Worth the Wait (Last Hope Ranch Book 2) Read online

  She needed to find her notebook. Julie ducked her head and searched the shelves beneath the counter, hoping to avoid conversation.

  “Hey, Julie. Would you mind handing me the coffeepot?” Dalton’s request brought her upright. “I don’t see Betty around at the moment.”

  She found herself caught in the steady green-eyed gaze of the stranger. She forced herself to look at Dalton, instead. “Sure.” Julie picked up the pot and focused on Dalton’s cup.

  “Heard Hank had to fly out. When’s he due back?” Dalton asked.

  Julie heard Dalton talking, but she’d made the mistake of glancing up and catching the smile of the guy next to him.

  “That’s good, thanks,” Dalton said. “Whoa, that’s enough.” Dalton pulled his cup away before it spilled over the sides.

  Hank. Hank loved her. Hank had given her a ring. Told her to hold that thought—just this morning.

  “Next week sometime, isn’t it?” Betty sidled up beside her and gingerly removed the hot coffeepot from her grasp.

  “Uh…Tuesday, I think. I can’t seem to remember at the moment,” she said with an uneasy laugh.

  Dalton eyed her, then glanced over his shoulder. The two women caught at the window gasped and hurried away. Other females in the room went back to eating.

  Dalton seemed to realize suddenly what was happening. He tipped his head toward Julie. “Julie Williams, this is Hunter McCoy. Hunter, Julie.”

  Hunter reached across the counter to shake Julie’s hand, and she noticed Dalton turn his head to hide his grin.

  “Oh, Julie here is just recently engaged to one of my good friends, Hank Richardson.” Dalton offered a smile and a raised brow.

  Really? She smiled then at Hunter. “But we haven’t set a date yet,” she said, holding a firm grasp on her independence. She felt her cheeks heat from the betrayal of emotions warring inside her.

  Hey, the guy could be Chris Hemsworth’s twin brother—what’s a girl to do?

  Betty leaned in beside Julie and lowered her voice as she spoke directly to Hunter. “Son,” she said with a smile, “you’d best get used to being checked out by the women in this town—single or otherwise.” She elbowed Julie playfully. “It’s not often we get someone who looks like…oh, who is that guy from the comic book movies?”

  “Thor,” Dalton, Julie, and Hunter said at the same time.

  Julie looked at the stranger and he flashed her a charming grin. He wore a faded olive-drab shirt stretched tightly over a broad chest that left little to imagine of the chiseled muscle beneath. His dirty blond hair, streaked by the sun, hung past his shoulders, and his blue-green eyes seemed aware of everything around him.

  “I get that a lot, sans the accent, of course,” he said. Hunter offered Betty a bashful grin, making him all the more adorable. His voice was pleasant, smooth like the breeze on a summer’s evening. “I just finished portraying Wild Bill Hickok down in Deadwood this summer. Filled in for a buddy of mine. Since I got back stateside, I haven’t given much thought to cutting my hair. I guess it worked for Wild Bill—why not me?” He glanced at Dalton. “Hey, but I am really glad this guy came along when he did. Wasn’t sure how far I was going to have to walk to find a town.” He offered Betty a white, even grin. “But I’d sure walk a mile to eat a breakfast like this again, Betty,” he said, dropping Julie’s hand to pick up Betty’s.

  Julie had never seen Betty blush, but this man brought pink to her friend’s cheeks.

  “Need that coffee warmed up?” Betty asked, holding up the coffeepot over Hunter’s cup.

  “Thank you, ma’am. I’d appreciate that.” He held out his cup. “I had some business in Billings and was on my way here, actually, when my old truck broke down. This guy”—he slapped Dalton’s shoulder—“was kind enough to pick me up and get me a tow.”

  “Nan’s got to order in the parts for that classic truck,” Dalton said, and turned back to Julie. “I thought maybe he could stay down at the cabins until his truck is repaired. You don’t happen to know if anything is currently open?” Dalton asked.

  “Things are pretty full right now, except…” She hesitated with what she was about to offer. Then again, Hank spent more time in her cabin than he did his, so perhaps he wouldn’t mind. Besides, odds were that his truck would be repaired and Hunter on his way before Hank returned, anyway.

  “You could bunk at Hank’s cabin for a couple of days. At least, until another cabin opens.” Julie admonished the odd flutters in her stomach, chalking it up to scattered emotions.

  Dalton hesitated, then held his cup out for Betty to refill. “You’re sure Hank wouldn’t mind?”

  She started to explain, but chose to keep their intimate lives private. “I can’t see that he’d mind. ‘Course, you’ll need fresh linens. There’s another set at the cabin, I’m sure.” She went back to searching for her wayward notebook, determined to avoid any more interactions with this man than was absolutely necessary. “But you should probably give Wyatt a call and let him know about the arrangements.”

  “Of course,” Hunter said. “I’ll want to pay for my stay.”

  “Okay, then,” Dalton said. “I’ll give Wyatt a call and take you on down to the ranch.” He looked past Hunter at two women who he’d noticed had been lingering at the register for several minutes. “You gave Nan your cell number, right?”

  Hunter nodded and slid off the barstool.

  “Probably should get you outta here,” Dalton said, smirking, “before you create a mob scene.”

  “Thank you for your hospitality, Julie” Hunter said.

  “Yes, indeed,” Betty muttered quietly as she walked behind Julie.

  Jarred by Betty’s comment, Julie smiled. “You’re welcome, Mr. McCoy. Excuse me”—she spotted the notebook under a pile of folded towels—"but I need to get back to work.”

  “It was nice to meet you,” he said, the smooth-as-whiskey tone of his voice causing gooseflesh to rise on her arms.

  She turned and offered a smile and a nod.

  Her eyes widened when he offered a quick wink. Confused, she shook off what her mind fleetingly perceived as flirtatious behavior. She admonished herself mentally. She knew nothing at all about this man—his backstory, if he had a wife and kids. Though she’d happened to notice he wasn’t wearing a ring.

  But she was. What kind of newly engaged woman would notice such a thing? She ducked her head and hurried to the back room.

  Julie felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and, seeing it was Hank, looked for a bit of privacy to take the call. “Taking this outside in the alley,” she told Jerry, who was flipping pancakes on the griddle.

  “Hey, you,” she said, walking out the back door, “tell me again, when you’re coming home?” She parked herself on the low concrete wall against the landscaped hill leading up to the newly added outdoor patio. It had been designed and built by Rein and Liberty Mackenzie as a gift to Betty and Jerry on the diner’s twenty-fifth anniversary.

  With the launch of MacKenzie’s online decorating and custom furniture business, End of the Line had been catapulted into a vibrant tourist destination in recent months. And with Frontier Days coming up in a few weeks, the area hotels, cabins, bed-and-breakfasts, and even the campground had been booked in full in anticipation of the town’s events.

  “Well, that’s nice to hear,” Hank said. “I miss you, too. You still holding on to that thought?”

  “I am,” Julie said, though admittedly with a small amount of confusion and guilt rattling around inside. “I have been. It’s been quite a week already. Sending Kyle off, Frontier Days looming on the horizon, my accounting work, plus I’ve been trying to help out more with the cabins, given Aimee’s condition. She’s not due for another month, but she seems to be having a tougher time with keeping up her energy level.” Somewhere in the back of her mind, Julie realized she was rambling. “Rebecca has been helping, and the kids, too, when Michael doesn’t need them.”

  “Whew. Wow, honey, take a breath,�
� Hank said. “Everything will work out. One day at a time, okay?”

  “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry to ramble like that. It’s just that you know how I get when I commit to something.” The minute the words were out she regretted them. It seemed, and rightly so, that she was committed to everyone and everything around her, with the exception of the wedding date. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply—”

  “No worries, honey. I understand.” His tender tone calmed her. She needed to speak with him about Hunter staying at his place.

  Voices up the hill caught her attention and she turned to find her gaze locked with the new stranger in town—the man she’d given permission to sleep in Hank’s bed.

  She leapt to her feet and hurried inside. Seeing the restroom door open, she hurried inside, turned on the light, and shut the door. “Sorry, too much noise outside.”

  “No problem. Same here. Listen, honey, I wanted to talk with you about something.”

  “I need to talk with you, too,” she said, leaning against the small vanity. “You go ahead.”

  “Okay. These guys have made an offer to pay me double to fly them out to San Diego for a few extra days. It’s good money, but I wanted to get your thoughts. If the timing is bad, I can tell them no.”

  Julie turned and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Come home. Given her treacherous thoughts in the past few moments, she found it difficult to speak.

  “You still there?” he asked. “Listen, I can tell them no in a heartbeat. I can be home day after tomorrow.”

  “No,” she interjected with more force than necessary. “You’re right. The money will go a long way to help with the wedding.” She pushed a hand through her hair. She wasn’t sure if he’d even told his parents yet. He’d taken her and the boys to Chicago for Christmas last year and the weekend hadn’t proved to be the best. She’d gotten the impression that she and her boys weren’t what they had in mind for their only son. Not that there was any hurry, since no date had been set. “I’ve got so much going on anyway. No, you go on ahead and stay.”

  There was a brief silence.

  “You’re sure?” he asked.

  She heard the odd uncertainty in his voice and it twisted her insides. “Absolutely.” Not at all. But I have to find out.

  “Okay, then, if you’re sure. It really is pretty amazing what they’re offering,” he said. “Now, what’d you need to tell me?”

  Julie opened her mouth to answer and someone pounded on the door. “I just…miss you.” That much was true. It was easy when he was around. He took care of her, gave her everything she wanted. But was that enough? Enough to last a lifetime?

  “It won’t be long and when I get back, I’ll do whatever you need me to do to help, okay?”

  She knew he’d cut off his right arm to be there if she told him she needed him. The choice was hers. She could tell him to come home and she wouldn’t have to face whatever this unexpected attraction was with this stranger in town, or she could deal with it alone and confirm it once and for all—her love for Hank, body and soul. “You’re so good to me,” she said, turning away from the mirror so she wouldn’t have to look into her own eyes.

  “You know I love being there for you,” Hank said.

  “Hank, wait.” Julie opened her mouth to explain about Hunter staying at his place. But she knew he’d change his plans and fly home, and so she decided against it. She would handle this, and in so doing prove to herself that what she felt for Hank was the real McCoy.

  She cringed at the analogy. “Be safe. I’ll see you in a few days.”

  “Yes, and when I get home, we’re going to take a day or two and I’ll show you how much I missed you.”

  Julie had no doubt he would, and the thought both warmed and confused her at the same time. The only man she’d dated since her divorce was Hank. Finding another man attractive wasn’t a sin, but doing something about it…she would risk losing everything. “Hank, I—”

  “Hank. Come on over here,” a voice called in the background.

  “Honey, I’ve got to go, Alistair wants me to meet someone,” Hank said. “I love you.”

  Perhaps she’d just text him later. Julie shook her head. Nothing was going to happen. She was almost certain of it. “Okay, I—” the words caught in her throat. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

  There was a brief pause and the line disconnected.

  Chapter Four

  Hank sat in his condo overlooking the golf course. He envisioned bringing Julie and the boys to the posh resort. Though he wasn’t into golf that much, he was able to fantasize about lounging by the pool with Julie, followed by a couple’s massage. He’d take them all on a family excursion to Rawhide where they’d eat from a chuckwagon and dance to music under the stars. He glanced at his phone and thought of calling Julie, but after their last conversation decided to give her some space. She’d sounded overwhelmed. Not surprising given her accounting work for both the diner and the bakery, chairing the committees for the Frontier Days celebration, and helping out now and then with her twin nieces to give Clay and Sally time to breathe. It was no great wonder that she didn’t want to set a wedding date. If there was one thing he knew well about Julie, it was her fierce dedication to whatever she made a commitment to. That should probably be enough to ease his concerns, given she’d said that she wanted to marry him…eventually. Instead, it left a niggling seed of doubt in his mind. She trusted him with certain things, such as asking if he’d call Kyle in a couple of days to see how he was doing. She hadn’t wanted her son to feel like she was being overprotective. Hank had agreed, appreciating that at least she seemed to entrust him with her sons.

  Kyle had sounded oddly relieved to hear Hank’s voice. “Hey, Hank. Thanks for calling.”

  “Hey, buddy. Thought I’d give you a quick call and see how things are going.” He remembered when Kyle had first arrived at the ranch. Sullen, quiet, he lashed out at his mom, at Hank, at nearly anyone who tried to be kind to him. His experience at school that first year had been on shaky ground, as well. There’d been several visits to the principal’s office to discuss Kyle’s aggressive behavior until a young teacher, a recent transplant from Georgia, came to the middle school to speak about sports and how disciplined and focused you needed to be. That, and spending many hours with his Uncle Clay, had done much to help the boy see beyond his anger.

  But, as was stated in the settlement, once every three months Julie was bound to take the boys to see their father in a supervised prison visit. Hank would fly them out and wait outside the room during those visits, but each time Kyle would backslide into his anger afterward. Seeing a flyer in town one day, Hank had suggested Julie enroll the boys in the local Scout troop, just so they could meet other kids their age. Kyle had taken to the challenges naturally, taking an interest in the technological aspects, and Chris found his interests in being outdoors, specifically around the horses and his good friend, Emilee Kinnison.

  “Yeah, we just arrived at the main campground yesterday. It’s pretty cool. We got to stop and see some neat stuff like Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore.”

  Hank listened, patient in letting the boy give an account for what seemed like every mile of the bus trip. “Wow, sounds like you’ve had quite a time and you’ve only just gotten to the adventure camp. It sounds like you’re having some amazing experiences. I bet your mom would like to know you’re having such a great time.”

  “Yeah,” he said, sounding evasive. “Maybe you could tell her when you talk to her?” Kyle hurried to add, “I’m not sure how good my signal is out here.”

  “Or maybe you could call her now, knowing you have a signal?” Hank suggested.

  “Yeah,” Kyle lowered his voice. “The thing is, nobody else has called their parents, you know?”

  Hank realized then that Kyle was one of the younger Scouts on the trip and was probably trying to be like the older guys. He heard loud voices and laughter in the background.

  “Hey, Hank, I gotta go, okay
?”

  “Sure thing, buddy. Have fun. Stay—” The line disconnected. “Safe.”

  That had been a day or so ago and he’d let Julie know Kyle was doing fine and why he hadn’t called.

  “One of those guy things, right?” she’d asked.

  “Exactly,” Hank had assured her.

  “Thanks, babe, I appreciate you,” she’d told him. It wasn’t “I love you,” but he’d take it.

  Hank’s cell phone rang, jarring him from his thoughts. It was Rein MacKenzie.

  “Hey, Rein. What’s going on?” Hank asked, pleased to detour his mind from going down a dark path of concern about his fiancée.

  “Not too bad. Liberty’s almost finished with the nursery. Aimee’s in great health. Plans for Frontier Days are clicking along thanks to Julie’s organizational skills. The woman’s a dynamo,” Rein said.

  “That she is,” Hank agreed.

  “Listen, I’m helping Justin with the rodeo. You remember we talked about it a bit the other night at dinner? That’s one of the reasons I’m calling.”

  “Sure, what do you need?” Hank asked.

  “I wanted to ask if you’d like to be one of our rodeo sponsors—that is, your charter flight business,” Rein continued. “We’ve got Dusty’s Bar and Grill on board and Wyatt’s putting up an ad for the Last Hope Ranch cabin rentals and the Equine Rescue Stables. I’ve just started gathering our sponsorships, but I have a feeling it’s not going to be hard to do. We have twenty-five slots at five-hundred a piece and you get a professional banner with your name and logo that we’ll tie on the fence around the perimeter of the arena. What do you say?”

  Hank chuckled. “A banner? Heck, who can say no to that. Sign me up.”

  “Great, I appreciate your support,” Rein said.

  “How are the preparations coming? I’ve been curious how Justin plans to pull this together,” Hank asked, wishing he was there to roll up his sleeves and help out.