him, one other woman he couldnât pass on by and forget about.
Sherry.
And that had been a disaster.
A disaster he wouldnât repeat. Ever.
âI think thatâs all of them.â The little girlâs voice interrupted his musings.
Jackson took a look at the nests heâd been emptying by rote, without really watching what he was doing, and found she was rightâthe eggs were all gathered.
âGood job,â he praised, not only for what sheâd done with the eggs but for pulling him out of thoughts he didnât want to be lost in. âRemember what I told you to do with them?â
âTake the basket to Marta,â she repeated.
âRight. And while you do that Iâll get the paint things together.â
He watched the child as she did as she was told, telling himself that there wasnât any connection whatsoever between the fact that he couldnât get Ally out of his mind and that he hadnât been able to get Sherry out of his thoughts all those years ago.
The only reason he couldnât stop thinking about Meggieâs mother was because sheâd gotten his back up. The only reason.
It didnât have anything to do with any kind of attraction to her. No sir. She was just a vexation. A thorn in his side that couldnât be ignored until he could get rid of it. Get rid of her.
And that was all there was to it.
Marta must have seen Meggie coming, because the older woman came out of her house and met the child halfway, sending Meggie on a return run at full speed once sheâd accepted the egg basket.
âWhoa there, slow down. Thereâs no hurryâI havenât headed for the shed to get your gear yet,â he told her when she reached him, ruffling up her hair.
But the feel of those silky locks flashed him back to the night before, and it wasnât the childâs hair he was focused on so much as the memory of fingering the long strand of Allyâs curls. And somehow what shot through him at that moment, purely in response to the mother, was the same thing that had washed over him when heâd had Ally before him.
But it didnât seem to fit with just being riled by the woman.
No, if heâd had no other reason to want Ally Brooks off his ranch before, he had an all-fired powerful one right then.
Heâd be damned if heâd let anything start up with another woman who didnât belong here.
No matter what.
* * *
Ally was in the kitchen packing the saddlebags Jackson had brought her when Beth came in through one of the sliding doors from the patio.
ââMorning,â the pregnant woman greeted as she did.
ââMorning,â Ally answered, though sheâd been up so long by then it seemed as though it ought to be afternoon.
âWhatâs all that?â Beth asked with a nod at the food Ally was carefully putting into the heavy leather satchels.
âLunch.â
âAh. Better bring a lot to drink, too, itâs a hot one out there today.â She stole a cucumber-and-dilled-cream-cheese pinwheel before Ally wrapped them. âWe just finished up at my place. Jackson was headed here with me but he stopped to see how Meggie was doing with the eggs. He told me to tell you it was time to leave and send you out.â
Jackson with Meggie?
Trying not to be too obvious, Ally went to the kitchen sink and rinsed her hands while taking a quick glance outside.
She couldnât see the chicken coop from there, but she imagined she could hear the harsh criticisms and rebukes that poor, defenseless Meggie was no doubt suffering at that very moment from the man who didnât want them around.
âRelax,â Beth said from where she sat on a stool at the butcher block. âJackson is great with kids. He should have a dozen of his own.â
Only if they didnât show up without warning to trespass on his precious ranch, Ally thought, tempted to rush out of the kitchen to her child.
But
Sherry.
And that had been a disaster.
A disaster he wouldnât repeat. Ever.
âI think thatâs all of them.â The little girlâs voice interrupted his musings.
Jackson took a look at the nests heâd been emptying by rote, without really watching what he was doing, and found she was rightâthe eggs were all gathered.
âGood job,â he praised, not only for what sheâd done with the eggs but for pulling him out of thoughts he didnât want to be lost in. âRemember what I told you to do with them?â
âTake the basket to Marta,â she repeated.
âRight. And while you do that Iâll get the paint things together.â
He watched the child as she did as she was told, telling himself that there wasnât any connection whatsoever between the fact that he couldnât get Ally out of his mind and that he hadnât been able to get Sherry out of his thoughts all those years ago.
The only reason he couldnât stop thinking about Meggieâs mother was because sheâd gotten his back up. The only reason.
It didnât have anything to do with any kind of attraction to her. No sir. She was just a vexation. A thorn in his side that couldnât be ignored until he could get rid of it. Get rid of her.
And that was all there was to it.
Marta must have seen Meggie coming, because the older woman came out of her house and met the child halfway, sending Meggie on a return run at full speed once sheâd accepted the egg basket.
âWhoa there, slow down. Thereâs no hurryâI havenât headed for the shed to get your gear yet,â he told her when she reached him, ruffling up her hair.
But the feel of those silky locks flashed him back to the night before, and it wasnât the childâs hair he was focused on so much as the memory of fingering the long strand of Allyâs curls. And somehow what shot through him at that moment, purely in response to the mother, was the same thing that had washed over him when heâd had Ally before him.
But it didnât seem to fit with just being riled by the woman.
No, if heâd had no other reason to want Ally Brooks off his ranch before, he had an all-fired powerful one right then.
Heâd be damned if heâd let anything start up with another woman who didnât belong here.
No matter what.
* * *
Ally was in the kitchen packing the saddlebags Jackson had brought her when Beth came in through one of the sliding doors from the patio.
ââMorning,â the pregnant woman greeted as she did.
ââMorning,â Ally answered, though sheâd been up so long by then it seemed as though it ought to be afternoon.
âWhatâs all that?â Beth asked with a nod at the food Ally was carefully putting into the heavy leather satchels.
âLunch.â
âAh. Better bring a lot to drink, too, itâs a hot one out there today.â She stole a cucumber-and-dilled-cream-cheese pinwheel before Ally wrapped them. âWe just finished up at my place. Jackson was headed here with me but he stopped to see how Meggie was doing with the eggs. He told me to tell you it was time to leave and send you out.â
Jackson with Meggie?
Trying not to be too obvious, Ally went to the kitchen sink and rinsed her hands while taking a quick glance outside.
She couldnât see the chicken coop from there, but she imagined she could hear the harsh criticisms and rebukes that poor, defenseless Meggie was no doubt suffering at that very moment from the man who didnât want them around.
âRelax,â Beth said from where she sat on a stool at the butcher block. âJackson is great with kids. He should have a dozen of his own.â
Only if they didnât show up without warning to trespass on his precious ranch, Ally thought, tempted to rush out of the kitchen to her child.
But
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