Rancher's Son

by Leigh Duncan

  * * *

  THERE WAS NO SHORTAGE of unattached women within striking distance of the Circle P. And while he might never be voted the Most Eligible Bachelor in the state, Ty also understood the way things worked. One subtle hint that he was ready to dip his toe into the dating pool again, and the line of single women bearing casseroles and offering—well, whatever—would have stretched from the front gate to the highway. For that reason, among others, he’d played his cards close to his vest after his marriage crashed and burned. Six years later, it was a habit he found difficult to break. So the Yee haw! that bubbled up from his chest when Sarah agreed to visit the ranch came as a shock. He managed—barely—to clamp his mouth shut with a simple reminder that an unexpected noise could spook the cattle.

  He wished he could control his heart as easily. It hammered so fiercely he was afraid Sarah could hear it from her seat on Belle’s broad back. When his companion didn’t aim an incredulous look his way, he thanked his lucky stars for the noise of chirping crickets, the faint scurry of opossum and armadillos that drowned out everything else.

  Maybe he should have been a tad more specific when he’d asked Sarah to visit the Circle P. He wasn’t ready to jump into a committed relationship. From here on out, he vowed to keep the conversation light and friendly and make damn sure he didn’t imply his invitation was anything more than it was…a simple gesture, the chance to get to know each other better. In ways they couldn’t explore while on a cattle drive where the staff and guests were aware of their every move.

  He opened his mouth to clarify his intentions, but what came out was, “I’ve been thinking about your business idea.”

  Sarah’s head whipped toward him. “You have?”

  “Yeah.”

  He had? Sure he had. He just hadn’t intended to mention it. At least, not yet. Maybe never. But now that he’d put his feelings on the table, his mouth seemed to have developed a mind of its own.

  “Establishing a plant nursery in Fort Pierce is an expensive proposition. Land prices are against you from the get-go.”

  “To say nothing of the occasional freeze,” Sarah murmured.

  “Yeah, there’s that, too.” Unable to help himself, he swept his hand through the air. “I have a thousand acres on the Circle P. There’s even an old greenhouse out behind the main house. No one’s used it in years, but I’m sure it wouldn’t take much more than a fair amount of elbow grease to set it to rights.”

  A distant mrrruuh from one of the cattle broke the stillness of the night. Ty waited, intently aware that Sarah had shifted around in her saddle to face him. Had he said too much? Tried too hard? He held his breath, silently cursing his runaway mouth.

  Sarah’s head tilted until one of her braids brushed her shirt just above the pocket. “Are you…are you suggesting I open a business here?”

  “Not right away, of course,” he said, finally regaining enough of his senses to do some much needed backpedaling. “But it might solve some of your problems. Eventually.”

  Shut up, he told himself. Shut up. Shut up. But the dam had been breached and now that the floodgates were open, he couldn’t stop.

  “What do you think?”

  “Why would I do that, Ty?”

  Sarah might be the girl of his dreams, but she was no pushover. She’d always demand more than he intended to give. Push him to be a better man than he might have been otherwise. It was one of the things he liked most about her…when it didn’t drive him crazy like it was doing right now.

  Trying to sound more self-assured and confident than he felt, Ty said, “For one thing, the Circle P’s below the frost line.”

  “No other reason?”

  She’d called his bluff. There was no way around it. He had to lay his final card on the table. “Well, there’s me.” He wanted, needed, to know if there was a future for them. “So, what do you think?”

  “How about we take it one step at a time and see where the road leads.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” he agreed. Especially if that road led where he hoped it would.

  He settled into the saddle, the pounding of his heart easing. Comfortable with the decision they’d made, he spent the next few minutes dreaming of what the future might hold for them. The idea of coming home to a house filled with love and laughter instead of silence and empty rooms deepened the smile on his lips. He pictured Sarah standing on the wide front porch, a baby in her arms and Jimmy at her side. The image gave way to one of a little girl with Sarah’s red hair and his brown eyes playing hide-and-seek with her big brother in the barn. He frowned at the pitchfork a careless hand had left propped in a corner, and snapped to attention, determined to read someone the riot act.

  Had he been dreaming?

  Ty blinked. He glanced to his side where Sarah had fallen quiet. Had she drifted off, too? Her eyes wide-open, she stared at distant trees. Apparently, he’d given them both a lot to consider. In two days, they’d make Kissimmee, and the group would head home to their own beds. He shook his head, trying to dispel the image of Sarah in his.

  From somewhere nearby, a horse nickered. When Ranger whinnied in response, Ty pulled himself straighter in the saddle. In the light of the half moon, he spotted two riders slowly moving toward them.

  “Ms. Sarah. Boss.” The words floated out of the dark. A silhouette on horseback tipped his hat. “How’s it going?”

  “All quiet out here, Randy,” Ty said just loud enough to make himself heard.

  “How can you call this quiet?” Swatting at something near his face, Josh rode alongside the lead wrangler. “That rain got everything stirred up, even the mosquitoes.”

  Ty canted his head to one side. From a long way off, the deep-throated roar of a bull alligator rose above a croaking chorus of frogs. It had been a long day, one filled with more unexpected twists and turns than a creek bed. He clucked to Ranger and said good-night to the men who’d watch over the herd until morning. And with Sarah at his side, he led the way back to the camp.

  Once the horses were bedded down, he walked Sarah to her door. Would she invite him in? Though the idea was enough to wake him up a bit, Ty quickly discarded it. He’d made himself a promise not to get too involved while they were on the cattle drive. It was a promise he intended to keep. No matter how deeply in love he’d fallen.

  He stumbled, barely avoiding a fall that would put him face-first in the dirt.

  “Are you okay?” Sarah asked, her hand on his forearm.

  “Yeah. Must ’a tripped over a rock or something,” Ty said, though he knew full well the ground was level.

  In love?

  Was he in love? Cautiously, he tried the description on for size and was surprised at how well it fit. He was in love with Sarah Magarity. He probably had been since the moment he first saw her, that day in her office nearly a year ago. He’d known then there was something special about the redhead with the sparkling eyes, pert nose and kissable lips. When she’d turned on him after the episode with Chris and Tim, he’d admired her spunk, her willingness to go to bat for those entrusted to her care.

  She could be stubborn. No doubt about it. He only had to look as far as Jimmy to know how stubborn. But he had to admire someone who stuck to her guns no matter what. The courage she’d shown during the stampede only added to her allure.

  Ty ran a hand through his hair, amazed that he hadn’t put two and two together before now. Here he’d thought they were just getting to know one another better these past few days,
when, really, he was falling for the girl.

  The idea was thrilling but a little scary.

  At the door to her cabin, he braced one arm over her head.

  “I’m going to kiss you now,” he said, leaning down to brush her lips.

  She met him halfway, her response stirring his desire. All hope of keeping things light and teasing disappeared in a red-hot flash. He swept into her mouth, at once possessing and plundering. She moaned softly, and he pressed against her, yearning to hold her, to touch her, to make her his own.

  He was barely aware of her fingers tugging his shirt from his waistband. But when she caressed the sensitive skin at his waist, he stilled for a moment before slipping his own hand beneath the hem of her shirt. Of their own volition, his fingers traced the outline of her ribs, climbing, one step at a time slowly upward. By the time he reached the full curve of her breast, her breathing was fast and shallow. So was his. He heard a groan and wasn’t sure which one of them made it.

  He wanted nothing more than to take her breasts into his hands, his mouth, and lavish them with the kind of attention that would drive them both wild. But a rickety cot in a bare cabin wasn’t the place he wanted to take Sarah to bed. At least, not the first time. Though it took every ounce of control he had, he eased his fingers away from their prize and slowly retraced his steps.

  With one final taste of her lips, he drew her into his arms, cradling her head below his shoulder. “No second thoughts about coming back to the Circle P with me?”

  Sarah stirred in his arms. Her head tilted toward his. “Maybe one. You’ve seen him. Five years old? Cute as a button?”

  “Jimmy. He’ll come, too, of course.” He nodded. He was the boy’s legal parent. It was a responsibility he was ready to shoulder, one he wanted to share with Sarah.

  He bent to tell her he’d had a change of heart about the boy. But her half-closed eyes stopped him. As much as he wanted to convince himself her lids were heavy with desire, he had to admit the truth—the long day had taken its toll. Any more talk would have to wait. It was time for both of them to get some sleep.

  He brushed his lips against hers and said good-night, convinced the fiery redhead would haunt his dreams.

  Chapter Eleven

  Alerted to the herd’s arrival, tourists lined the fences along the final drive into Kissimmee on Monday morning. Riders who had slouched their way through ten days and one hundred and twenty miles sat tall in their saddles. They whistled and wore wide smiles. Long, braided leather whips snapped sharply, their signature crack echoing for miles and earning the wielders the right to be called Florida Crackers. Dust stirred by hundreds of hooves clouded the air. Horses whinnied. Their eyes wide, brown-sided cattle streamed through the gate and into the pens outside the Kissimmee Sports Arena. In another two months, the area would all but burst at the seams with livestock used in the Silver Spurs Rodeo. But on a warm day in January, Ty’s crew practically had the place to themselves.

  “Fifty head of prime beef cattle.” The rail-thin manager of the cow pens marked his tally on a clipboard as the gate swung shut behind the last of the herd. “You say they’re shipping out tomorrow? Where they headed? Stockyards?”

  If Sarah didn’t know Ty so well, she might have missed the slight tightening of the skin along his jawline.

  “Nah,” he said. “These are feeder cows, intended to build a herd in North Florida. The buyer’s trucks’ll be here in the morning. Till then, I expect you to take good care of them.”

  “You have my word.” The manager stuck out his free hand, and Ty shook it. If he cared that the cows born and raised on his ranch would live out their lives so far from home, it didn’t show in the relaxed set of Ty’s shoulders.

  Ignoring the pockets of his quilted jacket, the older man stuck one hand in his jeans pocket, the clipboard tucked under his arm. He aimed his chin toward Lacy. The cow stood, tail swishing, tied to the back of the chuck wagon. “I take it the Brahman’s not part of the shipment? You want me to take her off your hands?”

  When Ty appeared to give this offer some thought, Sarah shot him a questioning look. She let her gaze drop pointedly to the little boy at her side, the one who would be crushed if Ty sold the cow.

  The rancher pulled the brim of his hat down low. One corner of his mouth twitched. Behind his sunglasses, he winked at her.

  “We’ll take her back to the Circle P with us,” he said at last. “That calf she’s carrying belongs to Tompkins if it turns out to be a Brahman. But I’d be much obliged if you’d let her stay in one of the pens while we have lunch and trailer the horses.” Even as he spoke, Seth and the crew were loading their gear into trucks for the long drive back to the ranch.

  “You sure?” The cattleman thrust an accusatory thumb toward the cow. “She’s gonna cost ya more than she’s worth in vet bills and feed. That calf turns out to be a mixed-breed, you know you’ll only wind up takin’ it to Hayes.”

  Familiar with the family-owned butcher shop, Sarah sucked in a breath. She cast a worried glance at Jimmy. If he ever thought Lacy or her calf might wind up on someone’s dinner plate…well, the idea was enough to make a vegetarian out of a little boy who refused to eat anything green. Fortunately, the cattle that now milled about in the pens had Jimmy’s rapt attention. Sarah breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Sorry,” Ty said with a bit more firmness. “The tyke’s taken a shine to her.” He placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “If it turns out the calf’s not full Brahman, I thought it might be a good idea for him to raise it. He’ll be in 4-H soon enough and might as well get some experience.”

  While the men finalized their arrangements, tears stung at the corners of Sarah’s eyes. She swiped at them, hoping no one would notice. Every time she thought she had Ty figured out, he did something that proved her wrong. She loved Ty in a way she’d never loved anyone before. And he was so sexy, so handsome, that she could hardly wait until they returned to the ranch and spent their first night together. As for the future, she’d meant it when she said they’d take it one step at a time, but she had no doubt they’d be taking those steps side by side for the rest of their lives. The man of her dreams wanted to build a future with her. He’d offered to let her open a plant nursery on the Circle P.

  And now, for her sake, Ty had shouldered responsibility for Jimmy. Wasn’t convincing him to raise the child the reason she’d come to the Circle P in the first place? From what he’d just said, Ty had every intention of doing that. His change of heart should have made her the happiest person on the face of the earth.

  What, then, was the fly in the ointment of her happiness?

  Her gaze fell from the chiseled features that made her pulse race to the child who looked just like him. Despite Ty’s willingness to raise the boy, unease whispered in her ear. Jimmy deserved to be cherished and loved in his own right, not raised as “Sarah’s kid.” An afterthought. An appendage.

  If only the man she loved had claimed the boy as his own....

  But she had to face facts. It wasn’t going to happen. Ty had wedged himself in too deep to change his mind without proof. She’d just have to trust that once the lab results came in, he’d finally acknowledge the boy as his own flesh and blood.

  A buzz vibrated from the cell phone that had hung uselessly from her waist for the past week. For a second, Sarah hesitated, unwilling to let the everyday world, with all its demands and problems, intrude on the idyllic time she’d spent on the cattle drive. In
sistent, her phone buzzed again and, with a sigh, she flipped it open. Beneath the broad banner of an incoming call, text messages and emails scrolled across the screen. She barely glanced at them before lifting the phone to her ear. “This is Sarah.”

  “Why haven’t you been answering my calls? I must have left a dozen messages.”

  At Connie’s frantic chatter, Sarah’s shoulders automatically stiffened. She made a conscious effort to relax them. Signaling Ty to watch Jimmy, she strode a few yards down the dusty trail she’d so recently traveled.

  “I told you I’d be out of reach until the cattle drive arrived in Kissimmee,” she said when she’d put enough distance between her and Ty to ensure privacy.

  “This place has turned into an absolute zoo without you. No one knows where anything is. The transition to the new computer system has been a disaster. We need you in the office, pronto. How soon are you coming back?”

  At the unfamiliar panic in Connie’s voice, Sarah suppressed a bitter smile. For years, she’d worked days, nights and weekends to earn the promotion she’d been promised. Now that her supervisor had finally realized how indispensible she’d become, Sarah no longer wanted the job. But telling her boss that she planned to extend her leave indefinitely…that wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have over the phone.

  “I still have a few vacation days on the books,” she hedged. “I’ll see you next week.”

  “Well.” With one word, Connie conveyed both dissatisfaction and resignation. “In the meantime, we can’t find the file on the Baxter boy.”

  Sarah pictured the young man who’d spent most of his life bouncing from one home to another. In celebration of Tony Baxter’s eighteenth birthday and the end of his stipend from the state, his latest set of foster parents had notified the DCF that he could no longer live with them. Her last official act before leaving the office had been to arrange transitional housing for the boy.