Roping the Rancher (Harlequin American Romance)

by Benson, Julie

  She glared at her brother. “You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”

  Ryan laughed. “You’ve got to admit it. That was funny when he picked you up. You should have seen the look on your face. Talk about looking weirded out.”

  “It wasn’t so hilarious from my perspective.” Being in Colt’s arms brought a variety of emotions to life along with her outrage—excitement, desire, longing. A whole lot of longing. The feelings had only grown stronger when they worked together the other day. If he hadn’t looked at her with such confidence it would’ve been easier to stay detached. If he hadn’t been so patient and so damned understanding. Dealing with him as the overbearing, take-charge Neanderthal man was much simpler. And safer.

  She cleared her throat and turned to Ryan. “I think this will be good for me. In an odd way, the training and dealing with my fear of horses is helping me deal with Dad’s death.”

  More than the years of therapy ever had. Little bits and pieces of the days before her dad’s accident had started coming back to her. Snippets of conversations between the director and her father about whether or not he should let a stuntman do the scene. Her dad had argued that he could handle the stunt. The director had expressed his concern, and her dad had countered with the realism would enhance his performance.

  “It had to be tough being there when Dad died. I wish I’d gotten to know him.”

  Over the years she’d tried to share her memories of their father with Ryan, but it wasn’t the same as him having his own. As she turned into the Healing Horses driveway, she said, “You’re a lot like him, and not just in looks. You’ve got his easy way with people, his charm. You’ve got his good heart.”

  At least before the accident squelched that wonderful part of Ryan’s personality. Since they’d arrived in Colorado, she’d seen sparks of that person returning.

  As she parked her car, her stomach tightened. What had Colt said? Courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the mastery of it.

  She kept telling herself that as they prepared for Ryan’s therapy. When she and Ryan stood on the mounting block as Colt led Chance in, her heart pounded almost painfully as the large animal approached. Colt’s gaze locked with hers. The confidence in her she’d seen there the other day blazed there now. He believes in me. He thinks I can do this.

  Her courage bolstered, she fought down her urge to run. Colt’s words rang in her ears. The animals in my program are the safest horses a person can be around. Chance didn’t even glance her way as Colt and the animal stood in front of them. “You okay?”

  She nodded, too afraid to say anything.

  While he stood by the horse’s head, Colt said, “Stacy, help Ryan get his foot in the stirrup. His upper body is strong. He can take it from there.”

  She nodded again, but said nothing, not wanting to do anything to confuse Chance. Once Ryan was mounted, Colt led Chance forward, away from the mounting area and headed toward the arena. From her training she knew her job was to walk beside the horse. She wouldn’t need to do anything other than to watch for Ryan having balancing problems. If that occurred, she was to place her hand on his boot near his ankle. That would offer him extra stability. If that wasn’t enough she could move her arms across his thigh and grasp the front edge of the saddle.

  For the next hour she walked beside her brother. The slight changes in his control and balance as they progressed through the session amazed her. After working in the arena for a while, they stopped by an area containing what looked like a bean bag game kids might play at a birthday party.

  Colt handed Ryan bean bags and told him which hole in the board to aim for. Ryan had to work on maintaining control of Chance as he threw bags at the target. Though he struggled with keeping Chance still on his first attempts, Colt offered suggestions and Ryan quickly improved. When a bean bag finally sailed through the designated spot, Stacy bit her lip to keep from cheering. Not only because of her brother’s accomplishment, but from the pride shining on his face.

  If only Andrea could see what a different this therapy was making for Ryan.

  You can’t get blood out of a turnip. Or manufacture love where the capacity for the emotion didn’t exist. Sure, Andrea had been married three times, but the desperate need to be taken care of, not real love, fueled her actions.

  The thought barreled through Stacy. Had she ever been in love? Maybe like her mother she didn’t possess the ability to truly love that way.

  No, she loved Ryan. But what about loving a man? She shook herself mentally and focused her attention to Ryan through the remainder of the session. When they returned to the barn, Jess met them. She smiled at Ryan. “You’re doing great. You must’ve been a cowboy in a past life.”

  “Thanks. You want to help me groom Chance?”

  Once Ryan dismounted, he and Jess led Chance back to his stall and Stacy couldn’t contain her excitement any longer. “I did it, Colt. I walked beside that huge horse, and eventually I wasn’t so scared.”

  “I’m shocked that you were able to be quiet for that long.”

  “Do you overwhelm all your volunteers with this much gratitude and praise? Would it be so hard to toss me a bone? To say I did a good job?”

  He shifted his stance, his scuffed cowboy boots kicked up dust with his movements. “You did a damned fine job. I’m duly impressed.”

  His words thrilled her as much as an Academy Award nomination would.

  “I could tell how hard it was for you to keep quiet, especially when Ryan hit the right spot in the target that first time.”

  “That was pretty cool,” Ryan said as he and Jess returned.

  She glanced at Jess and then at Colt. “How about it? You two want to go out to dinner celebrate our success—Ryan’s improvement and my first session as a sidewalker? My treat.”

  “We’ve got plans. We’re having dinner at my brother’s house tonight,” Colt replied.

  “I bet Uncle Reed and Aunt Avery wouldn’t mind if Stacy and Ryan came, too,” Jess added.

  “No, that’s all right,” Stacy murmured. “We can do it some other time.”

  But Jess wasn’t listening. She’d already pulled out her cell phone and dialed.

  “You wouldn’t mind if my friend Ryan—the guy who came with me to volunteer at the shelter the other day—and his sister came to dinner with us tonight, would you?” Jess rattled on about Stacy being afraid of horses and how her dad talked her into becoming a sidewalker. “Ryan’s therapy’s going great, and Stacy survived her first time volunteering, so she asked us to celebrate.”

  Stacy cringed. Somehow when Jess said it that way, Stacy felt pathetic and alone. As if she had no one to share good news with other than Colt and his daughter.

  And you think you do?

  A minute later, Jess ended her call and Stacy said, “I appreciate you wanting to include us, Jess, but you have to call your aunt back. We’re not going to horn in on a family event. We can celebrate some other time.”

  “It’s cool. Aunt Avery said she’s been meaning to ask you and Ryan over. She said you two met when you were here before.”

  Stacy cringed. She hadn’t made the best impression with Griffin’s family. She’d been a stuck-up pain in the ass, who hadn’t cared about anything but advancing her career.

  “Thank you, but no.” She might be pathetic, but she still had some pride.

  “If Jess’s aunt is okay with it, what’s the big deal?” Ryan asked.

  “We weren’t invited.”

  Then Jess and Ryan started talking at once trying to convince her to change her mind. When she remained adamant, Ryan said he didn’t care what she did, but he was going.

  A shrill whistle cut through the chatter. She and the teenagers turned to Colt, who stood there, feet braced, arms crossed over his broad chest in full take-charge mode. “We’ll pick
you up at seven.” When Stacy started to protest, he held up a hand and stepped closer. The man had a presence that could make a girl swoon. “Don’t make me throw you over my shoulder to get you there.”

  Stacy pointed her chin at him in defiance. “I won’t let you in the house.”

  “I will,” Ryan tossed out.

  “Traitor,” she snapped at him, without taking her gaze off Colt. “You wouldn’t do that again.”

  “Wanna bet?”

  No. She knew she’d lose. “We’ll see you at seven.”

  * * *

  BY SIX FORTY-FIVE Stacy considered telling Ryan she was coming down with a cold, the flu, the plague or whatever other disease she could think of to avoid going to dinner. She’d changed her clothes three times. Everything she owned seemed so—California Hollywood. After her last meeting with Avery and the incident at Halligan’s she didn’t want to look as if she was putting on airs.

  The first time she’d stayed in Estes Park she’d been so concerned about her career and looking good for the cameras that she never treated anyone like... She paused. She hadn’t really given anyone here much thought, but things were different now.

  Because of Colt. She didn’t want to embarrass him tonight with his family.

  Settling on a simple cobalt knit top and jeans, she added her favorite chunky silver necklace and earrings and glanced in the mirror. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.

  When she answered the door after the doorbell rang a couple of minutes before seven, her breath caught in her throat. There stood Colt looking way too fine in dark jeans and a tan shirt that highlighted his golden skin and hair.

  His heated gaze scanned her from head to toe. The appreciative male grin that he flashed her bolstered her courage. A pleasant flush spread through her. “You look great, Stacy.”

  “So do you.”

  Lord this was awkward. That’s because it feels like a date.

  Anxious to blast that thought out of her mind, she called out, “Ryan, hurry up. Colt’s here.”

  Footsteps pounded overhead and then down the stairs. A minute later, the three of them headed out the door. Once in the car, Ryan and Jess talked nonstop in the backseat. Unable to stand the silence between her and Colt any longer she asked, “How long have your brother and Avery been married?”

  “Since early December, but they’ve known each other their whole lives. They were high school sweethearts until Reed left for Stanford.” Colt told her how his brother came from California to stay with Jess when he’d been deployed. “Jess got sentenced to community service at Avery’s animal shelter for vandalism—”

  “In my defense, I didn’t actually participate in the spray painting,” Jess explained. “Some friends of mine, who’re no longer my friends, I might add, did the vandalism. Then they ran off and left me to take the fall.”

  Now Jess taking Ryan under her wing made more sense. Her mother ran off, then died. Her father was deployed to Afghanistan, and her friends bailed on her leaving her to take the rap for their vandalism. Yup, the girl understood what it felt like to be on the outside.

  “The good news was,” Jess continued, “because of a shelter policy, Uncle Reed had to volunteer with me. That’s how he and Avery got back together.”

  Family. Jess’s affection for her uncle and his wife rippled through her voice.

  Colt, his daughter and brother obviously had the give and take true families possessed. When Stacy visited Estes Park before, she’d envied Griffin’s relationship with his family. He had a home filled with love and people who supported him. When he defied the network and proposed to Maggie on the finale, his family and the community rallied around him. They hadn’t left him standing alone to fight the battle. Now, since Colt’s brother had married Avery McAlister, he and Jess had been enveloped in the McAlister clan, as well.

  As they walked from the parking lot to Avery and Reed’s apartment, Stacy tried to quell her nervousness. What was the big deal? It was just a simple dinner at someone’s house. At someone’s house that she hadn’t made the best first impression on.

  When Avery answered the door, Stacy was amazed at how the woman, with only a bit of lip gloss and mascara, dressed in scrubs and scuffed tennis shoes, could look as though she belonged on the cover of a magazine. “Come on in. I just got home. We had some abandoned kittens come in to the shelter right before I left. We couldn’t find their mother, so I get to spend the night feeding them every two hours.”

  “Sounds like fun,” Colt joked.

  “The joys of having a wife who brings her work home.” A tall, dark-haired man and the scraggliest dog Stacy had ever seen tagging after him joined them. The man wrapped his arms around Avery, and then introduced himself as Colt’s brother.

  She’d never guess they were related, much less brothers. Except for their height, Colt and Reed Montgomery had nothing in common physically.

  “Do you need any help with the kittens?” Jess asked. “If you do, I could spend the night and help out.”

  “You can help me with their next feeding before you leave,” Avery said.

  “Reed, the timer went off, so I took the lasagna out of the oven.” Nannette McAlister strolled out of the kitchen. “Everything’s on the table so we’re ready to eat.”

  Griffin’s mother was here? Now Stacy wished she’d pulled the “I’m sick” routine. When she’d met Nannette, the older woman made no secret of the fact that not only didn’t she approve of her son going on the reality dating show, she didn’t think much of the bachelorettes, either.

  Could this night get any worse?

  In a lame attempt to ease the tension she felt, Stacy said, “Thank you for letting us join you. I hope it hasn’t caused too much trouble.” Her words sounded as awkward as she felt. She nodded toward Mrs. McAlister. “It’s good to see you again.”

  The older woman nodded and mumbled a polite greeting in return. As everyone moved into the small dining room conversations swirled around Stacy. Once Ryan sat, she took his walker, pushed it into the nearby corner and then settled into her chair in between him and Colt. She felt herself pulling inward as she tried to come up with an excuse to leave once they finished eating. Coming from a small family who never ate dinner together, sitting down with a total of seven people overwhelmed her.

  “Your adventures at Halligan’s the other night are the talk of the town, big brother. Did you really get into a bar fight with Travis Carpenter?”

  Stacy cringed. The night just got worse.

  Chapter Nine

  Colt wanted to jump across the table and punch his brother. Didn’t Reed realize how uncomfortable this conversation would make Stacy feel?

  Since they arrived, Stacy had changed. Instead of the fearless, say-what’s-on-her-mind woman he knew, she’d become quiet. Almost as if she wanted to blend in with the furniture.

  Now his jackass brother brought up the night at Halligan’s. Beside him he almost felt Stacy pulling away even further. He didn’t know where she’d gone, but she wasn’t here with them. At least not the feisty woman he knew.

  “Thanks for bringing that up, Reed, because I haven’t been embarrassed enough by everyone in town asking me about the fight.”

  His brother flashed him a stupid grin. “Glad to help out. What happened? Getting into a bar fight isn’t your style.”

  Before he could answer, Jess spoke, her young face scrunched up with revulsion. “You should’ve seen it. Mr. Carpenter’s hands were all over Stacy.”

  “We don’t need to rehash all the gory details,” Colt said, hoping everyone would take the hint and move on to another topic.

  “So you played the knight in shining armor coming to a lady’s rescue. Now that seems like you,” Reed said.

  Yeah, he was a regular white knight. One who charged in before he thought about the consequences or the f
act that his daughter was watching.

  Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Stacy, her posture all rigid, her back looking as if it had been glued to the chair. “Anyone see the Rockies game yesterday? Looks like they might have a good season this year.”

  “What Carpenter was doing must have been bad because Colt’s the kind of guy who follows the rules no matter what. Nothing riles him. He’s got more patience than anyone I know,” Avery said, ignoring his obvious attempt to change the subject. Getting this group to move on to a different subject would be as easy as a getting a bull out of a pasture full of cows.

  “How awful for you, Stacy.”

  Stacy’s eyes widened as if she couldn’t believe someone was talking to her. “The man had more arms than an octopus. It might not have been so bad if he hadn’t been drunk.”

  “It’s about time someone knocked some sense into that man,” Nannette added. “Travis always has been too big for his britches. That’s his father’s fault. Travis is the youngest. He’s got four older sisters. His father was so glad to finally have a boy he treated his son like his diapers didn’t stink.”

  Reed laughed. “He’d sure be different if he’d had a mother like you.”

  “You’re right about that. Mom never tolerated any of us putting on airs,” Avery said. “I’d heard when Travis drinks his manners evaporate.”

  “That’s a nice way to put it,” Stacy said, her body relaxing some as the topic moved away from their actions at the bar, focusing on Carpenter instead. “Travis wouldn’t let me leave the dance floor.”

  Nannette gaze filled with compassion and concern when she turned to Stacy. “How frightening. Thank goodness Colt was there to step in.”

  “And what thanks did he get? He got hauled off to jail.” Stacy turned to him, and the fire blazing in her clear blue eyes told Colt the feisty woman he knew had returned.

  “It turned out okay. Having to listen to a lecture from Chief Parsons was the worst part. Other than that, I had to pay a fine and for part of the damages at Halligan’s.”