by Leigh Riker
“If you weren’t pregnant—”
“Don’t you say one word against our babies—” She broke off, a hand against her stomach. “I love them. If you don’t want to be involved, then go. I won’t care if I never see you again.” She took a step toward the door. “Leave right now and don’t come back.”
“Hey, hold on.”
But Amy couldn’t stop. “For one minute or two at the NLS, I actually hoped you held me because you wanted to, but I’ve waited long enough for you to come to your senses. In case you’ve never figured this out, I’m someone who can take a lot but when I reach my limit, I’m done. Which I am.” She sucked in a breath. “With you.”
For a long moment, he didn’t speak or move. Amy’s palms went damp but her mouth dried out. She couldn’t swallow much less say another word. She guessed she’d said it all though.
“Are you done talking?” he finally asked.
Amy just nodded, her arms crossed again.
Hadley stepped past her into the apartment and closed the door behind him. He took her in his arms again, as he had at the ranch, then rocked her slowly back and forth. “I’ve been thinking,” he said, “and before you say anything more, I did that before tonight.” He held her gaze with his. “I’m moving in,” he went on, his voice gathering strength, “with you, and you can’t talk me out of it. That’s reality. After the babies are born, then we’ll decide.”
She held her breath. “What does that mean?”
“Maybe I didn’t try hard enough. I’m sorry, Amy. Maybe we should try again.”
* * *
THE PARTY TO welcome Sawyer and Olivia’s new baby had been a smashing success. Nell hummed to herself as she tidied up the kitchen. Suddenly, she heard voices coming through the open window. Men’s voices. At first, she assumed they were ranch hands talking, possibly Clete and Dex, who were like conjoined twins, but then she realized it was Cooper and her grandfather.
Her internal radar spinning, Nell switched off the overhead lights.
She set the platter she’d washed and dried on the counter. The sight of Cooper at the grill this afternoon, and the coffee they’d shared side by side on the front steps, their shoulders brushing, his voice low in her ear, vanished from her thoughts.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you, Ned,” she heard Cooper say. Nell leaned closer to the window as PawPaw answered.
“I figured you were.”
“I know what your objections are likely to be, but hear me out.”
Nell froze. They stood off to one side, and she hoped they couldn’t see her in the dark.
Cooper had made no secret that he intended to reclaim the Ransom ranch, yet for some reason she’d wanted to believe he would never go through with this. The more time she spent with him, the closer they became, the more she prayed that was true. But this was what she’d feared since she first met up with Cooper again at Finn’s house. And hadn’t he warned her recently that he’d make his offer for his former land soon? What else could he be talking to PawPaw about now?
“When my folks had to abandon their place,” Cooper began, “and watch it become part of the NLS—”
PawPaw’s tone hardened, “I paid good money for every foot of that ranch.”
“And broke my father’s heart. My mom’s too, though she’s finally gotten her legs under her again since she’s come back.” He paused. “You seem to like her being here too, I’ve noticed.”
“Never mind that. Pay attention to your marriage,” PawPaw growled. “My girl looks happy these days and I’m grateful for it, if that has anything to do with you.” He didn’t let Cooper respond. “Don’t break her heart again. You hear me? Because if you do—”
“I’ll try not to.”
“Nell remembers what happened years ago just like I do,” PawPaw said. “The day some hotheaded kid proved he wanted that land more than he wanted Nell. Frankly, when I heard you two had married, I was dumbfounded.”
“I was a kid then, and I apologize for the threats I made and how I handled things, especially with Nell. I’ve told Nell that too. Can’t we put it behind us?”
PawPaw made a scoffing noise, which didn’t surprise Nell. “So let me get this straight. Because your mother likes it here—and I can’t blame her—I suppose you expect me to roll over now with the NLS. That why you wanted to talk?”
Cooper paused. “My mother is finally happy again. I hope you’ll let her stay that way.”
Nell’s ears perked up even more as PawPaw said, “She can live in that house forever if she wants. Nobody else has been using it. Maybe all this time, it was waiting for her.”
A moment of silence followed as if the two men were recalling shared memories. Of evening barbecues with both families after a long day of haying in summer, or mustering cattle in the fall. Parties like the one they’d had that afternoon for baby James McCord, though they would have been for her then, or Cooper, or other kids graduating from high school, going off to college, or friends leaving on their honeymoons. Nell remembered funerals too, like the sad day they’d buried her grandmother, wounding her grandfather’s soul.
“Were you planning to buy that house from me? Where’d you get that kind of money anyway?”
“My dad invested his money from the original sale of his ranch. He did so wisely, with sound advice, and got good returns over the years. When he passed, I inherited half. Mom has the rest—”
“Let me guess,” Nell’s grandfather said. “She’d be willing to pool those funds with you.” PawPaw rushed on, “I’ll be talking to my lawyer about a new estate plan next week. You know my granddaughter wants this spread as bad as she needs to breathe.”
“Yes, sir. I do.”
“I suppose you also know my view of that. Nell shouldn’t work herself to death keeping the NLS going. She should have a family of her own. Then there’s Jesse to consider.”
Nell heard Cooper’s voice tighten. “I disagree about your limited view of Nell, and Jesse comes with his own problems.”
To his credit, Cooper didn’t explain them. He must know PawPaw would talk to her brother soon as well, but Nell’s spirits were sinking by the second. Her grandfather had cut Cooper off several times. When would he make his offer instead of dancing around it? She was leaning hard against the sink, ears straining to hear every word when Cooper said, “Nell’s heart and soul are in this ranch. Together, we’ve kept the NLS profitable for you, and although I admit some of the men didn’t care for having a woman in charge at first, they’ve mostly come around. Maybe it’s time you did too.”
“You are your mother’s son,” PawPaw murmured.
“I hope so,” Cooper answered.
“Did your father let Merry run that ranch years ago? No, he did not.”
“That’s not the same thing, Ned. And yes, with Dad gone, Mom is my responsibility. I’ll take care of her—as much as she’ll let me.”
“Nell’s no different, though she’d argue she is. She needs a man, children—”
“And I can give that to her.” Cooper let out a breath. “But times have changed. Why can’t you also respect Nell for what she does, see that she’s fully capable of having a good marriage, kids and the work she loves too?”
Nell’s spirit warmed. Maybe she’d been wrong about Cooper. He was defending her, or so she thought until he spoke again.
“I want you to know I’ll take care of Nell too.”
“How, exactly?” PawPaw asked. “By buying back half this ranch? That really why you married Nell?”
“I do have an offer.”
“Let me hear it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
NELL’S STOMACH HIT BOTTOM, and she backed away from the window. The blood seemed to chill in her veins. She didn’t have to hear the rest.
At first, she’d thought Cooper was sticking up for her, but instead he was like
all the other people in her life, particularly the men, who didn’t respect or understand her. She’d gone against her better instincts, surrendered herself, and this was what happened when she did. Then he’d said, I’ll take care of her, as if she were some brainless female, weak and dependent on a man, as if he were the one who should make decisions for her. She didn’t need to hear his offer. He would hear from her though.
As she swept from the kitchen, slammed out the back door and pounded down the steps, she trembled. She marched up to Cooper and grabbed his shoulder. Taking him by surprise, Nell managed to swing him around to face her. “How dare you!”
Behind them, PawPaw’s boots shifted on the gravel. “Looks like you two should talk,” he said, then began walking toward the barn. “You and I will continue this later, Cooper.”
Nell waited until they were alone. She glared up at Cooper with angry tears in her eyes. She didn’t even try to hide them. Let him know he was breaking her heart all over again, as her grandfather had warned him not to. “I trusted you! And this is how you treat me?”
He held up both hands. “I was only trying to help, Nell.”
“How? By acting just like PawPaw and the others with all their talk of protection? You figured you could convince my grandfather that you wanted what was best for me. Well, I know now you don’t.” She clenched her hands not to lose control and strike him. “You still want your land. No matter how many children I might have someday, I could have that with the NLS in my name, not yours. Not half the NLS but all of it!”
His mouth flattened. “Haven’t our past weeks together meant anything to you?”
“Don’t turn this around on me. I can’t believe you’d use your own mother to get what you want.”
Cooper swore under his breath. “I did not use her. I’m not using you,” he insisted. “Nell, I’m trying—I tried—to support you. I believe in you. Didn’t you hear me tell Ned that? Why can’t you let go of this too-tough stance of yours for a change? Bend a little? I thought we were getting somewhere. I thought—”
“You could come in, sweep me off my feet and take charge like some...cowboy!”
“I am a cowboy,” he said, daring a half smile that made her want to deck him after all. “And you know the code we live by. Come on, Nell. I want to take care of you. That’s what a man does. There’s no reason why that doesn’t work with your vision too.”
She gasped. “Oh, that’s a low blow—playing the concerned husband. I will not be the little woman to your big, tough man.” Nell pointed at her chest. “I take care of myself, mister.”
“Mister?” he echoed, but without the smile now.
“That’s what’s best for me. Is this what you call support? If you thought for one minute I’d hand over this ranch, even part of it, to you to get around my grandfather, because you and I were married, you were wrong. I am not that person. I never was, and I never will be.” This time, Nell poked Cooper in the chest with her index finger. “You’re no better than PawPaw, you’re just not as honest. At least I’ve known where he was coming from. You were the one person I thought who understood. Who wanted me to succeed. I trusted you,” she said again, “against every instinct not to—and you betrayed me.”
“Nell, wait. Listen. Do you want to hear the offer I was going to make your grandfather?”
“I’ve been waiting for that since you showed up at Finn’s. You made it plain just what your offer would be then.” She spun on her heel.
“Nell.”
“Sleep at your mother’s house tonight,” she said over her shoulder. “You and I are finished.”
* * *
COOPER DIDN’T GO after her. Listening to Nell stalk away, then the slam of the door at the house, he stared at the ground. He’d never meant for this to happen. Maybe he should have spent more time thinking things through before he spoke to Ned but when he’d seen the older man, he’d seized the opportunity. I’ll take care of Nell too, he’d told her grandfather, possibly the worst words he could have said after all. She hadn’t let him explain the sentiment behind them though, and she’d never believe him now. I take care of myself, she’d said.
After Ned had prompted him to make his offer, a dozen scenarios had run through Cooper’s mind. Him and Nell on the ridge, sharing dinner at Jack’s new restaurant, riding together after the coyotes, revisiting their better memories at the old house where his mother now lived again.
And earlier, Cooper had fallen under the spell of all their friends having what he wanted for himself and Nell. But he realized he couldn’t have that unless he gave up his dream.
If he went ahead with his original plan to buy back the former Ransom ranch, his marriage to Nell would be over. The new memories they’d made would be nothing but dust.
When Ned asked if he really intended to get his half of the ranch back, Cooper had hesitated, knowing he couldn’t go on any longer feeling torn between his two options.
When he’d finally had his chance to make the offer to Ned, he’d waffled, because the cost would prove too high. To Ned he was still that hotheaded kid who’d wanted the land more than he did Nell.
He’d had the chance to show both of them that had changed. And he’d messed up.
Wrestling with his growing sense that he’d lost her completely, Cooper marched toward the barn. He didn’t want to go to his mother’s, let her see the turmoil inside him as she surely would. A night alone, camped out in the tack room with his saddle for a pillow might be better penance.
“Marital spat?” a voice said from a nearby stall.
Jesse. Cooper looked in to find him brushing Bear as if he wanted to get on Nell’s good side by doing her a favor. “No,” Cooper said, “a discussion. You’re doing pretty well with one arm.”
Jesse tugged at Bear’s forelock. “I’m not as useless as I seem.”
“No one ever said that.” A few people had come close though; so had Cooper.
Jesse ducked under the horse’s neck, came out of the stall, then shut the door behind him. In the aisle, he faced Cooper. “What do you guess the old man’s going to do?” He must have overheard, or somehow learned about, the offer Ned had asked about. Part of it, at least. Like Nell.
“What are you going to do?” he asked his old friend.
Jesse shrugged. He had as much at stake as Nell did.
“You make this into some fight with your sister,” Cooper said, “you’ll lose.”
Jesse’s face became a blank mask.
Cooper went into the tack room and pulled his saddle off the rack on the wall. “I realize how desperate you must feel.” He couldn’t forget their talk about Jesse’s business failures and his need for money. “But you don’t really want this ranch. You never did.”
Jesse stood in the tack room doorway. “Now you’re a mind reader?”
“No, but we’ve known each other forever. You’ve always taken the easy path, but this isn’t—won’t be—as easy as you want it to be.” Cooper glanced over his shoulder. “You’d sell this place, wouldn’t you? A second after Ned passed away, as his heir you’d put it on the market and hope for a quick sale.”
“The NLS has been in my family for generations. But there comes a time when the only sensible solution to everyone’s problems is to get rid of it. You should understand how that goes.”
“That wasn’t sensible on my father’s part. It wasn’t my dad’s choice. Ned ruined a good friendship fourteen years ago.”
“Your loss too.”
“Yes, it was.”
“So you decided to come back here and marry Nell. You poor b—” He didn’t finish. He motioned at the saddle on the floor, the wool blanket Cooper had taken off a tack trunk and tried again. “Looks like you underestimated her tonight. Least I do appreciate what I’m up against. Could be wiser to cut your losses. A second time. If not, then know this—I will fight Nell for the NLS. I’ll
fight you too.”
* * *
NELL REFUSED TO give in to tears. For a moment or two after she’d stalked off and left Cooper, she’d wanted to turn around, to hear his side of things, but her sense of betrayal had kept her walking toward the house. And what was left to say?
Cooper had been her safe haven, her refuge and, yes, the one person who believed in her. Or so she’d thought. But as it turned out, all along, he’d been like her parents, her grandfather. Tomorrow morning, no matter what PawPaw decided, she’d fire Cooper as she’d only threatened to before, and from now on, she’d harden her foolish heart.
In the kitchen, she puttered around, washing the remaining pots and pans from the barbecue, covering a few leftover desserts with plastic wrap. Wishing for a better outcome with Cooper, though she could never forgive him.
She was half surprised her brother hadn’t joined the fray earlier. As soon as she’d opened the kitchen door to confront Cooper in the yard, Nell had spied Jesse watching from the doorway of the foreman’s bungalow. He’d use the wedge of their argument to better his chances about the NLS. He wouldn’t succeed—not while Nell had breath left in her body.
She set the wrapped desserts in the fridge to take to the ranch hands in the morning. Opening the rear door, she put a bag of trash in the can outside, secured the lid against raccoons...and heard a now-familiar, plaintive howl. Then another.
The hairs on the nape of her neck stood up. The usual yips and barks followed. There was no mistaking the eerie sounds and Nell’s pulse took off like a rocket. Wrenching the kitchen door open, she yelled, “PawPaw! Coyotes!”
She would have called Cooper but she didn’t want to be anywhere near him, and by now he was probably at his mother’s. She couldn’t say where Jesse might be. She ran to the ranch office and grabbed a shotgun from the rack. Nell borrowed her grandfather’s jacket, hanging on a hook by the portrait of Ferdinand that covered the safe, stuffed extra shells into the pockets and pelted through the house, down the back steps and out to the barn.
