Page 1 of A Surprise Wedding for the Cowboy

Chapter One

Someone should have warned Tate Sullivan that taking a toddler on a twenty-hour road trip would take considerably longer than expected. He’d thought he was making a major concession by breaking the trip into two days rather than pushing through with a few short catnaps. Ha. Showed what he knew about kids.

But his nephew was his responsibility now, as if the poor tyke didn’t have more than enough issues already. Jamie had not only lost both parents in a helicopter crash just after his first birthday, but also his mother’s sister and brother-in-law, who’d been his designated guardians.

Mom had tried to step up, but she wasn’t cut out for raising kids, only for birthing them. Tate and his brothers could attest to that.

And Jamie screamed on, stiffening as much as he could against the constraints of the car seat.

Tate cranked his Sirius playlist of upbeat Christian music — God’s Not Dead by the Newsboys pounded on — but it couldn’t cover the wails. The only thing that made a difference was stopping the SUV and letting Jamie run free. Point the kid back to the vehicle, and the resistance began again.

He was almost to Butte, Montana. Stop or carry on? Which would be better for Jamie? Besides surrendering and staying in Butte forever, which might be a better option than whatever Grandfather was cooking up over near Missoula.

What was the old geezer doing buying a guest ranch at his age and summoning his grandsons to turn the place around? Tate was no rancher. Neither were his brothers or their cousin. Great. This was some kind of test to see who could fill the gap left at the death of the eldest grandson, Jamie’s dad.

Tate was next in line, plus he’d taken over raising his nephew. Also, he knew the business as well as Wally ever had. Shouldn’t that be enough to satisfy Grandfather?

Apparently not. Grandfather had set a meeting for 3:00 Wednesday afternoon, at which time he’d explain his plan — likely devious and convoluted — to his progeny. And they’d all leap up with a smile and dance to his tune, as they always did. There was too much money on the line to thumb their noses at the old man.

As the SUV passed the Welcome to Butte sign, Jamie’s screams kicked up a notch. Tate wouldn’t have believed it possible, yet there it was.

He had another 24 hours to get to Sweet River Ranch and a couple of hours to do it in, but maybe it would be better to break now than try to find the remote ranch in the dark and settle the kid with everyone watching and judging. Not that it would make much difference.

“Hey, shorty. Shall we get some dinner and stop for the night? Maybe I can find a hotel with a pool. What do you think?” Tate glanced in the rearview mirror, but the toddler’s eyes were scrunched shut in his red face.

That did it. He couldn’t even ask Siri for hotel suggestions over Jamie’s tantrum, so he’d have to make his own best guess as he drove through the small city. There. A reasonable brand a block off the interstate. Indoor pool. Attached restaurant, which meant he wouldn’t have to buckle the kid back in for dinner or breakfast. Sold.

He signaled and slowed for the exit. A nondescript gray car veered into the exit lane at the last second, narrowly missing Tate’s vehicle.

The female driver flashed wide eyes at him as her brakes screeched and she swerved to miss him. Her car grazed the cement barricade before she got it corrected and shot past him.

Tate’s heart pounded at the close call. He took guardianship of Jamie seriously, having traded in his nearly new Tesla on a luxury Lexus SUV with high safety ratings. Wally’s son wasn’t going to get hurt on Tate’s watch… but he didn’t want to test the rear side airbags. Or any of them. If something happened to Tate, who did that leave Jamie with? Back to Mom? Because Tate’s remaining brothers were young and immature, and Dad worked at least 60 hours a week for Grandfather.

No, Tate needed to stay alive to raise this kid. He took a few calming breaths as he followed the gray car. She turned in at the hotel’s adjoining restaurant. Convenient. He could give her a piece of his mind at not paying attention to her surroundings. Someone needed to. She was a menace on the road.

He pulled into the hotel’s lot, because there was no way he could start driving again once Jamie’s hopes rose, even across a parking area. Surely it wasn’t too much risk to assume the hotel would have an available room mid-afternoon on a random April weekday. Because if he had to — never mind. They’d have room.

Tate reached into the backseat and unbuckled the toddler. Jamie lunged at him, his screams descending into sobs as he wrapped tight arms around Tate’s neck. Aw, man. This kid. Tate would do right by him. He would, whatever it took. He hadn’t planned on fatherhood anytime in the next few years. He barely had time to date, let alone marry, let alone parent a child.

Hello, unwelcome and unexpected shortcut.

He squeezed Jamie. “Hey, we’re going to stop for a while, okay? I just have to go talk to that lady over there, then we’ll see about a room and get your diaper changed. What do you say?”

Jamie sniffled into Tate’s collar. Affirmation. Probably.

Tate beeped the locks on the Lexus and strode toward the gray car.

The driver still hadn’t exited, which was convenient for him. In fact, she cradled the steering wheel, shaking, her long dark hair cloaking her features.

Aw, man. She was crying. None of them had actually brushed closely enough with death — no matter Tate’s white-knuckle response — to warrant weeping. Tate had had enough tears for one day from the kid in his arms. Enough tears for a lifetime, frankly.

But he wasn’t a mean guy. He might have planned to ream her out, but there was a time for that, and a time for compassion. God only knew how many times he’d needed grace.

He reached out to tap on her window when her head swung up and the same startled eyes he’d never forget stared back at him.

* * *

Ugh. Could this day get any worse?

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