Claimed by the Rancher--A scandalous story of passion and romance

by Jules Bennett

  Rubbing her fingers together, she took another breath before flicking the lock open. Nolan turned as she swung the door open.

  “If you have the baby’s things—”

  “I don’t.” He moved into the doorway, crowding her until she backed up. “I came to talk to you. You don’t have to say anything. Just give me five minutes.”

  He didn’t give her a chance to reply as he skirted around her. Realizing she didn’t have much choice, Pepper closed the door. Whatever he wanted, she prayed he made it fast. Five minutes with Nolan was cruel when she knew he didn’t reciprocate her feelings. And if he hadn’t brought the baby things, what did he want?

  Crossing her arms, Pepper spun around and remained in place. Nolan was at the art table she’d set up in the living area. He stared at the navy canvas, then looked back to her.

  “What’s this going to be?” he asked.

  “For the nursery.” When he continued to stare, Pepper let out a sigh and threw her arms wide. “If you came for small talk, I’m busy.”

  Nolan raked a hand over his jawline, the stubble scraping beneath his palm. She finally took a moment to study his appearance. His eyes were puffy and dark, as if sleep had not been his friend for quite some time. The finger marks through his hair were evidence of his frustrated state. Yet she didn’t feel sorry for him. He could’ve had everything—she would’ve given him everything—in exchange for love. Was that too much to ask?

  “What do you want, Nolan? Because you look like you’re about to keel over.”

  He met her gaze across the narrow space. “My thirty-six-hour shift ended a few hours ago. I was caught behind a wreck and delivered a baby. I managed to run home and shower before coming here because I was a total mess.”

  Pepper gasped and took a step toward him. “Why on earth aren’t you in bed? How’s the baby? Did you have to deliver in the car?”

  She couldn’t help firing off questions, because she had so many, but most of all she wanted to know why he was here when it was obvious he was a zombie.

  “The baby is fine. I delivered a healthy baby girl on the side of the highway while we waited on paramedics.” Nolan shook his head and glanced down to his cowboy boots. “I’m almost positive the mother didn’t make it, though. I couldn’t call and find out. I just... I didn’t want to know.”

  Pepper’s heart clenched. She fisted her hands at her sides and waited for him to continue. Maybe he’d come because he just needed someone to talk to. If that was the case, she’d listen. She loved him too much to turn him away, even if he didn’t love her in return.

  “I’ve been a doctor for years,” he went on as he brought his haunted eyes back up to hers. “I try not to get emotionally attached, but this case...”

  The pregnant woman. The possible loss of life. It was all making sense now. Pepper slowly took a step forward, then another. Dare she hope he’d had some epiphany? While her heart literally ached for the family of the woman who’d just delivered, if that instance brought Nolan to her door, back into her life, she had to believe he was at that scene for a reason.

  Nolan watched her as she neared. When she came toe-to-toe with him, he reached for her arms and pulled her close.

  “Not everybody gets a second chance,” he whispered into her hair. Pepper trembled as she wrapped her arms around him. “I don’t deserve a second chance, but I let you walk out of my life once. Then you walked out of my house. I can’t let you go, Pepper.”

  Instant joy and relief flooded through her as she gripped his shirt and rested her forehead against his chest. “Are you here to ask me to come back?”

  Nolan eased away but kept his grip on her. “I’m telling you that my life has been empty since you left ten years ago. I’m telling you that Pebblebrook is lonely and everywhere I look in my house I see you. The paintings, the ultrasound image you left. There’s even a pair of flip-flops by my back door. They’re waiting on you, Pepper. I’m waiting on you. Come home.”

  Pepper’s eyes burned as tears welled up. “Why?” she couldn’t help but ask. “Why do you want me to come back? I’m pregnant with another man’s baby, our marriage was a farce, and—”

  “I love you.”

  Those three simple yet life-changing words had her stilling. “You...love me?”

  He framed her face in his large hands, swiping the blue paint from her cheek with the pad of his thumb. When he held it up in front of her face, he smiled.

  “I love this. I love the free spirit inside of you. I love the creativity you have to make something from nothing.” He took the blue and wiped it on his own cheek. “Make a life with me, Pepper. Make something from nothing with this heart of mine.”

  Oh, that did it. She sobbed, falling into his chest as her emotions completely overtook her.

  Nolan’s arms enveloped her as he smoothed her hair down her back. “I was hoping for a better response,” he rasped.

  Pepper laughed through the tears. “I just wanted you to love me as I love you. I had no idea you’d be so eloquent and perfect when you told me.”

  “I should’ve told you long ago.” He leaned back and brushed his mouth tenderly over hers before pulling away. “This marriage isn’t a farce. It’s very real and it’s forever. Come back to Pebblebrook. I’ll give you all the babies you want and I’ll raise this son as my own.”

  Pepper nodded, letting out a hiccup with her tears. “I’m a mess,” she muttered. “I didn’t expect you to do this. I dreamed of it. I’d hoped you’d come to see that we deserve this second chance, but I really thought you’d pushed me out forever.”

  “I’m a fool for letting you go. I’ll never make that mistake again.” He kissed her hard, a promise of a lifetime together poured into that kiss. “Come home and we’ll make a nursery and an art studio. We’ll make the life we deserve. Together.”

  Pepper smiled and returned the kiss. “Together.”

  Epilogue

  Hayes stared at the bottle of bourbon. He’d pulled out the unopened bottle from his cellar and had been eyeing the damn thing for the past hour.

  Drinking would be the easy part. Getting lost in that bottle would be the coward’s way out. But he wanted anything to dull the ache in his chest of being home. He’d known coming back would be difficult, but he hadn’t expected the guilt that came along with being back at Pebblebrook.

  He had all the money a man could ever want. He had a five-thousand-acre ranch, so work would definitely keep him busy. And he loved it here...but he’d left so many of his brothers overseas.

  Hayes shut his eyes and tried to push his demons aside, but nothing helped. When he had his eyes open, all he saw was the life he had here in Stone River. The perfect life, some would call it. Money, power, family. Yes, he did have it all on a certain level.

  He’d give it all up if he thought he could save his friends on the other side of the globe. Hayes grabbed the bottle and headed out onto the back porch. He’d inherited the original Elliott homestead and he loved this old two-story farmhouse. There was some work to be done, but he was ready to dive into a project that would keep his hands busy and his mind occupied.

  Hayes sank into one of the old rockers on his porch. Clutching the bottle like some warped sense of a lifeline, he stared out at the darkened sky. There was nothing as peaceful as Pebblebrook. With a river running along the back of the property behind his house and a brook running through the front of the property where Colt’s house was, there was so much beauty and tranquility here.

  Quite the polar opposite of where he’d spent the last several years of his life. Coming home every twelve to eighteen months for a brief time wasn’t the same as coming home for good. Other than farm life, what else did he know? What else did he do? Because with the way his
heart and soul had been battered, he figured it best if he stayed on the ranch as much as possible until he got acclimated to civilian life again.

  Colt and Nolan had both found love. Nolan and Pepper were married and blissfully in love. Both of his brothers seemed so happy. There must be something in the water because both of his brothers were going into ready-made families. Hayes wanted no part of kids. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he could handle a regular relationship with a woman, let alone a child. He had too much darkness inside him, had seen too much to be a father.

  But Colt had always wanted that large-family lifestyle, and Nolan had finally come to his senses where Pepper was concerned. Who knew love could last across a decade and time apart?

  Hayes had no sweethearts in his past. He didn’t do relationships because he’d been in the service and always traveling. Hell, he’d been married to the army, and just because he was getting out, didn’t mean that he could simply turn off his feelings about the life he’d lived.

  The bottle in his hand mocked him and he wanted to throw it to get rid of the temptation. He didn’t know how long he sat and rocked, replaying his career in slow motion in his mind. A muscle ticked in his jaw. He knew his brothers were worried about him, and they had every right. But he meant what he said when he told them he needed space. If they started hovering, he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t lash out at them—and they were the last people on earth he wanted to get angry with.

  Tomorrow he’d go see his father. He wasn’t sure he’d be strong enough to see his formerly robust, vibrant father now in a nursing home not even knowing his own name at times. Hayes didn’t care, though. He wanted to be there, to sit by his dad’s side and do absolutely nothing. Hayes wanted that simplicity.

  Hayes knew his father would be proud of Colt for pushing ahead with the dude ranch. Opening Pebblebrook to the public had been a dream of their father’s for some time, but he’d never fully gone ahead with the plans. Then dementia had stolen everything and the project had gotten pushed to the back of everyone’s mind.

  Hayes didn’t recall the last time he’d seen Beau, other than on the big screen. Now that he was home, he wondered when they’d have an old-fashioned Elliott gathering. Hayes wanted everyone together—he wanted to go back to that time when they all hung out in the stables talking about nothing and everything. When they’d drink beers late at night, go for early-morning rides to check the fence lines... Hell, he just wanted an existence that didn’t involve fearing for your life every single day.

  Hayes set the bottle on the porch and leaned forward on his elbows. Resting his head in his hands, he sent up a prayer. He’d done quite a bit of that recently. He wasn’t sure if anyone heard his thoughts, but he figured it didn’t hurt.

  He was home. All that mattered was that he was here now and he was going to heal. With the help of his brothers and his soon-to-be sisters-in-law, he wouldn’t be alone.

  Maybe, over time, he’d get back into the realm of socializing and perhaps even dating, but he wasn’t going to plan too far ahead. One day at a time: that was how he had to live.

  He got to his feet, crossed to the railing and rested his hands on the wood beam. Tomorrow he’d start renovating his home.

  Home. He liked the sound of that, even if he would live in this big house all by himself.

  He was home and that was more than some of his comrades had. Hayes would be happy with the life he’d been given and he’d push forward. Alone...just like he wanted.

  * * * * *

  Pick up these other sexy romances

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  Hollywood Baby Affair

  by Anna DePalo

  One

  Actress and Stuntman Lovefest! More Than Movie Pyrotechnics on Display.

  The gossip website headline ran through Chiara Feran’s head when it shouldn’t have.

  She clung to Stunt Stud’s well-muscled shoulders, four stories up, wind blowing and helicopter blades whipping in the background—trying to act as if her life depended on it when the truth was that only her career did. After all, a gossip site had just written that she and Mr. Stunt Double were an item, and right now she needed the press distracted from her estranged father, a Vegas-loving cardsharp threatening to cause a controversy of his own.

  She tossed her head to keep the hair out of her face. She’d learned Stunt Stud’s first name was Rick when they’d rehearsed, but she thought insufferable was a better word for him. He had remarkable green eyes...and he looked at her as if she were a spoiled diva who needed the kid-glove treatment.

  I don’t want you to ruin your manicure.

  Thanks for your concern, but there’s a manicurist on set.

  They’d had a few brief exchanges over the course of filming that had made her blood boil. If the world only knew... True, his magnetism was enough to rival that of the biggest movie stars, so she wondered why he was content with stunt work, but then again, his ego didn’t need any further boosting. And the rumors were that he wasn’t who he seemed to be and that he had a shadowy, secretive past.

  There was even a hint that he was fabulously wealthy. Given his ego, she wouldn’t be surprised if he’d put out the rumors himself. He was a macho stuntman ready to save a damsel in distress, but Chiara could save herself, thank you. She’d learned long ago not to depend on any man.

  She opened her mouth, but instead of an existential scream, her next line came out. “Zain, we’re going to die!”

  “I’m not dropping you,” he growled in reply.

  Chiara knew his voice would be substituted later with her costar’s by the studio’s editing department. She took perverse satisfaction in calling him b
y her costar’s character name. And since Rick was pretending to be her costar, and her costar himself was just acting, she was two steps removed from reality.

  And one long fall away from sudden death.

  Even though both she and Rick had invisible harnesses, accidents could and did happen on movie sets. As if on cue, more explosions sounded around them.

  As soon as this scene was over, she was heading to her trailer for coffee and maybe even a talk with Odele—

  “Cut!” the director yelled through a bullhorn.

  Chiara sagged with relief.

  Rick barely loosened his grip as they were lowered to the ground.

  She was bone-tired in the middle of a twelve-hour day on set. She didn’t dwell on the other type of tired right now—an existential weariness that made it hard to care about anything in her life. Fortunately filming on this movie was due to wrap soon.

  Action flicks bored her, but they paid the mortgage and more. And Odele, her manager, never stopped reminding her that they also kept her in the public eye. Her Q score would stay high, and it would keep those lucrative endorsement deals flowing. This film was no exception on both counts. Pegasus Pride was about a mission to stop the bad guys from blowing up the United Nations and other key government buildings.

  As soon as her feet hit the ground, she ignored a frisson of awareness and stepped away from Rick.

  His dark hair was mussed, and his jeans clung low on his hips, a dirty vest concealing his tee. Still, he managed to project the authority of a master of the universe, calm and implacable but ready for action.

  She didn’t like her reaction to him. He made her self-conscious about being a woman. Yes, he was all hard-packed muscle and latent strength. Yes, he was undoubtedly in top physical shape with washboard abs. But he was arrogant and annoying and, like most men, not to be trusted.