Patricia Thayer - The Cowboy She Couldn't Forget

“I didn’t know,” she said when he opened the passenger-side door.

“There’s a lot about Colt you don’t know.”

She took Vance’s offered hand and stepped down onto the sidewalk. “That’s not my fault.”

“I didn’t say it was.” He opened the door to the lawyer’s office and let her walk inside first. “I just wanted you to be aware of it.”

“What about you? Did that rule apply to you?”

He nodded, wondering if she remembered that one time in the barn.

“Since you’re still around, I guess you never told him that you accosted one of his daughters in the barn.” She turned her back on him and walked into the reception area.

“Whoa. I wasn’t alone that day, or the only one responsible for what happened. If I remember right, there was a certain young girl who’d been sniffing around a young teenage boy. Not a good idea. You know, raging hormones and all.”

“I didn’t have raging hormones,” she retorted.

“Not yours. Mine.” He studied the blush on her cheeks. He, too, was remembering the day she’d let him lead her into a stall and kiss her. If one of the other ranch hands hadn’t come back early, he wondered how far he could have gone. He started to speak when Wade Dickson came out of his office and greeted them.

“Hello, Ana and Vance.” He smiled. “Please come inside.”

They went ahead of the lawyer into the adjoining room. Nothing too fancy, but there were nice comfortable chairs and a large desk. Wade had his law degree from the University of Montana hanging on the wall.

“Have a seat.” He walked around the desk and sat across from them. He opened a folder and glanced over the contents, then looked at Ana. “Are you sure your sisters can’t come home?”

“Not right away. Why?”

“I didn’t tell you everything last night. There’s a slight problem with the ranch.”

Ana slid to the edge of her chair. “What is it?”

“As you know, the Lazy S is a sizable spread.” He quoted the section amount. “Your father owns that land outright. But there’s a lot of grazing acreage that is leased from the state. And the payment is past due.”

“How is that possible?”

“Only Colt knows the answer to that.” Wade paused. “I managed to get an extension from the state, but it’s only bought us a few months to come up with the money. And if you don’t pay it, someone else gets a chance to bid on the property.”

Ana glanced at Vance. “Then we need to pay it.”

Wade looked worried. “There aren’t enough funds available.”

CHAPTER THREE

ANA’S EYES WIDENED. “What do you mean, there aren’t enough funds?”

Wade leaned back in his chair. “It means the Lazy S has had a rough few years. I just recently learned this because I’ve been notified by the State Land Leasing Board.”

Ana turned to Vance. “Why didn’t you say something?”

He was as shocked as she was. “First of all, I didn’t know anything about the lease coming due. I knew beef prices were down and that we lost several head in that big storm last winter, but...” He’d never dreamed it had been this bad.

“What do you mean, you didn’t know? You’re Dad’s foreman.”

“I may physically run the operation, but Colt funds the business account. I use that money for payroll and for the feed and supplies. Colt kept the ranch finances.”

He thought about the land that Colt had given to him a few years back. He’d planted an alfalfa crop on the acreage. It should be ready to harvest in about six weeks. That gave them the time, but would the profit be enough?

Wade broke into his thoughts. “Ana, I’ve been trying for years to get your father to diversify. He lost a lot of his savings when the market tanked a few years ago. In the past, that money had always been his cushion through the bad years.”

Ana looked pale. “What do we do now?”

Vance wished he could offer a miracle, but he wasn’t sure there was one. “Like Mr. Dickson said, we have nearly six months.” His gaze met hers. “You can’t do this on your own. I think you need to get your sisters together.”

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Vance escorted Ana out of the Dickson law office.

“You look ready to drop,” he told her.

“Gee, thanks. What every woman wants to hear.”

He ignored her comment. “When was the last time you ate?”

“I had some toast this morning. I’m just not hungry.”

“It’s after one o’clock. You have a lot to deal with, so you need to eat.” He placed his hand on the small of her back and immediately felt the warmth of her skin, but resisted the urge to draw her any closer.

She sighed. “You’re right, but I should go home and figure out what to do about this mess.”

Nixing her request, he guided her a short distance down the sidewalk to a small family-owned restaurant, the Big Sky Grill.

“First, you’re going to eat.” He held open the door. When she didn’t move, he said, “I can keep this up all day.”

She glared at him with those big blue eyes, then finally relented. “Okay. A quick lunch.”

Once inside, they were greeted by the owners, Burt and Cindy Logan. Burt escorted them across the tile floor to a booth next to the picture window that looked out onto Main Street. Several patrons stopped Ana en route and wished her father well. When she finally got away, she slid into one of the bench seats while Vance sat down across from her and placed his hat on the space beside him. He pulled out a menu from between the salt-and-pepper shakers and went over the choices.

Cindy showed up with two glasses of water. “How’s your daddy doin’?” she asked.

“A lot better. He’s stable for now, but they’re still running more tests.”

The middle-aged woman placed her hand on Ana’s. “Tell Colt that we’re all praying for him.”

“He’ll appreciate that, Cindy. Thank you.”

They gave her their order and she left them alone.

Ana shook her head. “I can’t believe how many people care. Funny, isn’t it? He seems to have gotten along with everyone except his own daughters.”

Vance shrugged. “Why does that surprise you? The Slater family helped settle Royerton. Colt is well respected around here.”

Vance knew how Colt had treated his girls. It wasn’t that he was mean, he just pretty much ignored them. Over the years, Kathleen had always been the surrogate parent. “Okay, the man wasn’t the perfect father.” Vance leaned back in the seat. “So why did you stay, and not take off like your sisters?”

Ana stared at him with eyes that were the mirror image of Colt’s. “I stayed for my sisters, then I got the job at the high school.” She shrugged. “I’m not even sure it matters anymore.”

Vance leaned forward. “Look, Ana, I don’t know why Colt did a lot of things. There’s no doubt he isn’t a happy man. I’ve heard stories about how he was when he was younger, before your mother left.”

He watched Ana stiffen.

He wasn’t going to be put off. “Do you remember her?”

With a nod, she glanced away. “I was pretty young. But, yes, I can remember how beautiful she was. Her voice, her touch.” She turned back and he saw the tears in her eyes. “I wanted to hate her, but for years I just kept praying she’d come back and be our mom again.”

He reached across the table and touched her hand. “That’s understandable.”

She looked down at his hand and slowly pulled hers away. “Is it? Do you wish your mother would come back?”

“Sure. Every kid does, especially when your dad isn’t around to feed you and you’re hungry.” Vance blew out a breath. “And you can’t go to school because you don’t have shoes. Kids make fun of you for things like that. But sometimes you’re just too hungry to care, when you know you’ll get that free meal at lunch.”