AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So what has all of that got to do with my sleeping?”
Eugenia started singing off-key. “Buffalo gals, won’t you come out tonight. Come out tonight. Come out tonight.” The ghost cackled. “You’re going to be hearing that all night long for causing my grandson so much grief. Emily has packed up her stuff and she’s just about to pull out.”
“What? No,” Aunt Rose said, all but running to the door.
“Oh, yes, when you broke them up, she decided she’d had enough. Plus, my grandson broke her heart. He also told her to leave. So she’s gone. Thanks for interfering, Rose. You really don’t want the family line to continue, do you?”
“Of course, I do,” she said.
The ghost swirled from one end of the room to the other and Tanner recognized it was a sign she was furious.
“Then stop interfering with my matchmaking. You did that once before and look where it got you. An old maid.”
Aunt Rose’s face turned red, and she raised her fist at Eugenia. “You old witch, I’m going to call a ghost hunter and have them get rid of you.”
“Just try,” Eugenia said. “I’ll pull you into the grave with me.”
Aunt Rose took a step back. “Emily has left?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Damn it, she was the best cook our kitchen has ever had. Finally, I thought we were going to serve some fine cuisine. Finally, something besides barbecue,” Aunt Rose said.
Tanner closed his suitcase and started for the door.
“Stop,” Aunt Rose said. “This morning, I was feeling mighty cranky.”
“Just because you caused so much heartache,” Eugenia asked. “You need to wake up in a better mood. But your mood won’t improve for a while. Buffalo gals, won’t you come out tonight,” Eugenia sang.
His aunt Rose stomped her cane on the floor and leaned her hands on the wooden top.
“Look, I’m sorry about suspending you. Travis and Tanner, I know you two run the dude ranch. The others are window dressing, but you are the ones who always make certain the guests are taken care of. I was wrong to suspend you, especially now that I’ve learned how that damn bull escaped. And Tanner, you and Emily butted heads from the first time I saw the two of you together. But if you want to be together, I won’t stand in your way.”
“Nope, she’s gone,” Tanner said, anxiety filling him instead of relief. What in the hell had he done?
“Oh good grief,” Travis said. “You love Emily, and you’re just too damn stubborn to admit it. She’s the only one who has helped you. Damn, man, don’t give her up.”
Tanner felt tears well in his eyes. He did love Emily. All morning, he questioned what he’d done. All morning, he tried to believe he was doing it for her good, but he needed her.
“I’m just afraid. What if she gets pregnant? You’re going to be a great father. But me, what are my kids going to do with a father who every so often goes wacko?”
Travis smiled and shook his head at his brother.
“Kids adapt. They will love you for who you are. They will understand,” Eugenia said. “Your namesake experienced problems when he came home from the war and his wife and children were his everything. It will be the same with you.”
“Did he ever get over what the war did to him?”
“It took him awhile, but his lovely wife helped him, and they had a long happy life together,” Eugenia said.
Did he want Emily to leave?
No, he wanted Emily here by his side. He ran out the door and looked for her yellow bug sitting outside her cabin.
It was gone.
Just then a tractor pulling a load of hay backfired, the noise sounding like a hand grenade. The walls of the ranch disappeared and he was thrust back into the war zone. Combat raged around him and his best friend Brandon was beside him.
“This is crazy,” Brandon said. “We’re outnumbered two to one.”
