Her Rancher Bodyguard

by Brenda Minton

  She understood Lucas. She knew that drive to get back what she’d lost.

  She hopped off the fence and went to sit on the low riser next to Maria and Michaela. Jesse Wilder was near the chutes coaching his children from a chair they’d brought out for him. She could hear him calling out to Lucas, his voice weak. Jase had a calf down and Janie was holding the branding iron, a circle W that had been used on the ranch since the first Wilder had settled in this area.

  “Lucas, if you’re going to brand calves, you have to be ready,” Jesse Wilder called out, this time a little louder.

  Lucas rode up on his horse, a pretty bay, black mane plaited in thick braids from her ears to the base of her neck. He must have spent hours doing all of that braiding. Kayla had to give him kudos for patience.

  “Dad, I know what I’m doing.” Lucas stayed in the saddle, swinging a lasso easily. He shot a look in the direction of his twin sisters. They were on their horses in the arena, but doing more laughing than working. “But you know we should just lock up those two and leave them at home.”

  “They’re a part of this ranch, son.”

  “Then, Kayla should be out here with us. If she’s staying on the Wilder Ranch, she should be one of the Wilder hands at the rodeo.”

  Gray haired but still charming, Mr. Wilder shot a look in her direction. “Well, Kayla?”

  “No, thank you. There’s no way I could help sort or brand calves. Or even stay in the saddle.”

  Jesse slapped his leg and laughed. “Oh, Kayla, I don’t think you have enough faith in yourself. I bet you could outride this banty rooster son of mine.”

  “Hey,” Lucas called out as he was riding away from his dad. “I resent that.”

  Mr. Wilder gave her a wink. And then he rubbed his chest, causing Maria to come up off the riser and head his direction.

  “Jesse?”

  He smiled up at his wife, but even Kayla could see that the gesture was a little less than genuine. “I’m good, Maria. Relax.”

  “I can’t relax. You’ve been doing that too often lately.”

  “And I’m fine. Go sit with the girls. I’m going to give Lucas some tips on this branding business.”

  “You’ll tell me if...” she started.

  “If I need to be hauled off to the hospital, I’ll let you know. But for now, sit down.”

  “You try my patience, Jesse.” Maria leaned to kiss him. “I need you on this earth with me.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Maria gave him a long look. “Promise?”

  “Promise.”

  She left him to go sit on the risers with her daughter and granddaughter, though reluctance was written all over her face. Kayla held on to that tough but bittersweet moment between husband and wife. A real ache settled in her heart, a need for something genuine and lasting.

  She started back to the risers and the other women but was stopped by Boone.

  “Hey, don’t run off, Stanford.” He was leading a pretty gray horse, the animal leaning in close to him. “I brought you something.”

  “I think you have the wrong woman.” She backed up against the fence.

  “Oh, no, I don’t. We could use an extra hand for this rodeo.” He pushed back the brim of his cowboy hat and a corner of his mouth tilted in a charming grin.

  “Don’t you try to charm me into this.”

  He leaned a little close. “Is it working?”

  “Not at all,” she said, but her heart disagreed. She was definitely charmed. His eyes were dark and a five-o’clock shadow covered his cheeks.

  He wore his jeans low on his hips and his T-shirt hugged his shoulders. A silver chain with a tiny cross hung around his neck.

  “Not even a little?” he teased in a quiet, husky voice.

  “Not enough to get on that horse,” she told him.

  He laughed and took her by the hand. “Climb on, cowgirl. Let’s get this show on the road.”

  “I can’t ride.”

  “Yes, you can.” A truck pulled up the drive, distracting them. She exhaled a relieved breath as Samantha’s truck stopped next to the arena. Both Samantha and Brody climbed out of the truck. Brody, lean and dark haired. Samantha, blonde and confident. They were Kayla’s siblings. Sometimes she had to stop for a minute and adjust all over again to the reality that she’d had this family all along and never knew about them until the past year. It was Brody’s determination that had brought her into their lives.

  Brody hurried forward and hugged her. “Hey, little sister. I’ve been thinking you might call me.”

  “I’m sorry, I should have.”

  Brody switched his focus to Boone. There was a sharp look between the two. “Boone.”

  “Brody.” Boone just grinned. “As you can see, she’s safe.”

  Brody gave her another look. “Yeah, I can see. So care to tell me what’s going on?”

  Samantha let out a long sigh, because she was used to these men. “Stop circling like old tomcats and remember that you’re friends and on the same side. And, Kayla, feel fortunate you haven’t put up with this your whole life.”

  Kayla pretended that was how she felt: fortunate. “What brings the two of you out here?”

  Brody shot her a look. “You, of course. We’re having lunch at Duke and Oregon’s after church tomorrow. We’d like for you to join us.”

  “We’ll be there,” Boone answered for her.

  “We?” Brody asked, one of his brows lifting.

  “Where she goes, I go.” Boone leaned against the saddle of the horse he’d led over. “Where I go, she goes. And I’m not passing up lunch at Duke’s.”

  “Well, isn’t that...” Brody started.

  Boone stared him down. “That sounds like a man doing his job.”

  Brody chuckled.

  Kayla took the reins of the horse Boone had brought for her. “If I’m going to learn to ride, we should get started.”

  From the arena, Lucas shouted at Jase. The gray gelding next to Kayla startled. Boone reached for the reins and got the animal back under control.

  “Those two brothers of mine,” he muttered. He met her gaze and winked. “Brothers can be a real pain.”

  Brothers. Bodyguards. Yes, men could be a pain.

  Boone’s phone rang. He gave her an apologetic look and walked away. Samantha stepped forward, taking the reins from her and leading the horse a short distance from the arena.

  “Come on, sis. If you’re going to ride this animal, you have to get on his back. It works best that way.” Sam shot her a cheeky look. “And keep your mind on the horse, not other things. Being distracted is a sure way to get tossed.”

  “I’m not distracted,” Kayla assured her sister.

  Sam’s glance slid past Kayla, and she knew exactly who her sister thought might distract her. Boone.

  No, Boone wasn’t a distraction. He couldn’t be. He was doing his job, keeping her safe. And as soon as the blackmailers were caught, she would go back to her life, back to Austin.

  She belonged in the city. She couldn’t wait to get back to her life. Not to the old life, but to the new one she planned on making for herself.

  She definitely didn’t need distractions.

  * * *

  Boone walked away from the arena, listening to the man on the other end of the phone tell him exactly what he’d do to Kayla Stanford, to her old man and even to Boone’s family if someone didn’t pay up. The stakes were being raised. The price was being raised. They had one week to come up with the money or the next article in the paper would give all of the details. And if that didn’t convince Mr. Stanford, then they’d start playing rough.

  It took everything Boone had to stay calm, to not yell at the man on the other end. The last thing he needed to do w
as get emotional, to show his hand. Calm, steady breaths. He listened as if they were talking about the weather.

  “Interesting story, bud, but I’m kind of busy here.” He grinned as he said it, as if the other man could see.

  “Your old man is sick. And I’m just going to take a wild guess and say you’re getting attached to your client.”

  He drew in a sharp breath at the mention of his dad. His gaze drifted toward the arena. His family was a short distance away, completely innocent, not a part of the Stanford family drama. But he said nothing. This wasn’t going to get under his skin.

  “Got something to say, Wilder?”

  “No, not really. But I’ll pass on your message to Mr. Stanford.”

  “You do that.”

  The phone went dead. He slipped it in his pocket and turned back to the arena. Brody appeared out of the shadows.

  “Interesting phone call?” he asked.

  Boone shrugged. “I guess you could say that.”

  “Threats?”

  “A few. Nothing to worry about.”

  Brody walked next to him. “You look worried. If you’re worried, then I guess I have a right to be.”

  “You can do what you want, Brody.”

  Brody stopped walking. “Boone, we’re friends. We’ve been friends a long time. This is about my sister.”

  “Now they’re threatening my family,” Boone admitted. “And I’d say it’s a matter of time before they threaten yours.”

  “Then, I guess someone needs to figure out who it is.”

  “Mr. Stanford has the police and a PI team on that. My job is to keep your sister safe.”

  “Can you keep her safe when Samantha has her out there in the arena, sorting calves?”

  He glanced that way. Samantha was on his horse. She was riding next to her sister, the two of them laughing and carrying on like kids. He guessed they were more alike than he’d realized. Both were a little reckless, grabbing at life and running headlong into danger.

  “She’ll get thrown.” He headed for the arena with Brody not hurrying behind him.

  “She might, Boone, but she’ll learn. We all learned by taking our falls and getting back on.”

  “Right, but I’m supposed to keep her safe. Not help her get her neck broke.”

  “Calm down.” Brody laughed as he said it. “You’re losing focus.”

  “I’m not.” He started to defend himself, but then realized maybe he was. The call had rattled him. Seeing her on that horse, reckless but carefree, that rattled him, too.

  And in the next instant the horse shied to the right and he watched as she toppled, landing hard on the packed dirt of the arena.

  He was over the fence and heading for her as she sat up, shook her head and looked around as if she wasn’t sure where she was. Samantha was off her horse.

  “Crazy. Both of you are just crazy.” He lowered himself next to her.

  “Get a grip, Boone.” Samantha reached out a hand and pulled her sister to her feet. “You okay?”

  “Sore, but I don’t think anything is broken.” Kayla rubbed her shoulder. “I didn’t see that coming.”

  Boone stood, looking at the two of them. He saw resemblances. He saw differences. He felt something crazy deep inside that shouldn’t be there.

  “Of course you didn’t see it coming. You were distracted.” As he said the words, they hit him hard, reality shaking him to the core.

  “She’s fine. You’re fine, right?” Sam asked.

  “I’m fine.”

  Jase appeared at his side. “Anything broken?”

  Kayla shook her head. “I hit my shoulder, but I think it’s okay.”

  Jase touched her arm, touched her shoulder. Boone fought emotions that he wasn’t about to put a name to. Lucas rode up, whistling, long and appreciative.

  “That was quite a buck-off, Kayla.”

  She grinned up at him. “Thanks, Lucas.”

  “I think we should call it a night,” Boone suggested. Not only because of her fall but because he had a strange feeling that they were being watched. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he couldn’t quite dislodge the fact that someone knew too much about all of them.

  “Let’s go inside for tea,” Jase offered, shooting Boone a questioning look. “Me, Lucas and the twins can get these horses cooled off and put up for the night. You all go on in.”

  “Thanks, Jase.” Boone reached for Kayla but she was already moving ahead of him, her arm through Samantha’s. Brody stepped in next to him.

  “I remember the first time she showed up at Jake’s. Crazy in that red convertible of hers. She’s changed a lot in the past year. Having family has done that for her.” Brody glanced around as they walked. “Do you think you’re being watched?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “Because I know you well enough to know that look in your eyes. You’re cautious, Boone, but you’re watching everything all at once.”

  “I’m doing my best.” Ahead of them, his mom was helping his dad up the stairs. Michaela and Molly were waiting for them up ahead. “I think Kayla and I need to sit down and make a list of people who might know...”

  “Know what?” Brody asked, his trademark smile dissolving. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Nothing. Someone knows how to get under her father’s skin. We need to figure out who that person is.”

  “And you’re not going to tell me anything else?”

  Boone watched the front door close behind Kayla and Samantha, leaving him and Brody standing in the front yard alone.

  “No, I’m not going to tell you anything else.”

  “The story in the paper implied there’s more. Now you’re implying it, too. If there’s something that needs to be dealt with, maybe you should tell Kayla’s family.”

  “Brody, that isn’t my place and you know it.” He headed up the steps and Brody followed. “I’m keeping her safe.”

  “Yeah, I know you are.”

  They entered the kitchen to find Kayla sitting on a stool, an ice pack on her shoulder. Boone removed the ice and pushed up the short sleeve of her T-shirt to take a look. He touched the bruise that had developed and she flinched.

  “Ouch, Wilder.”

  “Sorry, Stanford. That’s going to hurt tomorrow.”

  She moved, dislodging his hand. “Why do people always say, ‘It’s going to hurt tomorrow’? You know something? It hurts right now.”

  “I guess we just want you to know it’s going to be worse before it gets better,” he shot back.

  She rolled her eyes at him, those big blue eyes. “Thanks, Wilder, your encouragement means everything.”

  Her voice sounded too tight, too emotional. He wanted to laugh it off, make it all a joke.

  “That’s what I’m here for,” he said.

  “I’m glad we all know why we’re here,” Brody Martin said as he pinned Boone with a look. “Wilder, the reason you’re here is to keep my sister safe.”

  Boone leaned against the counter, crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Brody. Obviously Brody had forgotten that Boone was a few years older, and a few inches taller. It hadn’t been too many years ago that the two of them had gone at each other. With Brody on the losing end of the fight. All in good fun, of course.

  He winked at Kayla, then turned his attention back to her brother.

  “I think you can go home, Brody. We’re good.”

  “You have someone helping?” Brody asked.

  “Daron. I’m assuming he’s at my place and if not, he’ll be back soon. And we’ll see you all at church tomorrow.”

  Brody shifted his attention from Boone to Kayla. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m good, Brody. I’m sure that
it won’t be the last time I get thrown.”

  Brody leaned against the counter, looking down at her. “I don’t mean getting tossed, Kayla. I want to know that you’re okay and if there’s anything we can do. You have family now.”

  “I’ll let you know. But you should go. Grace will be wondering where you are,” Kayla stated with simple ease. And it was enough to get Brody’s attention. It even put some kind of strange smile on his face that Boone never would have pictured there. It was the look of a man completely in love with his wife and baby.

  Boone pushed down a strange spike of jealousy that he hadn’t expected. He didn’t need complications. He glanced around the big country house at the family that depended on him. His mom was in the kitchen, making a batch of brownies with Molly’s help. Michaela was holding her daughter as Molly stirred. The twins were in the living room arguing, as usual. It was his family that kept him grounded, kept him here doing what needed to be done.

  His gaze connected with Kayla’s. Their smiles touched in a way that nearly undid him. It felt as if she’d reached out and brushed his heart with that smile.

  He wasn’t a poetic sort of guy, not normally. But it moved him, that smile of hers. Boone walked closer to her. She glanced up at him, her eyes widening.

  The gesture didn’t go unnoticed. Of course it didn’t. Not with his mom and sister present. Not with Samantha and Brody Martin standing not five feet away. And yet, even with everyone around them, he couldn’t help but brush his fingers across hers, a brief gesture that seemed to suck the air right out of him.

  From across the room, Brody cleared his throat. “Well, if you’ve got things handled here, I’m heading home.”

  “Things are handled,” Boone assured his friend.

  “Yeah, it looks as if they are.” Brody headed for the front door, Samantha trailing next to him with a last look back and a smile for her sister.

  Boone walked them out, because he’d been raised to be polite. And because Brody and Sam had been friends of his for years. Things would get back to normal. Kayla would go back to her life in Austin with occasional visits to the Martin ranch, and her family. Boone would see her from time to time. Or not.