His Unexpected Return. Jessica Keller

       Chapter One

      “Can I go swimming, Mommy?” Piper tugged on Cassidy Danvers’s hand. At almost five, Piper had already perfected the art of the doe-eyed pout.

      Cassidy pulled her apron over her head, then set it on the wall of hooks at the back of the kitchen. She turned and eyed the bright pink cast on Piper’s arm. Even when Cassidy plastered every inch of her daughter’s arm in obscene amounts of plastic wrap or used a long bread bag to cover it, Piper had a hard time keeping the cast from getting wet while taking a bath. With her enthusiasm and daring, going in the pool sounded disastrous. Cassidy’s daughter had missed her best friend’s pool-themed birthday party the prior weekend, so it wasn’t the first time they were having the conversation, but if Piper was anything it was determined.

      Piper noticed where her eyes fell. “I’ll be so careful.” She tucked her little casted arm behind her back as if keeping it from Cassidy’s view would somehow make her mom forget about the injury. “You’ll see. It will be fine. I just want to swim, Mom. One time.”

      “Baby girl.” Cassidy dropped to her knees in the middle of the industrial kitchen where she spent most of her time. Despite the large window AC unit blasting wave after wave of cold air across her skin, the smell of burger grease lingered in the air from dinner. As head cook at the ranch, Cassidy was used to the smell—used to the four walls that made up the dining hall at Red Dog Ranch.

      Her safe place.

      After a tornado had torn its way through the ranch only weeks ago, the dining hall had been one of the first buildings the work crews had put back together. The owner, Rhett Jarrett, had insisted upon it. Outside, however, at least half of the ranch was still in shambles. Organized shambles, of course, but there was still so much to rebuild.

      Too much.

      After such destruction, Cassidy wondered if the ranch would ever truly be put back together again. In her life, that had never been the case. Trauma left scars.

      Strands of hair had escaped the twin braids hanging over each of Piper’s shoulders. Cassidy brushed the errant wisps away from her daughter’s face, then let her hands cup Piper’s rounded cheeks. Piper had Cassidy’s brown eyes, but her daughter’s hair and expressions were the same as her father’s had been. Wade. Cassidy’s heart squeezed at the thought of him like it always did. Even though his funeral had been five years ago, memories of him invaded her life every day.

      “Only one more week left until the cast comes off.” Cassidy let her hands fall to Piper’s tiny shoulders, offering a light squeeze. “Let’s hold off swimming until then. We can do that or something else fun to celebrate. It’ll be your choice.”

      Piper huffed. “But it’s so hot out. Even my knees are sweating.”

      Cassidy chuckled. “It’s called summer in Texas, sweetheart. We’ve got hot days and hotter days. Take your pick.”

      “Uncle Rhett said if you said no to the pool, then I should ask about the sprinkler.”

      “Did he now?” Cassidy’s voice warmed. Piper’s uncle Rhett was the new owner of Red Dog Ranch. He had inherited the family estate two months ago and was now devoting every spare minute to rebuilding the ranch in time to host free summer programs for foster kids—a longtime mission of the ranch. But he always made time for Piper.

      Piper nodded solemnly. “And Aunt Shannon told me she broke her arm one time when she fell from a tree. The same one that I broke. Isn’t that neat?” Piper put up her good hand when Cassidy opened her mouth to respond. She was about to explain falling from trees was actually not neat at all. Cassidy loved that Piper was adventurous, but her daughter hardly needed encouragement or ideas that might get her hurt again.

      Piper leaned closer, her excitement palpable. “That’s not even the best part. Shannon said Grandma still let her swim in the pond and tube on the river with her cast. She just made her wear a bread bag with a rubber band over her arm. Just like I do for tubs!” Piper drew a line on her bicep, showing where the rubber band fit.

      Cassidy tapped her chin, making a show of giving it all some thought. “Sounds like I need to tell Shannon and Rhett they’re not allowed to gang up on me like this.”

      “No, Mommy.” Piper’s eyes widened. “I like playing with them. Don’t—”

      “I’m only kidding, sweetheart.” Cassidy pulled her daughter in for a tight hug. She pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Well, what are we waiting for? Sounds like it’s time to go to the big house and see if the bag we used for last night’s bath is still hole-free.”

      “Really?” Piper grinned like it was Christmas. “We can? You promise?”

      “Of course. But only to jump through the sprinkler.” Cassidy