Page 79 of A Rancher's Vow

His girl was curled up on the couch, the children’s books scattered nearby a clear clue to what she’d been doing before being abandoned by Tyler.

Dustin settled next to her and picked up her hand. “Hey.”

Her fingers were cold. She smiled, though, as he rubbed her hand between his. “I thought I was being entertaining, but obviously not even my funny voices can top Caleb coming in the door.” She leaned her head on Dustin’s shoulder. “As it should be.”

“Agreed.” He pushed back her hair and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Hanging in there?”

“Yeah. Part of me wants to wallow, so being surrounded by your family is a good distraction.” She tilted her head and sighed up at him. “Thanks for being my brains right now when I don’t have any.”

“No prob, babe.”

It didn’t sound right. Babe, as a nickname. It worked on one level—the word had a kind of intimacy that he didn’t use with anyone else. But it wasn’t enough to make it clear that she washis.

Getting ahead of yourself, Stone. How about getting past the fucked-up current chaos before declaring yourself?

Damn his conscience, being all logical and shit.

“Come to the table,” Tamara called. She met Dustin’s gaze. “At least try to eat.”

“I’m good,” Charity insisted, rising to her feet and approaching the kitchen. “Sorry. I was sitting on my butt instead of—”

Tamara caught her by the shoulders and leaned in until they were face to face. “Honey, you helped earlier. Now it’s our turn, remember? No apologies. Not with us.”

Charity blinked hard. “Right. Okay.”

Dustin curled his arm around her. “Just a quick bite, then I’ll take you to the cabin so we can relax.”

If he’d expected supper to be a subdued event, he’d have been wrong. It wasn’t full of laughter and hijinks, but conversation flowed around them easily. Between Tyler’s prattling about everything he’d seen that morning at the petting zoo, to Sasha explaining some of the competition events she was training Secret Path to complete, the meal passed quickly.

Charity didn’t eat a lot, but enough that when it was time to gather up plates, Tamara nodded her approval before pointing to a basket on the island. “Dessert for you guys for later. Plus some stuff for the fridge so you can have breakfast in the morning when you want without having to pop over here. But feel free to pop over if you feel like it.” She pulled an empty plate from Charity’s fingers. “Go. Put your feet up, or have a hot shower, or whatever you need to do.”

“But I should—” Charity stopped, sighed. “Right.Nexttime I’m on cleanup duty, though. I want to do my share.”

“Sharing is caring,” Tyler piped up.

Dustin laughed. He scooped up his nephew and bopped him on the nose. “Exactly, Tyler-bug.”

Tyler squirmed to be let down, so Dustin went to make sure Charity had what she needed.

She pulled on her light jacket, a wry smile aimed at Tamara and Caleb. “Thanks for dinner and for the place to crash.”

“Not a problem,” Caleb insisted. “You’re welcome for as long as necessary.”

“Share.” Tyler raced up and held aloft a couple of his favourite books. “You want books, Char-tee?”

She squatted to accept them gratefully. “So kind of you, Mr. Tyler. I will enjoy these very much.”

Tyler pressed his hands to her cheeks and planted a kiss on her. Then he patted her gently and raced away.

Charity stood, amusement in her eyes. “He’s not shy.”

“Kissing pretty girls is a skill that’s well worth learning at a young age.” Dustin picked up the dessert basket with one hand then opened the door with the other. “Come on. Let’s get you settled.”

16

Charity had been in the small cottage a couple of times over the past years, dropping off items or picking them up for Ginny. But never more than a surface glance from the front entrance.

“Explore,” Dustin ordered, resting Tamara’s food basket on the kitchen table. “I’ll put this stuff away.”