The Rancher's Homecoming

“Are we here?” Rosie shifted in her seat, turning her head so fast her red curls slapped her cheeks. “Are we at Grampy’s?”

“Almost.” He never should have told her they were going to visit her grandfather. It seemed every word out of Rosie’s mouth in the two weeks since Ty had delivered his invitation of doom had been to ask about Maura’s father. Every word was like a knife to Chance’s heart.

He couldn’t care less what Lochlan Montgomery thought of him. But if Ty was right, if the old man was dying, Lochlan deserved to see his only grandchild once before he met his maker. If for no other reason than it was what Maura would want.

But if the old man did or said one thing that gave Rosie a moment’s sadness or despair...

Chance slipped out of the van, his sneakered feet hitting the dirt road with enough force that dust immediately covered him. The silence hurt his ears as it shouted its welcome. He stretched, groaned and waited for his muscles to stop screaming at him as he tried to shake feeling back into his extremities.

The midafternoon sun was still moving toward its peak, but was beating down hard enough to remind him that he—and Rosie—would be needing hats. He’d left his Stetson—the one Big E had given him on high school graduation—on his bed when he left the ranch for good. No doubt one of his brothers had found use for it. It would fit one of them better, anyway. “You want to get out for a while?” He rounded the minivan and slid the door open, only to find Rosie standing on the floorboards. She grinned up at him. Chance bit back a sigh as he reached down and picked her up and got bopped in the face by Clyde. “When did you start unbuckling your belt?”

Rosie grinned and hugged Clyde against her chest. “Surprise!”

“You are full of them.” He pressed a kiss against the side of her head and lowered her to the ground. “Let’s not do that again, okay?” The second her feet hit the dirt, he swore the earth quaked. She darted to the fence line and stared out at the endless pasture dotted with horses and cattle.

Chance lost his breath. His little girl barely reached the middle section of barbed wire, but the sight of her standing before the Montana sky, the Rockies framing her in purple-hazed perfection, her new jeans and bright yellow shirt shining and the sunlight catching against her hair, he wondered where the time had gone. Had it really been almost five years since the doctors had first set her in his trembling hands? Chance took a long, deep breath. Whatever the next few days, weeks or years brought, this was what he needed to remember. This moment. This sight.

Not that he was already counting the minutes until he could leave. Frustration edged its way around the calm. What was he thinking, letting Ty goad him into coming back? There was nothing for him here. Nothing except bitter memories of a place where he never belonged and a family he’d never fit into. Forget being a square peg in a round hole. For Chance, he’d always felt like a banjo in an orchestra. How many times had his brothers and grandfather teased him that he was, in fact, the worst cowboy to ever saddle a horse?

Now, as irony often snagged the last word, it would be up to him what happened with the place? As far as he was concerned, they should sell to the highest bidder and be done with it. It would ease the financial pressures building up on him and possibly help him decide which school Rosie would attend next year. Although Felix had high hopes this place would reignite that creativity he’d been thirsting for.

Yep. He stared out at the emptiness of the land. They needed to sell.

Which meant this was going to be a very short visit.

Besides, he had three weeks before Felix was back from making the rounds on his search for new talent. If Chance had new material by then, his star just might rise again. If he didn’t...

His career would be over.

The land stared back at him, accusing. He didn’t want the memories. Not of his brothers, or the parents he barely remembered, not to mention his grandfather, who had only berated or ignored Chance’s interest in music. He certainly didn’t want to think of Maura and how she was as ingrained here as much as she was in his heart.

But it was the thought of his late wife that loosened the tension in his jaw. For an instant, he could all but see her, red hair flowing behind her, as she rode Fairweather, her favorite horse, across the rolling hills, her laughter ringing in the air like wind chimes in a summer storm. Huh.

Chance blinked and pulled out the notebook he kept close at hand. He scribbled down the thoughts, on the off chance they might lead to something productive. Something that would ease Felix’s doom-and-gloom protestations that Chance’s career might never resurge.

“Daddy, look!” Rosie’s cry shot him out of his reverie. He looked up to find Rosie pointing to a horse and rider in the distance headed toward them. A smaller animal trotted alongside in a scene straight out of a Zane Grey novel.

Chance joined Rosie at the fence, his pulse hammering as he debated which brother would be the first to welcome him home. Not that he expected much of a welcome. Jon had his own organic spread, the JB Bar Ranch, nearby. Ethan was just getting his veterinary practice off the ground. Ben was currently lawyering with his new wife, Rachel, and living at the Double T, and Ty...well, Ty knew better than to be the welcoming committee.

As the horse drew closer, the pounding of hoofbeats vibrated across the land. If he squinted, he could make out the rider’s features. Along the edges of the worn tan hat, a flash of red caught the sun. His mouth went dry as the rider came to a halt on the other side of the fence. For a long moment, they stared at one another, Chance nearly falling into the bottomless green eyes so reminiscent of Rosie’s and Maura’s. But while the color was the same, the independent, determined spark could only belong to one person.

“Hello, Katie.” Chance rested his hand on Rosie’s curl-topped head as his heart skipped a beat.

“Chance.” Her smile seemed a bit strained, her freckled face a bit pale, and her hands gripped the reins hard enough that her knuckles had gone white. Apparently he wasn’t the only one apprehensive about his homecoming. The black-and-white Australian cattle dog woofed and quirked its head as if suggesting introductions were in order.

“Aunt Katie?” Rosie looked up at him.

Chance nodded and drew Rosie against him as Katie Montgomery bounded off her horse and removed her leather gloves. She stuffed them in the back pocket of her snug, worn jeans and walked toward them. “Well, who do we have here?” She narrowed her eyes and leaned over to peer closer at Rosie, the trepidation on her face fading as she looked at her niece in person for the first time.

“It’s us, Aunt Katie!” Rosie broke free of Chance’s hold and darted forward. “It’s me, Rosie and Daddy!”

“Careful, Little Miss!” Katie chided as Rosie wedged herself under the bottom line of wire.

Katie gave Chance a quick glance before she dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms tight around his daughter. “Oh, Rosie.” Katie dropped kisses on both of Rosie’s cheeks before hugging her again. “I’m so happy to see you. I’m so glad you’re here. Careful, Hip.” She brushed a quick hand over the dog’s back in reassurance.

Chance saw the tears in Katie’s eyes before she squeezed them shut. She may have had her older sister’s eyes and the same fire-red hair, but the resemblance ended there. Where Maura had been soft around the edges, girly, flirty, tall and willowy, Katie was compact, edgy, curvy and all cowgirl. Maura’s dreams had been focused on being anywhere but Montana, while Katie had been firmly situated on Blackwell land, working alongside her father for as far back as Chance could remember. She loved this place just as much—and probably more—than any Blackwell brother ever had. She’d bled, sweated and worked for it. When they sold the place, he hoped the new owners would realize the prize they had in her and keep her on.

But for now, all he could do was watch as Katie and Rosie giggled and hugged and giggled some more. To see his daughter this giddy made the excruciating drive worth it.

“You’re as beautiful as you are in your pictures.” Katie rocked Rosie back and forth until the little girl squirmed. Rosie knocked Katie’s hat off her head as Katie got to her feet and swung Rosie around in a circle. Katie’s dog barked and hopped along with them.

“Daddy said you’d be happy to see me.” Rosie looked back at Chance when she was back on her feet. “You said so, right, Daddy?”

“I did.” Chance barely recognized his own voice. Seeing them together, he couldn’t help but imagine the same scene with Maura. Maura, who had died just before Rosie turned three. Maura, who, once the chemo had taken its talon-sharp hold, hadn’t been able to swing her daughter in her arms or smother a giggling little girl with kisses. But Katie wasn’t Maura. As his lips pulled into a wide, genuine smile, the regret melted away. She wasn’t Maura. No one ever would be. And that, he realized, was okay.

“Welcome home.” Katie grinned, but he suspected it was more for Rosie than him.

He glanced at his minivan, which had yet to cross the border onto the family property. “Not quite.”

“Close enough.” Katie shrugged. “Ty wasn’t sure when you’d be arriving. Or if you’d show up at all.”

“I said I’d come.” Chance cleared his throat. “Unlike some people, I keep my word when I give it.”

“Should have known you’d arrive with your foot in your mouth.” Irritation flashed across Katie’s sun-kissed round face before she turned her attention back to Rosie. “Things aren’t always so cut-and-dried, are they? Let’s see those boots, Little Miss.” Katie stretched out her arms, still holding Rosie’s hands, as if afraid to let go. “You are all cowgirled up, aren’t you?”

“Daddy bought them for me.” Rosie kicked one foot in the air, then the other. “I told him they had to be pink. I like pink. Do you like pink?”

“I like pink just fine,” Katie said with a bit of a snort. “And if you’re planning on staying at the main house, I think you’re going to find it suits you perfectly. Unless you made other arrangements?” She glanced back at Chance.

“No arrangements.” Chance shook his head. “We packed the car and headed out. Given what Ty told us about all the changes to the place, I figured there would be a free bed or two.”

“More than that. Little Miss here can have her pick of rooms if she’d like. Not sure you’ll recognize yours.”

Meaning Big E had probably turned his room into a smoking room or bowling alley. He’d have bet good money his grandfather would have done his best to erase any trace of Chance’s existence once Chance left. Guess he was right.

“And if you don’t like the main house,” Katie continued, “you can always stay with me and Dad. I made up Maura’s room for her.” Katie didn’t blink as she spoke, as if gauging Chance’s reaction.

“Grampy!” Rosie squealed. “I have a room at Grampy’s house?”

“Of course you do. You always have had,” Katie added with a pointed look at Chance.

“The main house will do just fine.” No way would he ever sleep under the same roof as Lochlan Montgomery. Nor was he going to be made to feel guilty about not coming back before now. Lochlan had gone out of his way to make certain Chance was not welcome in his home. In that, Chance was more than content to oblige him. “Rosie, how about you get back in the car? We can meet Aunt Katie down at the house.”

“Or she can ride back with me.” Katie stooped down in front of Rosie and tweaked her nose. “What do you say, Little Miss? You want your first ride on a horse?”

“Oh, Daddy, please!” Rosie asked in that almost whining tone of hers.

Chance looked to the horse standing nearby, its shining gold coat glistening in the sun. He hadn’t been kidding earlier when he’d suggested a pony. Personally he’d been hoping for more of a miniature version when the time came.

“Guess we’d best find out if she takes after me or her mother when it comes to horses.” For Rosie’s sake, he hoped it wasn’t him.

“She’ll be fine,” Katie said. Chance met her challenging gaze, as if she was expecting him to say no just to spite her. Daring him to do so in front of his daughter only stirred up old resentments he’d never attributed to Maura’s kid sister.

Katie Montgomery, however, was no longer a kid. She was a fully grown woman who had spent more time on and around horses than Chance had spent walking. She looked every bit the professional ranch foreman her father had been. In fact, Chance would bet she was far more capable than Lochlan had ever been, especially in recent years.

“Daddy, can I go with Aunt Katie, please?”

He was reluctant to let Rosie out of his sight, but this was one of the reasons they’d come back to Falcon Creek. For Rosie to meet and get to know her mother’s family. For Rosie to get acquainted with her aunts and uncles and cousins. “Sure, Bug. You want Clyde to go with me?”

“Yes, please. Daddy says it’s always polite to say ‘please.’” She raced over and smacked Clyde into Chance’s hand.

“Your daddy’s a smart man,” Katie agreed. “Now hold on! Good girl, Hip.” Katie raced after Rosie when the four-year-old made a beeline for the horse as fast as her little legs would carry her. The horse dropped its head and let out a chuff, as Hip placed herself in front of Rosie. “Good girl, Hip.” Katie gave the dog a good pat. “Let’s get the introductions out of the way. Rosie, this is Hip. Short for Hippolyta. Hold out your hand, Rosie. Let her smell you so she can remember you’re a friend.”

“’Kay.” Fearless Rosie stuck her hand out right under the dog’s nose. Hip gave a good sniff, then angled to shove her nose up under Rosie’s hand as if demanding a pet. “Rosie, Hip. Hip, Rosie.”

“Her nose is cold.” Rosie’s eyes went wide.

“There you go. You’re friends, now,” Katie laughed.

“Hippo!” Rosie threw her arms up and lunged in for a hug.

“No!”

Chance nearly dove through the fence as Katie lunged for Rosie, but Hip let out what Chance could only describe as a sigh and let Rosie wrap her arms around her neck and squeezed.

Hand against her heart, Katie held her other palm out to Chance. “It’s okay. Whew.” That she appeared so relieved was more concerning to Chance than he liked. “You surprise me, girl.” She crouched and looked her dog directly in the eye. She sank her hand into Hip’s fur and rubbed. “I thought you didn’t like being called Hippo.”

Chance heard the dog growl in the back of her throat.

“Rosie, come here, please.” Katie pulled her away from the dog and motioned for Hip to stay. The dog blinked big black eyes at them as if to ask where they were going. “Say ‘Hippo’ again, please, Rosie.”

“Hippo!” Rosie giggled as Hip dropped to the ground and stuck her butt in the air, wagging her tail back and forth.

“Chance, would you try, please?”

“Uh, sure.” Chance cleared his throat. “Hippo.”

Hip shot back up, stood on all fours at attention and barked, then growled.

“Unbelievable.” Katie chuckled and shook her head. “First she gets herself a goat boyfriend, now this. Okay, Rosie, I guess for you only, it’s...um, you know.”

“Hippo!” Rosie doubled over with laughter as the dog came over and jumped into her arms to lick her face. “Doggie kisses!”

“They are the best kisses,” Katie assured her. “You still up for that ride?”

“Yes.” Rosie gripped the dog’s fur in her hand and looked up at her aunt with such admiration Chance’s chest constricted.

“We need a few bits of information before you go climbing up there. Riding a horse isn’t just for fun. It’s also a responsibility.” She looked over her shoulder at Chance. “We’ll meet you back at the house in a little bit. I need to go check on the ranch hands fixing fence line out along the south pasture. Shouldn’t take more than an hour.”

Chance nodded. “Yeah, I’ll see you then.” Feeling as if he was leaving his heart in the pasture, he forced himself to return to the minivan. Seconds later, he started the vehicle and stared down the road. Before he changed his mind, he floored it and shot forward under the Blackwell Family Ranch sign. And headed down the road to home.

* * *

CHANCE BLACKWELL HAD come home to Falcon Creek.

Katie checked her saddle, cinching the stirrups, and stalled as her mind raced in time to her pulse. Life hadn’t always been kind since he’d been gone, but the years looked good on him. The boyish good looks that had girls spinning in their saddles had transformed into solid, handsome features. Along with his charm, he had a complete arsenal of weapons to use in all that show-business stuff of his.

Of all the brothers, Chance had always stood out with his too-long dark hair and equally dark eyes that she suspected saw more than most. He hadn’t been as rough-and-tumble as the other boys, who’d teased Chance that he’d been switched at birth, given his less than enthusiastic proclivities toward anything ranch-related.

Technically Chance was still her brother-in-law, meaning she shouldn’t be noticing the way his jeans fit or the way his blue button-down shirt molded over a toned torso and arms. All she should care about was the love and pride that shone in his eyes whenever he looked at his little girl. She attributed the fluttering in her chest and knots in her belly to the continued stress over being caught between the brothers and their grandfather, Big E, who was pulling so many strings he may as well start a new career as a puppet master.

She should know. Big E had been pulling her strings for the past six months. Dread tightened her throat. If she wasn’t careful, one of those strings was going to snap. And Katie was going to find herself pitched out of the Blackwell Ranch—and family—forever.

Which was why it was far less stressful to think about Chance Blackwell. She was banking on the fact that his good memories of the ranch would outweigh the bad and he’d side with the brothers who wanted to keep the place. Not only because she couldn’t imagine this place not being owned by a Blackwell, but also because she needed this job. She was this close to officially being named foreman. Her father had lived his entire life on this ranch. Moving him now, when he had so little time left, would break both their hearts. And send Lochlan Montgomery into his grave.

Of course, she and the ranch would be in a better position if Big E had given her any control over the ranch’s finances. But no, the old coot couldn’t imagine a woman running his family ranch, which was ironic since that’s exactly what had been going on for the past two and a half years, as controlling every aspect of the business fell in line with his plans to get his grandsons back where he wanted them.

When it came to manipulation, there were few who excelled more than Elias Blackwell.

And no one else excelled at unnerving Montgomery women more than Big E’s grandson Chance.

Given how unsettling the idea of Chance returning had been, she thought she was managing pretty well so far. Of course, she’d been working overtime to make certain her father didn’t hear the rumors. The last thing she needed was to have Lochlan diving even further into a whiskey bottle in the hopes of drowning the never-forgotten resentment over the fact that his older daughter had chosen Chance over her family.

Seeing Chance in person again after all these years sent a tidal wave of memories and emotions sweeping through Katie. She squeezed her eyes shut and struggled against the pulls of happiness, grief and hope. She’d talked to him over the years, of course. Sometimes every day when Maura had been sick, then less frequently as Chance had settled into life as a widower and single father. Communication soon dwindled to text messages and photo exchanges, an occasional phone call with her niece, who had quite a lot to say for a four-year-old. And Katie hung on to every word as if they were priceless pearls.

“Aunt Katie, are we going to ride?”

Katie looked down at little Rosie, who was running her tiny hands down Starlight’s flank just as Katie had taught her. The second she’d seen Rosie her heart had nearly exploded in her chest. As much as she’d dreamed of holding Maura’s little girl, those dreams hadn’t come close to the reality. It hadn’t taken more than ten seconds to realize that Rosamund Maura Blackwell had Katie wrapped around every finger Rosie possessed. And she always would.

The determined expression on Rosie’s freckled face told Katie two things: one, Rosie was indeed her mother’s daughter, and two, Chance Blackwell had both his hands full. “We are indeed.” Katie bent down and gripped Rosie around the waist. She’d been teaching kids to ride since she was ten, but she couldn’t recall any lesson feeling quite this personal before. “You remember everything I told you?”

“Uh-huh.” Rosie nodded so hard her curls bounced. She gasped as Katie lifted her up to the saddle, but she didn’t squeal. While Starlight was a very docile horse, Katie had seen the horse twitch at Rosie’s high-pitched excitement over Hip.

As instructed, Rosie grabbed hold of the saddle horn and inched herself forward so Katie could climb on behind her. Boots solidly in the stirrups, she settled Rosie and reached around her for the reins, which she trailed through Rosie’s hands to give her a sense of control. Katie made a clicking sound and kicked her heels against Starlight’s flank and off they went, walking, rather than trotting at Katie’s normal speed.

“We’re riding!” Rosie cried in between bouts of laughter. “I’m riding a horse!”

“You are!” Katie kept the reins loose in her hands against Rosie’s hips, but she could tell, as the little girl shifted in the saddle and leaned into the movement of the horse, that Rosie was a natural.

Not her father’s daughter in this respect, for sure. Katie had to pinch her lips together to stop from laughing as she recalled Chance’s multiple attempts at riding. She knew what his problem was: he didn’t trust horses. The trouble was, the horses sensed it, so whenever he approached, they’d do their best to get away. He’d been bucked off so many saddles the ranch hands had started calling him Ricochet. Something told Katie that wouldn’t be a problem with Rosie. She might be Chance Blackwell’s daughter, but Rosie was also a Montgomery. And Montgomerys lived their lives in the saddle.

“Are there lots of horses to ride?” Rosie asked.

“Lots and lots,” Katie assured her. “And your uncles and aunts have animals, too. Cows and dogs and cats. Your uncle Ethan has a rabbit named Coconut and a hedgehog named Pixie.”

“Pixie,” Rosie laughed. “I want to meet them.”

“I’m sure you will. And, of course, there’s the zoo.”

“You have a zoo?” Rosie turned her head and Katie saw her eyes go wide.

“A petting zoo, yes.” Katie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The whole petting-zoo idea had been Zoe’s—she was Big E’s most recent ex-wife. And while Katie had been resistant to the idea initially, she’d quickly jumped on board when she understood what a draw it would be for guests. Besides, she’d developed an affinity for the creatures in residence. She glanced down at Hip, who trotted along beside them, tongue hanging out, occasionally glancing up at the two of them as if to confirm they were still on board. “We have rabbits and llamas, and there’s Billy of course.” Hip barked. “Hip and Billy are quite close,” Katie chuckled. “You’ll see when we get back to the house.”

“I love animals.” Rosie sighed. “I’ve been wanting a kitten for the longest time.”

“Did your dad say no?”

“I didn’t ask yet. I heard him and Uncle Felix talking and Daddy doesn’t have a lot of money. Daddy says he only has enough to feed two mouths.”

Panic gripped Katie’s insides and slid to her toes. Chance had money issues? If that was the case, he’d probably be leaning toward selling the ranch rather than keeping it. Given his history with the place, it was going to take a lot of convincing—or a minor miracle—to get him to change his mind.