Читать книгу Her Twins' Cowboy Dad - Patricia Johns - Страница 14

Colt led the way back to the Marshall ranch, Jane driving in her little silver sedan behind his red Chevy. Maybe it would be known as the Hardin ranch from now on, and he could take down the sign and put up a new one. He wasn’t ready for that yet, though. This still felt like Beau’s land, and he still felt like the nephew who should be grateful. And he was—he always had been. Maybe a little guilty, too, because he’d known all along that his uncle was making a mistake in his fight with his son. Both Beau and Josh had been stubborn idiots. And now Jane was in the middle of it all, and he felt a little sorry for her. This family’s problems had nothing to do with her, and he really hoped that he hadn’t reacted too badly... Had he? He couldn’t help but wonder how she was feeling about all of this.

The pasture on either side of the highway rolled out in low, green hills. Cattle grazed, tails flicking, and Colt’s practiced gaze estimated that the calves were already triple in size from when they were born. As he drove, he kept an eye on the strip of barbed wire fencing, looking for holes or weak areas. He’d always done this, but today, it felt like an honor instead of just the smart thing to do. This was his land now. He was still wrapping his mind around that.

Colt glanced back at her car in the rearview mirror. Jane was still there, pacing him as they sped down the cracked highway. He’d wanted this—not his uncle’s death, but definitely a chance at running his own ranch. Beau had promised to leave him the ranch for years—reiterating it every time he ranted about his son’s life choices—but Colt had always imagined butting heads with the old guy for a good many years longer than this. Beau’s fatal stroke had taken everyone by surprise. Colt might have worked this land, but Beau had built it up from a few scrubby acres into the viable ranch it was today. Viable, and underwater with a second mortgage. His uncle had been open with him about the financial situation, at least, if not about his plans for his will. Hopefully Beau hadn’t been hiding anything else.

Strange to think that Beau had put so much thought into reconciling him and Josh, though. Why not reconnect with his son himself? But Colt could appreciate that Josh’s daughters would benefit by the will. It might complicate Colt’s life right now, but it had been the right thing to do.

The Marshall ranch was about half an hour’s drive outside Creekside. He had driven a little slower than usual to make sure that Jane could keep up with him, and as the turn came up for the ranch, he slowed and signaled.

The drive wound around a copse of trees and led to the single-story ranch house. It was painted white, with a traditional wraparound veranda. There was a strip of basement windows showing—and those were the windows that let some light into Colt’s part of the house. He parked in his regular spot beside Beau’s black truck, and Jane pulled up next to him. As he hopped out of the truck, Jane’s car door opened, too, and she got out of the car and looked around herself.

“Wow,” she breathed. “This is gorgeous.”

He followed her gaze. The front yard had a couple of ancient birch trees towering overhead, providing sun-dappled shade in the July sunlight, and beyond were the fields that stretched out in undulating hills, warmed by the summer sunshine. A sheet of sparrows flapped up from a copse of trees in the distance, billowed, then landed again.

“It’s a beautiful area,” he agreed.

Jane opened the back door of her car and disappeared inside as she unbuckled the toddlers. Some local ladies had dropped off some casseroles for him, so he had food to feed her, at least. He wasn’t sure how much tuna casserole a toddler would consume, but he’d leave the problem up to Jane. She was best equipped to handle it anyway.

The side door to the house opened and Aunt Peg, as she preferred to be called, poked her curly iron-gray head out.

“You’re back. And you brought company, I see,” Peg said. She always sounded no-nonsense, and it was hard to tell if she was approving or not, much like her brother had been.

“Yep, this is Josh’s wife, Jane,” Colt said. “And his little girls.”

Peg blinked at him, straightened and then stepped outside, letting the screen door bang shut behind her.

“Josh’s family?” Peg said, her voice tight. “Really?”

Peg wore a flour-powdered apron over a ’70s-style housedress, and she came closer, peering into the car until Jane emerged with one of the toddlers. She put the girl down and shot Peg a smile.

“Hi, I’m Jane.”

“Pleasure.” Peg have her a nod.

“She’s here for a week or so while we iron out an inheritance issue,” Colt said. “She’ll stay upstairs with you, if you don’t mind.”

“We’ll work something out.” Peg pressed her lips together into a thin line. “What’s the issue with the will?”

“Beau left me the land, and he left the cattle to Jane’s daughters,” Colt said. “So Jane is going to stay with us while we get that ironed out. I need to buy the cattle back.”

A smile of amusement tickled the corners of Peg’s lips. “You’d almost think he was trying to get you married off, wouldn’t you?”

To his cousin’s widow? Not likely. Josh’s estrangement from the family had been an endless source of upset around here, and Colt highly doubted that his uncle would have wanted that. It might not have been logical because Josh got married a few years after he left home, but Beau blamed “the wife” as much as anyone else for his son’s refusal to talk to him. Anything but admit it was his own fault.

“It had a whole lot less to do with me, and more to do with wanting to fix things with Josh,” Colt replied. Besides, Colt wasn’t interested in marriage, and Beau had known why.

Jane emerged from the car with the second toddler, and she slammed the door shut.

“Well...these would be my great-nieces, then,” Peg said, softening immediately. “Do they ever look like their father.”

They did, and if Josh hadn’t been killed, he would have loved being a dad. He’d always had that gentle-giant quality about him, and with his jovial sense of humor, Colt could see him sliding easily into being a family man.

Aunt Peg scooped up one of the toddlers in her arms, looking the girl over from head to toes.

“That’s Micha,” Jane said. “This here is Suzie.”

“We might as well go inside,” Peg said. “I cleaned up the kitchen, Colt. You’re welcome.”

Colt had started to expand a little bit in the house—and he’d made his breakfast upstairs in Beau’s place. He’d left some oatmeal out for Peg. Maybe it would be best to keep to his own space until Peg went back home.

“Sorry about that,” he said with a short laugh. He hadn’t left it in a mess or anything.

Colt followed the women into the house, letting the screen door bang shut behind him. The house felt different with Beau gone. The kitchen was as it always had been—just the way Beau’s late wife, Sandra, had kept it. She’d been a good cook, unlike Peg, who never did get the touch.

“Aunt Peg, I asked Jane if she’d give you a hand with emptying out the house,” Colt said.

“Did you think of asking me what I thought of that?” Peg retorted. She put down the toddler, who beelined back to Jane.

“It’s my house now, Peg,” he said, but he sent his aunt a tired smile to show her he wasn’t taking it to heart. “I figured it might help. If you’d rather do it alone, I mean—”

“No, no,” Peg said, sadness filling her eyes. She pulled a dish of what appeared to be apple crisp off the counter and deposited it onto the table along with a serving spoon. “I don’t want to do it alone. Besides...” She looked down at the toddlers. “There’s family to get acquainted with, isn’t there?”

“I didn’t know Beau,” Jane said quietly. “But he did remember my girls in his will, and I’m grateful for that.”

“Did Josh talk about us?” Peg asked.

“A little,” Jane replied.

“Did he mention why he left and never wanted to come back?” Peg asked, and Colt felt his chest constrict. Did they have to do this—with a relative stranger? He, for one, didn’t want to talk about it.

Color rose in Jane’s cheeks, but she didn’t answer.

“Ah, so he did,” Peg went on, then sighed. “Beau wasn’t as bad as he seemed, my dear. We’re all just human.”

Colt couldn’t help but feel like he’d been the one to chase off his cousin. Josh and Beau had been at odds for years. Josh wanted to join the army and his father had wanted him to stay home and work the land. For most families that wouldn’t be relationship ending, but for the stubborn Marshalls it snowballed into a bigger and bigger issue, picking up the detritus of every single disagreement they’d ever had. Josh wasn’t the kind of son Beau wanted. Beau wanted a son to take over the ranch. Well, Colt wanted a chance at that life, and Beau was more than happy to teach him the ropes.

Was it wrong of Colt to take advantage of that? Probably. While Josh’s father was alive, someone had to run this place, and Josh hadn’t been interested. But Beau told his son that when he died, the land wouldn’t be sold so that Josh could use the money for his own goals—Josh wouldn’t inherit at all. When it came right down to it, Beau could leave the ranch to anyone he chose, but the cost of that had been a splintered family. Standing here in his newly inherited kitchen, it didn’t feel quite so satisfying as Colt had imagined it would. This was all his, and he couldn’t help but feel like a cheat.

He was glad Jane was here, and that her daughters would get something. It would even the score a little bit. Make it right.

* * *

“It really isn’t my business,” Jane said and she dropped her gaze. Josh had gone on and on about that inheritance, and she’d simply put it out of her mind. There was money tied up in land that would never come to them. Wasn’t a life together worth more than cash? But it had hurt her husband deeply because it meant that his father didn’t respect his goals in life and didn’t love him enough to leave him anything. For Josh it was about the money and his father’s respect, and for his dad it was about the land. Period. Josh never made his peace with it.

Jane bent down to dig out that zippered bag of crackers again, mostly as an excuse not to look at them. There was so much sadness and frustration in this home that she could actually feel it in the air, and she shivered.

“We missed Josh,” Peg said, her voice trembling a little. “There was a hole here—it never filled in. My brother might have had his faults, but he did love his son something fierce. If Josh looked to punish him for his sins, he sure succeeded.”

And maybe Josh had been trying to punish his family. He hadn’t wanted Jane anywhere near them. That hadn’t been her choice, though. She’d wanted family, and she’d wanted to know his, too, even if there was tension and bickering. People didn’t hatch from eggs, and she’d felt certain that she would have understood her husband better if she could have met the family that raised him. Maybe their marriage could have been a little bit easier, if she did. Here was her chance, apparently. A little late, but still a chance to understand the man she’d married.

Colt cleared his throat, and an awkward silence filled the kitchen. Jane gave the girls each another cracker to munch on, and she wondered if she’d made a mistake in coming here. This family had baggage and they’d be sorting through it now that Beau had passed away. She didn’t belong in the middle of this mess. Josh was gone, after all.

There was always that reserve credit card if she decided to stay in a cheap hotel.

Peg sighed. “I’m going to go set up one of the guest bedrooms. Can the girls sleep with you in a double bed?”

“This seems like a sensitive time for the family,” Jane said. “I can easily stay in town. Colt was kind enough to offer, but I can see that—”

“You think this is tense?” Peg asked with an abrupt laugh.

“A little...” Jane murmured.

“Jane, you’re the only connection we’ve got to Josh now. And maybe you’ll be able to give us some insights, too. You’re family. You’re very welcome here. I come across a bit harshly, or so I’ve been told. Is that it?”

“No, not at all...” Jane said. Now was not the time to admit to that.

“Now, about the sleeping arrangement for the little ones,” Peg said.

“Yes, I could have them sleep with me,” she conceded. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

“Not at all.”

That prim, downturned mouth never changed expression as Peg headed out of the kitchen, leaving Jane and Colt alone with the little girls.

“I really did try to get Beau to call his son,” Colt said. “It was never my intention to get between them.”

“But you managed to,” she replied, raising her gaze. “I don’t want to get in the middle of this, and I have no interest in this ranch...but Josh felt completely abandoned by both of you. You ganged up on him.”

“Not the case,” Colt said, and his voice softened a little. “Josh hated ranching. He thought it was boring. He wanted excitement, and that wasn’t here with the cattle. He didn’t want this life, and ranching was in Beau’s blood.”

“And yours, it would seem,” she said.

“I’m not going to apologize for that,” he replied with a shake of his head. “I’m a cowboy to the bone. I love the early mornings, the physical work, the cattle, the smell, the rhythms of the seasons. This is the life I’ve always wanted, and I’m not going to pretend it means less to me than it does.”

“Josh didn’t like that stuff,” she admitted. “I know that. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to pick a fight with you.”

“For Beau it was about the ranching legacy,” Colt said.

“Josh was his son,” Jane said quietly. “He wanted to be his father’s legacy. Not some land.”

Colt met her gaze for a moment, then nodded. “I know. You’re right. Like I said, I never meant to get between them. Beau and I might have had the ranching in common, but we butted heads about everything else. He was a stubborn man.”

“Peg joked about Beau trying to get you married, though,” Jane said. “It sounds like you two were pretty close, in spite of it all.”

“Getting me married,” Colt said with a short laugh. “That would be ironic. I’m not the marrying kind, and Beau knew that. From what I can see, marriage is a piece of paper—nothing more.”

Jane looked at him, curious, but afraid to ask. Where Colt stood on the idea of marriage really wasn’t her business.

“Look, this family has its own set of problems,” Colt went on. “My aunt died in a swimming accident when Josh and I were teenagers, but Sandra and Beau were never happy. They fought constantly, and my family hated Beau for obvious reasons.”

“Obvious?” she said.

“He was a jerk to her, and everyone knew it. But Sandra gave as good as she got. Those two could barely stand each other.” He sighed. “I can’t point out too many happy couples in this family.”

Colt was bitter—that much was obvious. But she didn’t agree with him. “Marriage is more than a piece of paper. I’ve been married. I know what those vows mean.”

“No offense, but I don’t see it.”

“Commitment matters,” Jane countered with a shake of her head. “There is a difference between staying together for a lifetime because you chose it at the beginning, and staying together because you just didn’t break up yet. To be able to promise to stand by each other, no matter what—”

“People can promise that without the ceremony. Do you think a piece of paper makes those promises any stronger?” he retorted.

“Maybe not the paper, but the vow before God should,” she said. “In my experience there’s a vast difference between a boyfriend and a husband.”

Jane had stood by her husband. If it weren’t for those vows, she might not have had the strength. Vows mattered.

Colt eyed her for a moment, then sighed. “I’m not saying that good marriages are impossible. I just don’t think they’re guaranteed, and too many go down in the dust for my comfort.”

It wasn’t like she was interested in getting married again, either, so she didn’t know why she felt so compelled to argue about this. She had her own reasons for not wanting to take those vows again.

“Fair enough, I guess,” she said.

Colt’s phone blipped, and he pulled it out of his back pocket and looked down at the screen. “It’s the ranch cook. He needs to talk to me about something.”

“Should I get Peg to show me where to start with cleaning things out, then?”

“Yeah, that would be the best,” he said. “If you want me to carry anything in for you—”

“I’ll be fine.” She waved off his offer. “Go on and get back to work.”

Colt headed toward the door, and Micha toddled after him, so Jane boosted up her toddler and kissed her plump cheek.

“You’re staying with me,” she said with a low laugh, but she watched as the door shut behind Colt, then looked around at the silent kitchen.

She had no idea what was waiting for her here in Creekside. She was among family, but they were the people her late husband hadn’t trusted.

She pulled her hair out of her face and heaved a sigh.

Father, guide me... She didn’t know what else to ask.

* * *

As Colt headed outside, the hot, grass-scented wind enveloped him and he felt the tension start to fade away.

Lord, keep me focused on my job, he prayed silently. I don’t know what Beau was thinking. If he was going to leave me the ranch, why complicate it on me? But she’s Josh’s wife, and I have no problem with sharing this with her... I just need Your help holding the ranch together. You know where the finances stand! The sooner this is resolved and Jane is on her way back to her life, the better. So smooth the road for that, Lord. And give me some grace in the meantime.

There was a lot of work to get done that day, and he’d already used up a good chunk of it there at the lawyer’s office. Beau hadn’t been doing a lot of the day-to-day managing of the ranch anymore before he died, so the ranch hands already looked to Colt as the one to answer to. But he wasn’t just the ranch manager now, he was owner. He’d have to hold a meeting when he told everyone together at the same time. If rumor didn’t reach them first.

The main house was on the crest of a hill, and the dirt road that led toward the ranch hands’ bunkhouse and canteen wound around the hill and toward the west where a patch of forest served as a backdrop for the low wooden buildings. The trees melted into some scrubby grassland beyond that served well in winter, giving the cattle the shelter of trees in the coldest weather, and some iron feeders and water troughs that were filled daily once the snow came. Now that it was summer, the cattle were enjoying the lush pasture farther east. Even in the summer months, Colt’s mind skipped ahead to the next season. The work never eased up; it just changed form. That was ranch life.

His truck bounced over a pothole, and his vehicle rattled. The canteen and the bunkhouse weren’t too far from the main house. When he arrived, he parked out front in his usual spot. A couple of work trucks were parked along the side, and he could hear the buzz of some male voice filtering out through the propped-open door. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed his mom’s number in Wyoming. She’d moved out there five years ago, and it still felt strange to have her so far away. The Marshalls seemed to chase off anyone without a real good reason to stick around.

“Colt? That you, honey?” his mother said, picking up.

“Yeah. Hi, Mom.”

“How’s it going over there?” she asked. “Don’t you have the reading of the will today?”

“Yeah. I just got back from it.”

“And?” She sounded slightly breathless.

“And Beau came through. The ranch is mine.”

“Yes!” His mother heaved a deep sigh. “I’m so glad. I was praying for this. You deserve that land, son.”

Wasn’t that the way...everyone praying for their own stake in something that didn’t belong to them to begin with. It still felt wrong.

“There’s a bit of a wrinkle, though,” he said. “Josh’s widow is here. Beau left her kids the cattle.”

“He left them the—” his mother began. “What kids?”

“Josh had twins. He died before they were born. Two girls. And Beau left them the cattle.”

“Josh had kids?” His mother paused for a couple of beats. “That egotistical jerk!”

“Josh?” Colt asked wryly.

“No, your uncle. Obviously. Even from the grave, he wants to ruin other people’s happiness! He could have just left the ranch to you free and clear. Would that have been so hard? He didn’t bother making up with Josh, so he was going to try and make up for that after the fact?”

“It was the right thing to do,” he countered. “These are Josh’s daughters, Mom. They look just like him.”

“So give them something else. The cattle?” She was only getting started, he could tell.

“Mom, it’s done,” Colt said irritably. “And Beau’s dead. There’s no one left to be mad at.”

“So Josh’s widow is there?” his mother clarified.

“Yep. She’s here. Just for a week or two while we sort out the paperwork and I get a loan to buy my cattle back.”

“Your cattle. I like the sound of that. This was a long time coming, son, but I’m glad. I know you’re a bit guilty right now, but trust me on this—you have nothing to feel guilty about.”

He wished he felt as certain about that as his mother did.

“I just wanted to let you know what happened,” he said. “I’ve got some stuff to take care of here, so I’d better let you go.”

“All right. Back to work. I love you, son.”

“Love you, too, Mom. Bye.”

He hung up the phone and heaved a sigh. The family turmoil surrounding this inheritance wasn’t quite so easy for him to dismiss. His mother was Sandra’s sister, and she’d hated Beau. Beau had been the “idiot husband” who made her sister miserable. There hadn’t been a lot of love lost between the two of them. But work called, and Colt didn’t have the luxury of sitting around and beating himself up.

As Colt headed inside the canteen, his eyes took a moment to adjust after the bright sunlight.

“Hey, boss,” a couple of cowboys said as he passed by a table where they were eating some wrapped sandwiches.

“Morning,” he said, continuing on by.

Shawn, the ranch cook, was in the kitchen, wrapping up some hoagies in plastic wrap, and he turned when Colt came in, the door swinging shut behind him.

“You texted?” Colt said.

“Yeah.” Shawn finished wrapping the sandwich in his hand and put it on the pile. “I know the timing isn’t great, what with Mr. Marshall’s passing, but I’ve got to give my notice.”

“What?” Colt froze. “Don’t tell me someone is paying you more—”

“Nah, my brother was in a bad accident in the city, and he’s going to need my help running his drywalling business while he recovers. I said I’d come out, and I have no idea how long that’ll take. Weeks? Months? No clue.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Colt said, his mind spinning ahead to job postings and interviews. “So...how much time will you give me?”

“I’ve got to leave in the morning,” Shawn said.

“That soon!” Colt choked. “I don’t have anyone to fill in. Are you sure you can’t give me a few more days?”

“My brother has a big contract he has to complete, and his leg has been broken in two places. If I don’t come, he’ll have to break his contract and that will be costly. So I’ve got to get out there and lend a hand. I said that I would. I’m sorry, Colt. Ordinarily I’d give more notice. You know that. I’m not the kind of guy to just leave a place hanging.”

“Yeah, I know that,” Colt said with a sigh. “I’ll figure it out. You’ve been loyal and reliable the last three years, and I’m glad to have worked with you. All the best to your brother on his recovery.”

“Thanks.”

“So...what do I need to know to keep this kitchen running?”

“I’m doing some wrapped sandwiches to stick in the fridge to get you through for a bit. I’ve got some frozen lasagnas ready to thaw and stick in the oven, and there’s the burger fixings, too. That’ll get you through a couple of dinners. The sandwiches are for pack lunches, and if you can cover breakfast—” He paused.

There would be meals to be served while Colt put out an ad for a cook. He was on a skeleton crew as it was... That had been Beau’s way—and maybe that was just the way it had to be to keep this place above water. But there was one extra person on the ranch right now, and if she’d agree to pitch in for a day or two in the kitchen, and if Peg would watch the twins in the meantime, this might go a bit smoother. But whatever happened, he couldn’t let Peg anywhere near that kitchen. She meant well, but her cooking was terrible and the men would mutiny.

“That would be great,” Colt said. “I’ll figure out the rest. If you’d be so kind to stash as many sandwiches in the fridge as possible, I’ll get your check cut for your last payout. I appreciate the time you’ve given us, Shawn. If you ever want to come back and work this ranch, the door is open.”

They shook hands and Colt pushed down that rising anxiety as he headed for the door. He was the boss now—his work had only just begun.