Читать книгу The Loner's Thanksgiving Wish - Roxanne Rustand - Страница 10

Jack winced at the sight of his brother as he walked into Cade’s hospital room the next day. “Hey, there, buddy. You look like you were in quite a fight.”

“With a mountain,” Cade grumbled, shifting his weight. He bit back a moan at the painful effort. “But I should be outta here, not laying around like some pansy.”

Against the white sheets and blankets, propped up with a pile of pillows, the bruises and scrapes on Cade’s face and arms were vivid reminders of how close he’d come to being more seriously injured.

“How’s that hard head of yours?” Jack asked.

Cade rolled his eyes. “This is a waste of time. The nurses say they’re watching me for concussion symptoms. I could do that just fine at home. If I could find my clothes and my boots, I’d leave.”

“The doc says you have quite a concussion, bro. That’s nothing to fool around with. Yesterday you weren’t sure what day it was or where you were.” Jack pulled up a chair and straddled it. “And you can’t walk on that ankle for a few days, so you can hardly be working cattle out at the Circle C.”

“Cody needs every ranch hand he’s got. And I need the money. The wedding—”

“I’m sure he won’t let you back on a horse or a four-wheeler until you’re safe. Liability issues.” Jack tipped his head toward the doorway. “Though I expect you’ll be out of here and back in the saddle before you know it.”

Cade mumbled something and pulled the covers up to his chin at the sound of feminine voices coming down the hall.

“See,” Jack teased, angling a glance at the cartoons playing on the TV mounted on the wall. “If you checked yourself out, you’d miss out on all this fine educational TV and all the pretty nurses.”

The voices drifted past.

“Does Dad know I’m in here? Not that it matters.”

He’d known Cade would ask, with his usual bravado firmly in place, because the subject was still touchy after all these years. But there was no way Jack could make things right. Even a brother as loyal as Jack couldn’t replace a father who might not bother to check in on his son.

“You signed the privacy release forms when you were seen in the E.R. The social worker said she called both him and Mom when you were admitted.”

Cade closed his eyes briefly. “Neither one has called. Not that it’s a big surprise. Have you heard from Mom much since she got married again?”

“Just a brief email or two. She said she hated this town and wished she’d left it long ago for the brighter lights of Denver. Of course, when marriage number three ends, she probably won’t like Denver, either.”

“I sent her a message a while back, telling her about my upcoming wedding to Jasmine, and she never even replied.” Cade was now mature in many ways, but the hint of hurt in his voice over his thoughtless parents was unmistakable.

“I’m not sure what’s worse—a mom who’s too busy to be bothered or a dad who’s angry about who I’m marrying and wants me to call it off. He doesn’t care about me being happy.”

“Maybe he’s worried about you.”

“Are you kidding? It’s all about that same old stupid feud, and you know it as well as I do.” Cade scowled. “If Jasmine wasn’t living with one of George Clayton’s granddaughters, I’ll bet Dad wouldn’t say a word. He just flat doesn’t care about either of us.”

“I think he does in his own way. But it’s his loss if he doesn’t make an effort. You’re a good kid, and you deserve much better.”

Cade rolled his eyes. “At least Jasmine thinks so.”

“And you have me—world’s best brother, right?” Jack teased.

Cade barked out a laugh, then moaned and folded his arms over his belly. “Don’t make me laugh, man. These muscles hurt.”

The fact that Charley was such a lackadaisical father to Cade, his own flesh and blood, never failed to set Jack’s temper on edge.

He’d only been a temporary stepson from long ago, barely a blip on the man’s radar, and Jack had never been close to Charley. As a kid without a father figure in his life, he’d started out hoping Charley would be that man for him, but Charley hadn’t treated his mother well and had barely given Jack the time of day.

For Cade’s sake, Jack had always tried to keep his low opinion of Charley to himself. Was hunger for family one of the reasons Cade had chosen to get married so young?

Heavy footsteps clomped down the hall and pulled to a stop outside Cade’s room. At his brother’s startled expression, Jack turned toward the door.

Charley and Uncle Pauley walked into the room. Short and burly, with thick necks, heavy jowls and small, piercing eyes set deep in their florid faces, no one could mistake them for anything but brothers. But while Pauley held the part-time, unpaid position as town mayor, Charley laid no claim to a job of any sort and was entirely too proud of how he managed to remain on disability for no good reason.

“So, I hear you’re taking it easy here,” Charley boomed, nodding at Cade. He and Pauley settled their bulky frames into the two chairs in the room. “Pauley and me were just over at the Cowboy Café for some pie, and thought we’d check in on you.”

“Since everyone’s talking about the accident, we thought we’d better get the news firsthand,” Pauley added, his chest expanding with pride. “I need to know what’s going on in this town.”

No surprise, there. Pauley did almost nothing in his role as mayor, but he was definitely one for gossip, and he gladly shared it with his kin. When Samuel’s side of the family somehow managed to campaign him into office last year, they’d supplied themselves with a pipeline of information.

“I heard Mei Clayton was there on the trail.” Disappointment flickered to life in Charley’s beady eyes. “I didn’t know she’d come back to town.”

Jack reined in a surge of irritation. “She was the first one on the scene. She made a dangerous hundred-foot descent to get to Cade and Jasmine, and she provided initial first aid.”

“That’s a shame. Oh, not about you gettin’ rescued and all, boy.” He waved a hand dismissively. “But it’s real disappointing that she actually showed her face in town again. We hoped she mighta stayed in China, or wherever it is she moved to.”

“With George’s other grandchildren showing up right along, we were counting on her to skip out.” Pauley frowned, pursing his full lips. “Of course, there’s that fool brother of hers. I hear he’s got himself lost in some Florida swamp, so maybe he’ll be the one to break ole George’s will.”

“I don’t think you two ought to be planning on any windfall just yet.” Cade pulled himself up in bed. “George’s grandchildren are going to earn that inheritance because Arabella and all of the other cousins are planning to meet every stipulation of that will.”

Pauley chortled. “So they say. But things happen.”

Jack had heard rumors about a few of those “things” over the past few months—events that might have been designed to drive some of the cousins away from town before they fulfilled their required time here. He suspected none of them had been accidental.

“Just so you know, fellas, Mei is here to stay,” Jack said. “I’ll take great exception to anyone who tries to cause trouble for her. And—” he leveled a look at each of them in turn “—I’ll know who to come after.”

“I have no idea what you mean, boy.” Charley swiveled in his seat to look up at Jack, the veiled mockery in his voice coming across crystal clear. “Cause trouble? We only hope those spoiled, self-serving cousins slip up because they don’t deserve to have that inheritance given to them on a silver platter. By all rights, at least half of George’s wealth should have belonged to Samuel and to us.”

“But we surely aren’t going to do anything illegal to get it all back,” Pauley added with a smirk. “No sirree. That uppity side of the family always blames us for anything that goes wrong … but that just shows what kinda fools they are.”

At a soft knock on the door, they all looked toward the door.

Mei, nearly hidden by a giant bouquet of yellow, orange and white flowers of some kind, stepped inside. “Hi, Cade.” She shot a surprised look at the other three men. “I … um … see you have company.”

She dropped her gaze to the flowers as she settled them on a shelf under the window and adjusted the big yellow bow fastened to the vase.

Pauley elbowed his brother. “Maybe we’d better get on our way. I told Vincent I was gonna meet up with him about now.”

Pauley and Charley lumbered to their feet, nodded at Cade and shot a look of pure dislike toward Mei. They left without another word.

“Oh, my,” she murmured as their footsteps receded down the hall. “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Company’s a good thing,” Jack said, hoping he could make her smile. “Especially when it’s someone who risked her own safety to help my brother.”

“Anyone else would have done the same.”

“By rappelling down a cliff face? I doubt that.”

“I just happened to be at the right place at the right moment, I guess.” She darted a quick, uncertain glance at him, then turned her attention to Cade. “This is all they had in the grocery store floral section, so I hope you like Thanksgiving colors.” She pulled a green Randolph’s Pharmacy bag from her purse. “And here are some magazines.”

Her silky black hair swung forward when she leaned over the bed rail to rest a hand on one of Cade’s, hiding her expression from Jack’s view. “How are you doing, cowboy?”

He blushed. “I surely don’t need to be here. But thanks—that was real nice of you, coming by like this. Jasmine will love the flowers when she comes in.”

“I saw her after church, actually, with Arabella and the triplets. I told her that I’d stop by now, and she’ll be coming after she helps with Sunday dinner.”

“You are coming to the wedding, right?” he asked earnestly. “Jasmine said you hadn’t heard about it ‘til we saw you on the trail yesterday.”

“I guess I’ve been out of the loop. I … don’t make it back here much. My grandfather’s funeral was the last time.”

Digging his elbows into the mattress, Cade hiked himself higher in the bed. “Sorry about your grandpa.”

A shadow crossed her delicate features, though as far as Jack had seen of him, George Clayton Sr. hadn’t been a kindly man. Difficult, controlling and power hungry were the words most of the townsfolk used to describe him.

Mei nodded. “Thanks, Cade.”

“Hi, everyone. Doesn’t he look good? I can’t believe it!” Jasmine flitted through the doorway and hurried to the bed to drop a kiss on Cade’s cheek. “Arabella let me come over right away because I was just too nervous to stay home. Wow—look at those beautiful flowers.”

Cade chuckled, and Jack found himself smiling at the joy she emanated. No matter how foolhardy their marriage plans were, no one could deny that Cade and his young fiancée were hopelessly in love.

Jasmine slid her hand into his. “Did you tell them about our Thanksgiving dinner plans?”

“Uh … not yet.”

Mei tilted her head. “So you’re really going to go through with this?”

“Yep. We started working out the plans last night. Cade and I are putting on a huge Thanksgiving feast this year.”

“She still insists that it’ll be for both sides of the family,” Cade added with a rueful shake of his head. “I’m guessing that it just might be the most memorable holiday ever, if everyone shows up and they all survive.”

“What he means is that it’s high time everyone got together and got along, after all these years of feuding between the two branches of the Clayton family tree.” Jasmine’s mouth formed a firm line. “And for all those who think Cade and I are too immature to get married, putting on this dinner is going to prove to everyone that we are mature, capable adults.”

Mei’s eyes widened. “Oh, dear. Have you discussed this with Arabella?”

“Yes, and last night I called Brooke, Vivienne and Zach, too.”

“And they said …”

Jasmine’s cheeks flushed. “I admit it took some explaining. But honestly, it’s ridiculous to keep up all the hatred—as if the Claytons were the Colorado version of the Hatfields and McCoys, or something.” She took a deep breath. “Since I’ve been living with Arabella, I’m supposedly part of George’s ‘side,’ and Cade is part of Samuel’s. Our marriage is …”

“It’s going to be a bit like the Clayton version of Romeo and Juliet, to add another analogy,” Jack said dryly. “With a much better ending.”

“Exactly. But after this dinner I expect everyone to come to our Christmas wedding and behave.”

“Goodness.” Mei blinked and fell silent for a moment. “Have you thought about the expense of making such a dinner for so many people?”

“I’ve figured out the costs to a penny.” Jasmine grinned.

“We’re using a good share of our wedding money to pull it off, but we figure we’re investing in our future.”

As happy as she appeared to be, this was only going to lead to trouble, as far as Jack could see. Then again, she hadn’t been in the room a few minutes earlier. If she’d overhead Pauley and Charlie, she would be thinking twice about her whole scheme.

“Is this wise?” Jack said tactfully, not wanting to share those unfortunate insights and add fuel to the flames. “There must be a lot of expenses ahead with the wedding.”

“Not really. My uncle Jonathan bought my wedding dress, and with all of the poinsettias at the church every year, I won’t need to add any flowers there—just my bouquet. Zach’s fiancée, Kylie, wants to be a wedding planner, so she’s been helping me with a lot of the details for free. And I’m going to ask everyone to bring their digital cameras and take lots and lots of pictures. We can crop and edit them on Cade’s laptop and I’m sure we’ll end up with a wonderful album.”

Jack blinked. He’d spent the past few months trying to convince Cade to wait a few more years to get married. When had all of this transpired? “You two are more organized than I realized.”

“That’s what I want to prove. And we also want to be a part of both sides of the family and not ever feel we’re caught in the middle.”

“Still, everyone ought to contribute something to this dinner. Most families do it that way so one person isn’t stuck with all the work.” Mei bit her lower lip. “What did my cousins say?”

“Just what you said. Vivienne, Arabella and Brooke have all insisted on bringing food. Not only that, but Kylie’s bringing something, too.”

“That makes four, and you can count on Lucas and me, too. I’m not much of a cook, but he and I can buy some of Arabella’s wonderful pies.”

Concern flashed in Jasmine’s eyes. “Have … urn, have you heard from him yet?”

“No. But we will. I’m sure of it.”

Despite the determination in Mei’s voice, Jack could also hear a hint of worry, and from out of nowhere came the sudden impulse to go to her and give her a long, comforting hug.

He forced himself to stay put. “Lucas is one of the most intelligent, resourceful people I’ve met. He’ll probably show up any day now and wonder why on earth anyone worried about him.”

“That would be Lucas.” Mei gave him a grateful smile that wobbled a bit at the corners. “Though that streak of independence did get him in trouble a time or two when he was younger.”

He found himself glancing at her ring finger—no engagement or wedding rings there—and wondering what she’d been doing during the decade since high school. She’d been so beautiful, so shy back then, and though she’d been known as one of the smart kids, she hadn’t hung around with any of the cliques as far as he knew.

“I think I’ll leave these two kids for a while and have a cup of coffee,” he found himself saying. “Would you like to join me?”

Mei’s perfect, golden complexion suffused with delicate pink. “N-no … but thanks. I’d really better get going.”

She was gone in a flash, leaving a faint scent of lily of the valley in her wake.

Of course she’d say no. What had he been thinking? The past invaded Jack’s thoughts, tinged with the painful humiliation that had cut his pride so deeply back then.

The phone call from her hostile mother.

The visit from her father.

Both had been beyond irate after hearing an unfounded rumor about a relationship between Jack and their precious daughter.

No, he’d been put in his place back then, and the princess clearly felt she was out of his league still.

Maybe they’d bump into each other at Thanksgiving and Cade’s Christmas wedding, but even then he’d be sure to steer clear of her. Whatever small inkling of attraction he felt toward her was a complete waste of time.

“I’ll see you two later,” Jack said. A small envelope on the floor caught his eye as he stood. He scooped it up, turned it over. “Mei must’ve dropped this. It has her name on it.”