“And, yes, an impromptu meeting. Macy got the surprise you left in her bag.”
He turned, eyes narrowed as he looked from Bea to Macy. From that look, she knew he hadn’t left the book.
* * *
Tanner leaned against the counter, not sure what to say to the two women who obviously thought he should know what they were talking about. He barely knew Macy Swanson. And he didn’t make a habit of forming relationships with parents of the boys at the ranch. “Surprise?”
Macy pushed a book across the counter. He reached for it and gave it a long look. “Never seen it before.”
She handed him a note with handwriting that definitely wasn’t his. “This was attached.”
He shook his head. “Again, I’ve never seen it before, and that isn’t my writing.”
“But you asked me to read to the boys.” Macy’s voice trailed off at the end, and she took the book back from him. “Who else would have done this?”
“Interesting question. But I just saw Pastor Walsh on the front lawn because he was told the boys want Bible studies on Friday afternoons. That’s the first I’ve heard of that. Not that our boys aren’t good kids, but they don’t typically reach out to the local pastor wanting more church. More often than not, they complain about Sunday and Wednesday services.”
Bea rubbed a finger across her chin and hmm’ed. “You know, I got a note next to my phone, like someone had left a message after talking to Pastor Walsh. It said he was interested in spending more time here with the boys and thought that perhaps Katie Ellis could help lead a Bible study with the boys. Of course I called him and asked when he’d like to do this.”
“And here I was going to blame you, Bea.” Tanner sat down next to the older woman.
“Well, it wasn’t me, Tanner.” She gave him an arch look over the top of her glasses.
He winked at Bea and then glanced at Macy. She sat with her gaze lowered, focusing on the book and not on him.
That gave him a few seconds to study the woman sitting across from him. A curtain of blond hair fell forward, slightly hiding her expression. She was slim and graceful; even her hands seemed delicate. Delicate but capable.
He cleared his throat and cleared the thoughts from his mind. “But now that you have the book, are you interested in reading to the boys? I’ve lost track of the ages, but I think we have several under the age of ten who would enjoy a little quality time with you. Colby being one of them.”
“I’ll read to the boys. We’ll combine reading with a lesson on how to use the library, and they can also help me start packing it up.”
Bea clapped her hands together and shot him a beaming smile. “That sounds like a great idea. And I think this will give you some real quality time with Colby. He does love your stories. He talks about them, you know.”
Macy’s expression changed, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. “He always seems to draw back just as I think we’re getting closer.”
“Maybe he’s afraid of getting close?” Tanner offered. “I remember when we first came to Aunt May. We’d been on our own, and suddenly there was this woman wanting to be involved in every moment of our lives. It wasn’t easy to let her in.”
“But he wasn’t used to being on his own. He had parents who loved him and cared for him.”
Bea sighed at the reminder.
“Yes, and then they were gone and you were there trying to fill their shoes. It hasn’t been easy for either of you,” Bea said, her arm around Macy’s shoulders. “Now, Tanner, what brings you to the ranch this late in the day?”
“I wanted to arrange for the group of us looking for the lost residents to meet for dinner tomorrow evening at the steak house. I’m buying. We can look at any notes we’ve found and see what we need to do next.”
“What time?”
“Six okay for everyone?”
“That sounds good,” Bea said as she gathered their cups.
Tanner headed for the door, but then he remembered one other item on his list. “Oh, I forgot something.”
Bea set the cups back down on the counter. “What is it?”
“Chloe wants to see if Russell can have a job helping out around here. I understand if the answer is no.”
Bea laughed at that, taking him by surprise. “That girl can still wrap you around her little finger.”
“Yes, she has a gift,” Tanner acknowledged. “And she thinks I need to get to know the man she plans on marrying.”
“We’ll find him something to do. And try not to worry. We all know Russell. We know his past. After all, Tanner, the boy spent six months here.”
“Of course. I just don’t want any problems for you or the ranch.”
“Don’t you worry about us, we know how to handle young men like Russell.”
Yes, if anyone knew how to handle Russell, it would be Bea. As he started to turn to go, his gaze landed on Macy. He didn’t know what to say to her about the book and the note. Someone obviously wanted to push her into spending more time with Colby and the other boys at the ranch. Maybe Bea? Could even have been Flint or Jake.
Maybe he would ask Jake. He’d been there yesterday. Maybe he’d overheard Tanner ask Macy to help out, and he’d taken off with the idea in order to get her over here more often.
But the book and story time were low priority. The LSCL Boys Ranch needed Cyrus Culpepper’s property. Still, as Tanner left the Silver Star, the Culpepper place wasn’t on his mind. Instead his thoughts had turned to Macy Swanson and the strange turn of events that had her front and center in his life.
The print of the grant Macy had typed up blurred a bit as she stared at it. She rubbed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. She’d been at the Silver Star since shortly after three, and she had three hours to go until the dinner at the steak house. If she hadn’t agreed to the plan yesterday, she would back out and go home. But she had volunteered, and she wasn’t canceling on people who were counting on her.
Things might seem a little brighter if she hadn’t woken up that morning to a car that wouldn’t start. She’d walked to school from her house. After work, Katie Ellis had given her a ride to the ranch. Macy would have to see if the other woman was still around to give her a ride back to town.
All in all it had been a long day. The kind of day that deserved another cup of coffee. Or a really long nap. And she was getting neither of those things. Instead she was sipping on a cup of herbal tea that Beatrice had brought her, something to soothe her, she’d been told.
A light rap on the door interrupted her musings. She smiled at the woman standing in the opening, her auburn hair pulled back. A floral shirt stretched
