Her Man on Three Rivers Ranch

by Stella Bagwell

  With a glance of warning at Holt, his mother said, “Frankly, I’d love to see Katherine again. I hope you’ll invite her out soon, Blake.”

  “I’ll invite her,” Blake said. “But I won’t promise she’ll come.”

  How could he? He wasn’t even sure Katherine would agree to go out with him again, much less show up for a family dinner.

  Chapter Five

  The following Monday morning at work, Katherine was attempting to juggle her attention between the ringing phone on her desk and the ledger sheet on her monitor screen. Through a row of windows to her right, the sun was already bright in a cloudless sky. The varsity baseball team was on the field practicing, while nearby a maintenance man was mowing grass around a stand of bleachers. So far it was a routine school day at St. Francis Academy, yet Katherine was struggling to get back in the work groove.

  For the past forty-eight hours she’d tried to shove thoughts of Blake Hollister out of her mind, but so far everything about the man seemed to be stuck in her brain. Kissing him had been wildly delicious and she’d not wanted those passionate moments in his arms to end. However, now that a bit of time had passed since Friday night, she’d come to realize it was more than Blake’s kiss that had mesmerized her. His dark hair and rugged profile, the husky note in his voice, his reserved smiles and even the way he wore his clothes had all fascinated her. A woman couldn’t think straight with that kind of stuff going round in her head.

  She was staring blankly out the window when Prudence Keyes, the superintendent of the private high school, stepped through the open doorway between their offices.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked. “A headache?”

  Katherine jerked her attention around to the other woman. “Oh. No. I was just...thinking.”

  “About a sandy beach and a tall margarita?”

  Katherine swiveled her chair until she was facing Prudence. “No. But it does sound nice.”

  “To you and me both,” Prudence said wryly, then placed a slip of paper on the corner of Katherine’s desk. “Here’s all the info on the math books. I want you to go ahead and place the order today. I realize this school year is about to end, but sometimes these things are put on back order and then we’d have to scramble around to find another distributor. Since we already have the money appropriated, I don’t see any need to wait.”

  Nodding, Katherine said, “I’ll get it done this morning.”

  “Has Coach Lyons handed in any information on the basketball jerseys yet? We need to get those ordered also.”

  “No. He hasn’t. And from what I understand, he’ll be at a coaches conference in Phoenix today and tomorrow.”

  Prudence heaved out an exasperated breath. “Jocks! All they think about is winning. Everything else is chicken feed.”

  Katherine stared at her boss. At thirty-five, Prudence had been divorced for a few years. With a petite figure and caramel-brown hair curling over her shoulders, she was a lovely woman. Her delicate features were soft and an aura of pure femininity surrounded her. Only Katherine and a few others were aware of her iron-fisted approach to running St. Francis Academy. As far as her divorce went, Prudence never discussed the reason for her broken marriage and Katherine never asked.

  “That is what a coach is supposed to do, Prudence,” Katherine reminded her. “Focus on having a winning season.”

  “A man should have more than one responsibility. But God knows some of them can’t even handle one, much less two or three.”

  Katherine didn’t often hear this much cynical sting in Prudence’s voice. Before she could ask the other woman what had started her Monday off so badly, Prudence eased a hip onto the corner of her desk.

  “Speaking of men,” she said, “you’ve not mentioned how your date with Mr. Hollister went. Did you have a nice time?”

  Try as she might, Katherine couldn’t stop a wave of heat from coloring her face.

  “The evening was...very nice.”

  Folding her arms against her breasts, Prudence regarded her thoughtfully. “Nice. Hmm. Nice enough to see him again?”

  Other than Prudence and her babysitter, Lash, Katherine hadn’t told anyone about her date. And she’d only confided in Prudence because she was the closest female friend she had in town. Now she almost wished she hadn’t. She didn’t want to discuss Blake Hollister. Not when the mere thought of him turned her into a helpless romantic fool.

  “I’m not sure about that,” Katherine hedged.

  “You mean, not sure he’ll ask you again? Or not sure you’ll agree to go?”

  Sighing, Katherine leaned back in the big leather desk chair and crossed her legs. “Oh, he’s asked me already,” she admitted. “I got a call from him last night. He’s invited me to dinner at his family’s ranch.”

  “Dinner at Three Rivers. Mmm. After one date? You must’ve made quite an impression on the man.”

  Impression? She probably had, Katherine thought ruefully. That she was ripe and ready for a lover. But that simply wasn’t the case. For the past few years, sex had pretty much dropped off her radar. The only thing she’d been focused on was caring for her ailing father and seeing that Nick had the kind of home a child needed. Now Blake had come along and stirred up some sort of monster inside her. All she could think about was the way he’d kissed her and the way she’d kissed him back.

  “Not really,” she said. “Blake is a homebody. He’s probably invited me to Three Rivers for dinner so he won’t have to leave the ranch.”

  Prudence grimaced. “If that’s the reason, I’d be telling him to go take a flying leap off the south rim of the Grand Canyon.”

  Katherine refrained from rolling her eyes, but just barely. “Why the south rim? Is it better for leaping?” she asked drolly.

  “It’s the nearest to us,” Prudence quipped, then straightened away from the desk. “In all seriousness, Katherine, I’m glad you’re seeing Mr. Hollister. You’re the kind of woman who needs a man in her life. And from what I gather, no one can say a bad thing about him.”

  “That doesn’t mean he’d be right for me,” Katherine replied. “Why would you have the idea that I need a man, anyway? I’ve managed on my own for years now.”

  Prudence gave her a wan smile. “There are other things a man can give you besides financial security.”

  Not according to her late husband. Cliff had believed financial security was the cure-all. He’d never stopped to notice that she and their baby had needed love and attention. He’d never realized that she would have gladly traded their comfortable suburban home for a three-room shack in order to get back the man she’d first married.

  Shoving at those dark thoughts, she said, “I don’t know why you’re telling me this, Prudence. You’re not married and you’re happy.”

  The smile on her face took on a mocking twist. “Am I?”

  Katherine was still trying to come up with an answer to that loaded question when the other woman suddenly turned all business and started toward the door.

  “I’m headed to the cafeteria. The cooks are complaining about one of the ovens and a walk-in freezer is trying to quit. While I check out the kitchen problem, see if you can find Coach Lyons’s cell number. I’m going to give him a reminder about those jerseys.”

  “I’ll get right on it.”

  At the door, Prudence paused and looked over her shoulder. “Kat, we women don’t often get a chance to have a real man—a good man in our lives. Don’t let this chance for you slip away.”

  Katherine had been given one chance with Cliff and she’d not been woman enough to hold his interest. With Blake she’d have to compete with Three Rivers for his attention. She’d be a fool to think she’d come out the winner.

  “I’ll think about your advice, Prudence.”

  Smiling, the superintendent turned and left the office.

  * * *

&n
bsp; “Mom, you’ve been driving forever,” Nick grumbled. “If you keep going, we’re gonna be in California.”

  Katherine glanced over at her son, who was leaning forward in the seat, staring out the passenger window. Since Nick had been a town boy all his life, it wasn’t often he got to see the rugged countryside. But after several miles, he was restless to be out of the car.

  “You must be sleeping through geography class. California is to the west. We’re traveling east.”

  He groaned. “Aww, Mom, you know what I mean. How much longer till we get to Three Rivers Ranch?”

  “It isn’t too much farther.”

  As best as she could remember, the ranch’s entrance was only a mile or so away. But more than twelve years had passed since she’d visited Three Rivers Ranch with her mother. She’d not remembered the dirt road being this rough. It felt like her car was being rattled to pieces. She wished now that she’d taken Blake up on his offer to come into town and take them to the ranch. But she’d wanted to save him the bother. Plus, she’d wanted to have her own vehicle with her, just in case she decided to make a quick exit.

  “There’s a sign!” Nick eagerly pointed to an entrance up ahead on the right of the road. “Bar X Ranch,” he said. “Darn, that’s not it.”

  “No. Blake’s brother Joseph lives there with his wife. He’s a deputy sheriff.”

  Clearly impressed by this news, Nick looked at her. “Wow! That would be neat to have a brother who’s a deputy sheriff. And another brother who rides broncs. Blake’s lucky, huh?”

  Nick wants brothers and sisters. What are you going to do about it?

  Try as she might, she’d not been able to forget Blake’s words. His observation was something Katherine lived with every day. Nick truly wanted siblings. He brought up the subject often, and each time she listened to his wishes, the guilt inside Katherine grew darker and heavier. But what could she do about it? She couldn’t marry the first man available just to give Nick a brother or sister. Ending up in another bad marriage would be far worse than Nick not having siblings.

  You should feel guilty, Katherine. You haven’t tried to change the direction of your life. You haven’t allowed yourself to look at any man in a romantic way. No, these past years you’ve worked very hard to steer clear of love and marriage. Because you want to keep your life safe and uncomplicated. But what is that doing to your son?

  Glancing at Nick, she did her best to smile. “Yes, Blake is very lucky. He has a third brother who’s a veterinarian, too.”

  “Wow, that would be neat to get to doctor animals. Are we going to meet all of Blake’s brothers and sisters when we get to Three Rivers?”

  “I’m not sure. But whomever we meet, I want you to remember to be polite.”

  His expression said he was clearly offended. “Aww, Mom. I won’t mess up. I’ll remember to keep my elbows off the table and use my salad fork first. And I won’t ask personal questions. Like money and marriage, and stuff. That’s boring, anyway.”

  Thank goodness he was still young enough to consider such things boring, Katherine thought. In a few more years he’d be all grown and dealing with the responsibilities that came with being an adult. For now she wanted to make sure his childhood was stable and happy.

  She glanced at him and smiled. “Are you glad we’re visiting Three Rivers this evening?”

  “Sure. I want to see Blake again. He seems like a neat guy.”

  “I’m glad you think so.”

  From the corner of her eye, she could see a wide grin on his face. “Yeah. Guess it would be kinda bad if I didn’t like your boyfriend.”

  Boyfriend. She’d had one date with the man and already Nick considered Blake as someone important in his mother’s life. She wasn’t sure whether Nick’s view of the situation was a child’s naivety, or if she was the one who refused to see what was developing with her and Blake.

  “Is that what you think he is? My boyfriend?”

  Nick’s boyish chuckle was smug. “Well, he’s not your husband yet.”

  Katherine came close to stomping the brake and stopping the car in the middle of the road. For Nick to call Blake her boyfriend was one thing, but her son’s imagination seemed to be making a giant leap. She needed to make it very plain to him that she had no plans to marry anyone. Especially a cattle baron whose family owned a fair portion of Yavapai County.

  But Three Rivers Ranch was only a few minutes away and now wasn’t the time for such a lecture. She didn’t want to ruin Nick’s evening before it ever got started. For now she’d ignore her son’s provocative remark. Tomorrow would be soon enough to set him straight on the matter.

  With that decision made, she pressed on the gas and braced herself for the moment she’d see Blake again.

  * * *

  On Three Rivers Ranch, Blake and his eleven-year-old niece, Hannah, were sitting on the front porch of the ranch house when the girl spotted Katherine’s dark red car coming up the long, tree-lined drive to the house.

  “Here they come, Uncle Blake.” Wearing jeans and boots and a T-shirt with the image of a running horse on the front, the blond-haired girl jumped from the lawn chair. “Let’s go down to the driveway and wait for them.”

  “Wouldn’t that look a bit overeager?” Blake asked, even though he was already rising from his chair.

  She looked at him and rolled her eyes, as though she had little patience with grown-up games. “Uncle Blake, you are excited to see her, aren’t you? Why not show it?”

  Why not, indeed? Blake thought. All week long, he’d been counting the hours until this Friday evening arrived. It would be silly to hide his feelings now.

  “You’re right. Let’s go.”

  The two of them left the porch and stood at the edge of the circle drive. By the time Katherine stopped the car in a graveled parking area beneath one of the cottonwoods, Blake was there to open the door for her. On the opposite side of the car Hannah was already waiting for Nick to climb out.

  “Looks like you made the trip all in one piece,” he said as he gave her a helping hand onto the ground. “Did you have any trouble remembering the way out here?”

  She smiled at him and Blake was amazed at the feelings rushing through him. He wasn’t a happy-smiley-type guy, so why was Katherine’s grin making him feel goofy with pleasure?

  “No trouble. I was surprised to see very little has changed between here and Wickenburg.” Her gaze swung to the three-storied white house, with its shaded wraparound porch. “Oh my, this all looks just like the last time I was here and that was twelve years ago. Except the wicker chairs had green cushions instead of red. And the tree at the north end of the porch wasn’t nearly that tall.”

  That she remembered his home so vividly touched a soft spot in him. “That’s right. Mom changes the cushions when they start to wear thin.” He reached for her arm. “Everyone is out on the back patio. We’ll go through the house.”

  Blake glanced over to see Hannah already had Nick by the hand and was leading him away from the car. His niece didn’t possess one shy bone in her body and thankfully Katherine’s son appeared to be thoroughly enjoying the female attention.

  “Hannah, you and Nick come here,” Blake called to his niece. “I want to introduce you to his mother.”

  The two kids skirted the front of the car and stood hand in hand in front of Blake and Katherine.

  “Hello again, Nick,” Blake told the boy. “Welcome to Three Rivers Ranch.”

  “Hello, sir,” Nick politely replied, then cast a shy grin at Hannah.

  Hannah giggled and smiled back at him.

  Oh, to have the innocent trust of a child, Blake thought. He glanced at Katherine to see she was also taking note of the sudden bond forming between the two youngsters.

  “Hannah, I want you to meet Nick’s mother, Mrs. O’Dell,” Blake said. “And, Katherine, this is Vi
vian’s daughter, Hannah.”

  Hannah thrust out her free hand to Katherine. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

  Smiling gently, Katherine shook the girl’s hand. “It’s my pleasure, Hannah. And you look very much like I remember your mother.”

  “Thanks! Everyone tells me that, so I guess it must be true.” She turned an imploring look on Blake. “May I take Nick down to the barn and show him my horse?”

  Nick turned wide eyes on Hannah. “Oh, wow! You have a horse? Do you ride it?”

  Hannah nodded. “Sure. All the time. But we can’t ride him this evening. It’s too close to dinner. But you can pet him and give him treats.”

  Blake looked at Katherine. “Hannah knows her way around the barn and the horses. It’s fine with me, if it’s okay with you.”

  Katherine studied the two children for a long moment, before finally conceding. “All right. As long as you stay right with Hannah,” she told Nick.

  Both children were so exuberant they were practically dancing on their toes.

  “Don’t worry, Mrs. O’Dell, I’ll take good care of him.” Hannah tugged on Nick’s hand. “C’mon. Let’s run!”

  They raced off toward the barn with shrieks of laughter and Blake noticed a tiny frown suddenly creasing the middle of Katherine’s forehead.

  “Don’t worry. Hannah is an old hand around the animals. She’s eleven going on eighteen. She’ll take good care of Nick. And a few of the ranch hands are always around the barn. They’ll keep an eye on them.”

  She turned slightly toward him and Blake was struck all over again at the fresh beauty of her face. All those years ago, she’d been a pretty teenage girl with simple clothes and a sad, somber air about her. He’d sometimes paused to speak to her, but little more than that. If anyone had told him she’d return to the ranch one day as such a lovely woman, or that he’d be looking at her with such longing, he would’ve laughed away the idea.