The Ranger's Second Chance

Chapter 1

ONE

Annie Jacobson regretted every decision that had led to this moment.

She surveyed the small gathering in the main lodge of her ranch.

Voices rose and fell as people greeted one another.

Laughter followed, bouncing off the stone floor.

Flames crackled in the fireplace, throwing warm light across the room, and the huge Christmas tree in the corner glittered with silver tinsel.

“Remind me again why I thought hosting the high school reunion was a good idea?”

Brooke Hastings, Annie’s business manager and best friend, answered without looking up.

“Experience. If we’re going to use the summer camp during the off-season as an event location, then we need a trial run.

Hosting the Oakwood Crew for a mini high school reunion is a good way to test the waters.

” Her lips curved into a smile. “Besides, it’s fun. ”

“Is it?” Annie had mixed feelings about the entire affair and had from the moment Brooke suggested it.

All of them had attended the high school in the neighboring town of Raven Hills, but this weekend’s reunion wasn’t for the entire class.

It was reserved for the Oakwood Crew, the group of kids from their small town.

Most of them had grown up together from elementary school onward, and even in high school had stuck together like a loyal but dysfunctional family.

Annie’s gaze skipped over her former classmates, her heart aching with grief. “The last time we were all together…”

Seth had been alive.

“I know.” Sadness dimmed Brooke’s smile. “What happened at the graduation bonfire was awful, but isn’t that even more reason to have the reunion? We were all friends once. It’s been twenty years, and the older we get, the more we need the people who knew us when we were young.”

Annie’s gaze narrowed. “Did you hear that on a self-help podcast?”

Brooke laughed. “Maybe, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

” She clicked her pen and glanced down at the check-in sheet.

“Almost everyone is here. Dinner will be served in an hour, and after that, we’ll go to the activity center for s’mores.

Dwayne will set up a portable fire pit near the entrance so we can roast marshmallows even if it rains. ”

Dwayne was the property manager. A man of few words, he handled his duties with a rigidity he’d honed working on dozens of ranches throughout Texas—horses fed, fences mended, and city folks tolerated with barely concealed impatience.

Annie pulled out her cell phone and opened the weather app. An orange banner warned of a potential drop in temperature. “It might dip below freezing. If that happens and it rains, we’ll have ice.”

“I’ve made a contingency plan for indoor activities, don’t worry.

” The mini-reunion hadn’t just been Brooke’s idea; she’d organized everything.

She’d hired temporary staff for the meals and had the summer cabins cleaned and readied, although a handful of guests would stay in the bedrooms in the main lodge.

Guilt pricked Annie. “I haven’t done much to help you.”

“You aren’t supposed to.” Brooke grinned, pushing dark curls behind her shoulder.

“It’s my job to handle this stuff. Planning the summer programs keeps you busy enough.

The whole point is to bring in more money without adding to your very long to-do list.” She winked.

“Besides, we both know I’ll do a better job without your interference. ”

Annie chuckled. Her bestie was probably right about that.

A marketing guru with the energy of a hummingbird, Brooke was more than capable of handling the expansion of their business.

And despite Annie’s reservations about the high school reunion, she had to admit the extra revenue was worth it.

She’d opened Haven Ranch using her late husband’s life insurance policy, but a lack of funds had kept the summer camp for bullied teens small.

Hosting events during the off-season was the fastest way to change that.

She leaned on the counter. “How many people are coming to the reunion anyway? Last time I checked, it was fifteen.”

The entire Oakwood Crew was twenty-five, but not everyone could make it.

Brooke had deliberately scheduled the reunion for the week between Christmas and New Year’s, when most people had vacation days and were already in town visiting family.

Spouses had been included in the invitation, but most had opted to come alone.

“It’s about the same. We had a last-minute cancellation and…” Brooke hesitated. “There’s something I should probably tell you—”

“There you are, Brooke.” Kayla Whitfield appeared at Annie’s side, her overly plumped lips forming a moue of distaste.

“My room doesn’t have a tub.” Time had done little to diminish the former prom queen’s regal bearing.

Designer jeans hugged her still-slim hips while a cashmere sweater draped artfully off one shoulder.

Diamond studs caught the light with every practiced toss of her honey-blonde highlights. “I absolutely must have a tub.”

“Sorry, Kayla, but none of the rooms have a tub. Only a shower.” Brooke was a bundle of positivity, a people-person who got along with everyone, including all their former high school classmates.

Even Kayla. She lowered her voice. “I put you in the best room we have, and you’re right next door to Heather, as you requested. ”

Kayla’s brows arched. “That’s the best room?” She sniffed in distaste and turned to Annie. “Not to be rude, but you could use the help of an experienced interior designer. I’d be happy to give you some names.”

Annie fought for patience. In elementary school, she and Kayla had shared popsicles and traded secrets at sleepovers.

By high school, they’d grown into two very different people.

“I appreciate the offer, but Haven Ranch isn’t a hotel.

It’s a summer camp. And these rooms are normally used by the staff.

It may not be what you’re used to, but I’m sure you’ll have a good time catching up with everyone during this weekend’s reunion. ”

Kayla’s smile turned genuine. “It will be nice to see everyone again.” Her gaze flickered over Annie. She seemed to disapprove of the simple T-shirt and dark jeans, but her lips curved unexpectedly. “I like what you’ve done to your hair.”

Surprise fluttered through Annie. “Thank you.”

Growing up, she’d been the only child of a single mother who often worked two or three jobs to keep food on the table.

Frizzy hair that refused to be tamed, thrift-store clothing, and bottle-thick glasses wouldn’t have endeared her to the cool kids anyway, but the straight A’s had sealed her fate as the nerdy, frumpy girl everyone overlooked.

Time had changed things. She was far more confident now, and made no apologies for her work ethic, her intelligence, or her success. She’d also traded her thick glasses for contacts and learned to style her hair, smoothing the wild curls into submission with a flatiron.

A squeal came from across the room. Heather Sanders bounced over to Kayla. Her fiery red locks hung in soft curls, and fake lashes framed her large green eyes. “I can’t believe you’re here! Oh my gosh, you look gorgeous!”

The two women embraced, their excited speech so rapid and high-pitched it sounded like dolphin chatter.

Kayla held up a finger to stop Heather from talking and tossed Annie a saccharine smile.

“Would you be a doll and do me the biggest favor?” She set her car fob on the lobby counter.

“My cell phone and laptop bag are still in my car. Could you run out and grab them? I’d really appreciate it. ”

So that’s why Kayla had complimented her hair. She was buttering her up. Classic Kayla.

“That’s not Annie’s job,” Brooke replied. “I can ask my husband, Evan—”

“No, it’s okay,” Annie interjected. Evan had already hauled three of Kayla’s suitcases up the stairs. If he kept helping out like this, Annie would have to add him to the payroll. “I’ll handle it.”

Kayla beamed. “Thanks, Annie. It’s the Mercedes SUV parked on the left side of the lot.”

Kayla and Heather turned away, but Kayla’s voice carried over the click of her high heels. “Frumpy Annie is still as chubby as ever. Remember that prank we played on her at senior prom? I’ll never forget the look on her face. How she ever thought Tate Atwood actually liked her, I’ll never know.”

The two women dissolved into laughter.

Annie stiffened. She’d put most of the bullying behind her, but the incident at prom, and the memory of Tate Atwood, still hurt.

By senior year, she’d known Kayla and Heather, along with some of the other kids they’d grown up with, could be cruel, but Tate…

she’d considered him a friend. She’d trusted him.

He’d been her first heartbreak. Not her worst, or the most painful. But the first.

Brooke’s pen stilled over the check-in sheet. Horror and anger flashed across her face. “Annie—”

“It’s okay.” She forced a smile. “Kayla’s just being…Kayla. After everything I’ve been through, a few nasty comments won’t faze me.” She scooped up the fob from the counter. “I’ll grab her stuff and be right back.”

On wooden legs, she crossed the lobby and the industrial-sized kitchen before reaching a small mudroom.

The plastic of the fob cut into her hand.

It shouldn’t matter. She hadn’t seen Kayla in two decades.

And yet…Kayla’s barbs had pressed on a bruise she’d thought was long gone.

It made Annie angry at herself for agreeing to fetch Kayla’s things.

But what would be the point in arguing or making a scene?

She’d learned a long time ago to pick her battles, and working as a police officer had cemented that trait. It was a waste of time to get worked up over every insult or demeaning comment a criminal hurled her way. The teenagers who came to her camp could be just as smart-mouthed.

She drew in a deep breath, remembering what her grandmother always told her. I am a child of God. Perfectly designed.

Annie knew who she was. She didn’t need to prove it to Kayla, and she didn’t need to strike back, either. Grace wasn’t weakness. It was strength under control.

Donning her heavy jacket, Annie stepped out into the December night.

Cold hit her like a smack to the face. She jogged down the wooden steps to the trail and followed it to the parking area.

The dark pressed in as she weaved between the vehicles toward the far side of the lot.

Gravel crunched under her tennis shoes. Wind whipped through the pine trees, their branches swaying and creaking ominously.

Annie shivered, partly from cold and partly from an unease she couldn’t explain.

She slowed her pace, scanning the lot. The moon hid behind cloud cover. The only illumination was a faint glow from the main lodge. Her breath fogged out in front of her. She’d been out here hundreds of times at night, but she’d never had this sense of dread before. Goosebumps rose on her arms.

“Hello?” She gripped Kayla’s key fob, suddenly wishing she had her trusty Glock. Since leaving the force two years ago, Annie had gotten out of the habit of carrying. Haven Ranch was located in a small corner of the Texas Hill Country. Crime was almost nonexistent. “Anyone there? Can I help you?”

Silence answered.

She was being ridiculous. The reunion was dragging every old insecurity to the surface, and now she was jumping at shadows.

Spotting Kayla’s silver Mercedes SUV, Annie hurried toward it.

The vehicle unlocked as she neared it, responding to the fob in her hand.

She opened the driver’s side door. The overhead light washed the interior in a dim yellow.

Kayla’s cell phone rested on the charging pad in the console.

Her laptop bag sat in a heap on the passenger-side floorboard.

Rather than cross to the other side of the vehicle, Annie leaned over the seat to grab the bag. Her nose wrinkled at the discarded makeup staining the leather seats and the food wrappers scattered across the floor mats. Kayla owned expensive things, but clearly didn’t value them.

Backing out, Annie hauled the laptop bag over her shoulder and snagged the cell phone. She slammed the SUV door shut. Darkness shrouded her.

A twig snapped. Annie’s head jerked up.

Someone stood at the bumper of the SUV.

She barely had time to react as the dark figure lunged.

Years of police training kicked in as she twisted away.

The laptop bag slid from her shoulder, and she raised her arms defensively.

Cold steel sliced through the air. The knife caught her jacket sleeve, ripping through the fabric with a sickening sound.

Annie stumbled backward, adrenaline flooding her system. Her attacker was nothing more than a shadow against the night. She lashed out with a kick that landed in his solar plexus. The figure grunted—a masculine sound—but didn’t retreat. He grabbed her ankle and yanked hard.

She hit the ground with a bone-jarring jolt.

Her head cracked against the edge of the SUV’s fender.

Stars burst across her vision. Something whistled near her, and Annie threw up a hand to protect her face.

The knife sliced through her jacket again, this time biting into her skin.

Heat and pain flared. She ignored it and, guided by muscle memory rather than sight, drove the heel of her other hand into her attacker’s chin.

His head snapped back, and he staggered away from her.

“Help!” Annie pushed herself to her feet. Her vision swam. She took two steps and lurched, her hand shooting out to catch the vehicle for balance. Nausea swelled. Blood coursed down her injured arm. Annie tried to push off and keep moving, but her feet wouldn’t cooperate. “Help! Someone!”

Her knees hit the gravel.

The crunch of footsteps echoed behind her as the attacker closed in.