Rebecca Winters: Home to Wyoming

“I won’t.”

“If my great grandfather saw me now, he’d think I really was Buck Rogers from outer space.” He put on the mask and turned on the oxygen before leaving the van. In a minute, he had the cabin door unlocked.

Jenny and her mother hurried over the threshold into the living room where the glow from the hearth illuminated their faces. Judging by their expressions, they found the cabin welcoming and moved closer to the heat source.

When he and the guys had built the cabins, they’d decided on wood-burning fireplaces for their authenticity.

“Ooh, this feels good, doesn’t it, sweetheart?”

“I wish our house had a fireplace.”

Pleased with their response to their temporary home away from home, Buck helped Willy take the bags into one of the two bedrooms adjoined by a bathroom. “Ladies,” he said as he came back to the living room, “you have all the comforts of home here. There’s a coffeemaker and microwave. The fridge is stocked with drinks and there’s a basket of fruit, along with packets of hot chocolate and snacks on the table. If you’ll look in the closets, there are extra pillows and blankets.”

“This is wonderful,” she exclaimed, looking around at the rest of the room, her eyes landing on the state-of-the-art entertainment center.

“If you need anything, just dial zero on the house phone by your bed and the front desk will let me know, no matter the hour.” He studied his guests. “Is there anything I can get you before I say good-night?”

Jenny stared up at him with a worried expression. “Do you feel okay?”

“I feel fine. Do I look too frightening?”

“No, but I feel bad for you. Where do you live?”

“In the main ranch house. It’s close by, but you couldn’t see it in the storm. I hope your stomach will feel better by morning. We serve breakfast in the big dining room from six to nine. Lunch is from twelve to two and dinner from five to eight.”

“Will you be there?”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

“That’s good.” Jenny’s quiet response touched him. “Do you have to wear the mask at the ranch house?”

“Only if they make a fire in the big fireplace, which doesn’t happen very often.”

“You’re brave.”

“No. Your dad was the one who was brave. If you’ve noticed, the thunder and lightning have already moved on. It isn’t scary anymore. I bet Moppy is already peeking out of her hole and planning her breakfast for tomorrow. The rain will have made a lot of pine nuts fall to the ground.”

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.”