In a Cowboy's Arms

Jarod,

You begged me to consider carefully the decision to marry you. I have thought about it and realize it just won’t work. I’m going to live with my mother in California, but I want you to know I’ll always treasure our time together.

Sadie.

For eight years Jarod had done his damnedest to avoid any news of her and for the most part had succeeded. Until now...

By the time he rode into the barn, twilight was turning into night. He levered himself off Blackberry and led him into the stall.

“You’re kind of late, aren’t you?”

Jarod couldn’t remember when there wasn’t a baiting tone in Ned’s voice. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the youngest of his four cousins walking toward him. Ned’s three siblings were good friends with Jarod.

He scrutinized Ned, who was a year younger than him. Even that slight age difference upset Ned, but the rancor he felt for Jarod ran much deeper for other reasons. They were both Bannocks and lived in separate houses on the Hitting Rocks Ranch, but the fact that Jarod’s mother had been a full Crow Indian was an embarrassment to the bigoted Ned. He liked to pretend Jarod wasn’t part of the Bannock family and took great pleasure in treating him like a second-class citizen.

Ned was also still single and had always had a thing for Sadie Corkin, feelings that were never reciprocated. “It took me longer than usual to check out the new calves. How about you? Were you able to get the old bale truck fixed today or do we need to buy a new one?”

“If it comes to that, I’ll talk it over with my dad.”

Grant Bannock, Jarod’s uncle, was a good man. But he had his hands full with Ned, who’d been spoiled most of his life and did his share of drinking. Jarod often had to keep a close eye on him to make certain he got his chores done. Not even Tyson Bannock, Ned’s grandfather and Ralph’s brother, could control him at times.

Ned had always dreamed of marrying Sadie Corkin and one day being in charge of both ranches. But that dream was in no one’s interest but his own. Ralph Bannock, Jarod’s grandfather, was the head of the ranch and his closeness to Jarod was like pouring salt on Ned’s open wound.

Jarod patted the horse’s rump before turning to his cousin. “Was there something else you wanted?”

Ned had looped his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans and stared at Jarod, who at six foot three topped him by two inches. Jarod saw a wild glitter in those hazel eyes that felt like hatred, confirming his suspicions that this encounter had to do with the news Ben had brought him earlier. Now that Sadie would be coming back for the burial, Ned wanted Jarod out of the picture.

“I thought you should know old man Corkin kicked the bucket early this morning.”

Jarod didn’t bother telling his cousin he was way ahead of him.

“If I were you,” Ned warned, “I wouldn’t get any ideas about showing my face at the funeral since he hated your guts.” Jarod noted the heightened venom in his voice.

There’d been a lot of hate inside Daniel that had nothing to do with Jarod. In that regard Sadie’s father and Ned had a lot in common, but no good would come of pointing that out to his cousin.

Jarod’s uncle Charlo would describe Ned as an “empty war bonnet.” The thought brought a faint smile to his lips. “Thanks for the advice.”

Ned smirked. “No problem. Because of you there’s been enough tension between the Corkins and the Bannocks. Or maybe you’re itching to start another War of the Roses and manipulate your grandfather into buying Farfields for you. To my recollection that battle lasted a hundred years.”

“I believe that was the Hundred Years War.” Ned’s ridiculous plan to acquire Sadie and the Corkin ranch in the hope oil could be found there was pitiable. “The War of the Roses lasted thirty years and the Scots only triumphed for ten of them. If my grandmother were still alive, we could check the facts with her.”

Addie Bannock loved her history, and Jarod loved hearing what she could tell him about that part of his ancestry.

Even in the semidarkness of the barn, he detected a ruddy color creeping into Ned’s cheeks. For once his cousin didn’t seem to have a rebuttal.

“Do you know what’s important, Ned? Daniel’s death puts an end to any talk of war between the two families, for which we can all be grateful. I have a feeling this news will bring new life to both our grandfathers. Those two brothers are sick to death of it. Frankly, so am I. Good night.”

As he walked out of the barn, Ned’s last salvo caught up to him.

“If you think this is over, then you’re as loco as Charlo.” It sounded like a threat.

Jarod kept walking. Daniel Corkin’s death had shaken everyone, including his troubled cousin Ned.

Chapter Two

“...And so into Your hands, O merciful God, we commend Your servant Daniel Burns Corkin. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech You, a sheep of Your own fold, a lamb of Your own flock, a sinner of Your own redeeming. Receive Daniel into the arms of Your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of those who have gone before. Amen.”

After the collective “amens,” Minister Lyman looked at Sadie before eying the assembled crowd. She hadn’t noticed the people who’d attended. In fact, she hadn’t talked to anyone yet.

“While they finish the work here, Daniel’s daughter, Sadie Corkin, and the Hensons, who’ve worked for Daniel all these years and are like a second family to Sadie, invite all of you back to the ranch house for refreshments.”

The house, with the extraordinary backdrop of the Pryor Mountains, was only a two-minute walk from the family plot with its smattering of pine trees. Sadie had already ordered a headstone, but it wouldn’t be ready for a few weeks.

She felt an arm slip around her shoulders. “Let me take Ryan for you so you can have some time alone.”

When she looked up she saw Liz Henson, her dearest, oldest friend. They’d been like sisters growing up. Even while Liz attended vet school at Colorado State, they’d stayed in close touch. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I am.” Liz kissed Ryan’s cheek. “Since you flew in yesterday, we’ve been getting to know each other, haven’t we?” She plucked him out of Sadie’s arms. “Come with me, little baby brother, and I’ll get you something to eat.”

At first he protested, but eventually his voice grew faint. Liz had a loving way about her. Sadie knew he was in the best of hands.

Zane walked up to her. She saw the compassion in his blue eyes. “It was a lovely service. Your father is being laid to rest with all the dignity he would have wanted.”

“He wanted Mother with him, but I’m glad she’s buried with Tim. He brought her the joy she deserved in this life.”

“You brought her joy the day you were born, and she’d be so proud you’re raising Ryan. I plan to help you any way I can. I hope you know that.”

“You’re a wonderful man, Zane. Ryan is so lucky to have you in his life.”

“He’s a little Tim.”

“I know. Those dimples get to me every time,” she told him, smiling.

“Yup. Don’t forget he’s my life now, too!”

“As if I could forget.”

Zane, she knew, had reached an emotional crossroads in his life and was still struggling to find himself. There’d been so many losses in his life, her heart went out to him. Thank heaven they had Ryan to cling to.

The afternoon sun caused Zane to squint. “Everyone’s gone inside the house. I’m going to help Liz. If you need us, you know where to find us.”

She nodded. The mortuary staff was waiting for her to leave so they could lower the casket and finish their part of the work, but she couldn’t seem to get up from the chair they’d brought for her. Since the phone call from Millie five days ago, her life had been a blur. She barely remembered the flight from San Francisco to Billings, let alone the drive in the rental car with Zane and Ryan to the ranch. Someone could use her for a pin cushion and she wouldn’t feel a thing.

Sadie counted a dozen large sprays of flowers around the grave site. Such kindness for a man who’d made few friends humbled her. The huge arrangement with the gorgeous purple-and-white flowers kept attracting her attention. For as long as she could remember that color combination had been her favorite.

Needing to know who’d sent the floral offering, she stood and walked around to gather the cards. She recognized every name. So many people who’d touched their lives and had loved her mother were still here offering to help in any way they could. When she pulled out the insert from the purple-and-white flowers, her breath caught.

Sadie,

Your mother and father’s greatest blessing. Let this be a time for all hearts to heal.

Love, Ralph Bannock and all the Bannocks—including the good, the bad and the ugly. Hope you haven’t forgotten I’m the ugly one.

She could hear Ralph saying it. He could be a great tease and she’d forgotten nothing.

A laugh escaped her lips as she put the cards in the pocket of her suit jacket. How she’d loved and missed him and Addie! Sadie had sent purple-and-white flowers when Addie had passed away, and today he’d reciprocated. She would have come for his wife’s funeral if there’d been any way possible, but fear of what her father would do to Jarod if she came back had prevented her from showing up.

There could have been so much loving and happiness in her family, but her father’s demons had put them through years of grief that affected the whole community. Suddenly she was sobbing through the laughter.

Needing to hide, Sadie hurried over to the granddaddy pine where she used to build nests of pine needles beneath its branches for the birds. She leaned against the base of the trunk while she wept buckets. How was she going to get through today, let alone tomorrow?

Her father’s flawed view of life, his cruelty, had occupied so much of her thinking, she didn’t know how to fill that negative space now that he was gone. She felt flung into a void, unable to get her bearings. And then she heard a male voice behind her. A voice like dark velvet. Only one man in this world sounded like that.

“Long ago my uncle Charlo gave me good advice. Walk forward, and when the mountain appears as the obstacle, turn each stone one by one. Don’t try to move the mountain. Instead, turn each stone that makes up the mountain.”

Jarod...

She hadn’t heard that voice since her teens, but she’d recognize it if it had been a hundred years ago. His sister, Avery, had once told Sadie he was known in the tribe as “Sits in the Center” because he was part white and straddled two worlds of knowledge.

Since he’d just picked up on Sadie’s tortured thoughts, she couldn’t deny he had uncanny abilities. But too many years had passed and they were no longer the same people. The agony of loss she’d once felt had been replaced by a dull pain that had never quite gone away. Wiping the moisture off her cheeks with the backs of her hands, she turned to face him.

He was a twenty-nine-year-old man now, tall and muscled, physical traits he’d inherited from his handsome father, Colin Bannock. But the short hair she remembered was now a shiny mane of midnight-black, caught at the nape with a thong. His complexion was bronzed by the sun and she picked out a scar near the edge of his right eyebrow she hadn’t seen before. No doubt he’d received that in the truck accident that left him unconscious.

He wore a dark dress suit with a white shirt, like the other men, but there was something magnificent about his bearing. The powerful combination of his Crow and Bannock heritage meant no man was Jarod’s equal in looks or stature.

She sensed a new confidence in him that had come with maturity. The coal-black of his piercing eyes beneath arched brows the same color sent unexpected chills down Sadie’s spine.

The whole beautiful look of him caused her to quiver. Once she’d lain in his arms and they’d made glorious love. Did he ever think about that night and their plans to marry the day she turned eighteen?

After she’d fled to California, she’d prayed he would ignore the words in her note and call Millie. Once he’d left the hospital and got her number in California from the housekeeper, she’d expected his call so she could explain about the traumatic episode at the ranch with her father.

But Jarod hadn’t called Millie, and there had been no word from him at all. Learning that he was out of the hospital and on his feet again, she’d prayed she would hear from him. But after a month of waiting, she’d decided he really was relieved they hadn’t gotten married, so she hadn’t tried to reach him.

That’s when she’d given him another name: Born of Flint. The Crow nation referred to the Pryor Mountains as the Hitting Rock Mountains because of the abundance of flint found there, which they chipped into sharp, bladelike arrowheads. Jarod’s silence had been like one of those blades, piercing her heart with deadly accuracy.

“It’s good to see you again, Sadie, even if it’s under such painful circumstances,” he said. “Ned warned me not to show up, but my grandfather’s been ill and asked me to represent him.”

And if he hadn’t asked you, Jarod, would you still have come?

“He’s too tired to go out. Do you mind?”

Did she mind that Jarod’s unexpected appearance had just turned her life upside down for the second time?

“Of course not. Liz told me Ralph has suffered recurring bouts of pneumonia. I love him. Always have. Please tell him the flowers he sent are breathtaking.” She plucked a white-and-purple flower from the arrangement and handed them to him. “These are from me. Tell him I’ll come to see him Tuesday evening. By then I’ll be more settled.”

He grasped the stems. “If I tell him that, then you have to promise you won’t disappoint him. He couldn’t take it.”

She sucked in her breath. You mean the way you disappointed me after you said you would always love me? Not one word or phone call from you in eight years about my note? Surely you knew there had to be a life and death reason behind it.

“Sadie?”

Another voice and just in time.

She tore her gaze away from Jarod. Zane was walking toward her, holding a fussy Ryan. “Here she is, sport.” The moment he put the little boy in her arms, Ryan calmed down. This child was the sunshine in her life.

Zane smiled at them. “He was good for a while, but with all those unfamiliar faces, he missed you.”

Sadie clung to her baby brother, needing a buffer against Jarod, who stood there looking too splendid for words. She finally averted her eyes and kissed Ryan. “I missed you, too.” She cleared her throat, realizing she’d forgotten her manners. “Zane Lawson, have you met Jarod Bannock, our neighbor to the east?”

He nodded. “Liz introduced us.”

At a loss for words in the brief silence that followed, Sadie shifted Ryan to her other arm. “I’m sorry I left you so long, sweetheart. Come on. There are a lot of people I need to thank for coming.”

She glanced one last time at Jarod over Ryan’s head. “It’s been good to see you, too, Jarod,” she lied. Her pain was too great to be near him any longer. “Thanks for the wise counsel from your uncle Charlo. In truth I have come back to a mountain. Getting through the rest of this day will be like turning over that first stone.”

As Jarod grimaced, Sadie hugged her brother harder. “Please give Uncle Charlo my regards the next time you see him. I always was a little in awe of him.”

* * *

AFTER EIGHT YEARS Jarod finally had his answer. She’d meant every word in the note she’d sent him. Not one phone call or letter from her in all that time. It appeared the sacred vow he’d made to her hadn’t touched her soul.

Gutted by feelings he’d never experienced before, he watched the three of them walk back to the house. They looked good together, at ease with each other. Comfortable. Just how comfortable he couldn’t tell yet. Was there something in the genes that attracted the Corkin women to the Lawson brothers?

But the girl he remembered with the long silky blond hair hanging almost to her waist was gone. Except for her eyes—Montana blue like the sky—everything else had changed. Her mouth looked fuller. She’d grown another inch.

Blue jeans and a Western shirt on a coltish figure had been replaced with a sophisticated black suit that outlined the voluptuous curves of her body. The gold tips of her hair, styled into a windblown look, brushed the collar of a lavender blouse. And high heels, not cowboy boots, called his attention to her long, beautiful legs.

There was an earthy element about her not apparent eight years ago. He hadn’t been able to identify it until she’d caught the towheaded boy in her arms. Then everything clicked into place. She’d become a mother as surely as if she’d given birth. He’d seen the same thing happen in the Crow clan—they watched out for the adopted ones. The experience defined Sadie in a new way. It explained the hungry look in the uncle’s eyes.

Jarod was flooded by jealousy, an emotion so foreign he could scarcely comprehend it, and the flowers meant for his grandfather dropped to the ground. Not wanting to be seen, he stole around the side of the ranch house and had almost reached his truck when Connor caught up to him.

“Jarod? Wait a minute! Where’s the fire?”

His head whipped around and he met his younger brother’s brown eyes. Connor had been through a painful divorce several years ago, but his many steer wrestling competitions when he wasn’t working on the ranch with Jarod had kept him from sinking into a permanent depression. This past week he’d been away at a rodeo in Texas, but after learning about Daniel, he’d come home for the funeral.

“Avery and I looked for you before the service.”

“My flight from Dallas was late. I just got here. Come inside with me.”

That would be impossible. “I can’t, but Avery will be glad to see you got here.”

Connor cocked his dark blond head in concern. “Are you all right?”

Jarod’s lungs constricted. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know. You seem...different.”

Yes, he was different. The passionate, stars-in-her-eyes woman who’d made him feel immortal had disappeared forever.

“I promised grandfather I wouldn’t be long. He wants to hear about the funeral and know who attended. He has great affection for Sadie.”

His brother nodded in understanding. “Don’t we all.”

“How’s the best bulldogger in the state after your last event?” The question was automatic, though Jarod’s mind was somewhere else, lost in those pain-filled blue eyes that had looked right through him.

“I’m not complaining, but I’ll tell you about it later. Listen—as long as you’re going back to the house, tell grandfather I’ll be home as soon as I’ve talked to Sadie. How is she? It’s been years since I last saw her.”

A lifetime, you mean.

“She’s busy taking care of her brother, Ryan.” That shouldn’t have made Jarod feel as if he’d been spirited to a different universe.

Connor shook his head. “It’s incredible what happened to that family. Maybe now that Daniel’s gone she’ll have some peace. Avery told me on the phone she doesn’t have a clue what Sadie’s going to do now.”

“I would imagine she’ll go back to San Francisco with Ryan and his uncle.”

Connor looked stunned. “Do you think the two of them are...?” He didn’t finish what he was going to say.

“I don’t know.”

“He’s old enough to be her father!”

“He certainly doesn’t look it, but age doesn’t always matter.” The way her eyes had softened when she’d looked at Zane Lawson had sent a thunderbolt through Jarod. “Why don’t you go inside and make your own judgment. I’ve got to leave. Grandfather’s waiting.”

“Okay. See you back at the house.”

But once Jarod had driven home, he went straight to his room and changed into jeans and a shirt. Before he talked to his grandfather, who was still asleep according to his caregiver, Martha, Jarod needed to expend a lot of energy.

He’d made tentative plans to have dinner in town with Leslie Weston after the funeral. She was the woman he’d been dating lately, but he couldn’t be with her right now, not after seeing Sadie again. He would have to reschedule with her. For the moment the only way to deal with his turmoil was to ride into the mountains. He’d take his new stallion up Lost Canyon. Volan needed the exercise.

Though he started out in that direction, midway there he found himself changing course. After eight years of avoiding the meadow, he galloped toward it as if he were on automatic pilot. When he reached their favorite spot, he dismounted and slumped into the bed of wildflowers. Their intoxicating scent was full of her.

Jarod remembered that last night with her as if it was yesterday. After their time together, he’d followed her to make sure she reached the Corkin ranch safely. He’d felt great pride that she rode like the wind. She and Liz Henson had provided stiff competition for the other barrel racers around the county, until Sadie suddenly quit. When Jarod had asked her about it, she’d said it had taken too much time away from being with him.

When he could no longer see her blond hair whipping around her, he’d set off the long way home, circling her property to avoid being seen. But before he’d reached the barn he’d had the impression he was being followed.

* * *

IN A LIGHTNING move he turned Chief around and bolted toward the clump of pines where he’d detected human motion. As he moved closer he heard a curse before his stalker rode away, but Jarod had the momentum. He knew in his gut it was Ned. In half a minute he’d cut him off, forcing him to stop.

He looked at his cousin. “Where are you going in such an all-fired hurry this time of night?”

“None of your damn business.”

“It’s a good thing I knew it was you or I might have pulled you off Jasper to find out who’s been keeping tabs on me. I would think you’d have better things to do with your time.”

“You’ve been with Sadie.” Ned’s accusation was riddled with fury.

It was possible Ned had seen him and Sadie together tonight, but he decided to call his bluff, anyway. “If you know that for a fact, then why isn’t my grandfather out here looking for me right now, waiting to read me the riot act? Wait, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you ride over to the Corkin ranch and ask Sadie to go for a midnight ride with you?”

When Ned said nothing, Jarod continued his taunting.

“Oh, I forgot. Her father forbid any Bannock to come near her years ago. Have you forgotten he vowed to fill us full of buckshot if he ever caught one of us on his property? Of course, if you can figure out a way to get past Daniel, you can see what kind of reception you’ll receive from her.”

“Damn you to hell,” Ned snarled as Jarod headed for the barn in the distance.

Grandfather would be furious with him for baiting Ned. It was a mistake he shouldn’t have made this close to leaving with Sadie, but his cousin had chosen the wrong moment to confront Jarod, who was too full of adrenaline not to react.

For two cents he’d felt like knocking him cold. Ned had been asking for it for years, always sneaking around to catch him with Sadie. No doubt he planned to tell Daniel in the hope Sadie’s father would finish Jarod off. For his grandparents’ sake, Jarod had never stepped on Corkin property and he’d held back his anger at Ned. But Ned’s obsession with Sadie seemed to be getting out of control.

Worse, Jarod couldn’t get that night years ago out of his mind.

Once he’d removed Chief’s saddle and had brushed him down, he entered the ranch house and found his grandparents in the den. That was the place where they always talked business at the end of the day. It was time to put his plans into action.

Addie hugged him. “I’m glad you’re home. You missed dinner. Are you all right?”

“Yes. Everything is set for our marriage. Thank you for standing behind me in this.”