The Lonesome Rancher / Finding Happily-Ever-After: The Lonesome Rancher

Instead when she found this job and put in an application, she’d been totally surprised Louisa called her back. After a short talk, she asked her to come to the ranch for an interview.

“My mother’s a very determined woman,” Sloan said. “But she’s not ready to be cut loose on her own yet. So you can’t let her ride roughshod over you, either.”

“I’m not a pushover, Mr. Merrick. I know how to handle my patients.”

“Mr. Merrick,” Bud repeated and began to laugh. “There hasn’t been anyone here called Mr. Merrick since Sam, your grandfather.” Bud pushed Sloan’s hat playfully. “It’s just Senator and Sloan.”

Sloan shook his head. “We’re pretty informal around here.”

“So it’s first names and wear jeans,” Jade said.

“And boots,” Bud added. “You don’t want to walk around a barn and horses without boots on.”

This time she laughed, no matter how much she didn’t want to.

“We’ve lived here twenty-six years last May,” Louisa said as they sat at the supper table that evening. The meal was in the garden room off the kitchen, another space with lots of windows. A large glass-top table and comfortable chairs was the central feature. Clay pots were filled with live plants that lined the open windows, inviting in the pleasant fall weather.

“Back then, Samuel and Alice Merrick were still alive and this was the area’s largest cattle ranch. And this house resembled a mausoleum. It was very formal and cold.” Louisa smiled at her son. “Then Clay brought us here to live.”

Jade forced a smile, not wanting to think about her father adopting another man’s child, when he’d abandoned his own daughter. But had he even known about Kathryn’s pregnancy?

She shook away any negative thoughts. She was here now, in this house, and so close to finding out who she was. And she had no idea what would happen next.

Her first day had been an interesting one. Once Louisa had woken from her nap, they’d gone into the exercise room that had every piece of equipment imaginable. Jade had to work hard to get Louisa focused on the routine she was supposed to do daily. The woman was in very good shape for her age of fifty-eight, even after a stroke, but exercise would help tremendously for her recovery.

And it helped Jade’s conscience that Louisa wouldn’t be helpless when she left. She did not doubt that when her true identity was discovered, she wouldn’t be welcomed any longer.

She closed her eyes. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. It was Clay Merrick who should have answered the door—and been the one to interview her. She’d had a plan to confront him. To question him about her mother and why he left. Now, she wasn’t sure what to do next.

Louisa spoke up. “Since you’ve helped bring a foal into the world, you’ll probably be bored tomorrow.” She turned to her son. “Unless you have something else in mind for Jade.”

Jade felt heat rush to her face. “Louisa, I’m here for you,” she insisted. “It’s whatever you want me to help you with.”

“I’m flexible with my schedule. And I’m happy you were there for Polly,” Louisa said. “That chestnut is a favorite of mine.” With a sigh, she went on. “It seems like yesterday that she was a foal. Where does the time go?”

“Mother, Polly’s only three years old,” Sloan reminded her. “And if you hadn’t been asleep, I would have had you there, too. Next time, I’ll make sure of it.”

Louisa smiled. Jade doubted much happened around here without this woman knowing about it.

Had she known about her husband’s past? Had he ever told her about Kathryn Lowery? Did he still have affairs with younger women?

“Jade …”

She jumped, realizing someone had called her name.

“Excuse me. Did you say something?”

“Are you feeling all right?” Louisa asked and nodded toward the plate of enchiladas. “Is the food okay?”

“Oh, yes, it’s delicious.” She glanced at Marta as she came into the dining room. “I guess I’m a little tired.”

Louisa frowned. “That’s right, you came all the way from Dallas, and here we put you right to work. We could have waited a day or two.”

Jade smiled. “No, really, I’m fine. Please, don’t worry about me. I came here for a job, so I planned on starting right away.”

Sloan watched Jade Hamilton. Even exhausted, the woman was beautiful. She looked more like a model than a nurse. It still puzzled him to why she was here. A rural ranch outside of Kerry Springs wasn’t exactly an exciting place to live.

“I hope you don’t regret being so far away from everyone and everything familiar,” he said. “A small town has a lot of disadvantages.”

“And it has a lot of advantages, too,” she told him. “Such as no five o’clock traffic, which means no crazy drivers.”

“We also have no nightlife.”

“Drinking in bars can be overrated,” she argued.

“What about fine dining?”

Jade smiled. “I heard that Rory’s Bar and Grill has great barbecue.”

Sloan nodded. “The best.”

Louisa jumped in. “Son, you’ll have to take Jade in to give her a sample.”

Great, he’d walked into that one. “Ms. Hamilton needs to focus on you.”

Those beautiful eyes widened. He suddenly wondered what else he could get her to react to. Whoa, he needed to take a step back. This was an employee, his mother’s nurse.

He stood. “I should check on the filly.”

“Why don’t you take Jade along?” his mother suggested. “I mean, she did help deliver her.”

Jade shook her head. “No. I need to stay with you.”

Louisa shrugged. “I’m going to watch television with Marta. If I need to go upstairs, there’s the elevator.” She waved her arm. “Now, go. You’re dying to see that foal again.”

Jade relented.

Sloan shot his mother a disapproving look, but it didn’t seem to faze her. He waited for Jade to head out the door first, turned back and spoke in Spanish. “Basta, Madre.”

She smiled up at him. “Enough what, dear?”

He ignored her innocent look as he met up with Jade. The evening was cool and he handed her a jacket from the hook near the back door.

“Here, you better put this on,” he said as he held it out for her. When she slipped her arms in, he caught a whiff of her perfume, a fresh citrus scent.

“The first thing to know about my mother is that she likes getting her way.”

She glanced at him as they headed toward the barn. “What woman doesn’t?”