Shoulda Been A Cowboy (28 page)

“
What you're talking about is unjust.”

They glared at each other, which wasn't what they
needed right now. In the last twenty minutes her whole life had been
turned upside down. She began to cry.

“
Hey.” He brought his knuckles to her cheek
and wiped her tears. “Sorry about yelling at you. Just don't
scare me like that. After what I've seen tonight I can't
stand the thought of you—” His voice broke.

Cam had lost a family member tonight and he was trying
to keep it together for her. He deserved her sympathy, not her anger.
“Cam. I'm sorry. I'm scared. For him. For me…”
For us
went unsaid.

“
We'll get through this. I promise.”
He stroked her jawline. “Let's take it a day at a time,
okay? Tomorrow morning you'll tell Anton about his mom. Get
through that first.”

“
But shouldn't I tell him tonight?”

“
No reason to wake the boy to bad news when
tonight is probably one of the last nights of sleep he'll have
for a long time.”

Domini's head spun. She just wanted to curl into
Cam and let his solid presence surround her and reassure her.

“
Come here.” He hauled her onto his lap and
buried his face in her hair. “I don't want to fight with
you after the day I've had and the shitty days in front of me.”

“
Me either.”

Silence stretched as they held each other.

She whispered, “I wish you could stay with me
tonight.”

“
Me too. I promised Brandt I'd wait awhile
before I told our family about Luke. It's been a few hours so
I've got some calls to make—”

“
You told me not to wake Anton up to bad news, but
you're going to call your brothers and other family members and
do the same thing?”

He sighed. “No. I guess you're right. It'll
keep.” Cam's hold locked them together, even as they were
mired in their own separate, anguished thoughts.

He cocked his head back to look at her.

And Domini was lost in a million conflicting emotions
when his mouth pressed to hers, helpless to keep the tears from
falling when he kissed her so sweetly, like she was the most precious
thing on the planet. The kiss lingered, almost as if they knew it'd
be a while before they'd get the chance again.

Cam rested his forehead to hers. “I want to make
all the hurt you've ever suffered go away. I want to make sure
you never hurt again. I want to pull the covers over our heads and
wake up to find this was all a bad fucking dream.”

“
I wish we could.”

“
The next few days are gonna be pure hell for both
of us. Will you keep in touch with me? Promise you won't do
anything rash or crazy like grab Anton and leave in the middle of the
night?”

“
I promise.”

“
Good. Because I will hunt your ass down and drag
it back here if you try it.”

Chapter Fifteen

Telling Anton about Nadia's death was every bit as
horrible as Domini imagined. He repeated words “fault”
and “blame” and because his sobbing was incoherent,
Domini wasn't sure if Anton was blaming Rex or Nadia or
himself.

The poor boy wept until he passed out from exhaustion.
He refused to let go of her hand. What would she do when Social
Services came calling and tried to take him away?

Grateful as Domini was for the outpouring of support
from the crew at Dewey's, she had no idea what to do next. Did
she handle memorial service arrangements for Nadia? Was there a will?
Did she pack up Nadia's house and bring Anton's stuff
here? Did she need to hire a lawyer? Would they give her custody—even
temporary—if she wasn't a blood relative?

And while all the scenarios raced in her head, she
grieved. Nadia had been her friend, her roommate, the closest thing
Domini had ever had to a sister. Now she was gone. Every single time
she thought of that, she cried.

Soft knocking on the apartment door forced Domini to
wipe her tears and get off the couch. She shot a look to her bedroom
and listened, but the noise hadn't disturbed Anton.

Domini opened the door to Skylar McKay. Nadia's
boss. Her eyes were swollen, her face was puffy. The second their
gazes connected, more tears spilled from Skylar's eyes.

“
Come in,” Domini said. “Anton is
sleeping in my bedroom.”

“
How is he?” Skylar squeezed her eyes shut.
“Stupid question. That poor sweet boy. We're all just
heartsick. I closed the plant for a couple days.”

Nadia had loved working at Sky Blue. She'd gotten
close to the other employees after she'd divorced Rex. And
because Sky Blue maintained onsite daycare, everyone knew Anton.

Skylar clasped Domini's hands as she sat across
from her. “What can I do?”

“
I don't know. I have no idea what to do
first.”

“
We should plan Nadia's memorial service.
The girls volunteered to clear out Nadia's house and bring
Anton's stuff to you, including any paperwork. I doubt Nadia
had a will and that brings me to my next question.” Skylar
leaned forward. “What happens to him?”

“
I don't know. Nadia had no other family. I
have no idea how the American system works, if Anton becomes a ward
of the state or what.” Domini looked away, sickness churning in
her belly as awful memories from that turbulent time in her life
resurfaced. “Right after my parents died in the Ukraine, I was
turned over to an orphanage.”

“
Oh Domini. I'm so sorry. I had no idea.”

“
It's not something I'm comfortable
talking about. But you can understand why I don't want him to
end up in foster care. Ever. I'll do whatever it takes to get
custody of him, Skylar. I love him. I lived with him for two years.
There is no one alive who knows that boy better than me. He needs
me.”

“
And I think you need him,” Skylar murmured.
“That should work in your favor. But I do think you need to
hire a lawyer.” She unearthed a stack of post-its from her
purse and scrawled a number. “Call Ginger Paulson. You met her
at Keely's party. She's done corporate legal work for me.
Since she's a single mom, my guess is she'd be a bulldog
on this case.”

Domini tucked the note into her pocket. “Thank
you. I think Ginger was Nadia's divorce attorney.”

“
Then she'd already have legal paperwork
about Rex. It might speed things up.” Skylar glanced at her
watch. “I have to run. I'm meeting Indy, AJ, Channing and
Libby. We're going over to see Jessie. Which is just another
horrible situation.”

“
How awful for her to lose her husband. Cam was
really shaken up last night after having to tell her and Luke's
brother. Then he had to come here to tell me about Nadia…
Sometimes I think he has the worst job in the world.”

“
It boggles my mind. He never wanted to be a
rancher because it's a thankless job, and yet he's a cop,
which is even more thankless.” Skylar squeezed Domini's
hand. “Despite all the bad shit that's gone down in the
last twenty-four hours, I'm—we're—really glad
that Cam came to you last night, Domini. He's kept his distance
from most of his family since returning from Iraq.”

Domini couldn't fathom why, but she had more
things to worry about than Cam's sticky family situation. “Is
Jessie getting a lot of support from Luke's family?”

“
No.” Skylar's face turned hard. “I
never understood the riff between Casper McKay and his brothers, but
now I see why—that man is a plain mean bastard. Jessie is the
sweetest girl in the world, who's just suffered a huge loss and
she doesn't deserve any of this bullshit about Luke's
stake in the McKay Ranch…” Tears pooled in Skylar's
eyes. “Sorry. I have to get control of myself. The last thing
Jessie needs is more angry people around her.” She stood. “Keep
in touch. Please.”

“
I will. I promise. Thanks, Sky.”

Domini had barely closed the door, when she heard,
“Mom?” drifting from the bedroom.

She took a deep breath and wandered in to the room and
perched on the edge of the bed. “Hey. You hungry? I've
got cookies.”

Anton had a death grip on his fleece blanket. “Where's
my mom? Is she coming to get me soon?”

Domini swallowed a sob. “No, sweetling, your mom
had an accident, remember?”

He stared at her. Confused. “I thought it was a
bad dream.”

“
No, I'm sorry.”

“
It's not fair.”

“
I know it's not. And I know just how you
feel.”

Angrily, he said, “Oh yeah? How do
you
know?”

“
Because when I was eleven both my parents died.”

His mouth made an
O
of surprise. “Where did you live after they died?”

In hell
. She swept the hair
from his tear-stained cheek and changed the subject. “Are you
hungry?”

Anton shook his head. “Am I gonna live here with
you now?”

“
I sure hope so. I'll do everything I can to
keep you with me.”

He rolled over to face the wall.

Domini didn't push. She just stayed with him as he
cried himself to sleep once again.

 

 

 

 

Four days later…

With so many people filing in and out of her apartment,
Domini considered leaving the door open. But she would've
triple locked it if she'd known Social Services would darken
her doorstep.

The agency woman resembled every supervisor Domini had
dealt with in the Ukraine: older, gray-haired, her sharp eyes were
only second to her sharp tongue.

“
Sorry for the lack of notice about this visit,
Miss Katzinski. The case file from Sheriff Shortbull came to us
late.”

Had Cam played a part in delaying the information?
Probably not. Since that would've been wrong, and Deputy Cam
McKay always did the right thing. “I've been expecting
this visit.”

“
Well, then, let's get straight to the
point. Anton DeMarco is currently in your care, following the death
of his mother, Nadia DeMarco and his father, Rex DeMarco. Do you
consider this a temporary arrangement?”

“
No. I intend to file for permanent legal custody
of Anton.”

“
And what of the boy's father? Rex DeMarco
has no surviving relatives that might be interested in retaining
custody?”

“
I'm not certain. But I do know that Anton's
mother retained sole custody in the divorce, which was not contested
by Rex.”

“
I see. And what was your relationship to Nadia
DeMarco?”

“
She was my best friend. We were housemates for a
couple years. During that time I helped take care of Anton.”
I
helped her raise Anton.

“
What is your occupation?”

“
I'm general manager of Dewey's Delish
Dish, a family restaurant. It's right downstairs.”

“
How long have you lived in Sundance, Miss
Katzinski?”

“
Almost four years.”

“
Do you own property in Sundance?”

What did that have to do with anything? “No.”

“
Where did you live previous to moving to
Wyoming?”

“
Denver, Colorado.”

“
How long were you in residence in Colorado?”

“
Three years.”

“
Where did you live previous to Denver?”

“
Lubbock, Texas.”

“
How long were you in residence in Texas?”

“
Six months.”

“
Where did you live previous to Lubbock?”

“
Miami, Florida.”

“
How long were you in residence in Florida?”

“
Six months.”

“
Where did you live previous to Miami?”

“
Charleston, South Carolina.”

“
How long were you in residence in South
Carolina?”

“
Six months.”

“
Where did you live previous to Charleston?”

“
Hershey, Pennsylvania.”

“
How long were you in residence in Pennsylvania?”

“
Six months.”

“
Where did you live previous to Hershey?”

“
Cincinnati, Ohio.”

“
How long were you in residence in Ohio?”

“
Six months.”

“
Where did you live previous to Cincinnati?”