Texas Strong
Authors: Jean Brashear
The most reviled man in Sweetgrass Springs, Tank Patton lives on the razor’s edge of control, locked down and solitary by choice, keeping himself apart the only way he knows to avoid the legacy of violence handed down from his father. When he meets a young mother in dire straits, he gives her and her winsome children the immediate help they need, intending to give her wide berth from then on.
Chrissy Daniels desperately hopes she can make a new life for herself and her children in Sweetgrass Springs, and that means being strong and self-reliant, no more leaning on men who are losers or worse—yet she finds herself touched by the bone-deep loneliness she senses in the man everyone has warned her is a brute and not to be trusted.
Despite his intentions, Tank finds himself drawn back to Chrissy’s warmth and the sweetness of her children, yet he knows that to truly care for them means keeping his distance. Chrissy battles her long history of choosing men unwisely, yet she finds herself unable to turn away from this man she’s beginning to suspect is more decent than anyone believes—including Tank himself.
But can a man who’s never trusted anyone and a woman who’s trusted all the wrong men defy the odds and open their hearts to each other?
Texas Strong
A Sweetgrass Springs Story
Jean Brashear
Copyright © 2016 Jean Brashear
Nook Edition
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© Covers by Rogenna
Formatting by BB eBooks:
A portion of this story originally appeared in the novella
Our Day
, published by Harlequin 2008. Revised for this book © 2016 Jean Brashear
Dedication
To every one of you who has asked for Tank’s story, thanks for the encouragement. The prospect of writing him scared me half to death, but as the days went on, I found that this much-reviled character touched my heart in unexpected ways, and I will never forget him. I hope you’ll feel that I did justice to his struggles to be a good man when he had to find the way all on his own.
And, as with every word I write, this book is for Ercel, whose support and love never wavers.
Table of Contents
The Families of Sweetgrass Springs
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Danny Mickan, who not only keeps my car in top shape but also graciously spent a great deal of time helping me choose a vehicle for Chrissy, coming up with a needed repair which Tank could fix—and explaining all the steps to making that repair. You’re the best, Danny! (PS Any errors made or liberties taken in the story are all on me)
Much gratitude to Jan Kaplan, both for her eagle eye and for expressing a wish we’re both glad I was able to fulfill.
For those few of you who might have read my long-ago novella
Our Day
, now reclaimed from my former publisher, you may recognize bits of Jake and Laura, who is the new waitress Chrissy’s sister. I hope you’ll enjoy how Jake and Laura find their way to the magic that is Sweetgrass Springs!
Chapter One
“M
ornin’, y’all. It’s another beautiful day in Sweetgrass Springs,” said Harley Sykes on the town’s new—and only—radio station. “Arnie here and me been thinking that it’s been way too long since we had a Community Work Day, haven’t we, bud?”
Much less inclined to seek the spotlight than his friend, Arnie Howard only replied, “Yep.”
“So we know you all are gonna be just as excited as we are that we’ll be having one next Saturday and Sunday—after church on Sunday, mind you, ’cause my Melba will tear me a new one if I wasn’t to mention that.”
In Ruby’s Diner, veteran waitress Jeanette Carson snickered and shook her head. “And Lord knows she will do it, too,” she remarked to the owner of the place, Ruby Gallagher Howard.
“He gives her so many reasons,” Ruby concurred as they tuned back in.
“Y’all know all about the near-tragedy that happened here recently, when our very own Scarlett Ross McLaren, wife of a man we all admire, Ian McLaren, and granddaughter of Ruby Gallagher Howard, nearly lost their baby and died herself. That’s only one reminder of how much Sweetgrass needs some sort of medical establishment. Bridger Calhoun, former Navy SEAL medic and our very own fire chief, has been busting his butt to provide healthcare for the town, but he needs better facilities than carrying around all his supplies in his truck or stashing them in the fire station he created out of Swede’s abandoned mechanic shop, right, Arnie?”
A pause. Finally, “Yep.”
Ruby chuckled and shook her head. Her husband of one year was not a wordy man.
“That’s just exactly right,” Harley continued, never at a loss for words. “So our resident tycoon, Jackson Gallagher, who, I might add, fronted the money for the fire station while he, Bridger and their friends did the renovation work, has volunteered to supply a clinic with the necessary equipment so that Bridger can take care of all but the most serious cases. Understandably, Bridger would like to have everything finished before Ian brings Scarlett and their baby home. Jackson offered to get it done, but folks, even if Jackson could get work crews here in time, I know all of you think like me, that we’re a town that does for itself. The foundation is poured and the framing has begun. It’s time for all of us to pitch in, and Lord knows there are plenty of us with experience building barns and homes. Shoot, didn’t we all work together to remodel the courthouse last fall, Arnie?”
“Yep.”
“Darn right we did. So here’s the plan, folks. We’ll all meet up at the fire station just off the Square bright and early Saturday morning, bringing the tools each of us has. I can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend, can you? Ian will soon, we all purely hope, be bringing home Scarlett and little Georgia Sophia, named after their two mothers. Now that little baby was born a little too early, but she’s gonna be just fine, folks, lest you was worrying. Nonetheless, her mama and daddy need to know that they don’t have to make a long trip over to Fredericksburg or even all the way back to Austin if she needs a little extra care. No offense to the hospitals there, but in Sweetgrass, we like to take care of our own as much as possible.
“So you all know the drill—Bridger and his crew will be barbecuing, and everybody else bring a dish. We’ll all grab our tool belts and our aprons and work gloves and get to building. Oh, and my Melba and the rest of the quilters are bringing desserts, which I dearly hope means that Joyce Walden is making a big batch of her famous double chocolate oatmeal cookies and Earlene Dorsa will be providing her very fine lemon squares. My Melba, of course, will be making her world-famous pound cake, I am pretty sure. That all by itself is reason enough to show up, I know you agree. If you have any questions, why you just call right in to our show, and Arnie and me here will answer each and every one of your questions, won’t we, Arnie?”
Jeanette could swear everyone in the diner held a breath waiting for Arnie’s
Yep
.
But he surprised all of them. “We sure will.”
“Wow,” said Mackey, one of Ian’s oldest friends and Bridger’s fellow SEALs. “Hope Arnie didn’t hurt anything, getting all chatty like that.”