The Cowboy She Couldn't Forget. Patricia Thayer

He had to just keep remembering he was doing this for Colt, and for Ana.

      The plane taxied to the terminal. “I’m not sure this visit will change anything,” Ana said, feeling a little nervous. Maybe it had something to do with the close quarters. Vance was a big man, and that didn’t leave her much room. “What if Tori and Josie refuse to help?”

      “Then we go back to Montana and figure it out on our own.” His hand rested against his jean-covered thigh. She was suddenly intrigued by his long, tapered fingers.

      He went on to say, “And we will figure out something. I promise.”

      She glanced at his face and saw his sexy smile. Her heart went zing and she had to look away. No! She wasn’t going to even think about this man like that. Okay, so maybe it was normal, since she hadn’t been in a romantic relationship in a while. That was still no excuse to think about Vance Rivers that way. She was no longer that dreamy-eyed teenage girl who wanted his attention. No way was she getting involved with him.

      When the plane stopped at the gate, she unfastened her seat belt as Vance stood and reached up into the overhead compartment. He took down her carry-on and his duffel, along with his cowboy hat. He stepped back to let her out into the aisle. The small space made it impossible not to brush up against him. She inhaled his scent and could feel his hard body. Again the zings. Okay, so that hadn’t changed over the years; he still appealed to her, a lot.

      Since they had their only luggage with them, they went straight to the car rental booth. Vance got a midsize sedan and started to climb into the driver’s seat.

      Ana looked at him. “Can you drive the L.A. freeways?”

      He took off his hat and tossed it in back. “We’ll soon find out.”

      “Here’s the address for Josie’s business.”

      Vance took the paper and entered the address in the GPS, then headed for the 5 Freeway. They ended up in the older section of Los Angeles not far from Griffith Park. It was a two-story stucco building with a Spanish design.

      They got out of the car and walked up to the directory on the wall. It didn’t take long to find the right office. The sign on the glass door read Slater Style.

      “Catchy name,” Vance said.

      “That’s what Josie’s all about.” Ana released a breath. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”

      Vance nodded, opened the door and allowed her to step in ahead of him. The small reception area consisted of a desk and chairs that lined the opposite walls. But there wasn’t a soul in sight.

      Vance checked his watch. “I guess everyone’s at lunch. Did you tell Josie you were coming?”

      “No. I didn’t want her to find an excuse to keep me away.”

      Suddenly the door opened and a familiar woman, carrying a take-out food sack, walked in. However, it wasn’t the twin they expected to see here.

      Vittoria Slater had dark hair, the same pretty smile as her older sister. “Ana? What are you doing here?”

      “Tori?” Ana rushed to her and they hugged tightly. “I think you know my reason for coming to L.A. But what are you doing at Josie’s office?”

      “Well, as of a few months ago, it’s my office, too. I quit my job and decided it was time I went out on my own.” She nodded. “Josie offered me office space here. I decided to give my own web-design company a chance.”

      Tori had their mother’s coloring, the olive skin, midnight-dark eyes and ebony hair. Her hair was shorter now, cut just below her chin.

      Ana was excited for her sister, knowing how unhappy she’d been with her previous company. But Ana was a little sad that she hadn’t shared this with her.

      “That’s great. So how is business?”

      “Good. Several of my old clients came with me, and I like being my own boss.” Tori finally noticed Vance across the room and she blinked in surprise. “Vance, good to see you.” Her smile faded. “Wait a minute, has something more happened to Colt?”

      “No, your dad is still the same,” Vance told her. “I’ll let your sister explain the rest.”

      “We need to talk about what to do,” Ana stated. “Dad isn’t going to get better right away, so we’ve got to discuss...some things. The ranch, mainly.”

      The anger was evident in Tori’s eyes. “It can dry up and blow away for all I care. I hate that place.”

      Ana wasn’t surprised by her sister’s reaction. “Tori, you can’t mean that. It’s our home.”

      The younger twin shook her head. “It was just a big, old house to me. Dad was happier when we finally all left.”

      Ana wasn’t surprised by the animosity toward their father. “I understand your feelings, but right now, Colt can’t speak, or make decisions for the Lazy S. I’m going to remind you that the ranch has been in our family for three generations.”

      Tori began to speak when the office door opened and another sister walked in.

      “Hey, Tori, it’s about time—” Josefina Slater stopped and stared. “Ana! What are you doing here?”

      “Is there an echo in here?” Ana hugged the other twin. Josie had fair skin with long, golden-brown hair and the Slater blue eyes. Except for the shape of their faces and their smiles, the two twins couldn’t look less alike.

      “To answer your question, since you didn’t come home, I thought I’d come here.”

      Josie’s gaze went to Vance as he nodded in greeting. “And you felt the need to bring reinforcements? Hi, Vance. It’s been a long time.”

      He smiled. “Good to see you again, Josie.”

      Ana turned back to her sisters. “Vance is here to help convince you both of the seriousness of the situation.” She wasn’t foolish enough to think this would be easy.

      Josie’s frown told her that she wasn’t going to be easily swayed. “Like I told you when you called last week, I have a big event coming up. I can’t leave right now.”

      Ana was sad that they wouldn’t come back home for their father. “I understand that, being an event planner, you need to be here, but I’m talking about our father. We’re a family.”

      Josie shared a glance with her twin, then said, “It seems you and Vance have it under control. You two seem to make a pretty good team. We’ll give you permission to make any decisions. So there’s no reason you had to come here and try and rope us into going back home.”

      And it wasn’t getting any easier, Ana thought. “We came here because we need to make some decisions about Dad.”

      “Has something else happened?” Josie asked.

      Ana saw the flash of concern and was encouraged. “No, he’s the same, and he’ll start physical therapy soon.”

      “That’s good, isn’t it?” Tori asked.

      Good, there was more concern. “The reason we’re here isn’t so much about Dad as it is about the ranch.”

      “What do you mean?” Josie asked. “Can’t Vance handle things while Colt recovers?”

      He gave a nod, but didn’t say anything.

      “It’s more than running the ranch.” Ana started to explain, then said, “I wish Marissa was here, too. She should be in on this.”

      “Maybe I can make it happen,” Tori said, and motioned them into her office. Vance, Ana noticed, sat down in the reception area.

      Her sister went behind the desk and opened the laptop. “If she’s not out on a location, Marissa should be home.” After several keystrokes on the computer, a picture came up, then the real thing.