The Rancher's Return

by Kathy Douglass

  “Did you have a good time this weekend?” Rudy asked.

  “The best.”

  “Glad to hear it. We’ll help Elias get ready for bed. You young people sit down and enjoy this beautiful night.” He gave Donovan’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze as he passed by. “Good to have you home. I hope to see more of you.”

  “Thanks. It’s great to be home.”

  Raven noticed her mother went inside without speaking. Clearly, Marilyn was not pleased that Donovan was going to be a part of their lives again. Raven just didn’t understand it. Her mother had loved Donovan and had been heartbroken when she’d believed he was dead. She should be rejoicing that he was alive and well. If not for Raven and Elias’s sakes, then for Lena Cordero’s. Donovan’s mother had been Marilyn’s best friend. There was no understanding her mother and Raven was going to stop trying. Once Marilyn saw Donovan’s sincerity, she would come around.

  When Donovan took her hand and led her to the love seat, all thought of her mother vanished. They sat and he draped his arm over the back of the sofa, letting his hand dangle over her shoulder. She leaned her head into his elbow and closed her eyes. This was what real happiness felt like. Like flying and falling and dancing while listening to the most beautiful sounds ever created. If only she could stay like this forever.

  * * *

  Donovan inhaled and Raven’s delicate scent tantalized his senses. It had taken a bit of effort, but they’d finally resolved all of their issues and, after what seemed like forever, he had her in his arms again. She felt just as good as he remembered, better than in his dreams. As they sat there, his longing for her grew and he pulled her into his arms. Their gazes met and held. When he saw his desire reflected in her eyes, he leaned over and kissed her.

  Her lips were so soft, her taste so sweet. She moaned softly against his lips and he deepened the kiss. All the years of loneliness melted away and the hole in his soul closed. He could have kissed her for hours but instead he eased away. He had a feeling Marilyn was somewhere seething and could burst onto the porch at any moment. He needed to talk with her so they could resolve their problems. They’d gotten along in the past. He hoped that once she knew he loved Raven and Elias and would never leave them again, they’d get along like old times.

  He leaned his forehead against Raven’s. They were both breathing hard. “I should probably go. We both need to get up early.”

  “I know. But I don’t want to say goodbye.”

  “Neither do I. That’s a good thing.”

  “Only you would think that.” She cupped his face in her hands and then gave him a kiss that left him gasping for breath and longing for more. She stood and put her hand on her hip then gave him a saucy wink. “Still think leaving is a good thing?”

  He reached for her but she darted away. “Not good. But wise. I’ll talk to you later.”

  When he arrived home, he was pleased to see that his parents hadn’t waited up for him. They finally believed that he wasn’t going to disappear again. When he reached his room, he got undressed, climbed into bed and grabbed his cell phone.

  Raven answered on the first ring. “I was wondering if you would call.”

  “Really?”

  “No.”

  He leaned his pillow against the headboard and sat up. He had to get up early, but he wasn’t ready to let the night end. Instead he listened to Raven’s voice and imagined the life they were going to have together.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “You’re making a mistake.”

  Same song, different verse. Raven slid the bracelet over her wrist before turning to face her mother. Raven had hoped they’d resolved this issue the last time they’d talked about Donovan, but that had been based on wishful thinking. “Then it’s my mistake to make.”

  Her mother frowned. “Not alone. You’re not the only one with something to lose.”

  “Elias is happy to have his father around. You know that.”

  “I do. And he should be. I just wonder about this sudden romance between you and Donovan.”

  “We dated for years. I wouldn’t call our relationship sudden. Our son is nine years old.”

  “Yes. And it seems to me that Donovan’s attention has more to do with Elias than it does with you.”

  “You’re wrong.” Raven infused her voice with confidence even though her doubt surfaced again. He had said he’d do anything to have Elias in his life. Surely he hadn’t meant pretending to be in love with her. After all, she’d already told him she wouldn’t stand in the way of his relationship with their son. He could see Elias any time he wanted.

  “Am I? Tell me, was Donovan interested in getting back with you before or after he found out about Elias?”

  Raven closed her eyes and wished she could close her ears as well. It had happened all at once. But still, she did remember what Donovan had said that first day. He’d told her he’d hoped they could still be friends. Friends. It wasn’t until he’d seen Elias that he’d wanted more. “That doesn’t prove anything.”

  “Then you know I’m right. For goodness sake, don’t let that man hurt you again.”

  “Why are you so sure that Donovan doesn’t want me? Do you think there’s something about me that makes me unlovable?”

  “I never said that.”

  “Then what? What is it that has you so set against our being together?”

  “People don’t change He broke your heart. Your spirit. He broke you. He’ll do it again.”

  Raven was tempted to tell her mother the real reason Donovan had left. Carson had taken his mother to stay with her sister and then left town himself. He’d called a couple of days ago to let her know he’d identified the man his father had killed. Carson was currently in Tennessee, trying to track down the man’s family so he wouldn’t know she’d revealed anything. But she’d know. She’d given her word and intended to keep it. Besides, she wanted her mother to see the man Donovan was now. And she needed to convince her mother that Donovan wanted her and not just Elias. “Mom, I’m not nineteen and pregnant. I’m not confused and trying to figure out what happened to the man I love. Whether or not things work between us, I’m going to be fine. And I’ll make sure that Elias is fine. Donovan will, too.”

  “I just don’t trust him.”

  “Just give him a chance. Please. He’s a good man.”

  “You sound just like your father.”

  “When has Dad ever been wrong?”

  “Not often. And don’t you tell him I said that, either.”

  “It’ll be our secret.”

  “I just want you to be careful. Guard your heart if only for a little while. You’ve gotten swept away again. Take your time before you fall in love.” With those final words, Raven’s mother gave her a kiss on the cheek and walked away.

  “But I’m already in love,” Raven murmured to herself. She’d tried holding back, keeping a firm handle on her emotions, but it had proved impossible. Over the past few weeks Donovan had managed to loosen the grip she’d held on her feelings. He’d charmed her and wooed her. He’d just been so kind. So open and honest. They’d spent time together with Elias as a family—they’d taken him to see that superhero movie he’d been dying to see—and they’d spent time together as a couple.

  As much as she loved their time together, she always looked forward to the end of the night when Donovan would hold her in his arms and kiss her good-night. Each kiss had grown more passionate and she was all but ready to combust when he released her. Once she regained control of herself, she would rush into her room, grab her phone and wait for him to call. They’d not only resumed their practice of talking every night, they now spoke every morning. She smiled as she recalled the delight in his voice when she’d called him the morning after their camping trip, so she’d begun waking him up each morning to talk before they started their day.

  The
only problem was he never told her that he loved her. Her stomach churned with unease as she considered the possibility that she might be the only one in love. She told herself it was only her insecurity talking, but the feeling didn’t go away. But then she hadn’t told him that she loved him, either. It could be that he was just as unsure as she was.

  Except, Donovan had been direct about everything so far. He’d come out and told her what he’d wanted. He wanted to see if the love was still there. Perhaps for him it hadn’t been. If he loved her, he would say so. The fact that he hadn’t could only mean one thing. He hadn’t fallen back in love with her.

  She shook her head, refusing to let the negative thoughts take hold. She wouldn’t even be entertaining these ideas if her mother hadn’t planted the seeds of doubt.

  Taking one last look in the mirror, she straightened her blouse and then dashed downstairs. Elias was lying on the floor, a box filled with comics beside him. He’d been thrilled to discover that Donovan had every comic in several series and was willing to let him borrow them, a box at a time, so he could read them in chronological order.

  She nudged him with her toe. “What time is Kenny’s mom getting here?”

  He glanced at the clock on his phone. “In thirty-seven minutes.”

  “Then don’t you think you should get ready? It’s not polite to keep someone waiting.”

  Elias closed the comic, slid it into the plastic sleeve, then found the correct place in the box and put it inside. Raven was happy to see that he was taking good care of Donovan’s treasured collection.

  “Is that why you’re always ready way before Dad gets here.” It had taken a while, but Elias had settled on Dad as the name for Donovan. Elias looked up at her and his eyes grew wide. “Wow. You look really pretty.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Wouldn’t it be great if you and Dad got married? Then we could all live together in the same house. And I would be able to read his comics anytime I want. He’s going to build a house, you know.”

  “He told you that?”

  “Yeah. Didn’t he tell you?”

  Once. A long time ago when they’d been young dreamers. They’d even gone riding one day and found the perfect spot. It was close enough to his parents’ house to be neighbors, but far enough away for everyone to have privacy.

  “When did he tell you?”

  Elias shrugged. “I don’t know. One time when we went fishing. We didn’t catch anything, but it was fun talking.”

  “Did he say anything else?” Raven asked.

  “I told him I wished we all lived in the same house so he said he would work on it. He said he wanted to live with me, too. He misses me, you know. He said living together would make everything perfect. I think that means he’s going to ask you to marry him so he can live with me all the time. If he does, all you have to do is say yes. Then I get to have a mom and dad all the time just like Kenny.”

  Raven’s heart, which had been wobbling, tumbled to her toes. Maybe there was a reason he hadn’t told her that he loved her. He didn’t and he didn’t want to lie to her. He wanted his son. Donovan would never wrench Elias away from her, so instead he was working on a plan that would let them share their son. They’d both get the joy of seeing Elias every day and watching him grow up. All of the dinners and dancing had been part of his scheme to woo her. He’d been talking about how well they fit together, as if they had never been apart. He wasn’t trying to win her back. He was trying to win her over.

  She pushed those thoughts away. She was jumping to conclusions. After all, she wanted to live with Donovan, too. Maybe after their rough start he wanted to make sure Elias was on board before he proposed to Raven. That made sense, didn’t it? Or was she trying too hard to justify his behavior? Darn her stupid doubts.

  Elias jumped up. “I’m going to get ready before Kenny’s mom gets here. I hope you and Dad have fun. And remember, if he asks you to marry him, say yes.”

  Raven watched her son race from the room. If only it was so easy. Of course it would have been if not for the doubts that had taken root. She needed to know that Donovan really loved her. That shouldn’t be too hard to discover, should it? But until she knew for sure, she needed to protect her heart. She couldn’t allow herself to fall more deeply in love with him until she knew he returned her feelings.

  “Mom’s not coming with us,” Elias said. He’d charged out of the house before Donovan had gotten the key out of the ignition. He was glad to spend time with his son, but he’d been looking forward to seeing Raven.

  “Is she sick?”

  “Nope. She just said she had something that she needed to do. I think she knows she’s not going to win. She doesn’t bowl as good as we do.”

  That couldn’t be it. Raven was competitive but she didn’t care about losing at bowling. She thought the whole game was ridiculous and only played at all because it turned out that Elias was a natural and she wanted to encourage him. Besides, Donovan knew she was throwing their games so Elias could win.

  Ordinarily he wouldn’t worry, but this was the third date she’d backed out of in a week. The other two times she’d given the flimsiest excuses. And though he called her every night, she seemed distant and ended the calls after only a few minutes. And she’d stopped calling him in the morning. When he’d asked her why, she said she’d overslept. He didn’t believe it for a minute, but he’d had no way of proving otherwise.

  Something was wrong. He replayed their last real conversation but didn’t recall anything that would explain why Raven had suddenly become distant. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was trying to cool things between them and eventually end their relationship.

  But he did know better. Raven loved him. Just as he loved her. So how had things gotten derailed?

  “Aren’t we going?” Elias asked.

  Donovan nodded. He didn’t want to start breaking promises to Elias. Their relationship was too new and too fragile. So although Donovan wanted to talk to Raven and find out what he’d done wrong, it would have to wait.

  As they drove, Elias chattered about the activities he’d been participating in at the youth center. Raven and Donovan had agreed that it was good for Elias to spend time with kids his age, so they made sure he went to the center a couple of times a week. Donovan’s attention was split between his thoughts and Elias’s conversation, so it took a minute for his son’s words to penetrate his mind.

  “What did you just say?”

  Elias gave him an odd look. “I said I told mom that you want us all to live together. You know, to make up for not getting to live with me when I was a kid. I told her that when you ask her to marry you she should say yes.”

  “What did she say??”

  “Nothing.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yep. She’ll probably say yes. Then we can be a real family.”

  “Aren’t you the matchmaker.”

  “You said you’d do anything to have me in your life. That means you’d marry mom, right?”

  “Please tell me you didn’t say that to your mom.”

  “I only reminded her. After all, she was there when you said it.”

  Donovan groaned. “When did you say this?”

  Elias’s brow wrinkled as he thought. Then his eyes lit up as he remembered. “When I spent the night with Kenny.”

  That was right when Raven had begun to pull away. She’d been quiet that night, pleading headache so that they could end the date early. Surely she hadn’t believed Elias. She had to know that he loved her. After all he was doing everything in his power to show Raven how he felt. Everything except the most important thing. He hadn’t told her that he loved her. And he did. He loved her with his whole heart. He thought his actions would speak louder than his words and remove any doubts she had about how he felt for her. In this case, words would have been better. He was going to s
et the record straight as soon as possible.

  “Hey, Elias, would it be okay with you if we didn’t go bowling now?”

  “Oh, man. Why?”

  “There’s something we need to do.”

  “You mean you aren’t taking me home so you can do something more fun or important?”

  “No. There’s nothing more fun than being with you. And nobody is more important to me than you.”

  Elias grinned. “I know.”

  “Your mom is very important to me, too.”

  “I know. You love her.”

  “I do. But I’m not sure she knows that. Even though she knows why I left her before, she might still have doubts about my feelings now. So I’m going to need your help convincing her.”

  Elias nodded, clearly on board with the plan. Donovan hoped it wasn’t too late.

  * * *

  “Mom.”

  Raven heard her name being called one minute before her son burst into the kitchen. She hadn’t expected him to be back so soon. They’d only been gone a couple of hours. Usually he wasn’t home from his outings with Donovan until bedtime. After placing the tray of cookies in the oven, she turned. “What?”

  “You need to come with me.” He grabbed her hand and start pulling her out the back door. He paused and then dashed across the room and turned off the oven. This must be important if he was willing to delay cookies.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.”

  She stepped outside and froze. Evening Dream was saddled and waiting. Donovan was sitting on Zeus. When he saw her, he dismounted and held out a hand. Without thinking, she put her hand into his. “What’s going on?”

  “We’re going for a ride.”

  “I’m busy.”

  She tried to pull away, but Donovan wouldn’t let her go. “This won’t take long.”

  “Just go, Mom. Please. It’s important,” Elias urged.