* * *
ON HIS FIRST day of work, Cole parked outside the corral and walked toward Jed’s barn. He couldn’t keep from looking over toward the hotel. Not that he expected to see...anyone. At this early hour, the sun had barely begun to rise.
What he did see was a lighted window in the kitchen, where Paz was mostly likely getting things in order for her day. Jed and everyone else in the place ought to be sleeping.
He found the barn almost empty. Of humans, anyhow. The stalls were filled to capacity, as they always had been. Jed kept enough stock on hand to accommodate all his men and a hotel full of guests.
Half-inside one of the stalls, with his back to him, stood a man holding a shovel.
Cole paused in the doorway. Five years earlier, when he’d left the ranch without giving notice to Jed, he had walked away from Pete Brannigan and the other wranglers, too. No telling how any of them would take the news of his return to work here.
But when the man turned, Cole saw only a smile. He nodded at Pete. “Don’t tell me Jed makes his ranch manager muck out stalls.”
“Hey, Cole.” Pete set the shovel aside and crossed the space between them to offer his hand. “He told me you were back in town and starting work today.”
“That must’ve come as a surprise.”
“What? Jed hiring someone on and telling me after the fact? No surprise there. He might call himself retired, but he’s still got a strong hand on the reins.”
“Always did have.”
“True. Hang on a minute.” Pete went into the small room partitioned off as an office and returned with a hammer and an old tin can filled with nails. “There’s a pair of gloves on the workbench in the tack room. Go grab ’em.” As they made their way outside, he added, “We’ve got some rails out by the corral that need patching. It’ll get you limbered up for this afternoon. I’ll be sending you out to the south border to check on the stock. You’ll need to take a look at the fencing there, too.”
“Trouble?”
Pete shook his head. “Just maintenance and some overly adventurous cattle. You know the drill.”
At the corral, Cole wrestled a split and warped rail into submission while Pete hammered it into place.
“As for Jed and his tight rein,” Pete said, “I wouldn’t have it any other way. He might be past seventy, but he’s still sharper than a tack. In case you were wondering.”
“Should I be?”
Pete shrugged. “No idea. Just throwing that out there for old time’s sake.” They moved on to the next rail. “Now, your return to town, that did come as a surprise. I always figured you for having itchy feet. But maybe you scratched them enough.”
“Maybe.” Just the thought of tying himself down permanently in Cowboy Creek made him want to head out of town.
On feet that weren’t itchy, only damned cold.
Pete swung the hammer a final time, sending the nail into place. “Let’s head in, and I’ll take you through the barn. Jed wants you working the corral, giving lessons to the guests as needed.”
“Then I’ll have to get familiar with everything you’ve got.”
Pete nodded. “You can pick out a mount for today’s ride, and another for tomorrow. You’ll see a few familiar faces. But even with the new stock, we don’t have anything you can’t handle.”
Cole followed him back toward the barn.
Jed had told him the ranch manager had a couple of kids of his own. Lucky for Pete, he’d found out about his kids at the usual time—before they were born.
He wondered how the man would deal with a situation like one he was facing. A situation he’d already managed to mess up. Yeah, he’d stood his ground with Tina. Had argued over his right to spend time with his son. Had talked the talk...
And then when the time had come to walk the walk, he’d gotten those cold feet. He hadn’t come near the ranch since the night of their conversation.
No matter how much he might wish otherwise, this change in his life wasn’t something he knew how to handle. Hell, he understood horses more than he did kids.
What if he couldn’t be the daddy his son deserved?
* * *
IN THE HOTEL’S roomy kitchen on Sunday morning, Tina ironed the load of cloth napkins she had just removed from the dryer. She had kept herself as busy as possible for the past few days...to keep from thinking of Cole.
He had started work on the ranch, as scheduled, and she had spent those long days waiting for him to reappear at the hotel. He hadn’t. Whether that meant she should thank her good fortune or worry about what revenge he was plotting, she didn’t know. Either way, the uncertainty had left her barely able to close her eyes the night before.
It didn’t surprise her a bit that his interest in her son hadn’t lasted very long. Neither had his interest in her, years ago. She was grateful in both cases.
Seeing him again had made her recall the girl she’d once been, the girl who’d forever had the bad luck to have a crush on him. The girl who’d once wanted a family with him.
They’d had a child together, though Cole hadn’t known that.
Till now.
Neither had anyone else.
Of course, everyone in Cowboy Creek knew four-year-old Robbie. She could just imagine their well-meaning but frantic conversations when they had found out she was pregnant.
Do you think the daddy’s one of Jed’s full-time ranch hands?
Or a wrangler who worked there only for a season?
Maybe he was a guest who stayed at the Hitching Post and never came back again.
She didn’t know what conclusions they had come to. After telling Ally the truth, she had left everyone else to speculate all they wanted—and hoped they would never stumble upon the truth. Soon, thanks to Cole, they would never have to guess again.
She regretted only that she had never told her grandparents. But now the time was coming for her to let them know the truth about Robbie—and Cole—she wasn’t sure she would ever find the right words.
“I’m glad we had a few people in the dining room this morning,” Abuela said.
Happy for the distraction from her worries, Tina nodded. Luckily, they usually did get a small crowd for their Sunday brunch. Today had been no exception, although the dining room had cleared out now.
Things were looking up for the hotel, as well. A young couple had checked in the night before, and two other parties had booked rooms for the coming week.
They would fill a couple of rooms with family, too. Her cousin Jane had already arrived, and Andi and her children were due in from the airport at any time.
With so many people around, Tina hadn’t found the chance to talk to her grandparents alone.
“Of course, you’re glad to have guests in the dining room, Abuela. You’re always happier when we have more mouths to feed.”
“That’s what I do,” Abuela said simply. “But I’m sorry you had to take Maria’s place.”
The waitress who usually worked the morning shift on the weekend attended classes part-time at the community college.