The Cowgirl's Sacrifice

by Tina Radcliffe

Kate stepped into the room and knelt down. “Look, this is as awkward for me as it is for you.” She held the sidearm segment nearest to the door for him. “And I’ll level with you. I came home thinking I’d have a shot at the foreman position. Maybe stick around for a while. I was surprised to find out you got the job.”

  Jess stared at her for a long moment. He didn’t know which bit of information surprised him more. The fact that she came home thinking she’d be foreman or the idea that she might stick around. He pulled a screwdriver out of the toolbox and set to work, attaching all the segments. It would have been nice if Mitch or Reece had given him a heads-up that she’d been offered the position first.

  “I wasn’t aware of the situation,” Jess finally said. He took a deep breath. “With ten years of experience and a degree in ranch operations, I’ve proven that I’m up to the task.” He didn’t know why he should have to defend himself, but there it was on the table.

  “Are you saying I can’t?” Kate asked.

  “Not with that arm, you can’t.”

  “Reece plans to give me the opportunity to handle the equine side when I’m cleared for riding. Reporting to you.”

  There was a long silence between them.

  “I’m guessing there’s a question in there somewhere,” he finally said.

  “Do you think we can find a way to work together?” Kate asked.

  “Absolutely. We’ve both moved on.” He answered without hesitation, though his brain was racing with serious doubts. “But I’d appreciate it if you’d remember that I applied for the job without knowing you wanted it too.”

  “Fair enough,” she said.

  Jess stood, grabbed the headboard, and slid the legs into place. He looked over at Kate. “Is this where you want it?”

  She nodded.

  He grabbed the box springs and then the mattress and slid them on the frame. “You’re all set.”

  “Thanks.”

  “How are you going to make the bed with your arm?”

  “I’ll manage. I’ve become adept at working with one hand.”

  He eyed her, knowing he shouldn’t prolong the conversation, but curiosity won out. “How’d it happen?”

  “The usual. An arena accident.” She glanced away as she said the words, which made him suspect there was much more to the story than Kate was telling. Still, it didn’t matter. It wasn’t any of his business. He was the foreman of Rebel Ranch, hired to do a job, and he wouldn’t feel guilty about that.

  Bottom line was, he was here because his mother needed him, and he would not let her down. This time, Jess wasn’t going to walk away from his troubles. Kate Rainbolt didn’t figure into the equation.

  All he had to do was stay out of her way, because this morning when their gazes had collided in the donut shop, he’d come to the alarming conclusion that after ten years, Kate still had the power to make his brain disengage in less than sixty seconds.

  In that instant, he’d made a decision that there was no way he would be collateral damage when she rode off into the sunset once more. Because it wasn’t a matter of if she would ride away, it was a matter of when.

  Chapter Two

  Kate crossed the gravel yard in long strides. Timing was everything, and according to the schedule she’d glimpsed in the barn, her brothers didn’t work on Sunday. Jess was on duty every other Sunday. Not today.

  As she approached the barn, Willard exited with his familiar bowlegged swagger. “Miss Kate, afternoon.” He tipped his hat and grinned. “Can I help you with anything, ma’am?”

  “Oh, no. I’m getting a little exercise.”

  “Nice day for a walk,” he said with a glance at the dusky skies overhead. “Though it’s supposed to rain later.”

  “Not until tonight. I checked.”

  “That so?” He gave a slow shake of his head. “Never can trust those weather fellas. They say sunshine and you find yourself in the middle of a gully washer.”

  “So true.” She smiled and kept walking, praying he’d head in the other direction.

  Rounding the corner of the barn, she peeked back. Willard was halfway across the yard already. Kate checked to be sure no one was around before she approached the far side of the structure where two ranch UTVs were usually parked.

  Sure enough, they were there waiting for her, one bright green and the other blue. Both had the keys inside. She chose the blue one because the door enclosures had been removed and she was ready for the wind to blow through her hair. She’d been inside most of the time since she’d arrived Thursday, setting up the house and growing antsier by the minute.

  The church service this morning had been the highlight of her week, and that might be fine any other time, but her bruised tailbone had protested that the church pew’s polished oak was much too hard for extended sitting. She’d focused on her Bible and tried to ignore the discomfort as well as the fact that Jess sat across the aisle from her.

  It was Jess she hoped to avoid now as she turned the key in the ignition of the UTV. She’d learned to sweet-talk her brothers and get her way at an early age. Jess, however, saw right through her. Dealing with him wouldn’t be quite as easy.

  Rebel Ranch was a big place, though, and with a little careful planning, she hoped that she could avoid him indefinitely. The idea of staying one step ahead of the ranch foreman made her chuckle with giddy satisfaction.

  Fastening the harness seat belt carefully over her bruised rib cage, Kate again checked the sky, ever vigilant during tornado season for unexpected changes in the weather. But the sky remained the same dusky gray, heavy and full with the anticipation of evening thunderstorms, just as her weather app promised.

  Rain. The thought buoyed her spirits.

  There was nothing better than sleeping with the window cracked as a cool breeze fluttered the curtains. The sound of rain tapping against the windowpane provided a lullaby for sleep. Sleep that had eluded her for weeks.

  When the UTV sputtered a few times as she drove over the red-clay trail to the back of the ranch, Kate’s glance went to the gas tank. It was full, so she kept going, trying to avoid the jarring rough tracks on the ground. The doctors told her it would take one to two months to heal her ribs. When the vehicle hit another bump, she realized they were healing...just much slower than she would have liked.

  A breeze picked up, and she imagined herself riding Einstein as she passed a herd of cattle. The wind danced in and out of the vehicle, kissing her face and whipping her hair into a frenzy.

  Kate guided the UTV up and over a hill to a thick circle of loblolly pines.

  There it was. Reece’s spot. She parked the vehicle close to the conifers and grabbed her water bottle and sweatshirt. Her boots crunched on dead leaves and pine needles that blanketed the ground beneath the trees until she came to a grassy clearing where a creek welcomed her with soft burbles of water tumbling over the shale. She sat on the edge of the stream and pulled off her boots. Cold water teased her toes and bubbled past in a race to the rocks downstream.

  Kate tucked her sweatshirt beneath her to cushion her sore body from the hard ground. As the wind teased her hair and the scent of pine danced around her, she whispered a small thanks to God that she was alive. The last few weeks had been brutal. Now that her sutures were healing and the bruises across her back and side had faded along with some of her nightmares, she was beginning to feel whole again.

  Was it time to stop chasing the rodeo? The end of life on the circuit meant closing the door on the search for her father. Mitch always said that TJ Rainbolt wasn’t to blame for their situation. Their mother, Margaret Katherine, had passed, and TJ had panicked. He’d been a good old boy who couldn’t figure out how he had ended up with five kids or what to do with them. So he’d walked away.

  At eight years old, Kate had been the apple of her daddy’s eye, and she’d been certain she could convince him to
come back if she only had a chance. She’d been to almost every rodeo town, big and small, west of the Mississippi during her career, and she’d never found the man who had been her hero growing up.

  The plan was to find him and show him that she was good enough. Good enough to rodeo, just like him. Good enough to deserve his love.

  Kate bit back emotion. She’d failed all the way around.

  The wind shifted, and Kate tensed, searching the sky. A native Okie, she knew to stay alert for spring tornados, but the threatening dark clouds on the horizon said thunderstorms, not twisters. When a flash of pink-and-yellow light darted across the sky, followed by a low boom, Kate scrambled to grab her boots. She nearly toppled over in an awkward attempt to get them on with one hand and managed to jar her tender rib cage in the process.

  When lightning again zipped across the sky, chased by thunder that sounded way too close, she picked up her boots and sweatshirt and dashed across the dry pine needles through the trees to the UTV. Leaves whirled as the wind tossed them into the air, and the giant loblollies shuddered.

  She slid into the vehicle and wiped the needles and dirt off her feet before shoving them into the boots. A determined gust of wind blew through, making Kate regret not taking the UTV with doors and windows. At least this one had a roof.

  For a moment, she sat very still, catching her breath while the pain in her middle subsided. When the rain began to patter against the hood and the roof, she pulled the keys out of her pocket and slid them into the ignition. The UTV jumped to life and then promptly died.

  “Noooo,” she muttered. Kate tried again, her gaze landing on the gas gauge. Empty? That was impossible. It had been full. She was sure of it.

  As if unable to hold back a moment longer, the skies opened up and the pattering became a deluge. The wind slanted the rain toward the driver’s side of the vehicle, making her easy prey for the stinging moisture. Kate slid to the passenger side and huddled near the edge of the seat.

  Thunder crashed once more, and she shivered.

  “I need a plan,” she said aloud. “I can call my brothers and be humiliated, or...” Or she could wait out the storm and walk back. Of course it would be dark by the time she returned to the house. Walking through the pastures at night was never wise. The ground was uneven, and she’d likely step into a hole and turn her ankle. Then there was her cast, which wasn’t supposed to get wet.

  She pulled out her phone. One bar. Calling for help wasn’t going to happen.

  It was entirely possible that a man on a horse would appear out of nowhere and save her. Maybe one wearing a black hat and duster, with his collar pulled up. He’d smile and whisk her into his arms, and they’d ride his stallion back to the ranch, racing the storm and winning.

  Kate began to laugh, eyes watering with amusement. Her sense of humor saved her at every turn.

  As she peered through the windshield, a drop of water landed with a plop on her face. Kate wiped the moisture from her cheek and examined the interior ceiling of the vehicle. A burgeoning drop was suspended above her head. She held her sweatshirt to the spot.

  In the distance, the sound of an engine could be heard over the din of the falling rain. A minute later, she was surprised to see the bright green Rebel Ranch UTV pull up next to her. Someone got out and dashed through the rain to her vehicle. He slid into the driver’s seat.

  Jess McNally. Her unlikely hero.

  Kate laughed.

  “I’m glad you think this is funny.” Jess pushed back the brim of his hat and offered her a view of his rain-dampened face. He wasn’t happy, and the gray eyes were as dark as the sky outside as he stared at her. “Next time you decide to drive off into a storm, could you do it on someone else’s shift?”

  Kate straightened in her seat, automatically preparing to cross her arms. Until the cast got in her way. Then a drop of rain splashed on her face, completely destroying her attempts at an indignant stance. She swiped at the moisture.

  “Nothing to say?” he asked.

  “Why are you here? You’re off today. I saw the schedule.”

  “I traded with one of the wranglers. His wife is having a baby.”

  She frowned, irritation rising. So she’d gotten stuck in a storm. What was the big deal?

  “How did you know I was out here?” she finally asked.

  “Willard saw you around the barn, and then the UTV went missing. It was an easy jump to big trouble.”

  “Thanks a lot. For your information, there’s something wrong with the gas gauge.”

  “I know. It sticks. You probably ran out of gas.”

  “That’s not my fault. And I’d like to remind you that you didn’t have to come out here and find me. You aren’t responsible for anything to do with me.”

  “I won’t turn the other way when I see you in distress.”

  “In distress?” She gaped at him. “I am not in distress.”

  He frowned. “From where I’m sitting, it sure looks like you could use some assistance.”

  She sat silently, watching the rivulets of rain on the windshield. There was nothing to say. If it were anyone else, she would be grateful. But it was Jess, and at every turn, he saw her mess up, driving back home the fact that she was a failure.

  “Why are you so annoyed?” he asked. “I’m the one who’s going to be called on the carpet if anything happens to you when I’m in charge.”

  Even as she silently denied the accusation, she knew that he was right. She was annoyed. Not at him but at herself for looking foolish in front of him.

  “So now what?” she asked.

  “Let’s get into the other vehicle.” He pulled off his barn coat and handed it to her. “Here. Wrap this around your cast.”

  “Thank you,” she murmured.

  Jess held the door as she slid across the seat and hopped from one UTV to the other. She cringed in pain as both her arm and her ribs were jostled by the movement. By the time Jess got in the driver’s seat next to her, he was soaked.

  “You’re all wet,” she said, stating the obvious. The soaked denim shirt with its Western yoke only emphasized his broad shoulders. Kate looked away.

  “I won’t melt,” he said. “How about you?”

  “I’m fine.” She unwrapped her arm and handed him back his jacket.

  Tossing the coat into the back of the vehicle, Jess turned the key in the ignition and jacked up the heater until it blasted warm air.

  Overhead, another crack of lightning filled the sky, followed by a thunderous reverberation that promised more was on the way.

  Kate gripped the door handle and prayed it would stop. Within minutes, the rain had increased from a downpour to a slanted sheet of deluge.

  “This is just great,” Jess muttered. “We’ll have to wait it out. I’m not going to drive in a storm when there’s no visibility.”

  The silence between them only widened as the rain hammered the vehicle.

  “How long did you say you’re staying?” Jess asked.

  She jerked her head around at his tone. “Why do you say it like that?”

  Jess shrugged. “Merely acknowledging that you don’t sit still long.”

  “You don’t know that.” His words stung, and it stuck in her craw that he could still get into her head.

  “You’ve been on the circuit for ten years. Like a tumbleweed.” He shrugged once again. “It is what it is.”

  “What it is, is the nature of the work. Besides, I told you in college that I had a mission. You didn’t get it back then. I guess some things never change.”

  “Are you still looking for your father?”

  Kate tensed at his words. “It doesn’t matter.” Maybe it did, but she was not going to discuss TJ Rainbolt with him.

  “No?” he asked softly.

  “No. What matters is that I haven’t decided what I’m g
oing to do with the rest of my life, so I don’t know how long I’ll be here.” She looked at him. “I imagine you have everything in your world figured out, as usual, all nice and neat and tied with a bow.” Kate’s gaze skimmed over his profile and then away. He probably had a five-year plan too.

  She bristled at the thought that even though years had passed, Jess still possessed way too many of her secrets. He was the only person who knew the real reason she’d first headed out to the circuit to become a professional barrel racer. Kate regretted sharing that information.

  “When did you say you landed in Rebel?” she asked.

  “Six weeks ago. When I took the position here at the ranch. Why?”

  She shrugged. “Just making conversation.”

  His expression said he doubted that.

  “What made you leave Montana?” she asked.

  Jess frowned. “How did you know I was in Montana?”

  “Someone must have mentioned it.” She recalled overhearing only bits of a conversation when she was in town for Tucker’s wedding.

  For a very long minute, they were silent. The only sound between them the rain, which had slowed to a rooftop drumming.

  Jess ran a hand over his face. “I came back because my mother is having some health challenges.”

  Kate released a small gasp. Her heart took the full brunt of his words. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured. She genuinely liked Jess’s mother, who had been childhood friends with her own mother. Without thinking, Kate placed her hand on his and then froze, realizing what she’d done.

  Jess’s startled gray eyes met hers, and he shifted away from the contact.

  “We better get back,” he said, his face still without expression. “I told my mother I’d stop by this afternoon to visit. Some days are harder than others since my father passed.”

  His father. Out of the blue, a memory came roaring back of Jess’s dad, Dr. Jacob McNally, when she’d run into him in town that last year of college. You’ll never be good enough for my son. It would be best if you walk away right now before things get complicated.

  He was right. So she had walked away and not looked back.