Home to Wyoming (Daddy Dude Ranch, 2, Band 1467) - Softcover

Buch 2 von 3: Daddy Dude Ranch

Winters, Rebecca

 
9780373754717: Home to Wyoming (Daddy Dude Ranch, 2, Band 1467)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 037375471X ISBN 13: 9780373754717
Verlag: Harlequin American Romance, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

It's Never Too Late 

Wounded in love and war, ex-marine Buck Summerhayes wants to put the past behind him. He finds peace working at the Teton Valley Dude Ranch, a special place for families of fallen soldiers. Maybe one day, he'll have a family of his own—right now he can't afford to indulge in dreams.  

Alexis Wilson is no dream. Tasked with overseeing Alex and her young ward during their visit to the ranch, Buck finds himself falling for both the woman and the little girl. Like Buck, Alex has had more than her share of heartache. But maybe between them, they can build a future that's still full of possibilities.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Rebecca Winters lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. With canyons and high alpine meadows full of wildflowers, she never runs out of places to explore. They, plus her favourite vacation spots in Europe, often end up as backgrounds for her romance novels because writing is her passion, along with her family and church. Rebecca loves to hear from readers. If you wish to e-mail her, please visit her website at: www.cleanromances.net.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

The station wagon pulled up to the curb in front of the airport in Colorado Springs. "Son, won't you please consider coming back home? I mean…for good."

He knew what she meant. Buck Summerhayes stared into his mother's pleading eyes before releasing the seat belt. They'd been through this half a dozen times since last March when he'd been given a medical discharge from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The military had flown him home, where his family had been waiting to welcome him.

"You know I can't do that, Mom," he said, breaking into a cough. "I've made a commitment to Carson and Ross. I only flew here for a three-day break. Now I have to get back to Wyoming. Another family of a fallen soldier from California will be arriving in Jackson this evening. The guys and I take turns. This family will be my main responsibility for the next week, so I have to be there to pick them up."

"I realize that, but you have no idea how much we all miss you. Your father and brothers could use you in the business. At his last physical, the doctor told Dad he needed to slow down."

"Is it anything serious?" Buck asked in alarm.

"No, darling. He's just getting older, and all I'm saying is that Summerhayes Construction could use your help." Her face took on a sad expression. "Is it possible you're still staying away because of Melanie?"

A mother wasn't a mother for nothing. There was no point in avoiding the subject of Melanie Marsden, his high school girlfriend and the woman he'd hoped to marry after college.

But after his oldest brother, Pete, told him she and his brother Sam had fallen in love while Buck had been away at school and that they were afraid to tell him, he wished them all the best. After their wedding, he'd joined the marines and it would have become his lifelong career if he hadn't been diagnosed with acute dyspnea.

He frowned. "That might have been the case twelve years ago, but the war changed my life. When you see your buddies blown up in front of your face, it changes the way you think about things. I got over it a long time ago. Don't you remember? When I was first sent overseas, I wrote them a letter telling them how happy I was for them?"

"Yes, of course. They told me what you did after you were deployed and it meant the world to them, but I was just afraid that because you haven't met a woman to settle down with—"

"You thought I was still pining for her?" He cut her off. Incredulous, he said, "Mom—put your fears away. That's in the long-forgotten past. There've been many women since then and there will be many more to come. Jackson Hole is a mecca for Western goddesses decked out in cowboy hats and spurs."

His comment caused her to laugh. "If you want to know the truth, I love what I'm doing now. I need it."

She patted his cheek. "I believe you."

"I'm glad you do, because you don't know what survivor's guilt is like. When I was in the hospital, it tore me apart to think that some of our buddies didn't make it home to their wives and children. My friends and I decided the only way to get over it was to find a way to help people. Carson came up with the idea of turning his ranch into a dude ranch to give some of the victims' families a vacation. It struck a chord with Ross and me."

"It's a very noble idea, but what about your health?"

"We all see the doctor regularly. It could've been a lot worse. We like to think of it as our mark of bravery for breathing all that nasty stuff over in Afghanistan."

She leaned across and gave him a big hug and a kiss. "I love you, honey." Her voice was filled with tears.

Emotion swamped him as he reciprocated. "I love you, too. Stop worrying so much. I'll see you in six weeks."

He was saying that now, but he couldn't guarantee it. Their dude-ranch business for regular tourists was growing faster than they'd anticipated. As for their first experiment entertaining a war widow and her son, it had gone so well that Carson had just married Tracy Baretta, and her six-year-old son Johnny was the cutest little kid Buck had ever seen.

It seemed unbelievable that she'd flown out from Ohio at the beginning of June and now they were man and wife and raising a child together. It was only the third week of July. Johnny would be celebrating his seventh birthday next Thursday night. Carson and Tracy were in the middle of planning a big party for him.

In truth, Buck was envious of Carson. Bachelorhood was all right until the right woman came along, but Buck could see how fulfilling it would be to be a father and he felt that yearning growing stronger. Johnny had gotten to Buck in a big way.

Buck smiled when he thought about Carson. The second he'd laid eyes on Tracy, the ultimate bachelor cowboy was a goner. He couldn't be happier for his friend, but his nuptials had cut their numbers to an overall bachelor status of two.

After getting out of the car, he reached for his duffel bag on the backseat. "Drive safely, Mom. You're the only mother I've got. And please, don't worry. One day the right woman will come along and I'll get married and give you grandchildren."

"Oh, you." She chuckled. "Take care, my brave boy."

He was still her boy instead of a thirty-five-year-old vet with an annoying disease. As for brave, there were degrees of bravery. Like the heroism of one of their buddies who volunteered to be a target to save half a dozen of their platoon. He'd saved Buck's life. Now, that was brave.

Buck shook his head after watching his mother pull away, and then he hurried inside to make his afternoon flight to Jackson via Denver.

His forty-minute trip went smoothly, but after changing planes for the second leg, the pilot made an announcement. Bad weather and high winds over Wyoming meant their flight had to be diverted to Salt Lake.

Terrific.

Once he arrived at Salt Lake International to check his bag, he phoned Carson and Ross, but got voice mail for both and had to leave messages. Frustrated, he called the front desk at the ranch and was able to reach Willy and tell him about the delay. The part-time apprentice mechanic who alternated shifts with Susan and Patty told him not to worry. Alexis and Jenny Forrester—the mother and daughter he was supposed to meet—would probably be late, too. But no matter when they arrived, someone on staff would pick them up. Buck was to give them a call whenever he touched down.

Rather than sit it out in the passenger waiting area, he found a Starbucks on the lower level and grabbed a sandwich and coffee and a copy of The Salt Lake Tribune. The place was packed with tourists. A lot of flights had been delayed. After he'd eaten, he went back upstairs and walked behind the last row of lounge seats until he came to the end where he found a free one. In the next chair was a blonde girl, maybe six or seven years old, curled up asleep next to her mother.

After sitting, he opened his newspaper to the business section. Unlike many other states, Utah was experiencing some growth of new housing in an otherwise depressed economy. He hoped things would pick up in Colorado, but it probably wouldn't happen for some time.

Beside him, Buck could hear the mother talking to someone on her cell phone. "I know a week seems like a long time, but it's something I feel I had to do for a lot of reasons…. You know why…. Please try to understand, Frank…. Love you,...

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Verlag
Harlequin American Romance
Erscheinungsdatum
2013
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
037375471X
ISBN 13 
9780373754717
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
224
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
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