Rancher to the Rescue

by Arlene James

  “It’s your money!” Tina exclaimed. “We were going to surprise you with it when you opened the shop. As for Ryder, we kind of figured he might want to buy his own vehicle. We just didn’t want to ruin the surprise by giving him his cash before you got the shop open.”

  “By the way,” Wyatt said, “we’ve got another sod harvest coming up, and that’s another infusion of income that will more than see us all through the winter. Not that we were worried about it at all.”

  Jake looked at Kathryn. He ran his hand through his hair.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “I do,” Kathryn spoke up. “Thank you. And thank God!” She burst into noisy sobs then.

  Jake hurried to gather her against him, chuckling softly. “Oh, honey, don’t cry now that everything’s fine.”

  “I’ve cried more since I got happy than I ever did before,” she wailed. “I just can’t help it.” Sniffing, she looked up at him then. “Thank God you stopped that day. Thank God I found enough courage to go with you.” She looked around the room, as if memorizing the moment and every face.

  Jake heard Frankie and Tyler laughing upstairs. He tried to see it and hear it as she did. Frankie, who had loved and wanted her from the beginning. And Wyatt, who was the best big brother in the world. And Tina, the sister Kathryn had never had. Ryder, the big old teddy bear. He was right. Their mom would approve. Jake silently vowed to spend the rest of his life making Kathryn so happy they’d have to buy tissues by the truckload.

  “I have a family,” Kathryn said softly, looking over his shoulder. “And I love you all so much.”

  Tina rushed them, hugging both Kathryn and Jake, while Wyatt looked on, grinning. Rex crossed the room and reached for his hat.

  “Time to go check on my wife.”

  He turned a bright smile on them and went out the door while they were still thanking him.

  Kathryn laid her head on Jake’s shoulder. “Thank You,” she whispered. “Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.”

  Jake knew she wasn’t thanking him, and that was just as it should be.

  “Amen,” he whispered.

  * * *

  Jake waited in front of the altar in a brand-new suit. His boots gleamed, and the green tie Kathryn had picked out for him perfectly matched the dresses that Tina, Ann and Meredith wore. Jake had tapped Ryder as his best man because Wyatt had landed the privilege of escorting Kathryn down the aisle.

  Despite his misgivings, they’d decided to invite Mitchel to the wedding, but he hadn’t bothered even to respond to the invitation. Jake was relieved, and if Kathryn was not, at least she wasn’t upset. Her father hadn’t been part of her life in a long while, after all.

  Rex Billings and Dean Pryor made up the rest of the wedding party, along with Frankie as ring bearer, Tyler as candle lighter and three little flower girls in identical flowered dresses. Dr. Alice herded her granddaughters toward the front of the church. Halfway down, the littlest one turned and demanded to be held. Muted laughter circled the room. Alice picked up the child and carried her to Wes, while the eldest, Callie’s daughter, calmly urged her remaining cousin down the aisle, scattering petals as they went.

  Jake couldn’t smile any wider. October was a good month to get married. The weather had cooled and the leaves had begun to turn. They’d had time to decorate Frankie’s room at the house in town, stenciling puppies on the walls.

  Stark had finally pronounced Frankie’s pup old enough to leave his mom. Tufts, so named for the tufts of hair on the top of his head and end of his tail, had developed a particular fondness for Kathryn. Who didn’t? She’d turned out to be a very able trainer.

  Jake wasn’t surprised. He firmly believed she could do anything she put her mind to, including make her own wedding dress. She’d insisted, claiming that she couldn’t find what she wanted in the stores. He thought she just hadn’t wanted to spend the cash. She hadn’t learned how to have money yet, or so she said.

  She proved once again just how talented she was as soon as the doors opened at the back of the sanctuary. A strapless sheath of white satin overlaid with long sleeves, an off-the-shoulder neckline and a modest train in pure white lace, the dress could not have been more perfect. Her hair was long enough now to be twisted up in a sophisticated French roll, showing off her beautiful neck and collarbone. Wyatt had once deemed her plain, but she looked like a model today, with a bouquet of bright orange roses, the finest of veils flowing down her back and her lovely face smiling at him.

  It was all Jake could do to wait for her to reach him. He was ready to start this life as husband and wife. More than ready. But they had the ceremony to get through first and a reception at Loco Man, with a huge cake baked by Callie Billings and decorated with strawberries dipped in white chocolate. He was delaying the opening of the shop for another week so they could take a honeymoon. His worries on that end had dissipated like so much smoke. He already had more work lined up than he could handle and was looking for a mechanic to hire.

  They were headed to Galveston on their honeymoon. Thankfully, Frankie was not a fan of the beach. He’d had enough of it while they were in Houston, apparently. He was content to stay at the ranch for a few days with Tyler and his pup and his pony. Jake would show Kathryn his old stomping grounds and they’d have time alone together, just the two of them.

  Perfect. It was all so perfect. She was perfect, or as close as a human being could get.

  “Wow,” he said, as soon as she reached him.

  Their guests laughed, and she blushed, but then her hand was in his, and they were standing in front of the minister. Tina held the bouquet along with her own at exactly the right angle to disguise her baby bump. Ryder helped Frankie deliver the rings, and the next thing Jake knew, he was married. He thought of Jolene and how happy she had made him. He couldn’t have been more grateful, but he knew that had just been the prologue for now.

  He held Kathryn in his arms, looked down into her beautiful, serene face—this wife of his, the mother his son had chosen, the mother of his future children, the constant source of his delight—and softly said, “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” she said, loud enough for everyone in the building to hear, and then she kissed him.

  His shy, proud, stubborn, talented, beautiful wife kissed him. Until his precocious, self-assured, somewhat territorial son yelled, “Hey! S’that my KKay!”

  Laughter, it turned out, was the perfect recessional for a completely joyous occasion.

  * * *

  If you loved this story,

  check out the first book from

  Arlene James’s miniseries

  Three Brothers Ranch:

  The Rancher’s Answered Prayer

  Or pick up these other stories of ranch life

  from the author’s previous miniseries

  The Prodigal Ranch:

  The Rancher’s Homecoming

  Her Single Dad Hero

  Her Cowboy Boss

  Available now from Love Inspired!

  Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Her Last Chance Cowboy by Tina Radcliffe.

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  Dear Reader,

  How difficult it is to remain obedient in the face of apparent calamity! Yet, obedience is exactly how we should respond when things look most dire. Sometimes the only way to remain obedient seems to be to withdraw from the world around us. That was Kathryn’s reaction when an accident made an invalid of her mother.

  Perhaps it doesn’t occur to us—perhaps it shouldn’t—that God will use our obedience to bring many blessings into even the most hopeless situation, but that’s exactly what
He does. Likewise, He uses difficulty to build strength in us, strength of character, strength of faith. When Jake understands that more than one kind of strength exists, he finds the courage to love again.

  Fortunately, we don’t have to find obedience or strength within ourselves. God is always there, always working on our behalf. May you always hold to Him, our shield and salvation.

  God bless,

  Arlene James

  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired story.

  You believe hearts can heal. Love Inspired stories show that faith, forgiveness and hope have the power to lift spirits and change lives—always.

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  Her Last Chance Cowboy

  by Tina Radcliffe

  Chapter One

  Trouble.

  Tripp Walker sensed it the moment he drove around the bend. He hit the brakes as he came upon the beat-up silver Honda parked awkwardly on the shoulder of the two-lane road that led to Big Heart Ranch. Dangerous place to park, which no doubt meant the vehicle was disabled.

  His gaze shot toward the sky to assess the weather. Several hours ago, a tornado watch had been issued for Osage County, Oklahoma. Conditions were ripe for dangerous storms and even a tornado. By the time Tripp finished his business in Pawhuska and passed through the small town of Timber, the watch had changed to a warning, meaning a tornado had been sighted.

  Overhead, the angry gray clouds tinged with green crowded closer, making the threat of the first tornado of May all the more real.

  When a ping hit the windshield and frozen pellets began to descend, Tripp made a split-second decision. Despite his need to get back to the ranch and out of the dangerous weather, he couldn’t ignore the disabled Honda. He parked a safe distance from the vehicle and flipped on his pickup’s emergency flashers.

  Pulling up the collar of his denim jacket, Tripp reached for his cowboy hat before he got out. He inhaled. The air smelled like a storm was imminent. The smell of the ugly, some folks called it. Rain and ozone mixed together.

  Hail continued to fall fast enough to form shallow puddles of white as he headed to the Honda and rapped his knuckles on the driver’s-side window.

  The tinted window inched down a fraction and a woman’s big brown eyes met his gaze. She stared for a moment, no doubt taken aback by the scar that ran down the left side of his face, stopping right beneath his eye. After eighteen years, he was used to people staring.

  “Ma’am, do you need assistance? Is everything okay?” he asked.

  “Okay? Not lately,” she replied with a sigh.

  “What’s wrong with your car?”

  “Apparently, I ran out of gas.”

  His glance swept the Honda, from the cracked windshield on the passenger side to the temporary tags hanging in the rear window. Colorado. Well, that explained the funny way the woman talked. Definitely not an Okie. But it didn’t explain why she was driving around in this weather. “Didn’t you hear the news of the tornado warning on your radio?”

  “The radio is dead and my cell is off to save battery life.” The window inched down a little more and her gaze followed his to the dark sky. “Has a tornado been sighted?” she asked.

  “Funnel cloud south of here.” Tripp frowned and turned back to the woman, whose face registered alarm.

  “Why aren’t there any sirens?” she asked.

  “Too far off the beaten track. The only thing up this road is Big Heart Ranch.”

  “That’s where we’re going.”

  He barely had time to register the word we when a little girl, about five or six years old, poked her head into the front seat. She pushed back a riot of orange curls and grinned up at him. “We want to go to the ranch and see horses, Mr. Cowboy.”

  Tripp bit back a smile, his good humor fading fast as he realized the child was in the path of a tornado. “I’ll take you to Big Heart Ranch.”

  “And who are you?” the woman asked, her gaze assessing.

  “Tripp Walker. I’m the equine manager at Big Heart,” he said, annoyance mounting. “Ma’am, we need to hurry.”

  The driver’s-side door opened and a petite dark-haired woman stepped out. She opened the back seat passenger door. “I’m Hannah Vincent. This is my daughter, Clementine.” The child sat in a booster seat and stared up at him while clutching a pink stuffed horse. She was dressed in clean pink jeans and a pink patterned long-sleeved shirt. Clearly, the kid had a penchant for that color.

  “Come on, baby, we’re going to the ranch.” Hannah unbuckled the straps and pulled her daughter into her arms.

  “Horses?” the little girl asked.

  “Shh,” Hannah said. “We can discuss that later.”

  Tripp glanced at Hannah’s left hand. No ring. Though his head tried to stop him, his gut moved quickly to judgment. Plain irresponsible. Who ran out of gas in the middle of a tornado?

  Irritation continued to brew as he ran a hand over the scar on his face and worked to control the emotions he’d so carefully learned to stuff years ago. He’d spent a lifetime paying for the sins of an irresponsible single mother. Now the memories all came rushing back.

  Hannah faced him with Clementine in her arms. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

  “Just dandy.” Tripp turned and headed to the truck. He held the passenger door open. Hannah lifted Clementine into the cab and then put her foot on the truck’s running board. When she reached for something to hang on to, he took her arm and guided her into the truck.

  “Thank you,” Hannah said.

  He offered a curt nod.

  She pulled Clementine onto her lap and inched nearer to her side of the vehicle as he went around to the driver’s side.

  Once he got in, Tripp gripped the steering wheel and turned his head a fraction to meet Hannah’s dark eyes.

  With that tumble of wavy chocolate-brown hair that touched her shoulders, and a face devoid of makeup, she seemed harmless. But he knew only too well how deceiving looks could be. As if sensing his annoyance, Hannah moved even closer to the door.

  They headed down the ranch drive toward a split-log archway with the words Big Heart Ranch burned into a hanging sign. He stopped the truck in front of a drop-arm barrier that kept unauthorized visitors out and put his key card in the reader slot.

  “Is this the ranch?” Clementine asked as the arm lifted.

  “It is,” he said.

  The child’s orange corkscrew curls bounced when she turned to look out each of the pickup’s windows. “Where are the horses?”

  “They’re in the barn because of the storm. You’ll get to see them before you leave.”

  “Oh, thank you, Mr. Cowboy.” She rewarded him with a huge grin. The kid had a smile that could warm even the most frozen hearts.

  When his cell phone rang, Tripp pressed a button on the dashboard. “Walker.”

  “Looks like the funnel cloud jumped past us. Storm moving in. A big one,” the mature female voice on the speakerpho
ne said.

  “Thanks, Rue. I’m bringing guests to the admin building.”

  “Guests?”

  “A Hannah Vincent. She ran out of gas on her way to see the Maxwells.”

  The sound of papers shuffling could be heard. “The receptionist is out until Monday, but I’m looking at the appointment list she left and I don’t see a Hannah Vincent. Is she here to see all of them?”

  Tripp turned to Hannah, and she nodded.

  “That’s right, Rue.”

  “Well, no worries. I’ll find them and we can sort it out.” She chuckled. “Just get out of that weather.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Once again, Tripp looked at his passenger. “You have an appointment at Big Heart Ranch, right?”

  “Not exactly,” Hannah said.

  “Not exactly?” Tripp exhaled and held back a biting retort. Though the tension in the cab was palpable, he focused on driving, staring straight ahead out the window where fat drops of rain began to splash on the glass as he approached the administration building.

  His job was to manage the horses. It would be good to remember that. Hannah Vincent was Lucy Maxwell’s problem now.

  Tripp pulled the truck into a parking lot and led them out of the rain and into the brick building. “This way.” He opened the door to a small conference room where Rue Butterfield sat with a cup of coffee watching the news. The gray-haired physician and retired army general turned to offer their guests a welcoming smile. “Welcome to Big Heart Ranch.”

  “I hope I’m not...” Hannah began. She pushed back rain-dampened hair from her face.

  “You’re not.” Rue stood. “Big Heart Ranch aims to be a refuge in the storm. Literally.” She chuckled and held out a hand in greeting. “I’m Dr. Rue Butterfield.”

  “Hannah Vincent. This is Clementine.”

  “Clementine!” Rue grinned. “Now isn’t that a unique name?”

  “It’s ’cause of my hair,” the little girl said. “It’s orange.”

  Tripp bit back a smile when Clementine shook her head back and forth, causing the bright curls to move with the motion.