Her Big Sky Cowboy

by Alissa Callen

  Rhett’s appreciative sigh said she wasn’t the only person impressed by the well-presented ranch.

  “Zane sure mightn’t say much,” Rhett said, looking out his window at the contented cattle, “but when it comes to ranching no one knows cattle and horses like Zane does.”

  “Has he always been a rancher?” Trinity asked, ignoring Ivy’s teasing grin.

  “Yes,” Rhett said, “The Nashes were one of the original pioneering families in this section of Paradise valley. All the local ranches were named after wildflowers and there’s no prettier place than the creek past Zane’s house when the mountain hollyhocks bloom.”

  “So that’s why your ranch is called Rose Crown, your sister’s is Bluebell Falls, Payton’s is Beargrass Hills and old Henry’s is Larkspur Ridge?”

  “Exactly. Then further down the valley is Fire Weed Ranch. Not that anyone is living there with Brent away and his mother now in town.”

  Trinity lifted her gaze to the high-country backdrop that pushed against the summer-blue sky. Whether bathed in the rosy light of a sunset or in the pure light of a clear day, the rugged peaks called to her in a way the cityscape never had. She could understand the pioneers drawing upon the beauty of their new homes as inspiration for their ranch names.

  “You know”, Rhett said, casting her and Ivy a crooked grin, “perhaps I should have warned you that many believe when it comes to women Hollyhock Creek Ranch is cursed. You two are probably the first women to set foot on the ranch years.”

  Ivy laughed. “That’s only a rumor started by you cowboys to make sure we don’t gatecrash your precious pool competition.”

  Ivy turned to Trinity. “Zane has a games room and every so often they all get together for a quiet night of pool.”

  Trinity laughed. “I take it a quiet night involves beer, secret men’s business and getting home late.”

  “Try not getting home at all,” said Ivy, her brows raised.

  “In our defense,” Rhett said, “Zane and I weren’t playing pool all night. We also helped a mare deliver her foal.”

  Ivy winked at Trinity. “That’s their story and they’re sticking to it.”

  Milly pressed her nose against the window glass, her body quivering with excitement as they passed a cluster of sleek-coated black cattle. The Jack Russell was convinced she was a working ranch dog not an indoor pet.

  Trinity firmed her hold on Milly. “So what happened to the other women who set foot on Hollyhock Creek Ranch?”

  Rhett slowed the pickup as a sprawling ranch house and outbuildings came into view.

  “They didn’t stay long. Zane’s grandmother swapped ranch life for the city by hooking up with a travelling salesman. Then his mother left when he and his younger brother, Russ, were little. There was a housekeeper, Sophia, and she lasted until her daughter, Marlisa, ran off with Russ.”

  Zane might be Mr. Wrong but it suddenly seemed important to know if he’d ever brought a woman home to the ranch. “And Zane … he hasn’t brought anyone here?”

  Rhett shook his head. “Marlisa might have married Russ but she’d been Zane’s girl first. So now the ranch, and Finn, are his life. He doesn’t date and never will. He’s a confirmed bachelor.”

  The conversation stopped as Rhett parked in front of the Hollyhock Creek ranch house. The Jack Russell wriggled from Trinity’s grasp to follow Ivy and Rhett as they left the pickup. Trinity didn’t move.

  She stared through the windshield. Zane’s home was as rugged and as resolute as the rancher himself. All hard granite and strong timber, the house had been built to weather generations of mountain storms. No garden surrounded the house to blur the harsh angles and planes. No summer color added vibrancy and warmth. If a woman’s touch had ever turned the hulking building into a home, it had long since been erased.

  The front door burst open and Finn bounded down the steps. Dressed in a bright yellow T-shirt and blue shorts, he brought life to the scene before her.

  Grinning, she unclipped her seat belt. She made it a rule to not become emotionally involved with her small clients but Finn had somehow slipped through the gap in her professionalism that lay between being a summer camp teacher and a friend. It’d only been a week since the Marietta Mad Scientist School but she’d missed his small hand slipping into hers. She’d missed the tightness of his hugs. And she’d missed having someone to care for.

  She joined Rhett and Ivy outside and was rewarded by Finn’s arms encircling her waist. She dropped a kiss on the top of his head. “Hi, Finn. It’s good to see you.”

  His dark head bobbed up and down before he pulled away to give Ivy a warm hug. Milly rushed to his side and as she sniffed his small cowboy boots he laughed. The happy sound shot straight to Trinity’s heart.

  She met Ivy’s over-bright hazel eyes, her own a little misty. It was so good to hear Finn laugh like a normal five-year-old. Ivy had noticed early on that Finn enjoyed the company of dogs and so they’d brought Milly on purpose.

  “Hey, buddy,” Rhett said to Finn as he walked close. Finn stopped patting a besotted Milly, to give Rhett a high five. “You get taller each time I see you.”

  Finn’s smile widened.

  Rhett scanned the front porch of the ranch house. “Zane around?”

  Trinity already knew Zane wasn’t anywhere to be seen. It was as though her senses were on high alert. Whatever it was about Zane that unsettled her, this time when their eyes met she wouldn’t let the intensity of his grey gaze snare her. She also wouldn’t let the white gleam of his rare grin hold her transfixed like a deer in truck headlights. Yes, he was gorgeous in a brooding and raw way but she wasn’t looking for a partner who’d match her stubbornness.

  Finn pointed to his right.

  “He’s over at the stables?” Rhett asked.

  Finn nodded.

  They set off along the gravel road that lead to a building also constructed of local stone and timber. Glossy horses filled the various corrals nestled beside the large and long stable complex. Rhett dipped his head toward a small grey pony standing in his own corral.

  “How’s Sonny doing?”

  “Good.” Finn’s single word was drowned out by the pony’s loud whinny.

  Rhett laughed. “I think he wants us to say howdy?”

  Finn grinned and reached into the pocket of his shorts to pull out two small orange stubs of carrot.

  “Sonny is such a greedy guts,” Ivy said with a smile. “More like he wants to see his favorite little rider because he wants treats.”

  As they strolled toward the pony, Milly, nose to the ground, zig-zagged in the opposite direction. Trinity followed. The Jack Russell would have found the scent of a hare, chipmunk or even a skunk. After a week of walking her at Ivy’s ranch, Trinity knew firsthand once Milly caught a scent it was a battle to get her home. She trailed the tan and white dog alongside the stables.

  “Okay, Miss Milly. That’s far enough.” She rounded the far corner of the stables and bent to scoop up the single-minded dog. “Whatever it is, it’ll be gone. And if it isn’t, I don’t want to meet whatever you’re trailing.”

  Too late she saw the flash of sun on metal, caught the scent of split logs and heard the sound of wood splintering.

  She straightened. Her mouth dried. Zane wasn’t in the stables. He wasn’t even fully clothed.

  Torso bare and slick with sweat, he stood with his tanned back toward her, chopping firewood.

  She hugged a wriggling Milly close to her chest. Now who had tunnel vision? She couldn’t look away from the flex and pull of Zane’s corded muscles as he swung the axe into the air. After being a regular at the Copper Mountain Rodeo with Payton and Mandy, she’d seen her share of well-built cowboys in action but not one had ever taken her breath away.

  She barely registered the footsteps behind her as Ivy came to her side.

  “For someone adamant Zane is Mr. Wrong,” her oldest friend said in a whisper, “perhaps your mouth shouldn’t hang open quite so much.”

>   *

  The prickle at the base of his neck let Zane know he had visitors. The sharp yip of a small dog, identified who they were. He lowered the axe and rolled his shoulders to ease the ache of overuse. Finn had said Trinity and Ivy were coming with Rhett to check on his soon-to-foal mare, but Finn hadn’t said when they were due.

  He swiped the back of his hand across his forehead to prolong the inevitable when he’d face Trinity again. He needed a moment to ensure his self-control would be rock-solid. After all, she was the reason he was splitting logs in the heat of summer. The prospect of seeing her again had coiled him tighter than any lariat.

  He turned with what he hoped passed for a relaxed expression and lifted his arm in a wave. He rested the axe against a block of wood and grabbed his lightweight red plaid shirt from off the fence. His fingers flicked the shirt buttons closed as he walked toward his guests waiting for him at the corner of the stables.

  Rhett nodded, Ivy smiled and Finn flashed him a joyful grin as he tickled the small ears of the dog Trinity held.

  He dipped his hat at Ivy and then Trinity, making sure their gazes didn’t connect for longer than a second. If he looked at her as little as possible he’d survive seeing her again.

  “Getting a jump start on winter?” Rhett asked with a twinkle in his blue eyes.

  “Something like that,” Zane answered, not taking the bait.

  Rhett would know Zane chopped wood only when rattled and he’d put two and two together to come up with the reason why. A reason who wore her long dark hair loose, and was dressed in a pink western shirt, fitted blue jeans and cowgirl boots and who appeared right at home on his ranch.

  “Sorry I didn’t come and greet you,” he said, glancing at Ivy.

  “That’s okay,” she said, voice soft. “Finn was a great welcoming committee.”

  “Thanks,” he said with a smile at the five-year-old.

  So far Trinity hadn’t said anything. He risked a look her way. The day’s heat trailed a faint flush across her cheeks.

  Her gaze held his. But instead of her usual open and steady stare, now her eyes were guarded. Even the green of her irises looked different, darker, more turbulent.

  “So,” Rhett said, drawing Zane’s attention away from Trinity. “Shall we check out Comet?”

  He nodded and walked with Rhett as Ivy, Finn and Trinity led the way to the front of the stables.

  “You said you were worried about her?” Rhett asked.

  Relieved to have something to focus on besides the flash of bling that sparkled on the back pocket of Trinity’s tight jeans, Zane answered, “Yes, it might be nothing and me being overprotective, but she doesn’t seem right. I guess it doesn’t help checking on her five times a day. I’m hoping I’m seeing things that aren’t really there.”

  Rhett threw him a quick glance and it wasn’t because of what he’d said. Comet was Zane’s oldest breeding mare and it was common knowledge he accorded her special attention. Rhett’s look was simply because he’d used more than two sentences.

  Zane ground his teeth. First, the wood chopping and now his running off at the mouth. He may as well have shot a flaming arrow over Trinity’s head to let Rhett know why he was so on edge.

  He relaxed his shoulders. Trinity would soon be gone and until then he had to act as he usually did around women. Unaffected and in control. He was a man who’d sworn off women, not a man who’d fallen for a woman.

  “I’m sure Comet is fine. It’s been hot, so the heat might be knocking her around?” Rhett said.

  This time Zane made sure he replied with his usual grunt.

  Rhett looked across to where Diablo paced in his corral. The latent power of the restless quarter horse stallion rippled beneath his palomino coat. “Any luck riding Diablo yet?”

  Zane again dragged his attention away from the sparkle of bling on the neat curve of Trinity’s butt. The tiny flashes of light drew his gaze like iron filings to a magnet.

  “Nope. He still hasn’t taken to working cattle.”

  Rhett laughed. “My rodeo days are over so I’m not going to offer to ride him for you.”

  Zane chuckled. “And I value my life should Ivy find out you did.”

  “You and me both. She may be tiny but since mom died, Ivy’s the only person my father listens to.”

  Zane nodded as they stopped beside the corral fence that Sonny leaned against while Finn played with the white tuft of his forelock.

  Ivy smiled across at them but Trinity didn’t take her attention from Finn’s happy face.

  “Ivy,” Zane said. “I’ve a favor to ask.”

  “Ask away.”

  “I’m moving the cattle to their summer pastures and Finn asked if he could stay with you while we round them up and truck them to Fire Weed Ranch?”

  Ivy’s smile shone sunrise bright. “I’d love to have him stay. When?”

  “End of next week.”

  Her smile waned. “I’ll be in New York for work as I’ve a company to sort out. And as it’s close to our six month anniversary, Rhett’s coming too, so no one will be home.”

  “I can be,” Trinity said quietly. “I’m still on vacation. My next science camp isn’t until the end of the summer in August.”

  Zane lost the battle to look at her.

  “So I can easily stay at Ivy’s ranch with Finn,” Trinity continued, her serious gaze holding his. “Or Milly and I could come here so Finn’s routine isn’t interrupted?”

  “That’s a great idea,” Ivy said. ‘Isn’t it Finn? You’d be fine if Trinity came to look after you?”

  Finn grinned and leaned against Trinity’s legs as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

  Zane nodded, ignoring the cold ball of unease that settled low in his gut. His son’s needs and happiness came before his own need to stay away from Trinity. The speech therapist staying with Finn while he, Hank and the ranch hands were away with the cattle was a perfect solution.

  “Are you sure?” he asked her.

  “Absolutely.” She smiled her beautiful smile. “And I’ll even come the night before so I’ll know exactly what has to be done.”

  Chapter Four

  ‡

  What a difference three days made.

  Trinity secured the picture Finn had drawn of a rainbow-colored butterfly onto the refrigerator door with twin magnets.

  She stepped back to survey her and Finn’s handiwork. Since she’d arrived to look after him they’d transformed the kitchen from a blank canvas into a bug-enthusiast’s paradise.

  The refrigerator was covered in vibrant drawings. A woolen spider web hung from a cupboard handle, complete with a black spider. A pair of red ladybirds made out of paper plates had pride of place in the middle of the kitchen table. And an ant farm, with live ants, sat in front of Finn as he slowly chewed his breakfast pancake.

  Trinity smiled at his absorption as he watched the ants march through the narrow tunnels visible through the clear plastic walls. She returned to the stove top to flip a second pancake.

  A creak on the floorboards outside the kitchen door caused her to stiffen and then relax. She’d heard Zane return at midnight from his days away but she was certain he wouldn’t be making an appearance for breakfast. When she’d taken Milly outside earlier the bunkhouse had been a hive of cowboy activity. She’d briefly met Cookie, the ranch cook, the night she’d arrived and had no doubt Zane would eat in the bunkhouse instead of the main ranch house. A choice that suited her fine.

  The more she saw of him the more confused she became. They weren’t at all compatible so why then when she was near him did she feel so unsettled, even flustered? Her blushing and uncertain teenage days were over.

  “Can I have another one please?”

  Finn’s quiet voice sounded from behind her.

  “Of course, sweetheart.”

  She flipped the pancake from the pan to a plate. It hadn’t only been bug craft they’d worked on these past days. She’d gone back to basics to develop Fin
n’s speech and language skills. She’d chatted about anything and everything, named objects and encouraged him to copy her. They’d read books, played games, sung songs and turned everyday activities, like feeding Sonny, into opportunities for Finn to rediscover his confidence. And gradually his words were returning.

  She turned, plate in hand, when Zane strode into the kitchen. Today he wore yet another ripped shirt, but the blue cotton retained its original brightness and made his grey eyes appear almost blue. A vague impression formed but before she could grasp its meaning, it vanished.

  His steps slowed as he looked around. But she didn’t have a chance to fully assess his expression at the kitchen changes before Finn ran to him. Zane lifted him in his arms. Affection lightened the grey of his eyes and curved the corners of his mouth. Then he smiled, a slow and gorgeous smile.

  Something shifted deep within Trinity. Even as she felt the change, she fought to remain unmoved. Beneath Zane’s impassive exterior may lie a heart capable of deep emotion. Beneath his ripped clothes may lie a sculptured body that would send any teenage girl breathless. But that didn’t make him her Mr. Right.

  She walked to the table and slid Finn’s pancake onto his empty plate. There was no way the strong-willed cowboy would ever let her call the shots. She wasn’t sentencing herself to a life over which she exercised little control.

  Zane carried Finn to his chair and, arm around his shoulder, bent to look into the ant farm.

  “I always wanted one of these as a kid,” he said.

  “Well, now you have one as an adult,” she said, turning to pour pancake batter into the pan before he could see her expression. She wasn’t sure her reaction to his smile had faded from her face yet.

  “Like a pancake?” Finn asked. “They’re good.”

  She wished she could turn and see the effect Finn’s words had on Zane but it wasn’t her place to be privy to his relief.

  “Yes. I would. They do look good.”