Free His Texas Bride by Deb Kastner

question, just as he was dead set on removing her from this property.
    “Sometimes,” she answered slowly. “Mostly that’s just for play. But you ought to see the children with Cody, my German shepherd. When the dog encounters a distressed child, he’ll nose his way under the boy or girl’s arm, in effect giving them a furry hug.”
    Buck nodded for her to continue.
    “Most of the teenagers like the stables the best. They work with the horses—grooming them, fixing tack, cleaning stalls. Oddly enough, or rather by God’s grace….”
    She paused when Buck cringed visibly and looked away from her. “By God’s grace,” she repeated, “each teenager in this particular group has bonded with a different horse. They are always anxious to get out to see ‘their’ horses, without ever arguing about who gets what mount.”
    “Yeah, I saw that,” Buck commented with a gruff edge to his voice.
    “Did you?”
    “I was still in the stable when they came in.”
    “Did they see the foal?” Ellie asked, not realizing until after she’d spoken the words that she might well just have unintentionally changed the subject, which was the last thing she wanted to do. She desperately needed to clear up Buck’s misconceptions about her ministry.
    He chuckled. “I’d say they were pretty excited about that particular find.”
    Ellie smiled. “Good. I’m glad.”
    “I watched them for a few minutes. They all seemed to know their way around horses. How is that?”
    She shrugged. “I taught them.”
    Buck gave a low whistle. “That must have taken a good deal of time and effort.”
    “Maybe,” she conceded, cutting the sandwiches into quarters so they were easier for the small children to eat. “But it was worth every second. And I happen to enjoy working with kids.”
    Buck laughed. “That much I got.”
    He was suddenly silent and his smile faded. Ellie was curious and a little frightened by Buck’s suddenly quiet demeanor, but she waited for him to speak.
    “I saw Tyler on my way up to the house.” He spoke casually, but Ellie knew there was a lot more emotion behind those words than Buck was letting on. “He was helping a little boy with one of your rabbits.”
    “That was nice of him.” She kept her hands busy, hoping Buck wouldn’t see that she was shaking with determination, and maybe a little bit from dread.
    “Hmm,” Buck answered, now sounding thoroughly bemused. “Yeah. Nice of him.”
    It wasn’t like Buck to repeat words. He was definitely the strong and silent type. Ellie knew there was something that had rattled him enough to shake him from his stupor.
    Seeing her ministry for what it was, maybe? Did she dare to hope?
    “See, here’s the thing,” Buck continued. “My son doesn’t like little kids.”
    Ellie cocked an eyebrow. “You’re sure about that? Because when I was out there before, he appeared to be enjoying himself as much as the preschoolers.”
    Buck nodded. “Doesn’t that beat all? Back at the ranch where we’ve been living, Tyler pretty much kept to himself.”
    “Just like his father,” Ellie muttered under her breath, but apparently it was loud enough for Buck to hear, because his gaze narrowed on her.
    “I—I didn’t mean anything by that,” Ellie stammered hastily. The last thing she wanted to do right now was rile Buck up. Next thing she’d know, she’d be packing her bags, no explanation wanted or given.
    “No. You’re right,” Buck agreed with a clipped nod and a soft chuckle. “My son is like me. That’s why I can’t figure out what’s going on now.”
    “Maybe Tyler is just learning to relax,” Ellie suggested tenderly. The soft spot in her heart was for Tyler, of course. At least that was what she told herself.“You know, you could do with a little R & R yourself, Mr. Ranch Foreman.”
    “Hmm,” he said again, as if the thought had never occurred to him before.
    “Your room and board are on me,” she reminded him. “Well, not exactly. But