Mary Sullivan - Rodeo Father

He ran his new boss, Udall Weber, to ground in the stable.

Udall shook hands with a firm grip. “Good to see you again. You get settled in all right?” A big man with a ruddy complexion, his skin had been ruined by years of hard work in the unforgiving elements.

“Not yet. Got an appointment in an hour to pick up the keys. Meantime, where can I put Dusty?”

“Last stall on the right. First, let’s saddle up for a quick tour of the ranch.”

“Glad to have one.”

“Take the weekend to get yourself organized. Monday will be soon enough to start work. We got fences that need mending before winter.”

Travis backed his horse out of the trailer. Dusty, a solid gray gelding he’d owned for a dozen years, had covered a lot of miles with him. His brief visits to get Sammy and the boys out of Vegas and settled in San Francisco seemed like a bad dream here on the stunning Montana prairie.

“Park your trailer behind the barn beside mine.” Udall pointed to a spot. “Don’t mind if you store it there for the winter till you get your place set up.”

“Thanks. Appreciate it.” His place never would be set up, not for permanently holding cattle.

His clothes were in a bag on the backseat of his pickup truck. His motorcycle rested in the bed. What else did he need?

Sammy’s voice rang in his head. You need a home, Travis. Put roots down somewhere and stay for longer than a year.

Nope.

“You meet anyone in town yet?” Udall asked, breaking into his thoughts.

A picture of whiskey-colored eyes and tawny hair flashed across his memory. “I stopped at the amusement park outside of town. Met a woman named Rachel.”

The corners of Udall’s mouth turned down. “Rachel McGuire.”

Travis frowned. “You don’t like her?”

“I like her fine. Lovely young woman. She’s got a rough road ahead, though. Husband’s dead and she’s pregnant, with another little one already at home.”

“Jeez, that’s tough.”

Wind knocked out of him, Travis had to admit he was one of the lucky ones. Sure, he had his problems, but that poor woman...what a future she had facing her.

His admiration grew. How she’d kept her good humor boggled his mind. Another kid at home as well as one on the way? Warning bells clanged. No matter how much he admired the woman, he’d be keeping his distance.

“What’s with the carousel? It’s great, but the rest of the place looks abandoned.”

“We got us a committee that’s reviving the park. They’ve set their sights on getting it up and running by next summer.”

“Think they can?” Considering what he’d seen today, Travis had his doubts.

“If anyone can, it would be Rachel and her gang.”

With a rough laugh, Udall strode away to saddle up, his denim jeans and shirt emphasizing his lean, hard frame.

Travis saddled Dusty, a chore he’d done thousands of times before. This was where he belonged, with horses and ranchers. Running his hand along the horse’s neck, he murmured, “You survive the trip okay, boy?”

He rode out with his new boss onto land as pretty as any he’d ever seen. He’d been raised in Arizona, a state with its own brand of stark beauty, but often arid. He liked the colors of Montana.

“Monday morning, we’ll get you out trailing,” Udall said. “One of the hands spotted a dozen cattle holed up in the gully at the south edge of the property.”

Travis followed him out onto the range.

“In his reference letter, Lester Green said you’re one of the best he’s ever seen at flushing cattle out of tough spots and bringing them home. Said you did real good up in Wyoming last fall.”

“Yeah. Lester was a good boss.” Travis loved trailing, one of his favorite jobs. “It’s late to be finishing up gathering cattle for the winter, isn’t it?”

“Yep. Had a couple of the hands out sick. Some kind of flu goin’ ’round.”

They spotted a sheep caught on a piece of damaged fence on the far side of a field of dormant alfalfa.

“You keep sheep?” Travis asked.

“My neighbor raises them and spins her own yarn.”

Together, they got the distressed animal off the fence, but not before it kicked Travis in his ribs.

He hissed.

“That hurt, I bet.” Udall said.

Travis rubbed the injury. “Part of the job.”

Udall set the animal loose on its own side of the fence. “I’ll come back with tools tomorrow and fix this.”

“Let me.”

Udall shot him a surprised look. “You sure? You only just got here.”

“I’m sure. Just spent too many days on the road. I’m itchy to get out on the land.”

Udall smiled approvingly. They mounted and rode on.

So darned glad to be back in the country, Travis breathed deeply of fresh air purer than anything he’d ever found in any city.

His worries fell away, leaving only the wind in his ears, the sun on the prairie and the warmth of the animal beneath him.

Chapter Two

Rachel McGuire rested her head against the inanimate pony’s unforgiving neck, unsure whether to laugh or have a good, hard cry.

What on earth had just happened to her poor battered heart?

The second she’d laid eyes on the new arrival, Travis Read, she’d been attracted to him.

What kind of man could melt her hardened heart with just a look from blazing blue eyes, the rustiest of smiles and so few words? And not just her heart, but also her pregnant body, waking it from a long slumber.

Could the timing possibly be worse?

What kind of poor, dumb fool was she for finding a man so attractive when she was more than seven months pregnant, and as big as that horse she’d heard shuffling in his trailer?

She’d wanted to flirt. But why would he ever be interested in her?

That smile? When he’d ridden the carousel? Oh, sweet heavenly pumpkins, pure and utter joy.

She’d given him a simple ride on a carousel, and he’d smiled at her as though she’d hung the moon.

And all of that lovely warmth and admiration she’d basked in had come to a crashing halt when he’d seen her belly.

Of course she understood why. Totally got it.

But wouldn’t it be nice to be carefree and available to flirt with a man who’d found her attractive?

Suck it up, Rachel. This is the life you chose. Live it.

Rachel laughed at her lapse in common sense. “You so need to get over yourself, Rach.”

She put the finishing touches on the carousel, preparing it for the coming winter. An hour later, she tucked away her tools, along with her unreasonable attraction to the new man.

She drove into town and stopped at the used-clothing shop.

Her wardrobe was pretty slim pickings at the moment.

She found a glittery maternity top she could wear to work. If she took off the sequins and rearranged the beading, she could remake the top into her own style. Embroidery, sewing and knitting calmed her. That she could take a five-dollar top and make it personal filled her with pride.

At the market, she shopped for next week’s groceries. In the produce section, she found marked-down overripe bananas that would make an excellent bread.

She picked up fruits and vegetables on special and root vegetables in season.

A huge bag of lentils was on sale. Good source of protein. She bypassed the expensive sugary cereals and instant oatmeal to pick up a bag of rolled oats. By the time she finished, she had an economical, nourishing menu planned for the weekend and coming week for herself and her daughter.

Maybe I should get a small steak to share with Tori. Her mother was always on her case about eating meat for the baby, and Tori was a growing girl who needed protein.

She perused the packages, but the prices worried her. She picked up one minuscule steak, shuffling along the counter to see if there was a better deal, until she ran smack dab into a hard body.