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“How is Colt really doing? I mean, Ana hadn’t given a lot of details.” Maybe Josie just hadn’t been eager to listen. “Only that he’s improving.”
“He is improving and very quickly. We’re all happy about that.” Kathleen sat down across from her. “But your sister still wants your help. She won’t ask you to, but she needs you to stay as long as you can spare the time.”
Josie felt bad, knowing how much her older sister had taken on by herself. “I should have come sooner.”
“Under the circumstances, I can’t blame you all for not wanting to come home,” she told her. “But I’m sure glad you’re here now. Please tell me you’re staying awhile.” The older woman squeezed her hand. “I missed you, Josie.”
“Ah, Kathleen, I’ve missed you, too.” But two weeks was about all she could handle with Garrett. “I said two weeks. After that...” She hesitated. “Remember, Tori is handling my end of the business while I’m here.”
“Maybe she’ll decide to come back, too.”
Josie smiled. “As soon as I get back there, she can come home.”
“So you still think of the Lazy S as home?”
Josie shook her head. “Don’t start, Kathleen. Let’s just take this slow. I’ve been away a long time.” She finished her coffee. “Where’s Ana?”
“She went out to the barn with Vance. They have someone coming to look at some horses this morning.” Kathleen checked the clock. “Then she had to go to work at the high school.”
Josie nodded, knowing the reason she came home was because of Ana’s job as high school counselor.
She stood and tested her ankle. “Maybe I’ll walk down to have a look around, then come back to see Colt.” This was all so new to her. She was actually going to see her dad.
Josie kissed Kathleen’s cheek. Grabbing her coat, she headed out the door and slowly made her way down the same path she used to take as a kid. Not that she’d been invited into the barn much. Colt had pretty much kept his daughters out of any ranch business. Even when they got older, he didn’t want them around. It had been some of the ranch hands who taught them to rope and ride. When Colt learned of it, he made sure they learned to muck out stalls, too.
She stepped inside the large structure, where the scent of straw and animals hit her. She smiled, thinking a few days here might not be so bad. She looked down the rows of stalls where several horses were housed. She liked this. Walking down the center aisle, she passed the stall that had the name Blondie on the gate. Ana’s buckskin, Josie thought as she walked up and began to stroke the animal. Then she went to another stall with a big chestnut, Rusty.
“Well, aren’t you a good-looking fella.”
“That’s Vance’s horse.”
Josie swung around when she heard a child’s voice. She found a boy who was about eight or nine. He must be the buyer’s son. “And I bet he’s fun to ride, too,” she said.
The child didn’t make eye contact with her, but he wandered toward her. “Vance says he can chase down calves, too. That’s what he’s best at.”
“We all have to be good at something.” Who was this child? “I’m Josie, Ana’s sister. And you are?”
“Brody. Vance said my horse can be like Rusty if I train him.”
Where was her future brother-in-law? “You have your own horse, Brody?”
Josie watched the child nod, wondering why he looked so familiar. He nodded. “My dad’s buying me one. He’s brown with a black tail and mane. That means he’s a bay. His name is Sky Rocket.”
“Cool name.”
The child nodded, causing his cowboy hat to tip back. “I’m going to teach him to run really fast.”
Josie smiled. “That sounds like a lot of fun.”
She was about to say something to the boy when she heard another voice calling out from the other side of the barn. “Brody!”
Josie looked at the boy. “Seems someone is looking for you.”
The boy jerked around just as Garrett and Vance came walking down the aisle. “Brody Temple.”
Temple. This was Garrett’s child. Oh, God, she needed to leave. The last thing she wanted was to see the man again.
“Oh, no,” Brody said as he stepped closer to Josie. “My dad is mad.”
Suddenly Garrett and Vance came up to them, and she knew she couldn’t ditch the boy.
“Brody, you were told not to wander off,” his father said. “You’re too young to be around horses without someone older.”
Suddenly, the kid threw her under the bus. “It’s okay. I was with Josie.”
CHAPTER THREE
GARRETT WAS BOTH relieved and surprised to find Brody standing beside Josie. His son didn’t usually approach strangers.
He looked down at the boy. “Son, you know you can’t leave like that.”
Brody stiffened. “I was careful,” he said defensively, but that changed when Vance walked up to the group. “You sure have a lot of horses here.”
“We hope to have a lot more in the spring,” Vance said. “So we can keep selling them to other kids.” He looked at Josie. “Josie. What brings you out here?”
“I came to find Ana.” She looked at the boy and managed to smile. “And found Brody instead.”
That smile quickly died when she turned to Garrett. “Seems you spend a lot of time at the Lazy S. I thought you were busy building a lodge.”
So she was going to stay angry at him. “I am. My foreman has everything under control.” He placed his hands on Brody’s shoulders. “I was taking the morning off to spend with my son. We’re picking out his first horse.”
“I know. We were talking about Sky Rocket.” She sighed. “Look, I should get back to the house to check on Colt. It was nice to meet you, Brody.”
Vance stepped in. “Don’t go yet, Josie, I was going to show Brody the new foal.”
“Yeah, go with us,” Brody pleaded.
Garrett knew it was inevitable he’d see Josie, but today he wanted to focus on his son, not his ex-girlfriend.
He could see her indecision, but she finally relented. “I can stay a few minutes.”
Brody looked at Vance. “Where is it?”
Grinning, Vance pushed his hat back. “Down a few stalls.” They all began walking. Garrett stayed back and let Brody and Josie take the lead, but once they got to the oversize stall, the boy waited, a big grin on his face, until the adults arrived before he got too close. He saw happiness in his child that he hadn’t seen in a long time.
Garrett looked over the railing to find a dark chestnut mare. Close by was her pretty brown filly with four white socks just like her mama.
“Oh, she’s so little,” Brody said as he looked through the stall railings. “How old is she?”
Vance walked up and began to stroke the mare’s nose. “Just two weeks.”
Josie asked Vance, “Do you think the mama will let us pet her?”
Garrett enjoyed seeing the light in her eyes, the excitement in her voice. It had been a long time since he’d seen this carefree side of Josie.
“Sure. Sugar Plum is a sweetheart.” He opened the gate, went inside and nudged the mare back and stood in front of her so the group could see the long-legged filly.
“So what do you think of her, Brody?” Vance asked.
Garrett knelt down away from the new mother, then reached out a hand to coax the filly, turning to Brody. “Come here, son.”
The boy walked inside the stall and mimicked his dad. “She’s so little.”
His son seemed to have no fear of animals as he reached out his hand to the foal. Surprisingly, the horse sniffed it and allowed the boy to touch her. Brody grinned. “She likes me. Josie, she likes me.”
Josie moved in next to Brody. “Animals are trusting as long as you don’t hurt them.”
Garrett couldn’t take his eyes off the exchange between his son and the foal, also between Josie and Brody. He felt a tightening in his chest. Josie always had an easy way, a knack to make people feel comfortable.
Josie stood up and let Brody interact with the foal. There was a bond growing already. She glanced at Garrett, seeing the love and protectiveness he had for his child. She felt tears welling in her eyes as she thought about past regrets. What could have been if only... She quickly blinked them away.
“Hey, Brody,” Vance said. “Can you think of a name for our filly?”
The child shrugged. “I don’t know any names for a horse.”
Josie saw the boy begin to withdraw. “Maybe,” she suggested, “’cause her mom’s name is Sugar Plum, you can call her ‘Sweet’ something.” She shrugged. “You know, like Sweet Pea. Sweet Georgia Brown. Sweet Caroline. Sweetheart. Sweet Potato.”
“Sweet potato?” Brody giggled. “That’s a silly name.”
“Well, come up with something better,” she told him.
The child continued to stroke the animal. “How about Sweet as Sugar,” he said. “My mom used to say that to me when I was little.” His voice faded out. “Before she died.”
Oh, God. Josie’s heart nearly stopped as she shot a look at Garrett. He didn’t make eye contact with her. His gaze stayed on his child as he went to the boy. “I think your mom would really like that name.”
Vance spoke up. “I think that’s a perfect name. It’s got her mother’s name in it, too. We’ll call her Sweetie for short. How do you like that, Sugar?” The horse whinnied and bobbed her head.
Brody flashed a big grin and his green eyes sparkled.
Josie felt a tug at her heart. “Yeah. That’s a good name. Sweetie.”
Vance patted the mare’s neck as he winked at Josie. “Thank you. Good idea.”
“Anytime, soon-to-be brother-in-law.” She smiled and glanced at Garrett. He was watching her, and she felt the familiar feelings, that warm shiver as his gaze locked on hers. She hated that he still had an effect on her, but she refused to let him see it. “I should get back to the house and Colt.”
“We all need to leave,” Garrett said. “The mama has been patient long enough with her visitors.”
Brody stood up. “Bye, Sweetie. Bye, Sugar.”
After the stall gate closed, Josie turned to the child. “It was nice to meet you, Brody.”
“Nice meeting you, Josie,” the boy said, then when she started to walk out, he asked shyly, “Will I see you again?”
She was caught off guard. “Oh, probably. We’re neighbors. And your dad is building a lodge for us.”
“I know. My dad builds a lot of stuff.”
She smiled, trying desperately to get away. “Enjoy your new horse.” She stole a look at Garrett. “Goodbye.” She tried not to run out of the barn, not that her sore ankle would allow it anyway.
Twenty-four hours home, and this man had been everywhere she turned. She knew one thing. She needed to get out of Montana as soon as possible.
She didn’t need Garrett Temple messing up her life...again.
* * *
An hour later, Josie sat at the desk in her father’s office talking on the phone with Tori. “How did the meeting go with Reed Corp?” she asked her sister, who’d pretty much taken over Josie’s event business while she was here.
“It went well. They were disappointed that you weren’t at the presentation. I think Jason Reed has a thing for you.”
Josie shook her head. “He also has a wife and two kids.” The short, balding fortysomething man liked all women. “I don’t share well, remember?”
She glanced around Colt’s private domain as she listened to her sister. The den walls were done in a dark wood paneling, and against one of those walls was a floor-to-ceiling bookcase filled with books, old rodeo buckles and trophies along with blue ribbons for Lazy S’s award-winning cattle and horses.
The furniture was worn leather and the carpet needed to be replaced. How long had the ranch finances been bad?
Tori’s laughter came over the speakerphone. “That’s right, you were pretty stingy when we were growing up, not sharing your dolls or your boyfriend. Speaking of which, how is Garrett?”
Josie froze. Why did everything come back to that man? “How would I know?”
“Because Ana said you’ve been spending time with him.”
“That’s not by choice.”
“So how does he look? Please tell me he’s gotten fat and gone bald.”
Josie had only confided in her twin what really happened the day Garrett confessed that he’d planned to marry another woman. Later she’d learned he’d gotten her pregnant. “No, he pretty much looks the same.”
“Ana also told me that he’s moved back to the Temple Ranch with his son.” Tori paused. “If you want, Josie, you can come back to L.A., and I’ll take your place.”
“No, I can’t keep running away from my past. We both decided that we’d help Ana and Vance. Besides, I want to find out if Colt’s new attitude toward his daughters is for real.”
“You have doubts?”
Josie wasn’t sure, still leery of the man’s sudden change of heart. “He’s nothing like the man we remember, Tori. He actually talked to me this morning at breakfast. Since the man had pretty much ignored us when we were growing up, I’m not sure how to handle the new Colt Slater.”
Tori joined in. “Like I said, we can change places if you want to come back here.”
Josie was a little worried. Why was Tori so eager to come to Montana? “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
