The Rancher's Surrender

'You know… bring in rich vacationing people to do all the work for you. They used to call them dude ranches.'

Maddie, Delia and Zoe just stared at him.

'On top of that,' he said around another bite, 'they pay for the privilege of doing all your chores. It's great.'

Delia looked speculative. 'Rich people? Such as… rich men?'

Cade was disgusted. 'Hey, baby, I'm rich. Why don't you fall over me?'

'I'm looking for personality, Slick.'

Maddie gave Delia an admonishing look, then turned back to Cade. 'A guest ranch would be like an inn, right?'

'Sort of.'

Her eyes lit with speculation. 'It would need a really great kitchen, wouldn't it? With fabulous meals for lots of hungry guests.'

'Hungry, rich guests,' Delia said with growing interest.

Zoe could see her sisters caving. 'You're all crazy.'

'Zoe, think of it.' Maddie's eyes were shining. 'These people pay.'

'Yeah, as in cash money,' Delia added. 'Can't believe we didn't think of it before. We're in the best spot in the world. People love Idaho.'

'Capital,' Zoe reminded her sister. 'We'd need capital. And someone with the know-how.'

'We already have a manager who'd be willing to help,' Maddie said quietly.

The man who'd held her last night, the man who'd helped her believe in herself. Ty.

Zoe pushed away her dinner plate, suddenly no longer hungry. She was feeling a lot of things, too many things, most of it owing to the private conversation she'd just had with Cade where she'd learned there was no news on the inheritance front.

Her mother had disappeared off the face of the planet twenty years ago and not a word from her had been heard since.

Fine. She could deal with that. With being deserted. She could deal with anything, and had. 'We can do better than this,' she declared. 'I mean, come on… a guest ranch? Triple M Guest Ranch?'

* * *

But as she walked along the river that night, after an exhausting run, contemplating her failures, Zoe kept coming back to the thought… a guest ranch.

How bad could it be?

She smiled, thinking her sisters were going to enjoy being right.

'Well, isn't that something? A smile.' Ty dismounted his horse, let it loose to graze in the wild grass and leaned negligently against a tree. 'Can't say I've seen that too often.' He waited a beat. 'Did it hurt?'

'Very funny. Why are you following me?'

'I came to the house for dessert. Maddie told me where you were. You shouldn't be out here alone.'

'Ty, you climb rock monoliths sixty stories high for fun. I think I can handle a little tame walk along the river.'

'I meant because you're lonely.'

Her heart stopped, then started a heavy pumping that was louder than the roar of the river.

Ty stepped closer. 'Being alone makes loneliness worse, Zoe.'

'Well, I'm not alone now, am I?' She speculated, then gave him a sideways glance. He certainly looked the part of the cowboy tonight, dressed in jeans so faded the stress points were white, and oh boy, did he have stress points. She dragged her eyes upward to his plain T-shirt, partially covered by an unbuttoned blue chambray shirt.

She'd missed him, but he'd been so busy they'd hardly spoken. Not that she would have known what to say. He wanted something from her she wasn't ready to give.

And where did that leave him? He still wanted her land. What would he think of this latest idea? Only one way to find out. 'What do you think of guest ranches?' she asked suddenly.

Ty laughed, then sobered when she glared at him. 'You're serious?'

She spread her hands. 'What choice do we have at this point? The big house could be a lodge, the cottages individual cabins for families to stay. We're smack-dab in the middle of thousands of acres of wild, unexplored federal park land, all of it ready to play in. Day hikes. Rides. Big-game hunting. It's a four-season playground. Just think… it could be a hot, exclusive place to go.'

'You've really thought about this.'

'Better than selling out.'

He went grim. 'Yeah. You'll still need more money.' He bent, picked up a stone and tossed it into the river.

'Yes.' She bit her lip. Considered. 'But a guest ranch has potential for earning money back much faster than a working ranch if done correctly.'

'It will also take much more capital than a working ranch.'

'I know. I was thinking we could take on a partner for the venture… one who knew what he was doing.'

His head whipped toward hers, eyes narrowed. The moon peeked out from beneath a cloud, lighting up the small clearing where they stood, casting everything in a dreamy glow.

'Know anyone who'd be interested?' she wondered.

'You know damn straight I'm interested, but it involves trust, Zoe.' He shifted closer until she could feel the heat of him. 'Ready for that?'

'No more than you are.'

'What does that mean? I trust you.'

'Tell me about your brother, Ty.'

A long, pent-up breath escaped him. 'Where did that come from?'

'Is it such a surprise that I want to know more about you?'

'That you're admitting it is.' But she was staring at him, waiting. And he suddenly wanted to tell her. 'He was… Ben.' He lifted a shoulder, struggling for words. He'd never talked about his brother before, and suddenly it didn't seem right to be burying Ben's memory, not when Ty wanted to remember him always. Ben deserved to be remembered, to be talked about. 'He was wonderful, funny. Smart.' He smiled as memories, good ones, washed over him. 'And he kept me in line.'

She smiled, too. 'You were close.'

'We survived.' He looked at his own big hands and knew he could never be like his father, could never use violence against another.

'He's… gone?'

'He died.' God, it was hard to say it aloud, to put the images back into his head. 'In my arms, after a fight with a gang member on the streets of Chicago where we lived. He was sixteen.'

'Oh God, Ty.' She reached for him, the ground crunching beneath her as she moved, her soft warm body pressing close. It wasn't in any way a sexual embrace, it was different, and it was somehow far better.

There was no sound except for the soothing rush of the river, and he urged her even closer, folding her tight to him, soaking up the affection he'd been starving for since that day he'd given her the kitten.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered after a time. 'You were left alone. It was so unfair.'

It wasn't a question, but a statement, from someone who knew just how unfair life could be. 'He made me promise to keep our dream,' he said. He lifted his head and met her gaze steadily. 'To raise horses. Lots and lots of horses. We knew little about them then, other than the ranch life represented a freedom we'd never experienced.'

She smiled sadly. 'That's why you want Constance's land. Because yours isn't big enough. Oh, Ty, I wish I'd known. I thought… I thought…'