The Rancher Who Took Her In (The Bachelors of Blackwater Lake)

by Teresa Southwick

  “Which is?”

  “If you don’t go after her, you’re not nearly as smart as I know you are.” She straightened away from the table and put a hand on his arm. “The two of you love each other.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Cabot knew what she said was the truth but wondered what had given him away.

  “Just the way you look at each other. It’s right there on your faces. And what a shame it would be to miss out on all that could be yours just because you’re too stubborn, stupid and scared to go after her and admit you made a mistake when you sent her away.”

  Suddenly it hit him. Caroline was right. About everything. “I don’t even know where to find her.”

  “I do. When she said goodbye, she gave me her contact information, including her mother’s phone number. She said from now on they would always know where she is. I’ve talked to the woman. She’s very nice, by the way.” Caroline grinned. “What can I say? I’m a people person. It’s a gift. You can thank me later.”

  “Caroline, I could kiss you.”

  “I’ll take it.” She lifted her cheek, then gave him a teacher look. “I just hope you haven’t messed this up so badly it can’t be fixed.”

  He planted one on her at the same time he prayed that Kate would hear him out.

  * * *

  A couple of weeks after leaving Blackwater Lake, Kate was in Nevada for the Western Regional Championships at the Clark County Shooting Complex. This would be her first on-camera experience and she was nervous. The sports network had given her a crash course in the basics of broadcasting, and a commentator would be running the show. He would ask questions and prompt her to provide context and color to the program. She liked him; he’d told her to just talk about the sport she knew and loved.

  She could do that; it was the adding-color part that concerned her. Since she’d left Cabot’s ranch, it felt as if all the color had seeped out of her life. She ate, drank, talked, laughed, worked. She went through the motions of living, but it was all in black and white. Miserable didn’t begin to describe how she felt, but she still had a job to do.

  Right now she was sitting in the mobile hair-and-makeup trailer, which was a big tricked-out motor home with beauty stations set up. Except for Andrea, who was getting her camera ready, she was alone. Through the window in front of her she could see the cloudless blue sky and mountains that looked as if they’d been carved from rock. Pretty in their own way, but not a single evergreen tree in sight. It wasn’t Montana.

  She missed Blackwater Lake desperately, and the thought brought tears to her eyes. Crying couldn’t happen. It would ruin her makeup, and Andrea would have to fix the damage. Some professional she was.

  The young blue-eyed blonde was applying her mascara. She frowned. “Do you have allergies? Nevada is different from California, and something could be making your eyes water.”

  Something was, but it had nothing to do with flora, fauna or the fact that it was dry as a bone in the desert. She simply missed Cabot, and her heart hurt every time she thought about not being able to see him.

  “I’m so sorry, Andrea.”

  The other woman waved a hand. “No big deal. It’s nothing that can’t be touched up.”

  “I don’t mean to be so much trouble.”

  “Are you kidding?” The young woman took a small makeup sponge and blotted under Kate’s eyes. “I’ve worked with trouble, and you don’t even rate in the top ten.”

  “Still, I don’t want to give you more work to do.”

  “It isn’t allergies, is it?”

  Not unless she was allergic to loving and losing.

  Andrea took another sponge and ran it through a small container of light tan–colored concealer. “I heard rumors. About you and some rancher in Montana.”

  “How could anyone know about that?” Kate had told her family what had happened, and Zach had wanted to beat up the rancher in question. The thought made her tear up again.

  The other woman noticed. “I’m sorry. I have no idea how this stuff gets started.”

  “Rumors and gossip remind me of Blackwater Lake.”

  “Where’s that?”

  “Montana.”

  “Where the rancher is?”

  Kate nodded. “It’s a small town and news travels fast. The people who live there take great pride in that.”

  “How did you find this place?” Andrea shrugged. “We might as well talk about this. Get it out of your system and maybe you’ll stop crying.”

  She didn’t think that would happen, but it was worth a try. “You know that I ran out on my wedding?”

  “Yeah. When you dropped off the radar it was a big story. For what it’s worth, you did the right thing, walking out on the cheating jerk.”

  “Sure dodged a bullet there.”

  When she’d returned from Montana, one of the first things she did was a series of interviews to set the record straight. Some of the fallout was that her ex lost a fair number of high-profile sports figures he represented, including Kate. It hadn’t taken her long to find excellent representation, a guy who made sure she took advantage of this opportunity for some terrific publicity that highlighted her new gig as a sports commentator. Now it occurred to her that the press might have been digging into her Blackwater Lake experience, which was how the romantic rumors had started.

  She continued her story. “After I caught him kissing another woman, I grabbed the first set of car keys I saw and they happened to belong to my brother’s old truck. I got in, still wearing my wedding gown, and drove until I was too tired to drive anymore. That happened to be Blackwater Lake.”

  In spite of how badly things had turned out with Cabot, she would never regret finding the town, the beauty and majesty of the lake and mountains. Knowing the people. She was keeping in touch with Caroline and Sydney.

  “Is the rumor about the rancher true?” Andrea asked.

  Kate nodded. “Cabot Dixon. He’s smart, funny, a little brooding, which is sexy. Wonderful father to an eight-year-old boy. Tyler.”

  She missed him, too.

  “What happened?” The other woman was teasing and tweaking her hair.

  “I worked at his summer camp. He felt sorry for the runaway bride and took me in.”

  “No. I mean personally—between the two of you.”

  Kate had fallen in love with him—that was what had happened. And he’d broken her heart. “I was supposed to stay until the end of summer, but the network sent a helicopter to find me.”

  “I heard about that.” Andrea frowned. “Cabot didn’t try to stop you from leaving?”

  “He urged me to take the job.” Because he didn’t want me. It was as simple as that. Her eyes filled with tears again. “I don’t think the talking-about-this therapy is working very well. Probably we should change the subject.”

  “Too soon?” When she nodded, Andrea said, “Okay. Then let’s talk about your brother.”

  “What’s there to say? Like all brothers, he’s annoying and endearing in equal parts.”

  “Don’t forget cute.” Andrea had a dreamy look in her eyes. Apparently Zach’s visit to the sports newsroom had made an impression. “Is he single?”

  “Yes, but you don’t want—” A knock on the door interrupted.

  “Probably they want you in the booth. Come in,” she called out.

  The door opened and a man wearing a formal black tuxedo walked in. Kate saw him in the mirror and her heart started hammering in her chest. “Cabot—”

  Andrea gasped and gawked. “The rancher?”

  He held out his hand. “Cabot Dixon. Nice to meet you.”

  “Andrea Tillson. Where’s the cowboy hat?” She looked him up and down. “You look like you just filmed a champagne commercial or ran out on a wedding.”

 
“There’s a good reason for that.”

  He looked awkward and uncomfortable but so incredibly handsome that Kate could hardly stand it. “Where’s Tyler?”

  “With C.J.’s family.”

  “How did you find me?”

  “Caroline shared your contact information with me. I talked with your brother and he told me where to go.”

  That was when she noticed the bruise near his eye. “He made you work for the information, didn’t he?”

  Cabot brushed a knuckle over his cheek. “He’s everything a big brother should be.”

  Kate didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Why did you come?”

  He looked at Andrea. “Would it be all right if I talked to her alone?”

  “Sure. Of course.” She looked at her watch. “You’ve got about a half hour before your call.”

  The girl walked out, and Kate was alone with him. She took off the plastic cape protecting her silk shirt and denim jacket from the heavy makeup and stood to face him. If there was a God in heaven she would be able to keep him from seeing that she’d been crying over him just minutes ago.

  “It seems as if you’ve gone to a lot of trouble to find me and I really can’t figure out why.” She tried to be cool as she stared at the face she’d missed so much. The one she’d never expected to see again. He had a point to make; the tuxedo was a big clue. “We said everything necessary that last day on the ranch.”

  “No, we didn’t.” He ran his index finger around the starched collar of the formal white shirt. “I have more I want to tell you.”

  She looked at her wristwatch. “Okay. You’ve got twenty-eight minutes.”

  “Then I’ll get right to the point. I’m not in love with my ex-wife. That was over long before she died. If I grieved at all, it was for Ty and the fact that he might miss her being part of his life.”

  He looked sincere and she believed him. “Okay. If that’s all—”

  “It’s not.” He took a step closer and looked down. “I found out that I am a one-woman man just like my dad was. But my wife wasn’t that woman.”

  “Who is?” Her head was spinning at the pace of the revelations.

  His brown eyes darkened with intensity. “You are.”

  “I am? You sure have a funny way of showing it.”

  He moved his shoulders uncomfortably. “I feel stupid in this tux but not as stupid as when I told you to go.” He reached out and took her hand, linked his fingers with hers. “I was telling the truth about not wanting to stand in your way. I never want you to have regrets or give up anything for me.”

  “Oh, Cabot—”

  “The thing is, I completely blew that. Shut the door because of my hang-ups. I’ve since been educated about the fact that couples make things work by reaching compromises. I want you to follow your dreams—as long as you always come home to me.”

  “Are you sure?” Her heart nearly stopped. After all the unhappiness, it was hard to take in what he was saying. “I understand why this is hard for you—”

  He touched a finger to her lips. “Very sure, and I’ll tell you why.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I take after my dad and it’s not in my DNA to stop loving you. And I do love you, Kate. I think I have from the first moment I saw you in that wedding dress at the Grizzly Bear Diner. So, I really hope you can forgive me for being so stubborn and stupid.”

  If anyone needed forgiveness it was her, for enjoying his groveling just a little too much. She was only human. She was also unbelievably happy. “There’s nothing to forgive, Cabot.”

  For the first time since he’d walked in here today, the tension drained from his face and he smiled. “I’m glad.”

  “But I’m curious. What happened after I left?”

  “Besides the fact that I missed you like crazy?” He looked out the window, a thoughtful expression on his face. “The community I’ve always loved and counted on to be there for me did exactly that. The people at the diner were sure I’d lost my mind. Caroline said, and I quote, that if I didn’t go after you, I was a damn fool. And dense as they come. Tyler told me girls aren’t my best event.”

  She laughed. “Did he really?”

  “Oh, yeah. Kind of pathetic when your eight-year-old son knows more about women than you do.” He grinned. “The thing is that all of them were just saying what I already knew deep down inside. I fell for you hard, fast and forever.”

  “Does Tyler know where you are?”

  Cabot nodded. “I told him I was going to find you and tell you I love you. He gave me a hug and a high five. He misses you, Kate.”

  She still remembered the sad look on his little face when she’d said goodbye. For all her worry about him getting attached to her, she was really glad he cared because he’d stolen her heart. It was nice to know he was in her corner, along with the rest of Blackwater Lake. “I feel like the luckiest person in the whole world.”

  He shook his head. “I’m the lucky one. Of all the diners in all the world, you walked into the Grizzly Bear and answered my Help Wanted ad. At the time, I didn’t know how much I needed you. Now I do.”

  She trailed a finger down the fancy buttons on his crisp dress shirt. “So, why do you look like you just ran out on a wedding?”

  “I hope I’m running to one.” He tugged her close and put his arm around her waist, holding her against him. “Will you marry me, Kate?”

  “Yes.” Her heart filled to overflowing. “I love you, too, Cabot. And this is one wedding I won’t run away from.”

  “Good.”

  “How does Ty feel about us getting married?”

  “I didn’t tell him about proposing to you in case the answer was no. But I have a sneaking suspicion that he’ll be pretty happy.” He kissed her mouth softly, then said, “He set us up, remember?”

  “Yes, he did.” She sighed. “Nothing would make me happier than spending the rest of my life with you and Ty and putting down roots on the ranch.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “And it’s all because you took pity on me and gave me a job.”

  “Best decision I ever made.” This time when he kissed her it was long and thorough.

  Andrea would have to fix her makeup, but Kate didn’t have the will to worry about that. All she cared about was spending the rest of her life with Cabot.

  Epilogue

  On the chilly October evening Kate got married, she wasn’t nervous at all. It was a sunset event and couldn’t have been more different from her last wedding. Except for one thing. She did run again—straight into Cabot’s arms.

  Their wedding was a small affair at Cabot’s house on the ranch with her family and their closest friends in attendance. Ty was the best man and ring bearer. Cabot teased that it was a twofer. Kate’s sister, Amy Scott, was maid of honor. It was casual, personal and perfect.

  They said their vows in front of the big stone fireplace in the great room. After the minister from the local church pronounced them husband and wife, Cabot cupped her face in his hands and smiled with satisfaction, then proceeded to kiss her soundly.

  He reluctantly pulled back and looked down when Ty tugged on his suit coat. “What is it, son?”

  “When do I get to make my best-man speech?”

  Cabot looked at her. “What do you think? Is there a specific schedule?”

  She shook her head. “Do you want to do that now, Ty?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. We just need to get champagne poured and make sure everyone has a glass.” She looked at her brother. “Zach, can you handle that?”

  He nodded. “Mom, Dad, Amy, can you give me a hand?”

  The Scott family mobilized in the adjacent kitchen to pop corks and pour the bubbly. Tyler and his friend C.J had apple cider. Kate didn’t
want anyone left out of the toast.

  Finally she and Cabot stood with the cheerfully crackling fire behind them and flutes of champagne in their hands. Ty was beside his father, and everyone was quietly gathered around to hear his words. Kate knew Cabot had talked to his son about this moment, but they had no idea what the little boy was going to say.

  “My dad told me to thank everyone for coming. So, thanks.” He looked around at Caroline and Nolan. The Crawfords, who owned the diner. Sydney McKnight and her father, Tom. The wedding guests faded to a blur as she concentrated on this sweet, precocious child who was now her son.

  “Dad said I should say what I feel.” He hesitated a moment, as if trying to figure it out. “I’m really glad Kate didn’t marry that other guy. I’m glad she ran away and came to Blackwater Lake. My dad told me she makes him really happy and he loves her.” He glanced up at them and grinned. “And I’m real glad that she’s my mom now. I love her, too.”

  Kate’s eyes filled with happy tears when she bent to hug him. “That was the best best-man speech ever. It was beautiful, Ty.”

  “Then why are you cryin’?”

  She sniffled. “Because what you said was wonderful, and I’m so happy.”

  Spontaneous applause and laughter erupted from everyone present, but Ty still looked confused.

  Cabot put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Kate loved it.”

  “Really?” The boy looked skeptical.

  “Really.” Her husband met her gaze and said with conviction, “You just have to trust.”

  “Okay.” Ty shrugged and then gave her a pleading look. “Can I go play with C.J. now?”

  “Of course. Go have fun.”

  He didn’t waste any time and disappeared while the adults moved close, forming an unofficial receiving line to offer congratulations and wishes for a long, happy life. Sydney McKnight was the last one and gave her a big hug.

  The pretty brunette smiled. “See, I told you the very first time we met that Cabot was sweet on you.”

  “When my brother’s truck broke down.”

  Syd glanced at the brother in question, who was now talking with Cabot. “He’s not hard on the eyes.”