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No, she didn’t owe Beau anything—he’d done nothing more than send her a couple of emails after the girls were born, neither of which had been terribly warm. She could see where her husband’s emotional distance had come from. She’d loved Josh dearly, but being his wife hadn’t been easy. If nothing else, by her brief communication with Beau, she’d understood why her husband had been so unwilling to reconnect with his father. But still, her daughters had family out here—and that would mean something to them one day. Their cantankerous grandfather was dead, but there were other family members that the girls might want to know. Perhaps even their “uncle” Colt. He was a relative, at least, and being considerably older than them, she wasn’t sure what else to call him.
Suzie clutched at Jane’s dress and she absently reached down to pick the toddler up. She’d come to the town of Creekside on faith. Josh’s death had been difficult to deal with. Those vows had tied them together on a deep level, and while being married to Josh had been hard, she couldn’t just walk away from him when it got tough, either. He’d never been an easily affectionate man, but she’d known how much he loved her. The stuff he saw in the army had left wounds that never healed, and she had only wanted to support him, let him know that she’d love him no matter what. Jane hadn’t realized how much of herself she’d lost as she struggled to maintain her marriage until she was forced to look at life without her husband in it. Coming out to Creekside was both an act of faith and a desperate leap. She’d take anything God provided. She’d come all the way from Minneapolis with her toddlers in the back of a ten-year-old sedan to see what God had in store.
And right now, she had to wonder if that had been a mistake. Maybe she should have stayed in Minneapolis and put her energy into finding an apartment instead of driving out here on a wish and a prayer. But what did she have to stay for? The house was gone. She’d been laid off from her job. She could have afforded to rent a tiny apartment while she tried to sort out her future... But that phone call from the polite Montana lawyer had sparked some hope inside her. He wouldn’t say what the girls had been left, but he’d said it was part of the ranch, and he called it significant, and definitely worth coming out. Her husband had told her that his dad had cut him out of the will, so this was completely unexpected, and she’d had nothing at all to lose.
“I realize that you both have a lot of thinking to do, plans to make,” Mr. Davis said, standing up. “For my part, I’ll get these papers submitted and that will put the land into your name, Colt, and the cattle into yours, Jane. Unless you have any other questions, I believe that takes care of our business today.”
They were being dismissed. Jane smoothed a hand over Suzie’s soft curls, and her heart sank inside her. She had enough money for a few nights in a cheap hotel, and then she was out of cash. She had an emergency credit card, but she was afraid to start using it. She knew firsthand just how easy it was to slide back into debt. What she needed was a job that would allow her to care for her daughters at the same time. That was a tall order...especially out here in Creekside, Montana, where she knew absolutely no one.
“Thank you,” Jane said, reaching out to shake hands with the lawyer.
“Thanks, Steve.” Colt did the same.
Jane picked up her bag and rooted out sippy cups of juice for the girls. Sometimes keeping their hands full helped them to cooperate a little better. Jane guided the girls toward the door. Colt got there before her, and he opened it and let her pass through first.
In the hallway, the girls clambered toward the window that overlooked the street. They weren’t tall enough to look out, but someone had left a magazine there, and they squatted down next to it, playing with the glossy pages. Even though Jane couldn’t see it from where she stood, she knew that her car was parked just outside that window, packed to the gills with everything she owned.
“Did you know what was coming?” Colt asked as he pulled the door shut behind them. He was a handsome man, but not in the same way her husband had been. Josh had been full of laughter and jokes, while Colt looked more serious. Josh’s hair had been the same bright red as his daughters’.
“No, I had no idea,” she replied, tearing her gaze away from him. “Although, I think you expected to get the ranch.”
Colt didn’t say anything, but those dark eyes drilled into hers. She sighed. What was she going to do—pick up her late husband’s fight with his family? Beau could leave that land to anyone he chose, and he hadn’t chosen Josh.
“Your uncle was an interesting man, wasn’t he?” she said after a moment.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Colt growled.
“Losing the cattle isn’t good for you, is it?” she asked.
“No,” he admitted. “I know your husband was cut from the will, but I worked my tail off on that land. I don’t have much else, either. So cutting the herd out from under me isn’t good for me at all.”
“I’m sorry about that.” And she was. “I suppose you could sell, too, if you needed to.”
“Not a chance,” he retorted. “I’ve worked that land with Beau for twenty years. I’ve invested too much into the ranch, and I’m finding a way to hold on to it. Beau wanted that land in family hands.”
“Yes, Josh told me about that.” She could sense some bitterness there when Colt mentioned Josh. She’d known there had been a lot of family tension, but she hadn’t been sure what she’d walk into, exactly.
“It was Beau’s choice, not mine,” Colt said.
“I know...” She sighed. “What do we do? I’m serious. I have no idea how to even start. I mean—”
“We wait,” he interrupted. “We have to get everything in our names first.”
“Yes, but then what?” she pressed. “I assume you’ll want your cattle back.”
“Yeah, that would be good,” he said, and a wry smile turned up one corner of his lips. “I’ll have to talk to the bank and see if I can get a loan...and buy you out.”
“How much are four hundred and eighty head of cattle worth?” she asked.
“A fair bit.”
“Oh...” Jane’s gaze moved over to where her daughters were playing, their sippy cups on the floor next to them. It was a relief to know that her daughters would be provided for. She felt guilty enough using the death benefits to pay off all the debt. There was nothing left to put aside for them. Josh would have wanted them to have something.
“Where are you staying?” Colt asked.
“I don’t know yet,” she replied, and she felt her chin tremble and tears well in her eyes. She looked away, trying to hide the rise of emotion.
“Are you okay?” Colt asked, his tone dropping.
“I’m—” She swallowed hard. “I’ll figure it out.”
“I saw a car out the window—packed full of everything but the kitchen sink,” he said. “That yours?”
Jane managed to blink back the tears and she nodded. “That’s mine.”
“Are you moving out to Montana? Is this just a short trip? I’m just wondering how things stand.”
“I’m not sure yet,” she said honestly. “It’s been really hard since Josh died. We’d just bought a house that needed a lot of work, and I couldn’t make the payments alone. Josh’s death benefits helped me to get out of debt, but I had to sell the house. So... I haven’t decided where is best to land right now. I know that the way your uncle split this isn’t good for you, but him remembering my girls—it’s going to help a lot.”
“Hmm.” Colt nodded slowly. “Look, I’m not thrilled that my uncle did it this way, but this doesn’t have to be the end of the world for me. We’ll just have to iron it out. Are you willing to let me buy the herd back from you?”
“Yes, definitely. I have no use for cattle.”
“I’d really like to get this taken care of as quickly as possible. I have some cows ready for market, and keeping this ranch afloat relies on that income. So the sooner I can get this sorted out with you, the better. Can you afford to stay in town for a couple of weeks?”
Jane sighed and looked away. “Not comfortably.”
“Do you need to get back?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. “Because I have an idea. I don’t want to overstep, but if you want a place to stay until it’s resolved, you are welcome to stay at the ranch.”
“Are you sure you want us underfoot?” she asked. “We’re strangers.”
“I want to buy back my cattle,” he replied. “And if having you underfoot makes that happen faster, I’m happy with it.” He shot her a wry smile. “I don’t bite. Technically, I’m family.”
Family—Josh’s family, at least. She’d never met these people in her three years of marriage to Josh, or in the three years since his death. They were just a jumble of stories she’d heard. Beau might have wanted some sort of family reconciliation, but that didn’t mean the rest of the Marshalls did.
“I don’t want to stay for free,” she countered.
“If you really wanted to pitch in, we need to clean out Beau’s house. If you’d help me with that, I’d be grateful. Beau’s sister is staying with me for a few weeks while we clean it out, but she has a few health issues, and I’m not sure how much she can get done on her own...”
“That might be a bit personal. I didn’t know Beau,” she said. “Are you comfortable with me going through his things? Would his sister be okay with that?”
“She’ll be fine with it. She wasn’t really eager to do the job, either. She and Beau had a falling out some years ago. She’s willing to help me, personally, but...” He sighed. “Look, maybe you’ll find some stuff that pertains to Josh. As for me, I don’t have time to do it all myself, and as Peg can tell you, Beau wasn’t real close to that many people. Everyone who wanted a keepsake from Beau has already taken something. The rest just needs to be boxed up for Goodwill.”
“Well...” She paused for a moment to consider. Maybe there would be some hints about Josh’s childhood, or pictures that might be nice to keep for the girls. Who knew? This was her chance to connect with her late husband’s family, for better or for worse. And with Peg on the scene, she wouldn’t be alone on a ranch with this uncomfortably handsome Colt.
“Where would I stay?” she asked.
“There’s an in-law suite in the basement of the house,” he said. “It’s got a whole separate entrance and everything, and that’s where I live. So you and the girls can stay with Peg upstairs in Beau’s place. What do you say?” he asked, fixing her with his dark gaze.
What choice did she have?
“I’d be happy to.”
Chapter Two
Colt led the way back to the Marshall ranch, Jane driving in her little silver sedan behind his red Chevy. Maybe it would be known as the Hardin ranch from now on, and he could take down the sign and put up a new one. He wasn’t ready for that yet, though. This still felt like Beau’s land, and he still felt like the nephew who should be grateful. And he was—he always had been. Maybe a little guilty, too, because he’d known all along that his uncle was making a mistake in his fight with his son. Both Beau and Josh had been stubborn idiots. And now Jane was in the middle of it all, and he felt a little sorry for her. This family’s problems had nothing to do with her, and he really hoped that he hadn’t reacted too badly... Had he? He couldn’t help but wonder how she was feeling about all of this.
The pasture on either side of the highway rolled out in low, green hills. Cattle grazed, tails flicking, and Colt’s practiced gaze estimated that the calves were already triple in size from when they were born. As he drove, he kept an eye on the strip of barbed wire fencing, looking for holes or weak areas. He’d always done this, but today, it felt like an honor instead of just the smart thing to do. This was his land now. He was still wrapping his mind around that.
Colt glanced back at her car in the rearview mirror. Jane was still there, pacing him as they sped down the cracked highway. He’d wanted this—not his uncle’s death, but definitely a chance at running his own ranch. Beau had promised to leave him the ranch for years—reiterating it every time he ranted about his son’s life choices—but Colt had always imagined butting heads with the old guy for a good many years longer than this. Beau’s fatal stroke had taken everyone by surprise. Colt might have worked this land, but Beau had built it up from a few scrubby acres into the viable ranch it was today. Viable, and underwater with a second mortgage. His uncle had been open with him about the financial situation, at least, if not about his plans for his will. Hopefully Beau hadn’t been hiding anything else.
Strange to think that Beau had put so much thought into reconciling him and Josh, though. Why not reconnect with his son himself? But Colt could appreciate that Josh’s daughters would benefit by the will. It might complicate Colt’s life right now, but it had been the right thing to do.
The Marshall ranch was about half an hour’s drive outside Creekside. He had driven a little slower than usual to make sure that Jane could keep up with him, and as the turn came up for the ranch, he slowed and signaled.
The drive wound around a copse of trees and led to the single-story ranch house. It was painted white, with a traditional wraparound veranda. There was a strip of basement windows showing—and those were the windows that let some light into Colt’s part of the house. He parked in his regular spot beside Beau’s black truck, and Jane pulled up next to him. As he hopped out of the truck, Jane’s car door opened, too, and she got out of the car and looked around herself.
“Wow,” she breathed. “This is gorgeous.”
He followed her gaze. The front yard had a couple of ancient birch trees towering overhead, providing sun-dappled shade in the July sunlight, and beyond were the fields that stretched out in undulating hills, warmed by the summer sunshine. A sheet of sparrows flapped up from a copse of trees in the distance, billowed, then landed again.
“It’s a beautiful area,” he agreed.
Jane opened the back door of her car and disappeared inside as she unbuckled the toddlers. Some local ladies had dropped off some casseroles for him, so he had food to feed her, at least. He wasn’t sure how much tuna casserole a toddler would consume, but he’d leave the problem up to Jane. She was best equipped to handle it anyway.
The side door to the house opened and Aunt Peg, as she preferred to be called, poked her curly iron-gray head out.
“You’re back. And you brought company, I see,” Peg said. She always sounded no-nonsense, and it was hard to tell if she was approving or not, much like her brother had been.
“Yep, this is Josh’s wife, Jane,” Colt said. “And his little girls.”
Peg blinked at him, straightened and then stepped outside, letting the screen door bang shut behind her.
“Josh’s family?” Peg said, her voice tight. “Really?”
Peg wore a flour-powdered apron over a ’70s-style housedress, and she came closer, peering into the car until Jane emerged with one of the toddlers. She put the girl down and shot Peg a smile.
“Hi, I’m Jane.”
“Pleasure.” Peg have her a nod.
“She’s here for a week or so while we iron out an inheritance issue,” Colt said. “She’ll stay upstairs with you, if you don’t mind.”
“We’ll work something out.” Peg pressed her lips together into a thin line. “What’s the issue with the will?”
“Beau left me the land, and he left the cattle to Jane’s daughters,” Colt said. “So Jane is going to stay with us while we get that ironed out. I need to buy the cattle back.”
A smile of amusement tickled the corners of Peg’s lips. “You’d almost think he was trying to get you married off, wouldn’t you?”
To his cousin’s widow? Not likely. Josh’s estrangement from the family had been an endless source of upset around here, and Colt highly doubted that his uncle would have wanted that. It might not have been logical because Josh got married a few years after he left home, but Beau blamed “the wife” as much as anyone else for his son’s refusal to talk to him. Anything but admit it was his own fault.
“It had a whole lot less to do with me, and more to do with wanting to fix things with Josh,” Colt replied. Besides, Colt wasn’t interested in marriage, and Beau had known why.
Jane emerged from the car with the second toddler, and she slammed the door shut.
“Well...these would be my great-nieces, then,” Peg said, softening immediately. “Do they ever look like their father.”
They did, and if Josh hadn’t been killed, he would have loved being a dad. He’d always had that gentle-giant quality about him, and with his jovial sense of humor, Colt could see him sliding easily into being a family man.
Aunt Peg scooped up one of the toddlers in her arms, looking the girl over from head to toes.
“That’s Micha,” Jane said. “This here is Suzie.”
“We might as well go inside,” Peg said. “I cleaned up the kitchen, Colt. You’re welcome.”
Colt had started to expand a little bit in the house—and he’d made his breakfast upstairs in Beau’s place. He’d left some oatmeal out for Peg. Maybe it would be best to keep to his own space until Peg went back home.
“Sorry about that,” he said with a short laugh. He hadn’t left it in a mess or anything.
Colt followed the women into the house, letting the screen door bang shut behind him. The house felt different with Beau gone. The kitchen was as it always had been—just the way Beau’s late wife, Sandra, had kept it. She’d been a good cook, unlike Peg, who never did get the touch.
“Aunt Peg, I asked Jane if she’d give you a hand with emptying out the house,” Colt said.
“Did you think of asking me what I thought of that?” Peg retorted. She put down the toddler, who beelined back to Jane.
“It’s my house now, Peg,” he said, but he sent his aunt a tired smile to show her he wasn’t taking it to heart. “I figured it might help. If you’d rather do it alone, I mean—”
“No, no,” Peg said, sadness filling her eyes. She pulled a dish of what appeared to be apple crisp off the counter and deposited it onto the table along with a serving spoon. “I don’t want to do it alone. Besides...” She looked down at the toddlers. “There’s family to get acquainted with, isn’t there?”
“I didn’t know Beau,” Jane said quietly. “But he did remember my girls in his will, and I’m grateful for that.”
“Did Josh talk about us?” Peg asked.
“A little,” Jane replied.
“Did he mention why he left and never wanted to come back?” Peg asked, and Colt felt his chest constrict. Did they have to do this—with a relative stranger? He, for one, didn’t want to talk about it.
Color rose in Jane’s cheeks, but she didn’t answer.
“Ah, so he did,” Peg went on, then sighed. “Beau wasn’t as bad as he seemed, my dear. We’re all just human.”
Colt couldn’t help but feel like he’d been the one to chase off his cousin. Josh and Beau had been at odds for years. Josh wanted to join the army and his father had wanted him to stay home and work the land. For most families that wouldn’t be relationship ending, but for the stubborn Marshalls it snowballed into a bigger and bigger issue, picking up the detritus of every single disagreement they’d ever had. Josh wasn’t the kind of son Beau wanted. Beau wanted a son to take over the ranch. Well, Colt wanted a chance at that life, and Beau was more than happy to teach him the ropes.
Was it wrong of Colt to take advantage of that? Probably. While Josh’s father was alive, someone had to run this place, and Josh hadn’t been interested. But Beau told his son that when he died, the land wouldn’t be sold so that Josh could use the money for his own goals—Josh wouldn’t inherit at all. When it came right down to it, Beau could leave the ranch to anyone he chose, but the cost of that had been a splintered family. Standing here in his newly inherited kitchen, it didn’t feel quite so satisfying as Colt had imagined it would. This was all his, and he couldn’t help but feel like a cheat.
He was glad Jane was here, and that her daughters would get something. It would even the score a little bit. Make it right.
* * *
“It really isn’t my business,” Jane said and she dropped her gaze. Josh had gone on and on about that inheritance, and she’d simply put it out of her mind. There was money tied up in land that would never come to them. Wasn’t a life together worth more than cash? But it had hurt her husband deeply because it meant that his father didn’t respect his goals in life and didn’t love him enough to leave him anything. For Josh it was about the money and his father’s respect, and for his dad it was about the land. Period. Josh never made his peace with it.
Jane bent down to dig out that zippered bag of crackers again, mostly as an excuse not to look at them. There was so much sadness and frustration in this home that she could actually feel it in the air, and she shivered.
“We missed Josh,” Peg said, her voice trembling a little. “There was a hole here—it never filled in. My brother might have had his faults, but he did love his son something fierce. If Josh looked to punish him for his sins, he sure succeeded.”
And maybe Josh had been trying to punish his family. He hadn’t wanted Jane anywhere near them. That hadn’t been her choice, though. She’d wanted family, and she’d wanted to know his, too, even if there was tension and bickering. People didn’t hatch from eggs, and she’d felt certain that she would have understood her husband better if she could have met the family that raised him. Maybe their marriage could have been a little bit easier, if she did. Here was her chance, apparently. A little late, but still a chance to understand the man she’d married.
Colt cleared his throat, and an awkward silence filled the kitchen. Jane gave the girls each another cracker to munch on, and she wondered if she’d made a mistake in coming here. This family had baggage and they’d be sorting through it now that Beau had passed away. She didn’t belong in the middle of this mess. Josh was gone, after all.
There was always that reserve credit card if she decided to stay in a cheap hotel.
Peg sighed. “I’m going to go set up one of the guest bedrooms. Can the girls sleep with you in a double bed?”
“This seems like a sensitive time for the family,” Jane said. “I can easily stay in town. Colt was kind enough to offer, but I can see that—”
“You think this is tense?” Peg asked with an abrupt laugh.
“A little...” Jane murmured.
“Jane, you’re the only connection we’ve got to Josh now. And maybe you’ll be able to give us some insights, too. You’re family. You’re very welcome here. I come across a bit harshly, or so I’ve been told. Is that it?”
“No, not at all...” Jane said. Now was not the time to admit to that.
“Now, about the sleeping arrangement for the little ones,” Peg said.
“Yes, I could have them sleep with me,” she conceded. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Not at all.”
That prim, downturned mouth never changed expression as Peg headed out of the kitchen, leaving Jane and Colt alone with the little girls.
“I really did try to get Beau to call his son,” Colt said. “It was never my intention to get between them.”
“But you managed to,” she replied, raising her gaze. “I don’t want to get in the middle of this, and I have no interest in this ranch...but Josh felt completely abandoned by both of you. You ganged up on him.”
“Not the case,” Colt said, and his voice softened a little. “Josh hated ranching. He thought it was boring. He wanted excitement, and that wasn’t here with the cattle. He didn’t want this life, and ranching was in Beau’s blood.”
“And yours, it would seem,” she said.
“I’m not going to apologize for that,” he replied with a shake of his head. “I’m a cowboy to the bone. I love the early mornings, the physical work, the cattle, the smell, the rhythms of the seasons. This is the life I’ve always wanted, and I’m not going to pretend it means less to me than it does.”