With Family In Mind (Saddle Falls Book 1)

by Sharon De Vita

  “You…you want me to stay here?” It had never occurred to her that she might one day actually be able to go back to her home, for she still thought of that little four-room coach house as home.

  It had been the only home she’d ever really known.

  Fear and joy mingled—fear at returning to a place where her life had been shattered. Joy at returning to the one and only place she’d ever felt safe.

  Memories once again threatened to overwhelm her. Too many emotions were swarming and converging, too many to separate or understand right now. So she buried them, as she’d learned to do for so many years, forcing herself to focus only on the tangible and the practical, what she needed to do her job. “I don’t want to be any trouble, Tommy.”

  “No trouble, lass. Like Jake, Mrs. Taylor’s bark is worse than her bite.” He winced a bit. “Most days,” he added with a grin. “But this seems the only sensible thing. All my notes, papers and the like are in my office here at the house, and with all the boys living on different schedules, you’ll have plenty of access to them if you’re right here on the grounds. And there should be plenty of room in the coach house to be comfortable. It’s small, but more than adequate, I think. You can take your meals with us, spend time with the family and really get to know the Ryans so that you can do the job proper.” He frowned suddenly. “I don’t like the idea of you having to drive back and forth into town every day, and then again at night.” Tommy glanced at her with obvious concern. “Unless the idea doesn’t appeal to you?”

  “No. No.” She shook her head, pressed a hand to her tummy to try and still the roiling. “I’d…love to stay here on the ranch. It’s very generous of you, but I don’t want to be any trouble.”

  “No trouble at all, lass, “Tommy said. “It’s selfish, since it’ll save me from worrying about you driving into town at night. It’s not that far, but these roads are deserted and winding, and dangerous at night if you don’t know your way. I think this will be for the best.” He turned toward Jake. “Don’t you agree, Son?”

  Jake hesitated a moment, then saw the look in his grandfather’s eyes. There was something there he hadn’t seen in years: sadness and an odd kind of plea that tore at Jake’s heart. He sighed.

  Obviously, Tommy had a reason for doing this. His grandfather never did anything without a good reason. Jake couldn’t and wouldn’t deny or refuse his grandfather anything. None of them could. Not even if it meant doing something they didn’t particularly want to do.

  “If you think it’s for the best, Tommy,” he said with resignation.

  “I do, Son. I do.”

  “I don’t know what to say.” Rebecca shook her head, then offered Tommy a brilliant smile. “Thank you.

  “You’re more than welcome.” He patted her hand, met her gaze, held it. “Just do a fine job of it, lass. That’s all I ask.”

  “I’ll do my very best,” she promised, meaning it.

  He glanced over his shoulder at his grandson. “After lunch, Jake can go into town to help you move your things out. Since you’ll be needing some general background information, and Jake’s got a bit of time on his hands, I think we’ll put him in charge of helping you get started. He can be your liaison to the family background and such.”

  Jake was home—for the moment. He traveled the country searching for and checking out both buildings and businesses to acquire for the family.

  “Help her?” Jake frowned. “You want me to help her?” How could he help Rebecca and not feel like a traitor to his family? He blew out an exasperated breath, reminding himself that this was important to Tommy. “I don’t know how much time I’ll have or how much help I’ll be.” He hesitated, trying to think of a plausible excuse. “I’ve got…things to do.” And at the moment anything else seemed preferable.

  Tommy nodded his head. “Aye, we all do, Son. We all do. But Jared’s in Lathrop until tomorrow buying feed, and between his taking care of the twins and the ranch here, I’d say he’s got his hands full. And you know Josh is taking care of the hotel full-time now until he finds a proper manager, and with all the other family businesses he’s handling, I don’t imagine he’s got any time. Besides, with so much of his work in town, he’s been staying in town most nights to do it. Since he’s only home on the weekends, I don’t see him being of much help.” Tommy smiled. “So that leaves just you and me. And the twins.” The old man’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “If you’d like, Jake, I can run into town with Rebecca, help her get moved in and started, but that means you’ll have to baby-sit the twins until Jared returns in the morning—”

  “No!” The word exploded out of Jake’s mouth and he openly shuddered. “I’m not old enough to spend an entire day and night with those two.” He shook his head again, appalled at the mere thought of being the twins’ sole caretaker. He’d rather go ten rounds with a rabid rabbit than be in charge of caring for the darling delinquents. They’d almost done him in this morning. Not that he didn’t love them dearly, but they had a penchant for mischief and mayhem, and had gone through ten nannies in less than ten months— which was why he was waiting to interview a new one this morning.

  The twins had earned the moniker delinquents fair and square, as far as he was concerned.

  He glanced at Rebecca, weighing the lesser of two evils. If nothing else, at least she was easier on the eyes, not that he found the thought of helping her any more appealing.

  “This is important, Jake,” Tommy said, meeting his grandson’s troubled gaze. “I want the family history recorded properly before it’s time to meet my maker.” He shrugged and his face held a hint of sadness. “I always thought I’d get around to it one day, but time’s slipping by me.”

  Just the thought of possibly losing his grandfather one day sent a ripple of icy fear through Jake. The thought was inconceivable.

  Tommy had always been their stability and security, the rock they all clung to. First, when Jesse had disappeared, and the family had been shattered; then a second time, less than ten years later, when their parents had been killed in a plane crash, leaving him, Jared and Josh orphans.

  It was Tommy who had held them together, instilled family tradition, taught them that family was sacred.

  They not only loved their grandfather, they respected and admired him. If Tommy had willingly agreed to do this, it must be important to him.

  Jake sighed, dragging a hand through his hair, tousling it further. Maybe he didn’t understand Tommy’s reason right now, but maybe he didn’t need to. The fact that his grandfather wanted this was reason enough.

  At least for now.

  Swallowing his pride, Jake glanced at Rebecca before shifting his gaze back to his grandfather, swallowing the protest he’d been about to utter.

  “I’ll be happy to help.” He almost choked on the words, but managed to get them out. Happy wasn’t quite the term he’d use to describe how he felt about helping Rebecca, never mind having her underfoot every day, prying into personal family business. But it would do for the moment.

  “That’s my boy.” Tommy beamed at him as he clamped a hearty hand on Jake’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I knew I could count on you, son.”

  “Always, Tommy.” Jake’s gaze shifted to Rebecca again and his eyes narrowed. For some odd reason there was something about this woman that set him on edge. What, he didn’t know.

  It only made him more determined to find out what the hell she really wanted. And he wasn’t about to let her beautiful face or that glorious body distract him.

  He hoped.

  He’d tangled with a beautiful, deceptive damsel in distress once before, and he wasn’t a man who ever forgot a hard-learned lesson.

  No Ryan was.

  For his grandfather’s sake, he’d help Rebecca as he’d promised, and maybe in helping her, he could keep an eye on her, find out what she was really up to. Because one thing was certain—she wasn’t telling them the truth, at least not the whole truth.

  And he wasn’t about to
let her, or anyone else, hurt Tommy or the family. At least not in his lifetime.

  Not again.

  Jake scowled, remembering another woman who had sad, haunting eyes, another damsel who’d wiggled her way into his heart with lies and deception. In disgust, he vowed not to fall into that trap again.

  He’d been young and foolish then, but he wasn’t now, and Diana had taught him a lesson he never intended to forget. When he’d met her, he’d been totally taken in by her sweetness. She’d ensnared him easily because it had never occurred to him that she could be deliberately deceiving him, or using him. He wasn’t accustomed to dealing with those kinds of people, and up until that point, had taken women at face value.

  Not anymore.

  When he’d first met Diana, he’d been mesmerized by her beauty, her apparent fragility, very quickly falling head over heels in love with her. Wanting her to be part of his life, he’d brought her home, introduced her to the family and paved the way for her so that she’d feel comfortable.

  Little did he know that she was merely using him, had deliberately arranged their meeting. Had pretended to love him merely to get close to the Ryan family and get enough information to write an article about them—a kind of “how are they now” piece that came out around the tenth anniversary of Jesse’s disappearance.

  When Jake realized she was a reporter, and had used him to get to his family and garner information she might not otherwise have accessed, he’d been devastated. She admitted she’d never felt anything for him, and had merely been play-acting all for the sake of the story. It had hurt more than he could have believed. More importantly, he’d felt both guilty and foolish. Guilty because he’d exposed his family to her and her vicious manipulating, and foolish because he’d let a beautiful woman with sad eyes hoodwink him.

  He may have been naive up until then, but not anymore.

  Never again would he let a woman get close to his family like that, not unless he was absolutely certain who she was and what her intentions were. His family was far too important to him.

  Shaking his head, Jake blinked away the painful memory of Diana, focusing on Rebecca, trying not to be swayed by that beautiful face and body.

  One damn damsel in distress had already burned him, and he still bore the scars. He wasn’t up to going another round.

  Not ever.

  He would help Rebecca as he’d promised, he decided grimly, but only because he’d never break a promise, especially to his grandfather.

  But he damn well wasn’t going to trust her.

  Chapter Three

  “Is it me you dislike, or reporters in general?” Rebecca asked, watching as Jake expertly wheeled her little Toyota around a corner.

  Lunch had been a highly energized affair punctuated by spilled milk, an overturned bottle of ketchup and a small mishap with a baby frog Timmy had magically pulled out of his pocket and let loose to hop across the table. Seeing the animal, Ruth had raced around the table at breakneck speed, barking frantically. When the madcap meal with the twins was over, Jake had offered to drive Rebecca into town to get her things.

  She was convinced he merely wanted to escape his nephews, who she’d decided were incorrigible, yet adorable.

  Jake had all but hustled her from the table, then escaped the mess and chaos in the kitchen with a gleeful wave, and hopped into her spiffy little Toyota, since there was no point in driving two cars into town to get her things.

  Her question took him by surprise and he glanced at her before turning another corner, uncomfortable in the small, confined space of her compact car. Especially with her sitting so damn close. “I don’t know you, so how could I dislike you?”

  “Exactly,” she said, smoothing a hand down her jean-clad thigh. “So it’s what I do for a living that bothers you?” He had an incredible profile, she decided. The kind some thoroughly moody artist with talented fingers would do wonders capturing on canvas. Strong, incredibly masculine, yet his eyes were compassionate. Not even the scowl he’d been wearing since she’d announced who she was could hide the deep caring inside this man. She saw it in the way he related to his grandfather, the twins, and even Ruth, who was the loudest and probably the clumsiest, most uncoordinated and confused animal Rebecca had ever met.

  Jake’s unbelievable compassion for those he loved touched her on some deep, unconscious level she couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

  It was clear that beneath the blustering facade he tried to portray was a gentle, sensitive, caring man.

  “I don’t like reporters,” Jake said firmly, glancing in his rearview mirror before changing lanes. Especially female reporters, he wanted to add, but didn’t. She was close enough now that her sweet, feminine scent was wreaking havoc with his senses. Did the woman’s mere scent have to make his blood rush through his veins?

  “Hmm, so I gathered,” Rebecca said with a hint of amusement. Apparently Jake’s compassion didn’t quite extend to her. She glanced at him, unable to stop staring at his incredible face. The dark stubble of beard he wore only added to his masculine attractiveness. She had an unbearable urge to run her fingers over his cheek to see how the stubble felt. The thought shocked her silly, and she primly laced her fingers together to prevent herself from touching him.

  Making herself glance away from him, she decided she needed to keep her mind on their conversation.

  “Do you know why I became a reporter?” she asked, pushing a few strands of windblown hair off her face. The windows were open, and the warm breezed rushed in, ruffling her hair.

  “Is this a multiple choice question?” he asked with a frown, looking at her briefly. “Okay, it is,” he continued, without giving her a chance to respond. “Let’s see, it’s either because you’re nosy, you like prying into other people’s private lives or because you like making up lies, right?”

  She laughed, surprising him. He thought for certain she’d get annoyed or offended, that a cool look would fill her eyes or that icy detachment would blanket her face.

  “None of the above,” she said, glancing out the window and trying not to take offense at his words. Sheer pride had her holding her tongue.

  On some level she could understand his venom. After what he’d been through, what his family had been through, the publicity must have been unbearable, so his animosity was understandable. Perhaps she, better than anyone, could understand his feelings, for she, too, had shared similar feelings and experiences. “I’m actually a very private person myself.”

  He snorted, making her frown.

  “You find that funny?” she asked with a lift of her brow.

  “Not funny—exactly,” he said with a grin. Her voice was chilly enough to drop the temperature ten degrees. The ice princess was back. Apparently whenever he ruffled her feathers or got too close, she turned into an ice queen. He couldn’t help but find it intriguing.

  Clearly, this was a woman who protected herself in the clinches, and liked to keep people at bay. She did it so easily, so effortlessly, it had obviously been a long-time habit, and that made him wonder why. What was she hiding that she didn’t want anyone to see?

  “So you’re a private person, huh?” There was no hint of amusement in his tone. Jake glanced at her for a long moment, grateful he was stopped at a red light. “You’re in a rather strange profession for someone who considers herself a private person, don’t you think? I mean, considering that what you do for a living is pry into other people’s lives and violate their privacy.” He stared at Rebecca long enough to make her look away, but not before he saw the female interest, the attraction, as well as the confusion, as if she didn’t know what the heck was happening between them.

  Impossible. Every woman alive knew how to recognize the mating game; hell, women had invented the moves, and usually led the dance. It pleased him on some level to know that she, too, seemed a bit off balance by the currents of electricity that seemed to be sparking between them. Unable to resist, he reached out and touched her arm. Through the silk of
her blouse he could feel the warm, silky skin beneath. It almost made his breath hitch as his imagination immediately conjured up that smooth skin naked, that firm body aching and under him. “I’m sorry, I just find that hard to believe.”

  “Well, believe it,” Rebecca said firmly, startled by his touch, and by the way her pulse seemed to skid and then scamper every time he touched her. “I happen to think privacy is a very important commodity. I expect people to respect and value my privacy just as I respect and value theirs.” She couldn’t look at him right now, not when her heart was still thudding because she feared he might touch her again, or worse, that he wouldn’t.

  “Well, I’m glad to hear you think privacy is an important commodity to be valued and respected.”

  “But you don’t believe me?” she asked. The suspicious tone of his voice had her glancing away again, fearing she might not be able to hide her own tumultuous emotions, at least not about this.

  After the police had picked up her mother for questioning about the disappearance of Jesse Ryan, unscrupulous reporters had inflamed the situation by digging into her mother’s life and past, and printing every detail, couching it in a way that it sounded as sordid as possible. So that as Margaret Brost’s bastard child—as she was referred to in the press—Rebecca, too, became the object of reporters’ prying questions and speculations.

  The Social Services people had tried to protect her, but it was virtually impossible. The reporters made it impossible, following her, snapping her picture, pushing microphones in her face, virtually terrorizing her. At seven, Rebecca hadn’t understood what was happening, or why these strange people were doing this to her. All she knew was that her mother had been taken away from her, leaving her utterly alone and at the mercy of an angry, unforgiving world.

  From the newspaper stories, she knew that although her mother had been picked up by the Saddle Falls police for questioning in Jesse Ryan’s disappearance, she’d never been charged with anything.