Making Room for the Rancher

by Christy Jeffries

  “I’m gonna go check and see if Rider and the kids are back yet,” Micah told Duke before leaving Connor sitting alone by everyone’s favorite King sibling.

  “It’s a lot to take in, huh?” Duke’s voice was calm and knowing. “Even for someone who used to be Special Forces and probably saw a lot of action on his deployments.”

  “Am I that obvious?” Connor asked.

  “If it makes you feel any better, Grayson over there was once a sniper on the Counter Assault Team. After nearly a month of being assigned to Twin Kings full-time and getting the full vetting and approval of my eagle-eyed mother, he still can’t stop peeling the wrapper off that beer in his hand.”

  The words were probably supposed to be comforting, but only put Connor slightly more ill at ease. “So, you’re saying it won’t get any easier?”

  “Nah, it’ll definitely get easier. Tom does just fine with all the chaos and drama. Of course, he has ten brothers and sisters of his own, so he’s used to it.”

  “Ten? Wow. I was an only child.”

  “I know. I saw the briefing file in the Secret Service bunkhouse.”

  Connor gulped. “They have a file on me? Already?”

  “Don’t worry. It’s pretty basic. They screen everyone who comes in and out of the Twin Kings. Once MJ’s hearing wraps up, though, they’ll be shutting down their operation and returning to DC.”

  That’s right. Dahlia had explained to Connor that after the vice president’s funeral, a few agents had stayed on at the ranch due to Tessa’s recent media storm and MJ’s arrest. Now that the new vice president was sworn in, though, the protective detail would be reassigned.

  “I’m sorry to hear about your father, by the way,” Connor offered. “He once visited the troops when I was still a grunt stationed at Camp Dwyer and he was larger than life. I didn’t even know he was from this part of Wyoming before I moved here.”

  Duke’s pleasant smile slipped and his brief nod was his only acknowledgment of the condolences. Damn. Maybe Connor shouldn’t have brought that up. And here he thought he was doing so well and finally relaxing a bit.

  Before he could change the subject, Micah burst into the room. “Hey, Rider and the kids aren’t back yet. Mike Truong expected them over thirty minutes ago.”

  Dahlia sprang to her feet and, instead of running to her ex-husband, she turned her wide pleading eyes to Connor. He walked to her and kissed her temple. “I’ll go looking for them.”

  “We’ll all come,” Finn said, but Connor was already heading out the door.

  Mike had two trail horses saddled and was buckling a bridle onto a third.

  “Do you know what direction they went in?” Connor asked the foreman.

  “They took off toward the west, but the trail forks several ways from there. Two of the agents went out in an ATV, but there’s a number of paths out there that are way too narrow for anything but horses.”

  “Can I take this one?” Connor pointed at the pale palomino whose saddlebags were already packed.

  “She’s all yours. Grab one of the red first-aid backpacks and a walkie-talkie from the tack room. They should all be charged.”

  Connor already had his foot in the stirrup when Finn grabbed his horse’s bridle. He expected Dahlia’s twin to question him about his abilities. Instead, she said, “Stick to the area south of the main trail. I’ll take the north side. Hopefully, Rider kept everyone together.”

  Connor hadn’t been past the stables on his prior visits to the Twin Kings, but he set the palomino on a dead run along the dirt road heading west. A two-seater ATV raced past him and he saw Marcus and Micah inside. Maybe they should’ve formed a better plan or at least assigned designated search areas so they weren’t all covering the same areas. But it was an eighty-year-old man and three kids on ponies. How far could they have gone?

  The Twin Kings was a working cattle ranch and it hadn’t rained in at least two weeks, so there were hoofprints everywhere he looked. But as he passed a smaller trail, he noticed a different set of prints. Rabbit. Several sets, including two tiny ones that likely belonged to a couple of babies. And they were relatively fresh. If Amelia had seen the bunnies, there was no doubt she’d followed.

  Connor slowed the horse and scanned the shrubs and overgrown grass surrounding the trail for more clues. Then he saw it. One random leaf on a sagebrush had a damp dark spot on it. Keeping the reins in his hands, he slipped off the horse to get a closer look. His nose knew what it was before his eyes did. Chewing tobacco. Rider once offered him a dip when they were in the stables. He said he never chewed in front of Freckles or Sherilee and could only sneak it when he was out of the house.

  Getting back into the saddle, Connor followed the trail as it narrowed. The sun had already gone down behind the Teton Mountain Range in the distance and there would only be about fifteen more minutes of natural light before he’d start wishing for his old pair of military-issued night-vision goggles.

  After a quarter of a mile, he saw the thin trail again split into two smaller paths. There was a scrap of pink fabric sticking out of a rotted stump just past the fork, but Connor knew Amelia never wore pink. In fact, today she’d been wearing a beige long-sleeved sweatshirt with the bright green Australia Zoo logo on the front. Using his heels to nudge the horse’s sides, he continued down the opposite path. He paused briefly at a creek, but didn’t cross. He remembered Amelia telling him that Gray Goose, the pony Amelia had likely been riding, hated water and refused to set foot in it. Instead, Connor followed the river rocks along the creek bed north before finding a rabbit den.

  Bingo. There were three sets of smaller pony-sized tracks in the dirt near the burrowed entrance. A few feet back were a set of larger horse prints; the hoof marks were sunk deeper into the ground and likely the result of Rider’s heavier weight. So, the group had probably followed the bunnies here, but then where’d they go?

  His radio crackled to life and he held his breath, hoping someone had found them. But it was Duke advising them that the rescue helicopter from the nearby airfield had just landed at the King’s helipad and he and Dahlia would be flying overhead with a search light.

  Just thinking about the terror on Dahlia’s face back in the living room made Connor pick up speed.

  After at least five more minutes, the walkie-talkie again sounded and he heard Finn say, “I have the boys. They were southwest of the Peabody Trail. They’re tired and thirsty, but still in their saddles.”

  Relief washed over Connor before quickly fizzling out. Two people were still missing.

  “Where’s Amelia?” Micah demanded, the engine of his ATV revving in the background of the radio transmission.

  “The boys say Rider got hurt and couldn’t ride,” Finn advised. “Amelia stayed to watch over him while the boys rode back to the stables to get help. But they got lost.”

  “Do they know where they left Amelia and Rider?” Dahlia asked over the radio and Connor could hear the strain in her voice. Determination kept him moving forward.

  “Negative,” Finn said. “I’ll get these two back to Violet at the main house. You guys keep looking.”

  Connor wanted to relay his position and update them with what he’d found so far. But he didn’t want to give anyone false hope. Of course, he only had a couple more minutes before he was going to need that search light. He held the walkie-talkie up to his mouth and just as he depressed the button, he heard something behind a wall of fir trees.

  Was that...? A shot of adrenaline spiked through his already tense muscles and he tried to listen over the pounding of his heart.

  He took a few more steps, then heard Amelia’s voice clear as day. “Miss Walker said her Paw Paw once had a heart attack and it felt like a herd of buffalo were stomping around on his chest.”

  Connor charged through a narrow opening in the branches covered in pine needles just in time to hear Ri
der groan. “Right now, it feels like a herd of buffalo are stomping around my ears, Peanut. Do you think you could ask a few less—”

  “Connor!” Amelia cried and ran straight for him. He was off the horse just in time to catch her jumping into his arms. Relief pulsed through him, causing him to crush her against his chest as he fought back the tears of joy. Amelia giggled, then squirmed until he loosened his hold. “I knew you’d find us, Connor. I told Uncle Rider you’re the best tracker there is. Didn’t I tell you, Uncle Rider?”

  Connor’s eyes fell to the older man who was sprawled out on the cold ground, his head propped up under a saddle blanket. “You sure did, Peanut. About a million times.”

  He carried the girl over to Rider and knelt down. “What happened?”

  “Horse got spooked by a damn lizard of all things and reared back. When he came down, I lost my balance and landed on that boulder over there. I think I busted one of my ribs,” the older man said, and even in the growing darkness, Connor could see that his face was nearly white under that bushy gray mustache. His breathing was definitely strained. “I used to break a different one every month back in my bull-riding days and then get back in the saddle. I should be fine as soon as I catch my breath.”

  Rider tried to sit up and cursed.

  “Take it easy. There’s already a rescue helicopter en route. You should probably keep still until a medic can check you out.” Connor reached for the radio clipped to the back of his belt. “I’ve got Amelia and Rider,” he relayed and could only imagine the cries of relief on the end. “Amelia is doing great and Rider is alert and feisty as hell. But he’s going to need a medic and possible transport.”

  Connor transmitted their GPS coordinates, then went to his saddle to get the first-aid bag. He wrapped Amelia in his jacket before tearing open the emergency blanket to throw over Rider in case he went into shock.

  Someone had already secured the reins of Gray Goose and Rider’s stallion to a nearby branch, but judging by the loose knots, it had been one of the kids. Connor tightened them just as the helicopter made its first pass over the area.

  “We’re down here!” Amelia jumped up and down, waving as if she were on a parade float, having the time of her life. “We’re down here!”

  The headlights of the ATV with Marcus and Micah came crashing through a line in the fir trees on the opposite trail just as the helicopter began its descent. Micah was using his good hand to yank the harness-like straps off him as he climbed out of the off-road vehicle.

  “Daddy!” Amelia cried with the same level of excitement she’d had when Connor first found them. Then she leaped up into her father’s arms to hug him. And the weird thing was, Connor wasn’t the least bit envious. In fact, seeing the raw emotion and relief on Micah’s face almost made him tear up. Micah might share DNA with the girl, but there had been nothing less intense about Connor’s own response just a few minutes ago. It was almost as though he were watching himself, reliving that same adrenaline rush and feeling of euphoria.

  Then Micah made the moment even more emotional by turning toward Connor and pulling him into the embrace, as well.

  “Thank you for finding her, man,” Micah said, his voice scratchy and almost trembling. “I was so damn scared.”

  “Me, too,” Connor admitted, patting Micah on his back. “But we’ve got her now.”

  “Okay, you two,” Rider huffed as Marcus checked his pulse. “Don’t make it all about yourselves. Leave some drama for everyone else.”

  “Mommy!” Amelia said, wiggling out of their arms before running toward Dahlia who’d had to make her way to them from the open clearing where the helicopter landed. “Connor found us.”

  “I know, Peanut.” Dahlia dropped to her knees as she squeezed Amelia to her. There were tears in her eyes and when she lifted her face to Connor’s, it was probably the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen in his life. “I’m so proud of him.”

  “Maybe we should buy him a muffin tomorrow to thank him,” Amelia suggested.

  Dahlia threw back her head, her laugh throaty and raw. When she made eye contact with Connor again, there was a fierce determination that sent heat ricocheting through him. “Oh, I think I owe Connor a lot more than a muffin.”

  “Come on. Now it’s really getting dramatic,” Rider said before passing out.

  * * *

  Dahlia sat on a sofa in the hospital waiting room with Amelia asleep on her lap, the rest of her family surrounding her as they argued among themselves. Freckles and Sherilee exchanged insults. Micah and Finn exchanged dirty looks. MJ and Tessa exchanged conflicting viewpoints about politics (although, it was honestly refreshing to see her baby brother get fired up about anything since he’d been so sullen and despondent lately). And Duke’s frown and jabbing thumbs on his phone keypad suggested he was exchanging angry texts with someone. In fact, the only family members who weren’t currently arguing in her presence were Marcus and Violet, but that was because they were together in the emergency room, likely arguing about what color of cast Jordan should get on his arm.

  But tonight none of that bothered Dahlia in the least because she had her baby girl safe and sound in her arms.

  The bickering stopped long enough for Grayson and Connor to carry in a tray full of coffees in to-go cups.

  “Which one is the sugar-free hazelnut soy latte?” her mom asked. Dahlia almost giggled at the way Connor and Grayson stared helplessly at each other, neither one wanting to be the one to tell the formidable Sherilee King that they’d failed in their mission.

  “You think there’s a fancy espresso bar nearby open this time of night?” Freckles’s plastic bangle bracelets jingled as she reached for the nearest cup. “They’re from a vending machine downstairs, Sherilee. Stop being such a snob and thank your future son-in-laws for their efforts.”

  “Well, the cease fire was nice while it lasted,” Dahlia sighed, then shifted Amelia’s feet off the cushion so Connor could return to his seat beside them.

  Connor leaned closer and asked, “Did your aunt just say son-in-laws? Plural?”

  “Yep,” Dahlia said. “And you didn’t correct her. So now everyone is going to have expectations about the future of our relationship. If that doesn’t scare you, ask Grayson what it’s like having Sherilee King and Aunt Freckles plan and orchestrate your engagement and wedding.”

  “I don’t know. Grayson seems pretty happy with Tessa if you ask me.” Connor rested his arm along the back of the sofa. “Besides, I don’t care about anyone else’s expectations or plans for me. I only care about yours.”

  Two doctors in blue surgical scrubs kept Dahlia from having to answer.

  “Mr. King is out of surgery and stabilized,” the doctor spoke to the entire room. “One of the broken ribs punctured his lung, so we have him in ICU to keep a close eye on him. Only one of you can go back at a time to visit.”

  Freckles rose from her chair and nobody else even bothered standing up or objected to her going first.

  “That.” Dahlia lifted her chin at Freckles as the older woman quietly followed the surgeons down the stark white hallway alone. Then she faced Connor. “That’s what I expect. I want you to be my Freckles. She’s not related to any of us by blood—or even marriage, legally—and she and my mother can barely stand each other. But when it comes to Rider, there’s no question that she’s the one who is going to go to him first. I want you to be the person I call when my whole world gets thrown for a loop. I want you to be the one I turn to when my daughter doesn’t come back on her pony or when I have to find a way to explain to her that we can’t take on another stray. I purposely built my life here in Teton Ridge because I wanted to keep things simple. I wanted to keep my daughter’s life simple, away from the spotlight that I grew up in. But there is nothing simple about Amelia. There’s certainly nothing simple about being a King. My family is messy and my life is complicated, no matter how stra
ightforward I try to make it.”

  “Your family is just a tiny bit messy,” he said before kissing her forehead. “And your life doesn’t seem all that complicated to me.”

  “Connor. I’m a single mom who owns a bar in a former brothel.”

  “Well, I’m potentially a convicted felon and an alleged goat roper who owns a ranch that is barely turning a profit.”

  “Trespassing isn’t a felony,” Micah said out of nowhere, and Finn sent him a sharp elbow to his rib cage.

  Dahlia rolled her eyes. “I also have an ex-husband who married the wrong twin and a daughter that will tell everybody anything that pops into her mind and only stops talking when she’s sound asleep.”

  “I have a dog with codependency issues and a psychotic turkey I bought to impress the woman I love and her daughter.”

  “Goatee isn’t codependent, he just... Wait.” Dahlia’s knees went wobbly and Amelia almost slid from her lap. “Did you just say you love me?”

  “Of course, I love you. I know you have a lot going on and you were hoping to get me out of your system so we could go back to being friends. But I want to be your Rider, Dahlia King Deacon. I want to be the one you turn to first. Whether it’s finding your lost daughter or finding a missing panda bear, I want to live in that complicated, messy world with you and enjoy every second of it together.”

  Then he kissed her, right there under the harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital waiting room with all of her family members looking on. His hands cupped the sides of her face as his lips sealed his commitment. When he pulled away, Dahlia’s insides spiraled with a dizzying happiness that threatened to lift her out of her seat.

  Pressing her forehead against his to keep her soaring emotions in place, Dahlia smiled. “I love you, too, Connor Remington.”

  * * *

  The waiting room at the Ridgecrest County Hospital clearly wasn’t the way Connor had envisioned hearing Dahlia utter those words to him. In fact, twenty-four hours ago, he’d doubted that he’d ever hear them at all. But when she declared her love for him, he knew that he couldn’t go another day of his life without hearing them again.