Between Two Sisters (contemporary western romance novella)

Copyright © 2013 by
Shayna Ryan

All rights reserved

For Sean, who outshone them all

-1-

It was just as he remembered it from all those years ago. Time stood still in his absence. The long, dirt drive seemed to cut through the landscape itself, until it rounded the bend and came upon the ranch.

The ranch. It sat just as he saw it in his memories. The logs were a bit more faded,
and the vehicles parked in front of it had changed, but everything else was as he recalled. No; that wasn’t true. In the distance, between the ranch house and the stables, there were more individual cabins then he remembered. It seemed that the Haffners had been doing well, if they had call to add more lodging for their growing staff.

He pulled
into an empty space on the side of the main drive, and climbed out of his truck. He didn’t even have time to shut the door before the front door of the ranch house opened and the Haffners hurried out to greet him.

“Billy!” Mrs. Haffner called to him joyfully
as she grabbed him into a heartfelt hug. “Let me look at you. My, but you’ve grown.”

Billy removed his cowboy hat and grinned at her. She wore the same kind smile he remembered from his childhood, though she had more wrinkles to her, and her hair had greyed a bit. “Well, Mrs. Haffner,
thirteen years will change a man.”

“A man? You were but a boy when you left here; but you’re right, you’re a boy no more!”

“Billy,” Mr. Haffner extended his hand in greeting. “I was mighty sorry to hear about your father. He was a good man, and the best ranch manager we’ve ever had.”

“Thank you, Mr. Haffner.”

“We miss him sorely, even though we’ve got some great ranch hands with us, and we’re glad you’re here all the same.”

As Mr. Haffner continued on about all the changes that taken place at the ranch in t
he last decade, Billy only half listened. It had been thirteen years; surely it was too much to hope that she was still at the ranch. Was it possible that she hadn’t moved off with a husband by now?

Mel
anie. She was three years his senior, and while that wouldn’t matter a bit now, when he was fourteen and she was seventeen it had made a world of difference. She was kind to him, in a big sister sort of fashion, and she was his world. There was no one as beautiful, smart, or funny as Melanie, in his adolescent eyes. It seemed no woman had measured up to her before or since he and his family left the ranch all those years ago. His father decided that they needed to move closer to the city because his mother was sick of the country life, and off they went, leaving the Haffner ranch for good.

His heart thumped faster in his chest when
he caught site of the front door opening again. It became impossible to breathe, and it felt like time moved in slow motion as he watched her come out the door, and down the walk to the drive to see him. There she was; no longer the teenager he had preserved in his memories, but now a full grown woman.

The curves she had shown hints of at
seventeen were now all woman. She had a trim waist, the longest legs he’d ever seen, and that confident, casual gait he had admired even as a boy. Her auburn hair fell in loose waves over her shoulders as the sunlight shone off it.

Billy’s mouth went dry as she smiled at him, the same lovely smile he had seen in his dreams for years after his family moved away from the ranch.

“Billy!” She held her arms out for a hug as she approached, and her green eyes danced.

He
stepped into the hug, closing his eyes for a moment to savor the fresh smell of her hair. She smelled like sunshine, and freshly cut meadows.

“You’re a little bit bigger than I remember you,” she teased, pulling back to examine him.

“Melanie. I, uh…” He didn’t have any idea what to say to her. His childhood crush was now a stunning woman, a woman he might have a chance with, finally.

“Let’s not stay gabbing out here
all day,” Mrs. Haffner cut in. “Billy, do you think you can find cabin #4 again? That’ll be yours.”

He shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t recall the layout, and I think you’ve added some new cabins since last I was here, Mrs. Haffner.”

“I’ll show him,” Melanie volunteered quickly.

“Very well then. You show him where he can get situated. Billy, I’ll
come pick you up, in say, an hour? You go get settled in a bit, and then we’ll start the grand tour.” Mr. Haffner headed back to the main house with his wife as Melanie climbed into Billy’s truck.

Sweat broke out on
his brow as he climbed in next to her. Her scent filled the truck, and it was intoxicating. As a boy he had dreamed of kissing Melanie, but as a man his fantasies about her were far less tame. He gripped the steering wheel firmly as he willed himself not to act like a fool.

“So, I hear you’re staying a spell?” Melanie asked conversationally.

He nodded, scarcely trusting himself to speak lest he blurt out the feelings he had for her all those long years.

“Wow,” she leaned against the passenger side door, admiring him. “Little Billy Reynolds, all grown up. I remember when you used to catch frogs in the pond, and then chase Cass and me around with them!”

“How is Cass?” he asked, finally finding his voice. He struggled to calculate how old she would be now. He remembered her as a bright eyed, energetic pest when he lived at the ranch, always in his way.

“She’s still trouble, as always,” she answered with a small laugh. Her laughter made Billy’s inside bloom with warmth as he wondered what it would be like to hear it in the dark quiet of the night, next to him. Color rose in his cheeks, but luckily, Melanie was looking out the window at the beautiful scenery passing by and didn’t notice.

They arrived at the cluster of cabins built for the ranch’s workforce. Some were larger, to accommodate families, and some were small one room studios for the single men on staff. Each was a log cabin, just like the main house. While not as fancy as the main house, each cabin was well built and proper looking. The Haffners wouldn’t have it any other way.

“The second
one on your right,” Melanie instructed. He pulled into the tiny driveway next to it and killed the engine. “C’mon, let’s go check it out!” She bounded out of the car, her auburn hair bouncing off her shoulders as she flew up the front steps and across the small porch to the front door.

She stood waiting with one hand on her slender hip, watching Billy as he mounted the stairs. He felt her eyes upon him and forced himself to meet her gaze. Her eyes were warm, and friendly, and he managed to give her a nervous smile.

“Home sweet home!” She threw open the door and gestured for him to enter first. He stopped, and motioned for her to go first instead.

“After you.”

“Nope. This is your place, so as Master of this domain, you get to go first. No ‘ladies first’ today.”

Billy relented and entered first, passing within inches of her as she held the door open. He could feel the heat of her body as he passed her by, and he shook his head to clear the dirty thoughts running through his mind.

“It’s nice!” It was small, but tidy, with a small kitchen, a bathroom with a shower stall, and a small bedroom/living area with a wood stove in the corner. Since he was single, he got one of the studio cabins. He didn’t mind at all; there was plenty of room for him there.

“It’s all yours!” Melanie stood next to him and spread her arms wide in a gesture of moc
k grandeur. She dropped her hands by her side and turned to face him.

“I’m really glad you’re back, Billy.”

“Me, too.” He didn’t know where to look. Those green eyes were studying him, and he feared if he looked too long he might say something silly, probably something he’d regret.

“I…I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I always kind of had a crush on you, when we were younger,” she told him.

“What?” He must have misheard her; there’s no way a gorgeous, popular girl like she had been as a teenager would ever have a crush on a boy like him.

“Well, you know…it was jus
t one of those puppy-dog crushes, but I was really torn up when you moved. You were a bit younger than me, so it would have never worked, but I used to have this fantasy that you’d stay with us forever, and one day, when you were a man, you would confess your love for me and we would ride off into the sunset together. Or something like that. Ah, to be young again,” she giggled.

Billy couldn’t believe his good fortune. He scarcely dared hope she’d be at the ranch still, and not only was she still here, she was admitting to having feelings for him when they were younger. He decided he was going to come clean about his feelings for her that started all those years ago.

“Melanie, I’m really glad you told me that. When I was-”

“There you are!” a male voice called from the doorway. Melanie spun on her heels and rushed over to the man,
wrapping her arms around his waist while she kissed him briefly on the lips before turning back to Billy to introduce them.

“Billy, this is Marty, our ranch manager. Marty, meet Billy, your new assistant.”

With a heavy heart, Billy shook his hand and greeted him. Of course, he should have known a woman like Melanie couldn’t be single. She was too beautiful, and too kind. He couldn’t be the only one at the ranch sore about her having a boyfriend.

“Glad to have you aboard, Billy. Now if you’ll excuse us,” he grabbed Melanie and threw her over his shoulder like a caveman, while she squealed with mock protest, “I’m gonna take my little lady here back to my place for lunch. Nice meeting you. I’m sure we’ll be working together real soon.” With that, he strode out the door, with a giggling Melanie still slung over his shoulder.

Billy watched them go with a sigh. She had been out of his league then, and she still was. It had been foolish to think even for a second that she might someday feel the way about him that he still did about her.

He gathered his few bags of personal items from the truck and dropped them on the floor of
his new home. He sat on his bed with his head in his hands, and lamented over his decision to come back to the Haffner ranch. He should have stayed at the ranch where he was already working, but when Mr. Haffner called to express his condolences over his father’s death, and to offer him the position of assistant ranch manager, he jumped at the chance. Looking back, it was obvious now that he hadn’t been thinking clearly. He had loved his old job, and fit in well with the owners and the other staff. He hadn’t realized it at the time, but his main pull to rejoin the Haffner ranch was Melanie. And now, it turned out, she was already spoken for.

There had been women, plenty of women, in his adult li
fe, but none he had connected with like her. No one had ever come close to Melanie. She was the standard by which he measured other women, and they always fell short. There had been good times, with some of the better women, and some of them had just been a way of keeping his bed warm at night, but his relationships always failed. No one could match up to the stunning, smart, funny girl he fell in love with as a boy.

“Sure, it’s not much, but it can’t be all
that
bad.” A silky voice broke his train of thought and he looked up in surprise.

She stood in the open doorway, with one thumb stuck in her front pocket, one arm against the door frame, and a curvy hip cocked away from it. She wore tight faded blue jeans, and a faded flannel shirt tied at the waist, with the sleeve cut off. Billy couldn’t help but notice there was one button too many undone on it, and he caught a glimpse of the top of
one pert, round breast before his eyes were drawn to her tanned, toned stomach.

Her pale blonde hair was woven into a lose braid that hung to one side, with strands escaping
from it here and there. Lush lips curled into an easy smile, and a pair of striking green eyes examined him with frank curiosity.