A Texas Soldier's Family (16 page)

“You have given this a lot of thought!”

He waggled his brows as if to say
Just wait!

“Next, as far as business goes, I want you to come to Laramie and work with me on both the WTWA and the re-launch of the much smaller but entirely laudable Lockhart Foundation. It will require you wearing two hats, being public relations director for both, but the hours will be entirely flexible to accommodate Max, and the offices are all going to be in the professional building I own, when the repairs are finished, which are apt to take about three months.”

She splayed her hands across his chest. Felt his heart beating as hard as her own. “And until then...?”

“The WTWA will be working out of the Victorian. Renovations will be going on there, too, mostly on the weekends, but Max can come to work with you as much as you want, and there will be a place for you and Max at the Circle H bunkhouse, where you can live rent free.”

It was nearly perfect. And yet...she knew she still had to have—they had to have—more.

But if that meant giving a little, too. Slowing down. Waiting to see what developed...

She could do that.

Yes, she could.

Because some things—some people—were worth waiting for.

“As family friends...?” Hope asked.

Because she and Max definitely fell into that category.

“No, sweetheart.” Garrett shook his head. “As the woman I was meant to spend the rest of my life with.” Raw emotion glimmered in his eyes. He wove his fingers through her hair and tilted her face up to his. “I love you, Hope,” he told her hoarsely. “I have since the first moment you landed in my lap.”

He pulled her up and into him. She rose even higher and met his lips in a searing kiss. Wrapping her arms around him, she tucked her face into the crook of his neck, shivering at the delight she felt being with him again.

“I love you, too,” she whispered, drinking him in. His heat, his size, the brisk, masculine scent of him. She released a shuddering breath, savoring the feel of his hands moving over her. “I should have told you earlier.”

He stroked a hand down her spine. His voice as tender as his touch, he asked, “Why didn’t you?”

Hope drew back. Her arms resting on his broad shoulders, she looked deep into his eyes. It was time to let the defenses go. To dare the way he had. “It was all just so complicated.” She shook her head with remembered misery. “I wasn’t sure if what we had discovered was strong enough to last past the crisis.”

A wry smile started on his lips and lit his eyes. “It is.” He bent his head and kissed the top of her head, her temple. His thumbs caressed the line of her chin. “It definitely is.”

He was so confident. She forced herself to admit with wrenching honesty, “Most of all, I was afraid to put myself out there all the way. Afraid of what would happen to us if I put it all on the line and you didn’t love me back.” Tears misted her eyes. “I didn’t want to lose you.”

His eyes crinkled at the corners, and he gave her a confident smile that she felt in every iota of her being. “You won’t.” He lifted his brow mischievously. “And to that end...” He reached into his pocket and drew out a velvet jewelry box, pressed it into her shaking fingers.

Inside was a beautiful diamond ring.

The sparkle of the gem was nothing compared to the brightness in his gaze. “Say you’ll marry me, Hope,” he rasped.

Was there any question? She grinned, a grin big as all Texas. “I will.”

They shared another kiss. Long, lingering, sweet.

He cupped her face in his big, gentle hands, rested his forehead on hers. “So, it’s agreed. From now on—” he kissed her cheek, nose, ear, with the kind of slow deliberation that always preceded the most mind-blowing lovemaking “—to avoid future misunderstandings, we both promise to always speak our minds. And encourage each other to do the same.”

Not following a preordained script suddenly felt very, very good. Her heart melted a little more. How had he gotten so wise? “I think I can handle that.”

“Good.” He tipped her face up to his and looked into her eyes until her knees went weak and joy bloomed within her. “Because I can’t imagine a life without you and Max.”

Hope kissed him back, promising, “You’ll never have to...”

Epilogue

Six months later...

“Come on, buckaroo,” Garrett crooned from the opposite side of the third-floor party room in the office building that now held both the Laramie Foundation offices and West Texas Warrior Assistance. Hunkered down affably, both hands outstretched toward their son, he encouraged cheerfully, “Walk to Daddy.”

Eager to share what she had seen just a few hours earlier, Hope helped her wildly grinning nine-month-old son balance on the soles of his feet. “Show him what a talented boy you are.” When Max seemed completely steady, she slowly and carefully released his hands.

Max let out a joyous whoop, swayed slightly and then shifted backward, landing squarely on his diapered bottom, as if that were the plan all along. He clapped his hands. And whooped again, Texas cowboy style.

His spirit was infectious. Hope and Garrett clapped and yee-hawed, too.

Max shifted quickly to his knees and crawled rapidly over to his daddy’s side. Garrett scooped him up in his arms. “Good job, little fella!”

Max threw back his head and chuckled again.

Hope joined in the family hug. Briefly, she leaned her head on Garrett’s chest. “I swear. Max was doing it earlier.”

Garrett put a squirming Max back down so he could explore again. Immediately, Max crawled to a window ledge and pulled himself up to a standing position. “I believe you.”

Hope put her hands on her hips, while Max thought about walking sideways using the wall for balance, as he had been doing for a good two months now. Then he changed his mind, sat down, flipped and began crawling again.

This was ridiculous.

Hope shook her head, laughing. She met the indulgent arch of Garrett’s brow. “No. You don’t.”

And probably with good reason. She was always jumping the gun and seeing progress that wasn’t quite there yet.

Sage breezed in with a tray of goodies for their first annual Day Before Thanksgiving party. “Have you met this man?” She peeled back the plastic wrap and offered Garrett a taste. He gave the cranberry, pecan and cream cheese appetizer quiches a thumbs-up. Hope nodded her approval, too. Grinning, Sage put the tray aside. “All he does is brag about you and Max.”

Darcy and Tank walked into the group meeting room. The usual circle of chairs had been pushed back to the walls to allow for maximum dining space. Winking, Darcy spread tablecloths over the double row of buffet tables in the center of the room. “I think Hope might have had a few kind words to say about her hubby, too.”

With good reason, Hope thought. No longer afraid to say what was on her mind, she swept her son up in her arms and walked over to buss Garrett’s jaw. “Sage’s big brother is a wonderful husband.”

Wyatt and Chance appeared in the doorway. A chorus of male groans sounded. “Tell me they’re not getting mushy again,” Wyatt complained, strolling in.

“Yeah, you-all have been married for three months now. Enough already!” Chance said with a mischievous wink. “The honeymoon is over.”

“It’ll never be over,” Garrett vowed.

Everyone groaned again—in humorous approval.

Lucille walked in, a horn of plenty in one hand, a big basket of fruit in the other.

She set both down on a buffet table and turned to her beloved grandson. “Want to show your nana how you can walk?” she said.

“Not quite there yet,” Garrett told her.

“Maybe it was an anomaly,” Hope reluctantly admitted.

Max pulled himself up on Garrett’s legs, turned around, balanced briefly on the balls of his feet and took off for his grandmother. One step, two. Everyone held their breaths. Then he swiveled and headed right back to Garrett and Hope.

Tears of joy pouring down their faces, they watched him toddle all the way to their sides. One arm wrapped around each of their knees, he chortled and looked up at them.

Everyone cheered.

Max pulled on their legs, his signal he wanted to be picked up. Garrett lifted their son in his arms. Hope kissed his cheek.

Puzzled, Max tracked the happy tears pouring down both their faces while smiles flashed all around. Then he tucked a fist in the shirts of each of his parents. “Mine,” he said fiercely.

“You bet we are,” Garrett said fiercely.

“No question,” Hope murmured, going in for a joyous group hug. “We have so much to be thankful for!”

* * * * *

Watch for the next story in Cathy Gillen Thacker’s
TEXAS LEGACIES: THE LOCKHARTS
miniseries, A TEXAS COWBOY’S CHRISTMAS, coming November 2016, only from Harlequin Western Romance!

Keep reading for an excerpt from
A RANCHER TO LOVE
by Trish Milburn.

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A Rancher to Love

by Trish Milburn

Chapter One

Frustration and anxiety twisted Leah Murphy’s middle as she sat outside the sheriff’s department office. Which, of course, was completely irrational considering she was here to see her cousin Conner, one of the local deputies. But some part of her brain, the section that governed fight or flight, had her flashing back to the night when her apartment had been filled with uniformed officers.

No, she didn’t want to think about that here. She’d come to Blue Falls to leave the memories behind, but they seemed determined to stay adhered to her every thought like a supremely unwelcome guest. Like one of those people who didn’t understand the concept of personal space and insisted on invading it.

Leah gripped the steering wheel of her little crossover SUV and forced herself to take several deep...slow...breaths.

Her parents were concerned she was running from her problems and fears instead of confronting them, but she needed this. Needed the peace and calm and safety she’d always associated with Blue Falls. She looked out the windshield at the town’s quintessential American Main Street in the distance and allowed herself to believe that violence never visited here. She knew that wasn’t true. Every place, no matter the size and location, experienced violence of some type. But at least for now, she needed to believe the lie.

With another fortifying breath, she turned off the engine. Immediately, the Texas heat started to bake her like a potato in an oven with four wheels, prompting her to get out of the vehicle.

The door to the sheriff’s department office opened, and Leah couldn’t prevent a sharp intake of breath when a tall man stepped out. When would she stop being so jumpy? Then recognition hit the moment the man smiled at her, and she found herself smiling back at Sheriff Simon Teague.

“Hey, Leah. Conner said you were stopping by for a visit. I wanted to tell you that I got Keri one of your necklaces for her birthday and I earned major ‘Good Husband’ points. So thanks for that.”

Leah chuckled a little, which felt foreign, like a language she’d once known but had largely forgotten because she hadn’t used it in so long. She chose to look at it as a positive step, however small.

“Maybe that should be part of my business logo, ‘Keeping Husbands Out of the Doghouse.’”

“Sales would skyrocket.” Simon flashed another easy smile, making Leah think that Keri Teague was a lucky woman.

Leah wondered if she’d ever feel safe enough again to find her own happily-ever-after.

“Have a good visit.” Simon tapped the brim of his tan hat and headed for his department SUV.

Beginning to feel as though her fair skin was blistering under the brutal late July sun, she walked inside. The blast of cold from the air-conditioning hit her as equal parts shocking and welcome. Even before her eyes adjusted to being out of the bright sunlight, she heard a voice she’d known her entire life.

“Hey, cuz,” Conner said as he walked up to her and pulled her in to one of his bear hugs. After the initial, involuntary stiffening at being touched, she slowly relaxed and had to fight tears at how good it felt to see him, to be wrapped in the familiar embrace. Though they’d never lived in the same place, they’d always been close, having been born only a month apart. Though it had always been annoying how he crowed about being older than her. Brat.

“So what brings you out from the big city?” Conner released her and stepped back.

Leah glanced around the office and saw one other deputy she didn’t recognize—probably the replacement for Pete Kayne, who was a state trooper now and on his way to eventually becoming a Texas Ranger.

“Can we talk in private?”

The way Conner’s eyes widened a fraction told her the question surprised him, but then he nodded and motioned for her to follow him to the room they used for everything from lunch to interrogations.

Conner closed the door once they were in the room. She sank onto one of the chairs, the familiar exhaustion that came from lack of sleep weighing on her.

Conner sat in the chair at the end of the table next to her. “What’s up?”

Leah swallowed. “I was wondering if I could stay with you for a little while.”

Conner’s brows moved toward each other. “Wouldn’t you rather stay in Mom and Dad’s guest room?”

“No, I... I don’t really feel up to a lot of questions right now. And even though I asked Mom not to say anything, I wouldn’t doubt she’s talked to Aunt Charlotte.”

“About what?”

Leah picked at the cuticle on her thumb. “My apartment was broken into a couple of weeks ago, and... I was attacked.”

“Attacked?” Conner sat more rigid in his seat and asked the single-word question in a tone that said he was afraid of the answer.

She clasped her hands together. “Just some bumps and bruises, but... I can’t sleep there. I had to leave.”

“God, Leah, did they catch the guy?”

She nodded. “I managed to get my hand on his neck and pushed his head back against the coffee table. It gave me time to get away.” Barely. She swallowed against the lump in her throat threatening to cut off her breath. “The police arrived then.”

Brought by the call of a neighbor who’d heard crashing and her initial screams before her attacker had thrown her down on the couch and started tugging at her clothes. Chills scurried across her skin, and she rubbed against them to try to ward off the feeling of Jason Garton’s breath much too close, the rough way he’d pulled at her shorts, the primal fear for her life. The horror of the idea that she might be raped. And killed.

She couldn’t speak the details, not even to Conner. Not even to her mother. The only person she’d told was the female officer who’d escorted her into Leah’s kitchen and gently asked for an account of what had happened.

“Are you okay?” The concern in Conner’s voice was almost her undoing. Typically they were more likely to joke with each other, so to hear something so different, so sincere, caused that damn lump in her throat to balloon in size.

“I will be.” She hoped. Some days she literally jumped at her own shadow, then felt like a fool for doing so.

“I’d let you stay at my apartment, but I’m actually staying with Mom and Dad for a few days. My apartment flooded, and they’re having to replace the flooring and some of the drywall.”

Leah’s heart sank. She loved her aunt and uncle, but she wouldn’t find the peace and quiet she needed at their house. They would mean well—just like her parents did—but the idea of them constantly checking on her, always just being there, was more than she could handle right now.

“We can see if Skyler has any openings at the Wildflower Inn. How long are you going to be here?”

Tension knotted in her stomach as she realized she was going to have to tell him her plans sooner than she expected. That this was more than a visit. Though her parents thought she was acting too hastily, something inside her knew her decision to leave Houston and take up residence in Blue Falls was the right one. Even with Jason Garton behind bars, she still suffered from panic attacks each time she stepped into her apartment. Her rational brain knew the likelihood of yet another intruder lying in wait was miniscule, but that message didn’t get through to the place fear resided, ready to pounce at the least provocation.

Here she hoped she could feel safe and be far enough away from the noise and bustle of Houston that she could finally start thinking like a rational human being again. That she could reclaim the happy, creative, fun-loving person she’d always been.

“I’m not going back to Houston.” Just saying the words made it more real, and she didn’t know whether to be relieved or scared that she was losing her mind. Maybe the right answer was both.

Conner stared at her for a moment, and she feared a barrage of questions or that he would caution her against acting too rashly. Instead, he simply nodded.

“What are you looking for?”

The relief that washed over her made tears threaten. “I want peace and quiet, some solitude without being too alone.” She shook her head at her inability to properly vocalize the feeling of what she needed. “That probably doesn’t make sense.”

A jolt of her anxiety returned. In her mind, she really hadn’t examined options beyond staying with Conner. With him she thought she might feel safe. She feared being alone again, even in a different town. What if she felt just as scared in Blue Falls as she did Houston? What if the fear never went away?

Not wanting to hop that train of thought, Leah pushed the fears aside. She knew they’d reassert themselves later, but for now she wanted to enjoy a reprieve.

“It does make sense,” Conner said. “And I think I know the perfect place.”

* * *

T
YLER
L
OWE
WATCHED
his five-year-old niece sitting on the opposite side of his kitchen table nibbling on her grilled cheese sandwich, quiet as the proverbial church mouse.

“Maddie, is the sandwich okay?” He wasn’t a fancy chef, but he thought he made a mean grilled cheese.

Maddie nodded but didn’t speak. She’d been like this for the past month, ever since her mother had dropped her on his doorstep almost without taking time to stop the beat-up car she was driving. His fists tightened as the familiar anger at his younger sister rushed to the surface again. Kendra had always been flighty, a handful for their parents, but she’d graduated to unfit mother when she’d started drinking and taking drugs. It was a sad state of affairs when a single rancher and farrier with no experience raising children was preferable to a child’s own mother.

Even so, each day he felt more like an abject failure. What had his niece endured that had turned her from a happy, energetic toddler to the quiet child who almost seemed scared of him? Once upon a time, she’d crawl up on his lap and pat his face with her chubby little fingers. But she likely didn’t remember that. Now she was no longer energetic or chubby, and he was just a guy her mother had left her with, someone she didn’t know anymore.

And he had no idea how to reach her.

He reverted back to silence, too, thinking how he needed to take her shopping for new clothes soon. Not surprising that Kendra had left the child behind with only one small bag of clothes and the stuffed puppy that was never far from Maddie’s side. Since her arrival, he’d bought her a few things. But with school right around the corner, she needed not only clothes and shoes but also school supplies. And when had school supply lists become as long as his arm, and for a kindergartner? Evidently she had to have everything from crayons to safety scissors to boxes of tissues.

A little more than a month ago, he’d have never thought he’d be enrolling a child in kindergarten for the fall. He was about as equipped to be a parent as a bull was to fly jumbo jets. And he was discovering that raising a kid was expensive, even if you just provided the basics. No wonder his sister had left her only child in his care. Yes, it was an unkind thought, but abandoning Maddie had been the last straw.

“Honey, why don’t you wrap up the other half of your sandwich and bring it with you?”

Maddie met his gaze, a tentative question in her pretty green eyes.

“I’ve got to go to another ranch to work on a horse’s feet.” And of course there was no way he was leaving a five-year-old home alone. He didn’t think a babysitter was a good idea either, at least not yet. His gut told him that being left with yet another person she didn’t know wasn’t the best thing for Maddie right now. He might not know what was, but that wasn’t it.

Maddie slipped out of her chair and wrapped her sandwich in a napkin. She held it in one hand and her puppy in the other. She didn’t even question that she had to go with him, which some instinct told him wasn’t normal. Weren’t kids her age normally full of questions, curiosity on steroids?

God, he hoped he figured out how to communicate with her soon. It was like living with a child who’d very nearly taken a vow of silence.

Maddie kept her sandwich wrapped as he drove toward town, but she did seem to be interested in the countryside. She sat up straight in the booster seat he’d gotten her.

He pointed across a field. “The couple who live in that house raise little horses. They’re only about as tall as you. Maybe we can go and see them sometime. Would you like that?”

Maddie hesitated for a minute but then nodded.

Okay, that was a tiny positive step. He wanted to ask her why she didn’t speak any more than she did, but he hoped waiting and being kind to her would lead to her speaking on her own. Maybe starting school next month would help. She’d be around other kids her age, at her level. He just crossed his fingers that the experience didn’t freak her out too much, the way it had Kendra when she’d started school. The school had called his mom because Kendra wouldn’t stop crying. It had taken what seemed like forever to his eight-year-old mind for his sister to stop bawling like a baby at school.

As they continued into town and then down Main Street, Maddie seemed to soak up all the sights. The people on the sidewalks, the displays in the windows, everything. There was a curious little girl in there if he could just figure out a way to get her to come out.

He spotted the small ice-cream stand that sat near the lake. Every kid liked ice cream, right?

“Hey, would you like an ice-cream cone?”

Maddie looked at him and he could tell from the bright look in her eyes that she wanted to say yes.

“I think I’ll have one, too. I like peach flavor. What do you like?”

“Strawberry.” Her response was almost a whisper, but at least it was something.

“Strawberry, good choice.”

They waited in line behind a small group of women who, judging by the bags they held, were in town for a day of shopping. When it was his and Maddie’s turn, he placed the order.

“This must be your niece.”

He turned at the sound and saw Verona Charles with her own niece, Elissa Kayne. “Yes, this is Maddie.”

Verona smiled as she leaned down to eye level with Maddie. “Well, aren’t you just the prettiest little thing.”