Front Range Cowboys (5 Book Box Set)

by Evie Nichole

  “There you are,” the voice crooned. “Jesse, I think she’s awake.”

  “Aria, you should go and tell Laredo. He can talk to Cisco.” The second woman’s voice was huskier than the first one. Still, they sounded much nicer than anyone that Melody had contact with on a regular basis.

  Eyes fluttering open, Melody barely managed to focus her bleary eyes on a woman with long strawberry-blond hair sitting right next to the bed. The hospital bed? Sheesh! What had happened while she was passed out?

  Apparently, Melody’s eyes managed to convey her confusion, because the redhead took pity on her. “You’re at the hospital right around the corner from your apartment. Do you remember what happened at your apartment?”

  “No.” The word came out sounding like a forty-year-veteran smoker. Melody tried to cough. Finally, she was able to speak. “I don’t remember anything after the phone call.”

  The woman’s graceful eyebrows lifted. “When that Ryan guy called Cisco?”

  “Yes.”

  “Ah.” The young woman pursed her lips. “I’m Maggie Brown, by the way.” She gestured to another woman—a beautiful blonde—sitting in a chair at the end of the bed. “This is Jesse Collins.”

  “The other one was Aria Callahan,” Jesse volunteered. “We’re Cisco’s sisters—sort of. It’s complicated.”

  Maggie’s laugh sounded like an angel’s. Melody wanted to be like her when she grew up. Sheesh! “It’s not that complicated. Aria is engaged to Cisco’s second oldest brother. I’m engaged to his third oldest brother.”

  Jesse leaned over so she could actually see Melody’s face. “There are five Hernandez brothers, in case you were wondering. I feel like nobody told you this stuff. Cisco is sort of a recluse. He doesn’t spend much time with the family, so I’m not sure how much he would have told you.”

  “Not much.” Melody managed to get the words out. Maggie thoughtfully poured Melody some water. It helped. Melody was finally able to say what needed to be said. “What happened to Allie?”

  The other two women exchanged a look, but Maggie was the one who continued to speak. “Allie was treated and released into police custody. You’ll have to decide what you want to do about that, but it can happen later.” Maggie smiled and nodded. “It’s going to be better for Allie to be in custody. She’ll have to dry out.”

  “Good.” Melody grunted. She could remember well enough that her idiot friend sold her out to that lying piece of crap Ryan.

  “Allie’s knife entered the side of your neck,” Maggie murmured. She gently touched Melody’s arm. “It missed all the important stuff, but it was still a pretty serious wound.”

  “You’re all stitched up though now,” Jesse cheerfully informed Melody. “Good as new once you recover. And you’ll have a kick-ass scar.”

  Maggie shot Jesse a dirty look. “Not everyone feels like scars are something to brag about.”

  Jesse winked at Melody and rolled her eyes. “Maggie here isn’t a ranching type of girl. Although I hear tell that you are. You’re a Farrell, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “This’ll sound weird,” Jesse began slowly. “I never met your mother, but I knew your grandparents. In fact, I think my folks were coming home from the Farrells’s place the night they had their accident and died.”

  The horror of that casual statement made Melody’s heart leap. Maggie rolled her eyes. Obviously, she realized that this was probably more than Melody was ready for right now. And yet Melody wasn’t sorry. She was very interested in anything that Jesse could tell her about the Farrell family.

  “What were my grandparents like?” Melody managed to ask. “Were they nice?”

  “Oh, yeah. Real nice!” Jesse said brightly. “Your grandma could make the best cherry pie in the world. Of course, I was eleven when my parents died, so I only remember your grandparents like a little girl does. The last time I saw them was at the funeral.”

  Melody was a little daunted by the casual way Jesse spoke of her parents’ deaths. “I’m sorry about your folks.”

  “Happened more than ten years ago now,” Jesse said softly. “I’ve gotten over it as much as a girl can. The Hernandez family sort of sucks people up and makes them a part of the whole crazy mess. Just ask Maggie here.”

  “That’s not wrong.” For once, Maggie’s tone wasn’t quite so sweet. “They’re a rough bunch of mule-headed know-it-alls most of the time.”

  “I like Cisco.”

  “We know.” Jesse bobbed her head. “He likes you too. And honestly, I think you’re good for that boy. He needs to get off his high horse and quit thinking that he’s some fancy pants attorney. He’s an attorney. That’s for sure.” Jesse’s expression grew fierce. “And I’d say he’s the best one in Colorado. But he’s not a fancy pants kind of guy.”

  Maggie sighed. Then she patted Melody’s leg beneath the blanket. “You have to understand that the Hernandez men come with a huge amount of baggage. They’ve all spent their whole lives trying to measure up to some impossible standard that their father came up with. Joe is a crotchety old weirdo who pretty much says something rude every time he opens his mouth these days. He’s downright horrible sometimes!”

  “I’m not like Cisco or the rest of you,” Melody murmured. “I work in a coffee shop”—except she didn’t even do that anymore—“and I got fired just yesterday, or was it today? I don’t know what day it is. But I’m unemployed. I know that. I don’t have any money. I was a ward of the state until I turned eighteen. Then I got my inheritance from the Farrells, but it turns out nobody paid taxes, so now I owe lots of money that I really don’t have.”

  “Cisco can make it right,” Maggie said softly. “You’ll see. Maybe you were supposed to meet him and he was supposed to meet you. Please don’t ever think that the Hernandez family is some blue-blooded pack of snobs.” Maggie wrinkled her nose. “Some of them might want you to believe that sometimes, but it isn’t true. They’re ranchers through and through. They’re all more comfortable in worn jeans and scuffed-up cowboy boots with dirt under their nails and a wide-brimmed hat on their heads. Every last one of them has that in their blood. They might be civilized now, but the cowboy is right there beneath the surface just below the first layer of clean.”

  There was a knock at the door. Melody glanced up and spotted what looked like a pack of giants standing at the door. They were all being led through the door by a woman that Melody could only guess to be Aria Callahan. She was shorter and athletic with dark eyes and a ready smile.

  “Hey, you’ve got some visitors.” Aria peered over her shoulder. “But we can’t stay long because the nurses are going to be on the warpath when they see how many people we have in here.”

  “Then, they should just put her in the hallway,” the tallest man said irritably.

  Cisco jostled his way forward. He smiled down at Melody, but she could see that he felt strangely uncomfortable. They had a lot of talking to do, all things considered. In fact, if he never wanted to see her again, Melody would have understood. She had caused an incredible amount of trouble for him.

  “Melody Farrell, these are my brothers.” Cisco pointed to the tallest. “Laredo.” Then he gestured at the one with the super-broad shoulders. “And this is Darren. Darren is with Maggie, and Laredo is with Aria.”

  “Only because they allow it,” Darren quipped. “Melody, it is very nice to meet you. Cisco has told us plenty of wonderful things. I promise. But he is a lawyer, so they were probably all lies.”

  “Darren!” Maggie looked mortified. Then she smiled at Melody. “I can’t take him anywhere!”

  “I think you guys had better go before the nurse comes in here. She’s gearing up for it,” Cisco warned them.

  It was like a herd of cattle leaving the room. There were only five of them, and yet they made enough noise and commotion for three times that many people. But Melody watched them go with a feeling akin to regret in her gut. They seemed really nice. They weren’t what she had exp
ected at all. When Laredo had talked about the ladies finding a dress for Melody to wear, she had envisioned being dressed up like some kind of doll. Now she realized that those three women probably would have been a lot of fun to hang out with in such a low-key manner. In fact, Melody could actually see herself becoming friends with them.

  “Sorry about all of that.” Cisco was scratching the back of his neck as though he were uncomfortable with his family’s presence. “They’re really pushy in situations like this.”

  “You’re lucky,” she told him softly. “Really, really lucky. You have a family that loves you. You can count on them for anything, and they’re just there. Poof!”

  “I suppose you’re right.” He perched on the edge of the chair that Maggie had just vacated. “People who have family often forget that those who don’t have family would be happy to have all the interference and craziness that comes along with it.”

  “Maybe not all of it,” Melody admitted. She sucked in a breath and held it. She needed to just say what was on her mind and get it over with. It was like ripping off a bandage. It had to just happen or it would always be stuck inside her. “Cisco, I am so sorry for all of this drama. I cannot tell you how embarrassed and sorry I am that you had to go through this because of me. I never would have allowed them to call you. I told them it wasn’t any of your business or your problem, but Allie was convinced you were my secret boyfriend or something.”

  “Am I not?”

  “A secret boyfriend?” She cleared her throat as she realized that her voice had gotten quite shrill. “I mean, no. I would never consider you my boyfriend—secret or otherwise—that’s kind of presumptuous, don’t you think?”

  “Fine.” He nodded his head. “How about if I presume that you are my girlfriend. Does that change your thoughts on the subject?”

  “Why would you even want to presume that?” It made no sense to her. In fact, it made no practical sense at all. He was a talented up-and-coming lawyer. He needed a wife like the woman in the blue dress—Vittoria—who could skyrocket his career to the top with her crazy materialism and hopefully better social skills than she had displayed for Melody.

  “I love you.”

  The simple words undid her. She did not know what to say. This was not part of her expectations. Yes. He had said the words once before, but there had been a physicality involved because of the intimacy attached to that moment. Or—well, she didn’t know why she hadn’t really believed him before.

  “I love you too,” she whispered.

  He reached out and gently stroked the hair away from her face. “I have no idea how this is going to work. All right? I know that we live on opposites sides of a very thick and prickly fence. I don’t pretend to believe that this will be easy or that it won’t take work. But I am sitting here promising you that I’m going to work at this. I’m going to make this happen because it is what I want. Do you understand that?”

  “Yes.” She could only whisper the word because her mouth felt frozen with all of the things that she wanted to say so badly and yet still could not. That wasn’t good. It wasn’t right to keep things from someone that you loved. “I’m not fancy,” she finally managed. “I don’t even want to be fancy. I know there are lots of women out there who want the rags to riches story where they get to go from being just like me to wearing furs and fancy dresses and dripping diamonds.” She held up her hand, palm out. “That is not me. You have to get that right now or this will never work.”

  His chuckle made her draw back. She was a little offended until she realized that it was accompanied by the most tender smile she had ever seen. Then he leaned forward and gently cupped her cheeks. He pressed his lips to hers before lifting them to her forehead and placing them there. Then he kissed her hair and her ear and basically the rest of her face.

  “Sweetheart, I don’t want you to change.” He sighed. “I told you. We’ll figure it out.”

  “I like your family,” she said suddenly.

  He snorted. “Well, that’s a good thing because they love you. Eventually you’ll have to meet my parents. My mother doesn’t go out much anymore, but Dad will want to look you over like some prize mare.”

  “Gee, that sounds really great, Cisco. Thank you for telling me about that.” She chuffed out a sigh. Maybe she’d just stay in the hospital as long as possible to put that off.

  “Actually, the reason I was telling you is because I totally think you can take him.” Cisco wiggled his eyebrows. “My brothers and I are taking bets as to whether or not you’ll manage to render him speechless and how fast it’ll happen.”

  “Nice.” She rolled her eyes. But she loved to see him like this. She loved to see how normal they could be even if they were about the farthest thing from normal that they could be. “Then, you’ll have to let me know what your bet was so I can make sure you win.”

  Cisco lifted the back of her hand to his lips and kissed it. “You are the queen of my heart, Melody. And you always will be.”

  What girl could ever argue with that kind of talk? Not Melody Ann Farrell.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Three and a half weeks had passed, and the courtroom was much more crowded than Melody had anticipated. Of course, she hadn’t necessarily considered the possibility that her new family would show up in its absolute entirety. This meant that all five Hernandez brothers, their father and their mother, as well as Jesse, Maggie, and Aria, were sitting in the gallery right behind Cisco and Melody.

  The other side of the gallery was also full. Of course, that was where Mr. John Watson had put his big bottom in a chair and was now perched like Humpty Dumpty about to take a fall. That was how Melody liked to think of him. She was just hoping that this would somehow end on a positive note with her not owing the government a million dollars. Because, you know, it was a million dollars.

  “All rise!” The bailiff’s shout rang out through the courtroom.

  The place did not look a bit like Melody had seen them look on television. It was much smaller, darker, and filled to bursting with electronic equipment pretty much everywhere. Every single desk included a computer screen, and there was a huge one at the podium in the center of the room, which was where Cisco claimed that the lawyers generally addressed the judge. It was very intimidating, and Melody could not help but be more than a little glad that Cisco was the one who had to do the talking.

  The bailiff waited until the door behind the bench opened. “The Honorable Judge William P. Everson presiding.”

  Beside Melody, Cisco snorted. Across the aisle, she actually heard John Watson groan. Apparently, something had just happened that she did not fully comprehend.

  “What happened?” she whispered to Cisco.

  “Tell you later.”

  Okay. That sucked. And as soon as they were out of court, Melody was going to tell him that he had not better expect to get away with that kind of brush-off too often in their relationship.

  Melody turned around to make a face at Maggie, and that was when she spotted the woman—formerly of the blue dress—sitting behind John Watson in the gallery. Vittoria was seated right beside Captain Paul Weatherby. The gall of those two made Melody want to boo and hiss at them although she was pretty sure that would have been considered wildly inappropriate under these circumstances.

  “Well now.” The judge’s Western drawl was almost comical to hear. He took about five seconds to say every single word that came out of his mouth. “I must say I am just tickled to see Francisco Hernandez arguing at a hearing in my courtroom. Congratulations, son. Of course, you will still have to prove your points in the usual way.”

  “Yes, sir.” Cisco was struggling to hide a smile.

  That was when Melody realized that she recognized this judge from that party she had served catering trays at so many weeks before. He was an old family friend of Cisco’s. No wonder Watson was crapping his pants. He was worried that Cisco had already won!

  Everson cleared his throat. “I read the complaint
s against you, Mr. Watson, and I must say that I am very disturbed by the nature of them. Could you please explain to me how you could manage the real estate property of a client whom you had served for twenty-five years and not pay the taxes for the last five years of that client’s life?”

  “Well, Your Honor,” John Watson said, trying to draw out his words in a comfortable drawl and failing miserably. “My clients were very ill during the last five years of their life. Both were in nursing facilities that cost an extensive amount of money.”

  “What was the lease value of that land per year?” Judge Everson demanded.

  Watson rattled off an astronomical number that had Melody staring openmouthed at the man in very obvious shock. That was the amount of money Weatherby had been paying just to use her land? And to purchase it, Watson had been intending to just let it wash with the taxes owed? Holy crap!

  “Now, Mr. Watson,” Everson said in an overly friendly tone of voice. “You and I have known each other for many, many years.”

  “Yes, sir. We have.”

  “And in those years, I have known you to push long-term care insurance to your elderly clients almost as fervently as an insurance salesman.” The judge paused and glared at Watson. “In fact, I also know that the reason you push this horrendously expensive long-term care insurance is that one of the local agents here in town gives you a small commission when a client buys a policy!”

  “Um, we have a mutually beneficial agreement that benefits my clients,” Watson assured the judge. “You know I’ve never done anything outside the law, Your Honor!”

  “True,” Everson agreed. “But you know damn well that the Farrells had a long-term care policy.”

  The blood literally drained from Watson’s face. He looked ill. He actually looked as though he were about to have a heart attack. It was very disturbing. Melody could imagine the thieving man dying here in the courtroom and making it impossible for Melody to get her money back! It was a horrible thought for so many reasons too. The least of which was that Melody did not like feeling as though the money were more important than a human life.