“Yeah, Ma. She loved it.” He crossed the kitchen and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. Then he did the same for Ruby. “Smells fantastic in here.”
“You look like somebody kicked your favorite dog,” Ruby said.
He’d give Ruby one thing, the woman had dang sharp eyes. He should have skirted the kitchen and headed straight to his room.
“It’s all good,” he lied and headed out the doorway toward the family room. Boone, home for a long weekend, sat on the floor with their little sister, Kenzie. Tanner looked down at the jigsaw puzzle they had spread across the coffee table.
“Kenzie, I think you might need to get someone smarter than Boone to help you. Anything over one hundred pieces is above his rank.”
Kenzie grinned. “I wondered why he hadn’t been more help.”
Boone frowned. “What are you talking about? If I hadn’t gotten the edge pieces sorted for you, you’d be lost right now. I’ve got a good mind to demote you to private puzzle master.”
Kenzie crossed her arms, putting on a face of utter contempt for Boone. Boone and Tanner both burst out laughing at her expression, which in turn made Kenzie giggle.
As the laughter died down, Boone looked up. “How’d it go with Junie?”
Tanner dropped into the big leather chair and rubbed a hand overhis face. He’d rather have someone beat him with a lead pipe than picture Junie’s face when he’d told her he was leaving. “You know Junie. It went about as well as could be expected. She put on a brave face, told me I was gonna win every rodeo I entered. But I could tell she was upset. I’m pretty sure she was crying when I left.”
Boone nodded slowly. “She’s tough, but she’s also got a soft spot a mile wide when it comes to you. She’s practically been your shadow since she was, what… six?”
“Didn’t help her dad was a dick,” Kenzie said.
“Language!” both the brothers shouted.
“I still know where the soap is, Tiger. You need a refresher on how it tastes?” Tanner asked.
Kenzie stuck her tongue out at him.
“Wait right here, I’ll get the soap,” Tanner said, planting his hands on the arms of the chair as if ready to stand and move toward the bathroom.
“Okay, okay,” she said before muttering, “But you know I’m right.”
“Yeah.” Tanner leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “But language like that doesn’t belong in your mouth. Anyway, Junie being so dependent on me is one of the things that makes it hard to leave.”
“She’ll be all right. Besides, I’m her best friend, and I’ll still be here for her.”
“That’s right, I know you two have been friends for a long time, but she might need some extra love and attention for a while? You know, I’ve been friends with Junie for a long time, too.”
“Yeah, I know. Ever since that night you found her,” Kenzie said. “But you don’t have to remind me to look after my best friend. Duh!”
His mind drifted back to the night he first met Juniper Morgan. She’d only been six years old, skinny as a rail, and with wild, apricot-colored hair, reminding him of a peach in the moonlight.
He’d snuck out of the house in the middle of the night to ride Halo, at that time his brand new horse. When he reached thechokecherry thicket, he found her trying to pick berries in the dark with no coat on. He’d recognized her right away—Bart Morgan’s girl.
He remembered spotting the tiny figure huddled on the other side of the fence line that bordered Wild River Ranch, barefoot in the freezing dark. Fourteen-year-old Tanner had pulled Halo to a stop, heart pounding with a mix of anger and worry.
“What the heck are you doing out here all by yourself?” he’d yelled, swinging down from the saddle. “It’s freezing cold, and you don’t even have a sweater on!”
Little six-year-old Junie had shrunk back, shivering, her eyes wide and scared. She twisted her hands in the hem of her thin nightgown, glancing back toward her house like she expected someone to come after her. For a long moment, she said nothing, biting her lip hard.
Tanner softened his voice, crouching down so he was closer to her level. “Hey… talk to me, kid. Why are you out here?”
Junie’s lower lip trembled. She looked down at her dirty feet, then back up at him with tears shining in her eyes. Her voice came out tiny and ashamed. “Daddy’s drunk again. He’s screaming real bad words. I don’t like it when he yells like that… and I always end up getting hurt. I didn’t know where else to go.”
Something fierce and protective had clenched in young Tanner’s chest. Without another word, he scooped her up and lifted her onto Halo’s back. He shrugged off his own jacket and wrapped it around her small, shivering body.
“You’re safe now,” he’d told her, voice rough with emotion as he swung up behind her. “I’m taking you to my house. Ain’t nobody gonna hurt you tonight.”
