THE COWBOY SHE COULDN'T FORGET (5 page)

No response.

Vance decided to try something else to see if he got a response. “Ana and I just got back from Los Angeles. We went to see Tori and Josie, to let them know about your condition.”

That did it. Colt shot a look at him and made a groaning sound. Good, a reaction.

“That’s right, Colt. Ana is trying to bring them home.”

Another groan.

“There’s no choice, we need help to run the ranch. Come on, they’re your family, and you’re lucky to have them.” Vance stood and turned toward the door. Stubborn man. Well, Colt needed to get over that real fast.

* * *

Frustrated, Colt tried to call Vance back, but he was helpless to speak. Dammit. He couldn’t let this happen. His daughters were better off without him. Without a bitter old man who couldn’t get over the woman who’d deserted him and their daughters.

From the day their mother left, it had been like that. He knew nothing about raising girls. To make it worse, every time he looked at his beautiful Ana, Tori, Josie and Marissa, all he could see was their mother in their faces. God forgive him, he hadn’t been able to get over Luisa’s betrayal.

He closed his eyes, wishing for the millionth time that he’d done something that would have changed the past. That he could have gotten his wife to stay, for their daughters at least.

He regretted so many things. The worst had been making his girls suffer because he couldn’t deal with his own failure. He glanced down at his useless hand. Now it was too late. He didn’t care about the ranch anymore, but he couldn’t stand to see the hurt in his daughters’ eyes. He’d caused them enough pain. It would be best if they could forget all about him.

* * *

The next morning, Ana woke up early and, after Kathleen’s insistence on breakfast, drove into town. The first thing she needed was some clothes for her long stay at the ranch.

She stopped at her apartment and packed up her jeans and boots. Suddenly she felt excited that she was going to be living back at the Lazy S for the next few months. She could ride everyday, not just when she could find the time, or figure out when her dad wouldn’t be around. She thought about another man who’d be there constantly. Vance. They needed to work together. Not that she had a choice, but this wouldn’t be an easy chore. And they still needed to come up with something to help bring in income.

After locking the front door to her one-bedroom apartment, she carried her suitcases to her small SUV. She had two months until her job started back at the high school. If need be she could take off more time, but that was a wait-and-see. They might need her income if the ranch couldn’t be saved. Not to mention her father’s medical bills.

She shook away that dismal thought and climbed into the car. She drove back through town, down Main Street, passing the many storefronts that made up Royerton. The 1920s buildings housed businesses like the Big Sky Grill, a clothing store, Missy’s Boutique, and an antique shop, Treasured Gems. On the corner she saw the familiar brick facade of Clarkson’s Trading Post and Outfitters. And smiled, thinking about her close friend Sarah Clarkson. They’d known each other since kindergarten. She was the third generation Clarkson to help run the store.

Ana pulled into a parking space out front and got out. She wanted to thank her friend’s family for the flowers and sweet note they’d sent for Colt.

She walked into the shop and was greeted with racks of clothes and walls lined with fishing and hunting equipment. The large store was crowded with customers, this being the height of fly-fishing season. It was a big part of the revenue for the store and the town.

She glanced around and spotted Hank and Beth Clarkson behind the counter, waiting on customers. Sarah had just come out of the back room along with one of the store’s licensed outfitters, Buck Patton.

Sarah spotted her and smiled. She held up a finger, asking her to wait, then turned back to the group with Buck and gave instructions. A few minutes later, they all shook hands, before the guide walked the group out the side door to the waiting van.

Sarah rushed over and greeted her with a hug. “Oh, I’m so glad to see you. Is your dad okay? We tried to stop by the hospital but we couldn’t see Colt.”

Ana nodded. “He’s better. He started therapy. I wanted to tell you that I’m moving out to the ranch for the summer.”

The pretty redhead blinked at that. “Why? Is your dad coming home so soon?”

Ana shook her head. “No, but I need to help out. It’s going to be a long road for Dad’s recovery, and since he’s incapable of running the ranch right now, I’ve been named as one of the executors.”

“That surprises me. Colt Slater giving anything to his daughters, even responsibility, surprises me.”

Sarah knew the history of her family. “Well, I’m not exactly doing this on my own. The other executor is Vance Rivers.”

Sarah gasped. “Now, that’s no surprise. So are you going to play nice?”

Ana sighed. “We’ll be too busy to think about anything other than running the Lazy S. We have a roundup coming in a few weeks.”

Sarah eyed her closely, but before she could make comment, her parents came up to them. They exchanged more hugs. As a kid, Ana used to wish they were her parents, too.

Beth asked, “How’s your Dad, Ana?”

“Better, thank you. He has a long rehab, though.”

It was Hank who spoke up. “If anyone can do it, Colt can. He’s too stubborn not to come back from this.”

Ana smiled. “He is that.”

“You don’t need to tell me,” Hank said. “For years I’ve been trying to get him to allow my outfitters on his land.” The man shook his head. “You have one sweet fishing spot on the northern section just going to waste.”

“You wanted to fish on the ranch?”

Hank nodded. “I wanted to make your dad some money, too. Colt always said no. He liked his privacy.”

Suddenly an idea popped into Ana’s head.
Oh, my, could this work?
“Do you still want to fish on our property?”

Hank paused. “Are you serious? That section of the Big Hole River is incredible. I could send out day groups. Of course, the real money is doing overnight trips and weekends.”

He showed her the chart with the going rates that fishermen paid for these kinds of trips. She nearly fell over.

Ana asked Hank if he could stop by the ranch and they could go over the section of property in question. When he agreed, she knew all she needed to do was convince Vance. Would he go against Colt and side with her? She shrugged. This was for the sake of the ranch, so they would deal with the repercussions later.

CHAPTER FIVE

L
ATER
THAT
EVENING
Vance drove to his house and parked his truck. He’d been at the hospital to see Colt. Not that it had done much good, since the man barely acknowledged his presence. He’d tried to discuss what was going on at the ranch, but Colt seemed disinterested, so Vance had called it a night and left.

On the way back home, he’d stopped by the Big Sky Grill and picked up some dinner. All he wanted tonight was some food and a bed. When he got out of the truck, he heard someone call his name. He turned and saw Ana hurrying along the path from the barn.

His gut tightened as the long-legged brunette headed his way. In his many fantasies, she would be running into his arms, happy that he was home.

She shot him a smile and his pulse began to race. There went his sleep for the night. “What’s your hurry?”

“I’m excited,” she told him, her breathing a little rough as she held up a manila folder. “You have a few minutes?”

“Sure.” He raised his sack. “Mind if we go inside so I can eat my dinner?”

“Oh, sorry. You should eat.” She waved at him. “I’ll come back.”

He reached for her arm to stop her departure. “Don’t go. I mean, it’s silly for you to go all the way back to the house. Come inside.”

“Only if you eat while I talk.”

Together they walked up to the porch. “Sounds like a plan.”

Inside, Vance turned on the overhead light and walked to the dining area, put his food sack on the table and his hat on the hook by the back door. “Can I get you something to drink?” He opened the refrigerator. “I have soda and milk.”

“Nothing, thank you.”

Ana glanced around the room, surprised to see so much detail in the decor. Okay, it was a man’s house, but it was clean and organized. The walls were painted a golden hue and the woodwork and trim stained dark. She walked to the large Western painting hanging over the brick fireplace and quickly recognized the signature of a local artist. Then she studied a bronze statue of a horse on the mantel.

“Does it meet with your approval?”

She swung around to Vance. “Sorry, I never thought of you in a house.”

He set two soda cans on the table. “Just in a room upstairs in the barn.”

She quickly realized how harsh she sounded. “No, I don’t see you in the barn. It’s just that you have good taste...in decorating.” She came back to the table and sat down. “And for the record, Dad should have never let you live in the barn, anyway.”

“I think he was trying to protect his four daughters. And it was the apartment over the barn.”

Suddenly she was glad for the extra soda, and took a drink. “Please, eat.”

Vance sat down across from her in the ladder-back chair. He popped the tab on the can, took a long drink, then unwrapped his meat-loaf dinner from under the foil. “Okay, what’s so important you needed to talk about it tonight?”

“Did you know that Dad refused Hank Clarkson’s offer of pay to bring fly fishermen on the property?”

With a shrug, Vance scooped up a piece of meat. “A long time ago I heard rumors. I thought it was a friendly disagreement between the two.”

She opened the folder. “It’s a friendly disagreement that would have brought in a lot of money for the ranch.”

Vance continued to eat. “I’m listening.”

“Earlier, I drove into town to pick up some clothes from my apartment. Afterward I stopped by Clarkson’s Trading Post to see my friend Sarah. Hank Clarkson asked about Dad’s condition, then said something about the section of the Big Hole River on our property.”

Vance watched as Ana tilted her head, mesmerized by her thick ebony hair brushing against her bare shoulders.

“Seems Hank has several clients who want to fish in a private section of the river.” She opened the folder and took out a paper with the going rate anglers pay. “We could be making a portion of that amount.”

“Is that before or after the guide and Hank’s commission?”

“Well, before, but he’s supplying the boats and the guide. It still leaves a lot of money. Hank also said we could make a lot more if he had lodging for overnight trips.”

Seeing her excitement, Vance began to realize there could be possibilities, too. “I’ve fished along the river and the trout are big. It might not be the answer to all of our problems unless...”

Her rich blue eyes lit up and he couldn’t look away. “Unless what?”

“A lot of things,” he managed to answer. “Do you want to do this temporarily, or is this going to be a permanent addition to the ranch?”

“Seems that with the ranch having so many bad years, I think we should see where this could take us.”

He liked the idea better and better. “Do you want to hire our own guide? Build structures to house the customers?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. What do you think?”

“Shouldn’t you talk to your sisters?”

She shook her head. “First, I probably can’t get them to make a decision. This is something we can do right now. Hank assured me that he can get some paying customers pronto and I don’t want to lose this opportunity.” She looked at Vance. “Is it crazy to invest in something like this?”

“Since there isn’t a lot of money to spend on investing, maybe we should tread cautiously. See how it works for day fishing first.”

“So you like the idea?”

“Yes. It’s something that doesn’t cost us anything to start with. But we have to do a trial run to see if the investment is worth expanding before we think about building some cabins.”

She looked thoughtful. “What about some of our existing buildings? The bunkhouses?”

“They could work, but they’ll soon be filled up with the extra hands for the roundup.”

She nodded. “Okay, we’ll start with day trips. I told Hank that he could stop by tomorrow and check out the best sites. Do you want to come along?”

It would probably be better if he stayed clear of her, but he was pleased that she even asked him. “We’re moving the herd down at dawn,” he told her. “I guess I could meet you there along the river.”

Since the day Vance Rivers had shown up at the Lazy S, Ana had never wanted to think anything good about him. He’d been the kid who took so much of her father’s attention. In all honesty, Vance never had much to do with her dad’s decision making. Colt Slater made sure that his word was law. Until now.

She smiled. “Good. I want you there to help in case I have to make any decisions. I don’t know the ranch like you do.”

“I’m sorry for that.”

“It’s not your fault, Vance. That was Dad’s choice.”

“Well, looks like you’re involved now. And you have every right to any make decisions about the ranch.”

“I’m doing this for all of us.” She sighed. “Right now, I’m not sure if my sisters care if the ranch survives or not. But I’m hoping that will change. This is our heritage.”

Vance grinned. “Then I guess we better keep the Lazy S going.”

Suddenly she felt warm. Undoubtedly, she was attracted to the man, even after all these years. Not a good idea, not when everything depended on them working together.

* * *

The next day, Ana had made an early trip to the hospital to see her father. Colt was just as cold and distant as he’d always been. So she left wondering why she even bothered with a man who didn’t care.

Glad to be out of the hospital, she checked her watch as she pulled off the highway and onto the river road. It took about ten minutes to get to her destination, where she saw Hank Clarkson walking along the riverbank under the grove of trees. He wasn’t alone. The younger, blond man with Hank was Mike Sawhill. She hesitated to get out of her SUV when she recognized him, a man she’d been foolish enough to go out with a few times. When Mike had wanted to push things faster than she wanted to go, things didn’t end well.

She climbed out and walked through the high grass to the riverbank, glad she wore her jeans and her cowboy boots. “Hi, Hank.” She nodded at the other man. “Mike.”

“Hello, Ana. It’s been a long time.”

She ignored his comment. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Not a problem,” Hank assured her. “Mike and I were just trying to find the best spot to launch a boat.” The older man took off his hat and wiped his brow. “We might need to clear out some brush.”

They walked toward the wide river that ran through the Lazy S. She felt the cool breeze off the water, remembering how as kids, she and her sisters would go horseback riding here. They’d strip down to their underwear and get in the cold water.

She brushed aside the fond memory. “Will that be a lot of work?” she asked, trying not to notice that Mike was staring at her.

Suddenly she spotted a horse and rider coming across the pasture. She smiled when she recognized Vance. “Good, he made it.”

They all turned as the rider came closer. The man sat in the saddle as if he were born to it. There was an easy familiarity in the way Vance handled the large animal.

He slowed Rusty as he approached them, then walked his mount to the area behind the vehicles and climbed down. After tying the reins to a tree, he strolled over to the group, decked out in working cowboy gear: leather chaps, dusty jeans and boots. Oh my, Vance Rivers looked good.

He pushed his hat back off his forehead. “Sorry I’m late. I had to move a herd.” He shook hands with Hank.

“It is roundup time,” Hank said, then introduced Mike. “We just got here ourselves.”

Ana watched something flash between the two men, and stepped in. “Did everything go okay?”

“Yeah, just had to chase down a lot of strays.” He smiled at her. “What did I miss?”

“Hank’s a little worried about the steep bank and brush, for launching a boat from here.”

Vance caught Mike Sawhill’s close attention on Ana. He didn’t like it. “There might be a better spot about a quarter mile downstream. I’ve caught my share of browns and rainbows there.”

They took off and walked the distance. After being in the saddle all morning, Vance didn’t mind stretching his legs. In between answering questions from Hank, he also watched Ana’s uneasiness around Mike.

Vance didn’t know the angler guide personally, but he’d seen him around town, especially in Montana Mick’s Bar, usually with a lady.

He suddenly felt protective, and called to Ana. She turned around, and he asked about her visit with Colt. It distracted her from whatever Sawhill was saying to her.

They finally reached their destination. “Here it is,” Vance announced as they turned toward the bank. The area was shaded by leafy trees, and the bank wasn’t as steep and had a small clearing.

“I’ve fished here a few times, but never launched a boat. So you’ll have to tell me if it will work.”

The two men went to examine the bank closer, giving Vance a chance to talk to Ana. “Is Sawhill someone to you?”

She glared at him. “No!” she muttered, keeping her voice down.

Vance could see there had been some history between them. He didn’t like that, not at all.

When the two men walked back, Hank was smiling. “It’s a great spot. There’s plenty of shade and the water is deep.” He looked at Ana. “How soon do you want your first customers?”

Ana glanced at Vance, then back at Hank. “Is there anything we need to do to get ready?”

“Not to begin with. I have several locals who’ve been itchin’ to cast a fly in this section of the river. No angler wants to compete in a crowd.” Hank looked at Mike. “Day after tomorrow?”

Mike nodded. “I have a group of four. We’ll be testing the water to see what we catch. Thing is, the Big Hole River is all good.”

Hank smiled again. “Is that okay with you?” he asked Ana.

Her eyes widened. “Sure.”

The older man shook his head. “Relax, Ana. We’re doing all the work. Now, if you had lodging, there’s a group coming in this weekend. I’ll have to put them up in the local motel.”

Vance was suddenly curious. “How many anglers, and what do they expect in accommodations?”

“It’s a group of four who are pretty easy to please. A roof over their heads and a bed. A bonus would be to not have to cook.”

Vance glanced at Ana, then said, “I’ve got a house at the ranch, and if Kathleen will cook a little extra, we can throw in a few meals, too.”

Ana shook her head. “No, Vance. You can’t give up your place.”

He shrugged. “Not a problem.” He shot a look at Mike. “I’ll just move up to the main house with you.”

* * *

“I can’t believe you said that,” Ana said as she marched up to Rusty’s stall an hour later. She was not happy with Vance.

She leaned against the wooden slats as he began to brush the animal.

“I don’t see the problem,” he told her. “It’s my house to give up.”

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about. You made them think that there’s something going on between us.”

“Can I help what they think?”

“You can when you direct them there,” she countered.

“Okay, you’re right, but I didn’t like the way Sawhill was looking at you. And admit it, you’re uncomfortable around him.”

“I can handle any problem with Mike.”

Vance paused in grooming Rusty. “So you admit there’s a problem.”

“Look, we only went out a few times. I didn’t feel anything for the guy so I didn’t continue seeing him. He didn’t like that.”

“Did he bother you today?”

“No. So I don’t need you to intervene. But now you made it so people think I’m...”

“Involved with that wild Rivers kid,” he finished for her.

“I didn’t mean it like that.” She released a sigh. “Don’t we have enough to do without adding to it?”

“I don’t see I’m adding to anything. I solved a couple of problems. One, I got Sawhill off your back, stopped him thinking about trying to start up something again.”

“I’m not interested, anyway.” This man was infuriating. “It was only a few dates, a few kisses,” she said, lowering her voice, wanting to walk away. She wasn’t going to discuss another man with him.

Vance put away the brush. “Secondly, we have paying customers, and add in lodging, there’s a lot more money coming in. Say, ‘thank you, Vance.’”

Ana knew she was being stubborn about this. Why did she have a problem with him staying in the house? Maybe because there were just the two of them, and with the attraction she was feeling, it wasn’t safe. “Okay, thank you.”