started.
“Where’s that big mountain?” Jenny wanted to know. She rested her head against her mother, who had a protective arm around her. He noticed she squeezed her daughter harder every time there was another clap of thunder.
“The Grand Teton is to the right of us, but with the storm, you won’t be able to see it until tomorrow.”
“I’m scared.”
Willy had turned on the windshield wipers, but it was still hard to see.
“You don’t need to be, Jenny. We’re perfectly safe in the van, and in a few minutes we’ll have you tucked in bed in our cabin. You’ll be as cozy as the red squirrel who lives in a hole in the fir tree near the main ranch house.”
“It’s really red?”
When Buck smiled, Jenny’s mother reciprocated. “Not exactly like your top. More of a burnt-orange-red color. Moppy likes pine nuts.”
“Moppy?” Jenny squealed in delight, her fear forgotten for the moment.
“That’s Carson’s name for her.”
“I want to see her.”
“Tomorrow she’ll be running up and down the tree, chattering her head off. You won’t be able to miss her. She has a huge bushy tail.”
“What if it’s still raining tomorrow and she doesn’t come out?”
“By morning, this storm will be long gone.”
“Promise?”
Buck had checked his smartphone for the weather report before he’d exited the plane. He caught her mother’s eye before he said, “I promise the sun will be out.”
She kissed her daughter’s forehead. “If Mr. Summerhayes made a promise, then you can believe it, sweetheart.”
“Please, call me Buck.”
“That sounds like a horse’s name.”
Jenny’s comment made him laugh and brought on a cough. When it subsided, he said, “A lot of people say that and you’re absolutely right, but I was named Bradford after my great grandfather. My dad nicknamed me Buck because his grandfather liked the Buck Rogers comic books and thought I looked like him.”
“Who was Buck Rogers?”
“A spaceman.”
The girl glanced at her mom. “Have you heard of Buck Rogers?”
“Yes. I loved science fiction growing up.”
Buck had been enjoying their conversation so much, he didn’t realize they’d driven up in front of the guest cabin until Willy turned off the engine.
He leaned toward the two of them. “The worst of the storm has passed. I’ll unlock the cabin door and then you make a run for it so you don’t get too wet. Willy will bring in your luggage. But before we go in, I have to put on an oxygen mask.”
Jenny looked startled. “How come?”
“Because housekeeping has made a fire for you and smoke hurts my lungs. The guys and I have started carrying an oxygen apparatus in all our vehicles because we never know when we’ll need it.” He opened the small locker on the floor and pulled out a mask and canister. “Don’t be scared.”
“I won’t.”
“If my great grandfather saw me now, he’d think I really was Buck Rogers from outer space.” He put on the mask and turned on the oxygen before leaving the van. In a minute, he had the cabin door unlocked.
Jenny and her mother hurried over the threshold into the living room where the glow from the hearth illuminated their faces. Judging by their expressions, they found the cabin welcoming and moved closer to the heat source.
When he and the guys had built the cabins, they’d decided on wood-burning fireplaces for their authenticity.
“Ooh, this feels good, doesn’t it, sweetheart?”
“I wish our house had a fireplace.”
Pleased with their response to their temporary home away from home, Buck helped Willy take the bags into one of the two bedrooms adjoined by a bathroom. “Ladies,” he said as he came back to the living room, “you have all the comforts of home here. There’s a coffeemaker and microwave. The fridge is stocked with drinks and there’s a basket of fruit, along with packets of hot chocolate and snacks on the table. If you’ll look in the closets, there are extra pillows and blankets.”
“This is wonderful,” she exclaimed, looking around at the rest of the room, her eyes landing on the state-of-the-art entertainment center.
“If you need anything, just dial zero on the house phone by your bed and the front desk will let me know, no matter the hour.” He studied his guests. “Is there anything I can get you before I say good-night?”
Jenny stared up at him with a worried expression. “Do you feel okay?”
“I feel fine. Do I look too frightening?”
“No, but I feel bad for you. Where do you live?”
“In the main ranch house. It’s close by, but you couldn’t see it in the storm. I hope your stomach will feel better by morning. We serve breakfast in the big dining room from six to nine. Lunch is from twelve to two and dinner from five to eight.”
“Will you be there?”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
“That’s good.” Jenny’s quiet response touched him. “Do you have to wear the mask at the ranch house?”
“Only if they make a fire in the big fireplace, which doesn’t happen very often.”
“You’re brave.”
“No. Your dad was the one who was brave. If you’ve noticed, the thunder and lightning have already moved on. It isn’t scary anymore. I bet Moppy is already peeking out of her hole and planning her breakfast for tomorrow. The rain will have made a lot of pine nuts fall to the ground.”
The little girl’s face broke into a sweet smile. Daniel Forrester’s daughter was a treasure. It tore him up to think she’d lost her father. “I want to watch.”
He cleared his throat. “She’ll be up early.”
“I don’t know if we can say the same thing for us,” her mother remarked.
Buck was trying hard not to think too much about Daniel’s wife and his unwanted attraction to her. He threw her a glance. “Tomorrow will be your first day here. After coming from Sacramento, you need to get used to the altitude.”
“You can certainly tell the air is thinner here.”
“It’s a bit of a change and that flight had to be unsettling
