A Texas Soldier's Family (17 page)

Maddie remained quiet, and he sensed that part of her wanted to take a step away from the other woman. Too many new people coming into her life too quickly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Maddie,” Elissa said, speaking to her in a normal adult tone, not that cutesy kid voice most people used.

“You, too.” Two whole words. Progress.

Tyler met Elissa’s gaze, and he saw the questions there. But she was kind enough not to pry. No doubt the whole county had heard how Kendra had abandoned her daughter. He really hoped that knowledge didn’t trickle down to any of the kids who would be Maddie’s classmates because kids could be cruel to each other. And even though he didn’t know the specifics, he knew in his gut that Maddie had been through enough.

When their ice cream was handed through the window, he grabbed them and extended Maddie’s to her. She immediately took an enthusiastic lick, making him smile.

“She’s got the right idea,” Verona said. “Give me a double scoop of strawberry.”

As Verona started to turn toward him, he said, “We better be off. Work calls.”

The thing about living in a small town and everyone knowing your business was that you knew theirs, as well. And the mission in life for Verona Charles was to make sure she paired up every single person within a twenty-mile radius of Blue Falls. No, thank you. If he ever got married, it would be to a woman of his choosing with no outside prompting. But right now marriage was the furthest thing from his mind, although the thought had flitted through his noggin more than once that maybe having a wife would make Maddie’s transition easier.

But he wasn’t even dating anyone, so he’d have to figure this out on his own.

As he drove toward the ranch where he’d be working this afternoon, he let his thoughts wander over ways to up his income. He got along fine by himself plying his trade as a farrier and running a small herd of cattle. But things had changed the moment Maddie had become his responsibility. He supposed he could advertise his farrier services farther out from Blue Falls, but he figured most people with horses in the area already knew about him.

Maybe he’d get lucky and someone would rent the bunkhouse. The rental notice he’d put up on the community bulletin board at the Primrose Café had been up less than twenty-four hours, but he kept hoping it would bear fruit.

The bunkhouse had sat unused other than for some storage for years, so it made sense to try to make it generate some income. It wasn’t fancy, but it was sturdy and had a good roof.

Sure, he’d have to deal with someone else coming and going from the ranch, but it seemed the most expedient way of getting what he needed for his niece now and for however long she was with him. Kendra hadn’t said when she’d be back for her daughter, and Tyler wasn’t sure his sister would even remember she had a child. He knew one thing for sure. No way was Maddie going with her mother unless he was convinced Kendra had gotten her act together and was clean.

He glanced over at Maddie as she licked her ice cream. He might feel like a clueless wonder regarding how to interact with her, but there was no denying he’d do whatever he had to in order to protect her and give her what she needed, two things he feared his sister hadn’t done in a long time.

Just as he parked next to the barn where he’d be working the next couple of hours, his phone rang. When he answered, Conner Murphy was on the other end of the call.

“I saw where your bunkhouse is for rent,” Conner said. “Is it still available?”

“It is. You looking to move out of town?”

“No, it’s for my cousin Leah.”

Now that he had an actual bite on the bunkhouse, Tyler experienced a moment of doubt about having someone else on his land. But he glanced over at Maddie and thought about how much easier it would be to provide for her with extra income. He had the feeling she had wanted for a lot in her young life, and he didn’t want that to continue while she was under his roof.

After he and Conner discussed a few particulars, they set a time for Leah Murphy to come see the bunkhouse.

Tyler knew nothing about Conner’s cousin, but because of Maddie he felt better about possibly having a woman living next door than a man. He just hoped he was making the right decision about having anyone there at all. Though Maddie would likely have little or no interaction with his tenant, it was still another change. And the way he saw things, he and Maddie had both had enough changes for a good long while.

Copyright © 2016 by Trish Milburn

ISBN-13: 9781488010248

A Texas Soldier’s Family

Copyright © 2016 by Cathy Gillen Thacker

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