Chapter 14

Two months later

Westin whistled, pushing his horse forward, encouraging the cows to move deeper into the valley. The winter grazing lands were frozen over. Snow had fallen last night, dumping over seven inches on the county. The damn cows wouldn't move on, wouldn't get their butts out of the shade under these trees and out into the warmth of the sun. Every year. Bowie was in the truck, dragging the hay feeder behind it, but even that wasn't encouraging the cows to move. Sometimes, the old ways were still the best ways. They knew what to do when a horse came riding at them.

The cow dogs were barking, the cows were moaning, the birds were singing. It was a beautiful morning despite the cold. Westin took off his hat and wiped his forehead with his hanky, pausing for a second to wonder how Lee was doing up in Washington. She'd had to go back. She'd stayed at Golden Sphinx for a few weeks, but she'd had to go back to Seattle to file her reports. She wanted to see her partner's wife, wanted to visit with her family. She'd said something about settling her affairs, but he wasn't sure what she meant by that. She'd promised she'd come back, and that was all he heard.

He spurred his horse on, getting the last of the stragglers out into the sunlight, watching them come to life in the warmth. Another month or so and they'd move them back down to the spring pastures, get ready for mating season. They had a dozen or so heifers that would be inseminated this year. It was always touch and go with the heifers; the more there were, the higher the stress of it all. But that was Clint's department, really. Let him worry about how many of the heifers would survive the mating season, and which would be good producers for the next few years.

Westin was more interested in the new bunkhouse they were building. Miss Dulcie had given them a healthy budget, which meant they could make it a little bigger than the old one. He was half-hoping there would be private rooms this time around. They were the top team at Golden Sphinx. They deserved something a little nicer than what all the other hands had, didn't they?

His own space. That was all he really wanted.

Westin signaled Bowie, let him know he was heading back down the hill. He rode easy for a while, enjoying the sights, the snow-covered land, the sun on his face. He could see himself doing this for a while longer. His whole life? Maybe not. But for a few more years. And then Clint had this private-security thing going. They'd had a client last week, some reporter who'd been getting death threats related to some article he'd written before he'd arrived to cover the whole Rocking D scandal. They were still coming, those media hounds, even though there was nothing left to cover. Dominic had been taken down to Denver to face charges in the federal courts, with all his coconspirators. There was nothing left here to talk about, no more gossip to be heard. But they still came, and it was good for the economy. At least, it'd been good for their bottom line. They'd made several thousand dollars following that guy around for three days.

Westin really had nothing to complain about. He missed Lee. That was all.

His cell rang in his back pocket. He stopped the horse and pulled it out, connecting with Clint's phone.

"What's up, boss?"

"Miss Dulcie wants to see you at the main house."

"Yeah? What's up?"

"I don't know. But you should get up there."

"All right."

The house was quiet when Westin got there. He walked through the kitchen, nodding to the girls preparing Miss Dulcie's lunch, and headed out to the sitting room. When he walked in, instead of Miss Dulcie, he found himself face-to-face with Carolyn Mollohan.

He hesitated, not sure he wanted to hear what she had to say. But then her expression softened, and she even smiled. "I'm sure I'm the last person you thought you'd see again."

Westin took off his hat and stepped into the room, lowering his head with respect. "Mrs. Mollohan, I—"

"Thomas." She smiled softly. "I've taken back my maiden name. It's Carolyn Thomas."

He nodded. He'd heard rumors, but hadn't been sure. "I'm sorry for what happened to you and your family, and any part I played in it."

"You had nothing to do with it. It was all Dominic." She cleared her throat, stepping to the coffee table where she'd set her purse. She took a bundle out of it and came back, stopping just before him. "Rena told me the truth about what happened that night you came to dinner. I should have known." She tilted her head to one side. "You look like him. Like the good parts of him I once loved when I was young."

He lowered his head, touched despite himself. "Thank you."

"She also told me how Dominic denied you, what he said about your mother. I thought you'd like to know the truth." She held out her bundle to him. "I found these among Dominic's things after… everything." She gestured to them. "They're letters from your mother to Dominic. I hope you don't mind, but I read them. It's very clear from the things she said in them that she loved him very much. And, if everything she says is true, it seems he loved her too." She sighed. "He kept them. He read them. They must have meant something to him."

"I knew she wrote to him, but I wasn't sure he ever saw them."

"He did. I don't know why he lied to you about it. But, again, I don't know why Dominic did most of the things he did." She brushed her hand over her cheek, wiping away a tear that had escaped from her eye. "And that brings me to my real purpose for coming to see you." She cleared her throat. "For reasons I didn't understand at the time, Dominic had the deed to Rocking D transferred into my name a few years ago. I guess, maybe, it was his way of taking care of Rena should what happened happen. But you know that the tradition of Rocking D states that the firstborn son should inherit the ranch. And that would be you."

Westin shook his head. "You don't have to worry about that, Ms. Thomas. I don't plan to make a claim on Rocking D."

"I know. And that's what makes you a better man than my husband." She smiled softly. "But I want you to know that I've had a will drawn up. Upon my death, you and Rena will inherit the ranch equally. When that happens, it's up to you what you want to do with it. It's a simple thing to sign it all over to her, or to sell your half. Whatever you want, Westin. But you should have the right to choose."

"That is…" Westin was speechless. He didn't know what to say.

Carolyn Thomas stepped into him and touched his cheek lightly. "You deserve so much more than he will ever give you. It's the least I could do. And Rena… she misses you. I think if you were to give her a call, she'd be open to speaking to you."

"You think so?"

"I do." She smiled. "I always wanted to give my daughter a sibling. I don't think I could have chosen a better one than you."

***

Westin dropped into the booth, shoving Landry over with his hip. Why they always had to pile into the same damn booth, he didn't understand. Roni had tables with chairs and plenty of elbow room, but they always had to grab this damn booth!

"The usual, boys?" Annie asked as she set their water glasses in front of them.

"Can I have blueberries?" Westin asked.

"Anything for you, sweetheart," Annie said, winking sweetly.

"We've got a couple of stragglers up in the pasture again," Clint commented. "One of you needs to go up there and make sure the boys from C bunkhouse aren't leaving them behind for some reason."

"I'll do it," Westin volunteered. He didn't mind.

Clint nodded. "Thanks."

"When's the new bunkhouse going to be finished?" Landry asked. "I'm afraid I'm getting used to the space and the private bathroom in the guest bunkhouse."

"I told you," Clint said, a little irritation in his voice. "They have to wait until the ground thaws to dig the foundation. It'll probably be May or June."

"Three more months," Bowie sighed. "I can do that."

Westin laughed, shaking his head a little. "You guys are too soft."

"What about you?" Landry asked. "You were the one hoping there would be private rooms in the plans for the new bunkhouse."

"I just think we should have perks the other crews don't have. After all, we're the A crew, and we've got this business we're trying to run."

"Are you sure it's not for other reasons?" Remington asked, his eyes glued to the window beside him.

"What other reasons could those be?"

Remington shrugged his shoulders, but he was watching something, his eyes moving slowly from the parking lot beyond the window to the front door of the diner. Clint grinned, his attention also drawn to the doors. Westin frowned, twisting in the booth to see what had their attention. When he saw her, his heart jumped into his throat.

He couldn't get out of that booth fast enough.

Lee, dressed in a slick overcoat, her hair shorter now, curling around her face, stood just inside the diner, looking around for something. For someone.

He ran to her, lifting her up in his arms, laughing when she squealed with delight.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were still in Washington!"

"I told you I was coming back."

"Yeah, but you didn't say when."

"When," she said with a little wink.

Westin groaned, pulling her close to him, his mouth seeking hers. She sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer, wanting her as near as he could get her. A few catcalls went up behind them, other ranch hands acting like a bunch of frat boys.

"I missed you," he whispered against her mouth.

"Good. I was hoping you'd say that."

"Why?"

She gently extricated herself from his arms, stepping back as she began to unbutton her coat. "I decided that I needed a change in profession, and this lady made me an offer I couldn't resist." She opened the jacket and gave him a peek at what she had on underneath. There was a second of confusion as his fevered mind tried to make sense of what she was showing him.

"That's a cop's uniform."

"A sheriff's deputy uniform, actually."

"You took a job with Sheriff Reeves?"

"She needed an undersheriff, and I happened to be available."

"You're staying."

"For the next three years at least. That's how long my contract is for."

"Three years." He pretended to consider it, and then he snatched her up again, pressing his mouth against her throat. "Okay. I think I can work with that."

"You can? That's a relief."

He laughed, taking her hand and pulling her over to the booth. Clint switched places with Bowie, giving them room for Lee to join them. She smiled brightly as they all greeted her, her face glowing as they chatted happily. But she couldn't possibly be as happy as Westin was to have her there, to be able to hold her.

Now his life was perfect.

"Hey! What's that?"

Remington smacked the window before jumping up, climbing over Bowie and Landry on his way out the door.

"Here we go again," Clint mumbled as he chased after him.

~ THE END ~