Her Cowboy Hero

She was cut off by Scarlett’s frantic barking. The house rattled as the front door swung open with gale force. Hannah turned, an automatic smile blossoming as a child’s voice hollered, “Mommy!” Then a little boy with a curly mop of hair nearly as dark as Hannah’s skidded around the corner, launching himself at her in an exuberant hug.

Colin’s heart clenched. The same delicious aromas that had been making his mouth water now turned his stomach. Nausea and memories boiled up inside him. Physically, the dark-eyed little boy didn’t bear any resemblance to Danny, but he looked about the same age Danny would have—

“I have to get out of here.” Addressing his words to no one in particular, he dropped his plate on the counter and strode toward the living room.

Colin’s nerves had held steady while working with numerous wild-eyed horses too scared to realize he was trying to help; hell, he’d kept his cool during a stampede. But there were limits to his bravery. He couldn’t be around kids.

He’d never taken a job where young children lived, and the Silver Linings Ranch would be no exception.

* * *

WHAT JUST HAPPENED? Hannah was so stunned by Colin’s announcement that it took her a moment to process his abrupt exit. This wasn’t the first time someone had turned down her job offer, but none of the other candidates had actually bolted. She’d hit a new low in the interview process. “Wait!”

Gently disentangling herself from her son’s sticky hug—was that jam on his fingers?—Hannah sprinted after Colin. And drew up short to avoid smacking into him. He, in turn, had apparently halted to avoid running over a startled Annette.

The blonde’s mouth had fallen open in a perfect O, making her look like a comic strip character. “Um, hi?” Her eyes darted to Hannah. “Sorry, I...forgot you had a breakfast meeting.”

Fat chance. Given the concern Annette had expressed over a stranger spending the night, Hannah wasn’t surprised her friend had come over first thing to check on her. At least Annette hadn’t dragged her husband, Todd, along. No doubt Annette had plenty of questions about why the man who should be sitting comfortably at the table listing his credentials had almost mowed her over.

Hannah stepped forward to make introductions—which just so happened to strategically place her between Colin and the front door. “Colin, meet Annette. She’s here to drop off Evan and pick up some cupcakes. They’re really good, if I do say so myself.” Deep down, she hoped that if she kept talking, he couldn’t leave. He might be gruff, but surely he wasn’t brusque enough to walk out midconversation? “Annette, this is Colin Cade. We were about to eat and discuss Colin’s previous ranch experience.”

“No, we weren’t,” he said firmly. He gave a curt nod in Annette’s direction. “Ma’am.”

Annette raised a pale eyebrow. “Don’t let me interrupt.”

He shook his head, already moving toward the door again. Something in his demeanor suggested he would pick up Hannah and remove her bodily from his path if necessary. “Nothing to interrupt. I was on my way out.” He opened the screen door, letting it clatter shut behind him.

Gesturing toward the kitchen in an all-purpose indication that Annette should help herself to the food and please keep an eye on Evan, Hannah followed. Was it her son’s appearance that had sent Colin fleeing, or had she been too manic in her perky approach? One of her favorite high school teachers had always said that enthusiasm was contagious, but that didn’t seem to be the case with Colin. Maybe she should dial it back a notch.

His much longer legs gave him the advantage. He was already down in the yard, but she wasn’t too proud to jog down the porch steps.

“Wait, Colin, I—” Crack.

The board under her gave way, and Hannah gasped as her foot went through the fissure at a wrong angle. Suddenly, he was at her side, his hands warm on her hips as he lifted her. For a big man, he moved surprisingly fast.

“You’re hurt.” Putting his arms around her, he lifted her vertically so she wouldn’t have to navigate the steps and lowered her onto the porch. Tingles of awareness erupted like goose bumps across her skin. It had been eternities since she’d been that close to a man.

“Twisted my ankle,” she said breathlessly, “but it’s nothing ice and ibuprofen won’t fix.”

He glowered, those blue eyes stormy. “You seem to have some strange ideas about what’s fixable. Your truck’s a pile of scrap metal, and you live in a house that’s rotting out from under you.”

“It is not.” Annoyed, she shoved away from him, not even caring that she had to hobble to do so. “I’ll admit the steps need replacing—all the rain hasn’t helped. Maybe some of the railing is a little loose, too. But I made sure the main house was structurally sound before I moved my son here.”

At the mention of Evan, Colin’s gaze skittered behind her, as if she’d reminded him that there was a nuclear warhead inside rather than a four-year-old boy.

“Wow. You really don’t like kids, do you?”

He blanched, but didn’t answer.

Admitting defeat, Hannah shook her head sadly. She was stubborn, not delusional. “Thank you for changing my tire yesterday. Safe journeys wherever you’re headed next.”

Trying to keep her weight off the throbbing ankle, she pivoted toward the door. With a sound of strangled frustration, Colin clamped his fingers around her upper arm.

“I don’t know where I’m going next,” he said through gritted teeth. “But I’m replacing those damn steps before I go.” He glanced around the spacious wraparound porch. “This entire thing’s probably a safety hazard that should be reinforced, if not rebuilt.”

Renewed hope surged through her, eclipsing her pain. “I insist on paying for your time as well as the materials.” She kept her voice calm, trying not to betray her joy at this small victory.

“You have tools?”

She nodded. “There’s a small detached garage behind the house. Pretty well stocked, as far as I can tell. I can show you.”

He slanted her an assessing glance. “You should get inside, off that ankle. If you’ve got a tape measure handy, I’ll start taking measurements.”

“Sure. I’ll send Annette out with it. She can take you to the garage.” Hannah made a mental note to instruct her friend not to interrogate Colin or overwhelm him with boisterous conversation. Otherwise, he might follow his original impulse and bolt. As it stood, she had at least a couple of days, a window of opportunity to plead her case. But with more subtlety this time.

He narrowed his eyes. “Just this one repair job. That’s not the same as signing on with you, Mrs. Shaw.”

She nodded innocently. We’ll see about that.

Chapter Three

In the parking lot of a Bingham Pass diner, Colin sat inside a truck older than he was, as disoriented as if an Arabian Thoroughbred had kicked him in the skull.

Earlier that morning, he’d been ready to jump on his motorcycle and put Hannah Shaw, her energetic son and her ill-fated ranch all behind him. Yet he’d spent several hours purchasing lumber and paint and getting a new tire for her misbegotten truck. Since he’d never actually gotten around to eating breakfast—and because he was in no hurry to return to the Silver Linings—he’d stayed in town for lunch.

Bingham Pass, like his hometown of Cielo Peak, was rife with local gossip. As soon as Colin had mentioned the Silver Linings Ranch, the waitress had sighed sadly and remarked that Hannah’s husband, a marine, had been killed overseas.

I was taught self-defense by a marine, and I’m a lot tougher than I look.

In hindsight, Colin acknowledged that his worry and anger at seeing Hannah fall through that bottom step had been disproportional to her minor injury. She seemed irrepressible. A mild sprain wouldn’t keep her down for long. But how could he walk away, knowing a young woman or her kid might be hurt when he could have prevented it?

He couldn’t leave with a clear conscience until he replaced the boards. Paradoxically, he still couldn’t bring himself to return to the ranch yet—hence the sitting in a parked truck. He needed the few extra moments to brace himself for whatever surprise came at him next.

Ever since spotting Hannah through the rain, he’d felt off-kilter, unbalanced by her identity, her affable hellhound, the discovery that she had a little boy. None of it was what he’d expected. He should phone the so-called buddy who’d given him this lead. Colin had a few choice words for the man who’d led him to believe the “frail Widow Shaw” was a little old lady.

He powered up the cell phone he usually kept turned off. If asked, he would claim he left it off to make the charge last, but, truthfully, he was dodging his sister. A few weeks ago, Arden’s husband had undergone major surgery in order to donate one of his kidneys to his biological father. As a concerned older brother, Colin had dutifully answered every one of her calls, wanting to be there for her in case anything had gone wrong.

But she’d abused the privilege. She’d acted as if she were calling with post-op updates on Garrett, but then she inevitably worked the conversation around to how Garrett’s family could use the extra help on the Double F Ranch while he recuperated. Wouldn’t Colin love the opportunity to use his skills on behalf of relatives and spend some time with his infant niece?

Colin knew his sister worried about him, that Arden wanted to help him heal. How could he explain that it hurt to be around her, the glowing new mother with a husband who adored her? Their brother, Justin, wasn’t much better. He was engaged and disgustingly in love.

As soon as his phone finished booting up, it buzzed with the notification that he had 6 Missed Calls from Arden Frost. That was a lot even for her.

Fighting a stab of uneasiness, he dialed his brother Justin’s number. If something were wrong, Justin would know. But if her calls were simply more attempts to recruit him to the Double F so she could keep an eye on him, then he was dodging a bullet by not phoning her directly.

It took a few rings before Justin answered. “Hey, old man. Long time, no hear. To what do I owe the honor?”

His brother’s glib tone sent an unexpected stab of nostalgia through Colin. He hadn’t seen either of his siblings since Christmas, which suddenly seemed like a long time considering how close they’d once been. Although there’d been an elderly aunt’s name on the guardianship papers, Colin had all but raised his siblings after their parents’ deaths.