The Rancher’s City Girl: Wells Brothers Book One

by North, Leslie

  Becca swallowed a lump in her throat. “Is that why they divorced?”

  “Oh, goodness, no.” Jayne’s hand fluttered to her chest. “Cade was in the marriage til death do they part. But a couple of years after everything happened, he got a visit from her parents. They sat him down and told him in no uncertain terms that he should divorce her.”

  “Her own parents?”

  Jayne nodded solemnly. “They knew their daughter well enough to know that she was never going to get out of that facility. And they knew Cade well enough to know he’d stick with her for the rest of her life. Her parents—they were good people. They wanted the best for him, and for Joey. They wanted him to be able to move on and maybe get married again. Maybe even have more children.”

  “They told him that, flat-out?”

  “Flat-out.” Jayne caught Becca’s eyes. “Cade didn’t know what to say to that.”

  The kitchen door banged open and Danny came in, laughter on his lips. “Jayne, my queen, I hope you’ve got a stack of pancakes a mile high. I’m hungry as a bear.”

  Jayne turned back to the skillet. “You’ll have them in a minute, you impatient man. For now, there’s bacon and eggs.”

  “I’ll get it,” said Becca. “But just this once, and only ’cause I like you, Danny.”

  Danny tipped his hat to her. Becca dished out bacon and eggs, but her mind wasn’t on the food—it was on all the memories that haunted this place. No wonder Cade wanted to sell.

  11

  Cade’s brother Liam leaned against the barn door, lean and grinning despite the fact that he’d been taken off the rodeo circuit. He stuck his hands in his pockets and watched Cade spread new straw on the floor of the stalls. It had been two weeks and a day since he’d been back—since Cade had told Becca the truth about Angie. And that truth had been as good as a brick wall between them.

  It wasn’t a brick wall that Becca wanted. Cade could see it on her face. He just couldn’t do anything about it. Anything…except think about her more and more and more until every waking second was consumed with her, and most of his sleeping seconds, too. The feeling of her hand in his dogged him. She’d heard the bitter, ugly story of his life and squeezed his hand.

  Cade was falling for her.

  But he couldn’t fall for her. He could not fall for the woman who wanted to take the ranch, no matter how incredible her body felt beneath his. Holy lord, he regretted that night. If he’d kept himself in ignorance about her, this wouldn’t be so gut-wrenching.

  He shot a look at his brother. “What are you staring at? If you’re going to stand there and watch, you can at least pitch in.”

  “Can’t,” Liam said, putting a pout on his face. “You know as well as I do that it’s ill health that’s sent me back here.”

  “I don’t know if I’d call a mild bump on the head ill health.”

  “The doctors aren’t sure if my spine is bruised. I’m supposed to take it easy. That’s why I came back home.”

  “Your spine, huh?” Cade spread another section of straw. “You didn’t mention that two weeks ago. I believe you said something about your hips.”

  “Said a lot of things. But the main event here is what’s going on with you.”

  “The main event?” Cade brushed the straw off his hands and went out of the barn, his brother following close behind.

  “Hey, slow down,” said Liam. “My leg’s hurt, too.”

  “Sure it is,” said Cade, but he slowed anyway. “What do you want to know?” A prickling unease scratched its fingernails down the back of Cade’s neck. When Joey was about two, he’d realized how fast time was going. The weeks folded in on one another, speeding up like a flipbook, and now she was ten. But this week? This last week that Becca would be with them? It was crawling by. “Hurry up and ask, if you’re going to.”

  “All right. I’ve kept it to myself for two weeks, but I have to know. What are you doing?”

  The two brothers stopped in the backyard and faced each other. “What do you mean, what am I doing? I’m running the ranch. Just like I always have. Just because the two of you left doesn’t mean the place shut down.”

  “I didn’t think it did. But why are you hosting a buyer here? Jayne said she’s been here three weeks.” His brother gave a shrug. “Why not just sell it and move on?”

  Cade traced a pattern on the ground with the toe of his boot. “Not up to you,” he warned.

  “No, it’s not up to me, but I worry about you. You’ve been knocking around this place for ten years. Every time I come back, you’re here, doing the same old things.” The breeze kicked up, and Cade watched a set of fluffy white clouds roll along across the sky. This stretch of sky was as familiar to him as his own bedroom. His brother’s face was less familiar, since he’d gone out on the rodeo circuit, but he could still see the echoes of the childhood hellion Liam had been. “You’ve got to stop wavering and sell. Get a fresh start, for both you and Joey.”

  The words hit Cade’s ears in a harsh jangle, and his blood pressure spiked, throbbing against his temples. Wrong. Liam was wrong. He felt it down to his bones. The next heartbeat hit him like a bass drum. He couldn’t sell the ranch—he couldn’t sell his home. He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay, so viscerally that it was all he could do not to kneel and dig his hands into the earth. “You know, Liam—”

  “How could you do this?” The high, thin voice, quavering with emotion, speared his heart and sent it tumbling down to the earth. Cade turned to face his daughter. Her hair lifted in the breeze, tangles at the ends weighing it down, and her green eyes were filled with unshed tears. “How could you sell the ranch?”

  “Sweetheart—”

  “Don’t call me that.” She wiped fiercely at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I heard what you said. I could hear everything from the back porch. You’re the worst, Uncle Liam.” She spat the words so sharply Cade was surprised they weren’t laced with actual venom. “I can’t believe you want us gone. You’re the worst.”

  “Joey, come talk to me—Joey!”

  But Cade’s words made no difference. Joey sprinted through the backyard and cut left like she was avoiding a tackle. She disappeared behind the barn. Cade let out a heavy sigh.

  The screen door off the back porch slammed, and Becca stepped out into the light, her hair falling around her shoulders. She’d spent the morning in the kitchen with Jayne instead of out in the pastures, and Cade’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. He liked her dirty from the heavy work and he liked her clean from the kitchen work and he liked her so much that he thought his chest would explode with it.

  But he couldn’t let himself linger on her. Not now. Not again.

  “What happened?” Becca asked, looking at the two of them.

  Cade opened his mouth to answer, but snapped it shut again. What would he say, anyway? My brother’s trying to get me to sell, you’re trying to get me to sell, and I’m not going to sell? Now wasn’t the time to get into that conversation. Not when his daughter was somewhere on the ranch, upset enough that she’d been on the verge of tears. “I’ve got to look for Joey.”

  “Look for Joey? Where’d she go? Hey, Liam.” Becca jogged up to his side.

  “You want me to come too? I didn’t mean—” Liam’s tone sounded apologetic enough to Cade’s ears, but no matter what he said, it wouldn’t fly with Joey right now. “I didn’t mean any harm by what I said.”

  “Maybe you didn’t.” Irritation squeezed at the base of Cade’s spine. “But I can guarantee she doesn’t want to see you. I’m going by myself.”

  Becca waited a beat, then jogged after him. “Seriously, what happened? She was fine a few minutes ago.”

  “I can’t convince you to go back to the farmhouse and not do this right now?”

  Becca jerked back like he’d slapped her, but she squared her jaw. “No. Not until I know what’s going on.”

  He came to a stop near the front of the barn and snatched his hat off his
head. “Liam was watching me work in the barn, and when we came back to the yard, he struck up a conversation.” The line he didn’t want to cross hovered between them, as dangerous as an electric fence. “Joey heard him talking, and she got upset. I need to fix it now.”

  “What would have been so upsetting?” Becca’s dark eyes hovered on his, bright with a whirlwind of hurt and concern. He hated himself for trying to send her away. He hated himself for letting her follow him. Cade hadn’t wanted to talk about this now—preferably, he wanted to talk about it never—but she’d planted her feet and put one hand on her hip and he knew he wasn’t getting out of this. “You can tell me, Cade. How can I help if I don’t know what it is?”

  “She overheard Liam telling me that I should sell the ranch.”

  “Well…” Becca bit her lip. “That shouldn’t have come as such a surprise. You’ve wanted to sell the ranch all along. I know you didn’t keep that a secret from her.”

  “No, I didn’t.” A fresh wave of guilt threatened to sweep him under and never let him back up. “But then I moved you in here, and I made you a part of everything.”

  “Exactly,” Becca said slowly. “How is this a bad thing? I happen to think it’s kind of genius. You can ease Joey into the sale, and this way she’ll know it’s not a complete stranger who’s going to take things over. That should make it better for—”

  “I can’t sell the ranch.”

  He saw the words hit. Becca rocked back on her heels. “What?”

  “I can’t sell.” He twisted his hat in his hands. “There’s been heartache here. More heartache than I ever imagined. Angie and the fire—they almost took me out at the knees. But I love this place.” He loved it fiercely, on a cellular level. “My perfect ranch family might not have worked, but this is my home. And Joey’s my family. I have to do what’s right for her.” How could he ever have thought the city was right for his wild outdoor girl? She’d sooner die than be trapped in a high rise, with people above and below her and nothing but concrete for miles. “You did that for me,” he said fervently. “You helped me see the ranch with fresh eyes. You reminded me of all the wonder and beauty here.” The words felt strange in his mouth. When was the last time he’d talked about things like wonder and beauty? It had been too long. “I have to thank you for that. For the fresh start.”

  “What about my fresh start?” Becca’s chin quivered, and high color had risen to her cheeks. “What about…” He heard the unspoken us as loud as the boom from a cannon. The cannonball tore through him, but he kept his face steady. He couldn’t let that unsaid word rope him into these feelings. He couldn’t watch another family collapse.

  “There are other ranches for you.” His own voice sounded gravelly and strained, but he couldn’t stop now. “There’s only one for me and Joey.”

  Becca’s face crumpled and she turned away. She raised a hand to her mouth and pressed her fingertips against her lips. Cade braced for tears, for a fight, for a nuanced argument about how the ranch would be better off in her hands.

  Instead, she swallowed hard, once and then again. She cleared her throat. “Where do you think she went?”

  “Nowhere close,” he said. He wanted to take her in his arms, but that was forbidden. The gate had slammed shut between them. There was no going back. “I’m going to look in her favorite spots. But I’ve got it from here.”

  “Forget that,” said Becca. “Give me a few places to check. We’ll split up.”

  They tried to keep their distance, but Joey kept running. She ran out the clock on the afternoon. It was nearing dark by the time Cade and Becca converged upon a small cabin up in the highest pasture. Some of the ranch hands sometimes slept there in the winter if they got stuck in a storm.

  Joey sat inside on one of the narrow cots, her back against the wall and her knees drawn up to her chest. She glared at them through puffy red eyes. “Stay out,” she said. “I don’t want to talk to anyone right now. And I’m not leaving.” She turned her face away.

  Cade let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders tight and aching from him worrying about Joey all afternoon. “Joey, listen to me.” He knelt in front of her and put two hands on her knees. “I’m not going to leave the ranch.”

  Joey’s gasp filled the cabin with a rush of pure happiness. “You’re not?”

  “I’m not going to sell it. I’ve made up my mind.”

  Joey threw herself into Cade’s arms, her grip tight and unrelenting. “I love you, Dad,” she whispered into his ear. “I’m so glad we don’t have to leave home.” He could hear each one of Becca’s breaths behind him. And even without looking at her, he knew that they were laden with pain. He’d felt the same way more than once in his life. He offered a hand to Joey. “You ready to come home? Jayne’s making dinner, and you have to be starving.”

  “I am.” Joey rubbed at her belly. “I’m really hungry. Let’s go.” She took his hand and the three of them went out into the night. They were halfway down the hill when Joey piped up again. “Becca’s going to stay too, right?”

  “Oh, honey,” Becca said, her voice stretched thin with tears. “I wish I could, but I’m not.”

  Joey’s silence was louder than all the other sounds in the night—the breeze in the trees, their footsteps on the grass, and the crickets singing off the beaten path. “You’re not?”

  “No,” Becca said firmly. “I’m not.”

  They walked the rest of the way in silence, Cade’s heart crumbling with every step. Joey didn’t say another word.

  He’d made them all miserable.

  But he couldn’t sell the ranch, and she couldn’t buy it.

  There was nothing left to do.

  12

  Becca closed her bedroom door behind her just as the first sob tore from her throat. It had been awful, holding back the tears all the way down from the high pasture—awful. Her throat ached from it, her neck ached from it, and she had a pounding headache. She put both hands over her mouth and let the tears fall. It was the only thing she could do to release some of the pain.

  What had she been thinking, falling for Cade Wells? He was as unavailable as a man could be, and here she was, crying over him in her bedroom. The voices from the dining room floated up the stairs and hovered outside her bedroom door. She could only hope they muffled the sound of her sobbing.

  The bedroom door cracked open behind her.

  Becca swallowed the next sob, which felt like swallowing glass, and turned to see whether it was the wind or a person who’d opened the door.

  Joey’s face was framed in the crack between the door and the frame, her huge green eyes staring up at Becca. When they made eye contact, Joey pushed the door open. “Why are you crying in here?”

  “I wasn’t,” Becca said, putting a smile that felt like the world’s biggest lie on her face. “I’m completely fine. Do you need something?”

  Joey shoved both hands in her pockets, looking exactly like her father. “I love you,” she said, and the vulnerability in her voice cracked Becca down the middle. “I want you to stay.”

  Becca knelt in front of her and eased Joey’s hands out of her pockets so she could hold them. “I want to stay, too.” She looked into the little girl’s eyes. “But I don’t have a place to live here if I can’t buy the ranch.”

  Joey shrugged, her eyes bright. “Just marry my dad. It’s easy. If you marry him, you’ll have a place to stay.”

  Becca gave Joey’s hands a gentle squeeze. “I don’t think your dad would want that, hon.” She couldn’t tell Joey the truth—that Cade was afraid to trust after what had happened with his past wife and the dream he’d had for her. She also couldn’t tell Joey that she’d consider staying if Cade asked her to, but she didn’t want to stay as a guest on the ranch. She wanted to be a partner in the business. In Cade’s life. He didn’t want that. He’d made it abundantly clear—another thing she couldn’t tell Joey. “It’s just not going to happen. But I promise I’ll stay in contact with you. You don’t have to wor
ry about me disappearing off the face of the earth. In fact…” Becca stood and rummaged through her things for the small notepad she kept in her purse. She hadn’t had to use it since she’d come to the ranch because, for the first time in years, she’d had time to do everything she really needed to do.

  “What are you doing?” Joey’s chin quivered, and Becca’s heart tore in two. She hadn’t been on the ranch long, and she and Cade had spent so much time trying to pull themselves apart. But it had been impossible. He was everywhere on the ranch, and everywhere in the house, and Becca’s entire body longed for him. She could have sustained herself on just the memory of the time they’d spent in her bed.

  Another thing she couldn’t tell Joey.

  “I’m writing down my cell number, and my email. Do you have a phone?”

  “Yeah,” admitted Joey. “It’s usually dead. I don’t sit around on it all day, like some kids in my class.” Hope flared in her eyes. “But if you’re giving me your number…”

  “You call me any time you want. Or text me. Whatever’s easier for you. And email me, if you’ve got to tell me something longer. I’ll write back.”

  Joey took the paper and cupped it in her palms, like it was the most precious thing she’d ever seen. “I’ll call you,” she said, a determined set to her jaw. “I will. Are you—” The hard set disappeared, and her chin wobbled again. “Are you leaving right now?”

  Becca’s head throbbed in response. “No. I don’t—” She had been about to say I don’t think I could drive my car, but she didn’t want Joey to get that stuck in her head and worry about it when she did drive away next morning. “I need to get some rest.”

  “Joey? Dinner.” Cade’s voice echoed up the halls, sending a stab through Becca’s chest. What was wrong with her? Why had she let herself feel so hopeful about all of this? It was her own fault. Cade had been hesitant to sell the ranch on the very first day. A person who really wanted to sell would have taken the cash and packed up their things. She should have known. She should have known. But she drew herself up to her full height and took a deep breath. She put on a smile for Joey.