THE COWBOY SHE COULDN'T FORGET Read Free

watched as the older man stepped into the kitchen. The distinguished-looking Wade Dickson was dressed in his usual business suit. He was not only Colt’s lawyer, but his longtime friend. They’d gone to school together. And Uncle Wade had given the Slater girls more affection than their own father had.
    He smiled when he saw her. “Hello, Ana.”
    She was still raw from today, and exhausted. “Hi, Uncle Wade.”
    He came closer and hugged her. “I’m sorry about your daddy. I was out of town when I got the news. But don’t worry, old Colt is made of strong stuff.”
    She was touched. “I appreciate you saying that.”
    He released a long breath and guided her into the dining room, where they sat down at the table.
    “I hate to do this, Ana girl, but we need to discuss what to do while your daddy is recovering.”
    She hated that term. “Vance is foreman. Can’t he handle the ranch?”
    There was another long pause. She could tell Wade was holding something back. “That’s a temporary fix. I’ve been by the hospital, and right now your father isn’t in any shape to make decisions. You girls will have to decide what to do for now.”
    “Dad will be okay,” Ana insisted. “The doctor said... Well, he’s going to need some rehab.”
    “I know, and I hope that will happen, too, but as his lawyer, I have to carry out his wishes. To protect his property and his family. And as of right now, Colton Slater is incompetent to run his business.”
    Ana felt her heart skip a beat. “So what do I need to do? Sign some payroll checks?”
    “Well, first of all,” Wade began, “Colt has a will, so he didn’t put this all on your shoulders. You have a co-executor to help.”
    “Who?”
    She heard someone talking with Kathleen, then a few heartbeats later, Vance walked into the room. He nodded to Wade. “Have you told her?”
    The lawyer turned back to her. He didn’t have to speak; she already knew that her father had picked Vance over his own flesh and blood.
    “So you’ve finally got what you wanted,” she said. “Now all you have to do is change your name to Slater.”

CHAPTER TWO
    V ANCE WORKED HARD not to react. He’d had plenty of practice over the years masking his feelings, especially around Ana.
    “I’ll let that pass, since I know you’re upset. Colt named me because I’ve been foreman of the ranch for the past five years. This has nothing to do with me taking over.”
    Wade Dickson jumped in. “He’s right, Ana. It wouldn’t be any different if your father had appointed me to oversee things. And believe me, I’m grateful he didn’t. Running a large operation like the Lazy S is a big undertaking, and I don’t think you want to handle that. Do you?”
    She didn’t back down. “I’ve never gotten the chance to.” Her angry gaze danced back and forth between the two men. “Dad didn’t have any problem putting his daughters to work. Of course, he made sure we were limited to mucking out stalls or currying horses. And if we were really good at our jobs, we got to help with some of the roundups and branding. Yet once he thought we became a nuisance, he sent us off to the house.”
    Vance glanced away. He’d seen over the years how Colt ignored his daughters. The man had never been demonstrative, but he’d given Vance a chance at a life. Hell, the girls had been lucky. When their father noticed his daughters were getting tired, he’d made them stop.
    Colt had never been that generous with him. The man was never abusive, but had sometimes worked Vance twelve- to fourteen-hour days when it came to roundup time.
    “Colt didn’t want you to get hurt,” Dickson stated. “Ranching isn’t an easy life.”
    Ana shook her head. “We both know the truth. Colton Slater just wanted sons. And he sure didn’t want his daughters involved with his precious ranch.” She shot a hard look at Vance. “What about you? Do you have a problem working with a woman?”
    He frowned. “What exactly do you