A Rancher for Their Mom (Rodeo Heroes) (3 page)

Added to the feeling of coming home, the first day in English class she’d met Ross Landers. He’d smiled at her and she’d been smitten. Ross had introduced her to all his friends, but it was when he brought her home to this ranch that she knew she was in love.

A home.

Roots.

And something that lasted. The Landers family had ranched this piece of land since the 1880s. Over five generations, through good times and bad, through times of plenty and drought, the family had persevered. That legacy flooded her with purpose and direction. She could do this. Needed to do this.

April and Ross had married a week after graduating from high school and he’d immediately gone to work on a rig out in West Texas, which had surprised her, since Ross had never mentioned he didn’t want to stay on the ranch. He visited home often while she was pregnant with Wes but missed the baby’s birth. Two years later, when she got pregnant with Todd, Ross immediately got one of the treasured jobs as a roughneck on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico that her father oversaw. His excuse for taking that job had been that the extra money he’d receive would help with the expenses of the new baby.

Ross never came back for any length of time after he left. He made it home sporadically for the next four years. When his mother, Grace, was diagnosed with breast cancer, Ross came home that Christmas. That gave April hope that he’d changed, but she quickly learned that wasn’t the case. Ross refused to take his mom to any of her chemo sessions. He did promise to attend Wes’s first-grade Christmas pageant, but he didn’t show. Instead he got drunk with other oil field workers from West Texas. With Todd, Ross would either throw the four-year-old around as if he was a rag doll, hold him upside down by his feet or ignore him, which confused the boy.

When Ross took the assignment on a new rig in the Gulf, Vernon, Grace and April all breathed a sigh of relief that his disruptive presence was gone. Six weeks later Ross died in a freak accident. After they buried him, April discovered she was pregnant with Cora. The money she’d received from Ross’s life insurance, which her in-laws insisted she save and use for her babies, was now almost gone.

Her father-in-law had had to borrow against the ranch to help finish paying for Grace’s care and meds in the last months of her life. She’d died a year ago Christmas. Vernon died the following September. Now April had to come up with a plan to pay off the loan or lose the ranch. Would the money she made on the sunflowers and hay be enough? Did she need to rent out the other fields on the ranch?

She turned her eyes to the fallow field. Would she survive?

“Lord, I know You have the answers to this problem, but—”

“Mom, what are you doing out here?”

She looked up and saw Todd standing by the back door in his superhero pajamas, his feet bare.

“Thinking. Praying.”

“Are you mad we hired Mr. Joel? He can do Mr. Moore’s job since he got hurt.”

“No, I’m not mad. I’m proud of you and your brother for thinking about the ranch. Opa would be pleased, too.” Her solution to the problem wouldn’t have been to hire Joel, but she couldn’t ignore her sons’ solution. It still amazed her that Joel agreed to the deal for a dollar thirty-seven.
Why’d he do it?

A grin curved Todd’s mouth. “I’ll help Mr. Joel. So will Wes.”

“I know you will.”

“But I’m kinda worried about Sadie and Helo. Are they scared being in a new place?”

“You’ll have to ask Mr. Joel tomorrow how they’re doing. He’ll know.”

Todd thought about it, nodded and tore down the hall to his bedroom.

Watching her younger son disappear into his room, she knew her boys would keep her on her toes with creative thinking all through school. Teenage years promised to be...a challenge.

She retrieved her tea off the porch rail. Wouldn’t Vernon and Grace be proud of their grandsons? She knew they would.

Would their father?

* * *

Joel lingered over his coffee, the empty plate that had held his barbecue sitting before him. Working with Jack Murphy doing whatever needed to be done around the rodeo helped defray his expenses on the road and kept him busy. What had he done when he was eighteen, traveling with the rodeo, and had the day off? Shoot the breeze with the other young cowboys or brag about his latest score in the different rodeo events? Of course, things hadn’t changed since he was eighteen. Cowboys still bragged about how good they were and how they would capture the ultimate prize of the championship belt buckle given to the number one cowboy in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, or PRCA.

“You need a refill on that coffee?” Hank Calder asked. Hank ran the concessions for the rodeo. He also cooked for the rodeo workers. If any cowboy wanted a meal, they could buy it. Of course, meals were included with the deal Joel had struck with Jack and his boss, Steve Carter.

“Sure.”

Hank topped off the coffee and sat opposite Joel at the picnic table.

“So, how’s it going? You enjoying this vagabond life?” Hank grinned. The instant Joel joined the rodeo, he and Hank had struck up a friendship.

“I was just thinking about that. When you’re young and green, the traveling and excitement of being in a different city every week is appealing.” He shrugged. “Then you grow up.”

Hank grinned. “I hear ya. I’ve got aches and pains in places I didn’t know existed. And I find new ones every day.”

Joel couldn’t help but smile. “You got that right. I’ve worked beside my dad and gramps since I could sit in a saddle and didn’t experience these aches and pains.” He fell silent. “I didn’t feel old when I put in an eighteen-hour day at the ranch. What happened?”

“When you get bucked off a horse or bull, it feels like you’ve been run over by a truck, which is different than a hard day’s work on a ranch.”

“You’re right.”

“So why’d you come back on the circuit?”

Good question. “Circumstances. My sister recently married and I wanted the newlyweds to have some time together on the family ranch.” Of course, Gramps was still there. “Too many bosses. She married Caleb Jensen.”

“It was your sister he married?”

“Yup. She came home and helped put together that charity rodeo that helped all the ranchers west of Fort Worth. She and Caleb got to know each other, and—” He shrugged.

“He was a mighty good pickup man, but I understand how the rodeo can wear out a man.”

“I wanted to see if rodeo life was as much fun as it had been at eighteen.”

“And?”

“I’m still checking it out. But the longer I go and the more points I get, the ache becomes secondary.”

Hank chuckled and walked back into the kitchen.

After cleaning up his dinner plate, Joel visited Helo and Sadie. He wanted to be prepared in case April’s boys asked about their horses. The new horses recognized him and came to the edge of the corral. Sadie bumped him with her nuzzle.

“Sorry, girl, I didn’t bring you anything. I just wanted to check on you so I can answer the questions I know I’ll get.”

Smiling, Joel thought about those little boys who’d barged into his life and thrown him a curve he hadn’t seen coming. It was just supposed to have been a run-of-the-mill rodeo run to pick up horses. Instead, he’d run headlong into a situation that laid him out flat. As ridiculous as it sounded, he welcomed the job offer. For the balance of the week, he’d be ranching and helping April, a woman who managed to yank his heart in a way it hadn’t been yanked before.

It was the Western thing to do to help someone in distress. It was also the Christian thing to do.

He could help her this week, but...

Sadie poked her muzzle in his face again.

He held up his hands. “I promise you, I don’t have a thing.” He stroked her neck. The horse nuzzled his hands, then dipped her head toward his pockets. Discovering no apples or carrots, she turned and joined the other horses in the corral.

“Not interested in me. Just wanted a treat?”

Jack stopped beside him.

“It looks like I’m losing my touch with the females,” Joel grumbled, nodding to Sadie.

“I doubt it.”

“Don’t see any ladies lining up beside my trailer.”

“That’s ’cause you have a not-interested sign written all over you that even the other cowboys can read.”

Joel opened his mouth to argue, then swallowed his words.

“Good, you’re not going to deny it.”

“I’m here to compete.” What Joel wanted was a championship belt buckle and to finish out a dream. Nothing more.

Jack rubbed his chin. “You sure it was the boys who hired you and you just didn’t volunteer?”

The question took Joel by surprise. “No, I didn’t volunteer. Why would you ask that?”

Jack shook his head. “You’ve been restless lately.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve been doing great in my events and gaining points.”

“True, but there’s something—”

“You sound like my sister, trying to look into my head and tell me what I’m thinking, and she’s going through training to become a counselor.”

Jack raised his hands in surrender. “Forget it. I didn’t mean to step in that snake pit.”

What on earth was Jack talking about? He was on course for winning that championship belt buckle.

“How old are those boys?”

“Six and eight.”

“I’d like to meet those entrepreneurs. If you have time, bring them by the rodeo this week.” Jack started toward his trailer.

“Not a problem. Once I mention it to them, wild horses wouldn’t keep them away.”

The question was, would their mother go for it? He didn’t know, but he hoped she would. Maybe it would help April relax and open up. He found he wanted to know more about this woman.

Chapter Three

J
oel felt as awkward as a high-school freshman with his first crush as he drove to the Landers ranch. Before he could get out of his vehicle, the boys scrambled down the porch stairs and raced toward him.

The screen door slammed. April, along with Cora, stood on the porch. “Have you eaten yet?”

“No, just grabbed a cup of coffee before I did chores.”

“Well, I’ve got eggs, bacon, hash browns and biscuits. And lots of coffee.”

His mouth watered. “Your stock fed?”

“I got it.”

“I helped,” Todd proudly announced.

Joel smiled at the boy. “And I know your help made things easier for your mom.”

Wes didn’t speak up, but Joel knew he wasn’t going to let his younger brother outdo him. Joel winked at Wes, acknowledging him.

The smell of bacon and eggs drifted out the screen door, making Joel’s stomach rumble, which was heard by all. “Then let’s feed the workers so we can get this day rolling.”

Laughing, Todd raced inside, Joel following.

Wes and Cora were already seated. Todd pulled out a chair.

“Wash your hands, young man.”

“Aw, Mom.”

“I need to wash my hands, too.” Joel held out his hands.

“’Kay. Follow me.”

Todd led Joel through the living room to the hall beyond. The first door stood open and Todd walked in. He stepped up onto the stool and turned on the water.

“Mom’s strict about washing our hands.” He grabbed the soap, lathered up and passed the bar to Joel.

“I know. My mom was the same,” Joel whispered, bending close. “And I had to have an inspection. But you know what was worse?”

Todd’s eyes widened. “What?”

“My grandmother. She wouldn’t allow a speck of dirt. I’ve been sent back to the bathroom many times. One time I had dirt here—” he pointed to a spot on the back of his hand close to the wrist bone “—and she made me go back and wash again. I got a second inspection.”

Todd thought about it. “Mom’s not that hard.”

Once finished, they joined the others at the table.

“Wes, would you like to pray?” April asked.

During the prayer, Joel heard a noise and opened one eye to see Cora grab a piece of bacon. April frowned. She noticed him, and they traded smiles. Adults holding down the fort.

“Amen.”

April dished eggs for Cora and Todd. Wes helped himself to a biscuit and hash browns. After serving himself a generous helping of eggs and hash browns, Joel dug into the meal. Watching the children eat, Joel flashed back to the scenes of his youth around the dinner table. Seeing April interact with her children made him keenly aware of how alone he was. One day in the future, he’d like to have a family of his own, which oddly resembled the people at this table.

Todd put down his knife. The biscuit on his plate sported a layer of butter, topped with peach preserves. “Why are you smiling, Mr. Joel?”

“I was remembering when I was your age and eating with my parents and grandparents.”

“Wow, you can remember that long ago?” Todd murmured in awe.

April choked on her coffee. Wes snickered.

“Of course I do even if my sister has her doubts.”

“I mean, where are your mom and dad?”

“They’re in Heaven now.”

“Oh.” Todd stared down at his plate, his shoulders hunched. “My dad and Oma and Opa are in Heaven, too.”

The smile on April’s face disappeared.

“Do you miss them?” Todd whispered, a catch in his voice.

The ache in the little boy’s voice touched Joel. He also knew Wes waited for his answer.

“I do. They went to Heaven many years ago, but sometimes I see a sunset or a flower and it reminds me of my mom and grandma. Now, with my dad, if I see a horse the same color as his, I think he would like that horse.”

“Oh.” Todd thought over the answer. “Are you still sad?”

April bit her lip, waiting.

He hadn’t expected a counseling session at breakfast and wondered what his sister, the counselor in training, would tell him to say.

Lord, I need some words of wisdom.
“I was sad when it happened, but now I can remember them and smile. I recall the good and funny things, like when my dad stepped in a bucket of water I left beside the back door. Or the time my mom got mad at me and threw an egg. I ducked and it hit my sister, who was coming into the kitchen.” He winked at the boys. “You should’ve seen her face with all the yolk and egg white running down her cheeks and dripping off her chin. My mom’s reaction, her expression—” he dropped his jaw and let his eyes go wide to demonstrate the reaction “—was funnier than my sister’s.”

The boys laughed and he caught April smiling.

“I did my share of things that my mom got on me about.”

“What?” the boys asked.

Joel glanced at April. “I do need to keep a few secrets.”

“Aw,” the boys groaned.

“You better eat while your eggs are still warm,” April warned.

Reluctantly, Wes and Todd started eating, but they constantly looked at Joel, as though they were afraid he’d vanish into thin air if they didn’t look at him every few minutes.

* * *

April watched the boys wolf down their breakfast, but what broke her heart was their constant checking to make sure Joel didn’t disappear. Would this be a bigger disaster than she feared?

Her fields would be planted, but at what cost?

Wes and Todd slipped from their seats and headed for the back door.

“Put your dishes by the sink,” April instructed.

“Aw, Mom,” Wes complained, but obeyed.

Todd opened his mouth to voice his objection, but with one look at her, he swallowed the gripe and slipped his plate beside his brother’s.

“Down,” Cora asked.

Joel took the little girl out of her booster chair and placed her on her feet. She followed her brothers outside.

They were alone in the kitchen, finishing their coffee. The warm, intimate feeling of them together, lingering over breakfast, discussing the ranch, rattled her. She wanted to see Joel as nothing but a hired hand, but somehow her brain and heart went mushy.

She held up her cup. “More?”

“Sure. Top me off.”

She grabbed the coffee carafe and refilled both cups. Sitting down, she took a deep breath to steady herself.

“So tell me what you’ve decided to plant and what fields you plan to use.” Joel took a sip of his coffee.

His question jerked her back to the present. Most of the night she’d prayed and wrestled with what to do on the ranch—as well as fantasies about this tall, toe-tingling cowboy. Early this morning she’d come to a decision. “I want to plant hay in the north field, and in the west field I thought I’d go with your suggestion and plant sunflowers.”

They traded glances, and April thought she saw him smile, but it was gone so quickly that maybe she’d been wishing it.

“I think you made a good choice. So where are these fields?”

“Let’s go take a drive and I’ll show you.”

They all piled into April’s truck, Cora and Todd in the backseat, Wes between April and Joel. She drove out to the north field first, pointing out the section that needed to be planted with hay.

“At mile marker 123 is the start of the field,” she explained and continued to drive.

“Right there by the sign for the feed store is where our field ends.” Wes pointed, his arm shooting out and nearly catching Joel on the chin.

She glanced at Wes. “I didn’t know you knew the boundaries.”

“Yeah, Opa showed me,” he answered casually without looking at her.

Words piled up in her throat, and she couldn’t spit one out.

Within twenty minutes, April finished showing Joel the other field she wanted to plant.

“And the rest of the fields, I’ll rent out. I’ve had a couple of the folks at church offer to rent a field.”

“Good idea.”

April nodded. “If something’s not in that field, I could lose topsoil, and that I can’t afford to do.”

“Opa always talked to us about the ranch,” Wes said. “And how to care for it.”

Her son knew more than she credited him with. Vernon had been a great teacher.

“I see your grandfather taught you well.”

Wes sat up straighter. “Opa told me I needed to plant a field and not let it lay fallow, ’cause you don’t want to lose the topsoil. We are stewards of this land.”

Vernon had always said that. April felt pride her son had picked up his grandfather’s attitude and ashamed she hadn’t realized her son’s connection to the land. The boys hiring Joel should’ve sent her a clue.

“When harvest time comes around, whoever harvests the fields you rent out might do yours, too.”

His words, like a slap in the face, reminded her that he wouldn’t be here in the fall to harvest the crops, but they told her he knew his way around a ranch.

The boys chatted with Joel while she drove back to the house. The instant she stopped the truck by the kitchen door, Joel slipped out and walked to the tractor. “So let’s pray that your tractor will start this morning,” Joel said, “or I’ll be using that wrench. Where’s the key?”

“Inside the kitchen door.”

The children stood by the truck and watched him retrieve the key, start the tractor and attach the blades to the back of it.

“I’ll do the hay field first, then go to the west field and plow and plant the sunflowers today. I’ll replow the hay field tomorrow and plant it.”

When his words finally registered, April’s gaze jerked to his. The man knew what to do and didn’t need her instruction or prodding. Such a simple gesture softened her heart. “Sounds good.”

He climbed down from the seat and walked toward her. “I’ll give you my cell number in case you need to contact me.”

April held up her hand, reached inside the truck and grabbed the pad and pencil she kept in the center console. “I’m ready.”

He rattled off his cell-phone number.

“I guess you should have the house number, just in case, as you said.” The corner of his mouth kicked up, making her stomach dance.

He whipped out his phone from the front pocket of his Western shirt and entered the number as she said it.

Once he had the number saved, he waved the boys to his side. “Okay, let’s do rock, paper, scissors to see who rides with me out to the north field. When I do the west field, the other boy will go.”

“Aren’t they a little young to be riding in the cab?” April asked.

“You’re never too young to learn how to use a tractor. My dad had me ride with him when I was Todd’s age, and I was plowing fields after I turned ten.”

“Opa let me ride with him, Mom,” Wes hastily added.

If the man had used any other argument, she would’ve shot down the idea, but the boys needed to know how to operate the machinery and how to plow if they were going to maintain the ranch. She knew Vernon had been teaching the boys, but hearing them repeat the lessons would’ve made him proud. It certainly made her smile. After surveying three waiting males, she said, “All right.”

The boys pounded their little fists on their hands. April stood rooted to the spot, watching.

“One. Two. Three.”

The boys went along and Todd won.

“Can we try again?” Wes asked.

Joel put his hand on Wes’s shoulder. “You’re with me to plant the sunflowers.”

Wes looked up at Joel, than at his brother. “Okay.” He didn’t argue or pout, but trusted Joel enough to go along with his turn being second.

April worked hard not to let her jaw drop that her son offered no argument.

“I guess Wes can help me get my vegetable garden ready to plant.”

“And Mr. Joel told me some stuff to do around here,” Wes added.

“Those chores can wait until you help your mom plant the garden.”

Wes nodded.

They watched as Joel drove the tractor to the north section of land.

Cora looked back at April. “I go, too.”

“We’ll work right here and plant some of your favorite vegetables.”

“Cupcakes?”

Wes snickered. “That’s not a vegetable. Carrots, peas, potatoes—those are vegetables.”

Cora folded her arms over her chest and pursed her lips.

“You like giving Sammie a carrot, don’t you?” Wes asked.

“And you like mashed potatoes?” April added, knowing it was Cora’s favorite food.

Cora nodded.

“Well, we’ll plant potatoes and strawberries and watch them grow.” Throwing in the strawberries clinched the deal. Both children agreed to work in the garden.

* * *

April turned off the computer, finished with her accounts. She melted into her chair and took a deep breath. Relief washed over her, making her light-headed.

“Thank You, Lord.”

The roller-coaster events of the past couple of days still had her reeling. By dinner tonight, the sunflowers were planted, along with her garden, and she had three happy, satisfied children. Tomorrow the hay field would be done. There was hope.

Hope.

Such a small word, with some giant results.

Despite her offer, Joel didn’t stay for dinner, but the boys beamed with pride as they told her how they’d helped Mr. Joel. She hadn’t seen Wes and Todd that excited about anything since before their grandfather died.

Intrigued by the story Joel had told about his parents and his grandmother at breakfast, she felt there was something more to the story than he told. She’d like to know what he’d left out.

“Stop,” she chided herself. Joel would only be here the balance of the week. The man’s presence had managed to scramble the brains of all members of the family, herself included. That should be a warning, flashing bright, telling her of danger. And yet, she found herself ignoring those caution lights.

If she thought about it, Joel’s attitude differed as much from Ross’s as night from day. Joel welcomed her boys, piercing the shield she’d built around her heart in a way she couldn’t stop. When news of Ross’s death had reached April, she’d grieved with his parents, but she’d felt guilty that she wasn’t devastated. She had two little boys to take care of. When she discovered she was pregnant again, she didn’t have any time to grieve—at least, that was what she told herself. Was that simply an excuse?

The phone rang. Instantly, April picked it up, since she didn’t want the ring to wake any of the kids. “Hello.”