Since today had been the last day of school before summer break, Wyatt had wanted to do something to celebrate, and Tyler had suggested trying out the new bridge that had been completed as part of the ranch’s high ropes course. Wyatt had been thrilled at the option.
“I’m not afraid, Dad.” Wyatt cast him a glance over his shoulder, a wide grin lighting up his face.
“It’s all right if you are.” Tyler was harnessed in too and wearing all the same gear. “Sometimes a healthy fear is a good thing and keeps us from being reckless.”
“I promise I’m not reckless.” Wyatt stepped onto the next slat, the bridge swaying again.
“That’s good.”
From their perch above the trees, they had a great view of the ranch and his family’s house sitting proudly on the high hill.
It was a far cry from the old Victorian-style house that his grandfather had lived in, one built in the 1870s across from the original Healing Springs Inn. Tyler had only seen pictures of the old house and inn, since they’d been torn down when his grandfather had been in charge of the ranch. When so many other ranches in Park County had gone broke, his grandfather had renovated and rebuilt, turning their high-country land into a destination resort that appealed to a wealthy clientele.
Grandfather’s decision—along with the discovery of oil on their land—had saved their ranch and also allowed the family to buy up acreage for miles around. Dad had enlarged the business and modernized the resort, increasing their popularity so that lodging was always full with long waiting lists.
When Tyler had taken over as general manager, his ideas had propelled the ranch’s reputation to the next level, making it even more elite and modern, so that now they were drawing in celebrities and prominent guests from around the country, bringing in multimillions every year and making Tyler one of the wealthiest men in the country for his age.
“Look!” Wyatt called. “There’s Kinsey!” Wyatt lifted a hand off the rope railing and pointed toward the house.
Sure enough, Kinsey had stepped through the sliding door and onto the deck. She was too far away for them to see her clearly, but it was obvious she was taking a rare break from Dad.
She was a tireless and dedicated worker. That was easy to see after the past few days of watching her on the job.
Had he been too swift to pass judgment on her when she’d arrived? A part of him knew that he had. Even if she’d gotten off to a rough start that first day, it hadn’t been her fault. She’d been thrown into Dad’s care without any time to prepare, and she’d been sick and had kept going.
Yes, she was still too young and inexperienced. But she had done all right.
Okay. Maybe she’d done more thanall right. She’d actually done a fantastic job alleviating Dad’s nausea and pain so that he was slowly regaining an appetite. She was getting him out of bed a little each day to walk around. Even when he was in bed, she had him doing light exercises, lifting weights, and other PT and OT therapies. She never took no for an answer from Dad, always encouraging him to do more than he thought he could but never pushing him too hard.
She was also friendly and personable with both Dad and Mom. She cared about them as people and clearly didn’t see her duties as a checklist of things that needed to be done.
A part of Tyler was beginning to suspect she hadn’t been boasting when she’d claimed she was Premier’s best nurse. Had he made a mistake in requesting someone else older? What if the replacement wasn’t as proficient and dedicated?
“I like Kinsey, Dad,” Wyatt called, loud enough for both Cooper and Anson to hear—because both of their faces tilted quickly upward and fixed on Tyler, waiting for his reaction.
He shot them both a glare.
Anson responded with one of his gap-toothed grins, which crinkled his leathery skin. Cooper’s dark sunglasses hid his eyes, but nothing masked the guy’s curiosity.
Did every staff member on the ranch know about the new nurse and how attractive she was?
Wyatt waved in the direction of Kinsey, but she’d taken a seat on the deck, and they couldn’t see her as well.
“I told you not to bother her.” That night when she’d taught Wyatt how to whistle, Tyler had later cautioned the boy to be careful not to interrupt Kinsey’s work, hoping to deter him from spending too much time with her.
Wyatt took hold of the rope rail again. “She told me I’m not bothering her. I think she likes me.”
“I’m sure she does like you. But you have to let her do her job. That’s why she’s here.”
Wyatt brought his foot forward so that both were now on the same slab. Tyler started to move to the next board directly behind Wyatt.
“If you’re nicer to her, she might start liking you too, Dad.”
Tyler halted, his precarious perch swaying a little too much. How exactly should he respond to that?
“She’d make a real nice mom.”
“Whoa now, squirt.” Shoot. The conversation had gone from bad to worse fast. He had to figure out a way to get Wyatt to stop thinking about Kinsey. “We barely know her.”
