Chapter One

Present day

Hunter Ranch- Cain House-7 o'clock in the morning

Emma Cain stared out the living room window watching her father heft several large fence posts into the back of his beat-up old Ford. In the three years since Maria Elena had died, Teaspoon had worked non-stop around the ranch. From the moment the sun broke free from its evening resting place, Teaspoon was up and running. If he was not out in the stables helping Raul Gonzales, the ranch foreman take care of the livestock, he was putting the horses through their paces, or doing the necessary repairs around the ranch. Both Sam and Ramon had offered to aide him on the days they were off from work, but Teaspoon had dismissed their assistance. Since his retirement from the Texas Rangers, Emma knew keeping busy was important to her father; but she feared he was going to work himself into an early grave.

She could not bear the thought of losing her father so soon after her mother died. She and Ramon had tried to talk to their father about lightening up his workload, but he laughingly waved off their concerns, assuring them both, he was not leaving them any time soon. That had ended the discussion in Teaspoon's eyes; but neither she nor Ramon was satisfied with how the conversation ended. As she continued to watch her father load the fence posts, Emma mused over a way to brooch the subject with her father again.

She was still standing at the window musing, when Sam came into the living room looking for her. He stood in the doorway of the living room watching his wife gaze out the window. Sam loved how the sunlight, pooling in through the open curtains, cast her red hair in a fiery glow. The long, curly strands drawn back by silver clips exposed her graceful neck, and profiled the classic lines of her exquisite face. He could tell by the set of her pursed lips that she was thinking hard, and he did not need to look out the window to know on whom her thoughts rested.

Teaspoon was a constant source of worry for Emma, regardless of the fact that she knew just how capable her father was in taking care of himself. Ever since his mother-in-law, Maria Elena had passed away, Emma fretted over her father's emotional and physical well-being. The fact Teaspoon was a highly trained ex-Texas Ranger, who had lived and loved hard all his life, and was in excellent physical health for a man of his age, seemed to have totally slipped his wife's mind. She was letting her own personal fears affect her relationship with her father. Sam hoped she got a handle on them before she drove a permanent wedge between herself and Teaspoon.

Crossing the space between them, Sam wrapped his arms around his wife's waist. Emma leaned back into the embrace and let out a sigh. He gave her a gentle squeeze, placing a tender kiss on her temple. "You've got to let him lead his own life Emma."

"I know…" Emma replied, turning in his arms to look up at him with troubled brown eyes. "I just worry about him so much."

"You don't think that he doesn't worry about you or Ramon or me?" Sam queried. "Our line of work isn't exactly known to be high on personal safety Emma, but you don't see Teaspoon tryin' to tell us how to live our lives. He trusts us to use the skills we have acquired and our common sense to make the right decisions to keep ourselves safe, and you have to give him the same courtesy. What happened to Maria Elena was a tragic accident that none of us could have foreseen, and all of us have to work through our grief over losin' her in our own way. Don't let your fear of losin' him cause permanent damage between the two of you."

"If I promise to try harder to not worry 'bout him, will you do me a favor?" Emma asked.

"Depends on what the favor is?"

Emma chuckled at the suspicious tone in her husband's voice. He knew her far too well. "Will you talk to him and see if you can convince him to slow down a little or allow someone to help him with some of the more strenuous work around the ranch?"

"Emma," Sam began, but Emma reached up and placed a finger against his lips.

"Please, Sam, for me?" She gave him her most beguiling smile and Sam felt his resistance begin to melt. He had always been a sucker for her smiles and if talking to Teaspoon again would help ease some of her fear, who was he to deny her request?

"Alright, but this is the last time," Sam reluctantly agreed. "I mean it."

"Thank you." Emma cemented her appreciation by giving her husband a kiss.

Sam reciprocated by deepening the kiss, prodding her lips open so his tongue could begin an intimate dance with hers, eliciting a moan from Emma, which set his libido racing. He took a step forward, pressing Emma back against the window as the kiss continued, one hand reaching up to cup the back of her neck, the other to caress her breast.

Emma's hands wandered over his shoulders and backside, slowly caressing downward until she cupped his firm bottom, eliciting a growl from within him.

"Samuel, don't forget to…" Marian Cain's voice preceded her appearance into the living room by only a few seconds, but it was enough to jog Emma and Sam out of the intimate moment they were enjoying. Her words trailed off as she took in the cozy embrace her son and daughter-in-law were sharing. "Oh my,"

Emma hurriedly dropped her hands from her husband's rear, while Sam reluctantly pulled his arms from around her waist. He grinned sheepishly at Emma, as embarrassment flooded through both of them. His wife's eyes were shiny with passion and mischievousness, too. He quietly warned her that she had better not make the situation even more awkward. Like the Hunter men, his wife had a wicked sense of humor, and he could practically see the wheels inside her head spinning around, as she considered just how physically uncomfortable he was at that precise moment, and how she could play it up to her best advantage.

She moved out from behind Sam, as he turned around, so that both faced Marion, but with Emma now standing in front of her husband. She smiled at her mother-in-law, shifting from one foot to the other, her bottom rubbing against the front of him, making Sam draw in a sharp intake of breath. He heard her giggle under her breath and vowed revenge once they were alone again.

"Was there somethin' that you wanted Mom?" Sam asked resting his chin on Emma's head.

"I was just goin' to remind you not to forget that you were goin' to meet me at the mechanics on your lunch hour," Marian said, her blue eyes twinkling with amusement. She turned to leave the room, calling over her shoulder, "I enjoy havin' spontaneous sex as much as you do son, but next time try doin' it in a more appropriate place than in front of the windows or out in the open."

"Mother!" Sam felt his face flush hotter at his mother's scandalous declaration. His mother was a beautiful, vivacious woman who did not want for male companionship. Knowing his mother dated frequently was easy enough for him to accept, but being privy to any part of her sexual exploits was another thing entirely. There were just some things that should not be shared between a mother and son, and anything regarding sex was at the top of the list.

Emma snickered as she turned around to face Sam. There was more than one reason why she and her mother-in-law got along so well. Besides the devotion they each shared for Sam and their two children, Marian had a sense of humor as wicked as her own, among other similar characteristic traits. Sam had certainly had the tables turned on him when they got married, and she and Marian had become fast friends.

Sam glanced down as Emma's laughter reached his ears, frowning into her upturned face. "Keep it up Mrs. Cain and I'll turn you over my knee and give you a spankin' for misbehavin'."

"Promises, promises," She grinned up at him, her brown eyes twinkling with humor. "Unfortunately, us doin' anymore playin' is goin' to have to wait until tonight. I've got to go make sure the kids are up and gettin' ready for school, and you have to go talk to my Pop."

"Emma, can't the talk wait until tonight?" Sam asked, dreading the conversation with his father-in-law. He did not much like people telling him how to run his life, so how could he go and butt into the way Teaspoon was leading his?

"Sam," His wife's voice held a pleading tone to it he hated to hear. Emma was a strong, independent woman who seldom used emotional strings to get him to do what she wanted, but this matter of him talking to her father was obviously important to her. Hell, even he had some concerns about the way Teaspoon had kept himself running at such a fast pace ever since Maria Elena had died, but on his own accord he wouldn't intrude on personal territory. For Emma, he would do almost anything, and talking to Teaspoon seemed to fall under that heading.

"Alright, I'll go try and talk to him," Sam said, kissing her on the forehead and starting toward the front door.

"Thank you," Emma called after him and turned to watch out of the window as her husband headed down the steps of their front porch and headed across their yard toward where Teaspoon was still loading fence posts into the back of his truck.

Her attention was drawn away from the window at the sounds of small feet pattering through the house, accompanied by her son and daughter's voices greeting their grandmother in the kitchen. She headed off to oversee their getting ready for school, hoping that her husband found the right words to say to her father.

~~TYR~~~

Teaspoon filled his mug with coffee and added a dollop of French vanilla creamer to it, stirred the dark liquid, and took a sip of the strong brew. Most of the time he drank his coffee black, but every now and again, he added some of the flavored creamer Emma stored at his house for when she, Sam, and the kids came over for breakfast on the weekends. He yawned, took another sip of his coffee, then set it down on the counter and moved over to the pantry.

As soon as he opened the door and filled the coffee can full of kibble, Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, and Jim Bowie left their patches of floor in the living room and came running. Teaspoon outsmarted their attempts to beat each other to the food bowls as he filled them, by setting them onto the counter. Once they were full and he had placed them back onto their stands, Teaspoon emptied their water dishes in the sink, and then gave them some more.

He had just finished with his task and settled into a chair at the kitchen table to enjoy his coffee and read his newspaper when someone knocked on the door. He rose and went to answer it. Raul Gonzalez, his foreman, stood on the porch.

"C'mon in, Raul, and help yourself to some coffee." Teaspoon led the way back into the kitchen.

"Rosaria wanted me to ask you if you wanted some more of her salsa. She just made another batch last night." Raul poured himself a cup of coffee and joined Teaspoon at the table.

"Of course, I do," Teaspoon, declared. "She should make it a standin' order. Rosaria makes the best salsa this side of the border."

"Si, she does." Raul agreed. "Are you going to work on the fencing again today?"

Teaspoon nodded. "Yes, replacin' all the damaged fence posts and securin' the lines should take me another couple of days."

"Want some help?" Raul took a sip of his coffee.

"No. Between workin' your land and carin' for our stock, you've got enough on your plate right now."

Raul drank the rest of his coffee. "Manny almost has the black stallion saddle broken. He's going to fetch mucho dinero at auction."

"That he will," Teaspoon took another sip of his coffee. Both your sons have remarkable gifts when it comes to the horses, but Manny's got somethin' very special. I have no doubt he'll get that stallion broke no time at all."

"Manny'll be pleased you find his abilities with animals pleasing." Raul stood up. "I need to head home. Rosaria should have breakfast ready by now."

Teaspoon bid him goodbye and then set to work on fixing his own breakfast. By seven o'clock, he was finished eating and heading outside to help Raul and his sons do the morning chores.