Once and Always (Women of Character)

  ❄ Once and Always ❄

  Grace Brannigan

  Women of Strength Time Travel Series

  Once Upon a Remembrance Book 1

  Soulmates Through Time Book 2

  Treasure So Rare Book 3

  Women of Character Contemporary Series

  Echoes From the Past

  Once and Always

  Heartstealer

  Wishing on a Rodeo Moon

  Romantic Short Stories

  Deception (a touch of suspense)

  Two Babies, a Cowboy and Sara

  Cowboy's Baby: Missing (coming in 2013)

  Faerie Lost Series (Coming in 2013)

  Find Me Book 1

  Whisper Me Book 2

  Paint Me Book 3

  Read Me Book 4

  Website: http://www.GraceBrannigan.com

  All Characters, places and events are fictitious and are not associated or inspired by any person living or dead.

  Once and Always

  Grace Brannigan

  Copyright 2012 Elaine Warfield

  ISBN: 978-0-9801108-2-1

  Cover Art By: Stephanie White of Steph’s Cover Design: paranormal, fantasy, horror & more

  License Notes

  All rights reserved. This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, mechanical, photographic, electronic or in the form of an audio recording or stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or otherwise be copied for public or private use―other than for brief quotations in articles and reviews without prior written consent from the publisher Questor Books.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. Happy reading!

  Questor Books, P.O. Box 100, East Jewett, New York, 12424 USA

  About Once and Always

  Anna has endured emotional and physical tragedy and is barely hanging on to the once successful Barlow horse ranch. Leading a reclusive life after the fire that subsequently scarred her face and robbed her of her livelihood as a champion barrel racer, she is on the verge of bankruptcy. In a bid to save her ranch she offers it for lease, but never expected to have Tyler, the man she once loved as a girl, show up on her doorstep. Buried anger and betrayal surface for both Anna and Tyler, but she's out of options and her back is against the wall.

  Can they go back to the love they once knew....do they even want to go back?

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Echoes from the Past

  Heartstealer

  Wishing on a Rodeo Moon

  Deception

  Two Babies, a Cowboy and Sara

  Once Upon a Remembrance

  Soulmates Through Time

  Treasure So Rare

  Chapter One

  Memory could be gentle. At other times it left scars.

  Anna Barlow had read those words this morning and somehow they felt like a reflection of her life. She stared out over her ranch's fields now, trying to shake off the cobwebs of old memories.

  Newly warmed earth and northeast temperatures collided, creating ground vapor as the sun fought its way through heavy clouds. She shivered, brushing at the cool morning mist that settled in her hair. Her mare stood unmoving beneath her, her nostrils blowing gently from their run. Anna patted Spirit's neck, wishing she could forget she was barely hanging onto the ranch. . . her home.

  Every tree, stick and grain of dirt of the Double B Ranch belonged to her. The barns and dilapidated fences . . . the makeshift corral. She couldn't walk away from her only real home. Her grandfather Martin Barlow had brought her here at the age of fourteen. Now, everyone she'd ever loved was gone. Martin. Tyler.

  Restlessly, Anna nudged her gray mare toward a well-worn dirt path that led down to the barns and house.

  She'd survived worse. Somehow, she'd get through this too. Anna touched her right cheek and curled her fingers against the scarred flesh, her fingers tracing the faint ridges almost absentmindedly. Her face had once been her biggest asset. Now it brought her only anger and at times self pity. She hated feeling sorry for herself, but God Almighty she was only human.

  Giving in to a reckless edge of emotion, Anna urged her mare into a bone-jarring trot down the hillside. When they reached level ground, the spring wind tore against her as they loped across open pasture. She inhaled the clean air into her lungs, reveling in the familiar thunder of hooves beneath her. Gradually, the sting of failure lessened. Self-absorbed and prideful these last two years, she'd allowed the fire that ruined her face to take over her life.

  She had to live with her mistakes, but somehow she'd find a way out of this mess.

  Ω

  Tyler Stanton jerked his collar up against the morning chill. The Barlow's Double B Ranch looked the same, yet subtle changes had dimmed its splendor in the six years since he'd been gone. The grounds were unkempt, the buildings in disrepair and the horse barns, once full and so proudly outlined by the Catskill mountains around them, were badly in need of work. He walked through the dusty paddock area and entered the empty barn, memories unexpectedly twisting his guts into knots. Long rides and midnight rendezvous' swam through his mind, the images like a reel of film playing in his brain.

  He thought of Annie, the intensity of their love and then the ultimate deterioration of everything in his life, taking her love with it. Her big eyes were there, filled with fierce determination before a barrel competition, softened in love play, their conversations by turn razor sharp and playfully innocent. He and Annie had been buddies, friends, and for a few intense weeks, lovers. Then it had all gone sour. She'd chosen to stay with an ill-tempered old man and had done nothing when Tyler was run out of town. He had never figured that one out; sweet, loving Annie, letting him take a fall. He looked up at the sky, deliberately easing the tension in his shoulders. How had he thought her sweet?

  He wondered how Annie would feel if he told her she'd be a rich woman if she'd left with him that night long ago. Instead, the years had been tough on her and by all accounts she was losing everything.

  Tyler exited the barn, his boots scuffing up bits of old hay and gravel. Hearing the sound of a fast approaching horse, he walked outside and around the side of the barn toward the open pasture. Hooves beat the ground in a flat out run. A horse and rider appeared, galloping hell-for-leather through the soft mist clinging to the grass. Recognition slammed him. He'd never forget that intensity of control, Annie's fit and trim body, hair the deep color of dark chestnut out behind her. Tyler couldn't take his eyes off Annie. He admired the pure symmetry between horse and rider as they skimmed the ground. He was reminded of the skill that had made her a champion barrel racer.

  Tyler's heart hammered. How he loved the beauty of running horses. There was nothing like it, especially on a dead quiet morning. He tried to tell himself it had nothing at all to do with seeing Annie again after six long years.

  He'd thought he was prepared for this meeting with her. Instead, he resented that he felt sucker-punche
d. Christ, it seemed like only yesterday he'd chased her across this very field on horseback. When he'd caught her and pulled her from her horse, it was as if they couldn't get enough of each other. They'd made love under the hot sun, the grass cushioning their bodies. Six years ago time had been meaningless to them.

  As he watched, Annie wheeled the wiry gray horse around a lone barrel in the pasture, then urged the animal into a ground-eating lope in his direction. Tyler stood still as a gust of wind lifted his hat from his head, tossing it like a challenge onto the grass.

  Annie drew closer. Three yards away her horse's hindquarters dipped and rear hooves slid, digging up clods of grass and dirt. The gray's front legs were almost straight as she came to a stop, narrowly missing Tyler's hat. Tyler ran an expert glance over the animal's flexing muscles. Annie maintained only light contact with the horse's mouth. He almost smiled.

  "Tyler!"

  Dust swirled around them. Bending, Tyler retrieved his hat and slapped it against his leg, then stared at the new crease along the hat brim. "Still the same old Annie. Bouncing your horse around to get attention."

  "Same old Tyler, too," she came back. "Smart remarks and all." She sat stiffly, staring away from him. Her rigid shoulders told him he wasn't the only one being poked by memory shards. "You're the last person I expected to see."

  She didn't look at him, but kept her upper body half-turned in the saddle. Dark shoulder length hair swung past her cheek, hiding part of her face. The back of his legs stiffened and Tyler stifled an urge to move closer. She was thin, almost too thin.

  "Nice horse. Pretty magnificent riding across the flat like that."

  "Didn't know I had an audience."

  Annie's horse tossed its head, the jangle of the bit the lone sound as she brushed long elegant fingers over the animal's withers. Tyler found he could breathe again, hadn't even realized he'd been holding his breath.

  "Can't you look at me, Annie?" It grated on him that it bothered him so much. He smiled grimly. He could wait, he had plenty of time.

  The sun suddenly shot out from behind a cloud. Annie turned to shield her eyes from the glare. The light, bright and unforgiving, shockingly outlined the scars marring the entire right side of her face. Her skin, once flawless, was now mottled and discolored, the flesh a mix of uneven red and white patches that ran like licking flames right to the corner of her mouth.

  "Annie!" Tyler knew shock laced his voice. Pain split him in half, shooting to his toes and jetting back up to his brain. His legs trembled where they'd been stiff a moment before.

  She jerked her head back and if possible, her face turned even whiter except for the scars, and her eyes. . . her eyes were a deep, wounded green.

  "I prefer Anna," she said tersely, now looking at him. "I didn't expect to see anyone or I'd have put on my concealing makeup and spared you seeing this. People don't usually come around unless calling first."

  Tyler pressed a fist against his hip. It wasn't the first time he'd seen such terrible scarring. But it was the first time he'd seen it marring Annie's face. She'd always taken pride in her looks, her skin and makeup. She'd hated being teased about her facials and hair appointments.

  "Now that we have that out of the way―" hostility cracked in Annie's voice.

  "How did it happen?" His voice sounded grating, even to himself. Inside, he was gasping for air.

  She seemed to move back, even by the slightest fraction.

  "Why are you here?" she asked.

  Tyler shoved back the sympathy for what she must have suffered. It was obvious she didn't want it. He'd figure that part out when he was alone, the ache in his gut. "I guess you never expected to see me again."

  She turned just enough to conceal the scarring, but he saw the tremble of her fingers on the reins.

  "I'm sorry that Martin died," he said gruffly. "No matter what had happened between us, I know how much you cared about him." He stepped back and cleared his throat. "I saw your ad in the horse quarterly." He was used to dealing with people, but now he felt momentarily at a loss, too aware of her watchful eye. He felt a curious empathy, but he didn't want to feel even that slight connection to her.

  She pulled at the frayed material of her jeans while a light breeze played at the edge of her faded shirt. "If you saw the ad then you know the ranch is up for lease."

  "There's no sense in beating around the bush. I want to buy it."

  Her glare was hostile. "It's not for sale."

  "I've been checking around. You might not have a choice."

  Her fingers twisted into the frayed holes at her knee. "You've been talking to people?"

  "My lawyer made a few discreet inquiries. Sell it to me now and I'll make it a painless transaction."

  "Go to hell."

  "The old man tried to hand deliver me and my father there, or did you forget?"

  "I remember everything." Her eyes, now greenish hazel, held a haunting sadness.

  He looked away, hating that he felt off balance. He needed to retain the anger that had driven him back here where his life had so drastically changed. Seeing her pain shouldn't matter after all this time, not after what her family had done to his.

  "Good," he said. "Then we're all on the same page as far as the past goes. I'll make you a fair offer on the property. You owe me first shot at it."

  Her eyes widened in outrage. "I don't owe you or anyone else a thing! Everything I have I paid for a long time ago."

  "Is that how you sleep at night?" He asked grimly. "We have a different recall of the past."

  "All the charges against you and Grant were dropped."

  "My father never got over it. Lack of evidence doesn't clear a man's name. Sometimes a man's good name is all he has. Martin was an unscrupulous bastard―you know it had to be him who falsified those breeding records. He turned on my father when he got caught. Listen to your conscience, Annie . . . I know you have one."

  "You don't know anything about me."

  "I can't believe you're changed that much."

  Ω

  Anna stared down at the man she'd loved at nineteen. At one time she had thought they'd always be together. She knew if she dwelled on what-might-have-been, she'd go insane and some days she felt damned close to it. Survival was the key, so she pushed away the hurt of whispered promises made and quickly forgotten. "How is your father?"

  Tyler stared up at the clouds as they skittered across the sky. "My dad teetered between sobriety and the bottle his entire life. In the end he lost the battle."

  "Grant is gone―I'm sorry Tyler. He was a good man. I admired his extensive knowledge of animals." Grant had died so young. "He'd been a hero to me." A quiet man whose life revolved around his horses and his son. She'd heard it said he was a hell-raiser in his early days, but she'd never seen any evidence of that. "I-I truly am sorry."

  Tyler's expression remained closed. Blue eyes and almost black hair gave him a face women would always love. She had certainly thought herself in love with him. Now he'd shaken her by showing up out of the blue making demands and accusations. She searched his face but the years had put a hard edge in his voice and an unyielding light in his eyes. How could anyone love him the way she had loved him?

  "So what about the property?" he asked.

  "I'm not desperate." Maybe if she said it enough times she'd believe it.

  One dark brow rose. "So you've got several offers to choose from?"

  "They've been coming in fairly regularly." Her evasiveness was merely a defense. "But that's my business."

  "I heard you haven't accepted any offers yet." He placed his hat on his head and adjusted it just so, and the familiar gesture formed a tight knot in her throat. "And yet here I am ready to make an offer and I get the idea you want to get rid of me."

  "It sounds like your lawyer made more than a few discreet inquiries." She felt incredibly vulnerable, as if everyone knew she'd failed to keep the ranch afloat.

  She'd managed to keep the memories locked away. Tyler act
ed as if he despised her and that hurt. The past was done, but if not for her, he'd have gone to jail six years ago. They had never found out who was responsible for the fraud, but lives had been ruined because of someone's apparent greed.

  Anna touched her cheek and just as quickly dropped her hand, pressing her fist into her thigh. With the bright sun in her face, she knew he had a clear view of the skin that even the most skilled surgeon hadn't been able to correct; her once smooth right cheek now a myriad twist of coarse, discolored flesh, the corner of her mouth puckering slightly. Ugly. She was under no illusions as to what she looked like. The edge of the leather reins bit into her fingers. She wanted to be left alone, but that was no longer an option. At some point she might have to face people and their curiosity. The question of where she would go was never far from her mind.

  Abruptly, she said, "I've gotta go. I have to take care of my mare and some other business." She nudged the horse forward, but Tyler stepped in front of her and grabbed the bridle's cheek strap, keeping her horse still. His glance seemed to soften as it rested on her face. She wanted nothing from him, especially the remembrance of what she used to look like, who she used to be.

  "You don't compete anymore?" he asked.

  "No."

  "You lived and breathed barrel racing. I never thought you'd give it up."

  "I had no choice . . . don't you realize that!" She shook her head. "I've moved on," she added deliberately, indicating her face.

  "How did it happen?"

  "A fire. Nothing you need to know about." Her neck and head ached from sitting so stiffly. "Why did you have to come back?" The cry was almost wrenched from her.

  "I've got every right to return to my roots. Maybe I'll finish what I began. I want to clear my name."

  Finish what he began. He hadn't come back looking for her. She pulled in a ragged breath, a deep hurt surfacing and the words spilled out. "You left me without a backward glance. At nineteen, I barely had any self-esteem, but when I lost both you and Martin I was devastated." The part inside that had never healed bled a little more. She hadn't been worth waiting for. "You left so quickly, not even bothering to phone or write. How could you do that?"