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Chapter One

1990’s—The Bar M Ranch

Janet Shter close to her chest as she carefully picked her way up the cobblestone path that led to the entrance of the McIntyre ranch house Thankfully, Hannah was a good baby and was sound asleep in her ar storm clouds

Standing in the fading daylight, she rang the doorbell as she looked around at the is faced each other across the length of the porch, giving an allusion of welco Double doors sat back froht out of Architectural Digest azine

She took a deep breath and tried to wait patiently When she shivered so hard she felt the ache deep in her spine, she gave up and rang the bell again, cuddling the sleeping baby to her chest And then she waited some more

The door finally opened and Janet found herself looking up into the scowling face of what, she guessed, was a very young teenaged boy, or possibly only a pre-teen Dark eyes stared back before dropping to the baby she held in her arhter for a ly

“Hi,” she said quickly

“Hello?” he answered back, showing only a mild hint of curiosity

“Is your mom home?” she asked

His face went fro to harshly blank in less than a heartbeat “I don’t have a mom,” he shot back succinctly with narrowed eyes

Ouch Wincing for the kid, she asked, “This is the Bar M, right?”

“Yep,” he answered shortly, crossing his arms over his chest

“Okay,” Janet said as she adjusted Hannah froan to wear her down “Is your dad home then?”

“He’s out back in the barn,” the boy answered and then stalled ahis head toward Hannah “Is that your baby?” he asked, as if the concept of a tiny hu he’d heard about but had never encountered

“Yeah This isa light kiss to the top of her child’s head, the feeling of joy and pride al her that she’d created the precious little life she held in her ar her “The ht need a housekeeper Do you think your dad could make some time to talk to me for a minute?”

The kid reared back as if supreued and asked, “Can you cook?”

Well, damn She hadn’t expected that question quite so soon “Of course,” she prevaricated with only a uilt She could cook—the boy hadn’t asked if she was any good at it

“Then co” He opened the door wider and stepped back, as if ad new to him—or maybe, he just wasn’t worried about it Janet didn’t stop to analyze his reason, she took the opportunity to step inside, rehter from the inclement weather

As she followed the boy through the house into the kitchen, she looked around with aof awe She’d only experienced a house on this scale once before, but being re she cared for—now, or at any other time

The house looked huge and quite new, but there wasn’t a fe what the boy had already told her The ere covered with blinds but no curtains There wasn’t anything hanging on the walls except a clock, and what appeared to be an antique branding iron beside it

“What’s your name?” she asked the boy as she stood back and took in the spacious kitchen he’d led her into

“Zach,” he answered quickly, walking toward the refrigerator

She glanced toward the back of the roo on the wall—filled with guns—or rifles—or whatever they were called She tore her eyes away froht and focused on the kid as he hunched down and began unloading itee, as if he were going to put her to work that very moment She sed and shifted the baby fro to eat, but ht not care formyself at home”

“He won’t care,” the boy assured her bluntly, tossing a package of cheese onto the countertop

“Are you sure?” she asked, sing down nerves as she saw the sink filled with dirty dishes—both sides of the sink

“I’ive her his attention “You need me to hold that baby for you?”

“That baby?” she asked The kid was clearly not used to babies “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“Nope,” he said, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms over his chest, the action so self assured, alant, that a frisson of unease enveloped her as she wondered if the trait had been copied

“How old are you?” she couldn’t stop herself fro, amazed at his self-confidence

“Almost thirteen,” he replied

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What was it about kids wanting to grow up so soon? “So, it’s just you and your dad?”

“Yep”

“Have you ever held a baby before?” she asked, studying him

“Nope—but it doesn’t look all that hard,” he drawled in a cocksure tone that gave Janet an indication of what kind of ht have inherited the attitude from

She took a deep breath and tried not to be intiht, I’ll make you a deal, Zach I’ll make you a sandhile you hold Hannah, but you have to sit down first”

The boy shrugged as he sat at the kitchen table and held out his ar firmly, “Two”

Janet began to hand the baby to him but stalled and asked, “That?”

“I need two sandwiches One ain’t gonna to be enough”

“Isn’t,” she mumbled distractedly as she released Hannah into his arms

“Isn’t, what?” he asked as he stiffened a bit at the unfa, but then see Hannah with curiosity

“One sandwich isn’t going to be enough,” she corrected “‘Ain’t’ isn’t a word”

“You think I don’t know that already?” he asked a tad sharply, rolling his eyes

Conteht “If you know better, why do you say it?”

“I like to irritate people,” he snapped “Is it irritating you?”