Cowboy Sanctuary (The Dixon Ranch)

by Michelle Hughes

  “This is about as perfect as things can get while still on earth,” Brock murmured.

  I nodded in agreement, and a yawn escaped my lips. Brock had worn me out tonight, but I wasn’t complaining at all.

  “Get some sleep, sweetheart. We have tomorrow and all the days of forever to share,” Brick promised. Reaching over Jeremy, I met him and we kissed chastely. “Love you,” he added.

  “I love you more.” Resting back in the bed, I smiled as my eyes closed. I fell into a peaceful sleep and didn’t wake until sunlight filtered through the window. Brock and Jeremy were gone, and I knew Brock had allowed me to sleep in. The smell of coffee wafting up from the kitchen wasn’t the only incentive I slid out of bed for. I pulled on a pair of shorts and walked downstairs to the cutest sight ever.

  Jeremy was in his high chair, and Brock was singing some country song about a tractor to him. The little man was enamored of his daddy as much as I was, smiling broadly at his beautiful singing voice. My cowboy could be on a stage, he sang so sweet. Of course, I didn’t get how a tractor could be sexy, but Jer Bear seemed to appreciate it.

  “You’re going to have to show me this sexy tractor, baby,” I said. Brock looked a little ashamed at being caught singing, but I thought the expression was adorable on him. My country boy could get embarrassed. Who knew it?

  “I’ll bribe with you a cup of coffee to never repeat what ya saw here.” After ruffling little man’s headful of curls, Brock walked over quickly to pour me a cup. I gave Jeremy a quick kiss on the cheek before sliding onto a stool at the breakfast bar.

  Taking my first sip, I moaned in appreciation. A man who could sing, make great coffee, and make my body come alive in the bedroom. He was a keeper. “I think you’ll have to do better than a cup of coffee,” I teased. I grinned at his smirk. He walked over and kissed me passionately, and for a moment I forgot it wasn’t just him and me in the world.

  “That’s all I can give you this morning. Don’t want our boy being traumatized.” Brock chuckled, and Little Man was laughing too, so I joined in. What else could I do? They both had me wrapped around their fingers, and I was OK with that.

  “So what’s on the agenda today?” I needed to change the subject because I was already thinking about being upstairs in his bed again!

  “Well, Ranger and I need to brand some cows. If you want to come watch, I’ll pull out the RTV. That way if Little Man gets tired, you can drive back.”

  I had no idea what that was. “Um . . . Help me out here?” The idea of cows being branded didn’t bother me, but getting from point A to B was a concern with Jeremy.

  He chuckled again, and I rolled my eyes. “Rough terrain vehicle. It’s like a four-wheeler, or golf cart for you, city girl, but it has a seat like a car so you can put Jeremy in his booster.”

  “This city girl might just kick your . . . ” Remembering the little man in earshot, I quickly stopped talking while glaring at Brock. I wasn’t angry. There was so much I still had to learn about living out here.

  “Don’t go getting sore. I’m just teasing you.” The humor in Brock’s eyes said he was enjoying it too. “So you wanna come or not?”

  “Sure. I guess seeing how you do things will help me when I take you up on that bet we never finished,” I said. It seemed like a hundred years ago when I’d told him I could work as hard as he could for a day.

  “I was gonna be nice and forget you said that, but since you brought it up . . . Mom called this morning, and she wants to hang out with Levi and Jeremy tomorrow.

  “It’s on, country boy.” I moved toward the stove and made myself a small plate of the scrambled eggs and bacon Brock had left there. “Have you eaten?” I asked.

  “Yep. Me and Little Man have been up for about an hour. Figured you needed your rest, although you couldn’t get any more beautiful than you already are.” He winked as I sat back down.

  “Kissing up to me won’t help when you lose.” I knew I was letting my head overload my backside, but spending the day with Brock would be all the reward I needed.

  “Eat your breakfast. Can’t have you passing out from being undernourished when we’re out in the field today.” Brock was still picking on me, and I couldn’t do anything but laugh. I hoped all our mornings and evenings ended this way. Maybe not the evenings.

  After eating, we headed to the barn, and Brock went over the RTV with me. It wasn’t much different than a car in many ways, and following out after him on his horse was fun. I planned on using this thing a lot. Jeremy seemed to be having a ball too. We drove over to Travis’s side of the land, where he had the cows in a huge pen not two hundred feet from his house. All of them had gorgeous, ranch-style homes, or so it seemed. I hadn’t seen where Ranger and Susan lived yet.

  “I don’t want you or Jeremy too close, and you’ll see why in a few minutes,” Brock instructed.

  Arguing seemed crazy when I had no idea how cows were branded, so it wasn’t something I planned on doing. My job was to keep Little Man safe, and that was fine by me. Half an hour later, I understood why he’d given the warning.

  They had to rope some of the cows to get them in a thing that looked like a cage. Susan was there helping, and she explained that they used a freezing process instead of heat because it was more humane. The cows didn’t look too happy being pulled in, but they didn’t act like the process was terribly painful. I’d never had my backside frozen with a brand, so what did I know?

  Jeremy and I looked in from outside the gate, and he was watching like this was just some everyday occurrence. I was fascinated. “So why do you brand them?” I asked.

  Ranger had given the tools to Brock and now stood by me and Little Man, sipping on a bottled water.

  “In case of theft. Those ear tags work OK, but a thief can remove those easy. Can’t hide a brand.” The youngest Dixon boy was a flirt, and it didn’t seem to matter that I was with his brother. He winked and looked me over like I was one of the cows.

  “If you’d like to keep your eyes in your head, I’d suggest looking above my chest.” I wasn’t angry, but I did believe limits had to be drawn.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Ranger tipped his hat, smiled, and went back into the pen. Brock punched him in the arm, and Ranger took it, still grinning.

  “Be glad my woman dressed you down, or I’d have to brand you next,” Brock said. These guys were hilarious in their sibling rivalry, but you could see the respect there.

  “Looks like your little lady might take the job on herself if he gets out of line.” Travis winked at me and went back to getting the next cow in the cage.

  “Serves him right, looking at a woman that way,” Susan chimed in. “You’d think Momma didn’t teach you any manners.” I just laughed. Poor guy didn’t have a chance with his family all taking my side.

  Jeremy was getting bored with watching, and I told Brock I was going to drive him around in the RTV. I was proud of remembering the initials. “Just stay where I can see you, darlin’.”

  “Yes, sir,” I replied, rolling my eyes at him. I didn’t like him treating me like I couldn’t take care of myself.

  “You know I didn’t mean it that way. I like looking at you.” His smile shouldn’t have made me give in to that logic, but it did. Smiling back, I buckled Jeremy into his seat and slowly drove him around. I’d found a new way to keep him entertained. Those little hands were flailing wildly, and his laughter warmed my heart.

  That lasted a little while, and then his little eyes started drooping. Pulling back up to the pen, I told Brock I was going to drive Jeremy home for a nap. Brock seemed reluctant for me to go but nodded anyway. I didn’t want to be away from him either, but I had someone else to consider.

  Back at the house, Jeremy fell asleep quickly, and I went downstairs to straighten up a little.

  The phone rang, pulling me away from the chore, and I answered it, hoping it was Brock. Instead, it was one of the agents from the Bureau. He asked if he could come over for a follow-up this afternoon, and as m
uch as I wanted to say no, I knew I couldn’t. After agreeing, I hung up, wondering what I was going to do.

  Mr. Beckman wasn’t a man I wanted to cross. For all I knew he’d taken Derrick out. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Part of me didn’t care, which didn’t say much about my character that I’d want someone gone that way. Still, Derrick had destroyed my sister, and if Brock wasn’t in the picture, Derrick would probably have gotten me killed too. It was hard to have any sympathy for that man.

  A knock on the door took my attention away from my worries. Mary was standing there, and I invited her in. “I stopped by Travis’s, and Brock looked ready to go crazy, so I told him I’d keep you company.” She seemed to find it funny that her son was so worried, but I wasn’t sure if he wasn’t right to be afraid.

  “The FBI is sending an agent over, and I don’t know what to do.” I shouldn’t be troubling Mary with these problems, but what happened next could affect the entire family here.

  “Tell my son to stop what he’s doing and get everyone over here.” The humor left her voice, and a serious expression filled her eyes. I didn’t think to question her. Instead, I pulled out my cell and did as she asked.

  “While we’re waiting, let me see that ring,” Mary said, her eyes softening as I held up my hand for her. “It looks really good on your hand. I’m gonna love having you as a daughter.” She pulled me into her arms and hugged me tightly. I was surprised at the strength of her hold but shouldn’t have been. After watching Susan with the boys, it was apparent the women here pulled their weight.

  “I’ll always do what’s right for him,” I promised her. I needed her to know that and hopefully understand why I’d done what I had. The last thing I wanted was for her to doubt my feelings for her son.

  “As long as that doesn’t involve running off and getting yourself in trouble again, I can accept that.” She squeezed my hand with a small smile. “I know why you did what you did, Dana, but you’ve gotta have more faith in my boy. He will always keep you safe if you’ll let him. It’s hard for us women to accept that we can’t do everything on our own, but neither can they.”

  I understood where she was coming from, and nodded. “It was foolish to go to Chicago, but I didn’t want to see any of you hurt over me,” I explained.

  “That boy of mine loves you with all his heart. Remember that, because you putting yourself in danger will only mean he’ll have to save you. Even at the expense of getting himself killed.” Basically Mary was telling me to never put myself or her son in that kind of situation again. I understood and respected her words.

  “I’m not sure how to keep us out of danger, except to not tell those agents who the men are,” I replied. It wasn’t the right thing to do, but it might be the only way to keep us safe. I’d been raised to respect the law.

  “We’ll talk it over and make a decision. That’s how this family works,” Mary said. She’d included me as family, and my heart overflowed, even knowing that once again I was putting them in a situation they didn’t deserve.

  We headed into the kitchen, and Susan put some water on to make tea. I was growing quite fond of this sweet drink they made. Where I’d lived before, if you asked for sweet tea you got a glass filled with unsweetened tea and some sugar packets. We talked a little about the branding I’d witnessed while we waited for the Dixon gang showed up.

  “You have to tell them the truth,” Travis said once he’d arrived. He could be formidable with his stone-cold look. I turned from that to Brock. His expression wasn’t much better, as his gorgeous jaw held a tick.

  “No one’s gonna ask her to lie because they don’t have to. Remember, this is a family talk and not an inquisition.” Brock didn’t understand the danger it would put us in to turn those men over to the feds.

  “This is something you need to really think about. Those guys will retaliate, and we have no idea how many people they have employed,” I countered. “You weren’t there. They don’t care about the law. If I had to guess, they probably even think they are above it.” I wanted to shelter them from all the horrible things in the world that didn’t seem to touch this ranch.

  “If those pieces of sh . . . ” Ranger stopped talking and looked toward Susan. “ . . . crap, that is, think about starting trouble here, we’ll blast them right back to that stinkin’ place they call home.”

  Crawford shook his head, then said, “Son, I know you mean well, but Dana is back home, and that’s all that really matters. We ain’t hurting for money, and if it means this mess is over with, maybe we should consider dropping it.”

  “It ain’t about the money, even though those crooks don’t deserve a penny of it!” Travis’s voice rose, and his face turned red as he let anger take over. “How many other innocent people are gonna get hurt if we don’t do something?”

  Maybe it was being selfish to think only about Jeremy and my new family, but I couldn’t help it. “What if someone gets hurt because we go after them—or worse, killed? I know what it feels like to lose someone you love that way, and let me tell you, it’s not worth it,” I said.

  “There are other ways to take care of them,” Susan said softly, and she nibbled on her lip. “We could talk to our cousins.” I didn’t understand why she seemed so nervous bringing it up until all eyes turned toward her, looking ready to hang her on the fencepost outside.

  “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.” Mary shook her head and turned toward me. “I think the best thing to do is let the law handle this. We can handle anything they throw our way.”

  “What could your cousins do?” I asked. I was willing to listen to any alternative that didn’t involve putting them in danger. Susan wasn’t meeting my eyes, and I was curious now about these mysterious family members.

  “They ain’t known for being nice guys,” she said. “Let’s just say it’s part of the Dixon family you might not want to get to know unless you have to.” She was wringing her hands and still not looking at me. “They were SEALs.”

  “As in Navy SEALs?” Now I was beginning to understand what she meant. I didn’t know a lot about special ops except what I’d seen in movies. If any of that was true, they could take out an entire city.

  “They were good boys before they went in. Something happened over in Iraq that got them in serious trouble, but it was all classified. No one knows anything except that their ranch is now run by a bunch of former military men just like them. Only time we see them is at the yearly reunion,” Crawford explained, and I was baffled.

  “War changes folks,” Mary said, then sighed and turned to Brock. “You need to tell her later why we don’t associate with them. Right now we need to put it to a vote. Do we work with the law or call in our relatives?” It was apparent that she didn’t want the latter, considering how her lips lifted into a sneer.

  “You know where I stand. We give the information to the FBI and trust them to keep things safe,” Travis said, crossing his massive arms over his chest. His stance said he wasn’t pleased by the idea that anything else was even in play.

  “We could do both? I think we know how those city-slickers do things, so if Dana gives them information, we call in our cousins to at least help keep things in order here,” Brock suggested. Apparently these cousins were a force to be reckoned with if he trusted them to do that.

  “Do you think they can make sure nothing happens here?” I asked. I was willing to do whatever it took to keep the family safe.

  “Let’s just say I wouldn’t want to meet up with them in a dark alley—or the back of a bar, for that matter.” Brock winked at me, but I could still see the worry in his eyes. Was it too much to hope that we could have a simple life together and enjoy what we had?

  “I’ll go along with that,” Crawford said. “Without the cousins being involved, I’d say just let it go, but with them? I’ll agree.” Crawford was the leader of this family; I could see it easily in the way everyone nodded when he gave his word. “Can’t believe I’m gonna have those boys ba
ck here without it being a family thing.” He shook his head, and I worried more about these cousins than the men who had abducted me.

  It was unanimous, and I hoped their faith in their cousins was worthy. Mary began pouring tea like it was all settled, Susan began making sandwiches, and I pitched in until Jeremy started screaming down the walls. When I left them to go get the little man, I was shocked that Brock followed after me.

  “When they get here, you don’t leave my side for a minute,” he instructed. I’d just picked up Jeremy when he spoke those words, and I turned back to look at him in confusion.

  “Your cousins? Why would you worry about that?” If they were that bad, maybe I didn’t want them around this family.

  “Because they’ll fall in love with you, and I’ll have to fight and probably get my ass kicked if I have to take them both on.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh over his comment because it was crazy. “Baby, there’s no man on this earth worthy of taking your place, so who cares if they do? I think you give me way too much credit anyway. I’m not that special.” Lifting on tiptoe, I placed a kiss on Brock’s cheek. Jeremy grabbed a handful of his hair, and we both laughed.

  “Next time you talk down about yourself like that, I will take you over my knee.” Brock carefully inched Jeremy’s fingers from his locks and kissed me soundly, then took the little man. “You are the most special woman in the world, and I’ll fight anyone who tries to take you away. Be wise not to forget it.”

  I headed out of the room with an eye roll. “I’m beginning to think you have too much of a fascination with my ass, cowboy,” I told him. His chuckle was all I heard as I made it downstairs and saw the agent talking with the family. It seemed so strange to see a man in a suit here with everyone else wearing jeans.

  I gave him all the information I had, and he promised that he would do everything he could to make sure those men were brought to justice. Travis walked him outside, and an awkward silence followed until Crawford reminded everyone there was still work to be done. The pile of sandwiches disappeared off the plate as everyone ate quickly. Susan and Mary remained with me and Jeremy as the men went about their business, and we talked about what would happen next.