Falling for the Rancher Read online

  He certainly hadn’t felt this instant connection with Cathy...which made those warning bells clang all over again. He could not afford a second mistake.

  He ordered a cheeseburger and Coke when the waitress—Marge, given the name embroidered on her uniform—stopped by his booth. Then he pensively stared out the large plate glass window overlooking Aspen Creek’s Main Street.

  For a chilly Monday morning in mid-April, there was a surprising amount of activity in town. Most of the parking spaces were filled. Pedestrians were window-shopping as they passed the various boutiques and upscale shops probably meant to lure tourists from Minneapolis-St. Paul and Chicago.

  Farther down the street, he’d spied some high-end outfitters displaying kayaks, canoes and pricey backpacks in their windows. A quaint two-story bookstore. Cozy-looking tea shops. Bed-and-breakfast signs in front of grand old Victorians.

  The town hardly looked like it could be in horse country, but his research had proved otherwise, and so he had started making his plans. Remodeling. Equipment purchases. Supplies. Promotion, to let horse owners know about him.

  Under Dr. Boyd’s ownership the clinic had been focused on small animals, so he’d figured he would let the current staff go and then hire people with the equine expertise he needed. People he would carefully interview, and then he’d follow up with background checks on. Thorough background checks.

  He felt a shudder work down his spine, wishing with every beat of his heart that there’d been more careful scrutiny of staff at the multi-vet clinic where he’d worked back in Montana. But that was over, done with, and now he had a chance to start his own clinic and do things right.

  The waitress returned, gave him a narrow look and set his Coke down with a thud. A few drops splattered onto the table, but she wheeled around for the kitchen without a second look.

  Curious, he watched her go and realized that every eye in the place was fixed on him. None of them looked friendly. Feeling as if he’d slipped into some sort of time warp, he eyed the Coke but didn’t try it.

  A stooped, gray-haired man in a bright plaid shirt, khakis and purple tennis shoes appeared next to his booth. “I figure you must be the new vet,” he muttered. He leaned closer to peer at the veterinary emblem on Logan’s vest. “Yep. Figured so. Lucky man, buying Doc Boyd’s place. He was the best. Best gals working for him, too. Couldn’t find any better. You can count your blessings, sonny.”

  He stalked away, muttering under his breath.

  Three elderly women seated at a round table a dozen feet away craned their necks to watch the old guy leave. As one, their heads swiveled toward Logan. If glares could kill, he’d have been turning cold on the floor. Still, he nodded and smiled back at them. “Ladies.”

  The oldest one harrumphed and turned away. The one with short silver hair fixed him with her beady eyes. “Paul is right. Everyone loved Dr. Boyd, you know. He wouldn’t ever have treated his staff badly.”

  “People care about each other in a small town.” The third woman lifted her chin with a haughty sniff.

  He politely tipped his head in acknowledgment, then startled a bit when a thirtysomething woman slipped into his booth and propped her folded hands on the table.

  Judging from the blinding sparkles on her wedding ring, she surely hadn’t stopped by to flirt, and given the decidedly unfriendly mood in the café, he hoped she didn’t plan to whack him with her heavy leather purse.

  “Beth Stone. I own the bookstore in town,” she said briskly. “It looked like you might need a bodyguard, so I figured I’d stop by for a minute. Thought I might need to warn you.”

  He glanced at the other customers in the café, who were all pushing eighty if they were a day. “I think I can handle them. At least, so far.”

  Her long chestnut hair swung against her cheek as she slowly shook her head. “Your business affairs are your own, of course. I don’t mean to pry, and whatever you decide to do is totally up to you. But as you can see, word spreads fast in a small town. Gossip is a bad thing, but people really do care about each other here, just as Mabel told you. No one wants to see a friend hurt.”

  Clearly eavesdropping from her seat at the round table, Mabel gave him a smug smile.

  “I just wanted to offer a little friendly advice,” Beth continued. “If you can, take things a bit slow. Settle in. Get to know people. And if you’re going to fire everyone at the vet clinic right off the bat—”

  “I haven’t,” Logan said quietly. Yet.

  “But that’s the word on the street, as they say. Not because your employees are blasting the news all over town,” Beth added quickly. “There might have been...uh...a client who overheard something while in the waiting room...who happened to stop here at the café, where no secret is ever kept. Ever.”

  The waitress scuttled up to the booth and delivered his hamburger, then fled back to the kitchen. “Sounds like my hometown in Montana,” Logan said.

  “Businesses have failed here over far less, and you don’t want to drive every last client to some other vet practice in the next town. Just be prepared.”

  “Thanks.”

  “People care about each other here. And they are as friendly as can be.”

  He eyed the other customers in the café, who definitely didn’t appear friendly at all. “I’ll have to take your word on that.”

  “I promise you, this really is a wonderful town. There are all sorts of seasonal celebrations that draw crowds of tourists. And I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t have at least one pet, so you’ll be plenty busy.” She gathered her purse and stood. “And I know you’ll really like the staff at the clinic when you get to know them. I’ve been taking our pets there all of my adult life, and they provide excellent care.”

  “Good to hear.” He poked at his hamburger, which appeared to be very well done, and cold to boot.

  “Dr. Leighton in particular—did you know she completed some sort of special residency after vet school? I don’t recall, exactly. Surgery, maybe. Or was it medicine? I know that she received some pretty big honors. There was an article on her in the local newspaper when she first came to town. Dr. Boyd was really thrilled when he was able to hire her.”

  So here was yet another pitch, though delivered more skillfully than most. “I’ll be sure to ask her about it.”

  Beth nodded with satisfaction. “I’ve got to get back to my store, but it’s been nice to meet you. God bless.”

  He waited until she left, then cautiously lifted the top bun on the burger. Though nothing unexpected appeared inside, the patty was charred to the point of being inedible—yet another message from the good people of Aspen Creek.

  So maybe it was for the best that Darcy had railroaded him into keeping her on for a few months, he realized with chagrin.

  He could now become acquainted around town, try to avoid alienating any more of the residents and thus improve the chances that his vet practice would succeed. With a new clinic website, a Facebook page and announcements in the regional horse magazines, word would spread, and maybe he could start his life over again, away from the shadow of his past.

  All he needed was time.

  Chapter Two

  After the Easter service at the Aspen Creek Community Church, Darcy drove up the long lane winding through a heavy pine forest to Dr. Boyd’s house, knowing this was probably a big mistake.

  Logan certainly hadn’t been friendly when he’d first arrived at the clinic on Friday. He’d been gruff and completely lacking in empathy toward her and the clinic staff. He was clearly looking forward to firing them all.

  And he probably wouldn’t accept her invitation anyway. So why had she even bothered to come?

  Because, she muttered under her breath, she should treat him as kindly as she would any other newcomer, even if she had yet to find anything likable about hi
m whatsoever.

  “What, Mommy?” Emma chirped from her new booster seat in back.

  “Just talking to myself, sweetie.” Darcy’s mood brightened. Maybe Logan had a wife and kids, and they were all celebrating Easter by themselves, though something about him made her guess that he was probably alone. That would be no surprise, if he was cold to everyone.

  She looked up at Emma in the rearview mirror. “I’m guessing that Dr. Maxwell might not want to join us for dinner, but we’ll see.”

  Emma sat up a little straighter to look around and squealed with delight at her surroundings as the house and barn came into view. “Will Barney be here?”

  I wish. I wish everything was still the same—that the old sheepdog would come romping out of the barn to meet us, and that Dr. Boyd would be here, too.

  He’d been more than a mentor during the seven months she’d worked with him. He’d been kind and perceptive and caring, like the grandfathers she’d never known but had pictured. He’d helped her get through the bleakest time of her life.

  But now he was gone, and nothing would ever be the same again.

  “Barney lives with Marilyn now, sweetie. Remember? And Dr. Boyd is up in heaven.”

  “Can we go see Barney?” Emma asked somberly.

  “Of course we can. Maybe tomorrow.” Darcy pulled to a stop in front of the sprawling, rustic log home with river rock pillars and rock siding at the front porch. Set in the shade of towering pines, the house blended into its surroundings and matched the hip-roofed barn and wood-fenced corrals.

  It had been the home of her dreams, but the house and clinic had been far beyond her financial reach.

  A gleaming black crew cab Dodge pickup with Montana plates was parked in front of the garage, so apparently Logan was home. She stepped out of her SUV, smoothed her peach linen skirt and helped Emma out of her booster seat.

  Twisting a strand of her blond hair around her finger, the four-year-old frowned and looked around. “Will there be Easter baskets here?”

  “At home,” Darcy promised. She bent down to fluff the layers of pink ruffles cascading from the waist of her daughter’s dress. “We won’t be here long.”

  A spiral-sliced ham was waiting in the oven back at the cottage, and creamy mashed potatoes were staying warm in a Crock-Pot. Several colorful salads were finished and in the fridge. But the day seemed strange again this year, with just the two of them to celebrate the joy of Easter.

  It had to be different for Logan, as well, assuming he had observed the usual Easter traditions back in Montana. Then again, was he even a believer? Beyond the fact that he’d arrived intending to fire her, she knew nothing about him.

  At the sound of hammering out past the barn, she took Emma’s hand and headed that way, taking in the contrast of the many new boards that now replaced the broken ones.

  As they rounded the barn, he came into view. He eyed the three-plank oak fence line stretching toward the heavy timber to the west. Tapped a top board upward into perfect alignment and nailed it in place.

  “Hello there,” Darcy called out. “Happy Easter.”

  He spun around, clearly startled, and frowned as he dropped the hammer into a loop on his low-slung tool belt. He gave them a short nod.

  It wasn’t much of a greeting, but she resolutely strode forward with Emma in tow. “Looks like you’ve been working hard since you got here.”

  “Yesterday and today.” He tipped his head toward the corral. “I need at least one safe corral finished before I can go back for my horses and the rest of my things.”

  Emma had shyly hung back behind Darcy, but now she took a tentative step forward. “You have horses?”

  His cool demeanor softened as he looked down at her. “Just two. Drifter is a pretty palomino mare just about the color of your hair, and Charlie is a bay gelding with four white socks and a blaze. I’ve had him since I was twelve.”

  She looked up at him in awe. “I want a pony but Mommy says not ’til I’m bigger. That’s too long.”

  Darcy cleared her throat, knowing all too well where that conversation was heading. “We actually stopped by because I figured you don’t know anyone in town yet, and thought you might like to join us for Easter dinner this afternoon. I didn’t think to ask you when we first met on Friday.”

  “Well, I...”

  “It’s just the two of us here in town, so we won’t have a big family gathering or anything.”

  Emma’s eyes sparkled. “Could you bring a horse?”

  He looked down at her and chuckled. “That would be fun, but I’m heading back to Montana as soon as I put away my tools.”

  Emma’s face fell. “Mommy even made my favorite pink fluffy Jell-O. And then I get to hunt for Easter baskets. What if there’s one for you?”

  That deep slash of a dimple appeared when he smiled at her. “I think I’m too old for that, darlin’. But I know you’ll have a great time.”

  “We’d better go home and let Dr. Maxwell finish up so he can get on his way.” Darcy reached for her hand. “I hope you have a safe trip. Let Marilyn know when you’ll be back, in case someone asks.”

  When he looked up at Darcy, his warmth faded as quickly as if he’d turned it off with a switch, and he was back to his aloof business persona. “Probably Thursday or Friday.”

  “Uh...I’ll let her know. Safe travels.” She turned away and headed back to the car with Emma.

  How awkward was that? He’d shown kindness to Emma, but if he was this cool and distant with his clients, he wasn’t going to fare well.

  Though if he didn’t connect well with them, maybe he’d eventually put the practice up for sale, and perhaps by then she’d be able to find favorable financing. A little flare of hope settled in her heart.

  Maybe her dreams could still come true.

  * * *

  “We’re down to only fourteen volunteers now,” Beth said on Friday afternoon as she studied the list on her iPad. She drummed her fingers on the vet clinic receptionist’s counter. “I never expected six would cancel. All of our posters promised there would be twenty, and the handyman fundraiser auction is tonight. Guess I was too optimistic.”

  “There should still be enough money for the church youth group trip, though,” Darcy said.

  “For the kids, probably. But not enough to cover the chaperones’ expenses, and some of those parents just can’t afford it otherwise. Without enough chaperones, the trip is off. Have you asked Logan to participate? I’ll bet he would be willing.”

  “Ask him? I barely know him.” Darcy shuddered. “He doesn’t seem like the benevolent type. And this would be an awfully big favor.”

  “Wouldn’t it be a great introduction for him in the community, though? Participating for such a good cause would surely cast him in a more favorable light. He didn’t exactly have an auspicious start in town.”

  “Thanks to Paul Miller, who had no business starting those rumors at the cafe.” And mostly thanks to Logan himself, but she tried to rein in that uncharitable thought. “For all I know, Logan doesn’t even have the skills for this sort of thing. I’ve seen him wield a hammer, but that was only on a fence board.”

  “Call him and find out,” Beth insisted. “You have his cell number, right? Tell him the auction is for just twenty hours of labor. Surely he could manage to do something useful for someone.”

  “Maybe. But I haven’t even seen him all week—not since he showed up and announced that my career, my whole life, is being turned upside down. Marilyn’s and Kaycee’s, too, and you know how much they need their jobs.” Darcy thought for a minute. “Oh, and I also saw him briefly last Sunday, when he refused my invitation for Easter dinner and was pretty much cold as ice when we talked. A very brief conversation, I might add.”

  Beth grinned. “And here I thought he might just b
e the perfect match for you. Handsome, same career, lots to talk about...”

  Darcy snorted. “No way. Sounds like fairy-tale stuff to me. Been there, done that, and I’m not going down that road again. Ever.”

  “If he’s been gone all week, maybe he’s changed his mind about buying the clinic and is scouting out other possibilities.”

  “I wish,” Darcy retorted dryly. “But I think the purchase of the clinic is a done deal. Signed contracts and all of that. He called the clinic this morning and told Marilyn he’d be back sometime late today with his two horses and the rest of his things. That sounds permanent to me.”

  “So, will you make that call?” Beth fixed Darcy with an expectant look. “Please? We could bend the rules so he wouldn’t even need to appear onstage.”

  Darcy laughed, remembering Logan’s narrow-eyed glower when they’d first run into each other at the clinic. “That actually might be for the best no matter when he shows up back in town.”

  “Just be sure to let my assistant know as soon as you have an answer, because Janet will be printing the final version of the program at six thirty, and the auction starts at eight.”

  There were reasons Beth had made such a success of her bookstore, and sheer determination topped the list. Darcy sighed heavily as she glanced at the clock on the wall. “I’ll send him a text. I need to take Emma to her dental appointment at four, and I’ll be busy with clients all afternoon. If he doesn’t respond by then, Kaycee can ask him when he stops in.”

  Beth beamed. “Perfect.”

  “Well, hang on to that thought, but I doubt he’ll agree. Anyway, I suspect most bidders have already set their sights on the handyman they prefer, so Logan might not generate much for the fundraiser.”

  “Are you still planning to bid on Edgar Larson?”

  “Absolutely.” Darcy fervently clapped a hand against her upper chest. “He is the man of my dreams.”

  Beth laughed. “But just a bit old for you, sweetie—by forty years at least. And don’t forget about Agnes.”