The Rancher's Second Chance--A Clean Romance

by Leigh Riker

  He may not have done Nell much good with her grandfather tonight, but he’d tried. And failed? His heart thumped as if he had ridden once more into the thick of things and found Nell with Bear, surrounded by the pack.

  The horse stamped a hoof. He’d had enough. “Okay, boy. Time for your treat,” Cooper said, patting his neck. “Good job, Bear.” He led him to his stall, where, as usual, the gelding walked in, then faced the door so Cooper could unsnap the lead rope, making him almost smile. “You’re a smart one, all right.”

  Bear had stayed with Nell on the ridge, even when that had meant getting hurt. If he’d unseated her instead, then run off, she could have gotten maimed or worse. That loss would be even harder to bear than losing his family’s ranch years ago.

  As he shut the stall door, her grandfather’s words came back to him. A challenge. I didn’t steal from your father. I paid a fair price for that land. If our situation had been reversed, John would have helped me.

  He was right. It was time to see his own truth. To let go of the past, and his resentment, and that promise he’d made. Hoping to convince Nell of that, to make her believe him, hoping for a second chance, he turned toward the barn doors.

  Then he heard boots coming down the aisle. Nell.

  Adrenaline surged through him, stronger than in Chicago when he’d faced the ambush and been shot. Once more, his life was on the line.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  NELL WALKED PAST the darkened stalls on either side of the aisle where the NLS horses were slurping water from their buckets, snuffling through the bedding for stray bits of oats and grain. One or two lifted their heads, and from his stall, Bear nickered a greeting.

  He didn’t hold a grudge about his wound tonight. The familiar sounds, the mingled smells of equine hides and manure made her heart turn over.

  All her life she’d hoped to inherit this ranch. She’d believed she would live here forever, growing old as Ned was now, taking comfort to her last days in the horses, cattle, ranch dogs and barn cats that had always been a part of her. But it didn’t matter after all that the cowhands, like Clete and Dex, had come to accept her. Or even that PawPaw and her whole family didn’t believe in her abilities. She had to find the right words for Cooper.

  He was standing in the middle of the aisle, watching her approach, and Nell cleared her throat. Her voice came out even huskier than it normally was anyway.

  “Nothing I could say would be enough, but if you hadn’t followed me, I don’t even want to think what might have happened. Thanks for being there tonight, Cooper.” At Bear’s stall, she reached a hand through the bars to stroke her gelding’s neck, solid and warm.

  Cooper stood behind her. “He’ll be okay. But if you want, I’ll call the vet. Let him examine the wound.”

  “No, I trust you.”

  “Do you, Nell?” He didn’t wait for her answer. “I can’t blame you if you don’t. I let the loss of my family’s land blind me to the truth. Without Ned’s overly generous offer to buy us out, my dad would have lost everything, including any chance for our future. I would never have had the money to make that offer.”

  “Which you didn’t end up making,” she murmured.

  I need you to choose me, he’d said. From the start, Cooper had supported her. Then tonight he’d told her he loved her, a public statement with her grandfather and Jesse standing there. He’d said those same words years ago, and she’d believed him then. Yet, for a short while, one small remnant from the past had made her wonder earlier if he’d said them because he still wanted his share of the NLS, as Jesse had implied.

  Nell trailed her hand down Bear’s broad face and he nuzzled her. “I never wanted you to lose what you love most, Cooper.”

  His voice held an edge. “Like you do the NLS? All of it?” Cooper hesitated. “Ned and my mom seem to have forged a peace. It’s time to end the feud between the Ransoms and the Sutherlands. That includes you and me.”

  “Because...you love me?” she said.

  He turned her toward him. “Yeah, but when I told Ned I’d take care of you—as I will my mother—I didn’t mean to undermine you. Demean you. I don’t think the way your grandfather does, Nell, or any other man who’s ever made you feel less than you are. I do believe in you, and when you rode after those coyotes, my heart nearly stopped. What I was saying to Ned was that we should care for each other. I want to be partners with you in every way. If I didn’t care, I would have stayed in the barn tonight with my saddle for a pillow.”

  Nell’s tone softened. “Instead, you saved me.”

  “Must be a hard pill to swallow,” he said, his gaze holding hers.

  “Yes,” Nell admitted, clearing her throat before she went on, “but maybe I don’t need to be so tough—or independent—all the time. I sure wasn’t tonight. Even I can accept help—believe it or not—meaning yours when necessary.” She paused. “Maybe I don’t always have to prove something, even to PawPaw.”

  “True, and as my mom once said, now and then I need someone to look out for me. And so do you, Nell. We each bring something different, special, to whatever it is we can have,” he said, his eyes darker, gentler. “We need each other for different things.”

  “You’re saying I’m not just a cowgirl. I’m a woman too.”

  “Yeah, and I’m a man.” He started to smile. “I’m also a cowboy, as you pointed out. That’s where I belong in this world and so do you.” He sobered. “I don’t think Ned was happy to hear the truth from Jesse tonight.” Cooper reached out to tuck a strand of Nell’s hair behind her ear. “Together, maybe we can still convince him to leave the NLS to you. It doesn’t matter to me now that my family’s ranch may never be mine—or that everything would be in your name—as long as we’re together.”

  With tears in her eyes, Nell framed his face in her hands. “Whatever my grandfather decides, if we don’t have a scrap of land between us, we’ll have each other. I love you, Cooper,” she said. “I choose you.”

  “That’s all I need.” Cooper drew Nell closer, took her hands. Then, his gaze on hers, he bent his head to kiss her. In the stall, Bear shook himself and blew out a breath as if in approval. After a moment, Nell and Cooper drew apart, a few inches anyway. He gazed down at her. “Does this mean you’re not going to fire me?”

  And Nell said, “Never.”

  * * *

  NELL WOKE THE next morning to the sound of someone’s fist pounding at her door. “Nelly, get up! Throw some clothes on and meet me downstairs.”

  “PawPaw,” she said with a groan, rolling over to check the time on her cell phone. It was after nine o’clock! And Cooper wasn’t beside her.

  Sunshine streamed in through the open windows and the sweet smell of clover drifted from the yard below. Nell swept hair from her eyes. She’d never slept this late before, though she and Cooper hadn’t stopped talking until dawn.

  Nell’s hand went to her throat. The emerald necklace Cooper had given her last night—or rather regifted her—nestled in there.

  She and Cooper had all sorts of new plans for their future, not all of which involved the NLS. Nell wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that yet, but having been summoned by PawPaw, she guessed she would soon find out. Nell only wished Cooper was with her now. Instead, she would have to do this alone.

  In the kitchen, her grandfather had his back turned. At the coffee maker, he poured her a cup without glancing behind him, then plopped two sugars into the steaming brew and added a generous portion of cream. He held out his arm and Nell took the mug. “Thanks, PawPaw.”

  “Don’t thank me,” he said, “until you hear what I have to say.”

  Nell took a sip and burned the tip of her tongue but didn’t notice the sting of pain. For one long moment, she wanted to drag this out, not to have the actual words sink into her and close the last door on her lifelong goal to run the NLS.

 
I’ve picked Jesse, he might say, but she’d be okay with that now, she told herself, with only a twinge of regret. She had Cooper.

  His arms crossed over his chest, PawPaw leaned against the counter. He sipped his coffee, his gaze fixed on her over the rim of his cup. “I’ve spoken with Jesse,” he said at last, and Nell thought, Here it comes.

  “I’m surprised he was up this early,” she murmured, unable to resist.

  “He’s not, far as I know. I imagine he’s still snoring in the foreman’s house. We talked last night.”

  From the barn, through the window screen, she heard the usual everyday sounds of men working, probably Cooper among them, a horse whinnying from the corral, the clang of the metal gate to the pasture being opened. Again, she wished Cooper was here with her. Nell’s nerves were beginning to shred.

  “Just tell me, PawPaw.” After he did, she’d make her final pitch, as she and Cooper had planned.

  “Jesse’s decided to go back to KC. He’ll leave by noon, he said.”

  “But...” Did he mean he was going home to pack the rest of his things? Move to the NLS?

  “Why didn’t you tell me he had financial troubles before?”

  “Because that was Jesse’s responsibility, not mine. It wasn’t my place to tattle on him. Load the dice,” she added.

  “Integrity,” he said. “I like that.” Her grandfather frowned. “Jesse didn’t have the same scruples. He ticked off everything he could think of that you’ve ever done wrong from the time you were kids, including the more recent loss of that calf, Elsie, and poor Ferdinand,” he said. “He threw in Bear last night too, of course, a couple of issues between you and Clete, then Hadley. Not to mention the breeding register you set up. Even the new combination for the safe. You shut him out, he said.”

  Her mouth set. “I realize I acted recklessly last night, PawPaw, but I’ve made some progress with Clete and Dex. You may not appreciate the changes I made while you were away, and you know how bad I feel about your bull—”

  “Don’t back down now, Nell.”

  She blinked and held her breath.

  “Jesse’s not the right person to run this ranch,” he said.

  “Do you mean—But you’ve always thought I needed a husband and children more than I needed to pull calves or pick the cow to breed to your best bull.”

  “I still hope you’ll have a family. But I’m not going to turn the NLS over for those reasons. Even an old man like me can see a different way of doing things.” He paused. “After Jesse and I spoke, I couldn’t overlook his money problems or his lying. I spent hours in the office last night figuring out that new breeding program. I do like it, Nell. Spreadsheets aren’t something I’ve used before, and they’re mostly a puzzle to me, but they are better at keeping track of things. I figure you can handle those too.” He smiled. “I guess that’s that.”

  Her heart was beating loud in her ears. “What?”

  “When I’m ready, the NLS will go to you,” he said. “Jesse will get his carve out, and regular payments as one of my heirs to help with his finances, which you’ll administer, but the deed will be in your name.”

  Nell’s ears buzzed and, for an instant, she feared she’d pass out. For a second, she couldn’t speak. She’d been mostly enthusiastic about the tentative plans she and Cooper had made last night, but now she would never have to leave the NLS, and neither would he, although her dreams of the ranch had changed. Cooper had given everything for her. If she didn’t have him—if she wasn’t loved—what else would she really have? This had to be right for him too...

  “No,” she said at last. “Both our names should be on that deed—mine and Cooper’s.”

  “You trust him that much?”

  “Yes. I do,” Nell said. “Though knowing Cooper, I’m sure he’ll insist on paying for his half. That would be the Ransom ranch.”

  “Which would give him a stake in this,” he said.

  “An equal share. We’re partners in marriage. We should also be partners in the NLS.”

  “You sure that’s okay with you?”

  “Oh, PawPaw.” He wasn’t saying no. She flung her arms around her grandfather’s neck and held on tight. “Yes! I’m okay with that.” She couldn’t hold the tears at bay. “You had to ask?”

  “Now, now.” He patted her back. “Nell, honey. You know I love you, but I guess that got in my way, and I couldn’t see just how strong you are. I thought—wrongly—that being a woman made you vulnerable, that you needed someone else to do the heavy lifting. I realize now that was old-fashioned,” he said. “I can change, Nell. So can your mother and father, even Jesse, once we set them straight. Anyway, Merry Ransom is already working on me. Gave me quite a talking to about my sexist attitude. So has Cooper.” That didn’t seem to bother PawPaw. “I shouldn’t have listened to your uncle Will, but I never meant to undermine you. You’ll knock this family of ours out with all the good you do here on this ranch.”

  “Then the old feud is finally over,” she managed.

  “Well, Merry may have had some say,” he admitted.

  “And in my children with Cooper, the Sutherlands and the Ransoms will be one. Having a few grandkids ought to soften up Mom and Dad, though she won’t care for my riding and roping while I’m expecting.” Nell drew back. “PawPaw, are you really courting Cooper’s mother?”

  He clamped his mouth shut, then couldn’t help a smile. “It’s time,” he said, without elaborating on whether he meant Merry or the feud itself.

  Then before Nell could respond, PawPaw glanced behind her and someone’s hand lightly touched her shoulder. She hadn’t heard the door open, but it was Cooper. He’d come to help her out here after all.

  “Doing okay, Mrs. Ransom?”

  “Doing fine,” she murmured.

  PawPaw studied Nell then Cooper. “But there is one more thing before I sign new papers for this estate. You sure you made the right choice?” He had a twinkle in his keen eyes. “Getting hitched to this Ransom boy? I heard what he said. Do you love him, Nell?”

  “I do,” she said without hesitation, as if she and Cooper were saying their vows again.

  “That’s all I needed to hear.” PawPaw began to smile. He took their hands and joined them then added his on top. “From both of you,” he said. “When Cooper told me last night how much he still loves you, I knew—even before I spoke with Jesse—I was making the right choice too.”

  Savoring the moment, Nell kissed her grandfather’s cheek then Cooper’s. She had the ranch she had always cherished, and Cooper would have his land again. Their land, she thought.

  In the end, it was love that had ended the old range war.

  She held Cooper’s gaze. “I’ve loved him all my life,” she said to PawPaw.

  But then her grandfather already knew that too.

  * * *

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  Finally, A Family

  by Callie Endicott

  PROLOGUE

  TIME SEEMED TO stand still as Logan Kensington focused his camera on a magnificent buck, outlined by the first rays of sunlight. Mount Rainier rose beyond, white and majestic in the stillness. It was a fitting background to the deer, who surveyed his world with lordly arrogance.

  The faint whirring sound from the camera caught the buck’s attention and it looked at the undergrowth where Logan was hidden. He kept his finger on the shutter release button to take a continuous burst of pictures.

  Earlier in the year, Logan had spotted the game trail and small stream on a hike. Suspecting it would be a good place for photos, he’d returned and spent last night under cover, alert to the faintest movement and sound. Deer, a fox, raccoons, a pair of skunks, rabbits, even a snuffling bear—each of their images captured by his sensitive equipment. Now he was getting daylight shots.

  A moment later the buck was gone, leaping effortlessly over the stream.

  Aware that time was passing, Logan crawled from his photography blind and stretched. His clothes were damp from the rain that had come and gone over the hours he’d waited, and he needed to get back to Seattle for a meeting at the Moonlight Ventures Talent Agency. He was one of four partners who owned the agency, but so far his participation had mostly been long-distance. Once his last contract as a fashion photographer was fulfilled, he could remain in Seattle permanently instead of spending a week or two whenever he could manage. In the meantime, he’d gotten a studio apartment and an SUV to make his frequent trips to the Pacific Northwest easier.