Read Online The Rancher's Dance by Allison Leigh - Free Book Online

“Thank you.”
    He didn’t want her thanks. He damn sure didn’t want to feel his nerve endings coming to life beneath the feather-light touch of her warm palm.
    It was July.
    The only thing he wanted was to feel as little as possible, to survive the month the best he could and endure another year without his wife before July rolled around yet again.
    He shifted and Lucy’s hand fell away.
    The nerve endings still didn’t stop dancing their annoying jig.
    â€œIf she gets to be too much, yell.”
    Lucy’s smile didn’t waver. “I’m sure that won’t be the case.” She gave a quick wink toward Shelby.
    His painfully shy daughter was clearly fascinated.
    He wished he could be happy about that.
    â€œAn hour,” he said again, and then he walked out of the barn.
    Lucy bit back a sigh as Beck stomped away, but when she looked down at his daughter, she made sure none of her unsettled feelings about the man showed on her face.
    â€œSo, Miss Shelby. How old are you?”
    The little girl’s narrow shoulders hunched a little. “Six.” The answer was so soft that Lucy had to bend closer to hear.
    â€œSix.” She held out her hand and couldn’t help feeling a little triumphant when Shelby took it with much less reservethan her timid expression indicated. “So what grade does that put you in? Sixth?”
    Shelby shook her head emphatically. “Sixth is for the big kids. I’m little. ”
    â€œAh, I see,” she said seriously. “Then you’re going to be in…kindergarten?”
    â€œNo! First.”
    â€œOf course.” Lucy pressed her hand to her chest. “Silly me. Maybe I need to go back to school myself!” She tilted her head toward the exercise equipment and the mats. “So do you want to come into my playroom?” Shelby nodded.
    They padded across the springy mats and Shelby kicked off her little white tennis shoes as they went until she was as barefooted as Lucy was and Lucy grinned. “Do you like music?”
    Again, a nod.
    Lucy pulled down a handful of CDs from the shelf. What did she have on hand that would appeal to a six-year-old girl? “Do you know what kind you like?” There wasn’t any Hannah Montana or whatever it was that little girls wanted to listen to these days, but there were some soundtracks from old Disney movies.
    Shelby suddenly reached up and pushed Gertrude onto the shelf where the boom box sat and punched the “play” button. Rachmaninov immediately blasted again through the barn. “I like that,” the little girl said clearly.
    Lucy laughed and turned down the volume. “Well, okay, then.” She brushed her finger down Shelby’s straight nose that was a miniature version of her father’s. “Sweetheart, you and I are going to get along just fine.”
    And Shelby smiled.
    Thank goodness at least one member of the Ventura family hadn’t forgotten how.
    Â 
    â€œAnother round, ladies?” Their server at Colbys stopped next to Lucy the next evening and glanced around the crowded table.
    There were seven of them in all because even her cousin, Angeline, who was about ready to pop with the baby she was carrying, had driven over from Sheridan with her family for the weekend. Seven and not a single man among them.
    After all, it was a girls’ night. No men allowed.
    â€œCount me in,” Lucy told the server and was quickly echoed by the others.
    The server grinned as he collected their empties. It was a combination of martini glasses, beer bottles, sodas and water; as varied as the women clustered around the table. Some were cousins. Some were spouses of cousins.
    And all of them were friends.
    Lucy watched the server work his way through the bar. It was Friday night and the place was as crowded as she’d expected it to be. “Who is that kid?” she asked in general. “He looks familiar to me.”
    Leandra