The Rancher's Homecoming

“She’s been so excited about seeing her,” Jon told him. “Glad you bit the bullet and came back. If for no other reason than to let her meet her aunt and grandfather in person.”

Chance avoided his brother’s disapproving gaze. He didn’t need a lecture, nor did he want one.

“Gen and Abby can’t wait to meet her. And their famous uncle. They have a surprise planned for tomorrow night.” Jon knocked his glass against Chance’s. “I have a feeling the terrible two are about to become the terrifying trio.”

“Bite your tongue,” Hadley said. “Your girls are angels.”

“They are now,” Jon chuckled. “You two get the after-Lydia product. If you’d like to hear tales of the before, just ask around town. You’ll get an earful.”

“When did we turn into the kind of men who sit around talking about their kids?” Granted, Chance preferred that topic over anything horse-related.

“And all girls no less,” Jon added. “If only Big E could hear us now. So you saw Katie. Everything okay there?”

“Sure.” Chance shrugged. Here it comes. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

Hadley seemed inordinately concerned over a spot on the counter.

“First time you’ve been back since you ran off with her sister. That’s gotta be awkward.”

“For her or me?” Chance asked. “It is what it is. Nothing to be done about it.”

“Maybe something could have been done.” Jon pinned him with a stare. “Before it was too late.”

Chance’s knuckles went white around his glass.

“I think I’m going to take this upstairs.” Hadley scooted around the counter for Rosie’s bag. “Or at least take it to the stairs. Be nice, boys. One of you just got home. You need each other.” She patted Chance’s arm as she passed. “And blood would clash horribly with this tile.”

Chance watched her leave, doing his best to swallow his temper along with any words that might come back to bite him. “If you’re meaning to take Lochlan’s side in what happened, I’d advise you to keep your nose out of it.”

“I’ve always been on your side, Chance.” Jon sat back on the bar stool and studied him.

“Not from where I sit.” Chance finished his drink and carried his glass over to the sink. Had any of his brothers ever gone to bat for him with their grandfather? Had any of them ever defended his dreams or his desire to leave? But that wasn’t what this was about. This argument was about Maura and the pain her father had put her through when she was already in enough to kill her. “That bitter old man refused to talk to his daughter for ten years. Ten. Years.” The anger he’d fought so hard to bury surged back with the force of a tornado. “And why? Because she fell in love with me? Because she wanted something more than the legacy of the ranch her father lived for? Because she chose to leave this dead-end place rather than wither away and turn to dust like her sick mother did? Like everyone who stays here does?”

“Like Katie’s doing? Or me? Or my girls?” Jon arched an eyebrow and folded his arms over his chest.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Even for them, brothers with a penchant for knock-down-drag-outs, this conversation was devolving fast enough to break any record they had of a truce. “Your life, your decision. I don’t begrudge you or anyone else that. I gave Maura the option of staying. I told her I’d come back after taking my shot. I said we could make a long-distance thing work. But she wouldn’t hear of it. She wanted to leave. She wanted to go with me and live our dreams together. And I wasn’t about to tell her no.” As if she would have listened. Montgomery women cornered the market on stubbornness.

“I’m just saying the phone works both ways, little brother. She could have—”

“She did.” Chance slammed his fist on the counter. “Who do you think she called the day after we found out—” His breath caught in his chest and threatened to suffocate him. “The day after she was diagnosed. Maura wanted her father. She wanted the man who had held her as a child, the man who rocked her and told her everything was going to be okay. Even though we knew it wouldn’t be. Do you know what Lochlan did?” Chance rounded on his brother and felt relief at the shock on Jon’s face. “He hung up on her. So don’t you dare sit in judgment of me and my decisions. He broke his little girl’s heart. And for that I will never forgive him.”

* * *

“I’M HOT,” ROSIE whined and slumped against Katie as they crested the hill.

“I bet you are, Little Miss.” Katie pressed a kiss to Rosie’s head, an excuse to check and make sure she wasn’t getting overheated. “Ranching and riding is hard work. We need to get you a hat.” And about a gallon of sunblock. Fortunately the sun had been trapped behind clouds for most of their ride and Katie could provide enough protection against the rays.

“Are we going home now?”

“The main house is just down there.” Katie pointed to the two-story, weathered white house with green shutters sitting among the outcropping of buildings and the barns. Nearby, the guest cabins loomed, with more than thirty rooms, a dining hall and an activity facility. Checking in on the workers had taken a little longer than expected, which meant Rosie had gone from entertained to bored in about sixty seconds. Even Hip and Starlight hadn’t been enough to distract her. Katie should have known better: the last place an almost five-year-old would want to be was out in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of strangers and a seriously distracted aunt.

Katie wrapped an arm around Rosie and squeezed. She hadn’t been able to help it. Once she’d gotten a hold of Rosie, she couldn’t bear to let her go. Seeing as Chance was in a more amenable mood than she’d expected, she’d taken every advantage.

“I bet Hadley’s made some of her yummy lemonade. Do you like lemonade, Rosie?”

“Uh-huh. Daddy and I make the powder kind out of envelopes at home. But only for special occasions. I like milk. Cows give milk. Daddy says there are cows here.”

“There are. And I can teach you how to milk one if you’d like.”

“Maybe.” Rosie sighed. “Not today. I’m sleepy.” She rubbed her eyes.

“I bet you are.” Katie choked back tears as Rosie closed her eyes and relaxed against her. Katie kicked Starlight and increased to a gentle trot, but she caught herself looking down into the little girl’s face. Grief washed over the hole that had been hollowed out of her, a hole left empty by the loss of her sister.

She missed Maura so much sometimes she ached. Even though they hadn’t seen each other in years, they’d talked all the time, texted, teased and informed. Maura had been Katie’s best friend since the moment Katie had been born, only eighteen months behind her big sister. They had been inseparable. Opposites in nearly every way, but inseparable nonetheless.

Until Maura had discovered boys. Even then, only one boy would do.

From the time she was fourteen, Maura Montgomery knew she would marry Chance Blackwell. Anyone who ever saw the two of them together knew it as well. Katie had lost count of the number of times she’d come across them after they’d sneaked out together, or when she’d followed them down to Falcon Creek Lake, where Chance would play his guitar and sing to her. Their feelings for one another had always fascinated and confused her.

Katie didn’t remember a time her parents were happy. Ranch life was hard on a marriage, especially when one spouse—their mother—wasn’t a particularly strong person. Watching Maura and Chance fall in love had created a longing inside Katie she’d since decided simply wouldn’t be fulfilled. No one would ever love her the way Chance loved Maura. No one could ever love the land, the work, the business as much as Katie did.

And she could never tolerate anything less.

Which was why this job, this ranch, meant everything to her. She didn’t have anywhere else to go, and if she looked, she’d probably have to start at the bottom. It might be the twenty-first century, but the idea of hiring a female foreman still didn’t sit well in the male-dominated world of ranching. Besides, she didn’t want to go anywhere else. This was her home, her...everything. And the Blackwells were her family. Which was one reason why she’d been willing to help Big E.

“This plan of yours better work...and fast, Big E,” Katie whispered into the breeze. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep going.”

She’d keep going as long as she had to, Katie told herself. She didn’t have a choice. Everything was falling into place just as Big E predicted and planned. All the Blackwell brothers were home now. She only hoped things worked out before someone learned the truth.

Rosie let out a sleepy sigh that had Katie smiling. The little girl had Maura’s spirit, her enthusiasm and vivacity. And her propensity for being easily bored. That “bring on life ’cause I can take you” attitude oozed out of every pore. The tiny dimple in Rosie’s chin? That was all Chance, as was her nose. The poor kid had been saddled with a double dose of stubbornness from both sides of her gene pool. Katie could only hope Chance would be as amenable to Rosie seeing her grandfather as he’d been letting Katie take her for a ride.

By the time she reached the stables, Rosie’s weight was taking its toll. Katie’s arms ached as she called Conner, her main stable hand and trail leader, over for help in handing her niece off so she could dismount. She removed her gloves, stuffed them into her pockets and picked up her hat before taking back Rosie, a sliver of love winding through her as Rosie linked her arms around Katie’s neck and settled into sleep. She whistled for Hip, who bounded dutifully over to escort them back to the house. Beyond the braying of the miniature donkeys, she heard the bleeting of Billy the goat in the distance. That little guy always knew when Hip came home.

“Right tired one there, Katie.” Connor tipped a finger to his hat and grinned. “You’re hiring them awful young now, aren’t you?”

“Start them early, you know that, Conner.” Katie laughed. “Everything good here?”

“Yes, ma’am. Chuck and Dally are heading out to check on a bull we think might have broken through the fence line. Nothing serious. We’ll get it taken care of.”

“Great. I’ll be heading home soon. Need to check on Dad. I should be back around after dinner.” There were some minor repairs that needed doing on the guesthouse and the activity calendar needed filling and updating. Ranching was a 24/7 occupation. What downtime came, chances were it wouldn’t last long. There was always something that needed tending to. Not that Katie had any idea what to do to relax. She was one of those people incapable of sitting still when there was work to be done.

Katie hummed as she made her way across to the main house. Funny how a seemingly little girl weighed more than a newborn calf. As she rounded the corner she saw Chance standing on the front porch, lounging against the post by the stairs.

Katie’s boot caught in the dirt and she tripped, catching herself before they both toppled to the ground. It wasn’t seeing him there so much that startled her, but the unusual tingling that electrified her heart and had her catching her breath. The way he stood, looking out over the land, sipping a glass of Hadley’s lemonade tea, made Katie think of what it would be like to come home to someone like him after a hard day’s work on the ranch. Would he turn his head, smile at her and be happy to see her, even covered in mud and grime and smelling of cows, horses and worse? Would he hold out his arms to welcome her home, take the child from her and hitch her into his own grasp and kiss them both hello?

Katie gasped, guilt sweeping the thoughts from her mind. This was Chance she was thinking about. The man who had—to hear Lochlan tell it—destroyed their family. What was she thinking putting Chance in any role other than that of Rosie’s father? And her late sister’s widow.

She was thinking she needed a tall drink and long hot bath. She needed to get her head screwed back on straight. Now was not the time for muddled thinking or distractions. She had to be on top of her game now that Big E had gone from man with a plan to overconfident. She had to be prepared for anything. And anything could not include Chance Blackwell.