Read Online To Wed a Rancher by Myrna Mackenzie - Free Book Online Page B

have to tell him that. That and the fact that all of Moraine was probably going to show up on his doorstep for the open house…if they didn’t storm the ranch and arrive sooner. A sudden vision of scantily clad women trying to look inside Shane’s house or get a glimpse of his muscles and blue eyes slammed its way into Rachel’s consciousness.
    â€œAre you okay, Rachel?” Shane asked.
    No, I’m clearly going insane if I’m worrying about other women coveting my employer, she thought. My employer. My employer. Nothing more, Everly. Youdon’t want a man. Any man. Especially not a man with as much potential heartbreak written into his DNA as Shane Merritt. Remember that.
    â€œRachel?”
    â€œI’m sorry. I’m fine,” she said. “Just planning out my afternoon.” Which wasn’t a lie, because this afternoon her plan was to completely stop thinking of Shane as a man and think of him only as her boss. Or, better yet, not at all.

CHAPTER FOUR
    R ACHEL was down on her knees with a bucket of soapy water and a sponge trying to put her “don’t think about Shane” plan into action. She was trying not to think about how her entire body had gone hot and steamy when Shane had tucked his fingers beneath her chin yesterday. She was trying to pretend that an almost painful glow of gratitude hadn’t warmed her heart when he’d been so understanding about her lack of domestic skills. The thing was…she wanted to trust him.
    The other thing was…she didn’t trust her own judgment. She’d been known to trust the wrong people, Dennis being the latest example, so wanting to trust Shane would be super-dumb. Shane had a bad reputation.
    She scrubbed harder at a worn bit of linoleum. She put her back into it.
    â€œThat must be some stain,” a feminine voice said.
    Rachel turned to see a curly-haired woman standing in the doorway, holding two young children by the hands.
    Rachel got to her feet and stepped forward. “Can I help you with something?”
    The woman smiled and laughed. “I think it’s supposed to be the other way around. If you’re Rachel,Shane sent me to help you. I’m Marcia. My husband, Hank, is going to be working for Shane the next few weeks. We’ve been living with Hank’s parents in the next county, and they’re wonderful, but the space is tight. The fact that Shane’s lending us a cabin on the edge of his property will be a vacation for all of us.”
    â€œI’m glad to meet you, Marcia,” Rachel said, returning the smile. It was, after all, impossible not to smile at the woman. She looked happy to be here. And when Marcia looked down at the little boy by her side and told him that he needed to not interrupt when people were speaking she said it gently and with obvious love in her voice.
    Still, Rachel retraced her thoughts to the other woman’s earlier comment. “Shane sent you to help me?”
    Because he clearly didn’t think she could handle things by herself.
    â€œJust for today,” Marcia said. “While you and I both get settled and he makes sure the cabin is ready. He’d planned for a single man, and he wants to add some safety features now that children will be staying there. These, by the way, are my children, Ella and Henry. They’re both four.”
    And both adorable, she might as well have said. Ella had huge blue eyes that seemed to take everything in all at once, and Henry had the cutest little cowlick, which was just about all of him Rachel could see right now. Now that Rachel had moved forward, he was hiding behind his mother’s leg.
    â€œIt’s so nice to meet you, Ella and Henry. If your mom is going to be nice enough to lend me a hand, we’d better find something interesting for you to do. I’m pretty sure I saw some blocks around here somewhere.”
    Marcia blinked. “I’m new to the area, but when Hank