The Reluctant Wrangler (12 page)

But he didn’t want to go back to Boston—he wanted to stay here. He’d grown to love the ranch. And Nikki. He loved her patience, her kindness and her generosity. Trying not to had been a wasted effort—he knew that now. But there was one question in his mind. How did she feel about him?

Inside the building, he hesitated at his door when he noticed she hadn’t gone to hers. His body hummed with having her near.

“Mac?”

Soft brown eyes gazed into his. He reached for her hand and gently pulled her closer. Hearing her soft sigh, he took her in his arms, tasting first one corner of her soft mouth, then the other. She melted into him, her arms slipping around his neck. He traced her lips with the
tip of his tongue, and she opened them in response. He deepened the kiss, and his mind erupted in fireworks, while need burned through him. He held her even closer, molding her softness to his hard body.

It wasn’t until Nikki slowly pulled away that he realized they were still standing in the hallway. “Good night, Mac,” she whispered, stepping back and moving to her door.

He watched her slip inside her apartment. The question of how she felt about him had been answered.

N
IKKI COVERED
yet another yawn with her hand as Jules walked up to her in the barn. It was early evening, but she hadn’t been able to sleep until the wee hours of the morning, excited that the Bent Tree would be growing.

“How did the trail ride go this morning with the boys?” Jules asked.

“Good,” Nikki answered. “They really enjoyed the freedom to just ride. And they were starved when we got back, in spite of the big breakfast they’d had.”

Laughing, Jules nodded. “That’s boys. Always hungry. Jacob and Andrew seem to be adjusting well.”

Nikki agreed. “Andrew is still a little shy with the others, but I suspect that won’t last long. And although Jacob appears to be the serious type, he has a wicked sense of humor.”

Jules nodded. “Never judge a book by its cover.” She leaned back against the short wall of the stall Nikki was cleaning. “Do you realize it’s been a month since you started working here?”

“A month?” To Nikki, it seemed like only a week or two, if that. But now that Jules had mentioned it, she realized much had happened in that month.

“As of this week, it’s been a month,” Jules said. “I meant to meet with you every week, but time flew by and there seemed to be no need to do it. I’m sure you know how pleased I am with your work.”

“I couldn’t ask for a better job,” Nikki replied. “I love it here at the Bent Tree.”

“Me, too,” Jules said, laughing. But her laughter quieted as she studied Nikki. “Mac mentioned that he’d taken you to visit one of the EAP facilities.”

“It was very interesting,” Nikki admitted slowly.

“If Mac succeeds with the foundation to help with funding, I’d like to cover the cost to get you certified.”

Nikki understood why Jules was willing to pay, but it didn’t fix the other problem. “I’d have to leave the boys to do it, at least for a while,” she explained. “And I just don’t want to.”

Pushing away from the wall, Jules straightened. “Mac told me about your concerns, and I understand how you feel about the boys. But you could help them and others even more if you’d attend the seminars. We can find some close by, so you wouldn’t be gone for long periods.”

Nodding, Nikki took a deep breath. “I’ll certainly consider your offer.”

“Good,” Jules said. “And just so you know, I’ve hired a woman this morning. Her name is Linda Davidson—she was a teacher for many years before acquiring a nursing degree. She’ll have a room in the main building, so we’ll have someone here at all times who’s licensed in health care. I’ll introduce you when she arrives on Tuesday, and we’ll do some brainstorming about sharing duties, as far as housemother is concerned. That should free up some of your time.”

“I’ll enjoy meeting her,” Nikki replied, but she knew
she would miss any time she wouldn’t be with the boys. Still, she’d have them for riding, so maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing.

“I have phone calls to make,” Jules told her, “so I’ll see you in the morning, if I don’t see you again later today.”

“Thanks, Jules.”

When Jules had gone, Nikki finished her work, made sure the boys were quietly occupied for the next hour and walked to the main building.

She was in the kitchen, reading a note from Bridey, when Mac walked in. “I decided it was time for a break,” he said. “I see you did, too.”

“Bridey left some chocolate cake,” Nikki said, holding up the note.

“The Irish temptress,” he said, reaching for the plastic cake holder on the cabinet. “Want to join me?”

She nodded and reached into the cabinet for two plates. “I think I will. I have an hour or so before I check on the boys again.”

“If you’ll cut us each a piece, I’ll pour us some tea.”

After settling on a nearby sofa in the commons, they were well into their cake when she spoke again. “You really had some great suggestions for Jules and Tanner last night.”

He didn’t look up from his plate. “I hope they help.”

“Advertising and marketing are completely out of my realm. How do you know so much about them?”

He looked up at her, his eyebrows raised. “Digging for information?”

“Maybe.”

Pushing his plate away, he leaned back. “Okay. I
guess it’s time I revealed my deep dark secrets. Then you can share.”

She nodded, but didn’t say anything.

Mac continued. “A couple of months ago I received a letter from an attorney. It included a letter to me written by a man who claimed to be my biological father and who had recently died in prison.”

Nikki leaned back and looked at him, unable to think of what she could say. “That must have been a shock.”

He shrugged his shoulders and lifted his glass. “Apparently he liked to dabble in sharing stock information. That’s major insider trading. Throw in some investment fraud and…” After taking a drink, he set the glass back on the small table. “I didn’t know what to think. Nobody had ever told me the man who’d raised me had adopted me when he married my mother.”

“So your mother is your biological mother.”

“Yes. My biological father disappeared before she learned she was pregnant. After I was born, she married the man I’d always believed was my father, and he adopted me.”

She was surprised. Adoption wasn’t as shrouded in mystery and secrecy as it had been. Most children knew from an early age that they’d been adopted. “I’m sure they had a good reason.”

Mac lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “I guess they believed they did. My dad is the owner of a major marketing firm in Boston. That’s what Jules was talking about last night. I officially went into the business after college.” He leaned back and rubbed his forehead with a fist. “I was angry when I learned they’d deceived me. I’m not who I thought I was.”

Nikki could understand that he’d been upset. Anyone in that situation would feel the same. “But you’re still
the same person you were before you learned about the adoption.”

He looked at her, shaking his head. “How can I be? The man I thought was my father isn’t, and my parents kept that information from me.”

“Parents are not always the people who gave life,” she pointed out. But Mac didn’t answer, and she decided it might not be the right time to talk about it. “So you left and came here?”

His mouth slanted in a wry smile. “Poor Jules. She was so surprised to see me at her door. To be honest, I probably didn’t look all that great. She listened to my story, and then offered me the job. When I was a boy, I’d spent most of my summers at my godfather’s ranch in Idaho. He taught me a lot about horses. But even before that, Megan was show jumping, and I did some riding, too.”

“So that’s why you know horses so well, but never struck me as a cowboy.”

“Probably. I know I should forgive my parents for deceiving me all my life, but it isn’t that easy.”

Nikki picked up a small decorator pillow from the sofa and hugged it close. Her heart and mind warred. She’d done the unthinkable and fallen in love with Mac. How could she love someone, yet keep secrets from him? But how could she tell him? Deception was obviously something he didn’t accept, and she’d been deceiving him
and
Tanner and Jules.

Standing, she tossed the pillow to the sofa. “I should be checking on the boys and reminding them it’s bedtime.”

Mac seemed deep in thought, but nodded. She wished she could do more for him. She didn’t have to imagine how he felt, at least in one sense. She hadn’t known her
father, either—only that she had one she’d never met and, like Mac, would never know.

But she couldn’t tell Mac that. Not yet. Not until she told Tanner. Sooner or later, he had to be told. But how would Mac feel when he learned she’d lied?

“It’s time,” Mac said.

Nikki looked up from her breakfast plate. “Is he here?”

“He just arrived with the caseworker.”

“Kirby?” she said, looking down the table at him. “It’s time to leave.” She stood and turned to Mac. Keeping her voice low, she asked, “Do you think it would be all right if I talk to him before he sees his father?”

Mac ducked his head before meeting her gaze. “I’m supposed to bring you both right away. They’ll meet us at the house.”

Nodding, Nikki saw the same apprehension in Mac’s eyes that she was feeling. For Kirby’s sake, she knew she had to at least appear positive, so she made sure she was smiling. “I’ll meet you at the house in a few minutes, then,” she told Mac.

She hurried to the main building and quickly let herself into her apartment. In her bedroom she pulled out a small tissue-paper-wrapped package, stuffed it into her pocket and then walked quickly to join the others at the O’Briens’ home.

There was no need for anyone to tell her which person in the small group standing in the O’Brien living room was Kirby’s father. The man was big. Tall and solid. His
ebony skin matched eyes of the same color, and his smile appeared to be forced, especially when Nikki walked in and Jules hurried to introduce them.

“So this is who taught my boy to ride a horse,” he said, taking the hand Nikki offered.

“He picked it up quickly.” She added a smile that made her face hurt and pulled her hand away. His hand was the size of a side of beef, and she wondered just how much power it held.

Thankfully, Jules introduced her to the caseworker who would be supervising the visit. “Stephie Mullen,” the young woman said.

“How long have you been with OKDHS?” Nikki asked.

“A month,” Stephie answered. “It’s been
so
rewarding.”

She barely looked as if she was out of high school, but Nikki reminded herself not to judge. She, too, looked young for her age, and she hadn’t been all that old when she’d first worked with Cherokee Nation Youth. But she’d worked in Intake, not as a caseworker.

“You’ll excuse me, won’t you? I have something for Kirby,” Nikki said, and hurried to where Kirby stood with Mac and Shawn. When she looked at Mac, he immediately asked Shawn a question and led him a little away from Kirby.

Nikki knelt in front of the boy and reached into her pocket. “I have something for you,” she said as she pulled out the small package.

He didn’t smile, but he also didn’t look as somber or stricken as he had in past days. “For me?”

She handed the gift to him. “It was my grandfather’s,” she explained while Kirby slowly opened it. “I never
knew him. My grandmother gave it to me when I was about your age.”

Kirby pulled off the last bit of tissue paper covering the silver-dollar-size polished piece of turquoise.

Seeing the spark of joy in his eyes when he looked up at her, she continued. “He meant to put it in a belt buckle, but he never did. When my grandmother gave it to me, she said it would bring me luck.”

“Did it?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” she asked. He didn’t speak, only nodded, and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. “We’ll be here for you tonight, Kirby,” she whispered.

Leaning back, he looked at her, his dark eyes sparkling with happiness. “I know.”

“We need to be getting home, boy,” his father said, approaching them.

“Of course,” she said, standing.

Kirby looked at her, and she gave him an encouraging smile. Hugging him again, she finally released him. “I’ll walk out with you,” she told them both, without looking at the man.

The caseworker stood at the door of her car and smiled at Kirby when the three of them reached the car. Nikki felt better for it. Jules, Shawn and Bridey joined them. Even Tanner, who carried little Wyoming, was there to send Kirby on his way.

“We’ll see you tonight,” Jules said as the Millers got into the car.

Apprehension mixed with sadness nearly brought tears to Nikki’s eyes, but she managed to keep them at bay as the car drove away, Kirby sitting woodenly beside his father.

“I need to check on the other boys,” she said, knowing
she had to get away before anyone noticed she was upset.

But as she stepped away, Jules pressed a hand to her arm. “Take the rest of the day off. I think we’ll all join the boys for lunch, so don’t you worry about it. I know what sleepless nights are like, and it looks like you could use some rest.”

Nikki nodded and thanked her, but instead of going straight to her apartment, she checked on the boys first.

She discovered them playing basketball in the crisp fall weather, and watched them for several minutes. After making certain all was well, she went into the barn and went straight to work on the day’s chores. She wanted to keep busy, not sleep, but it wasn’t long before she found herself yawning. Putting the broom away, she walked to the main building.

Feeling lost in her small apartment, she picked up the letter her grandmother had sent and reread it. In it Ayita apologized in her spidery handwriting for telling Sally that Nikki was at the Rocking O.

Although her grandmother didn’t go long into details, Nikki had discovered in the letter that Tanner’s younger brother had visited her grandmother years ago. It had grieved Ayita not to tell her about the two boys, but Nikki understood, especially now that she knew the whole story.

Halfway through another reading that had her smiling again, there was a knock on her door. Placing the letter inside a book on the small table beside the sofa for safekeeping, she went to the door and opened it to find Mac on the other side.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Just his asking made her eyes sting with tears, and she nodded. “Come on in.”

“He’ll be back tonight,” he said, walking in to open his arms to her. “But if you want to cry, it’s okay.”

Without giving it a second thought, she stepped into his embrace and felt the warmth of his body next to hers. She sighed, then looked up at him. “I know you probably think I’m being silly and overprotective of him, but I’m too familiar with the system.”

“How’s that?” he asked, tracing his knuckles along her jaw.

Jolts of longing skipped through her, but she tried to ignore them. “When you need something done quickly, it moves with the speed of a turtle. But when you need things to go more slowly—” she took a deep breath “—it races with lightning speed.”

He nodded when she looked up at him. “Most things do. Which is better?”

She knew he wasn’t talking about the system, and she couldn’t make up her mind. “I just need you. Here. Now.”

She felt a chill when he released her, but he took her hand in his, and she led him to her bedroom. In the doorway of the tiny room he hesitated. “If this isn’t the time—”

Smiling, she shook her head. “No way. But if you don’t think—”

“Not on your life.” He grasped the hem of her T-shirt and slowly pulled it over her head, then let her do the same for him.

She suddenly felt shy. It was the middle of the morning, and here they were, half-undressed. But she wasn’t ready to stop, so she reached for the button on his jeans.

“Easy now,” he said.

Neither of them heeded his warning, and they were soon in her bed, where he slowly explored her body, first with his hands, then with his mouth. He moved her beneath him, lifted her chin and gazed into her eyes. She didn’t think she’d ever seen or felt anything so beautiful, and when his lips pressed hers, she gave herself up to his strength and comfort. Lifting her hips, she welcomed him.

M
AC AWAKENED
with Nikki snuggled next to him. He was tempted to stay and simply watch her sleep, but a glance at the clock on the bedside table told him he’d better get moving. It wouldn’t be long before someone came looking for one of them, and the last thing he wanted was to be caught in a compromising position.

Quickly getting into his clothes, he moved silently, closing the bedroom door quietly behind him and stepping into the sitting room. But silence apparently wasn’t the order of the day—he bumped the table by the sofa, and a book landed with a thud on the floor. Whispering a curse, he glanced at the bedroom door, praying the noise hadn’t awakened her, before turning on the small table lamp so he could see what damage he’d done.

Papers that had apparently spilled from the book were scattered on the floor, and he bent to pick them up. He didn’t mean to read them, but the faint handwriting caught his attention and the name “Sally” jumped out at him. Hadn’t Tanner mentioned that name? He instantly remembered when.

Glancing again at the bedroom door, he read the letter addressed to Nikki more thoroughly. And wished he hadn’t.

After putting the book back on the table with hands that shook, he placed the papers on top of it and squeezed his eyes shut. The urge to punch a wall hit him as the truth ripped through him. He’d trusted her. He’d fallen in love with her. Not only had his parents deceived him, but now Nikki had, too. She’d had every opportunity to tell him, but she hadn’t. But it wasn’t just about him. She’d lied to his friends. Her employer. Now it was about business. At any other time he wouldn’t hesitate. He couldn’t this time, either. Tanner and Jules needed to know and do whatever they felt was necessary.

The sun was low in the western sky before he finally went to the house. He was nearly there when he saw Bridey get out of a car and start up the walk. He heard her quiet laugh as the car drove away.

“Ah, there’s that rascally Scotsman,” she said, stopping to wait for him.

He didn’t want to upset her, so he acted as if nothing was wrong, that nothing had happened to destroy the world he’d thought he was finally beginning to restore. “Did you enjoy your day?” he asked as they climbed the steps to the O’Briens’ home together.

“It was charming,” she answered, crossing the porch and opening the door. “Time with friends always is. Are you here to see Jules?”

He nodded. “And Tanner.”
Especially Tanner.
“I have some information for them they asked me to check on.” It wasn’t completely the truth, but he didn’t care.

Inside the house, Bridey cocked her head in the direction of the living room. “I don’t hear anyone about. They’re probably in Tanner’s office. Jules goes in to interrupt his computer games nearly every evening.”

Mac, filled with confusion and anger, couldn’t comment as he followed her through the house.

At the office door Bridey knocked gently before opening it. “Mac is here to see you, Tanner,” she announced.

“Thank you, Bridey,” Mac said as he stepped into the room. When Bridey stepped back and closed the door, he took a deep breath, hoping it would calm him enough to say what needed to be said.

He could see Tanner behind his big desk, his booted feet propped on it, along with the computer screen at an angle on the corner. When Mac moved forward, Tanner dropped his feet.

Jules, sitting in one of the chairs across from Tanner’s desk, looked up. “Is everything all right?” she asked.

Mac shook his head, then looked at Tanner. “I need to tell you something.” He glanced at Jules. “Both of you.”

“Sit down,” Tanner said, nodding to the chair next to Jules.

Mac hesitated, then shook his head. “It’s serious.”

“I can see that. What is it?”

He walked closer to the desk and stopped. “Nikki has—” The words stuck in his throat, but he forced himself to continue. “She’s…she’s been deceiving us all.”

Jules leaned forward, lines forming between her eyebrows. “Nikki?”

He turned to Tanner. “I don’t know how to tell you this.”

Tanner looked even more concerned than his wife. “Just say it, whatever it is.”

Mac glanced at Jules. He didn’t want to hurt either of them. Jules had been like a sister to him, and he knew that whatever hurt Tanner hurt her. She was…the best. And Tanner had become a close friend, giving him a job
at one of the worst times of his life and never questioning him about it. He owed the man. And now he was going to wound them both. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but they needed to know.

Blocking all thoughts of the time he’d just spent with Nikki, he did what needed to be done. “Apparently Nikki is your sister.”

Tanner stared at him across the desk. “No,” he said. “I don’t have a sister. I have a brother.” He closed his eyes for a moment and lowered his head. “At least I hope I still do.”

“Your brother’s name is Tucker.”

“Yes.”

“And your mother’s name is Sally.”

Tanner’s eyes widened. But Mac wasn’t finished. “Sally is Nikki’s mother. Brody O’Brien is her father.”

Behind him, Jules gasped, but it was Tanner who replied. “That’s impossible.”

“Why is it impossible?” Jules asked.

Tanner’s jaw tightened. “Because it is. Sally left here when I was seven, and I can assure you that she wasn’t pregnant.”

“Can you?”

“Of course I can!”

“Maybe you should calm down,” Jules suggested quietly.

“I don’t have a sister!” Tanner said, his voice echoing in the room.

“I found a letter from her grandmother—your grandmother—apologizing for telling Sally where Nikki was,” Mac explained. “It went on about Nikki’s two brothers, Tanner and Tucker.”

“Impossible,” Tanner stated.

“Tanner,” Jules said, her voice quiet but firm, “listen
to him. You can’t keep denying the past for the rest of your life. Unless you’re reminded, you act as if Sally never existed. And then when you are reminded, it’s as if she couldn’t possibly have had a life after leaving here.” She looked at Mac. “Where did you find the letter?”

Mac wasn’t about to tell them why he’d been in Nikki’s room. Knowing he’d been a fool didn’t mean they needed to know just how big a fool. “I knew she was feeling down about Kirby leaving, so I went to check to see if she was all right. Her door was unlocked, and I found her sleeping. I also found the letter, completely by accident, as I was leaving. When I read what was in it—”

Jules jumped to her feet. “You read a personal letter?”

“I didn’t mean to,” he said in his defense, even though he knew it was wrong. “I’d knocked it on the floor, and when I picked it up to put it back on the table, some of the words just…jumped out at me.” At least that much was true.