Something in her expression said that wasn’t the whole story. Curious, Hank asked, “The company you work for wouldn’t let you hold them over to the new calendar year?”

Ally’s eyes became even more evasive. “The one I used to work for, before the merger, would have. The financial services firm I work for now is a lot more hard-nosed.”

Clearly, she wasn’t happy with her new bosses. “You could always quit,” he pointed out. “Work the ranch instead.”

He may as well have suggested she take a bath with a skunk.

“Not in a million years,” she retorted, stomping around to the passenger side. “Besides, there’s no way I’m voluntarily giving up my management position.”

She removed a heavy leather briefcase on wheels and a shoulder bag from the front seat, then headed toward the steps.

Hank strode down to help her with them, too. “No doubt you’ve risen fast in corporate America. And worked hard to get there.” He lifted the heavy briefcase onto the porch and set it beside her suitcases. “Your mom used to brag all the time about how well you were doing in the big city.”

Hurt turned down the corners of her soft lips. “Just not my dad,” she reflected sadly.

Hank opened the front door and set her belongings in the foyer. “We all knew how he wished you’d returned to Laramie to work, after college. But parents don’t always get what they want in that regard. Ask my mom. She about had a fit when I told her I was joining the marines.”

Ally lingered on the porch, turning her slender body into the brisk wind blowing across the rolling terrain. “Your dad understood, though.”

Hank tracked her gaze to the small herd of cattle grazing in the distance, then glanced at the gloomy sky. “Dad rodeoed before he settled down. He understands risk is a part of life, same as breathing. Mom, once she had kids, well, she just wanted to protect her brood.”

Turning back to face him, Ally leaned against the porch column. “Yet you came back for good last summer, anyway.”