Evernight Publishing
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2013 Lorraine Nelson
ISBN: 978-1-77130-364-4
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor: Cheryl Harper
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
I dedicate this book to my good friends,
David and Maggie Steeves.
Thank you for your continued support
and for always being there.
Lorraine
CAMERON’S QUEST
Thunder Creek Ranch, 5
Lorraine Nelson
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
Cameron Manning had decisions to make, important ones, so he’d come home to the peace and quiet of his log cabin to think and to plan. He’d always been a man who enjoyed his solitude, and building this house had guaranteed his privacy. Silence surrounded him as he wandered through feeling the emptiness as his footsteps echoed, reverberating off the walls in every room. He felt lost and alone, something he’d never been before.
The front door opened, jerking him out of his musings as his brother walked in, stomping the snow off his boots.
“I didn’t hear you pull up. What did you do? Walk all the way from the ranch house?” Cam asked.
“Nope, but I’m drivin’ that little Mustang of Winnie’s and got it stuck a ways back.”
“Let me grab my coat. I’ll drive the truck down and pull you loose before she finds out.”
Lucas guffawed. “Nah, she won’t find out. I came for a visit and that’s what I’m a gonna do. Now sit!”
“Come into the kitchen. I’ll put on a fresh pot of coffee to warm that leathery hide of yours.”
“Wouldn’t say no to coffee,” Lucas said, grinning.
Cam grabbed the coffee pot and filled it with water. “Why are you driving that sporty thing anyway?”
“Truck had to go in for servicin’ and I needed to get out of the house. Some of Winnie’s cronies stopped by for coffee this morning, and there’s only so much hen swaggle a man can stand.”
Cam laughed. “I can sympathize, but swaggle? Is that even a word?”
“When you’re hearin’ that many tongues a waggin’, I reckon it fits. Got any munchies to go with that coffee?”
“Are you kidding? Zakia sends up enough treats to keep an army going. Check that cupboard behind you.”
“Oooeee! Pay dirt!” Lucas took several containers from the shelf and set them on the table then glanced out the window at the snow-covered pasture and trees beyond. “You sure enough picked a peaceful spot.”
“Yeah, too peaceful at times.”
“Careful what you’re sayin’, boy. After all the trouble we had last year, peace is a blessin’.”
“Nothing you couldn’t handle. Wish I had been here to help.”
Lucas gave him a considering look, as if he was about to comment and changed his mind. Cam poured their coffee and took the mugs to the table, knowing that whatever was on his brother’s mind, he’d hear it soon.
They sat and sipped their coffee, interspersed with squares and cookies from the now-open containers.
“That Zakia sure turned out to be a mighty fine cook,” said Lucas.
“I’m not complaining. Although I enjoy cooking, I never did care to have my hands covered in dough.”
“Better cookie dough than manure,” Lucas said as he snorted a laugh. “Remember that time the bronco threw you off, and you landed headfirst in a pile behind the barn?”
“Yeah. Everything tasted like cow shit for two days afterward. How could I forget?” He grimaced at the memory.
“I thought Dad was gonna skin you alive for tryin’ to ride that stallion.”
“Guess he figured landing in manure was punishment enough.”
“Could be,” Lucas said, chuckling as he reached for another cookie.
“Aren’t you supposed to be on some kind of heart-healthy diet?”
“Yep, but I’m not dead yet, and I enjoy the taste of good food. Winnie, bless her heart, has all but stopped bakin’ less’en we have company comin’.”
“Good for her. Someone has to make you toe the mark. Just goes to show how much she loves having you around,” said Cam.
“I know, but dag nab it, there’s only so much rabbit food a man can take.”
Cam laughed as Lucas curled up his nose in distaste. “That bad, eh?”
“We own shares in two cattle ranches between us, and she won’t allow me to eat beef. What do you think?”
“I think maybe you should go shopping with her, pick up a few of the leaner cuts.” He shrugged his shoulders as his brother gave him a skeptical look. “No harm trying.”
Lucas nodded his head in agreement. “You know, that just might be the ticket. Thanks, Cam. If it works, I’ll owe you one.”
Cam refilled their mugs and sat staring out the window. Ticket. That one word had his mind spinning with hope.
“Earth to Cameron! Where’d ya go?”
“Sorry, Lucas. Just thinking, is all.”
“Yeah, thought I smelled rubber burnin’. About what?”
Cam smiled. “Guess I may as well tell ya. I’m a father.”
Lucas nearly choked on his cookie. “What? How? When?”
Cam smiled, ignored the “how” and answered the rest. “I found out when I went to Ireland last summer. I set out to find a woman I met years ago in London, Lacey Kerrigan, and discovered she’d borne my child, children, actually. Triplets…three identical girls.”
“Well, hot dang! Ain’t that a tickler? Are they comin’ here? To the ranch? You did invite them, didn’t ya?”
“Not exactly.”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
“That means never tell a redhead—correction, make that four Irish redheads—what to do.”
“Oh, man. Sounds like you had your hands full with that crew. What happened?”
“I spent the past couple months of my time there getting to know Lacey again, and my daughters, of course. Unfortunately, I came off sounding like some kind of macho jerk, expecting them to pack up and come home with me. Their life is in Ireland. They’ve done just fine without me, but I wanted to share my life with them, bring them here. They didn’t buy into it.”
“So what are you goin’ to do?”
“Thanks to you, I think I may have come up with an idea.”
“Me? What did I say?”
“Ticket. I’m going to wire them open-ended tickets to come for a visit. If they like it here, maybe they’ll decide to stay.”
Lucas nodded. “That sounds fair. No pressure. Might work.”
“If they’ll come.”
“How old are these girls of yours?” Lucas asked, his cookie forgotten as he plied Cam for information.
“Twenty-three. Their mother, Lacey, is forty-two.”
“This was part of your world tour in your twenties?”
“Yes, I was twenty-five. She was with her family on holiday. They left unexpectedly one day, and I never had her address or she mine. I should’ve tried to find her sooner. I wanted to, but somehow never found the time.”
“Ranchin’ is hard work, Cam. We had plenty of lean years before we started showin’ a profit. No one can blame you for not
followin’ up.”
“Lacey does. I’d hoped she’d missed me as much as I missed her, but it sure didn’t seem like it. She’s not interested in taking up where we left off at all.”
Lucas rubbed his chin, appearing deep in thought. “Yeah, well, I can’t say as I blame her, left with three young’uns to raise on her own.”
“That wasn’t my fault.” Cam stood to pace the room, an agitated hand making a mess of his blue-black hair. “When they left, I continued the rest of my tour. Even went to Ireland before coming home, but I couldn’t find them. Do you know how many damn Kerrigans there are in Dublin alone? I didn’t have a clue how to go about searching for them back then.”
“How did you find them?”
“I flew to Dublin when I left here last spring and began my search there, spending weeks rummaging through phone books and annoying people on the street with questions. From there, I rented a vehicle and worked my way north, stopping in every village and town to inquire about the family Kerrigan. I couldn’t remember her father’s first name and didn’t possess a picture of Lacey, so the search was done the hard way, visiting every Kerrigan family I could find.”
“Man, that must’a took a while.”
Cam nodded. “Success evaded me until I arrived on Valentia Island in County Kerry. I crossed the bridge at Portmagee and stopped to make inquiries in Coarha More. The island is small, only six hundred or so permanent residents, some of which were Kerrigans. One family lived in Chapeltown and the other in Knightstown. I stopped at Chapeltown first, but that wasn’t Lacey’s family.
“In Knightstown, I happened to stop at a bistro for my midday meal before continuing the search. Restaurants and coffee shops are great places to find information on the locals, and I had my questions ready for the server. Every word, every last thought left my mind in a hurry as I came face-to-face with the waitress—Lacey, exactly as I remembered her.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It shook me to the core, I can tell ya. I almost called her by name until I realized this was a young woman and Lacey would’ve aged, as I had. The nametag on her uniform read ‘Abby.’ I spoke of her remarkable resemblance to a woman I used to know, and the rest, as they say, is history.”
“That was lucky. How did it feel to see her ag’in?”
“Confusing. At first, I thought maybe she’d married. If so, I would’ve left without disturbing her, even after months of traveling around searching for her. Frustration dogged my heels at every turn until that chance meeting caught me unawares. I found her and received the shock of my life. She’d never married. The girls were mine. Lacey owns the bistro, and all three of our daughters work there. I met them all that day, and my life hasn’t been the same since.”
“Nor will it be ag’in. These girls of yours, are they married?”
“No.” Cam smiled. “They said they hadn’t found men capable of putting up with their temperaments.”
Lucas chuckled good-naturedly. “Sounds like you’ll have your hands full if they do come here. When are ya sendin’ the tickets?”
“Today. I’ll go online and set everything up then shoot Lacey an email.”
“Why not just call ’er?”
Cam shook his head. “Too easy for her to say no if I call. An email she’ll probably reread and think about at least.”
“Good point.” Lucas rose to his feet. “I best be gettin’ home and leave you to it.”
“I’ll drive you back to the car and get you unstuck.”
“Thanks, appreciate it.”
****
Cameron went straight upstairs to the computer when he returned, anxious to get his plan in motion. He purchased the tickets, and it had taken forever to compose the email, but he finally sent it to Lacey. Now, he waited.
The ranch needed to purchase more stock, as they did every spring, introducing new bloodlines into the herd. It was early yet, but he researched cattle prices for the coming year, or tried to. His gaze kept wandering to the icon in the bottom corner of his monitor, willing it to pop up and notify him of incoming mail.
Finally, he pushed up out of his chair and walked into his room, kicked off his shoes, and lay back on the bed. Big mistake. Memories assailed him in a nonstop kaleidoscope of images behind his closed eyelids.
He’d been a randy youth of twenty-five when he left the ranch to go backpacking around the world. His tour began by hiking across Canada to the east coast, stopping whenever and wherever the mood struck. From Halifax, he’d flown across the Atlantic to England, and it was there he’d met the love of his life, although he hadn’t known it at the time.
Lacey Kerrigan was a beauty! All luscious curves and a fiery redhead to boot. She’d been nineteen and on vacation with her family. He’d literally bumped into her while at Buckingham Palace to witness the Changing of the Guard. From then on, they were virtually inseparable. He and Lacey had managed to sneak away privately several times for lusty moments of true bliss.
Their tryst ended two weeks later when her family returned home to Ireland without any warning. They hadn’t exchanged addresses, phone numbers, nothing. He’d been devastated, but in the way of youth, he pulled up stakes and continued his tour.
Oh, to be young again! To go on his way with not a care in the world. No regrets. No responsibilities.
Except he couldn’t escape the memory of her. Lacey’s lovely features had remained with him throughout the years since, haunting the hours whether awake or asleep. He’d never found anyone to take her place, and he’d finally come to realize that no one could.
So he’d left last spring after the branding of new stock was finished, determined to find her. If he’d known she owned and operated her own business, that search would’ve been a lot easier. He could’ve Googled her name and gotten all the details, but he hadn’t even thought of that. No, he’d just gone off and located her the hard way.
Did she appreciate it? Not hardly. Holed up in a motel at the edge of town, he’d visited daily. He’d gotten to know his daughters and renewed his acquaintance with Lacey’s family, a tricky situation, but he survived. The girls seemed fascinated by him and encouraged him to talk of his travels, but not so Lacey. She hadn’t given an inch in all the time he’d been there, determined to stay independent, no matter how hard he’d tried to resume their relationship.
He sighed aloud and rested a forearm across the top of his head, opening his eyes to stare blankly at the ceiling. He wanted Lacey and his daughters to experience the ranch. Life was different here, not so prim and proper as they were used to, especially with Lacey’s father being a minister. At least her parents had helped Lacey, not shut her out as some would have done.
Would they accept his invitation? Or was he doomed to be disappointed again?
Cam thought about moving to Ireland to be near them, but he was Canadian—a cowboy. All he knew was ranching. He loved to cook, yet he couldn’t see himself working in their bistro. His daughters were flirts, especially Rena. In the short time he’d been there, his blood pressure raged whenever their male customers got too friendly. It didn’t matter that they were regulars— that the girls had known them all their lives. It only mattered that he felt protective of them…and their mother. A fact that had led to several disagreements with Lacey.
He rolled over and snagged the blanket, pulling it over his shoulders. There were a thousand and one things he should be doing, but they could wait. He’d have a short nap and check his email again. Hoping to wake up to some good news, he fell asleep with thoughts of Lacey on his mind—a mature Lacey who stirred his blood and his passions like no one else.
****
Carlyn Kerrigan, Lynne to family and friends, was in the office when Lacey received the email and gasped as if in pain. She was at her mother’s side in a heartbeat.
“What is it, Mama? What has you so distraught?”
“An email message from Cam.”
“Really? What did he say?”
She looked up at her daughter�
��s excited question, noting the interest in her expression as Lynne tried to read over her shoulder. “He wired four tickets to the Dublin airport.”
“For us?”
Lacey nodded, seeing genuine amazement on Lynne’s face.
“We’re going to Canada? Really?”
“I’m not sure, Lynne. How can we just close up shop to go gallivanting across the Atlantic? We don’t want to lose our customers to the café down the street.”
“What about Uncle Daniel? He and his crew have filled in for us before.”
“For a few days, yes, but the tickets don’t specify arrival or departure dates. He’s left that up to us. If we go, we’ll likely stay for a few weeks, at least.”
“Super! You call Uncle Dan while I go tell Abby and Rena.”
“But nothing’s decided yet,” hedged Lacey.
Lynne kneeled beside her chair, taking one of her cold hands in hers. “Mama, this is the chance of a lifetime. You’ve worked hard all these years and done nothing except mope around since he left. I know raising us hasn’t been easy, but it’s not his fault.”
Lacey raised a brow to question that statement.
“Well, not really. You know what I mean.”
“Yes, I know what you mean. He didn’t know about the pregnancy because I didn’t have a clue how to contact him, but it seems to me he could’ve tried to find me earlier.”
“Maybe he couldn’t. Did you ask him?”
“No, not exactly.”
“Why not?”
Lacey toyed with the hem of her uniform skirt, avoiding her daughter’s avid gaze.
“Mama?”
Lynne was the persistent one of the three, always having to know the where and why of things. Once an idea or question popped into her head, she persevered until she had an answer. Lacey sighed a long, drawn-out sigh. “If you must know, I was too busy trying to convince him that I didn’t care where he’d been.”
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