The Twins' Rodeo Rider

by Tina Leonard

  He smiled again. “I’ll send in the troops if I begin to sense that you can’t handle the situation. But I suspect you have it under control.”

  “All fine and good for the man relaxing with my darling angels.”

  “Which I found out about courtesy of Daisy. She has her good points,” Cisco said, winking.

  “Really not appropriate to remind me of my one transgression.” She smiled at her children, kissed Cisco one last time and hurried back into the kitchen. Daisy sat perched on the stool where she’d been before, looking through the sketches of Christmas cookies Betty had brought over.

  “These are pretty. Some of these are works of art,” Daisy said. She turned a page in the photo book. “Betty could go national with these cookies.”

  “I don’t know if Betty and Jade have ever considered anything grander than selling their delicacies in BC.” Suz plunked down on a stool, took a deep breath. “So you were telling me about this trip you’d like to take.”

  Daisy nodded. “It’s time for space. I’ve thought a lot about my life, and Branch made me realize I’ve never been out of BC. Not since I came here. I know you haven’t, either,” Daisy said quickly, “but this is your hometown.”

  “It’s yours, too.”

  “Not as much. I’m not a native daughter. Branch mentioned that if I’d gone away to college, or lived in another place, I might feel more like I have a place in the world.”

  “Does your dad know you want to travel?”

  “He doesn’t yet. I was still pondering Branch’s observations when Squint came after me and told me you needed me. Frankly, that was music to my ears. So after I help out here, I’ll take my trip. I’ll head to Branch’s, then see the rest of the country.” She smiled. “Just tell me what you need me to do.”

  Suz shifted uncomfortably, thinking fast. She didn’t want to stamp out the kindness that was blossoming in Daisy, because that would be wrong. Suz knew she herself wouldn’t feel very good if she offered in good faith to make amends—which she sincerely felt Daisy was trying to do—and was turned down. “There’s so much to do around here,” Suz said, going for the noncommittal, which just happened to be the truth. “Daisy, Squint was right. We need help on every level. You could pretty much pick your project. How long are you planning to stay in BC?”

  “Until after Christmas. That gives me time to break the news gently to Dad after the holidays. I worry about him, you know.”

  Suz thought she’d never known a man who required worry less, but kept her opinion on that to herself. All her thoughts had to go toward what she could put Daisy in charge of. It was a sticky question. “One thing I could really use some help with is scouting a place for Cisco and me and the girls to live. Some place small,” Suz said quickly. “Very small. Quaint, too.”

  “It can’t be too small, you have two babies.”

  “True.” But she was still a little rattled by Cisco’s offer to pay off their note and mortgage. She didn’t want him to do that—but she wasn’t going to be working for a while so her options to earn were a little limited. “But I’m being careful of my finances until I can work again.”

  Daisy looked at her. “Suz, I know very well Cisco’s family is quite wealthy.”

  “What does that mean to me?” Suz asked stiffly.

  Daisy shrugged. “Nothing, I guess. So, maybe twenty-five hundred square feet for your new home?”

  “That would be perfect. Or even a little less.” The more Suz thought about it, the more she warmed to the idea of Daisy doing their house hunting for them. She and her father knew plenty about the properties in the town. And Cisco could do it, but this would keep Daisy busy and useful.

  “You know Madame Matchmaker’s place is on the market?” Daisy asked.

  Suz froze. “I could never buy their house. I’m still hoping they get back together.”

  Daisy nodded. “Me, too.”

  Nothing could have shocked Suz more. “Do you mean that?”

  “Of course I do! I never wanted them to split up! Who would want that on their conscience?”

  Suz sat dumbfounded. “Daisy, you amaze me.”

  Daisy shook her head. “Them splitting up is bad for me, Suz. I still want my turn at the magic. I don’t know how I’m going to get that turn, but I know a happy matchmaker is a matchmaker who’s paying attention to her job.”

  “Ohh.” Suz wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment.

  “The Martin place is on the market.”

  Suz went completely still. “It’s been on the market for years.”

  Daisy nodded. “Because it’s supposed to be haunted. But you’ve made your living on ghost stories. I think moving into an actual haunted house would even improve your street cred for running the local haunted house.”

  Suz didn’t dare breathe. It felt like an iron band was tightening around her chest. Daisy made it sound like there would continue to be a Haunted H. Could this new Daisy be for real? Did a trip to Montana change a woman so completely? Even give her a heart and a soul?

  Suz sipped her cocoa while Daisy munched thoughtfully on a frosted reindeer cookie. Cisco wandered into the kitchen, hitched himself onto a stool. “My daughters are napping like angels. It’s amazing how well they sleep,” he said proudly. “Like tiny dolls. I put the monitor right by their baskets.”

  Of course they weren’t more than twenty feet from the babies, but Suz still flipped on the monitor in the kitchen, anyway. “Cisco, Daisy suggests we might want to look at the Martin place.”

  He looked at Suz. “Is that the house that’s really haunted? Not like the Haunted H, but actually, truly possessing ghostly activity?”

  Suz laughed. “I don’t know that it’s been verified.”

  “You mean with a ghostbusting team,” Cisco said, and Suz knew he was teasing.

  “I suppose it’s silly. But I can’t help but hesitate,” Suz said. “The ghosts that live there appear to be early settlers to the town who didn’t make it with their ranching business. But they wouldn’t give up and sell, either, so eventually they were never seen again. Rumor has it—”

  “Further rumor,” Cisco interjected.

  “Yes, further rumor is that the reason they were so reluctant to leave is that they were love-struck bank robbers.”

  Cisco grinned. “Love-struck bank robbers who couldn’t keep up with their small house and property on which they were running cattle that wouldn’t turn profitable for them?”

  “Suz has the story right. I know it sounds silly, but that’s been the tale forever. It was one of the first stories I heard when I came to BC, and it sort of gave me the willies.” Daisy held up a cookie decorated like a Christmas tree, studying it. “I still say these cookies are works of art.”

  Cisco shrugged, still smiling. Suz could tell he wasn’t taking any of the story seriously. “So we don’t look at the Martin place. We’ll find someplace else.”

  “If you could talk Dad into not buying your house and business, you could build a small place at the Hanging H,” Daisy said, and Suz nearly fell off her stool.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Suz glanced at Cisco, stunned. That tight feeling around her chest was back—she didn’t dare hope that there was such a change in Daisy. “Daisy, you’re not suggesting there’s a possibility your father could be persuaded to change his mind about calling the liens on our property?”

  Daisy put the cookie down. “It would be good for Dad to slow down a little. He needs to enjoy life. I really worry about his heart, ever since he had that cardiac event.”

  “It was a scary time.” Suz remembered how angry and convinced Daisy had been that events at the Hanging H had caused her father’s health troubles. It wasn’t true, of course; Robert Donovan had a mean streak a mile wide, and he was determined to build an empire on the back of
BC.

  Or he had been. Even Mr. Donovan had been showing signs of softening lately—witness his dread that his only daughter might move off to Montana with a man, never to return. Robert was more scared of that than anything.

  Still, Daisy hated the idea that the magic had passed her by. She honestly believed in what BC had to offer. That could only mean one thing: she could still join their side, even against her father’s position. But Robert would win, too, if his daughter stayed in Bridesmaids Creek.

  “You know, Daisy,” Suz said, “have you ever considered becoming a matchmaker?”

  Cisco and Daisy both stared at her. The silence in the room was of the astounded variety. “Well, have you?” Suz asked. Cisco’s gaze was on her, and though she knew she’d caught him totally off guard, there was a twinkle forming in his eyes.

  “No, I haven’t. I was focused on finding my own match, I suppose.” Daisy looked from Suz to Cisco and back again. “Cosette has always been our matchmaker.”

  “Yes, she has. But the thing is, Cosette’s going through her own rough time.”

  “That’s true,” Daisy said thoughtfully.

  “It wouldn’t surprise me if Cosette was looking for an apprentice,” Cisco said.

  Suz smiled at her husband gratefully. “We could talk to her. Daisy would be a perfect apprentice. And then, Daisy, you’d still have a chance at the magic.”

  “Do you think so?” Daisy looked as if she were almost afraid to believe.

  “I’m almost positive—” Suz stopped as the back door opened. Daisy’s gang of five trooped in, making themselves at home, followed by Betty Harper.

  “Look who I found outside holding down the ground,” Betty said. “They looked hungry, so I invited them in.”

  Daisy sat straight up, staring at her gang. She considered Dig, Carson, Clint, Red and Gabriel. “I know exactly where I’m starting if Suz’s wild-eyed plan for making me a matchmaker actually takes off.”

  Suz and Cisco glanced at each other—then her sexy husband winked at her.

  Oh, the plan was going to take off—like a military jet, if her husband had anything to do with it. Suz could tell by the look in Cisco’s eyes that the plan of putting Daisy in veritable charge of Bridesmaids Creek was one that met with his complete approval.

  It was going to happen sooner or later—at least this way, with Daisy in charge, it pitted Robert against the daughter he loved so dearly.

  * * *

  CISCO PONDERED THE five knuckleheads who’d just invaded their kitchen like lost lambs looking for their shepherdess. Daisy didn’t seem all that happy to see her gang, a development that caught Cisco’s attention. Meanwhile Suz sat calmly at the table, spinning what he thought was a brilliant plan of action.

  He admired his wife’s ability to think on her feet, especially when surrounded by the enemy. “What’s going on, fellows? Thought you were hanging out down at the creek with Sam.”

  “Yeah. We were.” Dig glanced at Daisy. “But he’s going to be there a long time. Says he’s used to living under adverse conditions, and that our creek is quite comfortable. He’d caught a couple of fish and was roasting them on a nice fire when we left. Had a great little fire pit thing going.”

  “Ah. Too rustic for you?” Cisco asked. He knew Sam too well. Sam could stay out there for a few years living like Grizzly Adams. Eventually, it would be hard to find him. He’d melt into the landscape like a shadow, become one with the forest. There was actually some urgency to getting his buddy out of his “camping” zone before the situation went past comfortable for all.

  “A little bit,” Red spoke up. “He’s pretty hard-core.”

  “Yes, he is.” And Sam’s theory was that the creek couldn’t be dammed up and scraped out if someone was legitimately living there. He had to admire Sam for being willing to go the distance for BC. “So you’re here for cookies?”

  “Sure would be nice.” Gabriel put his paw out when the plate of cookies was passed by him. “Thanks, Suz.”

  “How come you guys never married?” Cisco asked. Daisy and Suz looked at him, surprised, then waited to hear the answer.

  “Well, Gabriel always sort of hoped Daisy might have a soft spot for him,” Clint said.

  “Me! It was Dig!” Gabriel exclaimed.

  Dig glanced around, embarrassed. “Carson is the fellow who never stopped making calf’s eyes at you, Daisy.”

  Carson stopped in the middle of snacking on a peppermint-stick-shaped cookie. “It was Red who had hearts in his eyes every time Daisy got within three miles of him. Went all gooey, like marshmallows over a fire.”

  All the men in Daisy’s gang had turned a shade that spoke to their true feelings. “Let me get this straight,” Cisco said, “you’re all in love with Daisy?”

  The five men slowly nodded sheepishly.

  “She always was the town’s best girl,” Dig said.

  Daisy gasped. “Me?”

  Cisco glanced over at Suz, who was smiling at him like he was the best thing since homemade cookies. He really liked that look in her eyes—and if he had his way, that look was going to be there every day of their lives together.

  “I was the town’s best girl?” Daisy asked.

  “Who did you think it was?” Clint asked, seemingly truly mystified.

  “Well, I thought...” Daisy began, glancing at Suz, but Suz pulled out the pot to make more cocoa.

  “Anybody in the mood for a mug of Betty Harper’s delicious, practically county-renowned cocoa?” Suz asked, interrupting Daisy before she could knock the glow off her own big moment.

  “I’d love to make up a big pot of cocoa,” Betty said, commandeering a pot and the cocoa fixings from the cabinet. “Who’s up for some?”

  All the men raised their hands eagerly. Cisco thought he’d never seen a group led to pasture so willingly. This was going to be easy—and then he was going to have Suz all to himself. Just him and Suz and their daughters—the thought made him happier than anything he could have ever imagined. He was so much in love with Suz that the thought of spending the rest of his life with her made him grin from ear to ear. Which he’d always thought was a totally clichéd expression—until he’d experienced the fact that one could indeed stop what they were doing in the middle of the day and realize they had a grin on their face that just wouldn’t quit. Between Suz and their daughters—well, the smile had become a permanent fixture on his face.

  Mackenzie walked into the kitchen holding documents in her hands, which were trembling. “Daisy, what are you doing here?”

  “I’m helping out.” The smile that had been on Daisy’s face from her gang admitting they were love-struck for her slid off. “What’s wrong?”

  Mackenzie looked around at everyone in the kitchen. “Suz, can I see you for a moment?”

  The room went silent. Cisco suddenly had a horrible feeling he knew what Mackenzie was holding. He got up, helped Suz to her feet to follow her sister into the family room. The babies still slept silently, peacefully unaware of anything but that they were loved. Five feet away from them, Mackenzie took a deep breath, handed her sister the document.

  “We’re out,” Mackenzie said. “It’s over, Suz.”

  Suz was absolutely still, so Cisco took the papers from Mackenzie, reading them quickly.

  Sure enough, the foreclosure was final. Cisco felt sick, sick at heart, sick in his soul. Justin walked in, coming to stand behind Mackenzie, putting his arms around his distraught wife. Suz stayed totally motionless, but when Cisco pulled her gently into his arms, she came willingly to rest against his chest.

  He’d never felt so helpless in his life.

  And there was nothing he could do to help now.

  It was the worst feeling he’d ever experienced, and the knowledge that his wife had lost the home that meant so much t
o her, the place where she’d dreamed of her own children growing up, broke his heart.

  * * *

  SUZ WENT BACK into the kitchen silently, thinking to shoo off Daisy’s gang, and Daisy, too, so that she and Cisco could think through a plan for their future, which had suddenly, drastically changed. Her heart was shattered at the knowledge that the home where she and Mackenzie had grown up, known so many happy times, was lost to them. That her children would never know the heartwarming joy of the Hanging H devastated her. Somehow, she still felt her parents here, their love and belief in their daughters, and all the wonderful days they’d spent in their family home. All gone now.

  She’d stepped back into the kitchen to say that, for this evening, the Hanging H was uncustomarily closing its doors to visitors, but everyone was gone, even Betty, leaving behind a pot of warm cocoa and a sparkling clean island top, the cookies put away. Daisy remained, perched on a kitchen stool, her shoulders slumped.

  “I’m so sorry, Suz. I’m about to leave, I know I’m the last person you want to see right now.” She pointed to the monitor. “I’m afraid we all heard accidentally. By the time I’d handed it to Betty and she’d turned it off, we had a pretty good gist of what was going on.” Tears sparkled in Daisy’s eyes. “I’ll talk to Dad. That’s all I want you to know.” She took a deep breath and rose from the stool. “I don’t know if I can do anything, because Dad’s stubborn when he gets his mind to something. But I’ll try.”

  Suz hardly knew what to say. Her throat closed up hard. She watched as Daisy walked out, realizing as the door closed that something about Daisy seemed wildly different.

  She seemed sincere. As if she really cared about the Hanging H and their family. Suz poured some of the cocoa for herself, nibbled disconsolately on a frosted cookie shaped like a Christmas tree. She was so stunned by everything she couldn’t even cry. Cisco came in, sat on the stool next to her, and she poured him a mug of cocoa, too.

  “I’m sorry as hell, Suz.” His voice was so rough with emotion Suz knew he was feeling everything she was.