Her Renegade Rancher EPB

by Jennifer Ryan

  Colt planted his hand on Simon’s chest and shoved him back against the wall, not letting him get close to Luna.

  “No one invited you in.”

  “To my fucking house,” Simon shouted.

  “Not yours. Hers. Accept that simple fact. You’d save yourself a lot of anger and the ass kicking that’s coming your way if you don’t calm down.”

  “Not her place. You mean yours. You just can’t wait to take over this spread, can you?”

  Colt narrowed his gaze. “That sounds an awful lot like what the caller said last night about me using her for this place.”

  “The cops said someone got an eyeful of you with her.”

  Colt held his hand firm against Simon’s chest. “Was that someone you? Were you the one lurking in the bushes?” Colt shoved Simon, thumping his head against the wall again.

  Simon pushed back. “I’m not some perv.” He reached up and rubbed the back of his head where he’d hit the wall. “Not my style. I want her to do the right thing and give back what doesn’t belong to her because she knows it’s the right thing to do.”

  “Your father left it to her for a reason.”

  Simon tilted his mouth into a half frown, his eyes filled with hope that she’d see things his way. “He left her a way out for all of us.”

  She got the anger. Part of his grief over losing his father. Spoiled and arrogant, it upset him things didn’t go his way, but she didn’t think he was the type to lurk in the shadows and outright threaten her. “Colt, he didn’t do it.”

  Simon seemed stealthier, more calculating. He was too smart to do all the things that outright pointed to the family. Too obvious. While she was trying to hope for the best for Wayne’s sake, she had no doubt Simon had a plan to get her to sell. The fact he’d agreed to work here for the next eighteen months indicated he had an endgame, and getting half the ranch wasn’t it. She didn’t know if the sale and the ten million he’d receive was really what he wanted ultimately, but he’d settle for that or half the ranch if he didn’t get what he really wanted. She hoped that didn’t include payback on her.

  Colt released Simon. The guy wasn’t a threat. Not a direct, imminent one anyway.

  Simon kept his steady gaze on her. “You know what I want, but since you won’t give it to me, I’m here to do the work.”

  Fair enough. She really did want him to succeed. She wanted him to prove that he wanted it for the right reasons. At least he was trying. She couldn’t say the same about the rest of the Travers family. Well, except maybe his cousins. They were great girls.

  “You’re expected down at the stables this morning. Get to work.”

  “Right, I put in the work, you can’t deny me what’s mine. That’s what you said. That’s what you’ll have to do.”

  “Eighteen months is a long time. Longer than most of the jobs you’ve held,” she pointed out. “You’re the type of guy who gives up when things get tough.” She pushed, hoping he’d find his way past his grief and look toward his future.

  “Not this time.” His words were filled with conviction. She hoped he stuck to it.

  She gave him a firm nod, hoping to encourage him. “Prove me wrong. Prove your father wrong. That’s what this is about. He wanted you to work for it. He wanted you to want it.”

  Simon raised his head to the ceiling, then looked back at her with a disheartened bleakness in his eyes. “Nothing I ever did was good enough. Why the hell would he think I’d go through all this to live up to his expectations when he was gone and it doesn’t matter anymore?”

  “You still don’t get it.”

  “Enlighten me.”

  “Hope.”

  His eyes narrowed with skepticism. “What?”

  “A parent’s eternal hope for their children. Hope that they will find something in their lives that gives them the kind of satisfaction you can’t get with money. Your father found that for himself on this ranch. The one thing he loved to do that he’d have done even without all the money. This place never felt like work to him, but a labor of love. It’s how Colt feels about working with his brothers. Wayne wanted that for you and Josh. He didn’t actually think you’d find it here, but he left you the opportunity to try in whatever capacity suited you. Otherwise, he left you the money and another opportunity to find your own path to happiness. Your cousin Kelly starts school in the fall.”

  “I’m too old to go back to school and start over.”

  She shook her head. “You’re never too old to learn something new and start over. That’s what I’m doing.”

  “You’ve got the money to do anything you want.”

  “So do you.”

  “Not the kind of money my father left you.”

  “Maybe not, but he didn’t leave you without options, a roof over your head, and an example of what life could be.”

  “I’m not like my father.”

  “Truer words,” Colt said under his breath.

  “You’re not your father,” Luna agreed. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t be the same kind of man.”

  “Stupid enough to leave a woman everything I ever built and made.” Again, Simon’s anger got the better of him.

  She didn’t have the patience for it this morning. “Get out. I’m not going to sit here and lecture you about something you’ve got no concept of and could care less about. Either get to work, or get off my property. I’m done trying to make you see what your father did, what he really left behind, and the opportunities you squander away thinking of ways to steal back what your father didn’t want you to have in the first place.

  “You tell your family, I will not sell. Not ever. Not for any reason. Certainly not to see you get another dime from this place. You tell Josh, he steps foot on this property again, I’ll have him arrested for trespassing.”

  “If I don’t shoot him first,” Colt warned.

  Simon glared at her for a full ten seconds, the tension in the room growing thick. She let out her breath when he turned and stormed out the front door, slamming it so hard the windows shook.

  Colt wrapped her in his arms. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine. Pissed. I get that he’s angry, but I’m so tired of defending the choices Wayne made.”

  “But you do it so well,” Colt teased. “You two really were close. You know exactly what he meant by doing what he did.”

  “We were a lot alike. You remind me of him.”

  Colt tipped his head. “How so?”

  She bit the side of her lip and let her gaze fall to his chest. He cupped her face and made her look at him.

  “Tell me.”

  “Being happy isn’t about a thing, or a place, or having what you want and need. It’s like you said last night. You’re here for me. Not this place, the money, what this place would mean for your future.”

  “You really mean that? You believe it?”

  “If I didn’t, you wouldn’t still be here. I’m not that stupid, naïve girl I used to be. You’re not the kind of guy who uses someone to get what they want.”

  “I’d never do that to you, honey. But if this thing between us keeps building to something permanent, we will have to face that my life with you here and my life with my brothers will have to change in some way. It’s already getting to that point for me with Sadie pregnant and marrying my brother. They’ve started a life together, and I don’t know how long I can stay there and not feel like I’m intruding in their life.”

  “Are you thinking of moving out?”

  “Yes. Sadie plans to surprise Ford with her old house and ranch any day now. Maybe I’ll move in with him. Maybe I’ll finally build my own place so that I’m not insinuating myself into the new life he starts there.”

  “Everything is changing.” For both of them. Their lives were being altered by the people around them. “I don’t think Sadie expects you to move out.” She tried to reassure him.

  “I don’t think she or Rory do either. But we can’t all keep living there when it’s clear they w
ant to build their family and their life on the ranch.”

  “But part of that ranch belongs to you.”

  “It always will, but that doesn’t mean I need to be underfoot all the time. Besides, I’m tired of walking in on them when they’re making out in the kitchen, or the stables, or on the porch. Those two are all over each other all the time.”

  Luna laughed and looked down between them. Colt held her close while they talked.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I get it.” He squeezed her close and kissed her softly. “Doesn’t mean I like seeing my brother kissing his girl all the time.”

  “I get what you mean.”

  “I need to get dressed and get back there. I’ll be back later today. Promise me you’ll stay here until Ed comes from the stables to get you. I’ll have a talk with the crew about what happened last night, Simon’s outburst this morning, and make sure you are never left alone.”

  “Colt, I don’t think it was Simon.”

  “Neither do I, but I’m not taking the chance he’s just a damn good liar.”

  “I don’t need to be guarded.”

  “Either you agree to this, or you’re coming with me. I won’t get anything done if all I do is worry about you.”

  “Colt . . .”

  “I mean it, Luna. You agree and mean it, or I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  “For how long? I can’t live my life like that.”

  “Until I know for sure you’re safe.”

  “I’m not the one they threatened last night.”

  Chapter 20

  Luna plucked a four-pack of her favorite raspberry Greek yogurt from the refrigerated shelf and moved down the aisle to get a new container of sour cream, trying not to resent the fact that one of her ranch hands had followed her everywhere she’d gone for the past ten days. Seriously, PJ was a nice guy, but she hated the necessity of his constant presence.

  She shifted her thinking, remembering that Colt implored her to keep someone with her for her protection. He wanted to keep her safe. It made her smile that he cared that much, that deeply.

  Small hands clasped together at her waist as a child hugged her from behind, bringing her abruptly out of her thoughts of spending the night with Colt again.

  “Angie, honey, you can’t run off like that.”

  “Luna,” Angie said, hugging her tighter as Mrs. Krolick rushed over.

  Luna turned in the girl’s arms and hugged her close. Angie looked up at her, smiling so big it lit Luna’s heart and made her sad at the same time. She missed being with the kids.

  “How are you, sweetheart?”

  “School.”

  “Yes. It’s been a while since I’ve been to the school.” Luna glanced up at Mrs. Krolick. “How is she doing?”

  “Working hard on her reading.”

  Born with Down syndrome, nine-year-old Angie had intellectual and developmental disabilities that made learning a challenge. She didn’t like letters, but numbers fascinated her.

  Luna held the sweet girl close and ran her hand over her soft golden hair. She stared down into Angie’s bright face. “Do you have a favorite book?”

  “Twinkle.”

  The one-word answer made it easy to figure out she meant the nursery rhyme. “One of my favorites, too.”

  “Miss Christy told me you’re opening an equine therapy program soon.” Mrs. Krolick’s eyes filled with interest.

  “Yes. I hope to open the school in the next few months. I let Miss Christy know, hoping we could work together to identify kids most in need of the program and what type of skills to focus on for each.”

  “Well, I for one would love to sign Angie up for the program. I think it would be a great confidence builder if nothing else.”

  “Horse.” Angie pulled on Luna’s shirt. “Horse.”

  Luna cupped the girl’s soft cheek. “Yes, honey, you can come and ride the horse.” Luna glanced back up at Mrs. Krolick. “I’ll get the information to you soon. I’ve got some personal matters to work out, but I really do want to make the school a priority.”

  Saying it solidified the conviction in her heart, but she couldn’t start the program and bring children to the ranch with the Traverses still causing trouble. Plus, two of the horses she wanted to use in the program came up sick over the last week. Worrisome on its own, but suspicious when she factored in Simon working at the ranch. She didn’t want to think he, or anyone in his family, would hurt the horses. She couldn’t rule it out either.

  “Let me know as soon as you’re ready.”

  “I will. Maybe Angie would like to come over and be my helper as I set up and work out the routines.”

  “Luna,” Angie said, squeezing her tight.

  “Well, you are her favorite person. Give me a call. We’ll set it up.” Mrs. Krolick stared down at her daughter with indulgent eyes. “Come on, Angie, we need to find your favorite cereal.”

  “Chex!” Angie released Luna all at once and dashed off down the aisle. Mrs. Krolick touched Luna’s shoulder in goodbye and rushed after her daughter.

  More than ever, Luna wanted to get her project up and running, despite all her other responsibilities. But how could she when the Traverses kept threatening her? She couldn’t bring children to the ranch not knowing what the Traverses would do next.

  She pulled her phone from her purse and called Dex. “Hi, this is Luna Hill. Is Dex available?”

  Luna waited for his assistant to put him on the line.

  “Dex, do you have time to set up a meeting between me and the Traverses this afternoon?”

  “Sure. What’s this about? Did something else happen?”

  “No. I think it’s time I put my foot down and let them know they keep pushing me, I’ll push back.”

  “I’ll set it up and call you back.”

  Luna tucked her phone in her bag and rushed to finish her shopping, anxious to talk with the Traverses and end this dirty business.

  So far, she’d been on the defensive, waiting for the next thing to happen. Time to go on the offensive and make them back down before someone really did get hurt.

  Chapter 21

  Colt stared at the computer screen, lost in thought, with no real answer coming to mind for his dilemma. His plan had been to talk to his brothers about adding his own house to the property and building up the small but lucrative horse business on the ranch. The part of the business he enjoyed the most. A piece of the business he’d excel at and make his mark.

  But what did he do with his life now that Luna had become such a big part of his? How that happened so lightning fast, he didn’t know. But he couldn’t decide what to do on his own because he always started factoring her in.

  He spent every night with her now. They’d fallen into a pattern. He arrived at her place around four and checked in with her guys, making sure the ranch ran smoothly. He made decisions with her men on the best thing to do for whatever came up. Luna listened, learned, and weighed in. Each and every day, she worked hard to earn her place on the ranch and the respect of those who worked for her. Even Simon had shed his hostility, put his head down, and worked at whatever task they’d assigned him, though he always had a dark glare to shoot Colt’s way.

  Each night Colt and Luna shared their day over a meal they made together, though she did the heavy lifting on that front. He loved sitting across the table, talking to her about anything, everything, and seeing her face light up when he told her about a new colt or calf, or hearing her laugh when he joked or teased with her.

  He made love to her every night and woke with her in his arms. He’d never been one to spend the night with a woman, let alone have her draped over him while he slept, but he couldn’t seem to fall asleep without Luna anymore.

  Every morning he left at dawn to shower and change at home, then spend his day working the ranch with his brothers when all he wanted to do was be at Luna’s place. Yes, because he worried about her safety despite the Traverses backing off after that menacing phone call, but mos
tly because he just liked being with her.

  He stared at his bank balance again, wondering what to do. Build a house and buy a bunch of horses here on the Kendrick spread, or build a life with Luna on hers? This was his home. The place he always thought he’d live and work. He couldn’t ask Luna to give up Rambling Range. He wanted to be with Luna, but did he want to give up his place here to be with her there? Did she even want him there?

  “Why the long face, son?” His granddad stood in front of the office desk, looking down at him.

  Colt let out a heavy sigh and swiped his hand across his mouth.

  “Did something more happen with Luna?” Grandpa Sammy plopped down in the chair in front of Colt, ready for a good long talk. Colt had always found it easy to spill his guts to his grandfather. Mostly because talking to his brothers involved a lot of razzing that Colt didn’t really need right now.

  “No. She’s fine as far as I know. Toby texted me the all clear a couple hours ago.”

  One of Grandpa Sammy’s eyebrows shot up. “Is that right? How often does he do that?”

  “At least twice a day.”

  “Sounds to me like you’re keeping a close watch on your girl.”

  “I’m trying, but I’m needed here, and I can’t really be there as much as I’d like.”

  His granddad’s head tilted to the side and his eyes narrowed.

  Colt waited, wondering what he’d said that made his grandfather study him so hard.

  “Maybe you should tell me what you’re trying to figure out.”

  “Rory and Sadie are getting married any minute.” At least that’s what it felt like to him. A clock ticking down on the time he had left here before the newlyweds took over the house.

  “It won’t be long now. Soon after, we’ll have a baby in the house. So?”

  “There’s the thing with Ford tomorrow.” Sadie and Rory planned to hand over the keys to her old place to Ford. They’d asked Colt to come and lend his support.

  “You feeling left out of that?”

  “No. He’s been talking about his own place for a long time. The plans he’s got stored up in his mind . . .” Colt shook his head in wonder. “He’ll be excited and happy and exactly where he’s supposed to be.”