The Rancher’s Second Chance

by Jackson, Mary Sue

  Cole looked stricken. “Your ex?”

  “Your son.” She grinned. “I love him. I love Devon so much I actually went to see him first.” She blinked back tears at the memory. “He called me Bammie and made me read to him. He's the best, and I promise, if you'll let me, I'll teach him everything I know.”

  “I want that, if you'll promise me one more thing.”

  “Of course.”

  “For the rest of our lives.”

  She inhaled sharply.

  “You and I will be together.”

  “Yes.”

  “We'll always be a team.”

  Tears pricked at her eyes.

  “And I'll let you be the boss.”

  “Cole...”

  “As long as you promise to let me do all the cooking.”

  She laughed and threw her arms around him. “As long as we serve it on my china.”

  “That's a deal.”

  Epilogue

  “How did it go? Is it done?” Sammie snapped her laptop shut and tugged her sweater tighter around her waist. She picked Devon up, and they both eyed Cole nervously from the porch, where she’d been working at a new outdoor table.

  Cole smiled. He was sure he'd never get tired of this—coming in after a hard day's work to Sammie's questions.

  And his son on her hip.

  Their son.

  “I'll tell you one thing,” he said, kissing her on the cheek and then ruffling Devon's hair. “It's a hell of a lot easier to get things done when you're not battling sabotage.”

  Sammie grinned wryly. “No 'burst' pipes in this bunkhouse?” She made air quotes around the word.

  “It'll be finished tomorrow, darlin'.”

  She squealed and tried to clap for him, inadvertently squashing Devon in the process. The little boy yelped and reached for Cole. “Hold me, Dada!”

  “Oops, Bammie is sorry, Devvy.”

  “’Sokay, Bammie.” Devon tugged at Cole's hat.

  Cole laughed and plopped it on his head. “And as for you, little man, I think we'll have just enough wood to finish that playhouse of yours.”

  “No falling out of it and breaking your arm,” Sammie chided. “Again.”

  “It's not a treehouse. It's like three feet off the ground. And he'll be using it for his books anyway.”

  “It’s my bookhouse,” Devon agreed.

  “Did you finish the shelves?”

  “I will tomorrow, while he's at school.”

  “I can't believe this little man is off to preschool tomorrow. Where did the time go?”

  Cole inhaled sharply. This was it. “Hey, Devvy, did you show Bammie your lunch box yet?”

  “Your own lunchbox?” Sammie clapped again.

  “Go on, show her, like I taught you.” He nervously watched his son toddle off, praying he wouldn't get distracted by a book or a bug or something and ruin everything.

  Then again, how could he ruin it? Everything was pretty perfect. "How was class today?" he asked Sammie.

  She tugged her sweater around her again. "I don't think there's a video conferencing software out there that doesn't glitch at least once during an important call. But the students all rolled with it." She sighed happily. "Doctor Waterford is still grumpy about me teaching all my classes online."

  "You fly all the way to New Haven once a month. What more does he want?" Cole demanded. "He should know how lucky he is that you even do that! You know I pretty much hate it."

  She touched her finger to his nose. "Cole Baker, are you jealous?" she teased.

  "Of an East Coast egghead who steals my girl away from me every month?" He laughed. "Yeah, but I'll deal with it. You know how proud I am of you, darlin'."

  She smiled happily. He loved that smile.

  Where the heck was Devon?

  “So, I talked with Dale down at the market last week, I don't know if I told you,” Cole said. He needed to keep her distracted until Devon returned. “And he said we could have a table there twice a month for now.”

  “For the vegetables, Farmer John?” The fact that he'd turned part of the pasture over to organic farming still amused Sammie, who swore her father would roll over in his grave if he knew his ranch land was being used for something so pedestrian as vegetables. But she agreed that organic was a sound business plan, something that had made him puff up with pride and then launch himself at her when she agreed.

  And she also agreed that in the future, they might be able to supply the elementary school with vegetables at a discount. Cole liked the idea of Devon eating food from home in the school cafeteria down the line.

  Those were the kinds of roots he was putting down. And his future was right here.

  “Hey, there he is,” Cole said, dropping down to his son's level. “Show her.”

  “Bammie, look. Dada and I got this.” Devon thrust the soft lunchbox at her.

  “Oh, it's very nice.” She turned it around and admired it.

  “Devon, what did I tell you?” Cole hissed through his teeth.

  Devon screwed up his lips in thought then nodded. “You said I should tell her to open it.”

  “What? Why?” Sammie asked.

  Rather than say it again, the impatient soon-to-be-preschooler just yanked on the zipper. With a cry of dismay, Cole hurled himself to the ground to catch the contents as they spilled all over the porch. Containers bounced and rattled, and one landed in the dirt below.

  Cole sighed and looked up at Sammie. “Can you help me?”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Uh, sure.”

  “Pick up that one for me?” He gestured to the one in the dirt. The special one.

  Sammie raised an eyebrow.

  But she wasn't afraid of getting dirty any more. She jumped right off the porch and retrieved the small container. Then rattled it curiously. “Hey, what's in here?”

  “She found the ring!” Devon yelled.

  “Thanks, buddy,” Cole sighed.

  “Ring?” She shook it again, and then her eyes went wide. “Cole?”

  Cole jumped down into the dirt and landed on one knee. “Devon! How did I show you?”

  Devon obediently bent his knee.

  Sammie gasped.

  “I always knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, Samantha Jensen. But I need to make it official.” He reached out and ruffled Devon's hair. “He and I need stability, you know that. And we both love you with all of our hearts.” He cocked his head. “Devon, what do you say now?”

  “Bammie, will you marry Dada?”

  Sammie clapped her hand over her mouth. Her bright eyes glistened, and she nodded once, then again and again, faster and faster.

  “I'll take that as a yes.” Cole rose, took her hand in his, and slipped the ring on her finger.

  It looked right.

  “Cole,” she sighed happily. “I have to tell you...”

  But whatever she was about to say was swallowed by the sound of tires on gravel. Cole looked up, angry that his moment was getting interrupted. “The hell is a delivery truck doing here right now?”

  “Oh, it's the rest of the books I ordered for Devon's bookhouse!” Sammie cried as the delivery man plopped three large parcels on the steps.

  “Books!” Devon lunched himself at them.

  Laughing, Sammie tore the top one open. Devon yanked the picture books from her hands. “Yeah, that one’s for you, buddy. And this one?” She glanced at Cole. “These are for your Daddy and me.”

  “Daddy and Mommy,” Cole corrected, then looked over her shoulder into the box. "A book for you and me? Is it a Kama Sutra?” he teased.

  She tapped him gently on the nose. “Better. It's how to make love and family work.” She glanced at her ring and wiped at her eyes. “You beat me again, you know. I was going to put a ring on your finger, Cole Baker. But I wanted to make sure I had all the information. You know. So I could weigh the pros and cons of love and marriage. And learn to be part of a team.”

  Cole scooped her into his
arms. “Darlin'. You and I will learn together. Because we already make a great team.”

  End of The Rancher’s Second Chance

  Do you love handsome cowboys? Keep reading for exciting excerpts from my books The Cowboy’s Mistake and The Rancher’s Unexpected Nanny.

  Thank You!

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  About Mary Sue Jackson

  Mary Sue Jackson is the romance pen name created for all those cowboy dreamers! This Montana-based cowgirl is a rancher, and knows what hard work means. But despite being up at dawn and working past dusk, she still finds time for what she really loves... romance! With so many hours spent alone, riding across the seemingly never-ending expanse of grasslands, she has plenty of time to dream of love and the romantic tales of ranch life.

  When Mary Sue's not out on the grasslands dreaming up her next story, she's most often spending time with her own personal hunky rancher, her husband. One of Mary Sue's favorite activities is to ride the ranch with her husband in the evening and hold his hand as they watch the sun go down over the prairie.

  To learn more about Mary Sue you can check out all her books on social media and her website:

  About Leslie

  Leslie North is the USA Today Bestselling pen name for a critically-acclaimed author of women's contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her the perfect opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in the romance and erotic fantasy genres.

  Find your next Leslie North book visit LeslieNorthBooks.com or choose:

  PS: Want sneak peeks, giveaways, ARC offers, fun extras and plenty of pictures of bad boys? Join my Facebook group, Leslie’s Lovelies!

  BLURB

  No man should be as sexy as Trey Cantor when he’s mucking out a horse stall. But then again, there’s no man quite like Trey.

  Charity has known Trey all her life, but she can still appreciate a fine-looking man when she sees one, and Trey is far more to Charity than just a fine-looking man. He may have always seen her as his best friend’s little sister, but Charity’s all grown up and her crush on Trey has grown up too. If only she could get him to see her as a woman.

  During a trip to buy Charity’s new barrel-racing horse, Trey’s floored—and a bit horrified—by how attracted he is to her. He wants to put her firmly in the friend zone, but his body disagrees. And when they get home, that attraction ignites all the way to the bedroom, leaving Trey riddled with guilt the morning after. He feels he’s betrayed the family who made his life bearable when he was young and dealing with a drunken, violent father. But what Trey is convinced was a mistake turns into so much more when Charity finds out she’s pregnant—with twins. Now, he’ll do right by her and support his children. He’ll take care of Charity, like he’s always done.

  The only thing is, Charity insists she doesn’t want or need his help, thank you very much. She’s still stinging from his rejection after their night together, and refuses to marry him based on some duty or obligation. She wants a man who loves her, not just one who’s determined to do the “right” thing.

  Yet as Charity’s pregnancy progresses, Trey realizes he can’t live without her, and he’ll do all he can to convince her they were meant to be.

  Grab your copy of The Cowboy’s Mistake

  Available October 3rd, 2019

  www.LeslieNorthBooks.com

  * * *

  EXCERPT

  I’m in the market for a new horse.

  And a boyfriend, Charity thought while she swiped her favorite lipstick on and popped her lips together, looking closely in the mirror to make sure it looked the way it should. Not that Trey Cantor would take one look at her and fall in love. Charity was pretty sure that if that was going to happen, it already would have by now. It didn’t matter that she thought he was the handsomest cowboy ever to walk the earth. She always had thought that, ever since she was a little girl, and she’d had plenty of opportunities to consider it because Trey was her brother Austin’s best friend.

  Which meant he was also off-limits when it came to romance.

  But he was not off-limits when it came to helping her buy a new horse, and that was exactly what Charity needed to do.

  So, she might as well dress the part.

  She put on jean shorts she knew he’d notice and a shirt just tight enough to display her…assets, and headed out the door.

  She knew the road to Trey’s ranch like the back of her hand, because it was the same road she’d lived on all her life. The Millers’ sprawling property butted up to the back of Trey’s place. It had been his parents’ once, but it was all his now.

  It was infuriating, really, how close they were and still so far. Trey’d gone on a few rodeo circuits with her brother after high school and then settled back in town. And even though they lived right next door—he still kept his distance. Of course, in Applewood it wasn’t so much space that Charity didn’t know things about him. She knew, for instance, that Trey had never really dated anyone, not longer than a few dates, anyway.

  Even though the two properties shared a border, there was still a good bit of distance to Trey’s farmhouse and buildings. Charity lived in the center of the Miller ranch, in a little house that matched her brother’s. Her parents still lived in the big farmhouse. Charity and Austin still helped around the ranch when they weren’t off on their various circuits, but there was enough room for each of them to have their own little place.

  A place in which Charity had spent plenty of time thinking of Trey.

  She couldn’t help it. He was just what she…mused about while her mind was elsewhere. Charity tried to work out exactly what she’d say to him while she drove her little red truck down the road and up his long driveway. She ran through the old warm-up exercises she’d had to do as a kid for the lisp that had plagued her for years. The exercises came out of habit now, thoughtless, and she hardly realized she was doing them until she parked in front of the farmhouse. Exercises over. That would have to do.

  There was no way he’d actually be in the farmhouse at this time of day, though. Trey spent most of his time with the horses he was training. He rarely went out on the rodeo circuit anymore—it had been Austin’s passion, more than his—so his days were dedicated to teaching those horses all they needed to know.

  Charity gave herself a once-over in the window of her truck. She looked good. Maybe this time, Trey wouldn’t go with his usual route of patting her on the head and calling her kiddo. She was, after all, coming to him as one adult to another. About horses. Yes. Horses. He was an expert horse trainer, and she needed his expertise.

  Charity found him, as she thought she would, in the barn.

  He was busy mucking stalls.

  With no shirt on.

  She could see each one of his muscles, defined and strong, and she had to admit it took her breath away a little bit to see him like this. Trey was sweat- drenched with the work, his skin tanned and glowing. The years had been kind to him. More than kind. They’d been generous. As a teenager she’d found Trey ridiculously attractive, and now that he’d grown into his body—out of those puppy-dog hands and too-long arms—he looked even better. Her mouth watered as she traced the lines of his chest, the lean abs descending into the waistband of his jeans—

  “Something I can do for you, Charity?”

  She could not stop the rush of blood to her cheeks as she dragged her eyes up from to his face. Trey had one eyebrow raised above his deep brown eyes, and his chocolate hair was mussed from the work.

  “Yes, Trey, in fact there is.” Charity gave him an unrepentant grin. “I want you to come to a horse auction with me.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “Why?”

  “I saw Doc Owens today.”

  “Oh?” Trey leaned the pit
chfork he’d been holding against the wall of the barn and crossed his arms over his chest. “What’d she have to say?”

  It twisted her heart a bit to repeat the news. “Lady needs to retire.” Lady had been her first winning horse, but after so many years on the barrel circuit, the mare’s body had had enough. Doc Owens had said as much just this morning. Part of Charity wanted to spend a week processing the news, but another part of her was excited to get started on finding a new partner for her work. “If I’m going to make my shows this summer, I need a new horse, and sooner rather than later.”

  Trey considered her. “When’s the auction?”

  “Saturday. But we’d have to leave on Friday. It’s in Greenville.”

  “Greenville, huh?”

  “Yes. All the way in Greenville.” She wasn’t asking him to come to an auction downtown. It would take some travel to get there. This was going to be the hard sell, but Charity wasn’t going to let her nerves show.

  “Your parents aren’t going?”

  “They’re not in town. A long-overdue honeymoon to celebrate their thirty-fifth anniversary,” she offered. That was true. Her parents had never taken a real honeymoon, and they’d planned for months to take six weeks off and travel.

  His eyes on hers made her entire body feel warm. Charity felt herself holding her breath and let it out. “I could come with you and offer advice.”

  This wiped all the sadness for Lady out of her heart and replaced it with a bolt of excitement. Charity stifled the urge to clap her hands and settled for beaming at Trey instead. “Oh, that’s great. I’m—” I’m so excited I can hardly speak, Charity wanted to say. “I’m happy you’ll be there. I’ll need that advice.”

  “Good.” Trey gave her a nod and reached for the pitchfork.