The Kincaid Bride

by Jackie Merritt

  “I ate in Denver between planes. Let’s just go.”

  They had to wait almost ten minutes at the baggage carousel, and Melanie was on pins and needles by the time her luggage finally appeared. It had been difficult to make small talk with her brother when he was so obviously distracted by something very serious.

  Even without having a hint as to what it might be, Melanie was worried, and the second they were in Collin’s pickup truck, she said, “Please tell me what we have to talk about right away. I have a feeling that it has something to do with Dad.”

  “You guessed it,” Collin said grimly, and Melanie’s heart skipped a beat. “Part of it anyhow. Mel, you’re going to find this hard to believe, but it’s the God’s truth. Granddad and I opened Dad’s safety-deposit box at the bank. Melanie, there were six birth certificates in it with Dad’s name listed as father of the child. You and I have six half brothers that not even Granddad knew existed.”

  Melanie stared at her brother in shocked disbelief. He took his eyes off the road long enough to send her a glance.

  “It’ll take a while to sink in,” Collin said flatly. “It did with me.”

  “But how could something so awful happen without anyone knowing about it?”

  “Good question. Damn good question,” Collin muttered. “Mel, his first kid was born while he was still in high school.”

  “And they’re all boys? All six of them?”

  “Yes, all six. I tell you what, Melanie. If I’d learned about this while Dad was alive, I swear I would have tied into him.”

  “How…how did Granddad take it?”

  “About like I did, and probably close to what you’re feeling now. But Dad was his son, and I know he can’t overlook the fact that those children are his grandsons. I don’t know what he’s going to do about it, if anything, but I sure wish he’d just burn those damn birth certificates and wash his hands of the whole mess.”

  “I would think that wouldn’t be too difficult for a Kincaid to do,” Melanie said quietly. “That’s sort of what both Dad and Granddad did with me, you know. But Mom still has the highest regard for Granddad and even admitted to me that part of her would always love Dad.” Melanie shook her head. “Makes a person wonder.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure you’ve done plenty of wondering. But you’re here now, sis, and I hope you give Granddad every chance ‘cause he’s really a great guy.”

  “Was Dad a great guy, too?”

  Collin was silent a few moments, then he said after a heavy sigh, “In some ways, yes.”

  Melanie sighed, as well. “I’ll never know those ways, will I?”

  Collin turned bitter again. “Well, anytime you start feeling bad about that, think about six sons somewhere in this world whom he never acknowledged beyond some financial help to their mothers. Remember that side of him, Mel, the side that could keep such an unbelievable secret while he was alive and then leave it for his family to deal with after his death. In my book, he was a selfish, thoughtless bastard.”

  Three

  Melanie saw a mist in Garrett’s eyes when he hugged her hello. It thrilled her that he appeared sincerely glad to see her, but she also understood the disappointment in his only son that he had to be feeling, and her young heart ached for him. Her own reaction to Larry’s scandalous indiscretions was surprisingly restrained; the news was, after all, only one more secondhand story about a father who’d all but ignored her existence. In truth, she felt none of Collin’s anger or resentment, although she hated seeing the brother she adored suffer such anguish and wished that she knew a way to relieve his torment.

  It saddened her to realize that things at the ranch were not what she’d been fantasizing them to be. With Garrett deeply troubled and Collin angry, she even wondered if she’d come at an inopportune time.

  After her hug and an emotional, “Welcome, child,” from her grandfather, Melanie looked around the ranch.

  “I really didn’t pay much attention to anything when I was here for Dad’s funeral,” she said softly.

  “Of course you didn’t,” Garrett said. “It was a sad day for everyone.”

  Melanie recalled weeping into a handkerchief for the father she’d so passionately longed to know since childhood. Why had she put the entire burden of their estranged relationship on him? she’d asked herself. Why hadn’t she just boarded a plane and flown to Montana without an invitation? Had he died believing she had never wanted to see him? But if that were the case and it bothered him, wouldn’t he at least have sent a card on her birthday? Written her an occasional little note even if doubts had made a phone call too difficult for him to handle?

  Indeed, it had been a sad day, and it had been winter and so cold that Melanie’s tears had nearly frozen on her face at the cemetery. She recalled clinging to her mother as she’d done as a child, for Sue Ellen had always been her strongest ally and supporter, the one person in all the world who loved her unconditionally. And although it hadn’t been openly discussed, Melanie suspected that the main reason her mother had flown to Montana with her for the funeral was to be at her side.

  Now it was May, and the fields were emerald green and dotted with cattle and horses. The buildings, whatever their age, looked well-maintained. The two-story, white clapboard house struck Melanie as comfortable and lived-in, and it seemed to belong right where it was. There were numerous large trees and a velvety lawn around the house, and on the porch were rocking chairs and several weathered wooden half barrels containing brightly colored flowers.

  Something within Melanie took root, and tears sprang to her eyes. “It…it’s wonderful, Granddad.”

  Garrett looked off at the view and nodded. “Yes, honey, it is.” He suddenly spotted his foreman and called out, “Eli! Come over here and meet my granddaughter.”

  Melanie turned to see Collin lifting her suitcases from the bed of the truck. “I’m taking in your bags, Mel. I’ll put them in your room.”

  “Thank you, Collin.”

  She was pleased to see a grin develop on her brother’s face when he added teasingly, “You’re gonna be staying in the fancy bedroom, the one with a private bath.”

  “Great!” she exclaimed, glad to be done with tears and sentimentality. For the moment, at least. Things were obviously up in the air right now over those six birth certificates, and Melanie couldn’t see a quick ending to Garrett’s and Collin’s emotional upheaval.

  Her grandfather took her arm. “Melanie, this is Eli Forrester, ranch foreman. Eli, my granddaughter, Melanie Kincaid.”

  When Melanie turned around, she felt something akin to an electrical shock leap through her body. Eli Forrester wasn’t much older than her, and he was tall and lean, but muscular and one of the best looking men she’d ever seen. He had close-cropped, slightly curly black hair, sapphire-blue eyes and a masculine face that was so handsome she wanted to just stand there and stare at it.

  Gathering her wits and trying very hard to act as though she met men who looked like he did all the time, she offered her hand and a distant little smile. “Nice meeting you, Eli.”

  “My pleasure, Melanie,” Eli murmured, and broke hand contact as soon as he could without appearing rude. He’d heard Collin saying something about his sister coming for a visit, but it never crossed his mind to wonder what she looked like. And here she was, probably the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. That hair, those eyes! Perfect complexion, just enough height and a figure to die for. Melanie, where have you been all my life? Eli thought. “I believe I heard someone say that you live in San Diego,” Eli said calmly.

  “Yes…San Diego,” Melanie murmured, mesmerized by the brilliant blue of his eyes. Her own weren’t nearly that blue, she was positive. But then, was anybody’s? “Where are you from? Originally, I mean.” She laughed self-consciously. “Obviously, you’re from Montana now…and maybe you always were, but…” She stopped talking because she was embarrassing herself, and probably Garrett, too. What on earth was wrong with her, babbling like that?r />
  Neither man said anything for a moment, and Melanie’s embarrassment got worse. It struck her as odd that Eli Forrester hadn’t immediately told her where he was from. He’d opened the subject after all.

  “Shall we go in, Melanie?” Garrett said. “You’d probably like to get unpacked before supper.”

  Relieved, Melanie said, “Yes, thank you,” and turned to leave without looking at Eli again.

  He looked at her, though. He stood there and watched her walk to the house with Garrett, and every masculine gene in his body seemed to ache with sexual tension. Man, it’s time you made a trip to town! It was probably true, but when a man ached for one particular woman, another one wasn’t apt to satisfy him.

  “You damn fool,” he mumbled, and turned on his heel to walk off. She’s your boss’s granddaughter, for Pete’s sake. Get your mind out of the bedroom!

  Melanie liked Irma Clary right away and felt remorseful that she didn’t remember meeting her the day of the funeral.

  “Pshaw,” Irma scoffed. “Think nothing of it. There were too many folks to count milling around that day. Why on earth would you remember one old lady?”

  “That’s very kind, but I still think an apology is in order.” Melanie was amazed at the size of the pots and pans on the stove. “You’re preparing a lot of food.”

  “Feeding a dozen men three meals a day requires a lot of food, Melanie.”

  “You cook for the men as well as the family?”

  “Course I do. Someone has to. Why does that surprise you?” Irma opened a waist-high oven door and took a quick look inside. “The pies are almost done.”

  “I guess I’m surprised because I thought…” Melanie felt a little bit foolish. Obviously, she knew nothing of ranch life, or rather, nothing about life on her grandfather’s ranch. “I don’t know what I thought,” she said with a slight frown. “This trip is definitely going to be a learning experience. Irma, where do the men eat?”

  “Everyone eats in the dining room, ‘cept for me. I prefer the kitchen. Makes the men more comfortable, too…not having a woman at the table, you know.” Realizing what she’d just said, Irma clapped a hand over her mouth. She looked regretful when she dropped her hand and said, “That was a terrible thing to say to you. Really, honey, the men will be honored to have such a pretty girl eating with them.”

  Melanie smiled to show Irma that she hadn’t been offended, and mostly it was true. She hadn’t been offended by Irma’s remark, but she had seen the demise of another of her fantasies—the one of her and Garrett sitting at the dinner table and talking for hours—and that saddened her.

  “Oh, goodness, look at the time,” Irma exclaimed. “Fifteen minutes till supper. I’m going to have to get busy.”

  “In that case, I’ll get out of your hair, but can we talk again some other time?”

  Irma patted Melanie’s hand. “Of course we can. And don’t let what I said about eating with the men bother you. Sometimes I talk without thinking.”

  “Everyone does, Irma. See you later.” After leaving the homey but well-equipped kitchen with its good smells and warmth, Melanie headed for the stairs to the second floor.

  All her things had been unpacked and put away, and she had washed up and freshened her makeup to look nice for dinner with her brother and grandfather. But that whole concept had flown out the window. She was going to be eating dinner with Eli Forrester! The other men didn’t matter. There could be two or twenty of them, and she would, of course, be polite to them. But Eli was the one she would be aware of. She would know when he looked at her; she would know when he didn’t.

  Melanie recognized that such a strong and immediate attraction to a man was a brand-new experience for her and she wished with all her heart that it hadn’t happened. Wishing did no good, however; she could not rid herself of the aftereffects of meeting Eli Forrester. In all honesty, she felt like a giddy high school girl with a crush on the football team’s star quarterback. Considering the rather lackluster quality of her love life—past and present—her internal chaos over a man she’d seen for perhaps four minutes was startling indeed.

  And yet there it was, gripping her vitals and giving her excellent cause to question her usual good sense. To further prove that she’d undergone a monumental alteration in personality and sense of self while looking into a man’s incredible blue eyes, Melanie quickly plucked a dress from the closet and changed clothes.

  She walked down the stairs to the first floor just as Irma rang the dinner bell.

  An hour later, seated in rocking chairs on the front porch, the three Kincaids conversed. Melanie could have hugged her brother when he asked, “Granddad, how come Eli missed supper?”

  There had been one empty chair at the dining-room table and no Eli. She herself had wanted to ask Garrett about him, but she felt that question coming from her would raise eyebrows. So she’d said nothing at all about the absent foreman, eaten Irma’s delicious dinner and endured furtive looks from the other men. She had also wished—ardently—that she hadn’t put on a pretty dress and fluffed her long, curly blond hair around her face. Looking her best was ridiculous and maybe even a little stupid with a bunch of strange men.

  She’d been glad to see the end of the meal, and elated when Garrett invited her and Collin to join him on the front porch. And now, maybe, she would hear why Eli had not joined them. Expectantly, she leaned forward.

  “He went into town,” Garrett told his grandson.

  Collin chuckled. “Probably had a date.”

  “Why is that funny?” Melanie asked, speaking a bit more sharply than she’d intended. She should have known a guy that looked like Eli would have women friends, probably dozens of them. Eli probably had so many women chasing him he couldn’t keep track of them. Melanie’s lips pursed tightly because she could easily picture a horde of beautiful cowgirls hot on Eli’s trail.

  “It’s funny to Collin,” Garrett said dryly, “because Eli rarely leaves the ranch, and if he does have a lady friend, no one knows who she is.”

  “But—” Melanie drew a suddenly nervous breath. “—he likes women, doesn’t he?”

  “Well, he sure doesn’t like men,” Collin quipped, then laughed at his own wit.

  “Eli is a man who minds his own business,” Garrett said, looking directly at his grandson. “The rest of us should take a page from his book.”

  “Aw, heck, Granddad, you know I was just kidding around.”

  “I’m sure you were, but what Eli does in his free time is none of your affair.” Garrett turned to Melanie. “How do you feel about Eli?”

  The question caught her so off guard she felt a wave of heat suffuse her body. “Uh…he, uh, seems nice enough,” she stammered. “Why? Does my opinion of your foreman carry any weight?”

  Garrett smiled. “I asked you that for a reason, honey. Tomorrow, Collin and I have to drive to Elk Springs for a meeting, and I was thinking of having Eli show you around the ranch while we’re gone.”

  An immediate battle began in Melanie’s mind. Spend time alone with Eli? Maybe go riding with him? Yes! But what if she became even more attracted to him than she already was, and he was all tied up with another woman and thought Melanie a pest or just another chore requiring his attention?

  “Really, Granddad, I can show myself around. Please don’t bother, uh, anyone else. I’m sure everyone has work to do, and—”

  Garrett broke in. “Melanie, after you’re here for a while, I won’t worry about your wandering around alone. Please indulge an old man and accept an escort, at least until you get your bearings. I trust Eli’s good sense implicitly, and he won’t talk your ear off with pointless chatter.”

  “Yeah, he hardly talks at all,” Collin added wryly.

  “He hardly talks? Isn’t that rather odd?” Melanie asked. “What do you know about him? He ignored me when I asked where he came from. Was that because he hardly talks or does he have something to hide?”

  “He’s from back east somewhere,” Ga
rrett said. “And from his tax information, I gather he’s not married or supporting children. Melanie, Eli has worked for me for four years. I made him my foreman a year ago. He’s an intelligent man who thinks before he leaps. He works hard and is as steady as they come. Like I said to Collin a few days ago, Eli’s the best foreman I’ve ever had.”

  “Well, I shouldn’t be infringing on his work schedule.”

  “Nonsense. I’m sure he’d enjoy showing you some of the ranch tomorrow.” Garrett pushed himself up from the rocking chair. “It’s my bedtime.” Leaning over, he kissed Melanie’s cheek. “Good night, honey. I’m sorry about tomorrow, but after that, you and I will spend some time together. I promise.”

  Melanie smiled. “That’s fine, Granddad. Sleep well.”

  “You, too. Good night, Collin.”

  “G’night, Granddad. See you in the morning.” Relaxed and laid-back, Collin stretched his legs out in front of his chair. “It’s really great having you here, Mel. How long can you stay?”

  “Three weeks…if everyone can stand me that long.”

  “Granddad and I would like it if you stayed all summer.”

  “Can’t do that. Not if I want to keep my job.” Melanie cocked her head. “Listen.”

  “To what?”

  “To nothing. That’s my point. I’ve never heard so much silence before.”

  Collin laughed quietly. “You’re not missing the city already, are you?”

  “No way. This place is…magical.”

  “Yeah, it sort of is. Gets in your blood, Mel. I couldn’t live in a city, or even a town the size of Elk Springs to save my soul. I’d like to live my life out right here on this ranch, and from things Granddad has said in the past, I feel pretty certain I’ll be able to do exactly that. One thing I do know for sure is that he wants me to run the ranch when he’s no longer able to do it.”