скачать книгу бесплатно
* * *
Colton Slater blinked and opened his eyes, trying to adjust to the brightness. He glanced around the unfamiliar room. He saw the railing on the bed, heard the monitor. A hospital? What happened? He closed his eyes and thought back to his last memory.
It had been dawn. He’d walked out to the barn to feed the livestock. His arm had been hurt like a son of a bitch since he’d gotten out of bed; then he’d started to feel dizzy and had to sit down on a straw bale. Vance was suddenly beside him, asking him if he was okay.
No, he wasn’t okay. Not when he woke up to find that he was in this bed with a needle in his arm, monitors taped to his chest. Worse, he couldn’t move. What the hell was going on?
He tried to speak and the only thing that came out was a groan.
“Mr. Slater? Mr. Slater?” He heard a woman’s voice. “You’re in the hospital, Mr. Slater. I’m your nurse, Elena Garcia. Are you in pain?”
Again he could only groan.
“I’ll give you something to help you.”
Colt blinked and focused on the raven-haired beauty, and his breath caught. Seeing her heart-shaped face, those almond eyes, he sucked in a breath and opened his mouth to speak. “Luisa...” he whispered, then there was nothing.
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Ana walked into her father’s hospital room. She held her panic in check on seeing the monitor and the IV connected to the large man in the bed.
She made her way closer. Colt Slater had always been bigger than life to her. The one-time rodeo star was nearly six feet tall, and muscular. The years of ranch work had kept him in shape. His brown hair was now streaked with gray, but even with the tiny lines around his eyes, he was still a handsome man. And she loved him. Maybe in his own way he loved her and her sisters, too. She felt a tear on her cheek and brushed it away.
“Oh, Daddy.” She reached out and took his big hand, thrilled that it felt warm. She wanted another chance to get close to this man. Would he be around for that?
A nurse walked in and smiled. “Hello. It’s good to see Mr. Slater has a visitor.”
“How has he been?” Ana asked.
“He was awake not long ago.”
Ana felt hopeful. “Really? Did he say anything? I mean, was he able to speak?”
Again the nurse smiled. “He said the name Luisa. Is that you?”
Ana gasped at hearing her mother’s name. “No, it’s not.” She released her father’s hand and hurried out of the room. Oh, God. He still wanted her mother. Ana couldn’t stop the tears once she reached the visitors’ room and found it empty. She finally broke down and began to sob.
Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, then heard the familiar voice. She wiped her eyes and slowly turned around to see Vance. His dark gaze locked on hers and she saw the compassion. He didn’t speak as he slowly drew her close. God help her, she went into his arms, letting his strength absorb the years of pain and hurt. She gripped his shirt and buried her face against his chest and sobbed.
Vance fought not to react to this woman. That was like saying not to take his next breath. Not to ache for something he’d wanted for so long and knew he couldn’t have. Now, sweet Analeigh was in his arms.
The top of her head barely reached his chin, and it seemed every curve was pressed against him, tormenting him. He moved his hands over her back, feeling her delicate frame. She might feel fragile but she was far from it. He’d watched for years how she’d corralled her siblings, broke up fights, helped with school projects and even stood up to Colt for them.
He’d never seen her so broken as right now. “Hey, bright eyes, what’s wrong? Is Colt worse?”
Vance reached in his back pocket, pulled out his handkerchief and handed it to her. She took it, but kept her head down. “C’mon, tell me,” he coaxed. “Is it Colt?”
She shook her head.
“What’s breaking your heart, Ana?”
She finally looked up at him. Her eyes welled with tears, her face was blotchy, but she looked beautiful. “He said her name.”
Vance frowned. “Whose name?”
“My mother’s. He said Luisa.”
Vance wasn’t shocked. “He’s had a stroke, Ana. The man might be confused with the place and time.”
She nodded, and as if she realized their closeness, she took a step back. “You’re probably right. Sorry. It’s just he hasn’t said anything about our mother in years. I thought he’d gotten over her.” She pointed to Vance’s wet shirt. “I’ll wash it for you.”
Vance wondered if it was possible to wash her out of his head, his heart.
* * *
It had been a long day by the time Vance brought Ana back to the ranch. He drove up the circular drive and let her out of the truck. Then he took off toward the barn to check on the stock and the ranch hands.
Ana stood there and looked up at the large ranch house. It had been months since she’d been inside, but when the housekeeper, Kathleen, insisted she stay over tonight, she didn’t have a choice.
She walked up the steps to the wraparound porch. Colt had built this house for his new bride, Luisa Delgado. It was well known about her parents’ whirlwind romance, also about Luisa’s disappearance twenty-four years ago.
Ana had been five years old at the time. She made herself remember the loving woman who’d hugged and kissed her little girls endless times. The woman who told those made-up bedtime stories, sat with her daughters when they were sick.
Not the woman who’d one day up and abandoned her family. All of them had been scared, including Colt. So much so, he couldn’t even stand to be their father anymore. And today, Ana had realized he still wanted his ex-wife.
She walked through the front door. Everything was the same, including the large table in the entry, adorned with fresh cut flowers from Kathleen’s garden. Ana glanced up at the open staircase with the decorative wooden banister, winding up to the second floor. She walked farther into the house, passing the living room. Two overstuffed leather sofas faced the river-rock fireplace. This was definitely a man’s room. Her dad’s office was next, then came the huge dining room with its high-back chairs and a table that could seat twenty. She moved on to her favorite room, the kitchen.
She smiled and glanced around to see the rows of white cabinets, which had been painted many times over the years to keep their high sheen. The countertops were also white, and the same with the appliances. The room was clean and generic. Long gone were any Spanish influences.
Kathleen walked in from the laundry room. The housekeeper was fifty-five and had a ready smile and kind hazel eyes. Her hair had been dark brown, but over the years had turned gray. She had never married, so Ana and her sisters were like the children she’d never had.
“Oh, Ana, I’m glad you’re here. I’m hoping you’ll be staying long enough for me to fatten you up. Child, you’re too thin.”
“I weigh the same as I always did, no more, no less.”
Ana wasn’t sure staying at the house was a good idea. There were so many memories she wanted to forget. But she’d be closer to the hospital. And since school was out for the summer, she was off work.
“Well, you still need to put on ten pounds.”
Before Ana could protest, there was a knock on the back door. Kathleen went and answered it. “Oh, hello, Mr. Dickson.”
Ana watched as the older man stepped into the kitchen. The distinguished-looking Wade Dickson was dressed in his usual business suit. He was not only Colt’s lawyer, but his longtime friend. They’d gone to school together. And Uncle Wade had given the Slater girls more affection than their own father had.
He smiled when he saw her. “Hello, Ana.”
She was still raw from today, and exhausted. “Hi, Uncle Wade.”
He came closer and hugged her. “I’m sorry about your daddy. I was out of town when I got the news. But don’t worry, old Colt is made of strong stuff.”
She was touched. “I appreciate you saying that.”
He released a long breath and guided her into the dining room, where they sat down at the table.
“I hate to do this, Ana girl, but we need to discuss what to do while your daddy is recovering.”
She hated that term. “Vance is foreman. Can’t he handle the ranch?”
There was another long pause. She could tell Wade was holding something back. “That’s a temporary fix. I’ve been by the hospital, and right now your father isn’t in any shape to make decisions. You girls will have to decide what to do for now.”
“Dad will be okay,” Ana insisted. “The doctor said... Well, he’s going to need some rehab.”
“I know, and I hope that will happen, too, but as his lawyer, I have to carry out his wishes. To protect his property and his family. And as of right now, Colton Slater is incompetent to run his business.”
Ana felt her heart skip a beat. “So what do I need to do? Sign some payroll checks?”
“Well, first of all,” Wade began, “Colt has a will, so he didn’t put this all on your shoulders. You have a co-executor to help.”
“Who?”
She heard someone talking with Kathleen, then a few heartbeats later, Vance walked into the room. He nodded to Wade. “Have you told her?”
The lawyer turned back to her. He didn’t have to speak; she already knew that her father had picked Vance over his own flesh and blood.
“So you’ve finally got what you wanted,” she said. “Now all you have to do is change your name to Slater.”
CHAPTER TWO
VANCE WORKED HARD not to react. He’d had plenty of practice over the years masking his feelings, especially around Ana.
“I’ll let that pass, since I know you’re upset. Colt named me because I’ve been foreman of the ranch for the past five years. This has nothing to do with me taking over.”
Wade Dickson jumped in. “He’s right, Ana. It wouldn’t be any different if your father had appointed me to oversee things. And believe me, I’m grateful he didn’t. Running a large operation like the Lazy S is a big undertaking, and I don’t think you want to handle that. Do you?”
She didn’t back down. “I’ve never gotten the chance to.” Her angry gaze danced back and forth between the two men. “Dad didn’t have any problem putting his daughters to work. Of course, he made sure we were limited to mucking out stalls or currying horses. And if we were really good at our jobs, we got to help with some of the roundups and branding. Yet once he thought we became a nuisance, he sent us off to the house.”
Vance glanced away. He’d seen over the years how Colt ignored his daughters. The man had never been demonstrative, but he’d given Vance a chance at a life. Hell, the girls had been lucky. When their father noticed his daughters were getting tired, he’d made them stop.
Colt had never been that generous with him. The man was never abusive, but had sometimes worked Vance twelve- to fourteen-hour days when it came to roundup time.
“Colt didn’t want you to get hurt,” Dickson stated. “Ranching isn’t an easy life.”
Ana shook her head. “We both know the truth. Colton Slater just wanted sons. And he sure didn’t want his daughters involved with his precious ranch.” She shot a hard look at Vance. “What about you? Do you have a problem working with a woman?”
He frowned. “What exactly do you mean by working?”
She moved around the table. “I’ve waited twenty-plus years to be able to feel a part of this place. I have the chance and the time, since I’m not going back to work at the school until the fall, and I plan to use it. You can either help me or get out of my way.”
Vance wasn’t sure he liked Ana’s idea. “What are you talking about?”
“You aren’t going to have all the say-so around here. Dad gave me at least half control of this place.”
Why was she acting as if this was war? “Up till now, the only person who had any control was Colt,” Vance argued, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. “He’s the boss. I still plan to carry out his wishes, because his situation is temporary. But if you want to work fourteen-hour days and smell like sweat and manure, feel free.” He started for the door, but stopped. “Just don’t plan for me to babysit you or your sisters, because the Lazy S is depending on this roundup.” He turned and walked out.
Ana realized she might have overreacted a little. But Vance Rivers had always been the thorn in her side. There was no doubt that Colt had favored him over his own daughters. Well, not anymore.
She stood a little straighter. “It seems I’m going to be working this summer.”
Wade Dickson shook his head. “I think you’d better get on that cowboy’s good side, or it’s going to make life difficult for the both of you.”
That was the last thing she wanted. She hadn’t forgotten the teenage Vance, with his bad attitude and swagger. He was good-looking and knew it. That day in the barn when he’d got her alone in the stall and kissed her until she couldn’t remember her own name wasn’t going to happen again. Nor was she going to run away like a scared rabbit.
Ana blinked, bringing her back to the present. “Dad’s stroke is more than making things difficult. But I don’t plan on ignoring my responsibilities to him or the ranch.”
Wade shook his head. “I hope Colt appreciates your loyalty, but don’t be too stubborn to think you can do this on your own. So you might want to find a way to get along with Vance. That’s the only way this is going to work.” The older man sighed. “Also, it might be a good idea to stop by my office tomorrow. There are some more details to go over.”
“What details?” she asked.
“It can wait until tomorrow, but not much longer. Bring Vance with you.”
Ana didn’t like the sound of that.
“What about your sisters?” Wade asked. “When are they coming home?”
Ana had no idea. “Not right away. So this is on me for now.” She tried to sound confident, but in reality she didn’t know even where to start.
* * *
An hour later in the barn, Vance worked the brush along the flank of his chestnut stallion, Rusty. He was angry, more at himself than with anyone else. He’d let her get to him...again. How many times had he told himself to forget about Ana? The woman wanted nothing to do with him. He couldn’t say he blamed her, not when their dad had ignored his girls all those years, while giving Vance the attention they should have gotten.
Many times he’d wanted to let Colt know how he felt about that, but the man had taken Vance in when he had nowhere else to go but into foster care.
Vance already had the stigma of having a father who’d been labeled no good for years. Calvin Rivers was well known as a man who couldn’t hold down a job, and drank away his paycheck when he found someone willing to hire him. Vance’s mother had gotten fed up and took off.
The strokes of his brush got more intense and Rusty expressed his irritation by dancing sideways in the stall. “Sorry, fella.” Vance smoothed a hand over his withers and put the brush away. “I didn’t mean to take out it out on you.”
He walked out of the stall and headed down the center aisle of the large barn, passing the dozen horses stabled here. He stopped and talked to two of the ranch hands, Jake and Hank, giving them instructions for tomorrow’s workday.
He said good-night and went through the wide door into the cool May evening. This had always been his favorite time of day. Work was done. The sun had gone down and the animals were all settled in for the night.
He knew his days on the Lazy S could be numbered. It was past time he left here, especially now that he had his own section of land. He’d already planned to leave in the fall after the alfalfa harvest. Now with Colt’s stroke...
He headed along the path toward his place. A hundred yards away was the foreman’s cottage. About four years ago, Colt had given him the three-bedroom house when he made Vance ranch foreman, after Chet Anders retired. Vance had been twenty-six and had just finished his college courses for his degree. That had been important to Colt. He was grateful, too.
Vance slowed his pace as he reached the house, seeing a shadow on the porch. He paused, then realized it was Ana sitting on the glider swing. Funny, for years he’d dreamed of her coming to visit him. He doubted this time was for the same reason he’d had in mind.
“You want another strip of my hide?” he asked, then kept walking into the house and flipped on the wall switch to light the compact living room.
He was surprised to see that Ana had jumped up and followed him, but stopped at the threshold. “No, I just want to talk to you about something. If you’ll give me a few minutes.”
