Colton's Cowboy Code

by Melissa Cutler

  Thinking about everything the Coltons had suffered and that Mavis had poured salt into their wounds with her egregious behavior got Hannah’s back up all over again. She barreled into the room, guns blazing. “Turn around and face me, Mavis.”

  Mavis gave a squeak and whirled around, the curtain rod in hand as though defending herself. “You frightened me,” she seethed.

  “It’s time for you to own up to your own sins, Miss High-and-Mighty. I know it was you who sent that newspaper clipping to Greta.”

  She kicked at the curtain fabric pooling on the floor over her shoes. “Excuse me?”

  Hannah strode closer. “Don’t play innocent. You know exactly what I mean.”

  “I don’t, but you’d best keep your distance from me. I don’t suffer unrepentant whores well.”

  Oh, the nerve of this one. Hannah jerked the curtain rod out of her hand. “Is that another threat? What are you going to do, attack me?”

  The moment the words left her mouth, a chill came over Hannah. Brett’s mother was viciously attacked and left for dead within the very room in which Hannah stood. The carpet was a light cream color and looked brand-new, as though it’d been replaced since the attack. Probably because it’d had Abra’s blood on it.

  Mavis certainly didn’t seem to mind being in Abra’s room. Could it be that Mavis was far more sinister than circling Bible verses that threatened death and mailing defaced engagement photographs? Was she capable of assaulting Abra? Hannah wasn’t afraid of facing off against Mavis, even physically, but she also had a baby to think about.

  Confronting a possible attempted murderer wouldn’t be the safest plan, but the more she considered it, the less likely it seemed that Mavis was capable of such an overt act as physically attacking one of her employers. The Congregation of the Second Coming preferred threats and passive judgment. They preferred to leave the actual punishment to God.

  “You’d better explain what business you have coming after me. Right now.”

  Hannah tossed the curtain rod behind her. “The business I’m talking about is the mutilated engagement announcement you sent to Greta. Was that some sort of sick and twisted threat or condemnation of her ‘sinful ways’? Well, congratulations, you only succeeded in making yourself look like a petty, vindictive fool.”

  She speared a finger at Hannah. “I didn’t send nothing to Greta, and you’d better stop spreading lies. You had better stop harassing me or I’ll—”

  “Or you’ll what? Leave another Bible for me in my room with more circled verses implying I should be stoned to death for my sins?”

  Mavis huffed, indignant, then hoisted a plastic laundry basket onto her hips. “The thought crossed my mind. Heathens need all the divine help they can get. Especially one of Satan’s disciples who’s carrying a bastard in her womb.”

  With that, Mavis brushed past Hannah, bumping her belly hard with the laundry basket.

  Hannah leaped back, her arms around her belly, protective. Though she knew better than to let herself be drawn in to Mavis’s vitriol, the last shreds of Hannah’s control snapped at the rough treatment. Nobody physically trespassed against her growing baby and got away with it. She stormed after Mavis, seeing red.

  “Don’t use that term in this house. And while you’re at it, don’t you ever speak of my baby again.”

  Mavis sniggered and pushed out a side entrance of the house, onto the wraparound porch. “And why not? This house is a den of sin. Do you think it’s an accident that so much tragedy has befallen this place? God punishes sin, and you’d best not forget it.”

  Hannah raised her open hand, ready to slap Mavis before she thought better of it. Instead she curled her fingers into a fist at her side. “Not my God,” she said through clenched teeth.

  Mavis whirled to face Hannah, an ugly sneer on her lips. “My point exactly. Maybe your parents ought to follow through with their plan to hire an exorcist to rid you of that demon you’re hosting.”

  Of all the things. An exorcist? They wouldn’t dare. The final threads of her composure snapped. She marched off the porch, hot on Mavis’s heels. “Why would you accept income from a place that’s a den of sin? What are you doing here, anyway?”

  “I thought it was my duty to evangelize here, to get you all to see that sin and the Devil are not the way, but I’m done with that. There’s no helping you or this cursed family and I’m not giving any more of the Coltons’ dirty money to the church.” She untied her apron and threw it on the ground. “When you’re ready to repent, you know where to find salvation.”

  Big J strode up as Mavis stomped away. “What was that about?”

  “Mavis Turnbolt just quit.”

  “Hmph. Never did like that sourpuss.” He swiped the discarded apron from the ground and put it over his neck. “Well, now that you’re doing the ranch’s books, I suppose I’m in search of a new job around here. I think I’m going to need a bigger apron, though.”

  Despite herself, Hannah smiled; he looked so silly and the thought of a big old burly cowboy like him fussing over the laundry was so outrageous. “I don’t think you’d last a day. Better leave the laundry to me and Edith while you undertake the task of finding someone new. Just don’t hire anybody else from my parents’ cult, like Mavis is.”

  They strolled together toward the office, Big J still with that silly apron on. “Your parents belong to a cult?”

  “I used to call it a church, but I know better now. I struck out on my own the day I turned eighteen, without any real knowledge of how the world worked. I got a job at a drugstore and then another at a diner, just to make ends meet. My parents weren’t pleased by my life choices, but when my father was forced to retire from working the feed store that he and my mother own, due to his arthritis, I sucked up my pride and took over management of the store. I figured when my mother retired, too, I’d buy it from them and I went to college so I could learn how to be a good business owner and manage the store’s finances properly.”

  “And then you got pregnant.”

  They’d stopped in front of the steps that led to the office. “Yes. Everything changed.”

  He set a hand on her shoulder, then leaned in and kissed her cheek. “For the better. Because now we have you here.”

  She untwisted the apron string around Big J’s neck. “Agreed. One hundred percent. I love it here.”

  And though she’d originally planned to move away as soon as she got her first paycheck, she couldn’t imagine leaving now.

  “Has my son asked you to marry him yet?”

  Big J had asked her that same question a few times already. Brett had said his father was increasingly forgetful, but this was the first evidence Hannah had seen of it. “No. And I’m glad he hasn’t because I’d turn him down. The only reason I would ever marry is for love.”

  And even though she was half in love with the man already, it wasn’t enough to build a marriage on. Especially not when he didn’t return her feelings.

  “Ah. Well, he’s got time to persuade you before the baby gets here. Say, is it a boy or a girl? I can’t remember if Brett told me.”

  Another red flag went up in her mind. “We talked about that last night at dinner. We’re not sure if it’s a boy or a girl yet. We’ll find out later this month at the ultrasound appointment.”

  “That’s right. We did talk about it. Riding patrol last night with Brett dulled my mind, I’m afraid.”

  Hannah made a mental note to talk to Brett about his father. Perhaps letting Big J go out on patrol was too taxing a job. She was definitely going to caution Edith against letting him get anywhere near the laundry chores. “It’s okay. It was a long night for me, too, worrying about you all out there in the dark.”

  “You don’t need to worry about us. We’d welcome the chance to meet up with the attacker on our land again. Teach them abo
ut the consequences of doing harm to the Colton family.”

  His words chilled Hannah. What if they did confront the attacker? What would they do? Certainly not vigilante justice. She had to hope.

  He gestured toward the office. “How’s the job going? You making do all right? Do you have any questions?”

  “I’m loving my new job. Thank you. The books are complicated, but I’m getting my system in place one step at a time.” She debated mentioning to him about the discrepancy, then decided to wait until she’d talked to Brett.

  He patted her hand. “You’re a good girl. I think I’m going to go grab some coffee. You want any?”

  She couldn’t decide if he was merely having a bad morning, or if his memory lapses were something his children needed to worry about. She hated to add to Brett’s burden, not when so much else was as stake around the ranch. “No, thanks.”

  “Say, I’m headed to the hospital this afternoon. What would you say about joining me? I know Abra’s not conscious, but I’d like to think she can hear us. Meeting you, hearing about the baby, it might give her more of a reason to wake up and come back to us.”

  If Big J thought it would help Abra wake up, and would give her a reason to keep fighting to stay alive, then it was the least Hannah could do.

  “I’d be honored.”

  Chapter 12

  The thin, frail woman in the ICU bed didn’t look a thing like Brett, nor Eric, who’d walked Big J and Hannah to Abra’s room, nor any of her other children, really. Not only that, but she didn’t look like she was capable of giving birth to five children, she was so bony and fragile-looking beneath the purple-and-cream-colored quilt covering her bed. Her skin was as translucent as tissue paper and her dark brown hair was going gray at the roots.

  The room itself was peaceful. Little loving touches were all over, including the quilt, which looked homemade, innumerable cards and a large vase of flowers that adorned the table near the window. Hannah hung back with Eric at the door as Big J assumed the seat near Abra’s head and took her hand.

  “Honey, you’ve got a special visitor today and we’ve got something big to tell you. You’re going to be so happy, just like we all are. We found out that Brett’s going to be a father. The mother of his child is here to meet you. Hannah is her name. You’re going to love her as much as we all do, I can guarantee it.”

  At Big J’s urging, Hannah pulled a seat around to the other side of the bed and took Abra’s hand. It was warm and full of life, yet smooth, as though she’d never worked a day of manual labor, despite living on a ranch for several decades. “Hello, Abra. It’s so wonderful to meet you. I wish it was under different circumstances, but I want you to know that you’re going to be a grandma again, in about eighteen weeks.”

  “We just want you to wake up, honey. The family isn’t the same without you. Greta’s putting her wedding plans on hold, waiting for her momma to help her out again.” His voice caught on the last word. He brought a handkerchief out from his pocket and swabbed his eyes. “And we can’t be disappointing Greta, not after all the trouble I went through to get us that baby girl.”

  Hannah cringed inwardly. No wonder Brett felt like a perpetual disappointment to his parents, with his dad talking about him as though he was nothing but a hindrance to them in their quest to have a daughter.

  “What’s going on here?”

  Eric was gone and in his place at the door stood Brett, his eyes glinting with irritation.

  Hannah’s heart sank. He must have heard his father’s unfortunate choice of words. Though she wished she could wrap her arms around him and soothe his torment, he didn’t welcome her touch, and she’d do well to remember that.

  She stood, feeling her own sudden surge of defensiveness.

  “Your dad asked me to come with him, to tell your mom about the baby.”

  Her explanation did nothing to diffuse his defensiveness. If anything, his scowl intensified as he held his father’s gaze. “I already have. I came and told her the day I found out.”

  Big J stroked a hand over Abra’s hair. “Oh, well, now, that’s even better. We’ve got to keep reminding her of all she has to live for until she wakes up. What are you doing in town, Brett? It’s a surprise to see you here.”

  “I was in town getting a contract notarized for Geronimo’s sale, and I thought, since I was already nearby, I’d stop by the hospital. Could I talk to you in the hall, please, Hannah?”

  “Sure. Of course.”

  With a stiff stride, she followed him down the hall. He looked like she felt, his shoulders and back tight, radiating frustration. He couldn’t possibly be that upset with her for coming to see his mother, could he?

  As soon as they were out of earshot from his mother’s room, she said to his back, “My coming here means a lot to your dad,” she said. “There was no way I was going to tell him no when he asked.” When he kept walking she snagged his arm. “Don’t be upset with me. Please.”

  Brett spun to face her. “I’m not angry with you. I just...” He shook his head, his gaze on the floor. “I can’t believe my dad keeps saying stuff like that. You’d think, after all these years, they’d stop thinking about me and my brothers as ‘everything they went through’ in order to have a girl. That’s so screwed up. Just once, I’d like to hear my dad say he’s happy to have me as his son. Just once.”

  Well, that explained that. She stroked a hand over his hair. “He does love you. I can see it in his eyes, and in the way he’s showing me such kindness. He loves you and your brothers, but I know what you mean. I cringed when he said that, too.”

  He glanced up at her. “They have the most miserable marriage. I’ve never understood it. He loves her so much, and he would’ve never divorced her, yet he had at least one affair. Who knows how many? It’s like the two of them are doomed to be locked in an eternally dysfunctional bond.”

  He sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I hate how angry I am at her. The last words we spoke before she was attacked were said in anger. I don’t know how to forgive her for the years she neglected us all, as though we meant nothing to her. After she had Jack, my dad wanted a girl, and for whatever twisted reason that I don’t understand, because she loathed being a mother, she kept popping out babies for him, trying for that little princess. Eric, then Ryan, and you can imagine how distraught they both were when they had me. I’ve been a disappointment since the day I came out of her womb and they’ve never let me forget it.”

  “Why didn’t you move away from the ranch, or at least to another house on the property?”

  “My mother was gone more than she was home. She only came home from her travels abroad in Europe because of Greta’s engagement party because she had to keep up appearances. I lived at the Big House so my dad wouldn’t be alone. And the less noble part of me—the me before my car accident—felt like my parents owed me, that I was entitled to this huge house and a chef and a housekeeper and a laundress.”

  Hannah nodded. She could see how he’d feel that way, especially before his life-changing accident. “Whoever attacked your mom chose the perfect time because she was rarely ever home. The attacker knew about the engagement party.”

  “The police thought about that, too. The only problem is that everybody knew about it. It was in the newspapers and local society pages. My mom made sure to splash it everywhere that her little girl, her precious only daughter, was getting married.”

  “I’ve only known Greta for a little while, but I bet she didn’t appreciate being put up on a pedestal like that.”

  A bit of the fight drained out of him. “Got that right. But she and Mother were still close, anyway, especially as Greta got older.”

  She touched his hand. “You’re still full of a lot of resentment. That’s a heavy burden to be carrying in your heart.”

  He cocked his head and looked at her
for a long time. “I’ve forgiven both my parents. My dad, especially, a long time ago, but my mother, too. You would think that choosing to forgive someone would take away the anger, but it doesn’t. Not completely. I’m not sure I can ever let go of it all. I just hope my mother wakes up so she and I can keep working toward finding peace with each other. This can’t be how it ends between us.”

  She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed, burying her face in his chest. “She will wake up, Brett. We just have to keep praying.”

  She knew exactly what he meant about the difference between forgiveness and acceptance, because she was struggling in the same way with her parents. If one of her parents were grievously injured and she had to live with the possibility that they might never reconcile, she’d be just as torn up as Brett was.

  His dropped his face and nuzzled the top of her head. “I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier. Seeing her here, hearing my dad go on about Greta, leaves me feeling so raw. I just want to be a better parent than my parents were to me.”

  Standing in a shadowy corner of the hallway, locked in an embrace with the man who’d shared his deepest, rawest feelings and fears with her, she’d never felt closer to another person before. “You will be. And I’m going to be right by your side, trying my best, too. We’re a team, you and me.”

  After a long, quiet moment of connection, of breathing and being in each other’s arms, Brett lifted his face and kissed Hannah’s cheek. His hand stroked her hair. “I hope this comes out the way I intend it to in my head, but forgive me if it doesn’t. I can’t believe how lucky I am that when I made the biggest mistake of my life and knocked up a random girl I hooked up with in a club, that it turned out to be you. I mean, of all the women in the world, I can’t imagine going through all this with anybody else. It blows my mind, how lucky a man that makes me. We are going to give this baby such an incredible life.”

  Her eyes crowded with tears that slipped down her cheek and soaked into the fabric of Brett’s shirt. “It’s the same for me, you know. I had no idea that the man I picked up at a club because he had a killer smile and a tight butt would turn out to be my own personal hero.”