The Cowboy She Couldn't Forget

“As I told you before, I only wanted to survive,” Vance stressed. “Colt was my only way out of a bad childhood. I’m sorry if you thought you had to compete against me for your father’s attention.”

She shrugged. It all seemed so juvenile now. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Colt made his choices a long time ago and that’s why I can’t get my sisters to come back here.”

“Maybe if they know about the state of the ranch... I mean, it’s part of their heritage, too. Their inheritance. Wouldn’t they want to preserve it?”

Ana shrugged. “So far they haven’t seemed too interested in anything to do with Colt or the ranch.” She raised her gaze to meet his. “The trick is, how do I convince Josie, Tori and Marissa to come home?”

“Tell them the truth. Colt needs them and you can’t do it all. At the least, you need help with his care.” He paused, then asked, “Aren’t they all living in California? You could go see them.”

“Go there?”

He nodded. “If you show up on their doorstep they have to listen to you. They should help you with medical decisions about your father.”

She frowned. “You don’t know my sisters.” This could backfire in her face. “So I think you should go with me.”

* * *

The nurse raised Colt’s bed so he could finally sit up. What he really wanted was to get the hell out of this place. Not an easy task, since he was still weak as a newborn calf and he couldn’t move his right arm.

“Is that better, Mr. Slater?” the nurse, whose name was Erin, asked.

He grunted.

She smiled again as she put the call button next to his good hand. “Press this if you need me. Your daughter will be here, too. Plus, they should be coming to talk to you about your therapy soon.”

He grunted again. What good was that going to do?

“It’s going to take some work to get back in shape, Mr. Slater, but you’ve got a good chance for a full recovery. But you’ll need to work hard.”

As if he hadn’t worked hard all his life.

The nurse turned on the television to a game show, then walked out of the room, leaving him alone.

Most of the time he liked being alone. What choice did he have? Ranch work had filled in a lot of lonely hours. He released a breath and closed his eyes. What was he going to do when he didn’t have the Lazy S anymore? Sit in a nursing home somewhere until he died?

Sadness overtook him as he closed his eyes and thought back over his life. His chest tightened when he thought of Luisa.

He could still picture her as vividly as if it were yesterday. Small and delicate, Luisa Delgado was beautiful with all that thick, black hair and large eyes. Her olive skin was flawless. When he first saw her, at a rodeo, he’d thought she was an angel. When she walked up and talked to him, he figured he’d died and gone to heaven.

After they’d married, weeks later, he’d thanked God every day, and especially when they were blessed with the babies, every one of them a beauty like their mother.

The tightness in Colt’s chest worsened as he recalled the evening he’d come in from the range, so anxious to see his girls. Luisa had been moody and distant of late, with caring for the children. He’d offered to get her someone to help, but she said she wanted to be their mother full-time. Later that night he’d found her crying, and had asked her what was wrong.

She’d only said, “Just make love to me so all the bad things will go away.”

Colt released another sigh, recalling how intense their loving had been that night. When he’d walked into the house the next afternoon, there was a babysitter and his wife was gone. All that he had was a short note, telling him she no longer wanted a life with him and their daughters.

He’d searched for her, wanting to beg her to come home, but he never found her. Then he got the divorce papers. That day his life as he knew it had ended.

* * *

Two days later, Vance sat next to Ana as the plane landed at LAX. He had no idea how he’d gotten roped into going to California.

For one thing, he hated large cities and the crowds. Secondly, if there had been any animosity between him and Ana, it had been worse with the younger sisters. He had to just keep remembering he was doing this for Colt, and for Ana.

The plane taxied to the terminal. “I’m not sure this visit will change anything,” Ana said, feeling a little nervous. Maybe it had something to do with the close quarters. Vance was a big man, and that didn’t leave her much room. “What if Tori and Josie refuse to help?”

“Then we go back to Montana and figure it out on our own.” His hand rested against his jean-covered thigh. She was suddenly intrigued by his long, tapered fingers.

He went on to say, “And we will figure out something. I promise.”

She glanced at his face and saw his sexy smile. Her heart went zing and she had to look away. No! She wasn’t going to even think about this man like that. Okay, so maybe it was normal, since she hadn’t been in a romantic relationship in a while. That was still no excuse to think about Vance Rivers that way. She was no longer that dreamy-eyed teenage girl who wanted his attention. No way was she getting involved with him.

When the plane stopped at the gate, she unfastened her seat belt as Vance stood and reached up into the overhead compartment. He took down her carry-on and his duffel, along with his cowboy hat. He stepped back to let her out into the aisle. The small space made it impossible not to brush up against him. She inhaled his scent and could feel his hard body. Again the zings. Okay, so that hadn’t changed over the years; he still appealed to her, a lot.

Since they had their only luggage with them, they went straight to the car rental booth. Vance got a midsize sedan and started to climb into the driver’s seat.

Ana looked at him. “Can you drive the L.A. freeways?”

He took off his hat and tossed it in back. “We’ll soon find out.”

“Here’s the address for Josie’s business.”

Vance took the paper and entered the address in the GPS, then headed for the 5 Freeway. They ended up in the older section of Los Angeles not far from Griffith Park. It was a two-story stucco building with a Spanish design.

They got out of the car and walked up to the directory on the wall. It didn’t take long to find the right office. The sign on the glass door read Slater Style.

“Catchy name,” Vance said.

“That’s what Josie’s all about.” Ana released a breath. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”

Vance nodded, opened the door and allowed her to step in ahead of him. The small reception area consisted of a desk and chairs that lined the opposite walls. But there wasn’t a soul in sight.

Vance checked his watch. “I guess everyone’s at lunch. Did you tell Josie you were coming?”

“No. I didn’t want her to find an excuse to keep me away.”

Suddenly the door opened and a familiar woman, carrying a take-out food sack, walked in. However, it wasn’t the twin they expected to see here.

Vittoria Slater had dark hair, the same pretty smile as her older sister. “Ana? What are you doing here?”

“Tori?” Ana rushed to her and they hugged tightly. “I think you know my reason for coming to L.A. But what are you doing at Josie’s office?”

“Well, as of a few months ago, it’s my office, too. I quit my job and decided it was time I went out on my own.” She nodded. “Josie offered me office space here. I decided to give my own web-design company a chance.”

Tori had their mother’s coloring, the olive skin, midnight-dark eyes and ebony hair. Her hair was shorter now, cut just below her chin.

Ana was excited for her sister, knowing how unhappy she’d been with her previous company. But Ana was a little sad that she hadn’t shared this with her.

“That’s great. So how is business?”

“Good. Several of my old clients came with me, and I like being my own boss.” Tori finally noticed Vance across the room and she blinked in surprise. “Vance, good to see you.” Her smile faded. “Wait a minute, has something more happened to Colt?”

“No, your dad is still the same,” Vance told her. “I’ll let your sister explain the rest.”

“We need to talk about what to do,” Ana stated. “Dad isn’t going to get better right away, so we’ve got to discuss...some things. The ranch, mainly.”

The anger was evident in Tori’s eyes. “It can dry up and blow away for all I care. I hate that place.”

Ana wasn’t surprised by her sister’s reaction. “Tori, you can’t mean that. It’s our home.”

The younger twin shook her head. “It was just a big, old house to me. Dad was happier when we finally all left.”

Ana wasn’t surprised by the animosity toward their father. “I understand your feelings, but right now, Colt can’t speak, or make decisions for the Lazy S. I’m going to remind you that the ranch has been in our family for three generations.”

Tori began to speak when the office door opened and another sister walked in.

“Hey, Tori, it’s about time—” Josefina Slater stopped and stared. “Ana! What are you doing here?”

“Is there an echo in here?” Ana hugged the other twin. Josie had fair skin with long, golden-brown hair and the Slater blue eyes. Except for the shape of their faces and their smiles, the two twins couldn’t look less alike.

“To answer your question, since you didn’t come home, I thought I’d come here.”

Josie’s gaze went to Vance as he nodded in greeting. “And you felt the need to bring reinforcements? Hi, Vance. It’s been a long time.”

He smiled. “Good to see you again, Josie.”

Ana turned back to her sisters. “Vance is here to help convince you both of the seriousness of the situation.” She wasn’t foolish enough to think this would be easy.

Josie’s frown told her that she wasn’t going to be easily swayed. “Like I told you when you called last week, I have a big event coming up. I can’t leave right now.”

Ana was sad that they wouldn’t come back home for their father. “I understand that, being an event planner, you need to be here, but I’m talking about our father. We’re a family.”

Josie shared a glance with her twin, then said, “It seems you and Vance have it under control. You two seem to make a pretty good team. We’ll give you permission to make any decisions. So there’s no reason you had to come here and try and rope us into going back home.”

And it wasn’t getting any easier, Ana thought. “We came here because we need to make some decisions about Dad.”

“Has something else happened?” Josie asked.

Ana saw the flash of concern and was encouraged. “No, he’s the same, and he’ll start physical therapy soon.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Tori asked.

Good, there was more concern. “The reason we’re here isn’t so much about Dad as it is about the ranch.”

“What do you mean?” Josie asked. “Can’t Vance handle things while Colt recovers?”

He gave a nod, but didn’t say anything.

“It’s more than running the ranch.” Ana started to explain, then said, “I wish Marissa was here, too. She should be in on this.”

“Maybe I can make it happen,” Tori said, and motioned them into her office. Vance, Ana noticed, sat down in the reception area.

Her sister went behind the desk and opened the laptop. “If she’s not out on a location, Marissa should be home.” After several keystrokes on the computer, a picture came up, then the real thing.

“Hey, Tori.”

“Hi, Marissa.”

“What’s going on?”

“Quite a bit, actually. Got someone here who wants to talk you.”

Ana stepped in front of the monitor. She felt tears burning her eyes as her baby sister appeared on the screen, sitting at a desk. “Hi, Marissa.”

“Oh, Ana,” she sighed. “You’re in California?”

She nodded. “I only wish I could see you in person, too. How about I come down to San Diego? If you’ll be around.”

She saw the panic in her youngest sister’s eyes. “Well...maybe, but it’s not a good idea right now. I’m going to be out on a shoot all this week. How long are you planning to be here?”

“I need to get back soon to take care of Dad.”

Marissa hesitated, then asked, “How is he?”

Ana glanced across the office at Vance, happy for his support. “He’s holding his own. That’s why I’m here. Uncle Wade came to see me a few days ago. Since Dad is temporarily incapacitated, there needs to be an executor to take over.”

“So Uncle Wade is the boss now?”

“No, he isn’t. Dad named Vance and me.”

The twins shot a look across the office at him. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Josie said. “He’s always treated Vance like family.”

Vance didn’t say a word for a moment. It was true, Colt had always treated him fairly. Although he wasn’t happy about the man’s treatment of his daughters.

“Seems I’m the only one who knows about running a ranch,” he said eventually.

“That’s not our fault,” Tori retorted, then all the girls began to argue. That was when Vance put his fingers in his mouth and let go with a loud whistle. It got their attention.

“I didn’t ask for the job,” he told them. “But since I have it, I’m going to do everything possible to keep the ranch.”

Josie looked at Ana. “What does he mean?”

“It means the ranch is in financial trouble. Big trouble.” Ana told them about the amount of money owed for the lease, and their six-month extension. “So we need to come up with some ideas.”

“Dad doesn’t have the money?” Marissa asked.

Ana shook her head, knowing this wasn’t going as well as she’d hoped.

“Well, we don’t, either,” Tori stated. “Everything we have is tied up in the business here.”

“It’s not only money we want,” Vance said. “We need some ideas to add income to the ranch so this doesn’t happen again. So tell me, is the Lazy S important enough to you sisters to help save it? Can we count on your support?” After giving them his two cents’ worth, Vance turned and walked out of the office.

Tori sighed. “I have to say that cowboy of yours sure knows how to get a woman’s attention.”

“He’s not my cowboy or anything else.”

Josie looked at her twin and they both grinned. Then their baby sister’s voice said via the computer, “If you say so, sis.”

Ana was frustrated, having to defend herself. “I do say so. Vance and I have to work together.”

Tori shook her head. “Too bad. You’ve had that guy tied into knots since you grew breasts.”

What? Ana opened her mouth to deny it, but refused to add fuel to the fire. They had other problems. “We need to direct our attention to the ranch.”

There was silence and Ana saw the confused looks on her sisters’s faces. Of course they were torn. Colt never appreciated anything his daughters had ever done. Tori and Josie had been top students all during school. They’d even won academic scholarships. Marissa had been a star athlete, but over the years their dad had said little in the form of praise or encouragement to any of them. So why should they go back to Montana now?

Ana couldn’t make them, but didn’t want them to have any regrets, either.

“Okay, sisters,” she began. “If you won’t do it for our dad, I have another idea.” She glanced at the twins, then at Marissa on the computer screen. “Let’s do it for ourselves. Let’s show Colt Slater how his girls can run the ranch.”

CHAPTER FOUR

THREE HOURS LATER, Ana kissed her sisters goodbye and she and Vance left the Slater Style office. She regretted that she hadn’t been able to convince them to come home.

She sat in the passenger seat as Vance drove them to the airport hotel. “Go ahead and tell me how badly I handled things.”

“No, I’m not saying a thing. Your sisters will have to decide on their own if they want to come home.” He stopped at a traffic light, and his dark gaze locked with hers. “I understand how they feel. I’ve watched for years how Colt treated you girls.”

Ana froze. “But you never did anything.”

“I can’t say I liked it, but I was a kid, too. I liked having a roof over my head, food in my stomach.”

Ana remembered the night when Vance had showed up at the supper table, a skinny teenager with a lot of attitude. At first, she felt sorry for him, knowing he had been beaten by his drunken father. Their dad had never laid a hand on them, but it was almost worse when he directed all his positive attention to Vance. It should have come to his daughters.

“We both can agree that Colt never had a sweet disposition,” Vance went on. “Truth be known, he doesn’t deserve your and your sisters’ loyalty. But if I know you girls, you inherited a fair amount of stubbornness and determination from that man. You four aren’t about to let the Lazy S fail.”

Before Ana could disagree, he pulled up in the circular drive of the large chain hotel. The valet came up to the car and opened her door. “Good evening, ma’am.”

She got out and thanked him, while Vance popped the trunk and another attendant helped with the bags.

They arrived at the front desk. A pretty blonde with Jessica printed on her name tag smiled at Vance. Why wouldn’t she? He was a handsome man. Dressed in a pair of cowboy boots and creased jeans, he would turn any woman’s head. Ana glanced away, hating that she wasn’t immune, either.

He placed his hat on the counter. “Hello, ma’am. We need a couple of rooms for tonight.”

“Do you have a reservation?”

“I’m sorry, we don’t. This was an unexpected trip.”

The woman frowned and began to search the computer screen. “We’re pretty full tonight.”

His dark gaze never wavered as he moved closer. “I’m sure you can find something.”

Jessica sighed and went back to her search. “Oh, good. I do have a one-bedroom suite available.”

Before Ana could refuse to spend the extra money and the night with this man, Vance said, “We’ll take it.” He pulled out his credit card, and before Ana recovered, they were riding up in the elevator.

Vance held his breath as they stepped out onto their floor. He was surprised that Ana hadn’t fussed about sharing a room. Of course, he hadn’t given her much choice. He found their suite and slid the key card into the slot, then pushed open the door and allowed Ana to step in. His body immediately responded to her closeness. He caught her scent as she brushed by him. He sucked in a breath and gave himself a quick talking to, then followed her inside.

The room was fairly spacious. There was a sofa, which was no doubt going to be his bed. He went into the next room to find an inviting king-size bed. Don’t even go there. He turned and walked away from the temptation.

“You take the bed. I’ll sleep out here.”

Ana shook her head. “You’re too tall for the sofa. You take the bed.”

He didn’t want to fight about this. “Do you really think you’re going to win this argument?”

He could tell she was thinking about it. “Fine. Sleep wherever you want.”

What he wanted was not an option. He went to the phone and pressed the button for room service. “What do you want to eat?”

“I don’t care.” She rolled her suitcase into the bedroom and closed the door.

“It’s going to be a long night,” he breathed, then said into the phone, “I’d like to order two steaks, medium rare, with baked potatoes and green salad.”

They told him thirty minutes. Restless, he went to the mini bar and opened it to find beverages. He bypassed the bottles of beer for a soda. Opening it, he went to the window and drew back the curtains to reveal the millions of lights of Los Angeles. He suddenly missed the isolation of the ranch. Not many lights out there, just millions of stars in the sky.

He turned and found Ana standing across the room. She was still wearing her dark slacks and print blouse, but she was barefoot. “I called the hospital. Dad is resting comfortably. That’s a good thing, since he starts therapy tomorrow. I’d like to be there.”

“Not sure Colt will be happy about that. I doubt he wants anyone to see him weak.”

“Well, he’s going to have to get used to it, because he doesn’t have a choice.”

Vance couldn’t help but smile. Ana was definitely her father’s daughter.

“I also want to apologize to you.”

He liked her being feisty; it helped him keep a safe distance from her. “For what?”

“For arguing about the room. We’re both too tired to go looking for another hotel. We’re adults and can handle sharing a space for one night.”

He nodded, but wasn’t so sure. He hadn’t been able to spend much time with Ana in the last few years. He’d hoped that would dim his feelings for her. No such luck. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Seems we’ve been thrown together in an awkward situation. It’s been years since we’ve spent any time together. I can see where you’d feel we’re strangers.”

She fought a grin. “Yeah, you’re the brother I never wanted.”

He’d never felt brotherly about her. “Was that why you pretty much hated my guts?”

She frowned. “Hate is a strong word. Angry, maybe, because of the attention you got from Dad.”

“I wish I could have helped that situation.”

Ana shook her head. “No one crossed Colt Slater.”

Not true. Vance had one time, when he’d broken that promise to stay away from Colt’s daughters. Ana had been the only one who tempted him, that day in the barn when he’d kissed her.

He shook away the memory. “I wish I could have helped, anyway.”

A knock sounded on the door. “That’s fast.” He answered it, expecting supper, but found a bellman with an ice bucket holding a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“Mr. Rivers. Compliments of the management,” he said, and waited as Vance stepped aside for him to enter the room. The man set the wine next to the table and began to uncork the bottle. He poured a small amount in a glass and held it out to Vance, who took a taste and nodded. “Very good.”

“Thank you, sir. It’s from a local winery just north of Los Angeles.”

As he filled both glasses, Vance took out some bills and handed them to the waiter, who then left.

“Seems you made an impression on a certain desk clerk,” Ana said.

Vance picked up one glass and handed it to her. “Jessica is the assistant manager.”

Ana hesitated, but accepted it. “I’m not much of a drinker.”

“Nor am I, but I think tonight one glass wouldn’t hurt.” He raised his glass to her in a toast, then took another drink. “Come see the L.A. stars.”

Ana wasn’t sure if drinking alcohol was a good idea, but she didn’t have to go anywhere. She walked to the big window. “Where?”

He pointed downward. “They’re down there. See all the lights.”

She smiled, aware of the big man standing very near to her. “Oh, my. That’s a lot of houses.”

“It looks crowded, too. How do they stand being so close together?”

Ana took another sip, enjoying the taste as the liquid slid down easily. She sipped again and her body began to relax. “And the noise? How do they stand all the noise and traffic?”

He shrugged. “I have no idea. I feel I was pretty lucky to end up at the Lazy S.”

“I know.” She faced him, feeling overwhelmed by everything that had happened the past week. “I don’t want to lose the ranch, Vance. I can’t.”

He looked down at her. “I promise, Ana. I won’t let that happen.”

“So you’ll help me?”

She realized that his gaze dropped to her mouth. And she suddenly remembered another time when he looked at her that same way. Right before he kissed her. “You don’t even have to ask, bright eyes.”

His deep, husky voice caused a warm shiver to rush down her spine. She took another sip and suddenly felt light-headed, not knowing if it was the wine or the man. She reached out and touched his forearm to steady herself. Big mistake, looking into his dark eyes. “I like when you call me that.” Did she really say that out loud?

Vance frowned. “I think you need to eat something.” He took their wineglasses and set them on the table. “Come to think about it, you didn’t finish much of your lunch.”