“Hello… Anyone here?” he called.
He waited for an answer. When none came, he walked inside the large entry hall. The hardwood floors were polished, showing off their honey color. The front parlor, as his mother used to call it, also sparkled with polish and a lemony scent. There were several antiques, but the dark brocade sofa and chairs still looked uncomfortable.
Who cares? he asked himself. With any luck, he wouldn’t be here that long. Right now he needed to find Ray Meyers. Suddenly a sound interrupted his thoughts. On the open staircase that led to the second floor he found a black kitten with white paws.
“Well, at least someone’s here to welcome me.”
He got another meow as he walked over and picked up the kitten. “Maybe you can tell me where everyone is.”
The cat meowed again just as muffled voices came from upstairs. “Looks like I got my answer.” He started up the steps, carrying his new companion. He walked along the hall past several rooms, one of which used to be his. He ignored it. No sense stirring up more memories.
Luke continued on toward the open door to the master bedroom. Once across the thresh-old, he found the source of the voices. He leaned against the doorway and enjoyed the view.
A woman was on her hands and knees with her head buried under the large four-poster bed. He couldn’t help but notice how well she filled out her fitted jeans. Next to her was a little girl not more than four or five.
“Mommy, we have to find Jinx. She gets scared when she’s all alone.” The child’s long, blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Her worried look didn’t take away from her cute features. Just then the woman’s head appeared, and Luke’s heart shot off racing. The little girl definitely got her good looks from her mother.
Her wheat-colored hair was pulled back in a ponytail, also, and was a shade darker than the child’s. Her profile was near perfect, along with her creamy complexion. He cursed silently for noticing, and cursed again for wanting to see more.
“Excuse me,” he said.
The two females swung around toward him. Okay, both mother and daughter were gorgeous. Somehow he managed to find his voice. “Could this little guy be who you’re looking for?”
“Jinx!” The small child jumped up and ran to him. “You found my kitty.”
Luke handed the furry bundle to her. “I think it found me.” He brushed his hands off and glanced at the woman.
Tess didn’t like being caught off guard. Over the last several months her entire life had been turned upside down, and she suspected this stranger was the big reason.
He walked toward her and extended a hand. “Luke Randell.”
She climbed to her feet. “Tess Meyers.” She shook his hand. It was not rough like a rancher’s, but his grip was strong.
“This is my daughter, Olivia.”
Her daughter looked at Mr. Randell. “But everybody calls me Livy, and this is Jinx.”
“Well, hello, Livy…and Jinx.”
Tess drew his attention back to her. “We weren’t expecting you for a few more days, Mr. Randell.”
“My plans changed.” His gaze bore into hers. “Is there a problem?”
“None whatsoever,” she lied. “I just wanted to make sure the house was ready for you.” No way was she ready for this man with his dark good looks and silver eyes. Just what San Angelo needed. Another handsome Randell man.
He glanced around. “I didn’t expect any of this, but I appreciate it. Thank you.”
“Outside of needing linens on the bed, the house should be livable.”
He nodded toward the fresh sheets on the bare mattress. “I think I can manage to make up a bed.”
She nodded. No doubt he could mess up a bed, too. She groaned. Where had that come from? “Oh, I plugged in the refrigerator, but I’m afraid there isn’t any food in the house.”
“Not a problem. I stopped by the grocery store and bought some staples.”
She couldn’t help but stare at the man dressed in his knife-pressed jeans, navy polo shirt and topsider shoes looking like the last person anyone would expect to take over a cattle ranch—a ranch she and her father had put a lot of work into, which, there was a good possibility, could be taken away from them. She had to be very careful. This man held her future in his hands.
“Okay then, I guess we’ll be going and let you get settled in.” She started for the door. “Come on, Livy.”
“But, Mom, I didn’t ask him yet.” She stood rooted in the middle of the room, gripping her kitty. “Do you have any little girls I can play with?”
The new owner looked surprised by the question, but finally he said, “No, sorry, I don’t.”
“Oh…” Livy looked disappointed. “That’s the reason I got a kitty because I don’t have anyone to play with.” She held up Jinx. “Mommy said she wasn’t going to have any more babies…and I got him so I won’t get lonely.”
“Olivia Meyers,” Tess said, mortified. “It’s time we let Mr. Randell move in.”
“Okay.” Her daughter complied and walked to her mother. “Goodbye, Mr. Randell.”
“Goodbye, Livy…Jinx.” He looked at Tess. “Mrs. Meyers.”
“It’s Miss Meyers.” She didn’t know why she corrected him. “Ray Meyers is my father, not my husband.”
Livy chimed in once again. “Yeah… Mommy doesn’t have a husband, and I don’t have a daddy.”
Thirty minutes later, Tess sat at the kitchen table in the foreman’s cottage.
“I was mortified, Bernice,” Tess said.
Her aunt shook her head. “The child sure has a mind of her own.” She carried their lunch plates to the sink. “Now, tell me, is Luke Randell as handsome as his cousins?”
Bernice was her dad’s younger sister. In her late fifties, she’d lost her husband a few years ago. When Ray Meyers first took ill last year, Bernice didn’t hesitate to come and help out.
Tess shrugged. “If you like the preppy look. He’s definitely not a rancher. I doubt he’s capable or has any desire to run this place.”
“He could learn,” Bernice told her. “My goodness, he has six cousins who do some sort of ranching. It’s in his blood.”
“What if he doesn’t want to ranch, but instead sells the Rocking R?”
Those soft hazel eyes met hers. “Doesn’t he have to wait for his brother to show up before he could do anything?”
She nodded. “They do own it jointly.”
She’d
