“Technically it’s her father’s, but she’s run it for so long it may as well be hers,” his grandmother said. “I think she’s hoping to take it over from him some day.”

  “And Nana Bond bought me a book there,” Olivia announced, then glanced hurriedly at her mother, her eyes wide as she put her hand over her mouth. “Oops. I forgot to tell you.”

  “That’s okay, sweetheart,” Sabine said, stroking her daughter’s head. “That’s very nice that Nana Bond bought you a book. What kind is it?”

  “It’s about a dragon who loves reading but no one will let him.” Olivia was beaming now and Tanner, once again, felt the pang of an older, unwelcome grief. But as he listened to Olivia talk about the book he also found himself drawn to her enthusiasm. Smiling at her descriptions of the book, the store, and the beautiful lady who owned it. She really was a cute little thing with her fluff of copper curls and bright eyes.

  Then she glanced at him, and when her smile faded he felt a ripple of self-reproach at how aloof and hard he’d been around her. He wished there was a way he could explain it to her, but he knew it would be pointless.

  Olivia and her mother now owned the ranch; he was leaving as soon as he and the man beside him could get their business in order.

  Yet, even as he watched her talk, making pictures with her hands, he wished things could have been different. Wished he could have had the emotional reserves to be kinder to her. More gracious.

  Then, as he caught Sabine looking at him, those regrets were superseded by other emotions. Once again his breath tangled in his throat. Once again that awareness flickered between them. Real. Tangible as a touch.

  He had come so close to kissing her in the truck. That would have been utterly stupid and utterly selfish. But as he looked at her, as their eyes still held, he wondered what it would have been like.

  “I noticed that you don’t have any pictures of Dana and our granddaughter on the wall.” Ken’s voice and his comment pulled Tanner abruptly back to reality.

  As did the surreptitious nudge he got from Ken. Did the man expect Tanner to join in and tell his grandmother to fix the lack?

  Or was he trying to remind him that it was his daughter he used to be married to?

  Tanner pushed his hair away from his forehead, sucking in a steadying breath, trying to balance his unsettled emotions.

  “Like I told you before, Ken, this is Nana’s house, and she can choose what she puts up on the wall.” He fought down a beat of frustration with Ken’s insistence on constantly bringing Dana into the conversation.

  “But still, she was a part of your life, wasn’t she?” Ken said, still looking at his grandmother.

  “She was, but I also know how hard it has been for Tanner to see pictures of them, so I took them down.” His grandmother’s voice was even, quiet, but he easily heard the edge in her words. He knew from past experience that Ken was walking too close to the edge of her patience.

  “Do you still have them?” Ken pressed.

  A heavy silence followed this comment. Sabine was looking down at her plate, clearly uncomfortable.

  Time to end this. Ken was overstepping, big time.

  “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m full,” Tanner said, getting up and picking up his plate. And Ken’s.

  His father-in-law frowned his annoyance but Tanner just kept moving. Sabine got up as well, shooting him a grateful look. Tanner smiled and, once again, attraction blossomed.

  Ken stood and made a show of looking at his watch. “I should be heading out as well. It’s a long drive to Calgary. Thank you, Jennie, for a wonderful dinner,” he said to Nana. “It was tasty.”

  “You’re welcome.” Nana’s smile was forced, and Tanner was fairly sure she was regretting asking Ken to stay.

  Then Ken turned to Tanner. “Do you mind walking me out the door? There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

  Tanner wanted to say no, but this was a chance to hustle Ken away from his grandmother, Sabine, and Olivia, so he went along.

  When they were by Ken’s truck, Ken stopped and turned to Tanner, his hand on his shoulder. “I just wanted to say how thankful I am that you are willing to go into partnership with me. I feel like I’m closer to Dana as a result. I understand more than anyone else how painful being around this ranch, and memories of Dana can be.” Ken paused and Tanner caught the glisten of tears in his eyes. “I’m surprised myself how much it hurts every time I come here.”

  Which hadn’t been often, Tanner wanted to say, but he kept his comments to himself. Ken was in an odd mood, and Tanner knew the best thing to do was to simply let the man take the conversational lead.

  Ken drew in a long, shaky breath then removed his hand from Tanner’s shoulder. “It must be especially hard with that woman and her daughter here.”

  “That woman?” Tanner asked, putting extra emphasis on the first word, stifling a surge of annoyance with Ken’s broad dismissal of Sabine and her daughter. “They have names, you know. Sabine and Olivia.”

  “Yes. Of course. Still, that little girl...Olivia...is the same age as Paulette was... It must be so difficult...” again a shaky pause as Ken swiped at his eyes. But quickly enough he seemed to regain control, his eyes now fixed on Tanner. “Anyhow, I just want to warn you to be careful around them both. Not to see them as replacements for Dana and Paulette. As if they ever could be replaced. I know you feel the same way.”

  Ken’s words and passive pressure only succeeded in making Tanner even more frustrated with the man despite his display of grief.

  “I’ve only just met Sabine,” he said, unable to keep the tightness out of his voice. “And she bought the ranch I sold. I don’t know how you could possibly think I see them as any kind of replacement considering I’m leaving.”

  Despite Tanner’s assurances Ken’s expression grew hard. “I’ve seen how you look at her,” he said, his tone accusing. “And how she looks at you. Again, I want to warn you to stay away from her. Dana’s only just gone—”

  “Dana has been dead for three years.” As the words burst out of him he found himself only just now catching on to the reality of them. Three years. Long enough to move on.

  “She was your soul-mate,” Ken said, clearly campaigning for his daughter. “Whenever I saw the two of you together I realized how you were made for each other. I know how it tore you up when Dana and Paulette died. I know you regret not...not buying a better—”

  “Don’t go there,” Tanner warned, suddenly tired of the burdens Ken seemed only too willing to dump on his shoulders. This wasn’t a new conversation but somehow, after seeing Sabine’s shocked reaction to Ken’s comment and his grandmother’s quick defense, he found himself seeing it through different eyes. Hearing it through different ears.

  “I’m sorry. I know you feel guilty about it, and I wish I could take that away.”

  “Do you?” Tanner asked, the question bursting out of him.

  Ken looked shocked. “I do,” he said, sounding hurt. “I sincerely do.”

  Tanner was suddenly bone-weary with the emotions that had swirled through him the past hour, in fact, the whole afternoon. Though he had enjoyed his time with Sabine, he knew that his feelings for her were changing far too quickly. When he put his arm around her shoulder to guide her through the bidding process it had felt too good. Too right.

  But he had other things going on, other paths he was taking.

  “I’ll call you when I hear anything from Jennings,” he said, giving his father-in-law a tight smile.

  “Thanks for that.” Ken pulled his truck keys out of his pocket and twirled them around his finger then looked up at Tanner. “And I apologize for stepping out of line. I know I tend to get too emotional when I talk about Dana. But she was our only daughter.”

  “Of course.” Tanner patted him on the shoulder then stepped back. A signal to Ken that the conversation was over.

  As he watched his father-in-law drive away, however, Tanner felt as if he could finally breathe.

  Finally relax.

  Ken was draining and, for a small moment, Tanner wondered if going into partnership with the man was such a good idea.

  He walked back to the house and when he stepped inside, the first person he saw was Sabine. Again their eyes found each other. And again, he felt that spark of connection.

  “I’m heading out,” he said to Nana, dragging his gaze away from Sabine’s.

  “Where are you going?” she asked, her frown telegraphing her concern.

  “Just for a drive. I should check out the other house. Make sure it’s okay. I might stay there tonight.”

  He tried for casual but sensed that Nana was concerned.

  Didn’t matter. He needed to give himself some mental and physical space for now.

  Settle his jumbled thoughts and figure out his priorities.

  He said his good-byes and left without glancing again at Sabine.

  Sabine sank back in her pew as the words of the song the group at the front of the church were singing sank into her.

  “Your purposes are sure to pass, in all their perfect form, we may not know the answers now, but You’re the calm in the storm.”

  Calm in the storm. Just what she needed now in so many ways.

  Last night, after Ken had left, Tanner had come in the house to say a quick good-bye and apologize for not sticking around to help with the dishes.

  He didn’t meet her eye, and she wondered what he and his former father-in-law had spoken about. It was as if he had pulled into himself.

  That, combined with the stress of her purchases, had brought the headache teasing her all evening to full force. She had managed to make it through supper clean-up but Nana Bond seemed to sense how tired she was and shooed her and Olivia off to their cabin soon after. Thankfully, Olivia was content to play a game on Sabine’s phone while they shared a bed.

  It took her longer to fall asleep than she hoped and when she finally did, her dreams were a mishmash of cows and Tanner and Olivia. And mixed through it all was a frightening sense of uncertainty.

  So it was a relief to go to church. To listen to the minister speak of God’s grace and His assurance that through all the storms in our life, He is there.

  The pastor had shown a picture of a lighthouse pounded by waves yet standing firm as a sermon illustration, and Sabine was greatly comforted by that. It was so close to what she was dealing with right now.

  Olivia was filling in the blanks of a story one of the ushers had given her before the service. Initially she had dismissed it as “for little kids,” but as the service wore on she pulled it out.

  Jennie sat on the other side of Olivia, singing along, her arm around Olivia’s shoulders. As if she was already a part of this little girl’s life.

  “Let’s all rise for the parting blessing,” Pastor Blacketer said as the last chords of the song resounded through the church building.

  As Sabine got to her feet she nudged Olivia to get up. Thankfully, Olivia didn’t demur, and set her paper and the pen Nana Bond had given her on the pew.

  The pastor raised his hands, looking around the congregation.

  “May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you, may the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”

  Sabine felt the blessing seep into her soul, nourishing and, indeed, blessing it. She had thought to skip church today. She hadn’t slept well and her head was aching but coming here had given her some moments of peace and the realization that she had to trust in God as much as she ever had.

  Then the service was over, and as the band in the front started playing, people slipped out of the pews and into the aisles. Sabine followed the older gentleman she had been sitting beside, looking around to see if she recognized anyone. Wondering if they would recognize her.

  “Glad you could make it,” someone said to her as she stepped into the aisle. Sabine turned to see Shannon smiling at her.

  “Hi, Miss Shannon,” Olivia said, coming up beside Sabine. “You’re not at the hospital today?”

  “No, thank goodness. Sometimes I get days off.” She turned back to Sabine. “So, how did the auction go? Did you get what you needed?”

  “Yes...I did...” She dragged the words out, still trying to reconcile what she had spent compared to what she had borrowed. But she pushed that aside, thinking again of the words of the song. How God was her calm in the storm. Well, she needed every bit of calm she could muster right now.

  “You sound disappointed,” Shannon said.

  “No. I’m not. It’s just now I have a bunch of work ahead of me.” Olivia was still clinging to Sabine’s hand and looking around, not minding that she wasn’t involved in the conversation.

  “Why is that?”

  Sabine was going to brush her question off, but she’d been here a week already and still hadn’t connected with anyone in a meaningful way other than Jennie. Shannon seemed genuinely interested.

  “All the things that need to happen around the ranch. I need to track down someone who can do some carpentry and fencing for me.”

  “You should talk to Connor LaCroix.”

  “I met him at the auction sale.”

  “Well, he’s a finishing carpenter, but he might know someone.”

  “Or he could make me some really fancy corrals.”

  Shannon chuckled as they went through the double doors and into the large main entrance of the church. It had changed since she was younger. The foyer was double the size and extended all the way toward what looked like meeting rooms, creating a large space for people to stand around and drink coffee and chat.

  The noise of the entrance grew the further they walked into it, and Sabine looked around trying to see if she recognized anyone. She had been hesitant to come to church after the auction but then decided that she had to get past that. If she was participating in this community, then past and present were bound to bump into each other. She simply had to see that she didn’t allow the one to color the other. That was the only thing she could control.

  “There’s Connor now,” Shannon said, tugging on Sabine’s arm.

  “Are you going to talk more?” Olivia grumbled, pulling her hand free from Sabine’s.

  “There’s cookies and juice if you want,” Shannon said to Olivia, pointing to a table where a large group of children were gathered.

  As they walked through the crowd Sabine caught a glimpse of a tall man with thick dark hair, and her heart flipped in her chest. Had Tanner come to church after all? But then the man turned, and her anticipation turned to disappointment. Jennie had warned her that Tanner didn’t attend church, but part of her held out some vague hope he would.

  Especially after the conversation last night with Ken.

  “Sabine, this is Connor. Connor, this is Sabine. She’s looking for someone to do some work on her corrals. She just bought Tanner Bond’s ranch.”

  “Oh yeah,” Connor said with an appreciative smile. “We met at the auction. Good to see you again.” His smile held a hint of flirtation. He also didn’t release her hand right away.

  Sabine withdrew her hand but kept her smile polite, reserved. “Likewise,” she returned.

  Connor kept grinning, seemingly unfazed by her reticence. “I don’t typically do fencing, but I’m between jobs right now, so I don’t mind swinging a hammer again. Be a nice change from cabinet work.”

  “That would be great,” Sabine said, folding her hands primly, holding her purse close. “Can you come tomorrow?”

  “Let’s make it Tuesday.”

  “Well, that worked out well.” Shannon smiled, looking from one to the other, as if expecting more to happen. Which made Sabine wonder if Shannon hadn’t hoped to do some good old-fashioned matchmaking.

  She looked at Connor again and mentally dismissed him. Not my type, she thought. Too flirty. Too...she wasn’t sure what, but he was it.

  Nor was she interested.

  But even as she formulated that thought, her mind slipped back to yesterday. And that almost moment in the truck with Tanner.

  Are you really not interested? Tanner seems to have captured your fancy.

  Sabine mentally shook off the insidious voice in her head. Allowing anything to happen between her and Tanner would be disastrous. Olivia was her priority, and Ken’s remarks yesterday evening were a reminder to stay away from Tanner and his complicated past.

  “Looking forward to working with you,” Connor said, then with another smile, he walked away.

  “Connor is a great guy,” Shannon said as they walked over to a couple of large coffee urns. “And single.”

  Sabine gave Shannon a polite smile. “Sorry. I’ve got too many things going on in my life to think about that. Besides, I’ve got Olivia...” Her voice faded as she looked around to see where Olivia was.

  She saw her chatting up another young girl as they looked over the cookie tray.

  The sight warmed her heart. Give it time, she would settle in here as well.

  “Understood,” Shannon said, picking up two mugs and handing one to Sabine. “That’s a huge priority. And I’m sorry about the innuendo. Somehow, in some addled part of my brain, I forgot you’re recently widowed. My deep apologies.”

  Sabine gave her a gentle smile. “No apology needed. Tim and I hadn’t been living together for a couple of years before he died. In fact, I was seeing a lawyer about a legal separation.”

  “But still...”

  “It’s fine,” Sabine said, filling up her mug with coffee. “Regardless, I’m not interested, and I don’t have time.”

  “Fair enough.” Shannon put cream and sugar into her coffee and pointed her chin to where a group of women were gathered, chatting. “Come with me. I’ll introduce you to Evangeline. She runs the bookstore and has a book club meeting there once a month. If you like reading, it’s a lot of fun.”

  Sabine followed Shannon, looking around the gathering. This was going to be my community once again, she thought, smiling.

  It seemed too good to be true.

  Chapter 10

 

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