Back in the Saddle

by Ruth Logan Herne

  “She’s going to be fine,” Angelina told him. “What about Mark?”

  “He’ll do all right too, if his parents don’t kill him first. I want to tell you again that you saved that boy’s life. I’m making sure everyone knows it.” He glanced at Colt. “If this cowpoke can talk you into staying, Angelina, I think the entire town would extend our budget to put you on the force. And I’m talking sooner rather than later. Clear-thinking, fast-acting deputies are a wonderful asset to any community, and I’d like nothing better than to have you working with me once things are settled with Sam.”

  —

  Rye’s words offered a choice she would have loved to accept. He had just paid her the highest of compliments. In police work, to be recruited went beyond winning a job the regular way. Being recruited meant you’d already passed the rookie regimen and had some muscle of respect welcoming you aboard. But Colt was leaving and her mother needed a chance to live her life, the life of her choosing, finally. “I’m honored, Rye. Truly,” she insisted when his face looked skeptical. “But I can’t stay here once we’ve got things settled at the Double S.”

  “Of course you can. You love it here,” Colt argued.

  She did, but— “We’ve had this conversation. My mother’s needs come first. And—”

  “What if Isabo wants to stay?” Colt interrupted, as if trying to convince her. But that made no sense because he was leaving.

  The big jerk.

  “Because I think she does,” he continued. “I think she loves being part of the ranch, taking care of folks. And running the show.”

  What did he know about her mother? About anything? Why tease her to stay when he was on the verge of going back to New York? She turned cool eyes his way. “I don’t think that’s the case, which makes it irrelevant.”

  “But if it is the case,” Colt insisted, “then why would you consider leaving? Because I thought we might enjoy”—he moved closer and tucked one lock of her hair back behind her ear with surprising tenderness—“time together. To get to know each other. Pick out china and silverware and towels nobody’s allowed to use. All those schmaltzy things folks do when they realize they don’t ever want to live apart again.”

  Smooth, so smooth. Her heart broke a little more inside, but she wasn’t about to fall for his sweet-talking ways. “Easy talk coming from a guy who’s leaving,” she said softly.

  “Leaving?” He glanced at Rye, then Angelina. “Who’s leaving?”

  “Don’t mess with me, Colt. Your little friend stopped by today to deliver your very lucrative contract. She was hoping you’d follow her back to New York like a good puppy, but Sam assured her you weren’t available until later.”

  “Someone came to the house today?”

  He seemed genuinely surprised, but she’d been fooled before and no way was it going to happen again. “I put the information on your desk. You must have noticed it.”

  He indicated his ranch clothes with a glance. “I climbed off a horse, took time to thank your mother for making my favorite pie, and kissed Noah.” He paused, then made a face. “This explains the cold shoulder from your mother. And Noah wondering where I was going. And kind of begging me to stay.”

  “Well, he’s young and unaccustomed to the ways of men.” Angelina started to take a step back.

  Colt didn’t let her. “So someone shows up out of the blue, says I’m leaving, and you all believed her? What kind of detective does that?” He shot a look of question to Rye, but Rye looked more amused than dismayed. “Let me just clear this up, once and for all. I’m staying here. Yes, I was contacted by several New York firms because the market correction has stabilized and a bunch of my personal investments are starting to roll in big, but I refused every”—he kissed Angelina’s right cheek—“single”—he kissed her left cheek, gently, sweetly—“one of them. I’m here and I can handle my own funds from the ranch. I’m not going anywhere, Angelina.” He slipped both hands behind her and held her gaze. “Which means I need to convince your mother to stay right here in Gray’s Glen so I can court her daughter properly.”

  “Court me?” Was she hearing him right?

  Rye slipped away, leaving them alone in the hospital corridor.

  “What do you mean?”

  Colt’s face, his dear, beloved face, said his meaning should be obvious. “It’s what a fellow does when he wants to marry a girl and she needs some convincing,” he explained.

  Marry her? She swallowed hard.

  “Do you need convincing, Ange? Because I was thinking we could wait until the church is done and get married in the same church my parents did. Well, the same, but different,” he added, smiling. “But if you don’t need convincing, I’d be happy to call the reverend right now and see when he’s got time.”

  “Is this really a proposal?”

  He kissed her, long and sweet, the kind of kiss that could last forever and still not be enough. Not ever enough. “Let’s call it a proposed proposal,” he whispered when he was done kissing her. “I think you deserve the real deal, Angelina. Wine, dinner, dancing, romance. And a ring would be nice. But from this moment forward, I want you to know—and trust—my intentions. But as I said, if you’d like to hurry things along, well…” He sent her a lopsided grin. “I’d be all right with that too.”

  He meant it.

  She read the sincerity in his face, in his eyes. And then he did it, just as his father and Nick were coming through the electronically locked double doors. He went down on one knee and took her hand. “Mary Angela Castiglione, a.k.a. Angelina Morales…”

  She burst out laughing because there really wasn’t any other choice.

  “I have managed to fall crazy in love with you.”

  She flushed at the words. Tears pricked her eyes again, but for a very different reason.

  “And I’m pretty sure you’ve got a little something going for me too.”

  She gave a single nod, and he looked downright delighted.

  “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Letting me adopt your son and make him ours? Grow old with me and them?” He pointed his thumb back toward his father and brother. “And live with me on the ranch my father built? Forever and ever until death do us part?”

  She couldn’t believe this was happening. Hours ago she’d been distraught, dismayed, and disillusioned because she’d believed a stranger. Colt was right. Good detectives make sure of their facts before they come to conclusions. She put one hand to his cheek. “It would be an honor, Colt.”

  Nick and his father cheered, which brought a nurse scurrying their way, scolding them. Angelina was too busy being kissed to notice. “We’ll wait until the church is done,” she told him when he stopped kissing her. “Because I like the tradition of Staffords being married in a house of God.”

  “That just gives me all the more reason to work fast, darlin’.” Colt grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s go kiss Cheyenne good night and head home to that pie. And as soon as things settle down and Dad gives us an hour off, we’re going ring shopping.”

  “Or…” Sam said.

  Colt paused. “Or?”

  Sam withdrew his wallet once more, and from a tiny zippered compartment, he withdrew a lovely set of rings. “These were your mother’s, Colt. I mean, it’s all right if you don’t want to use them.” He glanced from Colt to Angelina to make sure they both got his message. “We didn’t have all that much back then, so they aren’t real big and grand, but they were hers.” In his hand lay a plain gold band and a simple three-stone engagement ring—a diamond flanked by two small sapphires. “I got the blue stones because they matched your mother’s eyes. Your eyes, Colt. It was about as sentimental as I ever got,” he admitted. “Anyway, she loved them, and they’re yours if you want them.”

  “Ange?” Colt turned her way.

  “I can’t imagine anything nicer or more sacred. Yes, Colt. I would be honored to wear your mother’s ring and marry you.”

  He slipped t
he engagement ring on her finger, smiled, then turned back to his father. “You carried it with you always.”

  “I couldn’t have her, so…” Sam swallowed hard and turned away. Angelina’s heart broke over what he couldn’t put into words—that he’d wanted to always have a token of his beloved wife close to him.

  “Thank you, Sam.” Angelina crossed the narrow space between them and kissed his cheek. “But I’m going to wait to wear this until I have a chance to talk to my mother.”

  Colt groaned, and she shot a sharp look his way. “I don’t want her to feel tied down. I want her decisions to be made by her.”

  “Works for me.”

  Sam’s yawn reminded them that he still had a long road to recovery.

  “We’ll say good night and get you home,” Angelina said.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Sam told them, but he did take a seat in a nearby chair. He looked up at Colt and smiled. “I’m doing all right. I think I might have just had the best day of my life in a long time.”

  “Me too.” She reached out and squeezed Colt’s hand gently. “Me too, Sam.”

  Colt watched Angelina make her way toward him and mentally captured the moment. Beautiful…so beautiful. He reached out an arm, drew her in for a kiss, then tucked her in front of him while Murt worked Dakota around the nearest paddock. The aged wrangler had wasted no time getting Nick’s younger daughter in the saddle, and Dakota was loving it. “Is Nick on his way back with Cheyenne yet?” Colt asked.

  “They just left the hospital,” Angelina said.

  “Good. Did you call Tony and tell him you’re staying put?”

  She leaned back and looked up at him, surprised. “How do you know about Tony?”

  “Heard you talking on the phone awhile back. Figured it was good to know about the competition.”

  She laughed and elbowed him in the gut, and not too gently either. “Tony is married with two kids. We worked the narcotics squad together. But yes, I called him and told him I had a change in plans. Now we just need to tell my mother.”

  “Your mother will be thrilled for you,” Colt told her. He nuzzled her cheek until she sighed. “For us.”

  “But Seattle is hours away, and we’ll be here.” She sent a worried look toward the front porch where her mother sat sewing.

  “You’re cute when you whine.”

  “I don’t whine.”

  “Prove it. Let’s go tell your mother the good news.” Walking backward and tugging her along, he led her back toward the house.

  “Mami.” Angelina took the porch rocker alongside her mother while Colt perched on the rail nearby. “We need to talk.”

  “Like we don’t talk every day?” Isabo said but set the sewing down. “Are you all right? Is Cheyenne all right, or is there more to tell? I still cannot believe she slipped out that back window to show her father what she could do! I should have checked on her again.”

  “Cheyenne is fine. Nick’s bringing her home. But there is more news to share,” Colt said.

  Angelina took her mother’s hand. “I know how you want to go back to Seattle.”

  “I do?” Isabo looked up with interest.

  “I will keep my promise to get you back to Seattle, but I won’t be moving there with you.”

  Isabo looked from one to the other as if this was no big surprise. “So. You think this is news?”

  “Told you so.” Colt aimed a smug look toward his future wife.

  “You’re not helping.” She turned back toward her mother. “I’ll help you get back there and get settled. We’ll help you,” she added, and this time she smiled up at Colt. “Mami, Colt has asked me to marry him, and I’ve said yes.”

  “Without asking her mother in lieu of her father?” Isabo redirected her attention to Colt in a no-nonsense manner. “Perhaps you thought my permission was not needed because I am a woman?”

  Colt squirmed. “Well, she thought I was leaving. And you thought I was leaving. And—”

  Isabo’s laugh cut him short. “So now that we have this love thing settled, why must I leave?” She got up, crossed the porch, and gave Colt a nice big hug, then turned back to Angelina. “Do you not want your mother around?”

  “Of course I do!”

  “Then why wish me back to Seattle when we could all live here, Mary Angela?”

  “You want to stay here?”

  Colt snickered out loud on purpose.

  His beautiful fiancée ignored him.

  “Why would I not want to stay where it is the most wonderful place in the world? I love being here, being part of such a marvelous endeavor. I am busy here.”

  “Yes, exactly,” Angelina agreed. “But you weren’t supposed to be working all the time, taking care of a house and kids. You were supposed to be able to relax and enjoy life a little. With Dad.”

  “Well, that part cannot be changed, can it?” Isabo reached out and took Angelina’s hands. “But the wish for all that was not mine. That was Martín’s. I like being busy. I like doing, not being done for, so for me, this is wonderful! Working here, helping you, helping Sam and the children. Oh, this is when I am most happy!”

  “Then you want to stay?”

  “Yes! I would not leave if you asked me to.” Isabo hugged her. “We get to plan a wedding, my little bird. How very special is that? A thing I have waited for as any mother would.” She hugged Angelina one more time. “I must go. I must call your Aunt Rose and see if she can find us the old lace used on your grandmother’s gown. It will be your something old and so beautiful!”

  She dashed off as Noah raced up from the pond with Rye, Jenna, and Brendan following at a distance. “I found a fwog, Mom!”

  “Fr-r-rog,” she reminded him as she bent low.

  “Fw-w-w-og!” he announced, triumphant. “Mr. Rye said I hafta put him back, but I wanted to show you and Mr. Colt first.”

  “I love him, bud.” Colt lifted the boy high in his arms. “And I love you.”

  Noah looked up at him with an expression so sweet and good Colt wasn’t sure if his heart broke or healed to see it. “I l-l-love you too, Mr. Colt.”

  Healed, most definitely.

  Holding the boy, seeing Angelina’s look of love, hearing the sounds of ranch life around him, he realized he’d come full circle—back to the faith, hope, and love he’d lost so many years before.

  And it felt real good.

  FROM THE KITCHEN OF THE DOUBLE S RANCH

  Detective Mary Angela Castiglione is now living on the sprawling cattle ranch owned by beef tycoon Sam Stafford and his three sons…and working with the sheriff’s department. She’s got the best of both worlds, at long last. But on the ranch, she hasn’t been known as Mary or “detective.” She’s been Angelina, the strong-willed, capable, pious house manager who isn’t afraid to pull a gun or wield a rolling pin as needed. Angelina is a wonderful blend of her law-and-order father and her take-charge mother. She’s great on the force and in the kitchen, and she understands the importance of sacrificial love. And she makes a killer cherry cake! Everyone on the ranch loves it, and we hope you will too! I wanted it easy, so we’ve got six simple ingredients and whipped cream frosting. A perfect blend for a crowd-pleasing dessert!

  ANGELINA’S CHERRY CAKE

  1 white cake mix

  1 ¼ cups maraschino cherry juice

  25 drops of red food coloring, if desired

  6 eggs, separated (a temporary separation! We’ll get them back together for the happy ending soon!)

  1 tablespoon almond flavoring

  24 maraschino cherries, chopped (more or less is fine)

  Whip egg whites. Set aside.

  Mix cake mix, cherry juice, egg yolks, almond flavoring, and red food coloring (if desired for the deeper color). Blend well on medium speed. Mix in chopped cherries. Fold in egg whites using a spatula. Don’t overmix; we want those fun little air bubbles in the cake!

  Line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Divide batter gently between the pans. Bake at
350 degrees until toothpick inserted in center comes back clean, or until cake springs back when lightly touched with finger. Depending on pan size, this cherry “sponge-type” cake takes about 25 to 35 minutes.

  Remove from oven. Cool about ten minutes and then tip out of pans onto cooling rack. When cool, frost with Whipped Cream Frosting below.

  WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING

  3 cups heavy whipping cream

  ⅔ cup sugar

  Pour whipping cream into big mixing bowl. Add sugar. Beat on medium, and then on high until cream is thickened and holds a peak. Don’t overbeat or you’ll have sweet butter, and then you have to go to the store, buy more whipping cream, and start again!

  Spread whipped cream frosting on first layer. Top with second layer. Frost sides and top with remaining frosting. Garnish with slivered almonds and maraschino cherries, if desired. Keep refrigerated.

  A fabulous, easy, and praise-catching cake from the Double S kitchens!

  READERS GUIDE

  1. The last thing a proud man like Colt Stafford wants is to come home in disgrace. Broke but not broken, he comes back to the Double S to help his ailing father, but he’s coming home after a stunning financial collapse. Have you ever had to eat humble pie of the highest order?

  2. Angelina Morales is at a crossroads. Her hard-sought anonymity must come to an end for the good of her son, but how can she balance her split alliance to her widowed mother, her son, and the employer who offered quiet shelter to all three of them? When you’re caught in a tough situation, how do you examine your choices? Does faith and God’s timing help make your decision, or is it sorely tested?

  3. Sibling rivalry goes back to the earliest times. Colt has to face his younger brother’s smug attitude and deal with it, because Colt’s not in charge at the Double S. Nick is, and that’s a bitter pill to swallow. How do you handle difficult family relationships?