The Rancher's Rules

Time to get a move on. She pulled the newspaper she had brought from town out of her book bag. Spreading it over the table, she searched for the rental ads. After circling as many likely possibilities as she could find, she started calling.

Twenty minutes later, she groaned in frustration as she crossed off the fifth ad in a row. No pets. Someone in this community must allow pets.

She needed a break. Time to shower and dress.

The hot spray felt heavenly against her body. She stood for several minutes, relaxing under the jets of water. She lathered her hair, enjoying the floral scent of her shampoo.

The sound of pounding penetrated her consciousness.

Someone was at the door. Grant.

Muttering an expletive that would have gotten her mouth washed out with soap as a child, she stepped out of the shower. She grabbed a bath towel and wrapped herself in it. Rushing to the door, she cursed Grant’s lousy timing.

The doorbell rang, and Zoe frowned. “Hold on. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Why was he being so impatient? It had to be pretty obvious she had not gone anywhere. Her truck was still outside. Flinging open the door, she said, “Jeesh. You didn’t need to pound the door down. I was in the sho…”

Her words trailed off when she realized that it was not Grant standing on the doorstep, but Tyler.

“Zoe, am I glad you are here. I need your help.”

Apparently oblivious to her state of undress, he shouldered past her into the kitchen. “Jenny isn’t speaking to me. You’ve got to fix it.” He sat down heavily in one of the kitchen chairs and dropped his head into his hands. “I don’t know what I’ll do if she breaks up with me.”

Zoe edged toward the hallway, tightening the towel around her. “I’ll get dressed and then we’ll talk.”

His head came up, his gray eyes looking right through her. “You’ve got to help me, Zoe. Jenny’s one of your friends and you introduced us.”

And that made her responsible for the health of their relationship? Evidently to Tyler it did. She sighed. Seeing Tyler’s tough-guy-in-leather persona dropped completely to reveal his vulnerability tugged at her heartstrings.

She edged one more step toward the hall. “I’ll help you. Don’t worry. Just let me get dressed.”

Tyler nodded. “Is that coffee I smell? I could really use a cup. I didn’t sleep at all last night.”

“Sure, the mugs are in the cupboard to the left of the sink. Help yourself.”

“Thanks.” He stood up and took a step, then stopped in the middle of the kitchen. His big shoulders started to shake. “I really love her.”

Zoe’s heart melted. She stepped forward and tugged Tyler back into his chair. Patting his shoulder, she said, “I know. It’s going to be all right. She cares about you too.”

Tyler used his fists to wipe the tears from his scruffy cheeks. “You think so?”

Remembering Jenny’s rapturous listing of Tyler’s attributes in the teacher’s lounge that week, Zoe smiled. “I know so.”

“Thanks.” He put his beefy arm around her and gave Zoe a rough hug. “You’re a good friend to have, Zoe.”

Using one hand to keep her towel firmly in place, Zoe put the other one around Tyler and hugged him back.

“What the hell is going on?”

Zoe jumped back from Tyler at the sound of Grant’s angry voice. Unfortunately, Tyler still had a grip on her, and her towel stayed with him. She screeched.

Grant bellowed.

Tyler looked past Zoe’s now naked body and said, “Hi, Jenny. What are you doing here?”

“I don’t know. I came to talk to my friend. At least I thought she was my friend. I did not expect to find her naked with you in the kitchen.”

Jenny spun around and ran out the door.

Tyler chased after Jenny, Zoe’s towel still dangling from his hand.

Zoe stood rooted. Shock warred with embarrassment at her predicament. Grant yanked the floral print tablecloth off the table and wrapped it around her shoulders.

“Get dressed.” He glared at her. “You can explain when you are decently covered.”

Still shocked from the unbelievable string of events in the kitchen, she did not register his words at first. She had returned to the bathroom, shut the door and dropped the tablecloth in a pile of purple pansies on the floor before she fully comprehended Grant’s imperious demand.

She did not owe him an explanation. Grant was her friend, not her lover. Hadn’t they established that yesterday?

Besides, it should have been obvious that she was not trying to seduce Tyler. The man was a basket case, and had taken off after Jenny without even a glimpse at Zoe’s naked body. If the facts did not speak for themselves, there was not much she could add to them. Jenny was another matter entirely. Zoe would have to explain everything to her friend and hope Jenny was rational enough to believe her.