Page 29 of The Rancher's Heart

Sloane nodded. How could she say no?

“We have to get the okay from Nora,” he advised them both.

Clara’s shoulders slumped.

It was the little things that mattered. Spending the day with her new sister at the Lohmen ranch was one of those things. Sloane promised, “I’m sure she’ll say yes.”

Clara flashed Sloane the biggest smile yet. Jonas grinned, nodding in agreement, like he always did when they were working together to solve a problem. She’d missed that.

Jonas started telling Clara all about the Triple L. A knock sounded at the door.

“That must be Nora Owens,” Jonas said and started to stand, but Sloane put her hand up to stop him and went to let the social worker in herself. Clara was hers to fight for now.

Ms. Owens was on the tall side. She wore a pantsuit and briefly smiled at Sloane but, other than that, the woman was all business. “Ms. Michaels?”

“Yes.” She stepped aside to let the social worker in.

“My name is Nora Owens. I’m here to collect Clara.”

That was not going to happen. Sloane would do whatever she had to so that her sister could stay. Losing a mother was a hard thing. Being taken away from her only known relative would be the worst thing to do to the child. “I’m hoping it won’t come to that. I have papers that prove I’m Clara’s sister.”

She retrieved them from the older desk—her birth certificate, her mother’s birth certificate, the letter Clara had given her. She could get whatever other documentation Ms. Owens needed.

“You’ve met Jonas Lohmen, our attorney.” Since she hadn’t asked him to represent them yet, she glanced at him, but Sloane did not doubt for a second that he would be there for Clara. She turned back to Ms. Owens. “Please have a seat, Ms. Owens. Can I get you a cup of tea or something else to drink?”

“Green tea, if you have it. And please, call me Nora.” The social worker sat at the table with Jonas and Clara.

That was a good indication she wasn’t going to insist on taking her sister away immediately. There would be some negotiation, but Sloane was down with that.

She put water on the stove to boil, then sat down with Nora to go over the documents she’d gathered.

“Thank you for being prepared,” Nora said, studying the papers carefully. “I think this will be enough to do an emergency certification, but I must ask Clara... do you want to stay with Ms. Michaels?”

“Yes, I do,” Clara said firmly.

Her sister was a girl of few words. Sloane liked the honesty of that.

“I want her to stay. She’ll have a room of her own. And we have a lot of catching up to do,” Sloane told the social worker so the woman wouldn’t mistake her resolve.

The kettle whistled on the stove. Sloane brought a steaming cup and a green tea packet to Nora. “Are there any other papers you want me to fill out tonight? Or we can meet at Jonas’s office tomorrow?”

“Let me talk to my supervisor. If you’ll excuse me.” She let the tea bag dangle in the cup and pulled her phone out of her handbag before going into the living room.

Sloane was too restless to sit down while Nora spoke with her superior. She rubbed Clara’s shoulder. “It’ll work out. I’ll make sure of that.”

She raised her brow at Jonas and glimpsed a flash of interested approval in his hazel eyes. Not surprising, she liked seeing it there when he looked at her. Her pulse raced. Her skin flushed.

Nora rejoined them. “My supervisor says we can do an emergency certification tonight.” She pulled a form out from her satchel. “I’ll have you fill out the application and take copies of your documents. On Friday, I’ll come back and see how you’re both doing.”

She would have to reschedule her customer appointments for the next few days. Sloane took the papers Nora handed her.

It was an hour before the social worker said goodbye and that she would see them in two days. Sloane let out her breath after closing the door.

She really did have a sister, and that sister was staying with her.

They cleared the table. Clara yawned.

“I’d better get going.” Taking Sloane’s hand, Jonas tugged her toward the front door.

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