The Rancher (Colorado Billionaires #2)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

J une 16, 2024

Ray Kincaid, stood in the hot sun. Not even a slight breeze relieved him from the heat. His cowboy hat protected him and shaded his eyes so he could see the stopwatch he held in his right hand. He had one foot on the bottom rail and his left arm resting on the top of the tall three-railed white wooden fence surrounding the racing track. He timed his fifteen-year-old daughter, Maddy, while she raced her horse, White Lightning, around the track.

Horses and cattle grazed in the pasture beyond the racetrack.

He was proud of how far she’d come and yet terrified she’d die like her mother had.

Maddy was only three at the time. She was the one thing that held Ray together. He couldn’t wallow in grief because he had Maddy to take care of. One little girl, who he loved more than life, had saved him from falling into ruin.

She passed him again.

He clicked the stopwatch. She’d bested her previous time by three seconds. Every race she was a little faster. He watched her as she headed toward the barn to take care of White Lightning.

Behind him, he heard gravel crunching under the tires of a vehicle. He turned, prepared to tell whoever it was he didn’t work on Sundays.

The car was an older model, dark blue Chevy Yukon that had seen better days. The driver’s side door opened, and a statuesque redhead stepped out. She closed the door and headed toward him. Wearing faded jeans that looked like they were painted on, a plain emerald, green t-shirt and cowboy boots, she could’ve belonged to any ranch.

She walked up and removed her sunglasses. “Excuse me. Are you Ray Kincaid?”

“I am, but I don’t take visitors on Sundays.”

“I’m not a visitor. I’m Lyris Jennings, your new vet.” She held out her right hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

Ray took her outstretched hand. “I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow.”

She shrugged and pulled her hand back. “I made better time than I anticipated and rather than spend the night with family in Denver, I decided to come on out and get settled. If you’d rather I can return tomorrow.”

Ray thought for a moment. He was tempted to tell her just that, but it was ridiculous for her to drive back to Denver when the guesthouse was ready to be occupied. “No, don’t do that. Your quarters are ready. I’ve put you in the guesthouse. As soon as Maddy is done caring for her horse, we’ll take you to it and let you get settled in.” He turned for a moment to check on Maddy, who had just removed her helmet and was shaking out her long blonde hair. She looked so much like Francie, it hurt to look at her sometimes. He took a deep breath, and then he turned back to Lyris. “Supper is at six in the main house. We all eat together. Breakfast is at five-thirty and lunch is at noon. There is always food in the fridge and the cupboards if you get hungry between meals. Maddy and I usually have hot cocoa or a cocktail before bed. I have the cocktail, not Maddy. You’re welcome to come to the library and join us. Oh, and welcome to Whispering Wind Ranch.”

She chuckled. “Thank you, I might take you up on that.” She turned her gaze toward the racetrack. “She rides very well. And that’s a beautiful horse. I love the lightning bolt blazing down his nose against the black of his coat. It’s really mesmerizing.”

“His name is White Lightning because of that blaze. Although now that Maddy has been training him, he runs like lightning, too.”

“She looked good enough to ride professionally. Is that her plan?” Dr. Jennings leaned against the fence with her foot on the lowest rail.

The smile Ray had been feeling from the pride in Maddy’s riding slipped away, replaced by fear. What if the same thing happened to her as happened to Francie? He couldn’t get the thought out of his mind. He knew he was being unfair to Maddy, but he wanted her to be safe. She was his baby girl—always was and always would be.

“I didn’t realize you actually saw her ride. You didn’t get here in time for that.”

“I watched from the road before I drove up. As I said, she’s very good.”

Ray nodded. “She is. She’s just as good as her mother was, maybe better.”

The woman cocked her head to one side. “Was? I didn’t realize…”

He lifted his hand and brushed off her concern. “As long as you’ll be working and living here, you should be aware. Francie, my wife, died in a riding accident. She was thrown from a horse and broke her neck. Maddy was three at the time.”

The doctor looked at him with concern. “I’m so sorry. That must have been hard for you. Raising a child alone isn’t easy.”

Ray shifted from foot to foot. He didn’t know why he was nervous. There was no pity in her eyes. “No, it’s not.”

The sides of her mouth turned up. “You must be proud of her.”

He nodded. “I am. Very proud. She’s only fifteen and she rides as well as someone who’s been doing it much longer. I just…”

She frowned for a moment. “You wish she’d chosen something else.”

“I do, but I can’t quash her dream. This is what she wants, and she’s good at it. If she continues, she’ll be great by the time she’s sixteen and old enough to race professionally. She’s already got the build for it. She’s only four feet eleven inches and ninety-eight pounds. Of course, she might hit a growth spurt, but I doubt it. She’s too much like her mother.” He smiled at a memory that surfaced unbidden. “Francie was a little thing just like Maddy. I was terrified when she told me she was expecting. I’m so big, and she was just a tiny, little woman. She assured me it would be okay. And she was right. She didn’t have any problem giving birth.” He turned his gaze and his body toward the new veterinarian. “I have no idea why I just shared that.”

Lyris reached over and laid a hand on his arm. “It’s all right. People often share things they wouldn’t otherwise. It must be something about my face.” She smiled.

Ray looked at her and felt the world tilt a little. She was so different from Francie. From her bright-red hair to her lush curves and long legs. Lyris was a good five eleven, only five inches shorter than he was, instead of nearly a foot-and-a-half, like Francie had been.

But he’d loved her with his whole heart, and now Maddy filled his heart with joy…and fear. He wouldn’t deny it, but he would do whatever he could to ease it by teaching her to tumble. He’d enrolled her in gymnastics as a toddler and encouraged her keep practicing.

Maddy liked the sport well enough, but it wasn’t her love. That was racing. She wanted to be a jockey almost more than she wanted her next breath.

As for Lyris, was her face why he told her what he did? He wasn’t so stupid that he didn’t realize she was a beautiful woman. She had big emerald eyes, a bow-shaped mouth, a heart-shaped face, and all that red hair.

Yes, he was definitely attracted, but she was his employee or would be if they came to an understanding about her duties. They didn’t amount to much…keep his horses healthy. That was her only job.

As they approached the barn, Maddy came running out. “Did you see? Daddy, did you see?”

“I did. White Lightning beat his best record. I timed it.” He pulled the stopwatch from his pocket.

“See, Daddy, he’s ready to race. I know he is.”

He frowned as he watch Maddy. “I thought you wanted to wait until you were old enough to ride him?”

She vigorously shook her head. “That won’t be for more than six months. The racing season will be over. I can’t make him wait that long. Johnny can ride him. He has before, and I know he’s the best.”

Lyris perked up. “Johnny? Do you have Johnny Cantoni riding for you? How did you manage that?”

Maddy looked at her with furrowed brows. “Who are you?”

Ray held his arm toward Lyris. “Maddy, this is Lyris Jennings, the new vet.” He turned toward Lyris. “This is my daughter, Maddy. She’s fifteen going on thirty.”

Maddy gave her father the stink eye, then turned back toward Lyris. “I thought you were going to be a man. What kind of name is Lyris?”

The woman chuckled and extended her right hand. “I’m pleased to meet you, Maddy. My name originates from the Greek for a lyra.”

Maddy looked at Lyris’s hand and then back at her face. “I know what a lyra is. It’s a small, harp-like instrument and was used in ancient Greece. We learned about that in our world history class.”

“I’m glad they teach that in school. It’s important.” Lyris put her hands in her jeans pockets.

Maddy shrugged. “In Colorado, it’s an elective. I have to have United States or World History to graduate.” She turned toward her father. “I’m hungry. I’m going to wash up and then see what Amy has cooking.” She took off and raced toward the house.

“She’s quite the handful,” said Lyris.

“That she is.” Ray smiled as he started walking west toward the big house. “But I wouldn’t have her any other way.” He cleared his throat. “So, tell me what are your plans for my animals?”

She shoved a wayward lock of hair behind her ear. “I want to keep them healthy and safe. There’s been talk in some veterinarian circles about someone doping animals. Giving them amphetamines and opioids to speed them up. Have you heard anything?”

“No. And if it was one of my people, I would know. Most all of them have been here for years and love the horses as much as I do.”

As she approached the door to the kitchen, Lyris took her hands from her pockets and used one hand to shade her eyes as she looked up at the house. The porch continued along the side of the house with the white columns holding the roof and a balcony above the porch. Large windows marched along this side of the house just like they had done on the east side. The rooms would get a lot of evening sunlight.

She was impressed with the home. It was big, but unless she’d seen it from the west she wouldn’t have thought it was so massive. “Well, we should both keep our eyes open. Especially at the racetrack. Some people will do anything to win and if the rest of your horses run anything like White Lightning, they’ll be prime targets for performance suppressing drugs. Of course, you could have an employee who wants to win so badly, they give them performance enhancing drugs. You just need to keep your eyes and ears open.” They walked across the large porch to the sliding glass door.

On this side of the house she saw another building that looked like the pool house at her last job. And beyond that was what she assumed was the guesthouse. A gravel road ran along the west side with perfectly manicured lawn between it and the house. It appeared to lead to the guesthouse.

Ray let out a sigh and then ran a hand behind his neck. “If it’s not one thing it’s another. Sometimes I think the gods are against me.” He opened sliding door and held it open for her and then followed her in, making sure the door was closed behind him.

The doorway entered into the walkway between the dining area and the kitchen. “I want to start the horses on a vitamin and mineral regime as soon as possible.”

“Why? I’ve never had the need for that in all the years I’ve been in business and my horses are healthy.”

“And I want to keep them that way. I want them to be as strong as possible, especially with these doping rumors going around. You’ll find that you can’t trust anyone. You might find out that one of your employees has a gambling problem and needs the money to pay off loan sharks or something. You don’t know what is going on in everyone’s lives.”

Ray smelled something good cooking and heard voices in the kitchen. Maddy was asking about dinner from Amy, his housekeeper and cook. He turned to Lyris and whispered. “I don’t want Maddy to know about the doping. Say nothing to her if you want to keep your job.”

She stiffened. “I would never, but I guess you don’t really know that do you. I would never hurt her or any child on purpose. If I told her she’d be afraid to give White Lightning his chance, and then she’d regret it. I can’t do that.” She whispered back.

He narrowed his eyes. “How is it you think you know my daughter so well?” His voice was still quiet.

She clenched her jaw at his glare. “Because I was just like her when I was her age, and I know things happened that changed my life, not necessarily for the better.”

Ray watched Maddy leave the kitchen. “She’s already lost so much and even though she was so young, I know it changed her. I’ve done the best I could, and Amy has helped just by being here and being a sounding board for both of us. Despite that, I often wonder if I shouldn’t have remarried just to give her a mother.”

“I don’t know the answer to that question, but marrying only for that reason wouldn’t have been good for either of you, or for the woman you chose. You’ve done a remarkable job raising her. Don’t second guess yourself.”

Ray smiled. “You’re a little bossy for being a new employee.”

She looked at him with her eyes narrowed and her hands on her hips. “I’m a contractor. I’m not actually your employee, and we should get that settled right now. We can discuss things and, ultimately, I’ll have to acquiesce to your demands, but that doesn’t mean I won’t fight you for what is best for the horses. At least for the year of my contract.”

He narrowed his gaze. “I only want what’s best for my animals. All of them. But that doesn’t mean I won’t stand up for my rights as their owner.”

“And I won’t give in to you just because you’re their owner. I will make my feelings on the subject known and argue for what I think is right.”

Ray cocked a brow. “Well, I guess we’ll see who wins won’t we.”

“I guess we will.”

“Don’t get too comfortable, Lyris, I figure we’ll have definite fights coming up and I want you to be prepared.”

Her eyes were narrow and her face was turning pink.

Ray laughed at her expression. He liked it and liked her. She was the first woman since Francie who’d actually shown him some backbone. But would she stay and fight with him? Or leave like most of the other women he dated since Francie? He didn’t include Marissa in that group. She’d tried and nearly succeeded in trapping him into marriage. But then again, he and Lyris weren’t dating…yet. He smiled. “Let me give you a tour of the house before you get settled. We might not have another chance for a while.”

“Sure. I’d love to see it.”

Lyris walked beside Ray after they entered. “This is the kitchen. It opens into the dining room which opens into the family room. When we built it Francie and I both knew that the kitchen is the heart of the house and so we built the kitchen with a large dining area and the family room all together. I don’t have a formal dining room because it would be a waste of space. We take all our meals in here and the table has four leaves and will seat twenty.”

He walked out of the kitchen down a long hall. He stopped at the first door. “My office is here; a full bath is across the hall. The next door was to be my den but Francie wanted a craft room so that’s what it became. The room doesn’t get any use now, but I never thought of changing it. It’s like she left it.”

At the end of the hall to the left was the wide curved staircase to the second floor.

To the right was another room and the foyer with the wide double doors.

“The living room is where we entertain guests, usually business associates or clients for the breeding program. To the right side of the stairs is the library. That’s where we usually have drinks after dinner. Sometimes I use the family room because it’s right there by the kitchen.” He stopped and pointed toward the staircase. “Upstairs are the bedrooms. I have ten. Four in the east wing and six in the west wing. Come, I’ll show you.”

She climbed the stairs next to him. The staircase was wide enough for at least three people to walk up it side-by-side. At the top was a large landing with two hallways leading off it.

“The east wing is where Maddy and I have our rooms. Hers is on the left side at the end of the hall and mine is on the right side at the beginning. I’ll show you mine because I know what condition it’s in. No telling whether hers is messy or not.” He pushed open the door to the first room on the right. “This is the largest bedroom in the house. It has a sitting room there.” He pointed at a sofa and two overstuffed chairs with a coffee table between them.

Separating the bedroom from the sitting room was a wall with a saltwater aquarium. It was about six feet long and about two feet wide. It was gorgeous. She’d never seen anything like it.

To the left of the sitting room was a large fireplace. On the back side of the fireplace was a Jacuzzi tub, then the double walk-in closet and the full bathroom.

“Ray, this is amazing. I’ve never see a bedroom like this and I absolutely adore the fish tank.” She waved her arms taking in the entire room.

“That was Francie’s idea. She loved saltwater fish. She was quite happy snorkeling whenever we went to the Caribbean or Hawaii. She preferred it to diving because she didn’t like the idea of being in the water and relying on a tank of air.” He stopped and stared at the tank for a moment.

Lyris wondered if he was remembering his wife. He seemed to have gotten somber. “What is Maddy’s room like? Is it large, too.”

“What?” He was lost in the moment and then shook his head as if to clear it. “Oh, her room isn’t this big but it does have a balcony off of it. This one does, too. It’s behind the curtains on the outside wall between the Jacuzzi and the sitting room.”

“Is that part of the balcony we see when we approach the front of the house?”

“Yes, I’m glad you saw that. The house is sort of built differently inside than what you might expect.”

“That’s true. Is the west wing the same way?”

“No. It has six smaller bedrooms. They are still good-sized but smaller. The room next to mine at the end of the hall is the nursery. It was Maddy’s when she was little. Francie and I planned on more children, but it wasn’t meant to be.” He looked at his watch. “Shall we get back downstairs and get you to the guesthouse? It’s almost five. I’d like to get you settled in before dinner. Amy doesn’t wait dinner for anyone, including me.”

Lyris chuckled. “I guess we know who rules the roost here.”

“You bet. Amy. If you want to eat well, you won’t get on her bad side.”

“I’ll see if I can manage that.”