The Rebel Heir's Bride

Lindsey rested her hands on the saddle horn, letting Dusty take the lead. “Sometimes there isn’t a choice.”

“There’s always a choice,” Tess murmured, then pointed up ahead. “There’s Hank, Cade and Chance.”

Lindsey knew Hank Barrett was the one who’d taken in the three Randell brothers, Chance, Cade and Travis, to raise after their father, Jack, had been sent to prison.

As they got closer to the men on horseback, Lindsey could see the strong family resemblance between the brothers. It seemed all Randell men were tall, with that rangy, muscular build. The square jaw and cleft in the chin was like a brand, telling the world who they belonged to.

She’d met Chance and Travis earlier, but Cade looked even more like the man Lindsey had called Dad for the past fifteen years.

The difference was these men shared his blood. She didn’t.

Jack Randell was only her stepfather.

Just as soon as Jack and her mother returned home from their vacation and discovered she’d gone against his wishes, he wouldn’t be happy.

It wasn’t as though she’d planned to come to San Angelo. It had been curiosity that had her go to the job interview. She told herself she only wanted to meet Travis, one of Jack’s sons. Then she found herself accepting the position. After all, it was only temporary.

Hank Barrett sat back in the saddle and watched Tess approach with the new veterinarian. Ever since Travis returned from Dallas singing Dr. Lindsey Stafford’s praises, Hank had been anxious to meet her.

He smiled as the redhead rode closer. She was easy on the eyes, and if there was one thing he appreciated, it was a pretty female, no matter what the age.

Hank greeted Tess. “Hello, Mrs. Randell.”

“Good morning, Mr. Barrett,” she answered. “Hi, Cade, Chance.”

Chance touched the brim of his hat in greeting. “Tess.” He glanced at the redhead. “Dr. Stafford, nice seeing you again. This is our other brother, Cade. And this is Hank Barrett, the one who started the mustang project.”

Hank nodded at the petite woman who sat comfortably in the saddle. There was something about her name that was familiar. “Dr. Stafford, I’m glad you could join us.

“Please, everyone, call me Lindsey.” Her horse shifted sideways. “And thank you for inviting me along today.”

“Well, Lindsey,” Hank began, “I hope you still feel that way if the ponies don’t cooperate. They’ve been known to be stubborn.”

The doctor rewarded him with a smile. “I hear old Dusty here is pretty good at cutting out his target.”

Cade reined his roan back. “I guess we’ll know soon enough if he likes to chase wild ponies as much as cows.” He grinned and Lindsey tensed, once again seeing the resemblance to his father.

“I’d say we better get going,” Chance said, pointing to the herd off in the distance.

Lindsey looked at Hank for direction as they started down the trail.

“We’ll let Chance and Cade take the lead,” he said. “Wyatt, Dylan and Jarred are at the other end of the canyon to drive the herd toward us.”

“I’ll just follow you,” she said.

Hank nodded. “Okay, let’s go and get us some ponies.”

They rode off, and Lindsey felt she was taking a step back in time. To see the wild ponies in their natural setting. This had been another big draw for her to come here. She just didn’t realize how much she would already love it.

Two hours later Brady sat with Luke in his truck, waiting at the temporary corral at Hank’s ranch, the Circle B Ranch. He was still wondering why he’d come. Of course, it beat the alternative, sitting back at the cottage. That had been what he told Luke, anyway. Not that he wanted another chance to see Lindsey Stafford again.

“They’re coming,” Luke called as he climbed down off the railing.

His own excitement growing, Brady got out of the truck and looked to where his brother pointed. He saw the riders on horseback, chasing after the ponies. An assorted mixture of paints, bays and buckskins. Over a dozen as far as he could see. But he couldn’t find Lindsey.

“There’s Tess,” Luke called.

It was easy to catch his sister-in-law’s long blond hair. Then he spotted Lindsey’s black hat. She was riding drag, a bandana tied around the lower part of her face to help filter the dust.

“Come on, bro, help me with the gates.” Brady was glad he could finally manage to do something useful. He followed his brother, took one side and swung open the metal gate. It had been a while since he’d been around horses, but he knew they could be unpredictable at best. The first two ponies arrived and went into the pen, but the third and fourth decided to turn off.

Hanging on to the gate, Brady yanked off his hat, waved it around and yelled to turn the horse back. Then Chance and Cade showed up to take over. Finally the last of the ponies were in the large pen and the gate shut.

His cousins climbed off their horses and everyone went to the corral to check out their finds. Brady’s gaze was on Lindsey. She dismounted and walked toward the metal railing with the old guy, Hank.

Barrett looked the part of mentor, father and grandfather. He didn’t have to demand respect, but he got it. He wasn’t a Randell, but he’d earned the title of family patriarch.

He nodded at Brady. “Good to see you up and around.”

“It’s a start.”

“Well, if you get the doctor’s okay, you can go out with us the next time.”

Brady nodded. Chances were, if he was strong enough to chase wild mustangs, he’d be hightailing it for the cockpit of his F-16. “Thank you, sir,” Brady said. “I’d like that.”

Hank turned back to Lindsey. “I think we got ourselves a good-looking bunch this time.”

Lindsey avoided Brady’s gaze and went up to the gate. “I’m worried about the paint. See how he favors the right front leg?”

Brady looked, too, but he had to watch closely to see the slight limp.

“It could be a pebble. I’m going to have to examine him, but I have appointments this afternoon.”

Hank agreed as he checked his watch. “Tomorrow, then. We’ll separate them so they all can be examined and inoculated. How’s that with you, Doc?”

“I could come by tomorrow afternoon for a few hours.”

“Good, it will give us time to see which ponies are worth the time to saddle break.”

“Why are you saddle breaking them?” Brady asked.

“So we can sell them at auction. Since we have to thin the herd, we want to find good homes for them.”

Brady had his eye on a gray stallion that didn’t like being confined in the pen. He kept moving back and forth along the fence.

Hank waved the group on. “Everyone is welcome to come up to the house for lunch. Lindsey, I hope you can join us.”

“I’d like that.” She pulled out her phone. “I just need to check my messages.” She hung back from the group.