The Reluctant Rancher

by Leigh Riker

  “One of ’em’s a baby—like in Blossom’s tummy,” Nick said.

  Doc raised an eyebrow. “All the more reason. Mothers can be like tigers with their cubs.” He looked at Logan. “I don’t expect Olivia will be happy about this.”

  Logan frowned. “I don’t expect she will.”

  Doc gestured for Logan to help Nick off the table. “Your boy’s all right. Got a lot of spunk. Be a shame if someone else spoiled that.”

  “I hear you, Doc.”

  “Go on now, Nick. Miss Ida has a big red lollipop for you. Would that be something of interest?”

  “Yes!” Nick disappeared in a flash.

  Doc turned to Blossom. “Now, then, young lady. Let’s take a look at you.”

  She didn’t even try to resist. Logan was already seething inside over the stampede. She wouldn’t provoke him further. Doc poked and prodded then stepped back from the exam table.

  “Your little one’s growing like a weed. You sure you’re not carrying twins?” He winked at Logan.

  “Twins run in my family, not Blossom’s,” Logan reminded him.

  “What do you hear from Sawyer these days?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Hmm. Well. It takes all kinds.” Doc patted Blossom’s arm. “Everything seems to be coming along nicely. You haven’t had any pain?”

  “None,” she said. “I feel good. Glad to be alive,” she added.

  He patted her shoulder. “Thanks for coming in. I wouldn’t want anyone here to worry about you—pace the floor tonight waiting for another disaster.” He looked pointedly at Logan.

  Blossom slid from the table without help. “You’ll be the first to know if there’s a problem.”

  * * *

  AS SOON AS Logan and Blossom stepped outside, leaving Nicky behind to say his goodbyes, Libby’s car wheeled into a parking space in front of Doc’s office. She shoved the gearshift into Park then burst from the driver’s seat to face him.

  “Nobody got hurt,” Logan said. He had called her before he called Doc.

  “I knew that picnic was a bad idea.” Her mouth pinched, Libby eyed Blossom then him. “May I speak to you alone?”

  “Sure. Let’s get it over with.”

  He had no doubt what was coming next. Without a glance at him, Blossom got into his truck nearby then rolled up the passenger window.

  “Libby, no one could know beforehand about those bison. When we got to the pond, they were grazing, almost at Grey’s property line. Then Nicky decided to try his new butterfly net and didn’t realize he’d gotten so far from our blanket.”

  “How many times should I try to trust you with him before—”

  “Olivia.”

  “No, I’m finished, Logan.”

  His jaw tensed. “That’s what you think. I have rights to see my son.”

  “Unless you agree to supervised visits somewhere of my choosing—not at the Circle H again—you won’t! By the time you take me back to court, it won’t matter. Nick will be safe.”

  “He’s safe right now!”

  Her mouth turned down. “I know that look on your face. You’d argue about this until you’re blue. Instead, you should admit, at least to yourself, that Nick was in grave danger today.”

  Logan ran a hand over his nape. He could see the worry in her eyes.

  “Yeah, he was.”

  “And where were you when the herd began to stampede?”

  “Getting the horses ready to head home.”

  “Really?” She inclined her head toward Blossom in the truck.

  A twinge of guilt ran through him. Libby was right. He’d gotten lost in Blossom before that, lost his head over her. He could still taste their kisses, longer and deeper than before. “I thought we’d settled that at Nicky’s birthday party.”

  “Obviously not.”

  “Libby, I know you’re afraid of losing him in every way—I don’t blame you. But about Blossom, let it go.”

  “Not when Nick’s welfare is at stake. If you don’t like my terms, then you won’t see him again anytime soon.”

  “You really think that’s in his best interest?” Logan threw up his hands. He had a sudden urge to throttle Olivia, but he didn’t move. “Then I guess it’s time to lawyer up,” he said at last.

  “Please do. I’ll win this time, too.”

  Logan turned away. He sent a silent plea in Blossom’s direction, but she didn’t meet his gaze. Then, before he could gather himself, Nicky burst out the door from Doc’s office with another red lollipop. He ran into Logan’s arms.

  “Thanks, Daddy! We had an exciting day.”

  “Yeah, buddy. We sure did.”

  “Nick, get in the car,” Libby said.

  “Not yet. I need to talk to Daddy.”

  “We’re through talking. In the car. Now.”

  Nicky’s face clouded up. “When will I see him?”

  “We can talk about that later.”

  “You mean, no.” With his head down, he started toward Libby’s car then stopped. He turned and rocketed back to slam into Logan. Crying, he buried his face against him. Logan laid a hand on his head.

  “I don’t like you, Mommy. I want Daddy! I’ll go to the Circle H whenever I want! Every day to see my truck and my Blossoms.”

  As stiff as a post, Libby stood there, arms crossed as if she were the judge and jury. Logan steered Nicky to her car for a hug and received a sticky kiss.

  “See you soon, buddy.” He marched back to Olivia and stood toe-to-toe.

  “One thing.” It wouldn’t matter if he hired the best lawyer in the Midwest—assuming he could afford one—or spent more frustrating weeks in court. “I can’t keep you from denying me access to my own child right now. But I don’t want to hear another word about Blossom Kennedy.”

  “I am not jealous,” Libby said.

  Then she got in to her car. And shut the door in his face.

  * * *

  HER HEART STILL feeling sore after witnessing that exchange, Blossom faced Logan across the kitchen table at the ranch. He had repeated his conversation with Olivia to her on their way home. “I know how frustrated you must feel, but you still have to try for joint custody.”

  Logan’s cell phone rang. He checked the display then grimaced.

  “I have to take this. Sorry.”

  She heard only his part of the conversation, enough to know his boss had called. Not a good sign right now. They needed to have that talk, but when he finally hung up, she could see the truth on his face.

  “Bad timing,” he said. “Bad news.”

  “How bad?”

  “That was Joe. The big boss has been following my progress, too—or the lack of it—and he’s not happy either. I wish I could have taken that last flight Joe offered me. Now there’s another, more important test—a test for me, too,” he added. “He suggested I find a way to get back to Wichita. By tomorrow morning. Yesterday, he said, would have been even better.”

  The words stuck in her throat. “Will you go?”

  “It’s not a redesign this time but brand-new. If I don’t, Joe will give this assignment to a guy named Garvey. We’ve been battling it out for a promotion—the promotion I need to get Nicky back. I have more flight hours than Garvey does, but that won’t matter.”

  “You’ll lose your promotion?”

  He sighed. “The paperwork’s already done, ready to be sent to the higher-ups. Joe said there’s nothing else he can do.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “I’ll be there.” Or else, he wouldn’t have a job.

  Why be surprised? Even disappointed? He was leaving, as he’d always intended to do, and after the picnic had ended in a stampede, he probably couldn’t wait to put the Circle H beh
ind him—no matter what other people thought. If Ken showed up then, she’d have to face him alone.

  “Blossom, if I don’t do as Joe asks this time, I won’t be able to sue Libby. And, after talking with her today, I know it’s going to be one whale of a fight. It’s not bad enough I lost ten years off my life when I saw Nicky heading for those bison—you racing toward him with Sam in the way. Sundance and I couldn’t get there fast enough.”

  “Yet you did.”

  “That hardly counts with Libby.”

  “What about Sam?”

  “I hate leaving him here, but Tobias’s arm is getting better and Willy can pick up any slack for a few days. The other men we use don’t live on the ranch, but they’re here during the day.”

  “You’d really leave the Circle H to some cowhands who—like the barn cats—might disappear tomorrow? They have no stake in this ranch, Logan.”

  He ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t lose this last chance to prove myself with Joe and the company management. This is what I’ve wanted for half my life—and because of Nicky now, too. If I don’t go, I’ll be writing ‘The End’ to my career and to my son.”

  “You’ll also be abandoning your grandfather.” And me, though she couldn’t say that. It was Blossom who’d left that message for Ken, which she hadn’t told Logan about—until now. She had to. “Ken knows where I am,” she said.

  Shock filled his eyes. “How did he find out?”

  She raised her chin. “I called him. This is my fight, Logan. Not Tammy’s.” Not yours either after all. She should have known better than to think she could—or even should—rely on him.

  Logan pushed back his chair. “Blossom, I want to help. But you know what Libby said.”

  “Then you’re as trapped by her as I’ve been by Ken.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  LOGAN PITCHED ANOTHER forkful of straw into Sundance’s empty stall. In the aisle the horse was doing a little dance that looked to him like a samba, but Logan wasn’t smiling. The horse had picked up on his conflicted feelings.

  The picnic with Blossom, those kisses on the blanket that had made him yearn for much more, were now a dim memory. After their quarrel, their fragile relationship seemed finished. Jealous or not, Libby had no reason to worry about Blossom.

  Still, in spite of Joe and his job, he wanted to stay right here. Then Blossom wouldn’t be alone when Ken came to the Circle H—because Logan had no doubt he would. Was the man as vicious as she thought? Or had he convinced her long ago she’d have no choice except to obey him or pay the price?

  He hadn’t been able to get through to her. Or Libby.

  “Boss?”

  Logan scattered straw around the clean stall. “Yeah.”

  Willy stood at the open door. “Got a cow down by the creek. She looks hurt, pretty bad. Want to give me a hand?”

  “You’d better call the vet instead. I’m leaving in fifteen minutes.” Logan had already put his packed bag in his truck. He’d avoided seeing Blossom or saying another word to her. If he did, he’d be tempted to stay, to blow his chances for shared custody. Then where would he be?

  “The vet won’t get here in time.”

  “Well, try,” Logan growled.

  He glanced up to see Willy gaping at him.

  “I’m not a rancher,” Logan said. He felt bad for the cow but... “Maybe it’s time to put the Circle H on the market.”

  “Sawyer won’t agree to that.”

  Logan scowled. This was all he needed right now: cowboy logic.

  “How do you know? You’ve never met my brother.”

  “I hear tell about him from Sam.”

  “Yeah, well, if Sawyer cared about this place, he’d be here. Wouldn’t he?”

  All the frustration of the past weeks seemed to spill out of him at once. Sawyer hadn’t answered his latest calls either. Willy didn’t deserve his wrath, but then his go-round with Jacques and a black eye were all he really had to fret over.

  “Your sour mood about Blossom?” Willy asked.

  “I told you. She’s off limits.” Logan tossed a last forkful of straw onto the fresh bedding then stepped out into the aisle, nearly knocking Willy off his feet. He wasn’t just angry—disappointed—about today. He was scared—for Blossom. Those few moments at the picnic kept running through his mind, over and over, as the memory of the flood had. Why hadn’t she told him about the call to Ken? “Are you trying to make me even madder than I already am?”

  But with a heavy sigh of defeat, he set the pitchfork against a wall. “Go see to that bison cow. I’ll lend you whatever help I can before I go.”

  By the time Logan had put Sundance in the clean stall then driven a Gator down to the creek, the cow had gotten to her feet. The barbed-wire gash in her side didn’t look good. “The vet can sew her up when he gets here—and bill us like usual.”

  Willy started to smile. “Yes, sir. Boss.”

  Logan realized he’d said us, as if he was part of the Circle H. Part of Blossom’s life, too. He spun around. “One of these days, I’m going to fire you, Willy.”

  “Not when you need me here.”

  Willy, it seemed, had a greater sense of loyalty than Logan did.

  He went back to the barn, then after a last check of all the horses and a pat on the neck for Cyclone—who was going to train the colt now?—he headed for his truck. I’m not a cowboy. He would be in Wichita tonight, in time to fly tomorrow morning. To save his job, his promotion...and regain custody of Nicky. In doing so, he’d already lost Blossom and her trust in him.

  Halfway down the driveway he’d hated to even look at for the past three years, it struck him like another bolt of lightning: he was as big a coward as Libby was about Nicky’s safety. Now he’d added his fears for Blossom to the mix. He was leaving her here. With Willy. To fend for herself.

  Jamming on the brakes, he put the truck in Reverse, made a quick three-point turn then started back to the house. He would tell her he loved her. Now. He’d be here for her. Later, he’d worry about Wichita.

  That was when he glanced in his rearview mirror and saw the car rushing along the drive behind him.

  * * *

  COMING FROM THE kitchen to the living room windows a moment later, Blossom watched the lone car come.

  For the past hour she’d been venting her anger at Logan, her fears of Ken, on every pot in the cupboards. She’d washed them all, banging metal against the porcelain sink, running water hot enough to burn her hands.

  How could Logan abandon his grandfather? Even for Nick’s sake? Surely, there was another solution instead of running back to Wichita. Leaving Sam virtually alone. Leaving her.

  She had to think of her baby first.

  Oddly now, faced with what she’d feared most, she felt a growing sense of inner calm. She was certain it was Ken in that car. It didn’t matter how he had found the Circle H itself. Unlike Logan, she wouldn’t run again. She watched Ken brake at the edge of the front walk then climb out of the luxury rental she’d expected—and squared her shoulders. Strange, he didn’t look nearly as tall, as solid, as menacing as she remembered. Against the vastness of the wide-open prairie, that big inverted blue bowl of Kansas sky, he looked somehow...small.

  Make a stand. Shadow had said much the same. Even the stranger at the motel had said so, in his way. And all this time, she’d been afraid. Still, she had called Ken herself, tried to protect Tammy. She’d made her choice—and with their quarrel lost Logan. She had to do this. On her own.

  Blossom went
out to the porch. Ken stood at the foot of the steps, looking up at her now when he’d always looked down on her before, eyeing her with that smug smile she had despised, the smirk that had always frightened her. There would be no hiding her condition. She didn’t want to hide.

  “I’m pregnant,” she said.

  His brown eyes widened in obvious surprise. “When were you going to tell me?” His smile turned into a frown. “Bet that friend of yours knew. This isn’t the best time for us to have a kid.” Which was what he’d always told her. “But what do you know? Surprise, surprise. I’m going to be a daddy.”

  No, you’re not. The thought hadn’t left her mind before a shadowy figure suddenly appeared at the screen door holding a gun.

  Sam.

  * * *

  SAM CRADLED THE SHOTGUN. His blood pounding hard, he pushed open the door, letting it bang back against the house. He had a pocketful of extra ammunition and wouldn’t hesitate to use it. He’d seen the man barrel along the driveway, kicking up stones and raising dirt. Just before that, he’d seen Logan’s truck get halfway down then turn around, flying back toward the barn ahead of the car. Where was he now?

  Sam didn’t hesitate to use the lie. “You’re on my property. You don’t want to get blasted full of lead, go.”

  Ken glanced up at him. “This is between me and Blossom, old man.”

  “No,” he said. “Right now this is you and me. You heard what I said.”

  “Sam.” Blossom held up a hand. “Let me do this.”

  Weaving just a little, he moved toward the steps. “Not alone,” he said.

  He loved Blossom like a daughter. What kind of man was he, even with a cast on his leg, if he couldn’t defend an innocent woman? And this was the house, the land, where all his memories lived. Darned if he’d let them be tainted. Muriel, the boys...the plot of ground on the hill where she lay buried. Even the bison he’d raised then sold at market before his accident were still his. His hard work had built this ranch even if it wasn’t truly his own. This was his home place.

  He would defend it—Blossom and her baby—with his life.