Chapter 1
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When the door opened at the top of the basement stairs, Sergeant Emerson Myers wasn’t surprised. This early in the morning, the old house creaked and groaned with every step someone took across its floors, and whoever had woken up had made her way from one of the upper rooms, down the main staircase, through the big kitchen at the back of the house to the basement door. He was sure it was a woman. The footsteps were far too light to be any of the men, but since five women currently resided in the house, that didn’t narrow it down too much.
He knew who he hoped it was, but Emerson figured she was still asleep. Wyoming Smith had moved to Two Willows several weeks ago when she’d lost her job. Best friends with Cass Lake—who’d been a Reed before she married and who had grown up on this ranch—Wye had happily joined the family to save money on rent and lend a hand around the house during Cass’s pregnancy. But she wasn’t usually the first one up in the mornings. Cass was. Emerson didn’t think it was Cass at the top of the stairs, though. Six months along, she had a heavier, more careful tread these days.
It wouldn’t be Sadie, either. She was always the last of the Reed sisters to get up. Jo had moved into the little house she and her husband, Hunter, had built. Lena, maybe? Had she heard him moving around and come to investigate? She was very protective of her home and family. Or maybe Alice?
Whoever it was pattered down the wooden stairs as he transferred his clothes from the washer to the dryer.
“Oh, you beat me to it,” Wyoming said when she stepped off the wooden staircase into the basement, a basket full of clothes on her hip. “I was hoping to throw a load in before Cass got started with her laundry.”
This was going to be a good day, Emerson told himself. Getting a minute alone with Wyoming was no mean feat with so many people living together at Two Willows. Any minute now, General Augustus Reed would wake up and start bellowing for his assistance. This was the General’s ranch, after all, and they were all here on his sufferance. Emerson had served with the General for years before a missile strike had sent them both home stateside with injuries. The General’s hip was healing slowly. Emerson’s ankle still bothered him—a lot—but he was able to get around enough to be helpful to his superior officer.
“Just switching my clothes to the dryer,” he told Wye, tossing the last of his things into the ancient machine and shutting the door. When he turned, he saw that she hadn’t dressed for the day yet. Clad in sweatpants and an overlarge, very faded baseball jersey from some local team, she looked sweet enough to give him a toothache. Her curly auburn hair was piled on top of her head in a knot, strands falling down to frame her face. He wished he had the right to cross the room, hitch his fingers into the waistband of those baggy sweats and pull her close.
Instead he waved at the empty washing machine. “All yours.”
Wyoming crossed the room and set her basket down in front of it. “You’re up early.”
“So are you.” She was right; it was very early. No one else was stirring, and in a house full of military men and ranch women, that was saying something. He was glad for the time alone with Wyoming. He didn’t get enough of that, and she’d been skittish around him lately. He’d never hidden his interest in her, and they’d been friendly since they’d met a little more than a month ago, but until recently she’d been too busy to notice him, caught up in a flirtation with Will Beck, who’d spent days trying to fix Two Willows’ plumbing last month.
Unfortunately, it turned out Will wasn’t a plumber at all. He was a drug dealer intent on wreaking vengeance against all of them for foiling his plans to use the ranch as a distribution center when he moved his operation into the area.
Will was dead now, leaving Wyoming devastated she’d chosen so badly, and for the first few days after the trouble with him went down, Wyoming had declared she was done with men forever. She’d calmed down since then and he thought once or twice he’d felt her considering gaze on him, but he didn’t want to catch Wye on the rebound; he wanted her to want him in the same way he craved her.
Which was a lot.
His desire had hit him edgewise the first time he’d seen Wye, sharp and hot and all-consuming, as if he’d starved for weeks and caught sight of a three-course dinner. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised at his reaction. He’d watched the General send man after man home to marry his daughters, had watched Reed privately celebrate each nuptial. Had wondered long and hard why the General had never seen fit to send him—
Now he knew it was all for the best. The General’s daughters were wonderful women, but they couldn’t hold a candle to Wyoming, to his way of thinking. He was grateful she’d come to join him instead of turning around and heading right back upstairs. He was nothing like Will, and he meant her no harm. He had a feeling he and Wye could be good together if she’d relax around him long enough for them to get to know each other.
“We’ve got a wedding today,” she said conversationally. “As soon as people wake up, it’s going to be hectic around here.”
“That’s why I’m getting my laundry done now.” Emerson made it a practice to minimize his effect on the family as much as possible. He was all too aware that his tenure here could be cut short at any time if the General stopped needing his services, and the uncertainty of his future pained him more than his busted ankle. He couldn’t return to active duty, and he had nowhere else to go. Emerson wasn’t the panicking type, but he didn’t even want to consider the pathways open to him if the General cast him off.
He definitely didn’t want to leave Montana without getting to know Wye better.
“You’re a handy guy around the house,” Wye observed.
Emerson waited a beat, not sure if that was praise or a subtle dig. “The Army doesn’t offer maid service.”
She nodded. “You don’t complain about it, though. Most men do.”
He wondered if there was some man in particular she was thinking about. The other men at Two Willows had all served in the military, and although Cass tended to take on most of the household chores, that was a matter of choice, not one that was forced on her. Cass didn’t like ranch work. She gladly cooked and cleaned in return for not being asked to muck stalls or other work with the ranch critters. Her sisters Lena, Sadie and Jo were much more apt to get their hands dirty with the men. Alice, on the other hand, tended to hole up in her studio above the carriage house and immerse herself in creating the costumes she sold.
“What’s the point of complaining? A chore is a chore. Best to just get it done.” Emerson turned the dryer on and leaned against it. “I think Cass is really glad to have you around to help her these days.”
“I’m trying to do enough to earn my keep.” Wye got the load of wash going. “I don’t like that the Reeds won’t let me pay rent.”
“I hear that. I’m looking for ways to earn my keep, too.” He’d give anything to get to stay at Two Willows long term, but if the General did his physical therapy exercises, soon enough he wouldn’t need an assistant.
“I think everyone appreciates you running interference for the General. The Reeds are an interesting bunch.”