Redheaded Stranger: A Cowboy Love Story (Bluebonnet, Texas) (7 page)

"Well now that we’ve all lost a morning’s work, I suppose I should get busy." With a cluck of his tongue, Jerrod wheeled his horse around and took off in the same direction as Alex.

"I got a Christmas horse to deliver." Looking up toward where Rene still hung, Tim shouted, "I’m going to the Mobley’s. Wanna ride with me?"

"No, thanks."

"Okay, well come down out of that barn. You’ll fall and die before anyone sees ya."

Today was apparently my day for heart attacks. I quickly covered my eyes as she grabbed the hook above her head and swung down. Maggie slipped an arm around my shoulders and gave me a reassuring pat. "Relax, honey. You’ll get used to it."

"Good lord, no wonder you’ve got gray hair," I murmured at Tim.

"Yes, ma'am." He grinned and winked at me before turning to his daughter, who’d crossed the small fenced area and slipped between the fence slats. "Do you remember your manners?"

She was a tall for her age, a lanky and athletic-looking young girl who was dressed almost identical to her father and grandmother. Her thick boots could only be described as ugly, but considering some of the places she probably walked in them, they were probably a necessary evil.

She yanked off her leather gloves and tucked them under her arm before sticking out one hand. "Hello, I’m Rene Caldwell. Nice to meet you. You look too nice to be married to Uncle Zan."

"Well, Alex has many fine qualities." The least I could do was defend my husband even if he wasn’t real high on my happy list right now.

Her lips twisted thoughtfully. "Why do you call him Alex?"

Tim butted in with a laugh, nudging her away. "Okay, Miss Nosey, I’m outta here. Don’t let her pester you too hard," he warned.

"I won't."

"And before you answer that, why don’t we go in the house where it’s warm."  Maggie patted my shoulder. I glanced toward where Alex and Darrach had disappeared, grimacing in disappointment when I didn’t see them returning. "Okay."

"Relax." Rene moved to slip an arm around her grandmother’s other side.  "They’ll be fine."

I wished I felt as confident as she did.

We all headed inside and settled around the kitchen table with cinnamon toast and more coffee—even Rene, who, with a father who stood well over six feet, didn’t really need to worry about stunting her growth.

"I call him Alex because I always have."

"Well that’s kinda lame-o."

I chuckled. "He introduced himself as Alexander. On our first date I asked if I could call him Alex, and he said yes."

"Where’d he take you on your first date?" She wrinkled her nose as if the idea of boys and dating were still not a high priority.

"Miniature golf, and he beat the pants off of me."

"Figuratively speaking, of course," Maggie added as the front door slammed.

"Of course."

"Gram says you’re Hawaiian. Do you know any Hawaiian cuss words?" Rene asked as Delaney came creeping into the kitchen, her eyes glued to the back door as she took a seat.

"I know a lot of Hawaiian words," I said with a smile.

"Where is he?" Delaney finally asked, referring to Alex.

"Out with the baby." Maggie gave her a reassuring smile.

"He took Darrach for a ride," I added.

Her shoulders slumped in relief. "I can’t believe he’s a dad. Of course, I can’t believe anyone married him. No offense—" she added, glancing my way, "—you seem nice."

Her words made me sad, and yes, they also stung. "To be honest, I am offended. Alex is a good father, a good provider and a good husband." Delaney’s cheeks turned red, but I didn’t let that stop me. Despite my troubles with my husband, he
was
my husband. "You know, my parents didn’t want me to marry him. We’d only known each other four months, and they said it was too soon. But when Alex makes up his mind about something, that’s it. He’s determined. It’s a part of what makes him so good at his job, but his hardheadedness is also why we’re here. So,
yes
, changing his mind about anything is difficult. Changing his mind about you? Even more so. That’s why I left him like I did. Because I knew that coming here was the only way to start mending this rift in your family.

"Alex didn’t come here for me. Don’t get me wrong, he loves me. I know he does. But he came here for Darrach, because he’d move heaven and Earth for our son. He always has and he always will. And it’s one of the things I love about him."

Delaney stood for a moment, eyes downcast, and then quietly left the room. Even Rene stayed silent, something I was learning was not her usual thing.

"Sorry, Maggie, for upsetting her. I know Alex has his faults, but he’s my husband."

"No apologies are necessary."

"So—" Rene leaned forward, fingers wrapped around her mug of coffee, "—about those cuss words..."

A
lex knew he couldn’t keep Darrach out much longer, but he wasn’t ready to head back in. Usually it was the three of them, so he didn't get a lot of alone time with his son. He talked, pointing out mesquite, pecan, and huge old live oaks. Occasionally they’d spot a squirrel, late to gather pecans. When they found the cows huddled in the dry creek bottoms, Darrach oohed and struggled for freedom while a grinning Alex tightened his grip on his son. He was glad he’d won that fight with his dad.

With each step the horse took, the knot of tension between Alex's shoulders slowly unwound itself. A knot he hadn’t realized was there. When was the last time he rode a horse? He couldn’t even recall. He might hate the smell of cow shit, but he’d missed the smell of saddle leather. He liked being out here with only his son. It just felt right. As mad as he was at Kei for forcing him to come home for Christmas, he wouldn’t have missed this moment with his son for anything. He sat and soaked up the almost complete silence, broken only by the sound of wind rattling dry dead leaves, cows and saddle horses moving around. Even Darrach stilled for a bit, leaning against him.

Alex didn’t bother turning around at the creak of a saddle and the jingle of a bridle, but the moment, whatever it had been, was over.

"Huh, so that’s your boy?" Ty maneuvered Dancer around and came up next to him.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit irritated at the invasion of his privacy, but then, he knew if it hadn’t been Ty, it would have been his dad. And yes, it was awkward sitting there with his son on his lap while knowing his brother had recently lost a child. "Yup."

"Bettina said you came by last night."

"I did."

Darrach mewled. Soon he’d have to take him in.

"It’s okay, son." He leaned over and kissed the top of his head, tightening his arms around him.

"Gimme five, man." Ty held out a gloved hand, palm up as Darrach glanced up at his father, unsure of what to do or who the strange person in front of him was. Normally an outgoing baby, the last twenty-four hours of upheaval had been a real challenge for him. All because of Alex’s bad temper.

Ty leaned over, resting on his saddle horn, and offered Darrach his hand again along with another smile.

"That’s your Uncle Ty." He nodded and reached out to slap his brother’s palm.  Darrach quickly followed suit with a grin.

"Damn, he’s cute," Ty mumbled after their game of "Five" was over. "Thank you for apologizing to Betti."

"Of course."

"Been down to see Travis?" Ty asked, referring to Zack’s five-year-old son.

"No. Haven't had a chance."

He nodded, almost to himself. "You should. He was...what? Three the last time you were home?"

"You mean, before Thanksgiving? Yeah. That sounds about right."

"Daddy just loves him. Loves
all
his grandkids, but you wouldn’t know about that, huh? Cause you weren't here. You were too busy holding a grudge. How’s that working for you? What’s it like, Zan?" he asked, his voice low and conversational for the baby's sake. "What’s it like to be you with your perfect life and your grudges?"

His eyes on the terrain, Alex sighed. "I was mad," he finally conceded. "What can I say?" Even to his own ears, it sounded lame.

"That is
awful...GD
mad, Zan."

Inwardly, he winced at the sound of his brother’s old nickname for him.

"Here’s something else to think about. You weren’t here for Travis or Rene, but you also weren’t here for Rhea. You don’t
know
me. You don’t know what I went through with her. Just like you don’t know what Mom and Dad went through with Delaney, or what Delaney’s been through. You don’t know sh—
jack
, Zan.

"Betti might forgive you, but I don’t—" He shook his head. "
No
, I don’t blame you for the miscarriage, so let’s just get that out of the way. But I
don’t
forgive you for not being here when I needed you, and I
don’t
forgive you for what you did to
my
sister. And I can’t wait for you to leave." He sighed and nodded toward Darrach. "Too bad Daddy won’t get to watch him grow up."

"Do you know how long I've known about Delaney?" A scowling Alex shifted to face his brother.

"No, and I don’t care." Ty countered, his dark blond eyebrows drawn together. "Cause that's doesn't excuse you."

He pushed on anyway, "Ten years," he said with a nod. "Ten years I've know about her. Ten years I've known she was the reason for all the fighting when we were growing up."

"Oh please. It wasn't that bad, and it doesn’t excuse all the crap you pulled or you not being here."

"That's not how I remember it. I remember the arguments, Daddy hiding in his study and Momma cryin'—a lot. He didn't just cheat on her—"

"Let me stop you for a minute—" Ty held up a hand. "Let me just stop you right there and point out two important things. One, Delaney was seven when you found out about her.
Seven
. She didn't ask for this. She didn't
cause
this. And that's
the
most important thing you need to remember. She didn't ask for
any
of this! Two, the person you're really mad at here, is Dad. You can say whatever you want, but you know I'm right."

Before he could respond, Ty kicked Dancer and scrambled up out of the creek bottom leaving Alex alone with his son.

He shook his head and wheeled his own horse around. Alex had done what he could. He didn’t belong here.

There was nothing for him.

"W
e need to go Christmas shopping." Kei hit Alex with the bad news the minute he returned from his ride with the baby. The kitchen was empty so it was just the three of them. He handed over a sleepy, red-cheeked Darrach and then stood staring down at her, his head still crowded with his brother’s words. "We need to go home."

Kei lifted up her shirt and unhooked her bra, sighing with relief as Darrach latched on. She adjusted her position, settling more comfortably into the chair. "Two more days. Surely you can do this for two more days."

He sighed, too, feeling almost pained. "Your presents are in the car."

They stared at each other, both aware of the silent battle taking place. "Don’t use guilt on me, Alex. That’s low. Even for you."

Cheeks burning, he turned away from his wife’s sharp gaze.

"I meant your family. We need to go shopping for them."

"Whatever you want."

Kei smiled at him, flashing a dimple as she leaned back in the chair.

"What?"

"I like this you."

"I’m just me, Kei."

She shook her head and tightened her grip on the baby as he squirmed a bit in her arms. "Your hair’s all messed up and your cheeks are red, your shoes are muddy—"

He glanced down at his socks, surprised she'd noticed. You didn't walk on Momma's floors in muddy boots—or shoes.

"You haven't shaved, and in three years of marriage, I’ve
never
seen you in a flannel shirt." The look in her eyes said that if they were at home, they’d find inventive, sweaty ways to kill an afternoon. "I like it."

Alex leaned over, bracing himself on the chair and table, and caught her lips with his. It was the first time they’d kissed in twenty-four hours. The first time she’d let him get close to her in three weeks, other than when they were sleeping. He needed his wife. More importantly, he needed to talk to his wife. She moaned as his tongue slipped past her lips. The kiss was slow and thorough, a promise of things to come later, and interrupted by the opening of the kitchen door. Despite the interruption, Alex was in no rush to end things as his lips slowly slid from Kei’s.

Jerrod cleared his throat. "Y'all seen Maggie?"

"She went grocery shopping," Kei mumbled, never taking her eyes off of Alex.

He glanced over his shoulder at his father and added, "We're going shopping, too. Need anything?"

"No."

Now it was Kei’s turn for her cheeks to turn pink as she looked away. Alex smiled at his father, who nodded and backed out the door.

* * *

W
ith a full belly, their cranky, protesting son slept the entire thirty-minute trip to a shopping plaza on the outskirts of San Antonio. After a quick lunch, Alex kept Darrach busy while Kei shopped. Once they’d finished up, they headed home and put Darrach down for his second late nap in as many days and while he slept, Alexander helped Kei wrap.

"I hope all this is okay," Kei mumbled for the millionth time. She’d settled on gift cards and bubble bath for all the women.

"I’m sure they’ll understand."

"Rene doesn’t strike me as the bubble bath type."

Alex snorted at the thought of his niece and bubble bath.

"What?"

"That girl’s wild. She’ll probably end up like her mother."

Kei’s hands fell to her lap as she stared at him. "I know she’s nothing like Connie’s girls—"

He snorted again. "Understatement."

"I happen to like her—" she reached out and punched him in the arm, "—and that’s not very nice, Alex."

"Did you see her up in that barn and have you
heard
her mouth?" he countered.

"Yeah, I have. Did you know your daddy put her on the payroll?" Kei countered.