Page 129 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

Fifteen minutes later, with the dinner cooking and Marie gone, Bella stared at the clothes hanging in her bedroom closet. She didn’t think it was fitting to wear jeans with Cooper and his wife coming over, but she didn’t really want to dress up, either. Though Jared had made it clear she and Sienna would dine with them tonight, she was still the help. But he’d said Lauren was eager to meet the woman who’d saved his life. Being pregnant, his sister-in-law had been drilling everyone with children about pregnancy and labor and child-rearing and well, Jared seemed to think the world of his sister-in-law. Bella really couldn’t argue. She remembered how nervous she’d been about motherhood, too, and she was happy to share her experiences.

She picked out a pair of black slacks and a white scoop-necked blouse with sleeves that billowed out at the wrist. It wasn’t fancy, but it wasn’t casual, either, and it made her feel soft and female. “How about this one?” she asked Sienna, who was busy crawling around on the floor. “What do you think?”

The baby glanced up at her.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Now for you, Sienna-poo.” Tonight she wanted to show off her daughter to Cooper and his wife, so she picked out a jumper dress, the top made of light blue denim, the skirt a frilly flare of white voile decorated with bursts of gold.

Bella kept her hair down, wearing it straight. For Sienna, she found an elastic wraparound headband with a big blue bow. She dressed the baby first and then quickly donned her outfit. She was all set to go downstairs and check on dinner when her cell phone chimed.

She smiled when she looked at the screen and answered. “Amy! Hi. How are you?”

“I’m doing just fine. Missing you guys. How’s our little girl?”

“Enjoying ranch living, I think. She’s being treated very well here. Jared and Marie have been very welcoming. So far, I’ve managed to keep her happy. If all goes well, tomorrow I plan to take Sienna out to look at the horses. But, oh, we really do miss you. When are you coming to visit? I have Sundays and Mondays off.”

“I’ll come soon. I promise.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that.”

“Listen, Bella, I have something to tell you...it may be nothing at all but—”

“Amy, I hate to cut you off,” she said, glancing at the digital clock on the nightstand. “Can you tell me later tonight? I’m about to serve dinner and I don’t want to burn my first meal for Jared’s family.”

“Uh, sure. If you’re in a rush. Just be sure to call me tonight.”

“Amy, is everything okay?”

“Yeah...probably.”

“I don’t like the sound of your voice. Should I be worried?”

“Bella, I’ll tell you later.” Her voice brightened. “You go and wow the family with your cooking.”

“All right, I’ll call you.”

Amy had her curious and a bit concerned. But she couldn’t dwell on it. She had enough to worry about right now.

She hung up, putting Amy’s ominous call out of her mind, and then scooped the baby up. “Here we go. I want you to be a good girl tonight at dinner, okay?”

Sienna laid her head down on her shoulder. “O-tay, Mommy.”

Bella beamed inside. For all the bad things that had happened to her in the past, having these sweet moments of absolute joy helped heal her grieving heart. She cherished her baby and would do anything to protect her.

Jared was dressed in a tan snap-down shirt and a new pair of jeans. He’d lost weight since the accident and had ordered new clothes online, but had been a bit skeptical about the whole thing. And damn if the clothes didn’t fit him well. He was as groomed as he could manage, a close shave being the least of his worries. He’d done his best trimming his beard.

On his way to the kitchen, the sound of giggles coming from the second floor stopped him cold. He stood at the base of the staircase looking to the top. Bella held Sienna in her arms as they were about to descend. Bella looked beautiful. Correction, she was beautiful, and he might as well stop denying it. His savior, his angel, the woman who’d started his heart on that dark road that night wasstoppinghis heart right now. He inhaled deeply and his ribs rebelled.

Damn.

“Hi, Tared.” Sienna waved and he was struck again by the vision of the two of them coming down the stairs.

“Hey there, Sienna. Don’t you look pretty tonight.”

“I pretty?”

“You are,” Bella said. “I have to agree with Jared.”

As Bella reached the bottom of the stairs, he took a step back. “Hi.”