The Rancher's Twin Troubles by Laura Marie Altom

and keys on the entry-hall bench before picking up the cat, burying her face in his fur. “Why am I such a mess?”
    Kitty answered with a satisfied purr.
    Sighing, she returned Kitty to his favorite spot. Though she knew better than to make her next move, she did it anyway. One of her favorite features of her home was the split levels. The sunken living room. The three steps at the end of the hall leading to Emma’s room.
    Pushing open the door, greeted by the soft haze of sun setting beyond western-facing windows, she saw three-year-old Emma jumping on her canopy bed.Giggling while building a block tower only to knock it down. Sleeping with lashes so long they’d brushed her cheeks.
    Josie hugged herself, stepping farther into the room. Deeper into her daughter’s spell. Her parents had begged her to change the sanctuary into a sewing or exercise room. To reclaim the space for herself. What they didn’t understand was that touching Emma’s bird nest collection, gathered from nature hikes and from the yard after storms, if only for a moment, returned Josie’s daughter to her arms. Upon finding each treasure, she’d said a singsong prayer for the winged creatures who’d lost their home before reverently handing it to her mother to be placed upon her “special” shelf. Then, Emma held out her arms to be picked up, asking Josie to tell her a story about all of the songbirds living in their backyard.
    Together, they’d squeezed into the comfy armchair in Emma’s room where Josie would spin tales of a fanciful bird kingdom presided over by bossy King Jay.
    Seated in the chair, Josie ran her hands along the floral chintz upholstery, hoping to release some of her daughter’s precious smell, knowing the action was futile, yet going through the motions all the same.
    She hadn’t indulged in licking her emotional wounds in a long time. Months. Maybe even a year. Yes, she’d been in the room to dust picture books and dolls, but not to mourn. More to celebrate the miracle her precious little girl had been.
    The fact that she’d now backslid into the wreck she’d once been told her she wasn’t anywhere near ready to be with another man—even for an outing as seeminglyinnocuous as talking over pie. Conversations naturally led to questions. The answers to which, she was too mortified to tell.

Chapter Five
    Monday morning, though typically Nanny Stella would take the twins to school, Dallas volunteered for the chore. He told himself he wanted to spend more time with his girls, but truth be told, he was still irked by the way Josie had ditched him.
    Yes, he might be attracted to her physically, but that only meant he was a man and all that that implied. After stewing on the issue all weekend, Dallas was ready for answers.
    What he wasn’t prepared for was finding Josie surrounded by three other teachers, looking red-eyed and blotchy as if she’d recently cried.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with Miss Griffin?” Bonnie asked. “She looks bad.”
    â€œBe nice,” Dallas snapped, not in the mood for a repeat of his daughter’s Friday performance.
    â€œShe was being nice, Daddy.” Betsy raised her chin while grabbing her sister’s hand. “Miss Griffin does look bad.”
    He shook his head. “Less talk and more stowing your gear.”
    â€œYou mean our backpacks?” Bonnie scrunched her face. “’Cause I’m pretty sure I don’t have anything called gear .”
    Upon steering his daughters toward their cubbies, Dallas helped remove lunches and Hello Kitty crayon boxes. Next on the agenda was making sure Green Bean had stayed home in his jar. Satisfied no immediate shenanigans were planned, he got both girls settled at their respective tables with their chubby pencils and writing tablets.
    Satisfied both of his daughters were working as opposed to faking it until he turned his back, he went out into