Texas Ranger Dad (6 page)

Needing to be free from his touch, she wrenched her hands away and stood up. “What we need to do is find my son,” she snapped, and started through the woods again calling Max's name.

Her life had turned back into a nightmare and she felt powerless to fix it.

What if he tried to get custody?

She was a good mother. But she was terrified. Would a judge look unsympathetically on the fact that she'd chosen to live in shelters rather than give her son the chance to have a better life with his dad? Max was fourteen. She was almost certain he would be given a choice of which parent he wanted to live with, but the thought of him being put in that situation pained Rose.

And as angry as he was at her right now, if he were given the choice, he might choose Zane. She broke into a cold sweat at the thought. She was literally sick with second-guessing her choices. Every conceivable bad scenario of her life was racing through her mind.

Where was he? She called his name again. Zane
echoed it from half a foot behind her. The man was practically breathing down her neck!

When Max suddenly came into view, her heart leaped with joy and relief.
Thank You, God.

“Hey,” he said, as if nothing was amiss. He gazed at Zane, clearly surprised to see him with her. “What's up?” he asked with a grin.

“‘What's up?'” she snapped. “What kind of question is that, young man? You had me worried sick! Where have you been?”

“I've been sitting on a rock thinking and letting everything sink in. I'm sorry, Mom. Really. But you have to admit you gave me a hunk of stuff to think about.” His attention switched back to Zane.

She realized, surprisingly, that he wasn't mad. Or upset. Instead, he was clearly infatuated with Zane. She was totally confused. Her son had a certain way of processing things—he'd always met things head-on after he mulled them over. As he'd matured, this trait had grown stronger. Still, he'd been so angry when he'd stormed off, and this was so much bigger than anything he'd faced before, that the grin on his face was unexpected. It worried her.

“So, I hear you're my dad,” he said, shocking her further.

Surprise flickered in Zane's eyes, but he hid it well. His quick nod belied the confusion she knew he must be feeling. As he held Max's gaze with sincerity, Rose's heart caught. Once upon a time, she'd looked into Zane's eyes and believed that sincerity with her whole heart. She looked away and inhaled slowly. There was no one else who could look at her and make her believe she could jump tall buildings in a single bound. It was a dangerous thing and scared her for her
son…because it only meant she'd fallen that much further when she realized Zane's heart hadn't been as steadfast as his eyes would have one believe.

She prayed he wouldn't hurt Max like he'd hurt her. She would do whatever it took to prevent that from happening, but for now, there was nothing she could do except watch in wonder as her son had his first conversation with his dad.

“Yes, I'm your dad. I didn't know,” he said. “But your mom had her reasons for not telling me.”

Zane wasn't going to try to use her actions against her with Max. Relief surged though her. She'd been afraid he might, but then, this was the most gracious way to handle it for both of them and in Max's best interest. She gave Zane a grateful nod when he glanced her way.

“Mom told me you watched over her when she was in the witness protection program. That's so cool.”

“It was my job. Your mother was very brave to do what she did.”

Rose felt a tinge of regret at another reminder that looking out for her had been merely a job to Zane. She knew it was illogical after all this time for it to hurt, but it did.

Max grinned at her and she wanted to scream at him to stop. He had to be hurting inside but was pretending everything was okay. He'd just met his dad. His mom had lied to him. And yet he stood here grinning and looking at her like she hadn't done anything wrong.

“Mom is the bravest woman I know.”

His words broke her. Blinking back tears, Rose felt her heart shatter. She wasn't brave at all. She was a hypocrite. All these years, she'd hidden from the most important thing in the world…the truth.

She spun and started toward the house, not wanting him or Zane to see the tears. “Let's go home,” she managed and walked blindly back the way they'd come.

“S
o, how are you?”

Rose gave her boss, Ashby, a “What do you think?” look as she brought an armload of clothes out of the dressing room of Ashby's Treasures. “It is an
impossible
situation.”

“I still can't get over you being in the witness protection program. And that Zane is Max's dad. That kid is so proud. He's told everyone.”

All morning Rose wondered when Ashby would notice the elephant in the room. “I've misled everyone. Max is the best thing that ever happened to me. But I just couldn't chance opening up my past. I hope no one thinks less of me.”

“You know none of us think less of you. We love you.”

“I know,” Rose sighed. “I'm ashamed I even said that. I'm just not thinking straight. What am I going to do, Ashby? Everything is so messed up.”

Ashby patted the stool in front of her and Rose left the dresses on a display table and sat down.

“I keep getting the feeling that there's still something between the two of you. Is there?” Ashby asked.

“Not if he was the last man on the planet,” Rose groaned. “The man lied to me,
abandoned
me when I needed him most.” She sprang up from the stool and started pacing, for no reason other than it kept her from kicking something. It was a sensation she'd been fighting ever since watching Zane and Max bonding last night. “And if that isn't enough, after all these years he's tracked me down in the one place I've been happy.”

“But that's my question,” Ashby said. “If he didn't know about Max, then why exactly did he do that?”

Rose swung toward Ashby. “Because he feels guilty, that's why. But after all these years it's a little too late for that.” And having to tell Max the truth only cemented that.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I'm sure. I—I despise the man,” Rose insisted. “And believe me, after yesterday, the feeling is mutual. He was off-the-charts angry at me for not telling him about Max.”

“Rose, honey…You know I love you and wouldn't want to hurt you, but don't you think his feelings are understandable?”

“He walked away from me. Left me pregnant and alone—”

“But you said yourself that he didn't know you were pregnant.”

“Right,” she sighed. This was exactly how she feared a judge would look at it. “But surely he had to know I was wearing my heart on my sleeve where he was concerned. And he left me there.”

“What exactly happened? Do you want to talk about it?”

Rose needed to talk and she'd already felt bad about
not telling Ashby long ago. “When I entered the program, I trusted him. I felt so alone and scared. He made me feel safe…Foolishly, I let my guard down. I won't lie to you. I loved him then and I thought he loved me. It was just a bad situation all around. I found out how wrong I was when someone tried to shoot me. Zane got me out of the safe house where the attack took place and into another one.” She hardened her heart against the emotions just thinking about the experience caused her. “And then he was gone the next morning. No explanation. Just gone.” She paused as the devastation she'd felt resurfaced. Taking a breath, she told Ashby how she'd been so afraid the morning after the attack when she walked into the kitchen and found an unfamiliar Texas Ranger pouring himself a cup of coffee. She'd been terrified, not to mention heartbroken.

She took a breath. “I don't know how exactly I made it through the next few months. They were horrible. I found out I was pregnant right before I testified against the man who wanted me dead. Then I was whisked away into a new life in the program only to have the murderer be killed in jail. That was six weeks altogether and the next thing I knew I was released from the program and expected to resume life as if nothing had happened.”

Ashby looked as dazed by the information as Rose had felt living it. “I can hardly believe it,” she said. “Did they know you were expecting?”

“No. I couldn't believe it myself, so I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone.”

“So what did you do then? You must have been so lost.”

“Yes. That's a perfect word for how I felt. My grand
mother was dead and I really didn't have anything to come home to…And I just couldn't deal with the questions that might be asked by everyone, so I stayed in L.A. and got a job as a receptionist at an import business. And that's when I met David.” She shook her head.

“That is amazing,” Ashby said, coming to stand beside her. “You are so strong.”

“Now I am. But then I wasn't. I married a man because I was afraid of being alone and pregnant and he abused me. I should never have let myself get into such a vulnerable position in the first place.”

“I'm so sorry,” Ashby said.

Rose took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Me, too,” she said finally.

“Do you think Zane knows about what David did?”

“He found out when he decided to look me up again,” Rose answered bitterly.

“I bet he felt terrible when he found out.”

Rose gaped at her friend. “Don't feel bad for him.”

Ashby looked sheepish. “I'm sorry. But I do. You and Zane were both in an impossible situation. Maybe you should give yourself and him a break.”

A break! She'd like to break something, all right. But give him a break? No way.

“Rose, don't look at me like that. He said he left because he was trying to protect you. He clearly thought he was doing the right thing and that was it. Maybe he's telling the truth. What if you opened your heart and gave him a second chance? It is amazing what you've gone through together. This time you can really get to know each other under normal circumstances. Maybe God's giving you a chance to get it right this time.”

Rose stared at Ashby. “Get it right?”

Ashby looked like she was talking to a kindergartner. “Do I have to spell it out?”

“Please do.”

“What if God meant for you two to be together all along, but you two put the cart before the horse, so to speak. And maybe it was because you were in such a tense situation that things got out of hand. Don't you think God forgives mistakes and gives second chances?”

Rose nodded. “Yes, I do. But in this situation, it isn't God's ability to forgive that's in question. It's mine.”

“Rose, I can't believe you said that. You're the first person who would have told me to trust God. Actually, you
are
the person who told me to trust the Lord when I was struggling with opening my heart to Dan.”

Rose looked at the ground. “Oh, Ashby, I know. I feel mean and at odds with everything right now. I'm so ashamed.”

Ashby chuckled, leaned forward and hugged her. “Honey, everyone gets there at some point. It just means you need some extra time on your knees with the Lord. He will help you sort it all out.”

Rose knew this might be true, but at the moment she just couldn't see how.

 

“You want us to help you make your mom and Zane fall in love?”

Max nodded at Norma Sue. He'd ridden his bike the three miles between home and the women's shelter where he and his mom used to live. This shelter was different, not only because it was located on Sheriff Brady's ranch, but also because Dottie had opened a candy store in town where she taught all the ladies how
to make candy and run a business, too. Since Dottie was getting ready to have her baby any day, that meant the candy store was shorthanded and Norma Sue, Esther Mae and Adela were babysitting the young kids while their moms all worked. The older ladies usually helped out at different times, not all coming out to the shelter at the same time to watch the kids. But yesterday he heard his mom and Miss Adela talking about how the three of them were using the time to make a baby quilt for Dottie. He'd been trying to figure out a way to get their help all week long, so this was his chance. Especially since it was his mom's Saturday to work at the dress store. She wouldn't know he'd talked to them.

He still couldn't believe Zane Cantrell was his dad or that his mom had met him while she was in the witness protection program—that was just plain cool. He'd told his friends first thing. By now everyone in town knew Zane was his dad. It kinda made Max want to stand taller when he walked down the streets.

“Yeah, I want y'all to do that matchmaking stuff on my mom and my dad.” He grinned. Sheri, the nail tech down at Heavenly Inspiration hair salon, called these three the matchmaking posse and he liked the sound of that. They could help him rope his mom and dad into a wedding. “Everybody knows that's what y'all do. You've helped match up almost the entire town, so why not my mom and dad?”

Norma Sue laid her hand on her wiry gray head and stared at him like he had horns. The other two were silent, too. Maybe they hadn't had anyone actually
ask
for their help and didn't exactly know how to take it.

“I figure maybe y'all like coming up with who you want to match up all by yourselves. The thing is, I've
made up my mind about this and I'm not going to quit until y'all help me.” His mom would tan his hide if she heard him talking like that, since it sounded kind of rude. But a guy had to be firm about important things.

“If that ain't the cutest thing!” Esther Mae squealed suddenly, shattering the silence. “This is going to be so fun!”

Max laughed, but stopped when Norma Sue held up a hand.

“Hold on, Esther Mae,” she snapped. “Adela, what do you think?”

Max hadn't ever known his grandmothers, so these ladies were the closest thing he had to that. He had pretended ever since coming here that they were his family. Esther Mae was the funny grandmother. She was always squealing and laughing—and she had short red hair. Norma Sue was the grandma who took charge and made things happen. Yet she didn't look too sure about his idea. He looked at Miss Adela. She was the gentle one. He was always afraid he was going to hurt her when he hugged her because she looked so delicate. Now, he prayed she would think he had a great idea. When she smiled, her blue eyes lit up like Christmas lights.

“Well,” she said. “If this child wants us to help him get his mother and dad together we have to help him.”

“Yes! So what do we do?” he asked.

Norma Sue crossed her arms and shook her head. “I'm not sure we're doing the right thing here. But there were some sparks flying at church last Sunday. I say all we have to do is get them together as often as possible. If God's got a hand in this union, they'll do most of the work themselves.”

“When love is involved, they always do,” Esther Mae added.

Max frowned. “But what if there isn't? My mom doesn't act like she wants anything to do with Zane. And, well, he tries to hide it from me, but I think my dad is kinda mad at my mom. What if we need to
make
them fall in love?”

“Max,” Adela said. “If there's no love there then we don't want them together. And neither do you, dear.”

He didn't like the sound of that. “They'll love each other. I know it.”

“Even if they don't love each other, they love you, Max.” Norma Sue said.

The other two nodded their heads.

“You aren't angry over all of this in some way, are you?” Adela asked.

He sat on the porch banister and looked out at the laughing little boys playing on the swings and sighed. “I got angry at first,” he admitted. “But, well, then I got to thinking about it and all the anger just went away. I'm trusting God on this. I've been through a lot in my life and He's always been there for me. Like He's been there for those little guys. I mean, He brought us all here, didn't He? To me, that was God having my back.”

“Oh,” Esther Mae gasped, patting her eyes with her napkin. “I just want to squeeze you so tight. Goodness, your momma raised you right. She would be so proud of you.”

Max wasn't so sure about that. But a man had to do what a man had to do when it came to what was best for his family. Right?