by Kim Loraine
“Hey, stop that. M’sleeping.” The curly-haired brunette’s words were a sleep-slurred whine.
“Go on, you three should be sober enough to get back to your cabin. Sun’ll be up soon, work has to be done, and I’m not leaving you here.” Stalking into the living room, I collected their boots and tossed them on the floor inside the bedroom. “Let’s go, ladies.”
They sat up slowly, frowning, but carefully putting their boots on before filing out of my room and toward the front door.
The one with the honey-colored hair smiled at me. “Thanks for the rescue last night. You didn’t have to be such a gentleman about it, though. I would’ve liked taking you for a ride.”
She trailed one finger over my chest and bit her lower lip, but I caught her hand in mine and stopped her. “I don’t let the guests ride me. I also don’t let the guests drunkenly roam the ranch.”
Opening the door, I glance around in hopes my mama isn’t up yet. The main house is still dark, not a bit of movement in the windows. It was early enough; she should still be sleeping. The three women whispered loudly to each other as they snuck away like the worst spies in history. But, they were gone, and I was ready to work. I had plenty to do. Especially if I was gonna spend tonight with my cousin Travis and Buck. I sensed a bar fight in our future. Or…at least in mine.
I heard Wildfire before I even got to his pen, stamping his hooves, huffing in pure annoyance. He was telling me exactly how he felt about me being the least bit late to turn him out. “I know, I know, stop your griping. The nights are getting cold.” I held out a hand, and he let me pet his velvet-soft muzzle. “We’ve come a long way, haven’t we, boy?”
As if in answer, he sighed and stared at me with dark, chocolate brown eyes. “We gonna try spending some time with the others today? Be nice. No kicking or biting, you hear me? I don’t want to have to separate you. These are your friends, and I’ve had to fight for you every damn day.”
He lipped my palm, and I pulled out the apple I’d stashed in my pocket. “Don’t tell anyone I gave this to you. They’ll get jealous. Especially Ranger.”
“Talking to your horse like he’s your best friend. If I weren’t your sister-in-law, I might be swooning right now.” I turned toward the sound of Ever, my brother’s wife. She stood behind me, leaning against the outside wall of our indoor arena where we trained horses, gave riding lessons, and hosted local barrel racing competitions.
I tipped my hat at her and gave her a wink. “Maybe you chose the wrong brother.” I was only teasing. She and Clint were the perfect match; everyone knew it.
She laughed and jutted her chin toward Wildfire. “You’re really gonna let him try again?”
“Course I am. He’s learning to be a good citizen, is all. When he came to us, he was wild and young. He’ll get his shit together. Just gotta give him time.”
Opening his stall door, I smiled when he let me slip his halter over his head with no trouble. Then I clipped the lead rope onto the ring and clicked my tongue. He followed, relaxed and obedient. Beaming at Ever, I said, “See?”
Then, the asshole horse shoved his shoulder hard into mine, nearly knocking me down. I stumbled but righted myself, the back of my neck prickling in embarrassment. Ever, to her credit, didn’t laugh out loud, but she couldn’t hide the smile on her lips.
“Not a word,” I warned.
“Never.” She snorted as she walked away, and I gave Wildfire a healthy dose of side-eye.
“Traitor.”
He huffed.
After turning him out into the pasture, I watched on for just a few minutes, like a nervous dad dropping his kid off for the first day of school. What if he got into a fight? What if he didn’t fit in? But Wildfire galloped past the small herd of horses before stopping and watching them.
“Come on, boy. Make some friends.” It had taken so long to get him to this point.
Then, Midnight and Teddy both approached him. I tensed as I waited, and when they started sniffing him and he didn’t rear back, something in me eased. It didn’t take long before they were running and playing together.
“Well, he did it. Finally,” Buck said from next to me.
I’d been so caught up in what my horse was doing, I hadn’t even realized he was there. “Just needed to have faith in him.” My grip on the fence rail relaxed, the ache in my hands finally becoming evident. “It’s obvious he was abused and traumatized in his first home.”
“We should have seen it sooner. I’m sorry we wanted to get rid of him.”
I shrugged. “But you didn’t.”
“You wouldn’t let us.”
We stood there in silence, watching Wildfire finally integrating with the other horses. He was beautiful, spirited, and had so much potential.
“Penny might be pregnant.”
My heart stuttered. “What did you just say?”
I looked at him, my eyes wide. He was grinning like an idiot. “She told me last night.”
“Shit, Buck. That’s amazing.”
Something that looked a lot like terror flashed in his eyes. “I…what if I fuck it all up? What if something happens to her?”
“You’re not gonna. I’m the fuck up, remember?”
He gave a nervous laugh.
“You tell mama yet?”
Shaking his head, he sighed. “We wanna wait until she gets it confirmed at the doctor. I guess the result on the test was super faint. Could be a false positive.”
I didn’t even know what that meant, but I wasn’t gonna share anything with anyone. “Well, my lips are sealed until you decide to tell her. She’s gonna lose her mind.”
“I really thought it’d be Clint and Ever before anyone else.”
“We all thought it’d be you the way you been sowing your oats all over creation.”
I punched him in the shoulder. “I always wrap it up.”
Shrugging, he pushed off the fence and adjusted his hat. “Come on, little brother, there’s a shit ton of work to do before the guests wake up. Let’s get saddled up and move those heifers from pasture eight to seven. You know Clint’s gonna yell at us to do it anyway.”
Laughing, I followed him into the stable. He was right. There was always work to do.
Hazel
I ran my palm over the slight swell of my abdomen. It had been four weeks since I’d found out I was pregnant, and I already had a pretty pronounced bump. Surprising since it was my first, but I knew everyone was different.
“Wow, you popped already?” Erin asked, standing in my doorway.
I stared at myself in the mirror and nodded. “Looks like it. Don’t even start with the twins thing. I had an ultrasound last week. One occupant only.”
“Did you find out the gender?”
“No. It’s too soon, and I don’t want to anyway.”
She pouted. “Oh, you’re no fun.”
“I like a little bit of mystery in my life.”
Snorting, she gave me a look that said I was full of shit. “I don’t know, Haze, you’ve got more mystery in your life at the moment than anyone I know.”
My stomach churned. “Tell me about it.”
“Any luck finding him?”
“No, but I admit, I haven’t been looking too hard. I mean, what am I going to say to him? Hey, you remember that night you dicked me down so good I came five times?”
Laughter escaped her, but she tried valiantly to roll it back. “Maybe don’t start there?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I should just leave it alone. I’ve been trying for a month now. Maybe I’m not supposed to find him.”
She shrugged. “Maybe. Whatever happens, we are going to love this baby so much.” Pushing off the doorframe, she came over and rubbed a palm on my belly. “I’m sorry it happened this way, but I’m so glad you’re getting the baby you wanted.”
Heart filled with love, I smiled. “Me too.”
“Okay, I’ve got a video to prep for. I’m starting a new show tonight. Wanna come watch with me
? We can take notes together.”
I grinned. “Sure, why not?”
After popping a bag of popcorn and pouring herself a glass of wine and me a big cup of water, Erin joined me on the couch and grabbed the remote.
“Cowboys,” I said as soon as she landed on a show called Saddle Up.
“How fitting?” Her teasing tone made me laugh.
As soon as the credits began, I knew we’d chosen something good. Hot cowboys riding toward the camera in the sunset, gratuitous shots of them working the ranch, shirts coming off. God. It was marketed by someone who understood who their target demographic was.
“Oh, my God, Hazel.” Erin grabbed my knee, but I already knew what she was going to say. It was him. Tristan was on the screen, taking off his white t-shirt and pouring a bucket of water over his head as the credits flashed his name across the screen.
“It’s him,” I whispered.
“It’s fucking him.”
My stomach flipped. “He’s a Ryker? How did I not know that?”
“Well, it’s not like you’ve ever watched the show. How would you know?”
“God, I could have at least asked his last name. That would have been the smart thing to do. The responsible thing.”
“You weren’t trying for responsible that night. Don’t beat yourself up. But, bright side, now we know where to find him.”
Fear curled in my belly. “And do what? Ask him to marry me and ride off into the sunset together?”
“No.”
I sighed, almost wishing I could go back in time and somehow not find out who he was. This meant I had to face him. Tell him we were having a baby. Possibly deal with him rejecting me—rejecting us. “You’re right. I have to tell him what’s going on. Give him the choice to be involved or not.”
She opened her laptop and began typing furiously.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m booking us a stay at Ryker Ranch. What else?”
“Erin! You can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“I…I don’t know.”
“It’s perfect. You can go talk to your baby daddy, and I can do some on-scene research for my next episode. Can you imagine? My subscribers are going to lose their minds when they hear I spent a week with the very cowboys I’m talking about.”
She smiled and pulled her credit card out of a slot in her phone case. After typing in the number, she beamed at me. “Okay, pack your bags, sis. We’re heading to Sunrise, Montana tomorrow morning. I booked us the last cabin they have. Bonus, we get the jacuzzi tub for two.”
Tristan
Thursday morning, I woke up to Mama banging on the door to the house Buck and I had once shared, her angry voice echoing off the tin roof. “Tristan Nicholas Ryker, get your hungover behind out here right now! I don’t care what you and Travis were up to last night.”
Hungover was right. I’d really tied one on. My head throbbed, my mouth was as dry as a desert, and if it were possible, I thought I might actually still have been buzzed. But it wasn’t every day your cousin met the love of his life after getting his heart crushed. There wasn’t anything wrong with helping him celebrate with our friend Jack Daniels. Especially when I had the day off today.
She banged on the door again. “Don’t make me use my key. If you’re in there with some girl, I doubt you want your Mama busting in on you.”
Pulling on a pair of jeans, I stumbled out of my bedroom and into the living room. “I’m coming, Mama. Keep your shirt on.”
“Don’t you talk to me that way,” she said as she opened the door, using the key after all. “We have five paying customers waiting for you to take them on a trail ride. You were supposed to be there ten minutes ago.”
I frowned. “What? No, today’s my day off.”
“Sorry, son, no it’s not. These people booked this a week ago.”
I strode to the calendar on the fridge and stared in disbelief at the big red TRAIL RIDE written down for today. “Shit,” I muttered.
“Don’t you talk like that in front of me, Tristan. Get your butt in gear. They expect a one-hour trail ride, and you’re going to give it to them.”
I got dressed, popped two aspirin, and ran out to meet the group of tourists who clearly were only here because of Saddle Up’s success. “Hi everyone, I’m Tristan Ryker, and I’ll be your guide today. Excuse me for being late. I was up late saying goodbye to my cousin. He’s a firefighter, and he’s heading back to California to go be a hero.”
“We saw you on the wedding special. You looked real good, Tristan,” one of them said.
“Y’all should keep an eye out for another Saddle Up wedding special in the near future.” The four women giggled, and I winked. “So far, two of my brothers have found love because of the show. I wonder when I’ll get a turn.”
They murmured, all four of them making eyes at me with promises of nights spent trying to be my forever. I bet they didn’t even care I was late now. Of course, the lone guy with them didn’t look impressed. I didn’t care. We got them all saddled and mounted, then I took them out through the ranchlands and back, making them all laugh and telling stories of when I was a kid. I really didn’t mind it, but damn, my head still hurt. I needed coffee and water, and maybe some toast.
After flirting shamelessly with all four of them, I saw them back to their rented SUV. One passed me her number on a folded up piece of paper. I stuck it in my pocket for later. She was pretty, and she clearly wanted to cross a night with a cowboy off her bucket list.
Striding back to the main house, I walked inside through the kitchen door, hung my hat, and took off my boots. Mama was mad enough at me already; I wasn’t about to walk on her clean floors with muddy boots. Then I poured myself a cup of hot coffee and collapsed into one of the kitchen chairs.
“Tristan?” Mama called from the front room.
“Yeah, Mama, I’m here.”
“Honey, I need you to come in here a minute.”
I took a drink of the scalding hot coffee and stood, striding toward the front of the house. “What is it, Mama?”
She stood with a beautiful woman about my age. Her long blond hair hung down past her shoulders, and my heart stuttered at the crystal blue of her eyes. God, she was pretty. Really damn pretty, and really fucking familiar.
I smiled. “What can I do for you?” I asked her.
Mama cleared her throat. “This is Hazel. She and her sister booked a cabin here at Ryker Ranch. But she’s in need of some help.”
I cocked a brow. “Help? Why?”
Mama’s gaze traveled down, and mine followed to where Hazel’s hand rested. On a swollen belly. A very real, very pregnant belly.
Holy shit.
Hazel
God, here he was. For as drunk as we’d been, I remembered him pretty damn well. He was the sexiest man I’d ever seen. I stood there like an idiot, unsure what to say in front of his mother. I couldn’t just blurt it out and blindside him even more.
He swallowed. “What…what can we help you with, ma’am?”
Ma’am? Did he just…ma’am me? Oh, my God, he didn’t remember me. I could’ve cried. “I just…uh, we’re trying to get to our cabin, but there are a bunch of cows standing on the road. I need some help moving them.”
“Sure, honey, Tristan can get those pesky heifers moved out of your way. I’m real sorry you won’t get the full ranch experience in your condition, but I sure hope you can get some good relaxation.” Sandra Ryker smiled at me, her blue eyes matching her son’s. I could already feel the pure kindness radiating from her.
“Just let me get my boots.” Tristan’s words were tight and forced before he turned away and strode out of sight.
“How far along are you, Hazel, honey?”
“Eighteen weeks tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. You and your sister are staying here together?”
“Yes. She does YouTube video reviews of reality shows, and Saddle Up is her latest. She thought we
should come check it out for ourselves so she could give an honest review of the show.”
Sandra smiled. “I think the two of you are gonna love it here. Even if you can’t ride and drive cattle with the rest of them, I’ll be glad to show you what I do around here. And we have a lovely spa. My soon to be daughter-in-law is a massage therapist. I bet you’d like that. My hips ached something fierce when I was pregnant.”
Oh, I already loved her. She was kind and caring, which reminded me of my own mom.
Tristan strode into the room, hat and boots on, face stern. “All right, I’m ready.”
He opened the front door for me and waited until I left the house before following behind me.
“What the fuck, Hazel?” he said as soon as the door shut. The anger and accusation in his question hurt.
“What are you yelling at me for?”
“I’m not yelling. I’m just…” He motioned to my belly. “You’re pregnant.”
“I am.”
“How did that happen?”
“Well, we had sex. Your sperm made friends with my egg and…”
“I understand the biology of it. But…we used a condom every time.” He practically whispered the last part.
“Condoms fail.”
“Not for me, they don’t.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, spare me. I’m a nurse. Believe me, I know it happens. And you and I just happened to be in the lucky two percent.”
His face went pale. The abject terror in his eyes made my stomach churn. I’d prepared for rejection, knew it would be highly likely, but seeing it before it happened was even worse.
“Look, don’t worry. I came here to tell you, and I’ve done that. I’m fine raising this baby on my own. I just…didn’t want you to go without knowing. You can be involved or not. We’ll be fine either way.” I reached into my bag and pulled out the manila envelope I’d brought if this was the way things went down.
“What is that?” He assessed me with wary eyes.
“I had my lawyer draw up papers in case you wanted to relinquish your parental rights.”
