In a Cowboy's Arms (Hitting Rocks Cowboys)

by Rebecca Winters

  Zane’s wife had betrayed him with another man while he’d been in the navy. After he’d left the military, they’d divorced and, not long after, Zane had lost his elder brother, Tim. “Honey, I can do that.”

  “I know you can, Millie, but you spent enough time raising me. The last thing I want to do is take advantage of you. We’ll be back shortly.”

  Sadie reached for the truck keys on the peg at the back door and hurried outside. She found Zane walking around with Ryan. He made the perfect father. His ex-wife had been the loser in that relationship. Sadie knew how much he’d wanted a family. It broke her heart.

  She scooped her little brother from the ground before darting Zane a glance. “Will you drive me to town? We need to talk.”

  “Sure.”

  She handed him the keys to her father’s Silverado and walked over to get in. They’d brought a car seat from California for Ryan and had already installed it in the backseat. Once he was strapped in securely, she climbed into the front with Zane and they took off.

  Zane gave her a sideways glance. “I know that look on your face. You’ve had bad news.”

  “Much worse than anything I had imagined, but Mac and Millie don’t know a thing yet. The fact is my father disowned me.” She ended up telling him everything written in the will. “I’ve got three weeks from today to come up with a plan. I don’t want the Hensons to find out about this.”

  “Of course not. That monster!” he muttered under his breath, but she heard him. “I’m sorry, Sadie.” They followed the dirt road out to the highway.

  “Don’t be. With him, the shoe fits. The bottom line is, if I want to make my home on this ranch, I’ll have to buy it from the Realtor in Billings. There was no mention in the will that I couldn’t. I have some savings after working for your brother, but not nearly enough to make a dent. In the meantime I need to find a job in town and put Ryan in day care.”

  Zane grimaced. “I could give you some money.”

  “You’re an angel, Zane, but you gave your ex-wife the house you both lived in, so you need to hold on to any money you’ve saved. I’ll have to find another avenue to pay off the debt owing the bank so I can hold on to the ranch, but I’ve got to hurry.”

  “I’ve got an idea how you can do it.” She jerked her head toward him, waiting for the miracle answer. “I could sell Tim’s house in San Francisco.”

  Sadie made several sounds of protest. “After your divorce, mother willed it to you before she died because she assumed I’d inherit the ranch one day. She knew Tim would have wanted you to have it.”

  “You’re forgetting she expected you to go on living there with Ryan.”

  “But it’s not mine, and I don’t want to live in San Francisco.”

  “Neither do I. I have no desire to be anywhere near my ex, so I’ve got another idea.”

  “What?”

  “The house isn’t completely paid off, but I could still get a substantial amount if I sell it. With that money, plus any you have, we could move here and become joint owners of the ranch.”

  Her heart gave a great clap. “You’re not serious!”

  “Yeah. Actually, I am. I spent a lot of years in the military and know I won’t be happy unless I’m working outdoors in some capacity. So far I haven’t found a job that appeals to me. I can help with the ranching for a while until I know what it is I want to do with the rest of my life.”

  “Zane, you’re just saying that because you’re at loose ends and are one of the great guys of this world.”

  “I’m saying it because I have no parents, no brother and I don’t want to lose Ryan. I know you have nothing holding you in California. To be honest, I like the idea of being part owner with you. It’ll be our investment for Ryan’s future.”

  Her eyes smarted with unshed tears. “If you’re really serious...”

  “I’m dead serious. Take a look around. With these mountains, this is God’s country all right. It’s growing on me like crazy. I already like Mac and Millie. And the little guy in back seems perfectly content. Why don’t you think about it?”

  “I am thinking. So hard I’m ready to have a heart attack.”

  “Don’t do that! If you wake up tomorrow and say it’s a go, I’ll fly back to San Francisco and get the house on the market. While I’m there, I’ll put everything from the house and my apartment in storage for us. What do you say?”

  She was so full of gratitude, she could hardly talk. “I say I don’t need to wait until tomorrow to tell you yes, but I don’t want ownership. The ranch should be put in your name for you and Ryan. I’ll get a job and do housekeeping to earn my keep. In time we’ll build up a new herd of cattle. Anything less and I won’t agree.”

  He flashed her the kind of smile she hadn’t seen since before Tim’s death. Zane had dimples, too, an irresistible Lawson trait. “You sound just like your mother when she’s made up her mind, but you need to think about this. There’s a whole life you’ve left behind in San Francisco. Men you’ve dated. Friends.”

  “I know, and I’ve enjoyed all of it including my job at your brother’s store. But with Mother gone, it hasn’t been the same. Now that my father has died, I feel the only place I really belong is here.”

  After a period of quiet he said, “I can tell you this much. I feel this ranch growing on me.”

  Like Sadie, Zane needed to put the painful past behind him and get on with life.

  “Tell you what, Zane. When I drive you to the airport tomorrow, I’ll stop by Mr. Varney’s office and let him know we have a plan for you to buy the ranch. He can inform the Realtor and we’ll go from there.”

  “Sadie—” There was a solemn tone in his voice. “If things don’t work out, we’ll find another small ranch for sale around here. Montana is in your blood. We won’t let your father win.”

  She had no words to express the depth of her love for him. Instead, she leaned across the seat and kissed his cheek.

  * * *

  ON TUESDAY NIGHT Jarod had just returned from the upper pasture when he caught sight of Daniel Corkin’s Silverado parked in front of the Bannock ranch house. Sadie was still here. The blood pounded in his ears as he let himself in the side door of the den on the main floor. His grandfather’s room was farther down the hallway of the two-story house.

  With Connor headed for another rodeo event in Oklahoma, either Avery or their housekeeper, Jenny, would have let her in. He planted himself in the doorway of the den. When Sadie left, she would have to walk past him to reach the foyer. Since it had grown dark, he didn’t imagine he’d have to wait much longer. His grandfather tired easily these days.

  As if he’d willed her to appear, he saw light and movement at the end of the hall. She moved quietly in his direction. When she was within a few feet he said hello to her.

  “Oh—”

  “Forgive me if I startled you, Sadie. How’s my grandfather?”

  She stepped back, hugging her arms to her waist. He saw no sign of the vivacious Sadie Corkin of eight years ago who’d caused every male heart in Carbon County to race at the sight of her.

  When he’d watched her galloping through the meadow, blond hair flying behind her like a pennant in the sunshine, he’d hardly been able to breathe. The moment she’d seen him, she’d dismount and run into his arms, her hair smelling sweet from her peach-scented shampoo.

  Without losing a heartbeat, he’d lay her down in the sweet white clover and they would kiss, clinging in a frenzy of need while they’d tried to become one. Just remembering those secret times made his limbs grow heavy with desire.

  “He fell asleep while we were talking,” she answered without looking at him directly. “I’m afraid I wore him out.”

  “That means you made him happy and left him in a peaceful state. When I had breakfast with him this morning, he was exc
ited to think you’d be coming by. He was always partial to you and Liz.” He almost said his grandfather had been waiting to welcome her into the Bannock family, but that would be dredging up the past.

  “I care for him a lot.” She shifted nervously. “I’m afraid I have to get back to Ryan now, so don’t let me keep you. Good night.” She darted away like a frightened doe spooked by a noise in the underbrush.

  He’d promised himself to stay away from her, but the trail of her haunting fragrance drove him to follow her out the front door to the truck. By the time she’d climbed behind the wheel, he’d reached the passenger side. Not considering the wisdom of it, he got in and shut the door.

  “What are you doing?” She sounded panicked.

  Jarod forced his voice to remain calm. “Isn’t it obvious? We have unfinished business, Sadie. While we’re alone, now is as good a time as any to talk.” He stretched his arm along the back of the seat, fighting the urge to plunge his hand into her silky hair the way he’d done so many times in the past. “To pretend we don’t have a history serves no purpose. What I’m interested to know is how you can dismiss it so easily.”

  “I’ve dismissed nothing,” she said, her voice shaking, “but sometimes it’s better to leave certain things alone. In our case it’s one stone that shouldn’t be turned.”

  “I disagree. Let’s start with that note you had delivered to me at the hospital. That was quite a turnaround from the night before when you’d promised to marry me. Or have you forgotten?”

  “Of course not.” She stirred restlessly. “I waited for you until dark, but you never came.”

  “Ned had been stalking me in town.”

  “Ned?”

  He nodded. “I had to wait until I saw his Jeep disappear before I headed out to get you.”

  She struggled for breath. “I didn’t know that. I was afraid to be out any longer in case my father realized I wasn’t home or at Liz’s, so I headed back. I thought you’d decided not to come, after all,” she said in a barely audible voice.

  “Not come? I was on my way to you when a truck blindsided me. Everything went black. A hiker found me and I didn’t wake up until I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. By then it was afternoon the next day. I couldn’t reach you on the phone. Late that night one of the nurses brought me your note.”

  He felt her shudder.

  “What happened, Sadie? For weeks I’d been asking you if you were sure about marrying me. You had every opportunity to turn me down before I went to the trouble of preparing for our wedding. Surely I deserve a better explanation for you not showing up than the pathetic one you sent me.”

  Her head was still lowered. “I—I’m afraid to tell you for fear you won’t believe me,” she stammered. “I’ve kept this a secret for so long, but now that my father is dead, you need to hear the truth.”

  He gritted his teeth. “Why didn’t you tell me before?” he rasped. “It’s been eight hellish years, Sadie.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” She whipped her head around to face him. “I didn’t hear about the accident until late the next day when Mac told me. The second I found out, I started out the door to go straight to the hospital. But that’s when my father stopped me. He said if I went near you, he would kill you.”

  Jarod frowned. “Kill me? He’d been threatening to kill any Bannock that came near you on his property for years, always when he’d had too much to drink. Why did you suddenly believe him?”

  “This time was different!”

  He blinked. “Start at the beginning and don’t leave anything out.”

  “After Mac told me about your accident, he gave me the keys to his truck so I could drive to the hospital. I left the house, but my father followed me out and forbade me to leave. I told him I was going to see you and he couldn’t stop me. I was eighteen and he had no more right to tell me what to do. But before I could climb into the cab, he said something that made my blood run cold.”

  Jarod waited.

  She stared at him in the semidarkness. “He warned me that if I ever went near you again, another accident would happen to you and you wouldn’t survive it.”

  “What?”

  Jarod’s thoughts reeled.

  “I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me.” She started to open the door to get out, but Jarod was faster and reached across to stop her.

  He knew Daniel Corkin was demented when he got too drunk, but— “Are you saying he drove the truck that ran me down the night before?” Jarod caught her shoulder in his grasp, bringing their mouths within inches of each other.

  “No.” Sadie shook her head, unable to hold back the tears. “But my father had to be behind the accident. Otherwise why would he have said that? He probably paid someone to drive into you, and after all these years, that person is still out there.”

  Was it true?

  He gripped her shoulder tighter. “I knew it wasn’t a simple accident. When I felt that kind of force on a dirt road with no one else around, I thought it had to be a small plane making a forced landing that ran into me.

  “It all happened too fast for me to see anything. The impact caused the truck to roll into the culvert and twisted the horse trailer onto its side. The police said it had to have been a truck, but after an exhaustive investigation, they couldn’t find the person responsible.”

  Sadie moaned. “It was so horrific. I heard that Chief was injured, too.”

  “Yes, but he survived.”

  “Thank heaven. I don’t know how, but someone knew we were planning to get married and word got back to my father. Maybe someone from the reservation did some talking in town. Oh, Jarod.” She broke down, burying her face in her hands. “You could have been killed.”

  She was right about that.

  “I can’t bear to think about that night. There was evil in my father. I realized he would kill you another time given more provocation. At that point I did the only thing I could do and promised not to see you again. He made me write that note and then he told me to get out of the house and stay out. He obviously assumed I’d run to the Hensons.”

  Jarod heard her words, but it took time for him to absorb them.

  “I was so terrified to learn you were in the hospital, and so terrified of him, I knew I had to get away and stay away. All these years I’ve wondered who could have done something so sinister to you. My father must have paid that man a lot of money he didn’t have.”

  He sucked in a breath. “Whether your father was bluffing about the accident or not, his objective of separating us was accomplished. You were gone out of my life as if you’d never been there.”

  “Please listen to me, Jarod. In the note I wrote, those words were only meant to convince my father. How could you have believed them? I was going to be your wife!”

  He stared her down, unable to fathom what had happened. Something didn’t ring true, but he’d have to think long and hard about it first. He slowly released her arm.

  “Just tell me one thing. Why did you go to your mother after she’d abandoned you for all those years? It made no sense. I couldn’t come up with any conceivable explanation, so I finally had to conclude you couldn’t bring yourself to marry me.”

  “Jarod,” she pleaded, “I don’t know how you could think that! When you didn’t come and I still knew nothing about your accident, I thought you’d changed your mind about getting married, or maybe your uncle had urged you to put off the marriage for a while longer. I wanted to die when you didn’t show up. Mac and Millie came in my room to try to calm me down. You have no idea what was going on inside me that night.”

  “That made two of us. I lay on that hospital bed incapacitated with no way to talk to you. My grandparents thought we were on the reservation enjoying our honeymoon.”

  “I didn’t know that!” she half cried. “I wa
s so upset Mac and Millie told me a secret they’d been keeping from me because my father had sworn them to secrecy. If they broke that oath, he would have thrown them off the property. Millie said the only reason they hadn’t left him was because of me.”

  He shook his head in disbelief. “What secret?”

  “They told me he’d threatened to kill my mother if she tried to take me away from him. Jarod, all those years I thought she didn’t love me, but it was just the opposite. She always wanted me, grieved for me. She kept in touch with the Hensons every day to find out how I was. But they had to keep quiet because of my father.”

  “Is that the truth?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t know it until that moment.”

  Jarod rubbed the side of his jaw. “A mother’s love,” he murmured. “You wanted it more than you wanted me.”

  “No, Jarod. You have everything wrong.”

  “I don’t think so,” he argued. “When you heard about my accident, it was obvious you didn’t want to be my wife or you would have found a way to get in touch with me at the hospital. You knew that when I got out, I’d come for you and we would have gotten away from your father. I wasn’t afraid of him.”

  “But I was! He’d just admitted he would make sure you were dead if I so much as looked at you. I couldn’t bear that, so I went to my mother. Don’t forget he’d threatened her years earlier. My father was capable of anything! With a gun or a rifle in his hand, he was lethal. Since I’d turned eighteen, Mac and Millie urged me to get away from my father and go to her because he was out of control. Mac drove me to Billings.”

  Jarod felt as though a giant hand had just cut off his breath. “So you let Mac do that instead of driving you to the reservation where my uncle would have taken care of you until I got out of the hospital. You promised to love me forever.”

  He could barely make out her words she was sobbing so much. “You were my life, Jarod, but when I never heard from you after you recovered, I thought you didn’t want me. I thought my life was over. Don’t you understand? I was devastated to think you’d decided it wouldn’t be wise to marry me because of my father. He hated you—hated all the Bannocks. You have to believe that the only reason I left was so my father wouldn’t hurt you again.”