Safe In The Rancher's Arms: Stranded with the Rancher / Sheltered by the Millionaire / Pregnant by the Texan

“Did she tell you what happened?”

“You mean the tornado?”

Drew smothered a smile, exchanging a quick look with Beth. “Not just that. Obviously the farm took a direct hit. But we were trapped in the storm cellar overnight. The car pinned us inside.” The vehicle in question still sat in a forlorn heap. Beth wondered if it was worth anything as scrap metal.

Audie’s eyes shifted from Drew to Beth. “You two must be kinda close.”

“We’re neighbors.” Drew’s wry smile dared Beth to disagree. “I had come over to discuss a few things with Beth when the sirens went off.”

“And now she’s staying at your house.”

It was hard to miss the insinuation. Beth’s cheeks burned with humiliation. There were about a thousand places she would rather be right now than in the midst of this awkward confrontation.

Drew ignored the provocative statement and returned his attention to Beth. “What did Allen have to say?”

“He hopes to have his report to me by tomorrow morning. The foundation is sound. He says the other stuff won’t be as bad as it looks to repair.”

“That’s great.”

“It is.”

Surely Drew was confused about her lack of enthusiasm, but she was barely holding it together. Her nerves were shot. Dealing with Audie always had that effect on her. She grimaced as she faced her brother. “I have to go now. Make yourself at home.”

Drew gaped. “They’re staying here?”

Audie cocked his head toward the car. “I’m between jobs at the moment. Our place in town was trashed by the storm. But we were only rentin’ anyway, and it’s the end of the month. Beth is going to let us bunk down out in the shed. It’s in pretty good shape. We’ll be fine.”

Beth noticed he didn’t bother to mention that he’d been fired from his last two places of employment for showing up drunk.

Drew seemed baffled. This unfortunate intersection of the haves and the have-nots illustrated more than anything else the gulf between Beth’s world and the Farrell empire.

She interceded, hoping to end the regrettable interlude. “I have to go, Audie. Drew and I are volunteering in town this afternoon.”

Excusing herself, she went to say hello to Angie and Anton and then returned quickly to Drew’s side. “Shall I follow you?” she asked.

Drew’s gaze went from Beth to Audie and back again. “We can change our plan,” he said, his expression troubled.

“It’s not necessary. I want to go into town and do something useful.”

A long silence stretched to thirty seconds. Maybe more. For once, Audie kept his mouth shut. Finally, Drew’s shoulders lifted and fell. “Okay, then. We’ll stop by the ranch to grab a bite to eat and drop off the clunker. Then we’ll go.”

Perhaps it escaped Drew’s notice that his version of a clunker was several notches above Audie’s car.

Beth wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, wishing she had thought to bring water. “Goodbye, Audie.”

He nodded. “Thanks for letting us stay.”

Beth took Drew’s arm. “Let’s go.”

When they were out of earshot, he opened her door and muttered beneath his breath. “Are you sure we don’t need to do something for them? They’re your family.”

She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath, settling her hands on the steering wheel. “Audie always lands on his feet. He’s the perfect example of give him an inch and he’ll take a mile. Don’t worry about them. They’ll be fine. I swear.”

Turning the key in the ignition, she made her wishes clear. “It’s getting late.”

To her dismay, Drew stood at her window for several long seconds. He must think she was a heartless bitch. But for the life of her, she didn’t have the energy to explain why Audie was a barnacle on the ship that was her life.

The truth was, he was worse than a barnacle. Barnacles didn’t actually do any damage. But Audie wreaked havoc in his wake. Even sober, he was an opportunist and a liar.

Without another word, she raised her window, turned on the air conditioning and spun gravel as she shot down the drive and onto the road. Her eyes burned with tears. She swallowed hard, blinking them away. She refused to let Drew see how much her brother upset her.

Drew couldn’t possibly understand what it was like to crawl out of a dismal past and reach for something cleaner, something better. Was that a crime?

The thought of Audie staying at Green Acres outraged her, despite the fact that the house was ripped apart and vulnerable. She knew there was a good chance that before she managed to eventually evict him, he would steal anything worth pawning. It had happened before...far too often.

Angie would never know. She was so clueless, it never occurred to her to ask where Audie got the money he spent so recklessly. And Beth wouldn’t say a word. Because she had been Anton once upon a time. A helpless child at the mercy of a parent too selfish and irresponsible to make sure she was safe.

The only way to cope at the moment was to compartmentalize. This afternoon, she and Drew were going to offer assistance where they could. In the midst of tragedy they would extend a helping hand. If Drew wanted to talk about Audie, Beth would deflect the conversation.

Seven

Drew followed Beth back to Willowbrook, wondering what in the hell was going on. Beth had never mentioned Audie, but now that Drew thought about it, she had alluded to her family not being close. Maybe her brother was the only family she had. Clearly, the two of them didn’t get along.

Was she embarrassed for Drew to meet Audie? Maybe she thought Drew was the kind of man to pass judgment on others. He knew full well that he was a very fortunate guy. He’d been born into a loving family, one with considerable financial assets. Though his parents had retired early and moved to Padre Island, all of the Farrells were a close-knit group, even the cousins and aunts and uncles.

As he parked and got out of his truck, Beth was already hurrying up the front steps. By the time he reached the kitchen, he found her talking to the housekeeper, who was quickly setting out lunch.

Suddenly starved, Drew sat down and dug into a thick corned beef sandwich. The afternoon would be more about physical labor than the morning had been. Breakfast was a long time ago. Beth seemed equally hungry, but she barely glanced at him as she ate.

She finished before he did and gave him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Blotting her mouth with a napkin, she stood. “If you’ll excuse me, I want to freshen up for a moment before I leave. I’ll see you back here tonight.”

He caught her wrist. “It doesn’t make sense for both of us to drive. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

Not a muscle in her body moved. She stared away from him. Beneath his thumb, her pulse was rapid. “Fine. If you’re sure.”

Releasing her reluctantly, he nodded. “I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.”

She disappeared, leaving him to ponder the odds that she would actually wait for him. Maybe she was upset about dealing with her brother. Families could be complicated. Most likely, Audie’s unemployment made things worse.

When Drew stepped out onto the front porch two minutes ahead of his deadline, Beth was perched on the top step. Despite the heat, she was wearing faded jeans that would protect her legs. A yellow cotton sunhat perched on top of her head. Her long, blond curls were tucked up in a jaunty ponytail. She smelled of sunscreen.

He touched her shoulder briefly. “Let’s go. Where would you like me to drop you?”

Beth shot him a sideways glance as they climbed into the overly-warm cab of the truck. “I’d like to check on Megan at the animal shelter.”

Drew cranked up the A/C, wondering if Mother Nature realized that it was October. The temperature was supposed to be winding down. “Are the two of you friends?”

“Recent friends.” Beth’s gaze was pensive as she stared through the windshield. “When I first moved to the farm, it felt lonely at night. Megan helped me adopt a sweet puppy. His name was Gus. Half cocker spaniel, the other half pure mischief. I built a fenced-in enclosure, but he got out one day. One of my customers ran over him.”

Without thinking about it, Drew reached across the small space that separated them and touched her hand. “That sucks. I’m really sorry.”

She didn’t look at him, and she moved her hand. “I felt so guilty.”

“You shouldn’t. That’s what puppies do. They get loose. And run out into the road. Sometimes it doesn’t end well. Did you ever think about getting a second dog?”

“For about two seconds. Love can’t be transferred automatically, you know. I loved Gus. But maybe I don’t need a pet. I’m having a hard enough time taking care of myself.”

She said it matter-of-factly, and now Drew was the one who felt guilty. Here was a woman who had battled long odds to pursue a dream. But he’d overlooked her hard work and dismissed her modest success in his single-minded determination to safeguard his horses and his business.

From Beth’s perspective, he must have seemed like an arrogant jerk. He chewed on that unpalatable bone until they pulled up in front of Royal Safe Haven. The animal shelter was located near the hospital in an industrial area of town.

Beth scanned the premises. “It looks like they’ve been spared.”

“It’s hard to believe, because the hospital lost an entire wing. But it was the oldest section, so maybe it wasn’t up to modern codes.”

The grounds of the shelter were covered in tree limbs and foliage and debris carried in from parts unknown. But the single story brick structure appeared solid.

Megan McGuiness, the owner, greeted them with a harried expression. “Thank God. I hope at least one of you is here to lend a hand. People have been dropping off strays all morning.” The green-eyed, curvy woman was pale beneath her sprinkling of freckles. Her straight, bright red hair framed her face in tangles.

Beth hugged her, despite the assortment of stains on the other woman’s clothing. “Drew is committed to a work detail in town. But I can stay for a while.”

“Bless you.” Megan arched her back and winced. “The animals went nuts. Clearly there was no way to get them all in a storm shelter. I’m grateful we escaped the worst of it.”

Beth turned to Drew. “I still want to see the damage in the rest of Royal. And help if I can. But I’d like to stay here with Megan for a couple of hours. Would you mind coming back to get me?”

“Of course not.” He focused his attention on Megan. “Is there anything you need in terms of supplies? Anything I could round up in town?”

“Some tarps would be great, but I have a feeling those are going to be scarce as hen’s teeth. Still, I’ll take what you can get. And a roll of twine.”

He grinned. “Beth can text me if you think of anything else.”

Megan’s smile turned sly. “What I really need is adoptive homes. How would you feel about taking a couple of cats, Drew?”

He grimaced. “I’m allergic to cats.”

“They’re barn cats. You have a barn. It’s a match made in heaven.”

Beth held up her hands when Drew blanched. “Don’t look at me,” she said. “My house is barely standing. It’s no place for an animal right now.”

Drew gave in with good grace. He and Megan had gone out once about a hundred years ago, so he cared about her...though more as a sister. “Fine. Two cats. No more. I’ll send one of my guys to pick them up this afternoon if I can find anyone who’s not working cleanup.”

Megan went up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Flattery doesn’t work on me. I’ve already agreed to the deal. You don’t have to oversell it.”

Beth chuckled. “You’d better run, Drew. The last time I was here she had two iguanas and a python. I think you’re getting off easy.”

* * *

Beth smiled at her friend as Drew drove away. “I should have already asked. How is Evie?” Beth had met the four-year-old when Beth had adopted the puppy. Evie’s precocious charm had won her over immediately.

Some emotion flickered in Megan’s eyes. “She’s good. She’s fine.”

Since the other woman’s tone of voice indicated she didn’t want to talk further about her child, Beth backed off. “Tell me what to do. I know you’re overwhelmed.”

For the first time, Megan took a deep breath, her gaze sober. “Is it true that your house is badly damaged?”

Beth nodded. “My place took a direct hit. The fields are ruined. One corner of the house is a shambles. Drew and I were trapped in the storm cellar overnight when my car decided to land on top of us.”

“Dear Lord.”

“Yes. We were lucky. I still get shaky thinking about it.”

“Well, I can take your mind off your troubles, I guarantee. Come on inside and you can help me decide how to rig up some extra cages. I won’t be able to use the outdoor dog runs until I get help clearing everything the storm dropped on top of us.”

Within the walls of the building, chaos reigned. Dogs howled. Cats screeched. It was as if the animals realized that a disaster of epic proportions had swept the county. And perhaps they did.

When Beth voiced the thought, Megan nodded. “They understand, they really do. Dogs and cats are remarkably intuitive. Of course, right now most of them are cranky because their routines have been altered. But they’ll settle down soon. I hope.”

For the next couple of hours, Beth worked until her back was sore and her legs ached. Feeding and watering the clientele took a long time, not to mention finding places for the new residents displaced by the storm.

At one point, pausing to catch her breath, she leaned down and picked up a tiny puppy with matted golden-brown hair. He reminded her a lot of Gus. The little dog curled into her arms with what she could swear was a sigh of relief. Murmuring to her newfound friend, she stroked his ears. “If you don’t have a name, I’ll call you Stormy. I know...it’s cliché. But all the little girl dogs will think you’re cute.”

Megan returned from outside where she had been hosing out buckets. “Looks like somebody loves you.”

Beth’s heart turned over in a wistful flip of longing. “Do me a favor, Megan.”

“Of course.”

“If no one comes to claim this sweet fella, will you keep him for me? Until I’m back in my house?”

“I doubt Drew would care if you brought a dog home. He’s not allergic to those. The man has a Golden Retriever and a couple of Bluetick hounds.”

“All the more reason to leave Stormy here. Drew is already feeding and housing me. I can’t trespass on his good nature any further than that.”

Megan lifted an eyebrow. “You’re staying with Drew? I thought he was the big bad wolf trying to gobble up your farm.”

Beth held Stormy more tightly. “It’s not like that. When he saw that my house was going to need major repairs, he offered me a room. That’s all.”

Megan grinned. “And how many other homeless females has he taken in?”

“None.”

“I rest my case.”

At that exact moment, a horn honked outside, signaling Drew’s return. He carried in the supplies Megan had requested and glanced at Beth with amusement. “You both look like you’ve been dragged through a bush backward.”

“Some of us have been working hard,” she said.

He didn’t rise to the bait. “You ready to go?” He scratched Stormy’s tummy gently. The puppy practically rolled his eyes in ecstasy. Beth understood entirely. Drew’s big hands gave a woman naughty ideas.

Beth looked at Megan and handed over the small dog. “I’ll come back again, I promise.”

Megan tucked the pup under her arm and glanced at her utilitarian watch. “No worries. We’ve had lots of volunteers. Thanks for all you’ve done.”

* * *

Drew pointed the truck toward downtown. “You sure you want to do this?” The farther they drove, the more damage they witnessed. Beth stared in silence. At one point he saw a single tear slide down her cheek. But she didn’t wipe it away.

“How can it happen so fast?” she asked, the words heartbroken.

He understood that it was a rhetorical question. Though he had already seen the devastation yesterday and twice today, the senseless destruction still took his breath away. The random patterns of the storm’s fury played out much like what they had seen at Beth’s farm. Some streets were still impassable, cordoned off by orange and white barricades. Power poles had been tumbled like matchsticks.

But in the midst of chaos, here and there, a potted plant survived...a child’s bicycle, a glass shop front. Signs of hope in the midst of incredible sorrow. Drew pointed to a family of four sifting through what was left of their modest two-story home. “Everywhere I’ve gone so far, people have been amazing. They’re putting it in perspective. Grateful to have each other.” Left unspoken was the thought that not everyone had survived.

“Where are we going?” Beth asked, her voice subdued.

“The high school. They’ve set up a large shelter area in the gym. How do you feel about reading books to kids?”

“I have no idea. I’m never really around little ones very much.”

“I’m in the same boat, but this came as a direct request from the shelter coordinator. They’ve provided phone service and internet connections so parents can deal with insurance details and anything else. But it’s hard for the children to be cooped up. Schools are going to be closed for at least a week, probably longer. The principal is lining up volunteers to plan activities and give some structure to the days.”

“I’ll do whatever I can.”

When they entered the gym, normally open to the community for basketball games and carnival nights, the scene was a cacophony of loud voices and crying children. Cots lined the floor in neat rows. It struck Drew that if he hadn’t asked Beth to stay with him, she might have been a resident here as well. He couldn’t imagine trying to keep a family together and entertained in the midst of such chaos.

Thankfully, it appeared that social services and law enforcement were handling this very personal disaster efficiently and compassionately. Emergency preparedness training had kicked in, and relief efforts were functioning like a well-oiled machine.

Drew steered Beth toward a far corner that served as command central. The site coordinator’s face lit up when she saw them. “You’re a gift from heaven,” she said. “The TCC members have been amazing. We’ve already started three age groups with other volunteers. I’d like the two of you to take the eight, nine and ten-year-olds to classroom 107. There are fifteen of them in all. You’ll find signs in the hallway directing you. Someone will deliver afternoon snacks.” She handed Beth a copy of Charlotte’s Web and two other books. “Thank you.”

That was the extent of their training. Drew smiled at Beth ruefully. “Ready for this?”

She was rumpled and hot and her ponytail was awry. But her beautiful eyes sparked with mischief. “I can handle anything you dish out. Bring it on.”

In moments, they were surrounded by a gaggle of youngsters chattering excitedly—except for the few whose sober faces reflected a very adult understanding of all they had lost. One little boy with a crooked haircut and pants that were too short held Drew’s hand as they walked down the hall.

Beth took the lead, playing the role of Pied Piper as they led their charges to the assigned spot. It didn’t take long to get the kids settled into their desks. The furniture was designed for adolescents, which was a novelty in itself. When a momentary quiet reigned, Beth lifted an eyebrow, holding up one of the books.

Drew shook his head. “I’ll be bad cop, if necessary. You take the wheel.”

Shaking her head with a wry smile, she took the teacher’s chair, pulled it from behind the large oak desk and sat down facing her audience. If she was nervous, she didn’t show it. After reading quietly through the first few paragraphs, she found her rhythm and injected a note of drama into Fern’s character, particularly the girl’s outrage when she found out the small pig was going to be killed.

At that moment, Drew realized his role as disciplinarian was going to be unnecessary. The children hung on Beth’s every word. She read nonstop for forty-five minutes, creating voices for each new actor in the beloved story. Even Drew found himself caught up in the classic tale.

But after a while he went from listening to watching. The curve of Beth’s lips as she smiled. The nuances of expression on her face. The way she made eye contact with each child, as if assuring every boy and girl that she was reading just to him or her.

It struck him that Beth Andrews would make an amazing mother. Drew hadn’t spent much time thinking about marriage and babies and home and hearth. After all, he was only thirty-two. He had plenty of time.

But the storm’s havoc made him reassess a lot of things. Watching families pull together in the last forty-eight hours had shown him the importance of being grounded. Jed lived in Dallas, their parents in south Texas. Drew travelled often. Though his work was satisfying and he had a wide circle of friends and extended relatives, for the first time he wondered if he was missing something very important. Maybe he needed to think about the bigger picture.

Beth ended a chapter as the promised refreshments arrived. Supervising snack time was a sticky, rowdy mess, but it reminded him of what it was like to be a kid. When the apples and peanut butter disappeared faster than a snowflake in the hot sun, he helped clean up the debris. Another volunteer arrived to shepherd the group of children back to their parents.

Drew straightened one last row of seats and grinned at Beth. “Your talents are lost on farming. You should have been either a librarian or an actress.”

Tucking wayward strands of hair behind her ears, she perched on the teacher’s desk, her legs swinging. “To be honest, kids give me the heebie-jeebies. They scare me to death. One wrong word or move, and you’ve scarred them for life. It’s too much responsibility. And as for being an actress, well...let’s just say I prefer digging in the dirt.”

He yawned and stretched, feeling tired but content. “It’s hard to believe that forty-eight hours ago we were running for our lives.”

“I know. It seems like a dream until you look outside. Then it smacks you in the face. I feel so sorry for all the people taking shelter here. Especially the ones with children. My house is damaged, but at least I have only myself to worry about.”

“And your brother.”

Beth’s face closed up. “I don’t want to talk about Audie.”

“We’re one man short at the stables. I could offer him a job. It’s grunt work...doesn’t pay much. But it would be better than nothing.”

Despite the stuffy air in the classroom, Beth’s pink cheeks paled. “That would be a very bad idea. Trust me.” Her soft lips firmed in a grim line.

“It’s not that big a deal. I really am looking for somebody.”

“Then look somewhere else.”

He stood, nonplussed, and wondered with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach if Beth was as stubborn and intractable as his ex-fiancée. Whatever happened to sweet, amenable women?

Beth jumped down from the desk and walked toward the door. “We should see if they need us anywhere else.”

“Wait.” The command came out more urgently than he had intended.

Beth stopped and turned. Her posture was wary. “What’s wrong?”

He went to her and rubbed a thumb over her cheek. “I’ve been wondering if those first two kisses were a fluke.”

When her gaze went to his mouth, a tingle of something hot and heady settled in his gut.

She bit her lip. “Perhaps not flukes, but probably mistakes. Adrenaline...the will to live. That’s all.”

“Don’t kid yourself, Beth. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them.” He slid one hand beneath her hair, prepared to draw back if she made a protest. Instead, she looked up at him with curiosity and something more. It was that second emotion that stole his breath and made his hands shake.