Home on the Ranch: Wyoming Cowboy Ranger

by Rebecca Winters

  “I phoned our brigade captain and she told everyone to be on the lookout for the fugitive before we started the search. Deedee and I were both armed.”

  “Armed or not, a desperate fugitive runs on adrenaline that makes him think he’s invincible,” he warned.

  “Well, nothing happened and I won’t be going up there again.”

  “That’s the second-best news I’ve had all day.”

  A slow smile curved her lips. “What was the first?”

  “To discover you on the other side of my front door earlier. I couldn’t talk you into coming to my house last week, but now that you have, I’m hoping this was the first of many visits, impromptu or otherwise.”

  She averted her eyes.

  “Surely it hasn’t escaped your notice that I’d like to get to know you better, Lily. But if there’s a man in your life, then I wish you’d tell me now.”

  Her head lifted so their gazes met. “There’s no one.”

  Third-best news of the day.

  “Then there has to be a gut-wrenching reason why, because I know of at least four men since meeting you at the clinic who would sell their souls to have a shot with you.”

  He heard her breath catch. “After my crash in Whistler, I learned through a friend that the Olympic racer I’d planned on marrying was married to someone else and had lied to me that he was single. I lay in my hospital bed realizing my future life didn’t include marriage or being a skier after all.”

  Porter groaned. “That explains it.”

  “If or when I’m ever open to a relationship again, I’ll have to have the man investigated by someone I trust, probably my father. He’s never lied to me about anything.”

  Whoa. He sat back to drink his coffee. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know about me right now. But, of course, that assumes you’re interested enough to want details.”

  She cocked her dark head. “You don’t mince words, do you?”

  “I’ve taken a page out of your book.” But she wasn’t ready, and this conversation needed to come to an end. He reached for his wallet and put some bills on the table. “I, too, value honesty above all else. Come on. I’ll run you back to the ranch. You must be exhausted after the day you’ve put in on the mountain.”

  Within twenty minutes, he turned in to her ranch and drove around back to the rear entrance.

  “Don’t get out, Porter. You’ve moved enough for today.”

  He smiled at her. “Thank you for all you did earlier to help the police find the culprit. I’m thankful that all of you in the brigade returned safely.”

  “Porter—”

  “Yes?” He waited with bated breath.

  “Thank you for dinner.” That wasn’t what she’d been about to say, he mused—he figured she’d changed her mind, but he was pleased by this much progress. “I enjoyed it very much.”

  “So did I. Good night. I’ll see you on Monday at ten.”

  He sat behind the wheel until she’d let herself in the back door before he took off for his ranch.

  * * *

  Lily spent a wretched Sunday waiting for Monday to come around when she could talk to Porter. Their evening shouldn’t have ended the way it had. He’d finally admitted he’d like to spend more time with her, and what did she do? Tell him she would have to have him investigated by her father in order to trust him. She cringed inwardly. What in heaven’s name had gotten into her?

  Something was seriously wrong with her to be this cynical and jaded. So far Porter had been open with her about everything. It all came down to the fact that she was afraid of falling in love again and getting hurt. That meant she’d given Steve Louter all the power for eight years to close her off to other men, and for what?

  Porter didn’t deserve any of this. All men were presumed innocent until proven guilty. When had her common sense been so overtaken by such irrational fear that she’d lost her way and her faith in humankind?

  Even if she shouldn’t be seeing a patient outside hospital hours, it was too late now. She would start all over again with Porter on Monday. Of course, she might have done so much damage already, he was no longer interested in her. The thought of that happening was pure torture.

  Lily found herself trembling with nerves on Monday when he was wheeled into her room at ten, ready for another workout.

  “Thanks, Ron.” She heard him address the orderly before the man left them alone.

  “Good morning, Porter.” Her heart leaped at the sight of his rock-hard body.

  “It is a good one.” His smile elated her. “On my way over here, I heard from the sheriff. Forensics got back to him. The cigarillo butts and photos you brought to me proved the culprit made that second campfire. Because of you, there’s a manhunt up there right now looking for him. If he’s caught, you’ll be given official credit.”

  She shook her head. “The only thing I want is that he has to answer to you in a court of law for what happened that night. When I think how he ran away... I can only imagine how you must have felt lying there in the dark with your horse in agony.” It embarrassed her how her voice shook, but she couldn’t help it.

  “Luckily my life was spared. Because of your expertise, I’m walking around almost as good as new, and riding a horse again.” As if to prove it, he got out of the wheelchair in his stocking feet and with pure male grace climbed up on the therapy table the way she’d shown him. “I’m ready when you are.”

  He possessed an incorrigible trait she loved and warmth flowed through her as she walked over to him. “If you’ll lie back, we’ll begin.”

  After he’d done her bidding, she put him through the exercises, taking longer than usual to make sure she was doing a thorough job. “How’s the pain?”

  “I don’t feel any.”

  Lily had to believe him because she neither saw nor felt any tension lines. She’d tried so hard not to be affected by their nearness, but it was no use. Touching him stirred her senses and it took every ounce of willpower she possessed to remove her hands.

  “Are we through?” he asked.

  “Yes.” She went over to the computer to log in her notes of today’s workout. Much as she wanted to talk to him, she would have to wait until this evening because she had another patient coming.

  He eased himself carefully off the table and walked over to the wheelchair. “I’ll see you tonight at six?”

  She nodded. “Dash will be waiting.”

  “You think he misses me?”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised,” she said, glancing over her shoulder at him as Ron came in to wheel him away.

  The rest of the day dragged until she was able to drive back to the ranch. Before Porter arrived, she freshened up, then hurried into the kitchen for something to eat. Her mom was already there shelling peas for their dinner.

  “Oh, good. You’re home! The roast will be done in a half hour and the three of us can catch up.”

  “I’d love it another time, Mom.” They hugged. “But Porter Ewing is coming in twenty minutes.” Her mom knew all about him except for the fact that Lily had fallen for him. She made herself a peanut butter sandwich. “This will have to hold me until later.”

  “Does Dash seem the right fit for him?”

  “He’s perfect.”

  “You mean Dash, or Porter?” her mom teased gently. “I caught a glimpse of him the last time he was here.”

  “It’s no secret that Ranger Ewing is attractive. I admit it.”

  “Did the evidence you and Deedee came across help at all in finding the culprit?”

  “Yes! Those butts were the same as at the other campfire and had been smoked by the same person as before. Porter says the police are scouring up there now.”

  “That’s wonderful you were able to help.”

  Lily knew her mother was dying to ask more personal questions, but
held back, something Lily appreciated. “How was your day?”

  “This morning a young married couple came to look at the Trotters and said they’d be back. Early this afternoon a woman showed up wanting to know all about them. She plans to return again soon to ride one. So all in all it’s been a very satisfying day.”

  “Terrific. Porter is hoping to buy Dash, but he has to work it out with his boss.”

  Her mom started the peas boiling, then looked at her. “I’m so proud of you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The way you help people get back on their feet.”

  She’d finished making her sandwich. “Not without you providing the horses, plus the love. I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have parents like you. Give Dad a hug for me. I’ll see you later.”

  “Enjoy your ride with Ranger Ewing.”

  Lily nodded, anxious to apologize for some of the things she’d said to him earlier. She put two water bottles in her small backpack with a blanket and ate her sandwich on the way to the barn. Once she’d bridled and saddled the horses, and led them out to the corral, she went back in for the stool.

  He might not like using it, but she wouldn’t let him mount without it. At some point he’d be able to do it by himself, but she preferred he act on the side of caution.

  Chapter 7

  Porter had to be the most punctual man she’d ever known. He pulled up in front of the corral at six on the dot under a semicloudy sky. His arrival filled Lily with so much euphoria, she didn’t know how to contain it.

  When he got out of his car wearing his Stetson and walked with care toward her, she was sure he’d balk at the sight of the stool this time, but no such thing happened. In fact, from the all-encompassing way he was staring at her, she doubted if he’d even noticed it.

  “I’ve been looking forward to our ride since morning. I’d like to go longer this time.”

  She’d be glad of the extra time so she could talk to him. “As long as you’re comfortable, we can keep going.”

  “By next week I’m hoping to get back out in the field to my regular duties.”

  “I didn’t know that,” she said, deadpan, and mounted her horse to wait for him. He got up on the stool and, with his usual care, moved his leg around to sit on his horse and was ready to ride. They headed out of the corral to the pasture at a slow pace. Her father’s property reached into the foothills of the Winds.

  “We’ll ride to that overlook in the distance and see how you feel.”

  “Let’s do it.” The excitement in his voice was contagious.

  They didn’t need conversation for this to seem right and natural. She felt incredibly safe with him. But her guilt over the things she’d said that morning weighed her down.

  When she reached the outcropping of rocks, she turned to him. “If you dismount to take a breather, you won’t have the stool to help you get back on. It’s up to you, but we might have to call for a helicopter if you get a pain that prevents movement.”

  He grinned. “I’ll stay put this time. What’s bothering me is you. I know you’ve got something on your mind, Lily. I can tell by the shadow in your eyes. This is as good a time as any to tell me what’s really nagging at you.”

  She reached in her backpack and pulled out the water bottles. After handing him one, she opened the top of hers and drank to steady her nerves. “I won’t lie. I’m attracted to you, Porter. But your arrival in Whitebark last year comes with a huge question mark. Why would a man of your age from New York, with a full-blown career, suddenly uproot himself to come out here?”

  He finished half a bottle. “After the man you loved omitted to tell you he was married, I understand how fearful you must be to trust another guy. So I’ll tell you what brought me out here. When you hear why, I guess it’ll be a case of whether you believe me or not.”

  “I want to,” she replied, her voice wobbling.

  For the next ten minutes, he filled in Lily on everything he’d told Holden about Ranger Reiver and her false claim against him. “After multiple times when she connived to be alone with me during our duties, she begged me to get in the tent with her and spend the night after we were snowed in. That did it for me.

  “I’ve had my share of girlfriends over the years, but I was never attracted to her. She was a sick woman. Recently I was relieved to hear good news from my old boss, Commissioner Kroger. He handled the official investigation on her with the authorities. She was fired from the forest service and lost her pension.

  “If she’d been pregnant, a simple DNA test would have proven me innocent. But it never came to that because she’d lied about seeing a doctor. There was no doctor, no pregnancy. Ranger Archuleta testified under oath that she’d harassed me at every opportunity and knew I’d never spent the night in her tent or mine at any time.

  “Those were the grounds for permanent dismissal. The fact that she had a history of coming on to other male rangers during her first three years with the forest service put the final nail in the coffin. They testified against her and it meant she lost her pension, too. You just don’t do what she did without serious consequences.”

  He heard her breath catch. “She sounds very unstable.”

  “That’s the word for her.”

  “How awful for you. Thank heaven your former boss was such a wonderful friend to you and got you out of there.”

  Porter nodded. “Though I didn’t name her specifically, he’d seen my request for a transfer several months before she told him she was pregnant. It backed up everything. Martin found this position for me in Wyoming and set it all up.

  “No one ever knew what happened to me. I was gone the next day and fell in love with the Winds. After talking it over with my mother, who lives in Buffalo, New York, with the man she married, I bought the ranch out here from the sale of my childhood home. As you can imagine, I owe Martin my life.”

  “Your new boss here is thrilled with you,” she interjected.

  “He won’t be if I don’t get healthy soon.” Porter studied her for a moment. “Do you have any other questions?”

  Her eyes clung to his. “None.”

  “Like I said, you can believe me or not.”

  “I do believe you, Porter.” Her voice throbbed. “I’m so sorry for how distrusting I’ve been.”

  He hoped she meant it. No other explanation would satisfy him. “I’m not complaining. Your expertise has saved me from hurting my back permanently. A while ago I was lying on my side in the forest wondering if I’d ever be able to ride a horse again, and here I am now on top of Dash and loving it. Because of this horse you’ve handpicked for me, I’m almost back in business.” Staring deep into her eyes, he said gruffly, “I’ll always be indebted to you. You’re a wonder, Lily.”

  “I’m not, but thank you,” she whispered.

  “Why don’t we go back from here. I’m ravenous. After we return to the ranch, let’s drive somewhere for a bite to eat.”

  “I’d love it. Let me take your empty water bottle.”

  As she put both bottles in her backpack, his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his shirt pocket before looking at her. “This is from the sheriff. I need to take it.”

  “Of course.”

  He reined in and clicked on. “Holden?”

  “I’ll tell you the details later, but the culprit has been caught and is in jail being booked as we speak. How soon can you get down here to interrogate him?”

  Porter’s gaze traveled over the gorgeous woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but dinner tonight would have to wait. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  After he hung up, he flicked her another glance. “The police have apprehended the culprit thanks to you. I have to get over to the jail immediately and interrogate him.”

  “Oh, I’m so glad he’s been caught!”

  “So am I
. Will you go to dinner with me tomorrow night?”

  “I’d like that.”

  They rode toward the ranch house in the distance. He felt lighter knowing she knew the truth about his reason for coming to Wyoming. When they reached the corral, she got off Trixie first and hurriedly put the stool down so he could dismount.

  No fast movements, Porter.

  He lowered himself to the ground without incident and gave Dash a pat before turning to her. It was a struggle not to reach out and kiss her. “I’ll be counting the minutes until tomorrow evening.” With that comment he left the corral, taking care to walk to his vehicle.

  Their talk had changed his whole world. Going through the process of thinking out each move, he got in behind the wheel and drove to the jail parking area, elated how things had progressed with Lily.

  After leaving his Stetson in the car, he exited slowly and walked inside. He found Holden in a room next to the interrogation room and sat down with him. “Sorry. I got here as soon as I could.”

  His friend studied him with curiosity. “Where were you?”

  “Out riding with my therapist.”

  “How long is she going to stay your therapist?”

  Porter grinned. “That all depends.”

  “For what it’s worth, I’m cheering you on. You don’t look or act like the same guy we visited in the hospital after your accident.”

  “I’m not,” he said in a husky voice. “I’ll give you chapter and verse later. Tell me where the perp was found.”

  “The officers put out a net of officers up near the second campsite. In the middle of the night one of them saw movement. He signaled his partner and they followed him. To their surprise he headed for the Crow’s Nest with a rifle. Maybe the culprit thought you had returned to your post. They subdued him quickly and sent for a helicopter.”

  “Another rifle,” Porter murmured.

  “That’s right. I’ve decided he’s been hanging around watching the forest rangers, either to spy on them for some reason we have yet to figure out, or he was looking for you and wanted to pick you off. We both know the possible reason why.”