by Amanda Renee
“Slow down, cowboy,” Miranda said, attempting a smile. “I’m fine but I feel like I was shot out of a cannon and missed the net.”
“If Aaron had been at the ranch like he was supposed to be, none of this would have happened.”
“It wasn’t his fault,” Miranda said. “He went out to dinner with Kiley. He’s entitled to have a life, Jesse. What are you doing here, anyway?”
Before Jesse could tell her his decision to be with her, Aaron rode Montana bareback through the stable entrance. After Aaron closed Montana’s stall door, Jesse charged him, grabbing his shirt and slamming him into the doors.
“What the hell were you thinking leaving Miranda here by herself?” Jesse growled, inches from Aaron’s face. “I trusted you to take care of her.”
Miranda tried to reason with the two men, but neither one would loosen his hold on his nemesis.
“Jessup Thomas Langtry, you unhand Aaron right this instant.” Jesse turned to see Mable standing in the center of the stable holding an umbrella as if she was about to club the two of them. Jesse immediately released his grip, but didn’t back away.
“Now you get over there and keep your hands to yourself. Come with me, child.” Mable motioned to Miranda. “Let’s get you inside and into some clean clothes.”
Mable wrapped one arm around Miranda and popped open the umbrella with the other and led her out of the stables.
* * *
THE FOLLOWING MORNING Mable gave Miranda explicit instructions for her to stay off her feet and rest. Mable threatened to take drastic measures if she even heard the patter of Miranda’s feet on the floor. The threat of no more home-cooked meals kept her in bed. She couldn’t imagine life without Mable’s cooking. She couldn’t imagine life without Mable, for that matter.
Jesse knocked and poked his head in the door. She sat up in bed thumbing through a magazine while Scarlett and Rhett played with her toes through the bed covers.
Jesse bent over, kissed Miranda on the forehead as he produced a bouquet of wildflowers from behind him.
She inhaled their fragrant scent. “Mmm. My favorites.” Rhett climbed over Scarlett to see Miranda’s present.
Jesse laughed and cradled the puppy, rubbing his pink belly.
“I would have liked to have done this more proper,” Jesse said, returning the puppy to the bed, “but, I’m never going to know when the right time is.”
Miranda tilted her head sideways as he lowered his gaze.
“I know I’m not perfect,” Jesse said and Miranda snickered when he looked up at her. “And I know I can be stubborn.”
“Tell me something I don’t already know.” Miranda laughed but Jesse remained serious.
“I can’t tell you it’s going to be wonderful all the time. And I know there will be problems and arguments. I snore sometimes and my feet don’t always smell pretty. I can be forgetful and downright ornery on occasion.”
“Jesse, what is this all about?”
“What I’m trying to say is, I know I have my faults. But will you marry me anyway?” He opened up his hand to produce a white gold and diamond ring. “This was my grandmother’s engagement ring.”
Miranda stared at the ring in silence.
“Say something, please,” Jesse pleaded.
“I’m sorry,” Miranda said. “But, I can’t.”
Jesse jumped off the bed. “You’re turning me down?”
“Jesse, please, let me explain.” Miranda struggled to sit up straighter. “A few days ago you were ready to move off this ranch for good. Our little bet is officially over today and I’m still here. You told me yourself you had no place to live, when you knew damn well you had a place here. With me.”
“You could have asked me to stay.”
“What right did I have?” Miranda asked. “Your father just died. Your brothers asked you to take over Bridle Dance with them. It was your decision, not mine.”
“I can’t believe this. I pour my heart out to you and you turn me down.”
“Because you don’t love me, Jesse!”
Jesse stumbled back as if she’d smacked him. “Think whatever you want.”
The door slammed behind him, causing the puppies to whimper in his wake. Miranda held them both close to her chest as she stared at the ring on the nightstand. If only he had proposed to her out of love, she would accept in a heartbeat.
She slid the ring on her finger and held it up as she admired it. Mable stood in the doorway.
“What did you do to him this time?” Mable demanded.
“I turned down his marriage proposal,” Miranda said as she stared at the ring.
“Doesn’t look like it to me.” She walked over and grabbed Miranda’s hand roughly. “Enlighten me, child.”
Jesse’s proposal was probably the most honest thing she ever heard come out of a man’s mouth. She knew he cared about her. And she knew his soul was behind the words, but it was his heart she waited on. She refused to marry a man who didn’t love her. No matter how much she loved him.
“He doesn’t love me, Mable. His heart belongs to Double Trouble. Not me.”
“Foolish woman.” Mable shook her head as she walked out of the bedroom. “Foolish woman.”
* * *
JESSE COULDN’T BELIEVE Miranda refused him. He practiced his proposal all morning. Then she shot him down without even thinking it over.
She said he didn’t love her. How could she think that? He needed her in his life. He needed her by his side and he told her as much. Certainly, she must know how he felt about her by now.
When Cole asked him to ride out on a neighbor’s cattle drive, he didn’t need to think twice. Separation from Miranda was just what he needed right now. It would give him a chance to clear his head and figure out his next move. Only he didn’t know if his next move would be toward Miranda again or in the opposite direction.
The men left in the morning and were in the hills by nightfall.
Jesse and Cole sat around the campfire and talked over supper. Within an hour, the rest of the men joined in on the conversation. They all told him to swallow his pride when he got home, and march over to Miranda’s door and tell her how much he loved her.
After three days away from her, he was ready to go home. He rehearsed his words over and over again until Cole rode up alongside him and told him the cattle were going to start falling in love with him if he didn’t cut out the I love yous.
They had a few breakaways but Jesse was proud of General Lee. He was his best horse. Instinctively, he knew which way to turn. That is until General Lee turned to cut a lead cow and Jesse miscalculated the direction.
He flew off his horse and landed with a thud. Cole immediately rode up behind him and corrected so the cattle wouldn’t trample his brother.
Jesse arrived at Bridle Dance battered and bruised. X-rays proved everything was still intact, except for his ego.
“How badly do you want Miranda?” Cole asked.
The two conspired along with Chase, and for the first time in years, Jesse felt close to his family.
* * *
WHILE JESSE WAS GONE, Miranda realized she needed to explain herself and tell him the truth about Jonathan. Although Mable seriously doubted he would even look at her, let alone talk to her after the way she treated him. She’d said, “You don’t go messin’ with a man’s pride and expect him to welcome you with open arms.”
Someone knocked at the back door. Miranda crossed the
room to answer it while Mable tried to see who it was through the window.
“Cole,” she said. “This is a surprise. Come on in.”
“Ma’am.” He took his hat off and held it in his hand. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Oh, no.” She reached out to steady herself on the kitchen counter. “Please tell me Jesse is okay. Please, Cole.”
“He’s all right, but there was an accident on the trail, and...” He hesitated a moment, gripping the brim of his hat. “He’s pretty banged up and he’s been asking for you.”
“Dear Lord, this family does not need another tragedy.” Mable ushered them both toward the door.
Tears welled in Miranda’s eyes. She was grateful he was alive, but scared he was hurt to the point he was asking for her.
“How bad is he?” she asked.
“You need to come out to the ranch and see for yourself.” Cole led her through the door.
“The ranch?” Mable questioned. “He’s not at the hospital?”
Miranda bounded down the stairs after Cole.
“He was in for X-rays all night,” Cole called over his shoulder. “We brought him home a few hours ago.”
“Take me to him.” Miranda hopped in Cole’s truck.
Mable stood on the porch and watched as they drove off. She picked up the phone and dialed. “Kay, what are your boys up to?”
* * *
WHEN MIRANDA ARRIVED at Bridle Dance, Chase was sitting on the front porch with his head in his hands. Cole had to give his little brother credit. He played his role perfectly. Miranda gripped Cole’s arm as they walked through the door. Even his mother appeared upset.
Cole led Miranda upstairs to his brother’s room. He had to admit, his brother looked awful. A lot worse than he actually was.
“Oh, Jesse!” Miranda cried as she ran to him. He grimaced when she attempted to hug him. Cole didn’t think it was acting on his part. His brother was mighty banged up.
“Miranda, I’m so glad you’re here,” Jesse said. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“There’s something I need to tell you, too.”
“Please, Miranda, let me go first. This is important.”
Tears stung Miranda’s cheeks. She already began to fear the worst. Cole motioned to Jesse it was time to move this along before she collapsed altogether.
“Miranda, I love you more than life itself. Now, for the third time, will you marry me?”
“Yes, oh, yes! That’s what I wanted to tell you. I love you, too!”
Jesse jumped out of bed. “Did you hear, everyone? She loves me. We’re getting married!” He winced as he pulled her into his arms.
“Hey, wait a minute!” Miranda said as she turned toward the doorway. Cole, Chase, Jonathan and Kay fought to see over one another. “What’s going on here? Jonathan?” Miranda looked from Jesse to Jonathan. Jonathan nodded.
“He told you?” Miranda asked Jesse.
“He told me everything. I don’t blame you, or Jon or even Pops. Life’s too short to pass blame on anyone.”
“And all this, I thought you were hurt. You big fake.” Miranda elbowed Jesse in the ribs, causing him to double over in pain.
“Miranda—” Cole rushed to Jesse’s side “—he really is hurt. Just not as bad as we led you to believe.”
“I think my bruised ribs just became broken ribs.”
All color drained from Miranda’s face. “Oh, Jesse, I’m so sorry.”
Jesse took her in his arms and kissed her.
“Are you sure you want to marry me?” Jesse asked.
“Yes.” Miranda gazed deep into his eyes. “I want to be your wife, now and forever.”
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from Rancher’s Son by Leigh Duncan!
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Chapter One
Sarah Magarity rose to her tiptoes on the stepladder. The large silver star atop the Christmas tree wobbled when her fingers brushed against it. As she wrestled the heavy ornament from the center post, it tipped, threatening to throw her off balance. For a second, Sarah saw herself lying on the floor, alone and injured, through the long holiday weekend. Normally hectic on a Thursday afternoon, the Department of Children and Family Services in Fort Pierce, Florida, had slowly emptied once the tech guys shut down the computers for a system-wide upgrade. Now only a tree that smelled more like plastic than pine stood between her and a much-needed two weeks out from under a crushing workload.
Two weeks of white, sandy beaches and a cell phone that didn’t buzz with a new crisis every ten minutes. Two weeks of gathering plants for her growing collection of tropical flowers. Sarah took a deep breath and braced herself against the wall. She could almost smell Hawaiian orchids and plumeria.
Dreaming of ukuleles and fruity concoctions decorated with tiny umbrellas, she whistled a slightly off-key version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Carefully, she toted the star down the ladder. Her foot had barely touched the worn carpet when one of the doors at the main entrance swung open. Sounds of heavy traffic on U.S. Highway 1 blared into the office before the door swished closed. Silence, broken only by the noisy hum of an air conditioner, once more filled the room.
“C’mon, Jimmy.” A voice whined over the warren of empty cubicles. “We hav’ta find someone pronto. It’s late.”
Late for what?
Sarah swallowed a groan. Whoever had arrived at four-thirty on Christmas Eve, they were late, all right. The holiday party for kids in foster care had ended at two.
“Can I help you?” Sarah prayed the curvy brunette rounding the last of the partitions wanted nothing more than grocery money. A couple of ten-dollar gift cards, and not much else, remained in the emergency fund.
“This is Jimmy Parker.” The woman’s plunging neckline dipped perilously low as she placed her hand square on the back of the little boy at her side and shoved. The child stumbled forward. “His mom asked me to drop him off.”
Sarah mustered a smile for the pair of sad brown eyes that peered up from beneath a thatch of sandy-blond hair. The boy’s hollow gaze met hers only briefly before he looked away. When his focus dropped to a pair of tattered sneakers, Sarah hiked an eyebrow. She skimmed over high-water jeans, frowned at a shirt Goodwill would reject. Fighting a protective nature that made her want to wrap the little boy in her arms and make everything right in his world, Sarah stiffened her spine.
The brutal truth was, a dozen kids just like this one walked into the DCF offices each month. She had a hundred more open cases in her file cabinet. She couldn’t give every child assigned to her the attention they deserved. Not and still keep her sanity. The situation was far from her idealistic dream of how things ought to work. But there were too many at-risk kids, too few dollars to go around and too few wor
kers to do the job.
Letting her eyes narrow, she faced the older of her guests head-on. “You’re too late.” She grimaced when a little more vehemence than usual crept into her voice. “The party was hours ago. You should have been here then.”
Despite herself, Sarah glanced across the room at a whimsical mural of a sleigh propelled by eight flying porpoises. Were there any presents left? Not a chance. Every gift from Santa’s bag had been distributed into the eager hands of other kids who were just as needy as this one.
“Party?” The latecomer’s dark eyebrows lifted. “Who said anything about a party?” The brunette chewed a wad of gum and swallowed. “I promised to deliver the kid, and here he is.”
An uneasy feeling settled in Sarah’s chest when her visitor dropped a worn duffel bag to the floor.
“Hold on a sec,” she ordered. “Maybe you’d better start at the beginning and tell me exactly what brought you here. I’m Sarah Magarity, the senior caseworker.” She paused for a look around. With no husband or children of her own to rush home to, she’d offered to keep the office open until closing time. A skeleton staff would report in on Monday and man the offices through the New Year. For tonight, though, she was it. “And you are?”
“Candy. Candace, really, but everyone just calls me Candy.” The woman settled one hand on a cocked hip. “Candy Storm. And this little guy,” she said, tapping a bloodred fingernail on the boy’s head, “is James Tyrone Parker. Jimmy. He’s five. His mom was my best friend.”
The implication sent Sarah’s stomach into free fall. She swept another look at the child who studied the stained carpet at his feet. “His mom is…?”
“Yeah.” Candy blinked several times before patting the skin beneath lashes so long they had to be fake.
“I think you and I should talk privately.” Sarah motioned toward a nearby cubicle. “Jimmy, I need you to watch TV or play with some toys while Miss Candy and I chat for a few minutes.”