A Cowboy's Return (The McGavin Brothers #3) Read online

  A Cowboy’s Return

  The McGavin Brothers

  Vicki Lewis Thompson

  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

  But Wait, There’s More!

  Also by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  About the Author

  A COWBOY’S RETURN

  Copyright © 2017 by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  ISBN: 978-1-946759-12-2

  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 Kristin Bryant

  Visit the author’s website: VickiLewisThompson.com

  Chapter One

  Ryker McGavin paced the small terminal of Eagles Nest Airfield while he waited for his passenger to arrive. He’d rather take enemy fire than accept this job, but there was no help for it. April Harris needed a ride up to Kalispell ASAP. At the tail end of the tourist season the other pilots who subcontracted with Joe’s outfit, Wings Over Montana, were booked.

  If only he’d had a chance meeting with her in town, today wouldn’t be so awkward. He’d been back at Wild Creek Ranch for three weeks and had made several trips into Eagles Nest. He’d seen almost everyone else he knew, but he’d never bumped into her.

  Eleven years was a long time to go without seeing the woman he’d practically been engaged to. Eagles Nest wasn’t very big and passing her on the sidewalk or in the grocery store aisle would’ve been so much better. They could’ve traded pleasantries and gone about their business. She likely wasn’t thrilled about this enforced proximity, either.

  Movement outside the terminal’s glass door caught his attention. April. His heart beat so fast his ears buzzed. Pushing open the door, she shoved her sunglasses to the top of her head and walked toward him. He’d forgotten how short she was, only five-two. She used to like that he could pick her up without breaking a sweat. He was breaking one now.

  She didn’t look much different—jeans, sandals, t-shirt, and a backpack over her shoulder. Still beautiful. Her brown hair was in a ponytail like he’d seen hundreds of times and the beaded earrings looked familiar. But her unsmiling expression sure was different. She used to light up with a big old grin the minute she saw him. Then again, he used to do the same.

  He cleared the nervousness from his throat. “Hello, April.”

  “Hey, Ryker.” Her brown gaze held his for a moment and skittered away. “It’s good seeing you again.” She seemed as uneasy as he was.

  “Same here.”

  “Thank you for taking me today. I know it was last-minute.”

  So polite. So careful. So not the way she used to be with him. “No problem.” His chest was tight as he gestured toward the terminal’s rear doors. “Out this way. Joe said you’re in a hurry.”

  “Leigh’s going to have her baby any minute. I need to be there.”

  He held the door for her. “She’s still in Kalispell, then?” He caught a whiff of her scent. Damned if it wasn’t the same citrusy stuff he remembered.

  She talked fast, like people did when they were nervous. “That’s where she met her husband John and they both love it there, plus they like being near my folks.” She matched her strides to his as they crossed the tarmac headed for the twin-engine Beechcraft. “But it’s just like Leigh to have her baby on the same weekend as the fair. I was incredibly lucky there were any rental cars left.”

  “Glad you got one.”

  “Is that the plane?”

  “My plane.” The Beechcraft was older than he was, but solid.

  “You own it?”

  “Me and Badger.”

  “Who?”

  “My Air Force buddy.”

  “His name’s Badger?”

  “No, but that’s what he likes to be called. He’s not out of the service yet, but he wanted a financial stake in the business. That’s why I call it Badger Air.” The logo, a badger wearing goggles and a leather helmet, stood out nicely against the white paint job.

  “That’s quite a name for an airline.”

  “He gets a kick out of it.” He opened the right-hand door for her. “I can stow your backpack.”

  “Thanks.” She lifted it off her shoulder. “Let me take something out, first.” She unzipped a compartment and pulled out two smooth stones, one clear and the other light green. She’d been into crystals when they’d been going together. After tucking them in her jeans pocket, she handed him the backpack and climbed into the co-pilot’s seat.

  He secured her pack, rounded the plane and swung into the cockpit. Settling into the pilot’s seat was an ongoing thrill. His plane. Well, his and Badger’s. The main thing was it didn’t belong to the US government and he could fly in boots, jeans and a t-shirt instead of a government-issued flight suit. His straw cowboy hat, the flea market find his squadron had given him, was stashed behind his seat. He never took off without it.

  He buckled up and reached for his headset. “Ever been in a small plane before?”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “I have earplugs if you want them. It gets loud, especially on takeoff.”

  “Thanks, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  “All righty, then. Let’s get ‘er done.” He put on his headset. “Clear props.” When he started the engines, she took a deep breath.

  That deep breath was a dead giveaway that she wasn’t fine. Could be the flight that rattled her. More likely it was him. Not much he could do about it either way. He kept his focus tight until they were airborne.

  How he loved this part, gliding like an eagle over Montana’s dimpled terrain. He missed the adrenaline rush of the F-15’s speed but he didn’t miss being shot at.

  Normally at this point in the flight, assuming all was going smoothly, he’d take off the headset and chat with his passenger. Today the weather was clear and air traffic was light. Should be an easy trip to Kalispell.

  He slid a glance in April’s direction. She looked as miserable as she used to whenever they’d had an argument in his truck—jaw locked, shoulders hunched, hands clenched in her lap. She didn’t seem open to conversation.

  He could leave on the headset and let her battle her demons. If she’d never been in a light plane before she wouldn’t know he was free to talk now that they were on their way. But if she spent the entire flight balled up like that she’d have a headache for sure by the time they landed.

  He hung the headset around his neck and looked over at her. “So how’ve you been?”

  She turned to him and blinked. “I…um…good. I’ve been good. Don’t you have to like, fly the plane?”

  “I’m flying it. If we maintain altitude and the gauges hold steady, it’s all good.”

  “This must be pretty easy after...”

  “Calmer, anyway.” If she couldn’t bring herself to mention what he’d been doing for all these years,
then they needed to talk about something else. “How come I haven’t seen you around? I kept thinking I’d run into you in town.”

  Her cheeks got pink, like they always did when she was agitated, and she started talking fast again. “I’ve been crazy busy. Geraldine’s client list goes on forever, not to mention spending one day a week at the hospital. Leaving so abruptly will cause a scheduling nightmare but I’ll deal with it.” She seemed to run out of gas at that point but her shoulders had dropped a little.

  “Geraldine. Why does that name sound familiar?”

  “She’s the massage therapist I shadowed our senior year. I’ve taken over for her.”

  “Oh.” Senior year. Ancient history. Their history. “I didn’t know that.” His mom had mentioned that April had been back for several months, as if to warn him that he might see her in town. But his mom hadn’t elaborated and he hadn’t asked questions. “I remember how much you admired Geraldine. I’m not surprised you became a massage therapist.”

  “I’m not surprised you’re flying planes for Joe.”

  “Did you know I was working here when you called him?”

  “Yep. I wondered if I’d get you.”

  “And here I am.”

  She didn’t comment.

  So maybe that would be the end of their interaction. He debated putting the headset on again because the phrase comfortable silence didn’t apply to this episode. He might as well pretend to be busy flying the plane.

  “How’s your mom?”

  He left the headset where it was. “Good. Pretty much healed.” Back in June when he was still deployed, she and his brothers had chosen not to mention that she’d broken her leg when a horse named Licorice had thrown her. They’d meant well, thinking they’d spare him the worry, but it still ticked him off that he hadn’t known.

  “I was hoping she’d contact me for massage therapy while she was recovering, but…”

  “Yeah, well.” His mom might have considered that a betrayal of sorts. To be honest, he might have, too. “She’s managing fine, now.”

  “Good.” Her shoulders had dropped a little more and her jaw wasn’t so tight. “I can’t imagine Kendra staying down for long.”

  “Me, either.” He figured she’d started down this conversational bunny trail so he’d follow her there. “Are your mom and dad doing okay?”

  “They love Kalispell.” Her face relaxed into an almost smile. “They’ve always wanted some land and they were able to buy a place on five acres. The hospital has several innovative programs and they’re pushing for more. Eagles Nest is so small that the resources are limited.”

  “So why did you come back?”

  “Geraldine asked me to. There are several good massage therapists in Kalispell but she was the only one in Eagles Nest. Since she planned to leave, I felt I was needed here.”

  Her idealistic nature had been one of the reasons he’d fallen for her. She had principles. In the end, that’s what had made her break up with him. “I’ll bet a lot of folks were happy about that.”

  “I hope so.” She was quiet again.

  He was willing to end the conversation there, on a positive note. No hand grenades had been thrown. He still didn’t have a lot to do regarding the plane, but he could act like he did.

  Except she was looking at him as if she wanted to make a comment.

  Finally he turned to her. “What?”

  “You seem to have made it home in one piece.”

  Ah. Did she want to talk about his time in the service, after all? He wasn’t sure how to respond. Then he heard Badger in his head, joking around as usual. “If you don’t count the prosthesis, the lung transplant and the skin grafts.”

  “What?”

  “Kidding.”

  “Don’t kid about things like that, Ryker. It’s not funny.”

  “Sorry. My sense of humor is more twisted than it used to be.”

  “I can tell.”

  He regretted making the joke. Badger would’ve laughed his ass off but he wasn’t with Badger today. Instead of lightening the mood, he’d darkened it.

  April tightened up again and her hands were clenched as if she might be holding something. Maybe her two stones.

  His fault. He should extend an olive branch. “I noticed you brought crystals along.”

  “Uh, huh.” She opened her hands.

  Sure enough, one rested in each of her palms. “What are they?”

  She held up the clear one. Her nails were short and unpolished, which made sense for a massage therapist. “This is for safe journeys.”

  “Appropriate. How about the green?”

  “It promotes harmony.”

  “Hm.” Didn’t take much to figure out why she’d brought that one.

  “I take it you’re still skeptical about crystal energy.”

  He was, but soldiers had talismans they took on a mission to ensure success—baby shoes, garters, snapshots. Even his straw cowboy hat had become a good luck charm, which was why it would go on every flight from now on. He’d be a damned hypocrite if he dismissed her belief in the power of crystals.

  He settled for a cliché. “Whatever works.”

  “Crystals work for me.”

  “Then would you say we’ve achieved harmony in this cockpit?”

  “Compared to what I thought this trip might be like, I’d say yes, we have.”

  He gazed at her. “Maybe it’s good that we ended up sharing this ride. Maybe we can—” The plane jolted, throwing him against the shoulder harness. “Back to work.” The plane hit another updraft and bounced. He put on his headset and looked over at April. “How are you with turbulence?”

  “You mean do I have motion sickness?”

  “Right.”

  “Not in a big plane. But this is—” She gasped when another updraft caught them. “This is way more intense.”

  He reached behind his seat. “Barf bag if you need it.”

  “Thanks. I’ll do my best not to use it.”

  “Don’t be embarrassed if you have to. Lots of people get airsick in small planes.” He should probably thank his lucky stars for the updrafts. He had to be careful or he was liable to say something stupid like maybe we can be friends. It sounded so evolved to say that, but he couldn’t be friends with April. She still stirred him up and that made him vulnerable. Her rejection eleven years ago had sliced deep. He refused to go through that kind of pain again.

  * * *

  April was not going to throw up in Ryker’s plane. Tucking her stones in her pocket for safekeeping, she leaned back in the seat, closed her eyes and took several slow breaths. She’d mastered a bunch of relaxation techniques and she’d use every last one if necessary.

  “You’re better off keeping your eyes open.”

  “I am?” There went all her techniques down the drain. “Why?”

  “I don’t know the technical explanation, but focusing on something like the horizon or some other stationary point keeps you from getting disoriented. It seems to calm your stomach, too.”

  She sat as straight as possible but it was no use. “I can’t see the horizon.”

  “Oh. Sorry about that. You need a booster seat.”

  “Hey! Be nice!”

  “I wasn’t teasing you. It’s my fault that you can’t see out the windshield. If I’d stopped to think about it, I would have brought an extra cushion for you.”

  “You probably had other things on your mind. You—” She squealed as the plane dropped and then lurched upward again. “Are we okay?”

  “We’re fine. Updrafts are common in the summer, especially over the mountains. Just find something else to focus on, something inside the cockpit.”

  His straightforward speech convinced her the plane wasn’t about to flip over and crash. When Ryker got scared, he stammered. Not many people knew that because he covered his fear with a glare that convinced people he was furious.

  But if she didn’t find a focal point and concentrate on it, she might humiliate
herself by upchucking. She searched the cockpit. Yes. That. She’d been curious ever since seeing Ryker in the terminal.

  He hadn’t been inked before he left for the service but now he had a tribal armband. His white t-shirt sleeve partially covered it, but when he flexed his powerful muscles while he guided the plane through the turbulence, the material shifted and she got a better view.

  If anything could distract her from this roller coaster ride, Ryker’s tattoo should do the trick. The guy’s bicep rocked an armband. When he’d been a linebacker for the Eagles Nest High School football team, he’d intimidated every other school in their division with his six-four frame and impressive muscles. During his years in the military he’d doubled down on that impressive physique.

  “You holding up okay, April?”

  “Yes, thank you.” She was into the zone, captured by the arresting combination of tanned skin, toned muscle and a beautifully executed tattoo. Ryker was there in every line of it—the Celtic warrior’s knot, the jagged mountain peaks and the eagle in flight. Her heart stirred with a longing she hadn’t allowed herself to feel in a very long time.

  “We should smooth out pretty soon. That section can be a bad patch. I thought about warning you beforehand, but I could’ve done that and then nothing would have happened.”

  “So you fly to Kalispell often?” The ride was still bumpy so she kept her attention on his armband. Making conversation helped, too.

  “I haven’t been at it long, so I can’t say that, but the other pilots go there a lot in the summer. Folks come to Eagles Nest for its small-town Western atmosphere and then head on up to Glacier. Some drive, but enough want to fly that it keeps Joe’s operation hopping.”

  She leaned closer, tempted to run her finger over the design. Bad idea. He must have shaved recently because she could smell his pine-scented cologne. “Was this always your game plan? To work with Joe?”

  “More or less. But first I had to check with Mom and see if she needed me at the ranch.”

  “I take it she doesn’t.” The play of muscles enhanced that tattoo like nobody’s business. She curled her hand into a fist to keep from stroking his arm.