The Rancher's Surrender

'What was that?' Maddie whispered in terror, their bickering forgotten as they reached for one another through the open window.

'A coyote?' Zoe guessed.

'Let's hope coyotes don't eat city women for dessert,' Delia said in her usual calm voice, but she squeezed Zoe's hand so hard the bones cracked.

The goose bumps that rose on her flesh had nothing to do with the late spring cool air.

'Sounds different from Los Angeles,' Maddie whispered.

'Yeah,' Delia whispered back. She wasn't a worrywart, but she wasn't too tough to admit to a good, healthy fear. 'Never thought I'd miss all the sirens.'

'At least the land is ours,' Zoe said. 'Ours.'

'Supposedly ours.'

Zoe couldn't blame Delia for the doubt. After all, the whole inheritance thing was a bit spooky, considering the twist of fate that had left them unsure as to which of the three of them had actually inherited. Which in turn was due to the fact that since all three of them had been born out of wedlock, with birth certificates void of a father's name, not one of them knew any more about themselves except their mother's maiden names.

But a woman, Constance Freeman, had located them just before her death last month. Through her private investigator, Cade McKnight, who had matched the dates of their arrival at the group home to the approximate date of Constance's granddaughter's disappearance, Constance had been convinced that either Zoe, Maddie or Delia had been her long-lost granddaughter. The one she'd been looking for over the past twenty years. It was enough to boggle Zoe's mind. 'We've come this far, right?'

'Right,' Maddie agreed. Both she and Zoe looked at Delia.

'Right,' Delia admitted warily.

'And we all agreed we wanted a new life together, no matter which of us is heir, right?' Zoe asked.

'Right.'

'So stop whining.' That said, Zoe straightened and glared into the dark toward the house. 'Let's just do this. The faster we get inside, the faster we'll be able to flip on every light in the place.'

'Good plan.' Delia hopped out, looking city chic in her black pantsuit. She held the seat back for Maddie, whose long floral dress caught on the door.

Zoe rolled her eyes heavenward. Her foster sisters were day and night, yet after hours and hours of traveling, they still looked incredibly beautiful. No one would ever guess that they were only one step ahead of the poverty line. That Delia designed and hand-sewed their clothes because that's all they could afford. That they depended tightly on one another for security, and had for twenty-odd years.

Zoe glanced down at herself, even though she knew what she would see-secondhand jeans and a T-shirt. Her shoulder-length auburn hair, full of natural curls that were the bane of her existence, had rioted. Compared to her lovely sisters, she was a disheveled mess, but that was nothing new. She'd been the ugly duckling for longer than she cared to remember, though she rarely obsessed over it since it was her own fault. Makeup and hairstyles had never been as important to her as survival.

Delia moaned theatrically. 'Oh Lord, have you ever seen such a black night? Where's the flashing neon billboards? The floodlights? The-'

'Get over it, Delia. You're not in Kansas anymore.'

'No kidding.'

Zoe flipped on her flashlight Turning, she aimed it down the road they'd just come from. Road being relative, off course. From the airport in Boise they'd driven north for hours, to Riggins. There they'd gone west, down narrow curvy roads that had eventually turned to dirt. Zoe considered it a miracle they'd even made it. Her meager light disappeared a few feet into the inky darkness. She shivered, wondering how they'd managed to find their way, but Cade had left excellent step-by-step directions.

Still, Zoe hadn't expected it to take so long, or to be so far from civilization. They were really isolated out here, and the thought brought an even mix of surging excitement and grim reality.

A whole new beginning.

'Triple M Ranch,' she whispered reverently. Their new home.

Maddie nodded, her eyes glued to the night and the shadows of the mountains so far above. 'Fitting, isn't it? Three distinct mountains… three sisters.'

Turning, Zoe lifted the light, accenting a long, circular drive. Three peaks for three sisters. She liked the sound of it.

They couldn't see it clearly now, but according to Cade, Constance's will had left them a large piece of property nestled between the base of the mountains and the Salmon River. Zoe knew the Salmon River was reputed to be as wild as the greatest imagination. Around them were the eighteen million, even wilder acres of Idaho. On their property sat a ranch house, two barns and a series of cottages, even a dock.

Zoe imagined the truck, the horses of her childhood dreams, maybe even a boat… and gave a hearty laugh.

Which died in her throat when she got her first look at the house.

'Damn,' Delia said eloquently.

Maddie, in between the two of them, hugged their arms closer to her. She remained silent, though Zoe had no trouble detecting the anxiety running through her.

She understood the feeling as she flickered her light over the ranch house. It was old and falling apart at the seams.

'Not good,' Delia said in a huge understatement. 'Not good at all. Let's go back.'

Zoe knew that was the city girl talking. But the truth was, they had nothing to go back to. They'd packed up their meager belongings, which would be delivered in the next few days, and given up their apartment and jobs.

And this… decrepit old place, for all it was worth, was theirs. All theirs. At the thought, a burst of territorial pride overcame Zoe. She hadn't had much in her life to feel territorial about, so she enjoyed the feeling. Nothing was going to get in the way of that, not even if the house blew over on the next wind. 'We'll be okay.' She'd make sure of it. 'Come on.'

Together they walked toward the house, which was nothing more than a large shadow looming over them. The wooden porch creaked warningly, making Zoe wonder just how safe it was. The front door, crooked on its hinges, looked as though a light kick could knock it in. She fumbled through her pockets for the keys she'd been given.

Her flashlight wavered and went out.

Maddie's breath caught, the only audible sound in the ensuing blackness.

Before Zoe could so much as form the swearwords coming to her brain, two headlights gleamed, wavering up and down in the rough road as they came closer and closer. A moment later she could hear the sound of a truck, and her heart lodged in her throat.

They were three women out in the middle of nowhere, sitting ducks, and here she stood, frozen in the oncoming headlights like a deer.

The truck stopped directly next to their rental car, and blinded by the glaring twin lights, Zoe threw a hand up in front of her face.

The driver left the headlights on-to torment them? Zoe wondered frantically-as he stepped out.

The crunching of the stranger's booted feet on the gravel of the driveway propelled Zoe into action. 'Down,' she whispered, pulling her sisters out of the path of the bright lights. They ducked low, tumbling into one another as they shifted to the side of the patio, only to find themselves cornered by the wooden railing.

'Hey,' a deep male voice called out. 'Who's there?'

'Don't move,' Zoe instructed, holding on to her sisters' hands tightly. 'Don't even breathe. Maybe he'll leave.'

'He saw us,' Maddie whispered frantically, her voice wavering, making Zoe hug her closer. 'I know he did.'

'Maybe it's just a neighbor?' Delia suggested hopefully.

Maybe, but Zoe didn't plan on taking any chances. Not with her sisters. She weighted the meaty flashlight in one hand, considering it a weapon now.

'Can't believe you didn't check your batteries,' Delia hissed. 'You always check