The Cowboy's Little Surprise (7 page)

She laughed. “As you said the other day, I have friends. But what
I
still don’t understand is why you’ve decided to stay at the ranch.”

Because he’d taken a stand with Tina, and he wouldn’t back down.

And because it would put him closer to his son.

But he couldn’t say either of those things to Layne.

He looked around him. “The bedrooms here are spoken for and, with all those boxes in the living room, I was finding it hard to breathe.”

“Since when have you been claustrophobic?”

Since I saw Tina again.

He tried to smile.

“You’re the one who insisted on sleeping there,” she reminded him. “I offered you my bedroom. No, that’s not your real reason... I’m wondering if Tina Sanchez has something to do with your decision.”

He froze. “Why would you think that?”

“Oh, I don’t know...for one thing, it seems odd that you didn’t say a word about staying at the ranch until you came back from there this afternoon. And for another thing, I’m remembering when we were in high school and for a while I heard nothing but ‘Tina this’ and ‘Tina that.’”

“Yeah. ‘Tina, the slave driver.’”

She laughed. “Yes. Before that, I don’t think I’d ever seen you sit down with a textbook. At first it
was
all about the homework she made you do. Then things changed, and it wasn’t ‘Tina, the slave driver’ anymore.”

“Your memory must be going. And that’s not why I took the room.”

Her eyes narrowed. “And I still haven’t heard a reason for you to stay out there.”

“Okay, you’ve got me. I didn’t want to admit this, but that couch of yours isn’t big enough. And before you say it—”

“I know. You won’t take my room.” She rolled her eyes. “Well, have it your way until you’re ready to tell me the truth.” She grabbed an armload of Scott’s clothes and went to the closet.

He stacked T-shirts and socks onto the bed and thought again of Tina. Who knew what would have happened if he hadn’t walked away from her that day in the cafeteria.

But why should he take the brunt of the blame? As he’d said to her this morning, he might have considered staying in town...if she had told him the truth.

“Layne.”

She looked at him over her shoulder. Whatever she saw made her turn to face him. “What’s wrong?”

“You know Tina’s little boy?”

“Of course, I know Robbie. Tina and Paz bring him into the shop once in a while. He’s a little older than Scott, about four.”

“Yeah.” He set his jaw and stared at her for a moment. Then he demanded, “Did you also know he’s my kid?”

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. She clutched the pile of T-shirts she was holding to her chest. “
No
. Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

He shrugged. “Didn’t know myself till this week.”

She put her hand to her mouth to cover her gasp. Her eyes filled with tears.

He looked away. He knew Layne. She wasn’t faking her responses. Any thoughts he might have had about her keeping the truth from him disappeared.

“Oh, Cole, I’m sorry.” She leaned against the closet door frame. “I can’t... I just... I don’t know what to say.”

“I didn’t mean to dump this on you right away. Or at all. You’ve got enough to worry about.”

“Don’t be silly. You’re my big brother. Cole...how could she not tell you?”

“We were together only once. By the time I could have seen she was pregnant, I was already gone.”

She shook her head. “I had no idea. Well...I might have wondered how much you liked her, but I never thought you’d slept with her.”

“You’d never heard folks talking?” He forced a laugh. “After all, you work in the biggest gossip mill in New Mexico.”

“People talked about it when she got pregnant. They wondered. You know how Tina is, always so quiet. So private.”

“Yeah.” Quiet and calm, never feeling the restlessness he did. Never wanting to go anywhere outside Cowboy Creek.

“I’ll bet no one ever asked her who Robbie’s father was. Not even Sugar.”

“Maybe she did but wouldn’t tell you, since I’m your brother.”

Immediately, she shook her head. “No. You know how Sugar is, too. And she’s such good friends with Paz and Jed. She’d have been all over me to get you back here to do the right thing.” Again, she tried to cover her gasp. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t what I was thinking. I meant that’s what she would say.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said grimly. “It’s nothing I haven’t thought already.”

“Would you have settled down, if you’d known?” she asked. “With Tina?”

“Marry her?” He’d never told Layne just how close he’d come to that with another woman. He shook his head. “I’m not marriage material. But all the folks around here would expect a man to do just that.”

He thought about what Tina had said this morning.

I’m the trustworthy one standing here. I’m the one who doesn’t run from responsibility
.

Hadn’t that been just what he’d done when he’d walked away from Garland Ranch without giving notice? And then when he’d left town and never looked back?

He wasn’t about to do that now.

Maybe he didn’t have what it would take to be his son’s daddy. But he had to try.

As if she had read his thoughts, Layne said softly, “What are you going to do?”

“For now, get to know the boy.”

And that was only his first step.

His apology to Jed had reinforced the decision he’d already made, before he had even known he’d had a son.

He would never again walk away from anywhere—or from anyone—without taking responsibility for his actions.

Chapter Seven

Cole had stayed at Layne’s for the night, then packed up his duffel bag and tossed it into the pickup, ready for his move to Garland Ranch.

He walked past the corral on his way to the barn and, as usual, his gaze went toward the hotel. Judging by the couple of cars in the parking area, business must have picked up since yesterday. The Hitching Post could have guests for him to entertain at supper tonight. He shook his head over Jed’s idea.

At least the plan would buy him more time with his son.

No doubt Tina would be around, too. He hoped he’d have better luck handling the upcoming encounters with her than he had getting her out of his mind last night. Anger had fueled most of his thoughts, until his teenaged memories of her had started to surface. Memories he didn’t want to think about right now.

Inside the barn, he found his new manager in the small office at a desk piled high with paperwork.

When Pete saw him in the doorway, he gestured toward the heel-scuffed stool that had always served as a guest seat. “Take a load off.” He looked at his desk and grimaced. “There’s no job on earth I’d rather have than running a ranch. But I guess you always have to take the good with the bad.”

“True enough.”

“Speaking of which...” Pete shoved aside a stack of folders and rested his elbows on the desk.

“What’s up? Are you giving me my walking papers already?” The thought bothered him more than it should have. He was used to moving from ranch to ranch. He preferred it that way.

“No, nothing like that. Work got out of hand last week, and I never had the chance to say I’m sorry for the reason you’re back in town. It’s gotta be rough for your sister, out on her own now with her boy and another kid on the way.”

“Yeah, she’s having a tough time. But she’ll be fine.”

“I’m sure she will.”

According to what Jed had told him, Pete had gone through a tough time, too. The ranch manager and his wife had split up, leaving him with custody of his kids. Another single parent like Layne.

And Tina.

What had life been like for her after he’d left? She’d been pregnant, with not even her closest relatives to confide in and with the father of her baby nowhere in sight. Keeping her secret from Jed and Paz had been her decision. As for the rest...

Well, she’d made the choice to keep the news from him, too.

He focused on Pete again. “I hear you’ve got kids now, one of each. Can’t be too easy on you, either, taking care of them alone.”

“Most of the time, it’s harder on them than it is on me.” The other man ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “But I sure can’t call it a ride in a pony cart, I’ll tell you that. Especially now my daughter, Rachel, asks so darned many questions. She’s a smart kid, though, for being only five.”

Hearing the pride in Pete’s tone made him want to brag on his own son. But Tina’s decision meant
he
had to keep quiet, too.

“Between the pair of them,” Pete continued, “they keep me hopping.”

“I think Layne’s feeling the same thing.”

“Yeah. Luckily, she’s now got you to take up some of the slack.” Pete grinned. “I hear you’re practically a professional nanny to her boy.”

“I wouldn’t go that far. But I’m helping out since her ex is backtracking as fast as he can.” Scowling at the memory, he explained, “He was supposed to pick up her son last night, take him out for ice cream. That never happened.”

“Not a big surprise. Terry was hired on here for a short time after you’d left. A
real
short time. He wasn’t the most reliable of wranglers. And you know the boss doesn’t put up with any crap.”

Yet, Jed had shaken his hand in friendship and taken him on again even after he’d walked out years ago. Then the man had given him a room in his hotel.

“Anyway,” Pete went on, “the situation with Terry brings me to my second point. As you’re the only wrangler living off the ranch with family, I’ll do my best to get you out of here on time at the end of the day.”

“I appreciate that, but I was planning to tell you this morning. I’ve moved. For now, Jed’s putting me up at the hotel.”

Pete whistled. “Nice. But better not let any of the boys hear about it, or we’ll have a lynch mob on our hands.”

“Hey, how can they complain? There’s no room in the bunkhouse.”

“Where’d you hear that?”

“Jed.”

Pete’s brows shot up, but he only nodded and shifted the conversation to their jobs for the day. Pretty good control, since obviously the announcement had thrown him.

Pete’s reaction confirmed what Tina had claimed. Normally, ranch hands didn’t bunk in at the hotel.

Jed had pulled a fast one. Which only reinforced Cole’s feeling there was something strange going on around here.

* * *

T
INA
STOOD
AT
the kitchen sink to rinse the plates Robbie and Trey had used for their afternoon snack.

At the counter beside her, Abuela diced green peppers on a cutting board, the steady
chop-chop
familiar to Tina’s ears. As a child, when she wasn’t upstairs in her attic hideaway, she was often down here in the kitchen with Abuela, doing homework, chatting, asking questions.

In a way, the tables had just been turned. She had spent half her time in the kitchen with the boys, answering Robbie’s questions about Scott. How long would it be before he began asking about Cole, especially once the man moved into the hotel later today?

Abuela slid the peppers into a bowl and began chopping onions. The strong scent made Tina’s eyes water.

“Those boys play well together,” Abuela said.

“Yes, they do.” She was glad for that.

“I think Robbie is happy to have other little boys in the hotel. Maybe Cole will bring Scott back again.”

“Maybe.” She hesitated, then said, “Do you know why Jed fired Cole?”

Abuela looked at her. “
Fired?
Jed did no such thing. Cole left on his own.”

Tina stared back. She had always thought Jed had a reason for letting Cole go. But he had never said and she had never felt she could ask. “Do you know why he left Cowboy Creek?”

“No.”

She watched Abuela’s steady hands. The soothing rhythm let her mind wander.

Since she couldn’t find answers to her questions about Cole right that moment, her thoughts went to her son. Robbie had never asked her about his father. That day would come, and probably soon.

She hadn’t been much older than Robbie when she had begun questioning Abuela about her parents.

Why don’t I have a mama and a daddy? Where did they go? Why don’t they love me?

Tina brushed at her eyes. Abuela looked up from her cutting board. Tina laughed and pointed to the onions, then moved a step away to lean against the sink.

When she had asked those questions aloud, Abuela’s eyes had always filled with tears. Too distraught to respond, she would call on Jed to provide the answers Tina wanted.

He had long ago explained that her father—his son—had left Cowboy Creek before she was born. Her mother had followed him within days after giving birth, leaving her for Abuela and Jed to raise. Neither of her parents had ever returned to Cowboy Creek. But until Abuela had needed Jed’s help to register her for school, even he hadn’t known she was his granddaughter.

“Jed’s happy to have the girls and Andi’s children visit.” Abuela sighed. “It’s hard for him when he doesn’t see them.” She looked up from her work to smile at Tina. “I am so thankful I have you and Robbie right here with me.”

“So are we.” She linked her fingers in front of her and stared down at them. “Abuela...why did you wait so long to tell Jed I was his granddaughter?”

The knife stilled on the cutting board. After a moment, Abuela said, “I was afraid.”

“Of Jed?”

“Never of Jed. But for my job. I needed my income to take care of you.”

“And you’ve always done that. You’ve always been here for me.” She had to swallow hard before she could continue. “Did you really think Jed would fire you?”

“I didn’t know.” Abuela slid the onions into the bowl with the peppers and reached for the plastic wrap. “I’d been here only a short time. Once his son left town, Jed was upset, and I didn’t know how he would feel if I told him. It was foolish maybe, but I decided I couldn’t take the chance.” She set the covered bowl into the cavernous refrigerator, then closed the door with a heavy thump.

Tina could almost feel her grandmother’s need to get away. But there was one more question she had to ask. “Abuela...”

“Yes?” She stood gripping the door handle.

“Did you think Jed wouldn’t want to know the truth?”

“Don’t say that.” Her voice broke. She turned to Tina, her eyes brimming with tears. “That makes me feel more guilt than I already do. Of course he would want to know.” She crossed the room and clasped Tina’s hands in hers. “It’s true I didn’t tell Jed until later. But that makes no difference to him. Don’t ever forget that,
querida
. He loves you just as much as he loves all his family. The same way—” Again, her voice broke.

“I know,” Tina said, hugging her tight. “The same way you’ve always loved me.”

* * *

T
INA
SAT
AT
the kitchen table and ruffled the edges of the hand-woven place mat in front of her without seeing it. Abuela had gone to the dining room to make sure everything was in place for dinner. The waitress on the afternoon shift would already have done that. But as always when their conversations wandered into the past, Abuela felt the need to escape.

After a while, Tina had learned to take those conversations directly to Jed. He always had answers—except when she asked what had happened to her parents after they left. Not even he could tell her that, until notice had come of their deaths in an auto accident when she was twelve.

* * *

J
ED
WALKED
INTO
the kitchen. She jumped at the sight of him. She had been so caught up in her thoughts, she hadn’t heard his footsteps.

“Didn’t mean to startle you.” He poured himself a cup of coffee, then took his usual seat at the table. “The girls won’t be here long, you know. How are you all coming along with the plans?”

“We haven’t gotten too far,” she admitted.

“You’ll need to get a move on, then.” She watched him take a sip from his mug. Abuela was right. He looked happy. Pleased with himself. Or maybe with Jane and Andi. So far, he had gone right along with every suggestion they had made.

Ally would tease her for being too much of an accountant, but she kept the books and knew their financial situation better than Jed did. She disliked having to remind him of the bottom line with this project. Yet wasn’t that exactly why he had chosen her for this new role?

“You know, Abuelo, the ranch has always made a profit, but that’s not true for the hotel. We don’t have a lot of capital to sink into extensive renovations. Andi and Jane... Well, they don’t have much experience working with budgets.” That was the kindest way she could think of to phrase it.

The girls’ parents had never hurt for money, which meant neither had they. And over the years, that hadn’t changed.

Andi had married into a wealthy family and still lived with her husband’s relatives in Arizona. Jane was based in New York City but traveled all over the world for her well-paying job. During their brief meeting in the dining room, her cousins had acted as if they’d never before heard the word
budget
.

The renovations might be meant to help Jed fulfill his dream, but his other granddaughters’ costly suggestions were giving her nightmares.

“Don’t get yourself worked up, girl,” he said. “We’ll worry about money when we get to that stage. You know I’m good for going with the flow.”

That was just what she feared. As down-to-earth as Jed could be, he sometimes fell short in the planning stages. Ally wouldn’t hesitate to tell her she did too much planning, but still, there were some things even she couldn’t anticipate.

She thought of Jed’s claim that he wanted to provide live entertainment for his guests. That little brainstorm was interfering with her sleep, too. Even she would admit the idea had potential. But why had he chosen the ranch’s newest hire to be their resident cowboy?

Cole had returned to town after five years away. Andi and Jane, Jed’s “surprise,” hadn’t visited for a while until now, either. And yet, here they were, too. An odd coincidence.

Or was it?

Had the timing not been accidental at all?

“Abuelo
,
” she said, “speaking of going with the flow...this thought of yours about inviting a cowhand into the dining room—”

“Yeah, an inspiration, wasn’t it? I don’t know why I never thought of it before.”

“I don’t know, either. Or why you’ve thought of it now.” She looked him in the eye. “Jed, are you up to something?”

“Me? What makes you ask that?” He rose to take his mug to the sink.

She frowned. He’d sounded so surprised. So innocent. “I don’t know. Giving Cole a job on the ranch when he hasn’t been back in town for years... And then inviting him to stay in the hotel, when you’ve never done that with any employee... It makes me think you’ve got an ulterior motive.”

“Not an ulterior one. A
profit
motive. That ought to make you happy. I’m thinking about what’s good for business, that’s all.” He smiled. “Speaking of which, we’ll have our new guests lining up for their first riding lesson tomorrow. You’ll give Pete a hand?”

She wanted to raise the issue about Cole and her cousins, but with nothing to support her suspicions, how could she?

“Of course I’ll help Pete. As always.” Jed claimed she provided a calming presence in the corral for all their guests, especially the children. She didn’t mind. She loved to ride and loved working with kids, and helping out with the lessons got her out of the house. “‘You can’t sit at your desk all day, every day,’” she teased, repeating the comment he often made to her.

“That’s my girl. I knew you’d start seeing reason sooner or later.”