Rebecca Winters - The Wyoming Cowboy

Between the vista of mountains and the strong scent of sage filling the dry air, Tracy felt as if they’d been transported to another world. Even Johnny stopped fiddling with his cap gun to look. “Those sure are tall mountains!”

“They’re magnificent!”

She locked the door and they started walking along the dirt road to the sprawling two-story ranch house in the distance. It was the kind you saw in pictures of the Old West, owned by some legendary cattle king.

“I hope they have cereal.”

Tracy hoped they didn’t. He needed to get off candy and sugar-coated cereal, his favorites when he could get away with it. His grandmother made all kinds of fabulous pasta, but he only liked boring mac and cheese out of the box. “Carson mentioned eggs, bacon and buckwheat pancakes.”

“What’s buckwheat?”

She smiled. “You’ll have to ask him.” The poor man had already answered a hundred questions last evening. She’d been surprised at his patience with her son.

Her eyes took in the tourist log cabins where she saw cars parked. Many of the outbuildings were farther away. Last night, Carson had pointed out the ranch manager’s complex with homes and bunkhouses. He’d mentioned a shed for machinery and hay, a calving barn, horse barn and corrals, but it had been too dark to pick everything out. To Tracy the hundred-year-old ranch resembled a small city.

At least a dozen vehicles, from trucks, vans, and four-wheel-drives to a Jeep without a top and several cars, were parked at the rear of the ranch house. She kept walking with Johnny to the front, admiring the workmanship and the weathered timbers. The house had several decks, with a grove of trees to the side to provide shade. The first Lundgren knew what he was doing, to stake out his claim in this paradise.

They rounded the corner and walked up the steps to the entrance. An office was located to the left of the rustic foyer. At a glance to the right, the huge great room with a stone fireplace led into a big dining room with wagon-wheel chandeliers.

“Hi! Can I help you?”

Johnny walked over to the college-aged girl behind the counter. “Hi! We’re waiting for Carson.”

The friendly brunette leaned over to smile at him. “You must be Johnny Baretta from Ohio.”

“Yup. What’s your name?”

“Susan. Anything you need, you ask me. Mr. Lundgren told me to tell you to go right on through to the dining room and he’d meet you there.”

“Thank you,” Tracy spoke for both of them.

“Welcome to the ranch, Mrs. Baretta.”

“We’re thrilled to be here. Come on, honey.”

They were almost to the dining room when a handsome, fit-looking man, probably Carson’s age and height, came forward. Though he wore a plaid shirt and jeans, with his shorter cropped black hair she could imagine him in Marine gear. His brown eyes played over her with male interest before they lit on Johnny.

“I’m Ross Livingston, Carson’s friend. You must be the brave guy who ate a buffalo burger last night.”

“Well...” He looked at Tracy. “Not all of it,” Johnny answered honestly. “It was too big.”

“I know, and I’m impressed you got through most of it.”

Tracy laughed and he joined her, provoking the same kind of cough she’d heard come out of Carson. “Excuse me,” he said after it had subsided. “It’s not contagious in case you were worried.”

“We’re not. Carson already explained.”

“Good. He got detained on the phone, but he should be here in a minute. Come into the dining room with me, Johnny, and we’ll get you served.”

They followed him. “Do you know if they have cereal?”

“Sure. What kind do you like?”

“Froot Loops.”

“You’re in luck.”

“Goody!”

Tracy refrained from bursting his bubble. Tomorrow they’d choose something else.

Ross guided them across dark, vintage hardwood floors in keeping with the Western flavor to an empty table with a red-and-white-checked cloth. A vase of fresh white daisies had been placed on each table. She found this setting charming.

When he helped them to be seated, he took a chair and handed them Saturday’s menu from the holder. “In a minute the waitress will come to take your order.”

She scanned the menu.

“Mom? Do they have hot chocolate?”

Tracy couldn’t lie. “Yes.”

“Then that’s what I want with my cereal.”

“I’ll let you have it if you’ll eat some meat. There’s sausage, bacon or ham.”

“And brook trout,” Ross interjected, smiling into her eyes as he said it.

She chuckled. “I think after the buffalo burger, we’ll hold off on the fish for another day.”

As he broke into laughter, the waitress came to the table, but she hadn’t come alone. Their host had arrived without his hat, wearing another Western shirt in a tan color. The chiseled angles of his hard-boned features drew her gaze for the second time in twelve hours. He was all male.

“Carson!”

“Hey, partner—” He sat down next to Ross and made the introductions.

“Where’s your hat?”

“I’ll put it on after breakfast.”

“I want to keep mine on.”

“Except that it might be hard to eat with it,” Tracy declared. “Let me put it on the empty chair until after.”

“Okay.”

The waitress took their orders and left.

Ross got up from the table. “Hey, Johnny, while you’re waiting for your food, I’ll take you out to the foyer and show you something amazing before I leave. Since I’ve already eaten, I have a group of guests waiting for me to take them fishing.”

“What is it?” Ross had aroused his curiosity.

“Come with me and see.”

“I’ll be right back, Mom.”

“Okay.”

As they walked away, she heard Ross say, “I’m glad you came, Johnny. We’re going to have a lot of fun while you and your mom are here.”

“Your friend is nice,” Tracy told Carson.

He studied her features for a moment, seeming to reflect on what she’d said. “He’s the best. Right now he’s showing Johnny the big moose head that was mounted years before I was born. It’s the granddaddy of them all, but you don’t see it until you’re leaving to go outside.”

“He’s fascinated by the big animals.”

“Did your husband hunt, or any of your family?”

“No.”

“I’ve never been much of a hunter, either, but my grandfather allowed licensed hunters to use the land during the hunting season, so I do, too. I much prefer to see the elk and deer alive. There’s great opportunity here to photograph the animals. I’ll show Johnny lots of spots. He can hide in the trees and take pictures of squirrels and rabbits, all the cute little forest creatures.”

“He’ll go crazy.”

“That’s the idea.”

To her consternation, Tracy found herself studying his rugged features and looked away. “There’s so much to do here, it’s hard to know where to start. When I read your brochure on the internet, I couldn’t believe it.”

He had an amazing white smile. “Most people can’t do it all. They find something they love and stick to it. That’ll be the trick with Johnny. We’ll try him out on several things and see what he likes most.”

“Mom—” He came running back into the dining room, bringing her back to the present. “You’ve got to see this moose! It’s humongous!” That was Cory’s favorite word.

“I promise I’ll get a look at it when we go outside.”

“Its head is as big as the Pierce’s minicar!”

Carson threw back his head and laughed so hard, everyone in the room looked over. As for Tracy, she felt his rich male belly laugh clear through her stomach to her toes. The laugh set off another of his coughing spells. His blue eyes zeroed in on her. “Who are the Pierces?”