Matt’s brown eyes studied him. “You look nice, Dad.”
“Meaning I usually don’t?” he teased.
“Stop fishing for compliments,” Allie scolded him. “You’ve got on a new shirt.”
“It’s the one your aunt Sherry gave me last Christmas.”
“You look like a dude.”
“Thanks, Matt. If I’d known I’d get a reaction like this, I’d have worn it before now.”
“Black’s your best color,” his daughter informed him.
“Is that so?” He ate the last piece of toast.
“It makes your eyes look greener. They’re really green this morning, like you’re excited or something.”
Nothing got past Allie. He downed the rest of his coffee. “That’s because it’s my birthday.”
Matt scowled. “You’ve always said you wished we’d skip yours.”
“Did I say that?”
“Yes!” they both answered in unison, exchanging a private glance Colt couldn’t help but notice.
“Well, I take it all back. I’ve loved my surprise breakfast. It was delicious. Thank you both.”
“You’re welcome,” Allie muttered, still staring at him with a puzzled expression.
His son nodded. “There’ll be more surprises tonight.”
Colt averted his eyes. His children didn’t know the half of it. “Much as I hate to break this up, it’s time to get you two down to the bus.”
“I have to do the dishes first,” Matt announced. He jumped up and started clearing the table.
“You stay put, Dad,” Allie cautioned before helping her brother.
Together they made short work of it. In a few minutes they joined him in the truck. Colt headed down to the ranch entrance, relieved Kathryn wouldn’t be arriving in a snowstorm.
After he pulled to a stop, he got out to give them both an extra hug. “Thanks for breakfast. Love you guys.”
“Love you, too. Don’t forget. We’re coming straight home after school.”
Allie nodded. “And don’t go out on the range today because we’re having your birthday dinner early!”
There was no fear of that. For once something else would be consuming Colt’s time right here at home. “I can’t wait.”
He watched them get on the bus. Since he’d promised the twins he’d look into finding someone who could try to locate Natalie, he was confident his daughter wouldn’t be pulling another disappearance act.
After waving to the bus driver, he checked his watch. Seven-forty-five. Kathryn would be in the air by now. Colt started back. By the time he and Ed had nailed down today’s work schedule for the hands, his guests would be arriving. Until then, the idea was to stay busy.
That wasn’t a problem in the physical sense. At any given moment, there were tasks needing to be done on the ranch. It was his thoughts that made him restless, the same restlessness he used to get before trying out a new bull shipped up from Mexico.
No matter how prepared he was, some of its moves weren’t what he’d anticipated. Kathryn had already knocked the wind out of him several times. The trick was to go the full eight seconds and avoid it administering him the coup de grâce.
“WHAT BEAUTIFUL country!” Maggie exclaimed from the front seat of the rental car. Jake had just turned onto the curving road leading up to the ranch. “Look at these walls of pines. They’re breathtaking!”
Maggie echoed Kathryn’s thoughts, but the feeling of homecoming was so intense she gripped the armrest tighter, unable to say a word.
Jake looked over his shoulder at her. “Are you all right, Kathryn? You’re so quiet.”
“I’m just remembering the first time I came here. The clouds hung heavy and hid the trees farther up the mountain. With the sun out this morning, you can see everything.”
They eventually reached the vale where the ranch became visible. “Incredible,” Jake murmured.
“It looks like a Christmas card,” Maggie cried softly.
With all of the above, Kathryn concurred. Only this was one card you could drive into and find the ruler of this isolated kingdom at home. Her heart thudded too hard to be natural or healthy.
“Jake? Pull up around the side of the ranch house next to Colt’s truck. We’ll go in the back door. And one more thing. Leave the trunk popped. I’ll take my suitcase in now. Later, when he’s not looking, I’ll come out to get the presents I brought.”
He grinned. “Your wish is my command.”
Kathryn let out a guilty sigh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound bossy.”
“Not bossy. Nervous,” Maggie said, sending her a secret smile.
Nervous didn’t begin to cover what Kathryn was feeling. Every now and then she thought about her life back in Wisconsin and shuddered to think that if Maggie and Jake hadn’t found her, she would never have met Colton Brenner. She scrambled out the backseat of the car and hurried to retrieve her bag from the trunk.
It was a good thing she’d moved fast because Colt had come out of the house, a tall dark figure in a black shirt and jeans bearing down on them with those powerful legs. Just in time she’d lowered the trunk lid so it looked closed, but wasn’t.
“Welcome to the Circle B.” He shook Jake’s and Maggie’s hands before wresting Kathryn’s suitcase from her. Their eyes met. The green of his irises matched the color of the pines.
“Hello, Colt,” Somehow she’d managed to keep her voice from shaking. At the first sight of him, it was always an event that rearranged the atoms in her body. “It’s nice to be back.” Heavens, he looked so wonderful, she was in danger of falling straight into him.
“The children won’t believe it when they get home from school and find you here.”
“They didn’t know we were coming?”
He smiled, making him irresistible. “If I’d told them, there would have been a war to get them to go to school and I would have lost.”
She laughed. “I’m looking forward to seeing them, too.”
“Let’s get you inside so you can freshen up.” Colt led them through the back entrance, where they removed their parkas. He turned to Jake. “If you want to use the guest bathroom down here, the women are welcome to go up to Kathryn’s room.”
He carried her suitcase upstairs and put it inside the guest-room door. His gaze locked with Kathryn’s. “When you come down, Jake and I will be in the family room.”
“We’ll be there in a minute.”
As soon as he left and shut the door, Maggie’s brows lifted. “Kathryn’s room? Sounds like you’re already part of the family.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“I’m only stating the obvious,” she said before closing the bathroom door.
Taking advantage of the time, Kathryn zipped over to Allie’s room and used her bathroom before rejoining her sister. “You’ve got the wrong idea about Colt,” she said without preamble. “He’s not interested in me personally. The complicated man has led an uncomplicated life for years and that’s not going