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had her daughter to think of first. At least Lacy had one parent who cared.
    Setting those dangerous thoughts aside, she smiled up at Uncle Jimmy. “I’m glad; it’s a full-time job just worrying about Lacy, let alone my favorite uncle.”
    â€œI’m just about finished up here. I need to straighten out the kitchen and make sure I have everything I need for the breakfast crowd.”
    â€œCan I help?” Danielle asked.
    He nodded. “Of course, just like always.”
    She smiled when Lacy cried, “Me too!”
    Uncle Jimmy’s booming laughter filled a part of the void inside of her. It is going to be all right. She let Lacy pull her toward the kitchen.

Chapter 3
    Jesse grinned as he opened the door to Dawson’s. Some things never changed and it lightened his heart. Life seemed to be passing him by out at the ranch, with his brothers settling in with the women they’d chosen to spend the rest of their lives with. It was good for them, but not for him.
    A creature of habit, it was a little unnerving to have female voices added to the mix in the mornings. He missed the days when he and his brothers would wake up and either say good morning or punch one another on their way to the coffeepot. Not that they’d fight that early in the day every day, but at some point in every day, the Garahan brothers had been known to blow off a little steam. A nice fistfight usually did the trick.
    But now his brothers were different. If he had to put his finger on it, he’d say they were content, happy—and smiling all the damn time! It set his teeth on edge each and every morning when his brothers came downstairs with shit-eating grins on their faces. He knew they’d both had themselves a time the night before—hell, he had ears… and their women had lungs.
    Disgusted with the train of his thoughts, he focused on his surroundings and the fact that the entrance to the hardware side of Dawson’s. Barrels lined up lying on their sides, each one filled with nails, screws, nuts, bolts, or washers. He breathed in and the air smelled the same. He couldn’t put his finger on it, so he closed his eyes, took another sniff, and grinned. “Fresh-cut pine, kerosene, and oil, same as always.”
    â€œWell which one do you want?” A familiar voice interrupted his trip down memory lane.
    His eyes shot open and he grinned. “Actually, I’m here to pay down our bill, Miss Pam.”
    The older woman waved her hand in his general direction. “I know you’re good for it. You can always count on a Garahan.”
    His throat tightened as gratitude swamped him. He nodded until the emotion eased up and he could speak. “You know it, but it’s been too high and we’ve been working hard to bring it back down to a controllable level.”
    â€œTimes are tough all over, Jesse. That’s why us town folk have to stick together to help out our neighbors—the ranchers.”
    As if she could sense that her words affected him, she reached out and patted him on the arm. “Well, come on back to my office and we’ll settle up what you’ve got with you today and see where the Circle G Ranch is on my books.”
    He touched the brim of his hat. “Much obliged, Miss Pam.”
    They made their way past the strategically stacked displays of varnish and paint, Jesse making a mental note to pick some up in a couple of weeks—that is, if Dylan’s current side job paid him on time. His brother still took on a job or two as a carpenter for hire in the evenings. He grinned; that was how Ronnie had met his older brother, when he’d agreed to do the repairs to her shop after some local teenagers had destroyed the place.
    When Jesse and Miss Dawson reached the back of the store and her little hole-in-the-wall office, he started to sweat. He hated owing people but knew they’d never keep the ranch going without Miss Dawson extending