Betting on Texas (18 page)

“Tell me something I don’t already know.” Miranda laughed but
Jesse remained serious.

“I can’t tell you it’s going to be wonderful all the time. And
I know there will be problems and arguments. I snore sometimes and my feet don’t
always smell pretty. I can be forgetful and downright ornery on occasion.”

“Jesse, what is this all about?”

“What I’m trying to say is, I know I have my faults. But will
you marry me anyway?” He opened up his hand to produce a white gold and diamond
ring. “This was my grandmother’s engagement ring.”

Miranda stared at the ring in silence.

“Say something, please,” Jesse pleaded.

“I’m sorry,” Miranda said. “But, I can’t.”

Jesse jumped off the bed. “You’re turning me down?”

“Jesse, please, let me explain.” Miranda struggled to sit up
straighter. “A few days ago you were ready to move off this ranch for good. Our
little bet is officially over today and I’m still here. You told me yourself you
had no place to live, when you knew damn well you had a place here. With
me.”

“You could have asked me to stay.”

“What right did I have?” Miranda asked. “Your father just died.
Your brothers asked you to take over Bridle Dance with them. It was your
decision, not mine.”

“I can’t believe this. I pour my heart out to you and you turn
me down.”

“Because you don’t love me, Jesse!”

Jesse stumbled back as if she’d smacked him. “Think whatever
you want.”

The door slammed behind him, causing the puppies to whimper in
his wake. Miranda held them both close to her chest as she stared at the ring on
the nightstand. If only he had proposed to her out of love, she would accept in
a heartbeat.

She slid the ring on her finger and held it up as she admired
it. Mable stood in the doorway.

“What did you do to him this time?” Mable demanded.

“I turned down his marriage proposal,” Miranda said as she
stared at the ring.

“Doesn’t look like it to me.” She walked over and grabbed
Miranda’s hand roughly. “Enlighten me, child.”

Jesse’s proposal was probably the most honest thing she ever
heard come out of a man’s mouth. She knew he cared about her. And she knew his
soul was behind the words, but it was his heart she waited on. She refused to
marry a man who didn’t love her. No matter how much she loved him.

“He doesn’t love me, Mable. His heart belongs to Double
Trouble. Not me.”

“Foolish woman.” Mable shook her head as she walked out of the
bedroom. “Foolish woman.”

* * *

J
ESSE
COULDN
’
T
BELIEVE
Miranda refused him. He practiced his
proposal all morning. Then she shot him down without even thinking it over.

She said he didn’t love her. How could she think that? He
needed her in his life. He needed her by his side and he told her as much.
Certainly, she must know how he felt about her by now.

When Cole asked him to ride out on a neighbor’s cattle drive,
he didn’t need to think twice. Separation from Miranda was just what he needed
right now. It would give him a chance to clear his head and figure out his next
move. Only he didn’t know if his next move would be toward Miranda again or in
the opposite direction.

The men left in the morning and were in the hills by
nightfall.

Jesse and Cole sat around the campfire and talked over supper.
Within an hour, the rest of the men joined in on the conversation. They all told
him to swallow his pride when he got home, and march over to Miranda’s door and
tell her how much he loved her.

After three days away from her, he was ready to go home. He
rehearsed his words over and over again until Cole rode up alongside him and
told him the cattle were going to start falling in love with him if he didn’t
cut out the
I love you
s.

They had a few breakaways but Jesse was proud of General Lee.
He was his best horse. Instinctively, he knew which way to turn. That is until
General Lee turned to cut a lead cow and Jesse miscalculated the direction.

He flew off his horse and landed with a thud. Cole immediately
rode up behind him and corrected so the cattle wouldn’t trample his brother.

Jesse arrived at Bridle Dance battered and bruised. X-rays
proved everything was still intact, except for his ego.

“How badly do you want Miranda?” Cole asked.

The two conspired along with Chase, and for the first time in
years, Jesse felt close to his family.

* * *

W
HILE
J
ESSE
WAS
GONE
, Miranda realized she needed to
explain herself and tell him the truth about Jonathan. Although Mable seriously
doubted he would even look at her, let alone talk to her after the way she
treated him. She’d said, “You don’t go messin’ with a man’s pride and expect him
to welcome you with open arms.”

Someone knocked at the back door. Miranda crossed the room to
answer it while Mable tried to see who it was through the window.

“Cole,” she said. “This is a surprise. Come on in.”

“Ma’am.” He took his hat off and held it in his hand. “There’s
something I need to tell you.”

“Oh, no.” She reached out to steady herself on the kitchen
counter. “Please tell me Jesse is okay. Please, Cole.”

“He’s all right, but there was an accident on the trail,
and...” He hesitated a moment, gripping the brim of his hat. “He’s pretty banged
up and he’s been asking for you.”

“Dear Lord, this family does not need another tragedy.” Mable
ushered them both toward the door.

Tears welled in Miranda’s eyes. She was grateful he was alive,
but scared he was hurt to the point he was asking for her.

“How bad is he?” she asked.

“You need to come out to the ranch and see for yourself.” Cole
led her through the door.

“The ranch?” Mable questioned. “He’s not at the hospital?”

Miranda bounded down the stairs after Cole.

“He was in for X-rays all night,” Cole called over his
shoulder. “We brought him home a few hours ago.”

“Take me to him.” Miranda hopped in Cole’s truck.

Mable stood on the porch and watched as they drove off. She
picked up the phone and dialed. “Kay, what are your boys up to?”

* * *

W
HEN
M
IRANDA
ARRIVED
at Bridle Dance, Chase was
sitting on the front porch with his head in his hands. Cole had to give his
little brother credit. He played his role perfectly. Miranda gripped Cole’s arm
as they walked through the door. Even his mother appeared upset.

Cole led Miranda upstairs to his brother’s room. He had to
admit, his brother looked awful. A lot worse than he actually was.

“Oh, Jesse!” Miranda cried as she ran to him. He grimaced when
she attempted to hug him. Cole didn’t think it was acting on his part. His
brother was mighty banged up.

“Miranda, I’m so glad you’re here,” Jesse said. “There’s
something I need to tell you.”

“There’s something I need to tell you, too.”

“Please, Miranda, let me go first. This is important.”

Tears stung Miranda’s cheeks. She already began to fear the
worst. Cole motioned to Jesse it was time to move this along before she
collapsed altogether.

“Miranda, I love you more than life itself. Now, for the third
time, will you marry me?”

“Yes, oh, yes! That’s what I wanted to tell you. I love you,
too!”

Jesse jumped out of bed. “Did you hear, everyone? She loves me.
We’re getting married!” He winced as he pulled her into his arms.

“Hey, wait a minute!” Miranda said as she turned toward the
doorway. Cole, Chase, Jonathan and Kay fought to see over one another. “What’s
going on here? Jonathan?” Miranda looked from Jesse to Jonathan. Jonathan
nodded.

“He told you?” Miranda asked Jesse.

“He told me everything. I don’t blame you, or Jon or even Pops.
Life’s too short to pass blame on anyone.”

“And all this, I thought you were hurt. You big fake.” Miranda
elbowed Jesse in the ribs, causing him to double over in pain.

“Miranda—” Cole rushed to Jesse’s side “—he really is hurt.
Just not as bad as we led you to believe.”

“I think my bruised ribs just became broken ribs.”

All color drained from Miranda’s face. “Oh, Jesse, I’m so
sorry.”

Jesse took her in his arms and kissed her.

“Are you sure you want to marry me?” Jesse asked.

“Yes.” Miranda gazed deep into his eyes. “I want to be your
wife, now and forever.”

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from
Rancher’s
Son
by Leigh Duncan!

We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin American Romance story.

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Chapter One

Sarah Magarity rose to her tiptoes on the stepladder.
The large silver star atop the Christmas tree wobbled when her fingers brushed
against it. As she wrestled the heavy ornament from the center post, it tipped,
threatening to throw her off balance. For a second, Sarah saw herself lying on
the floor, alone and injured, through the long holiday weekend. Normally hectic
on a Thursday afternoon, the Department of Children and Family Services in Fort
Pierce, Florida, had slowly emptied once the tech guys shut down the computers
for a system-wide upgrade. Now only a tree that smelled more like plastic than
pine stood between her and a much-needed two weeks out from under a crushing
workload.

Two weeks of white, sandy beaches and a cell phone that didn't
buzz with a new crisis every ten minutes. Two weeks of gathering plants for her
growing collection of tropical flowers. Sarah took a deep breath and braced
herself against the wall. She could almost smell Hawaiian orchids and
plumeria.

Dreaming of ukuleles and fruity concoctions decorated with tiny
umbrellas, she whistled a slightly off-key version of “Somewhere Over the
Rainbow.” Carefully, she toted the star down the ladder. Her foot had barely
touched the worn carpet when one of the doors at the main entrance swung open.
Sounds of heavy traffic on U.S. Highway 1 blared into the office before the door
swished closed. Silence, broken only by the noisy hum of an air conditioner,
once more filled the room.

“C'mon, Jimmy.” A voice whined over the warren of empty
cubicles. “We hav'ta find someone pronto. It's late.”

Late for what?

Sarah swallowed a groan. Whoever had arrived at four-thirty on
Christmas Eve, they were late, all right. The holiday party for kids in foster
care had ended at two.

“Can I help you?” Sarah prayed the curvy brunette rounding the
last of the partitions wanted nothing more than grocery money. A couple of
ten-dollar gift cards, and not much else, remained in the emergency fund.

“This is Jimmy Parker.” The woman's plunging neckline dipped
perilously low as she placed her hand square on the back of the little boy at
her side and shoved. The child stumbled forward. “His mom asked me to drop him
off.”

Sarah mustered a smile for the pair of sad brown eyes that
peered up from beneath a thatch of sandy-blond hair. The boy's hollow gaze met
hers only briefly before he looked away. When his focus dropped to a pair of
tattered sneakers, Sarah hiked an eyebrow. She skimmed over high-water jeans,
frowned at a shirt Goodwill would reject. Fighting a protective nature that made
her want to wrap the little boy in her arms and make everything right in his
world, Sarah stiffened her spine.

The brutal truth was, a dozen kids just like this one walked
into the DCF offices each month. She had a hundred more open cases in her file
cabinet. She couldn't give every child assigned to her the attention they
deserved. Not and still keep her sanity. The situation was far from her
idealistic dream of how things ought to work. But there were too many at-risk
kids, too few dollars to go around and too few workers to do the job.

Letting her eyes narrow, she faced the older of her guests
head-on. “You're too late.” She grimaced when a little more vehemence than usual
crept into her voice. “The party was hours ago. You should have been here
then.”

Despite herself, Sarah glanced across the room at a whimsical
mural of a sleigh propelled by eight flying porpoises. Were there any presents
left? Not a chance. Every gift from Santa's bag had been distributed into the
eager hands of other kids who were just as needy as this one.

“Party?” The latecomer's dark eyebrows lifted. “Who said
anything about a party?” The brunette chewed a wad of gum and swallowed. “I
promised to deliver the kid, and here he is.”

An uneasy feeling settled in Sarah's chest when her visitor
dropped a worn duffel bag to the floor.

“Hold on a sec,” she ordered. “Maybe you'd better start at the
beginning and tell me exactly what brought you here. I'm Sarah Magarity, the
senior caseworker.” She paused for a look around. With no husband or children of
her own to rush home to, she'd offered to keep the office open until closing
time. A skeleton staff would report in on Monday and man the offices through the
New Year. For tonight, though, she was it. “And you are?”

“Candy. Candace, really, but everyone just calls me Candy.” The
woman settled one hand on a cocked hip. “Candy Storm. And this little guy,” she
said, tapping a bloodred fingernail on the boy's head, “is James Tyrone Parker.
Jimmy. He's five. His mom was my best friend.”

The implication sent Sarah's stomach into free fall. She swept
another look at the child who studied the stained carpet at his feet. “His mom
is…?”

“Yeah.” Candy blinked several times before patting the skin
beneath lashes so long they had to be fake.

“I think you and I should talk privately.” Sarah motioned
toward a nearby cubicle. “Jimmy, I need you to watch TV or play with some toys
while Miss Candy and I chat for a few minutes.”

Without waiting for a response, Sarah took the child's tiny
hand in hers. His thin shoulders and bony frame raised troubling questions. When
was the last time this kid ate? How long ago had his mother passed? Who had been
taking care of him since then? And where?

Her tone softened. “I think we have some cookies in the break
room. Would you like some?” When Jimmy didn't answer, she called to Candy. “Does
he have any allergies?”

The woman's gum snapped and popped before she shrugged a vague
“Nope?”

As the child scrambled onto the couch near the bare Christmas
tree, Sarah overlooked his soiled shirt and grimy fingernails, knowing that if
she accused the parents of every unwashed youngster of neglect, the foster
system would collapse under the load. Bruises or injuries were another matter,
and she scanned the child for visible signs. Her breath eased at the sight of
pale, but unblemished, skin. Relieved that the boy wasn't in immediate physical
danger—and thus, not really her problem—she clamped a heavy lid over the urge to
take him under her wing.

She couldn't get involved. Not now. Not when doing so would
ruin her plans for the holidays and dash her hope to rest and recharge. And,
after five years with the DCF in Melbourne and two more in Fort Pierce, it was
either that or quit. No, she shook her head, this little boy was Candy's problem
and he had to stay that way. At least until next week when her coworkers would
be back in the office. Steeling her heart, she settled him in front of a cartoon
video with a small plate of cookies and a juice box she took from the office
refrigerator.

“Okay, what's this all about?”

With Candy lagging behind, Sarah led the way to a cubicle where
a line of red
X
's across the bottom of the calendar
marked the vacation days she had to use or lose according to DCF's policy
manual. She waved her guest into the only other chair in the cramped space and
swung to her computer. She stilled. Until the IT department completed their
work, no one could access the DCF database. Or learn whether Jimmy Parker
already had a caseworker to look after him.

With a sigh, Sarah pulled a yellow legal pad and a pen from a
drawer and hoped Candy would quickly get to the point. Across the desk, the
woman gave her a petulant look, her jaw jutting forward.

“Millie, Jimmy's mom, made me swear if anything ever happened
to her, I'd bring the kid to Florida,” she said, with an accent from
considerably north of the Sunshine State. “She said his dad owns a ranch
somewhere near Lake Okeechobee. Jimmy's named after him.”

James Tyrone Parker.

Sarah pursed her lips at the memory of a tall, broad-shouldered
rancher with sun-bleached hair. She brushed a speck of dust from the desktop,
chasing the image away. Surely there were thousands of Parkers in the hundreds
of square miles bordering the largest lake in Florida. There were probably a
dozen Jims and Tys among them. The odds against this little boy's father being
the same Ty Parker she'd run out of DCF's offices last spring were practically
astronomical. Still, it wouldn't hurt to move the rancher's name to the top of
the list.

“And where's home, Candy?”

“New York, of course.” The brunette slid one slim leg across
the other. “Me and Millie met at a casting call for an ad agency when Jimmy was
just a baby. We was both trying to break into movies.” She leaned forward,
nodding the way people did when they had a secret to share. “It's tougher than
anybody thinks. Anyways…” Candy thrust her shoulders back until the fabric of
her T-shirt tightened. “I got the gig and Millie didn't, but we hit it off, you
know? Millie, she didn't have much acting experience. And the kid only made it
harder. I'd babysit when I could, but eventually Millie gave up and took a job
waitressing. That's what got her killed. Some guy knifed her f' tip money.”

Candy studied the floor. “After Millie died, it wasn't easy. I
did my best by him, but it's been three months, and the kid still asks f' her. I
took a job in Tampa over the holidays just so's I could bring him to you. I
guess you'll take it from here.” She shrugged and uncrossed her legs. “I got a
life, too. You know?”

“Look.” Sarah placed her hands flat on the desk. “The system
doesn't work that way.”

She scanned the notes she'd taken while Candy had rambled on.
Like acting, there was more to transferring a child into DCF's custody than one
might think. And nothing, absolutely nothing, could be done before the first of
the year when the computer system was up again.

“I'd need proof Jimmy is who you say he is. His birth
certificate. Millie's death certificate. And that's just the beginning. We'll
also need a home study to make sure you're able to provide a suitable
environment for a little boy until his father can be located.”

“Whoa, now.” Candy's hands rose defensively. “I'm not keepin'
him. I've done my part. As for those papers, I think I got everything you need
right here.” She reached into a voluminous bag and pulled out a raft of wrinkled
forms.

Thumbing through them, Sarah had to admit they substantiated
Candy's story. She smoothed the curled edges of a birth certificate listing
Millicent Gage and Tyrone Parker as Jimmy's parents. An odd feeling stirred in
the pit of her stomach as she traced the names with her finger, but she refused
to jump to conclusions. Just because she knew one Ty Parker, that didn't make
him this little boy's father. She'd worked for six months on his fraternity's
ill-fated plan to sponsor foster kids on a cattle drive. He'd never once
mentioned a wife…or a child.

She stared at the calendar that hung over Candy's head. She
didn't need a computer to know the added pressure of the holidays had fractured
some of the county's most at-risk families. As a result, every single bed in the
foster care system had already been filled.

“You still can't leave him.” Sarah slid the papers across the
desk. “Until we locate his father, the only place I have available is a group
home with a bunch of older boys.” A bed in The Glades was definitely not the
ideal situation for a young child. “It'd be better if Jimmy spent Christmas with
you. And maybe New Year's. If you absolutely have to, you can bring him back
then.”

“Impossible.” Candy rose, her arms crossed. “I've lined up a
gig at The Pole Club in Tampa. Tips are very good this time of year, and it's
not a place where I can take a kid, if you know what I mean.”

A bitter taste rose in Sarah's throat. “What about Jimmy's
father?” she asked. “What else can you tell me about him?”

A crafty sneer told her Candy recognized a stall when she heard
one. The woman thrust a thumb toward the duffel bag still sitting on the floor
outside the cubicle. “The kid's clothes are in there. And a picture of his mom.
His dad? You'll have to track him down yourself. That's what you do, isn't
it?”

Not really, thought Sarah. More of her work involved taking
abused or neglected children
from
their parents than
reuniting them. That part of her job was turning her into someone she didn't
like very much. It was the reason her vacation was so important. Not just to
take a break and recharge, but to make up her mind about where she went from
here. Lately, she'd thought a lot about quitting. If it hadn't meant admitting
defeat, she might have done it long ago. Her parents had never understood her
career, and no wonder. Compared to her brother's groundbreaking work in physics
or her sister's latest appearance at Carnegie Hall, her job at the DCF wasn't
going to set the world on fire. But a decision about her future would have to
wait until she found this latest abandoned kid a new home.

She tapped her pen against the desktop. A vague description of
“somewhere near Lake Okeechobee” wasn't going to help her locate Jimmy's father.
Tracking him down meant legwork, hauling out the white pages and making
thousands of calls. Unless…unless she hit the jackpot with her first spin of the
wheel and the only Ty Parker she'd ever met was Jimmy's dad.

She gave the child's birth certificate another glance, but
there was no time to dwell on Jimmy's parentage. Candy was on the move and, this
time, there was no stopping her. Before Sarah could object, the woman blotted
her lips on the boy's cheek and flounced out of the office.

Listening to the door swing shut, Sarah weighed her
alternatives. There really was no choice. Not if she intended to spend a quiet
Christmas packing for her Hawaiian vacation. A phone call to the housemother at
The Glades was next on the agenda, and she turned toward her office, determined
to make the call.