Travis leaned back in the booth and reached for his coffee, silent after he’d slid Dani the letter. His time in Florida helping his buddy at the RV resort he owned had been a nice break from his real life, and it had been interesting to hang out in the evenings with the folks who were enjoying winter on the Florida coast.

When the Westons asked if he might be willing to drive their new truck to somewhere in Idaho, he’d jumped at the chance. He didn’t have any family, not even a permanent home. His buddy had offered him a place to stay during his racing hiatus in return for some help in his mechanic shop, but this sounded like fun. So he said yes—and his only job was to deliver the letter and the truck, so he just sat back and watched the pretty woman across from him as she wrestled with herself. Her eyes were crystal blue, like her sister’s but more guarded, and he squinted at her, trying to read her. Her expression flitted from annoyed, to sad, to curious and back to annoyed before she reached for the envelope and ripped it open.

He leaned forward, his elbows on the table as she read the letter. When she’d finished, her expression had definitely settled on annoyed.

She folded the letter and put it in her pocket before she rubbed her forehead. Travis didn’t know this woman at all, but he found himself intrigued with the way her short hair brushed over her forehead and he really, truly wanted to know what she was thinking. Her mother had described her as very standoffish, not a people person, and he could see her raise her guard and lean back in the booth before she turned her beautiful, blue eyes on him—and already the veil had descended.

“Everything all right?” he asked. He couldn’t tell if she was upset, exactly, and didn’t know her well enough to poke any further.

“Sure. Yep, right as rain,” she said with a wry laugh. “It says you have something else for me.”

He’d forgotten completely about the little velvet bag Mrs. Weston had handed him just before he’d left and he rummaged in his coat pocket for it, setting it on the table.

“If she says yes, give her this, please,” Mrs. Weston had said. “No telling what she’ll say, actually.”

He had no idea what was in the bag, or what was in the letter, for that matter, although they’d both almost burned a whole in his pocket during the drive from Florida. A fleeting desire to ask washed over him and he dismissed it—none of his business. He was just passing through.

“Thanks,” Dani said as she reached for the velvet bag, turning it over in her hands before she pulled the drawstring open. She dumped the contents into her hand—a big key, like one of those old skeleton keys he’d seen on TV. She held it up to the light streaming in from the window and sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before she put the key back in the bag, drew it shut and put it in her pocket along with the letter.

He looked up at the counter toward Kelsi, who turned away quickly as her eyes grew wide.

“Anything you want to talk about?” he asked softly.

“No, no. Thanks. I actually have to get over to the Main House. My brother Wade had a health scare yesterday and I’m taking over for him this week as well as my normal job here at the ranch.”

“Oh? What’s your normal job?” he couldn’t help asking, knowing he should let her get on with her business.

She paused and her eyes met his. She almost looked surprised that he’d asked and seemed to wrestle for a moment with her response.

After a moment, she said, “I’m in charge of inventory here at the ranch, but I consider my main job the search and rescue team for the ranch and the surrounding area.”

“Ah. Rescue. That sounds dangerous and exciting. Nothing like a good adrenaline rush.”

She smiled a little and her blue eyes sparkled.

“Yeah, I guess so. Helping people is very rewarding—and then there are the helicopter rides. A lot more fun than ordering onions for Bob over there, that’s for sure.”

“I bet. Well, I’ll let you get on with your day. Mission accomplished on my end.”

Dani stood and dropped her napkin on her empty plate. “Okay, well, thanks. I’ll comp the check. Tell my parents I said hello when you see them, and that I’ll get to it as soon as I can. Won’t be this week, I’m sure. But I’ll try.”

He had no idea what she was talking about, and she stood and crossed over to have a brief word with Kelsi, who asked her several questions before she left. Dani looked over in his direction and shrugged before she headed out the door.

Kelsi shook her head and crossed over to him. “I’m sorry, she can be a little abrupt. Thank you for delivering the truck and whatever else you brought.”

“Oh, right. I forgot all about the truck.” He rummaged in his pocket yet again and pulled out the keys, and an envelope with all the title information. “Here’s everything about the truck. The tank’s full. Guess it’s yours now.”

Kelsi glanced out the window at the Dodge Ram and then back to him. “What am I supposed to do with it?”

“I don’t know,” he said, laughing as he pulled his cap down over his forehead. “My job is done.”

“I—well, what are you going to do now?”

He rubbed his chin. “Not sure. Your parents said you have a ton of Christmas stuff going on, and in the snow to boot. I’ve never really been in the snow much and it kind of sounded like fun to hang around for a little while. Your folks mentioned you might have a room.”

“You don’t have family you need to be with at Christmas?” Kelsi asked slowly.

He shook his head as his face flushed. He had been hoping she wouldn’t ask. He remembered the pity on Mrs. Weston’s face when he’d told her he didn’t have any family, and he hated when that happened. It just was the way it was for him, and he’d long ago stopped thinking about it, so he hated that it made other people feel bad.

“Nope, nowhere to go and nowhere else I’d rather be,” he said with a wide smile, which seemed to remove the concern from Kelsi’s eyes.

“Well, Dani could have helped you with all that,” she said, “But Maggy and I will handle it.” She patted her tummy as she looked back over to the cash register.

“I thought the baby’s name was Sophronia.”

Her eyebrows rose. “That was before breakfast. I changed my mind,” she said as she held up the truck keys. “Hey, since you’re going to stay for a while, would you mind taking the truck over to my brother Wyatt at the stable? He’ll know what to do with it. Meantime, I’ll try to get you settled in a room. Or somebody will.”

“Sure,” he said. Kelsi and Dani weren’t very tall, and he certainly didn’t want a petite pregnant lady trying to climb in that big truck, so he’d feel good about delivering it where they wanted it to be.

She drew a quick map on a napkin and handed it to him with a smile. “I’ll give him a call and let him know to expect you. And if Dani didn’t have the good manners to thank you, we sure do appreciate your help.”

“Ah, no sweat. I’m off season anyway, and I thought it’d be fun. And so far, it has been,” he said as he took the keys and the paperwork.

“Very nice of you.”

Kelsi walked back toward the front of the cafe with him, and he tipped his hat before turning up his collar again. If he was going to stay, he’d need some warmer clothes for sure.

“Hey, any place close by I could buy some clothes, or some boots, maybe? These Florida deck shoes aren’t going to work for me here, as you saw earlier.”

Kelsi pointed toward some buildings that looked to him like maybe Tombstone would, or Deadwood. The Westons hadn’t mentioned an old west town, but he did see the towering pine tree in the middle that they had said was part of a very old decorating tradition.

“Right over there. The general store has some merchandise that might help. Heidi will help you. But go see Wyatt first. He can tell you what you should get, and a little bit about what it’ll be like around here for the next couple weeks.”

“Thank you.” He tipped the brim of his hat at Kelsi and pushed open the door, buttoning his light coat tightly before he rushed toward the truck. Mrs. Weston had told him he’d love it here at River’s End Ranch, and as he glanced up at the towering mountains, the clouds pouring over and threatening even more snow, he thought she just might be right.