Rancher's High-Stakes Rescue

“Thanks for wearing him out,” Brady said, pushing to his feet. “The kid is gonna sleep well tonight!”

“He’s not the only one,” Josh said, taking the chair Brady vacated.

“So the itinerary posted in the guesthouse says tomorrow we learn to saddle and ride horses and get a glimpse of other aspects of ranching life.” Kate ran a finger down the side of her glass, wiping off the drips of condensation.

“Yep,” Josh said. “Bright and early. We’ll start with a hearty breakfast, then gather up in the corral behind the stable.”

“I just remembered I never called Dean back,” Dawn said. “Will you excuse me?” Dawn rose from the table, wearing a smirk.

But Kate was having none of Dawn’s ploy. She already saw a battle with her attraction to him ahead and the day’s travel was catching up to her. “I’m going to call it a night, as well. Thanks for everything.”

Josh touched the brim of his hat and winked at her. “See you in the morning.”

Kate took her trash to the waiting receptacle, then headed into the guesthouse. Dawn wasn’t on the phone when she got there, lending more credence to her theory about her friend’s continuing efforts to play matchmaker.

Dawn grunted and frowned at Kate from the kitchenette, where she was pouring herself a glass of wine. “Why are you in here instead of enjoying Josh’s company?”

“Because, like I’ve said, this is a business trip. I’m not looking for a hookup.”

Dawn set the wine bottle down and licked a drip of the merlot from her finger as she pinned a hard look on Kate. “Are you sure that’s all it is? Is everything okay?”

Kate blinked, a bit startled by the question. “Of course. Why?”

Her colleague twisted her mouth and gave her a narrow-eyed scrutiny. “You just don’t seem that excited to be here. You’ve acted rather reluctant since we landed this account and scheduled this trip. What’s wrong? What am I missing?”

Kate waffled briefly between telling Dawn the whole truth and brushing off her reservations. “I’m just tired.”

Dawn continued to stare at her.

“Really! This place is great. The people are super friendly, the scenery is awesome, and it’s an exciting account to be working on. I just...” Shoot. Why did she add the unfinished addendum?

“If something about this account is bothering you, if you feel we need to go a different direction on some aspect of the campaign, you should tell me.” Dawn strolled into the common area with her wine, obviously waiting for Kate’s explanation.

“No, no. It’s nothing about the account or our plans for the ad campaign. It’s me.”

Dawn raised her chin. “So there is something?”

Kate closed her eyes and let her shoulders droop. “Ugh. Okay, yes. I didn’t want to say anything because it’s my issue to work out. But...” She moistened her lips, then took Dawn’s hand and led her to the couch. They sat facing each other, and Kate rubbed her hands on the skirt of her dress. “I’m chicken. All these ‘adventures,’” she said, drawing air quotes with her fingers, “scare me.”

Dawn’s face split with a grin. “Seriously? That’s all?”

Kate straightened her back. “All? Dawn, day after tomorrow, we’re supposed to leave on a camping trip filled with all kinds of dangerous and death-defying stunts. I can’t do it! Just the thought of all those high places and steep drop-offs leaves me in a cold sweat.” She raised her damp, trembling palms to show Dawn. “Look!”

Dawn laughed and grabbed Kate’s hands, then clutched them against her chest. “Oh, Katie! You’re supposed to be a little scared. That’s part of the thrill, the adrenaline rush. Facing down that instinctive fear and conquering it is what makes these kinds of adventures so exciting!” She squeezed both of Kate’s hands, smiling her enthusiasm.

Kate shook her head. “You don’t get it. I used to be adventurous. As a kid, I did all kinds of stupid, daring, dangerous stuff.”

“Well, there you go! You’ve got the adventurous spirit in you. Just dig it out and wear it pr—”

“No.” Kate jerked her hands back and ran her fingers through her hair. Her gut quivered as memories of her days spent in the bottom of the silo, injured, scared, alone, reverberated through her mind’s eye. “I lost that spirit a long time ago. I almost died once. I fell—” She swallowed hard. “I shouldn’t have been climbing on that roof, but...” She paused and took a deep breath to calm the jangle of nerves.

Dawn’s forehead was wrinkled with curiosity. “You almost died? When? What happened?”

Kate balled her hands into fists and told her coworker the whole story in digest version. She finished by saying, “That’s why this whole adventure trip scares me so much. I don’t think I can do it. I still have nightmares about being in that silo, about falling, about being lost.”

Dawn leaned back against the cushions of the couch and shook her head slowly. “Wow. That had to have sucked.”

“To put it mildly.”

“But...” Her friend arched one eyebrow, and her gaze glinted with challenge. “What better time to get past those fears, huh? Face ’em down. Conquer them!”

Kate was shaking her head before Dawn even finished.

“Come on, Kate! Zane and Josh know what they are doing. You heard them out there tonight.” Dawn waved a hand toward the door. “They’ve been doing this stuff for years. They’ve taken every safety precaution, had the equipment inspected. It’s all perfectly safe. Josh and Zane are pros at this, and they will not let you get hurt.”

Kate worried her bottom lip with her teeth. She’d told herself all of the same things a dozen times, but nothing could calm the drumbeat of dread deep in her soul. Instead of arguing points that she had no good defense for, she aimed a finger at Dawn and said, “That’s another thing.”

Dawn blinked. “What is?”

“Stop pushing me at Josh and vice versa. I don’t need a matchmaker.”

Her friend’s grin turned smug. “But he’s so good-looking and so into you.”

“I know he’s good-looking. I’d have to be blind not to notice that. But I’m not in the market for a vacation romance.”

“Oh, girl...why not? If I weren’t with Dean—”

“Because I’m...not! I have my reasons!” she said in a tone sharper than she intended.

Dawn drew back slightly, and her face reflected a degree of hurt and remorse.

Lowering her voice, Kate continued, “I’ve been down that path before and it was a disaster I don’t care to repeat. So...please drop it. No matchmaking.”

The front door of the guesthouse opened, and two of the other guests strolled in, holding hands and smiling warmly at each other. Both couples joining them on the adventure trip, Paige and Jake McCall and Brianna and Hunter Mansfield, hailed from Louisiana. They’d been invited because Brianna was a friend of Piper’s from college, and Jake McCall, a former navy SEAL, was Zane, Josh and Piper’s cousin.

“Beautiful evening for a walk,” Paige said. “The moon is almost full.”

“Oh, how romantic,” Dawn said.

“Exactly,” Jake replied with a wanton wink. “Well, good night.” He headed down the hall to their bedroom, towing his chuckling wife in his wake.

“That’s what I want,” Kate said, waving a hand toward the hall after the couple had closed their door.

“Sorry, he’s taken. Quite happily from the looks of it.” Dawn gave her a lopsided grin.

“I mean I want the happily-ever-after. I want to be taking romantic walks in the moonlight after years of marriage.”

Dawn lifted a shoulder. “Nothing says you can’t have that. But to find it, you have to be open to opportunities when they present themselves.”

“But it doesn’t mean I have to chase every wild goose that crosses my path.” She scooted to the edge of the couch, ready to head off to bed. “Especially if I know that a particular goose doesn’t offer any possibilities beyond a short vacation.”

“Gander.”

Kate gave Dawn a puzzled glance. “What?”

“A gander is a male goose. Josh would be a gander.”

Kate grunted, then rose to her feet. “My point is the same. Good night.”

“So...” Dawn said, following Kate down the hall, “no adventures and no fun on the path to Mr. Right?”

Kate stopped, bracing her hands on her hips as she faced Dawn. “That’s painting it in rather bleak tones. Just because I’ve learned to be cautious doesn’t mean I’m some kind of cowardly nun.”

Dawn wrapped her arms around Kate in a hug. “I know you’re not. That’s why this trip is the perfect chance to seize some of that passion you have just under the surface and let it out. Carpe diem, my friend. Starting tomorrow, I’m going to help you face those fears and grab life by the horns.” She kissed Kate’s cheek and gave her a finger wave as she disappeared into her bedroom.

Kate stood in the hall, staring at Dawn’s closed door for several seconds, speechless. She’d always known Dawn was pushy and direct. Assertiveness was helpful in business. But Kate didn’t so much like being on the receiving end of her coworker’s brass. Still... Dawn’s characterization of her, and the suggestion she could be letting opportunity pass her by, rankled. Maybe the root of the disquiet in her gut was the restlessness she’d thrived on as a child battling to be expressed again. Could she do it? Could she embrace that side of her nature once again and finally silence the doubt demons that had plagued her for twenty years?

As she headed off to bed, her pulse scampering at the thought of facing her fears, the image that fixed itself in her mind’s eye was not of the old silo, nor was it of a high bluff to be rappelled on a Colorado mountain. No, what she saw as she closed her eyes in search of sleep that night was a pair of sky blue eyes, a well-fitting pair of jeans and Josh’s sultry grin.

Early the next morning, Kate was roused from a deep, contented sleep by the clang of a bell and a male voice shouting outside her window. “Breakfast time!”

“What the...?” she grumbled, groping for her phone on the nightstand.

The door to her room opened, and Dawn strolled in. She grabbed and shook Kate’s toes through the covers. “Come on, sleepyhead. We’re on ranch time now. The day starts early around here.”

“What time is it?”

“Oh-dark-thirty.” Dawn moved back to the door, turning on a lamp as she departed. “Get a wiggle on. We’re here to get the full ranching experience, and that includes the morning chores.”

Kate groaned and pulled the covers over her head.

“Oh, and don’t bother showering yet. Zane recommends saving that until after the chores and breakfast. Meet me at breakfast in five.” With that, Dawn closed the door, leaving Kate to struggle out of bed.

Seven minutes later, she staggered down the hall to find the dining table bustling as her fellow guests passed bowls of fluffy eggs, platters of bacon, pans of fried potatoes and pots of fresh coffee to each other.

“Saved you a seat,” Dawn called, motioning to the empty chair next to her.

Kate moved stiffly to the chair and gaped at all the food. “Good grief. There’s enough here to feed an army.”

Beside her, Dawn poured coffee in the mug at Kate’s plate. “The foreman, Mr. Summers, is supposed to be by in about twenty minutes to show us where we can help with the morning chores. Then we’ll clean up a bit before we saddle up and ride out in the fields to check on the herd, ride the fence—”

“Ride the fence?” Brianna Mansfield paused as she added pepper to her plate of eggs.

“Miles and miles of fences are part of this and every ranch. They get worn out and damaged regularly. We’ll be helping look for that damage and fix it.” Dawn smiled at their fellow guest. “Pretty routine stuff, but a great way to see the land and practice our horsemanship before we hit the adventure trail tomorrow.”

Brianna glanced at her husband. “When you said we were going to be helping with the ranch chores, you weren’t kidding.”

“It’ll be fun. Just stick with me, kid. You’ll do great.” Hunter gave his wife a peck on the cheek.

When Roy Summers arrived, Dawn, Kate and the two couples followed the foreman out to the stable. “You’ll each work one-on-one with one of the ranch staff, learning how to care for your assigned horse and prepping for the day ahead.”

The group assembled in the main alley of the stable, where the ranch crew was waiting for them. Kate spotted Josh immediately, leaning casually against the gate of the first stall. Her stomach swooped when he met her gaze and sent her a wink and a lopsided grin.

The other guests were paired up with the hands, Piper McCall and Brady Summers. Then Roy turned to Kate and Dawn.

“You two will work with these bozos.” He aimed a thumb over his shoulder to Zane and Josh. “That way you can discuss promotion biz while you learn the ranch.”

Dawn jerked a nod and stepped over to slip her arm through Zane’s. “Perfect.”

Which left Kate paired with Josh. She gave Dawn a withering glance, and her friend mouthed back, “Carpe diem.”

Josh sauntered over to her and waved a hand down the alley toward the back end of the stable. “After you.”

Kate rubbed her palms on her jeans and fell in step behind Josh, trying not to notice how his T-shirt hugged his broad back and biceps. She’d rather hoped that in the light of a new day she’d discover she’d exaggerated in her mind how handsome he was, how good he smelled, how affecting his lopsided grin could be. But if anything, she’d minimized him in her mind as she tried to dissuade herself from the attraction she couldn’t deny. Her pulse pounded out a staccato rhythm as she entered the stall with him, where a bay horse swished its black tail and nuzzled Josh with its white snout.

“Hey, girl,” Josh cooed to the animal, stroking her neck and nose. “How are you? Good girl.” The soothing, low rumble of his voice as he talked to the horse caused a fluttering in Kate’s core. The purring, intimate quality of his voice conjured images of rumpled sheets and late night pillow talk. Sweet nothings. Sexy whispers.

She put a hand low on her belly as if she could quash the tingle of lust coalesced there.

“This is Lucy. Come say hello,” Josh said, meeting Kate’s gaze.

She stepped deeper into the stall and reached a hand out to pat the mare’s neck. “Hello, Lucy. Nice to meet you.”

Josh ducked out of the stable for a moment and came back with a few slices of apple in a zip-sealed baggie. He gave her one. “Put this on your open palm and let her eat it off your hand. She’ll be your best friend forever after.”

Kate fed the treat to Lucy and grinned as the mare’s ears turned forward, showing her delight. “Good girl, Lucy.”

“She loves apple slices, but don’t give her too many.” Josh took a bit with a harness from a hook on the wall. “They are like candy for a kid. Just treats. Too many mess with her diet.”

“Right,” she said, still stroking Lucy’s nose. “I grew up on a farm. Remember?”

Josh paused from loosening the knot tied in the reins. “Oh, right. So you know horses? This lesson is moot?”

She raised a shoulder. “Refresh my memory. It has been quite a while since I saddled a horse.”

“You got it.” He handed her a currycomb. “Let’s see how much you recall.”

Zane walked up to the door of the stall. He smiled a greeting to Kate, but she sensed tension in him that tightened the edges of his mouth. “Josh, can I borrow you for a few minutes?”

“Um...” Josh glanced at her, and she gave a nod.

“I’m good. I’ll be grooming her until you get back.”

Josh touched the brim of his hat. “Good deal.”

Kate began brushing Lucy with long strokes, slipping the mare another apple slice almost as soon as Josh was out of sight. “Yeah, I take care of you, and you take care of me. That’s how it works. Right, girl? You’re gonna be good to me?”

The horse nickered softly and nuzzled Kate’s shoulder.

Outside, Kate could hear men’s voices joining Josh’s. Low at first, then growing louder and more angry. She stilled, then edged nearer the stall window, shamelessly eavesdropping. What was wrong? What could have made her dimpled cowboy so upset?

Chapter 3

Josh clenched his fists, seething. “I told you no good would come from doing business with that rat bastard.”

They hadn’t even officially opened McCall Adventure Ranch, and already the triplets’ high school rival—and, unfortunately, their loan officer—had found a way to screw them. Josh wanted to punch something. Preferably someone—Gill Carver. Dave had returned from an errand in town, where he’d learned troubling news and shared it with their foreman, Roy Summers, then with Zane, Josh and Brady.

“Look,” Zane said, his mouth set in a grim line, “I’m not happy about this either, but there’s no law against Gill opening or investing in his own adventure ranch. It’s called free enterprise, and competition is at the root of how the American economy works.”

“Not in the mood for a civics lesson, bro.” Josh snatched his hat off and thwacked it against his legs.

“Gill doesn’t own a ranch, not since his father’s went belly up, and he doesn’t know jack about adrenaline sports. Who’s running this new enterprise for him?” Brady asked.

“That’s the real kicker,” Roy said. “Dave said he’s hired Townsen.”

“Karl?” Josh gaped at their foreman.

“You know another Townsen?” Roy asked. “Dave said the Jacksons had defaulted on their loan, and Gill offered to assume the payments and pay the startup costs if they’d allow their ranch to be used as the home base for a new business idea he had.”

“A business idea he stole!” Josh growled. “Along with stealing our employees!”

Zane shook his head. “He didn’t steal Townsen. After we let him go, Karl was free to go where he wanted.”

“I’m not surprised he took the opportunity to put the screws to us, considering how ticked he was over the theft accusations and his firing,” Josh said, grinding his back teeth.

“So what do we do?” Brady asked, veins standing out on his neck.

“Nothing we can do,” Zane said, far too calmly.

“Nothing?” Josh repeated, aghast. “You want us to roll over and play dead? Are you telling me this doesn’t piss you off in the first degree?”

Zane faced his twin, his nose flaring and his jaw tight. “Of course I’m pissed. But we have guests in there.” He aimed his thumb over his shoulder to the stable. “Guests whom it is more important than ever that we impress. And by nothing, I mean there’s nothing we can do about Gill opening a competing business. What we can do is offer a better product. We out-perform him. We bring our A game and kick his sorry ass. Our success is all the vengeance we need.”

Josh exchanged a glance with Brady, his lifelong friend, new business partner and future brother-in-law. If possible, Brady hated Gill more than the McCall siblings did. Josh could see the roil of disgust in Brady’s expression morph into sheer determination. Brady finally jerked a nod of agreement and raised a fist. “Yeah. Let’s kick some ass.”

Zane cracked a grim smile and bumped Brady’s fist with his own.

Sucking in a cleansing breath, Josh joined the fist bumps. “Let’s do it.”

As he turned to go back in the stable to check on Kate, Josh felt a weight settle on him. His family had already needed the adventure ranch he and Zane had dreamed up to be a success to save them from financial ruin. Now they needed to succeed as a matter of pride. A feat made more difficult thanks to the competing efforts of Gill Carver, slime bag extraordinaire.

The triplets’ history with Gill was as dicey as it was long. Gill had been a thorn in their side from the day in fourth grade when Zane had beaten Gill in the spelling bee, and Gill, ever the sore loser, had arranged a posse of his friends to waylay Zane on the playground. That was the first time of many that Gill learned that if he picked on one McCall triplet, he got all three and Brady to boot.

A bitter rivalry had been born and fed throughout high school. Salt had been added to the wounds when Gill’s father fell on hard times, like many of the ranchers in the area. The bank had foreclosed on the Carvers’ holdings and at the foreclosure auction, the triplets’ father had purchased not only a top breeding bull for the Double M, but had added a parcel of the Carvers’ land that abutted the McCalls’ property. Gill had turned his spite up to DEFCON 1, not just toward the McCalls and Brady, but most of the town. He’d made clear to the triplets that his career path, becoming a loan officer at the local bank, having the power to foreclose on homes, ranches and small businesses of the townspeople he’d grown up with, was part of his plan to seek revenge against the people of Boyd Valley.

Josh had just stepped back into the shaded stable alley when a figure moved out of one of the stalls and issued a quiet “Psst.” He blinked, his eyes adjusting to the dimmer light, and Dawn Fetzer came into focus, waving him over to her.

He shook off his bad mood, knowing he couldn’t let the dark cloud of bad news affect his dealings with their first customers. Pasting on a smile, he strode over to her and nodded a greeting. “What can I do for you, Dawn?”

“Listen,” she started in a hushed tone and drew him into one of the empty stalls. “I need a favor.”

“Okay...” he whispered back, matching her volume.

“Kate is—how should I put it?—trying to overcome some personal issues, some fears based on a childhood trauma.”

Josh arched an eyebrow, intrigued. What sort of childhood trauma? This insight to the woman he found himself so powerfully drawn to fueled his curiosity about her.

“She’s probably going to need a little cajoling and special encouragement to go the extra step on most of the adventures this week.” Dawn bit her bottom lip and glanced guiltily out of the stall as if afraid her collusion with him would be discovered. “She’d kill me if she knew I was telling you this. She only told me because I asked her flat out why she was acting so freaked out on this trip.”

“I see.” Josh poked his fingers in his front pockets and rocked back on the heels of his boots. “So, what is it exactly you want me to do?”

“Well...” Dawn fidgeted with one of her hoop earrings. “If it isn’t as obvious as I think it is...she’s into you. You’ve definitely turned her head, and I think you can use that to our advantage.”

“Um...” Josh shifted his weight, uneasy with the track of the conversation. While it pleased him to know his attraction to Kate was mutual, he was wholly uncomfortable with any ploy to trick her based on that attraction.

When he hesitated, Dawn rushed on to say, “Nothing untoward. But...I think she’d find it harder to tell you no. She’s not going to participate in the riskier activities, I fear, without a great deal of motivation and encouragement all around.”

“I’d be happy to encourage her and help ease her anxieties any way I can.”

“Good!”

“I just...” He paused and glanced away for a moment, trying to put into words the tickle of uneasiness in his belly. “I don’t like the idea of manipulating her or using her interest in me against her.”

“It wouldn’t be using it against her!” Dawn grabbed his wrist. “Helping her face her fears is in her best interests. Don’t you think?”

“Well...” Knowing that Kate had a childhood trauma to blame for her fears made Dawn’s suggestion feel even more intrusive. As much as he wanted to help Kate, he didn’t want to use illicit tactics to sway her feelings. But to satisfy Dawn, he said, “I’ll do what I can.”

The first day on the ranch passed pleasantly, with horseback riding out into the pastures, roundup and knot-tying demonstrations, a roping contest (which Jake the former SEAL with his athletic talent predictably won), and another cookout with bountiful food and good company. That evening each guest prepared a backpack with spare clothes for the three-day camping and hiking excursion, and the ranch staff added basic camping, hiking and safety supplies to each pack and saw to it that the packs were delivered to the base camp for the next night.