Candy Kisses (Romance on the Ranch #4) Read online

  Candy Kisses

  Romance on the Ranch Series

  By

  Verna Clay

  This book is dedicated to those who have suffered taunts from bullies.

  Special Thanks:

  Alicia for her email inspiring me to continue this series,

  Silvia for her email suggesting the heroine for this story,

  Jaime for putting the "Drops" in ChocoDrops,

  Felicia for her wonderful proofreading skills and encouragement.

  Candy Kisses

  Romance on the Ranch Series

  Copyright © 2013 by Verna Clay

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  For information contact:

  [email protected]

  Website: www.VernaClay.com

  Published by:

  M.O.I. Publishing

  "Mirrors of Imagination"

  Cover Designer: Elaina Lee (For the Muse)

  Pictures: Can Stock Photo

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Dear Readers,

  I wasn't sure I would continue this series after three books, but emails from readers changed my mind, and after I got into the story, I was captured by the characters starring in this continuation of the Romance on the Ranch Series. Also, it was a blast revisiting everyone from the first three books to see what was happening in their lives.

  Before writing this fourth book, my selection for the heroine was narrowed down to Sarah's sister, Libby Baxter; Miles' sister, Cecelia Brightman; and Miles' ex-girlfriend, Monica Newport. Within the next few pages you will discover my choice.

  As for the hero, Dirk Branigan, he's a widower and the father of a ten year old daughter. He's also a rodeo star with a busted leg and about to find himself frustrated, mesmerized, and challenged by our heroine. Oh, and he has a surprising talent. Goodness, I love this stuff!

  So without giving away any more spoilers, I invite you to Dirk Branigan's ranch and his unexpected romance.

  Verna Clay

  Sequence of books in Romance on the Ranch Series:

  Dream Kisses

  Honey Kisses

  Baby Kisses

  Candy Kisses

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1: Speak of the Devil

  Chapter 2: Compassion

  Chapter 3: Dislike at first Sight

  Chapter 4: Tessa

  Chapter 5: Mac and Cheese

  Chapter 6: ChocoDrops

  Chapter 7: Chocolate Surprise

  Chapter 8: Tubby Tessa

  Chapter 9: Doc Jones

  Chapter 10: Coffee Clique

  Chapter 11: Woman-to-Woman

  Chapter 12: Parade Princess

  Chapter 13: Concrete Memories

  Chapter 14: Party Down Hoedown

  Chapter 15: Bustin' a Boot

  Chapter 16: Whispers

  Chapter 17: No Popcorn Tonight

  Chapter 18: Coming to Grips

  Chapter 19: No!

  Chapter 20: Recollections

  Chapter 21: Personally Recommended

  Epilogue

  Author's Note

  Chapter 1: Speak of the Devil

  Tooty admonished her boys as they piled out of the van, "Morgan, stop tormenting your brother! Harris, make sure Morgan and Eli are careful when they climb the ladder. And when I call you for lunch, I don't want you dallying around." She grinned. "Oh, and one more thing—have fun!"

  Harris, Eli, and Morgan yelled thanks to their mom and then shouted for joy as they raced across the drive on a perfect spring Saturday.

  Six months pregnant and with her youngest son, two year old Austin on her hip, Tooty waited until her boys had reached the tree house Sage Tanner and Jackson Martinez had just finished building a week earlier, before climbing her porch steps next to the wheelchair ramp for her husband.

  "I wanna pway wid brothers," Austin pouted.

  "Honey, after I let daddy know we're home I'll take you to play."

  "Otay, Mommy."

  On the porch Tooty set Austin down and juggled the grocery sack so she could open the front door. Glancing around, she made a mental note to water the bulbs in her window boxes and sweep the debris that had blown across the porch. Although Miles insisted that she hire help for the innumerable chores necessary for their family of six—soon to be seven, she enjoyed working around the home she had inherited before marrying Miles, and which they had expanded upon by adding three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a family room, an office, and modernizing the kitchen. The additions were larger than the original house.

  "Miles! I'm home!" Tooty called as Austin ran to find his daddy. "I ordered the new blinds for our bedroom. I can't wait 'til they arrive." She entered the kitchen.

  Austin had already climbed onto his father's lap and was grinning from ear-to-ear as he reached for a cookie on a platter in the center of the table. The strange expression on Miles' face while he talked on his cell phone alerted Tooty to the fact that something was wrong. Her heart dropped. Had someone been hurt? Lifting Austin off his lap, she carried him and his cookie to the family room to play with the myriad of toys always scattered about.

  When she returned, Miles was saying into his phone, "Hmm. The guy's a rat. Are you going to pursue legal action if you find him?"

  Tooty walked to the sink, poured herself a glass of water, and then sat across from Miles.

  He glanced at her, shook his head and said, "Monica, let me think about your situation and then I'll call you back."

  Tooty's eyes rounded. Monica! She jerked her hand to her mouth in surprise.

  Miles watched her reaction and slowly nodded that it was the same person Tooty suspected.

  Snotty Monica, my husband's ex-girlfriend is calling him!

  Miles said, "Don't cry. Everything will work out." He listened and finished with, "Try not to worry. I'll talk to you soon." He touched the screen of his cell phone to disconnect and shook his head again. "I can't believe it."

  Tooty, on pins and needles, waited for him to spill the beans.

  "Give me just a minute," he said, and rolled his wheelchair to the counter to pour a cup of coffee. After opening the fridge and dousing a healthy dose of cream into his cup, he returned to the table and sipped.

  Tooty said, "Miles, if you keep me in suspense much longer, I'm going to scream."

  Her husband set his cup down. "Monica is broke, homeless, and…three months pregnant."

  "What!" Tooty's eyes rounded like saucers.

  "Seems she got involved with some smooth talker who convinced her that he was an investment banker, and after they'd lived together for some months, she invested all of her funds in what she thought was a high yielding account. A few days later the scumbag left her high and dry and the authorities think he skipped the country. Then, within the same week, her company downsized and laid her off." Miles wasn't finished, "And the next week she discovered she was pregnant after she got an eviction notice because 'scum bag' hadn't paid the rent like he'd said."

  Tooty held her hands to her cheeks in shock. "What's she going to do…about the baby, I mean?"

  Miles smiled and chuckled. "She surprised me there. She said she's going to keep this baby no matter what. She said if I could survive having so many children, she could survive having just one."

  Still shocked, Tooty asked, "Why is she calling you? Does she want to borrow money?"

  "Actually, no. I offered to give her a loan,
but she refused. She said the reason she'd called, other than having a shoulder to cry on, was to ask if I had any connections for a new job. She said she's been applying for positions for a month, with no luck, and I was the only friend she could think to call."

  "Well, that doesn't surprise me. Her not having friends, I mean. So she hasn't contacted your mom or dad?"

  "No. She said she hasn't spoken with them in over a year and now she's too mortified to do so."

  "Well, as you know, she's not on my list of favorite people after that stunt she pulled in New York. She wanted me to feel like a hick at that fancy restaurant, and I sure did, but I'm not so vindictive as to not want things to turn out well for her. I know what it's like to be alone, pregnant, and rejected by the father of your child."

  Miles reached his hand across the small table and clasped hers. "But I'm eternally grateful that Harris' father turned out to be such a lowlife. I love you, Tooty, and I love Harris like my own son."

  Tooty lifted the hand of the father of Eli, Morgan, and Austin and their teeny bun still in the oven, and kissed it.

  Chapter 2: Compassion

  Tooty listened to Miles' deep breathing and turned on her side to gaze at him, so serene and handsome while he slept. Slipping quietly from their bed, she rubbed her round belly and smiled. They'd finally gotten their girl. She'd already started decorating the baby's room with princess and fairytale castle wallpaper.

  After checking on her boys, something she often did just because she loved watching their sweet faces in sleep, she walked to the large window in her front room and stared into a night splendidly lit by a full moon that showcased their fabulous property with outbuildings and a special park-like area for picnics and gatherings with family and friends, and now the boys' tree house. She loved her life, her family, and her home.

  Remembering her struggles as a single, teenage mother, she felt forever grateful for the direction her life had taken after meeting her famous author-husband, Miles Brightman, pen name, Maxwell Henry; she wanted for nothing. Miles had often said he would build her the palace of her dreams if she so desired, but she'd never wanted to live anywhere but the home she had inherited from her distant relative, Beatrice Shipley. And Miles, even after living in a penthouse in New York, said this home meant more to him than the grandest mansion money could buy.

  The baby kicked and Tooty smiled. Baby girl, you kick harder and more often than your brothers ever did.

  A cloud passed in front of the moon and cast shadows across her property and her thoughts drifted to Monica. Her inclination had been to gloat over Monica's predicament, but her conscience had kicked in. The more she tried to dismiss the spoiled woman from her thoughts, the more she remembered how alone she had felt when she was facing the same circumstance. Although her parents had allowed her to remain in their home before and after Harris' birth, their emotional detachment had been hard on her. Harris had captured their hearts from the beginning, but they had remained aloof from their daughter. The stigma of Tooty's unwed pregnancy at the age of sixteen had been overwhelming and embarrassing for them in their small town. Over the years, however, and with the birth of Tooty and Miles' children, they had loosened up, although the unconditional acceptance Tooty longed for was still absent. Even so, she had never lacked for a place to live during those early years. It appeared Monica was homeless. Tooty sighed. I wonder if Sarah has any connections in New York.

  The next day, after seeing Harris and Eli off to the bus stop, and then dropping Morgan and Austin at the daycare they enjoyed twice a week so she could shop and perform the myriad chores necessary for her family, Tooty pulled to the front of Sage and Sarah Tanner's ranch house.

  Sarah met her at the front door. "Hi, honey. What a nice surprise."

  "Sorry for just dropping in. I meant to call before leaving the house, but I forgot; and then I left my phone on the table."

  "Not a problem. You come over anytime you want. In fact, with our older kids in school, you should visit more often and bring Morgan and Austin. Hannah's kindergarten class doesn't start until twelve-thirty so they can play together."

  "Well, that goes both ways. You've got to come see the finished tree house. Sage and Jackson did a wonderful job. The boys love it! I have to threaten them with losing their allowance to get them to come down."

  Sarah laughed. "Hey, let's relax on the patio. Would you like tea or coffee, maybe a soda or juice? I made some great raspberry tea."

  "Mmm. Raspberry tea sounds delicious."

  After they were settled in Sarah's luxurious, enclosed patio with its scattering of comfortable furniture arranged to make great conversation klatches when she and Sage entertained, and showcased sweeping views of back pastures dotted with cattle and horses, Tooty sipped her tea and said, "By the way, where is Hannah?"

  She's with Sage in the barn. He's teaching her all about her new pony. Except for Julie, I've never seen a child so enthused about horses. If she could, she'd sleep in the barn with Tinker."

  Tooty felt the baby kick and rubbed the spot. "She named her pony Tinker? That's adorable."

  Sarah said, "How are you feeling? Still having morning sickness?"

  "No, thank heaven. But poor Miles was so worried because I didn't have it this long with the boys." Tooty paused. "Ah, Sarah, do you remember me telling you about Miles' girlfriend, Monica?"

  "I certainly do. She was quite a piece of work from what I recall."

  "That's true. I haven't seen her in years, so I don't know what she's like now."

  Sarah looked interested and waited for Tooty to explain.

  "She called Miles yesterday and told him she's three months pregnant by some guy that stole her money and then deserted her. She also lost her job and got evicted from her apartment. She told him he was the only person she could think to call for help and asked if he knew of any connections for employment."

  Sarah said, "Wow! What a turn of events. Is she keeping the child?"

  "That was the first thing I asked, too. Surprisingly, yes; which shocked the daylights out of me." Tooty chuckled. "She told Miles that if he could survive having so many children, she could handle just one."

  Sarah laughed. "Does she know the gender of the child?" She laughed louder, "That might have something to do with her survival skills."

  "I asked Miles the same question and he said he didn't think to ask."

  Sarah pointed out the window. "Look, there's Sage leading Hannah into the pasture on Tinker."

  Tooty grinned. "Who would have thought that when Julie and I were growing up, one day you would be married to Sage, Julie to Jacob, Ann to Jackson, and me to Miles?"

  Sarah smiled widely. "And don't forget Ann's grandmother Molly to Newt, and Dixie to Alligator."

  Tooty sighed. "Such a wonderful life."

  Sarah agreed with her own sigh. "Yes. It certainly is."

  "Sarah, I don't know why, but I can't stop thinking about Monica's predicament."

  "It's because you have heart, honey. You truly care about people."

  "Well, I wanted to ask if you knew anyone in New York she could apply for a job with. She's an interior designer and very good at it. Although her decorating of Miles' penthouse wasn't to my taste, I could see her talent. She told Miles though that she's desperate enough to take just about any job."

  Sarah tapped her chin. "Let me think." After a few seconds she said, "I really only know a few people in New York because of my publisher, but none of them seem appropriate. I suppose I could call Sissy Johansen and ask if she knows of anything available. Maybe her publishing company has an opening. You don't know if Monica types do you?"

  "No. But my gut instinct is that she doesn't. I guess its silly trying to help her find a job when I don't even know what she can do."

  Sarah tapped her chin again, "You know…" She gazed out the window and didn't finish her thought.

  "What?"

  She looked back at Tooty. "No. It would be asking too much of you."

  "What, Sa
rah? Now I have to know."

  Sarah chewed the inside of her cheek and Tooty leaned forward. "What? What?"

  "Okay. What if Monica came here? Would that be too much for you to handle?"

  Tooty's eyes widened. "Here? My husband's ex-girlfriend come here?"

  "I know. Ridiculous. I shouldn't have said anything."

  "But who would she work for? Do you want to redecorate your house?"

  "Goodness no. With three rowdy children, that would be a nightmare."

  "Then who. Surely you're not thinking of me?"

  "Of course not. I was thinking of Dirk Branigan."

  "The rodeo champion?"

  "Yes. You know he broke his leg at his last rodeo, don't you?"

  "I'd heard something about it. Do you think he wants to decorate his house?" Tooty couldn't help but giggle.

  Sarah giggled too. "No, silly. Sage told me Dirk asked him if he knew of anyone who could live at his place for about three months to care for his daughter and cook and clean until he's back on his feet."

  Tooty giggled again. "Monica cooking and cleaning? Now that would be a sight to see."

  "It's just an idea. At least it would give her time to check out her options and find another job. You know there are online services called Headhunters that search out employment opportunities. She could apply with them and maybe land another interior designer job."

  Tooty rubbed the lump on the side of her belly where her baby was poking a fist or foot. "Let me run it by Miles. He might veto that option immediately."

  *

  "What!" Miles looked at his wife with incredulity. "You want to offer Monica a job here?"

  "I don't want to. But I know how she's feeling. As much as she irritates me, I can't just turn my back on her. Besides, Dirk may already have someone and this conversation is for nothing."

  Miles laid the book in his hands on his bedside table and sighed. "Honey, one of the things I love about you is your heart of gold. If you can handle her being here, I guess I can too. I'm not so cold-hearted as to turn my back on a pregnant woman."