. You were a hit with my dad, talking about the early days of the railroads—he loves trains and has a library of train books. I’ll show you tomorrow. Right now, I just want to sit and relax.”

“We can’t do what I want to do, but sitting and relaxing will be okay.”

“I’m not asking what you want to do, and don’t tell me.”

“I didn’t tell you, but I think you know. I just wanted to hear you say you want to do the same thing.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You’re shameless.”

“No, I’m fun,” he answered, and her smile widened as she shook her head. “You were a hit with them tonight—even the youngest. He followed you around. I’m surprised. You’ve said you’re never around kids.”

“I have the magic touch with kids and dogs and beautiful women. Come sit closer and I’ll show you,” he said, having fun flirting with her.

“I’m staying right where I am. The ‘magic touch with kids,’ huh? When are you ever around kids?”

“Tonight,” he answered. She shook her head.

“You’ll be around them tomorrow. That’s for sure. We’ll have a lot of people at the picnic.”

“You had a lot of people here tonight. Too bad Cade couldn’t spend an evening like this with your family. He needs to see a family like yours and know that love and harmony are possible.”

“Cade? He seems happy enough.”

“All his life, Cade has vowed he will never marry because our father inflicted so much grief on so many people. He wasn’t a good father to his children or a good husband to his wives. He had a string of mistresses, and I know some of them were as unhappy with him as his ex-wives were. Financially, he was an enormous success, and that’s what you read about him, but with close friends and family he was a dismal failure. Cade is scared of ending up like him.”

“That’s ridiculous because Cade is such a nice person. At least, he seemed nice when I met him.”

“He is nice, and I’ve told you he has a warped view of marriage because of our dad. I can’t convince him. Seeing your family might. I don’t know how your folks cope with all the commotion.”

“This was just a regular weekend night, except for cooking and packing stuff into the pickups to get ready for tomorrow.”

“I’m surprised you ever left here for New York.”