Kesslyn sat at the end of the counter in Notcha Momma’s Diner and sipped at a cup of surprisingly delicious coffee. She was still trying to wrap her head around everything Mr. Baird had just laid at her feet. She’d gone to their meeting with no idea what to expect. She wanted to talk about her options for selling the land. That was until Mr. Baird explained how important the ranch was to the community. She hadn’t expected to learn that she now owned a huge ranch that employed fifty cowboys – half of which lived in bunk houses on the property and the other half in town with their various families – who were running over two thousand head of cattle, give or take depending on the time of year.
She also owned half of the land Walker Creek proper was built upon. Most of the businesses in town, as well as the town hall and the police station, and paid ground rent to the Walker estate. That was her. She shook her head and wondered if her dad knew how large the Walker legacy had grown.
Her grandfather had been more than just a cowboy. Russell Walker, Sr. had been a smart businessman. He’d been making lucrative investments since the day he took over Walker Ranch from his father when he was just thirty years old. It was all Kesslyn’s now.
This was on top of the healthy inheritance she’d received when her parents were taken from her. She’d never spent a penny of it. It was still collecting interest in a bank in Baltimore. She had no use for the money. She just wanted her parents back. It was silly, and she knew they wouldn’t be pleased, but Kesslyn just couldn’t bring herself to take what belonged to her parents. She was saving it for them. Like maybe they might come back and claim it if she waited long enough. A tear ran down her cheek, and Kesslyn swiped at it. She was sure it would never get easier, no matter how many people told her it would.
She had more money than she’d ever imagined and more property than she had a clue about how to maintain. It was a shock to be sure. Kesslyn was going to meet the ranch foreman that afternoon. She looked at her watch. He might already be waiting for her at the main house, as opposed to one of the cabins across the ranch, or the large Victorian home she owned in town, or the vacation home on the beach in Galveston. It was too much to take in. Thankfully, her grandfather’s trusted lawyer and accountants were taking care of everything until she was ready to dive into the financials.
Mr. Baird explained that Russell Walker’s annual contributions to Walker Creek kept the town going. The ranch employed many of the town’s men, from the cowboys to landscapers, a small cleaning crew, and two cooks plus several other employees. He bought and donated the police vehicles. He built the town library so folks would have a place to access the internet, books, and other resources. He gave money to the schools and was a huge sponsor of the Walker Creek High School athletic and music departments. The man had been the king of Walker Creek, and he took care of his people as such.
Mr. Baird had been making a point Kesslyn wasn’t likely to miss. He was discouraging her from selling the property and removing the support of the Walker family from the town. She got the message loud and clear. She’d keep her thoughts of selling to herself until she had a better grip on the situation. Mr. Baird was still in shock over the loss of her father. It had been over two years, and even Kesslyn still couldn’t absorb it. There was no sense in causing further upset until it was necessary.
Walker Creek was holding its collective breath waiting for Kesslyn’s father, the prodigal son, to return. They had faith that Russell, Jr. would continue the Walker legacy and care for the town as his father and grandfather had done before him. The news that Russell was gone and Kesslyn was there to inherit the keys to the city was spreading like wildfire through Walker Creek.
Kesslyn finished off her coffee. A waitress made her way down the line of patrons seated at the counter to fill their cups. She wished it was something a bit stronger than excellent diner coffee steaming in her cup. She could feel the eyes of everyone in the diner on her back. People at the other end of the counter leaned forward to get a look at her. Even the cook was peering at her through the window to the kitchen. They whispered to each other, speculating about the future of the ranch and the town. Someone in a nearby booth was on their phone talking in hushed tones about her being at the diner after leaving Mr. Baird’s office down the street. Kesslyn was the new resident Walker, queen of all she survived, and she wasn’t even sure she wanted to keep the crown. This was an experience she wasn’t looking forward to repeating every day. Hopefully they’d get used to her sooner than later.
She lifted her eyes from her coffee cup to look around, and sure enough, everyone was still focused on her. It was too weird. Back home, she could go all day on the streets of Baltimore without anyone really noticing her, much less talking about her. She was just one more working professional in the daily downtown hustle and bustle of the streets. She was sure some people would think that was a sad way to live, but it was life in a big city. In this place, she was a stranger and everyone would notice her and contemplate her comings and goings.
“Can I get you some breakfast yet, honey?” the owner of Notcha Momma’s asked with a kind smile. Her name was Molly Brown, and she was surprisingly young to be running a busy restaurant. She introduced herself when Kesslyn sat down at the counter.
Molly was a chatty thing. She explained that she’d inherited the diner from her momma when she retired a few years back. So she understood what it was like to take over a family business. Obviously, Molly already knew exactly who Kesslyn was, no introduction needed. Molly’s momma told her to make the place her own. She wanted Molly to be happy in the family business. So she’d changed the name from The Honey Bee to Notcha Momma’s Diner and updated the menu. They had lots of traditional diner fare, but there were also vegetarian dishes and other dishes she hadn’t expected to find in a small town. It wasn’t your typical diner, and Kesslyn supposed that was why Molly had chosen the name. She’d also taken out a loan to update the décor. She had indeed made it her own.
“I think that’s what you need to do too, Ms. Walker. You go on and make that ranch your home. You make that business into something that makes you happy,” Molly had doled out the sage advice as if it were a slice of pecan pie. It was good advice that Kesslyn was still digesting. She would need to make some changes in the house if it were to be her home. As far as the business went, well, she had a lot to learn. That would take time.
“No, thank you, Molly. I think I’ll get going. I have a lot to do today.” She smiled back at the pretty blonde.
“I bet you do. Go on then. Coffee’s on the house. I hope to see you back soon.” Molly hurried away with her ponytail swinging to pick up an order in the kitchen window.
Kesslyn climbed behind the wheel of the pickup truck she’d borrowed from the garage behind the ranch house that morning and headed out of town. She couldn’t help thinking about Beau when she sat there in the driver seat. Beau’s truck had been just like this one, only a newer model. As much as she had on her mind, you’d think she wouldn’t have time to wonder where that sexy man was today. You’d think she wouldn’t be disappointed that she hadn’t seen him in town, but she did, and she was. She found that every moment not spent contemplating what to do about the ranch was spent remembering things he had done to her body. A flush crept up over her skin. She needed to put him out of her mind. She’d likely never see him again.
Kesslyn needed to focus on the task at hand, which was learning as much as she could about the ranch itself and what life in Walker Creek would be like for a city girl like her. To that end, she needed to gather her questions for the foreman. She could ride a horse fairly well, thanks to her father’s insistence that she learn. So she planned to ask the foreman to take her out for a ride. When Mr. Baird spoke of acreage it was all just numbers to her. She needed to see as much of it as she could to get a better idea.
When she pulled up to the house, there was a car parked in the circular drive, but nobody was waiting for her to arrive. Maybe the foreman had a key. That idea freaked her out a little, but she was sure the man had been close to her grandparents. If he lived and worked on the ranch, there could be any number of reasons for him to have a key. She was thinking like a city kid. When she’d arrived the day before, the key had been under the doormat. That would never happen where she came from. Never.
Kesslyn climbed the few steps to the long front porch and pulled out her key, but the door wasn’t locked. It was going to be hard for her to adjust the trusting way of life in the country. She pushed open the door and was greeted by delicious smells coming from the kitchen and Frank Sinatra’s smooth tones floating in the air. Kesslyn headed straight towards the smell of food. She was starving, and she’d been too out of sorts when she left Mr. Baird’s to try to find a grocery store.
She pushed open the swinging door to the kitchen to find a lovely woman with steel grey hair in a tidy twist on the back of her head. She wore an apron over her pink dress and shiny black heels on her small feet. The outfit was so out of place in the kitchen. The lady looked like a gracefully aged June Clever. Kesslyn could only hope to age so well.
The elegant woman was stirring one pot and supervising the progress in a couple of others. She peeked into the oven where two trays of what looked like homemade rolls were baking. Kesslyn’s mouth watered.
When the woman turned and saw Kesslyn standing there, tears came to her eyes. She put down her pot holders and looked Kesslyn over. Kesslyn stepped into the room and extended a hand.
“Hello. I’m Kesslyn Walker,” she introduced herself feeling a little perplexed by the tears on the other woman’s cheeks.
“I know who you are, sweet girl. You have the look of your daddy.” Instead of taking Kesslyn’s proffered hand, the woman pulled her into a tight hug. The hug was a bit awkward for Kesslyn at first until she relaxed into it. This woman had obviously known her father. It was true that she looked just like her dad. The only trait she inherited from her mother was the auburn hair.
“Oh, now, looking at me crying all over you. Please forgive me. I’ve only recently learned of your father’s passing, and so soon after Russell and Claire.” The woman released her and dabbed at her tears with a delicate handkerchief she retrieved from her handbag.
“I totally understand. There’s no need to apologize.”
“Let me introduce myself properly. I am Tippy Nelson. I worked for your grandparents from the day your granddaddy inherited this land until just after your grandma passed on to her reward.” She gestured toward the long kitchen table. “Have a seat, baby. I’ll get you some iced tea, and we’ll talk.”
“Thank you, Ms. Tippy. I could use a drink.” Kesslyn sat and took the tall glass of sweet tea gratefully.
“Just call me Tippy. We’re family. No need for formality, baby.” She took a seat. “Let’s see. Where to start?” She tapped her chin. “At the beginning, I suppose. I went to school with your grandma. Claire and I were the best of friends. So when she and Russell took over the ranch, and they were in need of a cook, she insisted I come give it a try. The rest, as they say, is history.” She smiled, and tiny lines creased the corners of her eyes. “I was what your granddaddy called the chief bottle washer. I worked here in the big house. I did most of the cooking and supervising of the other employees, other than the cattlemen, of course. We have a foreman for that.”
“So you knew my dad.” She must have if she’d worked for the Walkers since her grandfather took over the ranch when he was thirty. Her father would have been around five by then.
Tippy smiled fondly.
“I did. I changed the boy’s diapers. Your grandma and I were friends. He was a good boy. Never gave his parents any trouble. Until he decided to go off to law school that is. Your daddy went to college to learn about business and such, but he came home and decided he didn’t want to run the family business. He was a hell of a cowboy, but he didn’t have a passion for it the way his daddy did.”
“Is that why they stopped speaking?” Finally, a reason for the split. Kesslyn really wanted to understand what had torn her family apart.
“Well . . .” Tippy hesitated.
“I’d really like to know why I never got to meet my grandparents, Tippy. Please tell me.”
“Okay. You’re right. You deserve to know.” She took a slow breath. “Your granddaddy didn’t want your father to go to law school, but he gave in and sent him anyway. Russell figured the boy could use his knowledge of business and law to grow and protect the company. He truly believed your father would get to missing life on the ranch, come to his senses, and settle into life here in Walker Creek. It didn’t happen that way.”
“Dad really wanted to be a lawyer.”
“Yes, he did, but in my opinion, that wasn’t the reason he and your grandfather never spoke again.”
Kesslyn waited expectantly. She really wished she’d questioned her dad more adamantly about this part of his life. When she was younger and asked questions about her grandparents, he said he’d tell her when she was older. When she got older, he would get very testy if she brought it up. So she stopped asking.
“Your father met your mother when he was finishing up his law degree.”
Kesslyn knew this story. They met on spring break in Daytona Beach. It was love at first sight according to the happy couple. Mom was working a job she loved as a nurse at the University of Maryland. Dad followed her back to Baltimore and asked her to marry him.
“Your father was in love, and he wanted to go be with Lara. Your granddaddy got it into his head that this unknown young woman was a gold-digger out to capitalize on his son’s soft heart, and he told your father so.” Tippy shook her head. “He gave your father an ultimatum then. Either he came home and worked for the family, or he would be cut off. No money. No help of any kind. He would be alone in the world.”
Kesslyn’s mouth fell open. Her mother was not a gold-digger!
“Don’t get yourself all worked up, baby. Your granddaddy reacted in the moment and said some unkind things. It wasn’t long before he calmed down and regretted it very much. Your father wasn’t the kind of man who threw the L word around, and we all knew it. He said he’d never be alone in the world, because he would always have his Lara by his side. He left that night, and we never saw him again.”
“Never? If Granddad knew he was wrong, why didn’t he call? Apologize? Something?”
“That’s the thing about men, baby. They’re stubborn. Russell wanted his son to apologize for walking out on the family, the business, the town. All of it. He knew he was wrong about what he’d said about Lara, but the rest of it he wouldn’t budge on. He wanted your daddy to come to him first.”
“My dad would never do that.” Kesslyn knew her father.
“I can’t say for certain, but I believe the insult to your mother was the reason your father never returned.”
That Kesslyn could believe. Her parents were inseparable. The love and devotion between them was a tangible thing. She hoped to one day know a love like that.
“I agree. I think my dad was just as stubborn. He wouldn’t have come back after being disowned. He certainly wouldn’t have overlooked the insult to Mom. He would have waited for his father to come to him.”
They sat quietly for a bit, contemplating what might have been if one or the other of the men had reached out over the years.
“You stopped working here when my grandma passed away?” Kesslyn asked.
“I went into retirement at your granddaddy’s insistence. I really should have retired much sooner, but I enjoyed the work. I like to be busy. The ranch house was always a busy place. Many of the cowboys living here in the bunk house usually ate dinner here.” She gestured around the room. The table was long and wide. “The bunk houses also have kitchens, and they have a cook, too, but some of the boys just loved my cooking. Your grandparents always welcomed everyone as long as they behaved.”
“Grandma didn’t cook?”
“She did sometimes, especially if she wanted to make something special for your granddaddy, but Claire was more of a business woman than a homemaker. She oversaw the business end of things while Russell ran that cattle. She was one smart cookie. That kept her busy most of her life. When the cancer took her, Russell just kind of gave up. He gave me a generous retirement and hired another cook to feed the cowboys out in the bunk houses. I would come by to check on him most days, but he wasn’t interested in life anymore after Claire was gone. His foreman was running the ranch. Hodges, that’s Mr. Baird, was taking care of the business. We all hoped Russell would come around, but not even a year after Claire passed, Russell had a heart attack.”
“He died of a broken heart, do you think?”
“Yes, baby. He did. No one’s been here in months.” She looked around. “Hodges called to tell me you arrived yesterday. I left straight from church this morning to come fill the cupboards and supervise the cleaners. They’ll be here soon. If I’d known you were coming, I would have had everything in order.”
“You shouldn’t come out on Sunday, Tippy. I don’t know why you came, at all. Goodness, it isn’t even your job anymore. I would have made do. I hate to be a bother. I was really surprised Mr. Baird wanted to see me on a Sunday. Tomorrow was soon enough.”
“Yes, well, you’ll find that many people are willing to go out of their way to please you, Ms. Walker.” There was a lot of emphasis placed on her name. Yeah, she’d already learned she would get special treatment. “As far as I go, it’s like I said, we’re family. I’m only doing what I know your grandma would do for one of my kids or grandkids. I have no intention of coming out of retirement to run this kitchen again, but I’d like to help out until we get you some permanent help hired and trained up.”
Tippy went back to the stove to stir her pots. She made a pleased sound and added a little salt to one of the pots. “I’m making beef stew for supper.” She smiled at Kesslyn over her shoulder. “With high quality Walker Ranch beef.”
Kesslyn smiled back. She didn’t want to mention that she wasn’t exactly sure she’d be needing permanent help, but the more she learned about the town and her family connection to it, the closer she got to staying. She thought of Beau again. If she stayed in Walker Creek, she might find him again. Damn. She really needed to stop thinking about that hot ass cowboy.
“You mentioned the foreman. I’m supposed to be meeting him here any time now. Has he been working here as long as you?” She needed to get her head back in the right place, and that was not in Beau Knox’s pants.
“Oh, my, no. The current foreman has only been on the job for a few years. His grandfather was the foreman for thirty years before he retired. He passed away recently as well. It’s been a sad time in Walker Creek.” She dabbed at her eyes. “Beauregard was a good man. He and his wife raised his grandson up right, too. The boy’s momma and daddy both abandoned him, but he never used it as an excuse to act out. No, ma’am. That man learned beside his granddaddy and earned his position here on Walker Ranch. He’s a young man but he works hard. Your granddaddy loved him. We watched him grow up here on the ranch, running cattle.”
Tippy kept talking about the new foreman. She was praising his skill and ensuring Kesslyn that her cattle were in expert hands. He was the best of foremen, and all of the cattlemen respected him and followed his direction, despite his youth. Tippy was still talking, but Kesslyn’s mind had caught on one word. Beauregard. Why did she feel like she should know that name?
The front door opened without a knock, and the sound of heavy booted footsteps quickly approached the kitchen.
“Here he comes now. I promise, you’ll like him. He’s quite a charmer,” Tippy was saying as the kitchen door swung open.
The big blond man in jeans, boots, and Stetson hat was already familiar to Kesslyn. She stared at him, trying desperately not to slide out of her chair onto the floor. This was not the sexy ass man in a finely tailored suite she’d danced with at Hooligans. It was not the professional-looking panty melter who gave her first and only one-night-stand. No, this was far, far worse. This was that man dressed as a cowboy. A heart-stopping, world-rocking, denim-wearing cowboy. Kesslyn was furious.
“Kesslyn, baby, let me introduce you to Beau Knox. He’s the foreman here on the W. That’s what you’ll hear the cattleman call it.” She turned slightly and gestured to Kesslyn. “Beau, this is Kesslyn . . .”
“Kesslyn and I have already met, Tippy.”
Beau strode over to her with that loose limb gait that made her heart stutter. He took Kesslyn’s hand and kissed it. Her whole arm tingled, and she couldn’t stop her hand from wrapping around his fingers.
“The question is why you are here, Tippy? How do you know Kesslyn, and why is she here?” Beau never took his eyes off hers while he spoke to Tippy. He looked arrogantly pleased about finding her here. As if maybe he thought she had hunted him down. “As much as I’m dying to catch up with you, Yankee, I can’t just now. I’m meeting the new owner of the W. He should be here by now, actually. Why don’t you go back to your room in town, and I’ll meet you there a little later.” His words combined with his beaming smile confirmed her suspicion. This arrogant jerk thought she’d followed him to his job. Beau believed she was there just for him. Him and his monster dick.
Her brain was still trying to assimilate what it thought it knew about Beau, the professional with the truth, Beau the even hotter ranch foreman. It just wasn’t computing yet. Tippy’s next words whipped the smile right off his handsome face.
“As I was saying, Beau, I’d like to introduce you to Kesslyn.” Beau looked over to Tippy with confusion. “Kesslyn Walker is the daughter of Russell, Jr. and the new owner of Walker Ranch.”