Kathleen O'Brien - The Ranch She Left Behind

“Dallas!” Penny’s annoyance seemed to fade as she accepted his hug. Max watched curiously, trying to sort out the relationships. Whoever this was, she liked him. Brother, maybe? But there wasn’t much resemblance.

“I’m sorry you had to come,” she said. “I’m perfectly fine on my own. There’s really nothing to be done. My furniture won’t arrive until tomorrow.”

“Ah, but that seems to be the problem. They can’t stand the idea of you camping out on a sleeping bag. Ro and Bree are mobilizing a small army to make this place homey. The SUV is loaded with food, supplies, blow-up mattress, books, shampoos, and there may even be a lawn mower back there. You’ll be lucky if they don’t start hanging wallpaper before it gets dark.”

Penny groaned. But then she seemed to remember her manners. She stepped back from the hug, and, putting her hand on the man’s arm, included Max in her smile.

“Dallas, this is my tenant, Max Thorpe. We’ve just met, this very minute. Max, this is my brother-in-law, Dallas Garwood.”

Max shook Dallas’s hand, noting the sharp scrutiny the blue-eyed man gave him and meeting it with a bland smile and a slightly raised brow. Dallas Garwood was the distrustful type? But what about Max made him suspicious in the first place?

“Nice to meet you, Dallas,” he said politely.

Another man had stepped out of the jazzy sports car and was making his way over. His greeting was warm, but a bit more restrained, as if he weren’t quite as close to Penny as Dallas was.

“Hey, Penny. I’m Gray, and—”

“Gray!” Dallas thumped the newcomer on the shoulder. “Penny, it’s hard to believe you haven’t met Gray. He’s been underfoot for months now. He’s been dying to meet you, because somehow he’s decided you’re the only one who can persuade Bree to set a wedding date.”

Penny accepted a hug from the second man, and then rather stiltedly attempted to introduce him to Max, too.

“Grayson Harper, this is Max Thorpe, my tenant. Max, Gray is my sister Bree’s—”

“Fiancé,” Gray said, stepping forward to help smooth over Penny’s uncertainty about the label. He shook Max’s hand, and again Max was aware of getting a steely-eyed, mildly threatening appraisal.

You’d better be a good guy, the stare said. You’d better not mess with our Penny.

Damn. Max wondered whether he had picked up some kind of scary stain that looked like blood while he was in the basement. Surely he didn’t give off a serial killer vibe, did he? He was just a road-weary dad in jeans and a suede jacket, holding his daughter’s Vampire High pulp novel, and a bubblegum-blue Slurpee cup. How dangerous could he possibly look?

“Nice to meet you, Gray,” he said with a deliberately cool tone. He met the aggressive gaze without blinking.

Commotion over by the cars drew their gazes. Two women were emerging from the hybrid SUV—one blonde, one black-haired, both stunning. They laughed as they stumbled over each other and tried to extricate large casserole dishes. Their hands were covered in large blue oven mitts that said the dishes were still hot.

The sisters, no doubt. Though where the family resemblance was, Max had no idea. Obviously they were bringing dinner—and everything else under the sun. The SUV was packed to the gills with random paraphernalia. In addition to the unwieldy casserole dish she carried, the brunette sister had a potted flower tucked under one elbow. The blonde had wedged a framed picture under each arm. They were so encumbered they could hardly walk.

For a second, Max understood why Penny had looked annoyed. Hover might be an understatement.

He needed to get out of the way and let her deal with this. “I’d better go find Ellen,” he said. “We’ve had a long day.”

She frowned. “But we...” She met his gaze with an apologetic smile, as if to say she knew they needed to talk more. But then her glance angled toward the approaching women, and she shut her eyes in something that looked like exhaustion.

“We’ll talk tomorrow?” She made it a question. “About...about the lease and everything. If there’s anything the agent didn’t provide—”

“Everything seems perfect,” he assured her. It was strange—especially given that she clearly already had an army poised to protect her—but he still had the urge to put her at ease. “We’re going to turn in early, I’m sure.”

He lifted one eyebrow playfully. “Most of it is already a bit of a blur. For instance, I can hardly remember this morning.”

She gave him a grateful smile. But the sisters had reached the driveway, so she launched one more time into a rote introduction. Max said the polite phrases, shaking hands with the two beauties who stared at him as if he were Jack the Ripper. They talked about having plenty of food to share, but he insisted on heading back into his own side of the duplex.

He almost got away. Just as he reached his own door, he saw a shadow fall behind him. He turned, and wasn’t surprised to see Gray Harper standing on the front porch.

Max had figured out, finally, what must have happened. Small-town grapevines being what they were—someone must have reported the kiss.

“Look,” he said, “I don’t know what’s bugging you guys. I’m here to do a construction project, a resort just outside town called Silverdell Hills. You can look me up, if you’d like. I’m a paying tenant. I have no intention of annoying your sister-in-law in any way.”

Gray tilted his head. “Well, apparently there’s a story going around—”

“I’m sure there is. I’m not sure exactly what the story said by the time it reached you, but she kissed me, not vice versa.”

The other man grinned. Though he was irritated, Max had to admire that Gray didn’t try to deny it, or to pretend that Max had imagined the unanimous, wordless antagonism.

“Fair enough,” Gray said. “That is what we heard, actually. That she kissed you. But Ro and Bree couldn’t believe it—and it does sound a bit out of character.”

“I wouldn’t have a clue.” Max shrugged. “I hadn’t ever met her—I mean, met her by name—until ten minutes ago. When I was told I had a landlady named Penelope Wright, I pictured some blue-haired grandmother who would grow delphiniums and make cookies for my daughter.”

“She does make a mean cookie, I hear.” Gray smiled. “Look, I don’t blame you for being ticked off. But you know how sisters can be. Or you will, if you live here long. These sisters, in particular. They worry about Penny as if it were their full-time job.”

Max raised his eyebrows. “Gray. I don’t know what Penny’s problems are. But I know what mine are. I came here for some quiet time to focus on my daughter, who lost her mother last year. I’m not a con man or a pervert. But I am tired, and I need to get my daughter home, fed and put to bed.”

“Okay.” Gray nodded. “But there’s just one last thing. No offense intended, honestly. But Bree won’t sleep if I don’t tell you. See, Penny’s the baby of the family, and she’s been through a lot. When they heard the story about this morning, they about flipped.”

“Just say it, Harper,” Max said, trying not to sound as impatient as he felt. “Whatever it is, no offense taken, I guarantee.”

“Well.” Gray shifted, clearly uncomfortable. “They want you to know that Penny...well, her brother-in-law, Dallas... The thing is...he’s the sheriff.”

The sheriff? So?

Then Max understood, and, finally, he started to laugh. This was about as unsubtle a warning as he could possibly imagine. He began to wonder whether Penny might be more than merely charmingly naive. Maybe she was a little barmy. Why else would her whole family feel so frantic to caution him that she was protected?