The Cowboy’s Sacrifice Read online

  Which was why Ty’s loyalty to Ricky seemed so strange. None of the people who were supposed to protect her actually did, and then, of course, there’d been the whole nightmare with Katie’s father. Even though Chris was dead, sometimes Rachel still looked over her shoulder for some lawyer to come after her and make good on all of Chris’s threats. Though their marriage had been brief, the damage he’d done would last a lifetime. Ty might be afraid of what Rachel might do to Ricky, but in all honesty, Rachel was more afraid of what Ty could do to her. Had it not been for Chris’s death, Rachel was certain she would not have her daughter.

  But that wasn’t the sort of thing she was going to tell Ty. He’d use it, as well as anything else she said or did, against her. Hopefully, once she got to the ranch, she wouldn’t have to deal with him again. All she needed was a few minutes alone with Ricky, the chance to plead her case, and it would be enough.

  What she wanted to say to Ty, but couldn’t because it would reveal too much, was that she didn’t have the time or energy to hatch a plot on how to bilk an old man for everything he had. She was too busy trying to stay alive.

  They finished the rest of the meal in silence, and for that, Rachel was glad. Afterward, Ty led her out to the parking lot. “My truck’s that one,” he said, gesturing. “I assume that’s you.” He pointed to her lonely sedan in the sea of pickup trucks.

  She nodded.

  “With the bridge out, the route to the ranch is tricky, but I’ll make sure not to lose you. You won’t be able to find it on your own.”

  She nodded. “GPS couldn’t even give me an alternate route.”

  He grinned. It was the first genuine smile she’d seen from him, and she was surprised by how much she liked it. Once again that strange feeling of attraction came over her. Crazy. Not only did she not need a romantic complication in her life, but she was certainly not going to fall for some controlling, manipulative lawyer, either. Been there, done that, and the only good thing to have come from it was Katie.

  “I’ll keep up,” she said, ruffling her daughter’s hair. Thankfully, Katie had been too young to remember the nightmares of the custody battle with Chris. But Rachel would never forget. She just hoped that she could get a kidney in time and live long enough to watch her daughter grow up. She’d always promised herself that if she ever became a parent, her child would never face being put in foster care.

  But if she died, what else was there for Katie?

  The custody battle with Chris had isolated Rachel from all her friends. People she thought she trusted had turned against her and spewed lies on the witness stand. Since then, she hadn’t been able to trust anyone. The people she worked with were nice enough, but Rachel couldn’t bring herself to form a more meaningful relationship with them than the casual pleasantries one exchanged with coworkers.

  As she followed Ty off the main road onto a dirt one, she hoped that yet again, she wasn’t misplacing her trust. Not that she planned on getting involved with Ty, other than following him to the ranch and convincing him that she wasn’t going to take some poor old man to the cleaners.

  Maybe, as different as they seemed to be, she and Ty had a lot in common. Neither trusted easily, and it seemed like they both had their reasons.

  They turned off the dirt road onto another that seemed even less maintained. It was barely a step above a four-wheel trail, and Rachel had to navigate the ruts and potholes slowly. As she looked at the scenery around her, the flat plain they were on, surrounded by mountains, the nearest houses were but specks in the distance. For all she knew, Ty could be a serial killer, leading her out to the middle of nowhere to murder them and leave their bodies behind.

  No one would miss them. Her boss would be concerned when she didn’t show for work on Monday, and she supposed the school would wonder where Katie was. But other than that, she wasn’t sure anyone would care.

  A sobering thought, especially since she was fighting so hard to stay alive. Just for Katie, but Katie was important enough to make it worth her time. Worth the effort. But it also meant that unlike a lot of other people needing kidneys, she didn’t have a huge network of friends and family to draw upon for donors. She was wholly reliant on the kindness of some stranger or the unfortunate passing of someone’s beloved.

  Before she could reflect on that further, a large ranch house peeked through the trees, and she soon found herself within what seemed like an enormous ranch compound. The photos on the internet didn’t do it justice. From the majestic main building, which had to be the lodge, to another, equally impressive home that was likely Ricky’s personal residence, as well as various buildings scattered around the area, the ranch looked almost like a small town.

  And even though Rachel had zero connection to this place other than a positive match from an online DNA test, she had the strange sensation that she was finally coming home.

  * * *

  Ty had already called Ricky on his way to the ranch, so Ricky wasn’t surprised by their arrival. He didn’t know what Rachel’s angle was, but something about her didn’t feel right. While he waited for her to get her daughter situated, he’d snapped a picture of the business card Rachel had given him and sent it to one of his investigator friends.

  Ricky said Ty worried too much, but that was what Ty was paid for. Especially with all the crazies coming out of the woodwork. When Ricky’s son, Cinco, had died nearly thirty years before, Cinco’s wife had been pregnant. But because Cinco and his father had been estranged, Luanne hadn’t wanted anything to do with Ricky. She’d disappeared, and Ricky hadn’t known whether the baby was a boy or girl. He knew nothing about his grandchild, but now that he was looking at the latter part of his life, and the regrets he had, he’d been hoping to find Cinco’s child to make things right.

  They’d made a few announcements, put out feelers to contacts Ricky still had in the rodeo world, but no one knew what happened to Cinco’s widow or unborn child.

  Since then, it seemed like every other day, someone out there claimed to be Cinco’s child, breaking the old man’s heart just a little bit more. People heard the Double R name and saw a giant paycheck. The joke was on them. Before Ricky had decided to search for Cinco’s child, he’d put everything into a trust, preserving the ranch so that future generations could learn the ranching way of life that was slowly dying out.

  Ty was proud to be part of this tradition. Having grown up in Columbine Springs, the Double R had always been a part of his life. He’d been too young when Cinco died to remember Ricky’s son, but it didn’t mean he didn’t love the Double R.

  As a boy, he and his youth group would come up for campouts in the summer and various activities in the winter, and when Ty was older, he’d spent every summer working as a hand on this very ranch.

  It had been an honor when Ricky had asked him to be the ranch’s attorney. Originally, he’d come to the ranch to sort out water rights and protect the watershed from encroaching developments of nearby ski areas. Ty had won that fight. And he’d won several others protecting the people and place he loved so much. While Ricky had always been a fixture in Ty’s life, working together had brought them closer. Ty and his family considered Ricky an extension of their family, as did many members of the community. Ricky might not have blood relations left, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t loved.

  While Ty fully supported Ricky’s dream of finding his long-lost grandchild, he was also going to do everything in his power to keep the old man from being hurt.

  As Ty pulled into his usual parking spot by the main house, Ricky stepped onto the porch.

  Even though this woman hadn’t made the claim of being related to Ricky, she also wasn’t the first to visit the ranch under the pretext of one thing, try to ingratiate herself with Ricky and then drop the bombshell that it was all because they were truly family.

  Maybe Ty was cynical. But he had good reason to be.

  Something in
his gut told him that Rachel wasn’t telling the truth. She had an agenda, and the way she stammered over working for an ad agency told him that she wasn’t being honest with him. He had that same feeling with every other charlatan who’d come to Double R. Not just with the Cinco business. Over the years, dozens of people had tried to cheat Ricky.

  And Ty had sniffed out every single one of them.

  Ricky had such a heart of gold that if it wasn’t for people like Ty who protected him, he probably would’ve lost everything by now.

  No, that didn’t give Ricky enough credit.

  Ricky was a smart man. A good businessman. An even better rancher.

  But he always had a soft spot in his heart for people he thought needed him.

  Rachel got out of her car, looking frazzled. With the bridge out, the back road into the ranch was tricky. In certain times of the year, it was completely impassable unless you had a four-wheel drive. But the bridge needed repairs, and the ranch was closed to visitors right now.

  That was the other reason he didn’t trust Rachel. What kind of fool would show up to someone’s ranch, unannounced, without knowing whether or not you were welcome?

  He waited for Rachel to get her daughter out of the car, and judging by the way Rachel lifted the little girl, he could tell she’d fallen asleep on the drive. How, Ty didn’t know, considering it was a rough drive, but he had to admit that something about the way the little girl rested her head on her mother’s shoulder made Ty’s heart skip a beat.

  Ricky wasn’t the only one with a soft spot in his heart for children. Ty had to admit that none of the people coming here to take advantage of Ricky had tried using a child before. But it also didn’t surprise him. If you’d spent much time watching Ricky in town, or even as he interacted with the guests on his ranch, you’d know how much he loved children.

  If Rachel had thought to use her child as a way of earning Ricky’s trust, she was a lot smarter than all the others who had come before her. He’d pay closer attention to her and dig a little deeper because she was obviously wilier than the others.

  When she looked like she was settled, Ty smiled at her and gestured toward the porch. “Come meet Ricky. I told him to expect us.”

  Instead of looking excited, she looked scared. Worried. Her brow creased in a way that made him wonder if she was rethinking her plot to take advantage of an old man. Good. It would be easier on all of them if she decided not to go through with whatever she was planning. He sent a quick prayer to God for protection, wisdom and the right way to handle whatever Rachel was bringing upon them.

  He escorted Rachel onto the porch and made introductions. As suspected, when Ricky turned his gaze on the little girl, he immediately began trying to coax a smile out of her.

  “What’s your name?” Ricky asked.

  The little girl didn’t answer. Rachel patted her daughter’s back and said, “This is Katie. It takes her a while to warm up to new people. Give her time to figure you out, and then you’ll be sorry you befriended her. She’s usually quite the chatterbox.”

  Ricky smiled as he shook his head. “I would never regret befriending a child. Children are precious gifts from God. I only wish our society valued them more.”

  Rachel’s smile made Ty’s heart skip a beat. They’d had plenty of nice-looking women show up at the ranch, trying to seduce their way into both Ricky’s and Ty’s wallets. Even though Ty didn’t believe Rachel’s motives in being here were pure, he did know that her smile was genuine. And it took his breath away.

  Maybe the real threat she posed wasn’t to Ricky, but to Ty. It made him doubly glad that he’d already sent Rachel’s info to the investigator. Women didn’t just use their pretty smiles to get what they wanted from Ricky; Ty had also been burned by it. He knew better than to trust that a person’s motives were really what they said they were.

  Whatever Rachel was up to, her real plans would be exposed soon enough. Until then, he’d remain on guard.

  Chapter Two

  Rachel hadn’t wanted to impose, despite what Ty seemed to think, but when Ricky offered them the chance to stay in a cute little cabin, she couldn’t bring herself to say no. Especially since it was the exact one she’d been admiring on the internet. Besides, they’d been at the ranch for a couple of hours, and Ty hadn’t left Ricky’s side. How was she supposed to talk to Ricky about what she’d found on the DNA website and tell him about her kidney situation?

  Based on the conversation at the café, it sounded like others had come to the ranch claiming to be Ricky’s long-lost grandchild. She didn’t know the full story, but she did have the DNA website to back up her claims. And, unlike the people Ty referenced, Rachel didn’t want anything from Ricky, other than the names of other possible relatives who might be willing to help her. But how was she supposed to convince Ty that she wasn’t a schemer after a paycheck?

  And if she didn’t convince Ty, how was she going to get Ricky alone?

  She set her bag on the dresser, then turned to Katie. “Are you ready to go exploring?”

  Ricky had given her a map of the property, and one of the trails was marked as being suitable for families with children. It looped around a lake and sounded pretty. It had been a long time since Rachel had had the opportunity go to hiking, and she missed spending time outdoors.

  Katie grabbed the small backpack she liked to carry with her. “Maybe we’ll find treasure!”

  Rachel grinned. “Maybe. Let’s fill our water bottles and we can go.”

  As she stood at the sink, a knock sounded at the door.

  “I’ll get it,” Katie called.

  Her daughter skipped to the door with the reckless joy she always had, and Rachel felt a pang in her heart. What if she didn’t get to watch Katie grow up? She treasured every one of these moments, hoping they wouldn’t be all she got.

  When Katie opened the door, Ty stood at the entrance.

  “Ricky said you were going hiking. He thought I should come with you, and you could tell me your ideas for an ad campaign.”

  Even though she was just thinking about how to win Ty over, she had to admit that she didn’t want to spend one of the few peaceful moments she’d been looking forward to with the disapproving man. She wasn’t ready to have to put up her defenses against a lawyer who seemed to be looking for a reason to tear her down. Rachel hadn’t done anything wrong, but that didn’t mean Ty wouldn’t find something.

  “I was thinking about doing the loop around the lake. It seems like it would be easy enough for Katie.”

  Part of her hoped he’d say it was too difficult and find some excuse to not go with them, but it only brought a smile to his face.

  “The lake, huh? That’s one of my favorite places on the ranch.” He turned to Katie. “Have you ever gone fishing? There’s a great spot just off the trail. We could catch dinner.”

  She’d only been fishing herself once. With one of her many foster families who’d meant well, but had never connected with Rachel. She’d spent the entire time being chased by her foster brother, who’d thrown fish guts at her. Not exactly something she wanted to relive.

  But the grin on her daughter’s face made it impossible to refuse.

  “I’ve always wanted to catch a fish,” Katie said.

  This was why she was here. Yes, she wanted to talk to Ricky and see if he could help her find a kidney. But more than that, she wanted to make lasting memories with her daughter. No matter what happened, Katie would have good memories of her mother and know that she was deeply loved.

  Rachel hadn’t had those memories of her mother before she’d died, and if history was going to repeat itself and leave another little girl orphaned too soon, at least Rachel could change that one piece.

  Ty smiled, and once again Rachel found herself wanting to let her guard down. He seemed almost harmless, and if she didn’t know better, she’d let herself tru
st him.

  Especially when he turned that smile on her. “I don’t want to impose on your weekend, but I do know this place like the back of my hand. If you’re serious about earning our advertising business, this is your shot.”

  “Please, Mommy?”

  Even if Katie hadn’t given her such a puppy dog look, Rachel wouldn’t have been able to refuse.

  At least Ty was making his intentions known up front. He wasn’t trying to be their friend. He was taking them on a fun outing to hear her sales pitch. Similar to when she’d go golfing with clients. Only here, it was fishing, and he’d been kind enough to include her daughter, remembering that she was also here to spend time with Katie.

  “That sounds wonderful,” Rachel said. “I don’t have much experience with fishing, so it will be fun for us both to learn. I’m not sure I’ve ever had freshly caught fish.”

  “Then you’re in for a real treat,” Ty said, another smile lighting up his face. “Wanda, Ricky’s housekeeper, is a whiz when it comes to fresh fish. I can cook ’em up myself, but hers are better. I’m supposed to also invite you both for dinner tonight, and Wanda told me not to bother coming unless I brought her a fresh catch.”

  Dinner had to be her chance to talk to Ricky. Surely she could make it through an afternoon of hiking and fishing with Ty.

  “That sounds like a lot of pressure,” Rachel said. “What if we don’t catch anything?”

  If only his eyes didn’t crinkle when he grinned. “We will. Ricky just had the lake stocked, and there’s not a fish out there who can resist my technique.”

  She imagined it wasn’t just the fish who found him irresistible. But she wasn’t on the market for anything, and if flirting with her was Ty’s way of trying to break her, he could try, but he wouldn’t succeed. After everything Rachel had been through, she was impervious to flirting.

  They gathered their things, and Ty led them down a well-marked trail. It didn’t take long to be mostly out of sight of the buildings. Rachel paused to take a breath of the fresh air.