Page 48 of A Rancher's Love

Mom

Somewhere in the middle of the letter, tears slipped free. As much as Ginny hurt inside, the moment was still beautiful. Yes, it was painful that she hadn’t been able to enjoy the summer her mom had envisioned.

But looking back over the years, Ginny could honestly say there had been other joys. There had been experiences with her brothers—good experiences—that would never have happened if their world hadn’t turned inside out so terribly.

She turned a page, examining non-sequential the dates. Noticing little pockets that had been added to some of the pages with additional papers stuffed inside. Her mother had turned the journal into a mass of notes and doodles.

It was a treasure Ginny had not expected.

She carefully put it down and picked up the new journal. Flipping open the pages she stopped in surprise to discover it wasn’t empty and pristine. At the top of the page here and there were notes from her mom. Questions, or commands from beyond the grave.

Something I like about myself.

Who is my best friend, and what do I do to show them that’s true?

If I had an entire day all to myself, what would I do?

There were more. Ginny pressed the journal against her chest and held it tight as she let the sadness inside escape one last time.

Then she wiped her eyes, washed her face, and made breakfast. The journals were carefully put back on the top of the dresser like the treasures they were.

Today was about a different kind of treasure hunt. She got out her phone and made a few calls.

10

Crawling out of a warm bed and away from an even warmer and softer Ginny had been hell. Tucker consoled himself by focusing on the fact that the sooner he got out of there, the sooner he could return.

He tracked down Ashton in the barn, surprised to find Luke and Jack there as well. The three men leaned comfortably on the wall and side rail outside a stall that held one of the prettiest mares Tucker had seen in a long time. She was pregnant, and Luke affectionately patted her nose as he spoke.

Tucker moved into sight slowly to avoid spooking the mare.

“You’re up early,” he said before focusing on Jack. “I thought you were on holiday.”

Jack grinned. “Diane kicked me out of bed. Said I needed to go entertain myself elsewhere for a while.”

“Getting a little too handsy, were you?” Luke chuckled evilly as he moved away from the mare and still managed to avoid the jab to his shoulder from his friend. “Hey, either you’ve got a woman who likes sex in the morning, or you don’t.”

It was terrible that the first thought that rushed to Tucker’s mind was that Ginny liked sex no matter what time of day it was. In fact, she usually woke him, and the memory of that morning hit with a rush of heat.

His only saving grace was that Ashton had folded his arms over his chest and offered a disapproving look. “Stop bragging about your sex life.”

“Nothing says you can’t join—” Luke shut up instantly then looked upward, as if admiring the rafters.

“Hooligan,” Ashton muttered.

“Interrupting this scintillating conversation,” Tucker offered dryly. “Ashton, does Luke know?”

“Do I know what?”

Obviously not. Tucker would’ve loved to have dragged this out longer and made Luke suffer, but he wasn’t willing to waste that much time. “Ashton offered to take me on as his apprentice. Caleb approved yesterday.”

“Congratulations.” Jack bumped his fist into Tucker’s arm with a solid hit. “Good for you.”

“Holy shit. That’s fantastic.” Luke not only pounded him on the back but pulled Tucker into a tight embrace as well. “About time we got to see more of your ugly mug around here.”

Hopefully that was the way Luke continued to see things once Tucker’s plan to start up more seriously with Ginny came to fruition.

“Thanks,” he said sincerely. He lifted his gaze to Ashton. “I got in touch with Raymond back at the stables in Winnipeg. He needs me to clear things out right away, plus I need to pick up Braggart. I thought I’d head out now. Work for you?”