Part 2

His father, Thomas, was sitting on the porch when Blair rounded the corner of the house and took his hat off. The look in his father's eyes made him hesitate for a split second before he sat down in a rocking chair next to him.

“I fixed the northern fence near the meadow,” Blair said, glancing at his father from the corner of his eye.

“And then rode off with some girl on the back of your horse,” Thomas said in a gruff voice. “I already had a call from Mr. Lansing.”

Blair shook his head. “His granddaughter, Madeline, got lost in the woods on our property. I wasn’t going to let her walk the two miles back to their house.”

“He’s a grumpy old bastard,” Thomas murmured. “Go on now, go wash up for dinner. I think Eden made pie.”

Blair headed up the stairs. He slowed his steps as he neared Asher’s bedroom door. It felt odd not having him at home; the fear of that phone call telling them that he’d died in action was always foremost in his mind.

He showered quickly and headed back downstairs. His family was already seated at the dining room table. They all took hands and he glanced at his brother’s empty chair. Finn squeezed his hand and leaned over the table to take Colt’s hand.

“Father, we thank You for the food on our table. We thank You for our health and that we can sit around this table as a family. We are blessed in love and prosperity.  Father, we ask that You keep Asher safe and bring him back home to us when he is done serving this country. Amen.”

“Amen,” they all chorused.

“So, tell us about this girl you were galloping around with in the fields today,” Colt said, a smirk on his face.

“I was not galloping,” Blair said.

Eden grinned. “I heard she’s pretty.”

Blair shook his head, but he couldn’t stop the smile on his lips. “Her name’s Madeline and she just moved here. Old man Lansing is her grandfather.”

“Why’d she move here?” Dylan asked.

“Her parents died a few months ago, seems like she had nowhere else to go but to him.”

“Don’t get any funny ideas when it comes to this new girl. She doesn’t need you boys all slobbering after her,” Thomas said in a gruff voice.

“Like we have time to drool over a girl while working the ranch,” Colt muttered and grinned when their father gave him a look.

They finished dinner and cleared the table. The boys washed, dried, and put the dishes away while Eden wiped the counters. Finn usually lucked out and helped her with dinner while the other three boys worked the ranch. 

Blair was in his father’s office, going over the ledgers and bank statements. Thomas had been teaching him everything he needed to know to take over the ranch from him. Blair made notes of equipment he needed to check, feed to order, and everything else that needed to be done. The cattle had been vaccinated and the new calves branded. They’d been taken to the high pastures to graze, and they would stay there until the last few weeks of summer before they’d be moved back down to the ranch in the fall. 

It was nearing 10 p.m. when he switched off the lights and headed up to his room. His father’s room was downstairs on the main floor, and he quickly shut his door. He slid the window open and crawled onto the roof. Using the trellis that was below his window, he quickly climbed down and crouched behind the large bushes that bordered the trellis.

He held his breath, waiting for the light in his father’s room to go on, but it didn’t. With measured steps, he made his way around the house and ran toward the barn. He got a rein on Black Moon and mounted the horse without saddling him. He clicked his tongue and made his way to the main gate and down the road.

When the house came into view, he got off the horse and tied the reins to a low hanging branch and made the rest of his way on foot. He knew which room was Madeline’s. The house only had two rooms and old man Lansing had the master bedroom to the right.

With quiet steps, he walked right up to her window and tapped on it three times. He heard movement and then the curtain was pulled back. Madeline’s smile greeted him as she pushed the window up.

“What are you doing here?”

“Breaking you out,” he whispered.

Her laugh was soft and she nodded her head before the curtains were closed again. He could hear her rummaging in the room and then she was back, now dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a T-shirt. Blair helped her climb out and hand-in-hand they ran to where he’d left his horse.

“Grandpa Lansing will have my behind if he catches us,” she said, her voice a little breathy.

“Then we don’t get caught.” 

Blair helped her on the horse and pulled himself up behind her. He clicked his tongue again and Black Moon set off toward the field. The moon was high in the sky, the stars bright. The breeze was gentle, cutting through the stifling heat. He led them to a stream that cut through their property and helped her from the horse.

“This is beautiful,” she said softly.

Blair didn’t answer her, he didn’t care about the view they had. He was staring at her, the way the moon lit up her features, made her hair look shinier and her blue eyes sparkled. He didn’t have a plan and hadn't thought beyond getting her out of that house.

When he sat down, she joined him, their arms brushing against each other. He wasn’t sure what to say or what to do, but when Madeline intertwined their fingers, he smiled and knew he didn’t have to say anything. Her actions spoke to him loudly and he thought that maybe she wanted to get to know him as much as he wanted to know her.

“Will you rescue me every night?”

He huffed out a laugh but nodded his head. “I’ll rescue you any night you want me to.”

“It gets stuffy in that house. He doesn’t talk much, only to tell me what a disappointment my mother was. I don’t have the guts to say anything to him.”

Blair squeezed her hand and she lowered her head against his arm. “He’s been living alone for a very long time. He mostly grunts at people in town. Maybe it’ll just take some time for him to get used to you.”