Rancher to the Rescue Read online

  If he saves her ranch

  Will she lose her dream?

  Zannah Worth loves welcoming guests to beautiful Eaglecrest Ranch. Unexpected new partners, not so much. Maybe the struggling family business needs Brady Gallagher’s cash, but she can’t tolerate his bossiness or his big ideas. Brady intends to turn a fast profit and win a wager. Zannah’s wishes—and her stubborn heart—shouldn’t matter. Though they keep butting heads, Zannah wants them to move forward...together.

  “You can’t sell off any part of Eaglecrest, Brady,” she said, lifting a stricken face.

  He leaned forward and gently asked, “Do you have a better solution?”

  “I don’t know,” she choked out. “But there has to be one.”

  “What is it you’re so afraid of?”

  Tears ran down her face as she said, “You’re putting everything at risk. It’s all I have left of my mother and you’re going to give it away to strangers, people who didn’t even know her—”

  “No, Zannah.”

  Full of pity and sorrow, he tried to pull her into his arms, to comfort her.

  She jerked away. “You don’t understand. You’ve never been rooted in a place the way I am. This ranch is my security.”

  “And it still will be, Zannah.”

  She surged to her feet and stood facing him, hands clenched at her sides. “You lied to me. You said you weren’t a corporate raider, but that’s what you are.”

  Dear Reader,

  Writing a book set on a ranch is always a joy and a challenge. Many of my relatives have been ranchers who often talked about changes in the market, the best kinds of grass to plant to fatten up their cattle and the mistakes they’d made over the years, as well as the triumphs. As I write and create characters and their situations, I try to recall those conversations and make the problems and solutions as real as possible.

  In Rancher to the Rescue, Zannah Worth and Brady Gallagher enter into an unexpected partnership engineered by her father, who has decided he’s ready to retire and pursue a new interest. Zannah doesn’t like change and doesn’t want a partner. Brady is all about new ideas and changing things up, so getting together on any issue is quite a ride—especially the falling-in-love part.

  I hope you enjoy this visit to the Eaglecrest Ranch and cowboy college.

  Happy reading,

  Patricia Forsythe

  Rancher to the Rescue

  Patricia Forsythe

  Patricia Forsythe is the author of many romance novels and is proud to have received her twenty-five-book pin from Harlequin. She hopes there are many more books to come. A native Arizonan, Patricia loves setting books in areas where she has spent time, like the beautiful Kiamichi Mountains of Oklahoma. She has held a number of jobs, including teaching school, working as a librarian and as a secretary and operating a care home for children with developmental disabilities. Her favorite occupation, though, is writing novels in which the characters get into challenging situations and then work their way out. Each situation and set of characters is different, so sometimes the finished book is as much of a surprise to her as it is to readers.

  Books by Patricia Forsythe

  Harlequin Heartwarming

  Oklahoma Girls

  His Twin Baby Surprise

  The Husband She Can’t Forget

  At Odds with the Midwife

  Her Lone Cowboy

  Visit the Author Profile page

  at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  This book is dedicated to my dear friend Roz Denny Fox, a wonderful writer who has been a constant source of inspiration and encouragement over the years.

  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

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  EXCERPT FROM CAUGHT BY THE SHERIFF BY RULA SINARA

  CHAPTER ONE

  “DO YOU THINK we should be taking bets on whether that guy is more likely to injure himself or someone else?”

  “What?” Zannah Worth looked up from the pile of unpaid bills she’d found in her father’s desk. She glanced at Sharlene Wahl, longtime head housekeeper at Eaglecrest Ranch and Cowboy College. Joining Sharlene at the window, she looked out at the dozen new students who were starting the week-long course to learn horsemanship and the cattle business. “Who are you talking about?”

  Sharlene pointed. “That guy in the black hat that looks like it should still have the price tag dangling from the brim. Sits a horse like he’s wearing iron underpants. Did you ask him if he’d ever been on a horse before?”

  Zannah looked where Sharlene was pointing. “Oh, Brady Gallagher. Yes, he said he had.”

  Sharlene shook her head. “Did he mention if it was recently, maybe on a merry-go-round?”

  Zannah snickered at the mental image of the tall, solemn-faced man sitting atop a carousel pony, then forced herself to look stern. “He did say it was a while ago.” She gave Sharlene a pained look. “And you’ve got to quit making snarky comments about the guests.”

  “And you’ve got to quit laughing when I do. Besides, snarkiness is my superpower.”

  Zannah raised an eyebrow at her.

  “I’m too old to change,” Sharlene teased. All innocence, she glanced away and fluffed the short, outrageously blond hairdo that made her look far younger than her sixty-five years. Her lifetime of physical work on ranches and in the hospitality industry had made her strong of body and determined of mind. She had two young women working for her on the housekeeping staff and had advertisements up to hire another. Zannah knew that even with more help, Sharlene would still outwork any of them.

  “It’s never too late to change, or so I’ve heard you say,” Zannah pointed out.

  “Hmm. I hate it when you quote me back to me.”

  Zannah laughed then returned to the window to study the rider. He sat leaning forward in the saddle as if he expected his horse to bolt and he was trying to get ready for it. However, the mare was bighearted, laid-back and eager to please. She wouldn’t be going anywhere without her rider’s direction, but the rider didn’t seem to know what that direction should be. “Mr. Gallagher does seem a little tense.”

  “And he’s got a death grip on the reins.”

  “Maybe he’s scared.”

  “Zannah, honey, take another look at him. I doubt he’s ever been afraid of anything in his life. No, something else is going on with him. You talked with him last night. Do you think he’s fearful? Or shy?”

  Frowning, Zannah peered more closely at the man she had met at last night’s barbecue along with all the other new arrivals. The group seemed to be a lively bunch, including three families with small children, but Gallagher had been quiet, observing those around him, listening to the ongoing conversations, though not initiating any, and responding politely whenever anyone spoke to him. Thinking about it now, Zannah realized he hadn’t answered any questions about himself but had redirected interest onto whoever he was talking to at the time. He had asked a couple of people who were returning guests what they liked about the experience at Eaglecrest. She thought it was probably because he wasn’t sure how he was going to like the place. She had seen that before, but most often, unsure guests ended up loving not only
the ranch but the full experience.

  She had exchanged a few words with him, so she knew he was here alone. That wasn’t uncommon, but their most frequent guests were family groups or a collection of friends, usually men, who wanted an out-of-the-ordinary story to tell the guys in their offices back home.

  Most of their guests were only here for fun, but this one-week course taught the basics of ranching and often served to pique the interest of some of the guests who would return later for the longer course. Zannah doubted that Mr. Gallagher would be one of those returning.

  As for his horsemanship, Sharlene was right. From what she could see, he wasn’t afraid of his horse, but he wasn’t taking command, either.

  After last week’s group of hard-drinking men, she was glad to have one who was as quiet as Gallagher seemed to be. He had listened carefully as she explained that Eaglecrest was a working ranch and they would be participating in real ranch work, including riding, vaccinating, herding cattle and camping out.

  “No, I don’t think he’s fearful or shy,” she finally said in answer to Sharlene’s question. “I thought he seemed...solid.”

  “Do you mean stodgy?”

  “No, I mean genuine, or stable.” She paused. “Although I’m not quite sure what I’m basing that on, since I only spoke to him for a minute. The impression I got from him, I suppose.”

  “First impressions are very telling.”

  “Or they can be completely wrong.” Zannah gave a small shrug as she tried to sort through the numerous impressions from last night’s barbecue. “This week we’ve got the Bardle family—mom, dad, three kids—all eager to be here...”

  “I know.” Sharlene grinned. “Their little boy was ready to get started at six this morning, running around outside in nothing but boots and underwear. Fortunately, his dad got him back inside.”

  Zannah laughed. “Then we have two couples who are best friends, a single dad and his two daughters. They all seem like they want to learn and have fun, but Mr. Gallagher is all business.”

  She glanced at the papers she had dug out of the desk. “I can’t find any paperwork on him.”

  “And you might not if Gus was in charge of it.”

  “I know,” Zannah answered on a sigh.

  “He’s never liked doing paperwork, or keeping the books.”

  “I know, but it’s still necessary.” Zannah waved the papers in the air. “This is no way to run a business. He’s lived and breathed this ranch almost his whole life, and now it’s as if he’s lost focus.”

  Sharlene gave her a searching look. “He has. I’m glad you’re here to take over.” She smiled sympathetically at Zannah’s dismay. “And it will probably help to have Joelle and Emma here for the summer. His granddaughters will remind him why he’s worked so hard to maintain Eaglecrest.”

  Zannah smiled. “I hope so,” she said.

  Sharlene returned her attention to Gallagher. “Maybe he’s one of those people who can’t relax.” The housekeeper stepped away and picked up the trash can beside the desk. As she emptied it into a large plastic bag, she went on. “Still, I think you need to watch that one.”

  “I will,” Zannah answered as Sharlene left the office to continue her trash pickup. Even though she teased the housekeeper for her comments about the guests, Sharlene was always spot-on with her observations, which usually helped the staff when working with newcomers.

  She was probably right that something else was going on with Gallagher. Zannah watched as he glanced around to see what everyone in the group was doing. He picked up the reins and gave them a slight shake to get Belinda moving. The mare took a couple of steps and stopped, ears twitching uncertainly because she didn’t know what was expected of her.

  Zannah shook her head. She knew that her cousin Phoebe had carefully matched each rider to a horse. One of the reasons for the get-to-know-you barbecue was so Phoebe could study the clients and choose a mount for them. It never paid to put a rider and a horse together who had opposite dispositions. Which meant Phoebe had given the easygoing mare to Gallagher because she thought they would make a good match.

  In addition, Phoebe demonstrated the standard riding techniques step-by-step. She was an excellent teacher and certainly had the experience to back up her lessons. She had ridden since infancy and had been Arizona state barrel-racing champion three years running. And she had taught riding at Eaglecrest for six years. Maybe this guy only needed more time and individual attention.

  Phoebe’s usual assistant, Juan Flores, was off for several days, taking his mother to doctors’ appointments in Tucson. Since Phoebe was busy with other students, she probably hadn’t noticed Gallagher’s struggles.

  Zannah gave a despairing look at the papers she’d found. She was glad to leave the mess in the office behind. Although she’d been back on Eaglecrest for six months, it had only been in the past few weeks that her dad had let her take over the bookkeeping for the ranch. She’d been shocked at the financial state of the business and even more shocked at how little she truly understood about the complexity of the ranch’s operations.

  She tried to smooth back the stray curls that relentlessly escaped her ponytail, then clapped on the Stetson her brother, Casey, had given her as she hurried outside.

  As she whirled out the door, she stumbled against someone and was caught by two rough hands, which gripped her shoulders. She looked up to face her father.

  “Hey, girl, where you going in such a hurry?” August Worth asked. He released her and rocked back slightly on his heels as he looked her over, then met her eyes. He was nearing seventy, and his hair was turning white. But except for some joint stiffening, he was still strong and healthy, his focused gaze as clear and blue as ever. They were the same height now that time and arthritis had taken its toll on his body. “I thought you were going over the books today, planning to balance the accounts on that fancy computer program of yours.”

  “I’m going to help Phoebe. Juan is off for several days, remember?” She nodded toward the corral. “Mr. Gallagher seems to be having some trouble.” She gave him a steady look. “And I would happily balance the accounts today if I could find all the receipts. There was a big stack of them crammed into your desk.”

  He glanced away. “Oh, yeah, I forgot about those. I meant to give them to you.”

  Zannah closed her eyes briefly, reaching for patience. “I can’t believe that in all this time, I didn’t give a minute’s thought to checking your desk. Dad, you never used to cram important papers away like that. What are you thinking? What’s going on?”

  Gus tilted his head and looked up, not meeting her gaze as he hedged. “I didn’t cram them away, honey. I left them where I could find them when I got around to them.”

  “It seemed like you were hiding them.”

  “I needed the desktop for something more important.”

  Zannah glanced back. Now that she thought about it, it was true that the desk was unusually neat.

  Her dad made a restless move. “Nothing is going on. Nothing.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “I know you fought tooth and nail against me taking over the bookkeeping, but we’ve got to modernize...”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s an old argument, and you won.”

  Zannah stared at him in dismay. “I thought you were okay with it. This way, you’re freed up to do other things. We talked about this for a year before I moved back home.”

  “I am. I am.” He held his hands up as if he was trying to ward off her questions. “Gotta go.”

  “You’ve always been busy, but lately I hardly ever see you.”

  Gus gave a small shrug but didn’t answer. He had never been one to share his deepest thoughts, but he’d never been so reluctant to answer her questions, either, which only made her transition to managing the ranch that much harder.

  “I can’t run this place if y
ou don’t help me get everything I need.” She tried to sound reasonable, not let her frustration seep into her voice, because that only seemed to fuel his stubbornness.

  “Ah, you can figure it out. I didn’t have any training in bookkeeping when we started the cowboy college, and we did fine.”

  “That’s because Mom did the books. And after you took over, you were audited twice,” Zannah pointed out, looking at him with a mixture of annoyance and loving exasperation. “It’s really important that we account for every penny. From what I can tell, our profit margin is thinner than a knife blade, and I had to request an extension on our taxes.”

  “Well, then I guess it’s a good thing that you’re here to save the day.” He nodded as if it was all settled. “Yup, I have full confidence that you’re going to take care of everything in case I need to be gone for a little while.”

  “Gone?” Zannah stared at him. “Where are you planning to go? This is the first I’ve heard of you being gone.”

  “A little vacation.” He waved a hand in the air. “Only taking a little vacation.”

  “When have you ever taken a vacation? Or even a day off?” Memories of ten years ago flashed through her mind. It had been the worst months of their lives, with him working every day, chasing stray cattle and daydreams, disappearing into the mountains for hours at a time. He hadn’t been vacationing, though. He’d been avoiding her mother’s sickroom, leaving the burden of care on his twenty-year-old daughter’s shoulders.

  Zannah stuffed those mental pictures down. She couldn’t face them right now.

  “Everyone deserves a little vacation once in a while, right?”

  “Of course, but...”

  “Gallagher, huh?” Gus broke in, nodding toward the corral. “Be nice to him.”

  “Who? Gallagher?” It took her a moment to redirect her thoughts back to the guest she’d been on her way to help. “I’m always nice to our guests.”

  “Yeah, well, sometimes you’re a little prickly.”