Cooper.” Gran slowly pushed to her feet.
Guilt screamed full blast through her conscience, awakening a barefaced truth. Since when had she needed anyone to fight her battles? This wasn’t Cait’s, Maddie’s or Gran’s problem. It was hers. And it was time to stop acting like a fifth grader and run this ranch with authority, as Cait and Maddie had. Cooper Yates would not make her turn tail and run.
“No, Gran.” Sky rose to her feet with confidence, stopping her at the door. “I’ll talk with Cooper. It’s my job and this time he will not ignore me.”
Gran fingered her pearls. “I wondered what had happened to your fighting spirit.”
She winced. “Momentary insanity.”
“Baby, give the man a chance. High Five can’t afford to lose him.”
“Cait said the same thing.”
“Well, then, enough said. Pull up your big-girl panties and get this done…the Belle way.”
Sky’s laughter echoed around the room. “Gran, you’ve said that since I was small, and I still don’t know what the hell it means.”
“But you get the gist? And no cursing, please.”
Sky wrapped an arm around the old woman’s thin shoulders. “Yes, ma’am.”
“That’s all that matters, and thank you. I really didn’t want to saddle up in the morning.”
Sky stopped and stared at her grandmother. “You had no intention of saddling up. You played me like a fine-tuned violin. You knew if you made me see how selfish I was being, I’d relent.”
Gran shrugged. “Whatever works.”
“Mommy. Mommy,” Kira called, running from the parlor, with Etta, the housekeeper, on her heels.
Before the child reached Sky, she fell headlong onto the hardwood floor. Loud cries filled the room. Sky immediately scooped her up.
Don’t ask if she’s hurt. Don’t ask.
Her four-year-old daughter had been diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and the doctor warned about constantly asking if Kira was hurting. It would make the child paranoid and deeply aware of her condition. Kira would tell her if she was in pain. Still, Sky couldn’t help thinking about it constantly.
Kira’s cries grew louder. Sky rubbed her back. “You’re okay, precious. Shh. Mommy’s here.”
Raising her head from Sky’s shoulder, she wiped at her eyes. “I fall down.”
Sky kissed a wet cheek. “Yes, you did.” Kira fell a lot but the doctor said that was normal. There was nothing normal about her baby hurting, though.
Kira’s right knee was red and swollen this morning. Her child living in pain kept her on tenterhooks, and she tried not to let it show. She didn’t always accomplish that.
“How about a nap?”
Kira stopped rubbing her eyes. “’Kay. Is Georgie coming back?”
“Not today, precious.”
“I wanna play with Georgie.”
“Maybe tomorrow.”
“And we’ll have some chocolate pudding when you wake up.” Gran kissed Kira. “I love you.”
“Love you, too.” Kira rested her head against Sky’s shoulder again and all her motherly instincts kicked in, feelings she thought she would never have. But the moment she’d first held her baby, her whole personality seemed to change. Kira depended on her, needed her. Sky had never had full responsibility for another person and at first it had overwhelmed her. Now it was natural.
She stroked her daughter’s red curly hair, hair just like her own, as were her blue eyes. Very little of Todd was evident in Kira, and Sky was grateful for that.
Slowly, she made her way up the stairs to their bedroom. Kira really needed her own room, but Sky was afraid she wouldn’t hear her if she needed her during the night. Besides, it was just the two of them, and probably always would be.
After she gave Kira some children’s liquid Tylenol and settled her down for a nap, Sky planned to have an up-close-and-personal meeting with Mr. Cooper Yates.
And this time he wasn’t ignoring her.
WITH A KNOT in his gut, Cooper watched Cait and Maddie drive away. He strode into the barn, his jaw clenched. The redhead had called a family meeting and he knew exactly what it was about. She wanted to get rid of him.
If he knew Cait and Maddie—and he did, since he’d worked side by side with both—he couldn’t see them going along with such a plan. But they were sisters, and owners of High Five. He was just the hired hand. A cowboy.
He threw a saddle over his brown-and-white paint, Rebel, and tightened the cinch. The horse did a quick side step and reared his head. Cooper had just bought and broken the gelding, which was still fidgety. But he’d settle down.
The calluses on Cooper’s hands rubbed against the leather strap. He was a working man—work kept his demons at bay. Cait had understood that. So had Maddie. But the redhead wanted him gone, and he wondered if she’d get her wish. It didn’t matter to him. He didn’t know if he could continue to work for the woman, anyway. Maybe it was time for him to move on.
To what?
Dane Belle had given him a job when no one else would. High Five was his home now and the redhead wasn’t getting rid of him. Besides, he was on probation and couldn’t leave the county. He was here to stay. Once he made that decision the knot in his stomach eased.
But not for long.
The redhead was coming his way.
CHAPTER TWO
“MAY I SPEAK WITH YOU, please?” Sky was determined to be polite, using her best manners, as Gran would want her to.
“It’s a free country.” The deep drawl came from the other side of the horse, and the man made no move to look at her or to acknowledge her presence.
She gritted her teeth, but his insolence wasn’t going to cause her to lose her temper. “We have to work together so could you please look at me?”
He lowered the stirrup, raised his head and glared at her over the top of the saddle. For the first time, she noticed his eyes were a deep green, not brown as she’d thought. Green and cold as a frozen pond. She actually felt a chill and wrapped her arms around her waist.
“I’m guessing you want to talk because the meeting with Cait and Maddie didn’t go your way.” His voice was as cold as his eyes. Even so, it had a gravelly intone that would be attractive if it hadn’t been delivered with such an edge.
She bit her lip as fiery retorts zinged through her head. The cow dogs lay at his feet, but they were looking at her almost as if they were waiting for her next words.
She
