Home on the Ranch--Tennessee Homecoming Read online

  For the kids’ sake...

  After the sudden death of his best friends, Landon Eason is the obvious choice to become guardian to their three kids. So he’s shocked when the kids’ aunt, Katie Richards, is named primary guardian—she’s practically a stranger to them! It’s best for everyone if Katie relinquishes custody and heads back to California.

  Yet as Katie struggles to bond with the kids, Landon takes pity on her and invites Katie to stay with them at his ranch. Impulsive and headstrong, Katie hasn’t changed since high school—and she’s exactly what they all need, Landon included. He’s let Katie into his home and his heart, but can Landon convince her that she and the kids belong in Elk Valley, Tennessee, with him?

  “I don’t think I can do this.”

  He stared at her mouth, wanting to part her lips with his. To taste her again. “Do what?”

  “Be a good aunt or a good mom.” Her chin trembled. “Matthew’s right. I don’t know the first thing about him, Emma or Sophia. I don’t have a clue how to reach them.”

  This was his chance. The moment he’d been hoping for when he’d invited her to stay with them, and it had come much sooner than he’d expected. All he had to do was agree, reassure her the kids were better off with him, then she’d leave next week.

  But that would also leave the kids with one less dependable adult in their lives. Another loss of someone who loved them.

  Landon wished he could remain silent, watch Katie fail at being a good parent and not feel guilty. Only, it wasn’t about what he wanted—it was about Matthew, Emma and Sophia.

  “Instead of using your head,” he whispered, “use your heart.”

  Dear Reader,

  At some point during our childhood, we’re asked: What do you want to be when you grow up? Some people know exactly what they want out of life and have a bold, confident answer to that question.

  Katie Richards isn’t one of those people.

  Coming home has never been easy for Katie. She’s always stood out in the small mountain town of Elk Valley—and not in a good way. She’s headstrong, impulsive and unsure of what she wants out of life. And she’s just lost the person she loves most in the world: her sister.

  Landon Eason knows exactly who he is: mature, responsible and the kind of man you can count on for anything. Which is why it’s no surprise to him that his childhood friend, Katie’s sister, named him guardian of her three children. Only, he hadn’t counted on Katie being designated as primary guardian, and he’s terrified of losing three children he’s grown to love as his own.

  In Tennessee Homecoming, Katie discovers what she really wants out of life and Landon is left with a difficult decision to make. Because helping Katie find happiness may cost him his own.

  As always, thank you for reading.

  April

  Home on the Ranch:

  Tennessee Homecoming

  April Arrington

  April Arrington grew up in a small Southern town and developed a love for movies and books at an early age. Emotionally moving stories have always held a special place in her heart. April enjoys collecting pottery and soaking up the Georgia sun on her front porch.

  Books by April Arrington

  Home on the Ranch: Tennessee Bull Rider

  Harlequin Western Romance

  Elk Valley, Tennessee

  A Home with the Rancher

  Men of Raintree Ranch

  Twins for the Bull Rider

  The Rancher’s Wife

  The Bull Rider’s Cowgirl

  The Rancher’s Miracle Baby

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

  Dedicated to Johanna Raisanen. The best teachers have a skilled eye, great advice and a good sense of humor. I’ve learned so much from you. Thank you for being such an awesome editor and helping me grow as a writer!

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Excerpt from Home to Blue Stallion Ranch by Stella Bagwell

  Chapter 1

  Landon Eason always found a sound, logical answer to every question, but this particularly painful answer eluded him.

  “Why?” A shaky feminine voice pitched higher at his back. “Why leave them to her? Why not me? I’m their grandm—”

  A choked sob then silence followed.

  Landon stared out the bay window of Patricia Richards’s stately home, a burning sensation heating his chest and pricking his eyes. Blinking hard, he focused on the two children sitting outside on the wide porch swing. Matthew, ten, stared down at his dark dress shoes as they dragged across the floor with each slow movement of the swing. His five-year-old sister, Emma, leaned against him, tears rolling down her cheeks, soaking the lacy collar of her black dress.

  Any other day the two of them would be tearing across the sprawling green fields, splashing in nearby mountain streams and soaking up the Tennessee sun. It was a perfect day in Elk Valley for play—warm air, blue sky, strong budding trees to climb—but Matthew and Emma weren’t interested.

  They had good reason not to be.

  “I’m their grandmother,” Patricia continued firmly. “I was the one who held Jennifer’s hand each time she gave birth. I was the first one to see them, to hear them cry. And you’ve always been there for Frank and these kids, Landon—always. How could they do it? How could they name you second to Katie? How could they just cut us out of their lives and hand them over to her?”

  How? Throat tight, Landon gentled his grip on the small bundle in his arms and faced Patricia. Hell, he didn’t know how Frank and Jennifer had made the decision regarding guardianship of their three children. Or why. All he knew was the wrinkled papers trembling in Patricia’s clenched fist had the power to take away three kids he’d grown to love as his own over the years, their cute faces and familiar voices the only tangible reminders left of his two best friends.

  “I can count on one hand the number of occasions Katie has spent time with them,” Patricia continued, “and she doesn’t know the first thing about being a parent. Not to mention she never follows through with anything. She left here to pursue a singing career but pitched that after less than a year to take up bartending. Then it was landscaping, and now she’s in marketing—for however long that will last. She’s not dependable enough to be trusted with children.” Mascara streaked her powdered cheeks. Patricia shook her head, a gray curl slipping from her elegant topknot as she looked toward Emma and Matthew. “She’s unfit.”

  She’s also your daughter. Landon bit his tongue and looked away. Why Patricia held such disdain for Katie still confused and shocked him. Yes, Katie had been levelheaded Jennifer’s opposite in her teenaged years and probably gave stiff-upper-lip Patricia hell. And no, Katie wasn’t equipped to be any kid’s guardian. But did that justify Patricia damn near disowning her?

  Maybe Patricia’s resentment was rooted in the fact that Katie rarely returned to her hometown of Elk Valley—or, perhaps, it was the way she’d gone about leaving.

  He remembered the day Katie left. While Jennifer had graduated as valedictorian of her and Landon’s class, Katie, eighteen, five years younger than Jennifer and ten times more outspoken, had scrambled onto the football field at the last second, last to be seated, last to receive he
r diploma and last in academic achievements. The moment after she’d tossed her graduation cap in the air, Katie had jogged to the parking lot, hopped in a car stuffed with bulging suitcases and peeled out of Elk Valley. Her car’s sporadic skid marks clung to the cracked pavement in the parking lot throughout the ten years since she’d left.

  If Landon drove to that parking lot today, the muscle memory in his hands and feet would know exactly where to turn his truck’s steering wheel and press the brake to catch a glimpse of their faded outline.

  The thought stirred a sick sensation in his gut. That was it most likely. That disgusting hollow Katie had left behind in those who’d cared about her—Jennifer, Patricia and...him.

  “She won’t agree to it,” Landon said. “When she finds out, she’ll sign over her rights to the kids then go back to California.”

  Patricia relaxed slightly. “And they’ll stay here with us.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  At times, Patricia wasn’t the easiest person in the world to get along with, but if he had to share custody with either her or Katie, Patricia was the better choice and, altogether, the best scenario for the kids. At least, he supposed—his throat tightening—in the absence of their parents.

  “We’ll proceed with moving the children’s things to your ranch tomorrow morning.” Patricia hesitated. “I think it’s a good idea if they stay here with me tonight. That is, if you agree?”

  He nodded. “Sophia’s room is already set up but that’ll give me time to finish clearing out the bedrooms for Matthew and Emma tonight.”

  A whimper emerged from within Landon’s arms and small feet thumped his abs. He glanced down at the little bundle cradled against him and smoothed a hand over the baby’s back. Brown curls snagged on the stubble lining his jaw as Sophia, Jennifer and Frank’s six-month-old daughter, nuzzled her face against his neck then settled back into sleep. The small pink rose on her thin headband—an accessory Jennifer had added to the baby’s outfits daily—slipped behind her left ear.

  Three nights ago, Sophia had been asleep in the crib he’d made for her when Patricia had called to give him the awful news. It’d been almost impossible to believe. Just hours earlier, Jennifer and Frank had smiled, waved, then gotten in their car and driven away from his ranch. It was supposed to be a romantic getaway for Jennifer and Frank and another fun-filled weekend of babysitting for him. There’d been sunshine, blue sky and the scent of honeysuckle on the breeze.

  There hadn’t been a single sign of what was to come. Not of the woman in oncoming traffic eighty miles down the road who stole glances at her cell phone, and texted her teenaged daughter as she drove. Not of Frank’s carefree speed that accelerated a bit more the closer he and Jennifer drew to their relaxing destination. And certainly not of the sharp mountain curve where both drivers would collide, ending all of their lives before the tires stopped spinning on the overturned vehicles.

  Telling the children the news had been the hardest thing he’d ever had to do and though Sophia was too young to be told or comprehend, she’d cried more often the past three days. As though instinctively, she knew something had changed. As though she somehow felt the loss.

  “Would you like me to take her?” Voice thin, Patricia tossed the papers she held on to the coffee table then crossed the living room with outstretched arms. “I could put her down for a nap in my room.”

  “No.” Eyes blurring at the reminder of their loss, Landon faced the window again and hugged Sophia closer. She made a sound of contentment, the rhythmic puff of her warm breath and healthy beat of her heart against the base of his throat easing the tremor in his limbs. “She won’t have time to settle. We need to head out soon.”

  Patricia sniffed. “If Katie isn’t here within the next ten minutes, we’re leaving without her.” Her high heels clicked across the gleaming hardwood floor, and a sharp edge returned to her tone. “I won’t be late to my own daughter’s funeral.”

  As if on cue, a dusty red sports car growled down the long graveled driveway. It slowed as it neared the circular end, then stopped beside his truck. Landon eased closer to the window, narrowed his eyes and waited.

  The car’s windows were tinted too darkly to see inside and the doors remained closed. A good five minutes passed and still no one emerged from the vehicle.

  Landon guessed it was Katie sitting in the car. Who knew what she was driving now. Jennifer had told him she changed vehicles as often as some people changed their oil—though with her family’s wealth she could afford to do so—and it’d been two years since he’d last seen her. During her most recent visit home one year ago, Katie had stayed only one day, arriving and leaving town before he had had a chance to catch a glimpse of her. And she hadn’t returned to Elk Valley at all for Sophia’s birth—a fact Jennifer had lowered her eyes and sighed over each of the many times Patricia had mentioned it.

  “It’s about time.” Patricia, makeup repaired and composure regained, returned to his side and looked out the window. She frowned. “Why is she just sitting there?” Her silk sleeve brushed his arm as she headed for the door, heels clacking. “Doesn’t she know the wake starts in half an hour?”

  “Patricia.” Landon touched her elbow and gestured toward Sophia. “Why don’t you take Sophia and I’ll check on Katie? Is Harold ready?”

  She hesitated, nodding absently as her eyes darted from Sophia to the red car then upstairs. “He’s putting on his tie now. He—” Her voice cracked. “He’s having a hard time. I hope you don’t mind, but I think it’d help if you and the children rode with us.”

  “And Katie, too?” Landon asked softly. “I know you have your differences but I imagine she’s hurting as much as Harold, and the kids could use all the support they can get. On the way out, if you’d like me to, I could ask David to bring the car around.”

  Patricia stared at Katie’s car then nodded stiffly and reached for Sophia.

  Landon helped settle Sophia into Patricia’s arms, made a quick call to David, Patricia’s driver, to request the limo then walked to the front porch. Early-afternoon sunlight glared down at him just beneath the porch’s roof and he threw up his hand to shield it.

  “Is that her?” Matthew had stopped the swing, planted his feet on the floor and pinned his narrowed gaze on the red car. “She actually showed?”

  Landon studied the muscle flickering in Matthew’s jaw and the tight grip of his hand around the swing’s armrest. “Yeah.”

  “She never bothered coming before,” Matthew bit out. “Why’s she here now?”

  Emma sat up and rubbed her wet cheeks. “Why’s who here now?”

  “Your aunt Katie,” Landon said gently.

  Expression brightening, Emma glanced at the driveway. “Can I go see her?”

  “Soon,” Landon said. “Matthew, would you please take Emma inside and help your grandmother get Sophia’s bag together? We’re leaving soon and we’re gonna ride with your grandparents.”

  Matthew scowled and jerked his chin toward the driveway. “Is she riding with us, too?”

  Landon walked over and crouched in front of them. “I think it’ll help us all feel better—especially your grandparents—to go together.”

  “You mean Gammie won’t cry anymore if we ride with her?” Emma blinked up at him, her lips trembling.

  Landon managed a strained smile. Man, he wished he could take this hardship away from them. Wished he could put his hand out, roll back the clock and edge Frank’s truck two inches to the left at just the right second. Or at the very least, tell a white lie and ease their grief. But reality—painful or joyful—had to be faced, and in his opinion, obscuring the truth never made dealing with it any better.

  “She’ll still cry, Emma,” he said. “We all will. But it won’t hurt as much if she has you and Matthew nearby.”

  Emma’s brow furrowed as she pondered this then she nodded matter-of
-factly. “I’ll hold her hand.”

  “Thank you, sweetheart.” Landon helped her down from the swing, kissed her forehead then looked at Matthew. “How ’bout it, buddy? Will you help me out?”

  He shrugged stiffly, cast one last sour look at the red car then trudged inside.

  Landon stood and stared at the darkened car windows. His flesh tingled and he balled his hands into fists at his side. Of all the occasions he’d imagined seeing Katie again, none of them had involved these circumstances.

  He hated this day. Every damned second of it.

  Forcing himself to move, he approached the vehicle. He stopped by the driver’s-side door then knocked on the dusty window. “Katie?”

  Muffled sounds emerged. The catch of breath? A sob, maybe? “I—I’ll be out in a minute.”

  “Hey.” He dragged his hands over his thighs, the smooth material of his dress pants wrinkling beneath his touch. “Everyone’s waiting for you. Why don’t you come on out and ride to the church with us?”

  The quiet sounds from inside the car stopped; only the chirps of birds and soft whistle of the cool breeze rustling trees filled the air.

  Landon’s shoulders sagged. It wasn’t like Katie to hide out or avoid trying situations. For as long as he’d known her, she’d been headstrong, vivacious and defiant of fate. But then again, she’d never experienced a loss like this.

  “Katie?” He tried for a laugh, the nervous sound making even him cringe. “You’re not gonna leave me to ride with Patricia on my own, are you?” His boots scraped across the paved driveway as he shifted from one foot to the other. “I know we egg each other on from time to time but that’d be taking it to a new level.”

  The door clicked then slowly opened.

  Landon stepped back, a calming warmth spreading through his chest as her long limbs and dark curls emerged from the car. She straightened to her full height—all six feet of lithe, graceful strength accentuated by soft curves—and faced him. Black sunglasses shielded her eyes, a red flush stamped her cheeks and the smooth contours of her kissable mouth shook.

 
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