Quinn

by R. C. Ryan

  She paused to extend her hand. “Thank you again, Deke.”

  “No, Cheyenne.” He winked at her. “Thank you. I’m just happy to be working here again.”

  She looked around at the circle of cowboys. “My thanks to all of you. You don’t know how much it means to know that all of you are willing to spend this special day working while I’m off getting married.”

  Wes spoke for all of them. “Chey, you’ve earned a day all to yourself. Don’t you worry about a thing here on the ranch. We’ll take care of it like it’s our own.”

  “I know you will. You always have.” As she stepped into the truck she blew them a kiss, before putting the vehicle in gear.

  Quinn had suggested that they live at his family ranch only until her own house was restored, after which it would be her decision whether to keep it or sell it. The fact that it would be her choice was the best gift he could have given her. She would take her time, weighing everything, before making a decision.

  As she and Micah drove along the curving gravel driveway, she watched in the rearview mirror as the wranglers headed up into the hills to see to the never-ending ranch chores. Already her house, only partially restored, was rising from the ashes.

  Like her life, she thought.

  Big Jim climbed to the windswept hillside and paused beside the headstone, as he did nearly every day.

  Earlier, Phoebe had filled two tall marble urns on either side of the graves with masses of fragrant white roses and trailing ivy and had tied white satin ribbon to the wooden bench, giving it a festive air.

  “It’s a grand day, old girl. Your grandson Quinn is about to take the big step.” Big Jim touched a hand to the smooth marble. “If he’s even half as happy as we were, he’ll be the luckiest man in the world.”

  Big Jim watched as Cole and his three sons came strolling up the hill to join him.

  When had these three become men? It seemed as though one minute they were those bold, brash little boys following him around like shadows, questioning everything, wanting to know the why and how and where of things. In the blink of an eye they had changed into tall, muscular, take-charge men capable of running this ranch, with all its complexities, with no trouble at all.

  Quinn held up the bottle of aged Irish whiskey his grandfather had requested. Josh carried five tumblers. Jake had a box of cigars tucked under his arm.

  “Well. Here we are.” Big Jim cleared his throat. “About to celebrate a day I’d always hoped I’d live to see.”

  Quinn filled the tumblers and passed them around.

  Big Jim had to swallow back the lump that lodged in his throat. “Every man dreams of seeing his children grow and prosper, and to see his children’s children. There was a time when I thought I’d been cursed.” He clapped a hand on his son’s shoulder. “But Cole here defied the odds and lived to adulthood. With every year that passed I grew more proud and hopeful. And now, the first of my grandsons is about to add to the Conway history.”

  He touched his glass to Quinn’s. “It’s about time we welcomed a female into our family. You chose well. Your bride is not only beautiful; she’s smart, and tough, and as brave as they come. So here’s to you and your bride-to-be. May you live and prosper and be blessed with all good things.”

  “Hear! Hear!” The others touched their glasses and drank.

  Jake passed around the box of cigars and Cole held a lighter to the tip of each one.

  As rich clouds of smoke dissipated into the air they turned at the sound of a truck’s engine and watched as Reverend Cornell started toward them, followed by Phoebe and Ela, who had been working all morning in the kitchen. Throughout the house the rich aroma of slow-cooked roast beef filled the air. It, along with garden vegetables and mashed potatoes, promised a wedding supper fit for a king. Ela’s chocolate layer cake, with a filling of sweet cherries and frosted in mounds of soft, gooey whipped cream, was topped by a bride and groom holding wolf pups. It was, Phoebe had told the old woman, absolutely inspired.

  Several bottles of champagne were on ice, in anticipation of the wedding supper.

  Cheyenne’s truck came to a halt beside the minister’s, and she stepped down before hurrying around to loop her arm through Micah’s.

  “Wow.” Josh gave a whistle. “Forget smart, tough, and brave. That is one gorgeous woman, Bro.”

  Quinn looked as though he’d just had a glimpse of heaven.

  As Cheyenne and Micah approached, the others gathered around, giving her no chance to speak to Quinn.

  “Oh, just look at you.” Phoebe, caught up in the moment, gathered Cheyenne into her arms and hugged her.

  When the two women stepped apart, Ela touched a hand to Cheyenne’s gown. “This was your mother’s.”

  “Yes.”

  “I helped her make it. She wore it with pride when she married her rancher. And now, it suits you as it suited her.”

  “Thank you.” As Phoebe and Ela started to step aside Cheyenne stopped them. “I brought you each something.”

  They looked startled.

  Cheyenne handed each of them a single white rose. “These are from my mother’s rosebush. They were her favorites.”

  Phoebe dipped her face into the fragrant flower to hide her tears while Ela regarded Cheyenne with a piercing look.

  “What’s wrong?” Cheyenne asked the old woman.

  “I gave your mother just such a flower when she married her rancher. I told her to plant it in her garden. If it grew, it would bring her many blessings.”

  Now it was Cheyenne’s turn to hold back her tears.

  The minister cleared his throat. “Would you folks like to begin the ceremony?”

  As Quinn stepped up beside the minister, his brothers formed a line beside him.

  Micah offered his arm and Cheyenne kissed his cheek before placing her hand on his arm. Together the two walked closer until Quinn stepped forward to claim his bride.

  With the breeze tossing their hair and the perfume of roses all around them, the two spoke their vows before the minister and their family.

  When they were finished, old Ela stepped forward. “This is the blessing of our people.”

  She placed a gnarled hand on each of their heads and said in a strong voice, “Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be the shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth for the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life. May your days be good and long upon the earth. May you remember always what brought you together.” She touched their faces and smiled. “Go now to your dwelling place, and enter into the days of your togetherness.”

  Except for the whisper of the breeze in the trees, there was silence as her words washed over all of them.

  Quinn gathered Cheyenne into his arms and kissed her, and the two remained locked in an embrace, the world around them forgotten for the moment.

  Finally, Big Jim cleared the lump from his throat and broke the silence.

  “I know that Phoebe and Ela have been working their magic in the kitchen all day. Let’s head on back to the house and enjoy that wedding supper.”

  As their little group headed down the hill Quinn suddenly caught Cheyenne’s hand and started sprinting toward his truck.

  “Where are you going?” Cole shouted.

  “Sorry, Pa. I have something important to take care of. We’ll be back in time for that supper.”

  “What is this about?” Cheyenne was more than a little surprised by how quickly Quinn had hustled her into his truck. “I thought I’d lend a hand to Phoebe and Ela—”

  “They have everything under control. There’s something I want you to see.” Quinn drove as fast as he could until he suddenly veered off the highway and headed along the familiar trail into the woods.

  As they came to a halt he hurried around to open her door and take her hand.

  “Oh, Quinn.” Cheyenne stepped out of the truck and stared around in surprise.

  The shell of a new cabin now
stood in the spot in the woods where his old cabin had burned to the ground. All trace of the fire was gone. Even the charred ground was now beginning to be covered with fresh new life. Tiny evergreen seedlings had sprung up among the tangled growth of vines and wildflowers.

  “So this is where you’ve been working every day when you leave my place.”

  He nodded. “I wanted to get it framed in before I showed you.” He led her around the outer perimeter of the building. “I thought I’d add a big wooden deck back here, so we can leave our ranch chores behind and sit outside on a summer evening to watch the wildlife.”

  “It’s the perfect spot for it.”

  “There’s something else.”

  She could tell, by the tension in his voice, that he was about to say something of the utmost importance. “Having second thoughts so soon after the wedding?”

  “You must be kidding.” He gathered her close and kissed her lips. “You’re the one who insisted on a proper ceremony. If I’d had my way, we’d have met with Judge Bolton weeks ago and made it legal.”

  “I know.” She smiled up at him. “I’m glad you were willing to wait. I could see how much it meant to your family to make this into an occasion. I’m glad I thought of gifts for Phoebe and Ela. And look what Micah gave me.” She lifted her arm to show off the sparkly bracelet at her wrist. “It belonged to his mother. I was so touched and he was so happy, we both cried.”

  “Happy tears.” Quinn kissed her again. “They’re the best kind.”

  “Yes, they are. All right.” She looked around. “Now tell me that ‘something else’ you mentioned.”

  He nodded toward a stand of trees some distance from the cabin. “While I was working, I heard a few yips and spotted a wolf family. Their den is in that woods. I’m thinking of tagging the young male.”

  “Oh, Quinn. You’ve found your next wolf to study.”

  “Only if you agree. It means a lot of time on the trail, in the wilderness, following wherever they lead.”

  “You think I’d object to your life’s work? Quinn, I don’t mind how much time you’re gone, as long as you always come home to me.”

  He gave her one of those dangerous grins that always did such strange things to her heart. “I guess I haven’t made myself clear. I wouldn’t dream of hitting the trail alone anymore. The loner you met has been transformed. The thought of leaving you, for even a day, is too painful. I was hoping you might want to tag along.”

  Before she could open her mouth he added quickly, “I know it’s a lot to ask. The life is pretty primitive. Sometimes we’d be out in the wilderness for a week or more, without ever seeing another human. Just us and the stars at night, and our wolf pack, howling at the moon.”

  She shivered and wrapped her arms around his waist before tipping her face up to his. “You just described paradise.”

  He paused to stare down into her eyes. “You’re sure? You wouldn’t mind leaving your ranch in the hands of your wranglers to spend time in the wilderness?”

  “Quinn. You’re just asked me to share not only your life but your dream. And you ask if I’m sure? Oh, my darling, I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

  She brushed her mouth over his and felt the thrill that coursed along her spine at the thought of all that had happened. She’d been lost, without family, and unaware of the danger living under her very roof until this man had come along to change everything. With Quinn Conway she had found all the things she’d thought lost to her forever. Love. Laughter. Family. And, best of all, a renewed purpose in life.

  He gathered her into his arms and held her close, feeling the way her heartbeat kept time with his. They were perfectly suited. They shared the same love of hard work. The same sense of wonder at the beauty of the countryside around them. The same passion for the wildlife that thrived in this land.

  Quinn still couldn’t believe his good fortune. He’d walked headlong into a raging storm and emerged with the great love of his life.

  Whatever dark cloud had been hovering over his family for generations, it had been dispersed. He wouldn’t question the wonder of it. It was enough to know that he loved, and was loved by, the only woman who would ever tame his wild heart.

  “Come on.” He caught her hand. “We’ve kept the family waiting long enough. I don’t want to be late. You realize we’re about to start on the adventure of a lifetime.”

  The adventure of a lifetime.

  As they headed toward the ranch, Cheyenne felt a tingle of warmth on her cheek and lifted a finger to the spot. As though, she thought, her father and mother and Buddy had touched her in a blessing.

  Her heart felt as light as air.

  She couldn’t wait for the journey to begin.

  Josh Conway can rescue anyone, anywhere. But nothing can save him from his attraction to photographer Sierra Moore.

  Please turn this page for a preview of

  Josh

  Available in October 2012

  CHAPTER ONE

  Hoo boy.” Josh Conway, fresh from morning chores in the barn, shook the rain from his dark, shaggy hair before hanging a sodden rain slicker on a hook in the mudroom. He bent to wash his hands at the big sink and stepped into the kitchen of the family ranch. “Rain’s coming down out there like the storm of the century.”

  “That’s what it looks like to me, boyo.” Big Jim was standing by the window sipping coffee and watching dark clouds boiling around the peaks of the Grand Tetons in the distance. Jagged slices of lightning illuminated the ever-darkening sky and turned the leaves of the cottonwoods to burnished gold.

  Though it was early autumn in Wyoming, there was a bite to the air, hinting at what was to come.

  “Do I smell corn bread? Now that ought to brighten my day.” Josh made a beeline for the counter beside the oven, where Ela was cutting a pan of her corn bread into squares.

  “Wait for the others.” The old Arapaho woman rapped his knuckles with her wooden spoon but couldn’t help grinning as he stuffed a huge slice in his mouth before turning away to snag a glass of orange juice from a tray.

  Josh’s father, Cole, who had been going over financial papers in his office, paused in the doorway just as his oldest son, Quinn, and his new bride, Cheyenne, came striding in, arm in arm.

  “Good,” Quinn said in a loud stage whisper. “They haven’t finished breakfast yet.”

  “Haven’t even started.” Phoebe, the family’s longtime housekeeper, hurried across the room to hug them both.

  After the disappearance of their mother, she had been hired to help Ela with the household and to help raise the three boys. A young widow herself, Phoebe had sold her hardscrabble ranch and moved in to become their trusted friend and confidante, and their biggest supporter as they’d made the difficult journey through childhood and adolescence. Now, looking at the grown men she’d helped raise, she felt as proud as a mother hen.

  “And you just happened to be in the neighborhood,” Josh deadpanned.

  “That’s right.” Quinn helped himself to a cup of steaming coffee. “After morning chores at Cheyenne’s ranch, we figured we’d amble over here and see if you needed any help.”

  “Amble? Bro, you had to drive a hundred miles an hour to get here in time for breakfast.” Jake, their youngest brother and the family prankster, stepped in from the mudroom, his sleeves rolled to the elbows, his hair wet and slick from the downpour.

  Cheyenne shared a laugh with her husband. “I told you they wouldn’t buy the story that we just happened to be in the neighborhood.”

  “The only thing that happens to be in this neighborhood is Conway cattle,” Big Jim said with a laugh. “And maybe a few of Quinn’s wolves and Cheyenne’s mustangs.”

  “I’m betting they’d start a stampede for some of Ela’s corn bread.”

  At Quinn’s remark they all laughed louder.

  “That’s one of the reasons we’re here.” Quinn turned to Ela. “Cheyenne and I have used your recipe, but it never turns out lik
e yours.”

  Josh winked at his new sister-in-law. “I bet she left out a key ingredient, just so you’d always have to come back here to get the best.”

  “You see, Ela?” Jake was grinning from ear to ear. “I told you it would work.”

  They all joined in the laughter.

  “Sit down, everybody.”

  At Phoebe’s invitation they gathered around the big wooden trestle table and began passing platters of ham and eggs, potatoes fried with onions and peppers, and Ela’s corn bread, as well as an ample supply of wild strawberry preserves, a favorite of Big Jim’s.

  Phoebe circled the table, topping off their cups of coffee.

  Jake filled his plate before handing the platter to Josh.

  “Big Jim and I are heading up to the hills after breakfast.”

  “You’re heading right into the storm,” Josh remarked.

  “Yeah. I’ve been watching those clouds.” Jake nodded toward the window, where the sky had been growing murkier by the hour. “Want to come along, Bro?”

  Josh helped himself to eggs. “Sure. A little rain doesn’t bother me. I can lend a hand. You doctoring some cattle, Doc Conway?”

  Jake nodded. “Pretty routine stuff. But the work goes a lot faster with an extra pair of hands.”

  When Josh’s cell phone rang, he idly glanced at the caller ID. His voice took on a businesslike tone: “Josh Conway.”

  He listened in silence before saying, “Okay. I’m on it.”

  As he tucked his phone into his shirt pocket he turned to Jake with a grin. “Guess I’ll have to take a pass on going along with you and Big Jim. I’m needed on the mountain.”

  Cole shook his head. “I wouldn’t want to climb those peaks in this storm. How come they never call on you to climb on a sunny day?”

  “I guess because no fool hiker ever gets himself lost in good weather, Pa.” Josh drained his cup and pushed away from the table. “I think it’s some kind of rule of the universe that every careless hiker in the world decides to climb the Grand Tetons just before the biggest storm of the century blows through.”