The Cowboy's Little Surprise

by Barbara White Daille

  “Oh. I didn’t know when I’d get the chance to talk to you again. I’m glad you’re here.” She clutched the second pair of scorecards. “Before we join the boys, I just wanted to say I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I owe you an apology for not telling you about Robbie. You were right. I could have reached you through Layne. And I should have.”

  She took a deep breath, then continued. “I meant what I’d said to you. It breaks my heart to think I don’t know how much you’ll ever be capable of loving Robbie. But you are his daddy. And I won’t stand in your way. No matter how big or small a role you want to play, you deserve to be a part of his life.”

  “I do want a part in his life. A big one.”

  His admission thrilled her. “I’m glad for that, too. Sincerely.”

  The boys ran up to them. Over their heads, Cole smiled at her and she smiled back.

  She’d spent her entire life, or so it seemed, loving Cole and letting him see everything she was thinking. Everything that was in her heart. But she never could read him the same way. And she wouldn’t jump to conclusions about what he wanted now.

  Robbie took her hand. “C’mon, Mama. C’mon, Daddy. You’ve gotta get your sticks.”

  There wasn’t time for any personal conversation as they worked their way around the course. Cole helped Robbie with his putts and Robbie in his turn helped Scott. She followed them, happy to be with them all.

  When the first game was finished and the boys wanted another, Tina agreed but said, “I’ll sit this one out.” She took a seat on the bench in the center of the course and watched.

  After a while, Cole told the boys to go on ahead of him. He came over to sit beside her.

  “You play as well as the boys do,” she said.

  “Well, I’m not up to par today.”

  She groaned. “Bad pun.”

  “I am a player, though. Or at least, I was. That’s something you were right about in school. Calling me a playboy.” He tapped the toe of his boot with his club. “All I wanted was to play. To have fun. To avoid getting serious. All I lived for was the day I could get out of Cowboy Creek. Now you know about my family, maybe you can understand.”

  “I do.”

  He shook his head. “And then there was you. The most serious girl I’d ever met.

  “Even in grade school, I used to see you looking at me with those big brown eyes, all solemn. And as they say, I could read you like a book. I wasn’t kidding about seeing you were a forever kinda girl. And after seriousness, if there was one thing I didn’t do, it was forever.

  “Then we got thrown together in high school, and things led to those nights we spent talking in the truck. The night we slept together, I knew I was in big trouble. Because you’d gotten me started thinking about the future.”

  He tapped his boot again, looked over at the boys, shifted his Stetson and, finally, gave a heavy sigh.

  “Tina, the next day, when you asked me to the Sadie Hawkins dance, I panicked. Because I knew what you expected, and it was so much more than a dance and so much more than I could ever give you.

  “My dad drummed that into me, telling me over and over again I wasn’t worth much.”

  “Just because he said it doesn’t mean it has to define you. I used to think, because my parents had abandoned me, I wasn’t worth loving. I wasn’t worth anything. I know that’s not true. And I always knew Abuela and Jed loved me. But I convinced myself no one else would. I had to learn to believe in myself.”

  He shrugged. “Well, I guess I never got to that stage, till now. But while I was working on getting there, hearing you say the other day that you believe in me was one of the best things that ever happened to me.” He reached for her hand and squeezed her fingers. “Telling me I deserve to be part of Robbie’s life is, too.”

  She smiled.

  A few yards away, the boys wrapped up their game. They came pounding across the turf, shrieking with pleasure, and skidded to a stop in front of the bench.

  “I’m the big winner!” Robbie shouted.

  “And Scott’s the little winner, right?” Cole asked.

  “Right! Can we play again?”

  Cole looked at her.

  She nodded.

  Robbie grinned, and the boys ran back to start their game.

  “He’s got your smile,” Cole said, touching her chin.

  “He’s got your eyes.”

  “You know, all these years, I’ve been restless, keeping on the move—on the run, Jed says. But when I came back here, I felt settled. And that’s because of you.” He smiled. “If there’s one thing I know about you, shy, quiet Tina, it’s that you’ve got a lot of pride. And when the situation wasn’t the best, I saw you push that pride away to tell me you loved me.”

  He took a deep breath and let it out again. “I can’t do any less than push away the things I’ve always feared to tell you some things, too. I don’t want to feel restless. I don’t want to be on the run. I just want to be home again. With you.”

  “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

  He ran his finger down her cheek. “Even in high school, when I couldn’t trust myself to get close to you, I had a crush on you.”

  She gasped. “You did?”

  “I did. Now I love you.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “You’re a forever kinda girl, Tina, and I want forever with you.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder. “Forever and a family?” she asked.

  “Forever...and a big family,” he agreed.

  Epilogue

  One month later

  On his way to the kitchen, Jed detoured to make a stop at the doorway of the sitting room.

  Cole and Tina sat snuggled close together on the couch. Yet neither of them looked a bit happy.

  He frowned. “What’s the matter?”

  Tina bit her lip.

  “Cole,” he snapped. “What’s going on?”

  “Tina just told me she talked with Jane and Andi today. Once the wedding chapel’s refurbished, they want Tina to be the first bride to be married there.”

  “Yeah, they told me that.” He smiled. “I can’t think of anything I’d like more.”

  “Yeah, well...” Cole ran his hand through his hair.

  Frowning again, Jed slapped his hand on the door frame. “All right, you two. Out with it. Flat-out straight.”

  “Abuelo,” Tina said, “I know you like the idea. I love it, too. And...” Her eyes filled with tears, but she was smiling.

  Jed had to blink a time or two himself.

  “And,” she started again, “I love Andi and Jane for thinking of it. But the hotel rooms and the ballroom are my priorities. It will be months before we’re ready to reopen the chapel.” She rested her head against Cole’s shoulder. “We don’t want to wait that long.”

  “We’ve waited too long already,” Cole said.

  “I can sure attest to that. Well, it’s your wedding. Whenever and wherever you want to tie the knot, I’ll be there, ready to walk Tina down the aisle.”

  He left the two lovebirds alone and continued to the kitchen, where Paz was fixing supper.

  Once he had poured himself a cup of coffee, he took his usual seat at the table. “I’ll tell you, Paz, I’m about ready to dance a jig.”

  “Your plans have worked out just fine.”

  “That they have.”

  He was now the proprietor of a soon-to-be thriving hotel.

  The lovebirds would stay under his roof—literally, since Tina was converting the attic into an apartment.

  And with one of his granddaughters getting hitched, he only had two to go.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from A WIFE IN WYOMING by Lynette Kent.

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  Chapter One

  There was trouble on the Circle M Ranch, and Ford Marshall had come to take care of it. His brothers were doing their best, but when problems arose, the four Marshall boys handled them together. Always had, always would.

  Ford had driven more than a thousand miles in the past two days, with only the last fifty left to go. Still, he pulled over at the top of the final descent, got out of the truck and went to stand on the edge of a five-hundred-foot drop. He stared down at the Powder River Valley laid out below, where the slopes of the Big Horn Mountains gave way to rolling, grass-covered plains. The landscape was as familiar to him as the palm of his hand, and just as vital.

  How long, Ford wondered, since he’d enjoyed this view?

  Fifteen years, probably—the summer after high school graduation, when he’d helped herd cattle down to lower pasture before heading off to college. He’d returned to visit since, but not at this time of year. Summer jobs, classes, internships, law school...he’d been busy then, and he’d been even busier since he’d joined one of the biggest firms in San Francisco and started working his way up.

  For now, though, he was home—not forever, not even for the whole summer. But with time enough to stand here as the sun set behind him, tinting the valley blue and purple. Time enough to pull the fresh air into his lungs and listen to the evening breeze rustle through the pines.

  Time. The one commodity he didn’t have in his portfolio these days.

  Ford headed back to the truck, started the engine and eased onto the empty highway, heading downhill. His law partners weren’t happy about the leave of absence. His clients... Hell, his clients were furious. He’d jeopardized his career—plus the security and status it provided—to take these weeks off.

  But family came first. And so he coasted down from the mountains and breezed south out of Buffalo toward their little town of Bisons Creek, where he headed up the county road to the one place that he still, after all these years away, called home.

  * * *

  AT THE HOUSE the screened front door stood wide open to the night air. Ford crossed the porch and stepped into the dark living room. “Anybody home?”

  A woof! and the scrabble of dog claws on the plank floor announced the approach of Honey, the chubby golden retriever who’d been the ranch’s top dog for the past ten years.

  “Hey there, Honey Bear.” He bent to ruffle her ears and scratch her along her spine as she circled in front of him, panting with delight. “Yeah, you’re a good girl, aren’t you?”

  Boot heels thudded down the hall from the rear of the house. “It’s about time you showed up.” His brother Garrett gave him a fake slug to the jaw before closing him into a bear hug. “We’ve got a million questions about this insurance stuff that nobody will answer. How was your drive?”

  “Fine.” Ford drew back and lifted an eyebrow. “Where’s the boss?”

  Garrett tilted his head in the direction of the bedrooms. “Sulky as a bear. I’d go in with a rifle, if I were you.”

  “When’s dinner?”

  “When you make it.”

  “Just like the old days.” Ford had started cooking for their motherless family when he was ten. “Let me talk to Wyatt first. And can we turn on some lights in this house?”

  “Leave it to you to get us organized.” Garrett flipped a switch and the living room became visible. Welcoming.

  “That’s better.” As Ford started toward his older brother’s room, Honey slipped ahead of him to lead the way. The lights were off at the far end of the hall, which was strange so early in the evening. Who the hell was running this place?

  He reached for a lamp just inside the bedroom door and switched it on. “Hey, Boss. No self-respecting rancher is asleep at 8:00 p.m.”

  “No self-respecting rancher gets thrown from a horse, lands on his butt and breaks his damn back.” Wyatt put up a hand from where he lay flat in bed. “Welcome home.”

  His brother’s hearty grip allowed Ford to relax a little. “Thanks.”

  But Wyatt was frowning. “You didn’t have to leave your job, though. Garrett and Dylan are managing okay.”

  “Yeah, right,” Garrett said from the door. “The two of us finish about half of what you did on your own in a single day. No problems there.”

  “The work’ll get done.”

  “It will get done faster with more hands to help.”

  There was an edge to his brother’s tone, and Ford gathered they’d had this argument before. “We’ll manage the chores, one way or the other. Right now I’m more interested in food. What do you feel like, Wyatt?”

  “I’m not hungry.” He’d turned his face toward the TV flickering in the corner.

  “You’re always hungry.”

  “Not when I spend the whole damn day in bed.” A metal brace was sprawled across the dresser, conspicuously unused.

  “Okay. I’ll figure it out and bring you a plate.”

  “Don’t bother.”

  In the kitchen Ford raised an eyebrow as he met Garrett’s eyes. “How long has he been this way?”

  “Ten days since he came home from the hospital. Won’t take the pain pills they gave him, just lies there except when he has to pee.”

  “I should have been here sooner.” He moved toward the refrigerator. “You should have called right away.”

  “I didn’t know the injury would get him so down.”

  Ford pulled four T-bone steaks out of the freezer and headed for the oven. “He won’t use the brace?”

  “I can’t convince him to put it on. I guess he’s planning to lie in bed until he stops hurting.”

  “Not a chance. We’ll get him on his feet. Right now find me some potatoes.”

  In thirty minutes he’d prepared four steak dinners, the task as familiar as if he still did it every night, instead of twice a year. He debated cutting Wyatt’s meat up, but decided he didn’t want the food thrown at him.

  He returned to his brother’s room. “Dinner’s ready.”

  “I said I’m not hungry.” But Wyatt’s stomach betrayed him, gurgling loud enough to be heard outside the house.

  Ford laughed. “I know the truth when I hear it. Come out and eat at the table like a man.”

  His older brother glared at him from under lowered brows. “You’re making trouble.”

  “You’re being a pain in the butt.”

  Wyatt swore, loudly, but he rolled to the side of the bed and then off, landing carefully on his knees. Pushing up with his hands, he straightened his legs before he could finally lever his top half upright.

  Ford picked up the metal brace. “That’s quite a process.”

  Wyatt muttered something unintelligible and presented his back. With a few fumbles, Ford got the brace over his brother’s head and settled it on his shoulders with the straps fastened tight.

  “There ya go.”

  At that moment the screen door in the front of the house slammed. “Got some food somewhere?” Dylan called. “I’m starving.”

  As Wyatt walked stiffly into the bright kitchen light, the youngest Marshall gave a whistle. “Look at you, Boss. We’ll have you in the saddle in no time.” He walked toward Ford. “So you finally came home. I’ve got a horse with your saddle on it out in the corral.” Then he came in for a hug. “Welcome back,” he said in a low voice, which Ford understood meant we need you.

  “Yep,” Ford said, meaning I’ll take care of everything. He slapped Dylan on the shoulder. “Let’s eat.”

  For a while the only sou
nds were chewing and swallowing as the four of them dug into their steaks. Ford took the opportunity to study each of his brothers, assessing changes since his last visit. Dylan, with his dark brown hair worn a little long and a sensitive curve to his mouth just like their mother’s, still looked young enough to be in college, though he’d graduated five years ago. Garrett’s hair was a lighter brown and neatly styled, probably to please his church congregation. Right now his blue eyes were shadowed and a little strained—he’d always been the worrier. Wyatt shared Dylan’s brown eyes and Garrett’s hair, cut in the practical, no-fuss way he’d worn for years. Age never told on Wyatt’s face; he looked pretty much the same at thirty-four as he had at twenty-four...except tired this time. Was it his injury, or was something else going on?

  Ford would find out sooner or later. No need to push the issue. “So what’s the plan for tomorrow?” he asked instead, which brought to order the usual dinner table board meeting for Marshall Brothers, Incorporated. Details for moving cattle, fences to be checked and machinery to get tuned up came under review, as always.

  Only Wyatt hardly said a word.

  “So what do you think, Boss?” Ford pushed his empty plate away and looked at his brother.

  Wyatt glanced up from his plate. “What do I think about what?”

  “We decided we’d flood the eastside pastures, grow our own brand of Wyoming rice.”

  The oldest Marshall set down his fork and knife with a clank. “That’s the stupidest idea I ever heard of. Rice won’t grow...” He noticed the grin on Ford’s face and frowned. “What’s your point?”

  “That you’re not listening. Or eating much.”

  “I’m not doing much. No reason to eat.”

  The preacher in the family propped his elbows on the table. “Can’t you view this as a vacation? You’re always saying you don’t get a chance to read. When did you last take a day off?”

  Ford answered the question. “When he was fourteen, maybe. Before Dad died.”

  Garrett nodded. “Twenty years without a break?”

  Wyatt shook his head. “I get plenty of downtime. I don’t need a vacation. I need to get back to work.”