Kitabı oku: «Rancher Daddy»

This book is dedicated to children young and old who have ever felt abandoned, alone and unloved. You are not. God loves you with a love so deep no human love could touch it. If you let Him, He will fill your heart and soul so that you never again need to feel you’re on your own.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Holly Janzen loved her early-morning ride home after a night shift on the hospital’s pediatric ward. Especially now that spring had crept into the valley where Buffalo Gap nestled in the foothills of the Alberta Rocky Mountains. With the sun just cresting, the town lay bathed in the rosy hue of May’s promise. The best part was that morning signaled a fresh start, untouched by the horrible memories of her past.

Holly gaped at the twenty-foot photo of her own face pasted to a huge billboard in the center of town, her heart sinking as she read,

Holly Janzen. Buffalo Gap’s citizen of the year.

Why did they keep doing that? Several times a year Mayor Marsha Grant and the town council did something that featured Holly as the town’s poster child for success. Years ago they’d granted Holly, the girl voted most likely to succeed, a scholarship to earn her nurse practitioner credentials in Toronto. The mayor and the rest of the town never heard the truth about those years down east and how un-poster-child-like she’d behaved, because nobody in Buffalo Gap ever saw past the good-girl image of her childhood. To them Holly Janzen was a role model they wanted their own kids to emulate.

As if!

Tired of the never-ending guilt that memories of those years in Toronto always brought, Holly shoved them away and focused instead on the sight of the newly renovated hotel that now housed Family Ties, an adoption agency two friends had set up to help kids who needed homes. But unlike most days, this morning Holly gave the place more than a yearning glance.

This morning a child sat on the steps that led to the front door.

A horn sounded behind her, a short beep, just enough to let her know someone didn’t appreciate her pausing in the middle of the street. Holly identified the rusty brown half-ton truck in her rearview mirror and smiled. Luc Cramer, aka Mr. Just In Time.

Luc had come to her rescue many times but especially during her father’s illness and after his death three months ago. He’d continued as Holly’s ranch manager leaving her free to focus on her work as the community’s nurse practitioner which often meant she helped pregnant moms deliver healthy newborns. A side benefit of that was that she got to work with moms-to-be at Family Ties.

Holly mostly accepted what Luc suggested in regard to the ranch and so far it was working out great. The only negative side was that whenever Holly voiced her concern that Luc wasn’t benefitting as much as she was from the arrangement, he brushed her off.

Now Holly thrust her hand out of her car window, pointed to the boy on the steps then steered hard left, crossing the street to pull into an angled parking spot in front of Family Ties. Two seconds later Luc’s truck pulled in beside hers as she jumped out of her orange jeep.

“Holly, you can’t just stop in the middle of the street and then pull across it like that,” he began in that quiet but pained tone he sometimes used, which carried a kind of big-brother resignation.

“What are you doing in town so early, Luc?” she asked.

“Just coming home from Calgary.” He smiled at her arched eyebrow. “No, I wasn’t partying, I was trying to help a friend who’s going through a messy, painful divorce.”

“That’s nice of you.” She tilted her head in the boy’s direction. “Who’s this little guy?”

“No idea. Let’s find out.” Luc followed Holly as she hurried forward. She was aware of him but her focus centered on the little boy in worn-out jeans and a tattered red hoodie sitting in front of Family Ties. Big black glasses made him look like a wise owl.

“Hi, honey,” she said in a soft voice, crouching down to meet the child’s gaze. “What’s your name?”

“Henry.” He blinked huge brown eyes at her then his gaze shifted to Luc. “Are you a real cowboy?” he asked in awed tones.

Holly turned to see Luc’s slow, easy grin slash across his handsome, tanned face.

“Real as they get, partner,” Luc said in a drawl that reminded her of some Hollywood star in a bygone Western movie. When he hunkered down beside Holly, his elbow brushed her arm, sending an electric charge up it as he thrust out a hand to shake Henry’s.

Holly noticed the contact with her hunky foreman because it caused her stomach to do that shaky dance. But she couldn’t figure out why that was. Luc was a friend but nothing more. That was the way she wanted it.

“Pleased to meet you, Henry. I’m Luc and that’s Holly.” Luc smiled then quietly asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting.” The boy reached up to touch the brim of Luc’s jet-black Stetson, the one Holly had only ever seen Luc remove for church and funerals. But this morning the cowboy took off his hat and set it on the boy’s head. Henry’s eyes widened. “I wish I had one of these.”

“Maybe one day you will.” Luc shot Holly a look that asked for help.

She nodded. They needed to find out more about this boy so they could figure out what to do next.

“Are you waiting for someone special, Henry?” Holly asked.

“Uh-huh. The people who work here.” The boy jerked a thumb over one shoulder. “They find families for kids. I want one.”

Nonplussed, Holly glanced at Luc, who stared right back at her, his brown eyes crinkling at the corners with his lazy grin. That was Luc—laid-back, comfortable in his skin and always in a good mood. When she arched an eyebrow at him he simply shrugged. Obviously he was waiting for her to continue the investigation.

“What’s your last name, Henry?” she asked.

“Brown. Henry Brown.” His little chest puffed out. “I’m five and three quarters.”

Five and three quarters. He was almost the same age as her baby... Holly gulped at the memories of that tiny innocent child and instead concentrated on what Henry was saying.

“Last night I stayed with this lady—Ms. Hilda.” Henry’s big brown eyes narrowed. His lips pressed together as he scrunched up his nose so his glasses would move back in place. “She snores.”

“I see.” Holly shot Luc a look meant to stifle his snort of laughter. She guessed Henry was one of the many foster kids from Calgary for whom Mayor Marsha often agreed to find temporary care.

Holly considered phoning the mayor but hesitated. Marsha was still recovering from complications after her second knee surgery. Maybe Abby Lebret, owner of Family Ties, would be a better choice. But it was barely 6:00 a.m. and if Abby’s young twins hadn’t yet woken her, she wouldn’t appreciate an early-morning call, either.

“I want a family,” Henry said with a glance over one shoulder, his voice and face as serious as a little old man.

“Me, too. Are you hungry, Henry?” Luc’s grin flashed at Henry’s emphatic nod. “Hey, me, too.”

“Well, what’s new about that?” Holly grumbled, irritated that her ranch manager didn’t seem to be taking the situation seriously. “You’re always hungry, Luc.”

“Sounds like maybe you are, too, Miss Cranky,” Luc teased, his eyes as warm as his smile. “Long shift, huh? What say we go get some breakfast?”

“Luc, you can’t just take him—”

“Can I have pancakes? I love pancakes,” Henry asked, his voice beseeching.

“Pancakes it is.” Luc straightened. “We can come back here, Holly. When Family Ties is open,” he added when she frowned.

“Well, all right,” she agreed. “But we’d better phone Hilda first. She might be missing Henry.”

“She’s prob’ly still snoring.” Henry’s tone was utterly serious.

Holly had to turn away to hide her smile. When she did she bumped into Luc. He grasped her arms to steady her, which set her heart on a gallop.

“Whoa there, little lady. You must need some food if you’re swaying on your feet.” His hands dropped away but his gaze never left her face. “Did you forget to eat your lunch again?”

“I ate an apple around midnight,” Holly said, avoiding his gaze. “I can take care of myself, Luc.”

“Oh, I know that,” he said, nodding, though his next words belied that. “But you do forget to eat when you’re on night shift. Come on. Let’s go to Brewsters.” He swung his arm around Henry’s shoulder. “They have the best breakfast,” he said in a low voice.

“They have the only breakfast at this time of the morning,” Holly corrected, noticing how easily Henry and Luc had bonded. Feeling left out, she dialed Hilda’s. When there was no answer, she left a message on the machine then followed the two males while wondering how Luc knew she usually forgot her lunch.

He knew because he was always there for her.

Luc’s being there had started the day he’d purchased the land adjoining her dad’s Cool Springs Ranch. It continued after Holly’s dad got a terminal diagnosis and elected not to fight his lung cancer. Marcus Janzen had chosen instead to live out his days at home. Since her mom had long since abandoned her daughter, husband and Cool Springs Ranch, Holly was the only one Marcus had left. Because she loved her dad dearly she’d focused her time and efforts on making his final days perfect, with Luc’s help.

Marcus and Luc had become fast friends the day after Luc moved in to the neighboring spread three years ago. He’d shown up at Cool Springs that evening to ask Marcus about a sick steer. He’d come a hundred times since, eager to learn all he could about ranching from Holly’s very knowledgeable dad.

Maybe that’s why it had seemed normal for Luc to “help out” as he put it, when Marcus fell ill. Luc did the chores her dad couldn’t, sold the cattle Marcus wanted to part with and even sheared the sheep Marcus had just begun raising. After Marcus died, Luc kept coming back, kept helping out. And Holly had been glad of it, especially after Family Ties opened and, as the local nurse practitioner, she was called on to assist with several births.

“You must be daydreaming about something wonderful,” Luc whispered in her ear when she passed through the door he held open. “Your smile couldn’t get bigger. Something good happen?”

“Yes.” She sank into a booth across from Henry. She smiled at him then faced Luc. “This morning I made a decision. I’m going ahead with the renovations on the house. I intend to make the extra bedroom into a full-blown sewing room.”

She’d decided to go ahead because this morning the very thought of always having to clear off the dining table so she could sew the baby clothes she sold online seemed daunting. The extra bedroom was the perfect space; it just needed a few modifications.

Holly grimaced. Was it her good-girl image that made her try to gloss things over? Truthfully, that room needed a lot of modification if it was going to help her grow her business.

But Holly didn’t tell Luc that. Nobody in town knew about her business and that’s the way she intended to keep it. Getting dumped the day before her December wedding had generated enough gossip in Buffalo Gap to last a lifetime. She sure didn’t need the town thinking she was so heartbroken and desperate to have a child that she now poured her soul into making baby clothes for other moms because she’d lost her chance to be a wife and mom.

“Holly?” Luc’s touch on her arm roused her from her introspection. “Pancakes and sausage? That’s what Henry and I are having.”

“No, thank you.” Holly made a face. “The very last things I want are heavy, syrup-drenched pancakes and sausages before I go to sleep. I’ll have dry rye toast, two scrambled eggs and tea, please,” she said to Paula Brewster. They shared a smile before Paula left to place the orders.

“Pancakes are good,” Henry told her seriously. “Way better than eggs or cereal.” He lost his serious look for a moment when Luc held out a hand to high-five him. But the gravity returned almost immediately. “When do I get my family?”

Holly didn’t know how to answer. It would be nice to say “not long,” to reassure the boy, but the truth was that neither she nor Luc knew anything about Henry and whether or not Family Ties could help him.

“That’s a hard thing to answer, Henry,” Luc said seriously. Holly liked the way he didn’t brush off the boy’s concern or make promises he couldn’t keep.

“Why?” Henry’s big brown eyes looked into Luc’s trustingly, waiting for an answer.

“Because families are hard things to build,” Luc told him. He grinned. “Look at me. I don’t have a family yet.”

“Don’t you want one?” Henry thanked their server for his glass of milk, took a sip then leaned back in his chair to hear the answer.

“Definitely.” Luc nodded. “But finding a family isn’t easy. I grew up without my own family. Instead, other families took care of me.”

“Did you like that?” Henry asked.

“Mostly I did. I was safe,” Luc said after a moment of thought. “I had a place to sleep, good food to eat and nobody hurt me. It was okay.”

“I want a family to love me.” Henry’s earnest tone matched his solemn face. “I prayed to God for it.”

“That’s the best thing you could do, Henry.” Holly waited until Paula had served their food before she continued. “God loves us. He wants to give us what we most want. You just keep praying for a family.”

“Do you have a family?” Henry studied her seriously.

“Not anymore,” Holly explained quietly, setting down her fork as she spoke. “My dad died three months ago. He was all the family I had.”

No way would she include her mother as family. Since the day she’d walked out, Holly barely gave the woman a thought and certainly not in terms of motherhood.

It struck Holly then that she’d done a much worse thing than her mother had done. The familiar burden of guilt that always accompanied thoughts of her baby settled on her spirit once more.

“I’m sorry.” Henry reached across the table and enfolded her fingers in his. “I’ll ask God to get you and Luc families, too.”

“Thank you, Henry,” Holly said, greatly humbled by his strong faith. “You’d better eat your pancakes while they’re hot.”

While Henry dug into his food, Luc bombarded her with questions about the changes she wanted to make to the farmhouse where she’d been born.

“Be more specific. What exactly do you want?” he pressed.

“I want more electrical outlets for one thing,” Holly specified. “I want wide countertops to cut out fabric. I want better lighting so I can work at night if I’m on the day shift. I want lots of storage space and room for my quilting frame. If I get called in, I want to leave my sewing as is and pick up where I left off when I return.”

“Shouldn’t be hard.” He shrugged.

“Good, because the dining table doesn’t cut it anymore,” she told him with a grimace. “I’m tired of making do.”

“So am I,” Luc said in a low-throated tone. “I’m really tired of that.”

Holly stared at his serious face, confused by his words. But before she could ask him to explain, her phone rang. Mayor Marsha, who knew everything that happened in town, had already talked to Hilda about Henry. Pushing off her need for sleep, Holly agreed she and Luc would bring Henry to meet Marsha in the mayor’s office in half an hour. Luc nodded when she told him then picked up their earlier conversation.

“I’ve never seen whatever it is you spend so much time sewing.” He studied the green scrubs she still wore from her shift at the hospital, his gaze resting on the label on the chest pocket. “Not those, I’m guessing. Are you helping with more quilts for Family Ties? I heard the intent was to give one to every woman who uses the services of Family Ties to adopt out her child.”

“I am helping with that.” Holly wished he wasn’t so curious. “But that’s not exactly what I want a sewing room for.”

It was silly trying to evade the question because Luc never let anything go until he had an answer. That was the way he’d been the whole time he’d been learning ranching from her dad, and Holly doubted he’d ever change. His curiosity was innate. He was one of those people who asked and probed until he received a satisfactory answer. She thought Henry had the same trait.

“I could understand if you were still making your wedding dress.” Luc squinted out the window, watching the town come to life. “But you don’t need that anymore, do you?”

“Even if I did, it’s too late,” she told him defiantly. “I cut it up the day Ron dumped me.”

“But you could use it someday,” he protested.

“I am not getting married, Luc. Even if I were, do you honestly think I’d wear a wedding dress I chose to marry someone else? I assure you, I would not. But I repeat, I’m not getting married. Ever.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Ever? That’s pretty harsh.” Luc raised an eyebrow then inclined his head toward her plate. At her nod he picked up the last slice of her toast and smeared jam over it. “Surely one day—”

“Never,” Holly repeated. “I’m too independent.” She glanced at him through her lashes as she fudged the truth. “I prefer to be single.”

He shot her a look that questioned her statement.

“Don’t worry. I put that wedding dress to good use. There are some really nice curtains in the living room at Family Ties.” She burst out laughing at his startled look, hoping to hide the hurt that snuck up on her occasionally, ever since the day Ron had told her he wouldn’t marry her.

That’s what comes of keeping secrets.

“You’re a good sport, Holly. I like that about you. Though I can’t say I have such high regard for the man you chose to marry.” Luc’s voice tightened. “Ron Simard was a first-class jerk to walk away from you like that.”

“He had his reasons.” If Luc knew what she’d kept hidden from her fiancé until a few days before her wedding, Holly was pretty sure he’d have agreed wholeheartedly with Ron’s decision to turn tail and run.

Luc had lost his family and frequently spoke of his desire for an heir. How could he ever understand her decision to give away the infant she’d birthed while she was in training?

“So your new sewing room doesn’t have anything to do with Ron?” he pressed, nudging her from the past with its guilty secrets.

“Not at all! Sewing is my hobby, Luc, a way to be creative and a total change from my work,” she explained. “It lets me achieve some of my dreams. Aside from the cost of the renovation, it shouldn’t impact the ranch budget too much. Okay?” She stared at him, one eyebrow arched.

“If you’re asking my permission, I certainly think it’s okay if you make a sewing room out of your extra bedroom,” he said, pushing away his empty plate.

“I wasn’t asking your permission,” she shot back, irritated that she’d felt compelled to explain but even more annoyed that she’d let him get to her. He knew it, too, judging by the smile flickering at the corner of his lips.

“If that’s what you want. I might even offer to help you do the renovation.”

“Really?” She frowned. “I thought you’d be too busy with ranch stuff. You keep asking if I’ve done it yet, but you’ve never actually offered to help me clean out Dad’s trunk.”

“That’s different.” Luc had the grace to look embarrassed. He turned, grabbed a napkin and wiped Henry’s syrup-spattered cheeks. “I don’t want to push in on your personal affairs,” he muttered.

“Luc, you already know everything there is to know about Cool Springs Ranch,” Holly pointed out, surprised by this sensitivity.

“There might be something personal in there that you don’t want to share. Did you ever empty it?” He did look at her then.

“Not yet.” Holly couldn’t shake the feeling that Luc was hiding something. “I’ll get to the trunk. Eventually.”

“Good. Anyway, renovating is different than going through personal stuff. Sort of.” He nodded then shook his head. “Or maybe not.”

“Definitive answer,” she teased as she studied him, confused by his response. Luc was never uncertain. “You’ll help me with the renovation and I suppose you’ll expect me to help you with something in return. What?”

“I’m not sure yet.” He tilted his head just the tiniest bit to the left where Henry sat silently watching them. Holly frowned, prepared to push for an answer but Luc shook his head.

She shrugged. Let him have his secret. Goodness knew she had her own and she hated it when anyone tried to push her into saying something she didn’t want to.

“Can we get my family now?” Henry asked.

“It won’t be that simple, Henry,” Holly warned. “It’s a long process to find a family. Besides, we’ve got another fifteen minutes before we’re supposed to meet the mayor.” His sad expression touched her. He must be very lonely. With a spurt of inspiration she asked, “Where did you live before, Henry?”

“In Calgary. In a shelter. My brother took care of me.” For the first time the boy’s composure fractured. A big tear plopped onto his cheek. “Finn can’t take care of me anymore because he’s in prison. He told me he didn’t do it but I think he did steal the money from the store and it’s my fault.”

“How could it be your fault?” Luc asked, touching the boy’s shoulder gently.

“My teacher said I need new glasses. But I shouldn’t have told Finn because he didn’t have any money to buy them.” Henry’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I asked him anyway.”

“You couldn’t know what Finn would do,” Holly said, hugging Henry close for a moment. “It’s not your fault.”

When Luc didn’t add his voice to the comment, Holly glanced up and found him staring at her and Henry, his brown eyes almost black with intensity.

“What?” she murmured, discomfited by his look.

“I just had an idea.” A slow grin moved across Luc’s face, accenting the handsome ruggedness. “Henry, here’s some money. Could you go pay the bill?”

Delighted by this sign of trust, Henry scooted out of the booth and across the café.

“Why did you do that?” Holly liked that Luc was an open book. He didn’t hide his thoughts or pretend to be anything but what he was—a cowboy. He was honest and straightforward and she knew she could count on him. So when he leaned toward her, Holly smiled, expecting a joke.

“In return for helping you with your renovations, I would like your help,” Luc said.

“With what?” Surprised when he beckoned to her to move closer, Holly leaned toward him.

“With adopting Henry.”

* * *

Luc winced when Holly’s eyes widened then flickered with disbelief. What was so surprising about him wanting to adopt Henry? She studied him until Henry came back then turned her focus on the boy, watching as he first handed Luc the change and then began scribbling on his placemat with the pen he’d given him earlier.

“Henry,” she said softly. “Mrs. Brewster has some toys over there, in the box under the window. Would you like to play with them for a few minutes until it’s time to leave?”

“Okay.” Henry shifted out of the booth, paused to study them through his big round glasses. “You and Luc should make a family.”

“Uh, I don’t think so.” Holly avoided Luc’s glance until Henry walked over to the toy box. “Where did he get that idea from?” Her beautiful blue eyes now had silver sparks in them which shot his way. “Never mind. Were you kidding about adopting him?”

“Why would I?” Irritated that Holly would think he’d joke about such a serious subject, Luc clenched his hands on the leather bench. Why shouldn’t he be a father to this needy boy?

Holly’s glossy brunette curls, caught up in the ponytail she always wore to work, shone red-gold glints in a flash of sunlight coming through the window. She always looked lovely to him, but with the pink flush of annoyance now staining her cheeks, she was stunning. And she distracted him.

“You can’t adopt Henry.” Her voice had the sharpest tone he’d ever heard.

“Because?” Luc leaned back in his seat and waited, formulating arguments in his mind, ready to shoot hers down while wondering what was wrong with the usually happy Holly.

“You make it sound like it’s a done deal, just because you’ve decided. Adoption’s not that easy.” Holly fiddled with her teacup.

“How do you know?” Funny how she didn’t look at him now. Instead, she hid her gaze by staring at the uneaten food on her plate. Luc’s radar was alerted, but he waited for her to speak.

“I’ve seen and heard stuff at Family Ties. There are procedures to go through. Isn’t it time to leave?” Holly sounded almost desperate.

“We’ve still got several minutes,” he said, wondering why she hadn’t looked at her watch. It hung from a gold pin near her shoulder. Luc knew she did that because she’d once told him she disliked wearing anything on her wrist. He knew a lot about Holly. “What kind of procedures do I need to go through, Holly?”

“Uh, well...” She leaned back, obviously searching for an answer. “I don’t know. Maybe start by learning all you can about adoptions. Check out support groups for adoptive parents or conferences where you can learn what to expect, what others have gone through, how to handle certain problems.”

“Sounds like that would take a long time.” There was something funny going on. Uncomplicated, straight-shooting Holly wouldn’t look at him.

“Of course. Adoption is a long process,” she said hurriedly. “You’re adopting the child for life so it would be better to learn as much as you can before you act.”

“I suppose.” Luc nodded. “So what else do I need to know?”

“This isn’t my specialty, Luc. I’m a nurse practitioner not a social worker.” She sounded frustrated. Must be lack of sleep.

Luc knew ordinarily Holly would be tucked up in bed by now. She always gave her best at work but she worked doubly hard when she was on night shifts and especially when children fussed and seemed to need extra attention. Most mornings he watched her return home utterly worn-out.

“You’re tired. Never mind,” he said, sorry that he’d bothered her when she was spent.

“You should talk with Abby Lebret.” Her voice sounded calmer. “She’s the social worker who runs Family Ties and she’d know how to proceed.”

“That’s a good idea.” He stretched out his booted feet and bumped hers. “Sorry. I suppose someone will visit my place, make sure it’s all right for a child to live there?”