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She spoke with the head of the fire department and he only caught snippets. Her last name was Birch. She was living here alone, but her son worked at a local ranch. She didn’t have any family nearby.
Zeke inched closer, but he kept his focus trained on the building and the other firemen.
“There’s no one you could stay with?” the fire chief asked, his eyes trained on the pad of paper in his hand. “It’s better if you have a support system.”
Ms. Birch shook her head. “I don’t have any family. My parents passed away a few years ago, and Tom is my only son.” Just as she mentioned his name, a cowboy came sprinting at her. “Good, it’s out. I tried to track down Mr. Callahan, but he wasn’t home.”
Zeke stiffened and the familiar young man seemed to sense it. He glanced toward Zeke and his eyes widened.
“Mr. Callahan—what are you…” He shook his head, then turned to Ms. Birch. “I’ll be right back.” The young man hurried toward Zeke. “I’m sorry. What are you doing here?”
He gestured toward the smoking building. “I saw the fire from my hunting cabin.” Tilting his head, he took in the young man. He looked familiar, but his daughters had done their own share of hiring over the last few months. Adeline was making the ranch more and more her own these days. “You work for me?”
“I’m Tom. Brielle hired me to be one of the tour guides at the ranch about two weeks ago.” Tom held out his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you face-to-face, sir.”
Zeke accepted the young man’s firm grip and nodded. “You were looking for me?”
Tom started and glanced toward his mother. “Yes, I was going to see if there was space in the wrangler’s quarters for my mother and I—just until we can find a place, of course. I wouldn’t even ask, but…”
He could feel several pairs of eyes on him. His own shifted to Ms. Birch. “Absolutely not.” Zeke crossed his arms and his eyes narrowed. “Under no circumstances will I allow that fine woman to bunk up with a bunch of wranglers.”
Tom blinked. His uncertainty was almost humorous. “Sir?”
“You may stay in the bunkhouse, but your mother is welcome to use my hunting cabin.” Zeke sensed more than watched Ms. Birch react. He couldn’t tell if she was pleased with the offer or not.
Well, he didn’t make the offer to please her. He did so because it was the right thing to do.
“Mr. Callahan, that is truly very generous of you, but—”
He turned toward her. “Do you have any other options?”
She didn’t respond. This time, the onlookers were staring at her.
“Well? I think everyone here would like to know the answer to that question seeing as we’ve disrupted the flow of things around here.”
To that statement some of the firemen jolted into action, leaving the chief, Tom, his mother, and Zeke. Ms. Birch shifted where she stood, her eyes darting from Zeke to her son and back. It was getting rather ridiculous—her waiting. The answer was simple. She needed a place, and he had one to offer. What was so hard about that?
2
Agatha
How could this man not see just how hard it was for Agatha to accept his offer? He was a stranger. Even her son hadn’t met him face-to-face before. She hadn’t been thrilled about the notion of staying in the wrangler’s quarters when Thomas had run off to ask, but she hadn’t been able to stop him either.
At least staying with her son, she wouldn’t feel like she was putting anyone out. The hunting cabin Mr. Callahan had offered wasn’t ideal for a woman who was used to handling everything on her own.
She straightened her back and set a firm stare on this presumptuous man. “No, I don’t have anywhere to stay at the moment. But I’m sure I can find accommodations—”
“And you have,” Mr. Callahan stated as if he were discussing whether or not he wanted milk in his morning coffee. “I have offered you a place to stay, and you can accept it.”
Agatha let out a strangled laugh. “We haven’t even discussed a rental rate, not to mention there’s no telling how long it will take to rebuild.”
“You’re welcome to stay at that cabin for as long as you need, no charge.”
She snapped her mouth shut, but doing so didn’t stop her eyes from growing large. “I beg your pardon? I can’t just—”
“You can and you will. I don’t see any other option, do you? It’s nearly midnight and everything in town is closed for the night.”
Agatha scoffed. “Not everything.”
