Darnell tried to listen to Winnie’s rambling story about some bears and a little girl, apparently her own variation on Goldilocks. Winnie had quite the imagination. Most of the time, Darnell could make appreciative comments at the right places and laugh at some of the funny ranch-life twists his little charge put into her take on the traditional fairy tales. He had to give Wade credit. The rancher read a story to his daughter every night at eight when her bedtime rolled around. Already, she could recognize some of the words in the big book he usually used for the ritual. She also could retell every story with her unique changes.
Although he made a sincere effort, Darnell’s thoughts kept straying. There at the sink this morning when Wade had paused, not even an arm’s length away, something
