The Lionhearted Cowboy Returns (3 page)

His mother started to talk, but his dad stopped her. “Maura, our son is a man. He needs to make his own decisions. Whatever that is, Jeff, we’re proud of you.”

The praise from Wyatt Gentry meant more to Jeff than any medal he’d received from that last mission.

Maura nodded. “I guess it’s the best solution for you both. Lacey can use your help, too.” His mother reached for his hand and smiled. “I think you can be a big help to each other.”

The next day Hank Barrett drove up the road toward the cabin. He knew he probably shouldn’t have come
here without an invitation, but he might never get one. So he’d come to see Jeff on his own.

Along with age came some privileges.

He’d stopped by the Guthrie Ranch and talked with Lacey. She’d been in the corral working with the horses. He’d stood back and watched and had been impressed with her talent. He’d always thought it had been Trevor who had had the skill with the horses, but Lacey knew her way around those animals, too. Maybe Jeff’s idea wasn’t so bad. Those two could help each other.

He grinned. Who knows? Lacey Guthrie might even finally take notice of his grandson. At least, maybe she could help Jeff get through the rough time.

Avoiding several mesquite bushes, Hank continued toward the cabin on the hill. He parked and climbed out, then grabbed two shopping bags filled with things Maura and Ella had sent with him.

He made his way to the porch when Jeff came out. “Granddad. What are you doing here?”

“It was either me comin’ here, or your mother and grandmother. And they’d probably be hanging ruffled curtains in the windows. So you got the best of the deal, me.”

Jeff chuckled and took the bags.

“That’s food, and in there are some towels. There’s a cooler in the back of the truck.”

“I’ll get it later,” Jeff said. “Come inside.”

Hank walked through the door first. The place wasn’t much bigger than a horse stall, but it was a lot cleaner.

The bunk against the wall was made up with white sheets and a green army blanket tucked in neatly on all
sides. Two pairs of cowboy boots stood at the end. The one thing that looked out of place was a single crutch next to the door, reminding him of the months of pain and anguish his grandson had gone through during his time in the hospital.

Sadness hit Hank as he ambled over to the only place to sit down. He pulled out a chair. “So, looks like you’ve made the place real homey.”

“It’s not so bad.”

“Sure, I believe you, but you know your mother isn’t going to feel the same. An outside latrine and no shower isn’t what they’d call civilized. So if you feel the need to get under a warm spray, come by the house.”

Jeff couldn’t help but smile. He always enjoyed Hank. Getting a grandfather was one of the best things about being adopted into the family.

“I’m going to rig up a portable shower out back.”

“Good thing the weather is warm.” The old man grew serious. “You know I have to report back to the ladies on how you’re getting on. And I’ve learnt never to cross the women in this family, not if I ever want to eat again.”

Jeff smiled. “Then you tell them that if I survived the deserts and the jungle, the Texas prairie isn’t going to hurt me.”

Grinning, Hank nodded. “I told ’em you’d be just fine.”

“What else brings you up here, Granddad?”

Hank pushed his hat back off his forehead. “Well, I had this idea I wanted to run by you.”

“I hope it doesn’t have anything to do with moving home.”

“No, I think if this is where you want to be, then it’s the right place for you. My idea has something to do with Randell Corporation.”

“And this concerns me how?”

“Just hear me out,” Hank coaxed. “You know how we have guests that come to the ranch on vacation and want to work. They like the cowboy way of things.”

“And it’s always made money, too.”

“I was thinking this year, at summer’s end, I’d like to do an old-fashioned cattle drive. All guests on horseback, and we even have a chuck wagon with a cook to make the meals just like they did a hundred years ago. We can start at Chance’s place and drive the cattle across to your dad’s ranch. Then go on to Uncle Jarred and Aunt Dana’s and onto Cade’s lands, then finally end up at the Circle B. I have the quarters to house the guests.”

“Sounds like you’d be going around in a circle.”

“Almost. But we’d stay on private property, and if something does happen, we’re not far from help.” Hank raised an eyebrow. “So, what do you think?”

“Sounds good to me.” Jeff was surprised his dad hadn’t said anything. “How do the brothers like it?”

“I’ll tell them eventually, but right now I want the grandkids on board first. And I want you to be in charge.”

Jeff was caught off guard by this. “I can’t do it.”

“Why? You’ve been in the military for years, in charge of men, giving orders.”

“I haven’t been on a horse in a long time. Secondly, I don’t even know if I can still ride.”

“Sure you can. It’s something you don’t forget, especially since you were so good it. You could out-ride
any of your cousins.” Hank smiled. “Even then you strove to be the best.”

Jeff knew he had drive. He’d proven it many times in the army, and it had saved his life more times than he could count. “That was before.” He rubbed his thigh.

“Before what? The accident?” Hank shook his head. “You’re just as good as before.”

“The army doesn’t think so,” Jeff said bitterly. “They seem to think you need both legs to be a soldier.”

E
ARLY
in the morning, Jeff closed Fancy’s gate. It had been a long time since he’d mucked out a stall. He didn’t like it any better than he had as a kid.

He’d only been a horse owner for a few days, but he needed the physical work. Outside of his daily workouts, he’d been pretty sedentary lately, unlike the days when he used to take five-mile runs every morning. He couldn’t handle that—yet.

He sat down on the bench next to the stall gate and rubbed his knee. Maybe he’d been pushing it. But that was how he did everything—to the hilt. He’d never held back, and he wasn’t going to now.

“What’s wrong with your leg?”

Jeff looked up find Colin standing nearby. Was the kid just lurking around, waiting to give him a bad time? “I’m just tired.”

Those blue eyes narrowed. “You get shot in the army?”

Jeff gripped the railing and pulled himself up to stand. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“Does it hurt?”

He didn’t want to talk about this. “Sometimes. What are you doing out here?”

“Mom said I should help you. What do you want me to do?”

“What do you usually do?”

“Dad used to let me exercise the horses, but Mom only wants me to clean stalls.”

“How about we do the cleaning first, then we’ll see about the riding part.”

If the boy was surprised at the answer, he didn’t show it. “Whatever.”

“Okay, let’s start with the first two stalls. I need fresh straw spread out on the floors.”

“Why? There aren’t any horses.”

“You’ve got a lot of questions, son. In the army, you don’t ask, you just do.”

“I’m too young to be in the army.”

Jeff smiled. “Guess you’re right. But there are two mares arriving tomorrow.”

Thanks to his Uncle Chance spreading the word about the Guthrie Ranch being open for boarding and training, they already had their first two horses. The only problem was he wasn’t sure he could handle it without help. “If you do a good job, we’ll talk about wages.”

The boy blinked. “You gonna
pay
me?”

Jeff nodded. “This is hard work. I’d like you to help out a few hours in the mornings. I need to learn my way around here. It’s been a while since I handled horses. So, are you available?”

The kid couldn’t hide his surprise. “Yeah. Do I get to help work the horses, too?”

“We need to talk to your mom about that. But from what I saw the other day, you’re an experienced rider.”

Colin puffed out his chest. “Since I was four years old. I’ll be nine next month.”

He liked the boy sharing that with him. “We still have to talk to your mom.”

“Talk to me about what?”

They both turned around to find Lacey dressed in her uniform for her job at the supermarket. She came down the aisle. Her hair was pulled back into a serviceable ponytail, showing off her high cheekbones and bright-green eyes. Damn, if she didn’t get his blood going.

He finally found his voice. “I’ve asked Colin if he wants to help me for a few hours a day. I was going to pay him.”

“Can I, Mom?” The boy was excited. “Can I work with the horses?”

Lacey didn’t look pleased with the idea. “We’ll talk about it later. Why don’t you go up to the house and wash up, Colin? Mindy’s here to watch you and Emily while I go to work.”

“Ah, Mom,” he argued. “Why can’t I help with the horses like I did with Dad?”

“Colin,” Jeff began. “Your mom and I need to discuss this,” he suggested, realizing his mistake of not telling Lacey about his idea first.

The boy’s enthusiasm quickly died, and he turned and marched off.

Once alone, Lacey turned back to him, anger furrowing her eyebrows. “If you’re trying to win my son over, you’ll probably do it, especially when you dangle horses in his face.”

“I wouldn’t have, if I’d known how disrespectful he is to you. Why do you let him talk to you that way?”

Lacey didn’t need this today. She’d purposely avoided Jeff since he’d been coming in the mornings.
She hadn’t liked the feelings he’d created in her whenever he was around. Feelings she’d had to kill off years ago. “Colin has had a rough time since his dad’s death.”

“Most kids do, but you still need to rein the boy in.”

“What makes you the expert?”

“I acted like a jerk at his age, too. Someone needs to take him in hand, and that means stop coddling him.”

Her eyes widened. “He’s only eight years old.”

“Almost nine,” he corrected her.

“He’s not an army recruit, Jeff. He’s still a little boy who’s just lost his daddy.”

“He also needs to learn respect for you. I don’t think Trevor would have let him talk to you that way.”

At the mention of her husband’s name, sadness hit her. From the day Colin had been born, father and son had been inseparable. “Trevor would have handled it differently.”

Jeff stiffened. “Sorry, I’m not Trevor.”

Lacey tried to keep calm, but having Jeff around was making everything difficult. “Look, Gentry. We might be thrown together temporarily, but my family is
my
concern. Not yours. I’d appreciate it if you’d let me decide what’s good for my son.”

Jeff’s dark gaze watched her for what seemed like an eternity. “Agreed,” he finally said. “But there’s something else we need to discuss.”

She studied the man she’d practically grown up with. They’d shared childish secrets, survived adolescence, and he’d been her husband’s best friend.

Her first lover.

Lacey glanced away. No, she couldn’t think about that anymore. She couldn’t let him know that it had
been on her mind, either. Easy to say, harder to do when she’d been noticing the man far too much. The first thing she had to do was stop being so uptight whenever he was around.

“What…what do you want to talk about?” she asked.

“I think I’ve solved your problem with the ranch. Have you thought about taking on a partner?”

The next day Jeff stood back and gave the new portable shower a nod of approval. Not bad. The five-gallon container hung from a tree branch, directly over the canvas cubicle. At least now he could wash his entire body at one time. The hot summer sun would warm up the spring water quickly.

“So this is what you army guys call roughing it.”

Jeff swung around, nearly losing his balance on the uneven ground, to find his cousin. A grinning Brandon Randell was dressed in the standard cowboy uniform of boots, jeans and a long-sleeved shirt to protect him from the Texas sun. He held the reins of his black quarter horse, Shadow.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” They exchanged a hearty hug. “What brings you out of the city, Detective Randell?” He glanced over his shoulder at the black stallion. “Just happened to be out for a ride?”

“I stopped by Hank’s, and he told me you were staying up here.” Brandon shrugged. “So Shadow and I cut through a couple of neighboring pastures and here we are. By car it would have been about a twenty-mile drive.”

“So you did some trespassing,” Jeff teased.

“I just tell people I’m on sheriff’s business.”
Brandon jammed his hands on his hips. “Besides, I need to come see how my cousin’s doing.”

Jeff had no doubt that Brandon had been sent to check on him. “Not bad,” he told him. “I’ve lived in worse conditions. Best of all, I’m enjoying the peace and quiet.”

Brandon smiled. “Surely you’re not saying the Randell clan is too much for you?”

“I can handle them in small doses. Dad’s been running interference for me.”

“Take it from me, cuz, it’s not going to stop a Randell. You know, eventually they’re going to come looking for you.” Brandon’s smile disappeared. “Just know it’s only because we all care about you. Man, it’s good to have you home.”

“It’s good to be back.” Jeff relaxed a little. He’d always gotten along with the oldest cousin. When Jeff, his mother and sister had first come here years ago, it had been Brandon’s mother, Abby, who’d helped them find a place to live. They also shared the fact that their mothers had come from abusive backgrounds, and Randell men had come to their rescue.

Brandon led his horse to the creek for some water, and examined the shower structure. “Not bad. I guess you couldn’t stand your own stink, huh?”

They both laughed. It felt good to Jeff. “You could say that.”

Brandon was like all the Randell men—tall and broad-shouldered, with dark hair and eyes. There was also the distinguishing cleft chin that marked nearly all the male Randells. Brandon had surprised everyone after college by going into law enforcement instead of ranching. He was a detective with the sheriff’s office.

“Granddad Hank said you bought two of the Guthrie’s quarter horses at the auction and you’re boarding them there.”

“It seemed simpler to keep them there.” Jeff started back up the rise toward the cabin. The hot afternoon sun beat down on his T-shirt-covered back, and his leg was tired from his long day. “The past year was rough on Lacey, or she would never have sold off her best quarter horses.”

Brandon tipped his hat back. “I was sorry to hear about Trevor. Man, he was so young.” Brandon shook his head. “And leaving a wife and young kids.”

They reached the small porch partly shaded by a tree. “I heard you’re a married man now. Congratulations.”

“Thanks. When you’re up to it, maybe you can meet Nora and Zach.”

Jeff nodded. He wasn’t making any promises.

“It’s good you’re around to help her,” Brandon told him. “Lacey can use a friend.”

Friend.
He hadn’t been much of one when Trevor had needed him. So far, he hadn’t been doing well on that front with Lacey either. “I don’t know how much good I can do.” Jeff hated to admit to any kind of weakness. “Sometimes I think I have enough to deal with just taking care of myself.”

Brandon paused. “Seems to me you’ve got a pretty good start. It takes time to adjust to your new life. You’ve started already, living up here alone.”

Jeff frowned. “Alone? I think I’ve had more visitors here than I did at the house.”

“Comes with the territory in this family. You wouldn’t remember that because you’ve been gone so long.”

“I guess I like my privacy.”

“Isolating yourself isn’t a good idea,” Brandon pointed out.

Jeff wanted to argue, but instead he walked inside the cabin. The place was stifling. He grabbed two sodas from the cooler under the sink and went back outside to where Brandon sat under the shade.

“Thanks,” his cousin said as he took the can and popped the top.

Careful of his leg, Jeff eased down beside him. Looking out at the horse grazing by the creek, he enjoyed the hint of a breeze from under the tree.

Brandon turned to him. “Look, Jeff. You have a right to live wherever you want. I’m the last one to preach, since I avoided the family ranch for years.” His cousin gave him a sideways glance. “And I didn’t have anything as life-changing as losing a leg happen.”

Jeff flinched. Since being home, he hadn’t talked about his loss, not even with his parents. Yet it seemed easier with Brandon. “I lost more than a leg. I lost my career. My identity. Special Forces was who I was.” He looked down at his soda can. “Man, you’d think this was a beer, as much cryin’ as I’m doing.”

“I’m glad you’re talking about it,” his cousin said. “But you’re wrong, Jeff. You might have lost your leg, and a career, but no, not your identity. There’s a lot more to you, cuz, than being a soldier. And you have a family who loves you and we’ll support you any way we can.”

Jeff took a long drink of the sugary soda, trying to get rid of the lump in his throat. He couldn’t lose it now. “Well, when you discover where I fit in, let me know.”

“I think you’ve already found it. You own two fine
quarter horses and you’re working with one of the prettiest and best trainers in these parts.”

Jeff stiffened. He couldn’t think of Lacey in that way, not anymore. “She’s also my best friend’s widow.”

“So that’s what’s bothering you?”

“No,” Jeff denied quickly. “What’s bothering me is that I wasn’t here when Trevor needed me. Now Lacey needs me.”

“So that’s why you bought two of her horses. To help her out?” Brandon stared out toward the pasture. “So are you going to be partners?” He turned to Jeff. “Are you going into the horse-breeding business?”

Jeff shrugged. “I’m not sure I can do more than clean stalls and feed the stock.”

“Why not?” Brandon asked. “Years ago you were an exceptionally good horseman.” Brandon smiled. “As I remember, you even broke a few mounts that summer we worked together.”

That seemed like another lifetime ago. “I haven’t been on a horse since I got back.”

Brandon nodded and glanced down at the leg. “Seems to me if you can drive a vehicle, riding a horse shouldn’t be difficult for a Special Forces guy. How much of your leg had to be amputated?”

His cousin had finally cut out the finesse, causing Jeff to tense before he forced himself to relax. “A few inches below the knee.”

Brandon nodded. “I bet being in the military, you got the most hi-tech prosthesis.”

He had. What the heck—he’d show Brandon. Jeff tugged his pant leg up, revealing his Justin short roper boot and the titanium limb that was connected to a plastic boot that covered his knee. “It’s hard getting
used to it. The hardest part is even after months, I still feel the loss, but it’s been less and less. They call it phantom pain.”

“I can’t say I know how you feel, because I don’t. But look at it this way; you nearly lost your life on that last mission. Just think how your mom and dad would be suffering if you hadn’t made it back alive. All of us would be.” Brandon’s throat worked hard. “I never fought in a war, but I’ve known life-and-death situations. Far too many close calls over the years. Whatever you decide to do, I hope it’s around here. I’d like to get to know you again.” He broke out into a big grin. “I’ve never known a genuine hero.”

Lacey was about at the end of her patience. When she got hold of Colin he was going to be grounded until the end of summer. If he lived that long.

She pulled the truck off the road and up toward the cabin. The last thing she wanted to do was disturb Jeff, but there wasn’t any choice. Her son was missing and she had to find him.