Heart of a Rancher Read online

  “Really?” Abi quickly handed her pole to her uncle. “Don’t worry, Daddy. I’m not that dirty. I don’t even smell like fish yet.” She took a whiff of her hand to make sure then shrugged. “Well, not too bad. I’ll wash my hands.” Abi gave John a quick hug. “I’ve got to go. Love you!”

  “I love you, sweetie.”

  Then she hugged Dana. “Bye, Miss Dana. Love you, too!”

  Dana’s heart clenched so tight it hurt. She’d never had a child tell her that she loved her, and the tender words sent a rush of warmth through her soul. She blinked back tears. “I love you, too, Abi,” she whispered, accepting the precious hug and realizing the words were so very, very true.

  She did love this little girl. And, glancing at John, she wondered...am I falling in love with you, too?

  Abi’s father finally got out of his car, opened the gate and hesitantly stepped into the pasture as though worried he might get something on his shoes. He dressed like Ryan—tailored shirt, dress slacks, expensive shoes. But he did accept his daughter’s running hug with open arms, even if his face cringed a bit when he inhaled.

  “We may have to wait for you to take a bath first,” he said.

  “Is that okay?” Abi’s lower lip ran out a tad. “I didn’t mean to smell fishy.”

  “It’s fine. I’ll just move our dinner reservations. It isn’t a problem.” Though his tone said it was.

  Abi didn’t seem to notice. “Great! You want to come say hey to Uncle John and meet Miss Dana? She’s from Chicago.” Abi had finally converted the “windy town” to Chicago after hearing her parents and John reference the city several times throughout the past week. Funny thing, though. Dana missed being known as the girl from the windy town rather than the lady from the prominent city.

  “Hello, Pete.” John didn’t stand to meet the guy, so Dana kept her place on the quilt, too.

  “Cutter. I see you’re overly busy today. Georgiana had said your fish camp was doing well. Only one customer this weekend?” He tilted his head toward Dana.

  “Actually—” John glared, the soft amber in his eyes converting to an intense gold “—we don’t have any paid guests this weekend, due to all the rain.”

  “So I guess it isn’t doing as well as my ex implied.” He nodded. “Figures.”

  “The camp is doing fine.” John’s words were pushed through gritted teeth, and his look said he dared the guy to argue the point.

  Pete apparently took the hint and turned his attention to Dana. “So you aren’t here for the fish camp?”

  “No, I’m here for the dude ranch.” She saw John’s shoulders tense with her statement, but this man had irritated her, too, and she wanted to put him in his place.

  “Dude ranch? What dude ranch is that?” Pete’s sinister smile made her skin crawl.

  “I’m investing in John’s newest project, converting their farm into a dude ranch. It’s going to be amazing. Guests will participate in trail rides, horseback riding, camping, a true outdoor vacation. Many people never have the opportunity to experience that anymore, but they will here, at the Cutter Dude Ranch, and they’ll learn the history of the dude ranch from John.”

  “A dude ranch, in Alabama? You don’t say?”

  Abi bobbed her head. “Yep, and I’m going to help the kids learn about riding horses, so I’ve been taking lots and lots of extra lessons from Grandma. And Uncle John and Miss Dana are going to let me go camping with them when we don’t get so much rain and all, and we’re going to cook marshmallows and hot dogs and sing songs and stuff. It’s going to be great!”

  John didn’t release his smile, but the impression of both dimples dipped in and Dana sensed his pride at Abi’s excitement. Even though he didn’t think the dude ranch was going to make it, he was still proud of the effort.

  Dana couldn’t wait until he checked today’s mail.

  “So you’re from Chicago? And you’re investing in a dude ranch in Alabama?” Pete cleared his throat. “I’m sure John probably told you, but I’m a partner in a very successful investment firm in Tampa. And there’s no way we would touch anything as risky and uncertain as a dude ranch in Alabama.” He grinned, but it wasn’t a friendly smile. “Guess they must do things different up there in Chicago.” His head shook subtly, his disbelief evident, as he looked from John to Dana. “Good luck to you and your little investment, Miss Dana.”

  “You can call her Miss Brooks.” John’s voice was nearly a growl, his anger contained, but barely.

  Pete had already turned to walk away, but he shifted on his heel, took another look at Dana. And then she saw it when the pieces clicked into place. “Miss Brooks? Dana Brooks?” His cheeks swiftly reddened. “From Brooks International?”

  “You’ve heard of the company?” John’s tone was mocking, but Dana didn’t blame him. This guy had ticked her off, too.

  “Yes, Brooks International,” she said. “We’re very excited about the dude ranch potential in northern Alabama and thrilled to have people as hardworking, trustworthy and experienced as the Cutter family who can pull it off.” She used the same tone she used in the boardroom when describing a potential investment, one that she was certain would succeed. “We’re anticipating a huge profit margin with this venture, so I came down personally to oversee the start-up.” She lifted a shoulder. “But that’s just the way we do things in Chicago.”

  John’s laugh nearly escaped, but he quickly made it seem as if he were merely clearing his throat.

  Pete’s jaw dropped open, then he visibly worked to snap it closed. Apparently, he’d run out of snobbish things to say.

  “You ready for me to go wash the fish off, Daddy? I’m excited about our week together, aren’t you?” Abi tugged at Pete’s hand, and the guy finally relented.

  “Yes, let’s go.” His words were directed to his daughter, but the confusion in his tone was clearly directed at Dana.

  Dana smiled. “Nice to meet you.” Then she frowned; that was an absolute lie. She’d have to work on her response in the future, now that she had decided to get her life on track. No more lies for the sake of the business. No more associating with people like Pete. She wanted to surround herself with honesty, with faith and, she now realized, with love.

  Pete and Abi got in his car, and Abi waved as they continued down the driveway toward the main house. Dana and John waved back. And Pete looked straight ahead, refusing to glance back at the couple by the pond.

  The car moved out of sight, then Dana heard John’s low rumble of a chuckle and turned to see him drop his back to the quilt and release the laughter with full force. “You were priceless,” he said, beaming. “I’d almost think you knew him as long as I have. You sure pushed his buttons.”

  She laughed. “I do know him. He’s every guy I have to deal with in Chicago. All full of themselves and ready to brag about even the smallest accomplishment. It really gets annoying, doesn’t it?”

  “It sure does.” He turned to his side and looked at her. “Every guy in the city is like that?”

  “I suppose every guy isn’t, but every guy I deal with is.” She thought about the people she dealt with on a regular basis, all of them after the biggest profit and most of them forming friendships and networks based on what they could get out of each relationship. “When I’m in Chicago, I think I’m at a disadvantage when it comes to learning what people are really like. And probably at a disadvantage when it comes to meeting people who are willing to be themselves around me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Most of my relationships are formed in and around Brooks International, so everyone knows me because of the company. And they figure that’s enough, I suppose. So they don’t take the time to get to know me as a person.” She thought about the superficial relationships that filled her life, and sighed. “When people meet me there and hear my name, they usually
react the same way Pete did a moment ago. And it’s all fake. Makes it difficult to form true friendships, you know?”

  His look was warm and tender, and Dana had no doubt he understood. “You really like it here, don’t you?”

  She didn’t hesitate. “I love it here.”

  “Yeah, I can tell you do.” He rolled onto his back, laced his fingers and put them under his head as he gazed at the blue sky overhead. “I’m sure that threw Pete for a loop, seeing that someone like you could be happy here. Most folks around here who go and get a taste of the big city leave and don’t come back. Guess they see it as greener pastures, so to speak.”

  Dana knew he was talking about the girl who’d broken his heart. Georgiana had mentioned MaciJo a couple of times during the week, and Maribeth had also said something about her breaking John’s heart. Dana couldn’t stand the thought of anyone hurting him, and she didn’t want him to doubt how much she wanted to be here, on the ranch, and, more importantly, with him. “Obviously they weren’t paying attention to what they had right here. Because if I’d been raised in a place as beautiful as this, with people as wonderful as the people in Claremont, I’d never have wanted to leave.”

  His gaze moved from the sky back to Dana. “That’s the way I feel, exactly. I’ve got to admit that it’s surprising that you feel the same way, but it’s a nice surprise.”

  “To be honest, it surprised me how much I like it here, but you really have to experience it to understand how amazing it is—the beauty of the fields, the mountains, the town and the people. I couldn’t get over people greeting me and chatting with me when we went to the square. The friendliness is almost, well, shocking when you come from the city.”

  “I don’t expect I’d handle dealing with that every day very well, people passing by each other and not saying a word. That just isn’t the way we do things down here.” His mouth crooked up on one side. “I probably wouldn’t handle dealing with people like Pete every day very well, either, but I have to admit, you handled him well.”

  Dana liked the way he grinned at her, as though he was proud of the fact that she’d put Pete in his place. “Did you see how red his cheeks got? Does he always do that?”

  Her question caused another rolling laugh. “I did see, and yeah, I’ve seen his cheeks get red when he’s nervous. He was the star quarterback on our football team in high school. But any time he got sacked, those cheeks went to flaming. Oh, and it was always his offensive line’s fault when something happened to him.The great Pete Watson could do no wrong.”

  “I’m sure that same philosophy followed him into business. Probably spends the majority of his time shifting the blame for his own bad investments.” She knew the type, hated the type.

  “I’m sure he does.” He pushed up from the quilt, and his smile faded a little. “I appreciate your telling him about the investment and all, but I realize there’s no way to pull this thing off without insurance.”

  A couple of horses came into view in the distance, their pelts glistening in the afternoon sun as they galloped across the field. John looked at the pair, then cleared his throat. “Listen, I know that the dude ranch isn’t going to happen, and that there really isn’t any reason for you to stay in Alabama. There’s no way Brooks International will invest in a place that can’t get insurance.” He swallowed then turned to look directly at Dana, and she saw the sadness in those beautiful amber eyes.

  “You may still get insurance,” she said, and was about to tell him more, but he shook his head.

  “I haven’t even requested quotes anywhere else. There’s no one left to ask. But I want you to know how much I’ve enjoyed having you here and how amazing it is to see you appreciate the ranch, the town, everything. I mean, if you’d like to stay a little longer and see a few more of the sights, I’d like to show you around. Granted, I still have two more nights of third shift at the plant, but then I’ll have four nights off and spring break from college. I was going to ask if you would stay till the end of next week and let me show you around.”

  “I’d like that, very much,” she said, picturing the tour of the town from John’s perspective and all of the time together. She loved being alone with him, times like right now, sitting by a pond, with the fields surrounding them, livestock grazing nearby and the beauty of the mountains in the distance. No, she didn’t plan to leave at the end of next week. She planned on their being busier than ever getting the dude ranch running, but she also wanted the experience John described, having him show her around. Just the two of them.

  “All the rain has prevented us from doing things I think you’d enjoy, things I’d like for you to see. One of the trails, the one that leads by our old tree house, goes all the way to the town square. If the dude ranch would have worked, I’d planned to let that be one day’s main activity, a trail ride or a hike to the square. I thought I could meet with the local merchants and artists there and ask them to offer some type of frontier specials to the dude ranch guests.” He shrugged. “Not sure if that’d have been as big a hit as I anticipated, but I thought it was a decent idea. Plus, it could’ve potentially generated some business for the shop owners.”

  “That’s an amazing idea,” Dana said, happy to hear him describing his plans again, even if he thought of them only as a missed opportunity. “And I think you should definitely do that one day for the main activity. Maybe you could even name that trail something that would go along with the theme of heading into the town.” She thought about potential trail names. “What could you call it?”

  “I’d thought about the Supplies and Vittles Run,” he said, grinning. “You know, like when the early settlers came across a town and would shop for supplies and food. Maybe that’s a little too quirky.”

  “No, it’s not. It’s adorable.”

  “Adorable. Yep, that’s what I was going for. That’s mighty appealing to a man’s ego to know that his name for a rustic trail ride is ‘adorable.’ Goes right up there with ‘precious,’ don’t ya think?”

  She laughed. “Awesome? It’s awesome? Or what about rugged. How’s that for a manly word?”

  “Better than adorable.”

  “Okay, rugged it is. And you should definitely run with that idea for the ranch.”

  “If there was going to be a ranch.”

  “I wanted to talk to you about that. And I meant to tell you that you haven’t heard from all the insurance companies yet.”

  “Yeah, I did. I only found seven that would even consider providing insurance for this type of place, and I have the seven rejection letters to prove that each and every one of them turned me down flat.”

  “But you haven’t heard from the insurance companies I contacted. I requested quotes from a few places affiliated with Brooks International.”

  His brows lifted, eyes locked with hers. “You contacted companies? Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “I thought yours would come through. Mine was just a backup, in case we didn’t get the answer we wanted from the ones you contacted.” She didn’t add that she’d never contacted any until after their conversation two nights ago. Or that she’d had to ask Ryan to help find a company willing to take the risk of insuring the ranch. And she also didn’t mention that they could probably buy an entire farm for what she’d had to spend on the high-risk coverage.

  She wouldn’t tell John any of that, because all she wanted him to know was that he would have insurance, and he would have the dude ranch of his dreams. Dana would make certain of it.

  “And have you heard from any of yours?” he asked.

  “Not yet.” But she knew they would hear today. The agent verified that the acceptance letter would be sent via overnight delivery when Dana called him yesterday afternoon and told him he could expect more business from Brooks International in the future once John Cutter’s application was approved.

  John’s lo
ok of hope dropped a little. “Listen, I appreciate your trying to help, but I wouldn’t expect a different answer. As I told you before, all those rejection letters looked like they were written by the same person. They all have the same reasons for denying our coverage, and even if I’m not happy about it, their reasons do make sense.” He gave her a small grin. “I probably wouldn’t insure me, either.”

  “We won’t know until we hear from them.” She glanced toward the driveway. “Have you checked today’s mail?”

  “Didn’t think I had a reason to.”

  “Well, now you do.” She pushed up from the quilt to stand, then turned and reached out her hand. “Come on, let’s go check. You might get the news you’ve been waiting for. You never know.”

  He ignored her statement about the potential for good news and instead concentrated on her outstretched hand. “You really think you can pull me up?”

  “Abi said these boots give your feet a better grip on the ground. I might as well see.” She’d worn the pink mud boots that she’d bought from Maribeth because, in spite of the fact that the rain had stopped, the ground was still extremely mushy in spots.

  “It isn’t your feet getting a better grip that I’m worried about. It’s the fact that I can’t quite see all a hundred and ten pounds of you lifting all nearly two hundred pounds of me, and I don’t want you to hurt yourself trying.”

  “You underestimate me, and my weight,” she said, wiggling her fingers, “but I’m not going to give you any additional info about that. Come on, let me try. I might just surprise you.”

  “I’m guessing lots of people underestimate you, Ms. Brooks,” he said with a grin, and he put his hand in hers.

  She felt the calluses of his palm, watched the way the tan fingers twined between her lighter ones and felt a frisson of delight at the mere touch of his skin to hers. If he thought she’d go back to Chicago anytime in the near future, he thought wrong. She was nowhere near ready to leave the ranch, and definitely nowhere near ready to leave John. Whatever was going on between them was just getting started and was more exciting than anything she’d experienced in a very long time, and she couldn’t wait to see where it led.