Starting Over in Texas

by Jessica Keller

  The biggest risk is to their hearts...

  He’s finally home. She’s always wanted a home.

  Can they find what they need together?

  Returning to his family ranch is the fresh start widower Boone Jarrett and his daughter need. What he doesn’t need is rodeo rider Violet Byrd teaching Hailey to ride horses—it’s too dangerous. And with Violet working at the ranch, she’s challenging his every decision. Yet Boone can’t stop his growing feelings. Could a second chance at love be worth the risk?

  She couldn’t say no. The Jarretts needed her help.

  “I ride a horse for a living,” Violet said by way of answering. “Next to controlling a thousand pounds of stubborn muscle, not much intimidates me. Least of all working with you.”

  “Glad to hear it.” Boone smiled. He had one of those smiles that was clearly hard-won, but once he did, it made everyone who saw it grin back.

  Including Violet.

  She realized she was staring at him, so she dropped her eye contact only to notice huge wet spots all over the legs of his jeans.

  Boone glanced down. “Ah, that. On my way in I was hug attacked by two very wet six-year-olds.”

  Violet chuckled. “They can be a handful.”

  “At least they’re the good kind of handful,” Boone joked.

  Violet followed him out of the barn and watched him walk away, the whole time wondering what she had gotten herself into.

  She hoped, to borrow Boone’s words, she was about to be busy with the good kind of handful.

  Avid reader, coffee drinker and chocolate aficionado Jessica Keller has degrees in communications and biblical studies and spends too much time on Instagram and Pinterest. Jessica calls the Midwest home. She lives for fall, farmers’ markets and driving with the windows down. To learn more, visit Jessica at www.jessicakellerbooks.com.

  Books by Jessica Keller

  Love Inspired

  Red Dog Ranch

  The Rancher’s Legacy

  His Unexpected Return

  The Wrangler’s Last Chance

  Starting Over in Texas

  Goose Harbor

  The Widower’s Second Chance

  The Fireman’s Secret

  The Single Dad Next Door

  Small-Town Girl

  Apple Orchard Bride

  The Single Mom’s Second Chance

  Home for Good

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  STARTING OVER IN TEXAS

  Jessica Keller

  He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

  —Psalm 147:3

  For Ellie. Thank you for always being excited about my books! I love seeing all the pictures of you reading them. Keep reading, keep growing, keep being kind and keep learning. But most important, always, always, always listen to your mom. Trust me on this—she’s one smart lady.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  Excerpt from The Cowboy’s Sacrifice by Danica Favorite

  Chapter One

  “That better not be Hailey.” Boone Jarrett squinted toward the farthest riding arena as he turned his sedan up Red Dog Ranch’s long driveway. Gravel churned under his tires as worry roiled in his gut. Out of habit, Boone reached for the passenger seat, toward where his wife’s hand usually rested on her leg. There was nothing.

  There never would be again.

  His eyes burned and no matter how many times he swallowed, his throat closed up.

  June was gone. Forever. With her funeral so fresh in his memory it was a wonder how often he forgot she wasn’t there any longer. Just assumed she would be beside him as she always had been. But he would never be able to reach out for her comfort again. His breathing became shallow. If he focused on his grief it would debilitate him. It would swallow him and everything he cared about—including his daughter, Hailey.

  Boone refused to allow that to happen.

  He forced his body to drag air in through his nose, filling his lungs, then let it out slowly, evenly. Stay in control. In the four days it had taken him to drive from Maine to Texas, he had thought everything through. Navigating their loss logically was the only way to help his daughter. The only option if he wanted to keep functioning and to make certain she felt safe. Seeing her father falling apart would do neither of them any good.

  Logic had carried him through his last few months of seminary despite his loss; it would have to be enough to get him through the summer as he decided their next steps, too.

  After shoving the gearshift into Park, Boone climbed out of the vehicle and stalked toward the arena. Sure enough, that was his six-year-old daughter up on a huge horse—a horse that could buck and send her tiny body flying in the space of a heartbeat.

  Way too dangerous.

  Sweat touched his brow and his back as his stride ate up the distance to the riding arena. After two years of mild Maine summers, Boone wasn’t used to the Texas heat he had known growing up. But presently, with the calendar nearing July, it felt as if the sun had a personal vendetta against him.

  Boone picked up his pace. His family had suffered too much loss in the last few years for his daughter to be taking needless risks. His father had been killed when he was struck by a car while returning books to the library, of all things, and his wife had died on a hiking trip with girlfriends.

  Hailey didn’t belong anywhere near that beast.

  Back in seminary, he had once preached a sermon on the topic of anger and how, more often than not, that emotion was the child of a much stronger one: fear. Distantly he remembered the point of the sermon was something about the strength of faith and focusing on Jesus in the midst of fear, but those thoughts gave way when he saw the large horse frog-hop with his tiny child on it. He had grown up around horses on this very ranch, so he knew enough to know that a frog-hop could lead to a lot more than Hailey could handle.

  Boone started running. “Get her off that thing. They’re not safe.”

  A woman with long blond hair held the lead line of the horse Hailey was riding. She spun in her boots, quirking an eyebrow as her striking green eyes snapped to meet his. “That thing is a horse. And if you’re so worried about these ‘dangerous beasts’—” she made air quotes for the last two words “—I’m sure hollering around them is definitely the best plan for safety.”

  A part of Boone knew the wisest course was to back down. His time would be better spent greeting his daughter, whom he hadn’t seen in eight weeks. But after being trapped in a car for four days with only his thoughts for company, something about the potential of sparring with this woman made him feel alive. And he hadn’t felt that way in a long time, if he was being honest. Like a valve on a water main, he had turned his emotions to the Off position since June’s accident. Because he knew when he turned the valve back on, it would cause a flood. A flood he might not be able to recover from. He had been functioning on numb the past few months so in some weird way, it was nice to feel a flicker of emotion. Any emotion.

  “No one asked my permission for Hailey to learn to ride.”

  The woman popped a hand to her hip. “See, and therein lies the main p
roblem here.” She pinned him with a glare. “You would have actually had to be around for us to ask your permission. And you weren’t, were you? Hailey’s been alone here for months without you.”

  A hot wave of frustration flashed through Boone’s chest. This woman didn’t know him. What gave her the right to speak to him that way? Then again, he didn’t have a leg to stand on when it came to her point. He hadn’t been around. He had left Hailey at his family’s ranch for more than two months while he was in Maine. But Boone didn’t need to explain himself to some stranger. Besides, even if he wanted to, he wasn’t going to get into those specifics while his daughter could overhear.

  He ran a hand over his close-cropped hair and looked away. Arguing with this woman would get him nowhere fast. “Someone could have asked me. I called here every night. I would have said no to something so dangerous.”

  She gazed toward the brown horse and snorted. “They’re hardly dangerous, especially that oaf.”

  Boone jabbed his finger toward the horse. “Just last year my niece broke her arm falling off of one. And some barrel racer broke her leg and her horse was injured badly enough to ruin him at an event held here not that long ago too. I heard it was career-ending. So don’t tell me they aren’t dangerous.”

  The woman’s nostrils flared and her free hand balled into a fist. “Not that you care, but that barrel racer is me.” She slammed her palm to her chest. “And as you can see, my leg is just fine.” She took a step toward him. “And my career is far from over.” She made a shooing motion, dismissing him. “So feel free to take your presumptions and march right on out of here. They aren’t needed or wanted.”

  Boone opened his mouth to say something but didn’t know exactly how to respond. This was the champion barrel racer? She was younger than his sister, Shannon. She was also incredibly beautiful.

  And her glare was hot enough to burn him.

  “Daddy!” Hailey’s voice finally caught his attention. From her perch on top of the horse, she reached toward him. “You’re home.”

  Boone pulled her from the large horse and gathered his daughter to his chest in a hug. “It’s so good to see you.” He kissed the top of her head. Her hair was the same exact honey-blond shade his late wife’s had been. The thought made Boone’s chest ache. “I love you so much.”

  She looped her arms around his neck. “I missed you.” She tipped her head back a bit to meet his eyes. “But you should be nicer to Violet. She’s my friend.”

  Boone pivoted to see the blonde woman again. Violet. She still looked as if she wouldn’t mind seeing a horse kick him more than a few times. He cleared his throat and extended his free hand. “I’m Boone Jarrett.”

  She pursed her lips and crossed her arms, pointedly ignoring his offered handshake. “I figured as much.”

  He let his hand drop back to his side. When she didn’t supply her last name he said, “I assume you’re the famous Violet Byrd?” It had taken a moment of digging through his mental files, but he had finally remembered the name of the champion barrel racer who had once been a camper at Red Dog Ranch.

  “She’s great,” Hailey said. “I love Violet.”

  Piper, Boone’s niece, who was the same age as Hailey, waved at him from on top of her miniature horse. “Hi, Uncle Boone.”

  “Hey there, sweetheart.” He carried Hailey over to where Piper was and patted his niece’s head. Double braids went down Piper’s back. She had worn her hair that way ever since it had been long enough to make into a braid. Piper swung off her little white horse to hug his leg.

  He crouched to meet her, setting Hailey down in the process. “Do you know where your dad or your uncle Rhett is?” Piper’s dad was Boone’s younger brother, Wade, who was the head of maintenance at Red Dog Ranch, while Rhett, the eldest Jarrett, was the owner and director.

  Hailey touched his arm. “Uncle Rhett is gone away.”

  “Everyone’s sad because of Silas,” Piper added.

  Boone’s stomach clenched, he looked to Violet. Silas was Rhett and Macy’s one-month-old son. Violet sighed and nodded slowly. So she knew what they were talking about.

  Boone rose. “What’s going on?”

  Violet glanced at Hailey and Piper. “Could you girls get Sheep’s saddle off and make sure his bucket is full of fresh water?” She jutted her chin toward the little white horse. “I’ll join you in the barn in just a minute.”

  Hailey jumped up and down beside her cousin as Piper led Sheep out of the arena. Boone watched the two little girls as they walked away, not exactly happy that Hailey was still involved in something horse-related, but also knowing that whatever Violet wanted to say, she clearly didn’t want to say it in front of the girls.

  He turned toward her. “What happened?” And why hadn’t anyone called him? Why did she know more about his family than he did?

  Violet’s eyes searched his. “Macy noticed Silas has been having a hard time breathing these last few days, but she wrote that off as being a new mother who worried too much. But this morning his lips and the tips of his fingers started turning blue.”

  Boone latched his hand onto the nearby fence rail for support. “Blue?”

  Every loss, every miscarriage and blow he and June had faced during their years of infertility after having Hailey, crashed through him. He didn’t want Rhett to go through the loss of a child. Dear God, be with them.

  “They rushed him to urgent care,” Violet said. “From there he was taken by helicopter to Texas Children’s Hospital. Rhett and Macy followed by car. You can image how frantic and upset they are.” She wound the large horse’s long lead line around in her hand. “I’m sure they mean to call you later when they know more.”

  Boone’s knees felt weak. Not another hit for their family. They couldn’t take it. Why did God keep chipping away at the Jarretts? “They took him all the way to Houston?”

  She nodded.

  “Do they know what’s wrong?” Boone prayed for Silas and Rhett and Macy. He prayed for the doctors and nurses at the hospital and he asked God to help get his family through the season of hit after hit they seemed stuck in. Since his wife’s death, Boone had been angry at and doubtful of God, but he knew right now prayer and people gifted in the medical field were the two most important things for little Silas. Despite his personal struggles, the only thing Boone knew how to do to help in the situation was pray.

  “I don’t have the whole story.” She grimaced in an apologetic way. “You’ll have to ask Wade for the particulars, but Rhett said they were worried about the baby’s heart.” Violet held up a hand in a don’t-freak-out way. “He also said that hospital has one of the best heart centers in the nation.” She pointed behind him. “There’s Wade now. I’ll hang on to Hailey and Piper if you want to talk to him.”

  “Thank you.” Boone spun in the direction she had pointed in and started to walk away.

  “And Boone,” Violet called from behind him, causing him to look over his shoulder. “Hailey has missed you. She’s missed you so much. Two months is a long time for a kid to be away from a parent.”

  Her words bit with the sting of a riding whip. Boone swallowed past the burning sensation in his throat. “I know. I’ve missed her, too.” Then he turned back around and headed toward Wade.

  * * *

  Boone had greeted Wade with a tight embrace and then they had launched right into talking about baby Silas and everything that was going on. Their brother’s newborn needed a new heart. Dilated cardiomyopathy, Wade had said. The condition meant the main chamber of the baby’s heart was enlarged and weakened, which was preventing his heart from pumping like it was meant to.

  If Silas didn’t get a heart transplant in time, the condition would kill him.

  Boone tried to make sense of it all as Wade plowed ahead, trying to catch him up.

  “I’m going to need your help,” Wade said.

 
“Anything.” Of course Boone would help his family. Besides, keeping busy was his favorite way to avoid dwelling on things like loss and worry.

  Wade explained Rhett had also started training service dogs and his first dog, a black Lab named Ryker, was fully trained and would be picked up the next day. “Rhett’s obviously not here and I have a cattle auction tomorrow so I’m not available,” Wade said. “I texted Patrick—he’s the dad of Ryker’s boy—and he knows to find you to pick up the dog.”

  “I can do that,” Boone said. He glanced back toward the barn.

  Wade clasped his shoulder. “Don’t worry about our daughters. They love spending time with Violet and she’s great with them.”

  Violet’s charged words and accusation about Boone not being around rattled through him. Boone scrubbed at the back of his neck. “She’s really made herself at home here in a short amount of time. She knew about Silas before anyone thought to call me.”

  Wade shook his head. “It’s not like that at all. Rhett told us to wait to tell you in person. He didn’t want to worry you while you were driving and you were set to arrive today anyway. Violet happened to be nearby when I got the call. She offered to take the girls off my hands so Cassidy and I could take care of things for Rhett.”

  Boone released a shaky sigh. “Then I guess it’s a good thing she’s here.” Especially since their sister, Shannon, had eloped a few weeks ago and headed with her new husband on a three-month-long veterinary mission trip to South America. Not exactly what Boone would have chosen to do for a honeymoon; then again, he and June had been too young and too poor to afford a trip at all when they got married.

  For so many years the family had always counted on Shannon to pitch in wherever they needed help at the ranch and she had always been happy to provide childcare for her nieces. Boone had to admit, it was kind of Violet to step into that role while their sister was gone.

  “Hailey has really taken a liking to Violet,” Wade said. He looped his fingers around his belt. “They spend a lot of time together and Violet has a way of connecting with her.” He jutted his chin toward the barn. “Honestly, Violet’s been a Godsend. Cassidy hasn’t been feeling well and I’m determined to be there for her and do whatever she needs every step of this pregnancy. Violet is always willing to take the girls when we ask or when Cassidy needs to rest.”