The Cowboy's Last Goodbye (Grass Valley Cowboys Book 6)

by Shanna Hatfield

  “Laughter is good for the soul, right?” Harper asked, amused by Ben’s family.

  All three Morgan siblings had dark hair and eyes, sharing visual similarities to each other. When an older couple stepped outside, Harper realized they all looked quite a bit like their father.

  She’d met Michele and Mike Morgan before, but she studied them as they approached their children. Michele took Maizy from Ben, telling Bailey she’d give her back after lunch.

  “Mom keeps a seat in her car, so she can kidnap Maizy anytime the mood strikes,” Ben explained as Michele and Mike left with the baby.

  “Do you want one of us to ride out to the Triple T with you?” Tess asked as she stepped beside Harper and subconsciously ran a hand over her belly.

  “I think we’ll be fine if we just follow one of you.” Harper watched Tess and felt a pang of jealousy that she’d never know the wonder of carrying a child.

  “Yeah, it will look like a small parade with all of us heading up the driveway at the same time.” Brice grinned at Harper. When he looked at Ben, he started laughing again.

  “BB, what in the world has gotten into you?” Tess swatted Brice on the arm.

  Unable to speak through his chortles, Brice backed away from the group. Harper heard him wheeze, “I’m sorry,” before he turned away and walked over to Bailey’s Jeep.

  “Our family isn’t usually quite so…” Tess started to apologize, but Travis interrupted her.

  “Don’t lie, especially on Sunday, Honeybee. We’re a bunch of jokesters, pranksters, and tend to laugh at inopportune times. There are those who might even say we haven’t quite grown up.” Travis winked at Harper. “They’d be correct.”

  Harper laughed then turned to her uncle as he shuffled up beside her. “Wait here. I’ll bring the truck to the end of the walk.”

  Rather than give him a chance to argue, she hurried over to her pickup and cranked up the air conditioning as she drove it to the front of the church. Trent and Travis helped Cletus into the truck then set his walker in the back.

  “I forgot you know how to get to the Triple T Ranch, Uncle Cletus.” Harper gave him a long look. “Are you sure you feel like going?”

  “Are you crazy, girl? It’s not too many times a man gets to feast on good food twice in one week.”

  Harper glared at her uncle. “So you’re saying what I’ve been cooking for you isn’t good?”

  Aware his answer would greatly affect the future enjoyment of his tastebuds, Cletus offered her a repentant look. “That isn’t what I meant at all, Harper. You do a right smart job of cooking and baking. I’m just saying Cady Thompson’s meals are something extraordinary. Did you know she trained for a while as a professional chef?”

  “I did not know that. How do you happen to be in possession of that particular fact?”

  “Hart told me. He’s proud of all those kids, even if they’re only his by marriage.” Cletus removed his tie and jacket then unbuttoned the top two buttons of his white shirt.

  “I think it’s nice they all care about each other so much. Not every family is like that.” Harper’s thoughts turned to her dysfunctional family. Although she and Ryan had been close, her parents never cared about her, not the way the Thompson and Morgan families cared.

  “I know, honey.” Cletus reached over and patted her arm. “I’m just glad you and your brother spent all those summers with me. I always looked forward to having you.”

  “And we always looked forward to being at the ranch. You were the only stable adult we had, Uncle Cletus. If it wasn’t for you, having visits with you to look forward to, I don’t know what would have happened to us.”

  Cletus sniffled and dug a bright red bandana out of his pocket then swiped at his nose.

  Harper almost giggled at the sight of his handkerchief, but managed to stop herself.

  “Have you given any more thought to staying here past the time I’m able to ditch this walker?”

  “I’m considering the options, Uncle Cletus. I don’t want to cramp your style, though.”

  Cletus glowered at her. “Now you listen up good, Harper Lynette Hayes. You are always, always welcome in my home, for as long as you want to be there. You bring a little sunshine to the place and I don’t even mind that high-handed dog you dragged along.”

  Harper hid the emotion swelling in her heart with a saucy smile. “Uncle Cletus, if you’re not careful, you’ll give me the idea that you’re going soft. That won’t do. Not at all.”

  Cletus snorted. “That ain’t likely to happen, girlie.”

  “I should say…” Harper lost her train of thought as she approached the ranch house at the Triple T.

  Shaped like a big U, the imposing structure sat on top of a hill with views all around.

  “Is there something in the Thompson family handbook that says they all have to live in incredible houses with magnificent views?” Harper asked, awed by the place.

  Cletus shook his head. “I don’t think so, but you can ask Denni if you’re of a mind to.”

  Harper started to tell her uncle that would be unforgivably rude then caught his teasing smirk.

  “Trent and Lindsay live in a small house. It’s at the bottom of the hill on the southwest corner of this place. Tess and Travis live in an old house further up the road from them,” Cletus said, pointing south.

  “So they all live here on the ranch?” Harper handed Cletus his walker and they started down the walk to the front door.

  “Well, this is part of the original ranch. Where the other two couples live is a piece of property the boys went together and purchased about the time Trent got married. It had the two houses on it, which worked out well.” Cletus pointed to the imposing structure before them. “There’s plenty of room in here for all three boys to live with their families, but they are all very independent.”

  “I picked up on that fact,” Harper said as they made it up the steps. Before she could knock on the door, it swung open and Cass invited them inside.

  “Hi, Harper and Mr. Keller. We’re so happy you could have lunch with us today,” Cass said. She walked beside the older man as he made it through the entry and she guided him toward the dining area that sat between the kitchen and the large living room.

  “Hello, Harper. Hi Cletus,” Cady called from the kitchen as she and Denni finished preparations for lunch.

  An older woman with Trey’s startling blue eyes and Denni’s teasing smile glanced up from where she sat at the table folding napkins.

  Cletus tipped his head to her. “Nice to see you, Ester.”

  “You as well, Cletus.” The woman glanced from him to Harper. “You must be this ol’ codger’s niece.”

  “Mama!” Denni scowled at her then turned to Harper with an indulgent smile. “You’ll have to forgive my mother, Harper. She got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I’m sure a big glass of prune juice will straighten her right out.”

  “Don’t you dare.” Ester glared at her daughter then reached out a hand to Harper. “It’s nice to meet you, sweetheart. You’re even prettier than the description the girls shared with me. My name is Ester Nordon.”

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Nordon,” Harper carefully squeezed the frail hand with papery, soft skin between hers. Ben was right. Looking at Ester gave her a strong idea of what Bailey would look like when she reached that age. The resemblance was nearly uncanny.

  Ester grinned at her. “None of that, now. Call me Nana like the rest of them.” The older woman pointed toward the patio door where Trey and Hart cooked something on a barbecue while the twins ran around with three dogs.

  Before Harper replied, Ester shifted her attention to Trent and Lindsay as they arrived with the Morgan family.

  Ben’s eyes caught Harper’s across the room and she felt an electric jolt, like she did every time she saw him.

  Although she and Ben pretended to be nothing more than mere acquaintances, she wondered if anyone else noticed the current sizzling bet
ween the two of them.

  Brice looked at Ben and started laughing again, so Bailey and Tess ordered him to go outside to help Trey and Hart.

  Ben took two steps her direction when Shane and Shiloh ran inside and latched onto his legs. Emily danced around him, wanting to be picked up.

  With an apologetic look her direction, he turned his attention to the youngsters. While Harper moved into the kitchen to help the women, her uncle sat down with Mike Morgan, Trent, and Travis in the living room.

  Ben ended up on the floor with the kids trying to ride him like a horse. Cass encouraged them from the sidelines but Ben pulled her into the fray, tickling her until she laughed so hard she got hiccups.

  “I think that’s enough fun for now,” Cady said, giving Ben and Cass a warning glare as everyone filed into the dining area.

  Lunch was lively with several conversations flowing around the table at the same time. Once the dishes were finished and the little ones joined Nana in taking a nap, Cass begged to play a game.

  “How about hide and seek?” Ben suggested. “You can try to find all of us, Cass.”

  “Okay!” she said, looking around at the adults. “Who wants to play?”

  “All of you should go have some fun. We’ll keep an eye on the kids,” Michele said, looking to Mike for agreement. He nodded his head.

  “We’ll stay, too,” Denni said, starting to sit down by Michele, but Hart tugged on her hand.

  “You aren’t sitting this one out, Sunshine. Let’s go.” Hart pulled her toward the door.

  “What are the rules, Cass?” Brice asked as he stood with his hands wrapped around Bailey’s waist.

  “I’ll give you five minutes to find somewhere good to hide. As I find you, you have to help me find the others, except Aunt Tess. She can do whatever she wants.”

  Tess ran a loving hand over Cass’ red curls and kissed her cheek. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

  “No fair, goofball, playing favorites,” Trent teased as he stepped behind Cass and squeezed her shoulder.

  “Well, if you’re gonna have a baby, I’ll make different rules for you, too.”

  Everyone laughed as they hurried out the door.

  Ben and Harper watched as the couples scattered in different directions.

  Finally, he bumped her with his elbow and motioned for her to follow him down a path behind the barn.

  “Where are we going?” Harper asked as she tried to keep up with his long-legged stride in her sandals.

  “This way.” Ben glanced around, making sure no one followed them or was able to spy on them. Assured they were alone, he swept Harper into his arms and hurried along the path over a hill and to a grouping of trees with a thick screen of brush around it.

  Neither of them spoke until Ben set her on her feet and inspected the area to confirm they were alone. He brushed off a tree stump and Harper took a seat.

  “Why are we here?” She asked looking around.

  “Well, I’ve got a good idea where everyone else is going to hide. Lindsay and Trent’s spot is the kissing bench down by the pond. Brice and Bailey will head that way before deciding it’s occupied and make a beeline for a far corner of the backyard. Trey and Cady will go up to the barn loft while Travis will take Tess out to the old fort. That’s where they got married the first time and he proposed to her the second time.”

  “Wait? What?”

  Harper’s baffled look made Ben chuckle.

  “The Thompson boys had a great fort when we were kids. We hung out there all the time. When Tess was six, I think, we got the bright idea she could be a member of our manly man club if she married one of us. Well, she couldn’t very well marry one of her brothers so Trey, Trent and I talked her and Travis into getting married. I gathered a beautiful bouquet of straggly weeds for her and Trey performed the ceremony. When Travis kissed her, she slugged him so hard, it knocked the breath right out of him.”

  “She sounds like she was a feisty little thing from the start.”

  Ben nodded his head in agreement. “She was. Tess kept both Brice and I on our toes. I’m sure it wasn’t always easy for her being sandwiched between two rowdy brothers.”

  “So Travis took her to the fort when he proposed to her?”

  “Yeah, it was romantic, if you’re into that sort of thing. Cady baked a chocolate cake where he hid the ring, and Lindsay helped him with decorations.”

  “Are you Morgan men as romantic as the Thompson brothers?” Harper gave Ben such a coy glance, he nearly forgot to answer her question.

  “Brice can hold his own.” He looked into Harper’s eyes and decided he could easily dive into their depths and stay there with no need to leave. That thought left him completely troubled. Anything that remotely hinted at permanency scared him witless.

  “What about you?” Harper rose to her feet and stepped close to Ben. “You did pretty well with that picnic by the creek, and the night we looked at the stars. Although, acting like we don’t know each other around your family is kind of a downer.”

  “Oh, come on. Pretend we’re star-crossed lovers, meeting clandestinely to avoid some looming disaster.”

  “Like your brother and sister finding out?” Harper giggled at Ben’s frown. “That kind of earth-shattering disaster?”

  “You’re not nearly as funny as you think you are, Tinker Bell.”

  Harper made funny faces at him, but Ben’s facial expression didn’t change. Finally, she gave up. “So we’re back to name calling are we, Captain?”

  “If the pixie fits…” Ben wrapped his arms around her and started tickling her sides, making her giggle so hard she couldn’t stand up straight.

  He carried her over to a spot of grass in the shade and laid her down then stretched out beside her on his back.

  With a wink at her, he removed his straw cowboy hat and settled it over his face. “Might as well take a little siesta while we wait. I predict we’ll be the last couple they find.”

  Harper wasn’t sure if Ben was teasing or serious. Mindful of the fact he’d head back to Portland that afternoon and she didn’t know the next time she’d see him, she wasn’t willing to waste a moment.

  “If you think, for a single minute, you can bring me out here and then take a nap, you better think again, Captain Morgan.” Harper lifted the hat from his face and set it aside.

  Ben opened one eye and looked at her. A grin played along his full lips, luring her to kiss each corner.

  When she did, Ben wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down on top of him, engaging her in a kiss unlike anything she’d ever experienced.

  Driven, wild, and full of passion, she forgot where they were, that anything beyond the two of them even existed.

  Ben’s hands reached down and lifted the hem of her sundress, dragging it up until she felt his fingers caressing the back of her thigh.

  With a startled gasp, she rolled over and sat up. “I think that’s enough of that for today.”

  He sighed and forked his fingers into his hair then gave her a long look. “I’m sorry. You’re just so darn pretty and so much fun to be around.”

  “Thank you, I think,” Harper said, tugging down the hem of her skirt and adjusting the cap sleeves of her dress.

  “Look, Harper, I don’t want you to get the idea that all I want out of you is… well, you know what I mean. I’m not that guy.” At her disbelieving look, he sighed again. “I might date a lot of girls, but as unlikely as it might seem, I have a set of morals I live by. Even if I teeter on the edge of the line, I promise I won’t cross it.”

  Curtly, she nodded her head, as annoyed with herself as she was with Ben. In truth, she didn’t know why she suddenly felt like crying, other than the fact that she wouldn’t see Ben again for a while.

  To keep the tears at bay, she turned her gaze to the blue, summery sky overhead.

  Ignoring the sound of Ben moving, she assumed he was ready to head back to the house.

  Instead of him standing, the warmth of his body se
ttled behind hers and he bracketed her with his long legs. Gently, he pulled her back so she rested against his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

  “I’m sorry for getting carried away, Harper. I can’t seem to help myself around you.” The soft, tender kiss he placed to her neck made her want to weep. She released a shaky breath and closed her eyes, enjoying the moment of being together with no demands or expectations.

  Ben finally broke the silence. “Tell me about your brother. A happy memory from when you were kids.”

  “All our happy times took place on the ranch with Uncle Cletus,” Harper said, sorting through her memories for one that wasn’t sad. “The summer I was nine, I’d been begging for weeks to do something fun. One morning, Ryan and I got up to discover a note on the kitchen table. It said if we finished our chores before nine and were dressed to go to town, Uncle Cletus would give us a surprise. The two of us nearly ran each other over trying to get our work done for the day. My job that summer was to clean the house, do the dishes, and pull the weeds around the yard. Ryan helped irrigate and mowed the lawn. Anyway, Cletus had left us a very specific list of tasks to complete that morning.”

  “Did you get them all done in time?” Ben asked.

  “We sure did then we hustled to change into our best clothes, which weren’t great, but good for us. Ryan and I raced into the kitchen when we heard Uncle Cletus come in. He pointed outside toward his pickup and said, ‘let’s go.’”

  Ben could hear the excitement in her voice as she shared her precious memories. “Where did he take you?”

  “To the zoo in Portland. Can you picture Cletus Keller taking two kids to the zoo?”

  Harper felt Ben shake his head as his chin rested against her hair.

  “It must have made quite an impression on you.”

  “It did,” Harper said on a happy sigh, traveling back to one of the carefree moments of her childhood. “The trip to the zoo was amazing and wonderful, but the thing that meant the most about that day was that it gave Ryan an opportunity to be a kid. He always felt responsible for me and that day, somehow, he relaxed and just enjoyed the experience.”

  “That’s a great memory, Harper. I’m glad you had your uncle to lean on, at least during the summer.”