Almost a Cowboy (20 page)

“He’s down at the house. That your truck there?” Mr. Alan gestured across the field.

“Yeah.”

“You can follow me down. I’ll meet you on the road.”

Utah fingered the brim of his hat. “Obliged.”

“Yeah, well, you haven’t gotten out of the pasture yet. Looks as if those bulls are comin’ closer to see what you’re doin’.”

It was true—four bulls stood less than a hundred yards away each. Beside him, Caroline quivered.

“We’ll make it fine.” Utah grabbed her hand and headed across the field with her in tow. She jogged to keep up with him.

“Do you think these bulls will charge us?”

“Naw. Alan’s bluffing. His way of getting back at us for trespassing.”

“Do you think his brother can help us find Camden?”

Two weeks on the road wore on him. He wanted to get back to the ranch and lock Caroline inside the house where he’d grown up. He sighed. “I sure as hell hope so.”

Terrence Alan was only slightly more personable than his brother. Though he wasn’t exactly happy to hear Utah and Caroline had trespassed, he did take a good long look at Utah and declare that he was the spittin’ image of Camden.

“Where would we find him?”

“He works up on Bubba Brisco’s ranch.” He pointed across the land. “End of this road, make a left. Follow that road. You can’t miss it.”

They thanked him and got back into the truck. Caroline bounced on the seat. “We find him, we’ll probably find Emma. And maybe Jefferson. It bothers me that there are so many Jefferson cities, counties, and towns between here and the coast.”

Utah nodded and turned down the road away from the Alan property. “Me too. But we’re closer. One thing at a time.”

“There’s no way this is the wrong Camden Davies,” Caroline said. “Not if he looks like you.”

Utah grew engrossed with thoughts of meeting his brother. Scenarios flitted in and out of his mind. He hadn’t wanted to meet another brother at his workplace, but right now he was just desperate to run a sibling to earth. He’d look Camden up in the bathroom if necessary.

Bubba Brisco’s ranch had about seven more outbuildings than the Alans. Utah pulled up in front of the house and cut the engine. For a long minute he just sat there, staring at the glory of a well-kept ranch.

“I want to restore the homestead.”

Caroline gave him a funny look but didn’t reply. They got out of the truck, and a man in jeans and a plaid shirt approached.

“What can I do for you folks?” He stopped when he got a gander at Utah. “Whoa. You’ve gotta be Camden’s kin.”

Utah nodded and pumped his hand. Caroline did the same. “Where can I find him?”

The man flicked his head to the left. “He’s fixin’ a mowing deck on the tractor. Go on in.”

“Thank you much, sir.”

Not even Caroline’s warm hand in Utah’s calmed his nerves as he walked toward the big outbuilding. His brother was inside. He may be good-natured or a real prick.

Utah braced himself and entered the building.

A man was crouched beside a mowing deck. One knee poked from a ragged hole in his jeans, and grease grimed his thigh. “Rick, that you? This is gonna take a bit more leverage. Help a guy out, wouldja?”

“Sure.” Utah’s voice sounded hoarse.

Camden looked up. Surprise rippled over his features—Davies features. Straight nose, hard mouth. Slanted blue eyes. He wore no hat, and sweat ran out of his dark, messy hair.

He didn’t miss a beat. “Okay.”

Heart pounding in his temples, Utah squatted beside his brother. He took a look at the blades that were obviously jammed. “Yeah, looks like you need to twist that way while I twist this way.”

“Yeah. They got bent on that last pass.” Camden stared at him for a full minute.

Utah stared back. “Ya ready?”

“Say the word.” Camden positioned his hands, and Utah took the opposite spot.

“On three.”

“Three, two, one.” They torqued the blades, and they swung free. The metal against Utah’s bare hands had nicked his finger. He swiped the blood on his jeans and held out his hand to his brother.

Camden took off his work gloves and dropped them to the dusty floor. “Who are you?”

“Utah Davies.”

“You look like my pa.”

“So do you.” Utah’s stomach fluttered with nervousness. “Look, we’re brothers.”

“I can see that.”

“Hollis Davies is dead.”

“I know. My mother got word.”

Shock sliced through Utah. “How?”

“Some lawyer. Baughmann? Brody?”

“Berger.”

“That’s it.” Camden jabbed a forefinger at Utah in a way that made him think of playing cowboys and Indians with his brothers. His stomach warmed.

Camden looked over Utah from head to foot. They stood about the same height. This guy had about twenty pounds more of pure muscle on him than Utah, though. “No one mentioned a brother.”

“Brothers. And sisters.”

Confusion creased Camden’s brows. “What?”

It seemed best to just spit it out. “That’s why I’m here. There are fifteen of us total. And we’re all needed at my family’s ranch for the reading of the will.”

Camden shook his head slowly, trying to process it. Caroline stood back watching, nothing escaping her gaze.

“I can’t believe it,” Camden said at last.

“None of us can. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news,” Utah said.

“Well, my sister and I, we suspected something like this. Our pa wasn’t around very much. At first Emma joked that he had another family. But soon we guessed that might be the case.”

Utah’s throat closed off at the mention of Emma. “How did you guess?”

“One day he took us to the county fair. It’s goin’ on now, in fact.” He pointed in the direction of town. “Pa opened his wallet to pay for the admission, and she saw some pictures. Later she told me the boy in the photo looked like me.”

Pressing his lips together, Utah waged a war against his fury with his father. He’d hurt more than one person in this sick game. And why in Christ’s name couldn’t he have wrapped up his dick and kept from having more children? After the first unplanned pregnancy, one would think Hollis would have stopped.

Now it seemed the man had purposely set out to leave as much DNA as possible in the wake of his affairs.

“Is your mother still living?”

“Of course. She’s with Emma now. Shopping for a new computer for my sister. She’s headin’ to college in a few weeks.” Pride oozed from Camden’s voice. Utah wondered if his brother didn’t have that same opportunity and why. So many questions unanswered. Like how Hollis Davies had planned to see to the educations of fifteen kids, or if he’d hoped they all got football scholarships.

Caroline rubbed a hand down Utah’s back, and he realized how tense he was. He pushed out a sigh and looked at Camden again.

“When do you get off work?”

“Four o’clock.” He pointed. “I’ll meet you right there. Take ya both home with me, and you can meet my ma. And Emma.”

“Is there a brother too? Do you know someone named Jefferson?” Caroline piped up.

Camden shook his head. “No, but I have a feeling I will pretty soon.”

•●•

These people lived simply, and Caroline couldn’t help but admire it. From their small, neat double-wide trailer to the sparse flower garden by the front steps, it was apparent Hollis hadn’t showered this branch of the family with wealth.

Maggie “Davies” wasn’t really a Davies at all. When she’d gotten pregnant with Camden, she’d adopted the last name of the man who’d refused to marry her.

“What were his reasons?” Utah pressed.

Caroline shot him a look. Anger rolled off the man she loved. If Hollis Davies were here now, Utah would choke him. No question.

Maggie folded her hands in her lap. “Oh he talked about how I deserved a better man, and if one came along, he wanted to make sure I wasn’t hitched to an old, worthless horse. But he wasn’t old or worthless when I met him or much later. He was full of life.” Her eyes took on a faraway expression.

She’d held on to her beauty. Pale silvery blonde hair framed a round face. Her green eyes were vivid. It struck Caroline that Hollis had chosen two women with similar coloring—Bennett and Aurora’s mother and Camden and Emma’s. Did Hays’s mom have blonde hair too?

Utah’s mother had been a brunette. Warm reddish-brown hair had always been pinned on the back of her neck.

Staring at Utah unblinkingly, Emma leaned against the chair where Camden sat. She wasn’t unlike Aurora, though she was built tough and was nearly as tall as her brothers. Her athletic body spoke of the scholarship she’d earned running track. She wore a sporty hoodie jacket over a brand new alma mater T-shirt. And her toned legs coming out of gym shorts made Caroline think of hers as short, fat stumps.

“Was it your picture I saw in his wallet?” Emma asked.

Utah looked up at her and didn’t pretend not to understand. “I don’t know. It might have been any of us.”

“Tell us their names again,” she said.

Utah ran through the list. Maggie dropped her gaze, probably more shaken than she let on. When he finished, Utah addressed the woman. “Why would Tom Berger notify you of Hollis’s death?”

She shrugged. “Maybe he notified all of us…”

“No. Not Deirdre, Bennett and Aurora’s mother. She didn’t know he’d died. Since Hollis hadn’t spoken to them in a while, they’d guessed, but they didn’t know for sure.”

Maggie released an uneven breath. Camden put his hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sure this is very painful, and I’m sorry for it. I can’t figure out what it was about Hollis Davies that made women flock to him. Or why he thought it all right to continue with the entire ruse. Why not walk away years ago?”

A trace of a smile lit Maggie’s eyes. “He loved me. I know he did.”

“Of course he did, Ma,” Emma said softly.

“He loved a lot of women,” Utah muttered so low Caroline was probably the only person to hear him.

“He traveled through on Wednesdays mostly. He’d stay until Saturday then get on the road again. A month might pass before we saw him again, but we always looked forward to it, didn’t we, kids?”

Camden and Emma nodded.

“When he passed through, he’d deposit money in the checking account to see us through till next time. And my job at the bank helped. I’m retired now.”

Utah spoke up. “This was enough for you? Seeing a man once a month?”

Maggie met his gaze directly. The love she still felt for Hollis shone in her eyes. “I would have gone two months without question. I loved him that much.”

Utah got up and began to pace. Caroline watched him, fearing for the dainty glass knickknacks Maggie had placed on side tables. But Utah quickly returned to the sofa. He ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t get it. But I’m glad you were happy. I’m glad he took care of my brother and sister. This is why I’m here today. He left something more for them, and they’re needed for the reading of the will. Caroline, can you write down the address for them?”

Emma fetched some paper, and Caroline did as asked. Then she handed the notepad to Camden. He scanned it. “You pickin’ us up at the airport, bro?”

Utah grinned. “You got it. Maggie, you’re welcome too.”

He’d extended the same invitation to Deirdre. What happened when all of these jilted women gathered in one place?
The ranch might not be big enough, that’s what.

“We’d best be on our way. More states, more siblings…” Utah shrugged, and Camden actually laughed.

Then the men got up and hugged. A new bond had been formed over a mowing deck, but now it was forged in the steel ties of family. Utah embraced Emma a little more tenderly. He rubbed the top of her head in a gesture she was way too old for but brought tears to her eyes.

“I’ll see you when you touch down in Utah,” he said.

“We’ll be there. All of us,” Emma returned. Caroline couldn’t wait to write this chapter of the story.

“I’m sure as hell getting sick of hotel rooms.” Utah strode away from the last one as fast as possible. It seemed his choices were poor. From the outside, the establishments looked clean and reputable. Inside they were grubby. Caroline had been leery of even sleeping in the bed last night.