The Cowboy's Homecoming

“That’s probably part of your problem, as well,” Louisa said. “She keeps rehashing the same old stuff. Every time I speak with her, it’s also all she can talk about. She needs to get past it too.”

“It was a hard time for her. Watching Dad suffer and then become this completely different person, then their divorce...” Abby eased out a sigh and shook her head. “It changed our lives.”

“I know. I’m not going to lie—seeing Lee was a shock to me too. I’m still ticked at him for what he did to you at the prom. Taking you out on a bet from those louses he hung around with.”

“That was even longer ago,” Abby said with a snicker.

“Maybe, but I think that was almost as hard for you as the accident.” Louisa grew pensive, staring at the road ahead, her fingers tapping the steering wheel.

Abby was about to reply to that when she heard the muffled trill of her cell phone. She grabbed her backpack, recognizing the ring tone she had assigned to her editor. What could Maddie possibly want now?

“Let it ring,” Louisa snorted. “You’re on holiday.”

But Abby had never been able to let a phone ring; the insistent tone always created an urgency she couldn’t ignore. Besides, she was fully aware of how much she owed her editor right now. Abby had turned down two assignments so that she could extend her vacation.

“Hey, Maddie. What can I do for you?” she said, setting her camera aside.

“You in Montana? Close to home like you said you’d be?”

“Yeah. I’m coming up to Saddlebank in a couple of minutes.”

“Awesome. So listen up...I need your help. Badly. I need you to do me a favor.”

A knot settled in the pit of her stomach. It was never simply a favor with Maddie. On the contrary, it was always a huge, huge favor.

“Burt Templeton was supposed to do that Montana piece, but he’s stuck in Bangkok,” Maddie was saying. “Got some kind of weird tropical virus. He’s getting transferred to a hospital in Portland tomorrow, but he’s officially out of commission for another couple of weeks.” She huffed out a breath. “Which leaves me royally stuck. It’s not far from your hometown, and won’t take a lot of time. Four days, maybe five or six max. It’s a puff piece, Abby. Pictures. Some interviews. Please help me out?”

Abby was already shaking her head no. She was fairly sure she knew which piece Maddie was talking about.

“I hate to do this, but I’m desperate,” Maddie insisted. “So I’m calling in my favor...” And there it was. The favor her editor kept threatening to use when Abby had asked for all this time off. Abby knew she owed Maddie a lot, especially the past few months. When Abby first started, she hadn’t been completely straight up with Maddie, letting the editor think she knew more about feature writing than she did, but thankfully Maddie saw her potential. She’d been a patient and encouraging editor, pushing Abby to see situations differently. To think outside the box. To go beyond clichés, not only in her writing but her photography, as well. And during the past half year, as Abby felt the burnout of the work, she’d also extended a number of deadlines for Abby.

“Is it that piece on the Bannister ranch?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, it is. The one you turned down.”

And for a good reason, Abby thought, her heart dropping like a stone.

“Sorry, Maddie. I couldn’t do it then...and I can’t do it now.”

“You can’t back out on me, missy. You know you owe me.” Maddie built on her advantage. “I wouldn’t play this card if I didn’t have a reason, and right now I’m stuck.”

“And there’s no one else?” Abby asked, clinging to her last shred of hope.

“No. And I’m asking you because you know Montana. You’ll see things no one else would notice. You’ll have a unique take on the story.”

And wasn’t that the truth?

Abby pressed a finger to her temple as the too-familiar ache began making itself known. She wanted to say no. Wanted to protest that she couldn’t do this, but she had already said yes. And she owed her editor.

“Okay. Send me the particulars, and I’ll see what I can come up with.”

“Great. Consider it done. Email me an outline ASAP and we’ll take it from there.”

Abby ended the call, trying to calm her pounding heart.

“You look like someone just punched you in the stomach,” Louisa said as she slowed to make the turn into town. “You get fired?”

“No. I just got a job.”

“That’s good, I guess. Though you are technically on holiday.” She glanced over at her. “So, what’s the piece?”

“It’s on Refuge Ranch’s hundred and fiftieth anniversary.”

“You can’t be serious!” Louisa’s exclamation of dismay eerily echoed Abby’s own feelings. “Say no. You’ve got to say no.”

Abby squeezed her now-trembling hands between her knees to steady them. “I can’t. I owe my editor more than I can ever repay. Besides, it’s just a job.”

“It’s more than that and you know it. What will your mother think?”

“That I shouldn’t do this.” Abby laid her head back on the headrest, the weariness clinging to her the past few months growing stronger. She felt unsatisfied, unfulfilled. It seemed every day was a struggle to get through, and her extended hiatus hadn’t eased that feeling away. If anything, it had become worse.

“I don’t know. Maybe I should do this,” she said softly. “Like I said before, this whole thing with Lee and my dad has taken up too much of my thoughts. I think it’s because, before today, I hadn’t seen Lee since the sentencing, let alone talk with him. Maybe if I spend some time with him, on his ranch, it will help put things in perspective.”

“Can’t see how that’s a good idea,” Louisa warned. “I doubt your mother would appreciate you working with the enemy, so to speak.”

“She might not, but I don’t think I have much choice.” Abby sorted through her thoughts, trying to find the right motivation for what she had just agreed to. “For the past year I’ve been praying to find a way to get some closure on everything that happened. This might be my chance.”

“Maybe, but I hope this doesn’t make things worse for you,” Louisa replied.

Abby shrugged as the familiar buildings of the town she had grown up in slipped past the window, each one bringing back a myriad of memories. Some good. Some not.

She sincerely hoped taking on this assignment would help her finally put Lee Bannister and all that he had done in her life behind her.

Chapter Three (#ulink_b9c10195-dbe7-5f34-886f-16619cfc53ea)

“I’m so blessed. All my children home at one time,” Ellen Bannister said, folding her hands, looking over at Lee, who was already sitting down at the dinner table. “And soon Tanner will be a part of this family.” She beamed at Tanner, Keira’s fiancé, and Heather and her fiancé, John, who were also seated with them.

As Lee caught her loving glance, he couldn’t help but agree. Though he’d been back to the ranch a few times since he left, either Heather or Keira had been gone when he’d been here and vice versa. Now, for the first time in years, they were all gathered together at once.

“The family is growing,” Lee mused.

“We’re doing our part,” Heather said, the rich scent of a roast beef wafting through the dining room as she set a large steaming platter of sliced meat on the table beside the salads.

“You need to catch up, mister,” John quipped, giving Heather a wink as she sat down beside him.

“I don’t know about that,” Lee said. “You guys are a tough act to follow.”

John with his blond hair and chiseled features was the perfect match for his sister, Heather, a stunning former model who was always looking picture-perfect.