Sky's Pride And Joy. Sandra Steffen

it would bring.

      Seeing Jake and Josie McKenna to the door, she decided that all she could do was stand back as far as possible, where those sparks couldn’t reach her.

      Five minutes into her visit to the Lone M, Meredith had relaxed. She needn’t have worried about running into Sky. Jake had introduced her to two young ranch hands when she’d first arrived, but she’d been lucky. She hadn’t seen so much as a glimpse of Sky. It was the middle of the afternoon, and he was probably out on the range. It was turning out to be her lucky day.

      Her luck held throughout the tour of the McKenna house. What a place. They started in the kitchen. By the time they’d gone through the entire house, Meredith was giddy with excitement. Josie had already done a lot toward making it homey, but there was so much more Meredith wanted to do. The open staircase could use a new runner, the stone fireplace a colorful screen. All the heavy draperies would go, new fabrics, patterns, colors added to every room. Jake liked leather; Josie preferred floral prints. Meredith planned to incorporate both tastes in the decorating scheme. Her mind whirled at the possibilities.

      “Well?” Jake said from the front porch when the tour had ended. “When can you start?”

      Meredith laughed out loud. “I’ll begin putting together ideas and working up some sketches as soon as I get back to the store.”

      Jake kissed his wife and shook Meredith’s hand before sauntering down the porch steps and on out to a large shed beyond the corral. Meredith said goodbye to Josie, then called, “Olivia, Logan. Time to go.”

      The kids appeared from around the corner just as the telephone began to ring inside. Josie excused herself to answer it, and the two little girls sashayed to Meredith’s side and each reached for her hand. “Come see my new filly,” Kelsey exclaimed. “My new daddy says I can ride her when we’re both bigger.”

      Meredith glanced toward the barn. The coast was clear. There was no sign of Sky. Apparently, her luck was still holding. “All right. Show me your new pony.”

      “It’s not a pony.” There was exasperation in Logan’s voice. “A pony is a small, full-grown horse. A filly is a baby horse. A pony is always going to be a pony, but a filly is only a filly until she’s four.”

      Exasperated or not, her ten-year-old nephew was as smart as a whip. His father had been a rodeo champion, so it stood to reason that Logan would have a vast knowledge of horses. But it was more than that. The boy seemed to have an innate connection to the large creatures. He ran up ahead, climbing the fence and perching at the top. A big black horse came over to him immediately, a baby at her side. The mother horse nuzzled his neck, trying to get into his pockets. Logan’s giggle brought a smile to Meredith’s face.

      He’s happy, she thought. Despite tragically losing his parents, and then having to move to a new town, start over in a new school, with everything he’d been through, he was happy.

      He jumped down the moment the girls arrived at the fence, and promptly dug several sugar cubes out of the front pocket of his faded jeans. “Here,” he told the little girls. “Remember. Keep your hands flat and your fingers together.”

      The girls nodded solemnly, and did as he instructed. They were adorable—Kelsey with her red hair fluttering down the back of her yellow shirt, and Olivia, whose hair was dark like her mother’s had been, her little hand held out so trustingly.

      “Let your Aunt Meredith try.”

      Even if Meredith hadn’t recognized Sky’s voice, the way her heart fluttered would have made the glance she cast over her shoulder unnecessary. Sky stood just outside the shade of the barn, twenty feet away. Particles of dust and hay glittered, floating on a slanted ray of sunshine behind him.

      “Go ahead,” he said.

      She wasn’t thrilled at the idea of placing her hand anywhere near that big creature’s teeth. That, however, wasn’t the cause of her sudden case of nerves. She considered admitting that she was afraid of horses, but those animals were an integral part of Logan’s life. He loved them, and she loved him. Taking a deep breath, she accepted the sugar cube, and followed Olivia and Kelsey’s lead.

      To her amazement, the horse was gentle, her soft muzzle tickled Meredith’s palm. She laughed. It felt good, almost as good as the answering grin on Logan’s face.

      “Uncle Sky!” Kelsey exclaimed, vying for his attention the second he sauntered closer.

      “Hey, Red.” He settled the child in one arm as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

      “When are you gonna let me ride Bommer?” Logan asked.

      “When your Uncle Wes says you’re ready, I reckon.”

      “Rats,” Logan answered.

      As long as Meredith didn’t allow herself to look at Sky, she could pretend that she wasn’t aware of his every move.

      “Meredith’s gonna help Mama fix up the house,” Kelsey told Sky.

      “That so?”

      Meredith felt his gaze. “Well, kids” she said. “We should…”

      “Let’s play a game,” Olivia interrupted. “Come on Kelsey, Logan.” The child was bright.

      “Olivia, I don’t think…”

      “Hide-and-seek.” Logan was no dummy, either. Spinning around, he said, “’Livia, you’re it. Come on, Kelsey, let’s hide.”

      Sky lowered Kelsey to the ground. Just like that, the kids ran off to play in the side yard. Without them to act as a buffer, the bottom drained out of Meredith’s stomach like sand in an hourglass.

      In the background, she could hear Olivia as she began counting into a tree. “One, two, three, four, ten, eleven, nineteen, twentyteen.”

      Meredith shook her head. “They’re very good at that.”

      “They’re urchins.”

      Surprised, she peered up at him.

      He shrugged. “All three of those kids have survivor instincts. They’re going to be okay.”

      There was something about his straight nose, strong chin, and the squint lines beside his eyes that made her think it takes one to know one. He hitched one boot onto the lowest board, absently stroking the horse’s neck. “What do you think of Jasper Gulch so far?”

      It was an innocent question. Therefore, it couldn’t have been the question that confused her.

      In the distance, Olivia was still counting. “Twenty-five, twenty-six, thirty-one…”

      “It’s very quiet.”

      He seemed to be waiting for her to continue. When she didn’t, he said, “That’s it? It’s very quiet?”

      The man was far too appealing for her peace of mind. He’d hurt her. And she wasn’t going to encourage him or give him an opportunity to do it again. It would have been nice if her brain had alerted her lips, because she grinned despite her resolve not to.