“I will.” Wyatt gave him the hospital location.
Michael noted that Wyatt didn’t sound quite as messed up as the last time Michael had seen him. “Are you and Ellie—never mind.” Wyatt and his wife Ellie had five kids and the marriage Laken had thought perfect…until Ellie’s art instructor had seduced her, and Wyatt had walked in on them. The whole family was devastated. “Sorry.” He’d lived on the neighboring property to the Prestons for several months and, like the rest of their friends, had grieved over the split when Wyatt moved out.
“It’s okay. I was an ass. It was only one kiss—it just shook me bad. I felt as though I’d been kicked in the stomach.” He heaved a sigh. “But I love her. I’ve loved her most of my life. I don’t know what to do, but right now, I’m going to see if she needs me.”
The two of them had the best marriage Michael had ever seen, except maybe for Tom and Ava’s. The shattering of their bond was why Laken had sent him away.
Who can possibly think they have a prayer, if Ellie and Wyatt can’t make it?
She’d been scared then. Reeling from his own shock over his mother’s big lie, he hadn’t managed to find a convincing argument that love lasted forever.
But he also was nowhere near ready to give up on Laken Foster. She could be nervy for bit. He would give her some time—but he wasn’t waiting forever. She was a lot of work—a lot. He knew that she fought loving him because she was scared, though he didn’t fully understand why. Behind her cynical, wild child mask, however, Laken’s heart was soft as mush. Ajax had crept under her guard, though, and Michael was going to follow him.
The dogs. Hell. He’d have to go back and get them. He’d better go tell Mackey. He closed out the conversation with Wyatt, then approached their table. “Can I get a minute?”
“Sure thing.” Mackey slid from the booth. “What’s up?”
“I have to go back to Austin. My—” What the hell did he call her, his unwilling love? “This woman I’ve been seeing, her best friend’s husband got shot. I need to check on her.”
“You’ll come back?” Mackey glanced over at Ian in the kitchen. “You should come back. Don’t give up on him.”
“Yeah, I don’t know. Maybe I should just let him make the next move.”
“QB is stubborn as hell in his own quiet way. You might have gray hair first.” Mackey’s eyebrows rose. “You’re going to be an uncle soon. You should be here. Don’t give Ian room to climb in his shell. The dude can be like a turtle.”
“His dad said he already has all the brothers he needs.”
Mackey smiled and clapped his shoulder. “We’ve got his back for sure, the whole town does. But you’re blood, and that counts.”
Yet again, Michael’s temper at his mother stirred. Don’t know as he feels the need for another brother. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Everybody needs time,” he muttered. “Laken needs time, Ian needs time…”
“We don’t need time, Ris and me. And this town needs a good vet. Ian would be the first to agree.” He nodded in sympathy. “Go take care of your woman, but think about that clinic. Or we could put together something here. I’d like to have you closer at hand, honestly, but you might like a little distance better.”
Michael had a nice inheritance from his father, and he’d always been frugal himself. He had money to buy that practice, he suspected, and Fredericksburg was a bigger market.
But Sweetgrass was already calling to him. “I’ll give it some thought.”
“Good. Meanwhile, I’ll talk to our resident bazillionaire and put a bug in his ear. Hell, I’ve got some money to invest. Would you want a new building?”
“I’ve practiced out of my truck at times. I’m low maintenance.”
“We’ve got buildings here in town that are still empty. I have one in mind. Give me your phone, and I’ll put in my number. I’ll do some digging while you’re occupied with your girl.”
“Not a girl. She’s a lawyer, smart as hell and edgy. A fierce warrior kind of woman.”
“I got a soft spot for a tough woman,” Mackey grinned. “Bring her back with you if you can.”
“That might be a tall order. She’s all about the shoes and the city lifestyle.”
“We’ll sic Jackson’s sister Penny on her. She was a shark lawyer in Philly and DC and still wears stilettos more often than not. Her bluetooth is permanently implanted, I swear.”
“And she does okay here?”
“With a guy who’s our fire chief and one of my SEAL buddies. You need to meet him. He was a medic and is the closest thing we have to a doc around here. You’d like Bridger.”
“This place keeps surprising me.”
“Wait ’til Harley and Arnie go live on the air.”
“Was that what Ruby was talking about when I arrived?”
“Yep. Two old coots who’ve decided to set up a radio station that will broadcast maybe ten miles.”
Michael had to chuckle.
“And you haven’t met any of Jackson’s geeks yet. Or Spike, the tattooed pastry chef.”
Maybe Laken, with her penchant for the unusual, would find at least a little to like here.
He sobered. First he had to make sure she was all right. “Thanks, man. I’ll be in touch.” Michael shook hands with Mackey, then glanced over at Ian. “Think there’s any point in saying goodbye before I go?”
“There’s every reason. He’s your brother.”
“Yeah. Like it or not. Thanks, Mackey. Tell Rissa goodbye for me, would you?”
“You bet. But she’ll want a hello before too long, and I don’t like my woman being disappointed.”
Michael nodded and headed for the kitchen.
Ian stiffened the second he entered.
“Hello again, Michael. I’m glad I get a chance to feed you tonight,” Scarlett greeted warmly.
“Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen. I have to head back to Austin. I hate to miss the meal, but this can’t wait.”
“Oh, no. Is everything all right back there?”
“Not really. A friend’s been shot. He’s critical.”
“I’m so sorry.” Scarlett approached and hugged him. “Is there anything we can do?”
Ian followed. “Sorry to hear it. Can we help?”
Michael met his brother’s eyes. “Thank you, but I don’t know enough. I appreciate it, though.” He cleared his throat. “Mackey is urging me to come back. He says the town needs a good vet.”
“We do.” Ian’s jaw clenched.
“I’m a good vet. I like this place.” He hesitated. “Your dad was very understanding. Really nice to me. He even asked after my—our mom.”
A muscle jumped in Ian’s jaw.
“Look, I don’t want to make life hard for you.” He glanced at Scarlett’s burgeoning belly. “This should be a happy time for you. But I won’t lie and say I don’t want to know you better or that I don’t hope to convince you that I’m worth knowing. What my mother did doesn’t sit any better with me than you, I don’t imagine. It’s a hell of a thing she did—but your dad doesn’t seem to hold a grudge. Which just shows what an amazing man he is—and confuses me more. But however screwed up our family history is, I want to come back. I want you to give me a chance to prove that—” He shook his head. “I’m not used to having to sell myself as a decent person.” He couldn’t help his own jaw clenching. “People like me. You’re the first person who hasn’t. I don’t blame you for being upset, I just—I’d like you to not write me off without a chance, that’s all.” He hesitated. “But the next move is yours. This is your town, and you’re too important to everyone for me to get in the way.”
He turned his attention to Scarlett. “Thank you for your welcome. And congratulations on the beautiful baby I know you’ll have.”
Her eyes welled, and she rose to her toes and hugged him. “You come back, Michael Cavanaugh,” she said, then glanced at Ian and back to him. “Our baby needs all the family he or she can get.” She grinned. “Uncle M
ichael.”
“Wow. That’s…wow.” Still, he shook his head. “I appreciate that more than I can say, but Ian’s the one who’s been wronged, and I’m not going to make it worse. Good luck to you both.” He glanced at his brother, then bent to hug her again before he walked out.
He heard the door open behind him as he was about to climb in his truck.
“Wait.”
He turned and saw Ian approaching. Ian studied Michael, then glanced up at the sky before returning his gaze. “You’ve been wronged, too, and I can’t say I’m real proud of the welcome I didn’t extend to you. We do need a vet here, and that’s reason enough for you to return, but—” He exhaled powerfully, then took a step forward, hand extended. “I’ll do better next time. You should come back. Don’t let my bad manners run you off. Scarlett wants all the family she can lay hands on. She grew up with only her mom and thought that was all the family she had. Now she adopts every stray person in sight. But someone who actually has a blood tie?” He grinned. “Rest assured, I’d never hear the end of it.”
The tightness in Michael’s chest eased. “She’s wonderful, and I would like to get to know her better, but she’s not who I came looking to find. Tell me straight. I’m a simple guy. Your dad says you have all the brothers you need, but you might accept another friend. Seems to me, though, that you have plenty of those, too.”
“My biggest concern was my dad. I should have known he’d rise to the occasion. If he’s okay with you being here, I am, too. You’re not the one who left or the one who lied.”
“Yeah. I still don’t… She was a good mother to me, Ian. I can’t figure how to square that.”
“She’s not important anymore. You do what you want. She’s nothing to me.”
Michael was pretty sure that was a lie all its own, but he wasn’t going to push it, not when Ian had opened the door to a relationship. “I won’t defend her. Your dad seems to have forgiven her, though.”
“Well, he’s done better than me,” Ian said. Then he slapped his hand on his thigh. “But that’s neither here nor there. Come back, Michael. I promise I’ll do better next time.” He held out a hand.
Michael accepted the olive branch. “Thank you. And apologies for the shock I dealt you.”
“Bet I’m not any more surprised than you were.”
“That is very true. I can’t say when I’ll be back, but I’ll keep in touch.”
“You do that. And I hope your friend makes it.”
His thoughts returned to the friends he’d made in Austin and the woman who held too much of his heart, however unwillingly. “Any spare luck you want to wish me with a particular stubborn woman, I’ll take it.”
Ian grinned. “Since I am married to the one of the most stubborn of the Gallagher women—and that’s saying something—I’ll just tell you I feel your pain.”
“Would you tell Ruby goodbye for me?”
“Speaking of stubborn Gallagher women…” Ian smiled. “I’ll do that. Drive safe.”
As Michael drove off, he saw his brother standing outside watching.
His brother.
Didn’t that beat all?
Before he’d cleared town, headed to Rissa and Mackey’s place, he’d gotten a call from Mackey, who’d urged him to leave the dogs.
“Holding them hostage?”
Mackey had chuckled. “Whatever works. You need to come back, man. And now that Ian is behaving like the man I know, I’m thinking it might not be long before we can lure you to stay. They’ll be fine, I swear.”
Monroe had been his sidekick for a long time now. He felt naked without him, and the pup’s mischief would be missed.
But he didn’t have a home in Austin, and he didn’t want to assume he could leave them at Laken’s or the Prestons’ when he wasn’t sure what he was heading into. “All right. Thanks. I appreciate it.” They discussed a few details about food and such, and he made Mackey promise he’d let Michael know if the dogs got in the way. Mackey assured him that Eric and Samantha would be over the moon to have them around.
Now here he was in a too-quiet truck. Music didn’t sit right at the moment. He had too much on his mind.
His brother wanted him to come back.
He liked what he’d seen of the town.
Uncle Michael. He grinned. He couldn’t deny that the idea was appealing. In a very short time, he’d met a lot of good folks in Sweetgrass Springs.
But there was Laken. He had hopes for more between them—hell, he wanted everything, but she was an urbanite, through and through.
Even if he could get past her fear of getting involved. I’ve got news for you, sweetheart. We’re already involved. But while her friend’s husband was in peril, he wouldn’t push.
Be honest with her, but be honest with yourself, too. The truth might not be what you want to hear. Gordon’s words were definitely not what he wanted to hear.
He was not giving up. He might not be in-your-face stubborn like Laken, but that didn’t mean he didn’t get what he wanted badly enough.
He wanted Laken Foster pretty damn badly.
Then there was his mom. He didn’t like being at odds with her. They’d had their share of ups and downs, yes, but they’d mostly always gotten along. He’d admired her and appreciated that she was so supportive of him when his father had made his disappointment with Michael’s choice of career clear. His mom hadn’t fought his father on much, but on this, she had.
Don’t be too hard on her, Gordon had advised.
Michael knew that she’d be miserable over the distance between them. He sure hadn’t made things easy on her in his determination to meet his brother.
He made the call. “Hi, Mom,” he said when she answered.
“Michael.” Relief and welcome. “How are you?”
“I’m…good.” He realized it was true. He’d spent years roaming, but right now, he had an inkling he just might have found a place to belong. “How are you?”
“I’m…” Her voice shattered. “Oh, Michael, I don’t know how to make this up to you. I wasn’t trying to hurt you, I just—”
“Gordon doesn’t blame you.”
A huge, echoing pause. “You’ve met Gordon?”
“He’s a good man. I like him.”
“He is. Or he was. I don’t know him anymore.” Emotion throbbed in the air between them.
He suspected she wanted to ask but wouldn’t. “I met Ian, too.”
“Ian…” In that breath of a sigh was heartache and hope and anguish. “Is he…all right?”
“He’s married. His wife was a chef in New York before she came to Sweetgrass Springs. She’s pregnant.” He waited a beat. “You’re going to be a grandmother, Mom.”
He heard her breath catch, then a quiet sob. “He’s still there? He’s well?”
“He’s a hell of a man, Mom. The whole town looks up to him. He’s the acknowledged leader. Scarlett, his wife, is Ruby Gallagher’s granddaughter.”
“Ruby? Oh my…I remember when Georgia ran away. That’s Scarlett’s mother.”
“I only heard scraps of the story, but apparently Scarlett’s mother never told her anything about Sweetgrass or that she had family there. She didn’t learn until after her mother died.”
Another silence laden with emotion.
“I didn’t mean—I wasn’t making a point, Mom.”
“But I can’t change what I did, I know that. There’s nothing I can do to fix it.” She hesitated. “Did Ian…?”
He knew what she was asking. “He… There are hard feelings there.” He didn’t know how to keep from hurting her. “I—he didn’t want to have anything to do with me at first.”
“Of…course.” Her voice was very small. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t know if it can be repaired. I couldn’t explain to him why you left, so—” He cleared his throat. “But it turns out that he was mostly worried about his dad and how the news would affect him. His dad was great, though. He says he bears blame, too.”
<
br /> “Gordon said that?” One fluttery note of hope. “I don’t—oh, Michael, I loved him so much. And Ian was my heart.” Another hitch in her voice. “I was too weak and scared and lost—but I tried to fit in, I swear it.”
“Gordon told me that, too.”
“Really?”
“I admire him a lot.”
“So you’ve spent time with him?”
“Only a few minutes at Ruby’s, but then I had to go. I got a call that Laken’s best friend’s husband has been shot. I’m headed to Austin.”
“It’s serious with her, then?”
“I don’t know. It is on my part, but… Mom, they want me to come back to Sweetgrass and open up a clinic. She loves city life. Where would she buy hot shoes and hit the clubs and have fancy coffee? You hated it there.”
“I was young, and I didn’t know my own mind. I got caught up in a romantic fantasy. The strong, tall cowboy swept me off my feet.”
“He’s had a stroke.” He heard her soft gasp. “He’s getting around pretty well, but how much he has to depend on Ian chafes him.”
“I wish—never mind.”
“What?”
“I’m not using you as my messenger. I just…I don’t expect Ian to ever forgive me, but that Gordon might…maybe I’ll sleep a little better tonight.”
“If I set up shop in Sweetgrass, you will have to come visit.”
“Oh, no, I couldn’t—” He could hear her panic. “No, that could never happen. I—I’ll meet you somewhere. I couldn’t possibly—Are you set on this, Michael?”
“I sure could be. But if Laken won’t come… She’s not going to be an easy sell.”
“Neither was your father for many of your ideas.”
“He never approved of most of them.”
“He was proud of your resolve, though. He just liked calling the shots.”
That was for sure. Just then a car swerved into his lane, and he managed to avoid it, if barely. “Mom, I’m getting to the city limits, so I’d better disconnect, even though I’m on hands free. This traffic…”
Texas Hope: Sweetgrass Springs Stories (Texas Heroes Book 16) Page 9
