Cute Cowboy

by Pamela M. Kelley

  Welcome Wagon

  River’s End Ranch Book 13

  by Amelia C. Adams

  Chapter One

  Gwen smiled when the elevator doors opened and Mrs. Callahan stepped out, clutching a DVD to her chest.

  “What did you think, Mrs. Callahan?” she asked when the woman approached the front desk.

  “Oh, it was just beautiful. I thought my heart was going to break there at the end.” She slid the DVD case across the counter. “Thank you so much for letting me borrow it.”

  “You’re welcome.” Gwen tucked the copy of Enchantment under the desk where she’d be sure to remember to take it home later. “I first saw that movie in a rundown theater in a rundown part of town. The bathroom had flocked wallpaper, and there was a little old lady in there who wanted to dance with everyone who came in as we waited in line. Those were the good old days.”

  Mrs. Callahan giggled. “Where was that, dear? Here in Riston?”

  “No, in Oklahoma City. That theater was torn down about fifteen years ago—broke my heart. I saw Laurence Olivier there for the first time.”

  Mrs. Callahan clutched her chest dramatically. “Which movie was it?”

  “Rebecca.”

  “No! Oh, Gwen, you had a wonderful childhood.”

  Gwen smiled broadly and recommended Mrs. Callahan to the diner for lunch, special emphasis on the Western Wonder burger. Then she turned back to her computer, updating the reservations for the next week.

  The phone rang just as she finished.

  “River’s End Ranch. How may I help you?”

  “Hi there,” said the male voice on the other end. “I’m told by a friend that I absolutely have to come give your place a try.”

  “Well, I agree,” Gwen replied with a smile. “When would you like to come?”

  “I was thinking about early next week, and I’d like to stay for five days. What do you have available?”

  Gwen hit a few keys on her computer. “I have an opening in the bunkhouse from Monday through Friday of next week, or if you’re bringing a family, I can arrange for you to have the Copper cabin.”

  “No, it’s just me, so the bunkhouse is fine.”

  “Excellent. I do have to warn you, though, it’s a little nicer than your typical bunkhouse, so if you were hoping for a rattler in your bed or something, you’re going to be disappointed.”

  He laughed, and the sound was a little familiar. “No snakes? Maybe I shouldn’t come.”

  “Well, I didn’t say there were no snakes at all. You’ll just have to go outside to find them.”

  “Oh. All right. Put me down for one bunkhouse room, minus snakes, from Monday through Friday, then.”

  “Excellent. What’s your last name?” Gwen poised her fingers over the keyboard.

  “My last name is Grant. First name is Gabe.”

  She blinked. That couldn’t be right . . . “And where are you from, Gabe?” That wasn’t a standard registration question, but she had to find out.

  “Oklahoma City.”

  She swallowed hard. “Listen, this is an odd question, but you aren’t by any chance a lawyer, are you?”

  “Nope.”

  Just as quickly as she’d become excited, it deflated. Of course it couldn’t be him. The odds of that were too crazy.

  “I’m a judge now,” he continued. “But I was a lawyer for a while.”

  “Wow.” She leaned up against the counter, needing some support. “So, hey. I don’t know if you remember me, but this is Gwen Scott.”

  “Gwen?” His voice caught a little. “Of course I remember you. How . . . what are you doing on my phone?”

  She laughed. “I work here at the ranch. I’m in charge of reservations.”

  “I can’t believe it.” He paused. “How are you?”

  “I’m good. I’m really good. How are you? Well, that’s a dumb question—you’re a judge now. Of course you’re doing well.”

  “I am, career wise. I’m in excellent health, and my dentist says no cavities.”

  “Oh, that’s very good news.” Gwen’s hands were shaking. She couldn’t believe she was talking to Gabe Grant after all these years. “And on the romantic front? I see that you’re traveling alone.” That was another not-standard registration question, but again, she had to know.

  “Getting right to the heart of it, as usual. Well, the last girl I asked out told me no and ran to Idaho and married a guy who teaches rock climbing at a ranch out there. She said I should come for a visit, so I am. Pretty lame, huh?”

  “Wait—you know Amber?”

  “Yup.”

  “What a crazy world. I mean, I know she was a lawyer in Oklahoma City, but I never thought to ask if we knew people in common, and I didn’t think . . .”

  “You didn’t want to think about me.” He summed it up perfectly.

  “Now who’s getting right to the heart of it?” She hoped her smile came through in her voice.

  “Hey, Gwen, listen. I need to get back in the courtroom—recess is almost over. Can I take you out to dinner Monday night? I really want to catch up with you. It’s been a long time.”

  “Yes, it has been. Sure, you can take me out, and we can finish gabbing then. Just let me get a credit card number so I can put a hold on your room.”

  “Here you go.”

  She read back the digits to make sure she had them right, then paused. “It’ll be good to see you again, Gabe.”

  “You too.” His voice was soft. Then the phone went dead.

  * * *

  “Jaclyn!” Gwen shrieked as she ran up the older woman’s sidewalk.

  Jaclyn opened her front door wide. “Come in, child. Gracious, you sound like the hounds are after you.”

  “They might be. I don’t know. But I need some rabbit therapy.”

  Jaclyn motioned around her living room. “Take your pick.”

  Gwen picked up Theodore, a big fluffy gray buck, and settled into a chair. “Okay. What do you already know?”

  Jaclyn sat down and poured some tea into two delicate cups. “The fairies were a little more subtle this time because they said you’d want to tell me yourself. But I do gather that someone from your past is coming back, someone you used to care for very much.”

  “Yeah, and I think I do want to tell you myself. It helps me when I hear myself think.” Gwen leaned forward and took the offered teacup. “Do you want the whole story, or just the highlights?”

  Jaclyn fixed her with a look. “When have you ever heard me ask for just the highlights?” She turned and addressed one of the rabbits. “It’s like she doesn’t even know me.”

  Gwen chuckled. “All right, the whole story.” She sipped her tea, set it back down, and cuddled Theodore closer. “A long, long time ago, back when I was young and energetic and stuff, I decided to go to law school. Our professor split us up into study partnerships on that first day, choosing our partners alphabetically by first name, and I was partnered with this guy named Gabe.”

  “And he was very good-looking,” Jaclyn supplied. “The fairies let that slip.”

  “Yes, he was very good-looking.” Gwen’s cheeks got a little warm just thinking about it. “Well, we made friends instantly—we had everything in common, we liked the same kind of food, and he even watched my old movies with me.”

  “A match made in heaven,” Jaclyn commented.

  “It really was until I decided I wasn’t cut out for law school and I dropped out. We vowed we wouldn’t let that ruin our relationship, but suddenly we weren’t spending so much time together anymore, and we drifted apart. I’d changed my major and was studying travel and hospitality, which landed me here eventually, and he’s now a judge. A judge! Can you believe it?”

  “A good-looking judge,” Jaclyn clarified.

  “Yes! Unless he’s lost all his hair and gained a hundred pounds since I saw him last. No, he’d still be handsome.” Gwen sighed. Theodore, for all his fluffiness, wasn’t really helping. “Turns out, he knows Amber
.”

  “Well, that makes sense. Lawyer, judge. And I know you grew up in Oklahoma, where she’s from.”

  “You’re the only one who put it together—I was completely shocked when he called and said he was coming on her recommendation.”

  “So. The man from your past is coming here to River’s End, and you’ll all in a tizzy about it. Why is that, child?”

  “Most likely because I’m still in love with him, I guess.” Gwen sighed again. She was getting bunny fur stuck in her Chapstick.

  * * *

  Turn the page for a recipe for Elderberry Syrup! and a sneak peek of Laura’s story from Nashville Dreams. :)

  Elderberry Syrup Recipe

  Around the holidays, I went to a local spa with a bunch of my girlfriends, and had a facial. My first one in many years, and it was wonderful! One of the things that I found so intriguing was what the woman who did my facial told me about elderberry syrup. She has been making her own for years and said it’s wonderful stuff, fragrant with sweet berries, honey, cinnamon and ginger. And she said what Jaclyn says in this story, it can help chase away a cold or prevent one from coming. Here’s a simple recipe. You may be able to find elderberries at local stores near you. I get mine from Amazon! These are the ones I use, Organic Elderberries.

  I use this recipe from WellnessMama. This page has loads of information about the benefits of elderberries and also a video with instruction on how to make the syrup.

  Next up, sneak peek of Laura’s story!

  Sneak Peek Nashville Dreams

  Coming very soon. Laura’s story, Nashville Dreams is a standalone novel— a saga about soul mates torn apart by amnesia and an evil billionaire with political ambitions. It’s also a story about finding your true passion in love and life and following wherever it may lead…

  Laura Scott patted her stomach and snuggled against her boyfriend, Cole Dawson. He tightened his arms around her and kissed her forehead gently as the warm, Charleston breeze danced over them. They were in their favorite spot, sprawled on the soft grass and leaning against the big old oak tree that overlooked a shallow pond, where a family of swans floated by. They’d come here on their first official date, two years ago, after getting ice cream cones and strolling through the park. The old tree had beckoned to them and gave a bit of privacy as they watched people walking along the water’s edge.

  Laura sighed with happiness. On this sunny afternoon, a week after graduating from high school, she suddenly felt very adult and ready to take on the world, and was relatively sure of her place in it. She glanced down at the modest diamond engagement ring she was wearing. Cole had given it to her a few days ago, and she couldn’t stop staring at it. Her mother had been thrilled, and relieved, considering. Laura hadn’t ever really worried though, except for the initial day of panic when she learned the news and couldn’t understand how it had happened, as they’d been so careful. Her doctor explained that the antibiotics she’d been taking for an ear infection had canceled out the birth control. She and Cole had already talked about getting married though and having children. She loved kids and he said he wanted a houseful of them, though neither one of them had expected to get started quite so early. It did change their plans a bit.

  “I’ll have to let Montana State know that I won’t be attending after all. Hopefully Clemson will still let me in.” Laura was planning to be an elementary school teacher.

  “Of course they will. They did accept you. And if it’s too late for this year, you can do community college and then start up fresh in the Fall.”

  “That could work. How do you think your father will take it? Do you want me to come with you?” Laura noticed a muscle clench in Cole’s jaw and knew that he was dreading the conversation that he needed to have.

  “He’s back tonight, and we’re having dinner at the club. I thought that might be a good place to tell him. He can’t go too crazy if we’re out in public, especially there.”

  Cole’s father could be intimidating, and although she’d offered to join Cole, to support him, Laura was actually glad that she wouldn’t be there. As sure as Cole was about getting married, she knew that his father was going to give him a hard time about it. Dalton Dawson was a big deal in Charleston. No one knew exactly how much he was worth, but it was rumored to be multiple billions. He was a real estate developer with holdings all over the country. He was smart, driven, and Laura suspected, a bit ruthless. She didn’t particularly care for the man. He and Cole couldn’t be more different. Where his father was hard and ambitious, Cole was sensitive, caring and creative. His dream was to be a country music artist.

  Laura suspected that Cole took after his mother who had once been a singer too. She’d never had the chance to meet her, as she’d died a year before she and Cole started dating, but he spoke of her often and had played some of her old recordings for Laura. She had a lovely voice. She had softened his father’s edges and they’d been madly in love. When she died, six months after being diagnosed with lung cancer, his father changed. He threw himself into work even more and recently found a new focus. He was determined to be the next Governor of South Carolina. Which was another reason he wasn’t going to like their news. Dalton Dawson was a staunch Republican and conservative family values was a key part of his platform. His son knocking up a teenager who lived in a trailer park wasn’t going to go over well.

  “He’ll just have to deal with it. People have babies all the time, and at least we’re getting married. I told him over a month ago that I was going to ask you to marry me, so that won’t be a surprise.”

  Laura chuckled. “He tried to talk you out of it, I imagine?”

  “Well, yes. He said we’re too young for one thing.” Cole looked like he was going to say something else, then thought better of it and Laura imagined that his father had shared a few more reasons as to why their getting married wasn’t a good idea. He didn’t think she was good enough.

  Cole reached into his pocket and drew out a swiss army knife. He opened it and then smiled at Laura as he turned around and found the heart he’d carved into the old tree on their first date. It simply said Laura and Cole and the simple gesture had endeared him to her then. They’d seen each other almost every day since. Cole didn’t care that she lived in a trailer park, and he liked her mother. Laura and Cole were best friends, and she couldn’t imagine not having him in her life. She watched with curiosity as he carved something below their names. When he was done, he leaned back so she could see. It was a single word, in small letters so it could fit into the heart and it said, ‘Forever’.

  “There is nothing that my father can say, that will change my mind. We are getting married, as soon as possible. And then we’re going to start the rest of our life together.”

  * * *

  Laura’s mother was sitting on the patio smoking a cigarette when Cole dropped her off. He waved goodbye as Laura joined her mother and pulled up a chair. Technically where they lived was considered a mobile home, but there were no wheels. They were manufactured homes, modest, but well-kept and Laura had never minded living there. It was other people that seemed to mind, catty girls mostly, and as her mother had reminded her more than once, if they had a problem with where she lived, that said more about their own issues.

  As of a few years ago, her mother had paid off the mortgage and now owned her home free and clear. She was a tiny woman, just over five feet tall and about a hundred pounds. Unlike Laura’s hair, which was long, fine and stick straight, her mother’s was the same sandy blonde shade, but short and wavy and she didn’t have to do a thing except run a comb through it. She also had blue eyes, a cute nose and an easy smile. She’d been beautiful when she was younger and in Laura’s opinion, still was. She looked tired today though. She worked as a waitress at a family restaurant and must have worked the lunch shift as she was still in her uniform and had a glass of chablis by her side. She enjoyed her wine and often had several glasses at the end of a long day.

  “Has Cole told his fath
er yet?” Her mother seemed worried. She knew as well as Laura did that Dalton Dawson was not going to be happy to hear this news.

  “He’s been out of town. They’re talking tonight, at the club.”

  Her mother took a sip of wine and then a long drag on her cigarette.

  “You don’t have to get married you know. If it’s going to cause problems. You and the baby can stay here. There’s room for all of us.”

  Laura reached out and squeezed her mother’s arm. She knew that she really wouldn’t mind having them stay. In fact, she’d probably love it. Laura’s mother had been about her age when she found herself unexpectedly pregnant as well. Like Laura, she’d been in love and Richard, Laura’s father, had been in love with her too. They’d married and everything had been wonderful, until a few years later when her father hurt his back on a construction site and became hooked on painkillers. He died in his sleep one night after an accidental overdose, which her mother blamed herself for and never really got over. Richard had been the love of her life, and though she occasionally went on a date, her heart wasn’t in it. Laura worried that it might be hard for her when she moved out, and she was glad that Cole had agreed to stay in Charleston, so they would still be close to their families.

  “Thank you. I think it will be okay though. Cole is determined to get married, with or without his father’s blessing.”

  * * *

  Cole met his father at the club. His father’s office was right around the corner and Cole was relieved to take his own car and not have to deal with with the black mood his father was sure to be in. The Breville Country Club was the most exclusive club in Charleston. His father was a regular there and often held business meetings in the bar or at dinner. Cole parked his old Volvo sedan in the parking lot and made his way into the club. It was an ostentatious place and he’d never felt comfortable there. His father loved it. A marble floored entry-way opened into the lounge, which had plush royal blue carpet, black leather seats and polished dark wood. Cole found his father at the bar, chatting with several friends over a freshly poured martini. He smiled when he saw Cole.