No more fear.
It was time for Heath to finally live.
Chapter Thirteen
Heath sat in his truck, watching the workings of the boys ranch through the front window. He squinted. That was Tanner and Macy in the horse arena with a couple of the residents.
“Just call.” Heath stared at the phone in his hand.
Today he was supposed to give Gabe an answer about his grandfather. Too bad he hadn’t called yet.
Even if his grandfather chewed him out on the phone—it was only a phone—Heath could end the conversation at any time. The worst the old man could do was hang up, and he’d done that before, so Heath had nothing to worry about. He finally pressed the call button.
His grandfather answered by clearing his throat over the phone. “If this is one of you charities calling about donations, we aren’t giving.”
“Grandpa? It’s me. Heath.”
“I didn’t recognize your number. Is it new?”
Would he have answered if he’d known who was on the other end?
Heath worked his jaw back and forth. “I’ve had this number for six years.”
“I guess it’s been a while since we talked.”
“That it has.”
“Did you get my card? I sent it a ways back.”
“I did. Thank you.” Heath collected his thoughts. What to address first? “I called for a couple of reasons, but mostly because I wanted you to know that my company solved Dad’s case.”
“You did? I don’t know what to say.” The curmudgeonly old man actually sounded choked up. “Son, that’s tremendous. After all these years. Did it... I always suspected it was someone related to that boys ranch. Was it?”
Heath eased back into his seat. He should have cracked the window. Gotten a little fresh air. “It was one of their part-time ranch hands. He was using the ranch as a location to run a drug and gun ring. Dad was about to blow the case and arrest him.”
His grandfather breathed over the line for a moment. “Your father would be proud.”
Are you?
Heath propped his elbow against the window on his door. “There’s something else I want to ask you. I don’t really know how to ask, though.”
His grandfather was silent for a minute. Heath was about to ask if he was still on the line when the man finally spoke. “Just ask, son. There’s a lot of years and troubled water between us. We don’t need to beat around the bush.”
Heath wanted to ask what he meant by troubled waters, but thought it best—considering his grandfather’s temper sometimes—to stick to the information he needed first. “The boys ranch was left land in the will of a man by the name of Cyrus Culpepper. However, one of the stipulations for the Lone Star Cowboy League to secure the property is that all the original residents must return for a reunion in March.”
“That so, now?”
Keep going... “Interestingly, someone by the name of Edmund Grayson is listed among those original residents. With the same spelling and he’d be around your age. People keep asking me if it’s you but I said—”
“That you’d know if your own grandfather had been a troubled youth?”
“Exactly.” Heath opened his eyes; he didn’t remember shutting them so tightly.
“However,” his grandfather continued, “it’s not surprising that you don’t know a lot about me or my past since we’ve never been close, not since your mother refused to let my son’s death be honored as it should have been and then she remarried, and that’s my fault. Entirely mine.”
Heath had addressed his father’s murder and the boys ranch. With his grandfather still on the line, it was time to finally get answers for himself. “Why did you disappear? Dad died and you... We never heard from you again and when we tried...”
“I hung up on both you kids,” Grandpa finished. “I regret that more than anything else in my life. The fact is, after that shoddy funeral she gave for your father, your mother tried to get money out of me. She said it was my fault your father died—that I put the expectation to be a cop in his head since that’s what I’d devoted my life to. She refused to let me see or speak to either you or Nell unless I gave her money. And you know how bad she is with money. She would have wasted it all. You and I both know that. Not a cent would have been saved for you or Nell.”
Could that be true? Heath knew his mother had been desperate but... “I had no idea.”
“By the time both of you contacted me, I thought she’d gotten to you. That you were calling to ask for money as well or you’d try to get close to me with the intention of asking later on. I figured you’d hand it all over to her. Looking back, it was foolish to isolate myself. I couldn’t see beyond the anger of losing my son. Guilt factored in there, too.”
Heath ran his free hand over his hair. “I think isolating ourselves runs in the family.”
“Oh, I hope not. I hope you’re never as foolish as this old man.”
“Would it be okay...” Just ask. “Now that we cleared the air, would you be open to the idea of us starting to get to know each other more?”
“Of course. And I’ll need a place to stay in March. Can I stay with you?”
“You’re coming in March?”
“For the reunion, Heath.”
“Wait.” Heath grabbed the steering wheel, leaned forward. “Are you telling me you were one of the original boys?”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re pretty slow for a Texas Ranger?”
“Lately, yes, I’m afraid I’ve been told that a lot.”
“If it’s a woman, that’s the type to keep around.”
Heath laughed but quickly sobered. “But why didn’t I know about you being a resident here? How come you never told us?”
“I...well... I’ve always been a bit ashamed that I needed a place like that to set me straight. I wanted you to see me as the state trooper who caught bad guys for a living, not the boy who very well could have become one of the criminals. I’d planned to tell you both when you were older, but then your father was murdered there and I was so ashamed to share any connection to the place where my son was killed. We stopped talking and it seemed a moot point.”
“I’d love to give you a tour of the new place. They do amazing work here.”
“I look forward to seeing the old and the new location.”
They made plans to talk again next week, then Heath hung up. This time when he stepped down out of his truck, he glanced around and felt a deep connection to the ranch. It might not be the same location, but it was the same organization that had set his grandfather on a straight path; his father had given his life on a mission to protect the residents at the time, and it was the place where Heath had learned that he was allowed to experience joy—he could live.
The place he’d fallen in love.
* * *
Josie picked up a mini clothespin, dipped it into a bowl of white glue and then pressed it into a huge pile of gold glitter. She and Abby were inside at the large dining table making name placeholders for the upcoming Thanksgiving buffet. A few of the boys had traced and cut out hundreds of leaves on orange, yellow, brown and red card stock. The mock leaves that weren’t used as name holders would be scattered down the centers of the many tables that would stretch outside for the event.
Marnie was nearby, banging around with pots and pans in the kitchen as she prepared dinner. “You girls spend so much time and effort making things look pretty. I don’t think those boys even notice.”
Abby’s eyes went wide. “They deserve to have a memorable Thanksgiving, and I aim to make sure every detail is taken care of so that they do.”
“Suit yourself.” Marnie opened the fridge and started piling ingredients onto the counter.
Josie glanced back over the instructions craft-lo
ving Abby had ripped from one of her favorite magazines. She rested one hand on her stomach. The baby had been moving less than normal today.
Abby touched the pile of burlap she’d trimmed into squares. “I set them in order—burlap goes on the bottom, the leaf with their name written on it is glued to the burlap and then the glitter clothespin will clip on the bottom when we’re done.”
“If it’s glued together, does it even need the clothespin?”
“I thought this out already.” Abby pointed a white permanent marker at her. She was going down the guest list and writing names on the leaves with her beautiful handwriting. “With us eating outdoors, the clothespins will weigh down the cards. We don’t want all of them to blow away before people can even enjoy them.”
“You think of everything.”
Footsteps echoed from the hall that led to the office area. Diego and Stephen were walking side by side, their heads bent toward each other, deep in conversation.
“Why do I think the two of you look suspicious?” Josie asked.
A smile blossomed on Stephen’s face. “Can you keep a secret?”
“Depends on the secret.” Usually secrets and rumor-spreading were discouraged at the ranch, so Josie didn’t want to encourage the boys down a path they shouldn’t go.
“It’s one that Gabe and Bea approved,” Diego said.
“Then sure.”
“On Tuesday we’re going to have a surprise for Heath.” Stephen snatched a leftover muffin from the counter. Marnie shooed him away but looked pleased all the same. “But you can’t tell him.”
“What type of surprise?”
Diego bounced his way forward. “We’re not telling.”
Josie winked at them as they filed out of the house. She touched her stomach for the seventh time in as many minutes.
Abby caught the movement and cocked her head. “You’ve been doing that all day. You’re starting to worry me. Is something wrong?”
Josie pressed on her abdomen again, trying to shift the baby to cause movement. Sleeping. The baby was probably only sleeping hard. Still, her heart pulsed in her temples. She had been feeling dizzy a lot lately.
She licked her lips. “Can you... Would you go find Heath?”
Marnie set down a pot on the oven with a loud clang and wiped her hands. “You both stay put. I’ll fetch him.” She crossed to the back door, tossed it open and then yelled at the top of her lungs, “Heath. Ranger Heath.”
Josie sighed. I could have gotten up and hollered. The whole point had been not to cause a ruckus.
Marnie kept yelling, “Grayson. Right there. You’re needed. Make those boots run.”
She was so loud that Gabe wandered out of the office where he’d been meeting with Bea. “What’s all the commotion?”
Heath crossed over the threshold, breathing hard. “You called?”
Gabe clapped his hands and strode forward. “Just the man I was hoping to see.”
Josie opened her mouth to speak. I called. Me! I need you. But there were so many people gathered in the kitchen and it would feel weird to draw all the attention toward her. Especially over something medical...something she wanted only Heath to know. Too late for that.
“I have great news,” Heath said, zoning in on Gabe. “I talked to my grandfather this morning. He is the Edmund Grayson you’ve been looking for and he promised to be here in March.”
Gabe whooped. “One down.” He reached to shake Heath’s hand. “You just made my day.”
Josie wound a piece of burlap around her fingers. Speak up. Heath wasn’t like Dale; he’d want her to interrupt his conversation if she needed something, right?
Gabe pumped Heath’s hand. “Tanner and I have been trying to track down my grandfather, Theodore Linley. He was an original resident alongside your grandfather.” He leaned his hip against the counter and crossed his arms. “Problem is, he walked out on our family when I was eight and we’ve never heard from him again. His last known whereabouts was prison, but we’ve had no luck there, either. I wanted to pick your brain—ask your advice about hiring a PI.”
Heath glanced around the room until his gaze landed on Josie. When it did, their eyes locked and everyone else faded away for a heartbeat. “Is that why I got called in here?”
Marnie slapped a dish towel onto the counter. “I called you in here because Josie said she needed you. You’d know that if you and Gabe hadn’t gone straight into jawing.”
Heath brushed past Gabe, sidestepped Abby and dropped to his knees beside Josie’s chair. He wrapped one arm over the back of her chair and laid the other across the table in front of her. It was the closest he’d ever come to hugging her.
“What’s wrong? You don’t look okay.” His voice was soft, intimate. In a room full of people, his words and attention were solely hers. He was doing the Ranger thing she’d noticed him do before—his eyes roved quickly over something...her—looking for problems, weaknesses, ways to help.
She twisted in her seat so she could place a hand on his shoulder. She needed to feel the muscles there—needed his strength to chase away her fears. The fabric was soft, worn. She leaned closer. “I haven’t felt the baby move all day. I’m scared.”
“When I first...? Why didn’t you? I would have...” His cheeks lost some of their color and his brow creased with worry. He looked at her stomach. “Do you need me to call an ambulance? Take you to the hospital? I can carry you. That’s not an issue.” He started to get up.
She applied pressure to his shoulder. “No. Stay. I want you to talk.”
“Talk?”
Josie grabbed his hand from the table and placed it on her stomach. “The baby moves more when you talk.”
His hand was warm on her belly. His nostrils flared as he took a deep breath as if to calm down, but his eyes still looked a bit frantic. “When I talk or is that a royal ‘you’ meaning anyone?”
“You. Heath Grayson. When you talk.” She’d noticed the baby kicked and changed positions more whenever he was nearby, when his voice carried. However, she hadn’t planned on ever mentioning that to him. Desperate times. “Say anything.”
Heath nodded and dragged some air through his mouth. “Hey...you’re scaring your mom and me. Could you do us a favor and have a dance party in there?” He stared at his hand on her stomach as if he could will the baby to move.
“Just talk.”
He sat back on his heels. “Let me tell you about your mama. She loves goats and baby cows, so you better be okay with that. She’s beautiful. The most beautiful woman you’ll ever see. Not just that, she’s determined. As stubborn as a Texas summer. But it’s because she cares about people so much. So don’t worry about that, she—”
The baby rolled. Josie gasped. Her hand automatically went on top of Heath’s. “Did you feel that?”
His mouth hung open. “I did.”
Josie leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
Heath removed his hand slowly as he got back to his feet. “You should still call your doctor. I’ll drive you over right now if he’ll see you.”
Josie pulled out her phone and pressed the button for her doctor.
The baby was fine. Heath was here. Everything would be okay.
Chapter Fourteen
At the last stop sign before their turn, Heath looked over at Josie. “Are you sure you’re okay to serve at the ranch? The doctor said to take it easy for a few days.”
She tipped her head back and smiled up at him. “I’m not one to sit around. Besides, I don’t want to miss what’s happening at the ranch today.”
Her hair was pinned back in a way that made her look like one of those royal princesses with their picture splashed on the front of the magazines in the checkout lane in the grocery store. The ones the internet went wild about whenever they s
tepped into public. Josie had the same grace and kindness about her.
He hit the button for his window, allowing chilly morning air to blast into the truck’s cabin. Josie always complained about being hot anyway.
She patted her stomach. “Relax, Officer. I took it easy all weekend and yesterday, too. I feel fine. And you heard the doctor—it’s only anemia. Iron supplements for the rest of my pregnancy and up my steak quota. Which—since we live in Texas—let’s be honest, is not exactly an issue. I’ll be good as new.”
“If—even for a second today—you feel dizzy again or light-headed—”
“I know. I know.” She put her hands up as if to say Don’t shoot. “Sit down and tell you right away.”
Heath tightened the grip on his steering wheel as he turned the truck past the large horseshoe-shaped metal sign announcing The Lone Star Cowboy League Boys Ranch, Founded 1947.
He ground his molars, causing a bolt of pain to blaze into his temples.
Relax. It’s not even the same location. The case is closed. Done. Get over it.
Josie skirted a nervous glance his way. “Please tell me what’s the matter. You haven’t been yourself all morning.”
Heath had made peace about the boys ranch when it came to his father’s death. And after spending time with the boys in his detection class, and discovering his grandfather was an original resident of the place, he’d grown to view the boys ranch in a positive light. But he still had no desire to show up today.
Not on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.
Not on the anniversary of his father’s death.
“I’m fine.” He craned his neck. Squinted. Up a ways near the barns...were those police cars?
“I see.” She grabbed on to the door handle as they bumped down the quarter-mile-long driveway. “But that was a Ranger fine, which actually means something is terribly wrong.”
At the end of the driveway, police cars from multiple agencies lined either side of the road. Even some of the undercover vehicles that belonged to Company F.
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