by Jeannie Watt
The one thing he couldn’t do was to ambush her—show up out of the blue—although he’d thought about it more than once. That wasn’t fair.
But it might be effective.
He stopped at the front gate and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Enough was enough. He punched in Cassie’s number, brought the phone to his ear and waited with a sense of grim foreboding.
She didn’t answer.
Travis cursed to himself and shoved the phone into his pocket and started toward the barn where the four-wheeler was parked. It was impossible to walk into the place without thinking about Cassie. The wedding. The goodbye.
Crap.
He’d just swung onto the four-wheeler and was reaching for the ignition when he thought he heard a car pulling up on the soundproof side of the house. He got off the machine and started for the bay door when he definitely heard a car door slam shut.
He wasn’t expecting visitors of any kind. Will and Rosalie were on their honeymoon cruise and it was a Saturday, so there was no package delivery. He was halfway across the drive when Cassie walked around the corner of the house and he stopped dead in his tracks.
He glanced down at the phone in his pocket, then back up at her.
“I thought we could talk in person rather than over the phone,” she said as she stopped a few yards away.
“Why are you here?” He didn’t care about the why, but his brain needed time to come up to speed.
“Big life change.”
“How so?”
She pulled in a breath, then exhaled as she tucked her thumbs into her front pockets. “I double dared my superintendent to find someone to fill my shoes and she did.”
Travis had never in his entire life experienced the sensation of knees going weak, but at that moment, he was close.
“You’re back. And you never thought to give me a heads-up?”
“Are you mad?”
He considered, then slowly shook his head, keeping his gaze locked on hers, as if she might disappear or something.
“I like to take care of one thing at a time,” she explained.
“I kind of noticed that about you.” He gave a shrug. “Recently, in fact.”
“I chose wrong then.”
“I understand your reasoning.”
Cassie looked down at the toes of the boots she’d been wearing when he’d rescued her in the rain. The boots she’d worn when she’d come close to breaking him. “I still have to move my stuff from Wisconsin to Montana, but I’m coming back for good.”
“No kidding.” He cleared his throat, which was getting thick. “Want help moving?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
He didn’t know who moved first. Maybe her, maybe him, but they met in the middle and suddenly he had his stubborn woman back in his arms where she belonged. He pressed his cheek against her hair, barely able to believe that she was there, in his arms, in Montana, and that she wasn’t leaving.
She pulled back to meet his gaze. “Are you going to kiss me or what?”
He kissed her, and when he lifted his head, they were both breathless.
“I missed that,” she said as she planted her palms on the front of his shirt. “I missed you.”
“You could have called,” he said gruffly.
“I needed the time to torture myself into the right decision.”
“And that decision is?” He needed to hear it, to know for a fact where they stood.
“That decision is to put love first in my life. Because I love you, and I believe you when you say you love me.”
He brought his forehead down to lightly touch hers. “I was afraid I was going to have to fly to Wisconsin for a throwdown before you came to that conclusion.”
She gave a small laugh. “Our throwdown days aren’t over, you know.”
He folded her back into his arms. “I know.”
He wouldn’t have it any other way.
EPILOGUE
“YOU CAN’T TAKE full credit for this,” Rosalie murmured to Will, whose chest was swelling to the point that his buttons were in danger as he watched Travis and Cassie playfully arguing over who was going to climb the ladder of death to secure the high end of the evergreen garlands that would spread over the loft to various points on the opposite wall.
The argument ended in a kiss and Will let out a gusty sigh.
“Not taking any credit at all. I’m just glad for the ending.” He slanted a sideways look at her. “You should be glad, too. This barn is going to see a lot of weddings.”
“That it is.” They were preparing for Katie and Brady’s Christmas wedding, and not long after that, Nick and Alex were going to be married at the end of February. They’d decided not to go with the obvious Valentine’s Day wedding, but were anxious to officially start a life together.
Bailey and Kendra were over the moon at having Alex become part of the family, not to mention the heady prospect of having two weddings in a row.
“I’m thinking June,” Will said thoughtfully, as he watched Cassie start up the ladder with the garlands in one hand. “Travis will propose in June.”
“Travis is going to propose in December,” Rosalie said on a note of certainty.
“You don’t know that,” Will said. A suspicious look crossed his face. “Do you?”
“Travis spoke to me this morning. He wanted my opinion on a ring.”
Will’s jaw dropped, then he quickly closed his mouth. “Well,” he said gruffly, “that doesn’t mean he won’t propose in June.”
“Do you think he’ll wait that long?” From the way Travis was hovering beneath the ladder, waiting for his lady to get herself back to safety, it didn’t seem likely.
“I hope not.” Will rolled his shoulders. “No. I do not. And if he starts dithering—”
“You’ll do nothing,” Rosalie said in her no-nonsense voice. Then she smiled at him. “Okay, maybe a small nudge.”
But as it turned out, no nudge was necessary. Rosalie had just turned to the half-grown kitten Bailey held, when Will said, “Look at that,” in a low voice.
Sure enough, Cassie had barely stepped off the ladder when Travis took her hands and went down on one knee.
“He said he wanted to surprise her,” Rosalie said vaguely, her gaze glued on her granddaughter.
Seconds later Cassie gave a nod and then threw herself in Travis’s arms. He swung her in a circle and Will, no longer able to contain himself, yelled, “Did she say yes?”
Travis and Cassie, apparently unaware of how visible they were, gave Will startled looks.
“What’s going on?” Katie asked, coming to stand next to Rosalie. Alex abandoned the garlands she was draping around the uprights and joined them, all four of them, plus the little girls standing with their heads tilted back, as if they were watching a fireworks display.
“What’s happening is that I’m getting married,” Cassie called down to them.
A whoop went up and Kendra and Bailey joined hands. “Three weddings!” Kendra laughed.
“Three weddings,” Will repeated. He cast a satisfied look around the interior of the barn. “Travis was right. We might just have to start renting out the place.”
* * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from Twins for the Rodeo Star by Julianna Morris
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Twins for the Rodeo Star
by Julianna Morris
CHAPTER ONE
KELLY BEAUMONT REINED in her horse and looked down the small Montana valley where her mother’s Irish family had settled in the 1800s. Once the Flannigans
had dreamed of owning the kind of vast cattle empire they’d heard about in Texas, but it hadn’t happened.
Kindred Ranch was enough, though, and she loved it...the way her father never had. Of course, he hadn’t been born here, he’d married into the Flannigan clan, but his lack of devotion was mostly because his first love was competing in rodeos. Everything else came a distant second.
Her mouth tightened and she urged Lightfoot into a trot. Usually she tried not to get annoyed with Harry Beaumont, he was what he was, but he’d arranged for one of his rodeo buddies to stay at the ranch for a few days.
Kelly didn’t like it.
Her twin sons were already thrilled by their grandfather’s stories about the professional rodeo circuit, and the last thing she needed was another beat-up bronco rider telling them tall tales of his glory days. It wasn’t that she had anything against rodeos—they were exciting and she admired the courage and skill of the contestants—but it wasn’t the life or career she wanted for her boys.
She rode into the ranch center and saw a late-model truck parked near the main barn, bearing an Alberta, Canada, license plate. At least this pal of Harry’s wasn’t entirely broke, and she’d have time to check him out before the twins got home from their after-school soccer practice. She could also ask that he keep his stories to himself.
A tall man moved in the shadow of the barn door and Lightfoot half reared, snorting with anger. The stallion didn’t take well to strangers.
“Whoa, boy,” urged a vaguely familiar voice. Kelly was busy keeping the Appaloosa under control and didn’t look up, but she spotted the newcomer’s hand reaching for Lightfoot’s head.
“Don’t touch him,” she ordered.
“Just trying to help. I breed and raise horses now.”
“You didn’t raise this one.” She leaned over and scolded Lightfoot in his ear. “Stop that, you big lug. You are not a watchdog.You’re a horse.”
The stallion let out another snort, but stood quietly as she got off and walked him into the barn. It wasn’t until Kelly had tied him to a post that she turned around and the breath was knocked out of her lungs.
Josh McKeon.
The most handsome and talented rodeo competitor she’d ever seen, the subject of her youthful romantic dreams...and though he didn’t know it, the father of her six-year-old sons.
“Hello, Josh. What are you doing at Kindred Ranch?” Kelly asked, proud there wasn’t the faintest quaver in her voice.
“A long time ago you invited me here.”
She narrowed her eyes. “The invitation was revoked when I found you kissing another woman.”
“Still upset about that?”
“Not in the least. It was a lucky escape and taught me a lesson I’ll never forget.” Kelly removed Lightfoot’s saddle and put it on a rack in the tack room. She’d been up since before dawn, working in the barns, then riding and repairing fences. She didn’t have the energy to go over old territory with an ex-boyfriend. Still, she knew Josh well enough to realize that if she immediately ordered him off the ranch, he’d wonder why she was in such a hurry.
“What lesson?” he asked.
“That Canadian cowboys can’t be faithful any better than cowboys from somewhere else.”
His jaw jutted, the way it used to look before he got on one of the broncos he was such an expert at riding. “It was simply an enthusiastic kiss from a fan, but you were looking for a reason to break up with me when you came back from the hospital. I wish I could have stayed while your mother was being treated, but it was the final round. I won a nice amount of money that day.”
“And I’m sure the blonde helped you spend it,” Kelly returned smoothly. “You married her not long afterward, didn’t you? But you’re wrong that I was upset about you competing instead of being with me at the hospital. I was upset that Harry didn’t stay while Mom was having emergency surgery. He’d been eliminated, but he still left to watch the finals. I’ll never forget the look in her eyes when she woke up asking for him, only to hear he wasn’t there.”
“I’m sorry.”
Kelly shrugged, determined not to reveal how much it had hurt. Sweet, gentle Kathleen Beaumont still believed that someday she’d become a priority in her husband’s life, but Harry was addicted to the adrenaline rush of competition. While he rarely won any longer, he kept trying, and sooner or later his obsession would likely kill him. The fees and travel costs had been sucking Kindred Ranch dry until Kelly had put an end to it after taking over management of the ranch.
Yet, in a way, Josh was right.
That day had reminded Kelly of the life she’d have if she stayed with a man who was so similar to her father. It had seemed romantic and exciting to fall in love with a rising professional rodeo star. But in reality it meant being dragged from one venue to another, no real home for months on end...and eventually watching him lose far more than he won, while he got thrown, kicked, stomped on, gored or even killed. And with a guy as attractive as Josh, there would have been no end of women competing for his attention.
Kelly had grown up in that life, but at least she’d had Kindred Ranch and her grandparents as a stable foundation during the school year. She’d only travel with her parents during part of each summer, particularly when they were closer to Montana.
“So, why are you here?” she asked, plying a currycomb over Lightfoot in firm, even strokes. Unlike some horses, he enjoyed all aspects of grooming. She would do a quick job now to make him comfortable, and return to finish...after Josh was gone. In the meantime, it allowed her to focus on something besides her unwelcome visitor.
“Your dad and I still see each other at rodeos and professional bull-riding events,” Josh explained. “He asked me to come for a visit, saying his health is bad and it’s time to begin making amends for the past. He never did anything that needed amends, but he was a big help to me when I started and I want to find out what’s bothering him.”
Kelly gritted her teeth.
Josh McKeon was the “old rodeo pal” her father had invited? She rested her forehead against Lightfoot’s neck for an instant. His warmth and scent filled her senses and she wondered how she could love one kind of horse so much and want nothing to do with the ones that were bred to buck men to the ground in a few seconds.
“Harry’s health isn’t bad,” she said finally. “He was diagnosed with slightly elevated cholesterol and mild angina a few weeks ago. That’s all.”
“I don’t know much about health privacy laws in the United States, but it’s possible you don’t know everything the doctor told him.”
Kelly took out a hoof pick and leaned into Lightfoot’s left shoulder. He obligingly shifted his weight off the leg so she could lift his forefoot to clean it.
“In case you haven’t noticed, Harry is a hypochondriac. He’ll ride a bull with three cracked ribs and a separated shoulder, but one sneeze and he’s convinced it’s bubonic plague. Mom overreacts, so I’m the one who takes him to all of his medical appointments. Mostly Dr. Wycoff wants him to stop eating fried foods and fatty meats, which is exactly the advice he’s been getting for the past twelve years—advice Harry hasn’t followed, at least when he’s on the road.”
She glanced toward the barn door, gauging the time of day by the length of the shadows. By her calculations, she had less than an hour to convince Josh to leave for Canada. Otherwise, when the boys returned home he’d come face-to-face with fatherhood; it was something she’d rather avoid. While she felt guilty for not telling him about the twins, his knowing would have complicated life for all of them.
Josh probably wouldn’t have believed her, regardless.
And he’d repeatedly said he didn’t want children until he could buy his own ranch. From everything she’d heard, he had won big over the years, yet he was still competing. Her father would periodically mention the winners at various events, and inevitably, Josh McKe
on’s name would come up. He’d gotten top honors at the Pro Canada Series final multiple times over the past seven years, along with being the All-Around Cowboy champion on the National Rodeo Circuit. Curiously, she and Harry had never discussed Josh being the twins’ father and whether he should be told.
Was that the “amends” Harry hoped to make? She seriously hoped not.
It wasn’t Harry Beaumont’s secret to tell.
Copyright © 2020 by Julianna Morris
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ISBN-13: 9781488068171
Montana Homecoming
Copyright © 2020 by Jeannie Steinman
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.