Quick hookups and one-night stands were all Kane could handle, and he didn’t want to break the news to his parents that he wasn’t ever going to get married. Kane was selfish, and he knew it. He’d never hid that fact from anyone. He might care about the people that worked for him and who had their own families, but he was never jealous of their home lives. He was content being alone. All he needed was his ranch and nothing else.
Cole followed behind Kane Cartwright’s truck. He was a bit bummed that his parents weren’t there to greet him like he wanted. The way he was feeling, he could go for one of Denny’s hugs and whispered words of “everything was going to be all right.”
Maybe I should just leave. What the hell was I thinking coming here anyway?
Granted, Cole should have thought through his plan carefully. But he needed to get away before Ryker got back. He realized that he couldn’t leave Montana anyway. Like an idiot, he’d offered up his services to work in the ranch’s restaurant. It was the least he could do since he was staying on the ranch for free.
He knew that even though his dads worked on the ranch, they had to pay for their lodging and the amenities which seemed fair to him. Cole was surprised by the sprawl of the Black Meadow Ranch. He had never been to a dude ranch before. Hell, he was completely ignorant as to how things worked on a ranch or a farm.
From the little he saw on the drive up, there was a lot going on—kids running around, some people were riding horses, while other horses were in the field grazing or doing whatever the hell it was they did, and a crowd of people gathered around a fence watching some guy in the center of the ring demonstrate something. From what Cole could tell, he had a rope in his hand twirling it around. He couldn’t tell what was real and was fake, it all seemed as if he was on a movie set.
I wonder if they have a town sheriff and a saloon where men sit around and play poker all day waiting for the bad guy to show up and rob the bank. He chuckled at his silly thought. But seriously what the fuck am I doing here? I don’t know shit about working or being on a ranch.
What also surprised him was how fucking gorgeous Kane Cartwright was. The foreman wasn’t bad-looking either. But it was Kane that caught his attention. Tall, café au lait skin, jet-black, curly hair sticking out the sides of his baseball cap, and gray-blue eyes. Kane was exactly what he envisioned how a cowboy should look and sound like.
His deep, commanding voice could melt chocolate each time he spoke, his muscled chest, slim waist, with the possibility of a six- or eight-pack abs hidden under his flannel shirt he was wearing. Cole couldn’t stop himself from licking his lips thinking about Kane’s thick thighs encased in jeans that looked as if they were painted on him.
Sighing, Cole cleared his thoughts. The man was good-looking, but he had no business admiring him. He had his own issues that he was running from and a baby to take care of and protect. He was going to do the job he promised he would do and once his parents returned, he would spend some time with them and leave.
Cole made up his mind that he wasn’t going to tell his folks yet about the baby. He needed to use the short time that he was going to be there to work shit out on his own.
Cole wasn’t going to go back to Ryker, that he knew for sure. He’d become dependent on the man which only enabled Ryker to get away with the shit he did. He should have left when he realized that he and Ryker were not a mated pair.
He knew Ryker cheated on him with betas or omegas that would suck his cock for whatever he had to offer. The man had the decency not to flaunt them in his face, but smelling their perfume or cologne on him was just as bad. Cole beat himself up for staying as long as he had. He’d called himself every idiot name in the book and then some.
“If I had a mate, he wouldn’t want me now that I’m knocked up with some other alpha’s kid. Besides, who’d want damaged goods?”
No matter what happened, he would not hate his child. It was going to be hard, but he needed to look toward a brighter future for himself and the baby. Cole would need to find a place to live and a job. Go somewhere Ryker would never think to look if he was trying to find him. Finding a job would be easy. Restaurants were always looking to hire a chef. Hell, he would wait tables if he had to.
Work wasn’t something he was immune to. Denny might have been a phenomenal chef, but growing up they were dirt poor. Denny worked long hours trying to get his name out there. Bill was a plumber who had worked for a company that went bankrupt when Cole was sixteen. Cole had taken out loan after loan that he was still paying off to pay for school. His fathers tried to give him the best life possible, and he appreciated them for everything they had done for him.
One of the reasons he’d stayed with Ryker for so long was because of his threats that no matter where he went, he would find him. He was scared of that possibility—that it might happen. But it was better to run than stay and die.
I can’t bring my shit to them. They need to live their lives and not be worried about me.
Cole stopped his car when Kane pulled up in front of a log-style cabin that looked rustic with a modern touch. It was still light outside, but he recognized the solar panels on the roof. That had to be his dad Denny’s idea. Cole shut off his car and got out, pocketing his keys. He walked up to the steps meeting Kane who was waiting for him. Kane tilted up the bill of his baseball cap that he was wearing then bent down to lift the welcome mat and pulled out the extra key and opened the door.
“Just how close are you to my parents that you know where they keep their spare key?”
Cole hadn’t meant for his words to be as accusatory as it came out. He was glad when Kane ignored him by stepping aside, giving Cole room to enter. The room was large and open. He recognized both of his fathers’ tastes littering the room. Browns and soft shades of blues and green were sprinkled around the room elegantly. The large brown leather sectional sat in the middle of the room with a blanket thrown over it, facing an unlit fireplace with a television stationed above it. Two leather wingback chairs sat on the other side of the room with a table between them, an unfinished chessboard sitting on top.
Walking further in the cabin, he noticed the dining room off to the left of the living room. Denny and Bill might not be there but their home felt like they were. Cole walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboards, looking around. If he knew his dad Denny, tons of his favorite snacks would be hiding in the back. Whether he was there or not, there was always a snack in the cupboard that had his name on it. Cole smiled when he spotted the vanilla wafers sitting in the far right of the cupboard.
“Do you always go through people’s things when they aren’t home?”
Cole jumped and dropped the wafer he was about to put in his mouth, turning around to see Kane watching him. “Shit, I forgot you were still here.”
“Apparently.”
Clearing his throat, he picked up the wafer, dumped it in the trash and put the pack back into the cupboard to devour later when he wasn’t being watched.
“For your information, my dad and I have the same taste in snacks.” He had no idea why he felt the need to justify his own actions.
Kane grunted, but didn’t say anything else.
“What’s your fucking problem with me? We just met for crying out loud.”
“I don’t have a problem with you,” Kane answered. “Hell, I don’t even know you.”
“Then I guess I’m just not accustomed to your sunny disposition.” Cole wasn’t sure what the guy’s problem was, but he had been giving him the cold shoulder since they’d met only a few moments earlier. “Isn’t there somewhere else we need to go?” Cole asked Kane.
“Yup.”
Cole wiped off his hands on his jeans and walked out of the kitchen. “Then let’s go.”
“Hey, wait,” Kane said stopping him before he got too far. Cole turned around and looked at him impatiently. “You might need these.” He held up the keys waiting for Cole to take them.
Shit, I’m acting like a fucking moron. The guy i
s being nice and I’m acting like he’s a pain in my fucking ass.
Reaching out he took the keys from Kane. “Thanks.”
“Yup.” He nodded and walked past Cole out the door.
Cole’s eyes trailed from Kane’s wide shoulders down his back and waist, finally landing on the man’s ass. Yup, I can’t stay here too long. I’ve only been here for a couple of minutes and already I’m checking out the man’s ass. Get your shit together, Cole. Checking out Ryker’s ass was how I ended up in the situation I’m in now. I’ll just stick around for a couple of days, see my folks and move on.
Chapter Two
Kane watched as Cole closed the door to Denny and Bill’s place. He had been watching the man while he looked around his folks’ place and the only word that came to him was lost. Cole seemed as if he was searching for something other than snacks. But Kane figured he could be reading into things.
Why the hell do I care what he’s searching for?
Shaking off the thought, Kane took off his ball cap and threw it into the seat beside him. He watched as Cole trotted to his car, climbed in and started it up. Backing away from the log cabin, Kane leaned back, relaxing as he enjoyed the short drive to the restaurant. Kane loved his property. There was so much to offer to the guests and employees. The Cartwright family had owned Black Meadow since his many great-grandfather bought his first plot of land and started building. Over generations, the farm was passed down to the firstborn male.
Kane had put his business degree to use after his mother, who was his father’s power of attorney, signed everything over to him. The first thing he did was bought out all their investors and paid off any loans they had with the bank. Some people thought he was crazy, and maybe he was. The ranch and Kane’s finances suffered for a bit after he had shelled out all the money in his personal and business account to pay the ranch hands and a few other things.
For a while, Kane thought he’d made the worst mistake possible and was ready to give up. He was ready to crawl back to his investors and beg them to reinvest in Black Meadow. But his mother always told him he was as stubborn as his father and he waited for things to change.
What saved him and the ranch was the more land he had to build on, the more cabins he had opened, the more families and couples wanted to vacation at Black Meadow for the cowboy experience. He’d opened up other avenues for the ranch to bring in more earnings. Breeding and selling cattle as well as horses, were some of the things added along with giving riding lessons, boarding horses, and a few other things.
Other than the restaurant, the other main attraction that added the appeal to the ranch was the trails. Whether the guests wanted to walk or ride, the trails were open certain hours of the day. The guests also enjoyed camping and sleeping under the stars during the summer months. The boutique and the bar were also other attractions. The coffee shop and bakery was almost completed. The coffee shop and bakery would serve all those fancy coffees that people seemed to like.
He planned on having a few tables inside and outside of the cafe, so that customers could sit and enjoy their beverages on a hot or cold day. He still needed to find someone to take over the daily operation of the shop. He’d asked Denny, but the older man declined his offer, stating the Meadow Brook was more than he could handle. Besides, he wasn’t a baker and didn’t have the time to learn how to make fancy coffees.
Kane pulled up to the Meadow Brook, putting his truck into park. He grabbed his cap, slicking his curls back and placing it on his head. Getting out of the truck he leaned against it and waited for the other man to join him.
“I’m going to introduce you to Marla. She’s Denny’s assistant chef.”
“Okay,” he said.
Kane was about to walk away but he could see that something was bothering Cole. “What?”
“Are you sure she’s going to need my help? I don’t want to be in the way.”
“No, I think you will be fine,” Kane told him. “And once she finds out that you’re Denny’s kid, it will only be a bonus.”
“I’m not quite a kid, you know.”
Kane would have bristled at the sarcasm or in his mouthiness, but the man was right, nothing on him screamed kid. A bit on the skinny side for Kane’s taste, but he was all male and an adult. He grunted while pulling off his truck and started walking toward the back door which was also the employee entrance. When he walked in, pleasurable scents of dishes being prepared wafted under his nose. He could hear Marla yelling out orders to her kitchen staff. Everything seemed chaotic to Kane, and he had no freaking idea what the hell was going on. That was how it always was whenever he visited.
Servers running back and forth, the clinking of dishes, and the smell and sounds of meat sizzling in the pots on the stove. It was chaotic in his opinion. He looked back at Cole who didn’t seem fazed by all that was going on. His eyes sparkled and just like he’d done in the cabin, he walked away from Kane and over to a cupboard. Cole picked up a spice and moved over to the stove and started mixing and tasting whatever was in the pot.
“Who the hell are you?” Marla asked. “And what the fuck do you think you’re doing to my stew?”
Marla was a bit taller than Cole. But with the chef’s hat on her head, she seemed much taller and imposing. She had jet-black, naturally curly hair and dark brown eyes that resembled pools of chocolate that complemented her sun-kissed, brown skin. She had an hourglass figure that made most of the ranch hands and guests weak in the knees. In other words, she was fucking gorgeous.
“I’m Cole Bradford.”
“Well, Cole Bradford, I will ask you again. What the hell are you doing to my stew?”
“I’m spicing it up a bit. I could tell it tasted a bit bland just from the look of it.”
Oh shit, thought Kane. Shit is about to go down. All movement seemed to stop in the kitchen after hearing what Cole had just said. Everyone knew not to criticize Marla’s cooking. The only one who could do it and not have his head chopped off was Denny. He waited to see what was going to happen and he didn’t know if he should protect Denny’s kid or not.
“Bland how?” Marla asked looking at Cole and then at the pot of stew.
Everyone visibly sighed when Marla didn’t go after the kid.
“It was missing a dash of . . .”
Kane cleared his throat as he walked over to the two. “Hey, Marla, this is Cole, he’s Denny and Bill’s kid.”
“You don’t say, the Bradford kind of gave it away,” she said sarcastically. Kane rolled his eyes at her.
Maybe they will get along and I’m worried about nothing.
“So, what is he doing in my kitchen?” she asked.
“He’s staying in their cabin until they come back. Apparently, he drove down to surprise them.”
“Still doesn’t answer what he’s doing in my kitchen,” Marla said.
“You know I’m standing right here and anything you want to know you can just ask me.”
“Fine then, what are you doing here?” she asked sarcastically.
Maybe this was a bad idea.
“Helping you apparently,” Cole shot back. “I’m more of a baker, but I could tell your stew needed something added to it.”
That was the second time in less than a minute Cole had said something about Marla’s cooking and she didn’t go off on him like she did everyone else.
“Well, then, what the hell are you doing standing around? Grab that apron off the hook and get to work.”
Cole nodded and did what he was told. Kane turned and looked at Marla who was staring at him.
“Exactly why is he here and not in the dining hall like any of the other guests?” Marla asked him.
“I offered to let him stay in Denny and Bill’s cabin until they get back from their vacation. And in return, he wanted to help out in the kitchen.”
Marla grunted, staring at Cole who was pouring some red wine into the large pot of stew. He tasted it and smiled. “I just met the boy and he looks like he is running awa
y from something.”
“So, you see it too?” Kane asked.
“Yeah, but it’s none of my business,” Marla said. “If he can cook as good as his daddy and doesn’t bring trouble to my kitchen, it’s not for me to intervene.”
Kane completely agreed with her. “All right, I need to go to town to pick up some supplies. Do you need anything?” She shook her head no, absently staring at Cole who had started cutting up some vegetables. “Let me know how he’s doing.”
“Will do, boss.”
Marla walked over to Cole and Kane turned and walked out the door, getting into his truck, putting Cole Bradford out of his mind. He had had a ranch to run.
Cole walked into the cabin, dropping down to the couch. Toeing off his shoes he set his feet on the table, crossing them at the ankle. He grabbed one of the cushions, plumping it up before resting it behind him and closed his eyes. He was exhausted, but it was a good tired. Cole felt at home in the kitchen and he also liked Marla a lot.
Two days earlier, after they’d met, he thought she was brash. But after spending some time with her he realized that was just her nature. They worked very well together and handled the influx of the guests that came in and out of the restaurant. She’d even allowed Cole to bake some of the goodies that had customers coming back for more.
The Black Meadow Ranch was very busy and there was something going on all the time. And it only made the restaurant busier. Sighing, he opened his eyes and looked up at the slanted ceiling. The lights were on but dimmed the way he liked it lately. Since finding out that he was pregnant, bright lights annoyed him. He’d been lucky that over the past two days he hadn’t experienced any morning sickness. But the doctor did tell him once he started his second trimester he wouldn’t have any of the symptoms he had in the first three months.
He hadn’t corrected the doctor by telling him that he’d ignored the symptoms and thought he was just coming down with the flu. Thinking of doctors, he needed to find one soon. His next appointment was coming up. He thought about asking Marla, but he didn’t want to have her asking him questions. Besides, he wasn’t planning on sticking around long. After spending a few days with his dads, he planned on leaving town.
The Cowboy's Baby Page 2
