New Year, New Man: A Kiss on Crimson Ranch / The Dance Off / The Right Mr. Wrong

“Oh, honey.” Sara sat down next to the bed and wrapped one arm around the girl’s shaking shoulder. Claire stayed stiff and then, with a sigh, sank against Sara.

“It’s me,” she repeated.

“It’s absolutely not you.” Sara gave Claire’s arm a gentle squeeze. “I know for a fact that your dad loves you very much. He works so hard so he can make the ranch into a home for the two of you.”

“It’s not going to be much of home when you sell it,” Claire said miserably.

Touché, Sara thought with a mental groan. “Whatever happens,” she answered without addressing Claire’s comment, “he wants to be with you. He’s trying to do what’s best because of you.”

“He doesn’t even like to be around me.”

Sara squeezed her eyes shut, thinking of the love, longing and confusion in Josh’s eyes when he looked at his daughter. “How long did your dad ride bulls?”

“I don’t know. Forever,” Claire mumbled. “I think since he was like seventeen or something.”

“That’s only a few years older than you. And how old was he when you were born?”

“Eighteen. My mom was, too.”

“Yeah, well. Take it from someone who knows—young parents don’t always know what they’re doing. Your dad is trying. That has to count for something.”

“Was your mom young when you were born?”

“Nineteen.” Claire sniffed, and Sara dug in her pocket for a tissue. “Here, use this.”

Claire blew hard then said, “She’s really pretty. Your mom. She came to the ranch a few weeks ago. Tried to kick Dad and me out.”

“That sounds like Mom.”

“Are you close with her?”

Sara laughed softly. “Not exactly. You’re changing the subject.”

“I’m good at that.” Claire shifted away from Sara and smiled a little.

“Me, too.” Sara reached out a finger and ran it along Claire’s cheek. “Have you talked to your dad about how hard it’s been here for you?”

Claire shook her head. “I can’t.”

Sara watched her without answering.

“I don’t want to make it a big deal. I guess it’s not that bad,” Claire said with a sigh. “I mean, I like the mountains. And how the air smells. Like it’s...”

“So clean it almost hurts,” Sara finished.

“Exactly.” Claire picked at an invisible spot on her jeans. “And Brandon’s okay.”

“The kid who helps your dad in the barn?”

“He’s fifteen. His family owns the property across the highway. He’s kind of nice.”

“And cute.”

Claire looked up, pink coloring her cheeks as she met Sara’s gaze. “Do you think so?”

“He’s got those great big blue eyes, right?”

Claire sighed. “And that smile. He’ll actually talk to me. But he’s got a girlfriend, I think.”

“You can still hang out when he’s here. Just friends. I bet your dad would love an extra hand in the barn.”

“I don’t know anything about horses.”

“Just like he doesn’t know anything about what teenage girls are into. It’s up to you, but I know your dad does care about you. He wants you around. That counts for something. Maybe if you seemed interested in something he knew about, it could help with that bonding you mentioned.”

“I wouldn’t be in the way?”

Sara smiled. “April and I get in the way. Ryan is always in the way. You’re the one Josh wants around.”

“I think he wants you around, too,” Claire said softly, then asked, “Is Ryan your boyfriend?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Nope.”

“Do you want one?”

Josh’s face came to mind, and Sara tried to ignore the shiver that curled through her belly at the thought of his mouth on hers. “I’ve given up on men.”

Claire studied her, looking suddenly older than her thirteen years. “Aren’t you a little young for that?”

“I’m twenty-eight. That’s like one-foot-in-the-grave time in Hollywood.”

Claire nodded as if she understood. “My mom turned thirty-one last year. That’s when she started to freak out. Party more. She gets Botox and some other wacky stuff.” Claire stood and looked in the mirror above the dresser, pinching two fingers to the bridge of her nose. “She said I could have my nose done as a sweet sixteen gift. That’ll be cool. I might look a little more like her and she’ll...”

Sara turned Claire to face her. “Listen to me. You are perfect the way you are. Plastic surgery isn’t going to change your relationship with your mother.”

“You don’t know—”

“I do know. I spent years jumping through hoops to win my mother’s approval. Guess what? Never happened. Maybe it never will. I hope it does for you, Claire. I hope your mom gets healthy and realizes how precious you are to her. Until then, I know your dad loves you. Even if he isn’t great at showing you how much.”

“I just want to fit in here,” Claire said miserably, her green eyes, so like Josh’s, welling again.

“I know, sweetie.”

“Would you take me shopping sometime?” Claire asked. “None of my clothes are right for Colorado, you know?”

Sara thought about the women in Feathers and Floss. “Are you looking for Wranglers and studded belt buckles?”

“No.” Claire laughed. “Just clothes to hang out in. If you don’t have time, I understand.”

Sara gave her a quick hug. “I have time. How about before the weekend? I’ll drive us down to Denver. We can make it a girls’ day out. Go to lunch. Get our nails done.”

“Really?”

“Of course, I may only be able to afford one sock, but we’ll do our best.”

“Dad has money. I could ask if we can use his credit card.”

Sara almost choked from laughing so hard. “I bet he’d love that.” She pushed the hair off Claire’s innocent face. “I pay my own way. But, heck, yeah, we’ll get his card for you. A shopping trip is one thing dads are always good for.”

“Was your dad good for that kind of stuff?”

Sara’s father had been a nameless stuntman on one of her mother’s B movies. An on-set fling for Rose, who hadn’t even told him she was pregnant and had never shared his identity with Sara.

“I don’t know my father.”

“Oh. I guess it’s good that Josh wants me to live with him anyway.”

“He doesn’t like it when you call him Josh.”

Claire grinned. “I know.”

“How much did you see him before this summer?”

“A couple of times a year when he had time off from the tour. He’d come to my school and take me out to dinner. He sent me presents from the road. Lots of stuffed animals and things like that. I’d never been to the rodeo until...” Claire wrapped her arms tight around her chest. “The accident was my fault. Did you know that?”

Sara had read a half-dozen articles about the horrific accident that had ended Josh’s career. It still made her sick to her stomach to think about the images she’d seen on YouTube. But none of the reports had mentioned Claire. “Why do you say that?”

“I was there.” Claire scrunched up her face. “Mom was having a bad time. It was winter break and she was stuck with me. She found out there was an event a few days before Christmas and flew us both down there. I think she wanted to dump me with him for the holidays. She didn’t tell him we were coming. Right before he came out of the gate, he looked up and saw me. It broke his concentration.” Claire drew in a shaky breath. “They let the bull go right at that moment and...” Her voice broke off as she shook her head. “The whole arena was silent when it happened. I thought he was dead. The bull was so big and it landed right on him.”

“Claire.” Sara drew the girl into another tight hug. Sara had been through some bad stuff as a kid, but this poor girl gave her a run for her money in the bad-childhood department.

“They took him to the hospital straight from the event. I didn’t see him again until he showed up on the last day of spring semester.” Claire wiped her cheek against Sara’s sleeve. “If I hadn’t been there, he’d still be riding.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Sara whispered against the girl’s head. “It was a terrible accident. But not your fault. Not your fault.”

“But I—”

“Have you and your dad talked about what happened?”

Claire didn’t answer.

“I’m sure he doesn’t blame you.”

“He should.”

“You need to talk to him.”

“No,” Claire whispered. “I don’t want to hear him tell me I ruined his life.”

* * *

Josh sagged onto the wall outside his daughter’s bedroom and swallowed against the bile that rose in his throat. He’d come to find her minutes ago but stopped short when he’d heard her conversation with Sara.

He didn’t blame Claire for the accident. His break in concentration was his own fault. He’d been riding bulls long enough to know his focus should be zeroed in on the thousand pounds of angry animal between his legs. But when he’d seen Claire, he’d been thrown. Literally and figuratively.

Apparently, they’d both paid a price for his lapse in focus.

In his mind, he’d hoped she hadn’t seen much or understood how bad it had been. Hoped her mother would whisk her away before she realized how serious it was. Jennifer had probably been too tipsy to understand the extent of the damage. But not Claire.

He had a hazy memory of trying to smile even as he felt his leg shatter, thinking that if his daughter could see him he didn’t want to frighten her. He hadn’t wanted her to know how scared he had been. Even now, that thought kept him rooted to his spot in the hall when his heart knew he should be the one with his arms around her, comforting and soothing her.

He’d waited until he could hide his injury before he’d come to see her, thinking that would be easier for both of them. Since he’d brought her to the ranch, sometimes he’d catch her staring at his right knee, especially toward the end of the day when exhaustion and overuse made it more difficult to hide his slight limp.

He wanted to be strong for her, not weak and half-broken. Bending forward, he rubbed at his leg, willing the pain to go away. He straightened and thumped on the wall as he walked to the end of the hall. “Claire,” he called, coming back toward her room. “Are you up here?”

He made some more noise before poking his head in her room. She sat on the edge of the bed with Sara next to her. While she smiled at him, her eyes were red and puffy from her tears. “Hey, Dad,” she said cheerfully, a sure sign that things were very wrong.

Sara watched him as if his face gave away the fact that he’d been eavesdropping. Impossible, he thought, but kept his gaze on Claire. “It’s a gorgeous day,” he said to his daughter. “I thought we could take an ATV up to Bitter Creek Pass, check on the trails and maybe have lunch.”

Her smile faded. “I don’t think so.”

He took a breath and made his tone light. “Come on. It’ll be fun. Just you and me and a ton of horsepower.”

She scrunched up her nose. “Those things are so loud and they go really fast.”

“That’s supposed to be the fun part,” he said, trying not to sound frustrated.

He let his eyes drift to Sara, who looked at him with a hint of sympathetic smile. “Can I come, too?” she asked.

As much as his body ached to be near Sara, part of him was angry his daughter had confided her pain to someone besides him. And he wanted her to know it. “There’s only room for two on the ATVs, Hollywood.”

“Einstein in a Stetson, aren’t you? Thanks for pointing that out. I was thinking I’d have my own four-wheeler.”

Her attitude made him grin despite himself. “You think you can handle it?”

She matched his smile. “Oh, yeah. I can handle it.”

Claire cleared her throat, and Sara turned that million-watt grin on his daughter. “What do you say? I bet I can beat you and your old man to the top of the pass.”

“He’s knows a lot about ATVs.”

Sara tossed her hair. “I’m not scared of his ego.”

Claire gave a tiny giggle. “We’re going to kick your butt,” she said quietly.

“Oh, smack talk,” Sara said with a loud laugh. “Guess the cowboy isn’t the only one in the Travers family with a healthy ego. I love it. I’ll help April pack a lunch while you two get the equipment ready.”

Claire popped up off the bed and took two steps before Josh saw her realize her part of the deal. She slowed, dragging one bare foot across the carpet. “I guess that would be okay.”

Josh didn’t wait for her to change her mind. “Let’s go, then,” he said, hoping he sounded enthusiastic and not as scared as he was to mess up this chance with her. “We’ll make sure Sara gets the slow one,” he added in a stage whisper.

“Dad, that’s not fair.” Claire wiggled a finger at him.

“Right. Sorry.”

“I mean, we’re going to beat her bad enough as it is.” Claire’s eyes danced as she grinned at him and his heart skipped a beat. Her smile was so like his sister, Beth’s. A smile he missed like he missed riding.

“You bet we are,” he agreed, and motioned her to lead him out the door.

As she walked past, he met Sara’s gaze. She arched a brow.

“Thank you,” he mouthed.

Instead of the sassy comeback he expected, she only nodded and shooed him after Claire.

Chapter Six

“Get her!” Claire yelled in his ear over the roar of the four-wheeler’s motor. “She’s killing us.”

Josh smiled as he hit the gas. He watched Sara’s jeans stretch tight across her perfect bottom as she leaned into a turn on the narrow trail. He couldn’t muster one bit of temper at getting his butt kicked by Hollywood Barbie. He was simply having too much fun racing up the mountain with his daughter’s laughter filling him and her small arms wrapped around his waist as though she was totally comfortable in the moment. As though she trusted him.

He pushed hard on the throttle because the one thing Claire trusted him to do right now was catch up to Sara.

This day was another revelation about Sara. He’d expected her to be hesitant and unsure on the ATV, since she said she’d never ridden one before. But after a few minutes of instruction and warm-up, she took off on the dirt road that led from the property to the forest service trail as though she’d spent her life on the mountain.

Between the pain in his leg and Claire’s extra weight behind him, it had taken Josh longer to find his groove. By that time, Sara was at least three hundred yards ahead of them.

She looked back over her shoulder, and her grin widened, hair escaping its ponytail under the helmet to whirl around her neck. He felt something unfamiliar around his stomach as he followed her, the powerful ATV vibrating under him, and realized it was happiness—an emotion he hadn’t experienced in far too long.

Most of his last two years on the PBR tour had been spent defending his title and reputation from a new crop of upstarts willing to risk life and limb for a steady paycheck and an adrenaline rush. Green kids, the same as Josh had been when he’d first gone pro, with nothing to hold him down or back in his quest for fame and what little fortune there was to be had in the arena. Years on the back of a bull had taken its toll on his mind and body. He still felt the repercussions as he maneuvered around a fallen log, his back screaming as his knee throbbed.

“We’re gaining on her,” Claire yelled in his ear. “Go, Dad, go! You can do it!”

A surge of power coursed through him. Who needed Advil when he had his daughter’s confidence?

“Hold on tight,” he answered, and took a sharp left onto a single-track trail invisible to anyone unfamiliar with this mountain.

They sped along rocks and exposed roots. Hundred-year-old pine trees rose on either side of the trail, the smell of the woods thick and warm on this beautiful afternoon. It reminded him of all the reasons he’d come here with his daughter, why he believed—with enough time and patience—this place could heal them both.

Claire let out a delighted screech and Josh’s smile spread. “Almost there.”

He made another turn and the forest cleared. They raced into a high country meadow, bathed in sunlight. The Rocky Mountain peaks towered in the background, their tips still covered in snow. At this altitude, Josh still felt a slight chill to the air as he slowed the ATV in the middle of the clearing.

Claire hopped off and looked around. “We did it,” she screamed.

At the same moment, Sara’s four-wheeler came into view. She stood up from her seat as she got closer, shock and amusement clear on her face.

Skidding to a stop in front of them, she cut the engine and sank back onto the machine, gasping for breath. “How in the world did you beat me?” she asked with a laugh.

“Shortcut,” he answered simply.

Claire danced a circle around Sara’s ATV. “We won, we won,” she chanted, and did a complicated series of dance moves that made Josh smile.

“Nice work.” Sara gave Josh a small nod as she climbed off the machine. “You did good.”

Another surprise.

Josh didn’t often encounter good sportsmanship, so he expected at least a little pouting or fuss. Nothing. It was like she didn’t care a bit about winning. For so long Josh had been focused on competing it was hard to change gears and enjoy something just for the fun of it.

Sara seemed to appreciate his daughter’s buoyant mood as much as he did. Claire wrapped her arms around her. “That was awesome!”

“It sure was.” She released Claire after a long hug, and Josh watched her take in the scene in front of them. She sucked in a breath. “Wow. This is amazing.”

“Yes, it is,” Josh agreed, but continued to watch her.

* * *

Sensation rippled across Sara’s stomach as she felt his gaze. She was careful not to look at him, afraid of what she’d see in his stormy sea eyes and what her own might reveal. She prided herself on staying in control of her emotions, and had the hard-won walls around her heart to prove it. But she’d left that self-possession somewhere on the mountain and needed a few moments to regain it.

She turned a circle to see the full meadow view, then took another deep breath and closed her eyes. Her whole body tingled from the excitement of the ride. Yep, she told herself, it was an adrenaline rush and nothing more. Not her reaction to Josh.

Not at all.

It had been years since she’d let herself go all out like she had on the mountain. She’d left the world and its troubles behind and simply felt free.

When was the last time she’d truly felt free? She honestly couldn’t answer that question.

Still not trusting her emotions, she busied herself removing a backpack from the rack of the ATV. “I’ve got sandwiches and drinks here,” she called over her shoulder.

“I’m spreading the blanket,” Claire answered from the middle of the meadow.

“Is everything okay?”

Josh’s voice so close to her made Sara practically leap out of her skin. “Good gravy,” she said, thumping her heart with one hand. “Sneak up on a person much?”

“Avoid eye contact much?” he countered.

Sara knew a challenge when she heard it but didn’t rise to the bait. “I’m trying to help out, you know, get your kid fed.”

He spun her around to look at him and lifted her sunglasses onto her head. Her eyelids fluttered shut as his finger traced her eyelashes. “You left off the heavy makeup today. It’s nice.”

She batted at his hand. “I should have known you’d be a sucker for plain Janes. Trust me, I won’t tempt you again.”

“There is nothing plain about you, Hollywood.” His voice was a caress that made her insides warm and gooey. She swayed just a little. “Besides which, you tempt me each and every time I lay eyes on you. Now, tell me what’s going on.”

“Nothing,” she said, an obvious lie. “I’m just a little light-headed, probably the altitude. Food will help.”

“This is why I want the ranch to work.”

She stared at him. “To make people sick?”

His mouth twitched but his eyes remained serious. “To take them out of their comfort zone,” he said, dropping his arms to spread his hands wide. “These mountains change people. Inspire them. Make them see the world and their place in it in a different light. Sometimes there’s no other way.”

She nodded, although she didn’t know if he was talking generally or about her in particular. Either way, she understood down to her soul what he meant.

“I want to do that for the people coming here. When someone books a trip with us, it’s not like heading to Disney World or Fort Lauderdale at spring break. It means something. To them. To me.”

“I get it,” she answered automatically, taken aback at his emotion.

“Do you? Do you understand how precious these mountains are? How few truly wild places there are left in this country? I want to celebrate that, help people appreciate it.”

“A cowboy environmentalist?” Her lame attempt to lighten the moment fell flat.

He shook his head in clear frustration. “Do you think your mother’s fast-talking boyfriend is going to give a rat’s behind about the beauty of this place when he builds his luxury condos?”

“Rich people can have breakthroughs, too, you know.”

“Not with what he has planned. Have you seen them? The plans?”

“No.”

“He’s going to level the trees that surround your grandmother’s house. Put in a competition-size swimming pool under a huge bubble. Sure, he’ll have a couple miles of paved trails—wouldn’t want to scuff your running shoes on actual dirt.”

“He’s not going to demolish the entire forest,” she argued.

“It changes things, Sara. Crimson is special. We don’t need another Aspen-type playground for the rich and famous. Can’t you see that?”

She did see it, but the knowledge left her in a precarious position. “What I see is that I need money and Richard Hamish has it. I haven’t sold yet. You still have time, the entire season, to line up financing. But if not, you know what I have to do.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Spoken like a true Californian.”

“Was that the reason you let me come today, to prove some kind of point?” Despite her rising anger, her heart hammered in her chest anticipating his answer.

He stared at her, then sighed and said, “No. I wanted you to see this because it’s amazing and breathtaking. I thought you’d like it. Both you and Claire.” Reaching out, his thumb trailed across the skin exposed above the collar of her V-neck sweatshirt. “I wanted you here.”

She itched for a fight, a reason to funnel her traitorous emotions into anger. She needed to pull away, from this man and his daughter, from the house that her grandmother had loved. The place that, despite her best efforts, Sara had quickly come to consider home. The honesty of his response and the warmth in his gaze melted away her defenses, and she felt herself more drawn to him than ever.

Her hand lifted to his, her fingers rubbing his calloused palm. “Let’s focus on that, okay? Just for now. Can you do that? We’ll have lunch, make Claire happy and deal with the rest later.”

Her own version of a peace offering.

He lifted her fingers to his mouth and rubbed his lips across her knuckles. Butterflies flitted along her spine in response. “Later,” he murmured.

Somehow she didn’t think he was talking about their problems.

Which scared her even more.

* * *

Sara left Josh and Claire in the equipment garage two hours later and brought the backpacks into the kitchen to clean up. The afternoon had been perfect, relaxed and easy, with dad and daughter actually having a real conversation about Claire’s homesickness for her old friends. Josh had suggested setting up Skype on the office computer so Claire could stay in touch, which had made Claire happy.

Neither had brought up Claire’s mother or her dubious summer activities. The question remained what would happen once school started. But that was another issue to deal with later. And not hers, she reminded herself.

She couldn’t quite wipe the grin off her face and was relieved April didn’t seem to be around to ask questions about the afternoon. She bent forward to put the leftover apples back into the fridge.