Proposal at the Lazy S Ranch Read online

  “You okay?” Garrett asked.

  “Yeah, I’m just peachy.”

  He stared at her, but didn’t say a word. Wise man. He managed to turn the knob and open the door.

  Inside, she glanced around. This had been part of the house she hadn’t seen much as a child. Everyone used the back door off the kitchen. This was the formal part of the house.

  Nothing much had changed over the years, she noted, as Garrett carried her across glossy honey-colored hardwood floors and past the sweeping staircase that led upstairs. He continued down the hall where the living room was closed off by large oak pocket doors. She tensed. Her father’s new living quarters since coming home from the hospital.

  They finally reached Colt’s office. “She’s home,” Garrett announced as he carried her inside.

  Ana Slater glanced up from the computer screen and froze. Her older sister was tall and slender with nearly black hair and blue eyes.

  “Josie! Oh, God, what happened?”

  “I had a little collision at the construction site.”

  Garrett set her down in the high-back chair across from the desk. “She’d gotten in the path of a truckload of lumber,” he told her. “I pushed her out of the way. She landed funny.”

  “You mean, you landed on me.”

  Ana glanced back and forth between the two. “When you called me, you said nothing about being injured.” She looked concerned. “But you’re all right?”

  “Yes!”

  “No!” Garrett said. “The doctor wants her to rest.”

  “I need to stay off my ankle, but I have crutches to help get around.”

  “I’ll go get them,” Garrett said, and walked out of the room.

  Josie turned to her big sister. “So when were you going to tell me that Garrett Temple was building the lodge? Or was it going to remain a secret?”

  Ana tried to look innocent and failed. “Okay, how was I supposed to tell you?”

  “By telling me the truth.”

  Josie glanced around the dark paneled room that had been Colt’s sanctuary. They’d never been allowed in here, but that didn’t seem to bother Ana these days. By the looks of it she’d taken over.

  “I’m sorry, Josie. I thought since you said you weren’t coming home, I didn’t need to say anything.”

  Josie had trouble hiding her anger. “There have to be other contractors here in town you could have used.”

  “First of all, Garrett gave us the lowest bid, and some of our own ranch hands are working on the crew. Secondly, he’s moved back here and now lives at the Temple Ranch to help out his father.”

  Josie closed her eyes. It was enough having to deal with her father but now, Garrett. “Then I’m going back to L.A.”

  “Josie, please. I need you to stay, at least for a little while. We can make it so that you and Garrett don’t have any contact.” She hesitated, then said, “And Colt, he definitely wants you here. He was so happy when I told him you came home.”

  Her father wanted her here? That didn’t sound like the cold, distant man who’d raised her.

  “We all need you here, sis.” Ana continued her pitch. “I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to have you here, even if it’s only for a short time. So please, give it a few days. At least until your ankle is better.”

  The Lazy S had been her home, once. If Colt had changed like Ana said, she wanted to try and have some sort of relationship with the man. Was it crazy to hope? At the very least, she wanted to help Ana with the financial problems. It was no secret they needed outside income to survive.

  Ana and her fiancé, Vance Rivers, the ranch foreman, had already opened the property on their section of the river to anglers. It brought in a nice profit. That was why they were expanding on the business.

  Her sister spoke up. “The lodge was your idea to help with income for the ranch. Don’t you want to stick around to see your vision come true?”

  It had been Josie’s idea to build housing to rent out. As an event planner she knew the large structure could be used for company retreats, family reunions and even small weddings. It was to bring in more revenue to help during lean years.

  Maybe a little while here wouldn’t be so bad. “How soon is this wedding of yours?”

  “As soon as possible,” came the answer from the doorway.

  They both turned and saw Vance Rivers smiling at his future bride.

  Ana’s grin was just as goofy. “Oh, honey, I don’t think I can pull it off that soon.”

  The sandy-haired man walked across the room dressed in his cowboy garb, including leather chaps. “I’m glad you’re home, Josie,” he told her. “Ana has missed her sisters.”

  Josie fought a smile and lost. “Seems to me my big sis has been too busy to miss anyone.”

  Ana came around the desk and slipped into Vance’s arms. Josie couldn’t miss the intimate look exchanged between the two. “Yeah, she’s miserable all right.”

  That brought a smile from the handsome man. “A few weeks ago, she was ready to string me up and hang me out to dry.”

  Josie frowned as she looked at her older sister. “A misunderstanding,” Ana said. “It was all resolved and we’re all working hard to help the Lazy S and Dad.”

  “So that was why you hired Garrett?”

  “At first I offered to be their partner.”

  Josie swung around to see Garrett standing in the doorway with her crutches. She stiffened, hating that he still got to her.

  Josie didn’t want to hear any more from Garrett Temple. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

  He walked into the room, and Ana and Vance walked out, leaving her alone with the man she once loved more than anything, until he betrayed her. Now, she didn’t want to be around him.

  With her bum ankle, she was stuck here. That didn’t mean she would fall all over this man again.

  “I was trying to help out a friend,” Garrett said. “And I believe it’s a good investment. A lot of ranches have to go into other business to help stay afloat.”

  “I might be stuck working with you, Temple, but I’m not the same girl who was falling all over you. I’ve grown up.”

  “Come on, Josie. What happened between us was years ago.”

  Eight years and eleven months, she silently corrected. She could still recall that awful day. She’d been so eager to see him when he returned home. It had been months since their argument. She’d finally agreed to see him, then he broke the devastating news.

  He stared at her with those gray eyes, and she still felt the old pull. “I was hoping enough time has passed so...”

  “So I’d do what? Forgive you? Forgive you for telling me you loved me, then going off and getting another woman pregnant?”

  * * *

  Later that afternoon in the parlor converted into a first-floor bedroom, Colt Slater sat in his chair in front of the picture window. He squeezed the rubber ball in his right hand. He knew his strength was coming back since the stroke. Just not fast enough to suit him. His therapist, Jay McNeal, kept telling him to have patience. He would get his strength back.

  Right now, Colt’s concern was for his daughter, Josie. He had watched her drive away from the house and prayed that she would come back, but he wouldn’t have bet on it. Not that he could blame her; he hadn’t been the best father in the world.

  Then a truck pulled up about an hour ago. He held his breath and watched Garrett Temple get out, then lift Josie out of the passenger seat and carry her into the house. He heard the footsteps that went right past his room.

  He tensed. What had happened? Had she been in an accident? Finally, Ana came in and explained about Josie’s mishap at the construction site with Temple. He wasn’t sure he was happy that those two were together again. That man had hurt Josie so badly. He’d wished he could have been there for her back then.

  “Will you stop worrying? You’re going to end up back in the hospital.”

  Colt glanced at his friend, Wade Dickson in the
chair next to his. Dressed in his usual business suit with his gray hair cut and styled, his friend and lawyer knew all the family secrets.

  “I can’t stop worrying about Josie,” Colt admitted.

  “Hey, things worked out with Ana, so there’s hope with Josie, too.” Wade stood up. “I’ll go see what’s going on, then I need to get back to my office. Some of us have to work.”

  Colt nodded. “Thanks for everything, Wade.”

  “I love those girls, too. It’s about time you realize what you have.” He turned and walked out.

  Alone again, Colt started having doubts again. Would Josie finally come to see him now?

  He stood, grabbed the walker and made his way to the sideboard in the dining room. Now it was his exercise area, since he’d been released from the rehab center. He pulled open the drawer and dug under the stack of tablecloths until he found the old album.

  Setting it on top, he turned the pages, trying to ignore the ones of his wife, Lucia. He should have burned those years ago, but something kept him from erasing all the past.

  He made it to the picture of his four daughters together. The last one taken before their mother walked out the door. His hand moved over the photo. Josie was the one who was a miniature version of her mother, petite and curvy, although her hair was lighter and her eyes were definitely Slater blue.

  He frowned, knowing he’d been unfair to his girls. He couldn’t even use the excuse of being a single parent. Kathleen, the longtime housekeeper, handled most everything while he worked the ranch. He sighed, recalling those years. Since the day Lucia left, he’d closed up and couldn’t show love to his four daughters.

  He studied the photo. Analeigh was the oldest. Then came the twins, Josefina Isabel, followed five minutes later by Vittoria Irene. The memory of him standing next to his wife, and encouraging her as she gave birth to their beautiful daughters, Ana, Josie, Tori and Marissa.

  He felt tears gathering in his eyes. Would he get the chance to fix the damage he’d done?

  “Hello, Colt.”

  He turned and saw his beautiful Josie leaning against a crutch in the doorway. He’d just been given a second chance, and he wasn’t about to throw it away.

  CHAPTER TWO

  JOSIE FELT STRANGE, not only being back in this house, but seeing her father after all these years.

  “J...Josie. I’m gl...glad you’re home.”

  Colt still stood straight and tall as he had before his stroke. Thirty years ago, he’d been a rodeo star, winning the World Saddle Bronc title before he retired when he married Lucia Delgado and brought her back to the Lazy S to make a life, raising cattle and a family.

  Now in his mid-fifties, he was still a good-looking man, even with his weathered skin and graying hair. His blue eyes were the one thing she’d inherited from him. Her dark coloring was what she’d gotten from her Hispanic mother.

  “This hasn’t been my home for a long time.” With the aid of her crutch, she bravely made her way into the room.

  “You had an accident,” Colt said.

  “It seems I got in the way at the construction site.” She nodded to her ankle. “In a few days I’ll be as good as new. Looks like you’re stuck with me for the duration anyway.”

  “Hap...happy to have you.”

  His words gave her a strange feeling, making her realize how badly she wanted to be here.

  She began to examine the rehab equipment to hide her nervousness. “Looks like I don’t need to go to a gym to exercise. You have everything right here.”

  “You’re welcome to u...use it,” he told her. “When you’re able to.”

  She sat down on the weight bench and eyed the parallel bars, then Colt. Outside of some weight loss, he looked good. “Is all this helping you?”

  He nodded. “Been working hard. I hope to get a lot better s...soon.” He studied her. “Thank you for coming home.”

  That was a first. Her father actually thanked her. “Don’t thank me yet. I’m not sure how much I can help, or how long I can stay.”

  Colt smiled.

  Another first, Josie thought, not to mention he was actually carrying on a conversation with her. How many times had she tried to get some attention from this man? She felt tears gathering.

  “Just glad you’re here,” he told her.

  Suddenly her throat tightened so she nodded. “I should go and unpack.” She got up, slipped the single crutch under her arms and headed for the door, but Colt’s gravelly voice made her turn around.

  “M...made a lot of mistakes, Josie. I would like a s...second chance.”

  His words about threw her over the edge. She raised a hand. “I can’t deal with any more right now. We’ll talk later.”

  She managed to get out the door and headed toward the staircase. She hopped up the steps on her good leg until she got to the second floor. Using her crutch, she made her way down the familiar hall to the third door on the left that had been her and Tori’s bedroom. She stepped inside and froze. It looked the same as it did when she’d left here.

  The walls were still pale lavender and the twin beds had floral print comforters with matching dust ruffles. She walked to her bed against the far wall and sank down onto the mattress. Taking a toss pillow from the headboard, she hugged it close against the burning acid in the pit of her stomach.

  Great, this trip was supposed to help relax her. This time when tears welled in her eyes she didn’t stop them. Colt wanted to rebuild their relationship. What relationship? They’d never had a father/daughter relationship.

  Memories of the lonely times welled in her chest. She’d been grateful for her sisters, especially Tori. When something wonderful happened to them, they’d been each others cheerleaders, along with Kathleen, the housekeeper and their surrogate mom, replacing the mother who’d disappeared from her kids’ life when Josie had been only three years old. It had been pretty clear that neither parent wanted their children.

  Josie wiped a tear from her cheek. Dang it. She thought she’d gotten over all this. Leaving here and the pain behind, she’d gone off to L.A. and worked hard on a career, building a successful business, Slater Style.

  She got up and hobbled to the window and looked out at the ranch compound. From this room, she had a great view of the glossy white barn with the attached corral. There were many outbuildings, some old, plus some new ones that had been added over the years. Her attention turned to the horses grazing in the pasture. There were mares with their foals, frolicking around in the open field.

  Smiling, she pressed her hand against the cool glass, knowing cold weather was coming, along with unpredictable Montana snows. Surprisingly, that had been what she’d missed since moving to L.A.

  She caught sight of her car coming down the road and watched as it pulled up in front of the house. Good, she had her vehicle back.

  Then she caught sight of two men stepping off the porch below her, Vance and Garrett. She felt a sudden jolt as she got the chance to observe the man she had once called her boyfriend. Both men were about the same height, and drop-dead handsome.

  Josie hadn’t been surprised at all when she learned Ana and Vance had fallen in love and planned to marry soon. The guy had been crazy about Ana for years, since he’d come to live at the Lazy S when he was a teenager.

  She smiled, happy for her sister.

  Josie looked back at Garrett. She couldn’t help but take notice of the man. He’d filled out since college, and he still had those incredible eyes and sexy smile. And she hated the fact that just seeing him again still had an effect on her. She released a breath, recalling how it felt when he carried her in his arms.

  After Vance shook hands with Garrett, her future brother-in-law headed off toward the barn. Garrett went to her car and spoke to the driver, one of the men on his crew.

  Then as if Garrett could sense her, he looked up. Their eyes locked, and suddenly she felt her heart pounding in her chest. She finally moved out of his sight and went to lie down on the bed.
/>   What was she doing? She didn’t need to rehash her past. All there was here were the memories of the pain and heartache over her father. Now she also had to deal with Garrett. It had taken her a lot of time to get over him. She’d only been back a few hours and he was already involved in her life again.

  Why, after all these years? Normally she never let men distract her, mainly because she hadn’t met anyone who could stir her interest. She hadn’t met anyone in L.A. she wanted to have a relationship with. She thought about the times she’d tried to find a man. Problem was she’d compared them all to Garrett Temple.

  She thought back to the kind and considerate man who’d showed her in so many ways how much he loved her. How Garrett had told her they were going to marry and build a life together after they’d graduated college. Then all too quickly she learned that all those promises were lies when it all came crashing down around them that day....

  There was a knock on the door.

  She wiped away tears as she rolled over on the bed. “Come in,” she called, thinking it was Ana.

  The door opened and Garrett stepped inside, carrying her suitcases. “I figured you might need these.”

  Her heart leaped into her throat. She sat up. “You didn’t need to bring my things up.”

  He set the bags over by the closet. “I told Vance I would. He needed to check on one of his horses.”

  She nodded. She wasn’t sure she believed him. “Thank you.”

  “How are you feeling?” he asked as he crossed the room.

  “I’m fine.”

  Garrett paused, his gaze searching her face. “I’m sorry I pushed you so hard. I was only trying to get you out of the way.” He frowned. “I was worried the truck would hit you.”

  She nodded. “I should have been paying attention. But I’m fine now, so you can stop feeling guilty.”

  He still didn’t leave. “Some habits are hard to break.”

  She knew what he was talking about, but their past was the last thing she wanted to rehash. “Well, stop it. I’m a big girl.”

  He studied her for what seemed to be forever. “Since you’re still angry, maybe it’s time to clear the air.”