If anything gave him pause with that statement it would be the occupants of said house. For some reason, it seemed his fate since arriving in Braxton was to be shadowed by the woman with her moon gold hair and green witch eyes. Eyes that seemed to want to steal into his soul and ferret out each secret. And those secrets were his to keep and no one else’s business. At least not now…and possibly not ever.

  Dee McNamara was different from most women of his acquaintance. He’d give her that one. She seemed not to be aware of her own beauty. He was used to females who knew how to use their wiles to get what they wanted. He knew because he had been the object of those types since a young teen. His mother had warned him about those kinds of females early on and he considered it good advice.

  Rio would be the first to admit he had toyed with one or two, but never enough to lead to anything serious. There were more than a few examples around him of what happened when one person fell into the trap of love and giving of heart to someone who then had the power to stomp them into the ground with their heartless disregard. He had watched, helpless, what it had done to his mother for years. She had been faithful, believing in lies of a worthless man, and then dying of a broken heart.

  That was how he had learned the lesson of hating and the pull of revenge. It had soured him on falling into such a trap. It was better to trust only in oneself and stay heart whole. Still, he felt a strange power drawing him to the woman and that would not be wise. He was here to find out more about the Braxtons, and then to find closure.

  Rio had no idea what form that closure would take, but he had to trust his gut feeling. It had brought him here. He wouldn’t be staying.

  *

  “Okay, Emmy. It’s a dreary day outside so we’re stuck inside. Let’s finish your breakfast…or is it brunch?” She smiled down at the infant in her arms. Josie had known she needed this. From the day Emmy was born, and Josie and Chance had asked her to be godmother, she had known an affinity with the little one. And it had helped a lot.

  “One day at a time, Emmy girl. That’s the way we keep going.” She spoke her mantra out loud. One day at a time. What else could one do? They couldn’t fast-forward to a place of no pain or memories, and they couldn’t reload the past and have do-overs. Because if she could do that, her husband and little girl wouldn’t have left the house that morning to go to the grocery store on the premise they needed to make her a surprise birthday breakfast. There would be no need, because she would have gone to the grocery store the day before, but she hadn’t because she had been too tired from the day at work to stop on her way home. And perhaps, her husband wouldn’t have ever lied to her. That thought brought a curtain down on her thinking.

  It was the present she had to live through. She let the future take care of itself. And she shook herself out of any self-pity and brought herself back to the little angel in her arms. “So, I see your eyes are getting heavy. Let’s see about a good burp or two,” she said, bringing the little girl to her shoulder, making certain the cloth was in the correct place. She hadn’t done that last night and she would have laundry to do this morning. Dee smiled. It was all good. Never sweat the small stuff. That small stuff turned out too often to be the best stuff.

  With Emmy settled in her playpen in the warm confines of the living room, sound asleep in a sweet dreamland, Dee moved back to the kitchen to clean up the rest of the morning dishes. The phone rang on the table and she moved to quickly silence it.

  “Hello, Mother. Yes, she had her breakfast, and now she’s napping. All is quiet here on the home front.” She smiled as she said the words over the cell phone.

  Josie’s answering laugh greeted the report. “You know me too well. I’m glad you and Emmy are having a nice time of it.”

  “Yes, we are. But she needs her mommy to have one, too. You should be enjoying your alone time with your gorgeous husband. We’ve got this here.”

  “I know you do. But you know how it is… I mean, you…”

  “Relax, friend. I do remember how it is, and that’s why I say go do it. Don’t waste a minute on needless worry.”

  “Okay. But I know I’ll check in later this evening. And if you want anything, I hear Rio is close by.”

  “And why does that not surprise me? Yes, little matchmaker…he is close by outside in the bunkhouse. He did make a nice fire in the fireplace for us yesterday, and that is all I have seen of him, or need to see of him. Now, go have fun.”

  “Look, friend, you agreed that you were going to get out of the rut you were in and give life a chance again… You promised both Rissa and me, remember? You can’t do that hiding away. Rio’s a nice guy, and very easy on the eyes…so why not get to know him?”

  “Thanks, but I’m not hiding away. And, right now, I’m doing just fine in my life. When I’m ready to date anyone, I will.”

  “Look, normally I wouldn’t think of putting you and Rio together because he’s a cowboy who will probably be moving down the road sooner or later. But that makes him perfect for you…at least at this stage of yourself.”

  “Once again, your attempt at psychology has lost me.”

  “He’s not going to be permanent. So what’s the harm about dusting off the flirting skills and get in some practice for getting back into the life of romance? Have some fun. You need to give yourself permission to do that. Don’t just sit on the sidelines and overthink things. You do tend to do that…admit it.”

  “And suppose I agree with your assessment? It doesn’t mean that he’ll be obliging. He’s a pretty self-contained sort of male.”

  There was a laugh. “I like that description. He’s a self-contained man that needs to be brought out of that by the right female aiming for some fun. I saw the way he looked at you on that first day he arrived. There was a definite interest. So you know how to fan those embers…or you will recall how once you make up your mind to get with it. Stop standing on the outside looking in, Dee. Life passes too quickly.” There was a softer timbre to Josie’s voice as she spoke the last. They both knew what she was alluding to…the past and its painful lessons. And Dee couldn’t fault her words.

  “I know. Thanks, Josie. But, if I step onto the high diving board, I would appreciate you not giving me that final push until I’m ready to do it for myself.”

  “Can’t blame a girl for trying. Hug and kiss my Emmy for me, and hugs to you, too, for being such a great friend.”

  Dee was a little surprised that Josie had allowed the subject of her matchmaking to drop so easily, but she was glad she had. And she wasn’t sure which one of them was the luckier. Josie was such a good friend. They had gone to high school together and had hung out a little then, but they had truly become closer after Josie married Chance.

  He had been brought to the hospital after a bad accident where he had been trying to rescue a stranded family in a snowstorm. Dee had been his lead nurse. She had helped Josie through her months of pregnancy, and was honored when the couple had asked her to be godmother. But, Josie had taken of late to trying to find Dee a perfect boyfriend. Dee knew from experience there was no such thing, but she tried not to burst Josie’s happy bubble too soon. However, maybe it was time she gave it some reconsideration.

  Of course, being with Emmy brought back so many sweet memories. There was a little ache of another kind rekindling itself within her when she held the little girl. And then along came Rio. And there was a whole different sort of ache that had sprung up from out of the blue when her gaze met his. And perhaps she needed to give some thought to a lot of things.

  A rumble of thunder broke the stillness of the house and pushed those items to the back of her mind. Dee moved to check on Emmy, who was still oblivious to anything. She placed another log on the fire, eying the fact she would need to replenish the log supply if she wanted to continue to burn a fire. She had expected the clouds to have broken and sunshine to be the order of the day for them, but things had changed. The last weather report had the storm stalled over the area. It sounded like it was getting ready to come again.

  There was a huge stack of wood under the woodshed next to the first barn. Dee grabbed her windbreaker and, with a quick glance at Emmy, she popped the monitor into her pocket and set out to gather the logs. The rain was only a misting at the moment. She hurried across the ground, past the open doors of the stables, to the shed. She gathered four nice logs and was headed back to the house when movement and sound made her pause next to the opening of the barn.

  Her gaze landed on the figure of Rio, squatting, his back to her. He apparently was coaxing some sort of animal on the hay in front of him. She couldn’t help herself. Dee was a sucker for animals.

  “What do you have there? A colt?” She stepped inside the barn and moved closer.

  Rio glanced over his shoulder, noting her presence and the fact she carried the wood. He stood and quickly took the logs from her, which was just as well. When she saw the baby fawn, she forgot all else. She moved quietly forward.

  “How precious! Where did you come from, little one? Is it hurt?” She was already bending to touch knees on the edge of the hay. “Is it okay to touch him?”

  “I doubt I could stop you.”

  Dee ignored the reply, and her hand reached out ever so slowly. With a gentle touch, she laid three fingers of her hand along the neck and slid them down the back of the little fawn. A pair of the hugest chocolate eyes she had seen in such a little face gazed up at her.

  “He’s shaking, poor thing. Where’s its mother?”

  “He is a she. And mom didn’t make it across Sullivan’s Creek. The water came up too fast and I tried to get to her but couldn’t. The fawn took a while, but I managed to cross upstream and get hold of it before she could fall into the creek searching for mom.”

  “So you’re an orphan, you poor little girl.” Dee’s gaze softened on the animal. “What are you going to do with her?”

  “Normally, we could leave her out in hopes of another doe taking her in, but I didn’t see any sign of any others. I’d call the game warden to come get her, but they’re a little busy helping up at the Crawford Dam…lots of rescues being made up there of humans. So, I’m stuck with her on my hands. Guess she’ll stay in here. At least she’s out of the rain.”

  Dee had other plans. She gathered the little fawn into her arms, making certain not to startle and to support it while she covered her with most of her jacket. She stood.

  “What are you doing?” Rio stepped forward. He would have stopped her, but his arms had the logs in them.

  “I’m taking her into the house, to the kitchen. In case you didn’t know, I know for a fact that Josie had an extra space built into an alcove in the corner of the room. She did that because she often housed baby orphans of one sort or another in her warm kitchen. There’s bedding in there and I know she has animal bottles and other things to help out in the pantry.”

  Dee had already sailed past him, and he was left little choice in the matter. He followed a step behind her. The rain had picked up in intensity while they had been inside the barn. They hurried their steps.

  Once on the porch, Rio stepped ahead and opened the back door as best he could, while still holding the firewood. Dee didn’t stop until she was in the kitchen.

  “If you’ll put the firewood by the fireplace, then come back and bring that bedding down from the top shelf of the pantry, we’ll put her here in the warm alcove.” She was in her charge nurse mode, giving directions and not taking any discussion on it.

  Rio did as instructed, but not quietly. “I think this is a bad idea.”

  “Why a bad idea?”

  “This animal belongs outside, in a barn. She is not a house pet. She might not survive at all if we can’t get her to eat, and then you’ll be all upset…for what? A wild animal.”

  Green fire sparked over the distance between them. “She may just be a wild animal as you call it, but she’s alive, and she lost her whole world and she doesn’t know what to do or who to trust and, right now, I’m apparently all she’s got. I am not going to lose her…not on my watch. You can go back to doing whatever it was you were doing in the barn. We’ll be just fine.” He was dismissed when she turned her back on him and bent to place the still quivering fawn in the center of the soft bedding.

  At an apparent loss for words, Rio kept his mouth shut. He obviously knew that would be the best course of action at the moment. He headed toward the door and hesitated. He half turned as if he wanted to say something. But then he thought better of it because he left her alone.

  *

  “A baby fawn?” Josie’s voice came through loud and clear later than evening during her Emmy check-up call. “That’s amazing. I can hardly wait to see it. Have you shown her to Emmy yet?”

  Dee shook her head, smiling. “Not yet. I figured I’d let that happen tomorrow after the fawn settled in better and had some food and sleep. I found the formula you had notes on in your book on the animal care shelf. I’m glad of that. I think I had more on me than she got inside her after the first try, but now I know how strong she is and can better hold the bottle for her. I found the bedding you had stored in the box, and I put the gate across the opening. She’s nice and secure and resting. Just like Emmy.”

  “I’ve been worried. We’re seeing reports about the rain, and Chance has been on the phone with both Tom and Clem, his other foreman. We know things are okay on the ranch right now, but elsewhere, it sounds horrible. They say it might be worse tonight and tomorrow. I wish now I hadn’t come along on this trip. I should be there with Emmy.”

  “I will tell you to stop worrying, but I know you won’t. We’re safe and sound here. Emmy is fine. I managed to get two spoons of pears down her at lunchtime today, so she seems to be enjoying her new introduction to fruit with her bottle and little bit of cereal…just as you requested.”

  “I know I’m worrying for nothing. She’s in great hands. You two have fun with your little deer, and we hope to be home in a couple of days.”

  They had fun all right. Emmy woke up fussy. Dee spent a couple of hours plying her with peekaboo, singing and clapping songs, reading, and nothing seemed to please her until bottle time, and she was out like a light after the final sip. Then it was time to feed the fawn. Dee had moved the soft bedding in front of the fireplace and settled in with bottle in hand and a determination to get her to drink more formula than last time.

  “Come on, little one,” she cajoled. “I really need you to do this. You want to grow up big and strong. Then you can run and play with your friends in the green grass outside. All you have to do is eat just a little more for me.”

  “Resorted to begging and bribery?”

  Dee looked up to find Rio watching the scene, one shoulder leaning against the door frame, a thumb hooked in the loop of his jeans’ waistband.

  “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “I knocked on the back door. I figured you might be busy with the babies…one or more of them…so I let myself in.”

  “I’ve been more than a little busy. If their schedules ever coincide, I may be in big trouble.” She tried for a little levity. It was a bit unnerving to look up and find his blue gaze on her…especially while she was talking to a deer as if it would answer in return. “You must think me very foolish…talking to a deer as if it were human.”

  “Not foolish. You just have a soft heart.”

  “I’m not sure that sounded like a compliment.”

  “It is, for the most part. You just have to be careful of it. Having a big heart makes it more fragile. A broken heart can bring more hurt than—” He stopped himself and pushed away from the door frame, evidently not wanting to complete the thought. “I came by to check on the firewood situation. I did place some extra logs just inside the kitchen mudroom for tonight…just in case you’re up late and need to replenish the fire. I also came to see if you needed a reprieve from fawn duty in order to get other things done. I have the time. The rain has worsened, so I shut down the barns for the night. Everyone that can is staying put where they are and keeping dry. Just a matter of letting Mother Nature get her fury out and be done with it.”

  “That’s not good news…about the rain, I mean. Is it causing problems on the ranches?”

  “A couple of streams are out of their banks, and one of the roads to the south is closed. The herds are on higher ground and adept at finding cover in the trees. The crews are keeping their eyes open. There’s been some flooding in and around Braxton. They’re watching the Chulo River to the west. It’s already way past flood stage and has taken out the back road into town. The dam is being watched, too.”

  “I had no idea it was that bad. I haven’t turned on the television since earlier this morning. I hope the hospital is okay. Maybe I should check in with them.”

  “It sits pretty high. If you were needed, I’m sure they would get in touch.”

  Her gaze went to the windows and saw that darkness had come early in large part to the rain clouds. It looked to be a very dreary evening ahead. A thought struck her.

  “If you could finish feeding Angel, I could get something started for dinner while Emmy is down.” Was that almost a smile she caught sight of on his face?

  “Angel?”

  “Yes, Angel.” He found her amusing…just great. Didn’t do a lot for a girl’s ego. She could almost hear Josie’s shake of head and telling her to get with the program. Dee had to admit she had thought more than a few times in the last several hours about her conversation with Josie. Perhaps her friend had some good points. And looking at the man before her was a definite enticement. “I think it suits her. Can you feed her or not?”

  He came over to where she sat, holding his hand out for the bottle. With the other hand, he waited to help her up off the floor. She placed her hand in his. It was warm and big and steady. He pulled her to her feet with ease. It was also apparent to both that neither released the other’s hand for several long moments. Awkward. He came to his senses first and allowed hers to go free. He nodded at the bottle. “Hand it over. I’ll finish up with…Angel.”

 

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