Hometown Hope: A Small Town Romance Anthology

by Zoe York

  The brief amusement faded, and her brows again drew together.

  “Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked, taking her hands and pulling her into his arms.

  She shook her head. “I never thought he’d do something like that.”

  “Go put that pretty little number on while I turn down the bed, and then we’ll get comfortable and talk.”

  Within minutes, they were snuggled together under the horse quilt, and he listened to her talk as she idly traced random patterns across his chest.

  “I was still talking with Jamie about you when Tom came out. He said he wanted to talk to me alone, and I tried to tell him it could wait, but he insisted. And then the waitress came back out, and Jamie and Tad and Caleb headed in to the salad bar.” She shivered. “He started off nice enough, asked how the auction went, offered to have Jim come up next week to clear a hayfield on that bench you pointed out. Then… he touched my arm and said we could have what we did that fall in Laramie, that he was sorry for ignoring me, and that he was finally coming to terms with having a b-bastard son.”

  Her voice hitched, and Gabe tightened his arms around her.

  “He also said that he would start being a father to him… if I told you to leave. I told him to go to hell, that nothing he could offer would make me leave you.”

  “Is that when he said he was the right choice?”

  She glanced sharply at him. “I didn’t know you heard that.”

  He nodded. “You don’t have to repeat the rest.”

  “I can’t believe he grabbed me like that. What do I have to do to make him believe he has nothing I want?”

  “Stand up to him. Call him out on his bullshit. And if you can do it with an audience so he can’t deny it later, even better.”

  “I don’t think I could do that at all. It’s easy for you to say, but look at you. When was the last time you were afraid for your safety? I can tell you when the last time was for me. An hour ago, when Tom grabbed my wrists and I couldn’t free myself.”

  That hit home. Hard.

  “Christ, Annie,” he murmured. “I’d say the last time I was afraid like that was when I was thirteen and Ezra pinned me down while we were branding and threatened to brand my face. That sense of powerlessness—of not being able to get away from him—was terrifying, but it’s not the same. Deep down, I knew he wouldn’t do it. I think you were right to fear Tom might hurt you. He’s getting desperate.”

  He brushed her hair back from her face, and they were silent for a time. In the quiet, the rhythmic ticking of his bedside clock was loud, and it grated on him while thoughts of all the bones he’d like to break in Tom’s body teased his mind. He wouldn’t, of course, but it was damned appealing.

  “He is exactly the kind of man that gives the rest of us a bad name.”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “As much as I want to, this isn’t something I can do for you, Annie. It needs to come from you, or he’ll never get the message.” He straightened her pendant, frowning. “Think Cody might still be awake?”

  “Probably.”

  He reached for the cordless phone on his nightstand and handed it to her. “Why don’t you give him a call to say goodnight? Tell your parents to keep an eye out for Tom tonight and tomorrow morning.”

  “You think he’d try something?”

  “At this point, I wouldn’t put it past him.”

  From her end of the conversation, he surmised that everything was quiet on the home front. She briefly handed him the phone so he could say goodnight to Cody, and then chatted with her parents for almost half an hour about the awesome fort they and Cody had constructed in the living room and about her date with Gabe. By the end of the call, she was considerably more relaxed.

  “I thought you might need that.”

  “I guess I did. Thank you,” she murmured. Then she sighed. “You’re right about me needing to confront Tom, but I’m afraid.”

  “Don’t be. I’ll be right there behind you. Tonight, tomorrow… every day you need me.”

  Chapter 17

  Gabe had stayed out at her cabin for several nights after their run-in with Tom as a precaution, but when it became clear Tom wasn’t going to try anything sinister, his staying with Annemarie and Cody had become a habit, and she wasn’t in any hurry to have him go home and leave her alone. For two weeks now, she’d been waking up beside him, getting ready for work and school together in the mornings, eating breakfast like a family, and coming home together in the evenings to talk about their day, and she loved it. She even enjoyed planning meals for three people instead of two, though that had taken some getting used to, particularly in adjusting her recipes and shopping lists.

  More than once, she’d caught herself thinking of Gabe’s comments about trying the idea of marriage on for size to see how it fit, and though he hadn’t again stated his intent outright, it was clear he was still leaning that direction. The conversation at the dinner table frequently revolved around plans for the ranch, everything from which company to hire to drill the irrigation well to the benefits of hiring someone to plow versus buying a used tractor and plow equipment.

  The idea of spending the rest of her life with him—it was a perfect fit. She wanted it.

  “Isn’t that the Tanners?” Gabe asked, interrupting her daydreams. “Getting out of that red car over there?”

  She followed his gaze and grinned, spotting the familiar sedan a couple rows over in the supermarket parking lot. “Yes, it is. Hey, Cody, didn’t you say you wanted to invite Caleb out to go riding?”

  “Yeah! Can we? When?”

  “Maybe today, if they have time.”

  He barely waited for Gabe to park the truck before he threw off his seat belt and jumped out of his seat. Annemarie almost didn’t have time to get out of his way as he scrambled over the back of the seat, too impatient to wait for her to get out and open the suicide door for him.

  “Slow it down, Cody,” she chided. “Let’s not ruin Gabe’s truck, all right?”

  “Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Gabe. Hey, Caleb!”

  He waved enthusiastically, and she was surprised he didn’t take off across the parking lot. Gabe took his hand and headed over to the Tanners while Annemarie grabbed her purse out of the truck. She had to jog to catch up.

  “Fancy meeting you three here,” Jamie greeted with a broad smile. “What happened that night at the Stagecoach? We got back to our table and you guys were gone.”

  “We took dinner to go,” Gabe replied. “I think Cody has an invitation for Caleb. Don’t you, squirt?”

  “Can Caleb come ride horses with me today?”

  “Uh….” Jamie looked to Tad, who shrugged. “We didn’t have any plans for the afternoon, did we?”

  “Nope. We were going to wing it.”

  “So… can we?” Caleb asked. “Pretty, pretty please?”

  “Yeah, pretty, pretty please?” Cody echoed.

  “Sure,” Jamie laughed. “Sounds like a blast. Can we bring anything for lunch or dinner?”

  “Might be nice to have a barbecue,” Gabe suggested.

  “That sounds fantastic. Except that I don’t have a barbecue,” Annemarie remarked.

  “We can grab mine on the way home.”

  Jamie and Tad exchanged grins.

  Gabe chuckled. “Yes, you heard me right. Shall we head in and figure out what to cook?”

  Because they would need charcoal no matter what they barbecued, that was the first aisle they headed to. After a quick debate, they settled on burgers—with hamburger from a Garrett Ranch Angus—and the usual fair of junk food with fruit salad to offset the less-than healthy indulgences. They divvied up the shopping list and went in separate directions to divide and conquer.

  Annemarie cruised down the aisles, dropping items with comedic flair into the cart Cody had volunteered to push. Her son laughed at her antics, which only made her smile more widely.

  “You’re almost giddy,” Gabe observed.

  “Well, t
his is sort of a first.”

  “You can’t mean this is the first time you’ve had the Tanners out to the ranch.”

  “It is.”

  “Wait. What about other friends?”

  “What other friends? Being a single mother in a new town hasn’t exactly made it easy to make friends. Jamie and Caleb came over a few times when we lived in town, and vice versa. She invited us over a few times since we moved out to the ranch, but at first, the cabin was in no shape to be entertaining guests—not even another single mom and her son. Once I got it fixed up a bit and at least livable, she was newly married, which was a bit awkward for me. And….” She shrugged. “Habit, I guess.”

  “I hope this will be the start of a more solid friendship for you.”

  “Me, too. It’ll be good for Cody to have Caleb around more often. And I enjoy Jamie’s company. She’s the closest friend I’ve had since high school.”

  “Lemme guess. Being a single mom didn’t give you a chance to make friends in college, either.”

  “Nope. Most college kids want to have fun and party, and I couldn’t do that.” She nudged him with her elbow. “At least I had Cody as an excuse for being boring, but I get the feeling that you would’ve been the too-busy-studying type.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Your work ethic.”

  He laughed. “You’re probably right. Gus accused me more than once of sometimes throwing myself too hard into my work. He tried to tell me I needed to remember to live life once in a while, but that lesson didn’t stick. Not until recently, anyhow.”

  “How recently?”

  “Oh, I think you know.”

  “Good lord, if the last few weeks is us cutting loose, we really are a pair of fuddy-duddies.”

  They both laughed at that and laughed harder when Cody asked what a fuddy-duddy was.

  “Someone old and boring,” Gabe replied.

  “But you’re not old or boring.”

  “Thanks, squirt.”

  Annemarie noticed the cart coming around the corner just in time to stop Cody. “I’m sorry,” she said, breathless with laughter.

  Her smile vanished instantly when she saw who was pushing the cart.

  “If it isn’t the husband-stealing whore,” Sandy Grant said with her lip curled.

  Everyone within hearing fell silent, and a dozen shoppers stopped to stare. Annemarie ground her teeth.

  “Just ignore her,” Gabe whispered. “Don’t let her ruin your good mood.”

  Annemarie started to do just that, even took a couple steps around Sandy, but then anger shot through her.

  “No.” She spun on her heel and faced Tom’s wife. “I am done ignoring it. I have shouldered the entirety of the blame for far too long. That stops now.”

  The older woman jerked back like she’d been slapped. Her eyes bulged and her mouth worked like a beached fish. The heat of satisfaction licked through Annemarie, and she smiled coldly.

  “Anyhow, last time I checked, you’re still married—happily or otherwise—to Tom, so I am not technically a quote-unquote ‘home wrecker’.”

  “You’re not seriously going to—”

  “You bet I am. Right here, right now, and I don’t give a damn who hears it. Because I didn’t get pregnant by myself at eighteen. Because I’m not the one who blatantly lied about being married. Forget about just taking his ring off. He didn’t have a tan line or an indentation from it, Sandy.”

  “Of course he doesn’t. With the work he does on the ranch, it’s not safe to wear it all the—”

  “Horseshit,” Gabe snapped. “My father hasn’t taken his wedding ring off once in forty-seven years other than to have it cleaned.”

  “I beg your pardon.” Sandy sniffed. “Who are you to speak to me like that?”

  “The son of a rancher who does the same kind of work your husband does. So I say it again. Horseshit. Tom’s a great big lying sack of it.”

  “How dare you!”

  “You started this,” Annemarie bit out. “Stop lying to yourself, Sandy. How many times has he cheated on you? I know I’m not the only one. Maybe I’m the only one you know of because I’m the only one with enough reason to ignore my pride and confront him.”

  “As long as we’re airing out our dirty laundry to keep the whole town busy chattering about from here to Christmas, let’s talk about how you moved halfway across Wyoming. Was it my husband you wanted or just his ranch? Hmm?”

  “Neither. I only wanted Tom to help support the child he fathered.”

  “He’s not—”

  “Come on, Sandy. You’ve seen the paternity test with your own eyes. You know Cody is his son, and no amount of denying it is going to change that.”

  “I’m not his son,” Cody muttered. “I don’t want to be his son. Ever. I’d rather be Gabe’s son.”

  “Shh,” Gabe whispered. “We’ll talk about that later.”

  “What in the hell is going on here?” Tom demanded, appearing around the corner of the aisle. He eyed the shoppers who pretended to be interested in the products nearby in a scarcely concealed attempt to eavesdrop. She almost felt guilty for unloading both barrels at Sandy. Almost. She was a victim in this, but she’d also chosen to ignore Tom’s infidelity and lay the blame solely on Annemarie. And for that, Annemarie didn’t care if their fellow shoppers heard it all and spread it all over town.

  She’d endured the stares and the whispers for two years. It was Tom’s turn to face their judgment now.

  “Your wife and I are having a lovely chat about your marital indiscretions,” she said at last.

  “Indiscretions? There was only one. You. And I have apologized to Sandy and been nothing but—”

  “Don’t you dare say faithful.” She pointed a shaking finger at him. “Don’t. You. Dare. You were too good at it. Too practiced.”

  “You’re causing a scene, Annemarie.”

  “Good! People deserve to know what you are, Tom.”

  Tom leveled his gaze at Gabe. “You might want to shut your woman up, Collins.”

  “I’m glad you’re finally recognizing that,” Gabe remarked casually. “But I think she deserves the chance to get this out. If you didn’t want your secrets shouted to the town, perhaps you should’ve honored your wedding vows.”

  Sandy spun on her husband. “What did he mean ‘finally recognizing’ that Annemarie is his woman, Tom?”

  “I have no idea, my love.”

  “He knows exactly what I mean.”

  “Why don’t you tell your wife about the day you stopped out by my cabin, Tom? Or about what you said to me at the pizzeria later that night? Something about how I should come talk to you if I wanted to remember what a real man is. And let’s not forget about the incident two weeks ago at the Stagecoach when you took advantage of Gabe stepping away for five minutes, pinned me against the railing, and tried to kiss me. Did he tell you how he got that busted lip, Sandy?”

  “You said there was a deer… you slammed on the breaks… hit your face on the steering wheel.”

  Annemarie snorted. “I wonder, Tom. What lies would you have come up with if Gabe hadn’t had the self-control to walk away?”

  “You bitch,” he snarled.

  “Maybe that’s what I need to be to make you understand that I am through letting you and your wife disrespect me. I’m here to stay whether you like it or not, and I think that was exactly your father’s intent.”

  She was almost done now. Fury pounded through her, but the gas tank was draining fast, and the promise of a fun afternoon with Gabe and Cody and the Tanners had her itching to get away.

  She drew her son close and linked hands with Gabe, then took a deep breath. “One last thing, Tom. If you ever touch me again or try to talk to me about anything other than ranch business, I will file harassment charges. You made me fear for my safety once. Never again.”

  Still holding Gabe’s hand, she straightened her spine, took her son’s hand, and walked away. An audible slap foll
owed her, and she hesitated, unable to resist listening in.

  “You lying son of a bitch,” Sandy hissed. “You said you ended it with her years ago, before Cody was born!”

  “I did. I swear, Sandy.”

  “Then why would you try to kiss her? Why, Tom? And then you lied to me about how you got that busted lip! Why should I believe anything you tell me?”

  “Sandy, I’m sorry.”

  “I ought to divorce your sorry ass. Do you have any idea how humiliated I am?”

  “Sandy, please. I love you.”

  “You’ve done a pretty poor job of showing it.”

  Annemarie dragged Gabe and Cody out of earshot. She’d heard enough. She didn’t want to feel sorry for the woman who had made her cry and question her own worth, and she certainly didn’t want to pity the man who’d gotten her pregnant and then refused to accept responsibility for his son. When they were safely several aisles away and out of sight, she stopped, doubling over as the adrenaline abated.

  It was almost a minute before she was able to straighten.

  Someone touched her shoulder, and she jerked around. A woman she guessed was around forty smiled reassuringly.

  “I’m sorry for eavesdropping,” the woman said, “but good for you, honey. It was all I could do not to cheer out loud for you. I was Tom’s ‘other woman’ once myself, shortly after he and Sandy married.”

  Annemarie stared at the woman. “I-I don’t know what to say.”

  “You already said it, honey.” The woman patted her shoulder, smiled smugly, and strode away.

  With a finger under her chin, Gabe closed Annemarie’s mouth, then kissed her soundly. “I am so proud of you, Annie.”

  Beaming, she replied, “I’m pretty proud of me, too. Not for unloading on them so publicly—even though you’re probably right that that’s the way it needed to happen—but for finally saying something. It feels great.”

  In fact, now that she was safely away from Tom and his wife, the adrenaline ebbed, and a curious energy pulsed through her. She wanted to be home on her ranch, clinging to the back of one of her horses and racing across the sage plain. Or laughing with her friends until the sun sank behind the wall of the Absaroka Mountains and the stars littered the sky.