—FIVE—

 

Dane followed Ren up the stairs and toward Gage's excited chattering. Kerri's answers to his questions were sparsely worded and quiet, but the novelty of his fascination with her didn't seem to have worn off just yet. It didn't matter to Gage, who continued to carry on the mostly one sided conversation, barely pausing for a breath. Dane knew he was just happy to have someone closer to his age than his uncle who might listen to what he had to say.

The two of them were seated side by side on the bed, with Rex watching them expectantly, adding his own voice to their conversation here and there. Ren stopped abruptly in the doorway to take in the scene with a smile and Dane nearly ran straight into her. He pulled to a stop before he hit her but he was close, close enough to take in the clean, fresh, feminine smell of her with earnest hunger.

Damn. He was already knee deep in a pile of trouble. She'd only been in his home a total of about an hour and he wanted to drag her to his bedroom and ravish her without excuse or apology. He would take his time with her, tasting every inch of her satiny flesh… Jesus.

Apparently the side effect of having no time for women was that he turned into a rabid pervert when he finally got one up close and personal.

She looked over her shoulder at him and offered a smile that made his knees weak. He checked himself.

"Which room should I take?"

"I know just the one." Dane turned and led the way, pushing open a door at the opposite end of the hall from the feminine room Kerri had selected with Gage's help. The guest room he showed her was spacious with a queen bed, an en suite bathroom, and a second door to a back stairwell. He had actually grown up in this room, but he'd done renovations after his folks moved out and it didn't hold much semblance, decor-wise, to the room he'd once occupied. Long gone were the posters of scantily clad girls and his rodeo heroes.

"This is the largest bed in the guest rooms—it's got the bathroom and then this stairway leads to the back landing by Gage's bedroom." He pause—the landing and stairwell separated Gage's bedroom and his own. "You know, in case he has a nightmare or something."

"Does he have nightmares often?" she asked.

The question made Dane uncomfortable. He had long felt that if anybody who knew much of anything about parenting really questioned him, he'd be found wanting. His fear of somehow tanking the ranch financially sat only marginally higher than failing Gavin on his list of things that scared the shit out of him.

It wasn't that he didn't try; it was just that he sometimes felt like there was some certain science to raising a child that he hadn't quite mastered. He filled in the gaps with unconditional love for Gage, but there was no way he would ever replace Gavin as the boy's father. Though Dane was a patient man, he could get a little gruff when he was afraid—he'd apologized a million times over for yelling at Gage when he'd fallen off the corral fence.

Gavin had been a natural father, endlessly patient with Gage. The second Gage was born, it was clear Gavin's primary purpose in life was to be that kid's dad. There had never been a second of doubt that he would raise his son to be a fine young man with manners, humor and generosity. Dane just hoped he could at least maintain that and do his brother proud.

"Not many." He shifted, desperate to change the subject, lest she find out he was a fake and a failure. "Let's get your things."

*

Ren had hoped she would be able to unload the Jimmy on her own, without Dane seeing the meager offerings that made up the entirety of their worldly possessions. The four of them went downstairs and began unloading the few bags they had between them. She pulled a battered steamer trunk out of the back with the intent to carry it in herself. The cargo was too precious to entrust to anyone else, but when Dane saw her tugging at it, he stepped in.

"Let me take that." He appeared beside her, taking one of the handles. She hesitated but then ceded to let him carry it, sliding a couple of duffel bags over her shoulders instead. Kerri carried her own backpack and duffle and Gage followed behind, insistent on carrying something. The teen had graciously bestowed her purse upon him with the hopes he would be satisfied by helping that much.

They emerged for the second load of bags to find a man in the yard throwing a stick for Rex.

He was dressed for ranch work and as tall as Dane, with the same sort of charming good looks. He had an open, welcoming expression and a smile that said he was in on the big joke that was life. His curly, dark hair was plastered to his forehead from the heat and his strong jaw was covered with what looked like a persistent five o'clock shadow, even though it was early morning. The man wiped his hands on his jeans and offered her one to shake.

"You must be the new hand… I'm sorry, my brother didn't mention your name…"

"Ren Maddock. The girl you just saw go in the house with Gage is my younger sister, Kerri. Good to meet you…"

"I'm Noah, Dane's little brother. He's got me on every other detail while he looks after you." His words were loud enough for Dane to catch and he whipped around to give his brother a playful shove in the shoulder.

"I can settle myself in if you have other things…" Ren felt acutely aware of what a big deal it was for Dane to be putting his work off to attend to her. She shifted uncomfortably—from the weight of the bag or the worry that she was being an inconvenience, she wasn't sure. Dane cut her words off easily.

"You're my first priority today. I want you to feel comfortable here and I intend to be the one to make you feel that way. And besides, this is what I pay him for."

The truth was, Ren wasn't sure she could feel comfortable here on the Baylor ranch with Dane around all the time, hovering near enough that she could smell the scent of clean linen and old leather on him, his dark eyes searing her to her core every time she turned around. She was determined to make this work though, for the sake of her sister and everything else.

She offered a smile to the younger brother. "Well, Noah, hopefully I'll see more of you around, if he doesn't keep you too busy filling in for him."

"Oh I'll keep him busy." Dane quipped, and gave his brother another playful shove as Noah winked and waved before heading off in the direction of the barns. The joviality between the two men made Ren smile. The sense of family around the Baylor ranch was clear and refreshing.

So far, the Baylors were happy to have her, and had made it a point to make her feel welcome. She hadn't had any real sense of family apart from Kerri for quite a while and although it had been disarming at first, she could get used to this feeling of being wanted, appreciated, and welcomed. Now, if she could just keep herself out of trouble, which meant staying out of Dane's way.