The Virgin and Zach Coulter. Lois Faye Dyer
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in a warm bed, instead of meeting with his father’s estate attorney. He’d been traveling nonstop for nearly a week to get this far. The journey from the base camp at Mount Everest, where he’d spoken with Cade, had required hiking with stubborn pack mules, a train to the nearest city, and finally several airline flights just to reach the U.S. This morning he’d boarded an 11:00 a.m. flight from Seattle to Billings, where he’d rented the truck and driven to Indian Springs.
“Wait!” The woman’s voice stopped him and he looked back at her. “Are you Zach Coulter?”
“Yeah.” He paused to look back at her.
“Mr. Anderson had an emergency in Great Falls today, but he asked me to give you something if you arrived while he was gone.” She quickly bustled across the waiting area and entered an office. A second later, she popped back out. “Here it is.” She held out a sealed manila envelope and a silver ring holding a collection of metal keys. “He said to tell you the letter and enclosures explain everything and that he’ll be back in the office next week. He hopes you’ll come in to see him then.”
Zach took the keys and envelope from her outstretched hand.
“I’ll do that.” He nodded and left the office. He returned to his truck, tossing the envelope on the passenger seat and shoving the key ring into his jeans pocket before backing out. As he drove off, he glanced at the wide plate-glass window of the attorney’s office. Anderson’s receptionist watched him, lifting a hand in a wave of farewell.
He returned the gesture, realizing that he’d forgotten how friendly the people in his hometown could be. He liked the energy and convenience of living in San Francisco. It was the perfect base for someone who traveled as much as he did. But he couldn’t remember the last time a business acquaintance in the city had waved goodbye to him.
Zach obeyed the twenty-five miles per hour speed limit, giving him time to assess the buildings and shops lining Main Street. Surprisingly, not much had changed in the thirteen years he’d been gone. The Black Bear Bar and Restaurant still took up the corner across from the pharmacy. The big door of Miller’s Feed Store was rolled up and stood open for business. The neon sign over the Indian Springs Café still flashed bright red, and Connors Auto Parts had dusty ranch trucks parked at the curb out front.
There were several small shops he didn’t remember but all in all, Zach was pleasantly surprised to find his hometown apparently alive and well.
Driving through the center of the town where he’d grown up brought a wash of memories. Picking up speed as he drove toward the Triple C, every mile that brought him closer to his boyhood home held even more.
At last he slowed, braked to turn off the highway and drove beneath a tall, welded metal arch that spelled out Coulter Cattle Company in graceful curves. The lane was edged with pastures dotted with sagebrush before it rounded the base of a butte and topped a rise.
Zach braked, letting the engine idle. At nearly five o’clock the late-afternoon sun highlighted the familiar buildings clustered at the foot of a flat-topped butte on the far side of the valley. From this distance, the ranch looked exactly the same as it had on the morning he’d driven away years ago—for what he’d sworn was the last time.
And damned if he wasn’t glad to be here, he thought with surprise. He hadn’t seen Cade in nearly a year and it was always good to catch up with his brother. As for returning to the ranch? There was an odd mix of reluctance to see the place and an uncomfortable weight on his chest that reminded him of the way he’d felt after his mother had died. That same heaviness had returned when he’d left the Triple C, and again when Cade had told him Joseph was dead.
He shook his head. He’d never spent a lot of time examining his feelings and he didn’t plan to start now. It was enough that he wasn’t turning the truck around and heading back to San Francisco.
What the hell, he thought with a shrug. Life was full of surprises. He’d never expected to be driving down this road again.
He shifted the truck into gear and left the crest of the hill, following the gravel road as it descended to the valley floor. The wood-and-iron bridge rattled beneath the wheels as he crossed the creek before the road climbed again to reach the buildings.
Zach automatically swung the truck in a wide circle before parking in front of the house with the nose of the truck pointing toward the exit.
An older pickup sat in front of the bunkhouse across the graveled ranch yard, and a newer model silver truck was parked just beyond Zach’s pickup.
Guessing the newer vehicle belonged to Cade, Zach grabbed his duffel bag from the jump seat and stepped out, stretching in an attempt to relieve the aches from the long days of nonstop travel.
The gate in the fence to the house yard opened without a creak when he lifted the latch.
Cade had obviously been doing a lot of work on the place, Zach thought as he closed the gate behind him, his gaze assessing the semicircle of buildings facing the house around the large yard. The bunkhouse was freshly painted and although the barn, machine shop and other buildings were weatherworn, the structures appeared to be solid.
He turned back to the house, running a quick glance over the roofline and corners. Fresh white paint and green trim around the windows and doors had the old house looking better than Zach remembered it.
He strode up the walk, crossed the porch and stepped inside without knocking. The aroma of simmering pot roast filled the air and he caught the murmur of a radio from the direction of the kitchen.
“Hello? Anyone home?” He dropped his duffel bag just inside the door. “Cade?”
“We’re in the kitchen—come on back,” a feminine voice called.
Zach wondered if Cade had hired a housekeeper. He walked down the hall and entered the kitchen just as the woman standing at the stove turned to look over her shoulder. Her eyes widened in surprise before her lips curved in a smile, lighting up her face.
“Hey,” he drawled, stopping just inside the door to glance around the room. “I’m looking for Cade—”
The door to the back porch opened and his brother stepped inside, halting abruptly.
“Zach.” Cade crossed the room and grabbed him in a brief, hard hug before stepping back. Eyes as green as Zach’s narrowed as he stared. “It’s good to see you—but damn, you look like hell.”
Zach laughed. “And hello to you, too.”
Cade laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m glad you’re back. Even if you do look like you haven’t slept in a week.”
“I probably haven’t,” Zach drawled. “I plan to say hello and find the nearest empty bed to sleep for a day or two. Have you heard from Eli or Brodie?”
“Not yet. I’m hoping you’ll ask your ace assistant to join the search.”
Zach shrugged. “Angela’s never failed to find whatever she’s looked for. Want me to call her?”
“Yeah,” Cade said. “Any help she can give us would be great. It can wait until you get some rest, though.”
“All right.” A movement behind Cade caught Zach’s attention and he looked over his brother’s shoulder. The pretty blonde was smoothing her fingertips over her lashes, her brown eyes damp.
Cade turned, his gaze following Zach’s.
“Mariah, honey.” His deep voice gentled and it held a note Zach had never heard from his big brother.
Intrigued, he studied their faces as Cade walked to the woman and slung an arm around her shoulders to pull her close against his side.
“This is Mariah Jones, Zach,” Cade said, his quiet voice filled with pride and love. “As soon as I can convince her to settle on a date, we’re getting married.”
Zach felt his eyes widen, and his gaze sharpened on the woman’s