April's Angel Read online

  April's Angel

  Whispers in Wyoming

  Danni Roan

  Copyright © 2020 Danni Roan

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  ISBN-13: 9781234567890

  ISBN-10: 1477123456

  Cover design by: Erin Dameron-Hill

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309

  Printed in the United States of America

  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

  2 Timothy 1:7

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Epigraph

  Introduction

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Epilogue

  Introduction

  After nearly five years, Angie has her chance to return to the Broken J Dude Ranch where a summer holiday as a teen helped her determine where her life would go. Now halfway through her career track in college, she isn’t sure if she has made the right choice and fear threatens to keep her from moving forward. Struggling to find the strength to hold on she seeks refuge in one of her happiest memories. Jace Anton has been working Wyoming ranches since he was a boy, but as much as he enjoys the work, something always seems to be missing. He knows his heart is in the right place but are his feet. Committing his uncertain future to God, he takes a job at the bustling Broken J where everything will change.

  Prologue

  Chase Haven stepped out onto the front porch of his slate gray one-story home and snaked his hand around his wife’s trim waist, lifting his coffee mug with the other. The cool air of a crisp dawn shimmered in the morning light and the misty forms of horses in the pasture where his house sat shimmered in the predawn.

  “You’re up early,” he mused, his bright eyes dancing as he pulled Philomena closer, forcing her to stand from where she had been leaning against the porch rail. Phil slipped her arm around his back and hooked her thumb in the loop of his faded jeans. Her steaming mug of black gold gripped in her left hand. They were quite a pair, Phil and Chase, and the onetime champion broncobuster knew it.

  Philomena Allen had inherited the old rundown ranch some eight years ago, and he had met her soon after when her big lunk of a cousin, and his oldest friend, had offered Chase the opportunity of a lifetime as head wrangler to the Broken J Dude Ranch. The idea of a dude ranch hadn’t appealed to him, but the opportunity to bring his family’s herd of prime Quarter Horse stock together had.

  “The children are still sleeping,” Phil said, “and I couldn’t resist the chance for a few moments of peace and quiet before the day got started. You know things are already hopping this spring even though summer is our busiest time. The weather this spring has been mild, and we’re booked solid. Now that we have the RV Park, which is full to capacity, we’re even busier. Then Red has a handful of his SOWER friends in helping with maintenance here at the ranch and for the charity organizations all over Wyoming. All told it’s stacking up to be a crazy day.”

  Chase tugged Phil closer pulling her around, so he could see her face. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and he never got tired of looking at her. Her dark hair shimmered in the orange glow of the sunrise turning her auburn highlights to a fiery hue, her violet eyes sparkled up at him as her free hand brushed a strand of blonde hair from his forehead.

  Phil tipped up on her toes kissing her husband lightly. She had never truly known love until she met Chase. The handsome, former bronco rider and rodeo hero had stepped into her life and brought with him a faith that had finally found its mark in her heart. “What would I do without you?” she asked.

  “You’d muddle through,” Chase teased, a smile brightening his rugged face. “Of course with our tiny brood in there you’d probably need even more help than we have.” He winked pulling her tight against his chest and lowering his head for another kiss. When he could finally find it in him to let her go again, he turned them both toward the rising sun as they gazed across their home. He could hear the wranglers in the barn as the echo of feed buckets set the cadence for the day. The ranch was waking up and the day would begin.

  After nearly eight years of living and working on the Broken J, Chase still loved the place. The history, heritage, and hope this ranch seemed to exude filled him with joy every day. He felt that he was part of something bigger than himself, something that had roots in the faith that had kept him whole over long years of restlessness and anger.

  “Will Amber be here today to help with our munchkins?” he finally asked breaking the solace once more.

  “Yes, she has been such a godsend to me since little Jonas was born. I had no idea that two children would be so much more work than one.” She chuckled, her eyes shining with love. “And now with Michelle expecting their third I just can’t keep up.”

  “You work too hard,” Chase accused, not unkindly. “I love that about you, but it’s okay to take a break.”

  “Maybe we’ll take a vacation this year,” Phil grinned. “We could take a cruise, and I could sit in a lounge chair while someone puts little umbrella drinks in my hand.” Phil’s giggle was wicked as she watched her husband’s face pale. He didn’t like big boats or big water or doing what he would consider nothing all day.

  “It doesn’t seem possible that Megan will be three this year and Jonas will be a year old this fall.” The cowboy shook his head but grinned. He was more than content with his family and thanked God every day for them. He hadn’t expected, taking the job as head wrangler to change his life so radically, but he was happy it had.

  “Now that we have Amber helping out with child care, I don’t feel so guilty either,” Phil admitted. “You were right. There was no reason for me not to get help, and as much as the whole crew here at the Broken J love and help with our tiny terrors, it is wonderful to have someone I can depend on and also know I can visit the children anytime I want to.”

  “It’s a blessing,” Chase agreed. The sound of a hammer ringing out across the clear morning made him grin. “Sounds like Colten has got the smithy going already.” He leaned in stealing a lingering kiss. “That’s my cue to get movin’.” He leaned his head against Phil’s for a moment breathing in her essence, so he could carry it with him throughout the day. “See you at lunch?”

  “It’s a date.” Phil laughed making Chase shake his head again as he finished his coffee and stepped off the porch of the old house. The place had been built by Phil’s great, great, great grandmother, and her husband Clayton Allen long ago, but the low structure with the wide porch was solid and perfect for their needs. Like everything else on the ranch, it had needed to be updated and remodeled, but Phil had kept that old west look.

  The Broken J, as a whole, was her legacy, a ranch handed down by the James family over generations. It had landed in Phil’s hands as the last living member of the Allen family who could even begin to claim it. Now it was home. Phil’s heart swelled with love and remembrance. God had brought her to
Wyoming to inherit a ranch, but she had been blessed with so much more. Thinking back to all she had learned over the years of research on the original cattleman’s daughters, she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

  A cute little RAV 4 in neon blue puttered across the winding driveway toward the ranch and Phil smiled. Amber was here and it was time to get the day started.

  Chapter 1

  Angela Cortez pulled her van into the parking area of the ranch and sighed. It had been a very long drive from Orlando, and her restless night in a hotel in Tipton hadn’t seemed to wash away any of the weariness that settled on her shoulders like a lead weight.

  The sun wasn’t even halfway over the horizon yet, but she hadn’t been able to wait to get to the Broken J Dude Ranch. She had dreamed about returning to this place ever since her father had brought her for a visit while she was still in high school. She had loved the place, the people, the horses, just everything about the experience.

  Pressing the button on her door handle, she let her seat slide back then turn so that she could grasp the handles of her wheelchair and leverage her body toward the other seat. She was hoping that she would be able to have a long soak in a tub once she checked into her cabin and ease some of the chafing she knew she would have from such a long trek. Snapping the wheels of her chair into the locks on the lift, she pulled the lever that shifted the platform and slid the side door open.

  The smell of fresh air, horse, and hay hit her in the face like a physical blow, and she gasped as old memories rolled over her in a wave. It was good to be back. She only hoped that the trip would prove worth it. As a college senior, Angie had so many things she needed to work through before she rolled across that stage at graduation. She needed to know that her studies had been worth it and that she would be up to the task she had dreamed of for so long.

  A cold burn hit her stomach as an all too familiar wave of anxiety washed over her leaving her unable to disengage from the now lowered platform. Closing her eyes Angela took in a deep breath of the fresh cool air focusing on the sound of birds in the trees on the far side of the cabins. Slowly the tight feeling in her chest receded, and she unclipped her wheels rolling smoothly onto the gravel drive. A few clicks of her keys later and the van was secure. For check-in, she only needed her purse and credit cards. She would send someone for her bags later once she was settled.

  Angie grinned despite the fear that had gripped her earlier. Perhaps Kade Ballard, the strapping cowboy she had met before, would fetch them for her. If she could find Michelle, the big man’s petite wife, she was sure Michelle would ask him for her, and her bags would be taken care of.

  Pulling a pair of fingerless leather gloves from her bag, Angie tugged them into place then lowered her hands to the wheel handles of her chair. Taking a deep breath, the dark-haired young woman fixed her eyes on the big gray ranch house nearly a quarter-mile away and pushed off. Angie was determined to make it to the house on her power. It was the first task in the long line she had set for this journey. She needed to prove that she could do what she had her heart set on even with her handicap. Only time would tell if she could do it. Only time would tell if she had wasted the past four years of her life chasing an impossible dream. This spring break could change everything, and she had to push the hot pangs of fear away once more.

  Angie felt her arms bunch and stretch, bunch, and stretch as the familiar rhythm of moving her wheelchair brought her ever closer to her destination. Soon she would be rolling up the ramp to the wide wraparound porch that covered all four sides of the sprawling two-story structure and into the warmth of the richly appointed rustic kitchen.

  “Mornin’ ma’am,” a male voice drawled and Angie turned toward a cowboy as he leapt over the wood rail fence to her right. “Can I help you?”

  “No thank you,” Angie smiled taking in the man’s faded jeans, battered boots, and faded plaid shirt. “I’m just headed to the house.”

  “I’d be happy to push you,” the man said. His blue eyes were soft, kind. “I work here, and I’d get an earful if cousin Chase found out I didn’t offer.”

  “Chase Haven is your cousin?” Angie gaped. Everyone had talked and gossiped about the handsome cowboy and former rodeo star who had married the owner of the Broken J several years earlier when she had been there before.

  “Guilty, as charged,” the cowboy teased, a bright smile breaking across his handsome face. “I signed on to work here with him for a while. I’m Jace by the way,” he added offering his hand.

  Angie lifted her dusty gloved hand then thought better of it, but before she could retract her hand, the cowboy grasped it in both of his. “Angela,” she blushed.

  “Doesn’t that mean Angel?” he grinned, “and I don’t mind a little dirt,” his blue eyes twinkled as he pressed her hand firmly between his. “Now how about I push you to the house?”

  “No!” Angie said her voice harder than she had intended. “No, I mean, I want to do this myself.” She smiled her round cheeks flushing with heat.

  Jace nodded. “Can I walk along with you then?” he asked. “I’m due for my second breakfast about now. I’ve been fixing fence since before the sun was up.”

  “Suit yourself,” Angie agreed. She had been so focused on getting to the house she had been surprised by the cowboy. She would have to make sure that didn’t happen again. She didn’t need a man jumping in to do for her what she could do for herself. Still, it was always fun to check out the eye candy here on the Broken J, and the man with the short blonde hair and bright blue eyes was a prime example. She had spent weeks giggling and talking to her friends back home about the handsome and interesting cowboys from her visit so long ago. Angie did hope she was a little more mature now, but that didn’t mean she didn’t appreciate a handsome cowboy with a lazy smile.

  “Things have changed a bit around here,” Angie offered absently as she looked toward the cabins. Several tiny home-like structures had been added to the area around the larger homes that had been original to the ranch. According to the website and the history of the Broken J, the rental cabins had been the homes of the six daughters of the founder of the ranch in the mid-1800s.

  “You’ve been here before?” Jace asked meandering along as they pretty woman continued to wheel over the gravel road.

  “Several years ago,” Angie admitted. “My dad brought me for my birthday.”

  Jace smiled lifting one eyebrow as he studied her curvy figure and little feet tucked into heavy laced boots. She couldn’t be much younger than he was. He grinned again as they passed under the high arched sign with the name and brand of the ranch displayed in large letters. The sign had been refurbished by the blacksmith on the ranch a few years ago and looked fresh yet rustic. The words BROKEN J picked out in fine wrought iron with a jagged arrow through the J.

  “So what brought you back?” Jace asked adjusting the wire cutters in his back pocket.

  Angie’s eyes flicked toward the big barn and the horses milling about in the large corral. An old windmill creaked lazily in the early morning breeze, and she swallowed hard. “There were several things I didn’t do when I was here before,” she finally spoke. “I’d like to get them off my to-do list.”

  Jace followed her dark gaze toward the corral. He could hear the other wranglers finishing up barn work and the steady clop of hooves as horses were brought out of stalls to be saddled and prepared for the day’s first ride.

  “Is Dandy still here,” Angie asked peering more closely at the corral. “I had a great time riding around in that pony cart with Michelle Ballard.”

  “You rode with Michelle!” Jace’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Are you crazy?”

  A bubble of laughter burst from Angie’s chest and she stared at the man next to her. “We had fun. It was thrilling. Besides, Michelle wouldn’t have done anything to hurt her unborn baby.”

  Jace shook his head. “No one rides with Michelle,” he scratched under his hat a hint of his blonde hair peeping from under the
brim. “To answer your question though, yes, Dandy is still here. Michelle takes her kids for a ride in that ancient cart quite often.”

  “Kids?” Angie said then shook her head as his words fell into place. It had been over five years since she had been at the Broken J. Michelle had delivered her first child and surely had more by now. The Broken J hadn’t been frozen in time the way it had in her mind. “How many children do she and Kade have now?”

  “Two just like Chase and Phil, and another on the way.”

  “Philomena has children?” Angie rolled to a stop in front of the house as a young couple ambled out onto the wide wraparound porch.

  “Two,” Jace confirmed holding up two fingers as he peered out from under his hat brim. “She and Chase are mighty busy,” he added with a chuckle that made Angie blush all over again.

  Jace realized what he had said and felt his neck grow hot under the collar. That wasn’t what he had meant by his off-handed comment, but there was no turning back now. “The ranch is crazy full all the time,” he hurried to explain. “Plus they keep adding new things for guests to do. The RV Park is probably new since you were here before and there are ten tiny-homes scattered about the cabin area now. Chase and Colton are even expanding the hunting camps in the Wind River Range.”

  “That’s good,” Angie nodded. She was glad that the ranch was doing so well. “Do they still run cattle and raise their horses?”

  “You bet.” Jace grinned again feeling relieved that the awkward moment had passed. “Chase has partnered with Jackson Auburn breeding horses. “I’m afraid old Butch passed last winter though. The old stud-horse was thirty-two years old, and it was just time to let him go.”

  “He was a very sweet horse,” Angie said remembering the mahogany horse as she looked out across the pasture, spotting many horses with the distinct dark mahogany coats of the founding stallion of the ranch. She grinned, thinking of the special time she had as one of the first handicapped visitors to the Broken J. Spending days with Michelle Ballard had given her a unique glimpse at the inner workings of the place.