“I know that now. It was my own fault. I never should’ve held those beliefs, but I did. I want to be a good lawyer, but you need to let me decide for myself where that will be. I’m not five years old anymore.”
“How long do you think you’ll like living in that rundown ranch house? How long before you get sick of scraping for money and struggling to pay the bills?”
“We won’t. You didn’t look closely enough when you went searching for dirt on him. The mortgage is tiny; I could pay it off tomorrow, but I won’t because it’s a matter of pride with Jethro. He wants to do his grandfather proud, and I won’t take that away from him.” She paused and smiled to herself. “And that’s another thing, his pride. You know he took the blame for his little brother over the drugs, don’t you?”
Silence met her statement.
“Crease was young and impressionable, in with the wrong crowd. It could’ve happened to anyone. Jethro was there at the right time or wrong time, whichever way you want to look at it, and took the blame to keep his brother out of the foster care system. To me, that means he’s committed to family, and I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“You could say you approve and you’ll make it up to Jethro. He didn’t deserve your visit, Daddy, not on those terms. You need to sit down with Mother, talk it over, and agree to let me live my own life. If you want to be happy for me, I’d love to see you both. If you could apologize to Jethro, that’d make me very proud to call myself your daughter.”
*
Jethro was on his knees in the front yard, pulling weeds from the neglected flowerbed when Sadie’s car came down the driveway. He stood up when she pulled the car in beside the house, dusted his hands off on his jeans, and waited for her to give him another dose of anger and disappointment. Should’ve been used to it, but with Sadie, he’d hoped for more. Guess it wasn’t to be and he’d have to deal with it. He squared his shoulders.
She slammed the car door and advanced on him, an inscrutable look on her face. This didn’t bode well for his broken heart.
Jethro looked away, scared and embarrassed to see her here when he’d let her down so badly. She threw herself into his arms and knocked him backward. It took him a couple of steps to gain his balance and realize she was grinning.
“You stupid, stubborn man. Why did you let me believe the worst of you?”
“What are you talking about?” If Tyson said something, he was in trouble. For once, he’d be on the wrong end of a fist—Jethro’s fist.
“Your little brother came and told me the truth about the drug conviction.” She stared into his eyes and frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me yourself? I can understand you not saying anything to my father, but I thought you and I could talk about anything.”
He should have been able to tell her, but if word got out that Crease was the one to blame, people wouldn’t give him a chance.
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t do it to Crease. For years, people have believed the worst of me more than the others, so why change things?” His arms slid down to her butt and held her close. He’d missed this woman in his arms more than he would have thought possible.
“Because it’s not fair, that’s why.” Her eyes darkened, and he braced to defend his brother again.
“I know, but that’s life. We really had only each other growing up, and I’m the eldest. It’s what big brothers do.”
Sadie raised an eyebrow.
“True. Scout’s honor.”
“I wouldn’t know, would I?”
He grinned. “Does this mean you forgive me?”
“Maybe. But more to the point, do you forgive me? I was the one who didn’t stand by you. And it was my father who threatened you if you didn’t back away from me.” Her tongue whipped out and moistened her lips. “I’m sorry about that. He had no right. We’ve had words over it and will probably have more once he’s taken stock of what I said.”
“Really? Let’s see how that works out. I’ll fight him tooth and nail if he gets the bank onto us. We’ve never had a missed payment, so they don’t have any right to call in the mortgage.”
“Correct, and my father has no right to swing his political weight around either. Being a public figure means he needs to do things by the book. Or he’ll be the one watching his back.”
“I think I like you when you’re all fired up, Sadie St. Martin.”
“There’s something I have to tell you.”
Jethro raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“I don’t entirely blame my father. He was wrong to threaten you, definitely. But I understand why he did it even if I wholeheartedly disapprove.” She repeated what she’d told her father earlier.
“Why would you do that to yourself?”
Sadie shrugged. “I know it was silly of me but, at the time, it’s how I felt. I know better now.”
“All these years and you’ve carried that guilt around, thinking you had to make up for their loss. What am I going to do about you, Sadie?”
“Love me?”
“You only have to be yourself around me. Don’t try being something you’re not, Sadie, because to me you’re perfect being you.”
He dipped his head and took her lips with his. Soft at first until she opened up to him and then Jethro deepened the kiss, giving her all the love he’d missed the last few days. Her fingers bunched in his hair as she pressed herself against him, sending all kinds of signals to his lower regions. He broke for air and let out a whistle.
“What was that for?” Her cheeks were flushed.
“You make me want you every day. I never thought I’d find someone like you.” He held her face in his hands, staring into her eyes. “I’m a lucky guy.”
“I think that works both ways, Jethro. You’ve made me find things about myself I didn’t know before I met you.”
He laughed. “Like being poor, thrown into situations you didn’t want to be part of. What else have I shown you? Oh, that’s right, animals, and here they come.” He held her close as Clumsy came tearing up from the barn with Christmas hot on his heels.
Jethro held up his hand as the dog approached. “Sit.” He waited until the dog did as he was told and then released his grip on Sadie. “I think you’d better say hello before he shakes himself stupid.” Clumsy’s tail was beating a pattern in the driveway and his butt was struggling to stay still.
“Oh, you beautiful boy. Come here, then.” Sadie held her arms wide and Clumsy launched at her while Jethro held her up so she didn’t land on the ground. She rubbed the dog’s ears and didn’t even whimper when his tongue lashed her face. The turkey strutted his stuff, fluffing his tail feathers.
“Are you sure you want to take this lot on?”
Sadie gave him a huge grin. “Only if you’re part and parcel of the deal.”
“You have no idea how much I love you, Sadie.”
“If it’s half as much as I love you, Jethro, we’ll be fine together.”
The End
The Hansen Brother series
Book 1: Cowboy to the Rescue
View the series here!
Book 2: The Convenient Cowboy
Coming soon!
Book 3: Coming soon!
More books by Ann B. Harrison
The Watson Brother series
Four Montana brothers searching for love…sometimes in the most unexpected circumstances.
Book 1: Chance for Love
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Book 2: The Sheriff’s Mail-Order Bride
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Book 3: The Doctor’s Husband
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Book 4: Her Favorite Cowboy
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The Moore Sisters of Montana series
Book 1: Christmas Glitter
Dakota’s story
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Book 2: Valentine Kisses
Bella’s story
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Book 3: Doctor’s Orders
Apr
il’s story
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Book 4: Wedding Surprise
Mari’s story
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Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from
Chance for Love
Ann B. Harrison
Book 1 in the Watson Brother series
Keep reading below or buy now!
The doctor looked at Chance, sympathy obvious in his eyes. “I’m sorry. You’ve done far more damage than even I can fix.” He walked away from the lit up x-ray box where his patient’s broken hip was on display and sat heavily in his chair, swinging it around to look at Chance. “You should get more movement in your leg once the hip heals better, but I’m afraid there will be no more bull riding for you.”
Chance Watson swallowed the bile rising in his throat. The quick rush of emotions threatened to tip him over the edge if he didn’t get a grip on them. He’d been expecting something like this, but it still rocked his world. His first big injury was also going to be his last. How ironic was that?
He cleared his throat before he spoke. “It’s all I know. Not sure how I’m going to go back to running a ranch without the thrill of upcoming competitions to look forward to.”
“Well now, I’m sure once you get used to it, you’ll manage just fine. Your granddaddy bred some of the best bucking bulls in Montana back in his day, before he passed on and left it all to you. Don’t see why you can’t take over the reins now it’s time.” The doctor leaned back in his chair. “You know, he’d be right proud of what you’ve achieved in your career. Champion bull rider for what, twelve years in a row? Can’t say I know of anyone else who’s had as long a career on the IBR tour as you have.”
Chance snorted and looked away. He’d had an amazing career and as far as he was concerned, it was still flourishing. Or at least it had been until his injury this season. “How much longer until you can take the pins out of my hip?”
The doctor leaned forward and reached for his laptop, flicking through the dates. “I can take you into surgery in five weeks. I don’t see any reason why the bones wouldn’t have knitted well enough by then so long as you don’t take any knocks to the bone. Pretty standard procedure so you’d only be in overnight.” He turned from the screen and smiled. “Go home to Marietta, Chance, and rest up. You have the ranch to fall back on and I’m sure with a little bit of help you’ll do well. Just that you’ll be on the other side of the bulls from now on. Breeding them, not riding them. Much safer in my opinion. Last thing I wanted was to see you here in this state.”
Chance stood up with the help of his cane, getting his balance before letting go of the edge of the chair. He tried to stand tall but the pain in his hip made it almost impossible for him to stretch out to his full height of six feet three inches.
“My nurse will be in touch the week before the operation to go over the arrangements for admission. Go and start your new life. Kick back and think of doing something that won’t give your body such a hard time from now on. You’ve earned the retirement and looking at all the bruises and scars you’re carrying, it’s not before time either.”
“Sure, Doc. Ranching fulltime sounds just like the ticket to me right now.” He couldn’t keep the bitterness from his voice, but deep down he wondered if this was what he was looking for.
The tour had lost its appeal over the last couple of years and he’d been having trouble trying to figure out why. The drinking, women, and parties no longer appealed, nor did being in the public eye give him the thrill it used to. The modeling shoots for his sponsors used to make him feel proud, cocky even. Lately he’d felt out of sorts, strutting around in the latest clothes, boots, and sunglasses for ad campaigns that would see his pictures all over billboards and magazines. The only thing that had made him feel satisfied was his own line of products and seeing them hit the shelves.
“You have younger brothers, don’t you? Surely one of them can help you out until you’re on your feet.”
“I’ll be fine, Doc. Always someone wanting to work for me. See you later and thanks.”
Chance put his hat on his head before he shook the doctor’s hand and headed out of his office. At the curb, Ralph, Chance’s old school friend and fellow competitor, sat on the hood of his car.
“Ouch, looks like someone got bad news.” Ralph stood when Chance hobbled toward him and he hurried to open the back door, holding his hand out to help his best friend.
Once Chance was settled inside, he dropped the cane to the floor. Raising bulls instead of riding them isn’t exactly what I’d planned on this year. My career can’t be over, not just yet. Not when I’m still the toast of Montana and the IBR tour. But perhaps it was what he’d been looking for, why he’d felt so unsettled, and why Terror – two tons of bucking fury – had gotten the better of him. Sometimes things happened for the best reasons even if it didn’t feel like it at the time.
“Where to, Chance? Back to the hotel?” Ralph grinned at him from over his shoulder, waiting for instructions.
“Yeah, but we won’t be staying there for long. I’m expected at the office for a catch-up with the boys from the International Bull Riders to fill them in on future plans. While I’m there, I need you to grab my bags and then you can drop me at the airport if you don’t mind. I’m heading home to the ranch. I have things to sort out.”
*
Callie Lister gazed out at the red, barren land just outside of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Australia. This place was her home, always had been, and she’d expected to grow old here, just like her father’s parents and his parents before that. Her father regaled her with tales of how she would take over when he was too old to work, letting her run the station as she saw fit. She would make sure her sisters could work alongside her as well, if that was what they chose to do, still keeping the spread in the family for future generations.
But now that was all gone…or would be by the end of the week. The accident that took both of her parents brought home the cruel reality of life in the outback. All in the form of a letter from the bank delivered just days after the funeral that saw both of her parents buried under the unforgiving, red earth because a tired driver caused them both to be taken far too young.
“Callie.” The youngest of the twins, Jess, stood at the gate of the house paddock, looking unsure of whether to approach her or not. Tears streaked down her thin pale face and Callie held open her arms to her sister. Together they stood in the dusty, barren yard, holding each other up against the onslaught of pain threatening to knock them down.
“Hush. It will alright, you’ll see.” Callie brushed the damp hair from Jess’s face. At three weeks shy of sixteen, Jess was the more sensitive of the twins. She was the one who always felt the pain or disappointment in life whereas her sister Lori was pragmatic and down to earth. It was she who was packing the twins’ belongings to move to the city to live with their father’s parents so they could attend university and get a better education.
“I don’t want to go. I want to stay with you.”
Callie pushed her back and wiped her thumbs under Jess’s eyes to stay the tears. “You can’t and we both know it. I have to do this; I have no other choice if we want the family name to not be tarnished with debt. I won’t let Mum and Dad have their names run through the mud this way. You’ve heard what’s happening in town already. They don’t need to be the gossip at the local pub because they died leaving us to sort out the bank. I won’t do that to them.”
“But you’ll leave us alone.” She hiccupped and the tears trickled down, making twin paths across her freckled cheeks.
“You won’t be alone. You have Grandpa and Nana and I’ll be home as soon as my contract ends. I don’t have a choice and you know it.”
“Get a job here on another station. There must be someone who will employ you.”
“There isn’t. Besides, the money isn’t that good here anymore, not with the drought hitting everyone as hard as it has. Plus, I don’t know anything else but farming. I wouldn’t s
tand a hope in hell of getting a job in the city either, Jess. I’m better off taking this chance and going to America. The rancher is offering great money for a twelve-month contract with all the perks and a bonus at the end of it if I manage to up the stock numbers.” She stroked her sister’s hair, willing her to understand. “I need that bonus. The banks told us in no uncertain terms what our position is. It’s not fair but we can’t change it. I will not let our parents be remembered for leaving us rolling in debt. They deserve more than that. Maybe then I can come back and we can start again, maybe find a new place if the bank has sold our home off.”
Callie was holding onto the hope that with so many farmers walking off their properties due to crippling debt and high interest rates, their little slice of heaven would still be sitting here when her contract ran out in America. But would she be able to come back with enough money to buy it or would she be happy to clear her parents name and move on?
If the twins made the move from country to city and adjusted well enough, she could take the time to make her own life so long as their schooling was covered. Financially, she was responsible for them and their needs came before hers.
I don’t know if I can get away after the time limit is up. Twelve months will go fast, especially if I work hard and save my money but will it be long enough?
“But…”
“No buts. Stay strong and go and help Lori pack your stuff. Grandpa will be here soon and I doubt he will want to hang around much. It’s a long drive to town.” She watched Jess slowly make her way back inside the house, shoulders hunched over in defeat.
Callie looked at the weatherboard home. The peeling paint, rickety fences, and broken concrete path up to uneven front steps. No matter how bad it looked to the casual observer, it was the only home she’d ever known and she’d miss it terribly. She closed her eyes, opened them again, and focused on it, knowing she could only take her memories with her when she left.
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