Best of Cowboys Bundle

by Vicki Lewis Thompson, Barbara White Daille, Judy Christenberry, Christine Wenger, Shirley Rogers, Crystal Green, Nina Bruhns, Candance Schuler, Carole Mortimer

  “Stay!” she ordered the dogs when she realized they’d followed her. Taking a deep breath, she rushed inside the barn to free the horses. Already restless, they milled about in their stalls.

  It wasn’t until she’d released the first horse that she realized the seriousness of the fire. It had spread from the roof and now engulfed the sides of the old structure. She yelled and flapped her arms at the horse she was trying to free. His eyes wild, he finally raced toward the door. Shaking, she jerked her wet shirt out of her jeans, ripped it open, then held a part of it over her mouth and nose as she made her way to the next stall.

  By the time she’d freed the last horse, the barn was completely consumed with smoke so thick she could barely breathe. With each step Mary Beth could feel herself becoming disoriented.

  Oh, God! You have to get out now!

  Then she heard Lightning and Lady. Barely able to see the door, she staggered in the direction of their persistent barks. Her lungs burned from the smoke, and she stumbled and nearly fell. Regaining her balance, she struggled a little farther, then dropped to her knees on the dirt just as she made it outside.

  Choking, gasping for air, Mary Beth half crawled, half dragged herself away from the burning building as the rain beat down on her. Barking wildly, Lightning and Lady ran up to her, their cold noses sniffing her face. She hugged them to her, thankful that their barks had led her to safety. Struggling to her feet, she turned around. Then she screamed.

  The fire had spread to the house. Despair overwhelmed her as all she could do was watch it burn. Flames licked up the side of it and engulfed the roof.

  “No!” She darted forward, then stopped in her tracks. There was no way she could stop the fire. Not on her own.

  Tears rolled down her cheeks. She was going to lose her home. Everything she’d worked so hard to achieve. Lost. She’d thought she hated this house and everything it represented. But she didn’t.

  The memory box!

  Mary Beth bolted for the front door. She had to save it!

  Eleven

  D eke held Mary Beth’s hand while she slept, concern etched on his brow.

  She’d remained semiunconscious for the past two days. Her doctor had assured him that she should soon recover from her concussion. He wanted to believe that, but other than occasionally moving restlessly in her bed, Mary Beth hadn’t shown any other signs of awakening.

  His gaze slowly slid over her, lingering on her pale face. She looked so fragile. He sighed and lifted her hand to his cheek, pressing his lips to her palm. God, it was a miracle that she hadn’t been burned. He sent up a prayer of thanks.

  The afternoon of the fire, he’d arrived at Paradise to find the barn nearly burned to the ground and her house in flames—and Mary Beth nowhere in sight. Deke’s worst fear, that she was still in the house, was confirmed when Lightning and Lady led him to the front door with anxious barks.

  Barely able to see through the dense smoke, Deke had made his way inside and had seen Mary Beth struggling to make her way outside. But just as he’d reached her, a ceiling beam had fallen and struck her in the head. He’d felt his heart stop as she’d staggered, then collapsed to the floor.

  At the sound of the door opening, Deke glanced up as Jake and Ryder walked into the sterile hospital room. His family had stayed with him at the hospital around the clock, lending support and ensuring that Mary Beth received the best of care. Deke didn’t know what he would have done without them.

  “How are you doing?” Jake asked Deke as he walked closer to the bed, his expression solemn as he looked at Mary Beth’s still figure lying on the stark, white sheets.

  “I’m okay.” Deke’s gaze never left Mary Beth.

  “Has there been any change in her condition?”

  Deke shook his head. He swallowed past the hard knot in his throat and squeezed her hand a little tighter.

  Ryder walked over and put his hand on Deke’s shoulder, then very cautiously said, “You know the finals start tomorrow. If you’re gonna get there in time, you’re going to have to leave soon.”

  “Dammit, I know what I have to do!” Letting go of Mary Beth, Deke got abruptly to his feet and shrugged Ryder’s hand from his shoulder.

  I hate you. The angry words he’d said to his father all those years ago ripped through his mind. Those hurtful words had tortured him for years. Now he was so close to fulfilling the promise that he’d made to his father. Only, in order to participate in the finals, he would fail the one person he loved the most.

  Mary Beth.

  Jake and Ryder exchanged a look. “What was that all about, Deke?” Jake asked quietly, raising a dark brow. His youngest brother was the most easygoing of the three of them. Something had him wound tighter than a drum. When Deke remained silent, he said, “C’mon, Deke, talk to us. We want to help you.”

  Deke paced to the window, fighting against the urge to share his shame with his brothers. He wrestled with the decision another moment, then turned to look at them, his expression one of deep remorse.

  “There’s no easy way to say this,” he began, jamming his hands in his pockets. “You wouldn’t remember any of this, Jake, because you were away at school the day Mom and Dad died in that plane crash.” His voice was tight, his throat dry as he spoke. His gaze went to Ryder. “Do you remember what happened the night before?”

  Ryder looked thoughtful, then shook his head. “I’m not sure what you’re getting at,” he said, his expression guarded. “I remember that I was sick the night before with some kind of stomach flu or something. Mom had reconsidered going with Dad, but by morning I was feeling better.”

  Deke didn’t remember any of that. He only remembered the terribly crushing things he’d said to his father. “I had a fight with Dad,” he told them both, and his voice shook. He drew a deep breath, then forged on, “I’d been giving him hell for a couple of months. Ignoring my homework. Skipping chores. Dad had restricted me from leaving the house.”

  “That I remember,” Ryder told him, thinking back.

  “Yeah, well, I was hardheaded and snuck out, anyway.” His eyes began to sting, and he blinked back tears. “Dad discovered that I was gone, and he came after me, showing up at Becky Parson’s house just as we were about to go out to the lake.” Deke didn’t have to explain why he and Becky were going to the lake.

  “He dragged me home. I was embarrassed and angry. The entire ride back I wouldn’t even speak to him.” He gave a twisted smile. “But you know Dad. He never could let anything go. He tried to talk to me, and we ended up having a huge fight.” Deke gritted his teeth, then looked directly at his two brothers.

  “I told him…God, I told him that I hated him.” His face contorted with anguish. He paused as the memories slammed through his mind—the anger and pain, the hard silence that could never be broken. “The next day, he and Mom were killed in that plane crash. I never got the chance to take back what I said,” he admitted, his throat tight. “I never got the chance to tell him I loved him.”

  Jake looked confused. “What does that have to do with the rodeo?”

  “At his grave, I promised Dad that I’d win the championship for him.”

  “And that’s why you’ve pushed yourself so hard on the circuit?”

  Deke nodded, his lips a thin, tight line.

  Jake looked at Ryder, understanding dawning. Their father and Deke had shared a close relationship. Neither he nor Ryder had cared much for the rodeo, but Deke had loved going with their dad. Suddenly it all made sense. Deke had been killing himself for years, risking his life, to keep the promise he’d made.

  To ease his conscience, to try and right the wrongs of his youth.

  “I want to go,” Deke admitted quietly. “I think I have a good chance at winning this year, but—” Closing his eyes, he drew in a deep breath, his heart aching inside his chest. His gaze went to Mary Beth, lying so still on the bed. How could he leave her? He couldn’t stand the thought of her awakening and not finding him by her side. />
  Jake stepped a little closer. “You were just a kid, Deke. Dad knew you didn’t mean what you said. He knew you loved him.”

  Fighting tears, Deke looked away. “I wish I could believe that.”

  Ryder gave Jake a nudge. “I think you’d better tell him.”

  Jake’s brows wrinkled, his expression unsure. “I don’t know.”

  Deke stared at them both. “Tell me what?”

  “I can’t think of a better time, Jake. Deke should know the truth. It’ll help him to understand Dad, and to see that he’s been unnecessarily torturing himself.”

  Jake nodded slowly, then his gaze went to Deke. “None of us is perfect, Deke. We all make mistakes, and we all need forgiveness at one time or another. I have, and so has Ryder. Dad was no exception.”

  “Yeah?” Deke sounded skeptical. He didn’t see how anything Jake could say would ease his pain. His dad had been the perfect father, always there for them.

  “Believe me when I say that I’m not telling you this to hurt you. I would never do that. I’m telling you so you’ll understand that Dad would have been the first person to forgive you for what you said. Early on in his marriage to Mom, Dad had an affair.” He glanced at Ryder, and with his look of encouragement, told Deke what he’d learned after their parents had been killed. “When I took over the ranch, I found some legal documents among Dad’s things. He fathered me with another woman.”

  “What?” Stunned, Deke could hardly breathe.

  “It’s true,” Ryder added. “I’ve seen the papers myself. Mom adopted Jake when he was just a few days old. We don’t really know the story behind his birth, who his biological mother was or anything.”

  “I know it’s hard to believe.” Jake touched Deke’s shoulder.

  “Sheesh.” Deke looked into Jake’s eyes. He’d never lied to him, so he knew that what he’d said was true. They were actually half brothers. It made sense, he thought, in an odd way. His oldest brother didn’t look like the rest of them. He had brown eyes instead of blue, dark brown hair instead of blond. “How do you feel about this?” he asked, concerned.

  “I let it bother me for a long time, but I’ve made peace with what Dad did. Mom had the heart to forgive him. Who was I not to? And she never treated me differently from the rest of you. I know she loved me,” he said with sincerity. “Now you have to make peace with what happened between you and Dad that night. Because Dad loved you, no matter what you said to him.”

  After all these years Deke realized that he’d beaten himself up over an anger that his dad would have understood. And in that moment he felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders. He hugged both of his brothers. Though he still wished he could have talked to his father before he’d died, he no longer felt the pressure to compete in the rodeo to prove his love for him.

  “So, if you want to stay here with Mary Beth, do it with a free conscience,” Jake said. He paused briefly, then added, “I know that you don’t want to leave her. The thing is, I have a feeling that she’d be awfully furious if you missed the rodeo on her account.”

  “I would be.”

  At the sound of Mary Beth’s weak voice, all three men turned at once in the direction of the bed.

  Deke was the first to react, and he hurried to her side. “My God, sweetheart, you’re awake!” he rasped, his heart pounding. He leaned over and smoothed her hair from her face.

  Her eyes fluttered closed, then after a moment, opened lazily. She swallowed thickly, then focused her gaze on Deke.

  Ryder quickly poured some water into a cup, added a straw, then handed it to Deke. He held it to Mary Beth’s lips, and she took a small sip and swallowed. It was deliciously cool to her dry throat. “Thank you,” she whispered. She glanced around the room, then frowned at the IV in her arm. “How long have I been here?” she asked, realizing that she was in the hospital.

  “I’ll let the nurses know she’s awake,” Jake said, turning toward the door.

  Thinking that Deke and Mary Beth might want some privacy, Ryder walked around the bed. “I’ll go with you.”

  “Two days,” Deke told her, nodding at his brothers as they left the room. He took Mary Beth’s hand in his, turned it over and kissed her palm. “How are you feeling?”

  “My head hurts a little, but other than that, I feel okay.”

  “You have a mild concussion. A ceiling beam fell and hit you on the head. I’ve been worried sick about you. My whole family has been.” He gave her a tender smile. “Most of them are in the waiting room. They’ll probably bombard you any moment.”

  She blinked slowly. That explained the presence of his brothers in her room. “What was that about you not going to the rodeo?”

  “I didn’t want to leave you. I wanted to be here when you woke up.”

  “I’m awake now.” She very carefully shook her head. “You can’t miss the finals. You’ve worked so hard for this moment, Deke. And you have a real shot at winning. Besides, I’m fine.”

  “Hush.” He leaned down and briefly kissed her mouth. “We’ll talk about it later.”

  Nodding, she took another deep breath. “The dogs?”

  “They’re fine. They’re at the Bar M.”

  Relieved, she asked, “What happened to the house?”

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said with regret. “We couldn’t save it.” His brothers and the Bar M ranch hands had arrived on the scene right behind Deke. While he and Catherine had rushed Mary Beth to the hospital, they’d worked hard to put the fire out. But it had been too late to do anything except make sure it didn’t spread.

  Mary Beth’s eyes watered. “No one was hurt?” she asked on a gasp.

  “No, everyone’s okay.”

  “Thank God,” she murmured. She bit her lip. “I’m so sorry that you lost everything that you invested in Paradise, Deke.”

  “Don’t worry about it. The important thing is that you’re all right.”

  “I have insurance,” she told him. “I was able to keep it up. So I’ll be able to pay you back.”

  “You’re gonna need that money to rebuild.”

  She wished that was true. But in her heart, there was only one reason for her to rebuild. If Deke loved her, if they had a future together, she’d stay in a heartbeat. But would they ever have a future together? Though he had stayed by her side at the hospital, it didn’t mean that he loved her.

  “There’s no reason to start over again. You know I never planned to stay.” She looked away, hardly able to stand the thought of leaving him.

  “What?” Deke stared at her in disbelief, his heart shattering. What was she talking about? Of course she was going to stay. He wanted her to stay. Dammit, she had to stay!

  “I don’t see any reason to rebuild, Deke. My goal was to make Paradise a success. With your investment, I was on the way to doing that. I’ve proved to myself that I could run the ranch. That’s all I set out to do. I never had any long-term plans to stay.”

  Deke began to panic. He had to talk Mary Beth into staying. While he’d been waiting for her to awaken, he’d been busy making plans. He wanted a chance to show her that he loved her, wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He couldn’t let her leave.

  Turning away, he grabbed her memory box that he’d kept with him at the hospital, thinking it was her connection to Paradise. “I managed to save this,” he said quietly. “You had it in your arms when I carried you out of the house.”

  She blinked back tears. “Oh, Deke!” Lifting her hand, she ran her palm over the lid.

  Leaning down close to her, he whispered, “Mary Beth, if you ever risk your life like that again, I swear I’ll spank you.” His kissed her lips, then gazed into her eyes. “You scared me half to death, sweetheart.”

  Looking appropriately chastised, she bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t thinking. I just reacted.” Her gaze inspected him, then went back to his face. “You’re okay, aren’t you?”

  “I’m fine,” Deke said, kissing her mouth ag
ain. This time he let his lips linger. He nipped her bottom lip with his teeth, then soothed it with his tongue.

  Mary Beth moaned, then slid her arms around his neck and drew him closer. She loved him so much, her response to him was automatic. Her mouth opened in invitation, and he deepened the kiss. When he finally lifted his head, they were both breathing hard.

  “Keep that up, and I’m gonna have to climb in that bed with you.”

  Blushing, she touched his face. Before she could say anything, the door opened and a crowd of people poured in and swarmed around her bed. Lynn and Russ Logan reached her first.

  Lynn softly brushed the back of her hand against Mary Beth’s cheek. “We were so worried about you, Mary Beth. You look flushed. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine,” Mary Beth assured her, knowing her warm cheeks had absolutely nothing to do with her injury. Jake, Catherine and Ryder came closer. Then Mary Beth saw Matthew. She smiled at him, and he winked at her.

  “Thank you all for being here,” she said, overwhelmed by their concern. She envied Deke his supportive and loving family.

  “Let’s give her some breathing space.” Ryder nudged his sister out of the way to make room for the doctor.

  An older gentleman with white hair and black-rimmed glasses appeared beside her bed. Mary Beth turned her head toward him.

  “So, you are awake. Good. How do you feel?”

  “Other than a slight headache, I feel fine,” she assured him. She was anxious to get out of the hospital. Of course, she wasn’t sure where she’d be going. She no longer had a home.

  The doctor raised her bed, which lifted her into a sitting position. He asked her some questions, then made some notes on her chart. Everyone watched in silence as he flashed a light into her eyes and listened to her heartbeat with his stethoscope. Quietly chatting among themselves, they awaited his prognosis.