Strong-Willed Cowboy (The Buckskin Brotherhood Book 5) Read online

  Strong-Willed Cowboy

  The Buckskin Brotherhood

  Vicki Lewis Thompson

  STRONG-WILLED COWBOY

  Copyright © 2020 by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  ISBN: 978-1-946759-90-0

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Ocean Dance Press, PO Box 69901, Oro Valley AZ 85737

  Cover art by Lee Hyat Designs

  Visit the author’s website: VickiLewisThompson.com

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  But Wait, There’s More!

  Also by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  “I like these.” Rafe Banner leaned against the slanted back of an Adirondack chair and stretched his booted feet toward the warmth of the fire pit. October nights were chilly, which suited him. “Still don’t know why we had to get eight, though. We only need seven.”

  “They were two-for-one.” Leo drained the last of his hard cider.

  “But we didn’t have to take the eighth one because it was free.”

  “Doesn’t hurt to have an extra.”

  “I’m with Leo on that.” Garrett set his bottle on the ground beside his chair and got up to tend the fire. “Even with eight, we don’t have enough on nights the women show up.”

  Rafe didn’t comment. The subject of women was a touchy one for him now that he and Kate weren’t getting along.

  “Figured I’d find you jokers back here!” Nick came around the end of the bunkhouse and headed down the well-worn path. “What’s this? Real chairs?”

  “End of the season sale in Great Falls,” Leo said. “Couldn’t pass it up.”

  “I approve.” Nick pulled one off the stack and put it next to Rafe’s. “But why’d you get eight?”

  Leo exchanged a look with Rafe. “Two-for-one.”

  “Did they make you take the eighth one?” He grabbed a bottle of cider out of the ice chest nearby.

  “Of course not, but why wouldn’t we?”

  “Because we only need seven.”

  Rafe smiled at Leo. “See? I’m not the only one who thinks that way. When everybody’s here, we’ll have an empty chair.”

  “So what?”

  “The group looks incomplete, like we’re missing somebody.”

  “Exactly.” Nick sat down and twisted off the bottle cap. “I like them, though. The seat fits my posterior.”

  “Glad you’re pleased,” Rafe said, “since we’re billing you one-seventh of the cost.”

  “Fine with me.” He sighed and gazed up at the stars. “Beautiful night.” His tone oozed happiness.

  Rafe was glad for him. He really was. “Good to see you, bro.”

  Nick grinned. “You just saw me this morning for barn duty.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, I do. It still feels a little strange, not living in the bunkhouse, but—”

  “I take it Eva’s hosting her friends tonight?”

  “Yep.” Nick sipped his drink. “I’d forgotten about it or I would’ve planned on having dinner with you guys.”

  “Did you eat?” Garrett was big on making sure everyone stayed fed.

  “I did, thanks. Got a burger to go from the Moose and ate it while I drove. The ladies said I could stay, but girls’ night is important to Eva. And hanging out here is important to me. It’s all good.”

  “How’s Fiona doing?” Leo might think he sounded casual, but he failed miserably.

  Nick gazed at him. “She’s fine. But she—”

  “Never mind. Forget I asked.” He lifted his bottle in Nick’s direction. “Here’s to the only one of us who made the bachelor auction work for him.”

  “I’ll drink to that,” Garrett said.

  “Me, too.” Rafe touched his bottle to Nick’s. “You did good.”

  “I was damn lucky.” He leaned back in his chair. “These are way better than our chummy stumps, but you can’t leave them out all winter like those stumps. They’ll be ruined. It’s not like we have storage space in the bunkhouse, either.”

  “I thought we’d stack them on your bed,” Leo said. “Since you won’t be using it.”

  “Hey, it’s not just me who’s moved out. Pile them on Matt’s bunk. Or Jake’s. Or CJ’s. Those guys won’t be using theirs, either, unless they totally screw up.”

  “We probably should ask Henri about the extra beds,” Rafe said. “Makes no sense to have eight of them and three wranglers using the space.”

  “I did ask her.” Nick took another swig. “When I told her I was moving in with Eva, I mentioned all the empty bunks. She’s not ready to reconfigure the setup. They’re built-ins, for one thing.”

  Rafe glanced at him. “Did it sound like she might hire more hands? Because we don’t need—”

  “I didn’t get that impression. Even if some of us aren’t sleeping in the bunkhouse anymore, we still work for her.”

  Leo nodded. “She’s not short-handed. Especially when we’re heading into the winter season.”

  “Which means we can stack the chairs on the vacated bunks.” Rafe glanced at Nick. “Including yours. Problem solved.”

  Nick frowned. “I’m not crazy about having you put heavy wooden chairs on my bunk.”

  “Rafe’s pulling your leg,” Leo said. “He wouldn’t really—”

  “Why not? Just pile all the unoccupied mattresses on one bed and put the chairs on the other four. It might look a little unusual, but—”

  “It’ll look terrible!” Leo sat forward. “I’m not living in a furniture warehouse, bro. We’ll have to find—”

  “Yeah, yeah, we’ll figure out something else.” Rafe grinned. “I wasn’t serious. Although they’d be handy if we had a balmy day in January. We could haul ’em out, no problem.”

  “And the rest of the time the bunkhouse would look like a storage shed.”

  “We don’t have to solve this tonight,” Garrett said. “This weather’s supposed to hold for another week or two.”

  “I hope so.” Rafe gazed up at the clear sky. “The leaves have been amazing this year. They—” His phone pinged with a text. “’Scuse me a minute.”

  “If that’s Henri, ask if she’d like to come on down,” Leo said. “I’m in the mood for s’mores.”

  Rafe stared at his phone. “It’s not Henri.”

  “Who?” Nick turned to him, his
expression alert. Concerned. He had a sixth sense when it came to trouble brewing, especially for anyone in the Brotherhood.

  “Kate. She wants to see me. Says it’s urgent.”

  Nick met his gaze. “I thought you weren’t talking.”

  “We’re not.”

  “So what the hell?”

  “Don’t know.” He stood. “Guess I’ll go find out.”

  Technically he could have walked, but he hopped in his truck. It was about a three-minute drive from the bunkhouse to the three-bedroom cottage where Kate lived. Walking would have taken ten.

  Her use of the word urgent made his stomach hollow out. She wouldn’t have contacted him unless something was terribly wrong. Their last private conversation two months ago had been a disaster. He’d proposed. She’d said no. Definitively. They’d avoided each other ever since.

  Adrenaline pumping through his veins, he parked next to her truck and climbed out. She’d lived alone since Millie, the housekeeper for the guest cabins, had moved in with Jake.

  Would she have called him if Millie still lived here? When she’d been hired to cook for the ranch guests, she’d moved into the cottage with Millie and they’d bonded. What if this urgent problem was an issue she and Millie would have handled together, like a flooded bathroom or a snake that had found its way inside the house?

  Maybe he was working himself into a lather over a temporary emergency that could be quickly resolved. Except if she’d encountered that sort of situation, he’d be the last person she’d call.

  His gut tightened as he took the steps two at a time and crossed the porch. “Kate! I’m here!”

  She came to the door, her short curly hair golden in the glow from the porch light. An angel with a halo. A tired angel. There was no sparkle in her gray eyes.

  He wanted what he’d always wanted, to wrap her in his arms and make her forget every bad thing that had ever happened to her. “What’s wrong?”

  She pushed open the screen door and stepped back so he could come in. “I have a huge favor to ask.”

  Music to his ears. “Anything. Name it.” He took off his hat.

  “Thanks for saying that. Considering.” She gestured toward the living room. “Let’s sit. Can I get you a drink? Something to eat?”

  “No, thanks.” Not a plumbing problem or a stray varmint, then. He left his hat on the little table by the door.

  Walking into the achingly familiar living room, he chose the rocking chair so she could have the couch. That put the coffee table between them, which was just as well.

  He hadn’t been in this room or spent time alone with her since their horseback ride after the bachelor auction. First and only time he’d kissed her. This private moment made him want to do it again.

  Clearly she wasn’t in a romantic mood. She’d come straight here after finishing up at the dining hall. The damp spots on the sleeves of her blue plaid Western shirt told him she’d rushed through her cleanup routine.

  She sat on the middle couch cushion, her back rigid, her denim-clad knees together, her boots aligned, her hands clasped tight. Something had her wrapped in barbed wire.

  Taking a shaky breath, she looked at him. “My baby sister got accepted to Johns Hopkins University.”

  “Is that good?”

  “It’s one of the top medical schools in the country. Ginny’s over the moon.”

  “Then good for her.”

  “It’s also astronomically expensive. She doesn’t have the money. Mom doesn’t, either. And I’m still paying off the ginormous debt Enrique saddled me with.”

  “What’s she going to do?”

  “Apply for loans. Assuming she gets them, she’ll go into debt. Crushing debt. Way worse than what I’m dealing with. She has no idea what that will feel like, carrying that burden, weighing it against every job offer, every missed opportunity. It will control her life, maybe for twenty or thirty years. But it’s her only option so she’s barreling ahead. It breaks my heart.”

  Her distress broke his. “I have a bank account, been saving a while, but from what you’re saying, it wouldn’t—”

  “I’m not asking for money.”

  “What, then?”

  “Have I ever told you about my Aunt Lilith?”

  “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

  “She’s my mom’s wealthy sister. Never had kids but her circle of friends all have at least one and they brag about them constantly. Aunt Lilith appropriated Ginny and me as surrogate kids she could brag about.”

  “Could she cover Ginny’s expenses?”

  “Easily. Ginny won’t ask because she knows there’d be strings attached. She made Mom promise not to ask. I guess they assumed I wouldn’t, either. But I did. And she agreed.”

  “With strings attached?”

  “Oh, yeah. She hated my scandalous divorce, but she really hates that I won’t repair my reputation by finding a new husband.”

  His chest tightened. He wasn’t going to like what came next.

  “She’ll pay for Ginny’s med school if I…” Her voice faltered. “Rafe, will you marry me?”

  Chapter Two

  Rafe looked like he’d been sucker punched. The breath whooshed out of him and for a second, his brown eyes glazed over.

  Shaking his head as if to clear it, he dragged in air. His gaze cleared. And sharpened. “You said favor. What’s the catch?”

  This was the hard part, but it had to be said. She didn’t want any confusion. “It would be in name only, to satisfy Aunt Lilith until Ginny gets her degree.”

  He glanced away. “I see.” His tone was quiet, too quiet.

  “She’ll graduate in four years.”

  He still wouldn’t look at her. “Ginny’s okay with this?”

  “I think she will be if I frame it right. And I won’t tell her until after the ceremony. That way it’s a done deal.”

  “And how will you frame it?”

  “I’ll say we’re good friends and we’re just going through the motions to fool Aunt Lilith. It won’t disrupt our lives at all.”

  He met her gaze. “It won’t?” His tone was conversational but anger burned in his eyes.

  “Why should it? You’d be free to do whatever you want.”

  “Would I, now?”

  She flushed. “I mean, like date. I wouldn’t expect you to—”

  “Honor my vows?” His soft voice was at odds with his steely gaze.

  She gulped. “I realize it’s a lot to ask.”

  He broke eye contact and stood. “It’s too much to ask.” He headed for the door and grabbed his hat.

  She started after him. “Would you at least think about—”

  “No, Kate, I won’t.” He spun around, fury blazing in his eyes. “You rejected my offer of a real marriage.” He hurled the words at her. “Now you want me to go along with a damned fake one! Find another sucker. I’m not available.” Shoving the screen door open, he was across the porch and down the steps in seconds.

  “Rafe!” She hurried across the porch. “You wouldn’t have to live with me! You could—”

  “Then anybody will do, right? Put an ad in the Apple Grove Gazette. You’re a good cook. Offer to make the guy dinner once a week. That should be enough to satisfy the poor sap.” Jerking open the door of his truck, he climbed in and slammed it shut. The engine roared to life and the tires spit gravel as he backed up and peeled out.

  So much for that. God, she was tired. But she’d promised to call Millie after she’d talked with Rafe. Dragging herself back inside, she picked up her phone from the small table by the door and tapped it.

  Millie answered on the first ring. “Well?”

  “You were right. I probably explained it all wrong, but I doubt there was a right way. He’s furious, offended, hurt, and thoroughly disgusted with me. I knew it was a long shot, but I thought if he understood the stakes for Ginny….”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. It needs to be a valid marriage license and
a legit ceremony. He told me anybody would do, but I’ll be signing a legal contract. I can’t just take somebody off the street.”

  “Certainly not. And if Rafe won’t do it, neither will Leo or Garrett. They’d see it as disloyalty. Are you sure you can’t talk your aunt into giving Ginny the money because it’s the right thing to do?”

  “If you knew her, you wouldn’t ask that. She loves nothing better than exploiting a person’s weakness to get what she wants. I’ll pull this off. Somehow. If Rafe won’t go for it, I’ll find someone who will.”

  Kate didn’t sleep much that night, and by morning she had a potential plan to run past Millie. She invited her over for mid-afternoon tea, a tradition they’d established when they’d lived together and had held onto even though Millie’s living arrangements had changed.

  Kate had made a convert of Millie, who’d had no interest in tea when they’d met. But a combination of delicate English teacups Kate had inherited from her English grandmother and loose, fragrant tea leaves had changed Millie’s mind. A spoonful of local honey in each cup had sealed the deal.

  Kate had the tea ready and a plate of brownies on the coffee table when Millie arrived, her bright red hair tied back with a pale green bandana. She claimed the rocking chair as usual, bringing it close enough to the table to put her feet up. Kate sat on the couch, her usual spot.

  She hardly ever sat in the rocker and now she’d avoid it at all costs. It represented the moment she’d lost Rafe forever.

  After stirring honey into her tea and putting a brownie on a small plate, she leaned against a couple of throw pillows she’d arranged for maximum comfort. No, that wouldn’t work. She needed to be upright to present her plan effectively.