Her Rancher Bodyguard by Brenda Minton

breakfast.”
    â€œBecause eating makes everything better,” Essie, dark haired with flashing green eyes, quipped as she brought a plate of bacon to the table. “And coffee. That’s the icing on the cake of life.”
    And they were all talking again, laughing and sharing smiles. Kayla stood to one side, watching, comparing this tumult with her family. The Stanfords, not the Martins. Her father’s family was quiet, disciplined and perfect. Always perfect. She had never fit.
    The Martins were more like this family. More open. More accepting. They relied on their faith and openly shared it with others. But they never pushed. She liked that about them.
    She liked them. And yet she didn’t feel as if she belonged. She wasn’t a Martin. She wasn’t a Stanford. She was the extra, the one who didn’t fit.
    Her gaze slid to Boone. He was still standing in the kitchen, his arm around the sister named Janie. Kayla felt a tightness in her own throat as she watched brother and sister. He spoke quietly. Janie responded. And then a hand moved and she brushed back that curtain of auburn hair, revealing a tight, puckered scar that ran from her cheek down her neck.
    Someone stepped close to Kayla, and an arm brushed hers. “Don’t stare. If you want a friend, she’s the best, but she doesn’t like pity.”
    â€œWhat happened?” Kayla asked.
    â€œShe was burned in an accident years ago.” Jase shrugged as if what he said was common knowledge and not heartbreaking.
    Conversation ended as the family all came to the table. Boone was suddenly at Kayla’s side. He pointed to a chair and then he took the one next to it, his arm brushing hers. Before she could think, he had her hand in his. Michaela, next to her, took her other hand. The family bowed their heads in unison and Jesse Wilder prayed, thanking God for their food, for their blessings, for another day to serve Him.
    After they all said amen, conversation erupted again. Kayla accepted a piece of bacon. Boone forked a pancake onto her plate, ignoring her protests that she really didn’t eat breakfast. But he didn’t speak to her. He laughed at a story his brother Lucas told. He shook his head at the twins when they told him they were going to try team roping.
    There was much laughter and teasing as the family consumed the large breakfast. Kayla ate, not even realizing that she’d cleaned her plate. She felt as if she were in a foreign world here. Austin, just about an hour away, seemed as though it might as well be on a different planet.
    When she’d discovered she had a bodyguard, she hadn’t expected this. He should be in the background, quietly observing. Her father was a lawyer and a politician; she’d seen bodyguards and knew how they did their jobs. And yet here she sat with this family, her bodyguard talking of cattle and fixing fence as his sisters tried to cajole him into taking them to look at a pair of horses owned by Kayla’s brother Jake Martin.
    A hand settled on her back. She glanced at the man next to her, his dark eyes crinkled at the corners and his mouth quirked, revealing a dimple in his left cheek.
    He opened his mouth as if to say something but a heavy knock on the front door interrupted. He pushed away from the table and gave them all an apologetic look.
    â€œI think I’ll get that.” His gaze landed on Kayla. “You stay right where you are until I say otherwise.”
    â€œThey wouldn’t come here,” she said. She’d meant to sound strong. Instead, it came out like a question.
    â€œWe don’t know what they would or wouldn’t do, because we don’t know who they are. Stay.” He walked away, Jase getting up and going after him.
    Kayla avoided looking at the people who remained at the table. Conversation had of course ended. She knew they were looking at her. She knew that she had invaded their life.
    And she knew that her