Barbara White Daille - The Cowboy's Little Surprise

He hesitated, though he knew full well he’d have to take the offer. He needed a steady job. This one would give him a chance to prove to Jed he’d changed. At the same time, it might give him an idea of how to pay the man back.

But it would also put him in danger of running into Tina. Tina...who, with one short conversation with her granddaddy, could get him thrown off Garland Ranch.

* * *

TINA PULLED THE ranch’s truck into the empty parking lot behind the Hitching Post. As she and her grandmother climbed out of the cab, she said, “Abuela, you go ahead in with the frozen food, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“You can handle all that?”

“Sure,” she said. “This is nothing.”

And that was a problem.

The small size of their order from the Local-General Store reflected the lack of guests at the hotel. As the hotel’s bookkeeper, she found that lack giving her plenty to worry about lately. Sure, it was only early March, never one of their busiest seasons, but it was quieter than usual for this time of year. Their bookings for the summer hadn’t begun to pick up yet, either.

“We’ll need to go back to the store again soon, before Jane and Andi arrive.”

“No problem, Abuela. I know you need to buy everything fresh. John Barrett must love seeing us walk into the L-G so often.”

“I think you’re right.”

John had established the market forty years ago, naming it the Local-General Store. He claimed building it smack in the middle of Cowboy Creek made it local to everybody, and stocking everything under the sun made it general. The store’s popularity—despite the attempt of a couple of national chains to take over—seemed to have proven him right.

She looked over at Abuela, who was still gathering the couple of insulated carrier bags she used for frozen food.

“Is everything okay? You’ve been looking tired lately.” More than tired. Her shoulders seemed slightly stooped, the lines under her eyes more pronounced. With her grandparents always so active, Tina sometimes had to remind herself they’d both reached their seventies. “Has Robbie been wearing you out? He’s got so much energy.”

“Don’t be silly. And a four-year-old must have lots of energy.”

It wasn’t till Abuela was halfway up the steps of the hotel that Tina realized she hadn’t answered the first question. Was everything okay with her? Was she concerned about Jed, the way Tina had been for a while now?

Though she hadn’t learned she was Jed’s granddaughter until shortly before she had started school, he had always been her abuelo . She loved him just as much as she loved Robbie and Abuela.

His behavior lately had her very concerned. He’d been acting odd, distracted, as if he were worried about something. But of course, there was one perfectly logical reason for that. He had the same worries she did.

Ever since high school, she had helped keep the hotel’s books for Jed. Very early on, she had learned that when people were forced to budget, vacation funds often went in the first cut. And the Hitching Post felt the pain. That meant she felt the pain, as well. She glanced up at the hotel, all three stories of it, all the way up to the windows of her attic hideaway. She loved the hotel, the only home she and Robbie had ever known. Jed, who had also lived here all of his life, couldn’t like the idea of all those empty rooms, either.

Sighing, she reached for one of the grocery sacks in the back of the truck. Footsteps on gravel made her pause. It wasn’t Jed’s familiar tread, and they had no one staying at the hotel at the moment. Maybe this was someone who wanted to book a room. She turned with a welcoming smile.

That smile died on her lips when she saw the cowboy standing in front of her.

Cole Slater.

In one startled, reflexive sweep, she took in almost everything about him. The light brown hair showing beneath the brim of his battered hat. The firm mouth and jaw. Broad shoulders. Narrow hips. The well-worn jeans, silver belt buckle, and scuffed boots. In the next reluctant second, she turned her gaze to the one feature she had deliberately skipped over the first time.

A pair of blue eyes that made her think instantly of her son.

Clutching the grocery sack, she demanded, “What are you doing here?”

His face looked flushed. But he didn’t appear angry, the way he would have if he’d seen Robbie and put two and two together. She breathed a sigh of relief at the reprieve, no matter how brief, giving her a chance to come to grips with his return to town. If she ever could.

Seeing him again had brought back years of memories she didn’t want to think about.

She should have known better than to fall for Cole Slater. At the tender age of seven, she had already heard about his reputation as a sweet-talker. By junior high, he had progressed to a real player. And by senior high, he had turned love-’em-and-leave-’em into an art form, changing girlfriends as often as she replaced guest towels here at the Hitching Post.

Too bad she hadn’t remembered all that when he had finally turned his attention her way.

He shoved his hands into his back pockets, which pulled his shirt taut against his chest. Now, she felt herself flushing as she recalled the one and only time—

No, she wasn’t going there. And he wasn’t staying here. “You must have made a wrong turn somewhere. I suggest you find your vehicle, wherever you might have left it—”

“I parked near the barn—”

“—and be on your way.”

“—and to answer your question, I came to see Jed.”

“What for?”

“He invited me.”

“Then I assume you’ve seen him already and, as I said, you can be on your way.”

“You and I need to have something out first.”

Please, no. Had he caught a glimpse of Robbie, after all?

He shifted his stance and crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t expect to run into you this soon, but since we’ve met up, it’s as good a time as any to talk.”

“I don’t really have anything to say to you.”

“But I’ve got something to say to you.”

He ducked his head, looking suddenly like the kindergartner made to give back the lollipop he’d just sweet-talked out of her hand. Even in those days, she’d have given him anything.

One night in high school, she’d proven that.

She turned to the truck and grabbed another sack. “I’m busy, sorry.”

“I’ll give you a hand, and then we can talk.”

“No.” He had stepped up beside her and stood only a few inches away. His nearness unsettled her. The thought of him going back into the hotel upset her even more.

While she and Abuela had been in town, her son had stayed over at the ranch manager’s house on the property. But Pete’s housekeeper might be bringing Robbie back home any minute.

“All right,” she conceded. “Say whatever you want to say right here.”

“I’m sorry.”

She blinked. “What?”

He ducked his head again, then tugged the brim of his hat down, shading his eyes. “Look, I know I acted like a real jerk to you back in high school.”

“High school? You mean that lunchtime you turned me down when I asked you to the dance?” The time you humiliated me in front of everyone in the school cafeteria? “I’m over that.”

“You are?”

“Of course.”

“Well. That’s good. But I still feel I owe you an apology.”

“Oh, please. Don’t even think twice about it.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” She forced a smile and hoped he couldn’t see her grinding her teeth in frustration. She just wanted him gone. Off the ranch. Anywhere but right here, right now.