The Rancher and The City Girl (Tempting the Rancher 1)

Her expression turned shuttered. Message received. She didn’t want to talk about it. He could understand why, but he wanted to know her more. Because one thing had become very clear to him tonight.

“You made the choice to stay here in Wyoming.”

Her eyes shot to his. “What?”

“Tonight, the pear grove, the nut fry…hell, even the other night with the boots. You had choices. At any point, you could have declined an invitation, could have left, but you chose to stay. To participate. Even though I made it uncomfortable for you.”

Yeah, Tripp had gone over every hour he’d been in Charlotte’s presence, and felt bad about a lot of them. He’d been so worried about protecting Gracie that he’d been an asshole multiple times over. Didn’t give her a chance to be around him, around his daughter or friends, in any way that he didn’t instigate.

Maybe deep down, Bo had a point. He was protecting himself, too.

“The choice to stay doesn’t seem like a hard one,” Charlotte said.

“You’d think not, but it is for some.”

She looked at him for a long moment, then softly asked, “Gracie’s mom…?”

“Left. When she was a baby.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

“I’m not. Gracie doesn’t know any different.”

The admission sent a jolting ripple through his chest. Yes, he had known what it was like to love and trust and have it all ripped away with every step she took away from him. He knew what fear was. That he was on his own with a baby and no clue what to do with her. How to raise her. Knew that fear morphed into all the different ways he’d die before ever letting Gracie feel what he felt the day his wife left.

“Which is why I don’t introduce ladies into our lives,” he said. “Gracie and I are just fine.”

“I can see that,” Charlotte said.

He nodded, and she scooted her chair around to his side of the table and sat next to him. He faced her, wondering what she was doing, but she just sat, looking at him. She took his hand under the table and squeezed it.

“I really can see that,” she said again. “I don’t want to bring stress to your situation.”

“Oh, you’re far past that, darlin’. You stress me out exceptionally on a daily basis.”

She smiled. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear with his free hand. Her eyes took on a misty, longing note, searching his face, landing on his mouth. He cupped the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss. Soft and so damn good his blood went from warm to boiling in a millisecond.

“Daddy, are you ready for the movie?” Gracie yelled from her room down the hall.

Charlotte pulled away and smiled. He did, too, and reluctantly let her go back to her side of the table. He may not have the distance he’d thought he would, but he couldn’t show any feelings for Charlotte beyond platonic in front of his daughter.

And Charlotte seemed to understand it.

“We better get in there,” she said, and Tripp rose with her to head to the living room.

Gracie ran out, and within five minutes, he had a big blanket and two females snuggled up next to him on the couch. He watched a movie he’d seen a hundred times before and couldn’t be happier.

Something felt a little fuller with Charlotte on the couch, feet curled up and leaning near him. She was trying to keep her distance, just like he’d wanted, in front of Gracie. But as Gracie’s eyes slid shut, he reached under the blanket and held Charlotte’s hand.

Everything is different now…

…

Charlotte opened her eyes, her weightless body wrapped in strong arms and hard chest that smelled like spice and man and…

Tripp was carrying her.

She blinked and realized he was cradling her like she weighed no more than a doll and maneuvering down the dark hallway of his home.