Rancher's Son Read online

  Doris plunged her fingers into the bowl and swiftly snapped a handful of the long thin pods into pieces. “Till you know for sure, it won’t do either of you any good if you get too attached to that boy. Not unless you’re planning to keep him.”

  Wise advice and exactly what he’d been thinking but had been unable to put into words. Determined to keep his distance from the kid, Ty tempered his smile as Jimmy rushed back, his hands still dripping wet.

  “I’m ready now, Ms. Doris.”

  Doris shooed Ty along while she drew the boy onto the bench beside her. “Okay, now this here is easier than the pies we’re gonna make later. First, you take one of these pods, like this…”

  The cook’s voice faded. Doris would have the boy snapping beans like he’d been doing it all his life before Ty even reached the paddock. When he rode back into camp tonight, there’d be apple pies made by Jimmy’s two little hands. Of that Ty had no doubt.

  How he felt about it, now that was a question.

  He’d dreamed of having children of his own. But he had to admit he knew far more about cattle and horses than little boys. Jimmy presented an unexpected opportunity to expand his knowledge. Sure, the kid probably wasn’t his, but who was to say he couldn’t learn the ropes of parenting as long as the boy was on the Circle P?

  Ty mulled the option over without finding a downside. As long as no one got too close or too involved, it seemed like a win-win situation. He’d see that Jimmy had the time of his life on the ranch. Make sure the boy socked away enough memories to sustain him until Sarah located his real father. In the meantime, Ty would pick up some parenting skills that might come in handy…one day. He didn’t have to look far to find expert advice. Doris knew practically everything there was to know about young’uns. Sarah, too. And having the social worker show him how to relate to the child might even be fun.

  Ty clamped his hat on his head and strode toward the hitching post. Sarah was definitely easy on the eyes, especially now that she’d traded in those awful business suits for tight-fitting jeans and a cowboy hat. But the woman was simply wound too tight to be his cup of joe. Not that he was looking for a relationship, casual or otherwise.

  * * *

  DELAYED BY HER OWN NEED for reassurance that Jimmy and Doris were set for the day, Sarah double-checked the girth strap and the placement of Belle’s bit just as Seth and his group rode out of the yard. She rubbed a hand over the hard saddle and sighed. Behind her, the jangle of metal and the squeak of leather signaled the arrival of another rider.

  “Something wrong?” From atop Ranger, Ty eyed her quizzically.

  Sarah shook her head. “No. Just wishing there was a bit more padding. After yesterday, I wouldn’t mind tying a soft pillow or two over that saddle.”

  The rancher chuckled. “The first couple of days can be a bit hard on the, uh…derriere,” he finished with a teasing smile.

  Sarah wrenched her gaze away from an appreciative gleam that made her heart race. White birds wheeled against the cloudless blue sky over miles of palmetto and pines. Beyond them, she glimpsed a shimmer of water. Spotting a trio of riders on horseback in the distance, she shaded her eyes. “I thought the Garrisons were with us today? Where are they headed?”

  Ty swung around so his gaze followed Sarah’s. “They wanted to do a little birding away from the rest of the group. Said they’d meet up with us at lunch.”

  Her legs and thighs protesting, Sarah fit her foot into the stirrup and swung onto Belle. “So, it’s just you and me?” The prospect of spending several hours alone with Ty was far more intriguing than she thought it should be.

  “Unless that’s a problem. Josh and a couple of the others got a head start on us. We’ll catch up with them.”

  “No. It’s okay.”

  Ty touched a heel to Ranger’s side. The horse moved forward over the flat land, seeming to know his way around the thick patches of palmetto, his hooves leaving deep imprints in the gray sand. Belle’s reins in one hand, Sarah urged the mare to walk alongside the other horse.

  “Actually, there’s something I wanted to say to you, and it’ll be easier if we’re by ourselves.” Sensing this was as good a moment as any, she plunged ahead.

  “I think I owe you an apology.”

  “You think?” Ty canted his head, peering at her from beneath the brim of a cowboy hat. “Or you know?”

  “Can you settle for a maybe?”

  When he chuckled and nodded, she continued. “I came downstairs last night. There were still people around the campfire. Someone had a bottle, and everyone was helping themselves.”

  “Everyone?” Ty’s broad shoulders edged back a notch.

  “Well, no. Seth was there, but he wasn’t drinking.”

  “Good. He said he’d keep an eye on things.” The sudden tension in Ty’s voice eased. After a pause, he added, “Same as always.”

  “I’m just saying it was a far cry from the wild parties Chris and Tim talked about.”

  They moved into a stand of pines that smelled of evergreen and tree sap. A thick bed of needles covered the dirt. Beneath the horses’ hooves, fallen branches crackled and popped. Ranger snorted.

  “What you saw last night, that’s about as crazy as it ever gets at the Circle P. My men and I, we don’t abide heavy drinking. A hungover cowboy just isn’t much good on a ranch.”

  “Well, if that’s the way it is, I’m sorry for yelling at you about Chris and Tim. It sounds like they exaggerated a bit.”

  Beyond the wooded copse, ranch hands spread out across the open land. While they herded cattle by ones or twos from thickets of palmetto and brush, Ty pulled Ranger to a halt under a pine tree. He leaned forward, his arms crossed so his weight rested on the pommel. “Can’t blame you for protecting those boys. I imagine there are just as many instances where the stories kids tell are true.”

  Sarah gave her head a rueful shake. “You wouldn’t believe it.” There were way too many bad people in the world. DCF did its best to weed them out, but every so often someone who shouldn’t have anything to do with children slipped into the system. Often, her first indication of a problem came from the kids themselves. So, she’d learned to listen when they talked. Before Ty had a chance to respond to her explanation, movement in the bushes just beyond the clearing drew her attention. She pointed.

  “If I’m not mistaken, there’s a cow behind that stand of palmetto up ahead.”

  Ty leaned forward and scanned the thick brush. “Good eye. We’ll make a cowgirl out of you yet. Why don’t you circle ’round to the left. I’ll take right, and we can ease her on out.”

  Slowly, she moved Belle into position. They stepped from beneath the trees, dry grass rustling under the horses’ hooves. When Ty removed his hat, Sarah did the same. They worked as a team, moving forward while Ty swung his arms and called, “Hey-hey-hey now. Come on out, gal.”

  The wide palmetto fans rustled. Sarah and Ty tightened their circle until, at last, a mottled face topped by short, curving horns broke from the bushes. The sleek, brown cow trotted away from them, her hooves plodding heavily against the dirt. Watching Ty, Sarah waited until their quarry slowed to a walk before she guided Belle alongside Ranger.

  “You did that like you’ve been rounding up cattle your whole life,” Ty said.

  The simple praise warmed Sarah’s face. She tugged her own hat down low over her eyes and offered a sincere, “Thanks, but I have no idea what we do next.”

  “That part’s simple,�
�� Ty said with an easy assurance. “All we do now is follow along, slow-like, until we meet up with the others. We’ll gather together seven or eight head, then slowly move them toward the pens. The cattle know the way ’cause when the weather’s cold or the grass dies back, we drop feed off there.”

  It would be easy to succumb to Ty’s personality, Sara realized. The rancher had a generous nature, a ready smile she could get used to. But she’d come to the Circle P for Jimmy’s sake and, taking a deep breath, she turned their conversation to the boy.

  “Makes you wish kids were as easy to handle, doesn’t it?”

  The humor fell from Ty’s face. His lips straightened into a thin line. “What was all that about at breakfast? Millie never was much for mornings, but I can’t believe she never scrambled an egg for the boy. Or fried up a rasher of bacon.”

  Sarah shrugged. She’d removed children from homes where refrigerators held nothing more than cheap beer and a bottle of ketchup. “From what Candy said when she dropped him off, money was tight.”

  “Now, see, that’s what doesn’t make any sense. Millie dreamed big. A house in the city was at the top of her list. If this kid really is mine, she would’ve asked for support.”

  The conversation had wandered onto a treacherous patch of ground. But with Jimmy’s best interests at stake, Sarah forced herself to ask the tough questions. “What kind of relationship did you have with her? Was she faithful?”

  “Are you asking if my wife cheated on me? Six weeks ago, I’d have said no. I’m not saying my life with Millie was a picnic. That year after we moved back to the Circle P wasn’t the best time for us.” Ty cleared his throat. “The ranch was bleeding money and, for a while there, I thought the banks were gonna foreclose. It took working around the clock seven days a week to save the place. By then, she was gone.”

  As they rode through a patch of grass, their cow veered off the path. Ty slapped his reins against Ranger’s neck, urging the horse to one side and leaving Sarah to wonder if she’d ventured too far into the rancher’s personal life. But no, she decided when he swung in beside her after they were once more headed in the right direction. He just needed a minute to get his thoughts together.

  “Any chance you could ask this Candy person more about their time in New York? See if she wants to raise the boy?”

  Not liking where Ty’s thoughts had taken him, Sarah suppressed a groan. He was no closer to acknowledging Jimmy as his son than he had been when they’d met in her office two days earlier.

  “I think we’ve seen the last of Miss Candy Storm.” Though it didn’t matter—Ty was Jimmy’s father—Candy hadn’t called once to check on the boy. Sarah’s calls went straight to voice mail. Not one had been returned.

  “Too bad,” Ty murmured. “I sure would like to ask her a few questions. See if Millie confided in her.”

  That sounded more like the way Ty should be thinking, but before Sarah had a chance to comment on it, they’d reached Josh and his band of riders. After checking in, Ty brushed two fingers past his hat brim.

  “I have to go check on the others now. I’ll catch up with you later.”

  Sarah tried not to feel abandoned as the man rode away. He’d said from the beginning he needed to split his time between the two groups of wranglers, and he had spent quite a while talking with her. Still, as she watched him go, she couldn’t help wondering what it’d be like to have someone like Ty around all the time.

  Chapter Six

  Sarah wrenched her gaze from Ty’s broad shoulders as he rode away. When her thoughts refused to budge from the handsome rancher, she gave herself a stern lecture. Much as she wanted what was best for Jimmy, she hadn’t come to the Circle P to dwell on the boy’s reluctant father. She’d intended to use her vacation to sort out her feelings about her job and make plans for the future.

  Well, there was no time like the present.

  Urging Belle forward, she ignored the rustle of green palmetto fronds brushing against the horse’s flanks and focused on the problem. She’d been promised Connie’s job when the woman retired. As director of the Fort Pierce office, she’d be able to implement the changes needed to better serve the children in foster care. Only, the longer Sarah worked with Connie, the more her boss refused to set a departure date, and that was a problem. Worse, every improvement Sarah suggested earned her another black mark in Connie’s little book. Add in the bureaucracy, politics and impossibly long hours and there was only one logical conclusion. Though she’d invested seven years in changing the system, the only thing that had changed was her…and not for the better. She had to leave DCF.

  And go where? There wasn’t much call for former social workers. Gardening was her only other marketable skill. But was her love of tropical plants enough?

  While she searched for cows hidden in the thick brush, Sarah examined ideas for turning her hobby into a money-making business. Within an hour, she had the beginnings of a plan. One that might pay her a salary while she changed the environment of one child at a time.

  Satisfied that she’d taken a positive step toward the future, Sarah guided another wayward cow into the small herd of eight or nine the others had gathered. By the time Josh waved his hat, signaling the time to head back to camp, she looked forward to sitting on something other than hard leather and a moving horse. She clucked to Belle just as a soft buzzing sounded from her hip.

  Sarah whipped her cell phone from her pocket. When her boss’s name appeared on the screen, she cupped one hand over the speaker.

  “You go on, Josh. I’ll catch up.”

  “Sarah, we’re having…with the new…system. What’s your…” Connie’s voice faded in and out.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t quite get that.” Sarah glanced over her shoulder at the sandy mound she’d passed ten minutes earlier. Hoping for better reception there, she urged Belle into a trot and headed away from the rest of the riders.

  “What’s your…”

  “Hold on. Let me move to a spot where I can hear you better,” Sarah shouted over a rush of wind and clomping hooves.

  Startled, Belle sidestepped and blew air through her nostrils. Though Sarah reined to the left, she only succeeded in turning them in a small circle.

  “C’mon, girl,” she coaxed, but the horse had apparently decided to show a bit of the spunk Seth had mentioned.

  Again, Sarah tried to get them going in the right direction, and again Belle balked.

  “We need…word.”

  Unable to battle a willful horse and respond to her boss’s demands at the same time, Sarah dismounted. She looped the reins over the closest palm frond and stalked the rest of the way to the mound that was little more than a wide patch of gray sand. There, marginally better reception enabled her to hear well enough to answer Connie’s questions about passwords for the new computer system.

  “How are Mr. Parker and the boy getting along?” her boss asked minutes later.

  “Ty—the dad—is still coming to grips with the idea that he has a five-year-old,” Sarah reported. “But they’re making progress.”

  Her fingers crossed, she turned to watch the small herd of cattle cross the open plain. They’d almost reached the copse of woods where she and Ty had found their first cow. Soon, the small band would be out of sight. Sarah sighed. Apparently, they’d be taking Belle with them. Her reins dragging the ground, the horse trotted back the way they’d come.

  “Damn,” Sarah whispered. It was a long walk back to camp in a
new pair of boots that pinched her feet.

  “Connie, I have to go now.” She punched the button, disconnecting the call. The moment she lowered the phone to her waist, a harsh rattle rose above the gentle whir of cicadas and the rustle of palm fronds. Sarah glanced in the direction of the sound. She froze.

  Stretched out on the sand not ten feet from her boots lay the biggest rattlesnake, the only rattlesnake, she’d ever seen that wasn’t in an enclosure at the zoo.

  “Double damn,” she whispered.

  * * *

  TY SPOTTED A CLOUD OF DUST. He shaded his eyes and studied the cattle and riders. Josh and his crew had spread out in a loose semicircle around a small herd of prime Andalusians. As they headed his way in no particular hurry, Ty swept the group a second time, letting his gaze linger on each rider. An odd feeling tickled the back of his throat the second he realized Sarah wasn’t among them. He fought the urge to kick Ranger into a cow-scattering gallop. Instead, he gave the horse a soft tap. His pace steady, he rode straight for the man he’d left in charge.

  “Looks like you lost one,” he said, reining in beside Josh.

  The young man’s eyes narrowed to a squint. “Nope. We gathered up fifteen head. All accounted for.”

  “What about Sarah?” Ty prompted. “Didn’t you lose her somewhere along the way?”

  Josh aimed a thumb over his shoulder. “No, boss. She said she had business to attend to and we should go on ahead. I think she got a phone call.”

  With Josh’s chin tucked into his neck and his hat brim pulled low, Ty couldn’t stare into the ranch hand’s eyes the way he wanted. He let his voice drop into a deeper register. “So you just left her out there…alone?”

  “We let those bird watchers go off on their own this morning. What’s the diff?”

  “I shouldn’t have to point that out to you.” Sure, the Garrisons had separated from the roundup, but there’d been three of them. If one got hurt, the others could ride for help.