The Cowboy's Road Trip
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Stella Bagwell
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15,3K
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16
Chapter One
“Dad, are you serious? You want me to make the trip to Idaho?”
Beatrice Hollister stared in astonishment at her father. Hadley was the family patriarch and owner of Stone Creek Ranch, the only home she’d known for the entire twenty-six years of her life. Now as he sat behind the wide cherrywood desk, eyeing her with an indulgent look, she had to wonder, what had come over him? Out of his eight children, he’d never chosen Beatrice to deal with a family matter, especially one that would require her to travel hundreds of miles away from home!
“I don’t understand why you’re so surprised, Bea,” he said. “Ever since your brother Jack made the trip down to Arizona to meet our distant relatives, you’ve been complaining how you never get to go anywhere or help tend to family business. I thought you’d be jumping for joy over the idea of traveling up to Coeur d’Alene. Do you not want to go?”
His eyes narrowed as he asked the question and Beatrice fought the urge to squirm in her seat. Hadley had always been a loving father, but no one in the family would deny that the tall, burly man could be intimidating at times. Especially if his patience was tested. This was one time Beatrice didn’t want to test it.
“Of course I want to go, Dad! You’ve taken me by surprise, that’s all. I never expected you to trust me with this important meeting with Scarlett. After all, she might be the key to finding the missing branches of the Hollister family tree.”
Even as she said the words, her mind was whirling. If everything went as planned, she was going to see her grandmother. A woman she’d never met and had only seen in one grainy black-and-white photo taken sixty years ago. Beatrice hadn’t yet had time to consider how she felt about coming face-to-face with a relative who’d been estranged from the family for more than fifty years. She’d worry about that detail later. At the moment, all that mattered was the trip itself and the fact that her father had chosen her for the important task. Usually, he turned this sort of assignment over to her older brothers.
His expression wry, he said, “Just because you’re not a bookworm like your twin sister hardly means your mother and I think of you as an airhead.”
Her father’s description caused her to chuckle. “I’m relieved to hear my parents don’t think I’m empty-headed. But in the smarts department, Bonnie is a hard act to follow. Between the two of us, she got most of the brains. But I hardly feel bad about that. She has the most brains than any of your eight kids.”
He shook his head. “You got plenty of brains, too, Bea. Your problem is that you don’t use them to their full extent.”
Beatrice didn’t have to wonder what her father’s remark meant. Both her parents believed she was wasting her college degree in fashion design by working as a clerk in a women’s boutique in Beaver, Utah, a town with a population of less than four thousand and only a thirty-minute drive from the family ranch. Neither her mother nor her father really understood that she wasn’t ready to take on a more demanding job. She made a decent salary at Canyon Corral and she loved her job. For now, she was perfectly content.
His broad shoulders settled back against the leather executive chair. “I imagine you’ve been wondering why I’m not going to make the trip to Idaho myself. After all, Scarlett is the woman who gave birth to me and my two brothers.”
The notion had crossed Beatrice’s mind. But considering the circumstances, she wasn’t surprised her father had declined to face the mother who’d chosen to desert him and his siblings when they were very small boys.
“To be honest, Dad, I’m glad you’re not making the trip to Coeur d’Alene.”
He made a sound that was somewhere between a snort and a laugh. “Why? So you can make it for me?”
She gave him a sheepish smile. “Okay, I am excited about going. But I’d hate for you to be—well, hurt. Seeing Scarlett wouldn’t be easy for you.”
His expression solemn, he absently tapped his fingers on the desktop. “That’s kind of you, sweetheart, to consider my feelings. But I think you and your siblings understand that I’ve never thought of Scarlett as my mother. To me, she’s only a shadowy image of a woman who clearly made my father miserable. Or maybe he made her life unbearable—none of us really know why their marriage imploded. I’d be lying, though, if I said I haven’t wondered about her and why she left Lionel. After all, they made three sons together. There had to have been something between them.”
Obviously. Something like lust, Beatrice thought. The physical attraction between her grandparents must have run mighty hot for a while.
Curious at her father’s choice of words, she said, “You just implied that she’s the one who left Grandfather. I’ve never heard you say that before. Is that the way things actually happened? Scarlett divorced Lionel? Or was it the other way around?”
Shaking his head, Hadley shrugged. “I don’t really know the truth about who initiated their divorce. You know how your grandfather was about his past. What little he ever mentioned about Scarlett was always bitter. But he never explained why the split between them occurred or why she basically disappeared afterward.”
And since Lionel had passed away several years ago, they’d never get the truth of the matter from him, Beatrice thought sadly. “Well, let’s just hope Scarlett is willing to talk about her late ex-husband. Otherwise, you’re going to be wasting your money sending me all the way to northern Idaho.”
He swatted the air with one big hand. “No matter what Scarlett agrees to say, the trip will be worth it, Bea. Learning that she’s still living and locating her is bound to lead us closer to information we need about my father—your grandfather.”
For nearly two years, the family had been trying to uncover background information about Lionel Hollister. Particularly, evidence of his birth taking place in Utah. But so far they’d had no luck. Reaching out to Lionel’s ex-wife seemed like a long shot to Beatrice. But if her father was willing to take the chance, she wasn’t about to be the one to dampen his hopes.
She shot him an optimistic smile. “I hope you’re right, Dad.”
“You couldn’t hope it any more than I do, honey,” he said, then added, “Now, I imagine you’re wondering about the details. How you’re going to get there and that sort of thing.”
Nodding eagerly, she said, “I am. Will I be driving? I hope so. It’ll give me a chance to see the countryside.”
He chuckled. “And do some shopping along the way? Well, don’t worry. You’re going to be driving. That is, if I can persuade someone to be your traveling companion.”
Beatrice instantly scooted to the edge of her chair. “Traveling companion? Dad, I don’t want—”
Her words broke off as a knock sounded on the closed door of her father’s small office.
“Hopefully that’s him right now. So try to be on your best behavior, Bea,” Hadley said to her. Then, in a louder voice, he called to the person at the door. “Come in.”
Beatrice looked over her shoulder and her mouth promptly fell open as she recognized the rugged cowboy walking into the room.
Kipp Starr!
Her father wanted him to be her traveling companion? Surely not! She’d only met the man a few days ago!
He took a few steps into the room, then pushed back the cuff of his denim shirt to glance at his watch. “Oh. You have company. Am I early? You did say one?”
Smiling, Hadley was quick to assure him. “You’re right on time, Kipp. Come in and have a seat, and I’ll explain what I wanted to speak with you about.”
Beatrice watched the Idaho rancher lift off his black Stetson and, holding it in one hand, ease his lanky frame into the wooden chair sitting at an angle to her right. From the first moment she laid eyes on the man, she’d dubbed him as one hot stud. Tall, with long legs and broad shoulders, he was every inch a man. And when you added the muscular body to his chiseled features that were dominated by a pair of warm brown eyes and a layer of three-day-old whiskers, he made the perfect image of a saddle tramp riding straight out of the 1880s. Tough, rough and oh, so sexy.
Kipp had come to Stone Creek Ranch a few days ago to visit his sister, Clementine, who’d just gotten engaged to Beatrice’s brother Quint. And because he’d arrived so near to Christmas and had no family or parents of his own, her parents had convinced him to stay on through the holiday. Beatrice couldn’t deny she was drawn to Kipp. But this was one time in her life she’d not openly expressed her attraction for a man. Mainly because she had the horrible suspicion that if Kipp knew she was darn close to developing a crush on him, he’d laugh right in her face.
Hadley said to Kipp, “I know you and Quint are going out to look at some of the pregnant ewes this afternoon, so I’ll get right to the point and not keep you long. When were you planning on going back home to Idaho?”
Beatrice felt her cheeks grow warm as Kipp glanced uncertainly at her, then back to Hadley.
“Monday morning,” he answered. “That is, if the weather is permitting flights out of Cedar City. I’m hearing a winter storm might be bringing snow. Hopefully I’ll be back at the ranch before it hits.”
Hadley thoughtfully stroked his chin. “Have you purchased your plane ticket yet?”
He shook his head. “Bonnie offered to do it for me, but I haven’t yet told her what day to make the flight for.”
“Good. That will save her having to cancel the ticket.”
“Cancel?” Kipp repeated the word with a blank look. “I don’t understand, Hadley. I—uh, I’ve enjoyed my time here on Stone Creek, but I promised the foreman I’d be back to the Rising Starr this coming week.”
“I realize you have obligations,” Hadley told him. “And as much as we’d love for you to stay, we understand that you need to get back. But I’m suggesting a different mode of transportation. That is, if you’d be willing to put up with Beatrice for two days or so.”
Kipp slowly turned his head to look directly at her and Beatrice was shocked to feel her cheeks growing hot. What was wrong with her, anyway? She’d always felt comfortable around men. Even sexy hunks like Kipp Starr. In fact, her family often called her man crazy. So why was she suddenly feeling tongue-tied in front of this cowboy?
“Are you going to Idaho?” Kipp asked her.
She forced herself to breathe. “Dad is sending me up to Coeur d’Alene.”
A faint frown pulled his dark brows together. “Oh. That’s in the northern part of the state. I live in the southern area.”
“Yes, Clementine has told us that the Rising Starr Ranch is located near Burley,” Hadley said quickly. “So I do understand Coeur d’Alene is a good distance out of your way. But I don’t want Beatrice traveling alone. And since you’re headed back to Idaho, I thought you might be willing to accompany her up to Coeur d’Alene. She could drop you back by your ranch when she heads back home. That way she’d only have to make the drive from Burley back here to Stone Creek Ranch by herself.”
“Which I can certainly do.” Beatrice spoke up firmly. “In fact, Dad, I honestly don’t know why you think I need anyone with me on this trip. I’m perfectly capable of handling the drive by myself.”
Hadley leveled a look at her that said if she didn’t quiet down, he’d gently usher her out of the room.
“You have two choices, Bea,” Hadley said flatly. “Travel with Kipp or stay here.”
Beatrice argued, “But Kipp might not want to make such a huge, unnecessary loop of driving around the state.”
Hadley turned his attention to Kipp. “Don’t hesitate to tell me if you’re not up to this, Kipp. I won’t hold it against you. Nor will Bea’s mother, Claire. But just so you know, we don’t expect you to do this out of the goodness of your heart. I intend to pay you a nice sum for your time and effort.”
Beatrice wished she could slink off and never have to face Kipp Starr again. If it took money to persuade the man to join her on a three-day trip, then she’d rather not go at all, she thought.
Liar. Liar. Just the thought of spending three whole days in Kipp’s company has you feeling like you could fly over the moon. No matter if your dad has to coerce him into making the trip.
The taunting voice going off in her head very nearly drowned out Kipp’s reply.
“I’d never accept your money, Hadley. You and Claire have been such gracious hosts while I’ve been staying here. If accompanying Beatrice will help you out, then I’m more than glad to make the trip with her.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Besides, I have to get back to Idaho one way or the other. And I’ve never been fond of plane rides.”
Hadley gave him a grateful smile, while a strange mixture of joy and relief washed through Beatrice. Kipp would be making the trip with her! She wanted to jump to her feet and do a joyous jig. But she’d reserve that happy reaction for when she raced upstairs to give her twin sister the fabulous news.
Glad to make the trip with her.
Hell, when did he get so good at lying? The last thing Kipp wanted was to be cooped up in a vehicle with a chatty blonde ten years his junior.
Not that he didn’t like Beatrice. He did like her. What little time he’d spent around her, he’d found her friendly and sweet and oftentimes funny. But a man could take just so much sweetness. And so much temptation, he thought grimly. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, there was something very provocative about Beatrice Hollister. Something that pulled at him every time he was near her.
“You’ve made me one happy father,” Hadley said to him. “I won’t worry knowing that Beatrice is in your capable hands.”
The man’s trust in him made Kipp feel like a heel. If Hadley were to guess some of the carnal thoughts that ran through Kipp’s head whenever he looked at Beatrice, he would’ve already sent him packing. He certainly wouldn’t ask him to chaperone her on a long driving trip.
He cleared his throat and refrained from glancing in Beatrice’s direction. Not that he needed a second glance to remind him just how fresh and pretty she looked sitting in the wooden chair. With her long hair flowing down her back in a cascade of golden waves, her blue eyes smudged with just enough smoky color to give them a smoldering look, and her full lips the color of pink cotton candy, even the briefest look at her was more than enough to play on a man’s senses. Not to mention his libido.
“I’ll do my best to see that she gets to Coeur d’Alene safely, Hadley,” Kipp said to the rancher, then asked, “When did you plan for Beatrice to be leaving? Does she have to be in Coeur d’Alene on a certain day or time?”
“That’s the easy part of the situation, Kipp. Doesn’t matter exactly when Bea gets there. She has a two-week vacation coming that she hasn’t yet started. So she can follow any timetable that suits you. If you’re aiming to be back on your ranch on Monday, then you might need to leave a day or two earlier to make up for more traveling time.”
“Right.” He glanced over at Beatrice to see she was looking directly at him. A faint smile curved the corners of her lips and he found himself focusing on the soft, plump curves and wondering how it might feel to kiss them. Damn it.
“Can you be ready to leave in the morning? Or is that too soon?” Kipp asked her.
Her eyes widened a fraction. “Certainly. I’ll pack tonight.”
“Then it’s all set,” Hadley said with approval. “I’ll have one of the hands make sure Bea’s truck is ready to travel. And I’ll leave it up to you, Kipp, to route the drive. I’m sure Bea will do her best to persuade you to stop at every fashion boutique you pass. But don’t pay her any mind. Just remind her that the two of you aren’t on a shopping trip.”
Beatrice groaned. “Oh, Dad, you’re going to have Kipp thinking all I do is spend money on frivolous things.”
Hadley chuckled. “Don’t you?”
“No! For your information, my savings account is growing!”
“How can that be? Only a few weeks ago you were asking to have your bedroom closet enlarged.”
Her father was clearly teasing her, but Kipp could hear a flash of annoyance in the tone of her voice. Apparently she didn’t appreciate Hadley painting her as superficial.
“Dad, you know very well that Bonnie and I share a bedroom, a closet and most of our clothes.”
“Yes, and just about everything else,” he said with an impish grin at his daughter. “Except boyfriends.”
“Thank goodness. I’d be bored out of my mind if I went out with a man of Bonnie’s choosing!” she exclaimed, then suddenly seeming to remember Kipp was present, she looked over at him. “Sorry, Kipp. All of this nonsense has to be boring you. Just rest assured that I won’t be asking you to stop for any shopping sprees. I’ll do all my shopping after I leave you at Rising Starr Ranch.”
Since Kipp had arrived on Stone Creek Ranch, he’d spent most of the time out with the men doing ranching chores with the Hollister brothers and the ranch hands. But even in the little time he’d passed in the house with the family, he’d quickly learned that Beatrice and her twin sister, Bonnie, were practically identical in looks, but far different in personalities. Bonnie, the elder of the two, was quiet and reserved in manner and dress, while Beatrice was outgoing and a bit flamboyant. Yet even with their differences, it was easy to see the two sisters were extremely close.
“I’m not worried, Bea.” At least, Kipp’s worries weren’t about her wanting to stop and spend her daddy’s money. No, he was more concerned about keeping his hands off her.
Hell, Kipp, what’s the matter with you? You’re not in the market for romance. Especially with a woman like Beatrice. Her head is filled with visions of love and happy-ever-after. She’s not old enough to know how ugly things can get between a man and a woman. And you don’t want to be the one to show her.
She gave him a cheery smile. “Thank you, Kipp. I promise to be on my best behavior.”
Hadley let out a grunt of amusement. “When she says that, Kipp, you better watch her.”
Kipp was wondering how to reply to Hadley’s comment when the landline on the rancher’s desk rang.
While he excused himself to answer the call, Kipp looked at Beatrice. “Considering how close you and Bonnie are, I would’ve thought she’d be joining you on this journey.”
She shook her head. “Dad could never manage all the ranch’s paperwork and phone calls without Bonnie handling things. And anyway, she’s not keen on meeting new people. It makes her uncomfortable.”
“I’m new and she doesn’t appear uncomfortable around me,” he reasoned.
“Yes. But you’re—our kind. Dad is sending me up to Coeur d’Alene to meet Scarlett Hollister Wilson—and she is considered a dragon lady by our family,” she said with a frown.
Her explanation only planted more questions in his mind but he didn’t voice them out loud. He figured the less he knew about the Hollisters’ personal family matters, the better off he’d be. He had his own family dragon lady to worry about.
The click of the telephone receiver landing back in its cradle had Kipp glancing around to see Hadley had ended the call and was rising from his chair.
“You two will have to excuse me. Jack needs me over at the cattle barn,” he explained. “If you have any more questions about the trip, Kipp, we can go over them tonight.”
Kipp quickly rose to his feet. “At the moment, I can’t think of anything. But if I do, I’ll let you know,” he told Hadley. “Uh, can I be of help over at the barn?” he offered.
“Thanks, Kipp. Nice of you to offer, but this isn’t a manual job. Jack is dealing with a cattle buyer. The man wants the best for the least. You know how it is. I’ve got to go over there and be the ringmaster.”
Yes, at one time Kipp had helped his father deal with cattle and sheep buyers. But those days were long gone. His father was dead and Kipp had no authority over any of the sales or purchases of livestock on the Rising Starr. It was a fact he tried not to dwell on, but most days the situation pushed itself into his thoughts anyway.
“Sure, Hadley. I’ll catch you later.”
He watched Hadley leave the room before he glanced over at Beatrice. “Well, I need to head on over to the ranch yard. Quint’s probably waiting for me.”
Smiling, she rose from the chair, and as she walked over to him, he couldn’t help but notice how her brown suede skirt outlined the shape of her hips, while the hem swirled at the top of her black knee-high boots. He figured if the weather was warm, she’d be bare legged with her feet encased in a pair of strappy sandals. But with it being the middle of winter, he doubted he’d get a glimpse of her legs, or for that matter, any bare skin.
She said, “Before you go, Kipp, I want to thank you. I’m sure traveling hundreds of miles out of your way is not necessarily what you want to do. But if you hadn’t agreed to make the trip, Dad would’ve made other plans. And they wouldn’t have included me.”
“I wouldn’t say that. I’m sure he could have found someone to make the drive with you.”
Strangely, the idea of Beatrice traveling with some other guy didn’t appeal to him, at all.
She shook her head. “Not likely. Maybe it’s because Bonnie and I are his youngest, but Dad is very protective of us. Even though we’re twenty-six, there are times he still seems to think of us as teenagers. I think if you’d refused to go, he would’ve probably gotten one of my brothers to make the journey.”
She smelled like wind and a rain-soaked flower garden, and he found the scent as tempting as the upturned corners of her lips.
“All your brothers are very busy men. I can’t imagine him sending any of them away,” Kipp told her. “Unless this trip to Idaho is super important to him.”
One of her slender shoulders made a negligible shrug. “Well, it’s not a make-or-break thing for the ranch or the family, but it is important to him. He’s searching for back history about his father and there’s a woman in Coeur d’Alene who might be able to provide it. I’m going to meet with her.”
Frowning, he asked, “Can’t he speak with her on the phone and save you all this traveling?”
She turned her gaze away from him to focus on a window at the opposite end of the room. The view exposed a portion of the backyard where a low rock wall was bordered with some sort of shrubs. Presently the plants were covered with gray tarps to protect them against the winter weather. Kipp figured the yard would look splendid in the warm summer months, but for now everything was dormant.
“Dad was told that for some reason, she won’t take phone calls. She’s elderly, you see, so maybe her hearing isn’t good. Anyway, she does receive visitors. So here I am, headed to Idaho.” She flashed him a smile. “With you.”
With him. The two of them together. For miles and miles. He couldn’t think of anything more torturous or tempting. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have questioned the reason for the trip. It’s really none of my business. Besides, I’ve been around Hadley long enough to see he doesn’t do things on a whim. He has to have a reason.”
She let out a soft little laugh and Kipp wished he could feel just a fraction of the humor and joy that Beatrice radiated. She was basically a happy person. He could see it in her eyes and the flash of her smile. If she’d ever experienced a broken heart or a huge disappointment, she’d obviously made a complete recovery.
“Dad thinks everything through,” she told him. “Which tells me he feels comfortable with you being my—companion.”
Resisting the urge to clear his throat, he said, “I’ll do my best to get you up to Coeur d’Alene safely.”
She stepped closer and surprised him by placing a hand on his forearm. The contact reminded him of a time he’d accidentally burned his arm on a branding iron. The scorching heat had shot all the way up to his shoulder. Beatrice’s touch was equally fiery.
“Thank you, Kipp. And I’ll do my best not to be a pest.”
He could think of plenty of things she might be, but a pest wasn’t one of them. “I’m sure you’ll be a model traveler, Beatrice.”
She said, “You’ve been here on the ranch for a few days now. Don’t you think it’s time you started calling me Bea?”
Her gaze met his, and as Kipp found himself looking into the blue depths of her eyes, he realized it was high time he made a quick exit from Hadley’s office.
“Okay. Bea it is.” Turning, he walked to the door.Then, with his hand on the knob, he glanced back at her. “See you later.”
Smiling, she gave him a little wave, and Kipp hurried off with his mind spinning. He didn’t know what he’d just gotten himself into. But he had a feeling nothing about the next two or three days was going to be easy.
