Proposal at the Lazy S Ranch

by Patricia Thayer

  An hour later, Josie was refreshed from a shower and feeling like a new person. Dressed in clean jeans and a sweater, she came downstairs to find Garrett and the rest of the Temple men sitting around the kitchen table with her father and Vance. She had no idea where Ana was.

  She noticed that Garrett had on different clothes and looked like he’d showered and shaved. She couldn’t help but think about last night. The feel of Garrett’s body pressed against her, holding her during the long night.

  “Josie.” Brody spotted her first. He got up and came to her. “Are you going to go feed the calf now?”

  “Brody,” Garrett called as he stood. “Let Josie eat something first.”

  “I’m fine,” she told him, then looked down at the boy. “How about we go in about an hour?” She had no doubt that the guests would still be here, so she might as well get used to it. “I’m sure Storm will be ready for another bottle by then.”

  Brody looked back at his father and got a nod. “Okay. Do you want something to eat? Kathleen left a plate in the refrigerator.”

  She didn’t have an appetite right now. “I think coffee and maybe a few cookies would tide me over for a while.”

  Brody went to the cupboard and got her a mug and set it in front of the coffeemaker. “I can’t pour it yet, not until I’m nine. My birthday isn’t until May. May 19.”

  Josie didn’t want to think about the child’s conception, but she couldn’t stop the addition. The boy was conceived sometime in August. She poured her coffee, trying not to let her hand shake. She and Garrett had been broken up nearly three months.

  She shook away the thought and took a sip. “Are you going to have a party?” she asked.

  Brody shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t have any friends here, ’cept Adam. He’s in my class.”

  She could feel for the child. She always had her twin sister to be her best friend. “Well, you’ve only been in school a few days. And you still have six months to make more.”

  His eyes brightened and then he grinned at her. “Will you be my friend and come to my party?”

  He was killing her. “I would love to be your friend, Brody. And thank you for the invitation, but I live in California. I don’t know if I’m going to be here then.”

  Suddenly the smile disappeared. “Oh.”

  Great, she was breaking the boy’s heart. “We’ll see.” She glanced at the table to see that she had an audience. Her gaze went from her father to Garrett. She wasn’t going to answer any more questions from this group.

  “Hey, Brody, I think feeding Storm might be a good idea.”

  “Now?” His eyes brightened once again.

  With her nod, he went to his dad. “Dad, can I go and feed the calf?”

  Garrett’s gaze locked on Josie. “Sure. In fact, I’ll go with you.”

  She didn’t need this. She wanted to get away from the man. “Sure, the more the merrier.” She walked off to get her coat.

  Garrett got his son bundled up and put on his own jacket as Josie met them at the back door and they all left together.

  Colt watched the threesome walk out together, then he turned back to Nolan. Over the years they hadn’t exactly been friends. Of course, over the years, Colt Slater hadn’t been friends with too many people.

  Nolan and he had a falling-out years ago, but when Colt had called him to tell him about Garrett and learned about his lack of heat, he invited him to the house to wait out the storm. They’d managed to bury any bad feelings.

  “Do you think there’s any chance for them?” Nolan asked.

  Colt picked up his mug and took a sip. “If the way they’re looking at each other is any indication, I’d say yes. Only problem is, my daughter is pretty stubborn.”

  “As is Garrett,” Nolan said. “He’s been burned once.” The man shrugged. “Of course, in my opinion he picked the wrong girl to start with. He’s always belonged with Josie.”

  Colt nodded in agreement, but he also knew that loving someone didn’t mean you could keep them. He glanced at Nolan. He’d been happily married to Peggy for thirty years before she died from cancer a few years back.

  Colt hadn’t been as lucky to have that many years with Lucia. Only about a half dozen, and he’d thought they’d been happy ones, then she’d left him. Now he had his daughters—that was, if he could convince them to give him another chance.

  He sighed. “Okay, what are we going to do to nudge them along?”

  Nolan gave him a slow smile. “Well, I’d say this blizzard is helping the cause. I wonder if my son was smart enough to take advantage of last night.” The man raised his hand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “No offence taken. Josie has been an adult for a while, and I can’t interfere in her business. But I heard from Vance that some wine was consumed and that they’d shared a bed—to keep warm of course.”

  Nolan shook his head. “And they think we’re too old not to remember what it’s like to be with someone you care about.”

  Colt remembered far too much. “So what do we do to help them?”

  * * *

  Out in the warm barn, Josie stood outside the corner stall as Garrett helped show Brody how to feed the calf.

  “Keep the bottle tilted up,” Garrett instructed the boy.

  Brody giggled as he struggled to hold on to the bottle of formula. “He’s wiggling too much.”

  “That’s because he’s hungry. You were like that, too. You couldn’t get enough to eat.”

  “Did I drink a bottle like this?”

  Garrett grinned. “Not this big, but yes, you drank from a bottle sometimes.”

  Josie had trouble thinking about Garrett sharing that experience with another woman. A woman who had his child, a child that she was supposed to have. Stop it, she told herself. That was another lifetime. She didn’t get the guy or a child.

  Brody looked at her. “You want a turn, Josie? It’s fun.”

  “Sure.” She took the bottle and immediately felt the strong tug. “Hey, this guy is a wrestler.”

  “Maybe you should rename him Hulk Hogan,” Garrett said.

  Josie couldn’t help but laugh, recalling how Garrett used to watch wrestling on television. “Hey, Brody, did you know that your dad loves wrestling? He was a big Hulk Hogan fan.”

  The boy frowned. “Who’s Hulk Hogan?”

  She stared at Garrett. “You haven’t taught your son the finer points of the WWF?”

  “What’s the WWF, Dad?”

  Garret was shocked that Josie remembered that about the past. “The World Wrestling Federation. I’ll tell you about it later.” He leaned closer to Josie. “You enjoyed watching as much as I did.”

  She rolled those big blue eyes that had haunted him for years. “I was a teenage girl. I would enjoy just about anything my boyfriend liked.”

  She’d done that for him. She’d cared that much about him. It also surprised and saddened him that she’d pushed him out of her life. “So it wasn’t Hogan’s muscles?”

  Josie’s calf gave another long pull, this time throwing her off balance. He grabbed for her, but lost his balance, too, and all three went down in the fresh straw.

  Brody began to giggle, then Garrett caught on and soon Josie joined the laughter. The white-faced calf cocked his head as if to say they were all crazy.

  Garrett looked at Josie and mouthed a thank-you. He loved to see his son laugh as he tried to adjust to the move here. “Well, Brody, we better head for home.” Garrett climbed to his feet and offered a hand to Josie and helped her up. “There’s more snow coming.”

  The boy stood. “But our house is cold. We gotta keep Grandpa warm. You said it’s not good for his arthritis.”

  “The electricity should be back on by now.” Brody didn’t look too happy as they walked out of the stall and went outside the barn to see more gray clouds and snow flurries in the air. His son ran ahead toward the house as Garrett walked beside Josie.

  “Well, we’ve managed to survive
the past twenty-four hours without killing each other.” If he ever got a hand on her again, it definitely wouldn’t be to harm her.

  “Speak for yourself, Temple. I’ve had a few wayward thoughts.”

  He stopped. “I can’t believe you remembered about Hulk Hogan.”

  She opened her mouth, and all he could think about was kissing her. Instead, he placed a gloved finger over it. “Too late to deny it.”

  “Okay, you got me.” She blinked those incredible eyes at him. “Thank you again for finding me in the storm yesterday.”

  He shrugged. “Anytime, especially when we find accommodations as nice as the cabin.” With a big bed, he added silently. “About those kisses...”

  She froze, then quickly shook her head. “Hey, so we got a little nostalgic.”

  “Yeah, nostalgic,” he mimicked, but all he could think about was capturing her lips once again. Bad idea.

  Suddenly, they broke apart, hearing Brody calling to them. “Hey, Dad, guess what?”

  “What, son?”

  “Grandpa Nolan said we have to stay here tonight. The electricity still isn’t fixed.” A big grin appeared. “We’re going to have so much fun.”

  Garrett looked at Josie. “Yeah. Fun.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  THE DAY WAS a long one. Having to stay inside with the blizzard raging across the area made it worse. Everyone was uneasy as they stayed glued to the television news channel telling of the destruction.

  Josie watched her dad and Vance either pace around, or call down to the barn to check on the men and the animals. Garrett held his cell phone to his ear, talking with his foreman at the Temple Ranch. She saw the concern on his creased brow.

  This storm was deadly serious. Herds could be wiped out. That had been the reason they’d moved the cattle closer to the house so they could at least get feed to them.

  She went to Garrett. “Is everything okay?”

  He shrugged and put his phone back into his pocket. “We won’t know until the storm is over. My men are okay, though. They have generators running in the bunkhouse and the barn. I don’t know why the one for the house isn’t working.” He nodded to Nolan. “I’m just glad Dad thought to bring Brody here.”

  Once again, she hated that she caused this problem. Garrett could have been home taking care of things if she hadn’t gotten lost. “I’m sorry I caused all these problems for you.”

  He frowned. “You didn’t cause the storm.”

  “But I was foolish enough to get lost. You would have been home dealing with your ranch.”

  He gave her that slow, sexy smile she remembered from so long ago. “And miss being with you last night?”

  She gasped. “Stop making it sound improper. We didn’t do anything.”

  He took a step closer. “You ever wonder what might have happened if Ana and Vance hadn’t showed up? If we could finally have our night together?”

  Only for the past eight years, she thought, then quickly shook off any memories. “Well, we’re back here now, with family. There’s plenty of room here, and because of Kathleen, we won’t go hungry.”

  He looked at her, his eyes locked on hers. “Seems the elements are bent on throwing us together.”

  She glanced away. “It’s a storm, Garrett, nothing more.”

  “Hey, Dad,” Brody called.

  Garrett started off, but stopped. “Maybe we should continue this discussion later.”

  She shook her head. “We can’t look back, Garrett. Your son needs you.”

  He didn’t move for a second or two, then he finally went to see what Brody wanted from him. She released a breath, glad he didn’t push the issue. After last night, it would be easy to give in to her feelings. Wait. Wasn’t that what got her hurt all those years ago?

  * * *

  The morning turned into a glum afternoon as the snow continued to fall. Josie tried to stay busy catching up with her work and went off to the den for some privacy.

  About ten minutes later a young visitor showed up. Brody. The cute, inquisitive boy was polite and talked her into playing hooky. That was when she learned he was also a cutthroat video game player, beating her at everything.

  “I give up,” she cried. “You win.”

  The eight-year-old pumped his fist in the air. “I’ll teach you to play better if you want.” Those big green eyes sparkled in delight. “You can be good, too, Josie.”

  The boy was a charmer like his father. Watch out, all females, another Temple was coming soon. “And what happens when I get hooked on games and I spend all my days playing instead of working?”

  Garrett stood outside the office door, listening to the conversation between his son and Josie. He was surprised at Brody. The boy hadn’t been outgoing, especially with strangers, and it got worse since his mother’s death. But something was happening between Brody and Josie.

  Join the group, son. She’s a real heartbreaker. He thought back all the years ago to that summer. He’d loved Josie, but he hated being so far away at college, and only getting to see her every few months. Getting married was the only solution, and that meant a job and working all summer to make enough money. When he’d gotten the apprenticeship with Kirkwood Construction it was so he could afford a wife and also get his college credits. Before he had a chance to propose marriage, Josie broke up with him.

  Then that summer Garrett met Joe Kirkwood’s daughter, Natalie. Four months later she was pregnant and they were married. He closed his eyes and thought how he should have worked harder on their marriage. He’d always regret that. Natalie might have wanted the divorce, but only because she knew that there was someone else who had his heart.

  He closed his eyes. Did Josie still have his heart? He thought back to last night and how she felt in his arms. The familiar feelings...that he’d buried so far down that he didn’t think they could ever surface, until last night when he’d held Josie again.

  The sound of laughter brought him back to the present. His son’s laughter. He pushed away from the wall and walked inside. He found Brody sitting across from Josie. They were playing some kind of card game.

  Brody looked up. “Hey, Dad, Josie is teaching me to play War.”

  His gaze connected with Josie’s. “Come on, Temple, join us. Unless you’re afraid a girl will beat you.”

  Her eyes danced with mischief. He smiled. “That will be the day. Deal me in.”

  * * *

  By afternoon, the daylight faded into darkness. Once again Garrett would be staying over, and although she hated to admit it, his presence made her restless.

  She kept replaying their time together at the cabin. The kisses they’d shared. How his body felt against her. How secure she’d felt with him as the wind howled outside. She’d been far too eager to fall right back into Garrett Temple’s arms. Storm or no storm, not a good idea.

  She sighed and stole a glance across the room when Garrett got up from the sofa and walked through the wide doorway to the kitchen and the coffeemaker. After filling his mug, he leaned his hips against the counter and crossed his booted feet at the ankle then took a sip of coffee. Oh, yeah. The man was hard to resist.

  Her gaze ate him up. He was tall with wide shoulders and a torso that narrowed to his waist and flat stomach. He was just long and lean. There wasn’t anything about the man that she could complain about. And he still took her breath away.

  Against her better judgment, Josie stood and walked into the kitchen. She told herself she wanted coffee, but mostly she wanted the man standing beside it.

  “You don’t have to spend your entire evening entertaining my son,” he told her.

  She poured a cup of coffee. “Brody’s not a problem. You’ve done a fine job with him, Garrett.”

  “Thank you.” His eyes met hers. “I wasn’t always there for him like I should have been. I was busy building my business. I made money, but I think I lost the connection to my family.” His sad gaze caught hers. “Sometimes you can’t get that back. That’s why Brody
is so important to me. He deserves the best father I can be.”

  Unable to stop herself, she touched his arm. “I can see how much you love him. And he loves you, too.”

  This time she saw the emotion in his eyes. “Sometimes we’re lucky enough to get a second chance.”

  She didn’t know how to answer that, but was grateful she didn’t have to. A belly laugh escaped Brody as he rolled on the carpeted floor watching a cartoon video. She couldn’t help but smile, too. Yet, she knew this child was a strong reminder of why she needed to keep her distance.

  That little boy needed his father, and someone who could take over as a mother. That dream flew out the window a long time ago when the man she’d loved chose another woman over her.

  Garrett’s marriage to Natalie had broken her heart, and when she learned about the baby that nearly killed her. She shook away the sudden sadness. Another dream that had died was her hope of a life with Garrett. She turned to her career instead, and Slater Style had become her life. End of story.

  * * *

  After supper that evening, Josie decided to give up trying to work, but she still couldn’t sit around, trying to avoid Garrett. So she went back to her Dad’s office and found Ana there.

  Her sister glanced up from the computer. “Hey, I’ll be done in a few minutes.”

  Josie shook her head. “It’s okay, take your time.” With her tablet cradled in her arms, she sat down in the big leather chair across from the desk.

  “Okay, I’m done,” Ana announced, and turned away from the screen. “I emailed all the parents about tomorrow’s school closures.” She smiled. “Although, I think they can figure that out without me telling them.”

  “So you’re staying home tomorrow?”

  Ana raised an eyebrow. “I know you’ve lived in sunny California for a long time, but yeah, this storm will keep everyone indoors, but hopefully not for very long.”

  “Hope so, too,” Josie said, not realizing she spoke out loud.

  Her sister studied her. “Did you come in here because of our guests?”

  Josie frowned. “Of course not. Besides, we can’t send them home in this storm and without heat in their house.”