by Zoe Matthews
Later, after Spencer had showered and smeared the ointment Kathy provided him on his skin where the poison oak had touched, he went to look for Emma. He found her sitting on the back patio with a throw wrapped around her. It was a cool fall day, warm enough to want to be outdoors, but cool enough to want to be covered if a person wasn’t moving around very much.
“Are you feeling better?” she asked with sympathy in her voice and eyes, but her smile gave herself away with the amusement she felt about what had just happened.
“Yes,” Spencer smiled back, sharing her amusement. “It will take a few days to be back to normal.” He sat down next to her, reached out and took her hand in his.
“I’ve come to collect that promised kiss,” he told her still grinning, but his eyes told her he was serious about how he felt about her.
“I just want to make sure I understand where this is going,” Emma told him.
“I would like you to accept the job Sheridan offered you and move here. I would like you in my life,” Spencer told her as he slipped his arm around her shoulders.
“I’ve dated a few men, but no one has ever made me love them,” Emma confessed. “Signing up for that email dating service was the best decision I ever made.”
Spencer pulled her closer to him and pressed his lips to hers. He pushed her hair off of her face with his hand and cupped her face as he deepened the kiss. Emma let the sweetness of this kiss sweep through her. She had been kissed before, but this one felt like her first one, a kiss that bonded their souls together. A kiss that would begin their lives together deep in the Rocky Mountains, a heaven on earth.
The End
Colorado Promises
Majestic Mountain Ranch Romance Series, Book 6
Written by Zoe Matthews
Copyright © 2015
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 1
November 12th…
Sheridan listened to the man on the other end of the phone, trying not to let the words running through his head come forth. After all, it wasn’t Joe Langston’s fault that the bills for the Majestic Mountain Ranch hadn’t been paid on time. No, it was Spencer’s fault!
“Joe, I assure you checks will be in the mail today. I’m sorry about the oversight, but I can assure you it won’t happen again.”
Joe sighed. “Sheridan, I hope you know I took no joy in making this call. When those invoices didn’t get paid by the net 30 on the invoice, I figured things were just a little hectic around your place, what with the grand opening and all. But at 90 days plus, I really need to get them off of my books.”
“Joe, don’t give it a second thought. If anything ever goes beyond 30 days again, I want you to call me. Immediately! We pay our bills, and we pay them on time. I’m sure this was just a glitch in that fancy new accounting program Spencer’s trying to get used to, but I aim to get it straightened out just as soon as we get off the phone here.”
“Thanks, Sheridan. I’ll make sure the boys in the warehouse know they need to schedule delivery of your latest order. They’ll be out there sometime tomorrow. Shall I have them pick up the checks then?”
“No. Someone from the ranch will be hand delivering those checks today, before you close at 6 o’clock. You have my word on it.”
“That’s good enough for me. Thanks again.”
Sheridan set the phone down on the desk very carefully, counting to ten in his head, and when that didn’t work, he continued until he reached one hundred. Spencer was currently in charge of the finances for the dude ranch, in addition to managing the advertising and providing air tours to their guests.
Originally when Spencer had first come back to the ranch, at their late father’s request, he had been put in charge of the cattle, something he’d made no secret of hating! Sheridan had listened, even though Spencer thought he never listened, and he’d hired Cade Jensen to come in and manage the small cattle operation they were keeping.
Spencer had been grateful and taken on the finances for the ranch, along with advertising and flying guests around in his small plane. Sheridan admitted to himself that Spencer had been doing a great job with the advertising. He knew the success of the Majestic Mountain Dude Ranch since opening day was largely because of Spencer’s skills. But Spencer’s work with the finances were another story. He kept making mistake after mistake with the finances, and these mistakes were costing all of them money!
Sheridan pushed back from his desk, striding out of his office and searching out Spencer. He found him sitting in the space he’d claimed as his own office, going over the budget for December.
Sheridan let himself into the office and told his brother, “We need to talk.” He could almost see Spencer rolling his eyes before he turned around and confronted his irritated brother.
“What’s wrong?” Spencer asked, trying to diffuse whatever problem had put that look on his brother’s face.
“I just got off the phone with Joe Langston,” Sheridan said, trying to keep his voice under control.
“How’s Joe doing? I heard he’d been under the weather last week,” Spencer asked with a smile.
Sheridan once again started counting, finally giving it up and letting his irritation with his brother show. “Joe Langston called to tell me that we haven’t paid our bills for the last three months. Spencer, we’re 90 days behind on some of those invoices!”
“Whoa! That can’t be right! I put everything into the system, and it brings up everything that’s due. Then I cut the checks and mail them out.” Spencer turned around and brought up the accounting program he was still trying to use and pulled up the accounts payable screen. Pointing to it, he told his brother, “See? We don’t have anything showing due right now.”
“Bring up Langston’s account,” Sheridan told him, looking over his shoulder.
Spencer clicked the mouse a few times, and a full account listing of Langston’s invoices popped up on the screen. In all, there were ten invoices, none of which showed paid.
Spencer looked at the screen closer and then shook his head. “That can’t be! None of these invoices have ever come up as being due.” Spencer clicked around the screen a few times and then he groaned, “Well, that explains it. When I set up their account, I put them on a yearly pay schedule. Sheridan, man, I’m really sorry. Was Langston real upset?”
“What do you think?” Sheridan asked him, wanting to yell, but knowing it wouldn’t accomplish anything.
“Look, I’ll get a check cut for these invoices right now and head on into Pinedale. I don’t have anything else on my schedule today. I’ll make sure he understands it was just a mistake and it won’t happen again.”
Sheridan nodded his head and then turned to leave. Just before he stepped completely out of the space, he turned back to Spencer. “These mistakes have got to stop. This is everyone’s future and reputation.”
Spencer nodded his head, looking disgusted with himself, and Sheridan continued on his way. He headed back to his office, trying to think of another solution to the problem of the ranch’s finances. It was obvious that Spencer was in over his head, but everyone else’s time on the ranch was already spoken for.
He
sat back at his desk and then turned and looked out the window, watching the ranch that was slowly becoming the fulfillment of his dream. He tried not to let the loneliness he felt enter his mind, but when he thought of his five siblings, and the lifelong loves they’d all found in the last five months, it was hard not to compare his own life and find it lacking.
He allowed himself a few minutes of self-pity and then he turned around and got back to work. He’d tried love once upon a time and had his heart ripped out. Sheridan Collingsworth didn’t need love in his life. He was doing just fine without it!
Chapter 2
The next day, Sheridan found himself dealing with one problem after another. Turning his father’s ranch into a dude ranch had been his dream, and because of his father’s will, all of his siblings had been forced to come home for a period of six months or lose their inheritance of half a million dollars.
Sheridan had been working diligently to honor his father’s dying wishes – to work with his siblings, learn to trust them, and to truly become a close knit family. It hadn’t been easy. Just the opposite in fact.
Sheridan had been running the ranch for his father for several years prior to his father’s untimely death. When his brother and sisters had come home, he’d fought hard with himself to let them do their jobs without micromanaging them.
He’d finally come to terms with letting go of the apron strings and letting them succeed or fail on their own. All of his siblings had been doing great with their jobs, along with doing their part in growing the Collingsworth family. And then Spencer had revealed the truth behind his father’s death. Richard Collingsworth had intentionally crashed his plane into the side of the mountain, taking his own life!
Sheridan had been devastated and for awhile, he was unwilling to believe that his father would have done something he viewed as cowardly. The Richard Collingsworth he’d known was fearless and one of the strongest men he knew.
When he realized where his thoughts were going, he forcibly turned his thoughts to other things. It didn’t do any good to think about how his father died. It didn’t change the past. The ranch was doing some expanding, and with that, he had several new areas he needed to keep track of.
He was just going over the projections for the Christmas Tree farm the girls were all gung ho about when the phone on the corner of his desk rang. He picked it up without taking his eyes off the map of the ranch.
“Sheridan.”
“Mr. Sheridan Collingsworth?” a very formal voice answered back.
Sheridan glanced at the caller I.D. and then asked, “Yes. This is Sheridan Collingsworth. Who is this?”
“Sir, my name is Simon Palmer. I am an attorney in Austin, Texas.”
Sheridan sat up straighter. “Why is an attorney from Austin, Texas calling me?”
“Sir, do you remember a Glenna Garner?” Mr. Palmer asked.
“Of course. Is Glenna in some kind of trouble?” Sheridan asked the question before he could stop himself. He shouldn’t care what happened to his former girlfriend. Not after the way she treated him.
“I’m sorry to inform you, but Glenna passed away suddenly.”
Sheridan was floored! Glenna was dead! “Uhm…that is unexpected. Were you related to her?”
“No, sir. You misunderstand the reason for my call. Glenna passed away ten days ago from a brain aneurysm. I’m calling to inform you that you are now the legal guardian of your two-year-old son. William.”
“Whoa! Back up there. I don’t have a son,” Sheridan exclaimed.
“Actually, you do. His name is William and he just turned two years old last month.”
I have a son! A son that Glenna never told me about! Sheridan was livid, scared, and confused – all at the same time.
He was livid that Glenna, the only girl he’d ever proposed marriage to, but had turned him down because she didn’t want to live on a ranch, had gotten pregnant with his child, and kept the information from him.
He was scared, because he suddenly was faced with having to become a father, with no notice or advance warning.
And he was confused, because he didn’t consider himself father material, and yet, it sounded like he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Or did he?
“Mr. Palmer, Glenna and I had a relationship almost three years ago now. I haven’t seen her or had contact with her since. How do you know her son was mine?”
“Mr. Collingsworth, I have in my possession a paternity test. It identifies you as William’s father with less than 0.5% uncertainty,” Mr. Palmer said.
“A paternity test? I never authorized a paternity test.” What exactly was going on here?
“Glenna came to me when she first discovered she was pregnant. She had in her possession a brush of yours. A sample of your hair was submitted, along with a cheek swab of William once he was born. You are most definitely the father of her child.
“If you would like to have another test run, I can arrange for that to happen when you get down here.”
“You expect me to come to Austin, Texas?” Sheridan asked, amazed at the man’s audacity.
“Yes, sir. You have a two-year-old little boy who needs to be with his father.”
Sheridan pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to keep a headache from coming on, and then asked, “Who is caring for the child now?”
“Glenna’s older sister has been caring for him. Glenna’s will named you William’s legal guardian, and under Texas law, the child is your responsibility unless you wish to relinquish all parental rights to the boy.”
“No! I mean,” Sheridan took a deep breath. “I’ll be there tomorrow sometime.”
“Very good. I will send you the address where the boy is being cared for. I will arrange for us to meet in my office the day after tomorrow. There are some papers that need signed and I will need to know whether you wish to verify the paternity test at that time,” Mr. Palmer explained.
“Fine. Here’s my email address. Send the information there and I’ll contact you when I arrive.” Sheridan rattled off his personal email address to the attorney.
He hung up the phone and then stared blindly out the window behind his desk for more than an hour, feeling slightly in shock. I have a son! Glenna’s dead and I have a son!
Chapter 3
Megan Garner hung up the phone and slowly sat down on a kitchen chair. Mr. Palmer had just phoned and let her know William’s father had been informed about his son’s existence. She started to shake uncontrollably and did her best to not break down in tears. She was going to lose William.
Megan had been caring for her nephew since her sister, Glenna’s, death a week before. She had actually been caring for William almost since his birth. Megan had moved in with her after she gave birth to William. As soon as she had recovered from his birth, she had gone back to work.
Over the next few months, Glenna had gone on her with her life, almost like she didn’t have a son, leaving William in Megan’s care. Megan hadn’t cared. She loved William like her own. And now Glenna was dead and William’s father had been notified.
Megan hadn’t agreed with Glenna about keeping William a secret from Sheridan, but she had been afraid to argue with her sister about it too much, for fear Glenna would take William and disappear. After all, she had disappeared many times before.
She could hear William playing with his cars in the living room. Even though she had taken him to his mother’s funeral, Megan knew William didn’t understand that his mother was gone. His life had changed little since Glenna’s death a week before since Megan had been pretty much his sole caretaker.
She was an accountant, working at home for a few local small businesses. She loved her job, especially because she could stay at home with William.
How does someone explain to a two-year-old boy that his life was going to totally change within the next few days? She knew Sheridan would take one look at his son and fall in love. William had dark blond curls. Glenna had liked to keep his hair long and it reached
almost to his shoulders. He sometimes almost looked like a girl, but he definitely was all boy. He had a cherubic grin and had a cute habit of looking up at someone, standing there, and smiling at them.
Megan stood and methodically started to make William his favorite lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwich, strawberries, and milk. What was she going to do? She wondered if Sheridan was going to allow her to visit him in Colorado. She noticed tears fall to the counter surface and she quickly wiped them away. The attorney promised he would let her know when Sheridan arrived in Austin so Megan would have some time to prepare herself for his visit.
She felt a small hand grip her pant leg and looked down at William through her tears. She quickly smiled at him, doing her best to make herself look like she wasn’t upset.
“Hey, little man. Are you ready for lunch?” she asked the toddler.
“Milk,” William said to her as he took her hand and pulled her towards the table.
Megan helped William into his booster seat, and then quickly finished the simple lunch. She forced herself to push her thoughts aside of William’s father and focused on her nephew. She was going to enjoy possibly the last few days she could have with William.
****
Sheridan used the excuse of attending a conference in Austin to get Spencer to fly him into Denver the next morning. For the time being, he didn’t want any of his siblings to know that he might have a son. He was scheduled for the 11 a.m. flight, which would put him landing in Austin sometime around 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
The weather was cooperative, and a few minutes after 3 o’clock, he watched as the tarmac at the Austin airport rushed up to meet the wheels of his plane.
He’d only taken a carry-on bag, not intending to spend too much time in Austin getting this situation sorted out. He’d intentionally kept himself from thinking about how he would react if the boy did turn out to be his own. That would require a whole different line of thinking on his part!
