“We up and lassoed me a good one, Rosie. I’m going to be happy as a hen in a barrel of chicken feed.”
Rosie nodded, smiling through tears.
“And we caught you a good one too. And don’t you go feeling guilty about hitching yourself to Miguel when that jackass you married all those years ago might still be above ground. He’s no husband to you, and God knows that. Miguel’s your real husband. He’s the one who counts.
I always knew when you two were going back and forth like a couple of feisty jaybirds that you belonged together.”
Rosie ventured a small smile. “That man needs a woman to keep him in line.”
“Well, you kept me in line all these years. Ahah! Don’t turn into a water pump again. Let’s go on out.”
Miguel and Josh waited for them on the porch. At the sight of Josh, Tess’s stomach ?uttered. She grew warm thinking about the night before, when they’d become man and wife for real. She understood now why mares switched their tails at stallions and cows bawled out their invitations to the bull.
Tess grew warmer when Josh greeted her with a brush of his lips-just enough to tantalize, but not enough to be publicly indecent. “Well, Mrs. Ransom, ready to ride?”
Ranger stood patiently under saddle, along with the stocky chestnut that Josh had ridden in on-a gorgeous animal. Josh obviously knew what he was doing with his horses, at least. But he might need her advice when it came to cattle.
Tess smiled a smug little smile at the thought of the Double R, a huge new ranch just waiting for her to start running things right. Along with her husband, of course. A partnership. They would make it work.
“I’m ready.”
She kissed Miguel on the cheek. Being a man, he certainly wouldn’t cry, but his eyes glistened with suspicious moisture.
“You are my angel,” Miguel said. “I will take care of this place like it was my own.”
“It practically is, as long as you pay the rent.” Tess tried hard to keep a stern tone in her voice. Otherwise she might melt down as mushy as Rosie.
“You sure you want the rent to go to Sean?”
Miguel had insisted upon paying rent when Tess asked him to take over the Diamond T. Rent would make him feel like a rancher, not a caretaker, he said. So Tess had named a small amount and told him to send it to Sean. The money wouldn’t send her brother to a college back east, but it would be a start. Sean had been right. The Diamond T belonged to him as well as her.
They rode out to a chorus of goodbyes and accompanying barks from Chief, who had been promoted to cattle dog in charge. Rojo trotted by Ranger’s side. Where Tess went, he went also.
“I got a dog in the deal along with a wife?” Josh asked when he noticed Rojo.
“Hell yes,” Tess replied. “A woman can buy a husband in any saloon in the West, if she has the cash. But a good cattle dog is hard to ?nd.”
Finding Home by Maureen McKade
Chapter One
COLORADO 1884
WINSTON TAYLOR EASED back on his horse’s reins, bringing the animal to a halt. He rested his crossed wrists on the saddle horn as the gelding blew noisily and swished his tail at the everpresent ?ies. Ahead of him, orange, red, and coral rays streaked out from behind deep purple mountain peaks and violet clouds. However, it wasn’t the spectacular sunset that captured Win’s attention.
Instead, it was the small cluster of corrals and buildings set against the breathtaking backdrop that made his heart slide into his throat. A barn with a pole corral disappearing around its side had been added since he’d been here with his pa, but little else had changed in the ensuing ten years.
Ten years since he’d felt a sense of home and belonging.
Ten years since he’d seen Caitlin Brice.
Unease shot through him, making him question his good sense in responding to the telegram. He’d stayed away all these years, even when his father had made his annual visits to his old friend Tremayne Brice. Win had hoped to protect Cait by his absence.
With his pa dead, the Brices were the closest thing to kin Win had, and he’d broken his selfimposed exile because they needed his help. Seeing Cait again would be dif?cult, and he was thankful her father would be there to act as a buffer between them.
Suddenly impatient, Win clucked his horse into motion. The sooner he found out why they sought his help, the sooner he could accomplish his task and disappear from Cait’s life. Again.
As he drew nearer, the cabin door swung open. A shadowed ?gure stepped onto the porch and froze, obviously seeing him. He tipped his lowcrowned hat off his forehead, affecting a reckless nonchalance.
He drank in her appearance, from the practical trousers that enhanced her long slender legs and slightly rounded hips, to the loose shirt that camou?aged the gentle curves beneath it. Despite the men’s clothing and ri?e gripped in her hands, there was no doubt Cait had blossomed into a beautiful woman.
The ten years evaporated as Win recalled with startling clarity the smoothness of her bare skin, and the way she’d arched against him, giving herself freely without regard to the repercussions of being with
He sucked in a deep breath and willed his body to ignore the insistent rush of lust that bolted through him. Even after all these years, Cait made him feel like a rutting stallion.
Her lush lips curved downward and her backbone stiffened. Although he couldn’t see her eyes clearly, he knew their blue depths would be snapping with that ?erce Brice temper-full of ?re and passion.
God, he’d missed her. Not just the woman, but the childhood friend he’d known since they’d been kneehigh. She was the only friend he’d had while growing up, despite the fact they’d only seen one another two months out of each year. His shoulders slumped as he realized his abrupt leavetaking ten years ago had destroyed whatever affection she’d harbored for him.
He dismounted gingerly, ignoring the twinges in his legs and back from long days in the saddle. After wrapping the leather reins around the hitching post, he faced the woman once more. “Hello, Cait,” he said in a voice husky with disuse.
“Win.” Her voice was cool but she set the ri?e down, leaning it against the porch rail.
“I got the telegram.”
She crossed her arms, unintentionally drawing his attention to her modest bosom. “I reckoned.”
He dragged his gaze back to her face and frowned at her terseness. Where had the talkative girl gone? “The message said you needed me.”
Cait ?inched, then her lips settled into a grim line. “I need your
He shrugged. “Same thing.”
She glared at him and opened her mouth, then abruptly closed it. She looked beyond him, anger radiating from her ramrodstraight ?gure.
For a moment, Win was tempted to tell her why he had left so abruptly all those years ago, but the impulse passed. She might understand his reasons, but it wouldn’t make her hate him any less. “You and your pa sent for me. Why?”
