The Rancher's Second Chance

by Leigh Riker

  “Where will you honeymoon, sweetheart?” his mother, who’d flown in from O’Hare last night, had raised her voice to be heard above the noise around them. The party flowed from one room to another inside the ranch house from the kitchen through to the dining room and into the living room, even spreading out the door onto the porch, though it wasn’t really warm enough to stay outside. Cooper had finally retreated to the ranch office, where his mom, looking excited by this turn of events, had soon found him. Cooper almost wanted to keep her away from Nell, who didn’t seem to share his enthusiasm for their union.

  “No honeymoon,” he told his mother.

  After a short knock, the door opened again and his bride swept in, her long dress brushing the floor, and his heart kicked over. The veil was gone, no longer softening her eyes. The platinum band he’d put on her finger glimmered in the overhead light. “This time of year we’re too busy,” she said mildly.

  Cooper held her gaze. “We’ll plan something for the fall.”

  Nell frowned. “In the fall, we’ll have cattle going to market—”

  “Let Jesse manage that—if he’s still here by then.”

  Nell’s frown deepened. “Are you trying to...take over already? I make the decisions for the NLS.”

  “Nell, give it up for one day, will you?” He tilted his head toward his mother. She looked distressed.

  “Sorry,” Nell muttered to her. “But on a ranch, as you know, the work is 24/7. I’m having a hard time taking a day off.”

  “Our wedding day,” Cooper reminded her.

  His mother hated discord. She picked up the topic of a honeymoon again. “A cruise would be lovely.” Merry Ransom was a true romantic. Her gray gaze met his. “Barbados, the Pacific Islands, Hawaii...or you could sail through the Panama Canal. I always wanted to do that, but when John’s heart failed...”

  “I was so sorry to hear that, but I’m not much for boats,” Nell murmured. “I’m glad you could be here today, Merry,” she said, as if remembering her manners. She turned back to Cooper. “Are you ready to go? Mom’s herding everyone into the hall. That’s why I hunted you down.” Not because she wanted to spend time with her new husband. “Mom says we’re supposed to leave first before our guests. Are you ready?”

  “We’re not going anywhere,” he pointed out.

  Cooper had suggested a night in Kansas City at a nice hotel, just the two of them having a nightcap on a rooftop deck overlooking the city under the stars. But she’d vetoed that idea too. Despite the luminous expression in her eyes earlier, Nell seemed determined to get this over with, which was making the back of Cooper’s neck itch even more. “All right,” he said at last. “Who am I to fly in the face of tradition?”

  Taking his mother with them, they left the office. In the front hallway, people had gathered, talking and laughing as they edged toward the door, then down the steps to line both sides of the short sidewalk. In a hail of rice—not the bird seed people used these days—they ran, their hands linked, toward the driveway where, to his surprise, Cooper found a limousine waiting. He glanced at Nell.

  “My father’s idea,” she said.

  “Works for me.” So would that hotel, but Nell was having none of that. She tossed the bouquet, which landed in Annabelle’s arms, then they drove off toward the ranch gates. A quick trip into Barren, a circuit of the main drag in tense silence, then they headed again to the NLS. By that time, everyone else was gone, including Jesse. To give the newlyweds privacy, he was staying the night with Shadow and Grey at Wilson Cattle. Not that Jesse had been overjoyed by their impromptu marriage. Eager as always to leave the ranch, Nell’s parents were already on their way to Kansas City. The rest of his and Nell’s friends had left too. Cooper’s mom would use the second bedroom in the foreman’s house tonight.

  Cooper had promised to take her over to Ransom land tomorrow, but she claimed she was in no hurry now that she was here. “Enjoy your wedding night,” she’d said with a kiss for him and another for Nell. “I couldn’t be happier to have a new daughter.”

  Cooper settled her in at the foreman’s bungalow. When he returned, the main ranch house was silent. He closed the door behind him, then heard a rustle of fabric and saw Nell standing at the top of the stairs, still in her wedding gown. She glowed white in the darkness, like an angel. “You didn’t need to come back.”

  “And have my mother know—”

  “We have an agreement,” she said, her eyes wide.

  Cooper climbed the steps. “Nell.”

  Her grip tightened on the railing. “We are not going to share a room or anything else.”

  “We should have worked this part out before. Jesse will be here tomorrow.”

  “And I’ll find some explanation for him.”

  His temper flared. He couldn’t get the picture of Nell out of his head, coming down these same stairs in her wedding gown with that look of...what? Anticipation? Even...love? As if she wanted their vows to be real. Now she was stonewalling him. “Like what?” he asked.

  “You must have known how this would be. I made it clear—”

  “I’m not living in the foreman’s place while you stay here with your brother and thrash out who’s the better person to inherit the NLS.” He took a breath. “You asked me to marry you so we could put up a good front for your family, for Ned.”

  “You married me so you could bring your mother home. That’s our bargain.” Her lower lip trembled. “I’m sure not getting any closer to a man whose purpose in saying I do today is to take half the NLS away from me.”

  “Well,” he said, jaw clenched, “as long as we’re clear.”

  Cooper kept going up the stairs until he and Nell stood eye to eye. She was right. He had agreed to these terms, but he didn’t have to like them. As he passed her on the top step, she touched his arm. “Cooper, I don’t want to start out this way but...”

  He pulled away. “Where am I supposed to sleep?”

  Nell gestured at the first room on the right. “The guest room’s always made up. There are fresh towels in the en suite bathroom.”

  He paused at the doorway, then softly shut the door and left her standing in the hall just as she’d looked before the wedding.

  Let her think what she would tonight. Tomorrow, he planned to change her mind.

  * * *

  NELL WAS IN the barn the next morning before sunrise. Halfway through feeding horses, she heard a truck roll in, and Hadley Smith got out. Nell tightened her hold on the bucket of water she’d been taking to Bear’s stall. “Help you?” she asked in a tone that didn’t encourage him.

  “Hope so,” Hadley said.

  “I gave you your last pay. We’re square. What do you want?”

  His gaze fell. Hadley reached out and she recoiled, but he only took the pail from her, sloshing water on the floor. “Work,” he said. “I know you and I have had our differences, but I’m glad to put in as many hours as you can give me. Unemployment’s not enough. I’ve run through the savings I had—”

  “I appreciate your problem, but nothing has changed for me.”

  “Except I hear you’ve married the new foreman.”

  “Yes.” She glanced toward his truck parked by the open doors. “Now if we’re done here, I have stock to feed.”

  He held up the bucket. “Where do you want this?”

  She pointed at Bear’s stall. Hadley hung it inside on the hook, then slid the door shut. “Rest of my day’s free. I’d be glad to help.” He didn’t give her the chance to say no. “My wife’s having a baby, like I mentioned. We’re real short on money. I worked a few days for Grey Wilson stringing fence after I left here. He didn’t seem to have any problem with me.”

  Nell half smiled. “Grey’s a soft touch.”

  “Tell me. He spoils that girl of his, and if he doesn’t take a hand, she’ll ruin that horse he bought her. B
ut he didn’t need an extra man long-term. When I left there, I worked at the Circle H with Sawyer and Logan’s horses, then at Fred Miller’s—you’re prob’ly familiar with his place—”

  “Yes, I am. I wish I knew of something more permanent for you but I don’t.”

  “Wouldn’t give me a reference if you did, huh?”

  Nell backed up against a stall door. “Hadley, let’s not make this any harder than it has to be. You and I didn’t work out, and my grandfather is still away so, whether or not you’ve talked to him, I’m making the decisions for the NLS.”

  “You and Cooper Ransom? Thought maybe he’d moved up the chain now that he’s elevated himself from foreman to husband—”

  “Yes, I have.” Cooper sauntered into the barn. “You have an issue with that?”

  Nell certainly did, but to her relief he came down the aisle to them. She could take care of herself, but she welcomed him anyway. This morning, his face didn’t have the same hard expression as it had on the stairs last night; maybe he’d decided she was right and they should stick to the agreement they’d made.

  His suggestion—or hope?—that they’d share a room last night had surprised her into turning defensive. Nell regretted the cool stance she’d been forced to take. Still, their “wedding day” had been a definite temptation all around.

  The mere first sight of him at the living room altar yesterday, all dressed up and looking like any groom seeing his bride, had made her doubt her choice. That focused expression, his pose of devotion, had nearly broken her a hundred times.

  But she had to keep her priorities clear, for herself too, and the worst thing would be for her to become romantically involved with Cooper. No matter what she might have wanted years ago, and in spite of the more recent conversations they’d had about that past, their union now was a pretense. Nell needed to remember that.

  “No,” Hadley finally said. “A man’s marriage is his to deal with. I’m just trying to earn a decent living before this baby comes.”

  Cooper said, “You’d probably want a foreman’s job again.”

  “I would,” Hadley agreed. “Pay’s better than it is for a hand. I need benefits, and if I’m going to be a family man, I’ll take every dime I can get.”

  Nell almost felt sorry for him. He’d obviously taken responsibility for the child he and Amy were having, and rumor had it they’d put their divorce proceedings on hold, though she didn’t think they had reconciled. She liked his wife, a pretty woman with reddish hair and golden brown eyes, if not Hadley. She’d been glad when he left the NLS, even more so when Cooper took his place, but she noted the defeated expression he wore now. She heard it in Hadley’s voice when he said, “I shouldn’t have lashed out at you like I did before...”

  “I’m pleased to hear that. And I’m willing to help you out—if I can.” Nell didn’t want him getting any ideas about returning to this ranch, or getting a foot in the door, but she had cared about Amy. Now and then, when she’d lived in the foreman’s house with Hadley, she and Nell had talked, sitting on the porch steps and sharing the scrumptious brownies Amy baked. Although she didn’t seem that happy with ranch life, the long hours and the mediocre pay, Nell remembered how much Amy had wanted a family with Hadley. “Are you two having a girl or a boy?” She couldn’t keep from asking.

  “Don’t know yet,” he said. “Amy’s having her first ultrasound tomorrow.” Apparently sensing he wouldn’t get any further with Nell, he started to leave. “When you hear from Ned, tell him I asked about him again.”

  As his truck started down the drive, Nell breathed a sigh. She didn’t regret letting Hadley go, but at least he didn’t seem like such a threat anymore. In fact, he seemed more troubled than anything, which made Nell sad. She understood pride. Life had never been easy for Hadley Smith, and it was no easier now.

  “Never expected you to offer help to him,” Cooper said.

  “I never expected that either.”

  “Careful, Nell. Or you’ll become a softy like Grey.”

  And all at once, last night was between them again. He was reminding her that she was not only a cowgirl but a woman. A married woman now. Nell flushed a little, remembering the long night she’d spent tossing in her lonely bed, missing Cooper’s company. Listening for any slight sound along the hall from the guest room by the stairs.

  “Don’t get your hopes up,” she murmured.

  “Or are those yours?” Cooper said.

  * * *

  AFTER COUNTING CALVES all day, Cooper rode into the barnyard late that afternoon and saw Jesse trying, one-armed, to muck stalls. Cooper had to hand it to him; Nell’s brother was attempting to complete the menial task that any ranch required. Not that he looked any more enthusiastic than he’d been about Cooper marrying his sister.

  Jesse had come home early that morning, thumping up the stairs before Cooper was fully awake. With the guest room door closed, he was thankful Jesse hadn’t seen him, and by then Nell was already up and at work.

  “Where’s Clete?” Cooper asked, leading his horse into the barn.

  “Went to town. He’s picking up the wire you ordered, then stopping at Wilson Cattle. Derek Moran has Clete’s saddle.” For an instant, Cooper thought Derek—Grey’s brother-in-law—had stolen it, but in the past few months, the wayward youth had turned his life around, at least according to Grey. “He’s got a real skill with leather. Says Clete’s saddle is good as new with the billet straps he put on.”

  “So you’re doing chores for Clete?” Cooper motioned at the cast on his arm. “That bone needs to heal, Jesse. If Sawyer catches you, he’ll be mad as an ornery bull. I know he told you to rest and not try any lifting, even with your good arm.”

  With a grunt, Jesse hefted the pitchfork full of soiled bedding he’d taken from Bear’s stall, which was empty. Nell hadn’t come home from the day’s ride Cooper had hoped they would share; instead, she’d cantered off on her own to monitor more of the herd in a far corner of the NLS. “I don’t need doctors’ orders. I have to make myself useful or PawPaw will decide I’m not the one to take over this place.”

  “I’m still not sure why you want to,” Cooper said. His presence didn’t sit right any more than it had before, and Nell had told him about finding Jesse in the ranch office trying to open the safe. Not the action of a man who’d built then sold half a dozen companies for huge profits.

  “Because the rest of my family is right. This isn’t woman’s work.”

  “A lot of women and many men, including me, would disagree.” He named several area ranches now run by friends of Nell’s who’d taken over from their fathers. Like Jesse, their sons had chosen other careers. So what was his real motive for wanting to be a cowboy? The question nagged at him. “You know as well as I do that Nell’s a competent manager.”

  “I’d say you’re biased.” Jesse tried to toss the bedding into the nearby wheelbarrow but Cooper took the pitchfork from him.

  “I’ll finish up here. Go take care of that arm.”

  “Let me do it,” Jesse insisted, “and if you think you’ll inherit Ransom land right along with Nell, thanks to some hasty ceremony, think again. PawPaw is a shrewd man. He’ll see through this marriage of yours and drive you off the NLS.”

  “Not likely,” Cooper said, although with Nell pushing him away, the old man might not be fooled about them. But he had to find out why Jesse was still here. “What’s your beef, Sutherland?”

  “I really have to tell you? I said it before. You’re not going to hurt my sister, not while I’m around.” He paused. “Though maybe you already have—or Nell wouldn’t have been in the barn so early, even for her, throwing feed into Bear’s bin as if it was a punching bag. Funny, don’t you agree, for the morning after her wedding? No honeymoon, I’m told, and not that much of a celebration, although Mom did try to pull out all the stops with only a few days’ warning.” He cradled
the arm in the cast, a pinched look on his face that told Cooper Jesse was the one hurting right now. “The whole thing doesn’t seem very romantic to me...”

  Cooper’s pulse pounded. Was the charade with Nell over before it had even begun?

  “Maybe Nell couldn’t sleep. Too much excitement yesterday. When I woke up, she was gone.” That much was true; he wasn’t about to let Jesse know he’d slept somewhere else. But if he’d somehow guessed...

  Cooper remembered what Hadley had said. “Our relationship is for Nell and me. It’s private. You and I were friends long ago so maybe you can just let this be. I mean, since you care for her so much.”

  “That doesn’t mean I think she should have married you or that she can run the NLS.” Jesse eyed him up and down. “Since you bring it up, yeah, we were friends,” he said, pushing past Cooper. “Don’t ask me again why I’m here. Let’s say that, along with my parents, I’m looking out for Nell. That, and the fact it’ll be me to inherit this ranch. Soon as I do, none of us want to see you again.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  EVERY TIME SHE saw Hadley, Amy’s heart clenched. She loved Hadley Smith, always would, but so far she’d failed miserably at getting him back. Maybe today—when they had their first view of their baby—he’d finally see the light. Amy knew, she just knew deep inside where that tiny being was growing, that she and Hadley were meant to be together.

  “You nervous?” he asked, taking her arm to help her out of his truck.

  “Some,” she said. “I’m happy you could come with me though.”

  “Quite the day.”