*Usually Kat prided herself on her quick reactions, but all she could do was sit there and watch the horse gallop off into the distance, her pulse echoing in her ears, her heart almost bursting out of her chest. She needed to move, to find her father, to catch the thousands of dollars of horseflesh hurtling toward death or injury, but she was utterly paralyzed until a warm hand touched her shoulder.
“Okay there, lass,” Jamie said in the same calm voice she’d heard him use while lambing or calving. A low, sweet, and almost melodic tone. “The first thing you need to do is let the ranch hands know. They can bring a Jeep out here for when we find your dad. And that horse is heading toward that copse, so a couple of the guys can see if they can catch him there. Make that call as quick as you can, then we’ll follow the horse’s trail back and see if we can spot your dad. He’s probably suffering nothing worse than hurt pride, but best to check. Besides, it’s a long hike back.”
“Right. Yes.” Why hadn’t she thought of that instead of sitting here staring and shaking like a damn fool? With fingers thick with fear, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, rising in her stirrups to pry it free. Her hands were slippery with sweat. It took an excruciating few seconds before her phone recognized her fingerprint, and the screen finally blared into life. “Come on,” she urged as she scrolled through the lengthy list of contacts. Why did she have so many names stored? She’d barely spoken to half of them in the last decade. And she noted in a numb terror, there were no missed calls. Her dad never went out without his phone. If he was okay, wouldn’t he have called her?
Finally, she got through to Ray—the tall, taciturn ranch hand who had lived on Mountain View longer than Kat had been alive—and explained the situation. It took less than a minute for him to reassure her that a Jeep would be immediately dispatched, and he would send a couple of his boys after the horse. Less than a minute, but it felt like an excruciatingly long hour. Every second she was on the phone was a second she wasn’t going after her father.
“They’re on the way,” she said at last, pocketing her phone again and leaning forward to reassure her anxiously snorting horse. “Come on.” She wanted to go hell for leather, to gallop alongside the fence in imitation of the horse now long out of sight, but caution warned her to tread carefully. If her father was on the ground and hurt, they might be on top of him before they saw him, might not hear his voice over the thundering hooves.
Carefully, she guided her horse through the long grass, all the time aware of Jamie’s comforting presence next to her, like a talisman warding off the darkness. The horse’s path was well-trampled and easy to follow as they made their way in silence, searching for signs of Kat’s father. It was a long time since she had thought of their land as vast and unknown, but it could take over a day to ride from one side to the other, longer to go across, and hours to find one lone, hurt man.
“What’s that, over there?” Jamie pulled his horse to a halt, then vaulted off its back in a way that would have been deeply impressive under other circumstances. Kat followed suit as soon as she saw what he had, her father’s hat discarded on the ground.
“Dad?” she called as she steadied herself on the soft grass. “It’s me, Kat. Are you here?”
There was no answer, just the tuneful whistle of the birds overhead and the faint rustle of the breeze in the grass. Fear tumbled her stomach. “Dad?” she tried again, voice edging toward hysterical. “Dad!”
“Hold on.” Jamie put his hand on her arm, his clasp light and yet strong enough to make her want to lean in and let him shoulder all her worries. She strained to hear whatever had made him pause and then, with a relief that weakened her whole body, she heard a low moan.
“Dad!” Caution forgotten, she ran forward, skirting the small copse hiding him from view. There, lying prostrate, face twisted in pain and bleeding profusely from a cut on his head, obviously injured but very much alive, was her father. “Oh, Dad, what happened? No, don’t tell me now. Jamie? Can you keep an eye out for Ray and the Jeep? I’m going to call an ambulance. They may need to go back to the house to wait for the paramedics there, so they can guide them in. I’m calling 9-1-1 now. Tell them when they get here.”
It took just a few minutes to make the call, and she felt a lot better as soon as it was done. “They’re sending the helicopter for you, Dad. VIP treatment. I gave them the coordinates, and they should be here soon. Just breathe till then, okay?” She didn’t like the look of the cut, deep and jagged, nor the whiteness under his tan. As for the crooked bend in his leg, Kat was sure it had to be broken in at least one place. But he was alive. The rest could be fixed.
“Kat?” Her father reached to grasp her sleeve. “The horse? Golden Lad? Is he okay?”
“I don’t know. He was when we saw him, but that was a few minutes ago.”
“You should have gone after him.”
“And left you here to rot? Not happening. I got Ray to send the boys after him. By the time we get you home, he’ll be tethered happily in his stall, filling his worthless stomach with oats.” She bit back the words of reproach she wanted to let spill. She’d told him the horse was still too flighty. Why had he come so far alone? But now wasn’t the time. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“Phone in my back pocket.” Each word was gasped out. “Can’t reach it. My leg…”
“It’s okay. We’re here.” Once again, she felt that sense of safety, like with Jamie here nothing too bad could happen. Which was nonsense because hadn’t he been by her side when the worst thing of all had happened, and he’d been as powerless as her to stop it?
“Kat?”
“Don’t try to talk, Dad.”
“Your mom. Is going. To kill me.” Exhausted by the words, her father lay back and closed his eyes. Kat held his dirt-covered hand in hers, her fingers exploring every callus just as she had as a small child.
“She won’t kill you. She will hold it over you for the rest of your natural-born days, but she’ll stop short of actual homicide. Now lie still. They’ll be here soon.”
“Your mom?”
“I’ll call her now.”
At that moment, she heard a light tread and glanced behind her, relieved to see Jamie hurrying toward them. “Ray is waiting for the paramedics out in the field. He says they’ll probably come by air.” She nodded, her anxiety easing a bit until he continued. “And they have the horse safe and sound. A little blown by the sound of it, but that’s to be expected. He’s being walked slowly back to the barn tonight. He’ll be allowed to rest for a few days, then I’ve offered to school him. In the paddock…I’m not giving him the chance to take off,” he added grimly.
Kat stared, fear turning her cold. Jamie was a fair horseman but no cowboy. If the horse was too much for her father, then he was too much for anyone she knew. “You’ll school him? But…”
“I’ve helped break in my fair share of wild horses in my time. Leave him until your dad is well enough again and he’ll be beyond help. And he’s too strong for you.”
“Nonsense.” She could school any horse. Normally, anyway, but she was out of practice and today’s adventures would have spooked Golden Lad beyond the usual high spirits. “But I thought…” She couldn’t finish the sentence, as if saying the words “going home” would act as a magic spell and catapult Jamie straight back to Scotland. “I mean, schooling a horse is a long-term deal. We just agreed…”
“As if I’d go anywhere while you need me. Why don’t I sit with your dad while you phone your mom? I don’t think the paramedics will be too long.”
“Okay.” Patting her dad’s hand, she clambered to her feet. “I won’t be long, Dad. And Jamie?” She reached out to touch his arm. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me, lass.” He smiled into her eyes. “I promised to stand by you, remember? And I meant it. Every word.”
*
Jamie had always associated hospitals with death. First his mother, then the baby. Hospitals were a place for grief, for grim-faced doctors to say they had done everything they could possibly do. For sympathetic nurses to press hot sweet tea on him, and then leave him to sit in silence, because what was there to say?
He’d only been sixteen when his mother died. When he had promised her that he would take care of his brothers, take care of his father, take care of the land she had grown up on and loved with a fierce passion. It was a good thing she had—his father, who actually owned the land, had little interest in farming or business. He liked the social side the ancient title and family name gave him, the hunting and the balls, the exclusive clubs and old boys’ networks he effortlessly tapped into, but the actual day-to-day work he was less enamored with. Luckily for him, he had married a local girl, a tenant’s daughter turned lawyer who had taken to managing the land with the acumen of someone with ability, not a hereditary title. It was a shame his father hadn’t chosen so well in his second marriage. Correction, third.
Jamie’s mother must have known her husband was married before—she was a lawyer after all, and a divorce needed to be declared while applying for a wedding license. But she couldn’t have known about Lucio. Wouldn’t have raised Jamie with all that responsibility and expectation on his shoulders if she’d known there was a legitimate heir alive and well and living in Italy. Would she?
The question hovered there, as it had over too many sleepless nights and long days. Had his mother colluded with his father to keep Lucio from his inheritance, or had she just been another pawn in his father’s games? Either way, the damage was done. Both Lucio and Jamie lives had been ripped apart, one catapulted into a life and responsibility he wasn’t prepared for and didn’t want, the other torn from everything he had been raised to know, to be. Jamie had never been lost before, never felt directionless. He hadn’t known how to cope with the fury and anger, with his betrayal, nor how to talk to the father who’d played with his sons’ lives like some bored mythological god. Jamie didn’t even know why. His father claimed to have not known about Lucio, but Lucio was adamant his mother wouldn’t have kept such knowledge from her ex-husband.
But in among the anger had been a sense of freedom. Jamie loved the estate, but his whole life had been dedicated to it. The idea of choosing his own path had been intoxicating. The months he and Kat had spent back at Glen Kendrick had just confirmed his decision to start anew elsewhere; he’d just felt he owed his half-brother his advice and experience before starting anew. Only work was easy and safe compared to grief, and he’d left Kat too alone for too long.
Standing up, Jamie stretched out his leg and back muscles, cramped from the too-small uncomfortable chair. That was another reason he hated hospitals, at least the waiting rooms. Too much time to sit and brood.
“Jamie?” He raised his head as Kat rounded the corner, a cup of coffee in her hand. “Here, I got this for you. You should have stayed at the ranch. We’ve been here for hours.” There were deep purple smudges under her blue eyes, her jeans still covered with dust from where she had knelt next to her father in the dirt, and her hair falling, as ever, out of its braid.
“Thanks.” He took it, inhaling gratefully. “How’s your dad?”
“Leg is broken in two places.” Her shoulders sagged. “Grandpops is ready to leave the rehab place next week, and now Dad is going to have be transferred there for several weeks while his leg is pinned and caged. Mom’s been back and forth to the hospital for the last month as it is. I think she’s going to move into Cordelia’s while Dad’s here to be closer. That means she, Grandma, and Jules will all be living in Marietta, and it’ll just be me at Mountain View.”
“Just us.”
“Jamie.” Kat took a deep breath. “I appreciate what you said back at the ranch. I really, really do. But seriously, is there any sense prolonging the inevitable? If you stay, it will just make parting harder than it needs to be. Besides, you need to be gone by Labor Day or Grandma will have us taking part in her vow renewal.”
“Would that be so bad?”
She stared at him, eyes wide with surprise. “We should be looking at a quick divorce, not a second wedding. I don’t want to pretend to my family any longer. I don’t want to live in limbo. It’s too painful.” She took a step back, as if putting physical space between them as well as mental. Jamie didn’t reply. He only knew one thing—he wasn’t leaving her to cope with this mess alone. This was his chance to make up those months of neglect, and he was going to seize his opportunity with both hands.
Kat turned at the sound of footsteps, her expression tightening with worry as her mother approached them. “Mom? Is everything okay? Is Dad…”
“Your father is still unconscious, and likely to be so for the next few hours. There’s really no point in all of us staying here, Kat. You should go home. Get something to eat. Let Ray and the guys know what’s happening. They’ve done so much to help since your grandpops got ill, and now there’s going to be even more work to do. But before you go, your grandpops wants to see you. Both of you.” She smiled at Jamie. “He’s quite put out that he’s the last to meet you, I’m afraid.”
“Of course we’ll head over.” Kat squeezed her mother’s arm. “Poor Dad—all the nurses will think he’s like Grandpops and tiptoe around him when he’s the gentlest man in the entire universe.”
“Maybe he’ll redeem the Valentine name. I just wish he hadn’t chosen such a drastic way to do it. Go on, Kat. I’m going to get some air, then I’m going to rejoin your father. Just because he’s asleep doesn’t mean he doesn’t know I’m there, and I’d hate for him to be alone.”
It was a short journey to the respite center where Kat’s grandfather was exerting his tyranny over the medical staff. During it, Jamie couldn’t help but ponder the look in Valerie Valentine’s eyes. Worry. Stress and fear. But also a love and devotion foreign to him. His own parents had pretty much lived their own lives, parallel but separate, each aware they needed the other in order to carry on living the way they wanted, but not needing each other emotionally. As for his father’s marriage to Camilla, it might have been indecently fast after Jamie’s own mother’s death—and the rumors Camilla had been his father’s mistress for several years beforehand were probably true—but it was a cold relationship for all that. Camilla liked being the lady of the Glen. Liked the money and the status and the castle, but she had no softness for the people in her life, not her own daughters, nor the sons she’d inherited. Jamie didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone look so fond of someone they’d been married to for as long as Valerie had been married to Tom.
But still when he’d asked Kat to marry him, he’d hoped that kind of lasting love was possible, within his reach.
The door to Fred Valentine’s room was closed but his voice could clearly be heard, haranguing some poor orderly about the room temperature. Kat rolled her eyes as she prepared to open the door. “Grandpops never did take any prisoners.” Whether that was a warning or just a simple statement, Jamie couldn’t tell.
Even in pajamas, sitting up in a hospital bed, Kat’s grandfather had a larger-than-life presence that dominated the room. Thick eyebrows towered over blue eyes, the same eyes that seemed to characterize all the Valentines.
“So this is the fella,” he grunted as Kat and Jamie entered. He raked Jamie up and down with an expression that showed quite clearly how unimpressed he was. “Unorthodox way to start married life. Something to hide?” His expression darkened even farther as it switched to his granddaughter. “Thought better of you, Kat. Not like you to act like Juliet; one drama queen is enough for any family.”
“I can only apologize for that, sir.” Jamie stepped forward and offered him a hand, which, after another hard glance, the older man took. His handshake was surprisingly tough given he had undergone heart surgery just a few weeks before. Jamie, surmising the clasp was some kind of test, neither winced nor tried to return the fierce pressure, smiling politely instead as if the tight grip had made no impression. “We certainly didn’t intend to be so cloak and dagger about the whole business—Kat always wanted to tell you in person, but various family dramas just made it impossible for us to be here at the same time. Until now, that it.”
“Dramas, huh? That’s one way to describe one damn disaster after another.” The fierce gaze moved over to settle on Kat, who had perched on the side of her grandfather’s bed to take his hand. “What was your father thinking, getting his leg broken in such a tomfool manner?”
“He didn’t do it on purpose, Grandpops.”
“No, but he should have known better than to take a young flighty horse like that out so far alone. Thought I’d taught him better than that.”
“Grandma says you’re getting out soon. I bet you’re looking forward to leaving this room.”
If Kat had been trying to change the subject, her attempt fell flat. Tom’s brows drew farther together. “And to pick a time like this to have an accident, with me laid up and those sisters of yours no use. And your grandma has put her foot down. She won’t hear of me returning to the ranch. Wants to go on a cruise, she says! Have you ever heard the like? What will I do all day on a boat in the middle of the damn ocean?”
Jamie bit back a smile. Even lying in a hospital bed, Fred crackled with energy. It was hard to imagine him lying on a sun lounger. Kat’s grandmother clearly had a fight on her hands if she was going to get the retirement she wanted. But remembering the way she had interrogated him, he couldn’t help but think she was more than up to the job.
“Grandpops…” Kat covered his hands with hers. “Grandma has spent the last fifty years cooking and cleaning and taking you snacks at three AM during calving season—when she wasn’t getting up to help with calving herself. She raised two boys, helped raise four grandchildren, and has kept generations of ranchers housed, fed, and in line. She deserves the chance to have things her way for once. You gave her—you gave us all—a huge scare. I know slowing down seems like defeat, but it’s not. It’s just a new challenge. And you’ve never backed away from a challenge yet.”
“You always did have a sweet tongue on you, Kat. You and Cordelia—never met such a couple of girls for talking a fellow around. But words aren’t going to help you with your dad out of action. Who is going to run the dude ranches while harvest is nearly upon us, plus all the day-to-day work?”
Curiosity got the better of Jamie. “What on earth is a dude ranch?” Had he heard the words correctly?
Kat grinned. “It’s a return to the good old frontier days for city or suburban types. We’ve got a glamping site about half a mile from the house, or there’s a bunk barn for colder weather. We focus on families. It’s really child friendly. We offer a week of ranch living, including a two-day trek and wild campout. They help check cattle, mend fences, polish tack—and pay for the privilege. We also throw in riding lessons, lassoing, and a mini rodeo. We plan to expand it to cover most of the dry months, and I want ski chalets to capture winter tourists, too, so there’s always extra income to cover the leaner years. We have a new family arriving next week, and another three after that.”
“You’ll not manage on your own—and don’t forget they paid for three good meals a day as well. How are you going to look after them if your mom is here in Marietta?” Fred asked.
“Food is a problem. I can barely cook for myself…” Kat chewed her bottom lip, lost in thought. She’d obviously forgotten, or dismissed out of hand, Jamie’s earlier assurance he would stay until things sorted themselves out.
It was time she remembered. “I can’t help with the food side of things, but I’ll be around to help with the rest.”
Two pairs of identical blue eyes stared at him. “Jamie…” Kat hadn’t finished her sentence when her grandfather cut in.
“These people are paying for an authentic Western experience, not an episode of Highlander. No offence.”
“None taken.” Jamie relaxed back against the wall and smiled at the pair. He held all the cards here. Kat needed him. It was a shame her father had fallen, but this gave them the chance to spend time together. Time to remember why they had fallen in love in the first place. Time to see just how strong their bond was. There was no way he wasn’t taking advantage of that opportunity. “But accent aside, I can do anything these people need me to do. I can ride. I can even lasso. I’ve worked on ranches, and I’ve wild camped many times. And I’ve never worried about getting my hands dirty. Besides. I don’t think you have any other options.”
Kat was still worrying at her bottom lip, but at his last words she nodded, her expression decisive. “He’s right, Grandpops. He’ll be fine. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of everything.” She cast him a look that quite plainly told him they still needed to talk, but Jamie just smiled blandly back. He’d bought them time—time they desperately needed. There was nothing she could say that changed that.
“I don’t like it, but I don’t see we have much choice. Okay, try it your way. And, Kat?” Fred added as she kissed him goodbye before getting to her feet. “Thank you.”
She turned. “For what? You don’t have to thank me for doing my job.”
“No, not for the ranch. Things will be tough over the next few weeks, but any rancher worth his—or her—salt has to learn to roll with the punches. No, thanks for agreeing to your grandmother’s plans for a summer wedding. I know it sounds a little crazy, old fools like us renewing our vows, but it’s what she wants. After all I’ve put her through, I reckon she deserves some breaks. It means a lot to her to share the day with you. Thank you for agreeing.”
“I…” She sent Jamie a pained look, then briefly closed her eyes as if in surrender. When she opened them, she’d pinned a determined smile onto her face. “Let’s get you out of here and better, then we can discuss weddings, okay?”
Jamie nodded at the older man. “Nice meeting you, sir.” He followed Kat out of the room. He’d arrived in Montana with no answers, nothing new to offer her except faith that somehow what they had was strong enough. He still didn’t know how they were going to navigate the tangled web of responsibilities, obligations, and ties that bound and separated them, but he had two aces up his sleeve—right now, Kat needed him, to help with the ranch and to keep her grandparents happy. She needed him, and she still wanted him; he’d bet his lost birthright on that. It was no solution, but it was definitely a start.
It was up to him to turn it into something more. And he’d always liked a challenge, especially when the stakes were this high. Jamie McKendrick was playing to win.