Her Twins' Cowboy Dad. Patricia Johns

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СКАЧАТЬ being his wife hadn’t been easy. If nothing else, by her brief communication with Beau, she’d understood why her husband had been so unwilling to reconnect with his father. But still, her daughters had family out here—and that would mean something to them one day. Their cantankerous grandfather was dead, but there were other family members that the girls might want to know. Perhaps even their “uncle” Colt. He was a relative, at least, and being considerably older than them, she wasn’t sure what else to call him.

      Suzie clutched at Jane’s dress and she absently reached down to pick the toddler up. She’d come to the town of Creekside on faith. Josh’s death had been difficult to deal with. Those vows had tied them together on a deep level, and while being married to Josh had been hard, she couldn’t just walk away from him when it got tough, either. He’d never been an easily affectionate man, but she’d known how much he loved her. The stuff he saw in the army had left wounds that never healed, and she had only wanted to support him, let him know that she’d love him no matter what. Jane hadn’t realized how much of herself she’d lost as she struggled to maintain her marriage until she was forced to look at life without her husband in it. Coming out to Creekside was both an act of faith and a desperate leap. She’d take anything God provided. She’d come all the way from Minneapolis with her toddlers in the back of a ten-year-old sedan to see what God had in store.

      And right now, she had to wonder if that had been a mistake. Maybe she should have stayed in Minneapolis and put her energy into finding an apartment instead of driving out here on a wish and a prayer. But what did she have to stay for? The house was gone. She’d been laid off from her job. She could have afforded to rent a tiny apartment while she tried to sort out her future... But that phone call from the polite Montana lawyer had sparked some hope inside her. He wouldn’t say what the girls had been left, but he’d said it was part of the ranch, and he called it significant, and definitely worth coming out. Her husband had told her that his dad had cut him out of the will, so this was completely unexpected, and she’d had nothing at all to lose.

      “I realize that you both have a lot of thinking to do, plans to make,” Mr. Davis said, standing up. “For my part, I’ll get these papers submitted and that will put the land into your name, Colt, and the cattle into yours, Jane. Unless you have any other questions, I believe that takes care of our business today.”

      They were being dismissed. Jane smoothed a hand over Suzie’s soft curls, and her heart sank inside her. She had enough money for a few nights in a cheap hotel, and then she was out of cash. She had an emergency credit card, but she was afraid to start using it. She knew firsthand just how easy it was to slide back into debt. What she needed was a job that would allow her to care for her daughters at the same time. That was a tall order...especially out here in Creekside, Montana, where she knew absolutely no one.

      “Thank you,” Jane said, reaching out to shake hands with the lawyer.

      “Thanks, Steve.” Colt did the same.

      Jane picked up her bag and rooted out sippy cups of juice for the girls. Sometimes keeping their hands full helped them to cooperate a little better. Jane guided the girls toward the door. Colt got there before her, and he opened it and let her pass through first.

      In the hallway, the girls clambered toward the window that overlooked the street. They weren’t tall enough to look out, but someone had left a magazine there, and they squatted down next to it, playing with the glossy pages. Even though Jane couldn’t see it from where she stood, she knew that her car was parked just outside that window, packed to the gills with everything she owned.

      “Did you know what was coming?” Colt asked as he pulled the door shut behind them. He was a handsome man, but not in the same way her husband had been. Josh had been full of laughter and jokes, while Colt looked more serious. Josh’s hair had been the same bright red as his daughters’.

      “No, I had no idea,” she replied, tearing her gaze away from him. “Although, I think you expected to get the ranch.”

      Colt didn’t say anything, but those dark eyes drilled into hers. She sighed. What was she going to do—pick up her late husband’s fight with his family? Beau could leave that land to anyone he chose, and he hadn’t chosen Josh.

      “Your uncle was an interesting man, wasn’t he?” she said after a moment.

      “You don’t know the half of it,” Colt growled.

      “Losing the cattle isn’t good for you, is it?” she asked.

      “No,” he admitted. “I know your husband was cut from the will, but I worked my tail off on that land. I don’t have much else, either. So cutting the herd out from under me isn’t good for me at all.”

      “I’m sorry about that.” And she was. “I suppose you could sell, too, if you needed to.”

      “Not a chance,” he retorted. “I’ve worked that land with Beau for twenty years. I’ve invested too much into the ranch, and I’m finding a way to hold on to it. Beau wanted that land in family hands.”

      “Yes, Josh told me about that.” She could sense some bitterness there when Colt mentioned Josh. She’d known there had been a lot of family tension, but she hadn’t been sure what she’d walk into, exactly.

      “It was Beau’s choice, not mine,” Colt said.

      “I know...” She sighed. “What do we do? I’m serious. I have no idea how to even start. I mean—”

      “We wait,” he interrupted. “We have to get everything in our names first.”

      “Yes, but then what?” she pressed. “I assume you’ll want your cattle back.”

      “Yeah, that would be good,” he said, and a wry smile turned up one corner of his lips. “I’ll have to talk to the bank and see if I can get a loan...and buy you out.”

      “How much are four hundred and eighty head of cattle worth?” she asked.

      “A fair bit.”

      “Oh...” Jane’s gaze moved over to where her daughters were playing, their sippy cups on the floor next to them. It was a relief to know that her daughters would be provided for. She felt guilty enough using the death benefits to pay off all the debt. There was nothing left to put aside for them. Josh would have wanted them to have something.

      “Where are you staying?” Colt asked.

      “I don’t know yet,” she replied, and she felt her chin tremble and tears well in her eyes. She looked away, trying to hide the rise of emotion.

      “Are you okay?” Colt asked, his tone dropping.

      “I’m—” She swallowed hard. “I’ll figure it out.”

      “I saw a car out the window—packed full of everything but the kitchen sink,” he said. “That yours?”

      Jane managed to blink back the tears and she nodded. “That’s mine.”

      “Are you moving out to Montana? Is this just a short trip? I’m just wondering how things stand.”

      “I’m not sure yet,” she said honestly. “It’s been really hard since Josh died. We’d just bought a house that needed a lot of work, and I couldn’t make the payments alone. Josh’s death benefits helped me to get out of debt, but I had to sell the house. So... СКАЧАТЬ