Rock, then turn it over to Renner, because he will see you bailing him out as charity. Trust me on this.”
“Just like he assumed my father handed me the job,” she murmured.
“Exactly. I know life is not supposed to be about keeping up appearances, but out here in the West? It is. Renner won’t be able to hold his head up in the community if locals assume you’re his sugar mama.”
When Tierney slowly straightened, Janie saw the wheels spinning. “What? You already came up with something, didn’t you?”
“Maybe. I need a couple days to see if it’s feasible.”
Janie took that as her cue to leave. “At the risk of sounding self-centered, do I still have a job?”
“Of course. I know why my father wanted to snap you up, Janie. You’re very good at what you do.”
“Except for my inability to sniff out office romances,” she said dryly.
“We were discreet.”
“Well, discretion sucks. Maybe if we toss it to the wind, we’ll both get lucky with what we want.”
Tierney flashed a decidedly sharklike smile. “Not luck. Skill. We both have the skills to get what we want. We just have to be smart enough to use them.”
Janie rolled out of bed at four a.m. She muttered as she dressed in her warmest clothes, including the ugly neon orange winter cap Abe had purchased for her at the feed store. She shivered as she climbed in her car in the pitch black and drove out to the ranch. The lights were still off in the house, but she knew he’d be up soon.
Abe hadn’t bothered to lock the door. She snuck into the kitchen and started coffee, listening to George whimpering in his crate. She whispered, “You have a lot to learn about being a ranch guard dog, pup.”
As the pot brewed, she dug in the front coat closet for an old pair of Celia’s coveralls and a small jacket.
Shoot. She eyed her athletic shoes. They’d have to do until she found time to buy a new pair of boots.
She pulled out two insulated mugs from the cupboard. When she turned and saw Abe leaning against the counter, his muscled arms folded over his chest, his dark hair rumpled from sleep and even darker whiskers covering his strong jaw, her heart swelled, flipped over in her chest, and clogged her throat. She couldn’t leave this man—this beautiful, stubborn, wonderful man she loved so much—and she hated she’d led him to believe she could.
“Janie? What the devil are you doin’ here this early?”
Vocal chords, don’t fail me now. “Making coffee before we start chores.”
Abe’s eyebrows lifted. “We?”
“Uh-huh.” Eloquent, Janie. She squared her shoulders. “I realized something the last two nights I spent alone. Since I’ve lived here with you, I never once got up and helped with chores. Granted, you didn’t ask. Nor did you poke me in the ribs until I rolled out of bed, grumbling, like you used to do when we were married.”
“You always hated that.”
“But I never realized why you woke me up. Now I understand it was your way of showing me you wanted to start the day with me by your side.”
Abe’s gunmetal gray eyes stayed on hers.
“I didn’t understand a lot of things back then that I do now. I’m here because I need to apologize for the childish way I acted the other night. I was looking for a reason to fight. It was easy falling back into old familiar patterns. We’d fight. I’d retreat. Or I’d storm off. And I expected you to find me or follow me. I expected you to coax me back.” As much as she wanted to look away, she forced herself to hold Abe’s eyes. “Did you know that’s one of the things that hurt the most when I left? You didn’t come after me. At the time I believed it was a sign it was over between us because you didn’t care enough to chase me down. Now when I see myself reverting to that woman-child who expected you to make all the effort, I’m embarrassed. I’m ashamed. I don’t want to be her. I’m not her anymore.
“So you should know . . . I lied. I had no intention of taking Gene Pratt’s job offer. I thought by taunting you with the possibility, you’d beg me not to leave. You’d convince me that although we’d both changed in the past eight years, we still belonged together. I wanted that sweet coaxing from you so badly that I picked a fight to get it. But you didn’t give it to me. I spent all night stewing in my own stupidity. I spent all yesterday wondering how I could have my pride and have you. But know what I figured out?”
“What?”
“I don’t want pride when it comes to you. I want honesty. So here’s the whole truth, Abe. I love you. I want to stay in Muddy Gap with you here on the ranch. I want you to take a chance on me. On us. Starting fresh.”
Abe pushed off the counter and wandered to the coffeepot. He took his own sweet time filling both mugs. Janie had to bite her tongue to keep from yelling at him to hurry up and tell her if they had a future.
When several long minutes passed and Abe didn’t move, didn’t speak, Janie had a bone-deep fear that she might be too late.
Finally he cleared his throat. “I’ll give you the chance. But there will be conditions.”
Sweet relief nearly knocked her to her knees. “Anything.”
Abe turned around. “This time when you marry me, you will take my last name.”
Her jaw dropped.
Then he was right there, his rough fingers under her chin. His mouth covered hers in a warm and gentle kiss. A kiss packed with promise and forgiveness. And love.
Love that he confessed the instant he broke the seal of their lips. “Janie. I love you. So much.” He kissed her softly. “Wanna hear something crazy? In the hours I laid in bed missing you, I decided if you left, I’d follow you. No matter where you went.”
“What?”
“I figured since I have a college degree, I could find a job doin’ something besides ranching.”
Her confused eyes searched his. “But you love the ranch.”
“Yeah, I do. But I love you too. Last time I picked this place over you. I should’ve chased you down and I didn’t because of my pride. I never thought I’d get another chance and I ain’t dumb enough to blow it. So if you’ve really got your heart set on livin’ someplace else—”
She shook her head and didn’t bother to hide her tears.
“Hey, now.” Abe’s thumbs wiped the dampness from beneath her eyes. “None of this. Your cheeks will freeze when we get outside. Can’t have my bride-to-be wearing permanent tear tracks, now can I?”
Janie stared at him. “You really want to marry me again?”
“Yep. Right away, too. But like I said, there are a couple of conditions.”
“Change my name. Check. What else?”
“No running away for you or clamming up for me if we hit a rough patch. We talk it out, figure it out, and if we can’t do it on our own, then we find a professional to help us sort it out. Though I doubt it’ll come to that this time, I wanna make sure we’re on the same page.”
“Deal.”
“Also, I want kids.”
There was that catch in her heart again. “Soon?”
“As soon as you’re ready. I’m ready now. I know your career is important to you and that’s fine by me.”
“How much did Hank and Lainie’s baby have to do with this need to reproduce?”
“Some. Not a jealousy thing, or a competition thing, but a you thing.”
She peered up at him. “A me thing?”
“When I see you, Janie, I see a future, our future, and that future includes kids. And you and me bein’ pruny together in fifty years.” Abe smiled. “Now that’s out of the way, we’ve got cattle to feed. I’m grateful for your help since Hank is too busy admiring his baby girl and fussing over his wife.”
“Harper told us all about Lainie’s close call. I’m relieved everything turned out so well.” She bit her lip. “Do you think your family can ever forgive me for leaving you? Let me be part of the family again?”
“It don’t matter what they think, Janie, because I forgive you. And you and I are alr
eady a family. We’ve been building it since the moment you moved in.”
She buried her face in his chest and held him tightly, grateful for the love of this amazing man and second chances.
As they grabbed the mugs and headed out the door, Janie knew they had more to discuss. Lots more. Not everything would get solved today. But they had a damn good start on it.
Chapter Thirty-seven
Two weeks later . . .
“Call me back, dammit.” Tierney angrily punched the END CALL button on her phone.
Janie glanced up from where she sat at Renner’s desk. “He’s still not taking your calls?”
“No. What is wrong with him? What if the Split Rock burned down and I needed to get ahold of him?”
“At the risk of pissing you off, he’d probably be happy because the insurance money would cover the damages and then he could afford to pay back the PFG loan.”
Tierney crumpled up a sheet of paper and lobbed it at Janie. “Not funny.”
“If it makes you feel any better, he’s not returning my calls either.”
“Actually, that doesn’t make me feel better. It makes me feel . . .” Lost. Alone. Unsure whether I’ve done the right thing.
Then Janie’s hands were flat on her desk as she stuck her nose in Tierney’s face. But Tierney’s gaze automatically focused on the brand-new two-carat diamond, centered in a white gold wedding band, surrounded by square-cut amethysts. Thrilled as she was that Janie and Abe worked out their differences and had gotten remarried last week, she still felt a pang of jealousy.
“Renner is always incommunicative when he’s on the road this time of the rodeo season. The truth is he’s too busy during the day with back-to-back events. At night, he’s too exhausted. The cycle starts anew each day.”
“But I don’t have the luxury of time. We need to move on this now. I can’t do anything until I hear from him.” She’d come up with a plan to pry the resort from her father’s clutches that was so perfect, bordering on sheer brilliance, that she couldn’t wait to get Renner’s approval and input.
“How much time before the note is due?”
“Three weeks.” She held up her hand to stop Janie’s rebuttal. “Don’t say plenty of time. I need a full week for the money to clear all channels. So I’m desperate to get in touch with the elusive man.”
“Well, there’s nothing you can do beyond tracking him down and kidnapping him.”
Tierney stilled. Kidnap. Huh. What a great idea.
“Oh, Miz Pratt, I do not like the look in your eye.”
“I imagine Renner will like it even less, Mrs. Lawson.” She smirked and pushed her chair away from her desk. At the door she grabbed her coat, her mind already racing a million miles an hour.
“Where are you going?”
“To the barn.”
“For what?”
“Kidnapping supplies.”
Renner’s phone vibrated at five thirty in the morning. He’d been asleep exactly two hours. He blindly reached for the buzzing object on the nightstand and rolled over on the lumpy mattress. “This’d better be good.”
Hugh Pritchett released a stream of gibberish that instantly jolted Renner awake. “Whoa whoa whoa. Slow down. Start over from the beginning’cause I didn’t understand a word you said.”
“BB is gone.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Pritchett? BB, our bull, is gone? As in . . . ?” His heart nearly stopped. “Dead?”
“No. Gone. As in vanished. As in stolen.”
Renner scrambled upright. “What? How could that’ve happened?”
“No clue. But here’s the damndest thing.” Pritchett laughed awkwardly. “It’s gonna sound stupid.”
“Tell me.”
“BB left a note.”
“If this is some kinda big fucking joke, Hugh, I ain’t laughing. At all.”
“I swear, boss, I’m not kiddin’. I hadn’t checked on him in two days. So this morning when I went to check he was gone from his pen. And there was a note tacked to the fence post.”
“A note. From BB,” Renner repeated dully. Jesus. He felt like an idiot asking, but he did anyway. “What did the note from BB say?”
“It said, and I quote: Headed to my new home, where the heifers are hotter, the view is better and the mountain air is sweeter.” Hugh was quiet for a couple of breaths. “Does that make any sense to you?”
“Yeah, believe it or not, it does.”
Tierney. Damn her hide. She’d stolen his damn bull.
How?
Why?
Her last voice mail warned, Losing my patience with you, cowboy. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
He should’ve taken her warning seriously.
“So do you want me to call the sheriff and report stolen livestock?” Pritchett asked.
Renner sighed. “No. I know exactly where BB is.”
“You do?”
“He’s been hauled to the Split Rock.”
“Shit.” Then, “Wait. Was this planned?”
“By me? Hell no.”
“What’re you gonna do?”
“Hit the road. Guess it’s a good thing I was already on my way to Wyoming.”
Renner thought about giving Tierney a heads-up that he was on his way. He’d also considered scaring the crap outta her by having one of his buddies from Kansas call her, pretending to be an investigator with the CRA regarding the recent rash of livestock thefts.
But ultimately, he’d just decided to show up.
He’d been thinking about her nonstop for the last twenty-two and a half days. He missed her. God, did he ever miss her. He wondered how he’d survived the loneliness on the road before she’d come into his life. It’d killed him, not texting her a hundred times a day. Not talking to her for an hour before his head hit the pillow every night. The woman had wormed her way into his heart. She owned his soul. As much as he’d loved what he’d built at the Split Rock, he loved what he’d begun to build with her more.
As Renner passed between the twin stone pillars marking the entrance to the ranch, his pride was tinged with sadness. Although he’d thought of little else except her on the six-hundred-mile drive, he needed time to get his bearings before they met face-to-face. He drove down to the barn. Snow was several feet deep and he found himself looking at the pens. No sign of BB.
Renner parked and entered the barn from the side door.
Tobin poked his head around the corner. His eyes widened, but so did his grin. “Looking for something?”
“You’d better have my goddamned bull in here, Tobin. BB better be getting daily damn massages and the best fresh mountain hay money can buy.”
“He’s in the big stall.”
“I can’t believe she roped you in—”
“For the record, Tierney gave me no choice but to help her temporarily liberate BB.”
“She threaten to fire you?”
“Ah. No. She threatened to grab BB on her own. I knew she’d hitch up a cattle trailer and try to coax a two-thousand-pound bull into the trailer by herself. I figured it’d be better for me to be with her, helping her, even when I didn’t agree with what she was doin’.” Tobin beamed. “Although she was right in knowing exactly what it’d take to get you to come home. I had August Fletcher check BB out as soon as we unloaded him. Mean SOB is perfectly fine.”
“Good thing. I was worried.”
Tobin looked confused. “Tierney didn’t assure you everything went okay when you talked to her?”
When Renner didn’t answer, Tobin swore.
“Please tell me you didn’t come down here and check on your bull before you saw Tierney? Dude. What is wrong with you?”
He threw up his hands. “I’m an idiot, all right?”
“Damn right you are. You’ve been gone three weeks. Three weeks in