Her Oklahoma Rancher (Mercy Ranch Book 3)

by Brenda Minton

  The judge stood. “We will recess for thirty minutes while they go downstairs for a marriage license. In thirty minutes, meet me outside at the fountain. No one should get married in a stuffy office when it’s a perfect summer day outside.”

  Eve’s mouth dropped. “What?”

  “You just accepted my proposal,” Ethan reminded her. “And I realize this looks like me taking control again, but I’m an optimist. Your mom has your birth certificate. We can have a marriage license and get married today. If you’re willing.”

  She glanced around and realized that their families were smiling. The kind of smiles that said they were all prepared for this.

  “Was the judge in on this?”

  “Not at all. He’s just a decent guy.”

  Eve backed away from the table. “Well, then, we should go get a marriage license.”

  * * *

  An hour later Eve’s mother placed a veil over her head and put a bouquet of wildflowers in her hands. “Ethan asked me to bring a veil. I found mine in the closet. I’m such a hoarder and for once it paid off.”

  Eve hugged her mom. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “Me, too. I know he wasn’t always my favorite. I wanted you to go to the Peace Corps, not the army. I wanted you to marry someone like your father. And maybe Ethan is more like your father than I realized. But I’m proud of you. We’re proud of you.”

  “I love you, Mom.”

  Her mom dabbed at her eyes with a lace handkerchief but then she seemed to recover and she pushed the scrap of lace into Eve’s hand. “Oh, this is for you. Something borrowed and old. It was your grandmother’s.”

  “Thank you.” Eve took it, gently. “I think I might need this. Where are my flower girl and bridesmaid?”

  “Glory and Tori are waiting outside in the hallway. They’re ready when you are. Not that your flower girl can toss rose petals, but we did get her a little basket and she’s holding it very nicely. Do you have regrets? This probably isn’t the wedding you always thought it would be.”

  “It’s the perfect wedding.”

  And it was. They stood next to a fountain with Glory and Tori on Eve’s left, Guy Channing on Ethan’s right. The judge smiled as he read the vows, ignoring Bethany, who had brought her camera for the occasion.

  Their wedding guests were their families and the onlookers who stopped, curious and smiling as they realized they were witnessing a wedding.

  “Ethan and Eve, I now pronounce you husband and wife. And lest you think I’ve forgotten our young Tori, I also pronounce you a family. I hope that you will love each other well and raise Tori to know she is loved. You may kiss the bride.”

  Ethan leaned. “May I?”

  Eve put her arms around his neck and he lifted her from the chair and swung her in a full circle before kissing her. She held tight, wishing that the moment could go on forever. In the end, the crowds that had gathered began to clap.

  Ethan kissed her once more, a sweet kiss, lingering for a moment with his forehead against hers. “I love you, Eve.”

  “I love you back, Ethan.”

  Epilogue

  Tori toddled on the grass, Tex the chocolate Labradoodle keeping a close eye on her. It was Tori’s second birthday and she knew she was loved. Kylie held out her arms and Tori hurried to her side, sitting quickly, or perhaps falling, next to Cara, who was just four months younger.

  The party had taken place at Mercy Ranch so that everyone could attend, including Jack. He sat nearby, his hand in Maria’s as he watched all of his “children.”

  “Almost ready to go home?” Ethan asked, coming to sit next to Eve.

  They’d kept the ranch house Ethan had bought. She’d made it her own and they even raised horses. But their path had taken a different direction. They trained horses for the disabled. They hosted a summer camp for a week each year, allowing disabled children to stay at the ranch, where they worked together on team building and they rode horses or went on hayrides.

  “Are you okay?” Ethan asked.

  She nodded but her hand went to her rounded belly.

  “Eve?”

  She let out the breath she’d held. “I think we need to go to the hospital.”

  “Contractions?” he said quietly. “Contractions!” That time he yelled. Everyone started staring. Her parents had been sitting in lawn chairs and they were on their feet.

  “Be calm, it’s just a baby. People have them every day. Ethan, stop. Do not pick me up.”

  He stepped back, dragging his hand through his hair. “We’re going to have a baby.”

  “Are you going to pass out?” Kylie asked, coming to stand with them. “Because if so, you should sit and put your head down.”

  “I’m not going to pass out. I’m going to take my wife to Tulsa. Eve, are you sure? You weren’t supposed to go into labor. They’re doing a cesarean. It’s scheduled for next week.”

  “Tell that to the baby,” she teased. “Ethan, be calm. We’re going to have a baby boy and it’s going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.”

  “Of course you are.” Carson appeared at Ethan’s side. “Can you drive or do I need to?”

  “I can drive,” Ethan said. “I’ll take Eve if someone can bring Tori?”

  “We’ve got her,” Eve’s mom spoke up. “She wants to go with her nana.”

  Tori heard the word nana and immediately ran to Eve’s mom.

  “Okay, everything is good. Ethan, we need to call Dr. Lambert.”

  “Right, call the doctor. Calling the doctor.” He had his phone out and Eve left him there talking.

  She managed to get about twenty feet in the direction of the truck before another contraction hit. Kylie held out a hand and Eve took it, holding a little too tight she thought. Kylie smiled through the pain.

  When the contraction ended, Kylie took the handles of the chair and got her to the truck. Ethan caught up with them, and he was back to his calm-and-in-charge self. He picked up his wife, kissing her once before putting her in the truck.

  “We’re going to have a baby.” He kissed her again.

  “Right here in this truck if you don’t hurry up.”

  He grinned but he closed the door and a minute later they were on their way to Tulsa.

  * * *

  Three hours later Ethan was holding Jack West Forester. Jack had dark hair, a lot of it. He had a red wrinkled face and good lungs, if the cry he’d given at birth meant anything.

  “We’re blessed,” he told his wife.

  She smiled, that smile that always turned his world upside down. “Could you please put that baby next to me?” she asked.

  “I certainly can. And I’m going to get Tori. We need a moment, just the four of us before everyone else comes in and life changes completely.”

  “I agree. Go get her.”

  He found his daughter, Tori, in the waiting room with their families and their Mercy Ranch family. “Jack West Forester weighs seven pounds. He’s pretty much perfect. And even if he isn’t, you’ll all say he is.”

  “Guaranteed,” Sierra said. “They always lie and say that babies are cute. They aren’t.”

  “Same old Sierra,” Isaac West commented. “Try to move this along so we can see him for ourselves.”

  Ethan picked up Tori and she kissed his cheek. “Daddy.”

  “I love you, little girl.”

  “Love you.”

  They entered the room where Eve and Jack were waiting. Ethan didn’t know a man could be this happy. It went beyond anything he’d ever expected or experienced.

  Eve opened her eyes and smiled at them. “Tori, meet your baby brother.”

  “Jack,” Tori said.

  “Yes, Jack.” Ethan sat on the stool next to the bed and placed Tori down next to Eve. It was the perfect moment. But then, their lives were made u
p of those moments. They were a family.

  Ethan thought about the plans they’d made years ago when they’d been happy and in love, and he looked at the reality.

  Even with its ups and downs, the reality was truly beautiful.

  * * *

  If you loved this story,

  pick up the other books

  in the Mercy Ranch series,

  Reunited with the Rancher

  The Rancher’s Christmas Match

  from bestselling author

  Brenda Minton.

  And don’t miss these other great books

  in the miniseries Bluebonnet Springs:

  Second Chance Rancher

  The Rancher’s Christmas Bride

  The Rancher’s Secret Child

  Available now from Love Inspired!

  Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com

  Keep reading for an excerpt from High Country Homecoming by Roxanne Rustand.

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  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for joining me on this journey. I’m so blessed to get to do what I love for a publisher I love.

  My editors at Love Inspired have always encouraged me and I appreciate the stories they’ve allowed me to tell. Some stories are easier than others. The goal is always a romance that readers believe in and maybe fall a little bit in love with. Every now and then a character like Eve Vincent will come along and challenge me to something more.

  I loved writing this book in the Mercy Ranch series and I hope that you’ll love Eve and Ethan!

  Blessings,

  Brenda Minton

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  High Country Homecoming

  by Roxanne Rustand

  Chapter One

  Home. Sort of, anyway.

  Chloe Kenner glanced down the hill toward the sprawling ranch-style home sheltered by pines, then scanned the horse and cattle barns far below. Assured that no one was watching, she did a happy dance of joy.

  She’d lived on the Langfords’ remote Montana ranch for five years as a little girl, while following her dad from his erratic employment at one ranch to the next. Even though their abrupt departure had been clouded with the usual embarrassment and regret, she still had warm memories of two of the three Langford boys and their sweet grandma, Betty.

  The middle brother—Devlin—was another story altogether. But when she’d called to ask about renting a cabin, Betty had said Devlin was career military and rarely visited. And though everyone would be gone when Chloe hoped to arrive, her isolated cabin would be unlocked and ready, and she was to make herself at home.

  Perfect. Complete peace and quiet.

  After the calamitous end of her secretarial job in Minneapolis, heavy local news coverage of the debacle had ensured that she was nearly unemployable there. At least until one particularly rabid reporter gave up and decided to leave her in peace, and all of the others forgot about her and moved on. But surely none of them would find her clear out here in Montana.

  She’d been skillfully framed by her conniving former boss—who had lied about being single and had declared his undying love, while embezzling from investment clients, then he’d pinned the crime on her when he was caught. How had she been so blind? Such a poor judge of character? Just the thought of ever risking another romance made her shudder.

  But the thought of looming bankruptcy was worse. With no interruptions for the next three months, she could finish her writing projects and pray they would help pay off her staggering legal debts.

  She shifted the weight of her heavy backpack, bowed her head and resolutely dragged her bulky suitcase up the rocky trail to the first of three cabins that she remembered were strewn amongst the trees.

  The unfamiliar higher elevation had her panting as she struggled onward, but the crisp pine scent was so sharp and pure, so reminiscent of the past, she knew she was already grinning from ear to ear when she finally caught sight of a cabin partly hidden by the trees to the right.

  Pebbles skittered down the steep path far ahead of her. A twig snapped.

  Her heart lurched. She drew in a sharp breath, her eyes riveted on the trail that wound through some boulders and disappeared into the trees.

  Bears.

  Mountain lions.

  Even wolves were possible here, in the foothills of the Rockies. She eyed the distance to the cabin. Too far. Running might make her look like scared, easy prey. Like a big, tasty rabbit.

  She eased her backpack onto one shoulder and pulled the suitcase alongside her hip to widen her profile, raised her arms to look more intimidating, and then as a forewarning, began belting out the only song she could think of.

  Another twig snapped.

  A tall form sauntered into view, backlit by early evening sun. She couldn’t make out his features, yet she instantly knew who he was. Trouble. The song died on her lips as she blinked and swallowed hard.

  If only it had been a bear.

  * * *

  “‘Jingle bells’?” Devlin drawled.

  Bright flags of color turned the young woman’s face as pink as the roses his late mother had planted along the front of the main ranch house, turning her into a riot of color with that fluorescent-yellow T-shirt and the cloud of curly dark auburn hair that had partly escaped her ponytail. Several silver bracelets gleamed on her right wrist.

  His first thought was that he’d like to get to know her a whole lot better.

  His second was that a woman like this one wouldn’t want to be seen with someone like him. Six months ago, maybe. But not anymore.

  He searched her face, his gut telling him that he knew her. From high school? College? Maybe an old neighbor? After so many years in the military, he’d lost touch with everyone around here.

  Yet a lovely woman like this one would be impossible to forget, with that delicate ivory complexion, playful scattering of small freckles across her nose, and big blue eyes the size of pansies that were now looking up at him with recognition and utter horror.

  A cascade of memories tinged with guilt slammed through his thoughts.

  He hadn’t seen her since he was sixteen and she’d been his spindly, persistent shadow. An eleven-year-old chatterbox who had been the bane of his existence. “Chloe?”

  “I—I thought you were in the Marines,” she stammered, her blush deepening. “Betty said...”

  Apparently her memories of him weren’t that happy, either. “I’ve been back just a of couple days. They weren’t expecting me.”

  She swallowed hard, her gaze sliding past him. “I...um...
I’m renting a cabin here. For a few months.”

  He stared at her, at a loss for words.

  While the family was piling into his brother Jess’s SUV to leave for California yesterday morning, Betty had mentioned that someone was coming to stay in the cabin nearest the house.

  He could now guess why she’d conveniently neglected to say who it was, or for how long. Betty had always seemed to know Devlin better than he knew himself, and surely she’d seen how Chloe had pestered him all those years ago.

  But he still couldn’t imagine why the renter had to be this Pollyanna, who could cheerfully talk nonstop for hours without taking a breath. What on earth would she do with herself on this lonely, isolated ranch? Bother him, no doubt.

  Pine Bend, Montana, population 1,200, was a good fifteen miles away, and the town beyond was another twenty miles, with even fewer residents.

  “Months?” he repeated, hoping he’d heard her wrong—which was always a possibility, given his battle-damaged hearing.

  She nodded as she shifted the weight of her backpack and grabbed the handle of her suitcase. “Well, then... I guess I’d better get settled.”

  His vision of blessed, healing solitude evaporated. Sure, there were others living here at the ranch, but none of them were intrusive, and even his brother’s six-year-old twins seemed to sense that he needed to be left alone.

  The Chloe he remembered had no such sense of personal boundaries.

  He sighed, giving in to the inevitable. Dad had bought up several neighboring ranches at foreclosure auctions before he passed away. Maybe Devlin could use one of those houses if any were vacant.

  Still, the strict code of manners instilled in him since childhood nudged at him. “Do you need help with that luggage?”

  She shook her head and veered off the trail, onto the path toward the cabin, clearly laboring against the weight of that ridiculously large suitcase and the steep incline.

  She was still stubborn, too.

  He silently strode over to her and took the handle, carried the bag up to the cabin and opened the door wide.