“The feeling’s mutual, I assure you.”
“Did she say anything?”
“No. But I know my daughter. She’s quite smitten with you.”
“She is?” The news pleased Gabe, though it shouldn’t. He’d made it clear they had no future.
“Treat her well, or you’ll have me to deal with.”
“Actually, Theo, we’re not involved.”
“A situation you can easily remedy.”
“Things aren’t that simple.”
“No?” His mouth curved in an amused smile.
Admitting one’s shortcomings was never easy. “I don’t have anything to offer her,” Gabe said. “My family’s on the brink of losing the ranch. Buried in debt. Fighting a red nose epidemic.”
“You love her, don’t you?”
Did he? Was there ever a question? “Yes.”
“Then it is simple.”
“I can’t go to her until I have more to offer.”
Theo scratched his bristled jaw. “You’ll pull through this, son, and when you do, I expect you to make my daughter happy.”
It was a pipe dream. “I imagine that’s going to take some time.”
“Then I suppose you should get after it.” He started for his truck. “I’ll see you shortly. When you pick up the antibiotics.”
“Thank you again.”
The older man kept walking. “Reese usually gets home from work about five-thirty.”
Enrico appeared from behind the truck to open the passenger door. Theo waved him off.
Violet hurried to join Gabe. “Well?”
“I’ll fill you in later.”
She accepted his answer without comment.
He’d go to the Small Change today. Whether he arrived before Reese got home or afterward would depend on how the conversation with his family went.
Because of Theo’s generosity, they had a chance. A slim one, but a chance. The rest was up to them.
* * *
GABE AND VIOLET arrived at the horse stables and he noticed two things—an unfamiliar truck and livestock trailer departing the ranch and Cole in the round pen, working a horse on a lunge line. Not just any horse, one of Cara’s mustangs.
Gabe looked at Violet. That made no sense. His younger brother hadn’t shown the slightest interest in the mustangs or the sanctuary, other than reclaiming the land for the cattle operation.
They strode over to the round pen. Josh was also watching his brother and turned at their approach.
“Afternoon.” He tugged on the brim of his hat.
“What’s going on?” Gabe asked.
Violet squeezed past the two men and rested her forearms on the railing.
Josh hitched a thumb at his brother. “Cole’s working with one of Cara’s more promising horses.”
Gabe had always conceded his younger brother had a way with horses, and he was showing it now. Or showing off. The horse, a young, green broke gelding with a stubborn streak and flashy markings, had been testing Cara’s patience for months. Yet, he responded to Cole’s cues to walk, trot and lope on command like a docile lesson mount.
“Since when is he interested in training mustangs?” Gabe said.
Josh didn’t take his eyes off Cole. “He’s going to need a new saddle horse.”
“What? He has four horses.”
“Not any more. He sold them.”
The unfamiliar truck and trailer Gabe had seen leaving. “Why?”
“He has his reasons.”
None that made any sense to Gabe. “What’s going on here?”
Cole tugged on the lunge line and commanded the horse to walk, then stand. The horse obediently halted, snorting and shaking his handsome head from side to side. Cole unhooked the lunge line from the halter. He gave the horse a friendly scratching between the ears before shooing him away.
“Get along, boy.”
The horse trotted a few feet, stopped at the railing and hung his head over the side, no longer interested in the humans.
Gabe met Cole at the round pen gate. “Why did you sell your roping horses?”
He expected attitude from Cole. He didn’t get it.
“I don’t need them.”
“You’re going to quit rodeoing?”
“For now.” Cole shut the gate, leaving the young mustang on his own.
Gabe was flabbergasted. “You’re not making any sense.” He stepped in front of Cole, blocking his path.
“I was going to tell you later.” Cole shrugged.
“Tell me now.”
Cole removed a small folded piece of paper from his coat pocket. He gave it to Gabe.
“What’s this?”
“A check. I figured we could use the money for another couple truckloads of hay and inseminating the cows. Don’t want to miss breeding season altogether.”
Gabe opened the check. Seeing the amount, he swallowed. “You had them make it out to the ranch.”
“Easier to deposit.”
He pushed the check back at Cole. “We don’t need this.”
“We do, brother.”
Brother? He’d never called Gabe that before.
“I don’t understand.”
Cole leaned his back against the round pen railing. Josh and Violet remained nearby, waiting expectantly.
“I’m a man of my word,” Cole said. “When I make a commitment, I commit. Fully. I told you I’d give the ranch a year.”
“Right.” Gabe didn’t believe him.
“If we lose Dos Estrellas because of the sick steer or a shortage of feed, I won’t have given you a full year.”
“If we lose the ranch, you get your share of the money and an excuse to leave. Without having to sell your horses.” Gabe hadn’t known until he saw the check just how much championship roping horses were worth.
“Who says I want to leave?” Cole’s attention on Gabe didn’t waver.
“It’s all you’ve talked about.”
“Josh needs a place to bring his kids next month.”
All right. Gabe could buy that reason a little more. The two brothers were thick as thieves. Still....
“Why not give Josh the money?”
“He wouldn’t take it,” Cole answered offhandedly.
That was likely true. Josh was a proud man. A quality he probably inherited from their father. Like Gabe. When all was said and done, hadn’t his battle with his brothers for the ranch really been a matter of pride?
“The only way I can make sure my niece and nephew have a home,” Cole continued, “is to help pull this ranch out of the hole we’ve dug.”
“You didn’t dig the hole.”
“I did.” For the first time, Cole spoke without a giant chip on his shoulder. “I agreed to buy the steer. I did it for one reason. I wanted gone from this place as fast as I could get away. I made a bad decision that affected everyone in this family.”
Gabe had recently said almost the same thing to Reese about himself. He, too, had let personal feelings affect his judgment.
“Still not your fault.” He hoped no one noticed the slight crack in his voice. It had been an emotional day.
“You’re splitting hairs.” Cole put a hand on Gabe’s shoulder. His grip was almost affectionate. “Buy the hay and get the cows bred. Let’s make it through the holidays and the next month or two.”
Gabe fingered the check. He could refuse. Tear it up and let the breeze carry the pieces away. Or he could take the check and put it to good use.
Cole had sold his most precious possessions to help the ranch and the family, which included Gabe’s mother and Cara. His actions showed he was willing to put his resentment aside for the good of all. Gabe could do no less.
&
nbsp; He stuffed the check into his jacket pocket—and felt a weight lift from him.
Theo and Cole, the two people Gabe least expected, had offered the greatest help. Dos Estrellas wasn’t out of the woods yet, but a path lay ahead. Cole smiled. Josh was smiling, too, as was Violet. But she had tears in her eyes.
“You going to stand there like a lump on log?” Cole asked, “Or go inside and make a call to the hay company?”
“I have someone to see first.” Gabe hadn’t realized he’d made a decision until the words were out.
“Let me guess.” Cole grinned. “Reese.”
He considered telling his brothers about the antibiotics, then decided it could wait. He had something more pressing to do first.
“I’ll see you at dinner.” His glance took in Cole and Josh. His brothers. His family. There was a nice ring to it.
On impulse, he shook Cole’s hand and then Josh’s. They responded enthusiastically.
“Take your time,” Josh said as Gabe hurried to his truck. “Don’t rush home on our account.”
He thought that was pretty good advice.
When he reached the Small Change ten minutes later, he found Theo just leaving. As before, Enrico drove the ranch truck. They stopped at the entrance to the driveway, each of them rolling down their window.
Theo winked at Gabe from his place in the passenger seat. “The antibiotics are in the main cattle barn supply room. Reese can show you. She’s there now. I told her you were coming.”
“I thought she didn’t get home from work until five thirty.”
“Appears she’s anxious to see you.”
Gabe’s heart nearly exploded. She was waiting for him. Wanted to see him. Perhaps she regretted the other day and would give him another chance.
Please, he thought, one more small miracle.
“What are you waiting for?” Theo demanded, pretending impatience. “Get a move on.”
The last thing Gabe heard as he rolled up his window was the older man’s belly laugh.
Gabe drove straight to the main cattle barn, a giant structure about a half mile from the two-story ranch house. The supply room was at the south end. He took the corner too fast, causing the truck’s brakes to squeal and the tires to cut wide grooves in the still-damp ground.
Reese burst from the supply room door and came to a sudden stop.
She wore a long, slim-fitting trench coat over something short. A skirt, maybe, or a dress. Gabe didn’t care. All that mattered was he got a nice view of her legs. Shapely, smooth and bare. Was she nuts? It was cold outside. She must have been in a hurry to see him. No less of a hurry than he was in to see her.
He wrenched open his door and jumped out of the truck. She didn’t move. Had Theo exaggerated in order to orchestrate a reconciliation? Rather than run to her, as was his first inclination, he proceeded slowly.
“I saw your dad as he was leaving. He said you’d show me where the antibiotics are stored.”
Reese gestured at the supply room. “Sure.”
He closed the distance between them and would have taken her hand if she didn’t abruptly turn and lead him through the door.
The supply room was large, but crowded. Half of the available space was taken up by shelving units, the other half by cabinets, crates and trunks of varying sizes. Gabe spotted an old refrigerator in the corner that probably contained the antibiotics. This time, he led the way, down the narrow aisle and between the racks. Reese followed closely.
Rather than grab bottles, Gabe spun, coming face-to-face with her. His plan all along.
“Cole sold his roping horses.”
“He did?”
“Now we can buy more hay and inseminate the cows.”
“Wow. I’m surprised.”
“That makes two of us.” Gabe reminded himself to breathe. She was so close. Within touching distance. “We’re going to survive the red nose outbreak and get the ranch out of debt.”
“I believe you.”
She wasn’t making this easy for him. If he wanted her, he should make the effort. Maybe she knew that and was waiting.
Gabe had no intention of disappointing her. “I’m sorry, Reese. I was wrong.”
“About what?”
She truly wasn’t going to make this easy.
“Where to start?”
“Start with what’s most important.” Her warm, tender gaze melted the last of his doubts.
“I’ve been an idiot.”
“It’s not too late to change.”
“You’re what’s most important. I shouldn’t have let you go. What we have, what we could have, is incredibly special. The hell with you being the trustee or me not inheriting the entire ranch. None of that matters more than us.”
She tilted her head appealingly. “Go on.”
He drew her close. “I’d like to give us a try.”
“There’s still my job.”
“I don’t suppose you could quit.” He squeezed her shoulders, wanting to kiss her, but waiting.
“No. But I could speak to Walt. I don’t think this situation has come up at the bank before, but there has to be a workable compromise. If you and your brothers are in agreement, Walt could take over for me.”
“If we’re in agreement, you could stay on.”
“Would Josh and Cole?” Hope blazed in her eyes.
“They like you.”
“What about you?”
He hauled her against him, reveling in the feel of her soft, lush curves beneath her coat. Lowering his head, he brought his mouth to hers. “You know how I feel.”
“Say it, Gabe.”
“I fell in love with you that day in the mountains when I saw you trying to rescue your father’s horse. I figured any woman crazy enough to think she could lift a thousand-pound horse by herself was crazy enough to love me back.”
“You were right,” she said and raised her lips to his.
Gabe lost himself in the wonder of Reese’s kiss.
She was the one he’d been waiting for, the one worth fighting for, the one he could, and would, spend the rest of his life with. After today, and all the things he’d seen, nothing was impossible.
Epilogue
Christmas Day
Gabe couldn’t remember seeing this many people gathered around the dining room table for Christmas dinner. The tradition of limiting the holiday meal to immediate family and friends was over. There were so many people they had had to set up an extra table.
In addition to Gabe’s brothers, his mother and his tio Lorenzo, Cara was there with her mother and stepfather. Violet had also been invited, as well as the McGraws. All of the McGraws. Reese, naturally, her father and Aunt Louise, along with Reese’s cousin Megan, her husband and—this was really incredible—Celia.
During one of their many moments alone over the past few days, Reese had told Gabe that, rather than wait until spring break, Celia had asked to come for Christmas. Reese had mustered up her courage and told her father about Celia, only to learn he’d known all along and couldn’t wait to meet his granddaughter.
After that, the pieces had fallen into place. Celia’s parents were able to wrangle three airline tickets, and they’d arrived yesterday for a week-long visit. Gabe had been honored and touched to be included in the family reunion. It was a moment he’d remember all his life.
As was this special holiday. He and his brothers still had a long way to go in repairing their relationship. Years of animosity didn’t disappear overnight. And the ranch remained at financial risk, though no more steer had come down with red nose. There were bumps in the road ahead for Gabe and Reese, as well, one being her father’s illness. Yet with all that, the future looked brighter than it had for a long, long time. Since before his father had become ill
.
“Mommy,” Celia asked Megan in a bright voice, “can I go riding tomorrow? Reese invited me.”
“You’re welcome to come with us,” Reese added.
By us, she meant her and Gabe. He’d thought the idea was a good one when she’d mentioned it earlier.
“None of us have ridden much,” Megan said, a bit dubiously.
“We have plenty of horses for beginners,” Gabe said. “We promise to take it slow.”
“All right.” Megan smiled.
“Yippee.” Celia nearly spilled her milk in her excitement. “Can Grandpa come, too?” She turned to Theo.
“I’ll watch.” He stroked her hair, his face that of a man ten years younger. Meeting his granddaughter was responsible.
Beneath the table, Gabe felt Reese’s hand clasp his. He didn’t have to look at her to know she was deeply moved.
He squeezed her fingers in return.
“Here’s to our many blessings.” His mother raised her glass in a toast, which everyone readily joined in. “And to a happy, prosperous New Year.”
When Gabe clinked glasses with Reese’s, their eyes met. He couldn’t say it at the table, but he tried to convey what was in his heart.
She must have understood, for she mouthed, “I love you.”
The two of them had a chance at a future together, one of their own making. For Gabe, it included him and Reese and their brand-new combined family. The possibilities were endless.
Had his father known all along this would happen? Gabe liked to think so, and that he approved.
As if in answer, the musical Christmas tree began to play.
* * * * *
Watch for Cathy McDavid’s next book
in the MUSTANG VALLEY miniseries,
COME HOME, COWBOY,
coming February 2016,
only from Harlequin American Romance!
Keep reading for an excerpt from THE SURGEON’S CHRISTMAS BABY by Marin Thomas
The Surgeon’s Christmas Baby
by Marin Thomas
Chapter One
“Quit lookin’ at me like that.”
Her Holiday Rancher Page 19