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“Hey, girl, how are you? I wasn’t sure you still lived in Sweetheart.”
He spoke with an ease that gave no hint of those last angry words they’d exchanged. He even used his once familiar endearment for her and might have swept her into a hug if Annie didn’t step to the side.
“Still here.”
“I heard about the inn.” Regret filled his voice. “I’m sorry.”
“Me, too.” She lifted her chin. “We’re going to rebuild. As soon as we settle with the insurance company.”
“You look good.” His gaze never left her face, for which she was glad. He didn’t seem to notice her rumpled and soiled khaki uniform. Her hair escaping her ponytail and hanging in limp tendrils. Her lack of makeup. “Th-thank you.”
“Been a while.”
“Quite a while.”
His blue eyes transfixed her, as they always had, and she felt her bones melt.
Dammit! Her entire world had fallen apart the past six weeks. She didn’t need Sam showing up, kicking at the pieces.
“What are you doing here?” she said, repeating her earlier question. “How did you get in?”
“The real estate agent gave me the keys.” He held them up in an offering of proof, his potent grin disarming her. “I always liked this place.”
He had. They’d come here often when they were dating. She’d show him the areas off-limits to tourists, all the while going on and on about her plans to buy the ranch and turn it into a bed-and-breakfast. Plans Sam had shared.
Now he was here, holding the keys.
He couldn’t possibly be interested in purchasing the place. He lived in Northern California. Worked there. Had a wife and daughter there, the last she’d heard.
“How’s your mom and grandmother?” he asked.
“Fine.” She wouldn’t admit the truth. None of them were fine after losing everything and they wore their scars each in their own way. “I have a daughter now. She’s three.”
His smile changed and became softer. “I’m happy for you. You always wanted kids. Your husband from Sweetheart?”
“Yes.” She swallowed. “We’re not married anymore.” Good grief. What had possessed her to admit that?
“A shame.” Emotions difficult to read flashed in his eyes. “Losing a spouse is hard.”
He said it as if he had firsthand experience.
“I’m managing,” she admitted. “We’re managing.”
“Maybe you can let me in on the secret.”
“You’re divorced?”
“Widowed. My wife died a year and a half ago.”
“Oh, Sam.” Her heart nearly stopped.
“A drunk driver ran the light.”
She’d never known the woman but felt bad for the late Mrs. Wyler and for Sam. Having one’s life implode was something she understood.
“That must have been awful for you.”
He nodded and glanced toward the empty kitchen with its large picture window. “My daughter’s here with me. She’s out back. I should probably find her. I told the real estate agent I’d meet her in town at five to sign the papers.”
Sign the papers! Even as Annie’s mind formed the thought, he spoke it out loud.
“We’re scheduled to close escrow tomorrow. I’m the new owner of the Gold Nugget.”
* * *
SAM FOLLOWED ANNIE out onto the porch, only to pause and watch her as she composed herself. He hadn’t thought she’d take the news of him buying the Gold Nugget so hard. The sight of her features crumbling would stay with him always.
He leaned his back against one of the thick columns, giving her space. Like the ranch house and barn, the columns were constructed from indigenous pines harvested when the land was originally cleared. According to the plaque mounted by the entrance, that occurred more than two decades before ground was broken on the Sweetheart Inn.
He should, he realized much too late, have chosen his words more kindly. Annie loved the Gold Nugget almost as much as she did her family’s inn. He’d been surprised to see the ranch listed for sale, assuming she and her mother would have purchased it years ago.
Annie had always been able to trip him up without even trying. A glance, a touch, a softly whispered response and his concentration went out the window.
Nine years, and she still had that effect on him.
Maybe buying the Gold Nugget wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Sam instantly changed his mind. He’d returned to Sweetheart with a purpose, and unintentionally hurting Annie’s feelings wouldn’t stop him from fulfilling it.
“I’d like to see you while I’m here.”
She halted midstep and sent him a look intended to cut him down to size.
“Not a date,” he clarified. “To catch up. And to pick your brain.”
“I have enough on my plate with rebuilding the inn,” she answered tersely. “You can’t expect me to be a part of whatever it is you’ve planned for the ranch.”
“Not just the ranch. The entire town, too, and the people in it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I want to help, Annie.”
Unaffected by his attempted sincerity, she narrowed her green eyes. “With what?”
“Rebuilding Sweetheart.”
“Is this a joke?”
“I’ve hired a construction contractor to remodel the Gold Nugget.”
“Remodel it!”
“Into a working cattle ranch. One where the guests can enjoy the full cowboy experience, not just go on rides.”
“Full cowboy experience?”
“Yeah. Herd cattle, vaccinate calves, repair fences, clear trails, clean stalls if they want. I’m also planning monthly roping and team penning competitions for the adults and gymkhanas for the kids.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “What person would want to clean horse stalls on their vacation?”
“You’d be surprised.”
He understood her reservations. All of the local businesses had depended on the wedding trade. Florist shop, tuxedo rental, wedding boutique, caterers, photographers. Not to mention restaurants specializing in romantic candlelit dinners or those with large banquet rooms for receptions.
A guest ranch would have been a ridiculous idea and unnecessary if not for the fire. The same fire that Sam and his crew of Hotshot firefighters had fought and failed to prevent from ravaging the town.
Not his crew. He alone was responsible.
His stomach still clenched at the memory of that day. His anger at his commanding officer, his fear for the citizens’ safety, the helplessness he’d felt when the wind changed direction and the fire leaped the ravine. The sorrow for all that was lost and could have been saved.
“There are only a handful of really great working guest ranches in this part of the country. Add to that the popularity of The Forty-Niners, and I think the ranch will be booked to capacity year-round.”
“No, it won’t. Sweetheart is where people come to get married. We perform a hundred wedding ceremonies every month.”
“Where people did come. How many ceremonies have been performed since the fire?”
She clamped her mouth shut, saying nothing. No need for it; they both knew the answer. Zero. A measly six weeks had passed and already Sweetheart was dying on the vine. Without a miracle, it would wither away into nothing.
Sam wasn’t about to let that happen and possessed the drive and the resources to prevent it.
“I can change that. Bring the tourists back. I’ll also be able to provide jobs for some of the locals. From what the real estate agent tells me, there’s plenty who need work.” His gaze involuntarily strayed to her work shirt and the NDF badge sewn on to the sleeve.
She noticed, and her posture straightened. Pride wasn’t something Annie or any of the Hennessy women had in short supply.
“Why do you care?”
“Sweetheart was once my home.”
“For two years.” Her voice broke. “Then you left.”
All this time, and she was obviously still hurting. Sam would give anything to change that.
“I came back for you.”
“Not soon enough.”
True. And he’d paid the price. So, apparently, had she. “We were young.”
“That sounds like an excuse.”
“I take responsibility for what happened between us, Annie. I’d say I wish things were different but then we wouldn’t have our children. Neither of us would change that.”
“You’re right.” Her stiff posture had yet to relax. “If you’ll excuse me, it’s time for me to head home.”
“You’re angry I bought the ranch. I get that.”
“For starters.”
He placed a hand on her arm, and then removed it when she glared at him. “Please, Annie. Help me help Sweetheart.”
“What about your job in California?”
“My foreman is covering for me the rest of the summer. Lyndsey and I will head home before school starts the first of September. After that, I’ll fly here as often as needed. Lyndsey’s grandfather will watch her.”
Annie sucked in a sharp breath. Sam had hit a nerve.
After he’d left her that last time, he’d returned to California and within a matter of months wed his boss’s daughter. Annie must have been devastated when the whole reason he’d accepted the job in the first place was because he wasn’t ready for a commitment.
“I am sorry about your wife’s death,” she said.
“It was rough.” Only Sam’s father-in-law knew how rough. Sam would move heaven and earth to make sure Lyndsey never learned the entire circumstances of that terrible accident. “I’m in Sweetheart to start over and to get this town on its feet.”
He couldn’t tell her the real reason he was here, of his part in the fire or how often he’d thought of her during the past nine years. She’d never speak to him again.
“Why did you have to buy the Gold Nugget?” she asked.
“Ranching is my livelihood. What I know best.” He intentionally omitted his volunteer firefighting. “And, honestly, I figured if you hadn’t bought the Gold Nugget by now, you must have changed your mind.”
“I didn’t.” Turning abruptly, she started toward her SUV.
“Annie, wait.” He hurried after her.
She didn’t stop until she was almost to the driver’s door, and then not because of him. She’d spotted Lyndsey, who emerged from behind the house.
“Daddy,” she called.
Sam could have kicked himself. He usually watched his daughter like a hawk. Today, he’d forgotten all about her. “Over here, sweetie.”
“Look what I found in a hollow log behind the barn.” She held the hem of her pink T-shirt out in front of her, the weight of whatever she carried making it dip in the middle.
Annie stood there frozen, observing Lyndsey’s approach. He tried to imagine what she was thinking. Despite his daughter’s girlish features, she resembled Sam, enough that most everyone who saw them together commented on it.
Not only had he married soon after that final parting with Annie, he’d fathered a child almost immediately. He wouldn’t blame her if she hated him.
“What have you got?” Sam asked when Lyndsey neared.
The young girl eyed Annie with caution. Once outgoing and at ease with adults, she’d withdrawn since her mother’s death. Leaving her home and friends and beloved grandfather behind for the summer hadn’t helped, either. She’d been determined not to like Sweetheart from the moment Sam had announced they were going there.
