Page 7 of The Rancher's Fake Fiancée

But he needed to keep his mind on the present. There was the matter of getting his fiancée settled quickly into the ranch before the ‘guests’ arrived, and the real problems began. His mind flashed on the woman unpacking upstairs at the moment. Marcella, his housekeeper, had gotten past the shock last night when he had given her the news…at least the version that was part of the script. Cole thought she had bought it but who knew? He wasn’t an actor. He was a rancher who dealt with reality 24/7. Make believe was in the movies, not his living room.

He had to also hope that Jessica Laughlin McCord was as good in this role as she had appeared in the previous one. He had certainly bought into her as the glitzy barkeep. But who knew what she would appear as the next time he saw her? He needed to put her out of his mind for the moment and get to town. He had decided that it would be best to pick up Emmie at school and maybe begin to break the news over her favorite milkshake at the Sweet Corner in town. Taking a deep breath in, he shoved his hat down on his head and blew out a deep breath as he headed with the sure steps of a man on a mission outside to his truck.

Chapter Four

“This is acool surprise, Pop,” Emmie said, a grin lighting her face as the waitress served the milkshake to her. They usually sat on the red leather barstools at the counter which Emmie liked because she liked to swing around on them a time or two while giggling. But what he needed to say would be best in a quiet booth at the back of the soda fountain area.

“I thought it might be nice to do something a little special. After all, you did ace that spelling test yesterday.” He took a sip of the cola he had ordered for himself. Prolonging the inevitable?

“Thanks a bunch. The words are getting harder though. Ms. Abernathy said the test next week will be longer, too.” She took another long sip from the frothy liquid. Her gaze stayed on her dad. He was well-versed in the fact that his daughter was a sharp cookie at times in reading him.

“You’ll do good. Just study your list and you’ll nail it. Then you have summer break.”

“Papa said I could spend some time at the cabin, and he’d teach me how to make my own fish lures. I’ve been studying how he does it.”

His little girl was turning into more of a tomboy each day.Madeleine will go crazy if Emmie shares her fishing stories with her.He smiled and gave the same dad line as Emmie often called it… “We will see how it goes.”

“So, what’s up Pop?” That question he was expecting came at the same time as the ringing of his cell phone. He slid a look over the screen on the table beside his glass and noted it was his foreman. He wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t something that could wait.

“Sorry, pumpkin but let me take this.” He answered the call.

“What’s the problem?”

“Cinco broke the back panel and got in with Firecracker. All hell broke loose. There is a nick on Firecracker’s neck. And Doc Carter is on the way.”

“So am I.” He slid the phone back in his chest pocket and rose. “Sorry, Em.”

“I know. We have to go check on the horses. I hope Cinco is okay, too.” She was out of the booth and already ahead of him.

Fifteen minutes later, Cole pulled the truck into the area next to the barn. Em was out of the truck first, bent on checking on the horses. Cole caught up with her just as they made it through the barn to the end stall where Pete stood, along with the vet who had his gaze on the horse inside the stall. They came to a halt beside the two men. Cole shook the vet’s hand in a quick movement.

“How is he? Did he…” Then he stopped as his gaze slid to the animal. Em had already beat him to that.

“Who isshe? Does she work with Doc now?”

Cole was trying to register the scene before him. His brain raced to catch up on a number of levels but the most important ones were the fact he had not had the time to finish his talk with his daughter about the change that had happened in their lives and the fact that the person who stood inside the stall rubbing the horse’s broad nose and speaking in such a gentle and soothing tone was the undercover saloon proprietor turned undercover federal agent turned undercover fiancée. Things were so much simpler yesterday morning and then everything had gone to heck in that proverbial handbasket.

“No, Em. She doesn’t work with Doc. She is our guest, and we’ll talk more about all of this but first I need to talk to Doc and you need to run and tell Marcella that she needs to push dinner back an hour.”

“Okay. But…”

“No buts. Just hurry and let her know. I’ll be there in a little while after I take care of things here.”

A reluctant Emmie took one last look over her shoulder and then departed. Cole was going to have some explaining to do and fast. And not only to Emmie. Pete and the doc had been interested observers since he arrived on the scene.

“Your Jessie here has been quite some help.” Doc jumped into the silence. “She has a real calming way with horses. It was quite a surprise coming in here and she had the situation already in hand. Pete and I appreciated her help.”

“Sorry we had to meet under such fast circumstances, gentlemen.” The woman had clearly decided it was time she jumped into the situation. The smile on her face clearly disarmed the two men as she gave one last soft pat to the horse’s neck and moved from the stall, allowing Pete to shut the door behind her. This new development was clearly another hitch in his usual composure.

And matters only got more confusing in his brain as she stepped up in a perfectly natural movement, sliding her arm around his and giving him a gentle pat, identical to the one she had just used to calm the excited horse. That comparison wasn’t lost on him.

“I’m afraid Cole is still getting used to the fact he is an engaged man again.” She laughed which caused the others to join in. Her laugh held a pleasant light quality that made him want to join in…almost. The slight pressure of her hand on his upper arm was noted. “I briefly gave these fine men my name and that I had just arrived as a surprise to you.”

“That’s right, boss,” Pete grinned. “And she heard the ruckus out here and just came right on over to see if she could help and she didn’t miss a beat. Went right up to Firecracker and got him calmed and then took to helping Doc with Cinco. Haven’t seen anything like it. She’s got the makings of a top hand around here.”

“Yes, she was a great second pair of hands in the situation. I can second that.” Doc didn’t hesitate in adding his agreement.

“Well, that is good to hear, and all seems to have turned out fine.” Cole met the smile that his newly minted fiancée was sending his way. He hoped he looked genuine in return. She, on the other hand, was seamless in her role as it came effortlessly and almost made him believe that he had found himself a fiancée and all of this was for real. But it wasn’t and that brought his brain back into the reality of the moment.

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