Riggs offered his hand. He brought Winona to the ground, setting her down and keeping her in the circle of his arms. Telling himself over and over again that she was safe. Safe. No injuries. He could start breathing again. His heart rate had only now resumed normal levels, the terror that had galloped through him like a horse on crack finally dissipating.
She could have died.
Worse, bulls didn’t just wander onto his land. Fences didn’t suddenly develop gaps large enough for a bull to fit through.
Riggs didn’t want to believe it, but Phil had to have done this. A scare tactic, he presumed, and he couldn’t help but think he’d meant this for Winona’s sake. Maybe with his millionaire wife out of the picture, Riggs would be more inclined to rethink. But it couldn’t be.
No, even Phil wasn’t that stupid. He was simply trying to get Riggs’s attention. Well, he had it.
Winona could take care of herself in most situations, but he wouldn’t want to count on her resourcefulness. If Phil had been up to this sabotage, as Riggs more than suspected, he was little more than a crazy person. Unhinged. Maybe it would be worth making a phone call and talking to those developers whose calls he’d been ignoring for months. He’d straighten a few things out with them. He’d dealt with and understood contracts for land use, water rights, finder’s fees, all of it. And people had to be able to accept no for an answer.
With Winona safely back in the house, he rode Spur back to the fence line. Someone had definitely sabotaged this fence and pried it apart. A crowbar had been left on the ground. The idiot didn’t even consider removing the evidence. Riggs could see the bull in the distance, and he’d wandered further on to the southside. From here he could see that the corral pen where Wade Cruz kept his bull had been left open. This was never the case.
His closest neighbor, the family of Wade Cruz, the all-state rodeo champ, had several acres that abutted one side of Henderson Grange. They hadn’t kept cattle in years, but Wade still kept the bull he’d trained on. Wade’s mother, Rose, was ill with cancer, still fighting the good fight. After Jorge Cruz died, everything went to hell. Wade was gone too much to help out. Riggs and the rest of the men helped and made repairs when and where needed. The ladies of SORROW were often bringing casseroles and pies and Delores regularly stopped by to check in on Rose.
The woman would be horrified to learn their bull had nearly killed his wife. Okay, maybe he was exaggerating. But the terror he’d felt at seeing Winona standing so close to a major mauling still sent a shiver down his spine. He brought her here to his ranch to keep her safe not have her subjected to a madman who would let a bull loose.
Riggs pulled out the satellite phone he kept on him for emergencies.
“Beulah? It’s Riggs Henderson. I’m gonna need some help out here fixing a fence on the Cruz property. Just need a few men.”
He hung up after a few minutes. Beulah would alert the phone tree and within minutes he’d have a crew out here. There might be a shortage of women in Stone Ridge, but there was no shortage of both men and women willing to help their neighbor. He wasn’t one to ask for help often but he’d like this fence fixed immediately and would need more than Sean’s assistance.
Finished with that call, he dialed the land development company that had been bugging him for a year now. Within minutes, he was connected to the man he’d been dealing with on and off for months.
“Mr. Henderson.” Bill Smithers cleared his throat. “You’ve heard our new offer. Have you reconsidered?”
“I have not. I’m not selling my land and you can tell Phil Henderson to back off. Apparently, you’ve offered him a finder’s fee if he can talk me into selling.”
“I don’t think—”
“Don’t even try to deny it. There’s no other reason he’d be so motivated for me to sell. He’s been out here to see me recently. And today, I suspect he unleashed a bull that almost killed my pregnant wife!”
“Okay, now, calm down. I can hear that you’re upset. That sounds traumatic.”
“You don’t know the half of it. I don’t appreciate scare tactics. This isn’t the Old West. If he hurts my wife, in any way, I swear, you’re going to be the one to pay for it.”
“I can promise you those are not our tactics. We’ll rescind our offer to him. We only thought he’d come and reason with you. Explain our new terms.”
“You should have never involved yourself with someone like him.”
“It does sound like he’s too desperate. I apologize, we only—”
“Listen, if I change my mind, I’ll contact you directly. How’s that?”
“Can’t argue with that.”
A few minutes later, Riggs had grabbed Sean, and his crew arrived. Lincoln and Jackson Carver were together, probably having stopped whatever they were doing on their own ranch. Beau Stephens, Sadie’s brother, was right behind them.
“Hey, Riggs.” Lincoln slapped him on the back. “What’s happenin’? You got a loose bull? Is it Wade’s? He always keeps him locked up.”
“Someone took a crowbar to the fence and made a gap wide enough for Wade’s bull to make his way through.” Riggs walked them to the fence and picked up the crowbar. “It’s sabotage.”
Lincoln whistled. “That Satan is one mean sucker.”
“Winona happened on him, just out taking a walk.” He scratched his temple, fighting a smile. “Thought he was a cow.”
“Oh man, leave that to Winona!” Jackson snorted. “Fearless and clueless about ranch life.”
It was Sean who first burst into laughter, and Riggs followed close behind. Then Jackson, Lincoln, Beau. Pretty soon all of Riggs’s anger and fear had reduced to a slow simmer. Winona hadn’t been hurt, and that was all that mattered. He could laugh about it now.
And between him and his friends, the fence was fully repaired, and the bull returned to his corral.
Like they tended to do after a job where they all pitched in, all four headed to the Shady Grind for a cold beer.
Levi was behind the bar. “Hey. Got the call but I couldn’t leave the place unattended. Full house.”
“That’s alright. We got it done,” Riggs said.
Levi slid over beers for all of them, as one by one they each took a stool.
“Welcome, Mr. Newlywed,” Levi said to Riggs. “Haven’t seen you around for a while.”
“Tell me about it,” Beau said. “We miss your ugly mug around here. Never thought I’d see Riggs get married.”
“What’s the big deal?” Riggs took a pull of his beer.
“You were like the George Clooney of Stone Ridge.” Beau elbowed Riggs.
“By the way, George Clooney isn’t even George Clooney anymore,” Lincoln said.
“Stop talkin’ nonsense,” Sean said.
Confirmed bachelor his ass. What Riggs had confirmed now was that he’d been lonely for too many years. And every woman he’d met never held his attention for longer than a day. The younger women wanted to toy with him, and the women his age were already married. That left him with the occasional fling in Kerrville, because he hadn’t exactly been a monk for twenty years.
Jackson turned to Riggs. “How are you and Winona gettin’ along?”
Riggs didn’t know how to answer that question. He loved having sex with her, no doubt about that. But if his feelings didn’t go any deeper than that, he shouldn’t have a problem talking about his wife with her former husband.
The first man she’d asked to be her “personal assistant.”
It made sense that he cared about her, sure. She would be the mother of his…children. Gulp. Two of them at once for this so-called “confirmed bachelor.” But today, when he’d seen her in danger, for the first time the children hadn’t even been in his thoughts. His entire focus was Winona. Winona, who was trying hard to make the best of the situation he’d blackmailed her into. Planting seeds, keeping Delores happy, choosing to let a few walls down. Trying her best to acclimate.
Winona, who had just offered her help if he needed it.
“She has a way of worming her way into a man’s heart.”
“I wouldn’t know about that. Wasn’t exactly fair of me to marry her when I still loved Eve. I regret it. We both do, I guess. She’s a good person, though. Don’t believe her bad press. Well, I’m sure you know by now, even though yours was a pretty quick courtship.”
You can say that again.
“Yeah, who knew that I’d fall for her so quickly?”
“Well, I fell for Eve the first time I saw her.” Jackson took a pull of his beer. “Man, I’m glad you two fell for each other. And having a baby? I know how happy she must be. I think Winona will make a good mother. She was always reaching out to the younger musicians like me. Giving advice, mentorship, helping with an introduction to a powerful producer. She said that people helped her along the way, so she was happy to return the favor.”
He’d just learned something new about her. It was good to know she’d be a good mother, though he’d already realized there was a lot more to the woman than what she presented publicly. The night when she’d referred to her transformation from Winnie Lee Hoyt to Winona James made more sense. She was a trailer-park kid, completely self-invented. Resilient. He admired that.
“You haven’t heard? I thought for sure it had been all over town by now.” Riggs set his beer down, readying for the onslaught of good wishes. “We’re having twins.”
Jackson gaped, then clapped Riggs shoulder. “I’ll drink to that! Linc! Did you hear that? Riggs is having twins!”
“Better you than me,” Lincoln joked. “We’re having just the one, thank you very much. That’s plenty.”
“This is perfect,” Beau said. “You never had any kids and now you’re gettin’ two for the price of one.”
“Is Winona going back to Nashville after the babies are born?” Levi asked. “What are ya’ll going to do?”
“We’ll figure it out,” he said, knowing that he certainly didn’t want to share his plans to divorce her after the children were born.
“You should talk her into stayin’, Riggs.” This was from Lincoln. “I know Sadie wishes she would. Our kids will be the same age.”
“That would be nice, sure.”
“Well, Eve and I are working on it,” Jackson said. “We’ll have kids the same age, too. Don’t count us out yet.”
“Brother, you just keep on havin’ all that fun makin’ it happen,” Lincoln said. “Don’t rush.”
There was loud raucous laughter from the gang and another round of beers.
Riggs drove home a short time later, pretty sick of himself. He was going to be a father. Time to grow the hell up and stop wishing for things he would never have.
Winona.
Was it even worth trying to get her to stay? They could have a real marriage if she’d be willing to work with him. No need to split the children, share them, and work out a horrendous custody schedule that would work for both of them. He didn’t want that, and it wasn’t entirely because of the children. Winona fit here with him. He would have never dreamed it possible, but she did.
If he suggested she stay, she’d probably think he’d gone out of his mind. He hadn’t made any of this easy on her, stepping all over her contract, and making his own. Rearranging her life so that she couldn’t just walk away with only what she wanted from him. He wondered if, on some level, he’d taken charge because he wanted her, too. Now he had to find a way to show her that she belonged here in Stone Ridge.
By the time he got home he’d missed dinner. Delores was cleaning up when he walked in the door.
“Oh, you’re in the doghouse,” Delores chuckled.
“Where is she?”
“In your bedroom.” Delores hooked her finger in that direction. “I warned you not to take her for granted. You can’t just go drinking a cold beer with your buddies any old night like you used to do.”
“I haven’t been out in weeks. The men helped me with the fence this afternoon, it was the least I could do.”
“Winona told me what happened. She said you saved her life.”
“That’s an exaggeration.”
“Either way, she’s mighty grateful. And so am I. That girl just is everything we needed around here, isn’t she?”
And she’s leaving us. But not now. She’s not leaving yet. I still have time.
“Yeah.” Riggs swallowed hard. “She sure is.”
“Now to get those brothers of yours settled down.”
“Don’t hold your breath.” Riggs called out as he walked down the hallway to Winona’s bedroom. His bedroom.
Their bedroom. He opened the door and found her sitting on the bed, surrounded by books.
“Where have you been?”
“Got that fence fixed and the bull contained. I had some help, so we all went out for a beer.” He picked up one of the books. They were all baby name books. “Already picking names?”
“It’s something to do.”
So, she’d been bored, and he hadn’t even noticed. No wonder she’d planted the vegetable garden. It occurred to Riggs that for all he’d tried to be a good husband, he’d never actually spent much time with Winona. Never taken her on a date. He’d forgotten how to be in a relationship. If he’d ever known how to properly be in one.
She gnawed on her lower lip and wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Would you mind, if one of the twins is a girl, naming her Mary Jo?”
Mary Jo Henderson.
He’d only asked for the last name, because it was so significant to him to have a child carrying Cal and Marge’s last name. His name. He’d agreed to leave the first names to her, but she was asking him for input. She didn’t have to.
“Your mother’s name.”
“Yes. And it’s a classic.”
He waited a beat, letting her think he’d really debated it, when he was going to give her anything she wanted. “I like it.”
“Thank you.” She went back to the books, flipping through the pages of one. “Boys’ names are harder. William, James, John, Patrick. The classics. Then there are other trendier names. I don’t care much for those.”
“Hey, Winona?”
“Yeah.” She didn’t look up.
“I’m sorry, okay?”
She met his eyes. Blinked. “That wasn’t your fault. You saved me.”
“Pretty sure you would have saved yourself but that’s not what I meant.” He set her book down. “I’m sorry I talked you into marrying me. I forced your hand.”
For the first time, she seemed speechless. “You bested my attorney. And she’s still pretty pissed about that.”
“I should have been kinder about it all. You didn’t choose me to have the baby you wanted, but it just happened anyway. For that, I’m really sorry. You could have picked someone better than me.”
“I’m not sorry. And I considered asking you, Riggs. You were my first choice. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I wanted you to be the father of my child.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have done it.” He chuckled.
“Of course not. Don’t you think I know that? That’s why I didn’t even try.”
“Yeah. I would have wanted more.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Right from the beginning.”
“More?”
“A relationship. I would have wanted to court you, get to know you. Of course, I would have had sex with you. I think I’ve already proven that. But that wouldn’t have ever been enough for me.”
“It doesn’t matter now. I realize how ridiculous my plan was. I had no right to ask so much out of any man, least of all you. But I was desperate to have a child.”
“You made that clear. And I was desperate to have you.” He tugged her close, meeting her gaze, hoping she’d see inside him. “And it wasn’t the moment I saw you onstage, much as you like to think that’s all you have to offer the world.”
“Riggs…”
Then he kissed her, practically inhaled her, fully giving in to this primal need. She brought this out of him. This twisting of his heart and mind, the physical sensations that brought an intellectual man like him to his knees. He’d always believed these kinds of heightened emotions were for a different type of man. Someone given more to imagination. Fancy. Someone less grounded than he.
But she’d blindsided him with her wit, her strength, and her passion. Her obvious love for their children. He was now the kind of man who allowed his heart to make decisions for him. Dangerous.
Books were tossed aside, clothes quickly removed, and he gave in to that fiery need that had started to rule him.
She was his plan. His destiny.
He made love to her like it was the last time he’d have a chance. So that she could remember this moment and never forget him if she chose to walk away.
Afterwards, she lay in his arms. Warm as fresh-baked bread, she curled into his body. One soft leg was thrown casually over his hips.
“Hey, Winona?”
“Yeah?”
“Would you go out with me sometime?”
She gave him a beautiful smile.