by Linda Warren
Callie just shook her head and went to greet Yo, who was carrying two buckets. In one were the best-looking peaches Callie’d ever seen. In the other was a chicken, plucked and cleaned, a very big chicken—had to be a hen.
“What’s this?” Callie took a bucket from her.
“We got several peach trees—thought y’all might like some. And—” she tilted her head toward Jock, who was standing with the kids “—he asked me to kill a hen. Always wanting me to fix chicken and dumplings, but I done told him more times than I can count that Mexicans don’t make chicken and dumplings. At least not in my family. So, niña, I hope ya can make ’em cause I ain’t taking this chicken back home.”
Callie glanced at Jock and he had the good grace to look embarrassed. “Yes, I can make them.”
Yo handed her the other bucket. “Well, have at it. I don’t work on Saturdays or Sundays.”
“Lazy bit—”
“Thank you,” Callie called, frowning at Jock.
“Chester, Peanut,” Yo shouted. “Casa.” Chester darted away from Brit. Peanut jumped from Mary Beth’s arms and followed Yolanda. Kitty had disappeared at the first sign of more people.
Before Callie could say anything to Jock, Wade walked into the barn. Her heart did a rhythmic flip-flop.
He glanced at the buckets in her hands. “Had a busy morning, huh?” His eyes twinkled and a smile curved his sensuous lips. She couldn’t look away and the urge to kiss him was strong. In a short amount of time, she’d come to depend on this man. And it wasn’t that she needed anyone to depend on—it just felt good. He made her feel good. About herself. About the future.
Would there be a place for Wade in her future?
She didn’t get to ponder the question as Brit and Mary Beth threw themselves at him, chatting about their morning. For the first time, she realized Adam wasn’t in the barn.
Hurrying to the double doors, she saw him on the fence still stroking Lucky. Wade came to stand beside her, his eyes on Adam and the horse. Jock joined them. No one said a word and the silence became so still she was sure she could hear the ticking of her watch.
Wade looked at his father and they stared at each other for endless seconds. Then Jock nodded. Wade swung toward the tack room for a bridle and walked steadily toward Adam and Lucky.
Slipping a bridle on Lucky, Wade led her into the barn. Callie needed to carry the chicken to the house, but a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt. In no time, Wade had a saddle on Lucky and cinched it tight.
“Keep talking to her, Adam,” Wade said. “I’ll be right back.”
Puzzled, Callie watched him jog to his car and come back with a bag. He set the bag on a bale of hay and pulled out a box. “You might want to put on these before you saddle up.”
Adam tore into the box like a hurricane. “Boots. Real cowboy boots. Wow!” He sat down and pulled off his sneakers and slipped them on. Carefully, he stood with a big-eyed look. “These are cool.”
Wade pulled out two smaller boxes. “Come see if yours fit,” he said to the girls.
Ohs and ahs, echoed around the barn as Brit and Mary Beth pranced around in their new boots. Brit’s old boots were quickly forgotten.
“You ready, Adam?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You remember everything I taught you yesterday?”
“Yes, sir.”
Wade laid the reins over the saddle horn. “Put your left foot in the stirrup and swing up. Today we’ll ride in the corral until you and Lucky become accustomed to each other.”
“Okay.”
Wade guided the horse into the corral, then let go of the reins. Adam took Lucky around the corral, turning and stopping her. Callie couldn’t tear her eyes away from the look on Adam’s face. He was excited and happy.
She realized she still had the chicken in her hand and had to get it to the house. Glancing at Jock, she saw all that sadness on his face—sadness he was trying to hide. Unable to stop herself, she patted his arm.
“Are you okay?”
He focused on her with surprise on his face, surprised that she might actually care. No one, but Wade, had cared about him for a long time.
“Wade said it was time. He was right.” The words were low, but Callie caught them.
“If you don’t want Adam riding Lucky, you just tell me.”
“It’s okay, gal.”
She could see that it was. “Come on, girls. I have to carry this chicken to the house.” She grabbed the peach bucket Yo had set down.
“Ah, Callie.” Brit stomped her foot. “We want to watch.”
“Brit…”
“I’ll look after them,” Jock offered.
“Thanks,” Callie said, and hurried to the house. In the kitchen, she saw that it was one o’clock. She hadn’t even realized the time and no one had eaten lunch. But then they’d had a big breakfast. If they were going to have dumplings tonight, she had to put the chicken on to boil. She was busy in the kitchen when Wade walked in.
She swung from the stove. “Is something wrong?”
“No. We’re just taking a break. I’m fixing to saddle Fancy for Brit, but I wanted to talk to you for a minute.”
She wiped her hands on a dish towel. “What is it?”
He leaned against the cabinet. “I talked with Simon, the investigator, this morning.”
“Oh.” She waited with her breath hitched in her throat.
“Seems Mr. Tremont has been married a couple of times to older women—older wealthy women.”
“So he’s been divorced?”
“Not exactly. Wife number one is dead. Number two is in a health-care facility in Philadelphia.”
Callie sank into a chair. “He never mentioned being married before and my mother never said anything. She said he was from Seattle and didn’t have any family.” She frowned as something registered. “Is he divorced from wife number two?”
“That’s what Simon is trying to find out. He can’t find anything on record, but I want him to dig a little further on how his first wife died, too.”
“Do you think…” She couldn’t even put into words what she was thinking.
“I’d say a lot of this isn’t adding up.”
“Oh, Wade.” She launched to her feet. “This could be the break I need. Thank you.” She threw her arms around him and squeezed.
He held her for a second. She smelled of hay, lavender and sunshine, and he had to force himself to let her go. “There’s a lot of questions that have to be answered. But if Tremont is still married to wife number two then that’s going to give you a lot of leverage.”
“When will your investigator know?”
“Not sure. Research and digging out records take time. He’s trying to expedite things as fast as he can. In the meantime, let’s hope the FBI doesn’t come calling.”
She kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” she said again.
He swallowed hard. “We better go before the kids start screaming for us.”
“But they haven’t had lunch.”
“I don’t think you’ll get them in here for lunch.”
“You’re probably right.”
They slowly walked to the barn.
“Do you have to go back to work?”
“It’s Saturday and I’ve taken the afternoon off. But Saturday is a big night at the beer joints and I might get called out.”
At least she had him for a little while.
THE KIDS SPENT THE AFTERNOON riding in the corral, taking time to bring Babe in to her mother. Wade had an easy way of doing that. He just picked Babe up and carried her to the other pen.
Wade saddled up his horse, Maverick, and Brit and Adam followed him into the pasture enclosure on their horses. They were both riding very well.
Mary Beth pulled on Callie’s hand. “Callie.”
“What, sweetie?”
“I wanna ride. I got boots.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t even thought that Mary Beth might want to ride.
Hearing Mary Be
th, Jock shouted, “Wade.”
Wade spoke to Brit and Adam then trotted over. Callie never thought she’d be attracted to cowboys, but looking at Wade in the saddle, tall and lean, energized her senses.
“Little bit wants to ride,” Jock said.
“Hand her to me.” Wade motioned to Callie.
Callie lifted Mary Beth into the air and Wade settled her in front of him, then they joined Brit and Adam. Callie watched for a while longer then headed to the house to prepare supper. She knew her siblings would be well taken care of.
SUPPER WAS A CHATTY AFFAIR; even Jock joined in, telling the kids how well they were riding. Sitting around the table, they seemed like a normal family and, for a brief moment, Callie let herself believe that dreams did come true. But then the moment was gone and the world outside loomed, reminding her that dreams were for fools. She didn’t mind being a fool, though, if Wade could share her life in any way. And that was so unrealistic. His life was here. Hers wasn’t. So why couldn’t she stop what was happening between them? Was she being selfish? Naive?
“This is the best chicken and dumplings I’ve ever eaten, gal,” Jock said. “You’ve outdone yourself.”
“Thank you,” she said, getting to her feet and pushing unpleasant thoughts away. She brought the peach cobbler to the table.
“Wow. Look.” Mary Beth kneeled on the chair to see the cobbler.
“I found vanilla ice cream in the freezer. Who wants some?”
Everyone held up their hands.
Wade stood and gently pressed her into a chair. “Sit. I’ll serve this.”
Callie smiled. “I like a strong, take-charge kind of man.”
“Me, too,” Mary Beth said. “I like Wade.” Then she giggled and Brit joined in. Callie was still smiling as she got the kids ready for bed. They were exhausted from the day and Callie knew they’d be asleep within minutes.
But as always, she was wrong.
“Tell us a story.” Mary Beth stalled.
“Yeah, the one about the girl and the horse and the sheriff.” Brit snuggled into her.
“Once upon a time, there was a sheriff who owned a horse who needed to be ridden.”
“Lucky,” Adam said from his cot. Callie smiled in the darkness. Adam usually thought storytelling was childish, but tonight he was participating.
“And Fancy,” Brit put in her two cents.
“Then some children arrived from far away who desperately wanted to ride a horse.”
“That’s us.” Mary Beth wiggled beside her.
“And the sheriff decided it was time for the horses to be ridden.”
“You know why, Callie?” Mary Beth touched her face.
“No, why, sweetie?”
“Because the sheriff loves us.”
“Yeah. Wade loves us and we love him.” Brit’s voice grew drowsy.
“Yeah,” came a murmur from Adam’s direction.
Callie’s heart stopped. Out of the mouths of babes. Why couldn’t it be? she asked herself. Why couldn’t there be happily ever after in Homestead, Texas—with Wade?
Callie knew the answer, but chose to ignore it—for now.
For tonight.
WADE STOPPED OUTSIDE the bathroom door, listening to Callie and the kids. Mary Beth hit the nail on the head, but he’d never tell Callie that he loved her. It would only complicate things and make parting that much more difficult. That might be the coward in him, but that’s the way it had to be.
Pop had gone to bed and he walked into the den to turn off the TV. He thought he’d never feel these emotions again, was sure they’d all died with Zach. As the memory of his son ran through him, he realized, for the first time, that he didn’t brace himself against the pain. It was there, but it didn’t paralyze him with crippling emotions. Zach was always going to occupy a part of his heart, but now he was letting other people in. He was living again—all because of Callie and the kids.
Sitting down to take off his boots, he saw Callie standing in the doorway. She had on some sort of pajamas and a T-shirt. Her blond hair hung loosely around her shoulders. Silhouetted in the doorway, she looked like an angel.
He cleared his throat. “Thought you’d gone to bed.”
She walked in and perched on the footstool at his feet. “Need some help, Wadeinhiemer?”
A grin split his handsome face. “Very few people know my real name.” Wade found it interesting that Pop had told her his name, because these days Pop talked to no one. He stayed locked within himself, but Callie and the kids were working their way into his heart, too.
“It’s your mother’s maiden name.”
“Yeah. My mom’s family were some of the first settlers in Homestead, as were the Gallaghers, the Ritters, the Kelleys, the Wrights, the Cantrells and several more. Pop worked cattle for my grandfather, that’s how he met my mom. Sheriff Whitaker was impressed with his rough, take-no-prisoners type of attitude and hired him as a deputy. When Whitaker passed away, Pop ran for the office and won. He made a lot of friends and a lot of enemies during that time.”
“There’s a lot of history in Homestead.”
“Yeah. Some good. Some bad.” Tonight he didn’t want to think about the bad. There was just too much of it. He rested his head against the chair.
“Jock seemed okay with Adam riding Lucky.”
“Mmm.” That was one of the good things.
“Would you like me to remove your boots?”
He raised his head, the grin in place. “You know what they say about a woman removing a man’s boots.”
“No.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “I don’t believe I’m familiar with the saying.”
“If a woman removes a man’s boots, she has to warm his bed.” His eyes never wavered from hers.
She stood, placing a hand on both sides of his chair. “I can do that,” she whispered, leaning in close.
“You can?” He breathed in her scent and reached up to cup her face. He wasn’t thinking, only feeling.
“Mmm.”
He took her lips slowly, pulling her onto his lap, savoring, tasting and just enjoying her. Her mouth opened readily with an eagerness that surprised and elated him. The kiss went on and nothing was heard but gentle sighs and groans. He slipped his hand beneath her shirt, caressed and stroked until they both were consumed with a need that was escalating out of control. A need too long denied in both of them.
From out of nowhere an annoying sound persisted. A sound he knew well—his cell phone. Damn! He rested his forehead against hers with a long sigh.
“I have to get that.”
“Mmm.” She kissed his neck.
The thought of not answering did cross his mind, but he was the sheriff. A little fact that irritated him at the moment.
“Yes,” he bellowed into the phone. “Okay, Herb. I’ll be right there.”
“Business?” Callie pulled down her T-shirt.
“Yeah. Some ranch hands are getting rowdy at the Lone Wolf Bar. Herb thinks it’s getting out of control. I better get over there.”
Callie climbed off his lap. “Do you go by yourself?”
“Yep.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Sometimes. But I can handle it.” He touched her cheek.
“Don’t worry.”
“Just be careful.”
“I will.” He reached for his hat. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I really need to go home tomorrow.”
“Okay.” He placed his hat on his head, hesitating. “About tonight…”
“Please don’t say you’re sorry.”
“I wasn’t, but…”
“We’re adults, Wade, and can handle a personal relationship.”
“I need to tell you some things first.”
Her lips parted in surprise. “What?”
“I can’t get into it now, but we’ll talk tomorrow.” He quickly kissed her nose and headed for his car.
He had to tell her about her father and that was
n’t going to be easy. But she had to know he was still alive.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THAT NEXT MORNING after breakfast, they all went to check on Babe. They’d let her in with her mother during the night and when they reached the corral, there was no doubt that Babe had sucked. Sadie’s udder wasn’t swollen with milk. The kids cheered, but their faces became long when Callie told them they were going home.
“Can we vote on it?” Adam wanted to know.
“No. This isn’t something we vote on. We have to go home. We’ve imposed on the Montgomerys long enough.”
Jock’s face was long, too, and he didn’t say much. As they drove away, Callie saw him ride out of the barn and gallop into the woods.
The car was quiet on the ride into town. Three kids were pouting in the backseat. Callie felt like pouting, too. She stole a glance at Wade. His face was set, staring at the road. He hadn’t tried to persuade her to stay and she was a bit disappointed about that.
Last night she couldn’t sleep after he’d left to go check out the bar. She couldn’t stop herself from worrying and it crossed her mind that’s what it would be like married to a lawman. It was one of those sneaky thoughts that slipped by unaware, surprising her, yet it felt natural—like so many things had while she’d been here with him. When she’d heard him come in, she’d turned over and fallen instantly asleep. He was safe.
As they neared town, they could hear the bells of St. Mark’s ringing. “I told Noah I’d bring the kids to church, but so far I haven’t had a chance.”
“Why not this morning?” Wade asked.
“But we’re not dressed.”
“Dress is casual here in Homestead. Y’all are fine.”
Callie wore white capris and a yellow-and-white tank top. The girls also wore capris—Mary Beth in pink and Brit in purple. Adam was in shorts and flip-flops. Their cowboy garb was in the suitcase.
“Are you sure?”
“Trust me.” He glanced at her, smiling.
That made everything better. “Okay.”
As soon as Callie entered the small church with the dark wood, marble floors and stained-glass windows, she saw that Wade was right. Everyone was dressed casually. They took their seats in a pew, the kids sandwiched between them.
