Taming the Brooding Rancher’s Pride (Preview)

Chapter One

June, 1885 Philadelphia

Jacob Roberts picked up another envelope and looked at the neat writing. He wasn’t fooled; it was another bill to add to the mounting pile. He had an entire stack of them on his large, cherry wood desk.

He leaned back in his oversized chair and glanced out the window. It was a nice office. He would miss it. But he wouldn’t miss the repercussions of his legal partner stealing from him and their clients—and the humiliation that went with it.

He set the letter aside and picked up another envelope.

He stared at it. It definitely wasn’t a bill. In fact, it was addressed so poorly he was amazed it had actually been delivered to him. He didn’t open it. He laid it on his desk and tapped his index finger on it.

His office was decorated in cream-colored wallpaper with gold and dark blue threads running through it. Client chairs were upholstered in dark blue velvet. Several plants were scattered about and growing well.

How had he not realized his partner, Charles Ashford, had been stealing him blind? If would have been bad enough if Ashford had stopped with ruining him. But he hadn’t. He’d cleaned out their clients as well. And when he grew fearful of being caught, he’d taken off in the middle of the night like the low-life thief he’d been.

Now everyone in town, and probably the surrounding towns, knew he was out of business and bankrupt because Ashford had been stealing. And they probably thought he’d been involved in it, too.

He hadn’t, of course. They’d been some of the highest priced attorneys around. He had no reason to do something like that. And Ashford hadn’t either unless he’d gotten himself into some kind of trouble. Perhaps he had gambling debts or maybe he’d gotten himself into trouble with a woman.

He focused on the letter again. It was from Colorado. He knew it wasn’t from his father because it didn’t bear his elegant penmanship. He ran his fingers over the smooth envelope. It must have come from his younger brother, Danny. He looked at the scrawled writing on the envelope and the improper formatting.

Had his brother not even attended school? Danny had been seven years old when Jacob had been sent off, at the age of eleven, to live with his great uncle, who’d seen to it that he was well-educated.

He felt an odd reluctance to open the letter. Why would Danny be writing to him? He hadn’t received a single letter from Danny who would now be twenty-four years old.

Jacob ran a hand through his neatly trimmed hair and stared at the envelope. He’d wished for a solution to his difficulties, but he didn’t think one would be arriving from Colorado. If anything, it was more bad news. And he didn’t need any more of that.

He let out a sigh and tapped the envelope. He’d rather not open it. Somehow, he just knew nothing good could come from reading whatever lay within it.

Regardless, he picked up the envelope and ran a letter opener along the top. He pulled out the single sheet of paper. He stared at it. The letter was indeed from Danny, and it was so badly written he had to read it three times before he understood all of it.

His father had passed away the month before. He tried to decipher how he felt about it. He should be sad, but he didn’t feel much of anything. If his father had wanted him to mourn, maybe he shouldn’t have shunted him off to someone else to raise.

It had always annoyed him that he was pretty much a copy of his father with sandy blond hair, bright green eyes, and a six-foot height and slim build. He’d intentionally grown a full mustache just so he could have some feature that didn’t look like his father.

He stroked his mustache. What was going on with Danny? Clearly, no one had taken his education seriously and Danny hadn’t been able to write a letter that wasn’t riddled with mistakes. And reading between the lines, it looked like Danny was confused about what to do. If he couldn’t write simple sentences, how could he possibly manage figures? And if he couldn’t manage figures, he couldn’t manage the ranch.

From what he gathered in the letter, Danny was a cowboy through and through. Which was certainly needed on a ranch. But they would need more than that to get by.

He reread the paragraph that contained the actual reason Danny had contacted him in the first place. He’d inherited half of the ranch. The other half had been inherited by his half-sister, Eva Roberts. At seventeen years old, Eva didn’t have a clue about anything on a ranch.

Like him, she had been sent off to live with relatives. She’d gone to live with her mother’s aunt and uncle in Savannah, Georgia. He didn’t know her at all. But if she was good at something, it was probably drinking tea in the shade, not ranching.

Their family wasn’t exactly average. He supposed he had to go back and get the ranch in order. Perhaps he could help the ranch thrive for a while. Get it running properly again, and after things were moving along like they should, he could leave.

Once the drama of his partner’s theft faded away, he could return to Philadelphia with some money in his pocket and reopen his law practice. It sounded like a solid plan because he wasn’t a rancher. He was an attorney, and a good one.

That decided, and since he was going to travel, he realized that he should start packing up his office. He was renting the office, and he wasn’t going to pay rent on something he wouldn’t use for months. Maybe he wouldn’t even want to return to the same area when everything was settled at the ranch.

Packing up and clearing out the building had to be the first thing he did. He owned his home, so he wouldn’t have to worry about that, at least at the moment. If he decided to relocate completely, he would deal with the house later.

Jacob drummed his fingers on the big desk. He would have to get some help moving the furniture, but that wouldn’t be a problem. He had friends who could help.

He needed to write to Danny… let him know he was closing down his office and would be spending some time living at the ranch. It seemed so odd. He hadn’t been there in seventeen years. What did it look like now? Were any of his father’s ranch hands still working there?

It would be an adjustment. He was accustomed to the hustle and bustle of city life. He liked being around people and having social interactions. He liked going to his favorite cafes and restaurants. He liked his friends and business acquaintances. He liked the charity events he attended, going to the opera house and the symphony.

Ranch life offered nothing of sophistication. It had smelly cows, unruly horses, and acre upon acre of open land.

It had been a tough adjustment when he’d left the quiet of the ranch to live in town when he’d been a child. But at least this time, he knew he would be coming back. His life wouldn’t be turned upside down. He didn’t have to stay at the ranch one day longer than necessary.

Oddly, despite all the drawbacks, it was probably just what he needed. With some time, people would stop talking about his law practice and his thieving partner.

Most people let things soften with time, they forgave and forgot … unless they were directly touched by something. And he felt awful for the people who had been robbed by his no-good partner. He’d also been robbed by Ashford.

With a plan in place, he turned his attention back to the stack of bills. He had no intention of running out on his obligations. He would pay every one of them. Even if he had to take them with him and pay overtime. He wouldn’t leave anyone saying he hadn’t done the right thing.

If nothing else, he was a man of good character and moral convictions. And no one could say otherwise. He pulled his grandfather’s gold watch from his pocket and flipped it open. Twenty after ten and not a client in sight. He ran his thumb over the smooth surface of the watch then slipped it back in his pocket. It was one of his favorite possessions.

He enjoyed nice clothing and the watch. Clothes might have been his only vice, but in his profession, it was expected and a sign of success. They would be out of place in west. He would wear them when he could though. Habits died hard, and he wasn’t looking to change his life. He was just going to help family when they needed it.

Chapter Two

Savannah, Georgia

Anna Anderson sat under an oak tree with tendrils of Spanish moss swaying gently in the slight breeze.

She closed the book she’d been reading and arranged her dress as artfully as possible on the iron bench. It was more habit than anything. It wasn’t like she expected a knight to come save her from her life of lies and unhappiness.

With her family, everything was about the impression she made and not reality. The expensive, fancy clothes she wore, with the hope of finding a husband her parents would approve of didn’t ring with reality. How humiliating it was knowing her parents had gone into debt on clothing and other items to give the appearance of being affluent when they were anything but well off.

How humiliating to know they were trotting her around with the intention of catching a man of means to marry her off to. With never a concern for how it would be for her when their fantasy groom found out she wasn’t much better than a pauper. While they weren’t that bad off, they were heavily in debt. And that was just as bad… as far as she was concerned.

Besides, no one was running to the door to court her. Why would they? She wasn’t blind. At nineteen, she was still young enough for a shot at a man though that window wouldn’t remain open forever before everyone saw her as a desperate spinster.

Her long black hair didn’t help when she was surrounded by girls with pretty blond hair, or even red or brown hair. Why couldn’t she have had a more vibrant hair color? At least she thought, she had pretty eyes of the deepest blue.

To add to her difficulties, she was short and curvy instead of tall and thin like her best friend, Eva Roberts, who was also blessed with blond hair, though it was a bit bushy. She had pretty green eyes, too. At seventeen, Eva stood a better chance of finding a good man.

She wasn’t jealous of Eva. She was happy for her. She just wished she’d been blessed with a bit of luck, too.

She needed to go spend some time with Eva. Eva was good for her soul. She lived close enough that Anna could walk to the house where Eva lived with her aunt.

Anna stood and straightened her dress then hurried for the house. She found her mother in the parlor. “I’m going to walk to Eva’s house.”

“All right. Don’t stay too long and wear out your welcome,” her mother said.

“I don’t think I could do that if I tried,” Anna said. “I’ll be back later.” She left the house and set out down the sidewalk. It took about fifteen minutes to get there. She didn’t rush. She didn’t want to sweat but it was almost unavoidable in the Georgia heat. If she came home in a damp dress her mother would complain about it.

The houses she passed were mostly whitewashed, with tidy flower beds at the front and at least one or two nice trees in the yard. A few of them had white picket fences with flowering bushes sprawling over them.

Several buggies passed at varying speeds, sending up clouds of dust that she did her best to avoid.

She was glad to reach Eva’s aunt’s home which was larger than most of the homes on the street. Sweltering in the overdone dress, she fanned her face with her hand.

She let herself through the wrought iron gate and hurried up to the porch. She knocked lightly and Eva’s aunt answered.

“Anna, it’s so good to see you. Come inside and cool off. Eva’s terribly upset. You might be just what she needs.”

“What’s wrong?” Anna said.

“She just found out her father passed away.” Her aunt’s hands fluttered like frightened sparrows.

“Oh, no.” Anna was well aware of how much Eva loved her father even though she’d been sent to learn the genteel life in Savannah. She’d thought it was odd, but it wasn’t her place to question her best friend’s father if he was just trying to help her become polished so she could do well in society.

“She’s in her bedroom. Go on so you can talk in private. She’s going to go back home.”

“She’s leaving?” Oh no. Her best friend couldn’t leave.

“Yes, she’s going back to the ranch in Colorado. Her father left half of it to her.”

“Oh, dear.”

“I know,” her aunt said. “I’m going to miss her terribly.”

Anna nodded. “I’ll go talk to her.”

She made her way through the big house that had somehow avoided being destroyed in the war. Eva’s room was on the second floor, closest to the massive staircase.

She ascended the stairs and knocked lightly on the door. “It’s me,” she called.

“Come in,” Eva said in a voice thick with tears.

Anna went inside the lavish bedroom. Eva sat at her vanity sorting the contents of a jewelry box.

“Eva, I’m so sorry. Your aunt told me about your father.”

“I just can’t believe it,’ Eva said. “I don’t even know how this is possible. I don’t even know what to do.”

“What do you mean?” Anna said.

“I’ve never traveled alone in my life. I’m scared to go all the way there by myself.”

Anna’s insides tightened. She didn’t want to exploit her friend, but she saw an instant opportunity to help herself… Eva, too. Though she was completely honest with herself in knowing she was doing it for her first, Eva second.

“Eva, I can go with you, as an escort. That way you won’t be alone and frightened.” And she could get away from her parents. She was almost at the point of thinking that living in a doghouse would be better than being trapped under her parents’ roof.

Yet, she felt bad for offering when it wasn’t purely for the right reasons.

“You would do that for me?” Eva said.

“Yes, of course.” Oh, Lord. She was an awful person. But she might never get a chance to leave again.

Eva jumped up from the vanity bench and hugged Anna tight. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Eva. I’m honestly glad to go with you.” And that was the truth. She was beyond glad to go with Eva. The chance to leave was an open door that was too tempting to pass up.

“I got the letter this afternoon, from a judge in Colorado telling me that Father had passed away, and I’d inherited half the ranch.”

“I’m so sorry about your father,” Anna said.

“Thank you, Anna. It was so unexpected. Father wasn’t an old man.”

“I know this has to be terrible,” Anna said.

“It’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ve never had to travel alone. I’ve never had to do anything alone. And this just seems so big… But if you’ll go with me, that will make it so much less stressful to travel. I don’t even know how to buy train tickets. I can’t thank you enough for being willing to do it.”

“Well, I’ve never bought train tickets either, but we’ll be able to figure it out,” Anna said. “When do you want to leave?”

“By the end of the week,” Eva said.

“All right. Meet me tomorrow at noon by the post office,” Anna said. “We’ll go to the train station and buy tickets. You need to send a telegram to your family that we’re coming, and we’ll let them know what day we’ll arrive, and tell them to meet us at the train station. Then we just need to pack and get our belongings to the train station on the day we leave.”

“I’m so happy you’ll help me get there,” Eva said. “I wouldn’t even have thought of sending a telegram.”

“Make sure you tell them you’re bringing a traveling friend with you. I wouldn’t want them to be surprised and maybe angry.” Anna said.

“I will,” Eva said.

“I hope they won’t be upset that an uninvited guest shows up,” Anna shoved a stray wisp of hair back from her face.

“You’re the same as family to me. It’ll be fine.”

Anna hoped that was true. Eva had lived with her aunt and uncle for a long time. She was pretty sure she’d never even met one of her brothers. For that matter, she wasn’t sure how much Eva remembered of her other brother.

“Eva, have you ever gone to visit them since you left Colorado? I can’t remember you ever leaving.”

Eva met her gaze head on. “No. I haven’t been back. Honestly, I barely remember my brother Danny. I was only seven when I came here. As far as I know, I never met my older brother, Jacob. But it doesn’t matter. You’re family. My family. And they can accept you or we’ll be on the next train out. And that doesn’t mean I’m giving up my share of the ranch.”

Anna tried to keep from showing surprise on her face at Eva’s words. “I know you received a letter from the judge about the ranch, but has anyone from the ranch contacted you?

“No, they haven’t.”

That could be bad. She bit her lip. “Have you considered that they may not like you just showing up?”

“I have, actually. Maybe that’s one reason I’m so grateful you agreed to go with me. Maybe they’re hoping I won’t show up. I’m not sure how they feel about the division of the ranch either.”

“Well, whatever the situation, we’ll face them together,” Anna said with more spirit in her voice than she felt.

Hopefully, everything would be smooth with no one upset at their arrival. The last thing she would want would be to cause friction between family members. She knew from her own life experiences that just because someone was family didn’t mean they had your best interests at heart.

“You’ve always been there for me,” Eva said. “I wish there was a way for me to pay you back for all the times you’ve come to my rescue.”

“You don’t need to pay me back. I’m glad I can do things for you.”

They visited for a while before Anna had to go home. “I’ll meet you tomorrow at the post office,” Anna said.

“I’ll be there,” Eva said.

****

The following day, Anna waited outside the post office for Eva. She finally spied her approaching the post office. She was more or less on time by a minute or two.

They hugged and headed for the train station.

“Are you sure we can do this?” Eva said.

“Yes, nothing to it,” Anna said. “I’ve ridden the train before.” She knew that poor Eva was so inexperienced in life in general.

“But not overnight.”

“No, but it’s no big deal. We’ll have accommodations.” Did Eva think she had to spend the entire trip in her seat?

They reached the train station and went inside.

An elderly man worked at a ticket sale window. They reached the window. “Can you tell me how long it takes to travel to Denver, Colorado?”

“Well, depending on the number of stops for water and passengers joining the train, it can take between three and four days.”

Anna glanced at Eva who looked surprised. “When is the next departure for Denver?”

“Day after tomorrow, nine a.m. sharp. Train rolls out on time, so you wouldn’t want to be late,” he said and offered a kind smile.

“Will that work, Eva?”

Eva nodded.

Anna was glad. The sooner they left the better. The less time her parents had to try to stop her from going, the better.

“We each need to purchase a ticket,” Anna said. She no longer felt guilty. Eva really didn’t have a clue about anything travel related. She didn’t even want to think how Eva would have handled making arrangements. She really did need a traveling companion.

“All right,” the man said.

Anna bought hers first, and Eva followed.

“Thank you for helping us,” Anna said. She let out a little sigh of relief now that she had a ticket in hand. It was going to happen. It really was.

“You’re welcome,” he said with a slight smile. “Have a good trip.”

“We will, thank you,” Eva said. They would, thanks to her.

As soon as they left the train station, they headed to the telegraph office and sent word that they would be arriving in three or four days after their departure.

Anna hadn’t told her parents yet that she would be traveling with Eva. They wouldn’t like it, and they might try to stop her. She wasn’t looking forward to telling them. But she couldn’t put it off much longer.

“We’ll have to get our trunks to the train station,” Anna said. “Would your uncle help with that?”

“Sure. I know he would,” Eva said. “I’ll have him drive us to the station. He can stop for you and your trunks.”

“All right.” She would take her smaller trunks so she could wrestle them to the door by herself. Besides, how many fancy dresses would she need out West? She wasn’t like Eva, for she had a better grip on what they were walking into. She didn’t need fancy clothes. She needed practical clothing. And she had very little of those.

Chapter Three

After a breakfast of undercooked fried eggs and burnt ham, Danny Roberts made his way to the barn to feed the horses.

The ranch had never seemed so lonely. Now that his father had passed, everything seemed wrong. His father had taken care of everything except the horses. Danny took pride in his work with the horses—his skills in riding and training. He might not be a man of learnin’, but he was certainly a horseman.

Now he was responsible for everything, and it was confusing and tiring. He didn’t know how his father had managed everything so well. But he had. So why did he have so many problems?

He crossed the long stretch from the house to the horse barn and opened the large wooden grain bin. Empty. He’d forgot to open sacks of oats and dump them in the bin the day before. He went into the room where supplies and grain were kept.

He glanced around. To his dismay, there weren’t any sacks of oats. Why were they out of oats? Then it dawned on him that the last time his father had restocked grain had been a month before he passed away. He’d bought a large wagon load. But Danny had fed the last of them the day before. Had he gone to fetch a few bags he would have seen they were all gone. But he hadn’t.

And now the horses didn’t have any grain to eat.

It had only been three months. How had they managed to run out? Danny scratched his head. He needed to be more careful. A good horseman didn’t run out of feed for his animals.

Well, there was nothing to do but go to the mill and buy grain.

He hitched the team to the wagon and headed into town. He didn’t want to drive in, but he didn’t have a choice. It didn’t take too long to get there as the ranch didn’t lie too far from the town line.

They had a lot of property that ran for miles behind the house and barns with a limited amount on the sides. His father had loved the layout of the land. They were fairly close to town but still had one of the larger ranches in the area.

Danny loved it, too. But taking care of everything was harder than he’d ever imagined.

He drove to the mill and was greeted by his father’s old friend, Thomas Bormann. “What can I do for you today?”

“I need thirty bags of oats,” Danny said.

Thomas rang it up.

Danny reached for his wallet. “Oh, no. I didn’t bring my money.”

Thomas shook his head. “I’ll put it on the farm tab.”

“Thanks, Thomas. I appreciate it.”

“I’ll help you load it,” Thomas said.

It didn’t take long to load the sacks of grain into the wagon bed and Danny was on his way. Except, he didn’t make it out of town before he ran into David Georgeton, who waved for him to stop.

“Hi, David.”

“Haven’t seen you in town since the funeral,” David said.

“I ran out of oats yesterday. Didn’t realize I needed to come get some.”

David laughed. “Well, did you expect them to fly to your barn and land in the bin?”

“I don’t know what I was thinkin’.”

“Me neither. Why don’t you jump down, and we can go get a drink together.”

“Can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I left my money at home.” He grinned sheepishly at David.

“That’s no problem. I’ll buy.”

“All right.” He set the wagon break and climbed down.

“Come on. No need to go back home without at least one drink to cool off,” David said.

Danny followed him to the Blue Dog Saloon. David went to the bar and ordered beer for them.

“Thanks,” Danny said.

“You’re very welcome.”

Danny took a long drink.

“So, what’s going on with the ranch?”

“I wrote to my brother and told him half of it is his. I’m hopin’ he’ll come out here work with the cattle. But I don’t know.”

“What’s he doing back east? Your father never really talked about him after shipping him off as a boy.”

“I don’t really know. He works in an office in town.”

“He’s an office worker? And he’s going to come and take up ranching? This is going to be interesting if he shows up.”

“I’m hopin’ so,” Danny said.

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“Well, I’m guessin’ I was around seven when he left to stay with family.”

“So you don’t even know what he looks like?” David said.

“I do. He sent a photograph to our father last year at Christmas time.”

David nodded slightly. “I don’t know if I would have done the same had I been shipped off so my father could remarry. I guess he ran out of relatives to ship his children to, or you would have been gone as well.”

“Why do you think that?” Danny said.

“You can’t be serious?”

“Sure I am. Why wouldn’ I be?”

David shook his head. “Nothing. Never mind.”

They finished their beer and left the saloon. David went one way and Danny the other.

He climbed on the wagon and headed out of town with the load of grain. As he neared the tracks, the train whistle shrilled and he stopped to watch the approaching train.

He loved watching the trains when they came through. The tracks weren’t far from the ranch and when he was outside, he could watch the trains go by in the distance. It was always a little thrill for him. He loved hearing the train whistle and the rumble over the tracks late at night.

The train pulled into the station and chugged to a steaming halt. A few people disembarked, stepping onto the platform. The last person to depart the train wore dapper clothing that caught Danny’s eye. He looked up and recognized the face immediately from the photograph in his father’s study.

It was Jacob. He had two large bags that he set on the platform.

He couldn’t believe his own eyes. His brother had come home.

He jumped down from the wagon and hurried over to the platform. “Jacob,” he called.

His brother looked toward him, but he didn’t seem to recognize Danny.

“Jacob, over here. It’s me, Danny.”

His brother’s eyes widened then a slight smile curled his lips.

Danny was overjoyed. His brother was home, and now he could concentrate on the animals and not trying to run the ranch.

Jacob came forward, hand outstretched and they shook. Then Jacob pulled his brother into his arms and hugged him.

“Look at you,” Jacob said. “You’re all grown up.”

“So are you,” Danny said. “We were just youngins last time we saw each other.”

“I know,” Jacob said.

“Now we’re back together again,” Danny said and smiled at Jacob.

“I’m really glad to see you,” Jacob said. “I was going to hire someone to give me a ride to the ranch.”

“The wagon’s right over there,” Danny said. He hadn’t been truly happy since before his father passed away. But he was happy to have his brother home.

Jacob grabbed his bags and followed Danny to the wagon. He put them in the back on top of the sacks of grain.

“Looks like you’ve stocked up on grain,” Jacob said.

“I ran out. Forgot that I needed to come in town and buy some. But it was a good thing since you needed a ride.”

“Well, let’s go,” Jacob said. “It seems like I’ve been on the train forever. I’m looking forward to getting to the house and taking it easy for the rest of the afternoon.”

They climbed up onto the seat and Danny picked up the lines. “Come on boys, let’s go.” The horses took off at a trot without any further signal from Danny.

“Did you train them to do that?” Jacob asked.

“Sure, they follow many voice commands from me.”

“That’s impressive,” Jacob said.

“Nah,” Danny said. “I just have a touch with them. Good thing too, because I’m not much of a rancher.”

“Neither am I,” Jacob said. “Are any of Father’s ranch hands still there?”

“A handful,” Danny said. “Most left after he died.”

“Why?” Jacob said.

“One of them said they weren’t sure I would be able to keep everything running and they had to have stable employment. I don’t blame ‘em. I’m not very good at things that don’t involve animals.”

“Well, a ranch is all about animals,” Jacob said. “So you should be the one working with the horses.”

“I do. I train the horses. And I’m good at it. It’s the other stuff I can’t do. I didn’t go to school much and my readin’ and writin’ ain’t very good. Not so good with figures either.” He looked over at Jacob who looked lost in thought.

“I might not have much book learnin’ but I know when to speak and when to shut up, and a lot of people can’t do that.”

“Everything will be fine,” Jacob said. “I’ll see to it.”

That was music to Daniel’s ears.

The wagon rumbled out of town at a fast trot. The horses were matched blacks with white stockings and blazes. They were Daniel’s favorite team and people often stopped and stared at them.

“I’m so glad I came into town today,” Danny said. He couldn’t stop a huge grin from forming on his face.

It didn’t take long until the house came into view.

“It’s just the same as it always was,” Danny said. “Nothin’ ever changes on the ranch. Other than runnin’ out of oats.” He laughed at his own joke.

“We’ll try to keep that from happening in the future,” Jacob said.

“I’m sure the horses would be happy,” Danny said. “Don’t like not havin’ feed for the horses. They count on me.”

They turned off the main road and went down the driveway to the house. Jacob was staring at it. “You’re right, it’s the same. When I left, I didn’t think I’d ever see it again. But there it is.”

“It’s good to have you home, brother,” Danny said.

Jacob glanced over at Danny. “It’s good to be home.” He jumped down and grabbed his bags from the back of the wagon.

“Come on in,” Danny said and headed up the steps to the porch.