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 to a lot of the passengers. Jenny? You’re a courageous girl to have handled it. Something tells me you’re just like your daddy.”
When she didn’t say anything, he glanced at her mother and saw tears pooling in her dark blue eyes. “You don’t know how true that is.” Her comment piqued his curiosity, but now wasn’t the time to probe.
“Good night.”
“Good night, Mr. Summerhayes.”
“Buck.”
“Yes, Buck. Sorry.”
“No problem. What would you like me to call you?”
“Alex. It’s short for Alexis,” Jenny volunteered. “Frank calls her that, but she doesn’t like it.”
“Jenny—”
Amused, Buck’s gaze swerved back to the seven-year-old. “Who’s Frank?” Might as well learn the truth right now. Hopefully it would help kill his interest in her.
“He’s going to be my new grandpa.”
“You mean, your grandmother is getting married to Frank?”
“Yes. After we get back from our trip.”
“That’s an exciting thing to look forward to.”
The little girl’s face crumpled. “No, it isn’t.” Before he could blink, she ran out of the living room into the bedroom where he’d put their bags and shut the door.
Alex looked shattered. “I’m sorry. She’s been upset lately, but never around anyone other than me.”
“It’s probably just because she’s not feeling well and the storm scared her. I’ll leave so you can take care of her. I can show you around the ranch tomorrow.”
“Please don’t go yet. There’s something you need to know. I was going to tell you at the airport, but it didn’t feel like the right time. Jenny needs to cry this out and she’ll be fine by herself for a few minutes. I’m afraid this can’t wait.”
He felt her urgency. “What is it?”
“Do you mind if we sit down?”
Wondering what this was all about, Buck sat in one of the chairs, while she took the end of the couch. “I’ll make this as short as possible. My name is Alex Wilson. I’m Jenny’s grandmother, not her mother.”
Buck shot up from the chair. Grandmother? It wasn’t possible. She looked so young! His mind had to do a complete thought reversal.
“Two months after Daniel was killed, my daughter, Christy, died. She’d suffered from leukemia for a short time before her passing. I became Jenny’s legal guardian.”
A slug to the gut couldn’t have come as more of a shock.
“When the letter arrived from the Teton Valley Dude Ranch inviting Christy and Jenny to come, I was so touched you couldn’t imagine. But the invitation was meant for my daughter.” He heard tears in her voice.
“I called Daniel’s commanding officer so he could explain my situation to Mr. Lundgren—Carson—and tell him the reason why we couldn’t accept such a great honor. He told me that since I was Jenny’s legal guardian and had virtually raised her since Christy fell ill, no one had more of a right to come and bring Jenny than I did.
“I struggled with it. In fact, up to a week ago, I was ready to call the ranch and tell you about my daughter’s death. I wanted you to give this honor to a well-deserving widow and her child. But the commanding officer wouldn’t hear of it. By that time Jenny was so excited to come, I couldn’t disappoint her. With both her parents’ deaths, she’s been through so much grief. But I wanted you to know the truth.”
Buck couldn’t begin to fathom it. “I’m glad he insisted you come. After hearing what you’ve told me, I speak for Carson and Ross when I say we couldn’t be happier that Daniel Forrester’s daughter and mother-in-law have accepted our invitation. He was a real hero. We’re hoping this trip will let Jenny know how special we thought her father was.”
Her eyes glazed over. “You’re very kind, Buck. Daniel was a terrific son-in-law. My daughter couldn’t have chosen better. Which brings me to what happened tonight. I’m planning to be married to a man I met over two years ago. He’s been careful because of Jenny’s feelings and has only proposed recently.
“Jenny knows we’re planning marriage and I’d hoped she was getting used to the idea, but tonight’s outburst has shown me she’s not ready to share me with Frank yet. To be truthful, he was worried about my bringing her on this trip and is still unhappy about it. She adored her daddy and Frank thought meeting more ex-marines might be too painful a reminder of her loss.
“But she acted so excited about coming here that I couldn’t disappoint her. I’m embarrassed for the way she acted out just now. If I see any more of this behavior while we’re here, we’ll have to leave, and I’ll reimburse you for the airline tickets and any expense you’ve gone to for us.”
“I’m sure that won’t be necessary. Once she meets Johnny, she’ll be so preoccupied that she’ll forget to be upset. There’s something about this ranch that gives people a new perspective.”
She stood and walked over to the door. “I hope you’re right. I can tell you one thing. You knew exactly how to calm Jenny’s fears tonight. For that, I’m indebted to you. Thank you for inviting us here. You’ll never know what that letter from the ranch did for me and Jenny. At a very dark hour for her, it gave us the hope that a brighter future was in store.”
Buck could hardly swallow for the sorrow he was feeling for their family. “I’m so glad it did that for you. Good night, Alex. See you in the morning.”
Without lingering, he hurried outside and whipped off his mask. After the rain, the scent of sage hung heavy in the air. Willy was waiting for him in the van. “Everything all right, Buck? You look...disturbed.”
He put his apparatus back in the locker. “To be honest, disturbed doesn’t come close to what I’m feeling.” His thoughts were in chaos.
Willy started driving them along the puddled dirt road toward the parking area at the side of the main ranch house. “Mrs. Forrester is a knockout.”
That she was. “Just
