Her Perfect Match

Successful businessman Griffin Haddon just wants a quiet place to start over again…alone. Griff doesn’t realize that in a small town like Serendipity, Texas, solitude’s hard to come by. Especially at Redemption Ranch, where the stunning Alexis Grainger struggles to keep her ministry for troubled teens afloat. The last thing Alexis needs is a distraction like slick city-boy Griff with his designer jeans and boots. But her meddling, matchmaking twin has other plans. As Alexis and Griff work to save the ranch, can they also heal his broken heart?

Serendipity Sweethearts:

Three small-town matchmakers

finding Texas-size love.

“I’m amazed at how you’ve turned these kids around.”

Griff shook his head and grunted softly. “I remember how unruly they were at that first dinner with you.”

Alexis choked on a laugh. “Them? I remember how unruly you were at that first dinner.”

Griff blushed. “Touché.”

“You’ve improved some upon acquaintance.” Her lips quirked.

He smiled crookedly, his gaze warm and inviting. “You haven’t.”

“Gee, thanks,” she quipped back at him. The way he was looking at her was causing her stomach to do all kinds of crazy somersaults.

“And by that,” he drawled lightly, “I mean you are already perfect the way you are.”

“Flattery, my dear man, will get you everywhere.”

“Is that so?” He planted his cowboy hat on his head and winked. “I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

“Don’t get lost,” she teased.

“Same to you. I know how massive piles of paperwork can bury a person.”

“I won’t,” she murmured belatedly as she watched Griff walk away.

Even as she said it, she knew it wasn’t quite true. She was getting lost, but it wasn’t the paperwork she was worried about.

She was in danger of losing her heart.

DEB KASTNER

lives and writes in colorful Colorado with the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains for inspiration. She loves writing for Love Inspired Books, where she can write about her two favorite things—faith and love. Her characters range from upbeat and humorous to (her favorite) dark and broody heroes. Her plots fall anywhere in between, from a playful romp to the deeply emotional. Deb’s books have been twice nominated for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Book of the Year for Love Inspired. Deb and her husband share their home with their two youngest daughters. Deb is thrilled about the newest member of the family—her first granddaughter, Isabella. What fun to be a granny! Deb loves to hear from her readers. You can contact her by email at debwrtr@aol.com, or on her MySpace or Facebook pages.

Redeeming the Rancher

Deb Kastner

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

—Matthew 5:3–8

To Natasha Kern, my fabulous agent.

I’m so grateful for all the invaluable career guidance you offer. You are a special and remarkable person who is such a blessing to me in so many ways. Thanks for believing in me.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Dear Reader

Extract

Chapter One

Alexis Grainger awoke to the smell of bacon and the tinny sound of pots and pans being shifted around in one of the kitchen cupboards. It might have been a pleasant surprise—if it wasn’t for the fact that she lived alone.

With a start, she bolted out of bed, shakily wrapping a plush magenta-colored cotton robe around herself. She reached for her cell phone, which she usually kept on the nightstand, but it wasn’t there. Her pulse ratcheted up right along with her thoughts. Where was her stupid phone? In her purse? Her coat pocket? Not good either way, since she routinely dumped them both in an inglorious heap on one of her kitchen chairs.

Her heart slammed in her chest as she looked around for anything she could use as a weapon against the intruder. In a panic, she swiped the largest item from her vanity and tucked it into the pocket of her bathrobe.

Oh, why didn’t she keep a baseball bat by her bed?

Maybe because she didn’t play baseball. And maybe because she resided in small town Serendipity, Texas. Crime was virtually nonexistent here. Only businesses secured their doors at night. Regular townsfolk rarely bothered to lock their cars, much less their houses. There was simply no need.

At least until now there wasn’t. She sucked in a breath and held it. She had locked her door last night, hadn’t she?

Yes. Of course she had. Or at least, she thought she had, since her ranch was also technically a nonprofit ministry. Out of habit, if nothing else. Oh, Lord, please let there be a rational answer. But how else would someone have gotten in? Only her twin sister,

Vivian, had a key.

Vivian.

Alexis let out the breath she’d been holding and her shoulders sagged in relief.

Of course. It had to be Vivian, even though Alexis hadn’t expected to see her. Vivian was busy in Houston trying to get her new business off the ground and didn’t have time to make the commute home more than a few times a year, but it was the only explanation that made sense.

For about one second.

Until she remembered that Vivian could not and did not cook.

At all. Ever. Period. Exclamation point.

Alexis dearly loved her sister, but she had no qualms admitting that the woman couldn’t even boil water, much less cook bacon.

Then again, house thieves didn’t pause to cook themselves a meal, either; at least none that Alexis had ever heard of.

Rational explanation, Alexis, she coached herself. Don’t panic. Don’t freak out.

Despite her efforts to be quiet, she couldn’t contain the shaky laugh that tittered from under her breath, more nervous than amused, as she pictured a thief cooking breakfast in her kitchen. Barefoot and silent against the hardwood floor, she crept down the hallway toward the kitchen. The light was on, bacon was crackling on the stove and someone was humming.

A male someone.

Definitely not Vivian, then.

Alexis plastered herself to the wall, her breath coming in short gasps, her skin burning as if it was on fire. Even though she’d doubted the mystery intruder was Vivian, she’d still held out hope that there was nothing more sinister at work here than her sister fresh off a cooking class. But there was a man in her kitchen. And he appeared to be making himself at home.

What on earth?

Her pulse was pounding in her ears, nearly drowning out the sound of the mystery man. She was going to be in full-out panic mode if she hesitated much longer. Before she could think better of it, her fist circled around the makeshift weapon in her pocket and she sprang forward, brandishing the flat-iron wand in front of her like a sword.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my house?” she demanded with a good deal more bravado than she actually felt. If her voice came out a little high and squeaky, who could blame her?

The tall man hovering over the oven had been humming a pleasant tune to himself, but when he heard her voice he jumped back in surprise. He dropped the tongs he was holding and they clattered into the pan, spraying grease over his exposed left hand. He howled in protest and shook his wrist, then nursed his knuckle between his lips.

“Who am I?” he growled as he swiveled around to face her. “The better question would be…” The man’s sentence drifted off into a strained silence and his dark brows lowered over gray-blue eyes. He shook his head, clearly bewildered.

“I asked you a question.” Alexis lifted her weapon and took a defensive stance.

“Vivian? What are you doing here?” He hesitated a moment, his head tilting as he scrutinized her features. Uncertainty flashed in his eyes. “You’re not Vivian.”

Alexis sighed in relief and let her posture relax a bit. If the man knew her sister, then he probably wasn’t a thief, although what he was doing making breakfast in her kitchen was still a mystery.

That said, she was impressed that he could tell her apart from Vivian. Most folks couldn’t, at least not right away. It wasn’t the first time she’d ever been mistaken for her twin sister and it probably wouldn’t be the last. But she reminded herself not to give him too much credit. Since this man knew Vivian, he’d probably realized his mistake in calling Alexis by her sister’s name as soon as he saw the complete lack of recognition on her face.

He was clearly out of his element, and not just because he was cooking up a meal in her kitchen as if he owned it. She guessed him to be in his mid-thirties and well-to-do. Thick dark hair threaded with the occasional touch of silver lent him a sophisticated air. Everything about the guy screamed city boy, from the spit-shine of his black cowboy boots to the designer scarf draped around his neck.

Designer clothing. On a guy. In Serendipity, Texas. He might as well have a Kick Me sign on his back. Men around here wore the scuffs in their boots like trophies.

“Alexis,” she corrected. “Grainger. Vivian’s twin sister.”

“Alexis? A-Alex?” he stammered. “I… I’m, uh…”

“Confused, obviously.” No one ever called her Alex, for one thing.

He nodded adamantly. “Yes, there is that. Were you—” he gestured toward her hand, one corner of his lip rising “—planning to stab me with your curling iron?”

Heat flooded her face as she hastily lowered her “weapon.” She stuffed the flat-iron wand back into her bathrobe pocket, frantically looping the uncooperative tail around her palm. The cord stubbornly refused to follow and it took a humiliating length of time to complete the action. Her cheeks were positively burning by the time she finished.

“Yes. No,” she stammered, shaking her head and scowling at the unwanted intruder. So he wasn’t a random stranger but rather a friend of her sister’s. That didn’t mean he was welcome to barge into her home at a ridiculous hour of the morning. “Maybe. I thought you were a burglar.”

Alexis didn’t like the way the stranger flustered her with his sharp gaze. She liked it even less when he burst into laughter at her expense.

“Lady, if I was intent on swiping your possessions or causing you bodily harm, you would have been a lot smarter to sneak out the front door, get yourself to safety and call the cops on me. I’m guessing most criminal types wouldn’t be deterred by your curling iron, no matter how bravely brandished.”

His eyes flooded with amusement, but there was something else there, too.

Admiration.

The nerve of the man.

“Well, you’re not here to steal my things or to hurt me, now, are you?” she demanded, annoyed that she continued to wrestle with the ridiculous inclination to defend her actions. Why should she? He was the one who was trespassing.

“No, ma’am, I’m not.”

“It’s a good thing for you I didn’t call the police or you’d be in handcuffs right now. You should be thanking me, not giving me a hard time.”

“Thank you,” he said, sounding as if it were more of a concession to her than a heartfelt expression of gratitude. His lips quirked as he wiped his greasy palm against the black denim on his thigh. He extended his hand. “Griff Haddon, at your service.”

“At my service? Really? I was under the impression you were helping yourself to breakfast.” She ignored his outstretched hand and crossed her arms, not caring if the gesture looked defensive. Why should she care what he thought?

“I brought my own food.” He gestured to a canvas bag tipped flat on the counter, spilling a carton of eggs and a loaf of bread.

“How reassuring.”

He frowned. “Obviously there’s been a misunderstanding here.”

“Oh, I believe I understand just fine, or at least I can take a good stab at it. If I don’t miss my guess, you’re making yourself at home in my house because of something my ditzy sister said or did. What’s lacking here is communication, a fact I’m going to rectify at my earliest convenience. I have a few words to exchange with my dear sister. I’m assuming she loaned you the key to our house?”

He scoffed and shook his head. “I’m glad you seem to think you’ve got a handle on what’s happening, because I certainly don’t. Yes, your sister gave me the key to the house, but in my defense, I was given to understand it would be empty. And for the record, I thought Vivian’s sibling was a guy.”

“I’m not, obviously.”

“Obviously,” he agreed wryly, his gaze altering as he swept a glance over her that made her skin prickle. She was relieved when he shifted his attention back to the stove and the bacon, which had burned down to shriveled, blackened crisps. Smoke was billowing from the pan. Griff snapped the knob on the burner off with a grunt.

“I’m surprised the fire alarm didn’t go off,” she said with a chuckle. Not that she’d noticed the food smoking any more than he had. She’d been too intent on Griff’s presence to pay attention to anything else. Her house could have blazed down around them and she would have been oblivious.

“Sure, just rub it in,” he muttered crossly as he wrapped a towel around the handle and removed the skillet from the burner. “There goes my breakfast, and after I drove half the night to get here in the first place,” he added in disgust. “Oh, well. It is what it is. Where do you keep the trash can?”

Alexis leaned her hip against the table. Now it was her turn to be amused. “Under the sink. But there’s no sense throwing perfectly good meat away, even if it’s burned to a crisp.” She couldn’t help but rub it in a little bit. “I’ve got a few dogs out back that’ll be happy to chow down on that bacon. If you hand me the skillet I’ll take care of it.”

“Dogs, huh?” he said, gingerly transferring the pan to her, towel and all. “Good thing I didn’t run into them. They probably would have believed I was an intruder, as well.”

“Good thing,” she agreed, opening the back door and depositing the contents of the skillet into one of the dog dishes just to the right of the door. Good thing for him, anyway. In her mind, he was an intruder of sorts, even if he had no intention of making off with her flat-screen television. He was lucky she wasn’t the type of woman to sic her dogs on him.

“Coffee cups?” Griff asked when she returned. “Once I’ve got some caffeine in me, I’ll explain what I know and maybe you can fill in the rest. After that, I guess we’ll decide what we’re going to do about this…situation.”

She pointed to the cabinet above the microwave. What did he mean, decide what they were going to do? He was going to leave, thank you very much, and the sooner, the better—like, as soon as he had coffee in his system.

“It’s hazelnut coffee. Cream or sugar?”

“Black, thank you.”

He retrieved two mugs and poured the steaming coffee, then offered her one and gestured her to a seat on the bench side of the small breakfast nook table she kept in one corner. The larger table, where she usually took meals with her kids from the ranch, was located in the dining room. Her house was usually brimming with troubled teenagers, but this was the weekend between Mission Months and all was uncharacteristically quiet.

He waited until Alexis was seated before sliding into the chair opposite her and capturing her gaze with his.

“So let me get this straight,” Alexis began, diving straight to the point. “Vivian loaned you her key and led you to believe the house was vacant.” She cupped her mug in both hands and breathed in the rich hazelnut scent. “And you’re looking for—what? A vacation? Some time away from the hustle and bustle of Houston?”

The left side of his lips twitched. “It’s a little more complicated than that.” He threaded his fingers through the tips of his dark salt-and-pepper hair, spiking the ends even more than they already were. “I’m looking to settle down, take a permanent vacation from the rat race, so to speak. Buy a ranch. Raise some horses.”

He was a little too young to be thinking of retiring. In fact, he was a lot too young. Yet the sheer determination on his face gave Alexis no room for doubt that he meant what he said. If he was looking for peace and quiet, Serendipity was the perfect town for it—but really, what could this city boy possibly know about ranching? He would crash and burn in a week on a working ranch.

Wait. He wanted to buy a ranch?

Her heart sank. Oh, no. What had Vivian done?

“You’re not thinking of buying Redemption Ranch, are you?” Alexis’s voice squeaked out an octave higher than usual. With the financial troubles she’d been facing recently, losing her childhood home was at the forefront of her mind. Unless she could find a new source of capital, there was a very great possibility her worst case scenario was about to become a reality and she wouldn’t be able to afford to keep the place running. But she wasn’t ready to sell yet—or ever, if she could avoid it. Ugly knots formed in her gut. Surely her sister hadn’t suggested that their land might be for sale. Yes, the land belonged to both of them but Alexis was the one who was actually doing something with it. Vivian was self-absorbed, but not so much that she didn’t understand what the ranch meant to Alexis.

No ranch, no ministry.

Alexis had done everything in her power to see that Vivian could follow her dreams. She’d sacrificed everything—possibly even her own hopes and plans. It looked that way right now, in any case.

Griff chuckled and held up a hand, bringing Alexis’s attention back to the present. “As I assured you earlier, I’m not here to swipe anything, and I’m not the least bit interested in your home, stealing or buying. Vivian told me all about the area, and it sounded like the perfect place to settle down. I’m looking for something in or around Serendipity. Vivian kindly offered to allow me to stay at the ranch while I searched for a place of my own.”

“I see,” Alexis murmured, chewing on her bottom lip as her thoughts flew in several directions. While it was typical of her flighty sister to offer help without really thinking through the consequences, it seemed a little extreme for Viv to lead Griff to believe the house was vacant. She knew perfectly well that Alexis lived on the premises—not to mention that the ranch was generally overrun with teenagers. And then there was the odd addition of Vivian referring to her as Alex. That just wasn’t right. She had never called her Alex before in her life.

What possible reason could Vivian have for such a deception? Something wasn’t adding up. Unfortunately, Alexis never had been all that proficient with math, even the emotional kind. She was flummoxed.

What a mess.

The worst of it was the preposterous tug of guilt she was feeling for the way Viv had put the poor man out. Alexis almost felt as if she owed Griff something to make up for her sister’s lack of foresight. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d had to clean up her ditzy twin’s messes.

She glanced at the clock on the stove. She had a phone call to make—from an irate sister to an imprudent one. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now.

But first she had to decide what she was going to do with Griff. He was definitely the most immediate problem. Vivian had given him some impossible promises, and it wasn’t Griff’s fault he’d been duped into believing her when she’d said he could stay at the supposedly vacant ranch house.

Then again, it wasn’t exactly Alexis’s responsibility, either. Why should she suffer for her sister’s lack of common sense and be forced to try to find a place for this city slicker to stay?

And yet here she and Griff were, both in a pickle, and Vivian was, as usual, nowhere in sight.

One thing was certain. Griff couldn’t stay at the Grainger house.

“What’s the frown for?” he asked, intently studying her face.

“Just trying to figure out how to keep everybody happy here.”

He chuckled. “Good luck with that. Talk about a sticky situation.”

“No kidding.” Alexis ran a hand down her face. How was she supposed to tell him he’d come all this way for nothing?

“You’re trying to figure out how to send me packing,” he guessed, though he made the statement with a smile.

She hesitated. “Well—yes. Politely,” she admitted. “I’m sorry, but Vivian’s put me in an impossible situation here. Not to mention what she’s done to you. The way I see it, you have two options—go back to Houston or find somewhere else to stay in the area. And, quite frankly, there aren’t a lot of choices here in Serendipity.”

“Cut to the chase, why don’t you?”

Alexis cringed. “Sorry. I know I’m blunt. I’ve never been the type to beat around the bush when I have something to say.”

“You call it like it is. Nothing wrong with that.”

Unless you’re trashing a man’s plans.

Alexis gulped at her coffee and struggled to regain her equilibrium.

“Hotel?” he suggested, tipping his chair back onto two legs and threading his fingers behind his neck.

“Sorry, no such thing in Serendipity. We don’t have enough visitors in town to warrant such an extravagance. You won’t find one within an hour’s drive. However, the Howells have a nice bed-and-breakfast located across town. It’s still a little early in the day, but I’m guessing they’re up for church by now. Would you like me to give them a call?”

Griff nodded in agreement and rose to refill their coffee mugs while she stepped out of the room to phone the Howells. She was back less than a minute later with bad news.

“Well, we can scratch that idea. The Howells are booked solid for the next month. It’s family reunion season, and if there’s one thing Serendipity folk celebrate, it’s family.”

Griff set her refilled cup in front of her, slid back into his seat and stretched his arm across the back of the chair next to him. “I know this sounds unconventional, but do you have a spare bedroom I could use? I promise I won’t be in the way, and I’ll be out of your hair as soon as I can secure a place of my own. I’ll even cook you breakfast if you’d like.” The confident grin he flashed her exposed even teeth and a dimple on his right cheek. He looked like a man who never heard the word no.

He was in for a disappointment.

“Absolutely out of the question.” She didn’t even need a moment to think about it. The man had no idea what he was asking. Zero. Zip. None.

He raised his eyebrows, a glint in his eyes. She couldn’t decide whether he was shocked by her outburst or was silently urging her to continue. Maybe a little of both.

She pressed her lips together and shifted her gaze over his left shoulder. Out the kitchen window gray doves were clustering near a feeder on her deck. A sign of peace amid a moment of tension. God’s silent reminder. Alexis took a deep breath and prayed for guidance.

There were dozens of reasons why Griff couldn’t stay at the house. She ticked them off in her head.

He wasn’t family, for starters. Serendipity was a painfully small town where the gossip mill was concerned. Alexis didn’t want to risk even the appearance of impropriety. And despite his reassurance that he’d stay out of her way, she knew herself well enough to know she would feel obligated to treat him like a guest. Adding one more mouth to the supper table wouldn’t be much of a hassle, but squiring him around town while he got his bearings and keeping him entertained here at the ranch was another thing entirely. No matter what Griff said to the contrary, he would be a problem for her.

Last—or maybe it should have been listed first—she had another group of teenagers arriving for boot camp on Monday. She ran Redemption Ranch as an alternative to community service for troubled teens facing misdemeanors, a chance to change their lives for the better. Her hands were full. And so was her life.

She felt sorry for the man, but then, it really wasn’t her fault he was in this predicament, nor was it her problem to fix.

At least in theory.

In practice, she had a man curiously staring at her over the breakfast table, apparently waiting for her to pull a bunny out of a hat…or something. Unfortunately she was fresh out of rabbits. She clasped her cup in both hands and squarely met his gaze.

“I’ve got to be honest with you, Griff. I don’t have any idea what I’m going to do with you.”

* * *

Griff locked gazes with the woman sitting across from him, her hands clenched so tightly around her coffee mug that her fingers were quivering. He was afraid the glass might shatter under the pressure she was exerting on it.

She didn’t know what to do with him? He didn’t know what to do with her. The last thing he’d expected to find when he’d come to Serendipity was a woman living in the “vacant” house he was supposed to be borrowing. He didn’t know who’d been more shocked by their first meeting—Alexis thinking he was an intruder in her home, or him being surprised by a wild woman brandishing a curling iron. His knuckles still smarted from the splattered grease. But once the surprise had faded, disgruntlement had sunk in. The situation was hardly his fault. He’d acted in good faith, believing he had a confirmed place to stay. He couldn’t be blamed for Vivian’s deception. And in spite of it all, he was trying to be reasonable, trying to compromise.

One thing was for certain—Alexis Grainger hadn’t left much bargaining room.

“No room for negotiating?” he suggested mildly. He’d been successful in his career as venture capitalist for a reason. He’d learned to keep his emotions in check, to always be confident and that it never hurt to ask.

“Absolutely none whatsoever.”

Then again, asking for what he wanted could be a pointless gesture.

“Well, I’m not going back to Houston without finding what I came here for.” He wasn’t going back to Houston at all. He set his jaw. She wasn’t the only one who could be stubborn. “It appears to me that your sister pulled a fast one on both of us.”

“Says you.” Alexis sniffed and shrugged offhandedly. “From my perspective, you’re the one who got duped.”

Griff’s dander rose. Duped? Was that how she saw him? As a man easily swayed by a pretty face? Did he have it written on his forehead, or was it just part of a woman’s natural mystique to be able to read a man like an open book?

It wasn’t that long ago that he’d made the mistake of taking the word of a manipulative woman at face value. He’d believed himself to be less trusting now. Wiser. And yet apparently he hadn’t learned his lesson at all. Though he still had no idea what her motive for all of this was, he couldn’t deny that he’d stepped right into Vivian’s scheming trap with eyes wide open. Now her beautiful twin considered him a chump.

If the shoe fit…

He’d already gone down that road and was the not-so-proud owner of the T-shirt. Color him a slow learner.

“No, I don’t think so.” He wasn’t answering her so much as reprimanding himself, and didn’t immediately realize he’d spoken aloud—not until Alexis lifted a high-arching blond brow in response.

“No? What do you mean, no?”

“Look, I don’t mean to be difficult, but I really need to stay in Serendipity, to do this one thing for myself. I can’t even begin to describe how important this is for me.” It wasn’t as if he could head back to Houston with his tail between his legs. He couldn’t, and he wouldn’t. It wasn’t even an option for him. He’d put his apartment on the market and had his things placed in storage until he could move them out to whatever property he purchased. Decisive action had always been his trademark. Once he’d made the decision to leave Houston behind, he’d shut down his life there in record time.

He hadn’t ever wanted to be a part of the wealthy, high-society scene to begin with, and now? Well, never again. His ex-girlfriend Caro had singlehandedly shredded everything he’d worked for his entire life, everything that mattered to him both personally and professionally. And the reactions of those around him had just twisted the knife. The gossip had been painfully humiliating and had just gone to prove to him how little he could count on the people he had thought were his friends. Half the point of moving here was the anonymity the new surroundings afforded.

“All I can say is that, for reasons too complicated to explain, it’s the perfect time for me to start over. Move forward, rather. Horse ranching has been a lifelong dream of mine, and I’m finally in a position where I can pursue it. But I’m floundering, here. I’d really like your help to find a viable solution to my problem.”

If there was no hotel, no availability at the only

B and B and no room for him at Redemption Ranch, then he wasn’t sure what that viable solution might be. The only thing he could think of was to find someone willing to rent him a spare bedroom or garage apartment. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He had more than enough money to make it worth someone’s time to rent him the space, but the last thing he wanted to do was to start flinging his money all over town. That was why he’d been so quick to snap up Vivian’s offer to borrow her house. He could lay low at the Grainger’s, not have to bump heads with any more people than strictly necessary. The less folks knew about him, the better.

People changed when they started figuring out his net worth. He’d seen it over and over again—their eyes filled with dollar signs and any hope he had of establishing a real, personal connection went straight by the wayside. Back in Houston, everybody wanted something from him, and all he wanted was for everyone to leave him alone. He could think of nothing better than to hole up on his own little spread of land on the outskirts of Serendipity, where he could fend for himself and not have to deal with cruel and two-faced individuals ever again.

He focused his gaze on her, determination pressing his breath into his throat. “There must be something. Please, Alexis. You’re all I’ve got right now.”

Alexis’s gorgeous electric-blue eyes widened and her full lips dropped into a pretty little frown that made Griff’s gut do a backflip. Alexis was nothing if not gorgeous and he was painfully aware of his own weakness—he was particularly vulnerable to the ladies, beautiful women in particular.

How twisted was that?

In his experience, women were insincere and manipulative. The whole lot of them, bar none. What had he been thinking to have trusted Vivian to be honest with him? He should have known better.

And despite the fact that Alexis had done nothing to make him suspect she might be playing him, he figured it would be smarter to be wary. Better to be safe than to expose a vein. Compassion flooded her gaze and he felt a momentary twinge of guilt that he was pressing her buttons. For a second he was tempted to blurt out the whole sorry truth.

Instead he clenched his jaw until the urge passed. Honesty was overrated. No matter how kind Alexis appeared to be, he knew better than to trust her. Look what had happened when he’d given Vivian a little bit of leeway.

He’d been scammed. Just as with his ex, Caro.

Let Alexis interpret his words any way she wanted. He was here in Serendipity and he wasn’t leaving. He shouldn’t be penalized because of Vivian—and he wasn’t about to let this awkward situation with Alexis force him to tip his hand.

“I understand what you’re going through.” She was softening toward him—her gaze, her posture, her expression. His expectations rose with the smile on her lips. “Sometimes life changes are—” she paused and gave a little sigh “—seriously complicated.”

He wanted to pump his fist in the air. Not that he was necessarily proud of his ability to manipulate people, but he was good at it. And he was winning.

“I’ll tell you what. You can stay here at Redemption Ranch as long as you have the need to do so.”

Score.

“In the wrangler’s bunkhouse, where my ranch hands live.”

Or not.

“The wrangler’s bunkhouse?” he repeated lamely. Surely she was joking.

She nodded.

His lip curled. He’d slept in worse than a bunkhouse—much worse. But that was exactly the point. He was above that kind of lifestyle now. He’d paid his dues and had risen to the top of society. Surely she could see he was too refined to share sleeping space with the hired help. Why, the scarf he was wearing cost more than a rancher made in—

Whoa. How stupid could he be?

His designer clothes were a dead giveaway, suggesting he might be more than a burnt-out shell of a man ready to invest his whole life savings on a ranch. Of course, he’d thought he was going to be alone in the house, so he hadn’t given much thought to his choice of attire at the time. But he was thinking about it now—and it mattered, if he was planning to continue in the manner in which he’d originally presented himself: a man of limited means determined to make himself into a rancher. He wondered if she’d noticed his get-up, or even if she’d be able to identify the names that accompanied the fancy apparel.

He scoffed inwardly at his own thoughts. What a snob he’d become. The man he’d never wanted to be. At the first available opportunity, he’d visit the general store in town and pick up some plain Western-style clothing so he wouldn’t stand out among the natives. If he wanted to be a rancher, his attire would be a good place to start. And if it meant that people wouldn’t be able to accurately guess his bank balance from his brand names, then all the better.

Luckily for him, she didn’t appear to have noticed the high-fashion nature of his clothing, since she was at least partially falling for his fish-out-of-water ruse. He sighed in relief.

“Take it or leave it.” She slapped her palms on the table with all the finality of a judge’s gavel. “It’s my best offer. I wish I could do more for you, but I can’t.”

Griff narrowed his gaze on her, his brow furrowing. She was offering the bunkhouse as if it were somehow an answer to prayer.

If Griff believed in the power of prayer—and he didn’t—having the opportunity to bunk down with a bunch of rowdy cowhands would not have been what he considered a legitimate answer to his problems. The trouble was, he couldn’t think of a better option that wouldn’t reveal that he had the means to pay for housing indefinitely, that his bank account was bigger than he was professing it to be.

He leaned forward on his elbows, steepling his fingers under his chin. His mind was spinning, scrambling for a way to salvage this conversation. He’d all but thrown down the gauntlet to her. If he wanted to maintain the slim facade he’d offered, what choice did he have but to accept?

Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place. And he had no one to blame but himself.

“Okay. Er, thank you for the offer.” He flashed what he hoped was a confident grin. “I always wanted to be a cowboy.”

She stared at him speculatively, gnawing on her bottom lip.

“What?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

He suspected he was going to regret accepting her offer. In some ways he already did. If he had a lick of good sense he would just walk out of here right now and bunk at the nearest five-star hotel, even if it was an hour’s drive away. What he lost in the convenience of the short proximity to the town he could make up in the extravagance of his surroundings.

And why was his heart so set on this particular town, anyway? Surely there were dozens of other places just like Serendipity. Did he really care if he made his home here or somewhere else?

He couldn’t entirely explain it, but the answer to that question was yes. He did care where he landed, and this town was it. Vivian had been full of stories about the town of Serendipity and the folks who resided there. According to her, the town was small. Quiet. Unassuming. Becoming a recluse here would be easy, and the surroundings would be peaceful and beautiful. It was a gut feeling more than anything, but he’d learned over the years to follow that internal leading. Why should one small bump in the road cause him to change lanes?

Years before, when the thought first occurred to him that he ought to leave his unfulfilling life in the city and move to a small town to raise horses, he’d simply tucked it into the back of his mind. His subconscious mulled over it, occasionally spearing him with the desire to make that dream a reality. He’d had the means, but he’d been too focused on his career to do anything proactive to make that change.

Then in one painful fell swoop he’d been scammed by a beautiful con artist. Caro had taken what little faith in humankind he’d built up over the years and dashed it against the sharp rock of her conniving schemes. At this point he carried nothing with him but what was left of his shattered heart and the great deal of money he’d made through a career he was no longer interested in pursuing.

He needed Serendipity. He didn’t want to find another town. All he had to do was to grit his teeth and get through the next couple of weeks until he found a place to call home, somewhere out of the limelight where he could find rest and peace, where his best friends would be of the equine variety instead of the human kind. He could live with the wranglers. Who knew, they might be able to help him in his quest to launch a ranch of his own. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise.

“You won’t be sorry,” Alexis assured him with a genuine smile that flooded his senses.

“I’m already sorry,” he muttered under his breath, even though he wasn’t certain it was true.

Alexis’s grin didn’t waver, though sparks momentarily filled her eyes. “Don’t be. I’m not sure exactly what you’re looking for, but I can assure you that you’ll be able to pick up some fine property for only pennies on the dollar. You’re going to find your perfect home here, I just know it.”

Her enthusiasm was contagious. Griff fought to tamp back his excitement, afraid to allow himself to get his hopes up. They’d been dashed so many times before.

“I’ve saved my whole life for this.” That was the absolute truth, though probably not in the way in which Alexis would interpret it. He cleared his throat and broke his gaze away from hers. He didn’t want to see his future in her eyes. Not until it was signed, sealed and delivered, in triplicate.

“What made you choose Serendipity?”

Griff chuckled. “Your sister. I’m sure you’re aware that she can be quite animated about a subject she’s particularly interested in. And persistent, too. She knew I’d been looking for a place in which to settle down and buy a ranch. And she really, really loves her hometown. Once she got it in her head that Serendipity was the right location for me to make a place for myself, she wouldn’t let up until I agreed to visit.”

“She can be pretty persuasive,” Alexis agreed with a warm chuckle, but a moment later her brow furrowed and she compressed her full lips. “Sometimes a little too much so. Once she gets an idea into her head, she won’t let it go. I apologize on her behalf. She has the distressing tendency to get on a person’s last nerve.”

Griff raised his eyebrows at her stark admission. “I didn’t say that. Your sister is really sweet. A little deceptive, maybe, but I’m sure she was just trying to be helpful.”

Or maybe not so much. What had been her plan, sending him out here to the house where her sister lived? She probably had her reasons, but he had no clue what they might be. He was beyond being able to tell, where women were concerned. Whatever. He was here, and that was the point of the matter.

Alexis’s lips quirked. “Oh, I’m sure she was trying to help you. The problem is that her idea of ‘helping’ is focused on what she thinks is in the other person’s best interest, whether or not the person she’s supposedly helping would agree. And she usually pushes the option that helps her the most in the end. I’m sure you’ve noticed that she can be a little…” She paused and brushed a strand of her long, straight blond hair back behind her ear. “Self-absorbed.”

“Really?” Griff struggled not to laugh. In his opinion, all women were self-absorbed. Men, too, for that matter. Always looking out for old number one. And who could blame them? He was no different. “You think she had an ulterior motive for sending me here?”

Had he been played? It kind of felt that way, although he couldn’t figure out any legitimate reason for Vivian to have acted deceptively. His mind scoured over the details of his visit. What reason could Vivian possibly have for sending him here, if not primarily to help him find the home he so desired? Viv’s boyfriend, Derrick, was the closest thing to a friend Griff had ever had, and they’d both been enthused by the idea.

“You have to admit the circumstances are rather telling,” Alexis said, thoughtfully tapping her chin with her index finger. “I don’t think it’s an accident that Vivian led you to believe I was a guy. She would have had to have been awfully careful not to slip up and refer to me as her sister.”

“She used the word twin, not sister. And she called you Alex.”

“Well, there you have it, then. She’s never called me Alex a day in her life. And then there’s the fact that she knew perfectly well I was still living here at the ranch, yet she gave you the impression the house was vacant.”

“I’ll admit that part sounds a little fishy.” And he was beginning to look—and feel—more and more like a sap.

Alexis scoffed. “A little fishy? This whole thing has Vivian’s interfering signature all over it.”

“Yes, but what could she possibly stand to gain by misleading me?”

“I have no idea.” Alexis twirled a strand of her hair around her index finger.

Griff was stumped. And humiliated, to boot. Who knew the internal workings of a woman’s mind? He certainly didn’t. But the latent anger that was never far from the surface was starting to billow in his chest.

He was so over being manipulated. By anybody.

“You think we should ask her?”

“Oh, I’m going to ask her,” she assured him with a robust nod. She sounded as though she wasn’t too thrilled with Vivian’s actions, either. “Just as soon as I’ve got you settled in at the bunkhouse. And we should probably see about getting a new breakfast fixed up here. I think I’ve got some more bacon in the freezer. It shouldn’t take too long to defrost it.”

Griff forced a chuckle. “Yeah. My attempt at cooking turned out to be a bit of a disaster, didn’t it?”

“I’m sure the dogs appreciated it.”

He twisted his lips into a semblance of a smile. “No doubt.”

Alexis glanced at the digital clock on the microwave. “Oh, dear. I didn’t realize how late it was. It’s already a quarter past eight and here I am still in my—” She glanced down at her fluffy purplish-pink robe and her face turned the same color as the material. She was bundled from neck to ankle, but that didn’t stop her from gathering the sides of the robe under her chin—the same chin that tipped upward a moment later, set with determination and maybe just a little bit of pride. “I’m afraid I don’t have time to cook us a full breakfast. Will a muffin do? I think I’ve got chocolate chip and blueberry in the breadbox.”

Still clutching her bathrobe with quivering fingers, she jerked to her feet and bobbed toward the counter.

“Blueberry will be fine. Are you going somewhere?” He couldn’t help but be amused by her stuttering movements. She appeared to be embarrassed about something, and for some reason that put Griff more at ease. Perhaps because it put them on a more equal footing. He knew what it was like to feel uncomfortable. He’d been feeling that way since the moment Alexis had confronted him with her curling iron.

“It’s Sunday,” Alexis explained. “I have to teach Sunday school to a bunch of middle-schoolers in an hour, and the worship service is right after. Oh!” She turned to face him, her eyes wide. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think to ask you. Would you like to join me? You are welcome to come visit our community chapel, especially since you’re planning to move into town. It’s probably nothing like the church services you’re used to in Houston, but most of the town attends, so you’ll have a chance to meet your new neighbors. We’re small, but faithful.” Her words poured over each other like a waterfall.

Griff barely suppressed the chill that impaled him. Ice entered his lungs, making them burn with the effort of drawing a breath.

He didn’t know what was worse—the thought of being surrounded by a town full of people—or the idea that they were all worshipping God. While these folks would be strangers who wouldn’t know his painful and humiliating history, he was convinced they’d be quick to draw unsolicited conclusions about him, and Griff had long ago given up on believing any kind of deity existed. Not in his black hole of a world.

“No.” He barked the word out more sharply than he should have.

Alexis’s jaw dropped and her startled gaze pierced him.

Griff shrugged, backpedaling. “I mean, no thank you. I drove most of the night to get here. If you don’t mind, I’d rather just find my bunk and get some shut-eye.”

Surprise turned to compassion. “Of course. You must be exhausted. Let me get you a muffin and some orange juice and then I’ll show you where you’ll be staying. You can visit the chapel another time.”

That wasn’t going to happen—ever—but for now, Griff allowed Alexis to fuss over him and get him settled in. There was enough time later for him to set her straight on what he was—and wasn’t—planning to do during his stay at Redemption Ranch.

Chapter Two

“Are you completely insane? You sent Griff here to do what?” Alexis gripped her cell phone close to her ear, glad she was near a chair, because her legs suddenly felt too wobbly to hold her on her feet. She slumped onto the plush burgundy fabric of the recliner and tucked her knees underneath her, coaching herself to slow her rapid, shallow breathing. She was hyperventilating and the room was spinning.

Where was a paper bag when a woman needed one?

“Now, Alexis, calm down.” Viv’s saccharine voice on the other end of the line sounded as patronizing as it was amused.

“Calm down? You want me to calm down?” Alexis was squawking like a parrot and she knew it, but how else was she supposed to react? “You lied to a man who you claim is your friend to send him here, then gave me no warning before waking up to find a strange man in my kitchen while he found a crazy woman in what he was under the impression was a vacant house, and you want me to calm down?”

“Well, when you put it that way.” Vivian sniffed.

Alexis took another deep breath and prayed for a semblance of self-control. It was a good thing for Vivian that she was in a different city and not in the same room or Alexis might have throttled her.

What a way to ruin a Sunday afternoon. Her spirit had been so calm after spending her morning worshiping the Lord at the chapel. Now any lingering sense of peace she’d experienced had been blown to smithereens.

“You purposefully mislead Griff to get him here, and I want to know why.”

“I would never do anything to hurt Griff,” Vivian protested resolutely. “He’s Derrick’s best friend, and that makes him my friend, too.”

“All the more reason for you to be straight with him. This doesn’t make any sense. Tell me what’s really going on.”

“I don’t know why you’re getting so down on me.” Viv’s voice was close to a whine. “Griff is one of the best-looking men I know.”

Alexis knew Vivian’s response made perfect sense—to Vivian. Not so much for Alexis, although she privately agreed with her sister’s assessment of Griff. He was the kind of man that would cause a woman to do a double-take if she passed him on the street. But, honestly, Griff’s good looks had absolutely nothing to do with the current situation, except maybe in Vivian’s mind—and trying to unravel that mess would be akin to untangling a rat’s nest.

“So he’s gorgeous. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Oh, you did notice, then.”

“Vivian,” Alexis warned, thoroughly exasperated and very much on the verge of blowing a gasket.

“I’m just sayin’.”

“Saying what?” Just once in her life, Alexis wished Vivian would connect the dots and make a logical picture.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed how refined he is. Rich, too.”

Refined, yes. Rich? Maybe Griff hadn’t said so in so many words, but he’d definitely suggested that he was pinching pennies—something with which Alexis was all too familiar. He hadn’t corrected her assumptions, at any rate.

And why did the size of Griff’s bank account matter, anyway?

It sounded as if Vivian was trying to set her up—as in matchmaking. Only in Vivian’s outlandish fairy-tale mind could a relationship between Alexis and Griff be even remotely possible. Honestly, any romantic relationship seemed out of Alexis’s grasp most of the time. No matter how many dates she went on, or how many times she got her hopes up, every attempt to find real love fizzled out into nothing. She was the girl a guy dated, not the one he put a ring on. And after kissing so many toads, she was taking an extended vacation from searching for a prince.

Alexis ignored the little twinges in her stomach, writing them off as feeling sorry for having to let her sister’s plans down. It wasn’t the first time Vivian had come up with a harebrained scheme and somehow involved Alexis in it, but this situation went above and beyond, even for her. Poor Vivian would be in for a shock to discover her fantasy future brother-in-law was actually dirt-poor and world-weary.

“I hate to have to be the one to break it to you, hon, but I don’t think Griff is rolling in dough.” The man’s net worth meant nothing to Alexis, but she knew a thick pocketbook was near the top of Vivian’s most-wanted list and therefore—in Vivian’s mind, at least—a necessity for Alexis.

Viv burst into giggles. “Did he tell you that?”

“Yes.” Alexis frowned, thinking back to her conversation with Griff. He had said he was strapped for funds, hadn’t he? Or had she put those words into his mouth? Either way, he hadn’t contradicted her.

“He’s pulling your leg, then, hon,” Vivian informed her in a know-it-all voice. “The man has money. Lots of it.”

Even though Vivian couldn’t see her, Alexis rolled her eyes. “And you know this because…?”

“Did he tell you what he does for a living? He’s a venture capitalist. A successful one, too. Trust me on this, Alexis. He’s loaded.”

Alexis frowned. So Griff was a successful businessman. That didn’t explain why Vivian had purposefully deceived him into coming to Serendipity, or why she thought Griff would have any interest whatsoever in her. “I still don’t see what that has to do with me.”

Vivian tittered. “I should think that would be obvious.”

It was. Patently obvious, unfortunately, though Alexis had secretly hoped she’d somehow mistaken Vivian’s purpose. “If this is some kind of cockeyed matchmaking scheme, you can forget about it right now.”

“You’re welcome.”

“So let me get this straight. You sent Griff here so I could meet him?”

“Well, I didn’t do it for my own good. Let’s review his résumé. Handsome. Rich. Sophisticated. What’s not to like?”

That was Vivian’s short list, not Alexis’s. She wasn’t even in the market for a relationship anymore. Redemption Ranch, her flailing ministry to troubled teenagers, took every second of her time and energy as it was. Who had time to pursue dating, never mind the time and energy for anything resembling a true relationship? But if she was looking—and that was a very big if—her list would read more like “a gentle, down-home cowboy who likes quiet nights at home and working outside with the horses. Those not in current possession of old scuffed boots and worn-out blue jeans need not apply.”

In other words, the complete opposite of refined businessman Griffin Haddon with his fancy scarves and designer jeans and spit-shined boots. Of all the brainless, clueless, obnoxious shenanigans her sister had ever pulled, this one took the prize.

“Vivian, you can’t just jerk people’s lives around this way,” she reprimanded, feeling like the more mature of the twins, even though she was only older than Vivian by mere minutes. “You sent Griff here under false pretenses!”

“Did not. He really is looking for land. I was trying to be nice,” Vivian explained, her voice taking on the hint of a whine. “I felt sorry for the poor man, okay? He recently got his heart broken. We’re talking epic crash and burn here. Like, so bad that he started talking about walking away from everything he’s built for himself—and he doesn’t really want to do that! He’s built himself a virtual empire here.”

Alexis hadn’t experienced that kind of major heartbreak, but she knew how it felt to have the urge to run away from her problems—as fast and far as possible. She could hardly blame the man for deciding to leave if he had the wherewithal to do so. Vivian leaned toward the overdramatic, but Alexis found her curiosity growing nonetheless. “Go on.”

“He needs to find somewhere to nurse his wounds and get back on his feet. I thought Serendipity would be perfect for him.”

“And so it may be,” she agreed. “I understand he’s looking to acquire a ranch?”

“Well, he thinks he is. Have you seen him talk about it? His eyes light up like a kid’s at Christmas.”

“What do you mean, he thinks he is? From what I could see, he seemed pretty determined to work his new plans.”

“Right now, maybe. Once he’s been in Serendipity for a week he’ll be bored out of his mind. He’s a serious type-A personality. He never sits still. So the slow pace of the town will drive him batty.”

“How do I fit into this, again? You don’t want me to help him look for a ranch? I thought that’s why you sent him here.”

“Oh—help him. Do. In fact, it would be really great if you could immerse him in some of the work around Redemption Ranch. A horse ranch is something he’s dreamed about since he was a kid. He has no idea what he’s truly in for. You should show him what a cowboy really does all day.”

“I suppose I could do that.” Alexis did know a lot about ranching—enough to know Griff wasn’t precisely what she would consider to be cut out for it. If she didn’t miss her guess, once he saw how difficult and physically demanding country work really was, he’d go running back to the city faster than he could say the name of his favorite designer. “Ranching isn’t the sort of thing a guy just decides one day that he’s going to do. Most of us are raised to be ranchers.”

“Exactly. He’ll see what dirty work it is and come running back to Houston—back to his real career.”

She could tell Vivian’s concern for Griff was genuine, but there was still a lot that didn’t make sense. The whole thing still felt to Alexis like subterfuge. If the whole point was to get Griff to return to Houston, it seemed to Alexis that it would make more sense to let him flounder without any help whatsoever.

Why did Vivian need Griff to return to Houston?

Alexis needed better answers if she was going to be any part of this scheme. She’d have to take valuable time away from her struggling ministry to lend Griff the assistance Vivian apparently thought was a necessary part of the equation. It wasn’t that Alexis was being selfish, exactly, but she needed every spare second to try to come up with solutions to her own problems, not spend all of her time trying to fix someone else’s—especially if the end result wasn’t to help Griff obtain a ranch, but rather for him to realize what a pipe dream the whole idea was.

“Why didn’t you just call and tell me about your plans with Griff? At the very least, don’t you think you should have warned me that he was coming? I could have made arrangements for him to stay somewhere…” She paused and swept in a breath, shaking her head against the cobwebs that were forming. “Else,” she finished lamely.

Total silence on the other end of the line. Vivian was many things, but never silent, which nudged Alexis’s suspicions to the surface.

“Viv?”

“You aren’t going to be mean to him, are you?”

Even though Vivian couldn’t see the gesture, Alexis rolled her eyes. “Of course not. When have I ever been mean to anybody? But I have to say you’ve put both Griff and me into a difficult dilemma, and frankly, I want to know why. There’s something you’re not sharing with me. Why is it you’re so concerned about whether or not I’m being nice to Griff? Come clean, sister.”

“Just promise me you’re going to treat him with extra-special attention.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? What kind of special attention?” This did not sound good.

“The kind that will be good for both of you! I’m not just doing this for him, you know. Hello! You’re alone. You should pop your head into the real world once in a while. You don’t take care of yourself, you work too hard, and you don’t have enough fun in your life anymore. Play hooky once in a while. Go out to dinner with a guy. With Griff. You know what I mean?”

“Viv! Enough with the matchmaking, already.” Alexis was going to protest further, but Vivian had a point, however poorly made. “Okay. Okay. I’ll admit I’ve got a full schedule with the ranch and the kids, but—”

“When was the last time you went out?” Vivian asked, interrupting her. “On a date? With a man?”

“I know what a date is.” She sighed in exasperation. “And as a matter of fact, I’ll have you know that I—” Her sentence sputtered to a stop.

Uh, oh. Now that she thought about it, it had been a long time since she’d been out on a date, official or otherwise. With her two best friends Samantha and Mary happily married and busy with their new husbands, Alexis had pretty much shifted her social life to the back burner. Sure, she attended church and community events just as she’d always done, but she’d never needed a date to do that.

“Exactly!” Vivian crowed, obviously thrilled to have proved her point. “You don’t take care of yourself, so it is my solemn duty as your twin to do it for you. What are sisters for, if not that? If I’d told you he was coming, you’d have shuffled him off on to someone else. This way, you have to spend time with him—and realize how perfect the two of you are for each other.”

“You said the guy is fresh off a heartbreak,” Alexis pointed out, propping her hand on her hip. “I doubt he’s going to be looking for a new relationship anytime soon.”

“Maybe not right away. But once he sees how sweet and special you are, that’s bound to change.”

“I highly doubt sweet is the first word that comes to mind when he thinks of me.”

“What? Why? What did you do?” Viv’s voice rose and tightened. “You didn’t kick him out of the house, did you? Please tell me you didn’t.”

Alexis groaned. “Not exactly. Well, kind of. He’s going to be staying in the bunkhouse with the ranch hands.”

“You didn’t!” Viv wailed.

Alexis’s face was on fire. She felt as though she needed to dunk her head in a bucket of ice water to cool down. Why was her sister putting her on the spot this way, as if she was the villain in this melodrama? She’d been thrust into the scene with no advance notice and no lines. How was that fair?

“What else was I supposed to do with him?” she demanded. “Did you really think I’d let some man—a stranger, no less—just move into the house with me? It’s not as if I had any warning that he was coming so I would have had time to make proper arrangements.” She couldn’t help but add that little thrust of the knife, although she doubted Vivian picked up on it.

“You be nice to him. It’s important. You’ve got to win him over.” Vivian’s voice took on a desperate edge.

“For the last time, Viv, I am being nice. I didn’t kick him to the curb as I could have done—or worse yet, call the cops on him and have him arrested for trespassing.”

Vivian’s breath caught audibly. “You wouldn’t.”

“Of course not, although it could very easily have gone down that way. I can’t imagine what you were thinking, sending him to town without giving me a heads-up. I thought he’d broken into our house. He scared me half to death, showing up at the crack of dawn with no warning.”

“Oh. I hadn’t thought of that.”

Of course she hadn’t. Vivian rarely thought things through.

“But he’s there now and he’s staying, right?”

“Yes, he’s staying.” In the bunkhouse.

“And you’ll see to it that he’s taken care of? You’ll make sure he feels welcome?”

“Yes, Viv, I’ll look after him while he’s here.”

“Good, that’s good. Be friendly. Talk to him. Get him to talk to you. You’re good at that, and he needs it—he’s been doing the hermit thing lately. Oh, but you can’t tell him any of what I told you.” Vivian’s voice dropped to a dramatic whisper. “He was completely humiliated by the way Caro treated him, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want anyone to know about it.”

“I promise. Give me a little credit for being sensitive to other people’s pain.” Alexis didn’t care to speculate on Griff’s problems. So he had issues. Everyone had some skeletons in their closets. If Griff wanted to keep secrets, she wouldn’t interfere.

But didn’t he realize she would find him out? At least that he was well-to-do, if not all about his recent heartbreak. Not that she was trying to meddle in his personal life, but one phone call to Vivian and she knew more than she ever wanted to know about Griff Haddon.

Alexis sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. What difference did it make, anyway? Rich Griff, poor Griff, acts like a beggar man and mistaken for a thief.

“I think you should just roll with it.”

“Meaning?” Vivian interrupted her thoughts and she had no idea to what her sister was referring.

“Let him come clean in his own time. I’m sure he’ll open up to you, given the chance. Just don’t push him away. Please. For me.”

Ah, now here it was. “For you? What’s in it for you?”

Vivian paused, and it was a long one, enough to shoot Alexis’s suspicions into the stratosphere.

“I think I might have mentioned he’s a venture capitalist.”

“I believe your exact words were that he was a venture capitalist, past tense—who, if I’m not mistaken, now wants to leave all that behind and raise horses. And this has what to do with you?”

“I can’t believe he wants to give up his old life,” Viv said. “Not really. He’s just hurting right now. He’s confused. He does too much good in the community for him to walk away from it all. You should see it. He believes in people when no one else will give them a chance. He helps new small businesses get the financing they need to succeed.”

“That sounds like a great career path,” Alexis admitted. “And if he’s done that well for himself, maybe you’re right. Maybe he won’t really want to walk away for good, not after he’s had time to think things through. You think this might be a lark on his part?”

All the more reason for Alexis not to waste her time with him. If the guy was going to head straight back for the city in a week—forget it.

Vivian scoffed. “Everything was going right for him until that wicked, ruthless woman messed with his head. He was going to help me launch Viv’s Vitality. He promised he could get the financing set up for me, and now he’s reneging on our agreement. He says he doesn’t want anything to do with business anymore. He just wants to get away. Permanently.”

Finally the truth had come out. Now everything Viv had done was beginning to make sense. “I’m really sorry to hear that, Viv, but I don’t see how your sending him to me is going to help you secure funding for that spa you’ve been planning. At best, I might be able to steer him toward the purchase of a ranch, but that’s the exact opposite of what you want him to do, right? So what are you really asking me for?”

“You can restore his faith in womankind.”

Viv’s statement was so unexpected—and so outrageous—that Alexis burst into laughter.

“Don’t snicker at me. It could happen.”

“No, it really couldn’t.” Vivian had her head in the clouds if she thought Alexis had the time or inclination to romance a city guy with a broken heart even if he’d give her a second glance—which she doubted. And how would that help, anyway?

Vivian sniffled a couple of times. Was she crying?

Oh, brother. Alexis sighed deeply, but her heart was touched nonetheless. The lengths she had to go to for her twin.

“All right,” she consoled, her heart tugging with compassion. “Don’t cry, Viv. I’m not going to throw myself at the guy, but maybe there’s something I can do.”

Viv sniffed once more for good measure and Alexis stifled a chuckle. Her sister was such a drama queen.

“You’ll back me up, then?”

“I’ll try. But I can’t promise you this isn’t going to backfire. Since at least on the surface it appears Griff is serious about settling down in Serendipity, I’ll do what I can to help him secure a place. Maybe he’ll realize what a pipe dream he’s conjured up and decide to go back to his old life. If the circumstance presents itself, I’ll even put a bug in his ear about how great your business plan is and how appreciative you’d be of his assistance. Maybe he’ll be willing to help you out once he’s had a little time away from the rat race, especially since he promised to help you build your business before all the bad stuff went down. But all the hearts and flowers you imagine will happen between us?” Alexis shook her head. “Let’s just be clear about that part right now. Not gonna happen.”

* * *

Settling into the bunkhouse wasn’t as bad as Griff had thought it might be. In fact, to his pleasant surprise, he found it was rather peaceful living next to the barn. Honestly, he had imagined rows of bunk beds with scratchy wool blankets and no privacy among the wranglers, but everyone had separate, if tiny, living quarters, and it turned out that the cowboys were a quiet bunch, mostly keeping to their own devices, which suited Griff just fine. Better yet, the whole place was permeated with the smell of horses and hay, a strong, earthy scent that reminded Griff of the only happy times he’d experienced in his youth.

He discovered he could adapt quite well to this living situation, but then again, adapting was what he’d spent his whole life doing. He didn’t know why he should be surprised that this was so easy for him. He was finally here, pursuing his dreams, even if the string of events that had led him to Serendipity was anything but ideal, and even if his plan hadn’t gone remotely as he’d expected.

So he’d hit a few bumps in the road—such as finding out the house where he’d intended to stay was otherwise occupied, or when he’d been pawned off to the bunkhouse with one flick of Alexis’s pretty wrist. Alexis was definitely the biggest challenge of all. It wasn’t every day a man was called out by a beautiful, feisty woman brandishing a curling iron as her only weapon.

It was an adventure, if nothing else, and he was ready for new experiences. Somehow, some way, he was going to find his perfect hideaway out here in Nowhere, Texas. This place was as far away from the world he was used to as a man could get, with horses and open land everywhere he looked. It fit the bill exactly.

His own private haven.

His team in Houston thought he was crazy for wanting to find a home in a small town, but he didn’t care what anyone thought about his intentions, even Derrick Reynolds, his best friend and the one and only man he trusted. Griff was tired of living up—or down—to other people’s expectations. This was about him and nobody else, and what he really wanted in his life was solitude.

“Griff?” He heard Alexis’s raised voice at the same time as her knock—three short, rhythmical raps on the outer bunkhouse door.

“One second,” he called, dashing down the hallway to the shared bathroom with his styling paste clenched in his hand. He was dressed in an older pair of blue jeans and a high-end, navy-blue T-shirt. It was the best he could do under the circumstances. He’d planned to buy a few Western shirts at the general store in town, but to his dismay, he’d discovered that the whole town closed up on Sundays. Talk about peculiar small-town culture. He couldn’t even get a bite to eat at the local café, much less pick up the groceries he’d intended to buy.

Fortunately for him, he’d had his loaf of bread from the night before. Not only that, but the cowboys had realized his predicament and had graciously offered him the use of their pantry. Otherwise he probably would have gone hungry—or he’d have had to go begging to Alexis, which he wasn’t inclined to do. Thanks to Vivian, he was already beholden to Alexis, more than he wanted to be. He disliked owing anybody anything. He’d rather starve.

He made a mental note to anonymously restock the wranglers’ pantry—and maybe add a little bit more variety to their scant offering. They seemed woefully lacking in diversity. How many cans of baked beans could a man eat?

“Griff?” Alexis sounded impatient.

“One second,” he called again, dipping his fingers into the pomade and randomly dabbing the paste into his hair. He wasn’t a vain man, but his thick hair was downright scary in the morning before his shower. He did the best he could to tame the ragged peaks, then strode to the door.

Alexis’s eyes widened as she surveyed him. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”

Griff cringed. Apparently he hadn’t been entirely successful with the hair.

“No, I was awake. I was reading. Did you need something?”

Alexis’s fair skin coloring gave away even the smallest nuances of a blush, and right now her cheeks were rose-petal pink, though he couldn’t imagine what she had to be embarrassed about. He leaned his shoulder against the door frame and waited for her reply, which seemed a little bit too long in coming.

It was a simple question, requiring a simple answer. Obviously she needed something or she wouldn’t be here knocking at his door. So why was she hesitating? And blushing?

“Well, this is awkward,” she muttered.

He raised a brow. “Really? How so?”

“My sister—” She started but then stammered to a stop. She shook her head. “No, never mind. My problem. I’ll deal.”

What was the woman chattering on about? He waited, hoping she’d finish her sentence. What had Vivian done now?

“It doesn’t matter,” she continued. “I didn’t come here for that.”

It would help him tremendously if he knew what “that” was, if he had any expectation of contributing to this conversation. He had to admit he was curious, but it was all he could do to follow Alexis’s wild roller-coaster of a monologue.

“I’ve scheduled a superbusy afternoon ahead of me, so I wanted to make sure I got down here this morning to ask if you’d care to take supper with me.”

“Tonight?”

She looked surprised. “No. Well, I mean, yes, but not just tonight. I meant always, while you’re here. You’re welcome to eat supper at the house every night for as long as you’ll be staying on at the ranch, or whenever you’re available, anyway. I thought maybe we could spend some time discussing your strategy for finding some land. For starters, I can introduce you to our local Realtor, Marge Thompson.”

“There’s only one?”

“In Serendipity? Yes—and she only works as a Realtor part-time. She’s also our resident insurance agent, so she’ll be able to set you up with anything you need for your house and land and car and all that.”

“That’s convenient,” he said, tongue-in-cheek. He swallowed a chuckle. Instead of the soft, lazy Texas drawl that Vivian possessed, Alexis’s words were all jammed together and coming a mile a minute, increasing speed at every intersection.

Again he had the impression something was off about her. She was acting skittish. Was she nervous about something?

He was good at reading people, but Alexis had him stumped. Every time he started to believe he had her figured out, she changed. She was a total mystery to him.

Had he said or done something to send her off-kilter? And if he had, what could he do to take the edge off?

“I’d be happy to accept.”

Not that. He wanted to kick himself for his sheer stupidity. Open wide, mouth, ’cause he had two feet coming.

If only he could take back the words. In his rush to make her feel more comfortable, he’d dived right off the side of a cliff without looking to see if there was water at the bottom of the canyon, never mind how deep. What had happened to his not wanting to be beholden to her? Sharing meals with her was just exactly the kind of thing he was trying to avoid. Here he went again, acting like an imbecile over a pretty face. He’d wanted to ease her obvious discomfort, he’d panicked, and he had blurted out the first solution that had come into his mind. Idiot.

“Oh, my goodness,” Alexis exclaimed, clapping a palm against her cheek. “I didn’t realize. I should have been thinking of your predicament yesterday. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think things through. I hope you got along okay last night. You didn’t have a thing to eat. Oh, my goodness,” she repeated.

He couldn’t help but chuckle at how flustered she’d become over his “predicament,” as she’d called it. “Don’t worry about me. You don’t need to feel obligated. I managed just fine. I had supper with the ranch hands. Since the cook has Sundays off, they were kind enough to open a can of beans for me. Oh, and don’t forget I had my loaf of bread from breakfast.” He grinned, hoping the statement didn’t come out sounding facetious. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

“I am so sorry.”

She was an astute woman and correctly interpreted his tone. “No worries. I’ll admit it was a bit of a challenge at the outset. I didn’t expect all the stores and restaurants in town to be closed on Sunday. But as I said—no worries. It all worked out in the wash.”

“But still—I should have realized you’d be in a pinch. I should have at least thought about it. Please forgive me for not realizing your dilemma.”

“Not your problem,” he reminded her again. “It isn’t up to you to make sure I get fed.”

As sweet as the woman was for wanting to look out for him, she took too much on herself. He’d showed up out of nowhere with no advance warning, and yet she was treating him as though he was a guest at her ranch. He didn’t want her to think she was accountable for him—not in any way, shape or form.

“It kind of is my problem.” She propped her fists on her hips, tilted her head up to meet his eyes and set her jaw. Her gaze was no-nonsense, almost daring him to argue with her. She was nothing if not determined. “You are my responsibility as long as you’re staying at my ranch.”

No. This wasn’t right at all.

It was as if she’d dropped a cage over him, trapping him behind steel bars. He didn’t like the feeling. Every muscle in his body tensed for flight and he had to consciously breathe through the urge to sprint away. “Let me reiterate—you are under no obligation to take care of me. I don’t want to be any kind of bother to you. I’ll just stay out of your way.”

And you stay out of mine, he added silently. He’d come out here to get away from debts and commitments. If she took charge of him while he stayed at the ranch, then he would feel beholden toward her, which was the last thing he wanted.

“But you’ll still take supper at the house, right? At least tonight? Then you can decide if you want to come back for another meal. I promise not to poison you.” She chuckled drily.

It wasn’t the possibility of being poisoned that he was worried about. On the second pass, conceding to her wishes didn’t sound any better than it had at first. She was practically forcing him into her debt and he was definitely making extra work for her. He desperately wanted to backpedal, except that her voice sounded so hopeful, not to mention the expectant look in her compelling blue eyes that tugged at his heart despite his best efforts to ignore it.

Those pink-tinged cheeks and that ready smile were hard to say no to. He just wasn’t strong enough to deny her.

“I’ll be prompt,” he promised her through gritted teeth. He was crazy to be doing this. Out of his mind.

She sighed in relief, as if the fate of the world had turned on his answer.

“Great. I’ll see you tonight, then,” she affirmed cheerfully. “Seven o’clock sharp. Dress is casual. Don’t forget. We’ll be expecting you.”

She didn’t wait for his reply. Instead she turned on her heel and walked away, down the porch stairs and back up the slight incline toward the main house.

“Uh—thank you,” he called after her, feeling as though he needed to say something nice to her, even if he felt like cursing on the inside. He was digging himself further and further into a hole of his own making.

Wait—what? She’d said we. Had she invited others to take supper with her? It seemed like something Alexis would do—try to introduce him to others in the town.

He sighed. Yet another bump in the road. He was trying to avoid people, not engage with them. But Alexis wasn’t “people.” She was a thoughtful, sensitive woman and even though he knew he shouldn’t, he found himself looking forward to sharing supper with her.

He liked her. He wanted to get to know her better.

That made him a fool. And, worse yet, it made Alexis the biggest threat of all.

Chapter Three

Alexis set an enormous platter of home-fried potatoes at one end of the long, rectangular oak dining table and then glanced at her watch. Ten minutes until seven. She had six troubled teenagers fresh off of the bus and joining her for supper tonight.

And then there was Griff.

Her pulse gave a little leap, but she wrote that off to the adrenaline-packed afternoon she’d just experienced. Intake days were always exciting for her whenever she took in a whole new group of kids at Redemption Ranch. Six brand-new hearts to influence with the love of Christ. No matter how surly and off-putting they generally acted about it at first, she knew that’s all it was—an act. The kids really did crave love, and here at the ranch, that’s what they got, in spades.

Showering them with affection was a great part of her theory behind helping troubled kids turn their lives around, although in practice, it was the tough part of the love that usually brought about immediate change. She had to show them they mattered to her so they could gain the confidence to believe in themselves.

It wasn’t an easy job, and definitely not for the faint of heart. The teenagers pressed her and pushed her to see how far she’d bend. But her methods worked. Her kids didn’t leave with the same bad attitudes they arrived with.

And she loved it. She loved the teenagers. In fact, the whole process was a blessing to her. She’d proved herself and her techniques repeatedly in the years since she’d opened Redemption Ranch as an alternative to community service for non-violent juvenile offenders.

Her brain-child. Her ministry.

Her life.

Working with teens on this ranch was the only thing she could imagine herself doing with her life; the one career into which she really believed she could put her whole heart.

She reached for a pair of green-apple pot holders and removed the spiral ham from the oven, placing it on the countertop to cool. She smoothed her hair back and sighed, lifting her heart in prayer before her emotions bottomed out. It wouldn’t do for the kids, or for Griff for that matter, to walk in and catch her crying.

She didn’t have a depressive nature by any means. But at the moment the future loomed black for her. All her hard work at the ranch was going to be for nothing unless God somehow blessed her in a big way with the means to stay financially afloat. And soon.

She hadn’t shared her anxieties with anyone. She wasn’t the type of woman to burden anyone else with facts she could not change—not even her two best friends Samantha and Mary. No sense worrying them. But the truth was, though the Lord was blessing the ministry in the sense that the teenagers in her care were growing and flourishing both emotionally and spiritually, financially speaking, Redemption Ranch was tanking. She had enough money left—barely—to fund the necessities for this group of kids, but then it was over. Done. Kaput.

Not only was she going to lose her ministry, she was going to lose the ranch if she couldn’t find a way to get more money. She certainly couldn’t borrow any more. The ranch was already double-mortgaged as it was. How else would she have paid for Vivian’s dream to go to cosmetology school in Houston? It had seemed like the logical solution at the time, and with the money she’d gotten from the bank, she’d had a little extra to put into the beginning of her work in ministry.

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