A Family for the Rancher

by Allison B. Collins

  His dad had followed him and took Bunny into his arms.

  “What do you mean? She left? That fast?” Fear clutched at his stomach, and acid burned up his throat.

  “Yes. She rushed inside, grabbed a few things for her and Maddy, then took my granddaughter and hightailed it off the ranch.”

  “Where’s she going?”

  “I don’t know. She said she would find a place and send for her things. She’s out there all alone, with a little girl and a baby on the way, and you didn’t stop her.”

  He started to leave, but she clutched his arm. “You need to understand something. When she and Rob were dating, she got pregnant. They got married right away, but they had some rocky times. She’s scared, Nash. Back then, she knew they were going to get married, and they loved each other. When he died, I didn’t think she’d ever fall in love again. But she did. With you.”

  His throat tightened, and he fought to inhale. He’d screwed this up on so many levels, when all he’d wanted was to give her a way out if she didn’t love him.

  “What are you going to do about this?” his dad asked.

  “Whatever it takes.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  A month later, Maddy walked slowly in front of her, dropping rose petals and wearing a miniature blue dress that matched her own. Kelsey walked down the aisle next as matron of honor for her mother. She kept her eyes on the minister and refused to look at any of the men lined up next to Angus.

  Because that’s where Nash would be standing. And it still hurt too much to see him. She and Maddy had settled down in Boise for the time being, and she’d gotten a therapy job with the big hospital in town. It’d been the hardest thing in her life to stay away from him, but she’d gotten through it, one lonely damn day at a time.

  Her mother told her he’d been devastated when she left, but if he was willing to let her go if she fell in love with someone else, then any feelings he had for her couldn’t have been too deep.

  But she’d had to go back to the ranch for her mother’s wedding, wouldn’t let her down by not showing up. So she’d sneaked into the lodge, where her mother was getting ready, and now it was time for the ceremony. Her mother hadn’t been too happy that they wouldn’t be staying for the whole reception, but understood it was too hard for her to be so close to Nash.

  The minister droned on, and she kept her eyes on her mother. Only once did she slip and look at Nash. She agreed with her mother’s description—he did look haggard. Dark circles smudged the skin beneath his eyes, and he hadn’t shaved in quite a while. Even his cheekbones looked gaunt, and lines of pain bracketed his mouth.

  The therapist in her wanted to help him get better, to stop the pain. The woman in her just wanted to love him and take care of him. And dammit, she did still love him. He turned his head to stare at her. She averted her eyes and swore not to look at him again.

  Her mother handed her the bouquet of white roses and put her hands in Angus’s as they repeated their vows.

  A couple more hours, and she and Maddy would be leaving again, this time for much longer. A lump rose in her throat as the minister pronounced Bunny and Angus husband and wife.

  * * *

  THE RECEPTION WAS in full swing at the lodge, and Kelsey’s nerves were so shredded she was about to scream. Every time she turned around, there was Nash, staring at her, looking so freaking handsome in his tux.

  She’d stuck it out as long as she could, and now she had to escape. Spotting Maddy playing with Toby, she headed her way.

  “Maddy, honey, we need to go now.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Sweetie, we have a long drive to get home.”

  “This is our home,” Maddy said, pouting.

  “Not anymore. Come on, honey. Let’s go say goodbye to Grandma.”

  Maddy’s face crumpled, and she sniffed.

  Oh please. No tears! I’m barely keeping it together myself.

  She hurried through their goodbyes to her mom and Angus, wished them well, then headed out to her car. Thank goodness she’d had the foresight to put the tote bags with their regular clothes in the car earlier. They could change at a rest stop.

  “Kelsey, wait.”

  She looked behind her and saw Nash heading toward her. Her stomach clenched, and nerves warred with butterflies. Last thing she wanted was a confrontation with him now. She quickened her pace, but Maddy dragged her feet. Bending over, she picked her daughter up and raced to the parking lot.

  Finally she and Maddy reached her car, and she jammed the key in the lock. She popped the locks and opened the back door, got Maddy settled, then climbed in. She hit the lock button, and it sounded like a death knell.

  Her hands shook so bad, she could barely get the key in the ignition.

  Nash knocked on her window. “Open the window.”

  She shook her head.

  “God, babe, I just want to talk to you.”

  She turned the key, but the car just groaned. Seriously? She tried again, but nothing more than a grating groan ripped through the air.

  “If you won’t talk to me, at least pop the hood and let me look at the problem,” Nash called through her window.

  She cranked her head to the side and looked for the doohickey to pop the hood. It gave, and he walked around the front of the car, opening the hood up all the way.

  With the hood blocking her view, she couldn’t tell what he was looking at, but no way would she get out. Something flew past her side window, and she peeked out to see what it was.

  A white wire lay on the ground. Seconds later, another wire joined it, then suddenly wires and car parts were raining down on the ground. Completely at a loss as to how he was fixing the engine, she popped the locks and opened her door, then climbed out.

  “What are you doing? How is that fixing my car?”

  “Not fixing it,” came his voice from the front of the car.

  “What do you mean you’re not fixing it?” She rounded the hood and her mouth fell open. He held a bunch of wires and stuff she had no idea the names of any of it. “You need to put all that stuff back in right now, Nash. I mean it! I can’t afford a mechanic,” she said, hating that her voice quavered.

  He dropped the wires and reached for her hands, but she pulled free and turned away.

  His hand gripped her arm, and he tugged her back around. “Come home with me, Kelsey.”

  “Why, so you can set me free when I meet someone else?”

  His eyes closed, and he grimaced. “I deserve that. I made a complete mess of it trying to do the right thing.”

  “Yeah, you did.”

  “I’m sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am. I about pestered your mom to death to find out where you went. She wouldn’t break.” He pulled her close, and she breathed him in, wanted to relax against his solid warmth. But she had to be strong. Had to get back to her new life.

  Without him.

  “Can you ever forgive me?”

  Shoving hard, she stepped back. “You can’t give me the one thing I want, Nash.”

  He opened his mouth, his brow furrowing.

  “And if you have to ask what it is, you’ll never understand.” She jerked away from him and turned to head back inside to find someone to help her, but froze. There were at least fifty people, if not more, watching them. The Sullivan family and her mother were in the very front.

  “I love you.”

  She whirled around. “What?”

  “I love you, Kelsey. I think I fell for you the minute you walked into my cabin and stood up to me and my brothers. I loved you when you kept pushing me to work harder so I could get better. I loved you when you yelled at me and pushed me into that pile of hay.”

  He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a small box. He hiked up his pant leg and took a step forward, then knelt down. />
  A collective gasp rose from the people watching, and she looked down to see his prosthesis glinting in the late-afternoon sun.

  “Nash,” she hissed. “Your leg is showing.”

  “I don’t care. It’s a part of me. My family knows now, I’ve been going to a counselor, working through the PTSD issues. I’ve learned to live with it, to let go of the guilt. I just want you back in my life. I need you, babe. You and Maddy, and this little guy or girl—” he put his big, strong hand on her baby bump “—are my entire world. I love you, all three of you.”

  He opened the box and pulled a beautiful diamond ring from it. “This was my mom’s ring. It came to me when she died. If you don’t like it, we can find something else.”

  She sniffled and grabbed the handkerchief out of his jacket pocket, then wiped her eyes.

  “I’m sorry for being such an ass. When I heard you thought you were pregnant, I freaked out.”

  She snorted through her tears. “You can say that again.”

  “I didn’t want you to feel pressured into marrying me just for the baby. I didn’t know how you felt about me, so instead I blundered and said the wrong things.” He cleared his throat. “So now I’m saying all the right things, I hope.” He glanced out at the people watching them, and a hint of red spread across his cheeks.

  “Kelsey Anne Summers, will you marry me, and let me adopt Maddy as my daughter, and give me the chance to be the father of this baby? I promise to love you the rest of my life, and take care of our family, and do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

  She hesitated, searching for the truth in his eyes, until she felt a hard nudge from behind. Stumbling a little, she righted herself and laughed when Maddy nudged her toward Nash again.

  “Nash Sullivan, I’m saying yes to everything you offered, and more.”

  He grinned and stood up, catching her in his arms. They whirled around and around until she was dizzy, and he put her back on her feet. He cupped her cheeks, and her breath caught when his eyes glistened.

  “I’m so sorry I hurt you, babe. I promise to always love you.”

  “And what if I meet someone else—”

  He kissed her, hard and fast. “Ain’t gonna happen. I’ll keep you so happy in and out of bed you won’t even look at another man,” he whispered in her ear.

  She grinned. “I’m going to make you keep that promise, cowboy.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged his head down, then kissed him. “I love you, Nash.”

  Her world narrowed to the feel of his lips on hers, and she barely heard the applause from the people witnessing their spectacle.

  “So I get to be a flower girl again, right, Mommy?” Maddy tugged her skirt, and everyone laughed.

  Nash bent over and picked her up. “You okay with me being your daddy, baby girl?”

  Maddy nodded, and flung her arms around his neck.

  He pulled Kelsey close again, and the three of them stood there. Circled within his arms, pressed against him, she was home. And nothing else mattered now.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Nash pulled Kelsey tighter against his body, reveling in the feel of her. Now if only they were naked, he’d be even happier. He tried to move in time to the music, but every so often, there was a hitch in his gitalong. Three months ago, he never would have been on display like this, in front of people, even if they were family.

  He knew now it had been pride more than anything that had had him keeping his secret as long as he had. He’d been so afraid to see looks of pity on the faces of those he loved that he’d shut them out. It had taken Kelsey and her love to bring him around.

  They’d had a long talk about her job and his position on the family ranch, not sure if they’d stay on or not. But his own father had been the one to come up with a solution. Nash would continue on with his share of the ranch and horse training, and Kelsey would begin an equine therapy program for veterans. He’d help out when needed in her program. They’d applied for the licenses required, gotten everything in order and already had a line of soldiers wanting to sign up.

  Now they were dancing at their wedding reception, and he just wanted to be alone with her. Once she’d agreed to marry him, her mom had kicked in to overdrive and put together a wedding in a week. They’d have been just as happy going in front of a judge, but Bunny Randolph-Sullivan would have none of that. And she’d done a pretty good job of throwing together a nice wedding for them, complete with a white dress and white cowboy boots for Kelsey.

  “Doin’ all right, Mrs. Sullivan?” he whispered in Kelsey’s ear.

  She trembled in his arms, and he couldn’t wait to make her shiver more later that night.

  “Doin’ just fine, Mr. Sullivan.” She grinned up at him.

  “Kelsey,” Bunny said, stepping up to them. “It’s time to throw the bouquet so you can leave.”

  Kelsey stepped back and took the bouquet from her mother while the DJ told all the single women to gather at the edge of the dance floor.

  He moved off to the side and saw Wyatt talking with a pretty blonde as she walked to the group. He rolled his eyes. Did he have to hit on every woman in the vicinity? Now that he was an expert on love, he wanted his brothers to settle down and be happy.

  Kelsey laughed as she turned her back on the group, and held the bouquet in her hands.

  “Three...two...one!” she called out, then tossed the bouquet of white roses over her head and into the crowd.

  A few petals flew from the blossoms as the bouquet struck a target—Wyatt’s head—and left a few white rose petals clinging to his dark hair.

  Wyatt grabbed the bouquet, more out of reflex, and looked down at it, his eyebrow rising, then a look of profound fear crossed his face.

  “Hey! Kelsey! You need to do that over again,” Wyatt hollered, holding it out to her.

  Kelsey was bent over laughing, then stood up and wiped her eyes. “Oh no, brother-in-law, it was meant to be. One of these days, you’ll be walking down the aisle!”

  Nash couldn’t help the laugh bubbling up from his gut, and he busted out at the expression on his brother’s face. He kissed his new bride, and said to Wyatt, “I just hope you find someone who can kick your butt into line like I did, bro.”

  He whisked her away, as fast as he could with a less pronounced limp, to their cabin.

  On the porch, he pulled her into his arms.

  “Thanks for taking a chance on me, Kelsey.” He kissed her cheeks, her nose, her eyelids. “You saved me from a very dark future. You brought hope and happiness back into my life. You gave me a reason to wake up every day. Most of all, you gave me love.”

  He kissed her until they were both breathless.

  Then he gently picked her up, cradling her in his arms, and crossed the threshold into their home, and into the bright future they would make together.

  * * * * *

  If you loved this book, look for FALLING FOR THE REBEL COWBOY, the next story in Allison B. Collins’s COWBOYS TO GROOMS miniseries, coming in June 2018 from Harlequin Western Romance!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from THE COWBOY’S TEXAS TWINS by Tanya Michaels.

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  The Cowboy’s Texas Twins

  by Tanya Michaels

  Chapter One

  When Grayson Cox left town at eighteen, he’d sworn hell would freeze over before he ever moved back. Now, ten years later, his stomach clenched as the truck’s headlights hit the Welcome to Cupid’s Bow sign. Hope the Devil likes ice skating.

  Grayson still couldn’t believe he was taking Aunt Vi up on her offer, but he had a damn good reason. His gaze darted to the rearview mirror, and he checked on the passengers behind him. Make that two good reasons. His godsons, twin five-year-olds, were asleep in their booster seats, each leaning toward the other, so close their blond heads were almost touching. The two and a half weeks since their parents’ funeral had been full of upheaval—tears, bad dreams, acting out; this rare moment of peace reminded Grayson of the morning they’d been christened, cherubic infants who hadn’t even cried when the priest poured the water.

  Blaine had heckled him before the ceremony for getting the twins confused in their matching christening gowns. “What kind of loser can’t tell his own godsons apart?”

  Grayson had responded with the same mock-derision. “What kind of loser picks a bull-riding rodeo bum as a godfather? Don’t you know any respectable people?”