This animal wasnt a pet? Jake watched as the moose shook his head again, no longer threatening. The poor guy looked contrite before he ambled off in the direction of the lawn, as if he were going to wait there for his feed.
Thank the Lord no one was hurtincluding the moose. Jake straightened, dropped the rock and considered his unlikely rescuer. Rachel was not what he expected. Ben talked about his sisters a lot, and it had been clear that he was closest to Rachel.
She looked like her picture. Ben had had family pictures in his dorm during their training years and later in his duplex in the years that followed. All of Bens sisters were pretty. Rachels picture had always given him the impression of a demure and introverted young woman, an innocent and a wallflower. Not someone who bossed moose around or had a sparkle to her soul that made him keep looking.
Uncle Jake? a small, candy-sweet voice asked from the back seat of the Jeep. I wanna pet the deer.
Its a moose, Sally baby, he answered without taking his gaze off of Rachel McKaslin as she held her broom like an M-4. Its a wild animal. Wed be smart to stay back and give it room.
Oh. All right. Her sigh was a wistful sound of disappointment.
Hed been hearing that sound a lot over the past few days since hed come to take charge of Sally. Hed been pulled off active duty in Iraq, and he was still in shock.
One day hed been rescuing a pair of captured marines and the next day hed been on a cargo plane to the States with the news his sister had been in an accident, had died and been buried. And he was not only the executor of her estate, but the sole remaining family that his little niece had.
The trouble was, hed been stateside four days, and it hadnt been time enough to settle his sisters estate, and already his colonel wanted to know when he could get back to active duty.
And Sallyhow did he comfort a grieving child? He was a rough-and-tumble Special Forces soldier. As a para-rescue jumper, or PJ, he knew how to jump out of an airplane from twenty-five thousand feet, parachute in and set up a perimeter, execute a mission without a single mishap.
He had Sally, but what was he going to do? It had him stumped.
As if he didnt have enough on his mind, the moose was still glaring angrily at the Jeep from his field. Maybe it was the color that was making him so angry. While the animal had backed away, he hadnt backed down. He still swung his head from side to side and pawed the ground. The Jeep was definitely in danger.
But was Rachel?
You stay belted in, Sally. He shut the door, leaving her safe and considered Rachel McKaslin, his best buddys little sister. She was out in the open and unconcerned. Did she know the threat? He stalked the good five yards separating them, keeping a close watch on that moose.
Rachel lowered her broom. Im sorry. I should have anticipated this. Bullwinkle does this every evening.
Bullwinkle?
Its just what I call him. I should have fed him and the horse earlier, and you wouldnt have been so rudely welcomed.
I thought you said he wasnt your pet.
Not a pet, no, more like a sometimes friendly, sometimes not, wild animal whos decided to take up residence around here and chase the horses away from his grain trough. Hes a pushy moose.
Pushy, huh? Jake paced closer to protect Rachel, watching as the moose lowered his head and started to charge. Great. On a mission, Jake was prepared for every contingency. He just hadnt thought hed have to be on alert on a simple trip down a gravel driveway. Want to give me that broom? It looks like hes coming in for round two.
I can take care of him.
Jakes hand shot out and he had the broom before she could blink.
Hey! You took my broom.
I did.
But its my moose. I can handle him.
Im trained to serve and protect, so I might as well make myself useful. The handle was solid hardwood. Hed excelled at hand-to-hand combat. Rachel, stay behind me.
Youre a little bossy, too. Its a moose, not war.
Everythings war, pretty lady. He timed the mooses gait, waited until the huge ungainly creature was coming head-on and then shot out and rapped him on the nose.
Big nostrils flared, the moose skidded to a stop and shook his head.
That smarted, didnt it? Jake kept the broom at the ready. Do you need another smack?
The mooses eyes rolled in anger.
Uh-oh. Maybe that wasnt the best course of action. It works with sharks who get a little too aggressive.
Smacking them in the nose?
Yep. It works every time.
Hes pushy, but mostly harmless. All I need to do is get him some grain. Wait here. With you at my back to cover me with a broom, I feel perfectly safe. She sauntered away, as if without a care in the world.
He was a soldier with fifteen years of experience spent in parts of this world few Americans saw. Hed seen evil, touched evil and battled it. Real evil. And he had the scars to prove it. Even remembering made his heart ache.
He was glad that Rachel McKaslins biggest problem at the moment was her semi-pet moose. There was peace and goodness in this world. It didnt hurt that he got to see a rare glimpse of it before he headed back to guard this countrys freedom.
It didnt hurt to see what he was fighting for.
Chapter Two
Could she see Jake from here? Rachel absently unsnapped the grain barrels lid and stood on tiptoe. Her attention was elsewhere, straining to see across the aisle, through Nuggets box stall and past the open top of the half door.
Nope. No such luck. She saw plenty of sky and maple trees and the lawn in front of the house. But no Jake.
Pity, since he was such a sight. She had the right to look because he hadnt been wearing a wedding ring. He was pleasing to the eye, pleasing in the way God intended a man to be. But there was more to him, and that was the attractive partMr. Jake Hathaway, Special Forces hero, defending and protecting.
He sure had seemed to be in control. He had to be to participate in all kinds of secret missions in the military. Handling a moose was no challenge for him. Hed tossed that rock as easily as if hed been skimming stones on a pond and expertly enough so that hed winged the animal on his antler and hadnt caused any real harm.
And just what did he think of her? Please, dont let him think Im a nut bar. She rolled her eyes as she removed the lid and reached for the scoop. She was still wearing her fuzzy bunny slippers!
She hadnt had a chance to run a brush through her hair or change out of her comfy after-work clothes. So she wasnt exactly looking her best; she was more like looking her worst.
Great way to make a first impression.
This was the reason she didnt have a boyfriend. She kept scaring them off. That was why she made sure, when she prayed for the right man to come along, that he have a sense of humor.
He would definitely need it.
She grabbed a pail from the shelf, dumped in three scoops of sweet-smelling grain and sealed the bin. Nugget was leaning over the side doorway, nickering in hopes of an early supper, poor guy. After leaving him with promises of grain to come, she hurried with the small bucket down the aisle and crawled through the paddock fence that faced the driveway.
Jake was still wielding the broom defensively, but the moose was a little farther off with his head down and snorting. Obviously there had been some action while shed been in the barn. Before the big creature could charge again, she held the pail high and shook it.
The resulting ring of grain striking the side of the bucket brought the mooses head up. He studied the bright red Jeep gleaming like a big bulls-eye, and then turned to look at the bucket she held. To help him along with his decision to choose the grain over the vehicle, she shook the pail harder and hurried toward him.
Give that to me and stay back. Jake seemed to take his self-assigned role of defender seriously.
Maybe it was because he thought a woman wearing big long-eared slippers might not be tough. Well, she wasnt afraid of a wild moose. She ignored Jakes advice, she was sure it was well meaning, but really, it wasnt as if she hadnt dealt with this situation before. She marched across the road and upended the bucket on the ground. The grain pellets tumbled and rushed into a molasses-scented pile in a bed of wild grasses, and the moose came running.
With her empty bucket banging against her knee, she hurried back onto the graveled lane as the moose attacked the pile as if he hadnt eaten in five weeks.
A little theatrical for a moose, but hes mostly harmless, she told Jake, whod rushed to her side looking pretty angry. He didnt take a liking to your Jeep, though. Id move it into the garage if I were you, while hes distracted.
I cant believe you did that. He stood between her and the moose. You could have been killed. More people are killed every year in the Iditarod by moose than by all other predators combined, including wolves and mountain lions. You might treat him like a pet, but hes still dangerous and unpredictable.
She grabbed hold of her broom and was surprised at how worked up he was. She could sense how hed been afraid for her safety, that was why he was all agitated. She didnt know why she could feel his emotions or his intent. Maybe she was reading a lot into his behavior, but it was hard to be upset with a man who only wanted to protect her. Even if it was unnecessary, it was well-intentioned.
And wasnt such goodness what shed been praying for in a man? Not that he was The One, but still, a girl had to hope. Ill run ahead and open the garage door for you, and Ill fix you a supper to remember. Is it a deal?
Thats a pretty tall order, but Id sure appreciate it. He didnt take his steely gaze from the gobbling moose. I dont get home-cooked dinners very often.
Then Ill see you at the house.
His attention remained on his adversary as he backed toward his vehicle. Are you sure you dont want a ride? Youd be safer.
I dont think so. How could it be safer to be in close quarters with the handsome, hunky, Special Forces soldier?
She glanced over her shoulder before she stepped into the garage through the side door. She could barely see the driveway over the top of Moms Climbing Blaze, the shower of red roses nearly hiding Jakes SUV as he guided it forward at a slow pace, as if expecting the worst.
She couldnt see through the glare on the windshield as the Jeep hugged the lazy curve of driveway along the edge of the lawn, but she imagined Jake was watching the road out of the corner of his eye and keeping a close watch on the moose.
All was well. The wild animal stayed crunching away at his diminishing pile of grain, his jowls working overtime. It looked as if the Jeep was out of danger for the time being, so she hit the button and the garage door groaned upward.
Jakes vehicle was right outside, waiting as the door lifted the last bit. The glare on the windshield had lessened and she could see his silhouette behind the wheel. He was tall. Now that she had a chance to think about it, she remembered looking at the upper span of his chest when shed stood facing him.
He was really tall, she amended. At least six, six-one.
The vehicle rolled to a stop and she hit the button again. The garage door hid the moose from sight. It didnt hurt a girl to dream, Rachel decided as she backed through the threshold that led through the utility room and into the kitchen, sizing up the man.
He definitely looked like a beef-and-potatoes guy. Maybe shed take another pass through the freezer and find that roast she knew was in there
The vehicles door opened, but it wasnt Jakes door. It was the one directly behind it. What? That didnt make any sense. Jake was still clearly sitting behind the wheel. She could see him perfectly through the windshield with the dome light backlighting him. He sat soldier-straight and commando-powerful.
There was someone else with him? Her brother hadnt mentioned a second buddy coming in for the wedding that shed have to feed, too. Not that she minded, but Her thoughts stopped dead at the sight of a little girl climbing down from the back of the SUV.
Jake had a daughter? She was the cutest little thing, all spindly arms and legs and a cloud of chocolate-brown curls. She had to be about seven or eight and stylish in her matching pink-and-teal shirt and shorts set. Matching sandals with tassels decorated her feet, and a pair of pink barrettes were stuck into her thick, beautiful hair. Costume jewelry dangled from her wrist and her neck, and she held a tattered purple bunny that had seen much better days.
Oh, she was a sucker for kids. Suddenly it made sense that shed found the Popsicles. It was as if one of Gods angels was giving her a clue. Now there was a treat waiting for this adorable little girl. Determined to be friends, Rachel gave a little wave. Hi there. Im Rachel.
The little girl stared with big, wide, shy eyes and ducked back behind her open door for safety.
I know just how you feel. Rachel had been shy every day of her life. Her heart squeezed for the little girl, who had to be feeling out of her element.
Then Jake emerged, shrinking the cavernous size of the triple garage with his sheer magnetic presence. He held out one big hand, gentle despite his size. Cmon, Sally baby. This is Bens sister I told you about.
Kay. She took Jakes hand and let him lead her through the garage. The little girl looked resigned and not happy.
Determined to cheer her up, Rachel offered the child her friendliest smile, but the girl intentionally sent her gaze upward, looking around at the various shelves of tools, lawn stuff, Bens old hunting gear and every imaginable outdoor activity stored overhead in the raftersfrom the canoe to the cross-country skis.
Jake, however, did return her grin. He had a nice grin, one that softened the hard granite of his chiseled face and etched dimples into his lean cheeks. I dont know if Ben mentioned I had Sally in tow with me. I had planned on picking her up after the wedding, but things didnt work out that way.
Oh, divorce, Rachel guessed. Shared custody. That couldnt be easy for anyone involved. No problem. Life rarely works out the way you think it will. I was just about to defrost a roast. If I can find it. So that will be enough for all three of us. Sally, may I ask you something?
The little girl nodded, her pretty emerald eyes wide and somber.
Do you and your bunny want to help me pick out what kind of potatoes to make?
Another shy nod.
Excellent. Are you a mashed-potatoes kind of girl? Or do you like Tater Tots?