Claimed By The Rancher

They’d both done exactly what they’d set out to do. He was damn happy being a doctor and a rancher. And his bachelor status would remain intact. He was getting ready to help Colt gear up to open Pebblebrook as a dude ranch, so any spare time he had was taken.

“I wish you the best,” he stated, the blasted guilt settling heavy in his chest. “See you around.”

“Yeah, see you,” she said softly.

With one final nod, Nolan headed out the door. He couldn’t get out of Painted Pansies fast enough. Sleep deprivation could cause a man to start thinking about things, decisions he’d made and everything he’d given up to seek success.

But Nolan didn’t have regrets on the path he’d taken. He did regret hurting Pepper, though, so much it cut him to the core. At one time he would’ve done anything for her, but in the end, they’d wanted different things and he couldn’t be what she wanted.

Nothing had changed since then, either. He’d opted not to have a family after they lost their child. He wouldn’t say he shut down exactly, but he’d certainly reevaluated what he desired in life and he knew for certain he wished never to go through that kind of anguish again.

Nolan carefully set the arrangements on the back floorboard of his SUV. This quaint shop Pepper had was perfect for her. For as long as he’d known her, she’d had a flare for art and creativity. She’d been a dreamer, one of the things he’d loved most about her.

Without looking back to see inside the wide storefront window, Nolan forced himself to move forward. Wasn’t that what he’d always done? Pushed onward, no matter what was going on internally. That was what made him one of the best doctors around. He could compartmentalize his feelings and turn them off when needed.

The jumbled emotions he had after seeing Pepper were absolutely not something he was ready to face...no matter how attractive she still was. So he’d shut those feelings down, just like he had the last time he saw her.

Two

The aftermath of this date was quite the opposite of what Nolan had initially planned. But cutting the evening short had been his idea...and he was still second-guessing his decision.

He’d taken his date home and dropped her off with a lackluster kiss good-night. In hindsight, he could’ve put more enthusiasm into the kiss and should’ve been whisking her off her feet and to the nearest bed. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been in the right frame of mind for a sexual romp or even dessert. He’d feigned not feeling well, when the reality was, he’d spent his entire night envisioning another woman.

Damn it. Pepper had barely stepped back into town and now he was totally off his game. Well, technically, she’d told him she’d been back a month, but he’d only seen her this morning. Bottom line...he’d not had any heads-up on her return. Clearly he’d been too busy working to familiarize himself with the latest gossip running amok in Stone River.

But deep down, he knew nothing could’ve mentally prepared him for how he’d feel when he saw Pepper after ten long years. Hell, he wasn’t sure he could even put a name to it.

Nolan found himself heading toward Painted Pansies before he recognized what he was doing. Why was he even on this road? This was quite a bit out of the way of his home on Pebblebrook Ranch.

Thankfully, he was off tomorrow, because he knew he’d be up all night trying to figure out why in tarnation he was getting so—

What the hell?

Nolan saw the flames in the distance, but as he got closer, he realized they were shooting out the top-floor window of Pepper’s building. They were small and only in the front, but nonetheless, fear gripped him like nothing he’d ever known.

In his line of work, Nolan was used to making life-and-death decisions under pressure. But this felt different, like a vise around his chest. With adrenaline pumping, he quickly dialed 911. Then he pulled off the road, rattled off the address, and raced from his SUV toward the back of Painted Pansies.

As he rounded the corner, he saw Pepper attempting to crawl out the window and onto the roof of the back porch.

“Pepper!” he shouted. “The fire department is on the way. Climb onto the roof and I’ll help you from there.”

She threw a look over her shoulder, and Nolan’s heart clenched. Pepper’s face was filled with pure terror and she held one hand protectively over her abdomen. He couldn’t think about that right now; he couldn’t focus on the fact she’d lost one baby already and was most likely petrified as she tried to get out of this situation without causing harm to her unborn child.

All that mattered right now was getting her away from this fire. Nolan heard the approaching sirens and relief trickled through him.

“Come on,” he urged. “You’re almost to the roof.”

Cautiously, she let go of the window ledge and crawled on her hands and knees over the roof until she reached the edge. She stared down at him as if she was afraid to jump.

“I’ll catch you,” he told her as he extended his arms. When she hesitated, he felt that adrenaline surge. “Pepper, come on.”

“I can’t fall,” she cried.

“You won’t,” he assured her, knowing he’d never let her get hurt. “I promise.”

And now was not the time to analyze the fact he’d hurt her immensely once before.

Sirens grew louder, but Nolan didn’t take his eyes off her. She eased closer to the edge and gave him another look, and he nodded, silently pleading for her to trust him.

It seemed like slow motion, but Nolan knew the time it took her to let go and fall into his arms was only a mere couple of seconds. He cradled her against his chest and ran back to his SUV. His pulse continued to pound fast, but not from carrying her. Pepper didn’t weigh much; she’d always been petite. His work as a part-time rancher demanded he be physically fit, so even pregnant, she wasn’t putting a strain on his muscles.

“I can walk,” she told him breathlessly, but her arms encircled his neck as he crossed the street.

“And I can carry you. Did you get hurt? Inhale too much smoke?”

Pepper shook her head. “No. I was getting ready for bed when I smelled smoke and came out of the bathroom to see the front curtains in flames.”

A chill coursed through his veins. What if she’d been asleep? What if she hadn’t gotten out in time? What would she have done had he not been driving by? Would anyone have been around to help?

She trembled against him, and he instantly recognized the shock. The fire truck pulled up and in an instant the firefighters were working on the flames, which still seemed to be only in the front of the second story. An ambulance arrived right after, and Nolan swiftly carried her over.

“I’m Dr. Nolan Elliott.” He addressed the two EMTs who came around to open the back of the ambulance. “I don’t believe she was inside long, but I want her to have oxygen and be taken in immediately. I’ll follow and get her admitted.”

“I don’t need to be admitted,” she argued, but Nolan ignored her protest. She wasn’t in charge here.

“She’s pregnant,” Nolan went on as he stepped up into the back, still holding her in his arms. He lowered her down onto the cot. “How far along?”

Her dark eyes met his and he had to ignore everything that had happened between them up until now. She was a patient. He had to compartmentalize.

“Pepper?”

“Seventeen weeks. Nolan, I don’t think—”

“Oxygen,” he said as one of the medics climbed in on the other side. “I’ll meet you at the ER entrance.”

Pepper gripped his arm as the oxygen mask was placed over her nose and mouth. She pulled it aside and shook her head.

“I don’t need you there and I don’t need to be admitted,” she insisted. “I wasn’t in the apartment that long. I’m not coughing and I’m not light-headed. I’m fine.”

“And you’re positive your baby is?” he retorted.

Her eyes narrowed but he didn’t care if he angered her. In his years at Mercy, he’d seen it all and he wasn’t taking a chance with Pepper and a baby...not again. Even though this wasn’t his child, he wouldn’t risk it.

Damn his desire to protect her.

“I’ll go get checked out, only for the baby.” Her hold tightened on his arm. “But you’re not coming. I don’t need you there.”

Nolan stared at her another minute but didn’t say a word. Finally, he met the gaze of the medic and nodded. No way was Nolan going to let her go alone. No matter what Pepper wanted, right now someone was going to look out for her and her child.

And it seemed he was the chosen one.

* * *

“This is ridiculous.”

Pepper realized her argument was in vain. But as she sat in the passenger seat of Nolan’s extremely flashy SUV heading up the drive to Pebblebrook, she also knew she had little choice but to go along with his plan.

Well, actually, he hadn’t planned, more like steamrolled. After he’d shown up at the hospital, despite her repeated requests that he stay away, he’d informed her he’d be taking her to his house to rest because it was nearly two in the morning and she couldn’t go back to her apartment.

Her apartment. The one place she was going to try to set down roots, to build a life for her baby.

Yet here she was pregnant and temporarily homeless until she found out what damage had been done by the fire. Oh, and she was back with the one man who’d crushed her heart and her spirit and turned his back on her when she needed him most.

It went without saying that she’d had better days. Like the day she’d broken her arm in two places after she’d gone hiking and attempted to climb a vine over a ravine. Even then she was having a better time than she was now.

“I don’t want to stay with you.”

Nolan grunted and continued up the drive. Pebblebrook was exactly like she remembered. Magnificent, with rolling white fencing flanking the drive, the three-story main house was adorned with porches extending across the top two floors. The stables, which were nicer than most homes, brought back memories. Memories of spending evenings in the hayloft, riding horses over the acreage, sharing hopes and dreams.

They’d failed to discuss the one dream that had ultimately come between them, but that was water under the bridge. Pepper firmly believed everything happened for a reason... If only she could figure out why she was here now with Nolan.

“You tell me a logical place to drop you off in the middle of the night and I’ll consider it.”

Pepper crossed her arms and continued to stare out the window into the darkness. She really didn’t care that she was acting like a child. After all, who could blame her? She was tired, scared, worried of what the future would hold for her as a single mother. Once again she’d gotten tangled up with a man who wanted nothing to do with a family or her. But at least this time she hadn’t been in love.

Although she didn’t need a man to complete her life or to help her raise the baby, she was sorry this child would never know his or her father. But Pepper was confident her child would be loved and cared for and would never feel the void.

“That’s what I thought,” Nolan muttered when she failed to answer him. “Now, you need to quit being stubborn and just relax for tonight.”

“Stubborn? Relax?” Pepper whipped around in her seat. “I’m not stubborn, you jerk. You pushed your way into the ER—”

“I actually flashed a smile at the charge nurse.”

Rage boiled within her. “Just because you work there doesn’t give you the right to steamroll me into agreeing to this.”

“I didn’t steamroll anybody,” he said as he made a sharp curve in the drive. “I merely stated that you could be admitted or come home with me. Those were your two options whether you liked them or not. You have no other place to crash tonight.”

Pepper scowled. As if she needed the reminder. She’d been racking her brain trying to work out what had happened in her apartment. She’d been burning some new melts she’d made that afternoon, but she was positive she’d turned off the warmer before she got into the shower. Hadn’t she?

“I won’t be your charity case so you can feel better about yourself over how you treated me in the past.”

There. She’d laid it out there. Pepper didn’t want there to be any question about where they stood. Because the truth was, she’d moved on. And the fact that the sight of Dr. Nolan Elliott made her weak in the knees and brought up so many unforgettable memories, both bad and good, didn’t mean anything. She was a different woman now. And he was a different man.

But the way he wanted to come to her aid warmed something inside her...something she couldn’t afford to let herself feel ever again.

“I’m not doing this out of some warped sense of redemption, Pepper,” he told her. “I have seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms. Stay here as long as you want until you make alternate arrangements. I won’t even know you’re there.”

Yeah, but she’d know he was there. Did he truly believe she’d be comfortable on his turf? And why on earth had he built such a huge home when he was single? Had he married after she’d left? Pepper had purposely distanced herself from him and not doubled back to find out what Nolan had done with his life. She didn’t want to know if he’d found another woman, created a life with her, had children. Because as hard as it was to admit, she feared that if he’d gone forward and had a family, she wouldn’t have recovered from the crushing blow.

So, one night together was more than enough. Besides, she had more important things to contend with than licking old wounds. Like figuring out where to go if her apartment was a total loss. She only prayed the fire department was able to spare her shop because there was no plan B for income.

“I’m only staying tonight because I’m exhausted.”

A two-story stone home came into view and Pepper’s heart clenched with sorrow. Granted, it was dark, but the spotlights illuminated the incredible home enough to send her falling back into yet another memory.

This was the dream home they’d planned together. Everything from the stone facade to the thick wood columns leading up to the second-story porch. And if he’d stuck to the original plans, those doors on the top floor led straight to one impressive master suite, with a matching master suite at the other end of the hall.

He’d gone through with every plan they’d made...and he’d done so without her, as if she’d never had a place in his life at all.

Pepper covered her abdomen with her hands as Nolan pulled into an attached four-car garage. Of course each bay was filled with another impressive vehicle. A work truck, which looked fresh off the showroom floor, a sporty car and another SUV. Why did one man need this many cars and this large of a home?

Pepper wasn’t a shrink, but she also wasn’t naive. Clearly Nolan was trying to either compensate for something or fill a void in his life, and she was pretty sure he didn’t need to overcompensate for anything.

And now, to add fuel to the fire, she was spending the night with the one man she didn’t want to be attracted to, shouldn’t be attracted to. But there was no denying Nolan was still just as sexy, just as powerfully commanding in that irresistible way that made her breath catch in her throat and her palms grow damp.

“You built our home.” The words slipped out before she could stop them and now they hovered in the air between them.

“It’s the only home I ever saw here,” he replied.

Pepper turned in her seat. The garage lights lit up the interior of the SUV and she preferred when things were dark. From this angle she saw too much—and she worried what he’d see when he looked back at her.

She started to ask him more but decided none of his life was her business. He’d made that abundantly apparent, and she needed to remember that. Just because he’d rescued her from her burning building and hadn’t left her side since, didn’t mean he wanted to revisit their past. And she had too much on her plate to even think like this.

Clearly, she was exhausted.

“Pepper, I—”

“Just show me to my room.” His blue eyes met hers, and Pepper held her breath. He still had the power to make her tremble without so much as a word. “I’m tired and need my rest. I have a big day tomorrow assessing damage and talking to the insurance and fire department.”

He gave her a clipped nod. “I’ll go with you.”

“You’re not going with me.” Did he really think she needed someone to hold her hand?

She took in his dress shirt, his dark jeans, and realization slammed into her. Pepper closed her eyes and pulled in a breath. “Your date... I hope this didn’t ruin anything.”

“I’d already dropped her off when I was heading home.”

For reasons Pepper didn’t want to delve into, she was glad to know the recipient of the mixed bouquet went home alone.

“Well...if I didn’t say it earlier, thanks.”

Nolan stared at her another minute, his eyes dropping to her lips for a half second, but it was all she needed to know. He was affected by the fact they’d been thrust back together, albeit temporarily—it had made him leave his date.

Maybe coming back to Stone River hadn’t been the best idea, but she was all out of options at the moment. All she had to do was get through this night and then she could make a concerted effort to dodge Nolan Elliott at all costs. Because she wasn’t sure she could resist the temptation if she had to spend too much time with him.

Three

Despite how insistently Pepper protested, Nolan joined her the following morning at Painted Pansies to assess the damage. He used the excuse that he had to drive her, but he wouldn’t have let her face this alone regardless.

The apartment wasn’t a total loss, but she would not be living there anytime soon. Thankfully, the store wasn’t harmed, but an electrician needed to come out to double-check things because the fire marshall was sure the spark that started the fire had come from the outlet her warmer was plugged into.

Nolan had already contacted someone and expected him shortly. Pepper wouldn’t like that he’d taken over, but someone had to because she looked dead on her feet.

And, okay, maybe some of that past guilt was spurring his actions, but he knew that top-notch contractors could get things done quicker than she could if she were left to her own devices. There was no reason she should wait on insurance to get their act together, because they were notorious for being slow, and Nolan was just offering his aid. Money meant nothing to him and he could see that Pepper could use a break.

Pepper walked around the shop and into the back room. Nolan took in the window display with large canvas paintings and the flamboyant bouquets in various heights. Everywhere he looked, there was vibrancy, color, life. He knew Pepper had always envisioned something like this, but she’d been such a free spirit, wanting to travel the world, he’d never really thought she’d set down roots anywhere.

Of course, once upon a time, they’d planned on settling down together. They’d designed a house when they were so young and tossing one dream after another out into the wind, hoping they would catch.

Regret tightened the corners of his mouth. Some things just weren’t meant to be, because when faced with reality, he hadn’t been able to take charge. The death of their unborn baby made him too wary to consider going down that path again.

When someone tapped on the glass of the front door, Nolan jerked around. A middle-aged couple stood on the other side and he shook his head and pointed to the closed sign.

Behind him, Pepper let out a gasp.

Nolan glanced over his shoulder. “You know them?”

Her eyes remained fixed on the door as she nodded and pressed a hand protectively over her stomach. She’d thrown on one of his T-shirts and still had on the same shorts from last night. Her hair had been washed but left down to dry in long, silky ringlets. Desire pulsed through him. He knew exactly what that hair felt like between his fingertips and draped over his body, but now was not the time to get turned on. Still, his fingers itched to touch those luscious locks again, to see if they were just as smooth as he remembered.

“Want me to get rid of them?” he asked.

The tapping grew louder, more persistent.

“They’ve already seen me.” Pepper raked a hand through her hair and finally looked his way. “I hate to ask this, but can you stay? I’m exhausted and this could get ugly. I know we’re not necessarily friends or anything, but—”

“I’ll stay.”

Whoever these people were, Pepper wasn’t happy about seeing them.

She crossed the store and placed one hand on the knob, the other on the lock. Throwing a look over her shoulder, she caught his eyes again. “Their son is the father of my baby. I’ve only met them once.”

A sense of unease roiled through him. Of course, he knew nothing about the father of her baby, other than the fact he was obviously not in the picture at the moment, but his parents showing up here from...wherever it was they were from was probably not good news for Pepper.

He bit back a curse. Why was he sticking around? Whatever Pepper had going on in her life was her concern, her business. He should be at Pebblebrook helping Colt with the ranch or coming up with things he could do at Hayes’s house. Hayes was one of his other brothers, and he would be home from his deployment overseas in two weeks.

With four Elliott boys, there was always someone in need of a helping hand. Nolan hadn’t seen Beau, Colt’s twin, in nearly a year. He’d been too busy shooting one film after the next. That must be the life he loved out there in LA, because he rarely came home.

The flick of the lock pulled Nolan’s attention back to the moment. Pepper moved back and opened the door.

The couple swept in like they owned the place. Nolan was instantly on alert. He didn’t like to stereotype, but he figured he had these people pegged. Expensive clothes, flashy car on the curb... He knew how much that car was because he’d had one, as well, and sold it for an upgrade. The way the woman looked condescendingly down at Pepper had Nolan taking a step closer, his protective instincts kicking into high gear.

“Mr. and Mrs. Wright. What are you doing here?” Pepper asked.

“We didn’t have a number to reach you, but Matt told us where you were moving to and we heard you opened a little shop in Stone River.” Mrs. Wright glanced around the shop, her nose snarled as she turned back to Pepper. “Is this typically how you come to work?”

“I’m actually not open today.” Pepper cast a worried look to Nolan. “We’re doing some minor renovations.”

The couple glanced to Nolan but immediately dismissed him. Most likely they figured him for the hired hand. That was fine. He wasn’t here to make friends or to give a good impression. He was here for...what? To support Pepper, although she didn’t want it and he had other things he really needed to be doing.

“Can we talk privately?” Mr. Wright asked quietly.

Pepper crossed her arms over her chest. “You can just tell me now.”

“We have some...devastating news.” Mrs. Wright swiped at her eyes, and Nolan knew that expression. He’d been a doctor long enough, had seen grief too many times to count. He took another step toward Pepper but resisted the urge to reach out and touch her. He wasn’t sure what the Wrights were going to do and he didn’t want to show his hand this soon and reveal that he and Pepper had a past. They didn’t need to know.

“Matt had a heart attack two nights ago,” the woman whispered as if speaking through the tears clogging her throat. “He didn’t make it.”

“Oh...no.” Pepper reached a hand out for support and Nolan grabbed it right away, the worry for her far outweighing the need to keep his distance. “But he was so young,” she murmured in disbelief.

Again, Nolan knew from experience that age meant nothing in the medical field.

“I know he told you he wanted nothing to do with this baby, but we do.” Mr. Wright wasn’t quite as emotional as his wife, and he seemed to be ready to get down to business. “We want full guardianship rights for the baby now that our son is...is gone.”