“About what?”
“You,” Reese said, running his fingers over her hair. “Maud wanted to know where you dreamed of traveling. I told her how you loved Hawaii.” He saw Shay’s eyes widen. “As a wedding gift, she’s going to give us an envelope that contains reservations for a five-star resort on Kauai, near Princeville, and two first-class airline tickets, roundtrip, to Hawaii for seven days.”
A gasp tore out of Shay. “No! Really?”
A chuckle rumbled through his chest. “Really.”
“Oh, my God! That’s—that’s incredible, Reese!”
“Don’t you dare let on that I told you,” he said. “Maud had wanted it to be a surprise for you, and you’d better look surprised in order to save my hide.”
She gave a giddy laugh. “Oh, don’t worry! I’ll be as shocked as I am right now. I’m just glad you told me.” She sighed, her hand on his shoulder. “She’s such a fairy godmother to so many in this valley.”
Reese shrugged. “I think if I were in her shoes, at her age, with the money she has, I’d be doing pretty much the same thing. You can’t take it with you. Might as well ease the burdens of so many others who are struggling daily to make ends meet.”
“This is just mind-blowing,” Shay whispered, touching her brow. “I mean . . . all my life . . . as a little kid, I used to go through the computer and google Hawaii, look at the pictures and dream. I dreamed so much about it!”
“Well, a dream came true, then.” Reese smiled warmly.
Shay sobered immediately. She got on her knees and leaned over Reese, cupping his jaw, kissing him passionately. When she finally ended the long, hot kiss, she whispered unsteadily, her eyes growing moist, “No . . . you are my dream come true, Reese Lockhart. Just you . . .”
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“Do you have any questions about what I just covered with you, Kira?”
Kira felt enveloped by the warmth and care of Shay Lockhart as they sat in the kitchen of the Bar C’s main ranch house. She’d arrived shortly after lunch, and had met two of the military vets, Noah and Harper.
Shay had fixed her a late lunch, introducing her to her husband, Reese Lockhart, who went down the hall to his office afterward. That left Kira with Shay to go over the employment opportunity. “No questions. You’ve covered everything pretty well.”
Shay smiled and said, “Are you interested in taking the job?”
“Absolutely.” Kira’s hope had climbed in the last two hours as Shay had outlined her job responsibilities. Earlier, they had bundled up in their coats on the cold but clear day, and Shay had taken her around the main buildings on the Bar C. Kira was impressed with what the vets had done to start the repairs on the broken-down ranch. They were slowly fixing, building, and bringing it back to life. Shay’s father, Ray Crawford, had met her and shaken her hand. He was nothing like her father, but she felt she could certainly do weekly housecleaning and make him his meals. Shay was more than fair about financial compensation and Kira wanted to work for someone like her.
“Okay, then the only other thing left to do is assign you to a house,” Shay said with a smile. She took a pen and wrote HOUSE A on the file.
Kira knew there were four new two-bedroom homes built on the ranch property not far from the main house. Shay assigned each vet a home. The fourth house was for Ray Crawford. Shay had designed the homes to hold two vets each. She had told Kira that she wanted to eventually hire a total of six wranglers, all military veterans. They would each put down small monthly payments to own it with or without the second vet who lived in it at the time. All the vets liked the idea and could afford the payment, thanks to her generosity. Kira would be wrangler number four, and the first woman vet.
“Okay,” Kira said.
Shay frowned and looked across the trestle table at her. “Are you sure you’re okay living with a strange guy underfoot?”
Kira smiled a little. “He’s a military vet. I don’t think I’ll have an issue with him, Shay.”
“Well, not everyone gets along with one another,” she said. “I’m assigning you to Garret’s house because he’s been here the longest with us. In fact, he was the first vet I hired. I feel he can show you the ropes, be kind of a mentor in some ways, introduce you to the ranch rhythm and the duties around here. He’s a good go-to guy and is very helpful. But if you feel it’s not working, Kira? Just tell me and I’ll move you to another house.”
“Thanks, that’s good to know. He’s got PTSD, right?”
“Oh, yes. It’s pretty bad.” Shay shrugged. “But then, what PTSD isn’t bad? He has nightmares, insomnia, and anxiety just like the rest of us do.”
“I’ll fit right in.” She found herself more than a little curious. “You said his name was Garret?”