by Leigh Riker
“No,” he said, “but unless we convince Ned our marriage is real, he’ll keep on suspecting it’s not. I realize you married me to show him and your whole family you had the kind of traditional relationship they want for you, but do you want to live that lie any longer?”
Nell’s voice shook. “Convince them how?”
“Let’s make it real.” He edged his horse closer to Bear. Before Nell could move away, Cooper had slipped one hand around the nape of her neck. “I want to be with you, Nell. Heart and soul. I still believe you want to be with me too,” he murmured.
Nell couldn’t answer. She could admit to herself that she’d fallen for Cooper all over again, and right before PawPaw turned up she’d felt tempted to tell him so, but then he’d complicated matters with his emotional pitch for their relationship, which only made this worse. How to say yes when she’d married him to beat her family at their own game? Now, she’d jeopardized her independence, her yearning to be head of the NLS. No matter what her grandfather wanted, she would not become a wife who leaned on Cooper. And PawPaw had used Hadley Smith to demonstrate his power.
She gently touched Cooper’s face. “Who nearly broke your jaw?”
His face fell. That wasn’t the response he’d probably wanted from her. “Guess.”
Nell stared at him. “PawPaw?”
“Then my mother threatened to shove him down the steps.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “They never did see eye to eye on most things.”
“Losing our ranch, particularly. I know who I’d bet on in a fight.”
“Not you, apparently,” Nell teased, although as an ex-cop Cooper, she’d bet, could take care of himself. She didn’t see any bruises on PawPaw though. “Thank you for not bloodying his nose.”
Cooper snorted. “My mother didn’t raise me to beat up an old man. So what do you think?” he asked.
She understood what he meant. But go all in with him? Her heart went pitter-patter, and Nell felt winded. She also knew that would be the worst decision she could make after all. Wasn’t it? Then Cooper would have power over her too, and she’d be no closer to running the NLS without a man’s help.
Still. Her neck tingling from his touch, she turned Bear toward home.
“I think you should put some ice on that jaw.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
NELL HAD ATTENDED several Girls’ Night Out meetings, but she hadn’t been there for a while. Tonight, she welcomed a dose of female companionship—and maybe some advice. This gathering was being held at Wilson Cattle, and Shadow answered the door.
“Wow, this is a surprise!” Shadow pulled her inside as if she feared Nell might turn around and head for home. Instead, she handed Shadow a casserole of cowboy beans with bacon and NLS ground beef.
“A peace offering,” Nell said, leaving her hat on the entryway table.
Shadow took a whiff of the rich aroma that wafted from the bowl. “Everyone else is here,” Shadow said. She called out, “Hey, everybody! Nell has decided to grace us with her presence.”
A round of hearty hugs followed from Shadow, Blossom, Olivia and Liza, her stepmother, and Annabelle. Two other women Nell hadn’t expected to find there had come too. Shadow’s sister, Jenna Moran, and Sherry, who owned the Baby Things shop on Main Street, stood back a little.
“Your group’s even bigger,” Nell said, as they all flowed back into the great room, where a cheery late-season fire shimmered on the hearth and, to Nell’s surprise, packages wrapped in pink and blue and yellow patterned papers with big bows were stacked on the stone surface.
“If you came to more meetings,” a very pregnant Olivia murmured, “you’d have heard.” She barely paused before adding, “This is a baby shower, as well as the farewell party I mentioned before we leave for Kedar. Don’t panic and run. The men have already done that.”
Nell’s face fell. “Oh. I didn’t know. I didn’t bring a gift.”
“I accept IOUs,” Olivia said, but winked at her. “Come on, join us. As an old married lady yourself now, you’ll fit right in.”
Nell had never thought that was true, but after this morning on the ridge she relished any event that would take her mind off Cooper. She wondered where he was tonight; if he’d taken another watch for the coyotes, so he wouldn’t have to face an awkward trip to the guest room with PawPaw in the house.
After the usual round of predinner drinks and then the meal, coffee and tea were served with various desserts to choose from: Shadow’s homemade brownies, Annabelle’s luscious-looking crème cake, Liza’s blueberry pie, and several plates of cookies that Sherry and Jenna had brought. Again, Nell felt she’d come up short on dessert.
“I don’t bake much,” she said. “Sorry I didn’t bring something.”
“Neither did I,” Olivia put in, massaging her stomach. “I refuse to gain another pound before this baby comes.”
“You brought those delicious beans, Nell, and yourself,” Blossom pointed out. “We’re glad you’re here.”
And she did feel welcome. These were people she’d known all her life, longtime friends except for Blossom, who was newer in town, and Liza, who’d married Olivia’s father fairly late in his life. They now lived here at Wilson Cattle too, though the talk soon turned to a new ranch house that was being designed by an architect in Barren.
“Privacy has been at a premium,” Liza said with a grin. “Grey and Shadow made it clear they’d prefer to be alone. But then so would Everett and I. And our granddaughter Ava’s at the age when she plays horrible music every night. No house is big enough for a whole bunch of Wilsons.”
Nell flinched. Already the NLS seemed crowded, and PawPaw had been home for less than two days. If Cooper stayed away tonight, she’d be lying awake until dawn—and what would PawPaw think? She had no doubt he’d notice that Cooper was missing.
In the flurry of gift opening that followed, Nell didn’t take part. Marriage was not her thing—even a sham one—and babies were alien beings. Yet, an also-unfamiliar twinge of longing ran through her. What if her relationship with Cooper could be real, and they, like Olivia and Grey, were soon expecting a child? That was something she’d also set aside long ago.
“Why so pensive, Nell?”
Annabelle sat beside her on the sofa, studying her with what seemed to be a compassionate expression.
“You know me,” Nell said, shrugging off her insecurities. “I’m more comfortable with cows than people, definitely not babies.” That didn’t sound good though. She watched Olivia open a big box that contained a fancy baby carrier. The delighted expression on her face said it all. “I mean this is lovely, the gifts and bows...” Nell trailed off, not able to meet Annabelle’s eyes.
“Are you and Cooper all right?”
“Fine,” she said, trying to brighten her expression. “Why do you ask?”
“You seem...sad. Or is that envious?”
“I’m too busy with the NLS to feel anything.” She rolled her eyes. “PawPaw’s home now, and while I’m happy he’s looking well, he’s not that happy with me. That’s all. It has nothing to do with Cooper.”
“Hmm.” Annabelle’s face didn’t hide her concern.
Nell’s pulse lurched. “No, seriously. Why would there be anything wrong? We just got married.” She attempted a smile. Could other people—not only PawPaw—see through the pretense? “We haven’t had time to quarrel.”
“Hmm,” Annabelle said again. She leaned closer. “I don’t want to pry, but if you remember on your wedding day, we all thought it was pretty sudden. If you need to talk or a shoulder to cry on...”
“Goodness, do I look that bad?”
“Of course not. But you don’t have that newly married glow either, so I wondered. And when Cooper came by about the coyotes, Finn says he refused to talk about anything else. It didn’t strike him right. He claims Cooper was crazy about you ye
ars ago and he certainly still appeared that way at the altar but...”
Nell checked the others in the group. Olivia was trying on the carrier, which bulged out over her stomach. Blossom was helping her figure out the straps. Shadow was urging everyone to take a second helping of dessert—“Please, or we’ll have tons left tomorrow”—but Liza hastily said she didn’t need more calories. Being almost too slender, Sherry took “just one more cookie,” and because Jenna had lost a few pounds during her painful divorce not that long ago, she helped herself to a half slice of pie. Nobody was paying any attention to Nell, and Annabelle was one of the most caring people she knew.
Nell took a breath. “Can you keep a secret?”
Annabelle frowned. “Sure.”
Nell hesitated, then said, “Something’s very wrong.”
Hoping she was wise to confide in Annabelle, Nell told her everything. The deal she’d made with Cooper that he now wanted to change, her fear of that, then how she’d ruined her chances with PawPaw for the ranch, her own uncertainty that she’d done the best thing after all. “At the time, I thought it was,” she finished. “Now it seems I only made things worse.” And what if, considering Cooper’s goal for his land, she did give him her heart? And he broke it again?
Annabelle pondered for a moment. “These Kansas men can be pretty protective, and your grandfather’s far from the only one,” she said. “I realize how difficult that is for you, how old-fashioned that can seem. But Finn, who’s a much newer cowboy, would sacrifice his life for me—for Emmie too—and I love him so much just knowing that. Logan, and Sawyer, and Grey would do the same for the women they love. I imagine Cooper would too for you.” She cleared her throat. “I can also understand why you entered into that agreement with him and what you hope to prove to Ned. But, Nell, I sense that more than that, you’re afraid. Of something else.”
“You mean, risking my heart.”
“Yes,” Annabelle said, “and that can be scary, but now and then you have to lose a battle to win the war.”
Nell thought of being in Cooper’s arms, not for a few moments but throughout the night. “Then instead of maintaining the lie to PawPaw and the rest of my family, you’re saying we should...”
She didn’t go on. Across the room, Olivia had an odd expression, one hand pressed to her swollen abdomen. “The baby,” she said. “I’m in labor.”
After they all tended to Olivia, Nell went home without the answer to her question.
* * *
COOPER SPENT THE evening at his mother’s house. Ned Sutherland sure disagreed that it was hers but Cooper didn’t care. Soon enough, the old man would get his offer, and most of the time Ned was full of bluff. Cooper could only hope that in the end her grandfather would agree to sell. After that, Cooper would deal with Nell’s reaction.
He hefted one last carton to carry upstairs. From the kitchen came the enticing aroma of his mom’s fried chicken. Cooper hoped there’d be dumplings too, and he meant to stay for dinner. She would expect him to. He still wore a smile, the pain of yesterday’s punch to his jaw being forgotten, if not his failure to persuade Nell about their relationship, when someone rapped at the front door.
Cooper set the box down. His hand went to his face. It was still sore, and if he didn’t miss his guess, the man standing on the porch was Ned Sutherland. Cooper recognized him through the frosted glass panel by the bulky shape of his body and his stance. Cooper stiffened.
“You want company, Mom?” he called. After all, to him too this was her house.
“Depends,” she said, banging pots around. A cabinet door slammed.
The knock sounded again. The man had no patience. “It’s Ned.”
“Oh, I definitely want his company.” As Cooper swung the door open, she came out of the kitchen wearing her red-checked apron, cheeks flushed from the heat or high emotion, and wielding a rolling pin.
Ignoring Cooper, Ned stepped inside. “Merry, I need to talk to you.”
“Do I want to hear whatever you have to say?” She seemed anything but glad the older man had come. “You take one step toward my boy again and this—” she waved the rolling pin “—will come down on your head, you stubborn fool.”
“Mom, I can take care of myself.” He sounded like Nell, but did his mother think he was still five years old?
“No need,” she said, “when I’m here to defend you. And I haven’t forgotten the long history between the Ransoms and the Sutherlands. You’re not going to win this range war, Ned. If you’ve come to kick me out of this house just when I’ve gotten settled again, you will be sorry.”
Ned glanced at Cooper, then his mother. “Can we talk alone?”
“Making myself disappear,” Cooper said, retrieving the last carton. He was up the stairs to her bedroom before Ned said another word. If he’d been afraid for her, he would have stayed, put Nell’s grandfather in his place, even if that meant another blow to his face—not that he’d give Ned a second chance to hit him—but his mother could hold her own. Just in case though, after he deposited the box in her room, Cooper listened from the hallway. He’d be down those steps in a heartbeat if necessary. Ned Sutherland had better keep a civil tongue.
“I came to apologize,” he said from below, making Cooper blink in surprise. “I was out of line the other day.”
“You should apologize to Cooper, not me. Did you see his face? The bruises on his stomach are just as bad. What if you’d reinjured his wound? I wanted to weep after you took your fists to him. It’s lucky you didn’t break his ribs.”
Cooper could almost hear the smile in Ned’s tone. “You’re no weeper.”
“No, but I am a mother. A tiger,” she went on. “Even a tough cop—former cop—like my son needs someone to look out for him now and then. If you ever—”
“I got your message the first time. I’m not here for a replay. It isn’t easy for me to admit I was wrong, you know.” Cooper imagined Ned running a hand through his hair in frustration. “Why don’t you just take my apology? Then we can start over.”
“Start what?” she asked in a jaundiced tone. “Unless you change your ways, which I seriously doubt will happen, we have nothing more to talk about, certainly nothing to start.”
Cooper tensed. What was going on here? No wonder Ned had wanted him out of hearing range. Was he trying to put the moves on Cooper’s mother? He was old enough to be her father. Cooper took a step toward the top of the stairs.
“And maybe you’ll change your mind,” Ned said. “Move back one day to Chicago if the mood takes you.”
Cooper detected a wistful note in Ned’s voice, as if he were testing the waters, finding out whether she meant to stay.
“The last of my family is here,” she said. “I expect to end my days on this ranch, not soon of course, and not before I’ve put this house to rights and enjoyed life a little. I want to see my grandchildren born and raised.”
“Is that so?”
“You can take it to the bank, deposit it in my new account with Barney Caldwell. I was surprised he was still there. By now, I’d hoped he’d left town to get away from that mother of his.”
“You already opened an account,” Ned said, and Cooper could envision him shaking his head. “I never meant to drive you and John away. I hope you knew that.”
“No, I did not. But you did what you thought was right then, and so did we. The saddest part, other than losing the ranch, was witnessing what that did to my husband.”
“I was sorry to learn he had passed, Merry. Truly, I was. John was one of my best friends before all the trouble began... Cattle prices falling, loans drying up. I was lucky to be able to keep the NLS going then.”
“I’m glad you did. You two,” she said, clearly remembering better times, “were a couple of stubborn cowboys. He never did make the adjustment to city life or the job he had to take there. In the end, his yearning
for the ranch killed him. Cooper is right about that.”
She seemed to be leaving something out, but before Cooper could figure out what it might be, Ned went on. “He thinks he’s right about my granddaughter too. If you ask me, she has another take entirely on that marriage of theirs. Don’t expect it to last. I sure don’t see any grandkids on the way.”
“Because you don’t want it to last,” she said. “But let them work it out, Ned.”
Cooper knew he should intervene, but he stayed where he was, letting his mother handle her relationship to Ned.
A long silence followed. Then finally, Ned took an audible breath. “You look good, Merry. Younger than ever. You haven’t aged a day.”
She actually laughed. “You are an old fool if you can’t recognize the truth.” She hesitated another second. “You look pretty good yourself.”
“Do I? You heard about my stroke? The accident after that?”
“Yes, and I’m pleased you’ve recovered from both. You’re as...manly as ever.”
“You think?” He must have touched his face. “The droop’s still there whenever I get too tired—which I hate to admit I do these days—but better than it was. Same goes for my weak hand. Hair’s a bit grayer now—”
“And you’ve been dyeing it,” she said, not sounding troubled at all.
“Yeah, but it’s hard to stop time. Even climbing on my roan’s getting harder than it used to be.” Then he laughed too. “Don’t tell anybody or those young folks will throw me off the NLS before I’m ready. Nell’s a mother hen with me anyway,” he finished. “If only she’d been born first...”
“Oh, no, you don’t. Just because Jesse’s the oldest and a man. Nell is a fearsome woman, strong enough to run your ranch.” Cooper’s mother paused again. “She loves you, Ned. That counts for a lot.”
“We’ll see. Things lately have been pretty messed up.”
“Don’t try to tell me you’ve never lost a cow or a bull to predators.”
“We all have, prob’ly more to come if we don’t tend to those coyotes.”
