Her Man on Three Rivers Ranch Read online

  Hollisters and O’Dells don’t mix

  Or fall in love!

  Katherine O’Dell is no stranger to Three Rivers Ranch...or Blake Hollister. The wealthy rancher may not remember her, but the single mom hasn’t forgotten her unattainable teenage crush. When Katherine discovers Blake shares her attraction—and longs for a family of his own—will her secret keep her from building a life with the charismatic cowboy?

  “I feel very special that you left the ranch just to have a night out with me.”

  His arm slid around the back of her waist. “I’m glad. Uh—that I’ve made you feel special,” he murmured, then added in an even lower voice, “And that I’m with you tonight.”

  Katherine looked up at him, and from the wary look in her eyes Blake could tell she was feeling the same magnetic pull that was drawing him closer.

  “Blake, I like you very much,” she said in a soft, almost wistful voice. “But I’m not sure that I—”

  Her words ended abruptly as she quickly turned her head away. Blake caught her chin with his thumb and forefinger and pulled her face back around to his.

  “That you what?” he prompted. “Should be here with me? Like this?”

  Even in the twilight, he could see a stain of red darken her cheeks.

  “Something—like that,” she murmured brokenly.

  “Then maybe I should convince you that us being together is...very right.”

  * * *

  MEN OF THE WEST: Whether ranchers or lawmen, these heartbreakers can ride, shoot—and drive a woman crazy...

  Dear Reader,

  Welcome back to Yavapai County, Arizona! This time my man of the West is Blake, the eldest son of the Hollister family. Quiet, responsible and dedicated to Three Rivers Ranch, he’s felt the consequences of his father’s death more than any of his five siblings. As manager of the enormous spread, he’s devoted all of himself to making sure the family legacy continues to thrive and support not only the Hollister family but all their employees.

  Putting everyone before himself has become second nature to Blake. He’s pretty much pushed aside his dream for a wife and children of his own. Until he literally runs into a beautiful acquaintance of the past. Suddenly all those longings for a family come rushing back to him. But Katherine O’Dell is a widow with a young son, and she has her own ideas of what a husband and father should be. And it isn’t a cowboy who spends long hours in the saddle!

  I hope you’ll travel with me to Three Rivers Ranch and see for yourself how Blake and Katherine learn about love and making a family to last a lifetime.

  God bless the trails you ride,

  Stella Bagwell

  Her Man on Three Rivers Ranch

  Stella Bagwell

  After writing more than eighty books for Harlequin, Stella Bagwell still finds it exciting to create new stories and bring her characters to life. She loves all things Western and has been married to her own real cowboy for forty-four years. Living on the south Texas coast, she also enjoys being outdoors and helping her husband care for the horses, cats and dog that call their small ranch home. The couple has one son, who teaches high school mathematics and is also an athletic director. Stella loves hearing from readers. They can contact her at [email protected].

  Books by Stella Bagwell

  Harlequin Special Edition

  Men of the West

  The Arizona Lawman

  Her Kind of Doctor

  The Cowboy’s Christmas Lullaby

  His Badge, Her Baby...Their Family?

  Her Rugged Rancher

  Christmas on the Silver Horn Ranch

  Daddy Wore Spurs

  The Lawman’s Noelle

  Wearing the Rancher’s Ring

  One Tall, Dusty Cowboy

  A Daddy for Dillon

  Montana Mavericks: The Great Family Roundup

  The Maverick’s Bride-to-Order

  The Fortunes of Texas: The Secret Fortunes

  Her Sweetest Fortune

  The Fortunes of Texas: All Fortune’s Children

  Fortune’s Perfect Valentine

  Visit the Author Profile page at www.Harlequin.com for more titles.

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  To all my wonderful readers, with much love and many thanks.

  Contents

  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

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Fortune’s Family Secrets by Karen Rose Smith

  Chapter One

  Blake Hollister was fuming when he walked out the front entrance of Yavapai Bank and Trust. So much so that he didn’t see the woman on the sidewalk until he’d barreled directly into her, the force of the collision causing her to stagger backward.

  With lightning-quick reflexes, he grabbed a steadying hold on her upper arm to prevent her from falling to the ground.

  “Oh, pardon me, ma’am. I—”

  “Blake? Blake Hollister, is that you?”

  His hand continuing to grip her upper arm, he stepped back to survey the young woman he’d very nearly knocked off her feet. Shiny black hair, ocean-gray eyes and a soft wide mouth tilted in a tentative smile. Did he know this beautiful lady? She definitely seemed to recognize him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, his face growing warm with embarrassment. It wasn’t like he was acquainted with a long list of women. Particularly one with a tall, curvy figure and a face like a sweet dream. If he’d met this one before, he damn well should’ve remembered the occasion. “Should I know you?”

  The smile on her pink lips deepened. “It’s probably been too long for you to recall,” she told him. “I used to visit Three Rivers Ranch with my mom. She did sewing projects for your mother, Maureen.”

  As he continued to take in her lovely image, recognition struck him. Could this be the raggedy little teenage girl who used to sit on the floor of the front porch and play with the dogs while their mothers discussed items to be sewn or mended?

  “Don’t tell me you’re little Katherine Anderson! I can’t believe it!”

  Her gray eyes sparkled, making her smile even warmer. “That was many years ago. And I wasn’t sure you even knew my name back then. My name is O’Dell now.”

  Katherine Anderson had been several years younger than Blake and traveled in a totally different social circle than he and his family. And although he’d not paid any extra attention to her, he had noticed her from time to time. Mostly because she’d always looked unusually somber for someone so young.

  “I remember,” he told her. “And your mother is Paulette, right?”

  Appreciation flashed in her gray eyes. “That’s right.”

  Recognizing his hand was still clamped around her arm, Blake dropped his hold and forced himself to put a respectable step between the two of them. “Sorry for not recognizing you right off,” he said with a rueful smile. “But you look...all grown-up.”

  She laughed softly. “Believe me, you not recognizing me is a compliment. I’d hate to think I still look like my teenage years.”

>   He smiled at her. “I, uh, I apologize for plowing into you like that. The bank had a little mix-up on some of my accounts and the steam coming out of my ears must have blinded me.”

  “No problem. It was nice running into you again. Even if it was literally,” she added impishly.

  “Nice, yes.”

  “Well, I’ll let you be on your way.” She extended her hand to him. “Perhaps we’ll run into each other again in another twelve years.”

  Blake took her offered hand and was instantly surprised at the trusting way her fingers molded around his. Her grip was strong and warm, a reflection of the woman she’d become.

  “Uh, are you busy right now?” The question blurted past his mouth before he’d realized the words were anywhere near his tongue. “If you’d like, we could walk down the street to Conchita’s and have a cup of coffee.”

  Her eyebrows arched and then she glanced over both shoulders as though to make sure he was actually inviting her, rather than someone who may have been standing behind her.

  “I’m running a few errands this morning,” she explained. “But a few minutes for coffee shouldn’t hurt.”

  A ridiculous little thrill rushed through him. “Great, I have a few minutes, too.”

  Liar, liar. You don’t have a minute to spare. Not with all kinds of work waiting on you back at Three Rivers. What the hell has come over you, Blake? She said her name was O’Dell now. That means she’s married. Or doesn’t that matter to you?

  It didn’t matter if she was married, Blake mentally argued. Buying an old acquaintance a cup of coffee was hardly an indecent gesture.

  He reached for her arm. “Let’s walk on this side of the street until we reach the end of the block.”

  She nodded in agreement. “I was about to suggest the same thing. It’s only the first week of April, but it feels like July. And this side of the street offers a bit of shade from the blistering sun.”

  As they walked along the quiet street of Wickenburg, Arizona, Blake was acutely aware of the soft, sweet scent of her perfume, the way the sun put fiery sparks in her shoulder-length black hair and the graceful sway of her hips.

  “So are you here in town for long?” he asked as they paused at the street corner to check for traffic.

  “I live here now,” she told him. “I moved back almost three years ago.”

  Blake hoped the red he could feel on his face wasn’t that noticeable. “Oh. Mom mentioned something about you moving away. That was several years ago. I wasn’t aware you’d returned. I...don’t get away from the ranch all that much. There’s always so much to do.”

  “I can understand that,” she replied. “I remember Three Rivers always being a very busy place.”

  Busy? That was a mild way to describe his family business, Blake thought. As the general manager of Three Rivers Ranch, he barely had time to draw a good breath. If not for the mix-up at the bank requiring his personal attention this morning, he wouldn’t have been in town at all, much less taking time to have coffee with a woman. But that wasn’t the sort of information he needed to share with Katherine O’Dell.

  They crossed the street, then traveled another half block until they reached Conchita’s coffee shop. The small pink stucco building was shaded by two large mesquite trees and offered customers outdoor seating. As they walked over a group of stepping stones that served as a sidewalk, Blake gestured to one of the tiny round tables situated on the stone patio.

  “Go ahead and take a seat, I’ll get the coffee. What would you like?”

  “Thank you, Blake. Make mine plain coffee with one sugar.”

  He seated her at one of the wrought-iron tables and entered the coffee shop through a wooden screen door. As usual, Emily-Ann Smith was behind the counter. In one corner of the small room, a radio was playing an old standard, while a table fan stirred the scents of fresh-baked pastries displayed in neat rows inside a large glass case.

  The instant Emily-Ann spotted Blake, a wide smile came over her face. “Well, Blake Hollister! Should I be worried the roof is going to crash in? It’s been ages since you’ve been in for coffee.”

  The quirky young woman with long auburn hair was a childhood friend of Blake’s youngest sister, Camille. “Hello, Emily-Ann. How are things going for you?”

  She shrugged one shoulder. “Boring without Camille around. Is she ever going to come back home?”

  “Hard to say. I think she likes living down on Red Bluff.”

  “Living. Hmm. You might call it that. Hiding is the way I’d put it,” she muttered, then shook her head. “Sorry, Blake. I shouldn’t have said that. What would you like this morning? I’ve sold at least fifty lattes since I opened at six. Want to try one?”

  “No, thanks. Just two plain coffees.” He placed the correct amount of bills on the counter plus a tidy tip. “One with cream. The other with one sugar.”

  “Two coffees? You must be needing extra caffeine today,” she said as she turned to make his order. “Guess running a ranch like Three Rivers takes a lot of energy.”

  Energy? No, it took working every waking moment, along with his very heart and soul, to make sure the one-hundred-and-seventy-year-old ranch not only remained solvent, but also kept improving. It was a task that had consumed his life for the past five years and the main reason he was still single at the age of thirty-eight.

  “I have a guest with me,” he explained. “She’s waiting out at one of the tables.”

  Emily-Ann peered past his shoulder to the small square of window overlooking the coffee shop’s patio.

  “Oh! That’s Katherine!” She quickly made a shooing gesture toward the door. “You go on outside and I’ll bring the coffees to your table. Anything else? The brownies are still warm.”

  Blake pulled more bills from his wallet. “Okay, Emily-Ann. You’re a good saleslady. Two brownies. If Katherine doesn’t want it, I’ll take it home to my niece.”

  “Coming right up,” she cheerfully replied.

  He left the building and joined Katherine at the tiny table. “The coffee is coming right out,” he informed her. “Along with a couple of brownies. So I hope you’re hungry.”

  A wide smile spread her lips and Blake was struck all over again by the warmth of her expression.

  “Does anyone have to be hungry to eat a brownie?” she asked, then glanced toward the small building. “I wasn’t aware that Emily-Ann served customers outside. She must consider you very special.”

  He let out a short laugh. “Not really. I’ve known her since she was just a little kid. She and my youngest sister, Camille, went through twelve grades of school together. They’re still good friends.”

  “I see. I remember Camille. She was a year or so younger than me, I think. And you had another sister, too. Vivian, right?”

  She apparently remembered far more about his family than he did about hers. But that wasn’t unusual. The Hollisters had lived in Yavapai County for over a century and a half. The folks who didn’t know them personally were at least familiar with the name.

  “That’s right.”

  “So how are your sisters? And the rest of your family?” she asked.

  She was wearing a white skirt that hugged her hips and legs, with a pale blue sleeveless blouse. Every now and then the desert breeze caused the thin fabric to flutter against the thrust of her breasts, giving him a vague glimpse of some sort of lacy garment beneath. Blake couldn’t remember the last time he’d noticed a woman’s clothing or the way she smelled. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d wanted to take a few minutes out of his day to talk to one. Yet being here with Katherine was causing everything inside him to buzz with excitement.

  “They’re fine. All the family is fine,” he said, then, forcing himself, added, “Except for Dad. He died five years ago.”

  A somber expression stole over her face. “Yes, my father men
tioned to me that Joel Hollister had died. Something about a horse accident, is that right?”

  Blake nodded stiffly. “Yes. There was a horse involved, but we’re not sure how it happened.”

  At that moment Emily-Ann emerged from the coffee shop carrying their orders. She smiled coyly at Katherine as she placed the coffees and brownies on the table.

  “Hi, Katherine. You’re keeping some bad company this morning, aren’t you?” she teased, her gaze rolling to Blake.

  “Blake was kind enough to invite me for coffee,” she told Emily-Ann. “We’ve not seen each other in years.”

  Emily-Ann chuckled. “That’s not surprising. Blake treats us townsfolk like we have the plague. He only comes around in a blue moon. You two enjoy your coffee.”

  With a swirl of her long skirt, Emily-Ann turned and walked back into the building. Across the table, Katherine cast him an awkward smile. “She likes to tease.”

  “It wouldn’t be Emily-Ann if she wasn’t joking about something,” he said. “Which is easier than talking about herself, I suppose. She’s not had an easy life.”

  Tilting her head, she gently stirred her coffee. “Most of us haven’t.”

  The wistful note in her voice caused question after question to swirl through Blake’s thoughts. The most important one being whether she was married or attached to a special man.

  He took a cautious sip from his coffee. “So what brought you back to Wickenburg?” he asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

  “My father. He suffered a stroke and wasn’t mobile enough to care for himself. My brother, Aaron, wouldn’t offer to help and Mom didn’t really care what happened to Dad. You see, she divorced him when I was eighteen—right after I’d graduated high school. That’s when she moved me and Aaron to San Diego. She’s still living there near her sister.”

  So Katherine had been positioned between bitter parents, he thought ruefully. Although Blake and his siblings had lost their father, they’d been spared that kind of misery. “So you decided to shoulder the responsibility of helping your father,” he mused aloud. “How is he doing now?”