The Rancher's Baby Proposal

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Chapter One (#ud70ddb86-b15a-5289-b09c-1d48bcce1f12)

Ally Martinez had begun to doubt she would ever find an eligible cowboy.

In the small-parts aisle of Cowboy Creek Hardware and Feed, she knelt on the unvarnished pine flooring and tried to keep from muttering aloud. After all these years of separating nuts from bolts from washers, hauling bags of feed and restocking spools of twine, she was still as unattached as the day she had begun working here.

It wasn’t as if she had taken the job after high school specifically to find a man. It wasn’t even that she was eager to get married—or to have a brand-new baby, the way her best friend, Tina, had just done. Babies and she didn’t get along. At the touch of her hand, they somehow read her inexperience and knew they didn’t want to have anything to do with her.

No, it wasn’t any of the above that made her long to find a cowboy. She simply wanted someone special in her life. And lucky for her since she lived in ranch country, she had always been partial to men who looked good in jeans and a Stetson.

“What’s up with you, girl?” a familiar male voice asked. “You look like you just lost your best friend.”

She sprang to her feet and wiped her dusty hands on her jeans. Smiling, she turned to face the tall, white-haired man standing at the end of the aisle. “You’d better not have lost her, Jed, since I left you in charge of her and the baby.”

“I sure hope that little one doesn’t pick up any of your sauciness, young lady.” Even as Tina’s grandfather pretended to scowl at her, he laughed. They knew each other well. In his seventies now, Jed Garland had semiretired but still oversaw the running of Garland Ranch. He definitely stayed on top of things when it came to the Hitching Post, his family-owned hotel on the same property.

“How are Mama and baby?” she asked as she approached him. “Did they get discharged from the hospital today, as planned?”

“They sure did.” He beamed. “Cole brought them both home earlier this morning.”

“Great. Can I come visit tonight?”

“Now, since when do you have to ask? The Hitching Post is your second home. You’re free tonight?”

“Well...” He would expect a teasing response. Everyone expected lightheartedness from Ally Martinez, whose senior high school claim to fame was being voted The Girl Most Likely to Make You Laugh. “I do have lots of options, Jed. I could hang out at the Bowl-a-Rama, the Big Dipper or SugarPie’s. Except I don’t feel like bowling, don’t have a taste for ice cream and certainly don’t need any of Sugar’s famous desserts.” Grinningly wryly, she patted her “generous” hips, as Mama called them.

“Of course, there’s always the Cantina,” he said.

She nodded. On many Fridays and Saturdays, she spent her nights at the only restaurant in Cowboy Creek, New Mexico, with both a bar and a dance floor. “You know I love to dance. But truthfully—” and she certainly did mean it “—tonight, I’ll be thrilled to see Tina and the baby instead.”

“Good. I’ll tell her to expect you.”

He turned to leave, then suddenly took a step backward. “Sorry, young man, I almost stampeded you.”

From where she stood in the aisle, she could see only the brim of a worn Stetson and the shoulder and arm of a man wearing a T-shirt as snug as her jeans. Wrapped around that biceps, though, snug looked good.

“Well, I’ll be,” Jed said, sounding delighted. “Reagan Chase, great to see you again.”

Ally’s heart skipped a beat. Her thoughts began to race. Was it really Reagan, the boy who had left town seven years ago and left her with a broken heart? Was she going to pass out right here in the nuts-and-bolts aisle of the store?

What, and let him know how much seeing him again had affected her? Not in her lifetime.

Instead, she called up her usual response when life threw something bad or sad or uncomfortable her way. She pasted on a smile and pretended it didn’t matter.

She reacted just in time, as Reagan stepped into view and reached out to shake Jed’s hand. Reagan’s shoulders had gotten broader since she had last seen him. He’d grown taller, too. His hand looked firm and strong...and tanned. She wouldn’t have expected that from a man—a boy—who had left his hometown to go away to college in the city.

“What are you doing in Cowboy Creek?” Jed asked.

“I came back to take care of business.”

Reagan’s voice had also changed over the years. It had always been deep but now sounded hollow, too, with a serious tone she didn’t recognize.

“It’s been a while since my dad died,” he continued, “and it’s time to sell the ranch. You know our place as well as anyone does, Jed. If you hear of somebody looking for a spread that size, I’d appreciate it if you would share the info and pass my name along to them.”

“I’m happy to do that for you, of course. But I had always hoped you’d come back and work the ranch yourself someday. I know your mama and daddy looked forward to that, too.”

Ally held her breath, waiting for Reagan’s response. His family’s ranch was the only tie he had left to Cowboy Creek. If he sold that...

But he didn’t respond to Jed’s question. Instead, he turned his head and spotted her standing like a common eavesdropper in the small-parts aisle.

“Ally.” He removed his Stetson and nodded, giving her a brief smile. It was nothing like the broad grin she had loved since grade school and seen less and less often during their high school days. His face looked drawn, lined with fatigue. Her heart thumped. Was he ill?

“I’d best be getting along,” Jed said. He clapped Reagan on the shoulder. “Son, you stop by and visit us at the Hitching Post, y’hear me?”

Reagan nodded. “I will.”

Jed ambled away. Reagan stood looking at her. She stared back, fighting to find something to say. In an instant, she had returned to being the gawky teenager dying for the older boy’s attention. She had never gotten it back then. Now that she had it, she didn’t know how to respond.

Pull yourself together, that’s how.

“Hi, Reagan,” she said, hoping he couldn’t hear the slight tremor of excitement in her voice. “I...I heard what you said to Jed. I’m sorry you’re thinking of selling your ranch.”

“Not thinking of it. Doing it. As soon as I can get the place cleared out enough to put it up for sale.”

His parents had lived their entire married lives in the house on that ranch. Reagan had lived there, too, until he had gone away to school. There must be so many memories wrapped up in the property...and so many personal items in the house. He would need a while to get it ready to sell. Meanwhile, would he spend that time here in Cowboy Creek? She crossed her fingers.

He gestured down the aisle. “Taking care of some shopping?”

“Oh. No. I’m not much of a do-it-yourselfer. I work here, have worked here since I graduated five years ago.” By that point, he had already left town. After getting his degree, rumor had it, he had accepted a fancy job in the big city of Houston, Texas. Smiling, she shrugged. “I’m still only a small-town girl who replaced school with a dead-end job paying barely above minimum wage. But who’s complaining?”

He looked at her thoughtfully. “Do you get any time off?”

Her stomach fluttered as if a dozen butterflies had taken wing inside her. Sad. She had just acknowledged she was no longer a schoolgirl. She should also no longer be prey to her feelings for the boy she had once loved. And yet, she couldn’t tamp down her excitement. “Yes, I get evenings off. I only work seven to three. And once in a while I have a free day during the week, when I have to work Saturday. But that’s not too often.”

His mouth curved into a small, one-sided smile. “It’s almost three now. If you don’t have any plans for right after work, would you be able to meet me at SugarPie’s for a cold drink?”

“Yes.” Her voice cracked. She hid her nerves behind a cough. “My throat’s very dry. I could definitely use a cold drink.” But none of Sugar’s delicious desserts.

It didn’t matter. With Reagan sitting across from her, she would get all she needed of something sweet.

* * *

ONCE HE ARRIVED at SugarPie’s, Reagan found a reception committee waiting for him. At midafternoon, the sandwich shop wasn’t that busy, but the customers, the waitress and even Sugar herself had greeted him the moment he’d walked in.

As the crowd surrounded him, a wave of memories seemed to engulf him, too. These were all friends of his, friends of his folks’ and, for a moment, it felt like the old days before he’d left Cowboy Creek. For another, longer moment, he wished he could turn back the clock, change history, erase some of the things he had said and done...