A Ranch Between Them
Autorzy
Jeannie Watt
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19,5K
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He needs time to heal... but is she willing to wait? Injured former rodeo star Brady O'Neil is looking for solitude in his Montana hometown when he takes a job at his best friend's ranch. Then he finds out he'll be living with Katie, his friend's sister and the woman he fell for years ago. His recent failures make him feel unworthy of love, so Brady tries to keep Katie at arm's length. But is this girl next door exactly what he needs?
Chapter One
BRADY OāNEIL GRITTED his teeth, mustered his strength and tried to pull his foot free from the boot trapped beneath the four-wheeler. No luck. His lower leg was going numb beneath the weight of the heavy machine that pinned his foot to the ground, and if something didnāt change soon, heād be spending the night in a cold, damp ditch at the edge of the river pasture. Hello, hypothermia.
Cursing under his breath, Brady rested his forehead on the wet ground, and debated his options.
It didnāt take long to conclude he had no options other than to try to get his foot free. He was hidden by grass and no one had any reason to look for him. He could be there for a long, long time. A meadowlark trilled nearby, its melodic notes reminding Brady of better times. Times when he wasnāt about to die in a field due to his own inattentiveness.
He sucked in a breath, squeezed his eyes shut with grim concentration and once again tried to wiggle his foot free of his boot, his leg muscles burning with the effort. His foot moved ever so slightly and then...nothing. Brady relaxed his muscles, allowed himself a couple of deep breaths as he did his best to fight a growing sense of panic. This wasnāt happening. Not on top of everything else. He let out a choked laugh, startling the meadowlark into silence.
Until six months ago, heād have been the first to admit that he lived a charmed life. Heād had some serious issues with his parents, but heād had the Callahans to fill the void left by a mother more interested keeping her husbandāBradyās stepfatherāhappy than in paying attention to her son. Brady had accepted his reality early on, and built his own life. Amused himself by taking risks, just as his real father had done when heād been alive. Enjoyed himself immensely, in fact. Narrow escapes had been his stock and trade for almost thirty years, and his ability to live recklessly and somehow dodge trouble had served him well during his years as a champion saddle bronc rider...and then it had all caught up with him. Todayās mishap was the proverbial frosting on the cake.
Brady reached for his phone, which heād dug out of his pocket after the four-wheeler had hit the rock that started its slow-motion sideways slide into the ditch before it rolled onto his foot, firmly trapping him. Maybe if he stared at the phone long enough, he could will it into showing some bars. The phoneās reception icon remained stubbornly blank. He dialed 911, anyway.
The low rumble in the distance brought his head up.
Holy...
The deep throb of a diesel engine vibrated through the ground as the vehicle turned onto the gravel road that passed twenty yards from where Brady lay pinned by the ATV. Ed Cordell, maybe?
Ed had managed the Callahan Ranch until Rosalie Callahan moved to town a little over a month ago. Believing his job was in jeopardy, Ed had found employment elsewhere, leaving Rosalie high and dry, which was why sheād sought out Brady and offered him a three-month contract to manage the ranch until her grandson, Nick, moved back to Montana. Everything had worked out wellāuntil today, anyway.
Brady had wanted solitude, but the downside of living like a hermit had been driven home today. Ranching alone could be dangerous. If he didnāt flag down this vehicle, he was going to be in a world of hurt. Make that a bigger world of hurt.
Brady grimaced as he twisted his body and grabbed the ball cap that had fallen off his head when the four-wheeler had lurched over, bringing him with it, even though heād tried to jump free. His stiff leg had made the move impossible. Brady, whoād made a career of dismounting bucking horses, hadnāt been able to get himself free of the four-wheeler in time to save himself.
He got hold of the hat and stretched his arm skyward, hoping the cap showed above the grass as he waved it wildly, yelling for good measure.
The truck didnāt slow.
He kept waving; then, as it appeared that his potential rescuer was going to drive by him, oblivious to his predicament, he tossed the cap in the air. It came back down close to his head and he tossed it again. This time a gust of wind caught it, lofting it high in the air before dropping it back to earth well out of reach.
But the truck had slowed. He started yelling and shaking the grass next to him. It was unlikely the driver could hear him over the sound of the engine, even if the window was downāand why would it be down on a cold late-October dayābut maybe the moving grass would attract attention. He flailed his arm, making as much of a ruckus as possible, then let out another yell as the truck rolled to a stop. The door opened, and he heard the sound of feet hitting gravel.
He swallowed dryly as his body went limp with relief, his voice sounding all croaky as he called, āOver here.ā
The grass rustled and the earth made small hollow thudding sounds as whoever had stopped made their way toward him.
Rescue. Thank you, thank you, whoever you are.
He looked over his shoulder as the grass parted behind him and then swallowed a groan. Of all the people in the universe that might have found him like this, the Fates had sent Katie Callahan. Nickās little sister. Who had always driven him crazy in a way heād have never confessed to his friend for fear of getting a fist in the face. Not that he wasnāt glad to see her. He was beyond glad. He was ecstatic.
āI thought you werenāt coming home anytime soon,ā he muttered. Rosalie had told him how well her granddaughter was doing in San Francisco and how it was doubtful Katie would make it home for Thanksgiving, which was a month away.
āChange of plans. Been here long?ā She walked around him and knelt close to the ATV, sizing up the situation. She shook her head, her long dark hair shifting over her shoulder. Even now, trapped beneath a ton of machinery, he noticed her hair, the way the late-autumn sunlight glinted off the dark strands. Bad sign.
āAbout half an hour.ā The pain in his lower leg was getting worse, and of course it was his good leg trapped beneath the heavy hunk of machinery, rather than the one that had been annihilated last May by a rogue bronc named Pinky. āMaybe you should go for help?ā he asked from between his teeth. The McGuire Ranch was only three miles away. Surely Travis or his dad, Will, would be there, much as he hated to ask them for help. After all, Will had implied that if Brady didnāt go to college heād end up in a ditch somewhere, and here he was.
āFirst Iām going to try to get you out from under this thing.ā
āYeah? How you going to do that?ā Katie was small, but judging from the way her expression shifted, she wasnāt going to let her size slow her down.
She got to her feet and dusted off her palms. āWait here.ā She started back through the grass.
āNot funny,ā Brady called. Once again his forehead met dirt and he swallowed, and then started working his foot again. An eternity later, Katie returned with a short thick-handled shovel, the kind one used to put out a campfire.
āYou arenāt going to pry with that.ā
āYeah? Iāve been working out.ā She turned the shovel over and worked the cupped metal end under the ATV next to his boot, getting a fairly decent purchase on the rock the caved-in running board rested on.
āKatie... Iām hurting. Maybe you should just go for help.ā
She pressed her lips together, then bent her knees and pressed down, using the rock as a fulcrum. To his amazement, the machine moved, and Brady managed to move his foot a fraction of an inch before it came back down.
āAgain,ā Katie said.
This time he didnāt argue or try to tell her what was and was not possible. He braced his palms in the dirt, waited until the pressure eased, then pulled as hard as he could. This time when the machine came back down, his foot was far enough out of the boot that he was able to wiggle it, then pull it the rest of the way free.
āNever underestimate the power of a lever,ā Katie said as she got to her feet.
Or a smallish, determined woman. Brady was amazed that sheād gotten him out from under the thing.
Katie braced her hands on her thighs and let out a breath. āAre you okay?ā
āYeah. Better now.ā
She gave a low laugh, the husky throaty laugh that was at such odds with her delicate appearance. The laugh that had always made him think that she knew something he didnāt, which had both intrigued and alarmed him. Sheād never been put off by the distance heād tried to keep between them and a couple of times heād teetered dangerously toward closing that distance. And then heād remember why he couldnāt do that, and it wasnāt entirely because of her brotherās fists. Brady had the same wild streak his father had had, and he would not make Katie as miserable as Colton OāNeil had made his mother. Maybe if heād had a more conventional father, then his mom would have been a more conventional mother...and maybe heād have found other excuses to stay away from Katie. But regardless, he wasnāt going to hurt Katie.
āHowās your foot?ā Katie stared at his sock-clad extremity. āShouldnāt we take a look?ā
āIād rather get to the ranch first.ā A shudder went through him, partly due to reaction, partly due to hugging the cold ground for so long.
āI guess so.ā She got to her feet and held out a hand. Brady ignored it, putting his weight on his right palm and awkwardly pivoting his body to get his feet under him. It was the way he had to do things now. No more jumping to his feet. Or jumping period. He was at the point in his life where he had to let the four-wheeler roll onto him.
Katie ran her hands down the sides of her jeans, looking a touch self-conscious at having her offer of help rebuffed. He couldnāt help that, but he could explain.
āI have to move in certain ways now.ā
Her eyebrows lifted. āYeah?ā she asked softly.
He shrugged, not wanting to get into it. āCan you give me a ride to the ranch?ā
āNo offense, Brady, but thatās kind of a dumb question. Whatās my other option? Leaving you here to walk with only one boot?ā
āPoint taken.ā He took a cautious step forward and pain shot through the foot heād pulled free. Great. He gritted his teeth, took another limping step; this time his limp was due to his bad leg, which was now slightly shorter than his newly injured leg. Katie made a move as if to put a hand under his elbow, but his expression must have made her think twice, because she took an instant step back. He fixed his gaze on the truck, which was way too far away, and continued through the grass, one painful step at a time. Behind him, he heard scraping noises as Katie pulled her shovel freeāor attempted to. Finally, she ran through the tall grass to catch up with him.
āShovelās stuck good.ā
āI know the feeling,ā he said grimly. He could smell the fresh scent of her shampoo or body wash or something. Here in the middle of a grassy meadow, with a dozen other scents fighting for dominance, he smelled her.
āYou know, you donāt have to be super tough all the time.ā
He stopped in his tracks, thankful to have a reason to stop moving. āWhat does that mean?ā
She made a face, then surprised him by plopping his rescued ball cap onto his head, pulling the brim too low. He tilted it up again, scowling at her.
āIt means you can relax the attitude.ā She pushed past him without adding more to the explanation, her denim-clad hips swaying as she walked through the tall grass. Brady dropped his gaze, concentrated on making it to the truck. Katie was waiting for him when he got there, one hand on the edge of the truck bed, her long dark hair now captured in the elastic heād noticed on her wrist when sheād been prying him free. Without a word, she got into the driverās seat and waited for him to make his way around the truck and awkwardly climb inside.
Once his seat belt was fastened, she started the truck, then swung it into a U.
āWhat are you doing?ā The ranch was in the opposite direction.
āTaking you to the clinic to make sure you donāt have a broken foot.ā
His hand shot out to cover hers on the steering wheel and she instantly hit the brakes, bringing the truck to a stop.
āNo.ā The word came out on a deadly note as he met her gaze. Her mouth opened, but before she could speak, he shook his head. āYou have no say in this, Katie. If you donāt want to take me to the ranch, then just let me out here.ā
āAnd youāll walk.ā Her delicate dark eyebrows arched. āOr die trying.ā
āI canāt afford the clinic.ā
āAre you drowning in medical bills afterāā Katieās voiced faltered before she finished her question āāwhat happened?ā
āWhat happenedā was why he was in the predicament he was currently ināworking as a temporary ranch manager while sorting through his life, waiting for his body to heal to the point that heād be able to get a more permanent job. The only thing he had left from his rodeo glory years was the lump sum of cash that his agent/accountant was sitting on, earmarked as a down payment on a parcel of land that would be his new beginning. He was just waiting for the legalities to be settled. The last thing he needed was to incur debt while he waited. The owner of the parcel, Abe Larson Jr., had agreed to carry the loan, and he was known to be a stickler for prompt payment. Abe Jr. would foreclose in a heartbeat, so Brady was going to make those payments come hell or high water. He didnāt need a stack of medical bills gumming up his finances.
āThatās not really any of your business, Katie.ā
Heād hoped to squelch her rescuing tendencies with the blunt statement, but failed.
She gave him a concerned look. āI canāā
He gave her a warning look. No. She would not help him out in that regard.
āIāll ice it. Tomorrow Iāll evaluate. I know what a broken foot feels like.ā As well as a broken shoulder, broken ribs and a severely fractured leg. Shattered, in fact. āIf itās really broken, Iāll go to the clinic.ā
āHow will you get there?ā
āKatie, believe it or not, I can do lots of things with broken bones. Itās kind of what I do.ā Or rather, what he had done. His career was over, but in his glory days heād ridden many a rank bronc while healing from injuries.
After a nice long stare-down, her lips tightened ominously, but she didnāt say a word as she eased her foot off the brake, drove the truck out into the field for another bumpy U-turn, then headed in the direction of the ranch.
STUBBORN, STUBBORN, STUBBORN.
Repeating the mantra made Katie feel less like smacking her passenger, who sat silently staring out at the gravel road ahead of them. She chanced a sideways glance. He pretended not to notice, but his mouth tightened, telling her that he knew she was looking at him and he was purposely not looking back. Not making any kind of a connection at all.
Fine, Brady. Have it your way.
It shouldnāt bother her. Theyād never been all that close, even though she wanted to be, but he had helped her out a time or two. Laughed with her a time or two...left her wanting more a time or two. She hadnāt gotten that more. Heād mostly held her at armās length and sheād never figured out why he could be so friendly with Nick and her older sister, Cassie, but shut her out. It had stungāwhen sheād allowed it to. It had also irritated her, so sheād made it a point to never let his standoffishness affect how she treated him. If anything, it made her talk to him more.
āThank you for the rescue.ā
Katie jumped at the unexpected sound of his voice. āNot a problem.ā
āI guess Iām lucky that you were on your way to the ranch.ā
āLooks like it.ā
āWhy are you on your way to the ranch?ā
She shot him a curious look. āGrandma didnāt say anything?ā
He shook his head, but she read the intensity in his expression before pulling her gaze back to the road. He wasnāt going to like her answer. She gave a mental shrug and answered, anyway. āIām on my way to the ranch because Iām staying there.ā With no plans to leave in the near future. Or the distant future for that matter.
She felt him go still beside her as she slowed for a corner, the last one before the wooden bridge over the Ambrose River, which separated the Callahan Ranch from the pastureland they leased, the pasture Brady had probably been checking when heād had his accident.
āIām staying there,ā he said, as if there was a mix-up.
āYes.ā Katieās peripheral vision was good, honed from her daily walk to work through the city and a near-miss mugging, and she could see that he was frowning fiercely as he studied her profile. āWeāll be fine. The ranch is big.ā
āWhy... What happened to your job? Rosalie told me you were doing well.ā
āBig layoff. I was one of the casualties,ā she said in a light voice, even though she wasnāt feeling particularly light about it. Sheād discovered that her dream job wasnāt as perfect as she would have liked, but sheād rolled with it, planning to put in five yearsāthe magic number that would give her the experience necessary to move up the food chain at another firm. Sheād never dreamed that the job would quit her before she quit it. In the land of sky-high rents, sheād yet to accrue much of a cushion. Frankly, she hadnāt thought sheād need a cushion, but she did, and what sheād managed to save wasnāt enough to support her while she looked for another job in San Francisco, so back to the ranch sheād run. And the closer sheād gotten to home, the more right it felt to have cut and run.
That was something she hadnāt expected.
Running home was supposed to feel like failure, but instead, as she put miles between herself and the Bay Area, sheād experienced a sense of relief, as if she were escaping something she hadnāt realized was trapping her. What-ifs and should-haves and important next steps faded into the background, and as she approached the Montana border sheād come to the startling realization that her old life didnāt have to be her forever life.
But you worked so hard for that life. Made so many sacrifices...
Maybe that was part of the problem.
Sheād conditioned herself to believe that she had to make sacrifices in order to succeed, and if she wasnāt making sacrifices, then she was doing something wrong.
Sheād wanted to be a gardener when she was younger. Wanted to have her hands deep into the soil whenever possible. Wanted to feel that sense of peace that filled her whenever she was tending plants. But watching her older siblings charge into first college and then careers in engineering and education convinced her that responsible adults built responsible careers, and following a passion instead of an official profession with a 401K and health insurance seemed irresponsible. And when Nick had left engineering to develop his contracting firm, she hadnāt really considered the fact that heād left something he didnāt like so well to do something he liked better.
Now she was wondering. Was it possible that heād been more in tune with his needs than sheād been with hers?
She hadnāt even indulged in hobbies during her career-building years. Thereād always been a fire to put out, either in her professional or private life. Life was all about fires, and she knew that, but there were times when she felt like she was encroaching on inferno territory. Even yoga classes hadnāt helpedābut that might have been because she rarely had time to attend. The instructor must have loved herāmore than once sheād paid for six weeks of classes, only to show up once or twice.
She was tired of being on edge full-time. Tired of dramaāa sentiment Brady could probably identify with, given the drama heād recently been involved with. And the consequences of said drama. It had killed her to watch him limp across the pasture to the truck, and to slow her pace to match his when she could so clearly remember scrambling to keep up with his long-legged stride the few times sheād accompanied him and Nick as they worked around the ranch. And she had questionsāor rather, one big question.
Had he really been sneaking around with the girlfriend of the bull rider whoād punched him out just prior to his last ride? It didnāt seem like something Brady would do, but she hadnāt been around the guy in a long time.
After the fight, Brady had insisted on making his ride, because there was an additional purse for the cowboy who could ride the unrideable widow-maker heād drawn. She didnāt know how much being punched had affected him, but the horse had reared over backward four seconds into the ride and crushed Brady beneath him. So, fight or no fight, Bradyās career was over.
āSo, youāre heading to the ranch to...ā Bradyās voice trailed, inviting her to fill in the blanks.
āStay. There are two houses. One for you and one for me.ā She glanced over at him. āAre you living in the main house?ā
āHardly.ā
āThe foremanās house is nice.ā It was about half the size of the main house, but still had two bedrooms and a bath and a half. A big kitchen that Katie had painted and wallpapered when she was a teen, while Ed, the cranky ranch manager, had been on vacation. Heād asked for the kitchen to be painted, but he hadnāt expected cherry wallpaper and bright red cabinets.
āIt suits me.ā
Brady fell into silence, and after a couple of quiet miles, Katie poked the bear. āDo you have a problem sharing the ranch with me?ā
āNo.ā
āRight.ā Heād made it pretty clear that he did have a problem sharing and she figured it stemmed from all the stuff heād been through over the past several months. Stuff she wanted to know more about, but didnāt dare ask.
āItās not personal.ā Brady straightened in his seat, grimacing at the small shift in body position. Katie wished he would have allowed her to take him to the clinic to be checked out. If the foot was broken, something would need to be done, whether he had good insurance or not. āI thought Iād have the place to myself.ā
The tires clattered as she drove onto the single lane bridge. The lifeline to the ranch. It was just big enough for a cattle truck or hay wagon, but it was always a nail-biter driving over it in a big rig.
āGood thing you donāt, or you would have probably died of hypothermia lying under that four-wheeler all night. Who would have come looking for you?ā
āTouchĆ©.ā The word came out flatly. āI owe you.ā
āNo. You donāt.ā She meant it. She didnāt want anyone, least of all Brady, feeling beholden to her.
Katie drove under the tall archway that marked the entrance to the ranch and her heart swelled. It felt so good to be home. Away from the stuff that had seemed so normal at the time she hadnāt noticed it was chipping away at her soul. Maybe that was why, upon receiving her pink slip, the third emotion sheād felt after shock and fear was a brief and quickly squelched twinge of relief.
After parking the truck next to the main house, she half expected Brady to boltāor to come as close to bolting as he could with his injuries, both old and newābut instead he turned toward her and regarded her for a long moment from under the brim of his ball cap, giving her a moment to study him back.
Heād been good-looking in high school, but now he bordered on spectacular with his dark hair and green eyes. The planes of his face had become more pronounced with age, as had the laugh lines around his eyes. She doubted that Brady had laughed a lot lately, but the lines made her realize how much time had passed since theyād seen one another. Theyād both aged, changed. They werenāt the people theyād once been.
āIām hurting, Katie.ā
The candid admission startled her. Brady OāNeil admitting weakness. Brady, whoād refused to go to the clinic. Brady, whoād never let on that his parents were not the loving parents they appeared to be. Nick had clued her in on that small fact.
āHurting inside or out?ā She half expected him to pull into himself after she asked the question, refuse to answer or deflect the question. He didnāt.
āOut.ā His jaw shifted sideways, and he sucked in a breath before saying, āBoth. Which is why I need my space. Maybe, before I go, I can explain everything. But for now...ā He made a frustrated gesture. āLike I said, I need my space.ā
āDo you think Iām going to try to mother you, or smother you or something to that effect? Because that isnāt the case. Iām here to sort my life out, too.ā
There was color in his cheeks. This wasnāt easy for him, but now that he knew she was going to be sharing his domain, he was establishing boundaries. Like she would encroach where she wasnāt wanted. Although perhaps he had cause to think that. She hadnāt exactly taken the hint when heād tried to shut her out when they were teens.
āWhat makes you think Iām going to insinuate myself into your life?ā she added.
He ignored the remark. āYouāre a helper, Katie, and I donāt want help. I want to find out what Iām capable of alone.ā
āWell, we now know your capabilities in the wrecked four-wheeler department.ā Katie instantly held up her hand. āLow blow. Sorry. But what makes you think Iām going to pay any attention to you at all?ā
āKatie,ā he said softly, āyou rescue things. Puppies, kittens, leppie calves.ā
Okay. So, sheād rescued a few orphan calves. Some abandoned puppies. A few kittens. Big deal. She propped a hand on her hip. āAnd thatās your big fear? That Iām going to try to rescue you?ā She lifted her eyebrows in a speaking expression. āLike I did today?ā
Brady didnāt bite.
Katie let out a frustrated huff of breath. āFine. Weāll make a no-rescue pact. I wonāt rescue you, again, and you wonāt rescue me.ā She lifted her chin. āNot that I would need to be rescued.ā
He cocked an eyebrow and the color rose in her cheeks as she got his point. āI can now change a tire by myself, and if I get stranded after midnight, I have a cell phone.ā And a lot more street smarts than sheād had back in the day.
āHow about instead of a pact, you treat me like Ed Cordell? An employee of the ranch.ā
Ed, the former ranch manager, had kept to himself, did his job and did it well. Heād been all business, and Katie had never been able to warm up to the man. But heād kept the ranch running smoothly, sheād give him that.
āIf youāre asking me to treat you like Ed, youāre serious about this leave-you-alone thing.ā
āItās not personal, Katie,ā he repeated. āItās what I need right now.ā
Katie lifted her chin. āIf you need to be left alone, Iāll respect your wishes. Believe it or not, I no longer need to tag along where Iām not wanted. Iāve changed over the past decade.ā
āI noticed.ā
She frowned at the unexpected remark, but before she could come up with a comeback or a question, Brady held out a hand. Katie stared at it for a second, feeling as if she was teetering on the brink of something dangerous, which was crazy because how dangerous could it be shaking hands with a guy who didnāt want herāor anyone for that matterāaround? She resolutely put her hand in his, her nerves jumping as his warm, work-roughened palm made contact with hers and his fingers closed.
āDeal?ā
Katie nodded briskly before pulling her fingers free. āDeal.ā She felt as if sheād just gotten a slow-motion electrical shock. That was the only way she could describe the tingle that gripped her body when they made contact, ultimately making her stomach tumble.
The vestiges of a crush from the distant past. That was all it was.
She reached for her door handle, her heart beating harder than before, and still feeling the warmth of his fingers on hers. She pushed her hands into her back pockets and met Bradyās gaze. āThis is where we go our separate ways, living our parallel lives on the Callahan Ranch?ā
He gave his head a slow shake, those mossy green eyes full of an emotion she couldnāt quite read as he said, āI doubt weāll be able to do that, but when we do meetāā
āYouāre Ed to me.ā
