“Thank you for driving me home. I appreciate all you’ve done, but I need to take care of things here now.”
“What’s wrong with your dad?”
She stared off into the distance and sighed so heavily her breath blew harder than the wind ruffling her hair. “He’s dying.” She whispered the words like she couldn’t bear to speak them out loud.
“Of what?” he asked gently, wanting to comfort, but not really knowing how.
Sadie wrapped her arms around her middle and stared up at the darkening sky. “I don’t know. Not for sure. At my prodding, he saw a couple of doctors, but would never tell me exactly what they said. Just a bunch of ‘They’re doing tests. Everything is fine.’ I can’t say when he went last. He’s trying to protect me, but all he does is make me worry more.
“He’s lost about thirty pounds in the last three months. He smoked for nearly forty years of his life. He up and quit about two years ago, but his cough just keeps getting worse. Now his memory fades. Sometimes he’s so confused he doesn’t know where he is or what he’s doing.”
“Like forgetting he left a pot of chili on the stove.”
“A couple of times he wandered off in the middle of the night. When I found him walking down the road, he said he was going courting my mother.” She gave a soft chuckle that held little amusement. “His mind takes him back to her. Always her.”
“He must have loved her a lot.”
Again, another soft smile that didn’t really hold any happiness. “They were great together. Always smiling and laughing. They’d share these looks . . . Like they had a secret.”
“My mother would look at my dad sometimes when he’d come in from working all day. They said so much with that look.”
“I guess if you love someone that much, words aren’t needed. That feeling is just there between you and it’s enough to fill up the silence.” Sadie shook off the cold and her thoughts with a shiver. “Sorry. Lost myself in romantic fancy there for a minute. Must be the pretty sunset and the waning pain meds.”
“That’s how it should be between a man and a woman.” Rory didn’t know what else to say, because he didn’t want to dismiss what she’d said.
Her gaze met his. She didn’t say anything but must have read in him his understanding of how she felt.
She sucked in a bolstering breath. “Anyway, I suspect my father is suffering from lung cancer and it’s spread to his brain. Probably his whole body by now. Whatever the doctors told him, he’s decided to live out his remaining days here.”
“You think he’s only got days?” Rory stared back at the house, hoping she was wrong. For her sake. He hated the sadness in her eyes. He knew what it was like to lose a parent and although she’d already lost her mother, he didn’t want to see her lose her father. Not now. Not this way. “You and Dane are friends. Bell’s his wife. Call them. She’ll come by and check on your dad. Maybe there’s something she can do.”
“I don’t think anything or anyone can help him now. I want to believe that what I see plain as day in front of me isn’t the truth. I want him to live a good long time and see these hard times turn into good ones.”
Yes, she wanted her father to see Connor turn his life around. Maybe see his daughter get married and have a family of her own. His grandfather nagged Rory daily for a great-grandbaby before he died. If Mr. Higgins truly was dying this young, he’d never see his own grandchild, let alone his daughter happily married.
Rory’s gut tied in knots thinking of her with some other guy. Like he wanted to be with her. He did, but it didn’t seem possible. Rory wanted to get to know her better. He’d like to see her smile. But with this business with her brother and what she had to deal with here at home with her dad, the timing sucked. Not to mention the fact he hadn’t dated a woman properly in years. His skills hadn’t just grown rusty, they’d turned to dust.
“I’m sorry, Sadie. I wish there was something I could do for you.”
“You’ve done so much already.” She eyed him strangely, made some decision he couldn’t guess at, then rushed to him and threw her arms around his middle, locking his arms at his sides.
Stunned by her show of affection, he stood there stone still and took in her sweet scent, the softness of her body against his, the way her head lay against his chest, tucked under his chin.
“Thank you for saving me.” She hugged him tight, then let him loose all at once and rushed up the steps and into her house, leaving him standing there dumbfounded.
What did that hug mean? Certainly not what he wanted it to mean if she ran away from him.
He stared back at the house and the closed door and wondered. They’d shared some personal things over the last day or so, but he wanted more. Did she?
CHAPTER 7
Rory rode back into the barn and dismounted from his horse. He pulled the reins over the horse’s head and tried to contain his fury. Another five head of cattle missing. The asshole was brazen enough to steal an entire herd a week ago, and now he’d come back and taken more. The horse shied and sidestepped, reading Rory’s foul mood. He tried to suck in a soothing breath and calm himself down, but he’d barely slept these last days, thinking about Sadie, dreaming about her. He didn’t mind the nice ones where he kissed her and made love to her all through the night. The ones that turned to nightmares, with her bloody and swinging from a tree, left him awake and staring at the ceiling in a cold sweat. All he did was worry about her. He wondered if her injuries were healing. Had her brother come back home and put her in more danger? Did that asshole who’d strung her up want to hurt her again because she could ID him and send him to jail for what he did to her and for stealing the cattle? Were the cops keeping up with the patrols by her house? Was it enough to keep her safe?
Not knowing what she was doing, how she was doing, drove him to distraction. He couldn’t think about anything else.
A soft, feminine voice drifted on the wind.
Great, now he was hearing her in the barn.
“You keep looking like that, people are going to start crossing the street when they see your sour face.”
Rory sighed out his frustration and raised his gaze to the rafters. “Granddad, I don’t have time to spar with you.”
“I only stopped to see what put you in such a foul mood. Not that you’ve had any other mood these last days. I’m on my way to the corral. Looks like our Colt done found himself a pretty woman.”
“What?” Rory turned and stared out the barn doors. He didn’t quite believe his eyes at first, but it was really her.
“What’s she doing here?”
“She rode up with all them horses about ten minutes ago. Colt’s been charming her ever since. I hope he decides to keep this one instead of just tossing her in the hay and sending her on her way.”
“Over my dead body.” Rory stormed past his grandfather, headed straight for his dead little brother.
“Well, now. So it’s like that, is it?”
“Don’t start.” Rory didn’t want to talk about his grandfather’s obsession with them getting married and having babies. Right now, he wanted to get his woman away from his horny little brother.
Colt reached out and took Sadie’s hand, turning it to see the healing wounds around her wrists.
Rory saw red. “Let her go.”
Colt held her hand, but turned his head to stare at Rory. His brother’s cocky grin set off another wave of rage inside him.
“I said, let her go.”
“These look better. When I saw you laid out in the back of the truck after Rory found you, man, that was a sight.” Colt gave Rory a devilish look, baiting him.
The reminder that his brother saw Sadie nearly naked pissed Rory off even more. His brain registered that Colt wanted to mess with him, but another, deeper part of him wanted to crush him for daring to touch her, let alone look at her.
Sadie pulled her hand free and wrapped her fingers around her wrist. “They’re getting better. I get my stitches out in a
couple of days.”
Colt smiled at Sadie the way he did every girl he flirted with. “You’ll be back to your old self, ready to put this all behind you and have some fun.”
The implied with me didn’t escape Rory.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Rory didn’t mean for the question to come out quite so harsh or accusing, but Colt got the better of him and Rory lost his temper. Normally, he was the one razzing his little brother, but this time Colt got him back. It didn’t mean Rory calmed down. In fact, Sadie’s wide eyes and the way she flinched and took a small step back set off a whole new round of angry. This time at himself for making her think she needed to fear him and put more space between them.
“Never you mind my grandson,” Granddad said, stepping up beside Rory and smacking him on the shoulder. “I’m Sammy, these two yahoos’ grandfather. You’re the Higgins girl, right, pretty girl?”
“Uh.” Sadie eyed Rory nervously. “Yes, I’m Sadie Higgins, sir. I’ve come to pay part of my debt and speak with you about settling up the rest.”
“What’s this about a debt?” Ford asked, stepping up beside Rory.
Great. His whole family was here to witness him losing his mind.
“There is no debt. You did not steal the cattle. You don’t owe us anything.” Rory tried to keep his voice neutral, but it came out harsher than he wanted. Damnit, why couldn’t she see her brother was responsible? He’d pay. She’d suffered enough and he wouldn’t have her losing something, anything else in her life.
Sadie ignored him and addressed his grandfather again. “Mr. Kendrick, my brother is the one who stole from you. He’s my family. My responsibility. He’s not going to pay you back, but I will. These horses don’t cover the whole debt, but they are well trained and from great stock. You could breed them, or sell them for the money I owe you.”
“Sadie.” Rory said her name in warning to get her to stop this.
She pulled out the papers sticking out of her back pocket and handed them to his grandfather. “Everything you need for the horses. Their bloodlines, vet records, and ownership.”
“These are some damn fine horses, Sadie.” Colt knew what he was talking about. He loved the horses on the ranch. Preferred them over the cattle since he was a kid.
Colt pat the palomino beside him. The horse rubbed against Sadie’s side. She reached up and held the horse by the neck close to her. Obviously, this one horse held a special place in Sadie’s big heart.
“Since they don’t cover the cost of the herd—”
“Or the five cattle your brother stole this morning,” Rory pointed out.
“What?” Sadie, Colt, and Ford all said at the same time.
“There are five more cows missing.”
Sadie’s eyes remained wide with surprise. “Rory, I’m so sorry. Are you sure it was him?”
“They came in from the back of the property again with a truck and trailer. Your brother and his buddies have been picking off cows for months.”
She huffed out a frustrated breath and raked her hand through her hair. “How stupid could he be to steal from you again? Why not target another ranch?”
“I have some ideas about that.” He didn’t share them, even though everyone stared at him, waiting.
Her hands went up, then slapped against her thighs in defeat. “Well, I guess the debt keeps mounting. So, you have the horses.” She pulled an envelope from her other back pocket and handed it to his grandfather.
Granddad opened the envelope and showed them all the stack of cash.
“It’s not enough, I know, but it’s all I’ve got after I sold off the hay and grass and settled up my bill at the clinic.”
“Sadie, I mean it. Take your horses and your money back.”
“Rory, I need to do this. I need to know I’ve made it right with you and your family. You saved my life and I’ve made yours worse. I can’t live with that. I won’t. My brother may not be a good person, but I am. I was raised to do the right thing, and I will do it now.”
Determination gleamed in her eyes. “My circumstances make it difficult to pay you the rest outright, so I’d like to offer to work off the rest.”
Rory opened his mouth to protest, but his grandfather clamped his hand on Rory’s forearm. “Hush, boy.”
Rory glared at his grandfather, not understanding one bit why he let this go on.
“What is it you’d like to do here, pretty girl?”
“Well, I have two jobs in town. During the week I work the breakfast and lunch shift at the diner. On the weekends I work at Zac’s Gas and Grocery. Some nights I cover the late shift at the diner. So I could come in the early morning, feed the horses, muck out stalls, that kind of thing. I could come back in the evening and, I don’t know, clean house, cook, whatever you need me to do.”
“You cook?” Colt, Ford, and his grandfather asked in unison. They all stared at her with baleful, hopeful eyes.
Jesus, this was really happening. She’d be here all the time. And that’s when it hit him. His grandfather didn’t want her to pay them back, he wanted her here. Right under Rory’s nose, so he’d get his great-grandbaby.
“Granddad,” Rory warned, not liking this setup at all. He didn’t want her working here.
“Now, Rory, you know we all can cook one thing or another that passes as decent food, but if this here pretty girl can cook something worth coming to the table for, I’m all for it.”
“Uh, my mother taught me to cook. I sometimes cover for the cook at the diner. I’ve never had an angry customer or a complaint, so that’s something.”
“You’re hired.” Granddad stuffed the envelope and papers in his back pocket. “It’s been a long time since we had a woman on the ranch. I hate to tell you the house could use some work.” His granddad nodded and cocked up one side of his mouth, the decision made. “Yes, sir, we should have thought to do this a long time ago. We accept the bargain, pretty girl.”
His grandfather held out his hand to shake Sadie’s. She placed her hand in his and accepted.
“I’ll be here tomorrow morning to work in the stables. Then I’ll come back after my shift at the diner. I’ll make dinner, maybe prepare something for your breakfast or lunch the next day, and do some cleaning.”
“Sounds good. We’ll see you then.”
“No,” Rory said, drawing his brothers’ and grandfather’s gazes. “You can come after your shift at the diner, but you are not working in the stables. You’re still hurt and need time to heal. You need your rest. I’m not having you wake up extra early to work here, then work an eight-hour shift in town and here in the evening, too. It’s too much.”
“But . . .”
“No buts. That’s how it’s going to be if you insist on doing this and my family goes against my wishes. Your father needs you, too.” Something sad and resigned crossed her eyes. “Is he worse?”
A Jeep pulled up. The driver honked the horn twice to get their attention.
“Is that Luna?” Colt asked, holding his hand over his brow to shield his eyes from the sun as he squinted to see the woman behind the wheel.
“She’s here to pick me up,” Sadie said. “We have a shift at the diner together this morning. I’ll be by later tonight to get started.”
Colt bolted for the barn, avoiding a woman for the first time in his life. Must be a story there, but Rory had other things to think about right now. Like Sadie at his house every night.
Sadie walked past Ford and headed for her friend.
“Sadie, your dad?” Rory asked, concerned for her.
Sadie turned back, the look on her face all he needed to know. Things were getting worse.
“I’m sorry about the cows.”
“You know I have to call the cops.”
She pressed her lips together, then softly said, “I know.”
She walked to the Jeep, climbed in, shut the door, and stared out the window at him. Luna, her friend, had opened her door and stood, staring over the top of the ca
r, her gaze locked on Colt’s retreating back.
“Wasn’t she seeing Colt’s buddy a while back?” Ford asked. “What happened between them?”
“I don’t know,” Rory answered, barely able to keep up with his brothers’ lives, let alone those of their friends. “Whatever it was, Colt’s not happy about it.”
Ford slapped Rory on the back. “So, will you and Sadie be messing up the sheets before she washes them?”
Rory shoved Ford away and pointed a finger at him. “I don’t give a shit what her brother did, you will treat her with respect.”
Ford held his hands up in defense. “Never said I wouldn’t, but it’s obvious you’ve got a thing for her.”
“If she insists on working here for us, I’ll let her, but you and Colt will steer clear.”
“Got it. She’s yours. I hear you loud and clear.”
“She’s not my anything. She’s had a rough life, complicated by her no-account brother. Her father is ill and dying slowly right before her eyes. The last thing she needs is more grief, or you and Colt flirting with her while she’s trying to do the decent thing.”
“I’m sorry, man. I had no idea.”
“Well now you do. You’ll relay it to Colt when he gets his head out of his ass. Right now, we need to get these horses sorted out.” Rory stared at the twenty horses gathered together in the small pen. “How did she get them here?”
“Saw her ride up with all them trailing behind her,” his grandfather said.
“She rode? In her condition?”
“She looks fine to me,” Ford said.
Rory spun and grabbed him by the shirt.
Ford put his hands up to ward off Rory. “I meant she doesn’t look like she’s hurting any.” Rory shoved Ford back again. “Man, get a grip. I’d never go after your girl. Especially when you finally like one. I mean, seriously, when’s the last time you were with a woman?”
Rory stared at the empty driveway Sadie had disappeared down. “Too long.”
“Yeah, I got that from the pissed-off way you’ve been walking around here for months.” Ford planted his hands on his hips and gave Rory a you-know-it’s-true look.
Stone Cold Cowboy Page 8
