“A little over three weeks and it will all be over,” Lily replied. “Did you volunteer to work that night?”
“Not me. I get enough of the kids during regular school hours. What about you?”
“I’m working the fair,” Lily replied. “I figured Caleb was going to be there anyway, so I might as well help out.”
“With both of our boys occupied for a little while, do you want to stop by the Watering Hole on the way home and grab a drink?” Krista asked. She flipped her bleached-blond hair over her shoulder. “Maybe we can find a couple of good-looking cowboys to buy us a drink.”
Lily laughed. “You know I don’t roll that way.” She knew Krista spent quite a bit of time at the popular bar with some of the other teachers both after school and on the weekends, but Lily had only gone with them a couple of times.
“You’re never any fun, Lil,” Krista said with a pout.
Lily laughed again. “That’s me, just plain old boring Lily.”
“Oh, you know I didn’t mean it that way,” Krista hurriedly replied.
“I’m still taking my boring butt home now so I can relax awhile before I need to pick up Caleb.”
“Then I’ll just see you tomorrow morning.”
The two women said their goodbyes and then parted to go to their cars. As Lily drove toward home, she tried to empty her mind and just enjoy the drive, but it was impossible not to think about her dire financial situation.
A heavy wave of hopelessness descended on her shoulders. It was looking like it was going to be impossible for her to hang on to the land, on to the house she had bought a little over ten years ago.
She couldn’t believe it was coming down to this. All her hard work, all her hopes and dreams of having this ranch to eventually hand over to her son when he was old enough, were crashing down around her.
An old resentment threatened to surge up inside her. Damn Cody Lee, wherever he was. When she’d bought her place, he’d promised to work it with her. He’d also promised to love her and to be by her side forever. All lies.
She shut down any further thoughts of Cody. They only reminded her that she would never, ever trust a man or love again. Her finances weren’t going to change, and she definitely couldn’t change the past. The only thing she was grateful for was that Cody had given her Caleb.
Still, as she pulled down the long driveway to her house, her love for her home buoyed up inside her. The three-bedroom ranch house was painted white with forest-green shutters and trim, and it was flanked by large trees on either side that now sported beautiful orange, gold and red leaves.
Some distance away from the house were the barn and several outbuildings. This had been her home for ten years and she loved it here. But now she was terrified that she would lose it all.
She parked and went into the house and carried the papers she’d brought home to grade to the kitchen table. She then made herself a cup of hot tea and sank down to work on her third graders’ papers. She loved teaching, but it had never been her first choice for what she wanted to do with her life. She’d only gotten her teaching degree as a backup plan.
She’d wanted to be a rancher, and when she’d bought this place, she’d believed she and Cody would work this ranch together. They’d raise cattle and kids. But that dream had died when she’d gotten pregnant and Cody had immediately disappeared from her life, along with most of the money she’d saved up and had in her bank account.
By the time she’d graded all the papers, it was time for her to head back into town to pick up Caleb from his friend’s house. Minutes later Caleb was in the truck and they were heading back home.
The conversation revolved around the project the two boys were working on, and once they got home, he sat at the kitchen table and did his homework while she cooked, and then they ate dinner.
After that, they cleared the dishes together, and then Caleb went back to his bedroom to play video games before bedtime. Lily sank down on the sofa. It wasn’t long before she headed down the hallway to Caleb’s bedroom. She knocked and then opened his door. He was on the bed playing a car-racing game.
“Hey, buddy. Are you winning?”
Caleb paused the game. “I keep getting almost to the end, but before I get there I crash and burn.”
“So, you need to practice more on your driving skills before I let you drive my car,” she replied teasingly. Caleb’s brown hair shone with gold highlights. He had beautiful blue eyes and she thought he was a good-looking boy. She knew she might be biased, but she’d had others comment on his handsomeness.
Caleb now flashed her his beautiful smile. “I can’t wait until I’m old enough to drive your car.”
Lily laughed. “You’ve got a way to go. And now you have fifteen minutes and then it’s time for lights out.”
“You make me go to bed so early,” he grumbled.
“Boys need plenty of sleep to grow big and strong and do well in school.” She walked over to him, swiped his unruly brown hair off his forehead and kissed him. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”
She left his room and went into the living room and sank down on the sofa. Caleb was her very heart and soul, but lately she’d been worried about him. He had started displaying some anger issues, and she didn’t know where they came from. He’d been in trouble both in school and at the community center a couple of times for fighting or disorderly conduct, and she had no idea what he was so angry about.
She had tried to get him to talk to her about anything that might be troubling him, but he absolutely refused. She had also hoped that he might confide in Jerod Steen, who was a strong male role model at the community center where Caleb went a couple of evenings a week, but that hadn’t happened, either.
Her cheeks now burned with remembered embarrassment as she thought of Jerod. She was relatively sure he had overheard her conversation with Larry at the bank earlier that day. It was embarrassing enough to find herself in such financial straits, but it was even worse that somebody else now knew about it.
She’d already arranged to sell a lot of her Hereford steers to the stockyard in Oklahoma City in two weeks, which would give her the money to at least catch up on the mortgage. But Margery Martin, the president of the bank, could be a real witch, and she’d already warned Lily of impending foreclosure proceedings.
Lily worried that she didn’t have two weeks left before Margery lowered the boom. Even if Lily was able to catch up on the payments, there was always going to be another payment...and another...and another. Her teaching pay wasn’t enough to do everything.
With a deep sigh, she returned to Caleb’s bedroom. “Time for lights-out, Caleb.”
“I know.” He turned off his game and then snuggled down beneath his sheets. She sank down on the edge of the twin bed with him, grateful that he really rarely fought her about bedtime. He could be such a good boy, and she wished she could help him with his anger issues.
“Good night, my sweet boy,” she said and pulled the sheets up closer around his neck.
“Good night, my sweet mother,” he replied with a giggle and wrapped his arms around her neck and gave her a big hug.
She cherished these moments of closeness with him, which were becoming rarer as Caleb got older. He held her for just a few seconds and then released her. She deposited another kiss on his forehead and then got up. “Sweet dreams,” she said and then left his room.
She went into the kitchen and made herself a cup of hot tea, then carried it into the living room and sank down on the sofa. She was exhausted but too stressed out to go to bed so early.
A weary sigh escaped her. She only had one ranch hand, because there wasn’t enough money to hire more. She knew in order for the place to be really successful she needed to throw more money at it, but at the moment she was living hand to mouth.
She’d only taken a couple of sips of her tea when she hea
rd the crunch of gravel outside, indicating somebody had just pulled up.
She got up and moved to the window. She pulled the curtain aside and mentally groaned as she saw Jerod’s familiar truck parked outside. What now? Caleb had been at the community center the evening before. Had he caused trouble? Gotten into another fight?
She moved to the front door and opened it just as Jerod stepped up on her front porch. “Jerod,” she greeted him.
“Hi, Lily. I know it’s rather late, but could I come in and speak with you for a few minutes?”
“Of course.” She opened the door wider so he could enter. He brought with him the scents of fresh air and a faint fragrance of a pleasant cologne. She closed the door behind him and then gestured him to the sofa.
She sat next to him and turned to face him. “What has he done now?” she asked with a sense of dread.
“Actually, I’m not here about Caleb,” he replied.
She looked at him in surprise. The only time she’d ever had any interaction with Jerod had been when he’d spoken to her about Caleb losing his temper at the community center.
She certainly wasn’t immune to the fact that Jerod was a very good-looking man. His thick dark brown hair was slightly shaggy and his eyes were the color of rich chocolate. Still, the scar that ran down the side of his face and the fact that he seemed stingy with his smiles made him look hard and unapproachable, although she knew the boys he worked with adored him.
He was a tall and slim man, but with broad shoulders and big biceps that spoke of strength. There was an air of confidence to him that added to his attractiveness.
“Then why are you here?” she asked.
“I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation this morning at the bank.”
Her cheeks flamed hot. “I’m so embarrassed that you heard that.”
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We all go through hard times,” he replied.
“Yes, but unfortunately I don’t see a real end to my hard times,” she confessed.
“I know you work as a teacher. I also know you have some good pasture here. Who is working your ranch for you?” he asked.
“Right now I only have one ranch hand, Rod Landers.”
Jerod frowned. “How is he working out for you?”
She shrugged. “Better than nobody. He’s a nice guy and seems very loyal to me.” She looked at him curiously. “Why are you asking me all this? If you want a job here, I’m certain I can’t afford you.”
He shifted positions and gazed at a point just over her head. Was he nervous about something? Why was he really here? What did he want? She waited for him to tell her.
“I’m looking for something a little more permanent than to be a ranch hand for you,” he finally said.
She frowned in confusion. “More permanent? I don’t understand. What do you mean?”
His gaze met hers again. “There’s something I want that I think you can give me, and in return I can save your ranch.”
She was even more confused now than she had been. “Jerod, what are you talking about?”
“I want a family, and I want a child of my own. What I’m proposing to you is a marriage of convenience. We get married, you give me a child and I’ll work hard to turn your ranch around, but I’d want us to stay married so my child would be born and raised in a real family, and I would accept Caleb as my own son.”
Lily stared at him in stunned surprise. Was he really serious? Or was he completely insane?
Chapter 2
“Jerod... I... I don’t even know what to say. Are you being serious, or is this some kind of a joke?”
A deep embarrassment swept through Jerod. What on earth had he been thinking to come here and actually voice his crazy idea out loud to Lily? He immediately got to his feet.
“Never mind, Lily. It...it was just a stupid idea. I just assumed you had nobody in your life and I don’t have anyone in mine and maybe we could help each other out. Just forget it. Forget I was even here.”
Before she could say another word to him, Jerod practically ran out of the house. Once he was in his truck and heading back to the ranch, he cursed himself for acting on his insane idea.
He’d stewed on his plan all afternoon and into the early evening and had somehow convinced himself it wasn’t such a crazy idea after all. Thankfully he hadn’t told anyone back at the ranch what he was going to do. If the other cowboys got wind of what he’d just done, they’d laugh him clear out of town.
Lily probably thought he had a screw loose to even broach this with her. God, he wished he could take back what he’d just done. Now it was really going to be awkward whenever he ran into her or had to speak to her about her son.
When he returned to the ranch, he went straight to his room rather than going to the rec room to socialize. He really didn’t feel like talking to anyone. He just wanted to mentally kick his own butt for being so damned stupid.
Over the next two days, he worked hard on the ranch and tried to forget he’d ever made the stupid proposition to Lily. Thankfully, he hadn’t seen her since he’d embarrassed himself in front of her.
He was now seated at the dinner table with Mac on one side and Donnie Brighton on the other. Donnie had been hired about six months ago. He was good-natured and got along with everyone. He was also a hard worker who took pride in doing a good job. He’d immediately been a good fit with the other cowboys.
“Thankfully, we’ve managed to have a stretch of peace when it comes to the Humeses’ men,” Mac said.
“Let’s don’t tempt fate by even talking about them,” Jerod replied.
The ranch next to the Holiday spread was owned by a man named Raymond Humes. Raymond was a vindictive old man who had hated Big Cass, and his ranch hands continued to stir up trouble for the Holiday Ranch. There had been intentionally set fires and downed fencing and cattle stealing. The Humeses’ men were responsible, but they were rarely arrested because of a lack of hard evidence.
“Whenever I get my own place, I’ll make sure the neighbors are friendly and there’s no mean-hearted people like Humes’s men living next to me,” Jerod added.
Donnie raised an eyebrow. “Are you thinking of moving on from here?”
“Eventually I’d like to have my own spread,” Jerod replied. “But I’m not leaving anytime today or tomorrow.”
“Well, that’s good,” Donnie replied and then turned his attention to Mac. “Hey, I saw a flyer announcing that the Croakin’ Frog band is playing at the Watering Hole this Saturday night. Are you playing with them?”
“Yeah, they asked me to join them for the night,” Mac replied.
Mac had an amazing singing voice, and many evenings when the cowboys gathered in the rec room he entertained them by singing and strumming his guitar. Mac was also the resident horse whisperer. He was in charge of breaking and training horses that Cassie bought, and he often worked with other horses that ranchers around the area brought to him.
“Do you ever think of joining the Croakin’ Frog band permanently?” Donnie asked Mac.
“Nah. They travel a bit, and I haven’t wanted to do that. Besides, playing my music and singing for you guys is enough for me,” Mac replied.
Maybe this was what the rest of his life would look like, Jerod thought as he listened to Mac and Donnie talk. Good friends and good food, evenings spent listening to Mac’s music...maybe this was all Jerod could expect for the rest of his life.
It would be a pleasant life, much better than he’d ever dreamed of when he’d been fifteen and had run out of a seedy motel room, bloodied by his mother. Yes, it was a good life here on the Holiday Ranch. He just wanted more.
After dinner and cleanup, they moved from the eating area to the sofas and chairs in another part of the same room. This space also had bookshelves filled with books and a television that was rarely turned on
.
Seven of them settled in as Mac picked up his guitar and began to strum a tune. Jerod relaxed back into the sofa, enjoying the sense of brotherhood that always accompanied these evenings.
Mac had only been playing for a few minutes when another one of the new cowboys, Jeff Haggarty, walked into the room. They all greeted him, and then he directed his attention to Jerod. “When I was headed here from my room, there was a lady knocking on your door. I told her you were probably back here and I’d get you for her.”
“Oh, okay.” Jerod got to his feet amid hoots and teasing from the other men. It could only be one woman knocking at his door, and he could only imagine why she was here. He could guess that Lily had stewed on his proposition for a while and was probably here to twist his hat into a million knots for even thinking she was the kind of woman who would be interested in his crazy idea.
And he wouldn’t blame her. It had been completely inappropriate for him to voice such a harebrained idea to her. He left the building to walk around to the cowboy rooms on legs that moved in dread. He definitely wasn’t looking forward to facing her once again.
He turned the corner, and there she was, standing in front of his door. She was clad in a pair of jeans that hugged her slender legs and a bulky black sweater. Her features were completely unreadable as she watched his approach.
“Lily,” he greeted her.
Immediately one of her hands reached up and twirled a strand of her hair, letting him know that she was nervous. “Hi, Jerod.” Her gaze darted around the area. “Uh...is it possible we could go someplace private and talk? Maybe we could go into your room and have a private conversation?”
“Okay,” he replied with surprise. This was the very last thing he’d expected from her. Maybe she just wanted to berate him in the privacy of his own home.
He opened his room door, grateful that he was a neat man. His twin bed was made up with the navy spread, and the top of his chest of drawers and nightstand were dust-free. He pulled a folding chair out of his small closet and opened it, assuming she might not feel comfortable with both of them sitting on the narrow bed.
The Cowboy’s Targeted Bride Page 2