“Have you told the kids where we’re going today?” Jesse asked.
She shook her head. “Daisy and Daniel, we’re going to see some horsies and some cows today. What does a cow say?”
“Mooooo,” Daisy answered, then giggled.
Daniel echoed her. “Mooooo.”
Jesse nodded. “Well, they’ve got that down.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Do what?”
“Skijoring.”
“Hell, yeah.”
“Hell, yeah,” said Daisy.
Jesse looked wide-eyed at her. “Whoa. Damn.”
“Damn,” said Daisy.
Ellie had just taken a sip of coffee and had to fight not to choke. “I warned you.”
“What’s wrong with skijoring?”
“Nothing—if you don’t mind breaking bones or risking your life.”
“I watched last year. No one died.”
“Two guys got hauled to the hospital in ambulances, remember? I just don’t want you to get hurt.” There was no sense in arguing with him about it. The man climbed rocks for fun, played with explosives at work, and probably skied double-black diamonds without a single thought.
“You’re worried about me?”
“Of course, I’m worried,” she snapped, then noticed he was smiling. She reached over, took his hand. “I care about you.”
He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.
After breakfast, Jesse helped clean up, then headed home to get his gear.
Ellie called in to let the Wednesday playgroup know they weren’t coming, then packed the diaper bag with an extra change of clothes and some snacks. She didn’t want the kids to overheat in the car, so she zipped them into their coats and packed a second bag with their snowsuits, boots, hats and an extra pair of mittens each. She had all of it ready by the time Jesse pulled into her driveway.
“Is there anything else I should bring—food, a first-aid kit,” she asked as they carried the kids’ car seats to his SUV.
“We’re going to a ranch, not the seventeenth century.”
She climbed into the passenger seat, and they were off.
*
“Holy fucking shit.” Jesse stared at the Wests’ house. “That’s their house?”
It was a mansion. Built of stone and logs, it was massive, with floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out onto the surrounding mountains. Stone chimneys jutted upward from the multi-pitch roof, smoke curling against the gray sky. The front door was set back from a portico driveway accented by a colonnade of polished logs. Off to one side stood several enormous outbuildings, including what looked like a large horse barn complete with several corrals.
Ellie stared, too. “I’ve heard about it, but I’ve never been here before.”
“I was expecting a log house like in Bonanza or something.”
She looked at him and laughed. “Bonanza?”
Jesse drove around to the back of the house and stared again, ogling the multiple-car garage that was attached at the rear. “I thought Jack West served as a Ranger. Rangers don’t make this kind of money.”
“His family has owned this piece of land for three or four generations. They’ve done really well for themselves with horse breeding.”
“I can see that.”
“Did you tell them the kids and I were coming, too?”
“Yeah. Nate said he was fine with that.”
“Nate is a marine. He and Dan were friends. He was horribly burned in an IED explosion. It was in the paper every day for a while—updates on how he was doing. I didn’t think he would survive, but he pulled through.”
“He didn’t mention that he was a marine. He must be a modest guy.” Jesse climbed out, opened the rear passenger door and unbuckled Daniel, who reached for him with little arms, still clinging to his blanket. “Come here, big boy.”
“Welcome to the Cimarron.”
Jesse turned to see a man about his age and height walking toward him, a white cowboy hat on his head. “Hey. I’m Jesse Moretti.”
The right side of the man’s face was badly scarred from burns, as was the hand he held out. “Nate West.” His gaze shifted to Ellie. “Hey, Ellie.”
Jesse shook his hand. “You two know each other?”
Of course, they did.
“She was a few years behind me in school. I knew her husband, Dan. He was as good as they come. And these are your twins. Hey, guys.” Nate took Daniel’s hand, sadness flashing across his face. “Wow. You look just like your daddy. Come on inside and meet everyone.”
Jesse followed him, carrying Daniel, while Ellie carried Daisy. They passed through the five-car garage—talk about a wet dream—and entered a mudroom.
“Don’t worry about taking off your boots.” Nate led them down a hallway to a kitchen, where an older man was stirring something on the stove. “Dad, this is Jesse Moretti and Ellie Meeks and her twins. Jesse, Ellie, this is my father, Jack.”
“Always pleased to meet another Ranger.” Jack shook Jesse’s hand, his gaze fixing on Daniel. “He looks just like Dan.”
“That’s Daniel,” Ellie said. “And this is Daisy.”
“Hello, there, Daniel and Daisy.” Jack’s gaze moved to Ellie. “I was sorry to hear about your loss. I knew Dan from the time he was a little boy, watched him grow up.”