by Tori Kayson
And women didn’t belong in that category. Not Kierra. And definitely not Brigit, his ex-wife.
But, with the early afternoon sun pinging off Kierra like glistening diamonds, she seemed so fresh and innocent, so clean compared to his dirty. So stable compared to his nomadic lifestyle.
Hawk shoved his tablet inside his pack and plopped a hat on his head, resolve stiffening his spine.
Cody needed stable. And honestly? Hawk had developed more than a hankering for it himself. Literally ached with a longing to stay in Coldwater Ridge. He’d made more than a few poor choices, starting with that one life-changing night with Brigit. But he could never regret his little man.
“All right, son. Let’s go.”
Ignoring Hawk’s hand, Cody jumped down and scanned the property. “Cool! Is this where we’re moving, Dad?” A giant smile cracked his face, and he pumped a fist in the air.
Hawk would do whatever it took to keep his son smiling. To chase away the fear that coiled and churned in his gut at night, that he’d wake one morning to discover Brigit had made good on her threats and stolen his son. If that meant facing down an angry Kierra, bring it on! “We’re only spending the night here on the ranch, buddy. We have a place in town, but the lease doesn’t start until I get back.”
“Ah. Too bad. This would be a cool place to live.”
“Bet you’re right.” Minus the negative vibes Kierra fired at him. Hawk shot a quick glance at his boss. Caught the slight flick of the rancher’s head and the apology in his eyes.
“Come on. I’ll introduce you.” Hawk motioned for Cody to follow, taking a protective step in front to shield his son. If Kierra had a beef, it was with him—not his son.
Now if he could only get his brain and limbs to cooperate. He alternated between hopping back in the chopper to escape and plodding at a turtle’s pace. Yet, he twitched with the desire to pull her against his chest. Ha!
As if she’d appreciate her face being buried against his shirt. More likely she’d use his chest as a punching bag, a repeat from the last time they’d been together.
Was he ready to face the woman he’d given up on a decade ago? Shoot, he hadn’t tossed away the love. Just buried it. Way down, deep. For Brigit’s sake, and their marriage.
A lot of good that did.
A horse whinnied from somewhere nearby, and hooves thundered across the ground. Two dogs circled, panting, tongues hanging. But as Hawk neared Kierra, all that registered was her labored breaths. Her clamped jaw. Rosy bow-shaped lips compressed into a thin line. The anger that simmered under tightly folded arms.
Yeah, well, she may not be happy to see him, but he needed this job, the stability, the reference he could hand to a judge. And according to Fargo, the Kesters needed him. So, he’d do whatever it took. If that meant groveling, he would grovel. Shoot, he’d lick her bare dusty feet if that meant keeping this gig. And enjoy every minute.
Enough! That kind of thinking got you in this trouble in the first place!
Hawk licked his chapped lips, flicked a nod at Fargo then focused on Kierra. She was the one he needed to convince. “Kierra. It’s been a long time.”
“Not long enough.”
Ouch. There was enough fire in those three words to light a match.
He took off his hat and scratched the back of his neck. Swallowed the comeback that just about ripped from his throat. One he’d regret, and he couldn’t afford regrets at this stage of the game. Maybe he should start over. He cleared his throat. Flashed his best begging puppy imitation. “Time has treated you well. You’re still as beautiful as you were in high school. More so, actually.”
Her dark eyebrows dipped as she regarded him with suspicion. Maybe even a little contempt.
His pulse thudded with worry. Anxiety strangled his lungs. Would she order him off the property? What would he do then?
She must’ve glimpsed some inkling of his struggle because her skin softened around her cheeks and lips. Fractionally. Still, she remained silent.
Hawk released the pent-up breath and extended a hand. “Fargo. Good to see you again. Thanks for the opportunity. I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t,” Fargo said, shaking hands. His tone and expression conveyed confidence.
Hawk glanced down at his son. “This is my son, Cody. Cody, meet Mr. Kester, my boss, and Miz Kester, his sister.”
Cody stuck out his hand, mimicking their handshake. “Mr. Kester.”
“Call me Fargo, please.” His boss smiled.
“And I’m Kierra. We’re not formal around here.” Kierra flashed that megawatt smile, the same one that melted Hawk’s insides back in the day. But, this one was meant for his son. “Do you like cookies?”
“Oh yeah!” Cody nodded, eyes wide. As if Hawk hadn’t just bought the kid a hamburger, fries and large chocolate shake two hours ago.
Hawk shook his head, smiling at the boy. More than a bit of pride leaked through in his voice. “Sorry. Really. I do feed the monster.”
“My mom would say you’re going through a growing spurt, Cody. How old are you?” Kierra asked.
Heck, the woman knew how old his kid was. Down to the day Cody’d been conceived.
“Nine,” Cody said, arching his back so he stood a little taller.
“Nine, huh?” Kierra squeaked. A pained look darkened her face.
Regret swamped him. If only he could take back that one night. If he hadn’t been so stinking mad at Kierra....so rash, so careless.
Yeah, well, since then life had taught him that neither rash nor mad worked out for the best.
“You are mighty handsome for nine.” Kierra recovered well. She draped a casual arm around Cody’s neck and pointed toward the rear of the sprawling ranch house. “Cody, if you head through that back door, you’ll find at least a hundred cookies cooling on the kitchen counter.”
“A hundred cookies?” Cody’s eyes bulged.
“At least,” Fargo added, bending over to pet the dogs.
Hawk was with the kid on this one. It would be cool to live here.
“Yes, sir. You should be able to find a couple cookies to fill that hole in your belly, don’t you think?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am. Thanks!” Cody took a few steps before he jerked to a stop and twisted around, suddenly shy. “Dad, you coming?”
“I’ll be along in a minute.” Make that a few. It’d take longer than a minute for Kierra to unleash the storm brewing on her face.
“All right.” Cody ran off, the lure of cookies beating out bashfulness.
“Thanks for that,” Hawk acknowledged Kierra with a nod.
“Can’t have the boy going hungry.” She pinned him to the ground with her glare. Her chin hiked, but her tone definitely carried less bark this time.
“Guess it’s all right with you if I starve then,” Hawk countered. Tried to keep the amusement out of his tone, but failed.
No response. Other than a slight lift of one dark eyebrow.
Fargo let out a rather loud sigh and stretched back to his full height.
Oops. He’d forgotten about his boss.
Kierra glared at her brother now. “What?”
Ignoring his sister, Fargo scratched the back of his neck and cleared his throat. “Hawk, why don’t you and Cody get settled? You’ll both be staying in the shed.” Fargo pointed toward an outlying shanty-type structure.
He’d stayed in worse before. Shoot, he’d sleep outside under the stars if it meant staying in one place.
“It’s not really a shed anymore,” Kierra murmured. “Our dad and Uncle Chips remodeled the old hen house into a studio apartment.” She wrinkled her nose. “Of sorts.”
Mercy! If she kept looking at him like that, with apology softening her eyes, they’d need to call for a defibrillator.
Fargo shuffled his boots. “Make yourselves at home and meet me in the barn at four o’clock.”
“Sounds great.” Hawk nodded, grateful for a couple free hours to spend with Cody before
he reported to work. And a chance for his pulse to regroup.
Fargo cleared his throat. A serious expression furrowed his forehead. “I don’t need to remind either of you of what’s riding on this week. Can I trust you two to work together?”
“Yes, sir,” Hawk responded, lightning fast. Didn’t want his boss to have second thoughts about hiring him or keeping him on after the week was up.
A deep flush rolled up Kierra’s neck and darkened her face, but she finally nodded.
Fargo flicked the rim of his hat in acknowledgement and took off for the barn, the dogs circling.
“It’s really small, but it has a fridge and a microwave, even a burner plate. You should find it comfortable although there’s only one bed. I’ll get my younger brother, Slade, to bring out a blow up mattress,” Kierra said.
“That’s mighty thoughtful of you.” A tiny shaft of hope seeded in his gut. Maybe there was hope for a truce.
“Thoughtful?” She scoffed. “If it was up to me, you wouldn’t be here.”
So much for her brother’s admonition. And the truce. “Kierra, I know we didn’t leave—”
Arms laced across her chest again. “Don’t even go there.”
“All right. I’ll let it go. For now. But—”
“Forever.”
Forever? He didn’t have forever. “For my son’s sake, I hope we can get along. I’ll do whatever I can to make this week easier for you.” And the week after that…
She huffed and glared at him. Another flush darkened her face and her arms dropped to hang limp at her sides. Suddenly remembering Fargo’s warning? Or toying with the idea of ordering him to reload the chopper and vacate the premises?
What was riding on this week for her?
A breeze fluttered by, a whisper to break the heat of the afternoon. He breathed in roses and mandarin, something fresh and clean. He liked it. Hope for a fresh start budded in his gut. If....if she ever found it in her heart to forgive him.
A wisp of raven colored hair tangled with the brim of her hat, veiling her expressive eyes. His hand made it halfway to her face before she flicked the stray lock away. Her gaze locked on his hand.
What was he doing? He jerked his arm back and bent over and scooped up the two duffle bags to cover up his blunder. Swallowing his embarrassment, he uncoiled and scratched out, “The shed’s perfect. I’d sleep under the stars if it meant keeping this job, but for Cody’s sake I appreciate the roof over our heads. I found a place in town, but my lease doesn’t start until we get back.”
“Good.” She didn’t have to look so happy about that, did she? “Excuse me, but I need to get back to work. I’m expecting the rest of the guests to arrive at any minute.”
“Sure. Mind if I collect my son?” Not waiting for her response, he measured his steps to match her shorter ones. Now seemed a good time for making peace. In private.
“Not at all, but I’m headed in the opposite direction. I’ll catch you later.” With a flutter of her fingers, she veered off.
So much for apologizing. Or even groveling. What just happened there?
Kierra never looked back. She stalked toward the driveway, her posture proud and straight, steps sure and confident. Her braid swung like a wound-up pendulum halfway down her back.
As if his being here hadn’t rocked her universe.
Ha! Like seeing her again hadn’t shifted his axis!
It didn’t take a college education to figure out why. He’d tossed away the best thing that had ever happened to him. Traded it all, their sweet love along with this town and the stability he craved. All for what? A couple lousy years with Brigit. More moves than he could count on two hands. And every-other-weekend custody of his son.
He couldn’t rewrite the past. But he could make better choices for his future. Besides, he had Cody to consider now. Hawk was older, wiser, not the rash teen from a decade ago. Could he convince Kierra to give the reformed version a chance on the ranch? Could she look beyond the crummy way he treated her then to the person he was trying to be now?
Author’s Note:
I hope you enjoyed Roping the Marshal, book 2 in the Kester Ranch Cowboys series. All the books in the series may be read as stand-alone. If you’re interested in Fargo and Darby’s story, click here to read Roping the Cowboy, book 1. The final book in the series, Roping the Daddy, will release later in 2016.
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About the Author:
Tori Kayson writes sweet romance that sizzles! When she finally rolls back from the keyboard, you’ll find Tori hunched over a kindle, hanging out with family, or sipping coffee on a mountain cabin deck. Tori shares her life with her real life hero and one very spoiled dog. Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and ToriKayson.com. Sign up for alerts of Tori’s new releases here.
