Her Cowboy Reunion

“We’re good to each other,” the cook teased. Then he spotted Lizzie coming through the door and his grin widened. “And this young woman might have come to help with horses, but she brought reinforcements which only endears her to me more.” His grin indicated Lizzie had won his heart as well. “A man can deal with a whole lotta crazy on a spread like this, but some extra help in the kitchen is appreciated. And Miz Corrie mentioned something about Kentucky ribs that made me even happier,” Cookie added. “We’re gonna try those right soon.”

“The best way to survive on a ranch is by being nice to the cook.” Lizzie gave Cookie one of those utterly sincere smiles she’d practiced on Heath years before, but this time he noticed a difference in the smile. It was older. Wiser. Not jaded, and that was a surprise. But he’d be blind not to see the touch of sadness in her gaze, which made him wonder what had put it there.

She turned toward Cookie. “Do you mind if I take a plate out back? I don’t want to offend, but I want to study some things while I eat.”

“We like ambition in these parts,” the cook assured her. “Miz Corrie told me the same thing. And don’t you be worrying about cooking for yourself in those empty rooms.” He pointed a fork toward the premier horse stables. “You grab food here as needed. It don’t much matter where you lay your head, the food bag’s on for all.”

“Thank you.” Sincerity marked her voice and her gaze. “Corrie and I will appreciate that a lot. I’ll go get her now.” She went up the front stairs just before Jace and four other hungry stockmen strode in.

“Hey, guys!” Zeke high-fived each one, walking down the row of men with a mighty cute swagger.

“You goin’ to the front of the line, little man?” asked Ben, one of the older hands. “No one here minds if you do.”

“Naw.” Zeke faced him, chin up. “Front of the line’s for workers. My dad told me that.”

“Your dad’s a good man. I respect that.” Ben shifted his attention to Heath. “You know I’ll take your place and guide that last group into the northwest hills. I’ve got enough gumption in me yet.”

One of the younger cowboys snort-laughed, making them all grin, but Heath focused on the older man. “It’s not that you can’t do it, Ben. It’s that I should.”

“Ain’t no law sayin’ that, Heath,” Ben reminded him. “Things changed back in March.”

March was when they’d scattered the ashes of Sean Fitzgerald across the land he’d nurtured and loved for over three decades.

“And you should be here, keeping watch. There’s a lot at stake with that next clutch of sheep ready to drop. We’ve got to pick our battles. If we need to divide and conquer when the odds are against us, then that’s what we do.”

Heath started to reply as Corrie and Lizzie came down the stairs. He paused because the sight of two women in the main house lassoed the men’s collective attention, and Heath was pretty sure they wouldn’t hear a word he said until the shock wore off. “Guys, this is Sean’s niece, Elizabeth Fitzgerald. She’s here to take over the equine operation.”

Two of the men looked from him to Lizzie and back, surprised. Jace gave a nod of approval, Wick snapped his fingers the way old guys do, and Ben Fister moved forward. “You’ve got the look of your uncle about you, lass.”

His term inspired Lizzie’s smile. “My grandfather called me that. My mother’s father,” she added. “Not the Fitzgerald side.”

Heath knew that firsthand.

Ian Fitzgerald had never been good with children. He’d expected blue-ribbon equestrianship and top-notch grades from the girls. Other than that, the man had barely acknowledged his granddaughters during Heath’s years at Claremorris. He hadn’t thought much of it then. The older man was bent on building an empire, and did just that, and Heath had been a little awestruck by him.

Now Heath was a father. He saw things differently, which might be why the current state of the ranch hit him hard. He wanted Pine Ridge to succeed, and he appreciated Sean’s bequest, but everything had changed at the worst possible time... Could he be the father he needed to be and keep the ranch in the black when they were short on help?

“I knew Ralph Crawford, back in the day.” Appreciation marked Ben’s voice. “Before Sean moved north. He was a good man that never let the thought of money go to his head. A rare breed. Sean might have gotten his business savvy from Ian but his heart was all Crawford.”

“Not a bad combination,” said Corrie, and Heath put a hand on her shoulder.

“And this is a family friend, Cora Lee Satterly.”

“I’m Wick.” The man leaned forward and shook hands with both women. “Wick Williams, that is. I knowed Sean from the get-go, when he just got here and put money down on a chunk of land before anyone thought too much of it. He done all right for himself in these hills, ladies. I hope you will, too. And I’d like to say I’m sorry for your loss even though not much was said back and forth through the years.”

“To have built up such an amazing business with sheep is surprising, isn’t it?” Corrie asked. “It seems Sean was in the right place at the right time and everything fell into place.”

“Well, it weren’t sheep that built his fortune, but he liked to say that shepherding was good for the soul,” Ben told her.

“If not sheep, then what?” Lizzie asked the question of Heath, but Ben answered.

“Technology stocks. Investments. Sean got in on Silicon Valley’s ground floor back when everything we take for granted today seemed like science fiction. When Ralph passed away, Sean invested his inheritance. So the ranch was built on a foundation of stock options. Not stock. But the stock’s been paying the way for a good fifteen years now. Until—” Ben shifted his gaze to the equine barns. “Which puts a lot on your plate, Lizzie Fitzgerald. Something tells me you’re not as cowed by the whole notion as I thought you’d be, and I can’t tell you what that does for this old heart. Welcome to Pine Ridge. It’ll be mighty nice to have a couple of fine women on the ranch,” he added. “We’ve been mostly men until now, so you’re a welcome addition.”

“And when her sisters arrive, we’ll be four women strong,” said Corrie. “Although Charlotte and Melonie aren’t as ranch-savvy as our Lizzie. But they’re coming to help in whatever way they can.”

Not because they wanted to. Heath knew that. They needed the ranch, or at least their financial share, as much as the ranch needed hands-on help right now. Sean’s will had opened a window of opportunity when their father had shoveled millions of corporate dollars into offshore accounts, leaving the three girls broke and in debt.

Pine Ridge would be co-owned by the four of them. Heath, Lizzie, Melonie and Charlotte, as long as the women put in a year working on the ranch. Sean had done it because he’d felt sorry for the massive change in their finances caused by their father’s actions. But with the large outlay of cash for the equine start-up and the loss of government grazing lands, their solid financial foundation had been temporarily downgraded. If they blew it right now, the only option would be liquidation. And selling everything off would mean he’d failed his friend and mentor. That meant he couldn’t fail.

“Four women in the house?” Ben scratched the back of his head, grinning. “That will be a change in these parts.”

Unless they all ran screaming when they realized the hills of Idaho weren’t exactly the lap of luxury they’d become accustomed to, thought Heath.

He glanced at Lizzie.

She was watching him. Studying his reactions. Reading him, and not looking all that impressed with what she saw.

“Dad! Isn’t this like the best surprise ever?” Zeke grinned up at Lizzie, then Corrie. “And Miss Corrie says she knows how to make real good stuff and that maybe she can teach me like she did for Miss Lizzie, if she doesn’t get in Cookie’s way.”

“I’ll make way for cooking lessons,” said the cook with a grin. “I might learn a thing or two myself, having a genteel Southern woman in the kitchen.”

It wasn’t the best surprise, but it was also out of Heath’s hands. Ben saved him by addressing Zeke’s comment. “It’s a grand surprise, all right, and real nice to have family here. Brad,” he said to one of the younger ranch hands, “are you going to fill your plate so the line moves along? You’ve got some hungry folks waitin’.”

“Ladies first.” The young cowboy indicated the food dishes. “My mama wouldn’t take kindly to me going ahead of ladies.”

“That’s a kindness, for certain, and one I’m willing to accept.” Corrie moved forward. “Thank you, Brad.”

Lizzie followed her.

The men took their plates outdoors. Heath was tempted to follow them, but Zeke had other ideas. “Can we eat in here, Dad? With Lizzie and her friend?”

“Miss Lizzie. And Miss Corrie.”

Lizzie rolled her eyes, but didn’t correct him. His son. His rules. And manners mattered. Sean Fitzgerald might have worked a roughed-up patch of old farmland into a celebrated ranch, but he’d always expected manners from everyone. Heath followed his example.

“We were going to eat in the stable office,” Lizzie began, but when Zeke’s mouth downturned, she moved toward the big table. “But I’d like to get to know you better, too, and supper is the best time for that. Don’t you think?” She sat down and smiled his way.

She’d taken the seat Zeke usually used.

The boy didn’t fuss. He sat down to her right as Heath took the seat at the foot of the table. Corrie sat to his left, opposite Lizzie.

And then Zeke reached for Lizzie’s hand for grace. She gripped his little hand while Corrie reached out for his right hand. That left him and Lizzie unlinked.

He was absolutely, positively not going to hold Lizzie’s hand.

Lizzie seemed just as reluctant, and the only thing that saved them from a full-blown standoff was his beautiful boy. Zeke squeezed Lizzie’s hand and tipped that sweet face up to her. “You’ve got to hold Dad’s hand, okay? Just while we pray,” he added, as if assuring her that she could let go soon. “Like for a minute. All right?” He gazed up for affirmation, looking not only hard but impossible to resist.

Lizzie raised her hand slightly.