“She’s really terrific.”
“Of course she is. Terrific and in my business.”
“I’m sorry.” Katie pulled her knees up and rested her chin as she watched Marci race across the field, the dog chasing after her. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
“You’re not prying. You’ve been tossed into our lives since you got here. I don’t think that was your plan or our intention. And I’m probably as surprised as Julie that I invited you this afternoon. Or that Marci agreed to the invitation.”
“Why is that?”
“That you’ve been tossed into our lives?” His smile said he knew that wasn’t her question. “I think because you’re easy to be around and you allow yourself to be a part of what is going on here.”
“Not that.”
His gaze now lingered on the young girl who was sitting on the grass some distance from them, the black-and-white border collie licking her face as she laughed. “I protect her because she deserves to be protected. I was engaged.”
“I heard. But not to her mother?”
He shook his head but his attention remained focused on Marci. “I met my fiancée when Marci was four. Susan didn’t want anything to do with Marci. I kept holding on to hope that she’d change her mind. I kept moving forward with the wedding plans, thinking that once we were married she would warm up to the idea of Marci in our lives. Instead, she left the state with my best friend.”
“Dodged that one, didn’t you?”
He laughed at her easy response to a situation that had left him with a bad taste in his mouth and no desire to ever repeat the mistake. “I guess you could put it that way.”
“I do have a way with words.”
“Yes, you do.”
“And Marci’s mom?”
He sighed and sat up, one leg bent, his knee up, the other leg stretched out in front of him. “Angie. She was one of my best friends for most of my life. She got pregnant in college by a guy who didn’t want Marci.”
His phone rang, ending the moment and the conversation. Katie started packing up the remains of their picnic as he pushed himself to his feet and walked away. As he talked in low tones, she cast a cautious glance his way, wondering what might have stolen the smile he wore just moments earlier. As he talked, he watched Marci playing, nodded a few times, and when the conversation ended, he didn’t speak for a few minutes.
“Is everything okay?” She had everything back in the backpack and the blanket they’d sat on was folded.
“No, I have to leave. And I’m not sure how I’m going to do this, but I can’t take Marci to town with me.”
“You have to go to town?”
He grabbed the pack and attached it to the saddle of his horse. “Yes, I do. There’s a situation I need to take care of.”
“Of course.”
He untied her horse and led the gray gelding to her. They stood there for a moment, she staring up at him. It took her by surprise, having to look up. Her world closed in, focusing only on him. And it frightened her. She didn’t want to go down that path again.
This man was dangerous. His strength was a danger. As was his kindness. More than that, his vulnerability was dangerous. That might be the most dangerous part, that part of him that had been hurt, might still be hurting, might need someone desperately. It was in his eyes, in the guarded look he shifted in Marci’s direction as the girl cavorted with the dog, unaware of the phone call. Katie guessed that it probably had something to do with the child.
She wanted to help Cord but wasn’t sure how. And she knew better than to try to be that person for anyone. Because it always hurt later, when she realized she’d just been filling the space of friend.
He handed her the reins to the horse.
“Foot in the stirrup,” he said softly, and as she moved, she realized how close they were to one another. His hand was on the saddle and their faces were inches apart. He leaned, so close she could feel the warmth of him.
He stepped back, shaking his head just a little.
“Wow.” He whistled. “I’m not sure what to say.”
“Hmm.” She didn’t know what to say, either. She needed to think of something. Fast. Before she claimed the kiss she knew he’d considered and then reconsidered. “What is the situation in town, or should I ask?”
“You shouldn’t ask.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
He darted a quick look over his shoulder before looking at her again, letting out a shaky sigh. “Her grandmother, Lulu, has Alzheimer’s. I’m not sure how long she’s had it, but it’s progressed to the point that she can no longer hide it.”
“Marci?”
Serious regret settled in the depths of his blue eyes. “We were going to sit her down and tell her. We should have told her sooner but it’s a lot of reality for an eleven-year-old kid.”
“And right now?”
“She was at the diner and when she walked out to the car she couldn’t remember how to get home. She looked confused, so a couple of friends asked if they could help and she told them. They took her home and are there with her now, waiting for me.”
“We’re wasting time.”
She somehow she managed to get back in the saddle, knowing her legs would punish her later for this unusual treatment. Marci was heading their way, laughing as the dog chased her. Cord had her horse untied and handed her the reins when she stopped in front of him.
“Time to go, kiddo.”
Marci threw herself easily into the saddle and gave him an annoyed look from her perch on the pretty bay she rode, a deep brown–coated animal with black legs and a black mane and tail. Until today Katie hadn’t known a bay from a dapple gray. Gray being the horse she rode.
“Why?”
“We need to take Katie back to the main ranch and then you and I will have a talk.” Cord had a hand on her horse’s neck.
“About?” Marci held the reins of the restless horse and finally spoke sharply, telling her mare to stop. The mare settled.
“I don’t want to discuss it right now.” Cord’s tone took on that fatherly, brook-no-argument tone.
“Is something wrong with Grammy?”
Katie bit down on her lip and waited for Cord’s reply. This man she’d known for only a few days, and already she felt so tied into his life. Her heart ached for him and for the girl staring him down. He might think that Marci didn’t know anything was wrong with her grandmother, but Katie thought he might be wrong.
* * *
Now what did he do? Cord looked down at the ground, wishing it would swallow him up but knowing this was a situation he’d have to face. He looked up and caught the eyes of the woman he’d invited along for a day that should have been relaxing and now she was all kinds of tied into their lives. Exactly where he didn’t want her.
“Why do you think something is wrong with your grammy?”
Marci bit down on her bottom lip and her sigh hung up a little, sounding more like a sob. “Because I know she’s sick. I know something is wrong. She forgot the car in town and walked home. When I asked her where the car was, she told me she’d never owned a car.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Cord stood next to her horse, his hand on hers.
“Because later she remembered and she was embarrassed and told me