Free To Wed a Rancher by Myrna Mackenzie Page A

have another sister?” Shane asked, widening his eyes and dropping down to one knee, making himself less big and man-scary. Rachel remembered being very afraid of tall men when she was as young as these two.
    Ella giggled. Henry shook his head emphatically. “Goat,” he said.
    â€œGoat,” Ella echoed. “Tunia.”
    â€œAh, I see,” Shane said. “Well, then, I’m honored that you would bring Petunia to my ranch. I hope she—and you—like it here.”
    â€œBox,” Henry said, making all of the adults frown with concentration.
    But Rachel’s mind was flipping through all the possibilities. “Did you like playing with Shane’s blocks?”
    Henry nodded emphatically, but Rachel saw that Shane was looking at the box of blocks as if he’d seen a ghost. “I thought those were long gone,” he said.
    Marcia and Rachel exchanged a look. Had she been wrong to let the children play with them? Had they—?
    â€œI…thought I’d misplaced those. I’m glad you had fun with them,” Shane said to Henry.
    Not long after that, everyone said their goodbyes. Soon Rachel was alone with Shane.
    â€œThat was a good save,” she told Shane. “Were theblocks supposed to be off-limits? Were they…your brother’s? I’m sorry. I should have asked if it was all right for the children to use them.”
    â€œNo. You were right. It’s scary for kids that young to come to a new place. I’m glad you pulled out the blocks.”
    â€œThey look handmade.”
    He stared directly into her eyes. “A guy has to have something do to with his hands when he’s closed up inside in the winter.”
    Which led Rachel to look down at Shane’s big strong hands. She swallowed hard. She tried not to imagine those hands on her body.
    â€œHow old were you when you made them?”
    â€œTwelve.”
    â€œTwelve? Only twelve?”
    He shrugged. “It began because I’d broken the law. I took the principal’s car for a joyride.”
    â€œAt twelve,” she said, more shocked than she wanted to let on.
    â€œI was an unpleasant boy,” he admitted. “Anyway, despite everyone in town thinking he was crazy, he agreed not to press charges and instead put me to work helping do odd jobs at the school. He saw my fascination with the woodworking tools for the shop class, and when my punishment was over, he showed me how to use them even though they were usually reserved for older students. The blocks you saw were more a learning process than anything.”
    She nodded. “I know some people might think that that was a light sentence, but your principal sounds like a wise man.”
    â€œHe was. He’s long gone, but he was the best man I ever knew.”
    Which must say something about Shane’s relationship with his stepfather. But that was none of her business, was it? Because she and Shane weren’t friends. He was her boss. And only her boss.
    â€œI hope you’ll be happy to hear that Marcia helped me make some food that won’t kill you. At least not too quickly. I’ll be home before you start to feel the effects,” she said, trying for a lighter tone to slam herself back into the role of employee.
    He chuckled, the serious look in his eyes fading away. “You’re pretty saucy for a cook.”
    â€œOh, I’m more than a cook,” she said, heading for the stove. “With Marcia’s and the internet’s help, I now know how to clean a floor that you can lie down on wearing a white suit. This morning I was nothing. Tonight I am a woman with housecleaning superpowers. Or…at least I know enough about housecleaning to make sure you won’t die of dirt poisoning.”
    She stopped and whirled around to face him and found that he had been walking behind her. He had been right on her heels, and now they were almost toe to toe. When she tipped her head up,