Secondhand Cowboy

by Lacy Williams

  "I can't believe Dad would do that," she said.

  Jilly snorted. "I can. He hated Callum back then. And apparently still does. Any idea why?"

  Iris shook her head, her eyes still on the picture. She'd never figured out why her father had had such a vendetta against Callum. It was more than an over-protective father.

  Look at them there. They'd both been so young in the picture, so sure of the good things that the future had in store for them, so sure their love would be the one thing that would keep them together.

  "I don't understand why he didn't come to me. He just...left."

  "Maybe because he'd killed your favorite horse." Jilly's drawled statement brought Iris's head up. And Jilly's raised brows challenged her. "Or maybe he really had been drinking."

  "No." The denial came swiftly, because she knew how adamant Callum had been about not ending up like his father.

  But hadn't he admitted that he'd fallen into drinking and partying before he'd found out about the boys', before he'd gone into a twelve-step program?

  Could she have been wrong about him back then?

  "Of course, he had so many people supporting him back then, it must've made the decision to leave difficult."

  Jilly's softly-spoken words crystallized things for Iris. Other than her, Callum hadn't had a support system back then. Her uncle had offered him a job as a ranch hand, but Callum would've expected Uncle Joe to side with her father, especially with one of his horses dead.

  And Callum hadn't trusted that she'd stand by his side.

  Or had he?

  I knew you wanted New York. His words from days ago whispered through her mind.

  Callum was fiercely protective of those he loved. She'd known it back then, and she saw it now with his boys. What if he had thought he was protecting her by leaving? With her father's angry accusations and threats against him, what if he'd thought leaving was his only choice?

  And not knowing what Dad had told her, even if Callum had changed his mind later, he wouldn't have felt he could come back.

  Iris wrapped her arms around her knees, feeling suddenly cold. She could understand Callum's motivations for the past. But could she forgive him for deserting her like he had?

  "It seems so quiet around here without the boys running around causing trouble."

  She snorted a soft laugh at Jilly's words. "They're kind of unforgettable, aren't they?"

  "Tyler was just starting to warm up to me."

  Iris had to squeeze her eyes closed against more hot tears as she remembered their last night together. She'd curled up on the couch with a blanket, and the boys had all piled on her lap to watch a movie together.

  Tyler had laid his head on her shoulder, and she'd thought these are my boys.

  She loved them as if they were her own.

  And she still loved Callum. Time hadn't erased the way she felt, neither had the changes in their circumstances.

  She knew what she had to do.

  She dug into her waist pocket, pulling out the small gold band with a chip of a diamond.

  Jilly's eyes went wide. "What's that?"

  "The engagement ring Callum gave me a few weeks before my eighteenth birthday."

  She pushed it onto her ring finger. It stuck, barely, on her knuckle but then slid the rest of the way home. "I wore it on a necklace because we weren't going to tell anyone until I turned eighteen. And then he was gone."

  Jilly's eyes, still wide, now showed confusion, too. "So you're wearing it now, because...?"

  Iris stood, her back straight now that she'd made her decision. "He made a unilateral decision back then to leave. Maybe he was trying to protect me, or maybe he was ashamed. Whatever the reason, I didn't get a choice in it. So now I'm making a unilateral decision that his decision is void."

  Jilly's voice rang with disbelief. "You're just going to wear his ring? Just declare yourself engaged to the man? What if he doesn't want to marry you anymore?"

  Iris experienced a pang of trepidation until she remembered the bleak look in Callum's eyes as he'd apologized to her, the utter desperation in his words. He still cared.

  And she loved him enough to fight for him.

  Including battling her father.

  * * *

  Midday sun streamed down on Main Street. Callum stood nervously in the vestibule of the only sit-down restaurant in Redbud Trails. Levi and Brandt stood on a bench made for waiting guests—thankfully there were none waiting, because after the boys bounced a few times, they launched themselves off, landing in a giggling heap on the floor.

  Tyler stood next to Callum. Not clinging, but watchful. Maybe he sensed the unease that had Callum's stomach tied up in knots.

  They were meeting Maude for lunch, but he doubted he could keep anything down.

  Was he making a mistake?

  He'd taken Iris's insights about his mother-in-law to heart. The grief of losing Iris all over again had driven him to his knees every night, and what he'd been hearing in those quiet moments was that he needed to forgive and give his in-laws a second chance.

  He was still working on the forgiveness, but he was here. He'd chosen a public place because it felt safer. He'd notified the police department—not that he held out much hope of them backing him up—and texted his mother-in-law to set up the lunch date.

  The door opened with the low chime of a bell, and she slipped into the restaurant. She was alone.

  He'd thought he'd prepared himself, but his gut still tightened at seeing her so close, those memories of two terrifying nights trying to resurface. He stuffed them back down.

  Tyler ducked behind Callum's leg; Brandt and Levi looked to Callum for assurance, and he nodded to them. "It's okay."

  She knelt on the floor, and he could see tears welling in her eyes.

  Brandt and Levi rushed to her, and she enfolded them in her arms. She looked up, smiling a wobbly smile that encompassed both him and Tyler. "Hi, Tyler."

  Callum pushed the boy forward with a nudge to his shoulder, but Tyler stepped back, clinging to Callum's hand.

  Callum held Tyler's hand as the boy joined the three-person hug. After she and the boys broke their embrace, he was there to put a hand beneath Maude's elbow when she stumbled as she stood up.

  She felt thinner, more frail, than she had the last time he'd seen her. Rachel's parents must be in their fifties, but Maude had aged.

  Right now, though, her expression radiated pure joy as she looked up at him. "Thanks for meeting me," she whispered.

  The hostess ushered them to their seats before he had to admit to the unexpected lump that clogged his throat.

  Maude spread her napkin on her lap as he herded the boys into one side of the four-person booth. He took a chair at the end of the table, the better to keep them corralled in place.

  "You boys have gotten so big, I can barely believe it."

  "I'm three now," Brandt said proudly.

  "Me, too!" Levi echoed.

  Callum shook his head, thinking how kids this age tended to state the obvious.

  "I know," Maude said with a patient smile. "Your grandpa and I sent you birthday packages. Did you get them?"

  There was a moment of tension as she looked to Callum.

  "Yeah, they got them." He could've thrown the packages away, but he hadn't, and now he was glad. "Remember the big tractors, boys?"

  With his rodeo days behind him and putting all his money into the new business, he hadn't been able to buy all the gifts he'd wanted to, and the surprise box in the mail had been welcome.

  "Speaking of your grandpa, I told him we'd try to video call after lunch." She looked to Callum, her gaze questioning.

  He liked that she wasn't taking anything for granted. He was working his way back to trusting her, and her humble spirit was helping with that.

  "That's probably fine," he said. "How long are you staying in Redbud Trails?"

  "I'm leaving for Texas tomorrow. I'm sure Jackson can't find the washing machine beneath his pil
es of dirty laundry."

  "We used to live in Texas," Brandt piped up.

  "Yes, you did." Maude's face softened as she looked down on him.

  Levi started lining up pink sugar packets along the edge of the table, already distracted.

  Brandt bounced in his seat, knocking into both of his brothers. "Do you got any presents for us today?"

  Maude laughed. "Not today, I'm afraid."

  They spent almost an hour like that, ping ponging between the boys' orneriness making them laugh and moments of barely-there tension between him and Maude.

  It wasn't perfect. But it was a start.

  They'd tumbled out of the restaurant onto the sidewalk when he felt a prickling of awareness and looked up. Right into Iris's dear face, as she stood across the street.

  He saw her take in their group. The boys and Maude. Together.

  And a small smile crossed her face. She knew what it meant.

  He couldn't summon one in response, not with his heart lodged firmly in his throat and regret swamping him. He nodded.

  "Iris!" Levi had caught sight of her too and waved wildly.

  Callum caught Brandt in mid-leap as he launched off the sidewalk. "No getting in the street, remember?"

  "Aw!" the boy cried.

  Maude had touched Tyler's shoulder to halt him from following his brother.

  By the time Callum had counted heads and taken a breath in relief, she was gone. He didn't know if she'd ducked into one of the stores, and he didn't see her car parked on the street.

  Would she welcome seeing him face to face? No idea. So he comforted the boys as best he could, and they said goodbye to Maude and headed home.

  Except it didn't seem much like home without Iris there.

  17

  Callum stepped into the conference room in the back of the Town Hall building, Sam on his heels. Instantly, he went on high alert.

  Iris was there.

  She sat next to her father on one side of a long conference table surrounded by elegant leather chairs—no expense had been spared to outfit this room. There were no windows, and the closed space made him instantly claustrophobic. He was glad he'd left the boys with a lady from church that Sam had vouched for. They'd have been running circles or spinning in the desk chairs within seconds.

  It was one thing facing off with Wade. Having to do it in front of Iris added another whole layer of tension.

  He'd conferred with Sam yesterday when he'd received the summons to this meeting, but Sam had been ignorant of its purpose.

  Why was Iris here?

  She was tapping on her laptop computer on the desk and didn't look up as he and Sam made their way to the opposite side of the table. Wade sneered at Sam's quiet greeting, but Iris murmured a "hello."

  Was she avoiding looking at him or just engrossed in something important on the computer?

  Callum sat in one of the padded leather chairs, turning it at an angle and stretching his legs out to cross them at the ankle, pretending casualness for all he was worth. He wasn't going to let Wade get to him.

  It seemed kind of silly to have a meeting with just the four of them in this room that sat more than twenty.

  The police officer, Mike, entered the room, with another man on his heels. The man Callum didn't know had salt and pepper hair and wore a shirt, tie, and slacks. Callum didn't recognize him.

  "That's the district attorney," Sam hissed, standing to shake hands with him.

  Callum followed suit and met the older man's speculative look with a steady gaze. He had nothing to hide, but that didn't stop his heart from pounding. What was going on here?

  "Aaron Charles," said the DA.

  "Callum Stewart." Callum shook the man's hand.

  Callum's heart was in his throat as the DA rounded the table and made nice with Wade. Why was the DA involved?

  "What's going on?" he hissed to Sam.

  Sam shrugged, but his expression wasn't as nonchalant as when they'd walked in the door. He busied himself opening a manila folder on the desk and shuffling some papers. Callum didn't even know what he had in there, other than a copy of the lawsuit.

  Callum's stomach roiled. If this kept up, he'd have an ulcer by mid-afternoon.

  "Is this all of us?" the DA asked.

  And Callum couldn't contain his surprise when Iris said, "Yes, sir."

  The DA sat at one end of the table, the policeman next to Wade.

  "You want to tell me why you called me down here, young lady?"

  Callum went hot and then cold. Iris had called the meeting? What did it mean? His thoughts raced, and he missed Iris's words through the roaring in his ears.

  His eyes fixed on her computer.

  And then on her hand as it came to rest flat on the table next to her keyboard. Was that...?

  He leaned forward slightly, his jeans squeaking against the leather of the chair.

  She was wearing the engagement ring.

  He would never forget the small diamond he'd agonized over before spending the savings he'd socked away all summer. He'd wanted better for her, knew she deserved better.

  He couldn't believe she'd kept it. Or that she was wearing it now.

  The roaring in his ears changed to white noise and then cleared.

  "...concern about the investigation over Mr. Stewart's auto accident."

  Her eyes met his briefly over the laptop screen. Was he imagining the spark of warmth in them, even as she kept talking?

  So this was about the lawsuit. He should probably be angry that she was still sticking her nose where it didn't belong, but he was too fixated on that ring on her finger to summon any real amount of temper.

  Was there a chance she'd found a way to forgive him? And that she wanted him back in her life?

  How could he think any differently when she was wearing that ring?

  * * *

  Heat crept into Iris's face under Callum's intense scrutiny. She saw his eyes flick to her exposed hand and quickly back to her face.

  He knew.

  It was all she could do to keep her attention on what she was saying. This was important. This meeting could change everything. And she couldn't afford to mess it up.

  "I was on the scene when the accident happened. I witnessed it. I responded as an off-duty EMT, which is one of my volunteer positions with the FD."

  She took a deep breath.

  "After Callum—Mr. Stewart was served with the lawsuit papers, I was shocked to see the accusation of negligence. The accident was not his fault. And when I made an official statement to Mike, I got the impression that the police department was practicing the very thing my father had accused Mr. Stewart of. I have personal reasons to believe my father instructed the department not to pursue their investigation into the black pickup truck or its driver."

  Her father sucked in a deep breath. "What? Iris, how could you say such a thing?"

  His face had gone an alarming shade of red. She saw the glittering anger in his eyes and knew that she had just severed the last thread holding their relationship together. No matter the outcome for Callum today, things between her and her father would never be the same.

  She turned her gaze on the DA, who wore an impassive expression. She didn't know whether he would believe her about her father, but at least she had evidence to support Callum.

  "My father has long held a grudge against Callum, and I suspect he intended to use the lawsuit to ruin Cal's reputation around town."

  "Do you have any evidence of this?"

  "No, not unless Mike wants to add anything to this conversation."

  Mike wore a pinch-lipped expression.

  "But I do believe they purposely botched the hit-and-run investigation. The damage to Cal's truck was extensive, which is evidence in and of itself. But also...I noticed that the bank has a parking lot camera that would've provided footage that might've helped the investigation. When I went into the bank last week, I was informed that the tapes roll over every week, and the footage from the day of
the accident was no longer available."

  Her father gave a harrumph from next to her.

  "The bank manager confirmed that the police had never asked to see those tapes, even though they would clearly have shown the accident."

  Her father started to rise. "That's because there was no reason—"

  "But..." Iris said.

  Her father sat back down.

  She met Callum's eyes again, and she let one corner of her mouth turn up.

  "My friend Melody owns a clothing shop on Main Street, and she has a security camera that faces the intersection. This is the footage from her camera."

  She pressed the button to start the streaming video and turned the laptop toward the DA. Sam shifted in his seat to be able to see. Dad watched too.

  But Callum's eyes remained glued to her as the silent footage played. Her face kept heating until she knew it was red—not a cute blush but an unattractive beet-color—but she met his gaze evenly.

  He cocked one eyebrow at her and drummed the fingers of his left hand on the table—once.

  Oh, yes. He'd seen. He knew.

  But judging from the corner of his mouth that lifted, the hope sparkling in the depths of his eyes, he wasn't angry.

  They must've reached the part of the video that showed the accident, because Sam erupted out of his chair. "Did you see that? The light was clearly red when the black truck zoomed through the intersection."

  Her father stood up, too. "That doesn't prove he wasn't negligent."

  Mike leaned forward in his chair, reaching for the laptop. "Can I rewind it?"

  And Iris met the DA's gaze squarely. She didn't know Aaron Charles personally, but he had a reputation for fairness. She hadn't wanted to bring him into the investigation, hadn't wanted her father scrutinized.

  But she'd had no choice. Not when it came to protecting the man she loved.

  "I think we've seen enough for today," the DA said. "Sam, I'll call you later to follow up."

  Sam stood, and Callum did, too. Callum shot her one last look before following his lawyer out the door.

  When the door had closed behind them, the DA turned back to her. "Young lady, how did you get a copy of that tape? We don't want any issues with chain of evidence."