Page 51 of The Cowboy's Surprise Return

7

Cole hooked his boot on the bottom rung of the corral’s gate and watched the horses graze, thinking about Jackie. Although worrying about her was more like it. There was a lot going on with that woman, behind her sunshine smile. He’d expected them to spend time together this week, but she’d been silent, so he’d taken his cue from her. However, if they didn’t go out soon, their relationship would begin to look odd. And over. But he knew he couldn’t act first, not after he’d seen the fear darting in and out of her eyes at the Valentine’s Day supper.

He wasn’t sure what to do about that other than let her put up her boundaries, and then respect them to the best of his abilities. This wasn’t a real relationship and he didn’t have the authority to barge in and fix her, or change things like he wanted to.

But that was fine. Her boundaries would remind him to keep his distance and focus on winning back Levi’s trust. Cole dusted his damp leather gloves together, then loaded up the tools for fence mending, intent on keeping himself busy proving to his family he was interested in ranching and was here to stay.

Even if Levi was still a bit reserved about giving him more than a few odd jobs on the ranch, he knew his mother liked having him home again, and they’d had some good conversations. Her new boyfriend, Clint Walker, was a nice guy, too. He’d called Cole up a few days before Christmas with a request on Maria’s behalf, asking him to come home. Clint had called him “son” and had offered to buy him a ticket, letting him know he planned to pick up Cole from the airport on Christmas Day.

Somehow, despite Brant calling him every few months to fill him in on things that were happening on the ranch, or to ask if he was ready to return home, having Clint ask had made the difference. Logically, it made no sense.

Maybe it had simply been time to return. Or maybe it had been knowing he had an impartial party in his corner, one who wasn’t likely to weigh in on the drama, that had finally given Cole the courage to test his reception back on the Sweet Meadows Ranch.

Truly, he’d never regretted leaving, as it had been a classic case of damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don’t. Everyone had felt certain their own opinion on how to help April was the correct one, and despite the mess, Cole was glad he’d listened to her and given her space.

She was moving on, and that gave him hope that he could, too. When he looked at his mistakes from someone else’s perspective now, he could see that maybe he’d done what he had been supposed to do. Even though he still felt he should have taken immediate, heroic action—both with April and her unexpected pregnancy, and with Ryan in the flooding creek.

“There you are.” April and Kurt were walking his way in their boots, jeans, thick jackets and cowboy hats, ready to ride, by the looks of it.

“Speak of the devil,” he said.

“What?”

“I was just thinking about you.”

“You were?” Her eyes narrowed cautiously.

“And me?” Kurt asked, his face beaming with hope.

“Yup. You, too.” He swooped him up into the air and the little boy’s laughter lifted Cole’s heart. Yeah, one of these days he wouldn’t mind having a few kids of his own. He’d teach them how to ride and be a cowboy or cowgirl.

“Your mom said you were out here, and that you’d be able to find your grandmother’s saddle blanket for me. Levi had it repaired and Maria wants me to bring it back to the house when we’re done our ride.”

“I bet it’s in the tack room or Betty’s office in the stable.”

April shook her head. “Maria said it’s packed away in the loft.”

In other words, somewhere April could easily find it, but Maria was trying to make him feel useful. It had truly come to this, hadn’t it? His mother meddling behind the scenes to set things up in a way that would make him feel included.

“She also wanted Carmichael’s saddle cleaned and stored up there.”

“He’s giving up riding?”

April shrugged. “Until the dry season, for sure.”

That made sense. His grandfather would be eighty in a few months and Cole had noticed the way damp weather locked his joints up tighter than a cowboy’s fist in a fight over a pretty woman.

They began walking toward the stable, and Cole noted that April was looking a lot happier than she had a few weeks ago. Marriage seemed to suit her. A lot better than it had on the day of her wedding reception, when he’d caught up to her during a trail ride. She’d been feeling lost, and he’d been able to guide her, he felt. It had been nice to help out.

“How are things?” he asked, when Kurt ran ahead to catch Tootsie, the orange mama cat that had the run of the ranch.

“Good.”

“Yeah?” He slowed his pace, and she stopped moving.

“Really good, actually.” She didn’t look up at first, but when she did, he could see she was hesitant to talk to him about her marriage.

“Brant’s a good man.”

---