Page 33 of A Rancher's Love

From your daddy.

Happy birthday to my wild outdoor girl. Watching you grow has been a joy and delight. Sixteen is a special birthday, so here’s to a lot of candles and a lot of fun. Love you.

Mom.

Ginny leaned back into Tucker, resting her cheek against his. She stroked her fingers over his and stared at the card for a moment. “Is it silly to say I can hear their voices reading those words?”

“Not silly at all.” Tucker gave her a squeeze. “I’m glad. They were good people, and your dad was right. You do brighten up every place you go.”

Her eyes sparkled. “Thanks. That’s a really sweet thing to say.”

She dipped her hand down and lifted the chain.

“That is the strangest necklace I have ever seen,” Tucker said.

“Me too.” Ginny lifted the pendant in her palm. Not quite a square, not quite a triangle, the wood was polished golden, but nothing super fancy. “I mean, it’s pretty, but it is a chunk of wood. An old chunk of wood.”

Tucker lifted the folded paper. “You up to do this right now?”

“Hell, why not?”

She slowly unfolded the page and they both went motionless.

7

The page in front of them made no sense. Mostly pictures, crudely drawn and inexplicable.

“My dad,” Ginny said as dryly as possible, because disappointment had swept in. “I’m pretty sure he thought he was being cute, but his drawing skills were terrible. Is that a horse, or an elephant?”

“Hippo,” Tucker guessed. “Although, the fact you live on a ranch is probably a clue that it’s a horse. Or a cow.”

“Probably, but not definitely.” Oh, no. She met Tucker’s gaze straight on. “Here’s where I need to curse a little at sixteen-year-old me. You know the number one thing I was obsessed with during that timeframe?”

Tucker grimaced. “Am I supposed to say the name of a boy band right now? Oh, I know. Kenney Chesney. He’s been around forever, right?”

As guesses went, that was pretty good. “That year was my puzzle and geekery phase. I wrote an entire English essay in Klingon. When the teacher complained, I resubmitted it, only this time in high Elvish. I sent notes to Dare in class using Playfair ciphers and then deliberately dropped them on the floor so other kids would pick them up and be confused.”

He raised his brow. “You think your parents gave you a puzzle for your birthday?”

She wiggled the paper in the air. “This part of it, anyway.”

It wasn’t the kick to the heart she’d feared, and in some ways, that was good.

She glanced for a moment at the box then shook her head. “Okay, the card turned out less shocking than I expected, but I’m not prepared to roll the dice anymore. The rest of the package has to wait until later.”

Tucker agreed. “If that’s what you want, then let’s get on with our day. Want me to make you a coffee while you grab a shower?”

He was a good, good man. “Since the magical condom fairies haven’t appeared, I’ll take being spoiled as a very close-ranked second option.”

He had on his stony face, but she could tell he was amused. “I’ll have to remind you how good the sex is. I don’t mind coffee being second, but it shouldn’t be a close-ranked second.”

“Coffee andshower, remember that part,” Ginny said. She threw herself at him and stole another hug. Breathed in the scent of him and wondered how much damage a nervous system could take from being thrown up and down and up and down in rapid succession for a lot of days in a row.

Coffee was ready as promised when she came out of the bathroom. And miracle of miracles, there was food in the fridge, so while Tucker showered, she made breakfast. First breakfast, like hobbits, because whichever house they went to next, somebody was sure to feed them.

But when Tucker demolished three of the egg sandwiches she’d made without pausing to breathe, she knew cooking had been the right decision.

He finally sat back, nodding his approval. “Thanks. I know fried eggs aren’t your favourite, but that helped lay down a base so I don’t starve before the morning’s out.”