Montana Hearts

by Darlene Panzera

  “Yesterday I thought I might still have a chance of getting child support from my ex,” Delaney told him. “But I talked to the lawyer and he said that Steve quit his job so the courts can’t demand his boss dock his pay.”

  Jace scowled, his bitterness for her ex growing stronger. “How will he live?”

  “Steve has moved in with his new girlfriend and apparently her family has a lot of money,” Delaney said, her voice cracking. “He doesn’t need to work. They’ve also switched over his bank accounts, his cars, and everything he owns into her name so none of it can be taken by the courts and given to me to help support Meghan.”

  “He’s a jerk,” Jace said, looking her straight in the eye, “but I don’t want you to worry. I’m not going to let anyone put your family’s ranch out of business. We’re going to catch these poachers, the sheriff’s going to catch the Randalls, and your family is going to be just fine.”

  She swallowed hard and gazed up at him with terrified eyes. “What if we’re not?”

  He pressed a kiss to her lips and then grinned. “If not, then I guess you’ll have to marry me.”

  “Marry you?”

  “Is that such a terrible idea?” he asked, alarmed by her shocked reaction. He’d said it to tease her, but the thought of marrying Delaney and becoming Meghan’s father ignited true desire. He’d never felt such a profound connection with anyone like he did with the two of them before. He’d do anything to protect them, anything to make them happy.

  “Are—­are you proposing?” she asked, her eyes wide and her mouth dropping open.

  “Just think about it,” he said, kissing her lips again. “We don’t have to make any decisions right now.”

  “No,” she agreed. “We don’t. But thank you for offering. And, of course, you’re right. My family will be fine. We’ll persevere, we always do. Everything will be fine.”

  Although he’d managed to smooth things over with Delaney, things were not fine with his own family. As soon as he and Delaney walked out of the “dead ser­vice zone” on their way up to the main house for lunch, his cell phone buzzed with a series of messages telling him he’d missed six calls—­four from his sister, two from his mom.

  “My mother’s received two anonymous threatening letters telling her to drop from the governor’s race,” he confided to Delaney. “She may have got a third. We believe they are from the poachers who don’t want her to increase the amount of game wardens in our state so they continue to make their money without being caught.”

  “Isn’t that her?” Delaney asked, pointing to the two women walking toward them with Bree.

  It was. And from the tense, drawn expressions on each of their faces, they weren’t here for a friendly visit. His gaze dropped to the suitcases in their hands. “Mom, Nat, what are you doing here?”

  “We booked a cabin,” Natalie said, giving Bree and Delaney a wary glance as if unsure how much to say in front of them.

  “Bree,” Del exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me they were coming?”

  “I didn’t know,” Bree said, equally surprised.

  “I booked the cabin under my pen name,” Natalie explained. “Natalie Brooks.”

  Delaney gasped, then she shot Jace a quick glance and stared openmouthed at his sister. “You’re Natalie Brooks? The author of The Power of Positive Relationships?”

  Natalie nodded, and Delaney gazed at her as if starstruck. “I love your books. I have three of them on my nightstand beside my bed right now. You have no idea how much I appreciate what you said about how others should be treated and how to stand up for yourself.”

  “I’m excited to meet you, too,” Natalie said, flashing her a smile. “I’ve heard so much about you. But right now . . .” Her voice trailed off and when she looked at him there was real concern in her eyes.

  “Jace,” his mother said, handing him her suitcase. “We didn’t know where else to go.”

  “What happened?” he asked, bracing himself for the news that could have driven his mother from her own house. He watched his mother and sister give Del and Bree a hesitant look and he added, “You can talk in front of them.”

  “Someone knocked out the security guard,” Natalie said, her voice grave. “Then they broke into the house and came upstairs to where we were sleeping.”

  “When I woke there was a dead rat next to my pillow,” his mom said, cringing as she relived the memory. “We’re not safe there, Jace.”

  He thought of the poachers leaving dead carcasses around the Collins property and the fact someone had tranquilized and placed a deer into Cabin 26. Not to mention the possibility these poachers may even be living on the properties next door.

  Jace swallowed hard. “I’m not sure you’re safe here either.”

  THE FOLLOWING DAY, Delaney and Jace saddled two horses and took the main trail all the way up the rise toward the silver mine where her grandfather used to work. Grandma had wanted to go to the mine herself to get the mineral water she used to make her lotions, arguing she’d been up there hundreds of times. But the family didn’t think it was safe. Not with poachers and the Randalls in the area. Armed with a rifle, Jace had volunteered to go for her and Delaney agreed to show him the way.

  “I think Grandma was hoping the sheriff would offer to bring her to the mine,” Delaney mused. “Like a date.”

  “Speaking of dates,” Jace said, bringing his mount closer to her and Fireball. “You never responded to the text I sent with our photo.”

  “Do you want this to count as a date?” she asked, giving him a smile.

  “I’ll take whatever I can get,” he said, and let out a chuckle. “Especially since you won’t marry me.”

  “You weren’t serious,” she said, laughing as she swatted his arm with her hand.

  “Maybe I should have my sister ask for me,” he teased. “From the way you were fawning all over her, I doubt you’d say no to her.”

  Delaney turned Fireball around the next bend and said, “I was not fawning.”

  “You looked at her as if she were a superstar,” Jace continued.

  “She is,” Delaney exclaimed.

  Jace’s eyes sparkled, as if amused. “And I’m not?”

  “Everyone in your family is a superstar. Your mother is running for governor, and I can’t believe she’s actually renting one of our cabins! Ma almost had a heart attack when she found out. We haven’t had many high ranking officials at our ranch before. Then there’s your sister, a real author.” She ran her tongue over her lower lip and then smiled at him. “Then there’s you.”

  “What about me?” he prompted.

  She laughed. “You’re a rodeo star.”

  “And?” he pressed.

  “Handsome,” she added.

  “You are honest.”

  She playfully swatted his arm again. “And you’ve got yourself a bit of an ego.”

  He puffed out his chest like Gavin had done when crowing about his business. “What else?”

  “You’re mine?”

  Grinning, he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Now that’s what I like to hear.”

  Delaney hadn’t had this much fun since . . . well, she couldn’t remember. She’d overheard Ryan and Bree flirt with each other, and had been witness to many of Sammy Jo’s crazy attempts to win over Luke, but she’d never had someone she could comfortably talk to like this. When Jace spoke to her, it was as if he adored her. It wasn’t just his words, but the tone in which he said them, the depth of emotion in his eyes when he looked at her. He did adore her, she was sure of it, and he adored Meghan, too.

  “If I’m yours, then why won’t you marry me?” Jace teased again.

  “Maybe I will marry again someday,” Delaney said, turning serious. “After a long, long, very long engagement.”

  “Geez,” Jace said, as if disappointed. “A
nd here I was hoping I could get you to fly to Las Vegas and tie the knot overnight.”

  “Been there, done that.” Delaney smiled and shook her head. “It didn’t work out. Like I said, he wasn’t even a friend.”

  The steady clip-­clop of her horse’s feet upon the fresh-­scented earth soothed her soul, and the rhythm rocked her back and forth in a soft, lulling motion. As they walked on, her thoughts turned to the scene in the gazebo she’d witnessed in early August.

  “The Hamilton wedding this summer brought in over a hundred guests,” she said softly. “They had extravagant decorations, beautiful bridesmaids’ gowns, a delicious wedding cake. But it was what the bride said to the groom at the altar that really got to me. She said, ‘Today I’m the luckiest gal in the whole world, because I get to marry my best friend and there’s no one else I’d rather be with than you.’ It was the most beautiful moment. Then she cried because she was so happy, and I—­I cried with her, because I never had that. If I ever marry again . . . I want to be able to say those words. I want to be that happy.”

  “Happy enough to cry?” Jace asked gently.

  “Yes,” she repeated, and with a deep longing in her heart and a smile she nodded. “Happy enough to cry.”

  The entrance to the silver mine came into view, resembling the mouth of a cave in the side of the hill. “There’s the mine.” Delaney pointed. “The natural underground spring where my grandma gets the mineral water to make her lotions is inside.”

  “How do we get in?” Jace asked, studying the structure.

  “It was boarded up about fifty years ago after it closed down,” Delaney said with a nod, then gave him a mischievous smile. “But that hasn’t stopped the local kids from going in there to kiss, or my grandma from getting her mineral water. There’s a few loose boards that move aside so we can enter.”

  Jace helped her hitch the horses to a nearby tree. As they walked toward the mine entrance, Delaney stopped up short. “Someone’s been here,” she said, pointing to the smoldering campfire in a ring of rocks.

  “Del,” Jace said, his tone issuing a warning. “This could be where your embezzling ranch managers are hiding out.”

  The truth was the campfire could have been made by anyone. Which is exactly what the sheriff told them after he’d gone up to the mine to check it out. Still, Delaney had hoped that maybe they’d stumbled on a clue. They hadn’t passed anyone on the way up to the mine and on the way back the only person she and Jace met was Gavin McKinley.

  “Sure you don’t want me to take you out on one of my hunts?” Gavin had asked as he stepped aside on the trail to let them pass.

  “Not interested,” Jace said, and gave him a half grin. “In fact, I’d love some extra cash to buy the Collinses new posters to advertise their ranch. Are you interested in buying my guns?”

  Gavin shook his head. “Nah. I’m going to keep hoping you’ll change your mind, Jace. Let me know if you need anything.” As if she were an afterthought, Gavin tipped his hat toward her and added, “You, too, Delaney. Have a good day.”

  “Would you really sell your guns?” she’d asked when they were alone.

  Jace hesitated. “I’d sell them if I only used them to hunt. But guns are also used for protection.”

  That’s what her father and brother had told her a million times. But she thought the sound from the sticks of homemade dynamite her grandma used to blow stubborn roots out of her garden worked just as effectively to scare off wild animals as a few bullets shot into the air. The explosions were small and concentrated to only a few square feet to ensure both human and animal safety. And as a bonus, the smoke the dynamite left behind kept predators away long after the blast.

  Just like they had the night before. Just before midnight, a few howls had come from the open field behind the cow pasture and Luke had gone out there to toss a few of Grandma’s sticks of homemade dynamite in their direction, thinking it was a pack of coyotes.

  Grandma said that Grandpa Collins had learned to make the explosive sticks while working at the mine, which led Delaney to think about Jace and his marriage proposals. She tried to imagine what it would be like to work with Jace on a daily basis and see him every day the rest of her life. What new things could they teach each other? What memories could they create?

  Jace’s kisses could be just as explosive to her senses as one of those sticks of dynamite, and she feared just as devastating if he ever stopped. Hopefully, he would never stop. Jace said he wanted to buy a house in the area, and if he did, who knew where the days ahead would lead them?

  Later that night, after Meghan was tucked into bed, Delaney slipped back down the stairs and out the door to see if she could get one more of those heart-­racing kisses, but Jace wasn’t in his cabin. She found him standing by the stable speaking to Ryan, who sat upon his black horse with the white blaze across its blue eyes, aptly named the Blue-­Eyed Bandit.

  “Jace, I sure could use your help,” Ryan said, swinging his rifle into ready position.

  Alarmed, Delaney hurried toward them. “What’s going on?”

  A howl came from the back field and Ryan said, “Wolves.”

  Wolves? There hadn’t been many sightings in recent years but the packs were reportedly located in all of southwestern Montana.

  “They’re closing in on the animals in the back pastures,” Jace said, opening a stall and leading out the horse he’d borrowed for the trail ride. Grabbing a bridle off the rack, he slipped it over the chestnut horse’s nose. “They’re probably attracted to the scent of the carcasses the poachers have been leaving around back there.”

  “We found another one today,” Ryan said with a nod.

  “Should I go get Luke?” Delaney asked, bringing Jace the saddle.

  “He’s out on a date with Sammy Jo,” Ryan said in a rush. “Bree’s in town with your parents, and I called my brothers but it’s going to take them a few minutes to get here.”

  “Where’s Meghan?” Jace asked with concern.

  “She’s asleep,” Delaney said, her breath catching in her chest as she heard another howl. “Grandma’s in the house with her and promised to check on her while I’m gone. I can go with you.”

  “We’ll round up the cows and bring them into the arena,” Ryan said, spinning his horse around. “You bring in the rest of the horses. And lock the stable.”

  She nodded and glanced up at Jace as he climbed into the saddle and collected his reins. “Be careful?”

  He grinned. “Have a kiss waiting when I return home.”

  She watched the two cowboys ride off, and smiled at his words, thinking how nice it would be to hear him say that as he went off to work each day. Then she hurried to the horse pasture a few yards away and brought the outside horses into the stable two at a time.

  JACE SQUINTED THROUGH the darkness, trying to identify the cows ahead. It would have been easier if the moon was as bright as the night he’d shared the stable rooftop with Delaney, but tonight thick clouds had moved in. It didn’t help that the two dozen cows the Collinses owned were Black Angus. A ­couple low moos came from the shifting shapes to his right.

  “Go left and I’ll come around the other way,” Ryan called.

  Jace held the reins in his left hand and his gun in his other, ready to fire in case he saw a threat. He let out a sharp whistle and rode around the backsides of two cows, driving them closer to the others. Then he cut off a few more who wanted to run the opposite direction. Rounding another on the outside edge of the herd, he realized the cows in this section were mewing louder than the others and were huddled closer together. Whew! That would make their job easier. Now all they had to do was move them.

  He called out to Ryan, then prepared to cut back and forth behind the herd to guide them toward the arena, when he heard a growl. His horse sidestepped to the right, tossed its head, and let out a shrill neigh. Then the animal tense
d beneath him and pranced back and forth as Jace fought for control. Unfortunately, his gun slipped from his hand in the process and fell to the ground. At least Ryan still had his.

  More growls, a bark, a snap, and a series of vicious snarls erupted as Ryan drew close. The smell of blood filled Jace’s nostrils, and he realized they’d interrupted the wolves during their dinner. Taking a flashlight from his pocket, he flicked it on, and drew in a sharp breath. A fresh bull elk carcass, minus its antlers, lay on the ground before them. A pack of six wolves stood around it, some tearing into its flesh, the others, including a large alpha, baring their teeth and staring directly at him. The gray wolf closest to him lunged forward and Jace pressed his knee against the side of his horse to steer his mount away.

  Ryan fired a shot into the air, which should have scared them off, but the wolves didn’t budge. They lowered themselves closer to the body of the elk and appeared even more agitated. More shots, this time coming from the direction of the trail, echoed across the field and a series of hooves thundered toward them. Ryan called out to his brothers and Jace spun in a tight circle to give his trembling, snorting horse a chance to calm down.

  He continued to shine the flashlight to alert the Tanners to the wolves’ location and Zach, with his fast new horse, Jet, was the first on the scene. Dean and Josh circled around, startling the wolves from the other side, and let off a few more shots with their guns. A few of the wolves scattered, but the alpha snapped at the legs of Zach’s horse. Jet let out a terrified neigh, and threw Zach out of the saddle . . . right at the alpha wolf’s feet.

  Jace’s heart stopped for half a millisecond as the wolf bunched its muscles, ready to pounce. Then giving his horse a kick to spring forward, he leaned to the right, slid out of the saddle like he did when bulldoggin’, and dropped down over Zach to shield him. Without actually meaning to, his flashlight also struck the end of the wolf’s nose.

  The wolf yelped and shrunk back, then as the other Tanner brothers circled around and continued to fire off shots, the alpha ran off to rejoin the rest of his pack.