Once a Heartbreaker

by T. J. Kline

  “Then will you please take my advice and talk to Nathan? I’m sure if I call him, he’ll help out. He’s been all over the news for the last five years, turning huge corporations around. He’s a financial genius.”

  “I don’t need help from some—”

  Justin sighed. “Yes, we do, Jessie. You could at least talk to him—see what kind of advice he offers.”

  She’d spent too long trying to forget Nathan Kerrington. She didn’t want to think about how it had felt to be in his arms and the longing that had sent her young heart falling hard for a man who didn’t belong in her world. She didn’t want to think about the last time she’d seen him, climbing into the truck with her brother on their way back to college. Or the way he’d promised to stay in touch, to come back the summer after graduation.

  What a stupid, naïve girl she’d been at eighteen. She had never heard from him again after that. Two weeks after returning to college, Nathan had moved out of the apartment he shared with Justin and never spoke to either of them again. According to Justin, the only reason Nathan gave for ending their friendship was that it was for the best.

  She refused to ask for Nathan’s help. She’d rather punch his rich kid face. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell her brother that. He had no idea what happened between Nathan and her that summer. No one did. She should have known better when he’d asked her to keep their relationship a secret until he talked to Justin about it.

  Jessie sighed heavily into the phone. “What does some stuffy CEO know about running a horse ranch?”

  “This isn’t a regular horse ranch though, is it? It’s a dude ranch, a resort, Jess. At least, it would be if we had guests.”

  “Don’t start again, Justin. I’m doing the best I can.”

  “Then let me help. Let Nathan help.”

  She wasn’t sure why she was letting him talk her into this. The last thing she wanted was a stiff Wall Street tycoon wreaking havoc on her ranch, especially one who lied, used people, and then threw them away. She didn’t need that kind of help. She couldn’t risk Nathan flipping the ranch on its head and leaving her worse off than before.

  She wasn’t going to allow Nathan to tell her how to run the ranch that she’d been working with her parents for years. She and her two siblings were born and raised on this ranch, cutting their teeth on snaffle bits and western saddles. She knew and loved every inch of the two-thousand-acre spread, even if only a third of it was hers to operate now.

  Jessie inhaled deeply, trying to settle the anxiety twisting in her gut. She also couldn’t let her siblings down again. Justin and Julia loved the ranch just as much as she did. She might run the daily operations of Heart Fire Ranch while her brother ran the vet clinic and her sister headed Heart Fire Training, but each of them held a one-third partnership in the other businesses. If one was having trouble, they all were. And right now, Jessie was the one on the edge of financial ruin. She was the one single-handedly destroying the legacy their parents had spent their lives creating. She was beginning to believe that was her only area of expertise—letting everyone down.

  She couldn’t let her siblings suffer so she could chase her dream of turning Heart Fire Ranch into a horse rescue and rehabilitation facility. Even if the thought of running Heart Fire as a dude ranch again made her skin crawl. She had only done it because it was what her parents wanted. When she was a teenager, they had needed her help. Justin and Julia had wanted to go to college, but she’d stepped up. Still she had always hated the constant influx of people who saw her way of life as a novelty. She would much rather work with people who understood her love for the animals. Not just city slickers looking for a vacation retreat. Unfortunately, her dreams and sense of pride weren’t paying the bills.

  “Fine,” she finally agreed. “Call him. I’ll hear him out, but only because I love you.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that. He’s flying in on Friday. I’ll tell Bailey to clean one of the guest cottages this week and pick him up at the airport.”

  “Wait, what? He can’t stay here. You said talk, not have him come for a visit.”

  “He offered, and I’m not about to turn down a chance like that. Besides, he was my best friend.”

  “Some friend, Justin. You haven’t spoken to him since your senior year of college. He bailed on you, remember?”

  “And I’m sure he had his reasons for leaving. I have to go. Mrs. James just brought in that damn cat again. I’ll come by later.”

  “No, wait! He can’t stay here.”

  The click of Justin disconnecting the call was confirmation that he had gone ahead and done what he wanted without asking her again. Irritation burned in her chest. Her idiot brother had actually invited Nathan out to her ranch without asking her. Jessie shook her head. Just because she rescued horses didn’t mean she wanted a jackass on her ranch.

  Nathan Kerrington scanned the arrivals hall of the Sacramento International Airport as he waited for his luggage to come around the carousel. Justin had promised to send someone to pick him up, but he had no idea who he should be watching for. He prayed it wouldn’t be Jessie. After the way he’d left things with her, he was surprised she’d even agreed to him coming. Not that he could blame her. He owed her an apology, at the very least, but how did you apologize for taking a woman’s virginity then abandoning her? Hallmark didn’t have a card for that.

  He’d done what he had to protect her, but it didn’t change the fact that he’d hurt two people he’d cared about. He hoped that saving Jessie’s ranch might prove to her he hadn’t meant to hurt either of them. Eventually, he was going to have to tell her the truth: how his father had been prepared to use his wealth and influence to destroy her family’s business, just to maintain control over his son. But Jessie had never been the forgiving type. Nathan pushed aside the memories of the curvaceous eighteen-year-old girl who’d stolen his heart and searched the terminal for a friendly face.

  Nathan half-expected to see a ranch hand waiting for him with some dirty pickup truck belching out smoke and country twang. Justin would do it just to drive him crazy. He couldn’t help but grin as he thought about the trouble they’d caused in college. When he’d initially moved into the residence hall and found out his roommate was a hillbilly country boy, Nathan had cringed. Back then, neither would’ve guessed they had anything in common, let alone that they would become inseparable. At least, until his father realized he could use the friendship to twist Nathan to do his bidding. It wasn’t the first time his father had tried to use people Nathan cared about to get his way, but turning his back on Justin and Jess had cost him more than any other.

  He reached for his Balenciaga bag, slinging it over his shoulder, and looked around the nearly deserted airport. Arriving at two in the morning wasn’t his usual style, but something in Justin’s voice told him this matter was urgent, so he caught the first flight out. He rubbed his eyes, feeling the grit behind the lids.

  What he wouldn’t give for a limo and a nice aged scotch right now. He took a few steps toward the front doors, wondering where his ride was, when he saw the young girl, barely awake in a plastic chair. With her hair pulled back in a ponytail, ripped jeans, and worn T-shirt bearing the name of a band he didn’t recognize, she reminded him of a street-smart version of his little sister.

  She looked too much like Justin to not assume she was family. She rose when he walked toward her. “Nathan?”

  He narrowed his green eyes. “Yes, and you are?”

  She thrust out a hand. “I’m Bailey. Justin asked me to come pick you up.”

  He crossed his arms, wondering if he was really going to let this teenager drive him to the ranch or if he should just call a cab. “How old are you, sixteen?”

  She cocked her head to the side and glared at him, planting her fists at her hips. “Almost twenty-two, thank you very much.”

  Nathan quirked a brow at her tone. The girl had spunk; he’d give her that. Few people dared talk to him the way she did, and he grinned, feelin
g like Dorothy. This wasn’t his Kansas anymore. He was definitely out of his element. “I’m sorry. But don’t sweat looking young, kid. You’ll love it when you’re my age.”

  She eyed him skeptically. “Because you’re so ancient, right?” She headed for the front doors, pulling the keys from her pocket and spinning them around her finger, leaving him no choice but to follow. “And, don’t ever call me kid again, if you know what’s good for you.”

  “I remember you.” Nathan chuckled at her spirit and hurried after her, his long legs eating up the distance between them quickly. “You were that skinny cheerleader who followed Justin and me around when I stayed at the ranch that summer.”

  She stopped midstride and spun back toward him. Nathan almost ran into the back of her, catching himself with his hands on her shoulders. At the sudden stop, his bag swung forward and banged against her ribs, knocking her back a step. “Slow down, Wall Street. We’re not in a hurry, and we’ve got a long drive ahead of us.” She eyed him, taking in his gray Armani suit. “Justin says you’re some kind of genius.”

  Genius wasn’t the term he would use. Leave it to Justin to exaggerate. He was pretty successful at restructuring flailing businesses, and it had become something of a niche for him as a consultant. But he was used to financial renovations, not rebuilding them from nothing. From the sound of things, Jessie needed a small miracle. He wasn’t sure about all the details but, according to Justin, after their parents’ death six months ago, the dude ranch had sunk into the red.

  “Not the way I’d put it.”

  Bailey laughed. “What kind of genius wears that to a dude ranch? I mean I thought I’d seen a lot of people come and go on the ranch but you beat them all.”

  He arched a brow and, for the hundredth time in the last few hours, regretted caving to Justin’s request. He didn’t belong out here. A horse ranch didn’t fall into his wheelhouse of expertise. The summer he’d spent here, he’d been completely useless until Justin had taught him how to use a hammer and nails to help mend fences. Stacking hay and building corrals didn’t take a business degree to figure out, but the Harts had welcomed him anyway. He owed Jessie, and from the worry he’d heard in his friend’s voice, there wasn’t time to waste.

  He followed Bailey across the street to the short-term parking lot. She pressed a button on her key fob, and he heard an alarm chirp in the distance and a truck roar to life. Nathan’s brows shot up on his forehead. If the truck had an autostart function, it was fairly new. His cynical nature immediately kicked in as Bailey unlocked the enormous black four-door 4×4. Nathan dropped his bag on the immaculate leather seat in the back before climbing in.

  “Nice truck,” he said, hoping Bailey might provide him with a little more information. If this was a recent purchase on behalf of the horse ranch, it might be indicative of Jessie’s spending habits and explain the trouble she was in. He didn’t remember Jessie being a diva, but it had been nearly eight years. People changed. He sure had.

  “I wish it was mine.” She hopped into the driver’s seat and slipped the key into the ignition. “But when Uncle Colton’s truck died on Jessie, my dad made sure his dealership gave her a great deal on this one.”

  “So, your father owns a car dealership?” She nodded, glancing his way as she maneuvered onto the highway. “Do you work for him? Or Justin?”

  She frowned, watching the traffic. “I’m sort of all over the place, wherever my cousins need me. Today, that meant cleaning your cabin at the ranch and picking you up. Most days, I’m at Justin’s clinic.” Bailey glanced his way and waved a hand dramatically. “I guess you could say I go wherever the wind blows.”

  The sarcasm in her voice wasn’t lost on him, and Nathan let the conversation drop as she turned off the main highway and headed out of town. There was no sense in alienating his best informational resource within the first hour of this trip.

  “Do you mind if I turn on the radio?” he asked. AC/DC blared in the cab, and Nathan hid the smile that wanted to creep to his lips. Not exactly what he’d expected from the petite girl in worn cowboy boots, but obviously she was more like Jessie than he first expected and just as full of surprises.

  He couldn’t help but smile as he thought about the first time he’d seen Jessie giving a group of wannabe cowboys a lesson in manners when they’d dared to catcall her. Like Bailey, she had an indomitable spirit and a smart mouth to match. With her fiery temper and quick laughter, she’d kept him on his toes all summer. When she wasn’t teasing him about trying to learn something new like fixing fences and building a lean-to, she was tempting him with her sweet lips and quiet sighs in the darkness. Like a lightning storm, their time together had been electric and exciting but too short-lived.

  He’d allowed his father’s threats to cloud his judgment and let her slip through his fingers. By the time he’d realized what he’d given up, it was too late.

  Nathan sighed. He’d burned his bridge with Jessie a long time ago. He’d been shocked when his secretary told him Justin Hart had called, but even more flabbergasted when he mentioned that Jessie wanted his help. Knowing Justin as well as he had, the fact that Nathan’s face had never been beaten meant Jessie hadn’t told him about what happened between them.

  Maybe she’d never cared about him the way he thought she had; maybe she’d moved on. Maybe she’d never even thought twice about the fact that he’d never called. If she’d held a grudge, she never would have allowed Justin to reach out to him at all. He tried to convince himself this job would be easy. If he could pinpoint the issue quickly, he could be back in New York before the weekend. And maybe this was all wishful thinking.

  And see where it all began with the award-winning

  Rodeo Queen

  The drawling voice of the rodeo announcer boomed over the loudspeakers. “Ladies and gentleman, we’d like to welcome you to the Fifty-first Annual West Hills Roundup Rodeo! But first, let's have one last look at the ladies vying for the title of your rodeo queen!”

  The array of glitter, sequins, and beads was dazzling in the April sunlight, nearly blinding her. She patted her dapple gray stallion to calm him as he shifted eagerly at the end of the line, kicking up dust in the newly tilled rodeo arena. Sydney looked down the line of young women on horseback, spotted her friend Alicia first in line, and gave her a reassuring smile.

  “First, let’s welcome Alicia Kanani!” Sydney watched as her best friend coaxed her gelding from the line, taking off into a slow lope along the fence. Alicia cocked a two-fingered salute to the crowd, her black tuxedo shirt glittering with silver and gold sequins, before filing back into the line of contestants. The next seven contestants duplicated Alicia’s queen run. “And, last but not least, Sydney Thomas!”

  Pressing her heels into Valentino’s sides, Sydney made a kissing sound to the stallion as he took off from the line like a bullet from a gun. Leaning over his neck, Sydney snapped a sharp military salute while facing the audience. The sequins of her vest were a blinding flash of red light as Valentino stretched his body into a full run, his ears pinned against his head. Sydney reveled in the moment of flight as she and the horse became one, his hooves seeming to float over the tilled earth. As they rounded the last corner, Valentino slowed to a lope and Sydney sat up in the saddle. Reaching the end of the line, Sydney sat deep into her saddle, cueing the horse to bury his hocks in the soft dirt and slide to a dramatic stop. As the blood pounding in her ears subsided to a mild roar, she could still hear the audience cheering.

  “There you have it, ladies and gentlemen, your contestants for West Hills Roundup Queen,” the announcer repeated. “May I have the envelope, please?”

  Glancing at the fence line, Sydney caught her brother’s gaze as he winked and gave her a thumbs-up. She smiled, appreciating that he had come to cheer her on when he had his own event to prepare for. The “crowd” was sparse in the morning hours before the rodeo actually began. It was mostly family and friends of the queen contestants and a few rodeo competitors who p
erformed before the rodeo due to too many entrants in their events.

  “Without any further fanfare,” the announcer paused for effect as the meager crowd immediately quieted to a hush. “Your princess this year is . . . Alicia Kanani!” Cheers erupted from the grassy hillside where Alicia’s family was seated with Sydney’s. She cheered from the line, excited for her friend. “And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for . . .”

  Sydney’s heart raced. She felt it in her throat and in her toes at the same time as she waited for the name of the new queen to be called. Only her brother, Chris, knew how many hours of training and preparation had gone into this competition, all in hopes of having her name come to be associated with the best horse trainers in rodeo. As queen, she would be attending rodeos all over California, meeting and networking with stock contractors and other rodeo participants. She hoped that it would all lead to more exposure for her mounts, which meant more horses to train.

  “The new West Hills Roundup Queen is . . . drum roll please . . . Sydney Thomas!” The applause rose to a roar on the hillside again as Sydney’s family rose, laughing, cheering, and hugging one another. Sydney edged Valentino forward as the previous year’s rodeo queen placed the silver-and-rhinestone crown on her red cowboy hat. She was soon encircled by the other contestants, who offered congratulations as they exited the arena and headed for the horse trailers.

  They’d barely dismounted at Sydney’s trailer when Alicia tackled her with an enthusiastic hug. “I can’t believe we did it! You won!”

  Sydney opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by the massive arms that lifted her from behind and spun her around. “Congratulations, Queenie.”

  “Chris, put me down,” she squealed. As her boots touched the ground she slapped him on the shoulder. Her brother might be a year younger than she was, but he’d inherited their father’s tall, lanky frame.