He’d promised himself to stay away from her, but the trail of her haunting fragrance drove him to follow her out the front door to the truck.

“What are you doing?” She sounded panicked.

Jarod ground his teeth. “Isn’t it obvious? We have unfinished business, Sadie. While we’re alone, now is as good a time as any to talk.” He stretched his arm along the back of the seat, fighting the urge to plunge his hand into her silky hair as he’d done so many times in the past. “To pretend we don’t have a history serves no purpose. What I’m interested to know is how you can dismiss it so easily.”

“I’ve dismissed nothing!” Her voice was shaky. “But sometimes it’s better to leave certain things alone. In our case it’s one stone that shouldn’t be turned.”

“I disagree.”

In a Cowboy’s Arms

Rebecca Winters

www.millsandboon.co.uk

REBECCA WINTERS, whose family of four children has now swelled to include five beautiful grandchildren, lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the land of the Rocky Mountains. With canyons and high-alpine meadows full of wildflowers, she never runs out of places to explore. They, plus her favorite vacation spots in Europe, often end up as backgrounds for her romance novels, because writing is her passion, along with her family and church.

Rebecca loves to hear from readers. If you wish to e-mail her, please visit her website, www.cleanromances.com.

To Dr Shane Doyle of the Crow Nation in Montana for his assistance with some aspects of the culture you can’t find in a book.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

EXTRACT

Chapter One

“Zane? I’m glad you called me back!”

Zane Lawson was the brother-in-law of Sadie Corkin’s late mother, Eileen, and uncle of Sadie’s half brother. The recently retired navy SEAL had just gone through a painful divorce, yet Sadie could always count on him.

“You sound upset,” Zane said. “What’s wrong?”

She picked up the Vienna sausage two-year-old Ryan had thrown to the floor and put it in the sink. Her half brother, who had clear blue eyes like his mother, thought he was a big boy and didn’t like sitting in the high chair, but today she hadn’t given him a choice.

“I got a call from the ranch a little while ago. My father died at the hospital in White Lodge earlier this morning.”

Quiet followed for a moment while he digested the news. “His liver?”

“Yes.”

“I thought he had years left.”

“I did, too. But Millie said the way he drank, it was a miracle that diseased organ of his held up this long.” Daniel Corkin’s alcohol addiction had caught up with him at a young age, but the impact of the news was still catching up to Sadie. It had been eight years since she’d last seen him. She felt numb inside.

“With news like this, you shouldn’t be alone. I’ll drive right over.”

“What would I do without you?”

“That goes both ways. Have you made any plans yet?”

She’d already talked to Mac and Millie Henson, the foreman and housekeeper on the Montana ranch who’d virtually raised Sadie after her parents’ bitter divorce.

“We’ve decided to hold the graveside service at the Corkin family plot on Saturday. That’s as far as I’ve gotten.” She had a lot of decisions to make in the next five days. “I’ll have to fly there on Friday.”

“Rest assured I’ll go to Montana with you so I can help take care of Ryan. See you in a couple of minutes.”

“Thank you. Just let yourself in,” she said before hanging up. No two-year-old could have a more devoted uncle than Zane.

Ryan had never got to meet his father, Tim Lawson. Tim had owned the software store where Sadie had been hired after she’d moved to San Francisco to be with her mother, Eileen, eight years ago.

Sometimes her mom dropped by the store to go to lunch with her and that’s how Eileen had met Tim. It must have been fate because the two had fallen in love and married soon after. But Tim had died in a car accident while Sadie’s mother was still expecting their baby. Tragically, Eileen had passed away during the delivery from cardiac arrest brought on by arrhythmia. Age and stress had been a factor.

Sadie suffered from the same condition as her mother. In fact, just before she’d left the ranch, she’d been advised to give up barrel racing and had been put on medication. If she ever married, getting pregnant would be a huge consideration no matter the efficacy of today’s drugs.

Sadie had continued to work in sales for Tim’s store even after new management had taken over. Since Eileen’s death, however, and taking on fulltime duties as a mother to Ryan, she worked for the store from home.

Tim’s younger brother, Zane, had been a tower of strength, and the two of them had bonded in their grief over Tim and Eileen’s deaths.

Zane knew the whole painful history of the Corkin family, starting with Sadie’s great-grandfather Peter Corkin from Farfields, England. Due to depressed times in his own country, he’d traveled to Montana in 1920 to raise Herefords on a ranch he’d named after the town he’d left behind. When he’d discovered that Rufus Bannock, a Scot on the neighboring ranch who ran Angus cattle, had found oil, the Corkins’ own lust for oil kicked into gear, but nothing had turned up so far.

Sadie’s father, Daniel Corkin, had been convinced there was oil to be found somewhere on his eighty-five-acre ranch. His raging obsession and jealousy of the Bannock luck, coupled with his drinking and suspicions about his wife’s infidelity, which were totally unfounded, had driven Eileen away. When she’d filed for divorce, he said he’d give her one, but she would have to leave eight-year-old Sadie with him.

Terrified that if she stayed in the marriage he’d kill her as he’d sworn to do, Eileen had given up custody of their daughter, forcing Millie Henson, the Corkin housekeeper, to raise Sadie along with her own child, Liz.

Zane also knew Mac and Millie Henson were saints as far as Sadie was concerned, and she felt she could never repay their goodness and devotion.

It was their love that had sheltered her and seen her through those unhappy childhood years with an angry, inebriated father who’d lost the ability to love. The Hensons had done everything possible to provide a loving family atmosphere, but Sadie had suffered from acute loneliness.

Once, when she was fifteen, there’d been a mother-daughter event at the school. Never really understanding how her mother could have abandoned her, Sadie had been in too much pain to tell Millie about the school function and had taken off on her horse, Candy, not caring where she was going.

Eventually stopping somewhere on the range, Sadie, thinking she was alone, had slumped forward in the saddle, heaving great, uncontrollable sobs. With only her horse to hear, she’d given way to her grief, wondering if she might die of it....

* * *

“WHAT’S SO TERRIBLE on a day like this?”

Sadie knew that deep voice. Jarod Bannock.

She lifted her head and stared through tear-drenched eyes at the striking, dark-haired eighteen-year-old. She knew two things about Jarod Bannock. One, his mother had been an Apsáalooke Indian. Two, every girl in the county knocked themselves out for his attention. If any of them had succeeded, she didn’t know about it—although he was a neighbor, her family never spoke of him. Her father, whose hatred knew no bounds, held an irrational predjudice against Jarod because of his heritage.

“I miss my mother.”

Jarod smiled at her, compassion in his eyes. “When I miss mine, I ride out here, too. This is where the First Maker hovers as he watches his creation. He says, ‘If you need to contact me, you will find me along the backbone of the earth where I travel as I guard my possessions.’ He knows your sadness, Sadie, and has provided you a horse to be your comfort.”

His words sent shivers up her spine. She felt a compelling spirituality in them, different from anything she’d experienced at church with Millie.

“Do you want to see some special horses?” he asked her. “They’re hard to find unless you know where to look for them.”

“You mean, the feral horses Mac sometimes talks about?”

“Yes. I’ll take you to them.”

Having lost both parents himself, Jarod understood what was going on inside her better than anyone else. Wordlessly he led her up the canyon, through the twists and turns of rock formations she’d never seen before.

They rode for a good five minutes before he reined to a stop and put a finger to his lips. She pulled back on Candy’s reins and waited until she heard the pounding of hooves. Soon a band of six horses streaked through the gulch behind a large, grayish tan stallion with black legs and mane. The power of the animals mesmerized her.

“You see that grullo in the lead? The one with the grayish hairs on his body?”

“Yes,” she whispered breathlessly.

“That’s his harem.”

“What’s a harem?”

“The mares he mates with and controls. Keep watching and you’ll see some bachelor stallions following them.”

Sure enough a band of eight horses came flying through after the first group. “Why aren’t they all together?”

“They want control of Chief’s herd so they can mate with his mares, but he’s not going to give it to them.”

She darted him a puzzled glance. “How do you know his name is Chief?”

“It came to me in a dream.”

Sadie wasn’t sure if Jarod was teasing her. “No it didn’t.” She started laughing.

The corner of his mouth twitched. It changed his whole countenance, captivating her. “He has a majestic bearing,” he continued, “like Plenty Coups.”

From her Montana history class she knew Chief Plenty Coups was the last great chief of the Crow Nation. “Where do these horses come from?”

“They’ve lived here for centuries. One day Chief will be mine.”

“Is that all right? I mean, isn’t it against the law to catch one of them?”

A fierce expression crossed his face. “I don’t take what doesn’t belong to me. Because he’s young, I’ll give him another two years to get to know me. He saw me today, and he’s seen me before. He’ll see me again and again and start to trust me. One day he’ll come to me of his own free will and eat oats out of my hand. When he has chosen me for himself, then it will be all right.”

Sadie didn’t doubt he could make it happen. Jarod had invisible power. A short time ago she’d thought she was going to die of sorrow, but that terrible pain had been lifted because of him.

* * *

THAT WAS THE transcendent moment when Sadie’s worship of Jarod Bannock began in earnest and she’d fallen deeply in love.

For the next three years Sadie had spent every moment she could steal out riding where she might run into him. Each meeting became more important to both of them. Once he’d started kissing her, they lived to be together and talked about marriage. Two days before her eighteenth birthday she rode to their favorite spot in a meadow filled with spring flowers—purple lupine and yellow bells. Her heart exploded with excitement the second she galloped over the rise near Crooked Canyon and saw him.

His black hair gleamed in the last rays of the sun. Astride his wild stallion Chief, he was more magnificent than nature itself. The stamp of his Caucasian father and Apsáalooke mother had created a face and body as unique as the two mountain blocks that formed the Pryor Mountains on both sides of the Montana-Wyoming border. Through erosion those mountains had risen from the prairie floor to eight thousand feet, creating a sanctuary for rare flora and fauna; a private refuge for her and Jarod.

She’d become aware of him as a child. As she’d grown older, she’d see him riding in the mountains. He’d always taken the time to talk to her, often going out of his way to answer her questions about his heritage.

His mother’s family, the Big Lodge clan, had been part of the Mountain Crow division and raised horses. They were known as Children of the Large-Beaked Bird. Sadie never tired of his stories.

He told her about archaeological evidence of his ancestors in the area that dated back more than 10,000 years. The Crow Nation considered the “Arrow Shot Into Rock” Pryor Mountain to be sacred. Jarod had explained that all the mountain ranges in the territory of the Crow were sacred. He’d taught her so many things....

She looked around the meadow now. Two days before her birthday their talk had turned into a physical expression of mutual love. They’d become lovers for the first time under the dark canopy of the sky.

To be that close to another human, the person she adored more than life, filled her with an indescribable joy that was painful in its intensity. They’d become a part of each other, mind, heart and body.

She never wanted to leave him, but he’d forced her to go home, promising to meet again the next night so they could slip away to get married. He intended to be with her forever.

He pulled her against his hard body one more time, covering her face and hair in frenzied kisses. She was so hungry for him she caught his face in her hands and found his mouth.

After a few minutes he grasped her arms and held her from him. “You have to go home now.”

“Not yet—” She fought to move closer to him, but he was too powerful for her. “My father will think I’m still at Liz’s house studying for finals.”

He shook his head. “We can’t take any more chances, Sadie. You know as well as I do that with his violent temper your father will shoot me on sight if he finds out where you’ve been tonight. You need to go home now. Tomorrow night we’ll leave for the reservation and be married. From then on you’ll be known as Mrs. Jarod Bannock.”

“Don’t send me away,” she begged. “I can’t stand to be apart from you.”

“Only one more night separates us, Sadie. Meet me here tomorrow at the same time. Bring your driver’s license and your birth certificate. We’ll ride over to the firebreak road where I’ll have the truck and trailer parked. Then we’ll leave for White Lodge.

“The next morning you’ll be eighteen. We’ll stop to get our marriage license. There’ll be no waiting period. All you have to do is sign a waiver that you accept full responsibility for any consequences that might arise from failure to obtain a blood test for rubella immunity before marriage. That’s it. After that we’ll drive to the reservation.”

She’d gone to the reservation with him several times over the years and once with his sister, Avery. Everyone in his Crow family had made her feel welcome.

“Remember—you’ll be eighteen. I’ve made all the preparations for our wedding with my uncle Charlo. As one of the tribal elders, he’ll marry us. There’ll be at least a hundred of the tribe gathered.”

“So many!”

“Yes. Our marriage is a celebration of life. You’ll be eighteen and your father will have no rights over you by then.”

She stared into his piercing black eyes. “What about your grandparents?” Sadie had loved Ralph and Addie Bannock the moment she’d met them. “How do you think they really feel about us getting married?”

“You have to ask? They’re crazy about you. I’ve already told them our wedding plans. They’re helping me any way they can. Earlier today my grandmother told me she can’t wait for us to be living under the same roof with them until we can build our own place. Don’t forget they loved your mother and like to think of you as the daughter they were never able to have. Surely you know that.”

The words warmed her heart. “I love them, too.” Sadie shivered with nervous excitement. “You really haven’t changed your mind? You want to marry me? The daughter of the man who has hated your family forever?”

“Your father has something wrong in his head, but it has nothing to do with you.” His dark brows furrowed, giving him a fierce look. “I made you an oath.” He kissed her throat. “I’ve chosen you for my wife. How could you possibly doubt I want to marry you after what we’ve shared?”

“I don’t doubt it,” she said, her voice trembling. “You know I’ve loved you forever. Having you as my husband is all I’ve ever dreamed about. Oh, Jarod, I love you so much. I can’t wait—”

He caressed her hair, which cascaded to her waist, and then his hands fell away. “Tomorrow night we’ll be together forever. But you’ve got to go while I still have the strength to let you go.”

“Why don’t we just leave for the reservation now?”

“You know why. You’re still seventeen and the risk of getting caught is too great.” Jarod reached into his pocket and pulled out a beaded bracelet, which he fastened around her wrist. “This was made by my mother’s family. After the ceremony you’ll be given the earrings and belt that go with it.”

“It’s so beautiful!” The intricate geometric designs stood out in blues and pinks.

“Not as beautiful as you are,” he said, his voice deep and velvety soft. “Now you have to go.” He walked her to her horse. Once she’d mounted, he climbed on his stallion and rode with her to the top of the hill. They leaned toward each other for one last hungry kiss. “Tomorrow night, Sadie.”

“Tomorrow night,” she whispered against his lips.

Tomorrow night. Tomorrow night. Tomorrow night. Her heart pounded the message all the way home.

* * *

REMEMBERING THAT NIGHT now, Sadie felt the tears roll down her face. Their love affair had turned into a disaster, permanently setting daughter and father against each other. She was forced to leave for California and never saw Jarod again. And the Hensons had been left to deal with their drunken boss until the bitter end. Guilt had swamped Sadie, but she’d had no choice except to leave the ranch to prevent her father from carrying out his threat to kill Jarod.

While her mind made a mental list of what to do first before she and Zane left for Montana, she hung up the phone and took a clean cloth to wash Ryan’s face and hands. “Come on, sweetheart.” She kissed his light brown hair. “Lunch is over. Time for a nap.”

While she changed his diaper, she looked out the upstairs window of the house she’d lived in with her mother and Tim on Potrero Hill. The view of San Francisco Bay was spectacular from here.

But much as she loved this city where her mother had been born and raised—where she’d met Daniel when he’d come here on business—Sadie was a Montana girl through and through. With her father’s death, her exile was over. She could go home.

She longed to be back riding a horse through the pockets of white sweet clover that perfumed the land in the spring. Though she’d made friends in San Francisco and had dated quite a bit, she yearned for her beloved ranch and her oldest friends.

As for Jarod Bannock, eight years of living away from him had given her perspective.

He was a man now, destined to be the head of the Bannock empire one day. According to Liz he had a new love interest. Obviously he hadn’t pined for Sadie all these years. And she wasn’t a lovesick teenager who’d thought her broken heart would never heal after her father’s treachery against Jarod. He’d been the one behind the truck accident that had put Jarod in the hospital. But that was ancient history now. She was a twenty-six-year-old woman who couldn’t wait to take her half brother back to Farfields Ranch where they belonged.

Ryan might end up being her only child, which made him doubly precious to her. One day Ryan Corkin Lawson would grow up and become head of the ranch and make it a success. In time he’d learn how to do every chore and manage the accounts. She’d teach him how to tend the calves that needed to be culled from the herd.

That had been Sadie’s favorite job as a young girl. The sickly ones were brought to the corral at the side of the ranch house. Sadie had named them after the native flora: yellow bell, pussytoes, snowberry, pearly. Ryan would love it!

Before she left his room, she hugged and kissed the precious little boy. While she waited for Zane, she went into the den and phoned the Methodist Church in White Lodge, where she and her mother had once attended services.

In a few minutes she got hold of Minister Lyman, a man she didn’t know. Together they worked out the particulars about the service and burial. The minister would coordinate with the Bitterroot Mortuary, where the hospital would transport her father’s body.

To the minister’s credit he said nothing negative about her father. He only expressed his condolences and agreed to take care of the service. After thanking him, she rang off and sat at the computer to start writing the obituary. She could do everything online. Within a couple of hours the announcement would come out in the Billings Gazette and Carbon County News. How should she word it?

On May 6, Daniel Burns Corkin of Farfields Ranch, Montana, passed away from natural causes at the age of fifty-three after being the cruelest man alive.

Too many words? On second thought why not make it simpler and put what the munchkins sang when Dorothy arrived in Oz.

“Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead!”

* * *

“HEY, BOSS.”

“Glad you came in the truck, Ben. I need you to get this new calf to one of the hutches before a predator comes after it. She has a broken foot from being stepped on.” There was no need to phone Liz Henson, White Lodge’s new vet. Jarod’s sister, Avery, could splint it. “Would you help me put her in the back?”

“Sure.” Together they lifted the calf, careful not to do any more damage, but the mother bellowed in protest.

“I know how you feel,” Jarod said over his shoulder. “Your baby will be back soon.”

Ben chuckled. “You think she understands you?”

“I guess we’ll find out the answer to that imponderable in the great hereafter.” Jarod closed the tailgate and then shoved his cowboy hat to the back of his head, shifting his gaze to the new foreman of the Hitting Rocks Ranch. The affable manager showed a real liking for his sister, but so far that interest hadn’t been reciprocated. Ben needed to meet someone else. “You were going to tell me something?”

“Avery sent me to find you. I guess your phone’s turned off.”

“The battery needs recharging. What’s up?”

“She wanted you to know Daniel Corkin died at White Lodge Hospital early this morning of acute liver failure.”

What?

Jarod staggered in place.

Sadie’s monster father had really given up the ghost?

“The Hensons were with him. They got word to Liz and she phoned Avery.”

The news he hadn’t expected to come for another decade or more sent a great rushing wind through his ears, carrying painful whispers from the past that he’d tried to block out all these years. They came at him from every direction, dredging up bittersweet memories so clear they could have happened yesterday.

But Jarod managed to control his emotions in front of Ben. “Appreciate you telling me.” After a pause he said, “If Avery can’t tend to the calf, I’ll call Liz. You go on. I’ll follow on my horse Blackberry.”

Ben nodded and took off.

Long after the truck disappeared, Jarod stood in the pasture to gentle the calf’s mother, adrenaline gushing through his veins. Sadie would show up long enough to bury her father. Then what?

He threw his head back, taking in the cotton-ball clouds drifting across an early May sky. With Sadie’s mother buried in California, it no doubt meant the end of Farfields. Sadie hadn’t stepped on Montana soil in eight years. The note he’d received in the hospital after his truck accident when she’d left the ranch had been simple enough.

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.”

“If your father were still alive, he’d understand and approve. We know it’s the Crow way to marry young. You’re a lot like your dad and have always known what you wanted.”

“I’m thankful for your understanding and help, but right now my biggest concern is Ned. He must have been following me tonight. In order for him not to find out what’s going on, I’m setting up a smoke screen. I’ll pretend Chief is favoring his hind leg.

“After chores tomorrow I’ll put Chief in the trailer and drive him to the clinic in White Lodge. If Ned finds out I paid a visit to Sam Rafferty for an X-ray, it should throw him off the scent long enough for us to be married.”

“That’s as good an idea as any,” his grandfather said. “We decided not to tell Connor and Avery your plans. It’s crucial they know nothing so that Ned doesn’t pick up on any change in their behavior. He’s a talker when he drinks and it could get back to Daniel.”

Jarod nodded. “Where are they?”

Addie smiled. “Connor’s in town with friends and Avery is spending the night with Cassie while they study for their finals. They’ll be graduating from high school in two weeks.”

“Sadie will be getting her diploma right along with them, but by then she’ll be my wife. Here’s what I’m going to do. After I leave the vet clinic, I’ll drive up to the mountains where Sadie and I will meet. From there we’ll go to the reservation to be married and spend a couple of days with Uncle Charlo and his family. We’ll be home Sunday night in time for her to be back in school.”

His grandfather got up from the chair and hugged him. “When you two arrive, we’ll all celebrate.”

Jarod’s heart was full of love for his grandparents, who’d always supported him.

“Tell me what you need me to do before I leave tomorrow afternoon and I’ll get it done.”

“Why don’t we go over the quarterly accounts after breakfast?” Ralph suggested.

“Sounds good.”

He hugged his grandmother hard, then left the den and headed down the hall to the kitchen. After filling up on a couple of ham sandwiches and a quart of milk, he took the stairs two at a time to his bedroom at the top.

His watch said twenty after ten. At this time tomorrow night he’d be with Sadie on reservation property. He knew a private spot where they wouldn’t be disturbed. They’d stay there until it was time to drive to White Lodge for their marriage license.

You’re going to be a married man, Bannock.

If he had one regret it was that his siblings wouldn’t be there. But when he brought Sadie home as his wife, they’d understand the measures he’d had to take to protect Sadie from her out-of-control father.

* * *

“SO, DR. RAFFERTY, you don’t think there’s a need to take an X-ray?” Jarod asked, walking Chief out of the trailer to the paddock behind the clinic with the vet.

“Not that I can see,” Sam Rafferty told him.

“His limp does seem to be a lot better. Last night I was really worried about him.”

“Horses aren’t that different from people. Sometimes we wake up in the morning and everything hurts like hell. But the next day, we feel better.”

“Well, I’ll take your word for it nothing serious is wrong.”

Sam nodded. “Give him a day of rest and see how he does.”

“Will do. How much do I owe you?”

“Forget it. I didn’t do anything.”

“You can’t make a living that way.” Jarod put a hundred dollar bill in the vet’s lab coat pocket. “Thanks, Doc.”

“My pleasure.” They shook hands before he led Chief back into the trailer and shut the door.

Jarod started the truck and drove his rig away from the clinic. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ned’s Jeep down the street across from the supermarket. That was no coincidence—Ned must still be tailing him.

Twenty after five. The sun would set at nine. Jarod would have driven to the mountains immediately, but he couldn’t do that with Ned watching him. It would only take a half hour to reach Sadie. He had three hours to kill. Might as well drive Ned crazy.

After making a U turn, he parked near the supermarket and went in to buy a meal at the deli. Then he took it out to the truck and sat there to eat while he listened to music. Ned had finally disappeared, but Jarod knew he was somewhere nearby watching, hoping to see Sadie show up and join Jarod. The fool could wait till doomsday but he’d never find her here.

The sun sank lower until it dropped below the horizon. It was time to make his move. His heart thudding in anticipation of making love to Sadie for the rest of their lives, Jarod started the truck and turned onto a road that would eventually lead to the fire road. From that crossroads you could either go to the mountains the back way or head the other way for the reservation.

But as he reached the crossroads, from out of nowhere, something rammed him broadside. The last thing he heard was the din of twisting metal before he passed out.

The next day he woke up in the hospital with a serious brain concussion, bruises and a nasty gash near his eye. Frantic, he tried to reach Sadie, but the report from the Hensons came back that she wasn’t at home.

When he awoke a second time, the nurse brought him Sadie’s note and read it to him. The words ripped him to pieces.

* * *

JAROD LAY IN the clover remembering the pain until Volan nudged him. Feeling as if his heart weighed more than his body, he climbed on the stallion and rode home.

Avery confronted him in the tack room after he returned. Her brunette hair and bright smile reminded him of their father Colin’s second wife, Hannah. She’d been a wonderful mother to Jarod, never pushing him. Avery was a little more aggressive in that department.

“When you didn’t come in the ranch house with Connor, I knew you’d gone riding. Did it help?” Her hazel eyes studied him anxiously.

She could read most of his moods, but he didn’t answer her this time. There was no help for the disease he’d contracted eight years ago.

“Grandfather was hoping to talk to you.”

“I know. I’ll go see him now.”

“He’s gone to bed, but don’t worry, Connor and I told him all we could. Great Uncle Tyson came to the funeral with his family. It was so strange, all of us together on Corkin land after so many years of being warned off the property. I think it overwhelmed Sadie. She thanked us for coming, but clung to her little brother the whole time.”

Jarod’s thoughts were black. “Did Ned behave?”

Her mouth tightened. “Does he ever?”

“Tell me what he did.”

“He asked a lot of questions in such bad taste it raised the hairs on the back of my neck.”

“Like what?”

At his rapid-fire question, his sister looked startled. “I was standing by them when he asked if she and Zane had an interest in each other besides Ryan. He said he hoped not because he was planning to spend a lot of time with her now that she was back.”

Jarod bit down so hard he almost broke a tooth.

“It was appalling, but no one else heard him. Sadie didn’t answer him, but I was so angry I broke in on their conversation. That angered Ned and caught Uncle Grant’s attention. He wasn’t thrilled with his son’s behavior, either, and got him out of there as fast as he could.”

“Ned gave me an ultimatum the other night.”

“What kind?”

“Not to show up at the funeral.”

“That’s no surprise. He was jealous of you from birth. It only grew worse when grandfather gave you more responsibilities for running the ranch. Ned couldn’t handle it. But when you and Sadie became friends, that killed him.”

“There’s a sickness in him.”

“I know. Sadie was never interested in any of the guys chasing after her, least of all Ned. He used to wait for her after school and follow her as far as Corkin property. Sadie never paid him one whit of attention because the only guy she could ever see was you.”

Until Jarod had planned to make her his wife. Then she’d run like the prong-horned antelope, putting fifteen hundred miles between them. Had his accident been the excuse she’d been looking for not to marry him?

“After today she’ll like him even less, but I guess it doesn’t matter,” Avery added.

He closed his eyes tightly. “Why do you say that?”

“The chances of her having to deal with him are pretty remote. She’s got a home in California and a little brother to raise.”

“With Zane’s help?” Jarod didn’t want to listen to another word.

“Forget what you’re thinking. I asked her outright if she was involved with Zane. She said no and was shocked at the question. I think it actually hurt her.”

Jarod’s relief had him reeling.

“I have to tell you I’m envious of her. Ryan’s such an adorable boy, I wish he were mine.”

Those were strong words. Jarod heard wistfulness in her voice and eyed her with affection. “Your time will come, Avery.”

Her eyes darted him a mischievous glance. “Are you trying to make me feel better, or did you have a vision about your only female sibling who’s getting older?”

Her teasing never bothered him. He rubbed his lower lip absently. “I don’t need a vision to know you’re not destined to be alone. Ben’s been crazy about you ever since he was hired.”

Avery rolled her eyes. “That has to work both ways, big brother. If anyone ought to know about that, it’s you. You’re pushing thirty and until two months ago you had no prospects despite the fan club you ignore. Am I wrong or at long last has a woman finally gotten under your skin? Leslie’s an extraordinary person, the kind I’ve been hoping you would meet.”

“You and grandfather.” But Jarod was too conflicted over Sadie to get into a discussion about anything. She’d just inherited Farfields, a place she’d loved heart and soul. Jarod couldn’t imagine her leaving the land where she’d been born. But he’d been wrong about her before. Maybe she was involved with another man in California.

When are you going to learn, Bannock?

Chapter Three

It was Tuesday morning. Sadie had slept poorly and got up before Ryan, who was sleeping in the crib Millie had used for Liz. Zane had been installed in the guest bedroom and was still asleep. Though she’d come to the ranch to bury her father and take stock of her new situation, seeing Jarod after all these years had shaken her so badly, she was unnerved and restless. Through her friendship with Liz, she knew he hadn’t married yet, though that made no sense when he could have any woman he wanted.

But recently Liz had dropped a little bomb that over the past few months he’d been seeing an archaeologist working in the area named Leslie Weston. Liz seemed to think it was more serious than his other relationships had been.

Her breath caught. Had they made love? Were they planning to marry? Sadie couldn’t bear thinking about it.

From her bedroom window she watched Liz leave the Hensons’ small house adjacent to the ranch house and head for her truck. No doubt she was on her way to work at the Rafferty vet clinic in White Lodge. Pretty soon quiet-spoken Mac followed and started out for the barn to get going on his chores.

With a deep sigh, Sadie turned away and headed for the bathroom. Once she’d showered and washed her hair, she pulled on jeans and a cotton sweater. After blow-drying her hair and applying lipstick, she felt more prepared to face this first day of an altered life and turn the second stone.

To stay busy she fixed breakfast, woke and dressed Ryan for the day and then returned to the kitchen. She piled some cushions on one of the kitchen chairs for Ryan as Zane joined them to eat. Before the day was out, she’d take her dad’s pickup and run into White Lodge for a high chair and a new crib.

Though she had everything she needed back in California, it would take time to ship her things here. While she was at it, she’d also buy some cowboy boots and start breaking them in.

Millie appeared at the back door. The housekeeper still had a trim figure and worked as hard as ever to keep the ranch house running smoothly. Her brown eyes widened in surprise when she walked into the kitchen and found the three of them assembled there. “Good morning, Millie. Come on in and eat breakfast with us.” It was long past time someone waited on her for a change.

The older woman kissed Ryan’s head before sitting next to him. “I think I’m in heaven.”

“Good. You deserve to be waited on.” Sadie brought a plate of bacon, eggs and hash browns to the table for her.

No sooner had Sadie started to drink her coffee than they heard a knock on the front door. She jumped up from the table. “That’ll be Mr. Varney. I’ll show him into the living room. He’s here to talk about the will.”

The attorney from Billings had come to the graveside service and told her he’d be by on Tuesday morning.

“I’ll take care of Ryan,” Zane offered.

“Thank you.” She got up and kissed her little brother’s cheek. “I’ll be back soon.”

She hurried down the hall to the front room of the three-bedroom L-shaped ranch house. The place needed refurbishing. According to Mac, in the last few years her father had been operating Farfields in the red. He’d ended up selling most of the cattle. Toward the end he’d been too ill to take care of things and there’d been little money to pay Millie and Mac. The value of the ranch lay in the land itself.

Reed Varney had put on weight and his hair had thinned since the last time she’d seen him. He must be sixty by now and had handled her father’s affairs for years. The man knew all the ugly Corkin secrets, including the particulars of the divorce, which was okay with Sadie since it was past history.

“Come in, Mr. Varney.” She showed him into the living room. A couple of the funeral sprays filled the air with a fragrance that was almost cloying. Mac had taken some of the other arrangements to their cabin. “Would you care for some coffee?”

“No thanks.” For some odd reason he wouldn’t look her in the eye. She had the impression he was nervous.

“Then let’s sit to talk.” She chose one of the leather chairs opposite the couch where he’d taken a seat. As he opened his briefcase to pull out a thin file she asked, “How soon do you want to schedule the reading of the will?” For all their kindness, Mac and Millie should head the top of the list to receive the house they’d been living in all these years. She couldn’t wait to tell them.

He rubbed his hands on top of his thighs, another gesture that indicated he felt uncomfortable. Sadie started to feel uneasy herself.

“Something’s wrong. What is it?”

After clearing his throat he finally glanced at her. “The will is short and to the point. You can read it now. The particulars are all there.” He handed her the file.

She blinked. Maybe her father had been in more financial trouble than she’d been led to believe. Taking a deep breath, she started to read. After getting past the legal jargon she came to her father’s wishes.

Mac and Millie Henson betrayed my trust on my daughter’s eighteenth birthday. Therefore they’ll receive no inheritance, nor will my daughter, whom I’ve disowned.

Over the years several people have wanted to buy the ranch, but so far they haven’t met the asking price. I have their offers on record. If no one else makes an offer within a month of my death, then the ranch and all its assets including my gun collection will be sold to the highest bidder through Parker Realty in Billings, Montana. My horse, Spook, has been sold.

No furnishings are to be touched. The new buyer will either use or dispose of them. Under no circumstances can the ranch be sold to a Bannock.

Sadie gasped and jumped up from the chair. Her father had lived to drink, hunt and hate the Bannocks with a passion. The meanest man alive didn’t begin to describe him. Forget the fact that he’d disowned her. When she’d left for San Francisco, she never dreamed he’d take out his fury on the Hensons like this.

“Does this mean he’s thrown Mac and Millie out with nothing?” Her eyes filled with tears. “After all they’ve done for him over the years? The care they gave him toward the last?”

Varney eyed her with grave concern before nodding. “However, Mr. Bree at the realty firm has asked that the Hensons stay on to manage things until the new buyer takes ownership. It’s entirely possible Mac Henson will be asked to continue on as foreman for the new owner.”

Daniel had died nine days ago. In less than a month from now the eighty-five-acre ranch would be sold? She couldn’t take it in. Her father wanted her and the Hensons off his land as fast as humanly possible. When he’d told her to get out eight years ago, he’d meant for it to be permanent. “What is the sale price?”

“Seven hundred thousand. He was in a lot of debt.”

Her mind was madly trying to take everything in.

“What about me, Mr. Varney? Am I supposed to clear out today?”

With a troubled sigh, the older man got to his feet. “Legally you have no right to be here, but morally this is your home and you can stay until the new owner takes up residence. As for your own personal possessions, you’re free to take them with you. I’m sorry, Sadie. I wish it could be otherwise. To be honest, I dreaded coming here today. You don’t deserve this.”

Reeling with pain, she walked him to the door. “It’s Mac and Millie I worry about. The ranch is their home, too. I can hardly bear it.”

When Jarod hadn’t showed up that night eight years ago, the Hensons were the ones who had tried to comfort her. She’d believed he had decided at the last minute that he couldn’t go through with their marriage, and she would never have survived if they hadn’t been there to help her get through that ghastly night.

Reed Varney shook his head. “When Daniel summoned me to the ranch, I begged him not to do this, but he was beyond reason.”

She stared into space. “He’s always been beyond reason.” This proved more than ever why her mother had been forced to abandon Sadie.

If Eileen had stayed in the marriage, who knew what would have happened during one of his drunken rages when he’d threatened to kill his wife. Eileen’s decision to let him keep Sadie had probably saved both their lives.

When Sadie had found out about Jarod’s accident, her father had threatened to kill Jarod if she went to the hospital to be with him. He’d made her write a letter telling Jarod she never wanted to see him again and then he’d told her to get out of his house. Millie and Mac were afraid for her life and urged her to leave Montana and go to her mother in California, saving her once more.

“Thank you for coming,” she said quietly to the lawyer.

“Of course. The number for Parker Realty is listed on the paper. They’ve already put an ad in the multiple listings section. Things should be moving quickly. I’ll be in touch with you again soon.”

The second he left, she grabbed the file and hurried to her bedroom to hide it in the dresser drawer. She never wanted the Hensons to know what he’d put in the will about them. They’d been wonderful surrogate parents to her. Somehow she had to protect them.

With that decision made, she grabbed her purse and left for the kitchen, determined to lie through her teeth if she had to. She found Millie at the sink and gave her a hug. “Hey! I made the mess and planned to clean it up.”

“Nonsense. How did everything go?”

“Fine. Tomorrow I’ll drive to Billings and meet with him in his office,” she lied. “Where’s Zane?”

“Outside with Ryan. If Tim Lawson was as terrific as Zane, then your mother was a very lucky woman.”

“She was. So was I, to be raised by you and Mac. I love you and Liz dearly. You know that, don’t you?”

“The feeling’s mutual.”

“You’re my family now and that’s the way it’s going to stay.” No matter what she had to do.

“Nothing would make us happier.” They hugged again.

“I’m going to drive into White Lodge. Do you want me to do any shopping for you while I’m there?”

“We stocked up for the funeral so I think we’re fine right now.”

“Okay. See you later. Just so you know, tonight I’m going to visit Ralph Bannock. Zane will babysit Ryan.” She hadn’t asked him yet, but knew he’d do it.

Zane’s wife had betrayed him with another man while he’d been in the navy. After he’d left the military, they’d divorced and, not long after, Zane had lost his elder brother, Tim. “Honey, I can do that.”

“I know you can, Millie, but you spent enough time raising me. The last thing I want to do is take advantage of you. We’ll be back shortly.”

Sadie reached for the truck keys on the peg at the back door and hurried outside. She found Zane walking around with Ryan. He made the perfect father. His ex-wife had been the loser in that relationship. Sadie knew how much he’d wanted a family. It broke her heart.

She scooped her little brother from the ground before darting Zane a glance. “Will you drive me to town? We need to talk.”

“Sure.”

She handed him the keys to her father’s Silverado and walked over to get in. They’d brought a car seat from California for Ryan and had already installed it in the backseat. Once he was strapped in securely, she climbed into the front with Zane and they took off.

Zane gave her a sideways glance. “I know that look on your face. You’ve had bad news.”

“Much worse than anything I had imagined, but Mac and Millie don’t know a thing yet. The fact is my father disowned me.” She ended up telling him everything written in the will. “I’ve got three weeks from today to come up with a plan. I don’t want the Hensons to find out about this.”

“Of course not. That monster!” he muttered under his breath, but she heard him. “I’m sorry, Sadie.” They followed the dirt road out to the highway.

“Don’t be. With him, the shoe fits. The bottom line is, if I want to make my home on this ranch, I’ll have to buy it from the Realtor in Billings. There was no mention in the will that I couldn’t. I have some savings after working for your brother, but not nearly enough to make a dent. In the meantime I need to find a job in town and put Ryan in day care.”

Zane grimaced. “I could give you some money.”

“You’re an angel, Zane, but you gave your ex-wife the house you both lived in, so you need to hold on to any money you’ve saved. I’ll have to find another avenue to pay off the debt owing the bank so I can hold on to the ranch, but I’ve got to hurry.”

“I’ve got an idea how you can do it.” She jerked her head toward him, waiting for the miracle answer. “I could sell Tim’s house in San Francisco.”

Sadie made several sounds of protest. “After your divorce, mother willed it to you before she died because she assumed I’d inherit the ranch one day. She knew Tim would have wanted you to have it.”

“You’re forgetting she expected you to go on living there with Ryan.”

“But it’s not mine, and I don’t want to live in San Francisco.”

“Neither do I. I have no desire to be anywhere near my ex, so I’ve got another idea.”

“What?”

“The house isn’t completely paid off, but I could still get a substantial amount if I sell it. With that money, plus any you have, we could move here and become joint owners of the ranch.”

Her heart gave a great clap. “You’re not serious!”

“Yeah. Actually, I am. I spent a lot of years in the military and know I won’t be happy unless I’m working outdoors in some capacity. So far I haven’t found a job that appeals to me. I can help with the ranching for a while until I know what it is I want to do with the rest of my life.”

“Zane, you’re just saying that because you’re at loose ends and are one of the great guys of this world.”

“I’m saying it because I have no parents, no brother and I don’t want to lose Ryan. I know you have nothing holding you in California. To be honest, I like the idea of being part owner with you. It’ll be our investment for Ryan’s future.”

Her eyes smarted with unshed tears. “If you’re really serious...”

“I’m dead serious. Take a look around. With these mountains, this is God’s country all right. It’s growing on me like crazy. I already like Mac and Millie. And the little guy in back seems perfectly content. Why don’t you think about it?”

“I am thinking. So hard I’m ready to have a heart attack.”

“Don’t do that! If you wake up tomorrow and say it’s a go, I’ll fly back to San Francisco and get the house on the market. While I’m there, I’ll put everything from the house and my apartment in storage for us. What do you say?”

She was so full of gratitude, she could hardly talk. “I say I don’t need to wait until tomorrow to tell you yes, but I don’t want ownership. The ranch should be put in your name for you and Ryan. I’ll get a job and do housekeeping to earn my keep. In time we’ll build up a new herd of cattle. Anything less and I won’t agree.”

He flashed her the kind of smile she hadn’t seen since before Tim’s death. Zane had dimples, too, an irresistible Lawson trait. “You sound just like your mother when she’s made up her mind, but you need to think about this. There’s a whole life you’ve left behind in San Francisco. Men you’ve dated. Friends.”

“I know, and I’ve enjoyed all of it including my job at your brother’s store. But with Mother gone, it hasn’t been the same. Now that my father has died, I feel the only place I really belong is here.”

After a period of quiet he said, “I can tell you this much. I feel this ranch growing on me.”

Like Sadie, Zane needed to put the painful past behind him and get on with life.

“Tell you what, Zane. When I drive you to the airport tomorrow, I’ll stop by Mr. Varney’s office and let him know we have a plan for you to buy the ranch. He can inform the Realtor and we’ll go from there.”

“Sadie—” There was a solemn tone in his voice. “If things don’t work out, we’ll find another small ranch for sale around here. Montana is in your blood. We won’t let your father win.”

She had no words to express the depth of her love for him. Instead, she leaned across the seat and kissed his cheek.

* * *

ON TUESDAY NIGHT Jarod had just returned from the upper pasture when he caught sight of Daniel Corkin’s Silverado parked in front of the Bannock ranch house. Sadie was still here. The blood pounded in his ears as he let himself in the side door of the den on the main floor. His grandfather’s room was farther down the hallway of the two-story house.

With Connor headed for another rodeo event in Oklahoma, either Avery or their housekeeper, Jenny, would have let her in. He planted himself in the doorway of the den. When Sadie left, she would have to walk past him to reach the foyer. Since it had grown dark, he didn’t imagine he’d have to wait much longer. His grandfather tired easily these days.

As if he’d willed her to appear, he saw light and movement at the end of the hall. She moved quietly in his direction. When she was within a few feet he said hello to her.

“Oh—”

“Forgive me if I startled you, Sadie. How’s my grandfather?”

She stepped back, hugging her arms to her waist. He saw no sign of the vivacious Sadie Corkin of eight years ago who’d caused every male heart in Carbon County to race at the sight of her.

When he’d watched her galloping through the meadow, blond hair flying behind her like a pennant in the sunshine, he’d hardly been able to breathe. The moment she’d seen him, she’d dismount and run into his arms, her hair smelling sweet from her peach-scented shampoo.

Without losing a heartbeat, he’d lay her down in the sweet white clover and they would kiss, clinging in a frenzy of need while they’d tried to become one. Just remembering those secret times made his limbs grow heavy with desire.

“He fell asleep while we were talking,” she answered without looking at him directly. “I’m afraid I wore him out.”

“That means you made him happy and left him in a peaceful state. When I had breakfast with him this morning, he was excited to think you’d be coming by. He was always partial to you and Liz.” He almost said his grandfather had been waiting to welcome her into the Bannock family, but that would be dredging up the past.

“I care for him a lot.” She shifted nervously. “I’m afraid I have to get back to Ryan now, so don’t let me keep you. Good night.” She darted away like a frightened doe spooked by a noise in the underbrush.

He’d promised himself to stay away from her, but the trail of her haunting fragrance drove him to follow her out the front door to the truck. By the time she’d climbed behind the wheel, he’d reached the passenger side. Not considering the wisdom of it, he got in and shut the door.

“What are you doing?” She sounded panicked.

Jarod forced his voice to remain calm. “Isn’t it obvious? We have unfinished business, Sadie. While we’re alone, now is as good a time as any to talk.” He stretched his arm along the back of the seat, fighting the urge to plunge his hand into her silky hair the way he’d done so many times in the past. “To pretend we don’t have a history serves no purpose. What I’m interested to know is how you can dismiss it so easily.”

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