The Cowboy's Valentine Bride

by Patricia Johns

  “So it’s her fault?” Brody demanded. Not that he was actually placing blame. He wanted Brian to articulate exactly what he meant—no excuses.

  “No.” Brian’s tone grew stronger. “It wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t mine. She fell in love with me, too. Things happened, Brody. I’m sorry.”

  Brody slammed down his mug and coffee sloshed over the side onto the countertop. “Do you know what it’s like to come back from war to find out that the people you trusted most in the world had not only betrayed your trust, but lied to you for months?”

  “It was to protect—”

  “I know it was to protect me!” Brody shouted, and Brian’s eyes widened and he took a step back. “I get that! But did you figure moving in on my fiancée would be the problem, not me finding out?”

  He was angry, and he finally had the right person in front of him. Brian was the one who not only started up with Nina, but got her pregnant and married her. Then emailed for months, never once mentioning more than a movie he’d seen or idle gossip around town.

  “She loves me, too,” Brian said. “I didn’t brainwash her. She finally spent some time with me alone. I had no intention of moving in on her. I was fully planning to do the honorable thing and step back and let her marry the better man, but...” Brian shook his head. “She felt the same way I did. I didn’t see that coming.”

  Deep down, Brody knew Nina was probably happier with Brian, and that’s the part that infuriated him the most. He even knew that he and Nina wouldn’t have lasted after he’d gotten back. But it wasn’t about Nina right now—Brian had betrayed their friendship.

  “You never told me,” Brody said. “You could have at any point.”

  “Tell my best friend I had a thing for his girl?” Brian belted out a bitter laugh. “No, I couldn’t!”

  “And when you realized you were in love?” Brody asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Not even then?”

  Brian looked away. “Again, you were already deployed, man. I couldn’t do it.”

  And that was what everyone had told him—that once he was out there facing bullets, their hands had been tied. He’d been risking his life in the desert, and they’d all been solidifying their lies behind his back.

  “If it could have happened any other way...” Brian spread his hands, then let them drop. “You don’t believe me, and frankly, I wouldn’t either in your position. But I’m sorry. Really sorry.”

  “You were my best friend,” Brody said after a moment, and he swallowed hard against the emotion that threatened to choke him off.

  “This doesn’t have to erase our friendship,” Brian said. “Remember that time the Vernon cousins were going to beat you up?”

  That wasn’t fair—and it was a long time ago. They’d been all of twelve or thirteen and the Vernon cousins were hairy brutes who had Adam’s apples by the age of nine. But Brian had refused to let Brody face them alone.

  “You told your dad and he came and broke it up,” Brody said. “Not your most heroic moment.”

  Truthfully, Brody had been grateful for the adult intervention, but he wasn’t about to give Brian credit for anything right now.

  “Yeah, well, you stayed in once piece, didn’t you?” Brian asked with a small smile. “We were buddies, you and I. What about all those birthday parties and sleepovers? What about that time—”

  “Enough!” Brody shook his head. “This isn’t about times past, Brian. This is about the here and now. Do you know how many guys came by to see me when I got back?”

  “I would have come by, but I didn’t think you’d want me to—”

  “None,” Brody interrupted. “This leg—it changes things. Either the guys had moved on, or they made do with a phone call. But you get blown up, and people get uncomfortable.”

  Brian was silent, his gaze flickering down to Brody’s leg. Let him look at it. He’d probably sport a limp for the rest of his life, and when he got old enough, it would be an old-timer story to tell—once there was distance enough that people stopped feeling awkward.

  “I came back to silence, Brian. My fiancée was married. My best friend was gone. The other guys kept their distance.” Brody’s chin quivered and he fought back that rising emotion. “You were my best friend.”

  “I didn’t know it was like that for you...” Brian’s voice was thick. “I’m still here, Brody. I’m still your friend.”

  “No.” Brody shook his head. “I had some real friends in the army. They got killed, but they were true-blue. You weren’t.”

  Images of Jeff rose in his mind. Jeff, who would have taken a grenade to save any one of them... Jeff, whose shout of “I’ve got your back, man!” meant something.

  Brody dashed the back of his hand across his eyes, wiping away a tear that had slipped past his defenses.

  “Thanks for stopping by, but I’m done talking now. I’m pretty sure your wife will be wondering where you are.”

  “I’m sorry about the guys that didn’t make it home,” Brian said.

  “Me, too.” Brody sucked in a breath. “Now go back to Nina. Your duty’s done.”

  Brian turned toward the door, his steps slowing to a stop as he put his hand on the knob. He turned back.

  “Maybe you’ll forgive me one day,” Brian said.

  “Don’t count on it,” Brody growled, and Brian met his gaze for a moment as if searching to see if Brody meant it. He didn’t seem to find the encouragement he was looking for, because he turned then, hauled open the door and stepped out.

  Brian didn’t deserve to be let off the hook. He didn’t deserve forgiveness or absolution for what he’d done. Let him squirm. He had it all—wife, baby on the way, a life free from haunting nightmares. Kaitlyn wasn’t keen on Brian right now, but he knew her well enough to be sure that she’d warm up eventually. They’d find some common ground. Brian had it all...even Kaitlyn.

  There was no way Brody could stay here in Hope. If he had any future at all, he needed to go back to the one place he knew he could trust someone’s word—the army.

  Chapter Twelve

  Nina was wrong.

  Her arrival could not heal Brody, and Nina had already proven that she wasn’t good for him. So Kaitlyn’s decision—to ask Brody to reconsider the party—wasn’t about her sister at all, it was about Brody. Brody belonged in Hope, and he belonged with the people who loved him. Nina shouldn’t be able to make their own hometown hero feel less than because she’d decided to show up. If anyone was going to be uncomfortable, let it be the cheating couple. Married or not, they were the ones with something to be ashamed of, not Brody.

  So the next morning, while her mother was clattering around in the kitchen, starting on the big dinner, Kaitlyn hopped into her truck and made the short drive to the Mason ranch. This year, her father’s birthday didn’t seem festive, and that was hardly fair to him. He worked his fingers to the bone, and because of Nina and Brian, the atmosphere was strained, awkward.

  “Do I call Millie?” her mother had asked, her hands busy with a mixer and her voice raised to be heard over the motor. “She hasn’t said anything is changed, but—maybe you could ask them about the party this year, Kaitlyn. You’ll be there for your shift anyway, right? I need an approximate head count.”

  Her father had been in the mudroom, wiping his boots after a trip to the barn, pretending not to listen, but Kaitlyn knew better. He wouldn’t let anyone see it, but he cared about these yearly parties. And when Kaitlyn poked her head around the doorway, his expression of false innocence was almost heartbreaking.

  When Kaitlyn got to the Masons’ side door, she could hear voices raised in volatile discussion before she even raised her hand to knock. She was about to slip away again—maybe come back at a better time—when the door flung open and she stared up into the stormy, reddened face of Ken Mason.

/>   “You are not fired!” he bellowed, launched the screen door open and stepped back. “Get in here!”

  Kaitlyn wasn’t exactly keen on taking orders, and for a split second she was tempted to turn her back and walk away, but something stopped her—the sight of Brody behind his father, dark eyes pinned on her with unreadable emotion. So she did as she was commanded to do, kicked the snow off her boots and came inside. The entire Mason family stood in the kitchen. Mrs. Mason was by the coffeemaker, and Dakota was at the kitchen table looking mildly bored with the whole explosion. When Kaitlyn came inside, Brody crossed his arms over his chest, and she wondered if she’d made the wrong call. If Brody was having it out with his family, she really didn’t belong in the middle of this.

  “I’m sorry,” Kaitlyn said, putting her hands up. “I know you don’t want me here—”

  “I hired you,” Ken interrupted. “I pay you. Showing up was the right thing to do.”

  “And I’m the patient,” Brody snapped. “I don’t need babysitting.”

  Kaitlyn leaned against the closed door, unwilling to even unbutton her jacket. Her eyes were trained on Brody. He was angry—but this wasn’t the kind of anger he’d shown toward the ranch hand who’d been hitting on her—this was something deeper and sadder.

  “Take off your coat,” Ken said, turning toward her. “And do whatever it is you do. You’re on the clock, Kaitlyn.”

  “Hey,” Kaitlyn said, raising her voice above the melee. “I didn’t come here to force my services onto Brody.”

  “He needs medical care!” Ken retorted.

  “Let her talk,” Millie said, her voice quiet but carrying. “Why did you come, Kaitlyn?”

  All eyes turned to her, and she felt her cheeks heat. “I...uh...”

  What she’d come to say, she’d meant to say to Brody in private, and the Masons stared at her expectantly. She couldn’t fix any of this, and she hadn’t even been completely sure of what she’d say to Brody. She just knew she had to see him and sort things out somehow.

  “I came to discuss the birthday dinner tonight,” she said.

  The room silenced, and then Dakota said, “Is that still on? I mean, all considering...”

  “I told you already,” Brody replied. “I’m not going.”

  “And if Brody isn’t going, we aren’t, either,” Millie said.

  Kaitlyn nodded. “I understand.”

  What else could she say? Of course, Brody’s family would gather around him—as they should. And with Dakota’s and Nina’s new marriages, maybe it was time for all of this to change. Who was Kaitlyn to argue otherwise?

  Ken stood in silence; his bluster seemed to have evaporated with the change of topic. He looked old and sad and he heaved a sigh.

  “We’ve had this birthday weekend with the Harpes for what...thirty years now? And we can end all of that, but we can’t change history. Nor can we change who our neighbors are. I think we should have this party as planned and if we change our minds for next year, then so be it. But if we cancel now, then it’s over. And what do we have if we don’t have neighbors we can count on?”

  That was the country logic there—a community that pulled together regardless of spats or feuds. Ranchers needed their neighbors.

  “Well...” Kaitlyn swallowed hard. “Maybe give us a call when you decide—”

  “Wait.” Brody ran a hand over his buzz-cut hair. “I want to talk to Kaitlyn alone.”

  Kaitlyn looked at Brody in surprise, and he met her gaze with a raised eyebrow of his own. He hobbled toward the door to the sitting room, then glanced back. Kaitlyn looked at Mr. and Mrs. Mason, then Dakota.

  “Go on, now,” Millie said, and hooked a thumb in her son’s direction. “We need to sort this out if dinner plans are changing.”

  Kaitlyn could feel their eyes on her back as she crossed the kitchen and followed Brody into the sitting room. A fire had been kindled in the fireplace and Brody limped up next to it, but he didn’t sit.

  “I’m intruding,” Kaitlyn said. “I shouldn’t have come. I could have done this with a phone call.”

  Except that she’d been afraid if she did call, he would vanish somehow, and that would be the last she’d see of him. It wasn’t logical, but tell her heart that.

  “You’re fine.” Brody sighed. “Things are awkward anyway. So what happened with Nina?”

  “Oh...” Kaitlyn sighed. “She’s pregnant and glowing. And she’s convinced you should come to the party for some sort of closure with her.”

  Did her resentment show through? It hardly seemed fair that Nina, who floated through life like a goddess, should also glow during her pregnancy. If life were fair at all, Nina would get horrible morning sickness and look green until she delivered, but life didn’t seem to be landing on the side of fair. The baby was wonderful news, as all babies were, but couldn’t Nina have lost some of her smolder in the course of becoming a mother?

  Brody rubbed a hand down his bad thigh and grimaced. “Brian came by.”

  “She mentioned he wanted to.” Kaitlyn eyed him cautiously. “What did he want?”

  “Wish I knew. He was sorry—or so he said. I don’t know what he wanted from me—some kind of blessing? I have no idea.”

  Kaitlyn didn’t know, either. How could any of them untangle this? Silence stretched between them. There were no solutions, just the fact that everything had changed.

  “Is this it, then?” Kaitlyn asked. “Is this the end of birthday weekends for our dads and trail rides?”

  Brody reached out and took her hand in his. “It couldn’t stay the same forever, Kate.”

  She nodded, a lump in her throat. And he was right—it couldn’t. All of them had tried to freeze it, hide it, keep it static, but that wasn’t realistic.

  “I wasn’t completely honest before,” she said.

  “You don’t say.” He shot her a teasing smile. “What now?”

  She smiled wanly at his little joke. She deserved it.

  “I didn’t tell my family that I’m not your nurse anymore.” She shrugged uncomfortably. “I don’t know why. So they think I’m here professionally right now.”

  “Sorry. I guess I could have figured out a way to let you save face,” he said.

  Saving face...yes, that would have been nice. But Brody wasn’t the one who pushed her into the shadows. He wasn’t the one eclipsing her at every turn.

  “My sister is newly married, Brody. And to top it off, she’s also pregnant. If I was invisible before, can you imagine what the party will be like this year? Even my dad will be in the shadows. It’s about Nina and her baby. And Brian, too...sort of. But my family will care significantly less about him than they do about the bun in the oven.”

  Brody’s lips quirked up into a half smile. “You weren’t invisible, Kate.”

  “Not to you.” She shrugged weakly. Although he’d never seen what she’d hoped he’d see, at least he’d been her friend. “Anyway. It looks like we’ll have a smaller party this year.”

  Brody’s gaze moved toward the crackling fire. The orange light played over his rugged features, making him look older still and slightly haggard. He didn’t need her burdens on top of his, and she felt a wave of remorse for having said anything at all.

  “I’ll go now,” she said, breaking the stillness.

  “Wait.” Brody took a step toward her and reached out to move a tendril of hair away from her forehead. “What time is dinner?”

  “Six, I think.”

  “Okay, then.”

  “Okay, then...what?” She fixed him with a stare, trying to decipher him. “Are you saying you’ll come?”

  “Yeah.” He shrugged. “Everyone else can focus on Nina and her bun, and you and I can make fun of Brian. Maybe we can even convince him to sing a hymn.”

  K
aitlyn smiled. “You’re cruel. I love it.”

  “This one’s for you, Kate. I’ll get you through the most awkward birthday party ever. What are friends for?”

  “Okay.” Her vision misted and she blinked it back. “Thank you, Brody. I’ll save you a turkey leg. I’ll guard it with my life.”

  “You better.”

  She turned toward the door, then paused and looked back. She wasn’t sure what she wanted, but she loved him for this—a selfless act for her alone.

  “You’re still fired,” he said.

  She laughed and shook her head and headed for the door. When Kaitlyn emerged into the kitchen, Mr. and Mrs. Mason were sitting at the table with mugs of coffee in front of them. A jelly salad still in the mold sat at the end of the table closest to the door.

  “So?” Ken asked with raised eyebrows.

  “Brody is willing to come to the party...” She winced, realizing that none of this came down to her say so. “But I’m sure you’ll need to discuss it as a family—”

  “Dear, would you take that jelly salad to your mother?” Millie interrupted with a small smile. “I’ll bring the rest when we arrive tonight for dinner.”

  Kaitlyn blinked, then nodded and picked up the dish. “Of course.” She paused—uncertain of how much she should tell the Masons, but considering what they’d all been through for the last year, she decided to err on the side of transparency.

  “He’s quite firm about not wanting any more nursing care,” she said. “And that’s okay. He’s doing fine on his own now. In my professional opinion, you don’t need to worry too much.”

  “Oh, I know,” Millie replied with exaggerated innocence. “We heard the whole conversation through the wall. It’s like cardboard.”

  Kaitlyn blushed—so much for privacy. In a place the size of Hope with families as tight as these, privacy wasn’t common. But the birthday party was going to happen, it seemed. The Masons and the Harpes would have one more celebration for the patriarchs of their families. It would likely be their last, so Kaitlyn would savor it.