Chapter 1 #3
Priscilla stopped to give Kelsey a stern look. “Great. Now I have to tell Uncle Sander. He’ll be upset if he learns that I knew and didn’t say anything.”
“No. Don’t. Dad’s busy with the search for the hidden family surprise.” From when they were children, they had learned that Mark and Marlene had hidden a special treasure in Emerald Ridge before departing on their fateful trip to California.
Over the past twenty years, the Fortunes had looked everywhere for it on the family compound, but to no avail.
And they didn’t even know what they were looking for.
However, that August, during their yearly summer trip to Emerald Ridge from Dallas, her father, herself and her cousins vowed to stay there until they had found the surprise.
She and her father had settled into the main house while her cousins had each moved into the guest cottages on the property that Mark and Marlene had built for each of their children.
It was now November, and the family was still looking.
“Yeah. I’m not sure if my parents were just teasing about this long-lost family surprise, or if it’s actually real.
Before I moved out, I combed through my cottage but didn’t find anything.
It’s been so long since my parents died, and I really hope this will be the year we find it.
If we don’t…” The sadness in her cousin’s tone tugged at Kelsey’s heart.
“I think it is.” She tapped Priscilla’s arm. “We’ll find it. It’s got to be somewhere on our property.”
Priscilla released a long breath. “Between searching for the surprise and trying to figure out why Linc was killed, this has been one eventful summer.” Linc Banning was the son of their childhood housekeeper who had been found shot to death in the Emerald Ridge River just before they came out to Emerald Ridge.
That’s when Priscilla revealed that she’d went out with Linc once, but he’d abruptly broke things off after that one date.
“Ugh. I don’t have the bandwidth to talk about Linc Banning right now. I have such wonderful memories of Linc that I’m having a hard time processing the dark person he had become.” Kelsey rubbed her temples. “I just hope they find who killed him.”
Priscilla smiled. “Life has a funny way of working out sometimes. Jax is so wonderful that—”
“Yeah. Yeah. I’m going to cut you off before you start singing his praises.
” Kelsey chuckled. She had never been in love, but seeing Priscilla getting all gushy whenever she talked about her fiancé made her know she wanted to avoid it at all costs.
Priscilla had fallen for Linc’s stepbrother, Jax Wellington, the widowed father of a baby boy, Liam, and successful cattle rancher.
“Let’s circle back to my not having a foreman…
If Dad hears that I fired Young, he might doubt my ability to run the ranch, and it’s important to me to do this my way.
” When the other woman didn’t look convinced, she pressed, “Give me until the end of the week and if I haven’t hired anyone, I’ll tell Dad myself. ”
“Alright. I can’t resist those pleading green eyes. But make sure. Okay?”
“I will.”
When they finished checking out, they stood off to the side of the register. The manager promised to have someone help her load her truck.
Priscilla’s cell phone rang. “That’s Jax. I’d better get going. I’m meeting him and Liam for lunch. But I’ll ask him if he knows someone who can help you out.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.” She sighed. Sometimes, she could be too hasty. But she would sleep good tonight. Kelsey battled insomnia whenever she was bothered about something, and she had been bothered about Young.
The cousins hugged and parted ways.
As Priscilla walked off, her phone pressed to her ear, Kelsey smiled.
Her cousin was so happy. Kelsey felt a twinge of…
what, exactly? Loneliness. She hadn’t dated or had a serious relationship in a long time.
But she was good with her decision. She had her business to focus on.
So, she would redefine this feeling as restlessness and redirect her focus on…
She looked around, her gaze falling to the stack of pumpkins outside the door. Pumpkins. She would bake a pumpkin pie.
Yes. That was a great way to fill her evening once she was done with her chores.
Now she just had to find the perfect pumpkin.
Small, dark, dense ones were the best for baking.
She ran her hands along the hard fruit—or was it a vegetable?
Spotting one under the pile, she moved the others out of the way to get to it.
Right as she picked it up in her hand, she heard loud wails from behind her.
Ear-piercing screams were a more accurate description.
Kelsey swung around so fast, her Stetson fell off her head, causing her long red curls to splay around her face.
She was about to retrieve it off the ground, but was waylaid when she found herself locking eyes with the gorgeous man pushing the three babies in a wagon toward her.
For a second, she managed to tune out the screams to take in the man who, despite appearing to be overwhelmed, gave her a lopsided grin that said, Help me. She took a single step forward, her breath catching.
He was at least six foot three with skin the color of amber, a well-trimmed beard and black hair shaped into a sharp fade.
Clearly he worked out because that T-shirt shaped his broad chest and abs in all the right places.
As he drew close, her eyes dropped to his bare ring finger.
Not that that meant anything. A lot of men didn’t wear a wedding ring.
She had no right checking out a man who was probably married, and who, based on his T-shirt, had his hands full with three babies.
Three absolutely adorable babies dressed in identical pumpkin suits, who were cute as could be despite their screams and the frowns of other shoppers giving him a wide berth.
Kelsey picked up her hat, dusted it off on her jeans and turned back to the pumpkins. She continued her search for another one fit for baking. Pies. She would focus on pies.
“C’mon guys,” a low, deep voice a few feet behind her said. “Daddy is trying here. I just need five minutes to get some fruit and veggies, then we can go home. I promise.” His words were soft and calm, but she could hear the slight frustration in his tone.
She snorted. Was he seriously trying to reason with babies? The cries escalated. It was like they were riffing off each other. Poor guy didn’t stand a chance. Mind your business, Kelsey. Grabbing another pumpkin, she moved toward the entrance to cash out. But his plea to his children stopped her.
“Help Daddy out, please.”
Kelsey had never been able to resist a cry for help. Or children. She was a baby whisperer. In her family, her famed peekaboo was deemed magical. No baby could resist her charms, or so she had been told. She exhaled and looked upward. Walk away. You don’t have to do this.
Oh, but of course, she did. Their cries were a siren.
Putting the produce back on the stand, she marched over to the melee and squatted beside the father. Her thighs bumped his, but she pretended not to notice the feel of those big, strong arms that moved to steady her, or those muscled thighs, and focused on the three little ones in front of her.
“Hello, there, little pumpkins,” she sing-songed, touching each on their legs.
Their father sat on the ground, the heat of his eyes on her, which she did her best to ignore right along with her suddenly frantic beating heart.
She eyed the children’s spiked lashes and the dried tears on their reddened cheeks, wishing she had more than two arms to bundle them all close to her.
Three little mouths hung open. Great. Now that she had their attention, it was time to seize the moment. She covered her eyes with her hands and then popped them open and squealed, “Peekaboo.”
Hesitation.
She did it again. “Peekaboo!” Then a deep throated chuckle from one and two tummies rumbled. Joy spread deep in her chest. How she loved hearing the sounds of children having fun. “Peeeekkkaboo!” she sing-songed.
This time there were three sets of giggles. As loud as they had been crying, they were now laughing. She cracked up and then faced their father. The look he gave her made her face heat.
“How did you do that?” he asked, amazed.
She shrugged to hide her reaction to his presence.
He smelled of cedar and ocean and man. A combination that reminded her once more how long she had been alone.
It had been six endless months since she’d been held by a man, and that brief encounter was best forgotten, tucked away into her never-shoulda-ever in this lifetime or the next.
“I-I don’t know. I just have a way with kids, I guess. ”
Grasping onto the stroller, she stood and dusted off her jeans. “Happy to have been of service. Have a great day!” She strutted off, pushing her hat deeper on her head. Then, spotting the helper by her flatbed, she gave a little wave.
“Wait!” She heard the distinct sound of wheels on the gravel, coming up alongside her.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you leave like that. You were the heroine who stopped all the passersby cutting their eyes at me. I’ve got to repay you for your kindness,” the man said, gracing her with a smile.
Oh, this one was quite the charmer. She had to remain immune even if her pulse wasn’t beating like a rumba in her chest.
Gesturing to the associate to follow her, Kelsey said, “You don’t have to repay me.
” Then she saw one of her posted signs and tossed out, “Unless you happen to know some great ranch staff. I just bought a spread and I’m hiring but it’s becoming a bit of a nightmare,” she explained, not expecting that he would have a suggestion.
They walked out to the parking lot, the helper lagging behind.
“Which is why I am in desperate need of help.”
“I don’t know anyone, but I’m the owner of Porter Cuts in Dallas. Have you heard of it?” Of course she had.
“Who hasn’t?” Kelsey stuck out her hand. “So, you must be…”
He grasped her hand, his touch warm and firm. Kelsey liked a man with a solid grip. “I’m Trevor Porter, and I’d be happy to give you tips on running a ranch and with staff management over dinner tonight, if you’re available?”
“Uh, I’m Kelsey. Kelsey Fortune. I appreciate the offer but I’ve got a lot going on…”
“Fortune?” He raised a brow. “What a coincidence. My cousin’s married to a Fortune.”
“I would say it’s a small world, but you can’t sneeze without running into a Fortune here in Texas.” She patted his arm. “Who is it?”
“Jonathan Porter, of the Porter Oil business. He’s with Vivienne Fortune.”
She whistled. “Yes, I heard about their wedding…”
“It’s just dinner. We both have to eat, right? It’s not a date.”
The interest in his eyes and the energy between them contradicted his words.
She felt flustered, because she was so ready to say yes, but then gave herself a much needed reality check. The man had three kids. Three. She opened the trunk and dug around in her bag for her purse and gave the associate a tip. She knew lifting those bags would be no easy feat.
“Hang on. Let me go help this dude while you think about it.” He gave her a wink and jogged over to assist.
She played with the babies, stealing glances at Trevor’s bulging muscles as he assisted with the load like they were a bag of feathers and not grain.
“So, what did you decide?” he asked once they were finished. “It’s been the triplets, my dad and me since my wife’s passing, but he’s off on a cruise with his fiancé so it would be good to talk to someone who can respond with more than a babble.”
“Happy to oblige… What made you move here?”
“I wanted to set up roots near family. I’m an only child and thought it would be nice to get to know my cousins, especially since I had the children. I would like them to have more family besides me and my pop.”
She nodded. “I get it. I’ve got family all around me and we are ever growing. So, how will it work managing your company while you’re here in Emerald Ridge? Do you plan to commute or will you get a new manager?” She felt her cheeks heat. “I’m sorry, my curiosity got away from me.”
“No, don’t apologize. Those are good questions.
I have competent people working for me who oversee the day-to-day.
But I weigh in on all the important decisions, conference in as needed and review meeting notes and updates, especially anything that involves the quality of our beef.
” He cleared his throat. “A lot of what I do now can be managed online, which leaves me time to spend with my family. The key was to recruit and train talented, loyal staff. Because of that, my company runs itself like a well-oiled machine.”
She could use some pointers. “Well, I’m happy to learn from you later this evening. I live with my dad at the main house on the Fortune compound here in Emerald Ridge, though we both have our own wing. Have you heard of it?”
“Yes, I’ve heard of the estate, but I’ve never been.”
She waved a hand. “Oh, it’s hard to miss in this small town. I’ll tell you all about its history when we meet. I’ll cook us dinner.” She rattled off her address and they exchanged numbers.
“I’m intrigued. I should have secured a sitter by this evening. See you about six tonight?”
“See you then.”
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