Her Renegade Rancher EPB

by Jennifer Ryan

  “I don’t care what my brothers or grandfather say, we’re keeping these.”

  Luna leaned in and kissed him. “They’re here with us, Colt.”

  He had to admit, right now, he felt them close.

  Colt took her hand and kissed her palm. He held it to his face and leaned into her soft warmth. “Ready?”

  “I can’t wait.”

  He kept her hand in his and walked down the hallway to the living room. He took the small bouquet of lavender roses from the vase, then handed the larger white bouquet to Luna.

  “I’ll send your dad in. See you in a minute.” He gave her a quick kiss, took one last, long look at his beautiful bride, then left her with a reluctance he couldn’t shake. He didn’t want to be without her ever.

  He stepped out onto the patio with the bouquet tucked behind his back.

  “Where have you been, little brother?” Ford asked.

  “What have you done with Luna?” Rory called.

  “Mr. Hill, Luna’s inside waiting for you,” Colt said.

  He walked past Colt, whispering, “After tonight, it’s Joel or Dad. You pick.” Mr. Hill gave him a smack on the back as he passed.

  A little stunned, Colt had to suck in a breath. He’d never called anyone Dad. At least, he couldn’t remember ever doing so. After tonight, he’d actually have people to call Mom and Dad. It kind of messed with his mind, but he set that aside for another time and focused.

  “Ah, Luna will be out in just a minute. We’d like to thank all of you for coming tonight. It’s a very special occasion.”

  “Yeah, who knew you’d ever get someone to agree to marry you, especially a bright, beautiful girl like Luna,” Ford teased.

  “Well, she did say yes. And now I need to ask you, Rory and Ford, if you’ll stand up for me at my wedding.”

  “Of course we will,” Rory said.

  Ford nodded his agreement.

  “Great. If you’ll make your way to the garden where Judge Spitzer is waiting, we’ll get started.”

  “What?” Grandpa Sammy yelped. “You’re getting married now?”

  Colt nodded. “Right now.”

  “Did you knock her up, too?” Ford asked, referring to Rory getting Sadie pregnant before he asked her to marry him.

  Colt shook his head, trying not to laugh in front of his future mother-in-law, who eyed him suspiciously. “No. She’s not pregnant. But she agreed to marry me, and we’re not inclined to wait.”

  “You’re serious?” Sadie asked. “But she didn’t say anything to me.”

  “We wanted it to be a surprise.” Colt pulled the flowers out from behind his back. “Will you stand up for Luna as her maid of honor?”

  Tears sprang to Sadie’s eyes. She came forward and took the bouquet. “Of course I will.” She held the flowers to her chest. They complemented her pretty purple dress. Sadie looked around again at the backyard, then back at him. “It’s beautiful, Colt. Just like she always talked about. A wedding under the stars.”

  It touched him that Sadie said so and that he’d pulled this off in less than a day. Relieved he’d given his bride the wedding she wanted and dreamed about, he got a bit unexpectedly choked up.

  “Let’s all gather by the garden.”

  Colt walked down the path. Rory and Ford fell in on either side of him, each slapping a hand on Colt’s shoulder. Colt ignored the wave of pain and focused on the anticipation filling him up.

  “Damn, brother, when you make up your mind, you make up your mind,” Rory said.

  “We’ve got our reasons for doing this so fast, but it doesn’t change the fact this is what we both want.”

  “We’ll talk about it later,” Rory said.

  “That’s a nice tie tack,” Ford commented. “I think Dad had one like it.”

  “It is Dad’s.” Colt took his place beside the judge. Rory and Ford stood to his left.

  Sadie took her place on the other side of the judge. “I gave that to Luna to get fixed for our wedding, Rory.”

  “I’ve got something of Dad’s,” Colt said to his brothers. “I gave Luna the matching ring that belonged to Mom. I told her she could borrow it, but I want her to have it. It means something to me. I’m sorry I didn’t ask you guys first.”

  Rory hooked his arm around Colt’s neck and hugged him close. “You want them for your special day, they’re yours, Colt.”

  Rory released him and Ford nodded his agreement.

  Grandpa Sammy came forward and straightened Colt’s tie, though it didn’t need adjusting. He placed his hand on Colt’s chest. “It’s perfect. Your father would have wanted you to have it. He wore it on his wedding day. He gave your mother the ring as her wedding gift, just like you did for Luna. Some things are meant to be, son.”

  “Like her.” Colt nodded toward the house and his beautiful Luna standing at the edge of the garden on her father’s arm. Luna’s mother tapped play on Colt’s MP3 player, starting the music on the stereo system he’d set up. The wedding march began. His grandfather gave him a tap on the chest, then stepped back to join their gathered friends. Some Colt had invited, others were Luna’s friends from the diner, the guys who worked on the ranch, along with Dex and Deputy Foster. Only their closest friends and immediate family, but enough for them. All they needed was each other, but it was nice to share this special occasion with the ones they loved.

  “She’s beautiful,” Sadie whispered. “Look at that dress.”

  Colt smiled and tried not to fidget or go after her and pull her down the path so they could get this done. Instead, he took her in again. So lovely and elegant in her dress, her hair pulled back just so, and that sweet, sexy smile she gave him as she drew near.

  “Damn, bro,” Ford whispered.

  Colt stepped forward and took Luna’s hand from her father. “Thank you, sir. I promise I’ll take care of her.”

  “All I ask is that you make her happy.”

  “Every day,” Colt swore.

  This time he gave into his urge and pulled Luna forward to stand in front of the judge. She held her flowers in front of her, his mother’s ring sparkling in the soft lights strung overhead. Her other hand remained firmly in his.

  She smiled at him, then tilted her head back and looked up at the stars. He did the same, taking a moment to take in the night sky overhead.

  They both looked back at each other at the same time.

  Judge Spitzer smiled at both of them. “Before we begin, the bride and groom have each requested a moment to say something to the other.”

  The judge nodded for Colt to go ahead. He and Luna had both agreed to the short vows the judge would have them repeat, but they’d each wanted to say something personal. He hoped the speech he’d agonized over meant something to her.

  “Luna, just like your namesake, the moon, you brighten up the darkest parts of me and light my way straight to you. I want to be the peace in your life. The happiness that makes you smile. The quiet that settles your busy mind. The man who makes you laugh and fills your heart. You are all those things and a thousand more for me.”

  Luna’s eyes glassed over at his simple but heartfelt words.

  “Colt, if I’m the moon, then you are the stars that light up my night sky, my heart, my life. If this love we share started with a kiss, then I hope we share thousands more and that love builds into a lifetime of happy memories. We’ve been given so much, but the most important thing we share is the love we have for each other. As long as we have that, we have everything.”

  Colt squeezed her hand to let her know he agreed.

  He lost himself in her unwavering gaze as he, then she, recited their vows. The judge paused once again, allowing them time to exchange rings. Colt pulled the wedding band from his pocket and held it up in front of Luna.

  “A symbol of my never-ending love, my promise.” He slid the simple gold band onto her finger.

  Luna handed her bouquet to Sadie, turned back to him, and pulled the ring he hadn’t seen from her thumb. />
  “When did you have time to get that?” He didn’t really expect her to have a ring for him. He thought they’d pick one out later.

  “I made time. Believe it or not, this took longer than finding my dress.” She held the thick gold ring up. Two polished gold bands on either side of a hammered gold center band. She turned the ring so he could see the engraving inside.

  A small butterfly, then the words “You are my everything,” ending with a tiny half moon.

  “Luna.” Just her name. He had no other words to tell her how much the ring, the sentiment, her love meant to him. Overwhelmed with it, his heart swelled so big in his chest he could barely breathe.

  “A symbol of my never-ending love, my promise.” She slipped the ring on his finger and smiled. “It fits.”

  “You fit.” He pulled Luna in for a deep kiss, too consumed with his love for her to do anything else but show her how much he loved her.

  “Well, you got the kiss part done,” Judge Spitzer said, a laugh in his voice. “All that’s left for me to do is say, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

  Colt hadn’t stopped kissing Luna, but the words that she was his wife made him pull back just enough to smile down at her. “Mrs. Kendrick.”

  “Oh, I like that.” The smile on her lips, the light in her eyes, everything about her made him so damn happy.

  A cheer went up from their family and friends, breaking him out of the bubble he’d been in with Luna. His brothers gave him a hug and a slap on the back. At this point, Colt was numb to the pain in his shoulder. Luna held Sadie close, the two friends caught up in talk of her ring, the dress, the flowers, and the inevitable pout from Sadie that Luna pulled this all off without Sadie’s help or telling her a word about it. Rory and Ford didn’t seem to care he’d kept the secret.

  Grandpa Sammy pulled him aside for a moment while Luna hugged her mother and father. “I’m proud of you, son. I wish you and your lovely bride all the happiness and a long future together.”

  “Thanks, Granddad. Maybe you’ll even get another great-grandbaby soon.”

  “Take your time. Enjoy each other.”

  “What? This after you hounded us for the last year to get married and have babies?”

  “Like I told Rory. I wanted you boys to find true and lasting happiness. The way you look at her,” Grandpa Sammy shook his head, a wistful look in his eyes, “I see the magic there. You’ve always had family, but now you know what it’s like to have more.”

  Colt hooked his arm over his grandfather’s shoulders and pulled him close. “You were right. More is better.” His life was better because he had Luna in it. “We want to make our life here, the kind of life Wayne had with his family, though Luna and I will do it our way.”

  “And better, I hope. I don’t like this nasty business with his family.”

  “That’s about to end.”

  His grandfather eyed him, questions on his mind, but Luna flew into Colt’s arms, so Colt let it go for a little while and focused on the best thing in his life presently kissing his neck. Tonight was for him and his wife.

  They ate, they danced, they toasted their new life together, and accepted all the good wishes from their family and friends. By the time he lay in bed with his well-satisfied wife tucked against his side, her hand resting over his heart, her wedding rings sparkling on her finger, he almost believed that the joy they experienced tonight would last, but deep down he worried about the days to come and the threat still very real in their lives.

  Chapter 32

  Simon sat at his kitchen table, staring at his laptop screen, the cursor blinking away. Taunting him. He picked up the bottle of Scotch and poured another double, thinking that drinking probably wouldn’t clear his mind or allow him to make the right decision.

  He’d kept this option in his back pocket. Insurance.

  As often as he told himself he could do it, the thought of getting caught stopped him.

  He’d rather do anything than work on the ranch. He hated the dirty, hard work. He excelled at sales, marketing, and especially schmoozing clients and potential buyers. He’d rather be the guy giving the orders than taking them. But that wasn’t going to happen now. Not when she’d gone and taken it all away. Again.

  His finger hovered over the mouse, but he didn’t click the confirm transaction button. He slammed his fist on the table and made the bottle and glass shake. He picked up the hand-delivered letter from his father’s attorney and smashed it in his fist, chucking it across the room, completely frustrated when the light paper fluttered to the floor instead of slamming into the wall with a satisfying crash.

  He moved his hand to tap the mouse and just do it, but he stopped at the last millisecond and stared at the half-million-dollar check he’d received along with the letter that read she and Colt had married and she’d invoked the other terms of the will.

  As much as he wanted to hate her, he couldn’t deny that she tried to be fair. Underlying everything she did and the talks they’d had about the ranch, she wanted to do the right thing. He’d felt she held something back. Maybe just the part about her marrying and taking over the ranch for herself, but a niggling feeling deep inside said there was still something more.

  Simon believed the test his father had put forth, which would allow him to inherit more, was still in play, and that flicker of belief kept him from hitting the send button on his computer. It had kept him working at the ranch each day until she’d ordered him to leave after Colt’s accident, even though it had been clear to him, Luna, and everyone who worked there that he wasn’t cut out for the job.

  He understood why she’d ordered him off the ranch. He’d seen her with Colt. It didn’t take a genius to put together the way they looked at each other, the way they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, the way Colt protected her, making sure someone on the ranch was always near to keep her safe. He’d never seen a woman light up the way Luna did when Colt was around. No woman ever looked at Simon the way Luna looked at Colt. Based on the way Colt relaxed and smiled, like everything eased and was better just having her near, the feeling was mutual.

  Luna married Colt because she loved him. To protect him, she’d taken the ranch away again. His father had left Luna the ranch because he’d believed she’d take care of it. That truth tasted bitter on Simon’s tongue. Knowing all the arguments, Simon tried to understand why his father did this, but still Simon couldn’t reconcile it in his mind.

  Reality sucked. His options seemed even worse.

  The house phone rang, but he didn’t pick up. Josh already called twice without leaving a message. Sure enough, the recorder clicked on and Simon listened to his brother’s angry voice.

  “Damnit, Simon, pick up the damn phone. I know you’re there. Aunt Bea and I are meeting in an hour to talk about our options. That bitch won’t get away with this. I’ll make sure of it. If you’re in, meet us at my place. You don’t want to be left out of this. We will get everything back.”

  Simon didn’t want to get caught up in whatever they planned. He didn’t want anyone to get hurt. After what happened to Colt, that terrible car accident that was no accident, Simon thought he’d take the money and run. The thing was, he had an odd feeling that letting it go would be far more beneficial and less stressful than looking over his shoulder the rest of his life.

  Simon wondered how close Josh and his aunt had gotten to each other, grieving in their simmering pot of rage, roiling together in their shared hatred of Luna, rattling the lid on the boiling cauldron of righteous indignation that smothered their grief.

  Simon didn’t want to get caught in the middle when the outrage boiled over.

  Colt had already been hurt. Would somebody finally have to die before their greed subsided and they started thinking clearly and they understood that nothing they said or did would change the outcome but would inevitably make things worse?

  Simon didn’t want to fall into that category, which was probably why he couldn’t bring himself to c
ollect on his own insurance policy.

  He hadn’t ruled it out completely. Even now, when he wanted to give in to his anger, feed off his family’s, that something inside niggled that there was more to what Luna was doing than met the eye.

  But what?

  That question kept him from diving headfirst into the mire with his family and goading them to take action against Luna. He didn’t really have to do anything.

  Josh wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted, no matter the cost.

  Yeah, Simon would keep that insurance policy in his back pocket. It just might come in handy if they pulled this off. Whatever this was. He didn’t want to know. Plausible deniability.

  Even if they did get away with it, he’d take it all away. They didn’t deserve it after what they’d done. He blamed his fucked-up logic and his next move on the booze.

  He called Luna, surprised she’d pick up.

  “What do you want?” she asked.

  He said only one thing, then hung up. “You may think this is over, but it’s not.”

  Chapter 33

  A week after the wedding and that ominous phone call the following day, Simon’s warning still rang in Colt’s head. They knew this wasn’t over, so what were the Traverses waiting for? The waiting drove him crazy. Luna jumped at practically every little sound. He hated the dark circles under his wife’s eyes, the way she agonized over her decision to keep the ranch and cut the Traverses out, and especially the fact that the longer this thing went unresolved, the deeper the fear took hold of her and left her afraid to walk out the door each day. She fretted about him driving into town. He had to admit, his stomach tied in knots on that long stretch of road they’d taken him out on once, but he remained cautious and vigilant. The stress was getting to them. So much so that when he’d walked in the door last night, Luna had actually snapped at him about being late and not telling her where he’d gone. Not that it was a big deal, but with things the way they were, it was a big deal to her.