by Amelia Rose
Her face was blotchy and puffy around her reddened blue eyes. “Nothing,” she answered, obviously lying.
“Emma, come on now, that’s not true,” he said with actual concern in his voice and on his face. “Tell me what the problem is.” He stepped in the door and wrapped his arms around her.
She tried once more to pull it together, repeating, “I’m fine.”
“Sweetheart,” Cole chastised.
That was all it took. Emma began to cry as she clung to him. He felt her bury her face into his chest as she sobbed. He gathered her closer, and then slid a kitchen chair out with his booted foot. He sat down and pulled her into his lap, letting her cuddle as close as she needed to. He rubbed his hand up and down her slim back and let her cry for a bit.
When her sobs lost their intensity and died down to sniffles and gasps, he said, “Ready to talk about it?”
“No,” she said defiantly as she sat up and grabbed a cheerful yellow paper napkin from the holder on her table. “I’m never going to be ready though,” she admitted when he raised an eyebrow at her. “My parents want to come see the ranch. They’re planning a visit in a few weeks.”
“Oh,” Cole said, trying to sound like he understood why that had sent her into fits of sobbing. He knew that things weren’t good between her and her family, but he didn’t think a small visit would cause such hysteria.
“You don’t understand!” Emma wailed.
Cole had no choice but to admit that, no, he actually did not understand in the least little bit. “How about you explain it to me,” he said. “I know that you and your folks don’t exactly get along, but how bad can it be? They aren’t staying for a month or anything, are they?”
“No,” Emma said, blowing her nose. “Thank God, it’s only for a three day weekend. It’s just that...well...the ranch isn’t everything I wanted it to be right now.”
“I thought it was exactly what you wanted to be right now. You’ve got the right amount of stock, the stables are all fixed up--”
“The grass in the front yard is awful! I haven’t fixed up the guest room. I only have eight horses, Cole! Only eight! The flowers are dead.” When Cole gave her a quizzical look, she elaborated. “I planted a rose bush. It died. I can’t believe the horses have survived this long under my care.”
“Horses are little hardier than your average rose bush,” Cole reassured her. “Sweetheart, I promise, you are doing fine. I was just bragging about you to Marshall less than an hour ago.”
“Thanks,” Emma said with a sniffle. “I really do appreciate that. But they won’t think so. And, even though I know that I’m proud of what I’ve done, they won’t be and I’ll feel bad about it. I don’t want them making me feel badly about my ranch!”
“I’ve got something that’ll make you feel good,” Cole said. “At least, I hope it will.”
“What’s that?” she asked. “I’m sorry, Cole. I should have asked what made you ride over tonight.”
“A man can’t want to see the most beautiful woman in the whole state out of the blue?” he demanded.
“Apparently not,” she said dryly. “You said you’ve got something to make me feel better. If it’s chocolate or wine, I am so going to have to ask you to remove your pants.”
“It’s not chocolate or wine. It’s...it’s just that...well...I love you, Emma Carson.”
Her mouth dropped open and she stared at him.
“You what?” she finally whispered.
“I love you,” he said again, trying not to sound too nervous as he scrutinized her face. “I know we haven’t been seeing each other very long, but I--”
His words were cut off by her lips. As her sweet mouth slanted over his, her body pressed close, driving him crazy.
“Oh, Cole,” she whispered breathlessly when she finally tore herself free of the kiss. “That’s the best thing you could have said to me tonight.”
Another long kiss followed and then she pulled back to start unbuttoning his shirt frantically. He reached out and yanked her dress up over her head so she was sitting on his lap wearing nothing but a bra, panties, and thigh high stockings. It was the stockings that had him groaning low in his throat and yanking her close.
“Oh,” she gasped out suddenly, pressing her hands into his chest to gain enough leverage to push back and look into his eyes. “I love you too, Cole McKenna.”
“Well, that’s good to know,” he said agreeably. “Because I’m about to do all kinds of things to you, sweetheart.”
And he did. He had her right there in the kitchen with the back door standing wide open. Even though she knew no one was going to see, she felt a slight thrill at the freedom of it all. Once it was over, she leaned her head on his shoulder and caught her breath.
“Wow,” she whispered. “I think I might even love you a little more now.”
He gave a low laugh and pulled her to her feet to give her a gentle smack on the bottom.
“I can’t blame you there,” he said with a smile. “Ready to get to bed?”
“Always,” she purred, making his raise his eyebrows. It was good to meet a woman who wanted him as much as Emma did. It was especially good because he knew that he’d never get enough of her.
Chapter Eleven
“Cole,” Darrell called a few weeks later as Cole was about to ride out of the yard.
“Yeah?” Cole asked, wheeling Sheriff around and facing his brother who stood framed in the light spilling from the doorway of the house.
“Got a second? Darrell asked.
“Not really,” Cole admitted. “I’m headed over to Emma’s. Her folks are coming in tonight and she wanted me to be there.”
“This won’t take long,” his brother answered. “Come here.”
Darrell didn’t give him time to answer before he turned and walked back into the house. Cole sighed and hitched Sheriff to the nearest post. “Be right back,” he said with a pat on the bay’s nose. “So, what’s up?” he asked as he stepped in and joined Darrell at the table.
“You’re in love with Emma, right?” Darrell asked bluntly.
“Yeah,” Cole answered as if it should have been obvious. Darrell had been there the day after he first spent the night with Emma and Marshall had had plenty of fun dragging the details out of Cole.
“And she feels the same?”
“Yeah,” Cole answered slowly. It really wasn’t like Darrell to...well...talk, really, but especially not about his personal life. “What’s with all the questions?”
“Here,” was all Darrell said as he slid an envelope across his beaten up, more than second hand, kitchen table.
“What is...” Cole found himself trailing off again as he opened the envelope. A thick band of bills lay nestled inside. “What is this?” he said, trying again. His voice came out almost hollow with his shock.
“We’re buying you out,” Darrell said simply. “You aren’t going to want to stick around here much longer. I can tell you’re already getting antsy. You don’t want to leave us high and dry anymore than you want to feel like you’re mooching off of Emma. So, I’m buying your share of the ranch.”
Cole was stunned by the swiftly summed up psychoanalysis, but also by the amount of money.
“Where the hell did this come from?” he asked when he’d caught his breath. “Did you rob a bank, little brother?”
“No,” Darrell said with a laugh when he saw that Cole’s question was at least half serious. “I’ve been saving up for a while. I don’t usually spend my winnings in the rodeos. And then there’s the money I get from Marshall in bets. And a lot of my share of the profits from here.”
Cole protested as he closed the envelope. “Darrell, I can’t take this.”
“Sure you can,” Darrell insisted. “It’s in exchange for your third of the ranch. It’s not like it’s a present. And I promise that once I have two thirds, I won’t run Marshall off in nothing but a potato sack. I’ll at least send him away with a change of clothes.”
&nb
sp; Cole was so flabbergasted, he actually had to make sure Darrell was joking. “Are you sure about this, Darrell?” he asked, his heart threatening to leap out of his chest.
“Yeah,” Darrell answered. “I always kind of thought you’d move on and find your own place. You’re different than me and Marshall.”
“You’ve been saving all this time just so you can buy my share?”
Darrell shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. Didn’t you have somewhere to be? Something about Emma’s parents?”
“Yeah.” Cole stood up and stuffed the money into his jacket pocket, then pulled it back out. “Hang on to it for me tonight, will you? I’ll take it to the bank in the morning.”
Darrell nodded and then grunted in surprise when Cole reached out and pulled him close in a bone crushing bear hug.
“Thanks,” he said gruffly. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“I’ll be here,” Darrell said, his own voice going rough. “See you later.”
Cole rode for Emma’s ranch with his heart pounding in anticipation. The money to leave Silver River. The money to be an equal partner and not a burden to Raven Branch and to Emma. It was almost too much to take in and he tapped Sheriff’s sides with the heels of his boots to hurry the animal along.
“There you are!” Emma exclaimed when he rode into the yard. “Oh God, I think I’m going to die.” She was wringing her hands so fiercely, her fingers had gone white.
“You’re not going to die,” Cole said, taking her hands and rubbing circulation back into her fingers. “It’s all going to be fine. Emma, I’ve got the best news!”
“Oh, really?” she began, but they suddenly heard the crunch of gravel in the driveway. “Oh no! They’re here!” She flew into the house and began filling glasses and putting food in serving bowls.
Cole wasn’t quite sure what she needed him to do, but he was sure he hated her parents at just this moment. All he wanted to do was yell his good news to the world and now it would have to wait until later.
Her parents exited the car slowly, looking over the ranch. The distaste on her mother’s face would have been funny if he wasn’t afraid it would hurt Emma deeply. Her father’s face was set in a scowl, with deeply etched lines to prove that this was nothing new.
Cole walked over to the porch steps and held his hand out. “Hello,” he said politely. “I’m Cole McKenna. It’s nice to meet you.”
The distaste on Mrs. Carson’s face melted away, but his smile did nothing for Mr. Carson. “Hello,” he said gruffly, shaking Cole’s hand in a quick, businesslike way. “I’m Philip Carson. My wife,” he said, with a vague gesture to his left, “Amanda Carson.”
“It’s a pleasure,” Amanda said, holding her hand out, as well.
“Come on in,” Cole said after he shook her hand. “I know Emma’s got a big dinner planned for all of us.”
He allowed her folks to walk in ahead of him, and he saw Emma catch her breath in a nervous gesture he recognized from the early days of knowing her. It killed him a little to know she had once been that nervous of him. He walked in quickly as her parents took their seats and wrapped his arm around her tense shoulders. She glanced up at him.
“What do you need me to do?” he asked.
“Can you put the potatoes in a bowl?” she asked shyly.
“Sure thing, sweetheart.”
Once everything was in place, Cole pulled Emma down into a chair so she would stop fluttering nervously around.
“So,” Emma said. “How was the trip?”
“Awful,” her father answered, stabbing into his meatloaf roughly. “I’d forgotten how god-awful far away this place is from everything important.”
Emma swallowed hard and Cole said, “You can’t have it all. If you want nice views and less pollution, you’ve got to give up twenty-four hour pizza joints.”
“No, thank you,” Amanda said decisively. “Emma, I thought you packed up some decent clothes.”
She’d raised her voice at the end of her statement, but it clearly wasn’t a question. Emma glanced down at herself and Cole followed her gaze. She was wearing one of the dresses she liked to put on once the ranch work was done. She’d bought them in town, saying she loved how soft the cotton was and how bright the colors were. The one she had on now was a pretty red, reminding him of the shirt she’d been wearing the day they met.
“They don’t really work for daily life out here,” Emma said, but her voice sounded meek.
“Besides that,” Cole said. “Why spend a lot of money on clothes when you’re as beautiful as Emma? She could wear anything.”
Her face flushed in appreciation and somehow, they got through an extremely awkward meal. He knew her father’s questions were specifically designed to point out Emma’s flaws in ranching.
“How much stock do you have?” he asked while finishing his meat loaf.
“Eight horses,” Emma answered with a barely visible flinch.
“And how many can you stable here again?”
“Seventy five in the main barn,” she answered.
When he began eating his side dishes, the beans and potatoes, he switched tack. “Did you manage the hay all alone?”
“No,” Emma said proudly. “Cole and his brothers helped.”
“It must have been an expensive wage. Or did they give you a discount because you’re neighbors?”
“I didn’t...I didn’t pay them,” she admitted.
“We were happy to help out,” Cole said, putting his hand on Emma’s knee. It was the wrong thing to do. Her father’s gaze cut into him and he realized that the man was insinuating Emma had offered a very different kind of “payment.” “We helped Hank out a lot over the years, too,” he informed her parents. “It wasn’t easy for him when he got older.”
“Which is why my father should have sold the ranch back then.” Philip neatly folded up his napkin and pushed his plate away. “Emma--”
“Does anyone want dessert?” Emma cut in desperately. “I made an apple pie.”
“Emma,” her father went on inexorably. “This is foolish and we all know it. Eight horses? No help with the haying? No knowledge of everything you need to do to run this place? You think this is a good way to respect your grandfather’s legacy? By running his ranch into the ground?”
“I...” Emma stammered. “I don’t think that I am running Raven Branch into the ground. I--”
“Look around you,” Philip said. “This is a foolish, childish dream. You don’t have the expertise.”
“That’s true,” Cole said, breaking into the conversation suddenly. Emma looked at him in shock.
“Cole,” she whispered, looking incredibly hurt.
“At least that was what I thought when I first heard some city girl was taking over Hank Carson’s place,” he went on, stretching his legs out under the table. “But then I met her and worked with her, and let me tell you both, there isn’t a person, man or woman, more determined to do right by this ranch than your daughter. She loves it just as much as I do.” He turned to Emma and gave her a smile as he went on, “Which is why I hope she’ll let me help her full-time from now on.”
“What do you mean?” she asked in shock.
“Darrell offered to buy me out. I took him up on it. Basically, I’m a homeless cowboy unless you do something about it. I’ve got the knowledge you don’t have yet and...as we’ve discussed...I love you, Emma Carson.”
“I...yes! Oh, my God! Oh, Cole, this is perfect! I have to go and tell Darrell thank you! I should...does he like pie? I could take him some pie!” She didn’t wait for Cole to answer any of that, she just threw herself at him hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs.
“He loves apple pie,” Cole managed to say through his laughter and her choke hold of a hug.
A few moments later, Emma was wrapping up the pie and leaving her befuddled parents sitting in front of their dinner with a promise to be back soon. Cole pulled her up behind him on Sheriff and they headed over to thank hi
s brother. It wasn’t riding off into the sunset exactly, but it was pretty damn close and good enough for both of them.
Epilogue: Six months later
The first of the foals staggered around the smaller fenced area on long, wobbly legs and Emma grinned as proudly as if she’d carried it herself. He promised to be a beautiful horse, bred from the two best out of the eight she’d bought originally. They’d added to the ranch slowly, she and Cole, and she was waiting anxiously for him to come in from his precious soy field and see the baby.