by Sara Orwig
At half past four, she heard a motor and glanced out to see a pickup she didn’t recognize coming up the road.
She went downstairs and outside into the sunshine, shielding her eyes with her hand. As the pickup slowed and neared the back gate, she was startled to see it was Josh Kellogg driving, and her father was riding beside him.
She stared in surprise, then she rushed to meet them. Something had to have happened for Josh to be bringing her father home.
With her heart pounding, she ran through the gate and waited. Her fears were confirmed when Josh jumped out and came around the pickup, giving her a solemn, worried look.
“Your dad isn’t feeling well, Ashley,” he said. “He wouldn’t let me take him to the hospital.”
When Josh opened the door and helped Quinn out, fear chilled her. She knew something terrible must have happened for her dad to lean on Josh. Quinn’s face was ashen.
“Dad, why didn’t you go to the hospital?” she cried. “I’m going to call Dr. Bradley right now.”
“Calm down, Ashley,” her father said. “I’ve taken my heart medicine and I don’t want to go to a damned hospital. I just wanted to come home.”
“I’m calling Dr. Bradley,” Ashley repeated. She dashed ahead to the house and phoned, her fingers shaking as she punched numbers. She talked briefly to a physician she had known all her life and then hung up.
“He’s coming over,” she said, when she entered the family room. Quinn was stretched on the couch while Josh was pulling off his boots. The contrast in the two men made her aware how frail her father had become. Josh was tanned, muscled and fit. He moved with ease and his jeans and T-shirt revealed the flex of muscles. Her father on the other hand, was thin, pale, and appeared helpless.
“Now Karl doesn’t need to come over here,” Quinn said with his eyes closed. “I just got woozy. I feel better already. You’re making a mountain out of this when it’s nothing.”
“Karl said he’d be here in about twenty minutes,” she said.
“Josh, thanks,” Quinn said. “You want to sit down a while? Ashley can get you iced tea or pop.”
“Thanks, sir,” Josh replied, “but I’ll get on back.” He stood at the foot of the couch with his hands on his hips, a frown creasing his forehead while the worry in his green eyes frightened Ashley even more. Josh was tough just like her father and the other men who were ranchers. Whatever had happened had to be terrible for Josh to look so worried. “I’ll get your truck and bring it to you, sir,” Josh added.
“Don’t bother,” Quinn replied without opening his eyes. “We can send someone for it. Ashley will take care of it.”
“I don’t mind at all and I’m going back there anyway,” Josh insisted. “You take care now.”
“Thanks,” Quinn replied with his eyes still closed. He looked ashen and frail on the big sofa and Ashley wanted to throw herself down and hug him, but she suspected that wouldn’t help anything.
“I’ll see Josh out, Dad. Call if you want me.”
She left the room with Josh, both silent, but once they were away from the family room, she said, “Thanks for bringing Dad home.”
“Sure. It was no trouble.”
When they went outside, she paused and turned to face Josh. “Now please tell me what happened.”
“Your dad collapsed, but he didn’t lose consciousness. Otherwise we would have called an ambulance. And probably should have. Ashley, he isn’t well.”
“I know that,” she said softly, fighting back tears.
Josh gazed at her solemnly while wind caught locks of his brown hair. “I’m glad the doctor is coming. I wanted to take your dad to the hospital, but he wouldn’t hear of it and he wouldn’t let anyone call an ambulance. Even when he’s sick, your dad can be pretty forceful.”
“I know that, too. Thank you so much for taking care of him.”
“I was glad to, but he needs to see someone. He could hardly breathe for a while there. He just crumpled. Sorry to worry you, but you better know what happened.”
“I’m glad to know.” They paused beside Josh’s green pickup. “He works harder than he should,” Ashley added, lost in thought about her father.
“Yeah, I can understand. This size ranch takes a heap of attention.”
She tilted her head to study Josh. “I want to ask you something. You’ve known Gabe Brant all your life, haven’t you?”
“Yep.”
“Well, he’s proposed to me.”
Josh’s dark brows arched, otherwise, he didn’t look surprised. “A Brant and a Ryder getting married?”
“It would be a paper marriage. But I have to give it thought.”
“Why in blue blazes would Gabe want to do that?”
“He wants more land.”
“Of course,” Josh said. “That sounds like Gabe. Since he lost Ella, he’s eaten up with ambition. I work hard because I have to. Gabe works hard because he’s driven by grief.”
“I’m sorry if that’s why, although Dad thinks he was always that way.”
Josh grinned. “No Ryder has kind thoughts about a Brant and vice versa.” His grin faded. “You’re considering Gabe’s offer. What do you get out of it?”
“Someone to help run this ranch—and the Ryder money.”
Josh looked beyond her. “A paper marriage is a damned weird thing, but he may have made you a good offer. Your dad probably needs help badly, and Gabe has the money and resources to get any ranch running smoothly. That’s why y’all were out together last night?”
“Yes, it is.”
“I should have guessed. Gabe has told me he’ll never love anyone again after Ella. I’ve never seen a man grieve like he has. ’Course, losing his parents too was another big blow.” Josh looked over his shoulder, his gaze taking stock of the ranch. “Why doesn’t Gus just take over?”
“Dad won’t let him. Gus has always worked for Dad, and Dad just doesn’t know how to step down and turn it over to Gus, and Gus isn’t going to take charge until Dad tells him to.”
“I can see that. Well, I can tell you one thing, Ashley, Gabe will live up to his promises. He’s my best friend, and he’ll keep his word.”
“You feel sure about that?”
“I’d trust him with my life. You can count on him to do what he promises. On the other hand, if there’s something he’s not telling you, that’s another matter. I’d get everything straight and clear going into it because he is ambitious and right now, he’s trying to drive his grief away with work.”
“Thanks for your opinion. I was going to tell him no tonight,” she said, glancing back at the house, “but seeing my dad like this, I think I just changed my mind. Dad’s more important than the ranch.”
“I would say a marriage of convenience to Gabe might be the lesser of two evils unless you don’t think you can stand to have him around. There are sure no guarantees with love—look at my dad and his six marriages.” Josh climbed into his truck and looked at her through the open window.
“I’d offer to come over here and help your dad, but I’m spread so thin, I can just barely keep my place going.”
“Don’t worry,” she said, touched by his concern. “We each have our problems to work out. Even my uncles can’t do anything to help because of their own problems. And dad isn’t able to help them.”
“Yeah, we’ve all got problems. Well, if you decide to marry Gabe, I don’t envy you or Gabe when it comes to telling your relatives. That’ll stir up the next three counties like nothing has in this century.”
“I can’t worry about my relatives. It’s Dad that I’m concerned for.”
“I’ll bring your truck home in a little while.”
“Thanks, Josh. Thanks for bringing Dad home. And I better get back to him now.”
She turned to hurry inside, checking on Quinn and then going to call Gabe on the kitchen phone and cancel their date that night. She didn’t want to leave her father alone. Ashley went in to sit with him and found him asleep. As sh
e watched the slow rise and fall of his chest, she mulled over the future and knew what she had to do.
All day at the Triple R, Gabe was kept busy by problems caused by the storm—a downed fence, a truck mired in mud, a windmill broken by wind gusts. When he got in, as soon as he had greeted Julian, Gabe listened to the message from Ashley and wondered if her father’s collapse would push her closer to accepting his offer.
He picked up the phone to call her, changing their dinner date to the following night. When he hung up the receiver, he gazed into space, recalling their kiss that had started his pulse racing. Sparks flew when he was with her, and her kiss had been magic, heating him like wildfire.
Even if she turned down his proposal, he wanted to date her. Ashley Ryder was sexy and appealing even when she was seven months pregnant. A sperm-bank baby. He admired her for setting the course for her own life. It took courage to decide to have a baby by herself. Ashley looked like she could be good for Julian.
Gabe closed his eyes and thought about her kisses again. Finally, he got up, knowing he’d better get Ashley out of his thoughts if he wanted to get any sleep tonight. He shook his head, amused at himself. For three years he hadn’t been able to sleep because of grief and memories that hurt. Now Ashley was taking him out of his grief, but now he couldn’t sleep because he was so stirred up over her.
It wasn’t until Julian was tucked into bed and asleep that night that Gabe’s thoughts turned back to Ashley. Ashley had told him that Josh had brought Quinn home today.
For a few minutes Gabe thought about Josh. He had as many problems as the Ryders. Josh’s old man had died a year ago, but not before gambling and drinking away every cent the Kelloggs had, running the ranch into the red, going through six wives. Now Josh was trying to save the Kellogg ranch. Gabe had offered to loan him money or help however he could, but Josh was determined to do it on his own. On his own, and with his bank’s cooperation. It amazed Gabe how Josh had stayed friends with all his father’s ex-wives. Josh didn’t date, was as solitary as an owl, but he was good friends with each one of his stepmothers.
He, Josh and Wyatt Sawyer had been best friends since they were little kids in school in Stallion Pass. Wyatt had gotten himself into trouble with a local girl and had disappeared. Not even Josh or Gabe knew where he had gone. Wyatt’s old man was still alive, making money like crazy, one of the most successful cattlemen around, but he was meaner than a snake, and Gabe hated him for all the terrible things he had done to Wyatt. Wyatt may have been wild and always getting in trouble, but a lot of that was because of his old man.
Gabe remembered Ashley telling him that the girls thought he and Wyatt were the best-looking guys in Stallion Pass High. Gabe smiled. And all that time, Ashley Ryder had had a crush on him. How he wished she still had that crush. She might feel something when he was close, but he suspected that was nature and hormones and the fact that the beautiful lady had been stuck out alone on her ranch with her father for months now.
Those blue eyes of hers sent him off into erotic daydreams. Her kisses all but melted him. For long periods with Ashley, he didn’t hurt as much or grieve over his losses. He knew he could never love anyone except Ella, but at least his pain and grief were diminishing.
He would just have to wait now to see what she decided. He had given it his best pitch. How much would this latest flare-up of her father’s heart condition influence her?
The following day Quinn was back on his feet, but he stayed around the house and didn’t go out to work. Ashley had sat in the family room with him while Karl Bradley had checked him over and heard the physician tell her dad that if he wanted to live, he’d have to cut back on his work. And she had heard her father’s noncommittal grunt of annoyance which meant he wasn’t going to pay any attention to what his doctor was telling him.
As soon as breakfast was over, she called Gabe and left a message.
Within thirty minutes he returned her call. “You called?”
“Yes,” she said, “I want to talk to you.”
“I can come over right now,” he offered.
“Thanks, that would be nice.”
She replaced the receiver, took a deep breath and went to her room to comb her hair. She wore a green cotton jumper and a white cotton shirt. As she pulled her hair into a ponytail, her thoughts churned over her situation, her dad, their future.
Finally she went downstairs and thrust her head into the family room. “I’ll be outside if you want me. I have a pager if I go to the barn.”
Quinn waved his hand. “I’m fine. You don’t need to hover.”
Ashley smiled and left, going outside to sit on the porch in the shade and wait for Gabe.
It was thirty minutes later when she heard his pickup. He parked in the shade by the gate and climbed out. She hurried to meet him and walked around the pickup. Facing her, Gabe stood with his hands on his hips. He wore a T-shirt with the sleeves ripped out, and he looked fit and handsome and strong. He tossed his wide-brimmed black hat into his pickup and raked his fingers through his hair.
“How’s your dad?”
“He’s better today. His coloring is back to normal. The doctor told him to take it easy.”
“I’m sorry.”
She shrugged. “I spent all last night thinking. We can’t go on like we are, and Dad won’t let Gus take charge.”
Gabe’s pulse jumped as he talked to her. She looked worried, her blue eyes were filled with concern, and his hope grew.
“Marry me, Ashley,” he said. “That would solve some of your problems.”
“It would make new ones.”
“Might at that, but we can work through them. Do you want to marry me?”
The question hung in the air; suddenly he couldn’t breathe. He wanted her to say yes, and it wasn’t just to acquire her ranch.
She bit her lip and looked past him as if deep in thought, yet he had a feeling she had already made a decision.
Five
Squaring her shoulders, Ashley raised her chin.
“Don’t look as if I asked you to throw yourself into a cage of lions.” He stepped closer and touched her cheek.
“It’s scary to go into marriage when there isn’t love.”
“We’re doing pretty well together, I’d say,” he said softly.
“Maybe, but it’s too soon to tell.”
“Just take it a day at a time.” His hand rested on her shoulder, and his pulse still raced. Gabe knew what he wanted. At the same time, he ignored the qualms that assailed him, the memories of a marriage filled with love and happiness, a stark contrast to what he was proposing here.
“What’ll it be, Ashley? Will you marry me?”
Her blue eyes focused on him. “Yes, I will,” she answered. “I have to do something, and your offer looks like the best solution.”
He couldn’t resist. His pulse jumped, and eagerness flashed through him like lightning. He stepped closer, wrapping his arms gently around her to lean forward to kiss her.
Startled, Ashley’s hands flew up to rest on his forearms. And then his mouth covered hers and she forgot all her worries and fears. She was surprised by his reaction, amazed that he seemed happy because she had seen the look that had momentarily clouded his expression, and she could guess why. She gave herself to his kiss, returning it, letting go of questions and cautions. Heat filled her, desire stirring, a longing to have a real union and not a paper one. Could she let go and trust what he said, or was she being taken in by a land-hungry, madly ambitious rancher who was still wrapped in grief over the loss of his loved ones?
Then she didn’t care. She was swept away in his stormy kiss that turned her knees to jelly and made her heart pound. She wound her arm around his neck, curling her fingers in his thick hair. She placed her other hand on his chest, rock-hard with muscles.
She forgot time or place or circumstances as their kiss deepened, awakening a depth of responses. Finally she pushed against him, and he leaned away slightly to look down at he
r.
“It’ll be good between us,” he said in a husky voice.
“You can’t know that,” she said, wondering at his optimism and confidence.
“I’ll try, Ashley. I swear I’ll try to make it good.”
“There are a million questions and things to work out.”
Gabe framed her face with his hands. “Ashley, I’m happy. This is good.”
Her surprise at the enthusiasm in his reaction was tempered by the realization that, after all, he was getting what he wanted. She rubbed her brow. “I’ve got to do something. I don’t want another incident with Dad like yesterday.”
“Stop worrying,” Gabe said gently. “I’ll help, and our marriage will relieve your dad.”
She studied him intently. “You want a quarter of our ranch for your cattle—that’s all?”
“Right. Unless you want to give me more. That’ll allow me to expand a lot. I’d like to keep horses here, but I don’t have many horses.”
“We’ve got a million things to iron out before we can marry,” she said. “Where’ll we live?”
“Come to dinner tonight at my house. Your dad is invited, too. We can make our plans. Does your dad know yet?”
“No, he doesn’t. I wanted to tell you first in case you had changed your mind.”
“Never,” Gabe stated, his dark eyes hard as he looked at her. “Want to go tell him together?”
“I better break the news first.”
“Let me come in with you. Unless it will really upset him, I’d like to talk to him,” Gabe said. He was elated, his mind racing over their future together. And he would see her tonight. She might come with her father, so he wouldn’t get to be alone with her, but they would be alone soon enough. Her kisses set him on fire, and he wanted her in his arms. To his surprise, he realized he wanted her in his bed. He also couldn’t resist imagining the two ranches joined—a sprawling ranch that he’d dreamed about for years now.
They walked to the house, and he knew he’d better think about what he would say to Julian, as well as to Quinn Ryder. When he draped an arm across Ashley’s shoulders, she gave him a sharp look.