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“You run a ranch for kids. Isn’t that overkill?”
“That’s our job. They want extra stuff, like volunteering for activities that support the citizens of Timber and participating in local events.”
“Are you and your sisters signing up?”
“Guess you hadn’t heard. Lucy’s pregnant.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” AJ said.
“Sure it is. But no rodeo for her. The really exciting news is that she’ll have four kids soon. My sister will be too busy with kids to mess with me.” He smiled.
“And Emma?”
“Her twin babies are almost two. They’re into everything. She’s doing well to maintain her sanity.” He reviewed the ad on the window listing the categories. “We’ll sign you up for barrel racing.”
AJ held up a hand. “Whoa, stop right there. I don’t have a barrel racing horse.”
“Emma does.”
“You can’t volunteer your sister’s horse.”
“Sure I can. Besides, she’ll be thrilled.” He gestured toward the door. “Come on. Let’s sign up.”
AJ moved back two steps. “I don’t have the entry fee on me.”
“Big Heart Ranch will sponsor you.”
Her mind began a frantic scramble for a way out of the situation. There was no way she was going to volunteer to make a fool of herself in public and in front of her new boss, too.
“Look, Travis,” she said, her voice low as she glanced up and down the sidewalk. “I haven’t raced since college.”
“Relax. The grant aside, the rodeo is for charity. The idea is to make a showing for the ranch.”
Travis pulled open the door to the newspaper office. “Hey, there.” He offered a greeting to the young clerk at the reception desk.
Her eyes rounded and she released a small gasp of surprise. “It’s you.”
Travis glanced around, praying she was talking to someone else. “Me?”
“You’re the guy on the cover of Tulsa Now.” The perky brunette reached for the magazine on the corner of her desk.
“You’re new.” He frowned with obvious annoyance.
“Yes. Avery Barnes, aspiring journalist. I’m an intern here for the semester.”
“Travis Maxwell and this is AJ Rowe.”
AJ smiled, but the young woman had eyes only for Travis. AJ could have walked in tarred and feathered and Avery Barnes, aspiring journalist, wouldn’t have noticed.
“Sooner or Cowboy?” Travis asked.
“Neither. University of Tulsa. May I have your autograph?”
“I guess so.” The words rode on a long-suffering sigh.
She handed him a marker and he scrawled his name on the cover of the magazine.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Maxwell,” Avery gushed.
“Now, may I please have a couple of applications to the Timber Rodeo?”
“You’re participating?” Her eyes lit up.
“Yeah. So is my assistant foreman here.”
“There are some really nice sponsor prizes this year,” she said as she collected the paperwork.
“We’re here to support the event. If we win, we’ll donate the funds back to the community.”
“May I quote you?” Avery asked.
“This isn’t an interview.”
“It could be.” Her eyes rounded with hope. “The paper hasn’t gone to press this week yet. This would look great on the front page with your picture.”
“The ranch director could help you out with that. In fact, she could give you a tour of the ranch. That would make for a nice feature article.”
“But you’re the Bachelor of the Year.”
“That’s old news,” Travis said.
“But—”
“Here’s my card. That’s the ranch number on there. Call and ask for Lucy Maxwell Harris.” He glanced around. “The paperwork for the rodeo?”
“Right here.” She handed him two packets. “Turn everything back in by the end of the week.”
“Will do. Thank you.”
AJ followed him out the door.
“Was it just me or was that girl plain irritating?” he asked AJ.
“She was crushing on you.”
Travis groaned. “I blame Lucy,” he said as he strode toward the truck.
“How is that Lucy’s fault?”
“Trust me, it is, but, generally, even if it isn’t her fault I blame Lucy. That’s how it works. You blame your big sister.”
“I don’t have a big sister,” she murmured.
“Brother?”
AJ shook her head.
“You’re the oldest?”
“I’m an only child.”
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that. My sisters do come in handy at times.” He grinned.
Travis got in and closed his door. He stared at the newspaper office and shook his head. “That just rubs me raw.”
“That I don’t have siblings?”
“No. I’m talking about the clerk in the newspaper office. You know, the way some folks act like it’s all about the package. What’s on the outside and not on the inside. Judge me by my merit, not my face on some magazine.” He paused and turned toward her. “Know what I mean?”
AJ met his gaze without blinking. You have no idea, cowboy. The words nearly escaped before she bit them back. “I think I might,” she said instead.
Travis stared for a moment before his eyes widened. Then he lowered his head and focused on putting the key in the ignition. “Yeah. I guess you do,” he murmured.
Silence filled the cab as he backed up and headed back to the ranch.
“Did I mention that you did a nice job with Rusty?” Travis said minutes later.
“Pardon me?” She turned to look at him.
“Rusty. Nice job. Did I say that?”
“Yes, you did. Thank you.”
They drove in awkward silence until Travis glanced over at her, a question on his face.
“What is it?” she finally asked.
“You’re an only child and Lemuel McAlester is your stepfather?”
“Yes. When I was in college, my mother married Lem and they renamed my father’s ranch. Lem is a good man, but he never really knew what to do with a grown stepdaughter. He takes care of Gus for me and I try to stop by or call when I can. Not as often once Jace left the rodeo circuit and moved to the ranch.”
“Lem turned the spread over to Jace?”
She nodded. “Jace is his only child. Our parents married after we both had left home. Me for college and Jace for the rodeo circuit.”
Travis shook his head. “Bet that was a surprise. Finding out Jace was your family.”
“It wasn’t so bad when my mother was alive. She provided a buffer. Once I lost her, my entire world was turned upside down. Jace made it clear everything would be his when Lem retired, so I never looked back.”
“I’m sorry, AJ.” His dark eyes were warm with concern.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“I don’t understand why Lem didn’t step in. After all, that ranch was yours, as well.”
“My stepfather is no different than most of the old-timers in Oklahoma. He believes a woman’s place is in the kitchen.” She shook her head. “He forgets that, besides cooking, I can also mend fences, rope and brand cattle.”
Travis offered a solemn nod. “How long ago since you left?”
“Nearly ten years, though it turned out the joke was on Jace. His father didn’t trust him enough to retire until this year.”
Travis rolled down the window. “You mind?”
“Not at all.”
His fingers tapped out a beat on the steering wheel in time to the country-western song on the radio.
“Funny our paths haven’t crossed before now,” he finally said.
“How long have you been in Timber?”
“A little over five years.”
“How did you end up here with the ranch?” AJ asked.
“After we were fished out of foster care, by a cousin of our mother’s, we lived in Pawhuska. My sisters and I didn’t even know about the land in Timber until she passed on and left it to us.”
AJ nodded and watched the tall prairie grass out the truck window.
“So what’s your plan?” Travis asked.
“My plan?” She looked at him.
“Yeah. I’m guessing you aren’t here for the long haul.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Big Heart Ranch obviously is not the last stop on your trail.”
AJ stared at him, suddenly bone-weary. If only he knew how much she longed to be in it for the long haul, as he put it. She took a deep breath, shoving back the emotion burning behind her eyes. The emotion she could never reveal because every time she did, she was disappointed. Again.
“I’ll stop when I know that I’m where God wants me to be. Then it will be time to put down roots.”
“What’s if that’s Big Heart Ranch?”
“I’m not ruling it out.”
Silence hung in the air as AJ considered his words. Her plan? God’s plan? She’d take either at the moment, praying one of those plans included an end to her drifting, and finding a place where she was actually wanted. Needed.
