The Prodigal Cowboy (Mercy Ranch Book 5)

by Brenda Minton

  “I’m old but I can still outride both of you.” Jack turned his attention to Colt. “I handpicked that gelding for my granddaughter. I rode him, and Isaac rode him when I got him back to the ranch. He’s seven years old, been used for pole bending and barrels, as well as Western pleasure in local showdeos.”

  Colt nodded. “I believe you. He just seemed a little fiery.”

  “He’s in new surroundings,” Jack shot back. “How do you like him, Dixie Bell?”

  All smiles, Dixie ran to hug her grandfather, almost knocking him off his feet. Quickly she steadied him.

  “I think he’s the most beautiful horse ever. Thank you, Granddad.”

  Granddad? Colt never thought hearing his dad called “granddad” would do something funny to his own heart.

  Jack dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Have your uncle Isaac take him out to that overgrown corral and lunge him a bit. There should be a long rope in the tack section of that trailer that is used for lunging. Isaac can show you how that works and then you can see how he rides.”

  “I can ride him? Really?” Dixie looked from Jack to Colt.

  “He’s yours, so I guess you can.” Colt limped to the trailer and brought out a lunge line. He tossed it to Isaac. “Do the honors.”

  “Will do, gimpy.” Isaac laughed as he sidestepped Colt.

  Holly joined them a few minutes later. She hugged Jack and then Maria before joining Colt as they walked out to the arena.

  “Do you want to try your horse?” Colt asked as they stood together at the wood fence of the corral.

  “Maybe later, after dinner.” She watched as Isaac helped Dixie saddle her horse.

  Jack watched, too, but then he ambled over to Holly’s side. “I have a proposition for you, Holly.”

  “Jack, you’ve done more than enough. The horses are beautiful. I can’t begin to thank you enough for them.”

  He waved off the thank-you. “I have men who need to keep busy. I’d like to send them over here to clean up your fence lines, shore up that barn and paint your house.”

  Tears filled her eyes. Colt wanted to thank his dad for the offer, and also warn him to tread lightly. He didn’t get the chance.

  “I can’t let you do that, Jack.” She kissed him on the cheek. “But thank you for the offer.”

  Jack gave her a stern look. “Holly Carter, your stubbornness doesn’t make it easy to help you. I’d really like to be a good neighbor and a good friend, and I’d really like to do this for you.”

  “Let him, Holly,” Colt told her.

  “And Colt is going to be in charge of making sure it all gets done.” Jack grinned as he reached for the fence to steady himself.

  “I have a café to run,” Colt informed his dad.

  “I thought you were the silent partner,” Jack shot back.

  “Yeah, that’s me. The loudest silent partner ever,” Colt cracked.

  Jack’s expression turned to amusement. “That’s pretty sneaky of you both.” He looked at Holly. “I’ll send my construction foreman over at the beginning of the week so he can look around, get an idea of what needs to be done.”

  “Look!” Dixie called from the arena. She had her horse saddled. Jack’s offer and Holly’s refusal were forgotten.

  Colt had no intention of missing this. He opened a nearby gate and entered the arena to join his daughter and Isaac.

  Isaac smiled. “I didn’t think you’d stand idly by and let me be the one to teach her to ride.”

  “She already knows how to ride,” Colt informed his know-it-all half brother. “Daisy has horses.”

  “Gotcha.” Isaac stepped back and waved him on. “Go ahead.”

  “Check the girth strap,” Colt told his daughter. “Make sure it’s still tight.”

  She flipped the stirrup over the seat of the saddle and gave the strap a good pull. He let her try and then he gave the strap another good pull. Just in case. They secured the strap and he released the stirrup for her.

  “Need help?” he asked.

  The horse stood as still as a statue, true to Jack’s opinion of him. The gelding definitely knew he belonged to a child.

  “I got this,” she informed him. And she did. She got her foot in the stirrup, grabbed the saddle horn and the reins, and swung her right leg over the horse’s back as she pulled herself up.

  “You know how to rein him, right?” Colt asked.

  She placed the reins on the horse’s neck, to the left side moving him right and to the right side moving him left.

  “Take him around the arena. Get used to each other and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Colt told his daughter as he gave the horse a gentle pat on the rump. The gelding didn’t flinch but instead waited for his rider to give the cue.

  Isaac patted Colt on the back but didn’t say anything. Who knew Isaac would grow up to be the softhearted one? Colt shook his head, dumbfounded by the realization.

  The two of them moved to the side of the corral and watched as Dixie rode her horse, a big grin on her face. Colt guessed he probably wore a matching grin. This was something a man could get used to. Family surrounding him, taking up space in what he was coming to realize had been a pretty lonely existence.

  And Holly. She stood on the outside of the wood-fenced corral, sharing a story with his dad. She laughed, and the sound meant so much because she seemed to laugh so seldom. He made a note to himself to make her laugh more often, to make her cry less.

  He knew now, she was the prize he’d always been chasing after. All these years, he’d thought the money, the glory of his job, the traveling, would erase her from his memory.

  He was wrong.

  Chapter Eleven

  Colt glanced at the calendar that hung on the office wall at the café. It was Thursday and they were closing in on the end of April. One week left of what had been a pretty crazy month. Maybe the best month of his life. Possibly the most difficult. Running the café had definitely been a learning experience. What he’d learned was that it was a lot of hard work.

  The afternoon lull had hit and he walked out the office door and saw his brother Carson sitting at a corner table looking over some papers. Must be the afternoon lull at the West Medical Practice, too. Colt sat down across from him and picked up the glass of water he’d carried over.

  Carson looked over the top of his black-framed glasses.

  “Need something?” Carson asked.

  “I was going to ask you the same. You’re on my turf. Temporary turf, but still mine.”

  Carson closed the notebook he’d been looking over and sat back, reaching for the sugar. He poured a steady stream in his coffee mug and stirred.

  “Ain’t you man enough to drink your coffee black?” Colt teased.

  “Is black coffee a prerequisite for being a real man?” Carson asked.

  “You know I don’t know big words like that.” Colt passed his brother the creamer. “Here, you might need this.”

  “Let’s not play the ‘Colt is stupid’ game. We know you have degree in marketing. I think you even went back to school for something else business related?”

  “That’s me, the overachiever.” Colt said. “Comes from having a stepfather who claimed I wouldn’t amount to anything. I might not’ve, but that was enough to put a burr under my saddle.”

  “Speaking of saddles, how’s Dixie doing with Flash?”

  Colt felt a whole lot of pride bubble up. “I’m heading home now to help her practice for the shindig next weekend.”

  “What’s she entering?”

  “Pole bending and Western pleasure. And possibly the egg relay.”

  Carson smiled. “I’m glad she’s adjusting. And still seeing Kylie. How about you? Are you adjusting to family life?”

  “I don’t need a therapist, if that’s what you’re asking.”


  Carson’s face went serious. “So big strong cowboys can’t get help if they need it?”

  “Not saying that, I’m just saying I’m good. I’ve got this handled.” Unless Dixie chose Daisy. The thought of her leaving them brought an instant pain to his heart.

  And then he thought about his job and leaving her and Holly... That left him even more unsettled.

  “What’s that look for?” Carson asked.

  “Dixie has been talking to Daisy. They’re close and Dixie misses her. Every time the phone rings and it’s Daisy, I can see the look on Holly’s face. She’s worried that our daughter will choose her aunt over us. We’ve both talked and we get it. She’s known Daisy her whole life. She associates Daisy with Becky.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “I know it makes sense but it doesn’t make it any easier. On me or Holly.”

  Carson studied him for a moment, the pragmatic brother, always thinking things through. “I don’t want to sound clichéd but you know this is going to work out, right? I know you all will do the right thing for her. Between you and me, I kinda worry about Daisy. She’s a loose cannon.”

  “I know she is.”

  “Do you know anything about twins?” Carson asked.

  “Not a thing. We talk, she sticks to easy topics, and Dixie.”

  “Maybe we should go visit when things settle down,” Carson suggested. “She usually puts me off if I suggest stopping by or her coming here. We might have to make it a surprise visit.”

  “You know there are two things our little sister isn’t fond of. One is surprises. The other is...us.”

  “Yeah, I’m well aware of that,” Carson answered.

  “And don’t worry, I was listening to your advice. I know this will work out. I just hope it doesn’t hurt too much in the process of working out.”

  “Just know that you have family and we’re here for you all. We’re also counting on you participating on the ranch team next week.”

  “Is that a fact?”

  “It is.” Carson grinned, then he shuffled all his paperwork together. “I just came in to have a cup of coffee with you, so I guess I’ll go now.”

  All righty then. Colt pushed to his feet, grimacing as the muscles in his back tightened. Carson gave him that doctor look.

  “You okay?”

  “It depends on what you mean by okay. I’m healing up from a head-on accident with a one-ton bull. If that wasn’t bad enough, now I’m working as a waiter and dishwasher. I’d rather go out and load about a thousand square bales of hay. I think it would be easier.”

  “If you need anything, let me know. And practice your branding skills.”

  “Branding?”

  Carson walked away, grinning.

  “I’m not branding!” Colt called to his brother’s back. The only response was a wave and a deep chuckle.

  Stacy appeared from the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel. “When is that new dishwasher showing up? I fought against it but now I’m looking forward to it.”

  “I got an email that it should be delivered next week.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m going to hit the road, if you’ve got things handled for the dinner shift.”

  “We’ve got this. Jess is coming in to wait tables. We have plenty of help.”

  “Thanks, Stacy. I mean it. I don’t know what we would have done without you.”

  “Holly needed some time off.” Stacy shrugged. “I get it. She didn’t say a word when I took off for an appendectomy. She pulled the sled pretty much on her own.”

  And he hadn’t known. Guilt felt like a lead weight in the pit of his stomach. “That won’t happen again. Even after I leave, I’ll make sure I keep in contact and when she needs help or time off, I’ll be here.”

  Stacy gave him an approving smile. “I think that’s good. I’m glad she’s letting you help out. But I didn’t know you planned on leaving.”

  “I guess none of us really know what’s going to happen in the next few weeks,” he answered. “I have events on the calendar that I’ve committed to.”

  “I see.” But the look on her face said she didn’t. “None of my business.”

  “I’m going to head home now.” No, he corrected himself, not home. He was heading to Holly’s. Home for him was a brick house a mile down the road from Holly’s. His home had been furnished, decorated and left empty. He slept there. He had his horse there. It definitely didn’t feel like home.

  Pulling up to Holly’s house a few minutes later felt like coming home. When he saw his daughter and Holly working with their horses, his heart skipped a beat. Most men searched for fame, for fortune, for success, but this, this was living. Stepping out of his truck, he heard his daughter call out a greeting and watched a smile shift the smooth planes of Holly’s face.

  He headed their way, walking easier now than he had in a long time, even after the long shift at the café. He knew he smelled like fried food but he didn’t really care. He wanted to be near them.

  “What are you two up to?” he asked, reaching to pet Cooter, who moved from where he’d been sprawled in the grass and came to sit at Colt’s side.

  “Working. I’m doing a lot better at barrels.” She turned her horse in the direction of the starting point. “Watch.”

  “I will. Let me get my timer ready.” He leaned against the top of the fence and Holly led her horse out to stand next to him.

  “Ready.” He looked up at her and she smiled big. “Set.” The horse started to prance and his rider looked about to go off. “Go.”

  Horse and rider flew around the first barrel, on to the second, touching but not knocking it down. They skidded around the third barrel and headed home with Dixie leaning over her horse’s neck.

  “That was awesome,” he shouted. “This is a smaller corral and the barrels are closer together but that came in at twenty-five seconds.”

  “Is that good?”

  Colt laughed at her enthusiasm. “Yes, it’s very good. Now it’s Holly’s turn.”

  “I can’t barrel race,” she argued.

  “Why not?”

  “I’m too old for this. I’ve never done it before.”

  “Oh come on, Mom.” Dixie looked from Colt to Holly, then smiled shyly. “That wasn’t so bad, was it? I mean, you are my mom.”

  Holly drew in a breath and gave her a shaky nod. “I am, but I don’t want you to do something you’re not comfortable with.”

  She wanted to be the mom. That’s what Colt knew. Just as he wanted to be the dad. It felt like a crazy, jumbled-up mess with the three of them trying to figure out who they were to one another. But never quite getting there.

  “Will you try it?” Dixie continued, as if she needed to fill the silence. “I’ve never done it before, either. We could both enter. Like a...” She bit down on her bottom lip. “Like a mother-daughter thing.”

  “Okay, I’ll give it a try,” Holly agreed.

  Colt touched her back and she smiled over her shoulder at him as she led her horse into the arena. She was fine, the look said. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to cry over. He knew her so well, that was what she would be telling herself at that moment.

  As she prepared to ride, a truck came up the drive. His troublesome brother, Isaac.

  “Whenever you’re ready,” Colt called out to Holly. “Remember to use your knees and lean in, don’t fight your horse.”

  “Don’t fight your horse,” she repeated. “That helps a lot.”

  “Trot the first time,” Isaac offered.

  “Trot.” She clucked and let the horse take off, guiding him from barrel to barrel.

  “Isn’t it fun?” Dixie called out.

  “If you like bouncing your teeth out of your head,” Holly answered.

  “Let him canter, it’s an easier gait.” Colt stepped through the gate. “Well,
little brother, what brings you by?”

  “I thought I’d see if Dixie wanted to come over and hang out with Allie for a bit. We’re making ice cream and it’s almost done.”

  “And you’re not inviting us?” Colt looked back at his brother.

  “Nope, I’m not. I thought maybe the two of you...”

  Could use some time alone. Just the two of them. Colt silently thanked his brother for being thoughtful. He would have voiced his thanks but he guessed Rebecca was the thoughtful one.

  Not that it mattered whose idea it was. The end result was the same, unless Holly objected: the two of them would have a little time alone.

  * * *

  “Go!” Dixie called out.

  Holly’s horse shot forward, seeming to know what he was doing and thinking Holly was along for the ride. Which she guessed might be the truth. But she wanted to hang on for the ride and not land on the ground. She didn’t have time to remind herself to lean or to use her knees. Her horse was named Blue, as in Blue Streak, though he was red. That was her last thought as she tumbled from the saddle, hit the barrel and landed on the ground.

  Cooter barked and Dixie screamed the word Momma. Momma was a good name. Stretched out on her back, she looked up at the late-afternoon sky, which was blue. Robin’s-egg blue.

  She heard boots on the ground come closer. Colt said her name. She smiled up at him. “I’m fine.”

  “Are you? Because you’re lying on the ground and you haven’t moved.” He sounded concerned.

  Should he be? She didn’t know. “I’m not moving because I’m looking at the sky. And Dixie called me Momma.”

  “Yes, she did. But right now, we need to make sure you’re all right.”

  “What day is today?” Isaac asked from his position on her other side.

  She laughed and found that laughing made her ribs hurt. “I don’t know what day it is, because I no longer have a job. The days all run together.”

  With Colt’s hand on her back, she moved to a sitting position. Her head spun a little, but then it settled down. “That isn’t the ride I wanted to take,” she said with her forehead on her knees.