Her Cowboy Inheritance Read online

  A new life. A new start.

  And a new love at the Three Sisters Ranch

  Inheriting a ranch with her two sisters is the fresh start widowed mom Leah Holloway desperately needs. The problem? Leah knows nothing about ranching. And the only person willing to teach her is Shane Jackson, the handsome and oh-so-infuriating cowboy next door. Trusting each other means they’ll risk everything—including a connection that might just blossom into something dangerously real...

  Soon she would be lifting bales of hay like they were nothing...

  Leah put her hands on her hips and heaved in deep breaths. “I know this gets easier with practice, but wow. You must think I’m really stupid for not thinking about things like this.”

  Shane handed her a bottle of water. “Not stupid. Inexperienced. I know you think I’ve been hard on you, but I don’t want you to fail simply because you hadn’t thought everything through.”

  She nodded.

  “You’re smart and capable,” he continued. “You have more grit and gumption than a lot of people I know. I understand why you don’t trust easily. But I’m asking you to have a little faith in the fact that I’m here to help you. I made a promise to Helen, and I’m doing for you what Helen always wanted to do.”

  She brushed the hay off her pants. “I’ve given you more trust than I’ve given anyone else in a long time.”

  Shane didn’t want to think about trust issues.

  He hoped he could continue showing her that he had her best interests at heart...even when she didn’t understand.

  Danica Favorite loves the adventure of living a creative life. She loves to explore the depths of human nature and follow people on the journey to happily-ever-after. Though the journey is often bumpy, those bumps refine imperfect characters as they live the life God created them for. Oops, that just spoiled the ending of Danica’s stories. Then again, getting there is all the fun. Find her at danicafavorite.com.

  Books by Danica Favorite

  Love Inspired

  Three Sisters Ranch

  Her Cowboy Inheritance

  Love Inspired Historical

  Rocky Mountain Dreams

  The Lawman’s Redemption

  Shotgun Marriage

  The Nanny’s Little Matchmakers

  For the Sake of the Children

  An Unlikely Mother

  Mistletoe Mommy

  Honor-Bound Lawman

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

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  HER COWBOY INHERITANCE

  Danica Favorite

  Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

  —1 Corinthians 13:4–8

  For all the moms out there who are doing the best they can with what they have. You’ve got this!

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  Excerpt from Their Family Blessing by Lorraine Beatty

  Chapter One

  Leah Holloway stood inside the old ranch house in Columbine Springs, Colorado, unable to believe that in the twenty years since she’d last been here, everything seemed almost unchanged. Except for the silence and emptiness.

  “It’s weird not seeing Grandma Nellie sitting in her rocking chair, isn’t it?” her sister Erin said, coming behind her.

  Leah turned. “She wasn’t our grandmother.”

  “The closest thing we had to one. Besides, everyone called her Grandma Nellie.” Erin put her arm around her and gave a squeeze. “You doing okay?”

  Everyone asked her that, and Leah hated having to answer the question. Of course she wasn’t doing okay. How could anybody be okay when everything in her life was falling apart? Everyone had a million questions for her, and Leah hadn’t had the chance to process what had happened. She’d been too busy trying to stay strong for her kids, doing everything she could to keep a roof over their heads, and now this.

  Not that being here on the ranch was necessarily a bad thing, since the surprise bequest was literally the only reason she and her kids wouldn’t be living on the streets. But it was one more set of emotions being thrown at her that she didn’t have time to deal with.

  Fortunately, her sister Nicole came in, carrying a box. “Isn’t this great? I can’t believe this is all ours.”

  Erin gave their sister a small smile. “The happiest I remember being as children was the summer we spent here with Helen. The Colonel was on another temporary assignment, and she brought us here to her family’s ranch. I remember wishing we could stay here forever and never have to see the Colonel again. Who would have thought the wish of a ten-year-old would come true twenty years later?”

  For a moment, Erin looked wistful, but then she shook her head. “It’s crazy to think that Helen remembered us enough to leave us her family’s ranch. I feel bad that we didn’t stay in better touch with her.”

  Leah shrugged. “The Colonel would’ve never allowed it. Not with the way he threw her out. He thought she was a bad influence, allowing too much disorder in his household.”

  “I don’t remember that,” Nicole said. “I barely remember Helen at all. I still think it’s weird that she left us her estate.”

  The lawyer had given them a letter from Helen, outlining the reasons for her bequest. They’d all read the letter, but Nicole, who had only been six when the Colonel had divorced Helen, hadn’t responded to it the way Leah and Erin had. How could she? She’d been too young to understand so much of what had happened.

  Unfortunately, Leah had been twelve, which meant she had understood far too much. Nicole being so young had been a blessing.

  Sometimes, it was the only thing that gave Leah hope that her sons, Dylan and Ryan, would come through their own family tragedy unscathed. At seven and two, they barely remembered their father, who’d emotionally checked out of their lives long before his death six months ago. In some ways, her sons’ childhood mirrored so much of what Leah’s had been that it scared her. She’d spent her whole life vowing to do things differently when she had children of her own. The only differences were Leah’s mother had died when Nicole was a baby, and their father had been a monster. When the Colonel had died several years ago, she hadn’t felt the level of grief she did now for Helen.

  Leah would like to think that she was a reasonably good parent to her boys, even though their father had not been. Of course, she hadn’t known the truth about him until it was too late.

  A knock sounded at the door, and the three women turned. The silhouette of a cowboy was framed in the entryway, like one of those Western paintings you bought at tourist traps. As he stepped forward, he almost took Leah’s breath away. So handsome, with his rugged good
looks and dark hair that barely brushed the top of his collar. If she had to guess, she’d say he was near her own age, maybe a bit older. But looks could be deceiving, as she well knew, and she didn’t have time to deal with whatever weird attraction this was. She couldn’t even handle the real emotions flooding her.

  “Hope I’m not intruding,” the cowboy said. “I saw cars in front of the house when I came to check on my cattle, and I thought I’d introduce myself. I’m Shane Jackson, and I own the ranch next door.”

  The lawyer had mentioned something about Shane Jackson, but Leah couldn’t remember what it was. Dylan had been throwing a fit, and Leah had been doing her best to calm him down.

  Leah stepped forward. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Leah, and these are my sisters, Erin and Nicole. If you looked closely at the cars when you walked up, you might have noticed my sons, Dylan and Ryan, asleep in the backseat of the Subaru.”

  Shane shook his head. “I’m afraid not. The back door of the Subaru was open. I closed it, so no critters could get in. There were no children in there.”

  The air rushed out of Leah’s lungs. The boys had to be in there. Ryan couldn’t even get out of his car seat without help. She brushed past Shane and out of the house, running to her car. But as she drew near, her heart sank. The boys were gone.

  What kind of mother was she, losing her children?

  “They were asleep,” Leah said, looking around. Where were her children?

  Shane and her sisters had followed her, and immediately, Erin and Nicole started calling out for them.

  “Clearly not,” Shane said, obvious disapproval in his voice.

  Who was this man, and what right did he have to question her parenting? The lawyer was probably warning her off about him, and she’d missed it.

  “Boys!” Leah called, going to the other side of her car in case they were just hiding. “You’re not in trouble. Mommy just needs to know where you are.”

  She fought to keep the panic out of her voice. Dylan especially was prone to hiding when he thought he’d done something wrong. If he sensed she was upset, he’d make it even harder for them to find him.

  Her sisters had split up and gone to either side of the house, so Leah ran toward the barn. Ryan’s favorite toy was his plastic barn and animals. Maybe he’d seen the barn and hoped to find real animals, too.

  Hopefully, the boys hadn’t found anything too dangerous to get into.

  When she got closer to the barn, she could see a horse tied to the far side. And the boys petting it.

  “Dylan! Ryan!” As she shouted their names, Shane grabbed her by the arm.

  “Stop yelling. You’re going to scare my horse.”

  Who did he think he was, worrying about a horse when she’d thought she’d lost her sons?

  He jogged a few steps forward, then slowed to a walk, holding out his arm to keep Leah from passing him.

  “Hey!”

  “Shh.” He shot her a glare, then took another step forward. “Hey there, boys,” he said in a soft voice. “Whatcha doing over here?”

  “Petting da horse,” Ryan said, touching the horse’s leg.

  It was almost sweet, watching her son fulfill his dream of being around horses. But even Leah knew that it wasn’t safe for him to be there, touching the horse in that way.

  “Easy, Squirt.” Shane took a long step in the direction of the horse. “Steady.”

  The horse gave a toss of his head as if he understood Shane, and Shane took another giant step forward. If the horse lifted his leg or shifted his weight, he could easily step on the little boy. Dylan was standing farther back. At least one of her sons was safe. But even that wasn’t a guarantee. Though it had been a long time since Leah had been around horses, she knew they spooked easily.

  “Hey, boys, why don’t you come stand by me, and I’ll introduce you to Squirt properly.”

  Shane’s voice was calm and gentle, and the boys looked at him. Then they saw Leah.

  “I don’t want to get in trouble,” Dylan said, his lips quivering.

  Shane shot her a dirty look. What was with him and his judgmental attitude? He didn’t know anything about her or her kids.

  “No one’s in trouble,” Leah said. “But this is Mister Shane’s horse, and he wants to show you how to be safe around horses.”

  “Are you a real cowboy?” Dylan asked, pointing to Shane’s hat.

  Smiling, Shane took it off his head. “Why don’t you come on over here and try it on?”

  “Yeehaw!” Dylan ran toward him.

  Ryan followed, but their sudden movements made the horse antsy. In a swift motion, Shane jumped between the horse and the boys, grabbing the horse by the halter. “Easy, Squirt.”

  The hat fluttered to the ground, and Ryan picked it up, then placed it on his head. “I cowboy. I ride horse.”

  Leah gathered him into her arms. “Not right now, you don’t. This is Mister Shane’s horse, and you have to ask him first.”

  And from the disapproving glare Shane was giving her, it wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon.

  “He said I could wear that hat,” Dylan said, snatching the hat from his brother.

  “Mine.”

  “But he said it was for me.” As he adjusted the hat on his head, Dylan ran toward Shane and the horse. The horse whinnied, then started to dance around.

  Shane brought his attention to Dylan. “Slow down, buddy. You scare the horse when you run.”

  Dylan stopped. He turned and stuck his tongue out at his brother, then looked at Shane. “Can we ride your horse, Mister Shane?”

  “Not right now,” Shane said. “Everyone who rides a horse has to know the safety rules first.”

  Even Leah knew that it wasn’t safe for a child without any riding experience to be on a horse. But at least the man didn’t make a promise he couldn’t keep. When they had come here that summer, so long ago, Helen hadn’t allowed Nicole to ride, except with an adult sitting in the saddle with her. She couldn’t imagine that this man would be any different. In fact, judging by the way he continued to glower at her, he’d be even worse.

  Nicole and Erin had come around the house. Erin waved, and Leah returned the gesture. At least they knew the boys were safe. Nicole went back into the house. Erin came toward them. When Leah turned her attention back to the boys, Shane had lifted Ryan up and was allowing him to pet the horse. At least he seemed nicer now. Leah had forgotten how the so-called real cowboys were more overprotective of their horses than she was of her sons.

  “At least there’s no traffic here for them to play in,” Erin said, shaking her head.

  Shane turned and looked at them. “Only a fool would think that there still aren’t a lot of dangers to children here. There are coyotes, snakes—and those are just the common things to watch out for. And then there’s something like my horse. You need to tell your kids that they can’t come up to a strange animal like that. Squirt is easygoing enough. But if it had been one of my other mounts, you might not have been so fortunate.”

  “Well, aren’t you a ray of sunshine?” Erin said. “They’re small children, and we barely just got here. You can’t expect them to show up and know everything all at once. Obviously, you haven’t been around children much.”

  At the look Shane gave Erin, Leah grabbed her sister’s arm. “It’s fine. No harm was done, and when we get back to the house, we’ll sit with the boys and lay down some ground rules.”

  “But I want to ride the horse,” Dylan said, a stubborn expression filling his face. Leah knew that expression. Telling him no meant a tantrum would follow. And the last thing she needed was for her son to fall apart in front of this already-judgmental man.

  “I believe Mister Shane said that you needed to learn the rules first. So, let’s go inside and have a little snack, then we can talk.”

  The boys hadn’t
had lunch, either, which would make them crankier and more prone to difficulty if Leah didn’t deal with it soon. They’d been sleeping, and she hadn’t wanted to disturb them. Not something she would want to share with Mr. Judgy Pants. The boys hadn’t been sleeping well lately with all the changes in their lives, and she had wanted to give them a break.

  Unfortunately, her answer didn’t sit well with Dylan. “I want to ride the horse now.”

  Shane set Ryan on the ground away from the horse and pointed him toward Leah. “Go see your momma.”

  At least Ryan did what he was told. Leah held her arms out to her son. “Are you ready for a snack?”

  “I no have no lunch,” he said, whining at the end.

  “We can have sandwiches,” she hugged him, enjoying the feeling of having her son back safely in her arms. Even though she already knew he was safe, holding him made it real.

  “I hate sandwiches,” Dylan said.

  “I’m sure we can find something else that’s tasty. Let’s go see what’s in the kitchen.” Leah held out her hand, hoping that her son would take it.

  But Dylan was still focused on the horse. “I want to ride the horse.”

  She took a step in his direction. She could feel Shane’s eyes on her like he wasn’t sure what she was going to do and wouldn’t approve. He’d approved of nothing she’d done so far.

  “We’ve already had this discussion. You need to come with me, so we can all have something to eat.”

  “No.” Dylan crossed his arms over his chest, and Leah braced herself for what was coming.

  The psychologist had told her it was a gift to see the signs of a tantrum forming, but right now, it felt like a burden. Especially with her little boy clinging to her and Shane’s disapproving glare. Leah turned to her sister.

  “Can you take Ryan inside for me? Dylan and I will be there shortly.”

  Erin nodded. She’d been her rock these past few months. At first, Leah had felt guilty relying so heavily on her sister when Erin was dealing with a tragedy of her own. Erin’s daughter, Lily, had died in a tragic accident, and her marriage had ended as a result. But Erin had told her that helping with the boys was healing for her, and now Leah had no idea what she would have done without her.

 
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