Carolyne Aarsen - Reunited with the Cowboy

It also had her sitting at the computer checking out other jobs online, sending her résumé to whoever would accept electronic submissions.

“Well, he was a louse,” Keira said, her eyes narrowing. “And there’s no humiliation in being divorced from someone like him.”

Her shame had deeper facets, Heather thought, but she just stepped back and gave her sister a tight smile. “I’ve missed you so much,” she admitted, holding Keira’s soft green eyes.

“I missed you, too,” Keira returned.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t the best sister to you,” Heather added soberly. “You’ve had your own sorrows and struggles.”

Keira’s gentle look acknowledged the sympathy. “It was hard, but I have Tanner and he’s been my rock. God has also been my refuge and strength. I feel as if I’ve been surrounded and supported.”

Heather felt a twinge of jealousy. “I’m glad for you. I wish I could share your faith in God.”

“He’s always there,” Keira said quietly. “He hasn’t moved.”

Heather wasn’t so sure about that, but wasn’t going to get into a theological discussion about God with her sister. Especially when she seemed to be able to draw strength from him.

The jingle of Adana’s bell caught their attention. The little girl looked over at them with a grin, as if seeking a reaction. Then she fell down on her bottom and let out an indignant cry. Sugar whined, as if pleading with them to fix something he could do nothing about.

“I’ll get her,” Keira said, walking away from the workbench. Heather sighed as she watched her sister pick up the little girl. Keira seemed so natural with her.

Then Adana reached out to Heather, as she had been doing since their first meeting. The bell she was holding jingled lightly. “You hold me, pwease,” she said, her meaning clear.

“I don’t know why she’s so stuck on me,” Heather said, taking her.

Keira shrugged. “Maybe she knows you need to be around her to get over your own sadness.”

Heather held Adana, feeling her warmth seep through her vest and shirt, her heart hitching again at having the little girl in her arms. “Like that therapy they do, when you’re afraid of something and you’re constantly exposed to it until you get used to it?”

Keira smiled. “Sometimes we need to face our fear in order to conquer it.”

Heather guessed she was referring to the shadows in her own life. The shame of being assaulted by Tanner’s brother years ago, and how she’d kept it to herself for so long.

“You would know,” she said quietly.

“I’m guessing there are still things in your life that you don’t want to talk about,” Keira said, folding her arms over her chest. “And I’m not going to push you on that. The one thing I realized from my own life is that you can’t face the past until you feel like you’re in a safe place. And you are in a safe place now. You always said that for you, the ranch lived up to its name. That it was a true refuge.”

“It was and it is,” Heather said. “This is home.”

“And how has it been seeing John again?” Keira prompted.

Heather weighed the question, trying to sort out the unwelcome emotions John evoked.

“He’s part of the past I don’t necessarily need to face, but do want to leave behind,” she finally said. “He was married to an amazing woman and has a kid, and that’s the end of that. John and I have both moved on.”

Heather wished she could have delivered her speech with more conviction, but her reaction to John belied any protestation she could make.

The skeptical look on her sister’s face showed Heather she needed to work on that. Because there was no way she was going to allow herself to be so vulnerable again.

She had spent too much time there and it wasn’t happening anymore.

* * *

Don’t brush your hair. Just wash up and go into the dining room.

John cast a critical glance at his reflection in the mirror as he dried his hands on the towel on the bathroom counter at the Bannisters’ ranch house. His hair was dented from his cowboy hat and it stuck up in the back.

Heather would just have to take him as he was, he thought as he hung the towel up and walked out of the bathroom.

As he went past the porch and into the kitchen, he wished he had insisted that he and Adana have lunch in their own house, as he had the past couple days.

Yesterday he and Monty had been busy until suppertime fixing fences, getting ready for today. But he’d picked up Adana and taken her to the Grill and Chill in town, using a need to visit Gord, the owner, as a reason for not joining the Bannisters when he was invited.

This morning he’d brought Adana over right after breakfast and made sure that he’d scooted out of there fast, using the cows as the perfect excuse. But he didn’t have to rush. Monty had gone to Great Falls for the part for the hay bind. He had told John to wait on moving the cows until he came back, but John needed to keep busy and out of the house, so he’d gotten them all gathered in the sorting pens. But he couldn’t keep avoiding the family, so this morning he had accepted the standing invitation to join them for lunch.

Heather stood by the large table and was ladling soup into bowls as he came into the dining room. She glanced up when he walked in, then quickly looked away, underlining the awkwardness that surrounded any encounter they had. She wore blue jeans again, but her silk shirt negated the down-home effect.

He bent over and kissed Adana’s forehead. “Hey, sweetie,” he said, brushing his hand over her curls and smiling down at her. “You have a good morning?”

“Hi, Daddy.” She grinned up at him, then looked back at the bowl Alice set in front of her. “Yummy soup,” she said, picking up her spoon.

“How’s your aunt?” John asked Alice, his eyes shifting against his will back to Heather.

“She’s not doing as well as I hoped. I think I’ll spend a few more days with her,” the woman said, breaking some crackers into Adana’s soup. “She’s still fairly fragile, and now that Heather is staying longer, I’m hoping she can help take care of Ellen and Adana so I can go.”

John felt a moment’s anxiety. Heather taking care of his daughter more than just for an afternoon? He glanced her way and met her eyes. Once again he sensed her hesitation, then she blinked and the moment was gone.

Maybe he could find someone else to take care of Adana till Alice returned. He couldn’t ask his in-laws. They were gone. But there had to be someone who was willing to come out to Refuge Ranch.

“How’s Adana been?” John inquired, turning his attention back to his daughter.

“She’s been a little angel,” Alice said. “But she’s getting tired.”

“Where’s Keira?” he asked next as he picked up the small spoon Adana always used.

“Keira and Tanner went into Bozeman to talk to the wedding photographer,” Ellen said, stifling a yawn. “And Monty called. He’s still waiting in Great Falls for that tractor part that was supposed to come in on special order today. He didn’t think it was worth his while to drive back when the delivery is supposed to arrive at any moment.” She gave him an apologetic look. “Hope that’s not a problem.”

John tried not to sigh. “I’ve got the herd locked up. I was going to give them their precalving shots. Monty was going to cut the cows for me and run them through.”

“And neither Alice nor I can help you,” Ellen said.

“I can’t wait until Monty comes back to process them.” There was no way John could sort and run the entire herd through this afternoon on his own. “I’ll have to let them out.”

He gave Adana another spoonful of soup and, in spite of his frustration, smiled as she caught his wrist, bringing the spoon closer to her mouth.