The Circle Eight: Tobias (23 page)

“He is healthy and strong as an ox again. I’m happy to have him with me, no matter if he’s not the same. He’s alive and the way he is now reminds me of what’s really important in life. It ain’t money or things. It’s family and love.” Tobias had heard Rebecca utter those words and hadn’t understood them until now. His heart busted wide open and he let go of all the hatred and anger his mother had shoved inside him until it festered. He had been given a gift of family in his life and he damn sure wasn’t going to squander it anymore.
 

“I’m glad to hear that.” Matt pushed his hat back on his forehead. “’Cause my little sister came tearing into the ranch and about forced us to help you. Said you were headed this way to save your brother.” It was said without rancor but Tobias heard the underlying question. “We picked up your tracks a few miles from here.”
 

“I know I ain’t the brother-in-law you might’ve wanted but there ain’t a moment in the day that I don’t love her. She’s the candle in my dark life
that never went out.” Tobias’s throat tightened again. “When I saw her in the spring, it’d been five years, but I loved her then and I love her more now. I want to marry her, if she’ll have me.”
 

Matt held up both hands. “If you think for a second I have any say in who my sisters marry, you’re crazy. I know I never expected to see you again but Grahams don’t pick the easiest mates. If she loves you and wants to marry you, that’s good enough for me.”
 

Tobias met his future brother-in-law’s gaze and held out his hand. Matt shook it without hesitation. Just like that Tobias had an even bigger family, with more brothers, and now sisters, nieces and nephews. His spirit felt light for the first time in his life.
 

Now all he had to do was marry the woman he loved and things would be perfect.
 

Rebecca paced the ground in front of the ranch house. She should have ridden out with her brothers but Eva and Hannah convinced her otherwise. They were in the house sewing and chatting. Rebecca couldn’t sit still and had escaped the shade of the house for the blazing afternoon sun and her own restlessness.
 

She kicked up dust with her boots as she walked from one end of the house to the other. Tobias, Will and James would be all right. Her brothers were tough men and they were all armed to the teeth. No one would be injured but if they were, Rebecca had her bag with her.
 

It felt strange to be at the Circle Eight again. She’d moved in May to town and although she’d been back a handful of times, her work at the clinic kept her busy nearly seven days a week. The familiar sounds, sights and smells comforted her. If only the men would return and she could stop worrying.
 

“Stop fussing, Rebecca. You’re making the chickens nervous.” Aurora, Caleb’s wife, came out of the barn and walked toward her. Aurora had short, reddish hair, cut shorter than her husband. Because she was a blacksmith, she was incredibly strong so her body was lithe and muscled. She and Caleb had three daughters, Rose, Daisy and Violet. They were all the spitting image of Aurora, with Caleb’s Graham eyes. They lived in a house a mile away from the main ranch. The girls were in school with Matt and Hannah’s two daughters and son, along with Nicholas and Winnie’s daughter Martha. The little ones were all down for naps.
 

The number of children her siblings had was staggering. If her sisters Olivia and Elizabeth lived nearby, they could form their own school right here on the ranch and fill it. The Grahams definitely were good at making babies. Rebecca loved all of them.
 

“I’m worried.” She looked off in the distance at where her brothers had disappeared more than an hour earlier.
 

“I wouldn’t be. Three men against Tobias, his brother and your four brothers? Half a dozen men with muscle, strength and smarts who are armed?” Aurora scoffed. “I would worry about the three sons of bitches who took Will Gibson. They don’t stand a chance against the might of the Grahams.”
 

She was right, of course. Rebecca knew that but it didn’t make her feel any better.
 

“I’m still worried.” Rebecca met her sister-in-law’s amber gaze
 

“You love him.” Aurora sounded surprised. “I didn’t know you were close.”
 

Rebecca toed the dirt with her shoe. “We met when I was seventeen. He treated me as if I was a nuisance but I saw something underneath that gruff exterior. I knew there was a good man in there waiting to get out.”
 

“He’s the one that burned the ranch, right? And took Elizabeth?” Aurora’s tone was curious rather than accusatory.
 

“Yes, but he helped us rebuild, did more penance than many people would have through the sweat of his labor.” Rebecca looked at the house. She imagined she saw his fingerprints on half the boards. No matter if she tried to forget him, he was a part of her family’s ranch now.
 

It was the middle of the afternoon when the world seemed to take its own siesta. During the summer it was nearly too hot to do anything but find shade. In late summer, it wasn’t quite as hot but life did slow down, holding its breath until the heat passed.
 

Sweat rolled down her spine, pooling at the waistband of her skirt. She should be back in Briar Creek seeing to patients, but she’d told Doctor Radicy there was an emergency. He was very old, however, and if there were a true medical emergency, she would need to be there.
 

Guilt waged a war with worry for the man she loved, his brothers and hers. As a Graham, family always came first no matter what. Rebecca knew she had no control of the situation or the men who had taken Will, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t torn up over it. He was probably scared and didn’t understand what was happening.
 

Tobias had been furious, as had James. She could also see the fear in their expressions. The Gibsons might not always do a good job telling each other they loved each other, but she saw it in their actions. Now Will was missing and he could be dead. Her heart pinched at the thought.
 

“I’ve got some work to do. Do you want to help?” Aurora gestured to the barn.
 

“I don’t have your skills, Rory. But if you get hurt, I’ll be there to render aid.” She used to help her sister-in-law when she could. Most of the time, she would watch rather than help because Aurora was an amazing blacksmith who moved with grace and strength.
 

“Staring at the horizon won’t bring them back quicker.” Aurora’s right brow went up. “Your brothers would all puff up their chests and reassure you they were in no danger.”
 

“They also tell me they know what’s best for me.” Rebecca made an attempt at a scoff and it exploded as a sob. Tears ran down her face so fast she could barely wipe them away.
 

Aurora took her arm and led her into the house. “I’m no good at this female stuff.”
 

Hannah and Eva were already on their feet. Their housekeeper was a short, round woman with beautiful olive skin, kind brown eyes and thick black hair she always kept in a bun on the back of her head.
 

Matt’s wife, Hannah, had been a mother for Rebecca and Catherine after their mother died. They were so young to lose their parents. Hannah had shown them love and patience, and in return Rebecca loved her as if she were more than a sister-in-law, a bond as tight as blood. Hannah was a brown-haired, brown-eyed woman who had more beauty on the inside than most folks had on the outside.
 

“
Pobrecita
.” Eva jumped to her feet and led Rebecca to a chair at the big table. Their house had been built for a large family, which was good because their family grew by leaps and bounds on a yearly basis. Nicholas and Caleb had built their own houses nearby so the family didn’t eat every meal together. “
¿Que paso?
”
 

 Aurora folded her arms. “She’s worried about Tobias Gibson. Did you know she was in love with him?”
 

Hannah’s brows went up. “No, I didn’t, but I’m not surprised. Any man who makes a woman that miserable usually means there’s love involved. Do your brothers know?”
 

Rebecca pressed her hand to her forehead. “No one knows.”
 

“Until now.” Aurora eyed her with that sharp, all-knowing gaze. “There’s a history there. Rebecca’s been keeping her secrets well.”
 

“Women are allowed secrets.” Hannah sat down and took Rebecca’s hand. “If she wants to share with us, we’ll keep her secrets safe.”
 

Eva hmphed at the idea of not sharing information but she didn’t contradict Hannah. Rebecca accepted a towel from Eva and pressed the cool cloth to her overheated face.
 

“Yes, I love him and, yes, he broke my heart.” Rebecca looked at the women who were part of her family, none of them by blood, but all of them in her heart. “It started five years ago.”
 

She should have asked them for help when she was in trouble, but she hadn’t. Now she poured out the story, telling them everything that had happened up until that morning. When he’d confessed to her he loved her and had been about to ask her to marry him. Her heart was raw and she didn’t need any admonishments. Fortunately, she received none.
 

“Ah,
mi hija
, I’m so sorry.” Eva cradled Rebecca against her shoulder. “Such burdens you bear on your own.”
 

Hannah’s eyes were bright with tears. “We would have helped you and not judged you. All of us have made choices in our lives we wished we could do over.”
 

“That’s the thing. I don’t want to undo my choices. It’s made me who I am. I don’t think I would be a healer if I hadn’t experienced all of it.” Rebecca sighed. “Even losing my daughter, because now I know what true loss is.” Her soul would always ache for the little girl who didn’t have a chance to grow up.
 

“You told no one but Doctor Radicy?” Hannah shook her head. “I thought you would have come to Eva or me. You know we love you no matter what.”
 

Rebecca clenched her hands and nodded. “I know that but I was scared.” Of course scared was such a small word for such an enormous feeling. “Please don’t tell my brothers.”
 

“We won’t say a word, but I think I’d like to kick Tobias in the balls.” Aurora’s hands were clenched into fists.
 

Rebecca managed a smile. “I’d rather you didn’t. I’d like to have more children.”
 

Everyone laughed and Rebecca hugged each of them in turn. A weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She had told someone, aside from Tobias, her story. She still needed to tell her sisters and would the next time she saw them.
 

“Are we planning a wedding?” Eva had a gleam in her eye.
 

“I hope so. He has to come back first though.” Fear slammed into her again. She glanced at the window, noting the sun had sunk low. “Where are they?”
 

“I told you, it’s the three men who took Will who should be scared. There’s no chance our men won’t catch them and stop them.” Aurora kissed Rebecca’s forehead. “Have faith in them. They’ll come back to us. He’ll come back to you.”
 

Words failed her. Aurora was right. Rebecca could only murmur a thank you, overwhelmed with the certainty that Tobias would return. There was no other possibility she would accept.
 

Everything they hadn’t said to each other still needed to be said. She had to tell him she loved him. And that she never blamed him for Abigail’s death. He was in her heart and always would be.
 

She closed her eyes and prayed.
 

Tobias rode with Will behind him. The youngest Gibson was still shaking and scared, no matter that his brothers and new “friends” were with him. The Grahams rode point and drag with the Gibsons in the middle. It was a new experience for Tobias to be taken care of.
 

He hadn’t allowed anyone to do it before he’d met the Grahams. Even Pops had a time trying to do things for him. Tobias had learned early on to do for himself or go hungry, be cold, be dirty or be left behind. Now he had to relearn how to let others near him.
 

It started with Rebecca and his injuries at the hands of Donovan’s ranch hands. The same ranch hands currently tied to their horses on leads firmly held by the Grahams. She showed him kindness when she owed him nothing but hate.
 

He had been given gifts in his life, starting with Pops and then his brothers. It didn’t matter if they weren’t blood-related or had different fathers. They were his family. Now he had Rebecca, the biggest gift in his life. She was all that was good and right. The beautiful creature who had captured his heart and soul.
 

They rode for the Circle Eight. And Rebecca. His excitement over seeing her again, and Will’s safe return, was tempered by the unknown “boss” the men worked for. When they got to the ranch, Tobias would make sure the men confessed what they knew and then he would see to it the man behind all of this paid with his life.
 

“Are we almost there?” Will piped up, his voice as weary as Tobias felt.
 

“We’re on Graham land already.” Matt spoke from the head of the group. “Ranch house is about ten minutes ahead.”
 

“I have to pee.” Will squirmed and Tobias hoped like hell he could hold it.
 

“We can ride faster.” Matt turned to look at Will with a kind smile.
 

“We can?” Will tugged at Tobias’s arm. “Let’s go fast, Toby!”
 

And so the race was on. Tobias kneed his horse into a gallop and Will held onto his waist so tight, he could hardly get a breath in. It was all right because they were losing the race anyway. Two grown men on a horse had no chance against Matt and his gelding Winston.