Proposal at the Lazy S Ranch. Patricia Thayer

bright kitchen and heard laughter. At the big table sat Brody and her father. Kathleen was at the stove stirring a pot of soup. “Sit down, you two,” the housekeeper said. “And I’ll fix you something to eat.”

      Colt looked up at them, as did the boy. Both smiled mischievously.

      “Hey, Dad, did you know that Colt used to be a World Saddle Bronc champion?”

      Garrett nodded. Who would have thought, gruff, strictly business Colton Slater could make his son smile?

      “I might have heard it somewhere.” He nodded at the older man across from his son. “Hello, Colt. How are you doing these days?”

      Colt looked at Josie. “Not bad. T...two of my daughters are home.”

      “Colt’s learning to talk again,” Brody explained. “’Cause he had a stroke. But he’s getting better.”

      Garrett sat down at the table. “That’s good news.” He looked at Colt. “Did Brody tell you we just bought one of your horses?”

      “Yeah, Sky Rocket,” Brody said. “I’m going to learn to ride him really fast.”

      Colt frowned. “I’m s...sure you are. But f...first you have to learn to take care of your animal so he’ll trust you.”

      A confused Brody looked at his dad.

      “It means when you get an animal you have to take responsibility for it. You need to feed and clean up after Rocket.”

      He glanced back at Colt, his green eyes worried. “But I’m just a kid.”

      Kathleen brought two more bowls of potato soup to the table. Josie reluctantly took her seat beside her father.

      “You’ll learn some now, and as you get older you’ll do more,” Garrett told him. “You live on a ranch now. That means everyone does their share.”

      Brody took a hearty spoonful of soup, then said, “If I do all that stuff, will you teach me how to ride a bucking bronc?”

      * * *

      Colt watched out the window as the threesome drove off to the lodge site. He had to admit that he’d enjoyed sharing lunch with them.

      “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Kathleen said. “Too bad you didn’t get cozier with your kids a lot sooner.”

      Colt turned and made his way back to the kitchen table, but didn’t say anything. Nothing to say. He’d messed up big-time when it came to his girls.

      Kathleen placed two mugs filled with coffee on the table, then sat down across from him. “Looks like you’re getting another chance at being their dad. I hope you realize how lucky you are.”

      Colt hated that it had taken him so many years to learn that. He thought about his girls. Why had it taken him so long to realize what they meant to him? Josie was home, but so was Garrett Temple. How was she handling seeing him again? He recalled how badly she’d been hurt by their breakup. Now Garrett had returned and brought his son with him. He could see being around the man bothered Josie, in more ways than he knew his daughter would ever admit.

      “Did you see Josie with Garrett?”

      Kathleen set down her mug. “That girl has a lot of you in her. If Garrett comes sniffing around again, I doubt she’s going to make it easy for him.” She shook her head. “Of course that little boy has to come first. From what I hear from Della, Brody’s had a rough few years with the divorce and lately with his mother’s death.”

      Colt nodded. “A horse would be good for him.”

      Kathleen smiled. “And maybe some time with you. He sure didn’t have any trouble talking with you.”

      Colt would always regret that he never took time to console his own daughters. He couldn’t get past his own anger. “Sometimes it’s easier with strangers.”

      * * *

      Thirty minutes later, Josie sat in the front seat as Garrett pulled his truck into his makeshift parking area at the site. He pulled his hard hat off the dashboard, then reached in the back and found one for Brody, then another for Josie.

      “Keep these on for your safety,” he told them both.

      “Good idea,” Josie said and put it on. “Let’s go check out this place.” She climbed out as Garrett opened the back door and helped Brody out.

      Even though the circumstances weren’t ideal, she was eager to see the lodge. She pulled her coat together against the chill and waited for Brody and Garrett to catch up to her.

      Together, they walked across the wet ground to the sheets of plywood covering the mud caused by last night’s rain.

      They reached the front door. Well, it was where the door was going to be. This was still a two-story log cabin shell. The outside logs were up, along with the roof, but not much more. She inhaled the scent of fresh-cut wood as they walked through the wide doorway into what would be the main meeting room. More like an open area with high ceilings of tongue-and-groove oak.

      Josie glanced around at the huge picture windows that overlooked the river. Drawn to the beautiful scenery, she walked over. This was a perfect spot. In her head, she was already figuring out different events that could be held here.

      The first was the Slater/Rivers wedding right in front of these windows. She began to visualize the number of chairs that the room could handle, leaving room for an aisle. She turned to the men working on the floor-to-ceiling fireplace made out of river rock. It took her breath away.

      “How do you like it so far?”

      She swung around to see Garrett and Brody. She couldn’t help but smile. “It’s really nice. In fact, it’s better than I thought possible. There’s a lot we can do with this space. Are the floors going to be hardwood?”

      When Garrett nodded, she looked toward the roughed-in stairs to the second floor. It was going to be left open, a mezzanine level for the bedrooms upstairs. She hated that anglers would be using it. She could really promote this for high-dollar functions.

      “Okay, I see your mind working,” Garrett said. “Tell me what it is.”

      Josie turned toward him. “It would be nice if we didn’t have to use it for anglers.”

      Garrett arched an eyebrow. “Before we open to the public there’s going to be a wedding here.”

      She tensed, recalling when she was planning her own wedding, until her groom betrayed her.

      She wiped the picture from her mind. “I know. I’ll go over those details with Ana.” She released a breath. “Okay, where are these bathrooms that need my attention?”

      He glanced around. “I need to find Jerry.”

      When Garrett went off to find the foreman, Josie realized she had to find a way to get over her resentment toward him. It would be the only way this project would get completed.

      Her cell phone rang and she reached inside her purse to answer it. “Hello.”

      “Josie, it’s Ana.”

      “Hey, Ana. Are you planning to come out to the site?”

      “No. I’m at the house, but we need to discuss the lodge.”

      “What about it?” she asked, and walked away from the group.

      “I found out today that I’m going to a teacher’s conference in Helena,” Ana told her. “The school principal is sick and he asked me to take his place. I have to go out of town for three days.”

      Three days. She looked at Garrett talking with the foreman. “You’re leaving me here alone?”

      Ana paused. “I’m not doing this on purpose, Josie. It’s only for a few days. Since you helped with the building plans, I figured this should be easy.”

      Josie