A Rancher for Their Mom (Rodeo Heroes)
Page 19
“No, but I’m glad you were praying, because it answered a need I didn’t know I had. But God knows our needs even if we don’t.”
“Amen.”
Epilogue
“Stay still,” Kelly told April as she fixed the flowers in April’s hair. “You’re worse than my Becky, who can’t sit still for two minutes for me to put her hair in a ponytail.”
“Well, I feel as excited as Becky. Or it could be your growing stomach you can’t see around.” April took a deep breath, wanting to pinch herself to see if this was really happening. She was getting married again. Something she’d never thought would occur. But an amazing thing had happened. Her heart and soul had been healed. Just when she’d abandoned all hope and known she couldn’t do it all by herself, she’d let go and let God step in.
Funny how that worked.
This past month had seen so many changes in their lives. April looked at her friend in the mirror. “Without everyone at church pitching in, we never could’ve pulled off this wedding. And without you directing everyone, it wouldn’t have happened. You may have discovered a new career.”
“It was fun to do this for you, but I don’t know if I’d want to do this on a regular basis.” Kelly gave April a hug. “It’s the least I could do for my friend. Besides with all the hormones flowing through my veins, Dave’s grateful I’m focused on something else besides him leaving his muddy jeans on the bedroom carpet. The man is worse than the kids.”
April laughed.
The door to the small room opened and Joel’s sister, Brenda, walked in carrying Cora. Her little girl had a circle of flowers surrounding her head, with colorful ribbons flowing down the back.
“Look, Mama, I have flowers.”
Standing, April walked to her daughter and made a production of studying Cora. “You are beautiful.”
Cora grinned. “Yes.”
“Thank you,” April whispered to Brenda.
Brenda hugged April. “No, I should thank you. I see the special sparkle in my brother’s eyes. He deserves happiness. You and your children are just right for him, and he’ll be as faithful with you as he was with me. That’s his heart.”
“I love Daddy Joel,” Cora announced.
Brenda teared up and wiped her eyes. “You know, for an ex–army captain, I cry like a two-year-old.”
“It’s all those hormones. I know.” April smiled.
A knock sounded at the door and the pastor’s wife leaned in. “Are you ready?”
More than anyone would know. “I am.”
* * *
Joel stood at the front of the church watching the double doors.
“When are they getting here?” Wes asked, pulling at his string tie. His new Western coat matched his brother’s.
Joel glanced down at his two groomsmen, Wes and Todd. These were his sons and he couldn’t think of anyone better to stand as his groomsmen.
Before Joel could answer, the organ strains sounded through the church and the doors opened. Cora stood there with her basket of flower petals and behind her stood Brenda and Kelly. When the music started Cora skipped down the aisle, her basket on her arm, throwing out rose petals. When she saw Millie, she waved and threw rose petals on her. Millie smiled and encouraged Cora to continue to the front of the church. After several more steps, Cora stopped, threw down her basket and made a beeline to Joel. He scooped her up. Brenda and Kelly followed behind Cora with a little less drama. His sister gave him a wink.
The music swelled and the first notes of the wedding march rang through the sanctuary. His bride and Caleb Jensen, his brother-in-law, stood at the end of the aisle. Caleb would escort April down the aisle since her father couldn’t get away from his job in Brazil and her mother had a reception with the president of the country she’d chosen not to miss. But April’s expression only held joy.
Watching her walk toward him, Joel felt a tightening in his throat. His heart swelled with love and gratitude. God had given him a ready-made family, one he couldn’t have imagined, but one he’d always be grateful for. And no championship buckle could ever compare.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from THE COWBOY’S HOMECOMING by Carolyne Aarsen.
Dear Reader,
I hoped you enjoyed Joel and April’s story. When Joel first appeared in his sister’s book, I knew I’d have to tell his story. Have you ever missed an opportunity or dream, then been given a second chance to go for it? Joel found himself in that position. He was now living his dream, but something was missing. And he didn’t know what until he encountered a lovely widow with her two rambunctious little boys and charming baby girl.
April was determined to avoid being hurt again by a man who couldn’t stay in one place, which had been the case in her first marriage. Little did she know that the traveling cowboy who showed up at her back door was just what she’d prayed for.
Wes, Todd and Cora stole my heart. I hope they stole yours, too.
Sometimes answers to our prayers are given, just not in the way we think they should be answered. Both Joel and April realize that truth, and once they let go of their preconceived notions, they found their answers. I’ve found that in my life letting go and letting God have His way brings us our heart’s desire.
Leann Harris
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired story.
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Chapter One
All he needed was a few more minutes. A slice of time to make the shift from Lee Bannister, ex-con, to Lee Bannister—wayward son coming home.
And he knew exactly where to get it.
Lee feathered the brakes of his pickup as his eyes scanned the ditch to his right. It had been years since he was in this part of Montana, but when he rounded another curve, he saw the grass-covered approach he’d been looking for. Coming to a full stop, he could just make out the twin tracks of a road heading through a break in the trees. He parked his truck, two wheels well into the ditch so that any motorist cresting the hill could easily pass it.
Once he stepped out, he took a moment to appreciate the warm summer sun beating down on his head, the melody of the blackbirds twittering in the aspen trees.
The air held the tang of pine and warm grass and he let it seep through him as he walked the overgrown trail. Every muffled fall of his boots on the grass eased away the clang and clamor of rig work that surrounded him every waking hour.
He ducked, brushing aside a branch that almost slapped him in the face, looking forward to the solitude and the view at the end of the trail. Few people knew about the lookout point he was headed to. Only his sisters and his parents and a couple of the guys Lee had partied with in high school.
Lee pushed the thought back. Though he knew other bits of history would crowd in on his consciousness during this trip back to the ranch, he intended not to jog too many memories of the past while he was here. He had come to help his sister celebrate her wedding and his parents commemorate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the ranch. And that was it. He had no desire to reminisce about the good old days with any of his friends.
He stepped over a fallen tree and skirted another tangle of small brush. A few more steps and he stopped, breathing deeply.
It was as if the world had fallen away below his feet.
Granite mountains, solid and stately, their jagged peaks still etched with winter snow, cradled the basin below him, simultaneously creating a majesty and a sense of security.
But not yet.
Lee drew another long, slow breath, letting the utter peace and splendor of the view feed his wounded and weary soul.
“Then sings my soul,” he whispered, lowering himself to a large rock worn smooth by the winds that could bluster through the valley.
The words of an old hymn that his father would sing when they were outside, working on the ranch, returned. He let his mind sift back, let the recollections he struggled so hard to keep at bay wash over him.
In prison, the memories had hurt too much. The contrast between the confines of a drab cell and the mind-numbing routine, to this space and emptiness and peace hurt too much, so he kept the disparate parts of his life compartmentalized in order to survive.
Now he’d been out for five years and he still never took for granted the ability to go to bed when he wanted. Get up when he wanted. Eat what he wanted and do what he wanted when work was over.
Lee sighed. He knew coming back here would be bittersweet. It would be both a reminder of what he’d lost because of his irresponsibility, but also a reminder of what had always been available to him. Family, community and the unconditional love of his parents and, most important, his sustaining relationship with God.
He let his eyes drift over a view that he had, for so many years, considered home. His soul grew still as the view filled an emptiness that had haunted him for so long.
Then a rustle in the branches of the large pine tree behind him caught his attention. He cocked his head, listening as he slowly turned. Something large was hiding in the branches above him. Black bear, or worse, a cougar?
Heart pounding, he thumbed his cowboy hat back on his head, scanning the tree, planning what to do. Run? Stay and stand down whatever wild animal was perched in the tree?
Then he heard a cough just as a backpack fell with a thump to the ground in front of him, followed by an angry exclamation.
“Who’s there?” he called out, still feeling that intense jolt of adrenaline surging through his veins.
“Just me,” a female voice returned.
The branches rustled again and Lee caught sight of a pair of feet in sandals searching for a branch. Then he saw legs scrabbling for purchase, hands flailing.
A cry of dismay pierced the air and Lee ran closer just as a woman plummeted out of the tree.
He caught her, but they were a tangle of legs and arms as they tumbled to the ground, breaking her fall. A camera, hanging around her neck, swung around and cracked him on the head.
They lay like that a moment as Lee’s ears rang and his head throbbed from the impact of the camera.
Finally the woman pushed herself away from him and scrambled to her feet.
Lee blinked as he tried to orient himself. He slowly stood frowning at the woman in front of him, who seemed more concerned about her camera than herself, or him, for that matter.
Her hair was tucked up in a ball cap, and a large pair of sunglasses was perched on a nose sprinkled with freckles. She wore khaki shorts, a white tank top now smeared with dirt and a brown vest with numerous zipped and buttoned pockets. She pulled a cloth out of one of them and was wiping down the body of her camera.
The woman looked familiar, but he couldn’t immediately place her.
“Everything okay?” he asked, gingerly touching his forehead. His hand came away tinged with blood, so he pulled a handkerchief out of the back pocket of his blue jeans and dabbed at it.
“I think so,” she murmured, tucking the cloth in her chest pocket. “The body looks good, but I’ll have to check the inside later.”
“I meant with you.”
She finally looked up at him and lifted her chin in a defensive move. “Yeah. Sorry about that. I’m fine.” She cleared her throat. “You didn’t need to catch me, you know. I would have been okay. Are you okay?”
“You might have broken a leg,” he returned, the sharp pain in his head settling in to a dull ache as he ignored her question. He gestured toward a long red scrape on the inside of her wrist. “You might want to get that looked at, as well. You don’t want it to get infected.”
She lifted her arm and gave it a cursory glance. “It’s fine.” She looked back at him. “Looks like you got a nasty cut on your head, though.”
“It’s fine too.”
“Awesome. Blood’s streaming down your face, I’ve got a scrape that is just starting to hurt...but we’re both okay.” She waggled her fingers as if to make sure they were still functioning, and then she gave him a self-deprecating smile. “Again, sorry about that. I should have been more careful—and I wasn’t very grateful for your help.”
“Apology accepted.” Lee returned her look for look, his own brain trying to place her familiarly beautiful features, or what he could see of her face, half-hidden by the sunglasses. “And at least you’re not the bear or cougar I thought you were.”
She angled him a mischievous smile as she bent over to pick up the knapsack that had been the first victim. “Didn’t think I was old enough to be a cougar.”
Too late Lee caught the implied insult he had given her. “No. Sorry, I meant the cat. Mountain lion might have been a better designation.”
She smiled again and Lee couldn’t stop a twinge of attraction. She was an intriguing combination of pretty and striking.
“Do we know each other?” he asked, trying to tweak out a memory that seemed to elude him.
“I can’t believe a good-looking guy like you doesn’t have better lines,” she quipped as she slipped her camera in her bag.
“Chalk it up to being out of practice,” he returned.
“So you decided to practice on me?”
He laughed, surprised at how easy she was to be around for someone he just met. “Sorry. My dad always said clichés are the tool of the lazy mind.”
Her answering chuckle as she put her camera back in the knapsack created a tremor of awareness and behind that a flutter of familiarity. Not too many people knew about this place.
Why was she up in the tree and how had she gotten here? No vehicle was parked at the end of the trail.
She stood, slinging the bag over her shoulder, and it seemed she was looking at him, as if she was trying to figure out who he was.
Which was precisely what he was doing.
Then, as she pulled her sunglasses off, she knocked her hat off her head and her auburn hair tumbled to her shoulders, her amber eyes fringed with thick lashes were revealed, and reality followed like a Montana snowstorm as things clicked into place.
He knew exactly who she was.
Abby Newton. Daughter of Cornell Newton, the man Lee had run down with his truck after a party that had gotten out of hand. The accident had put Cornell in the hospital and Lee in jail. The shame of what he had done had kept Lee away from home for almost nine years.
Until now.
He knew the precise moment her own recognition of him clicked. She took a step back, her eyes narrowed and her impudent grin morphed into a scowl.
“Well, well,” she said, the ice in her voice making him shiver. “Lee Bannister, back from exile. I’m going to blame my slow recollection to the fall out of the tree. Didn’t think I’d ever forget your face, but then, you’ve changed since I last saw you.”
“Hey, Abby.” He tried to sound casual. Tried to ignore the mockery in her voice.
Lee hadn’t seen her since her father was awarded damages of two hundred thousand dollars and he’d been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for reckless driving under the influence. The accident he’d caused had put her father in the hospital and had created injuries that, as far as he knew, Cornell was still dealing with.
That had been over nine years ago. Lee had paid his debt to society and was still working on repaying his parents for the money they had to dole out for the settlement. His father had to downsize his cattle herd as a consequence. When Lee was released from prison, he took on a job working offshore rigs. And he sent his folks every penny he could. He hadn’t been home since.
Though Abby was a Saddlebank native as well, he had heard she was working overseas. Seeing her now was a shock and an unwelcome surprise. She reminded him of a past he’d spent years trying to atone for.
“I’m guessing you’re back for Keira’s wedding,” she said, her voice matter-of-fact, settling her hat back on her head and pulling the bill down as if to hide the anger in her gaze.
“And the anniversary celebration,” he added gruffly.
The anniversary was a big deal. Refuge Ranch was one of the few family-owned ranches that could trace their ownership back to when settlers first started in the basin. A reporter was even coming to spend time at the ranch and planned to cover the celebrations and do a feature story on it for Near and Far.
His father had warned him that he would be the one to help the guy out.
More penance, he thought. Babysitting a reporter and showing him around the ranch.
“Right,” she said, tucking her sunglasses in the pocket of her vest. “I heard about that. One hundred and fifty years of Bannisters at Refuge Ranch. Quite the heritage.”
Was she mocking him? Though he couldn’t blame her if she did. He knew he wasn’t her favorite person.
He looked back over his shoulder at the view he had hoped would give him some peace and ease him into a difficult homecoming. He didn’t think the past would be dredged up quite so quickly, however.