Twins for the Rancher

by Trish Milburn

  “I can’t be with someone I can’t trust.”

  “I didn’t do this. You know that.”

  She motioned between the two of them. “This was a mistake.”

  Damn it, he was getting angry again. “You’re using your past as an excuse to run away. That’s not fair, to either of us.”

  “Life’s not fair.”

  Her complete belief in her words, that life had once again put someone in her path who’d betrayed her, hollowed him out as he watched her get into the car and close the door. As he watched the Shayne sisters drive away into the night, the night seemed to cry out that it was for the last time.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Adam listened to the laughter of his family in the living room as they opened up a round of Christmas gag gifts. He’d somehow made it through the big holiday meal and the opening of his gifts before he vacated the room. There were few times in his life he’d felt less like celebrating.

  He sat on the side of his bed turning the small, gift-wrapped box in his hands over and over. He’d looked forward to giving the silver charm bracelet to Lauren, imagined her smiling as she examined the tiny spatula, mixing bowl, whisk and cookbook. He should have returned it for a refund by now because it was obvious they were over. He didn’t know it was possible for a person to feel this empty.

  She’d been gone for a week without a word. Even his anger couldn’t cover up his heartache anymore.

  Someone knocked on his bedroom door and he shoved the box into a drawer in his dresser.

  “Yeah.”

  Angel opened the door then came to sit beside him on the bed. “Missing Lauren, huh?”

  He nodded. No sense in pretending otherwise.

  “Have you talked to her?”

  “No.” Some of his anger tried to reassert itself when he thought about how his voice mails and texts had been met with telling silence.

  “You’re not giving up, are you?”

  “She doesn’t want anything to do with me, and I don’t want to be with someone who looks at me and only sees the ways I might betray her.”

  “Maybe she just needs time to get over the shock of what happened.”

  He shook his head. “She’s not coming back to Blue Falls.”

  “Then you need to make sure she has a reason to come back.”

  He sighed. “Such as?”

  “Well, you could start by telling her you love her, for one.”

  He didn’t even bother asking Angel how she knew that when he’d just admitted the truth to himself in the days since Lauren had left town.

  “Pretty sure she wouldn’t believe me.” And did he even want to admit the truth to a woman who’d so easily dumped him?

  “Won’t know until you try. And remember what we told Ben when he was trying to win Mandy—women love big, romantic gestures.”

  He was lying in bed later that night thinking about what his sister had said. A big, romantic gesture. Was he willing to try one more time to save what he and Lauren had? Could he think of something that would fit that “big, romantic gesture” description? He fell asleep still turning the idea over and over in his head, but it wasn’t until he woke up the next morning that the perfect plan came to him. At least he hoped it was perfect. But he couldn’t do it alone.

  “Where are you headed?” Angel asked when he was walking out the front door with his truck keys a while later.

  “Operation Big, Romantic Gesture.”

  Angel pumped her fist. “Yes!”

  Adam laughed for the first time in more than a week.

  * * *

  LAUREN TESTED THE lemon cake she’d just baked and found it lacking. She shoved it across the counter in frustration.

  “What’s wrong?” Violet asked as she entered their kitchen.

  “I’ve lost my ability to bake anything remotely edible.”

  Violet came over and took a bite. “Are you kidding? This is delicious.”

  “You’re just saying that.” Her entire family had been noticeably careful around her since their return home.

  “When have I ever given you false praise?”

  Admittedly that wasn’t her sister’s style.

  “Okay, enough,” Violet said. “You’re finding fault with your baking because you’re not willing to admit you screwed up with Adam.”

  Lauren wanted to defend herself but it was difficult to find the words. Maybe because she knew Violet was right. Even before she’d found out that Phil was behind the flooding, the rock through the window and even the creepy feelings of being watched, she’d realized she’d been wrong to doubt Adam.

  Lauren stared out the window at the Brazos River. “I’ve let too much time pass. He’ll never be able to forgive me.”

  “Think maybe you’re underestimating him again?”

  Was she? “How do I fix this?”

  “I suggest groveling. And, oh, I don’t know, telling him the truth.”

  Violet’s suggestions were a good start, but she needed something more, something bigger.

  It wasn’t until she was walking beside the river later and spotted her neighbor’s cattle that the answer came to her. She smiled then hurried back to the house.

  Violet and the twins startled when Lauren came rushing back in.

  “What in the world is chasing you?”

  “A plan to win back Adam.”

  “Which is?”

  “Cows.”

  Violet looked at the girls. “Your mom has gone crazy.”

  Yeah, crazy in love.

  * * *

  LAUREN WATCHED THE world flash by outside the passenger-side window of Violet’s car. It’d been almost three weeks since she’d been in Blue Falls, and her stomach was in knots as they got closer. What if she’d totally ruined her chances with Adam? What if the fact she was asking for his forgiveness only after the investigation cleared him made him believe she’d never trust him? She’d been missing Adam terribly. But after she’d run away from him after basically accusing him of being just like Phil and then not communicating with him, she couldn’t imagine that he’d welcome the sight of her. She had to change his mind.

  At least Papa Ed’s romantic prospects were looking up. He and Verona were taking it slowly, but they talked every day and had discovered the spark that had once burned between them was still there. Older, wiser, but still there.

  Violet pulled over at a gas station at the edge of Blue Falls. “Gotta pee.”

  “We’re literally a mile from the restaurant.” Where her grand plan had to be put into motion.

  “When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go.”

  Violet thankfully didn’t take long. When they reached the restaurant, Lauren felt a wave of exhaustion similar to the night she’d left here. The thought of all the work she faced could overwhelm her if she let it. But right now that took a back seat to winning back the man she loved.

  “Ready to go in?” Violet asked.

  She nodded.

  “We should probably see how things look before we take that in.” Violet pointed over her shoulder toward Lauren’s gift to Adam.

  “Agreed.” She didn’t want to lug it inside only to find the water removal and mold remediation hadn’t worked.

  Violet walked in ahead of Lauren then quickly stepped to the side.

  “Surprise!”

  Lauren jumped at the sound of so many voices calling out at once. At first her mind couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing, but then she started to recognize individual faces. Her mother and Papa Ed holding the twins. Verona smiling as she gripped Papa Ed’s arm. Several of the town’s other business owners. Even Jamie Barrett. And the entirety of the Hartley family stood smiling at Lauren.

  Her heart leaped when she spotted Adam standing right in the middle.

  They all stood on a br
and-new floor. The tables and chairs she’d ordered were set up, ready for diners. Art hung on the walls. The corner devoted to the gift shop was prepped to receive merchandise.

  “I don’t understand,” she said, her words having to push their way past the lump in her throat.

  “Adam organized the community to fix what Phil tried to destroy,” Violet said.

  Lauren couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. “I can’t believe what you all did here.”

  “We weren’t going to let your dream die,” Papa Ed said. “Adam is one determined young man.”

  “Thank you.” The words felt so weak, so unable to convey the depth of her gratitude. Nowhere near powerful enough to let this man know how much he meant to her. She hoped the work he’d put into resurrecting her restaurant meant he could forgive her, that this wasn’t just a grand apology for the misunderstanding with Jamie Barrett.

  The crowd moved then, some coming forward to greet her and say how excited they were about the restaurant’s future opening and others moving toward a wide assortment of food. She eventually made her way through all the well-wishers to Adam. She faced him with her heart threatening to beat so fast she couldn’t distinguish between one beat and the next.

  “I can’t believe you did this,” she said.

  “I had a lot of help.”

  “It looks beautiful. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank you.”

  “If you’ll give us another chance, that’s enough.”

  She bit her lip to keep it from trembling before responding. “I was thinking on the way here how you’d never be able to forgive me. I’m sorry for how I doubted you, how I ran away and broke off all contact.”

  Adam stepped forward and placed his palms gently against her shoulders. “Part of me understood.”

  “But part didn’t.”

  “It hurt that you could believe I’d do anything to harm you, but I’ve let that go.”

  “Why?” He had every right to be upset.

  “Because I’m hopelessly in love with you.”

  Her lip trembled. “I love you, too.”

  Adam’s eyes widened as if he hadn’t expected his feelings to be reciprocated. “Can I kiss you?”

  “I wish you would.”

  His lips had barely touched hers when she heard applause. Adam’s mouth curved into a smile for just a moment before he pulled her close and sealed his declaration with a kiss that erased any last vestiges of doubt that might have been hanging around in her mind, waiting to pounce.

  Over the next hour or so, she enjoyed spending time with the people that she now knew were the very best kind of friends. When everyone finally left, leaving her and Adam alone, he escorted her out to the stone patio that would be used for outdoor dining come spring.

  “I have something I want to give you,” he said as he produced a small box wrapped in red foil.

  “You’ve already given me the best gift possible.” And she didn’t just mean the repairs to the restaurant.

  “This was your Christmas present I wasn’t able to give you.”

  She accepted the box and opened it. When she saw the silver charm bracelet, she ran her fingertip over the adorable charms. “It’s perfect.”

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  “I have a present for you, too.”

  “Another kiss, I hope.”

  She didn’t argue with that assumption and kissed him, trying to make up for the time they’d been apart.

  “While very enjoyable,” she said when they finally parted, “that wasn’t what I was going to say. You weren’t the only one who had plans of trying to get back together today.”

  “Well, now I’m really curious.”

  She nodded toward the gift she’d had Violet and her mom hide out here.

  “What is it?”

  “Uncover it and find out.”

  He lifted the blanket to reveal a sign she’d had made—Brazos Baker Gift Shop, Featuring the Rocking Horse Ranch Collection.

  “And when Brazos Baker Barbecue opens in the spring, we’re going to be serving Rocking Horse Ranch beef.”

  He stared down at her as if he didn’t trust what he’d seen or heard. “What happened to not mixing business with personal relationships?”

  “I thought I needed that policy in place to protect me from making another stupid mistake.” She lifted her hand to his face and smiled. “I don’t need it anymore because letting myself love you was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

  “You’re not scared?”

  “Not one bit.” She waited for the inner fear she’d carried around for so long to make a liar of her, but it didn’t appear. She was pretty sure it no longer existed.

  “Does this mean you might move to Blue Falls?”

  She let her hands slide down the front of his shirt. “You might be able to convince me.”

  Adam pulled her close to his delicious, strong warmth and set about convincing. She’d already made her decision that Blue Falls would be her new home, but maybe she’d let him think she needed convincing for a little bit longer.

  “You’ve already decided, haven’t you?” he asked.

  “Yes. But that doesn’t mean we have to stop this.”

  He grinned. “You’re right, it doesn’t.”

  And his lips returned to hers.

  * * * * *

  If you loved this novel, don’t miss Trish Milburn’s other BLUE FALLS, TEXAS books:

  A RANCHER TO LOVE

  THE COWBOY TAKES A WIFE

  IN THE RANCHER’S ARMS

  And more, available now at Harlequin.com!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from THE RIGHT COWBOY by Rebecca Winters.

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  The Right Cowboy

  by Rebecca Winters

  Chapter One

  Tamsin Rayburn pulled in her parking space in front of Ostler Certified Accounting Firm in Whitebark, Wyoming. She was running late to get back to the ranch. Dean would be picking her up for dinner and she needed to hurry.

  With her light chestnut hair swishing against her shoulders, she got out of the car and rushed through the reception area to her office. Her boss would be pleased to know she’d finished auditing the books for Beckstrand Drilling earlier than planne
d and could start on the Whitebark Hospital audit.

  In her haste, she almost ran into Heather Jennings, a coworker who’d become a close friend over the last two years. It looked like everyone else had gone home. Smiling at her she said, “I’ve never needed a weekend more. How about you?”

  Heather studied her for a moment with an anxious expression. “You don’t know, do you?”

  She was being very mysterious. “Know what?”

  “I’ve been hoping you would walk in here before I left. Now I’m almost afraid to tell you.”

  “Heather—what’s wrong?”

  Her friend drew in a deep breath. “There’s only one way to say this. Today I had lunch with Amy Paskett.” Amy was a girl Tamsin had known from high school who worked at Paskett’s feed store. “It turns out her father waited on Cole Hawkins this morning. Apparently he’s back in Whitebark for good.”

  Tamsin grabbed the edge of her desk while her world whirled for a moment. “Wh-what did you say?” she stammered.

  “I knew this would be hard for you to hear.”

  Cole was home for good? The cowboy who’d left the state nine years ago, riding off with her heart?

  The last time she’d seen him was at a distance when he’d come home for his father’s funeral six months ago. He’d been driving down the street in a friend’s truck, but he hadn’t seen her. Once the funeral was over, he’d left again.

  Shock didn’t begin to describe what she was feeling. “How long has he been here?”

  “I don’t know. That was all Amy said in passing. I’ve been waiting to tell you in case you hadn’t heard. If you hadn’t come, I would have phoned you.”

  Tamsin looked at Heather, still reeling from the incredible news. “Thank you for being such a good friend.” Heather knew some of her past history with Cole, but not all.

  “I’m not sure thanks is the right word.”

  “Yes, it is.” She gave her a hug. “I’m grateful to have heard it from you first. Now at least I’m prepared should someone else tell me.”

  “Look—I’ve got to go, but call me this weekend and we’ll talk.”

  She nodded. “I’ll walk out with you.”

  Tamsin waited while Heather locked up, then she hurried to her car. She was so shaken by what her friend had told her, she trembled all the way to her family’s ranch located two miles south of town.