Roping Ryan (The West Series Book 6)

by Jill Sanders

  Dr. Graham and Mr. Holton nodded their heads in unison. She could see the questions in their eyes. Lauren turned when she spotted her sisters walking towards her. She walked stiffly around to the driver’s side of her truck, her shoulders square. As they drove away in silence, she looked back and saw the three men standing there. A shiver rolled down her back and she knew at that moment that everything was going to change.

  The drive to the ranch wasn’t a long one. It sat almost ten miles outside of town, but the roads were always empty and the highway stretched in a straight line. When they passed the old iron gate with Saddleback Ranch overhead, she felt a little peace settle in her bones. There, in the distance, stood the three-story house she’d always known and loved. It had taken some bangs in its time. The tornado that had claimed their mother had torn the roof right off the massive place. The old red barn had been flattened back then as well. They’d lost a dozen horses and two of the farmhand houses. Thank goodness her father and the men had been in the hills that day, or they might have been caught up in the storm as well. But the barn and farmhands’ houses had been rebuilt. The house had gotten a shiny new roof along with a new paint job and some new windowpanes to replace the ones that had blown out. After her father replaced the storm cellar’s door, no one talked about that day anymore.

  Lauren stopped the truck in front of the barn, and Haley jumped out and ran through the massive doors. Alex turned and looked at Lauren.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll go talk to her.” Lauren patted her sister’s thigh and got out of the truck. Dingo, the family dog, an Australian shepherd mix, rushed up to Lauren and jumped on her dress. “No, down.” She pushed the dog off, but she followed her into the dark barn.

  Outside, the sun had warmed her, but here in the darkness of the barn, the coolness seeped into her bones. She rubbed her arms with her hands as she walked forward to climb the old stairs that led to the second floor, where she knew her sister would be.

  The loft was huge, taking up three quarters of the barn, but Lauren knew Haley’s hiding places and walked right to her sister. Haley was stretched out on the soft hay, her best Sunday dress fanned out around her. She was facedown and crying like there was no tomorrow. Lauren walked over and sat next to her. She pulled her into her arms and cried with her.

  Less than an hour later, Lauren had changed into her work clothes and stood at the door to greet Mr. Holton, Dr. Graham, and, to her surprise, Chase. The four of them walked into her father’s large office and she shut the glass doors behind her. Taking a large breath, she turned to face the room.

  “Please, have a seat.” She motioned for the three men to sit as she walked around her father’s massive desk and sat in his soft leather chair. She’d done it a hundred times, but this time it felt different.

  “Your father was a great man,” Mr. Holton started. “He was our best friend.” He looked at Dr. Graham, and the other man nodded his head in agreement. “We could postpone this meeting—”

  “No, please.” Lauren straightened her shoulders.

  “Very well.” Mr. Holton pulled out a file from his briefcase. “As you know, I am your father’s lawyer. John, here”—he nodded to Dr. Graham—“well, he has a stake in what we need to discuss. That’s why I invited him along.”

  “Continue,” Lauren said when she thought Mr. Holton had lost his nerve. She knew it was bad news; she could see it clearly on both of the men’s faces.

  “Well, after that day”—Mr. Holton cleared his throat and shifted in his seat—“after we lost your mother, Richard took out some loans.”

  “Mr. Holton, how much did my father owe the bank?” She wanted the bottom line. Holding her breath, she waited.

  “Well, that’s the tricky part. You see, Richard didn’t trust in banks all that much.” The two older men looked between themselves. “Maybe this will explain it better.” He set the file on the desk in front of her.

  She opened the file with shaky fingers. There, in her father’s handwriting, was her future.

  I, Richard West, being of sound body and mind, do solemnly promise to pay back the total sum of $100,000.00 to Johnathan Graham Sr. and Grant Holton II. If anything should happen to me, the proceeds of my ranch, Saddleback Ranch, would go to both men in equal amounts until paid back in full. They would have a say in the running of the ranch until said amount was paid in full.

  It had been dated and signed by her father, John Graham, and Grant Holton Sr. over ten years ago.

  “I understand your concerns.” She looked up from the paper. “As head of the house now, I will fulfill my father’s obligations.”

  “Well, that’s all well and good.” Dr. Graham smiled. “But, well, we had an understanding between the three of us. If anything happened to him and we saw that you three or the ranch was in any jeopardy, we’d step in and run this place until we saw fit.”

  Lauren listened as the men told her the scheme the three of them—her father, Mr. Holton and Dr. Graham—had come up with ten years ago in case anything like this should happen. How they’d take over the running of the land, the handling of the finances, even deciding how to deal with her and her sisters. She was being pushed out before she’d even had the chance to try and run things her way. She’d practically raised her sisters, and now these two men wanted to take control of everything, even her. Her heart sank upon hearing this news. She asked for some time to think about it and the men apologized and quickly excused themselves.

  After the older men had driven away, Chase stayed behind and offered her another option. The next day Lauren stood in front of the courthouse in Tyler, wearing her Sunday best. She knew her life would never be the same again after that day.

  Seven years later…

  Chase stood in the middle of the street and took a deep breath. He was finally home. It wasn’t that he’d been avoiding the place, or that he hadn’t had the will to return, but life had led him down a twisted path. He was happy that he’d finally ended up back here, at least for now. A car horn honked at him, and he waved and moved from the center of the road. Walking up the stone steps to his father’s building, he realized that the old green place had never looked better. He knew the money he’d been sending home over the last nine years had helped with fixing up the clinic.

  When he opened the front door, the bell above the door chimed and he smiled.

  “Morning, how can I—” Cheryl, his father’s receptionist, stood slowly. “Son of a…”

  “Now, Cheryl, you know you’re not supposed to say that around here.” He walked forward and received her welcoming hug. The woman almost engulfed him, but he smiled and took the beating as she patted his back hard. Her arms were like vices, but her front was soft and she smelled just like he remembered, like chocolate and wet puppies. The odd mix of aromas had always warmed his spirits.

  “What are you doing back in town?” she asked. She gasped. “Does your father know?” She looked toward the back room.

  He shook his head. “I wanted to surprise him.” He smiled.

  Her smile slipped a little. “Well, you sure will.” Then she bit her bottom lip and he knew something was up.

  “Spill.” He took her shoulders before she could turn away.

  “What?” She tried to look innocent.

  “Cheryl, how long have I known you?”

  She smiled. “Going on twenty-eight years next June.” He smiled. Cheryl always did remembered his birthday.

  “And in all that time, I’ve come to know that when you bite your bottom lip, you have something you’re trying to hide. So…”—he motioned with his hand—“spill.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine. It’s just your father’s health. I know he hasn’t mentioned it over the phone to you.”

  “What about it?” Chase began to get worried and felt like rushing to the back room to check up on his dad. Cheryl had never mentioned anything personal about his father’s health in their conversations. Neither had his father.

  “Well, he in
jured his leg a while back.” She twisted her shirtfront.

  “And?” He waited.

  “And, well, he’s walking with a cane now,” she blurted out, just as his father walked through the back door.

  “Thank you, Cheryl. That will be enough out of you.” His father smiled. Sure enough, his father was leaning on a black cane. “Well, boy?” He held out his arm. “Don’t make me hobble over to you for that hug.”

  Chase rushed across the room and gave his old man a bear hug like he always had, noticing that his father was not only skinnier, but felt frailer. He had a million questions he wanted to ask, but he knew his father wouldn’t answer until he was good and ready.

  “Come on back here, boy. Tell me what you’ve been up to.” His father started walking towards the back and Chase watched him hobble. Then his father turned. “Are you back to stay?”

  “Yes,” Chase said absentmindedly. He hadn’t meant to stay, had he?

  “Good.” His father turned into his office and took a seat, setting the cane down beside him. Chase sat in the chair across from him, waiting.

  “Well, I suppose I should tell you, you couldn’t have come home at a better time. I’m retiring.”

  “What?” Chase sat up. His father raised his hands, holding off the million questions he had.

  “Yes, at the end of the year. I’ve been kicked one too many times.” His father smiled. “This old body doesn’t want to work like it used to. I was going to give you a call later this month.”

  “Dad?” He looked at him.

  “I know, I know. I told you I’d never retire, but...” He looked down at his leg. “The doctors are telling me I have to be off this damned leg for six hours a day. Six! You and I both know that in this line of work you’d be lucky to sit for five minutes a day.”

  Chase smiled. “I guess it’s a good thing I’m home, then.”

  His father smiled and nodded his head. “What do you say we go grab some lunch? I’m buying.”

  Fairplay, Texas, had one place to sit and eat. Mama’s Diner, a huge brown barn that had been turned into a restaurant, had been the best place to eat in two counties since as far back as Chase could remember. Even now, the place looked new and smelled like greasy burgers.

  His father took his usual booth. It almost made Chase laugh, knowing the man never sat in a different spot. Even if someone was in it, he’d stand and wait until the table was cleared. There were new menus and he took his time looking over the list of new items.

  “How are you today, beautiful?” his father asked the waitress when she stopped by.

  Chase looked up and stared into the most beautiful green eyes he’d ever seen. Her hair was longer than before, and her dark curls hung just below the most perfect breasts he’d ever had the pleasure of being up against. She was tall and limber and he could remember the softness of every curve he’d been allowed to feel. She looked down at him like he was in her way, and he started coughing. He couldn’t explain how it had happened, but he was choking on air. Nothing was getting through to his lungs or to his brain. Finally, she smacked his back hard, and he took a deep breath. He stood and grabbed Lauren’s arm and demanded in a low voice, “What the hell are you doing working here?”

  Other titles by Jill Sanders

  The Pride Series

  Finding Pride – Pride Series #1

  Discovering Pride – Pride Series #2

  Returning Pride – Pride Series #3

  Lasting Pride – Pride Series #4

  Serving Pride – Prequel to Pride Series #5

  Red Hot Christmas – A Pride Christmas #6

  My Sweet Valentine – Pride Series #7

  The Secret Series

  Secret Seduction – Secret Series #1

  Secret Pleasure – Secret Series #2

  Secret Guardian – Secret Series #3

  Secret Passions – Secret Series #4

  Secret Identity – Secret Series #5

  Secret Sauce – Secret Series #6

  The West Series

  Loving Lauren – West Series #1

  Taming Alex – West Series #2

  Holding Haley – West Series #3

  Missy’s Moment – West Series #4

  Breaking Travis - West Series #5

  Roping Ryan - West Series #6

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Follow Jill Sanders online at:

  Web: www.jillsanders.com

  Twitter: @jillmsanders

  Facebook: jillsandersbooks

  ISBN: 978-1502715739

  Copyright © 2014 Jill Sanders

  Copyeditor: Erica Ellis – inkdeepediting.com

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  About the Author

  Jill Sanders is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Pride Series, Secret Series, and West Series romance novels. Having sold over 150,000 books within 6 months of her first release, she continues to lure new readers with her sweet and sexy stories. Her books are available in every English-speaking country and are now being translated to six different languages and recorded for audiobook.

  Born as an identical twin to a large family, she was raised in the Pacific Northwest, later relocating to Colorado for college and a successful IT career before discovering her talent as a writer. She now makes her home on the beautiful emerald coast in Florida where she enjoys hiking, swimming, wine tasting, and of course writing.