Page 9 of The Rancher's Heart

“Of course, you won’t be completely alone. But there’s a difference between hanging out with Blake’s and Nathan’s families and having a wife and kids of your own to go home to every night.” She wished she could make him understand. She stopped trying. “I’ve got to get going.”

“Wait. I’ll drive you to the garage.”

With a sense that she’d finally taken charge of her future, Sloane looked over her shoulder. “Not necessary, my friend. I’d rather walk. It’ll give me a chance to plan my next dating adventure.” Which would not be Jonas.

Chapter Three

Iwant somethingyou’re not willing to give.

Jonas couldn’t get Sloane’s words out of his mind.Someday, you may regret growing old alone.

She had his intentions all wrong. He should have told her, but he wasn’t sure he understood himself. Except there had been tension between his parents before his dad passed, and he couldn’t forget how sad and lonely his mom was when his dad was gone. He should have been able to forget, but he couldn’t. He wasn’t planning to grow old alone, but for now and for the foreseeable future, not getting involved in a romantic relationship suited him. And hoping to make sense of what had happened between them, he was focused on what he could do for the ranch, which included searching the attic, which was filled with old furniture and boxes of the things they’d left behind.

It was quiet, almost too silent. Sunlight filtered through the windows on either side of the room. Specs of dust floated in the air.

He didn’t know what he was looking for, only that Nathan had surprised him when he’d mentioned Duke’s Pride. It was a long time ago, but he remembered their dad had a stud with that name. And if he was correct, the horse was sold, along with one hundred acres of the ranch, just before his dad’s death.

At the time, he’d thought it strange because Duke’s Pride and the land were the center of his father’s Colorado Ranger breeding program. He didn’t have many conversations with his dad about it after he started college. All he had on his mind back then was passing his classes so he could get his law degree. He loved his home, but he never questioned what his dad did with the ranch. He had his own life to get started.

Slowly he made his way through the boxes and furniture that was all that was left of his parents’ lives, except, of course, the Triple L, which he and his brothers were doing their darndest to save.

Sloane thought he was a man who had nothing more to look forward to than a cane and no one to make him happy in his old age. That wasn’t true. A thriving ranch was what he was looking forward to.

Someday he might change his mind about his bachelor status, but not soon. The last thing he wanted to do was leave the woman who held his heart in the palms of her hands behind to suffer the profound loneliness that filled his mom’s last two years. Could history repeat itself? He didn’t know but didn’t want to take the chance.

Jonas didn’t like how he’d been reduced to questioning his future, but he was man enough to admit that maybe, on occasion, he’d taken advantage of his best friend’s sweet generosity. She’d always been there for him when he needed someone to have his back.Hewas the one who had stepped away when his feelings for her threatened to morph into something more. Especially after his mom died.

It shouldn’t make him crazy that Sloane was using a dating app to find the love of her life. But it did.

His heart rate bounced in alarm. He respected that she didn’t want to remain single forever. Most people wanted to grow old with someone. He hadn’t given it much thought, but Sloane had, and now that she had painted that picture for him, he was beginning to think he should too.

Tired of his thoughts getting stuck in a Friday-the-thirteenth loop, Jonas texted his brothers to come for a family meeting. They couldn’t wait any longer to figure out what to do about Duke’s papers.

While he waited for them to show up, he went down to the front pasture to check on the ladies he’d added to Nathan’s small herd. He leaned on the fence. Rosie, Grace, Angel, and Bella were in the front pasture. Duke had his own paddock.

Bella’s foal’s pedigree papers were locked up at his law office in town. The sire was a registered Rangerbred. If they were lucky, they would be adding a filly to the herd in March.

The thing he could do to help the ranch recover was restart their dad’s breeding program. The results wouldn’t be as immediate as Blake’s and Nathan’s efforts, unless he could get Duke registered with the Colorado Ranger Horse Association. The time it would take to get through the paperwork, offset with what he could donate from his law practice, and including his brothers’ contributions, they should turn the ranch around. Once that was done, they would have no problem paying off the existing loan and then setting up a fund to cushion any future setbacks. Nathan came from the barn and leaned on the fence beside Jonas. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they? I can see why Dad fell in love with the breed.”

Hoping to unravel the missing papers mystery, Jonas asked, “Why didn’t you follow in his footsteps and revive his breeding program?”

Before Nathan could answer, Blake pulled up and parked in front of the barn.

Nathan shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “We can discuss it in the house. I have cold drinks in the fridge.”

“All right.” Jonas would agree to anything to get his usually prickly brother to start talking.

“What’s going on?” Blake asked as he joined them. “Jonas texted we have to talk?”

“We have some things to decide,” Jonas said briskly, turning toward the house. The brothers walked shoulder to shoulder with Blake in the middle. Nathan didn’t say anything. Yet. Jonas asked Blake, “Do you remember Dad’s stud, Duke’s Pride?”

“Barely. I had girls on my mind back then.” Blake took the porch steps two at a time.

Just as Sloane drove through the gate and parked in front of the guesthouse, Jonas followed them into the main house.

“What’s up with Sloane?” he interrogated his brothers.

Nathan carried three bottles of cola to the table. “She’s doing a girl thing with Izzy. Drying flowers from the garden, I think.”

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