Wrangling Cupid's Cowboy

Garrett fired up the snowmobile and headed for the ranch’s main entrance. Even the biting wind against his cheeks didn’t help erase the flash of Delta’s bright smile when they first met...or her resentment toward him when she left. She was the last person he needed to be thinking about. His kids were his first priority, the ranch second. There was no room for hurt feelings.

He arrived at the front gate and waited. The school bus would drop Kacey off in a few minutes and he hoped a ride to the house would cheer her up. The scowl on his daughter’s face when the bus doors opened told him that wouldn’t be the case. He needed to stick to horses. At least they liked him.

“Get on, baby,” Garrett said as she marched past him. “It’s too cold to walk.”

“You’re embarrassing me in front of the other kids,” Kacey ground out. She gripped the straps of her backpack tighter and trudged down the ranch road. “Now they’re going to pick on me tomorrow.”

“No they won’t.” Garrett wondered if all girls were this dramatic at her age. “Get on. The bus left and I’m not taking no for an answer.” He scooted back for her to sit in front of him.

“What about my bag?”

“Give it to me.” Garrett lengthened the straps on the yellow Beauty and the Beast backpack and slung it over his shoulder. Appropriate considering he felt like the Beast this afternoon. “Now get on.”

Kacey climbed over his legs, doing her best not to hold on to him for support. Garrett grinned and revved the engine, causing the snowmobile to lurch forward a few inches. She immediately leaned against him and gripped his arms. “And away we go.”

Dylan hopped out of his lifted black pickup before helping Bryce down as Garrett drove up to the small two-bedroom log cabin. It had been Dylan’s until he’d moved into their uncle’s house. Garrett had given each of the kids a bedroom and he’d taken the loft. It served his needs, plus it wasn’t like he was bringing anyone home to share his bed. He doubted he’d ever be ready for that again. Rebecca had been his entire world for nine years until Kacey came along. And then Bryce. His family had been perfect.

The second the snowmobile stopped, Kacey slid out from under his arms and stomped up the front porch steps. He was getting tired of seeing the back of his daughter’s head all the time.

“Daddy!” Bryce ran to him. “I can write my name.”

Garrett lifted him into his arms. “You can? You’ll have to show me when we get inside.”

“Hey, man, I like the new look.” Dylan nodded to the backpack. “Kind of clashes with your jacket, but I think you wear it well.”

“I thought it complemented my eyes.” Garrett laughed as he climbed the stairs. “Thanks for picking up Bryce from preschool. I appreciate it.”

“No problem.” Dylan followed him into the house, just in time to hear Kacey slam her bedroom door. “It gives me a chance to prepare myself for when Holly’s this age.”

“I think you have a while considering she’s only a few weeks old.”

“You and Harlan keep telling me they grow up fast.” Dylan glanced down the hall toward Kacey’s room. “I take it there hasn’t been any improvement.”

Garrett set Bryce down and helped him out of his snow boots and jacket. “I made it worse. I embarrassed her in front of the kids on the bus because I picked her up on a snowmobile.” He eased Kacey’s backpack from his shoulders and tossed it on the armchair. “My kid hates me.”

“Has she really said that?”

“No, but she thinks it.” Garrett kicked off his own boots.

“I can remember us hating Mom and Dad a time or two when we were kids. It’s growing pains and the stress of starting over in a new place while trying to make friends. We were lucky. We went to school with the same kids year after year. You and I don’t have a clue how hard it is for her to adjust.”

“I know you’re right. It’s just difficult to take sometimes. I hate knowing she’s hurting. She barely eats and stays locked in her room.” Garrett grabbed a box of crayons and a stack of paper from the kitchen counter and set them on the coffee table. “Show me what you learned in school today, champ.”

Bryce chose a blue crayon and began drawing a large letter B. His tiny tongue stuck out between his teeth as he concentrated on his letters.

“How did things go with Delta this afternoon?” Dylan sat cross-legged on the floor across from Bryce. “That’s the most perfect B I’ve ever seen.”

“She’s mad at me, too.” And that bothered him more than it should. He peered over Bryce’s shoulder as he drew a C. “Very good, you’re almost there.”

Dylan’s brows rose. “You better not run off my farrier. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve met. She stays mostly to herself, but she’s a real sweetheart.”

“Look, Daddy.” Bryce handed Garrett the paper.

“Wow!” He ran his fingers over the printed letters. “I’m so proud of you.” He gave Bryce a hug and held it up proudly for Dylan to see. “My son did that.”

“Way to go, little man.” Dylan high-fived the boy.

“Can I go show Kacey?” Bryce asked.

“We’ll show her when she’s feeling better. Go hang it on the refrigerator for me while I talk to your uncle Dylan for a minute.” His son’s sock-covered feet thumped across the hardwood floor as he ran from the room. “The farrier bills are astronomical. With you wanting to keep the horses, I had to cut costs. So, I asked her to cold-shoe them from now on.”

“No wonder she was mad.” Dylan eased off the floor and onto a chair. “That’s not her style. She hasn’t been able to take on new customers in months. She’s in high demand because of her superior craftsmanship. I like her work. Her knowledge has prevented a lot of problems. When our last farrier retired, she effortlessly slid into the position. Let her do her job the way she sees fit.”

Garrett sagged against the back of the couch. “If you wanted a silent partner, then you should have said so ahead of time.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You asked me to go in fifty-fifty and that’s what I did. My fifty percent needs to cut costs in those stables, but you’re making it impossible. I can’t sell any horses. I can’t ask the farrier to save us money. You told me last week you’re happy with our feed distributor. What’s left? The veterinarian?”

“Don’t you dare.” Dylan braced his hands on his knees. “Lydia Presley knows each of my horses by name.”

“Our horses,” Garrett corrected. “A partnership shouldn’t be difficult to grasp considering you had one with Jax.”

“I accept our partnership, but I need you to focus on moving forward and making us money. I cut back all I could last year. When I asked you to run the stables, I didn’t mean for you to change anything. We have guests booked into the ranch the first of the month and we need to stick to our renovation schedule. Let’s try to avoid any further hiccups, please. I’ve had enough of those around here.”

“Fine.” Now Garrett needed to apologize to Delta tomorrow. He’d spent twenty minutes around the woman and already made an ass of himself. Not that he should care. The ranch employed her services and that was the extent of their relationship. “I need to feed my kids. At least the one that will eat.” He started for the kitchen and tripped over Bryce’s boots, causing him to stub his toe on the fireplace hearth. Totally his fault. He’d left them there. “Dammit, that hurts.”

“I have an idea.” Dylan slapped him on the back. “I’ll take the kids to my house, feed them and help Kacey with her homework. You need to let off some steam tonight and Kacey would probably enjoy spending time with Holly. Go into town, get a drink and a bite to eat and then pick them up when you’re ready.”

It was the best idea he’d heard all week. He needed to clear his head of the ranch, and that included Delta. The woman had already stuck in his mind like a fly to honey, and he didn’t need any more complications in his life.

Chapter Two (#u51ba102f-81b7-5ea2-b84e-255a1a0e2fbf)

Complication must be Garrett’s middle name. No sooner had he walked through the doors of the Iron Horse Bar & Grill, when he spotted Delta at the far end of the dimly lit bar. Alone. Apparently, her next stop hadn’t been a customer.

Garrett weighed his options. Walk out before she saw him, grab a booth in the back and pretend he never noticed her, or eat crow and get it over with. Delta’s gaze met his as she lifted a drink to her lips and froze. He could have sworn her shoulders sagged at the recognition, but between the neon beer sign behind her and the waitress temporarily blocking his view as she swept under the stools, he wasn’t a hundred percent certain. Delta lowered her glass and shook her head, destroying any illusion of subtlety, and then waved him over. Garrett had hoped for a burger and a beer, but it looked like he was eating crow for an appetizer. So much for unwinding.

Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” played on the jukebox as he crossed the room and he couldn’t help but notice his boots hit the floor in time with the beat. Before Kacey was born, he and Rebecca had spent every Friday and Saturday night dancing around this very floor. He hadn’t expected the memory to be so vivid eight years later.

“I hope our conversation earlier didn’t drive you here.” Garrett pulled out the corner bar stool next to hers and sat down. “It’s not even five o’clock.”

“I could say the same to you.” Delta sipped at her drink. “I was hungry, frustrated and this is the only place in town that’s not decked out for Valentine’s Day.” Her face soured at the mention of the holiday.

“Bad breakup?” he asked.

“Something like that,” she mumbled, staring down at the amber liquid as she swirled it in the glass.

“I hear you.” Garrett motioned for the bartender. “It’s not my favorite either.” His wife had died four days before the holiday, reminding him every year of what he’d lost.