Ginny’s face lit up. “My favorite.” She felt for the candy with her hand and popped a piece in her mouth. “Yum.”

Emily set the empty paper sack on the table and arranged the sweets in a row. “These aren’t to eat. They’re for practicing how to count.” Ginny’s mouth drooped, and Emily quickly added, “Then we’ll eat them.”

Ginny rewarded Emily with a quick smile and immediately started counting. She stumbled when she reached the number nineteen.

Emily helped her count to thirty, then made her start all over again. Ginny was a fast learner. “Okay, you’re at thirty. Thirty looks like this.” She took Ginny’s hand and helped her trace the number on the table with her forefinger. “Okay, what comes after zero?”

“One.”

“So, what comes after thirty?”

“Thirty-one!” Ginny exclaimed.

It didn’t take long after that for Ginny to count to a hundred. “Can I count to a million?” she asked, sneaking another peppermint sweet.

Emily smiled at the girl’s enthusiasm. “Tomorrow,” she said. Learning was best accomplished in short sessions.

Ginny grabbed a handful of candy from the table and made her way into the kitchen. “Cookie,” she shouted. “Want to hear me count?”

Humming to herself, Emily picked up the rest of the candy pieces and dropped them into the paper sack.

Just as she finished clearing off the table, Emily noticed Peggy Sue watching from the doorway, a tight expression on her face. Pleased with Ginny’s progress and thinking her mother would be equally delighted, Emily beckoned her into the room with a wave of her hand.

Much to Emily’s surprise, Peggy Sue’s frown only deepened. Instead of accepting Emily’s friendly invitation, Ginny’s mother turned abruptly and left.

21

Chase clutched the reins of his horse and watched as the eighty-rod spools of barbed wire unwound from the back of the wagon. Kansas Pete drove the wagon slowly, while two men walked behind to make sure the strands of wire didn’t tangle.

The devil’s rope, as some called it, was thought to be superior to wooden fences and save time and money. That turned out to be a lot of hogwash. Between the free-range activists and cattle thieves, keeping the wire fence in good repair was a constant battle. Here it was, only April, and already Chase was over budget for the year.

This time, activists had cut a twenty-foot gap from the fence, allowing cattle to escape. Boomer had said he wouldn’t know how many beeves they’d lost until he took a census.

No doubt his men would reclaim most, if not all, of the missing steers. But tracking them down would require hours away from the ranch, taking his men from other duties.

The cut fence, however, was only partly to blame for Chase’s dark mood. Emily bore the brunt of responsibility. The memory of holding her in his arms continued to plague him. Even when she was fighting him, he was drawn to her like a moth to light. Never had he been so attracted to a woman. Or so physically aware of her presence.