Roughneck Cowboy

by Marin Thomas

  “You’re right. Dad would be proud.” At least her father had been spared from having to witness his only daughter duped a second time by a traitorous cowboy.

  Cole thunked the beer bottle against the table. “So where do things stand between you and Travis?”

  “We’re finished.”

  “What do you mean finished? You said you had serious feelings for the guy.”

  “I did.” Still do. In time, those feelings would fade. She hoped.

  “What happened?”

  “Travis turned out to be another Josh.” The lump was back in her throat, and she swallowed hard before continuing. “Travis only pretended to care for me until I gave in and agreed to negotiate a deal with Dominick.”

  “No way.”

  Deciding she’d rather Cole hear the truth than the fabricated version that would spread through the grapevine, she said, “I overheard Dominick tell Travis that as soon as the legalities of the oil lease were ironed out, he’d no longer have to pretend to be interested in me.”

  “Did Travis give you this?” Cole tapped the gift box.

  “For Christmas.”

  “Open it,” Cole said.

  “I’m afraid.” She pushed the jewelry box across the table. “You open it.” Sooner or later she had to find out what was inside.

  After undoing the pink ribbon, Cole removed a black velvet jeweler’s case from inside the box. Sara held her breath, watching her brother’s face. His eyes widened, then his face paled.

  “What is it?” Sara asked.

  Cole turned the box toward her.

  A ring! She lifted the pear-shaped emerald from the satin cloth and slid it over her finger. “It’s beautiful.” Did this mean Travis really cared for her? That she had misjudged him? Her heart raced with hope. “What’s the matter, Cole? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “I recognize the ring.”

  “How could you?”

  Cole rested his head in his hands. “You weren’t even born yet, but I was ten when Mom and Dad had a huge fight.”

  “About what?”

  Cole nodded to Sara’s hand. “That ring.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Dad came home one afternoon and Mom met him at the door. I was sitting at the dining-room table, doing homework. I overheard Mom ask Dad where he’d gotten the ring she’d found in his pants pocket when she’d done the laundry. Curious, I spied on them. That’s when I saw Mom hold up the ring. Dad told her to give it back and mind her own business.” Cole left the table and stared out the window above the kitchen sink. “Mom accused Dad of having an affair. At the time I didn’t know what the word affair meant.”

  Sara’s head spun. “Oh, God.” As if scenes from a movie were being fast-forwarded out of sequence in front of her eyes, Sara’s mind filled in the missing pieces of a puzzle that had plagued her for years. “Daddy slept with Charlotte Cartwright, didn’t he?”

  “I don’t know for sure. Her name never came up during Mom and Dad’s argument.”

  “It had to be Charlotte. How else would Travis have come by this ring?”

  “A pawnshop?” The look on Cole’s face pleaded with Sara to agree.

  “I never told you and Gabe because I thought it would just upset you,” Sara said.

  “Told us what?”

  “Those last few days of Dad’s life when he’d drifted in and out of consciousness, he called Charlotte’s name.” Dear God, her father had been in love with Dominick’s wife.

  “Shit.” Cole sank onto the kitchen chair and stared into space.

  Sara’s memory drifted to the evening Travis had tried to tell her something but the smell of burning pizza had interrupted them. Had Travis already known about their parents’ affair? If so, then why would he give her the ring?

  Tears escaped her eyes, but she brushed them away. For years she’d resented Dominick’s bullying attitude toward her father, but all along it had been justified. Her father was partly to blame for the terrible relations between the two families. The affair had ruined Dominick’s marriage. Had taken Samantha and Matt’s mother away from them. Had left Travis to grow up without a father. And had caused Sara’s mother great pain.

  The one man she’d looked up to all her life, had cared for during his finals days on earth and had vowed to carry out his dying wishes had disappointed her deeply. She had so many questions…and Dominick was the only person left alive with the answers.

  “HEY KIDDO, WHAT’S up?” Travis injected as much enthusiasm as possible into the question when Charlie rushed into the barn. The Cartwright clan had descended upon the Lazy River early that morning and after lunch Travis had retreated to the barn to escape the chaos in the house. And to devise a game plan for winning Sara back

  “Grandpa wants you to be with the family.” Charlie climbed atop a hay bale and stretched out on her stomach. She stared him in the eye. “Are you mad at Grandpa?”

  “Why? Did he say I was?”

  Charlie nodded. “Grandpa said he made a mistake. Did he?”

  Yeah, he made a big one. “Sort of.”

  The more Travis thought about the past few weeks, the more confused he’d become. Yes, he remembered wanting to impress his father when he and Charlie had first arrived at the ranch. Travis had intended to show the old man that, despite lacking a college degree, he had valuable experience in the oil industry that Dominick couldn’t afford to dismiss. Travis had looked forward to convincing Sara to do business with Cartwright Oil. But after he’d gotten to know her better, his motivation for being with her turned personal.

  In the beginning his desire to impress his father had urged him to find ways to be with Sara, but it hadn’t taken long for the schoolteacher to secure a place for herself in his heart. His initial goal of swaying Sara to negotiate with his father had taken a backseat to swaying her to spend time with him.

  “Are you gonna forgive Grandpa?”

  The odd note in his daughter’s voice caught Travis’s attention. “Why do you ask?”

  Her slim shoulders shrugged. “’Cause I gotta tell you a secret and you might be mad at me, too.”

  “Did you break something in Grandpa’s house?”

  Charlie’s sober expression triggered an alarm in Travis. He sat on the hay bale next to her. “Okay, I’m all ears. What happened?”

  “Promise you won’t get mad?”

  “I promise.”

  “Ms. Sanders said I should tell you my secret.”

  Sara already knew what was bothering Charlie? Why should that surprise him? Without a grandmother or mother in the picture, it was only natural Charlie would turn to the next most important woman in her life—her teacher.

  “Before grandma died, I heard her talking to Mrs. Kimble on the phone.” Charlie peeked up at Travis. “Grandma said she was never gonna let Julie see me.”

  “Why was grandma talking about Julie?” Travis asked.

  “’Cause Julie called Grandma and asked if she could come visit me.”

  “When was this, Charlie?”

  “Right after Grandma came home from the hospital.”

  “The first time or the second time?” His mother had gone through two rounds of chemo and had suffered setbacks with both treatments that had landed her in the hospital.

  “The second.”

  Travis tried to summon enough energy to be angry at his mother but couldn’t. He suspected that the knowledge she was going to die soon had made her want to keep Charlie all to herself for however long she had left to live.

  “Dad, does this mean Julie changed her mind and wants to be my mom now?”

  Heart breaking for his daughter, Travis stared at the glimmer of hope in Charlie’s eyes. She was such a strong little girl and she’d never once shown any concern about Julie abandoning her as a baby, but it was obvious as she’d grown older that she’d been wondering about her birth mother. “I’m not sure what Julie is thinking, but if you want, I’ll track her down and speak with her.”
r />   “Are you gonna let her see me?”

  “Do you want to see your mother?” Part of him hated the idea of sharing Charlie—mostly because he was still pissed off at Julie. Not because she’d walked out on him, but because she’d abandoned their daughter. No matter his feelings, Travis would do what was best for Charlie. His mother had selfishly kept Travis from the rest of his family and Travis refused to do the same thing to Charlie. Time would tell whether Julie could redeem herself in their daughter’s eyes.

  “I guess you can call Julie.” Charlie scrambled to a sitting position. “You’re not gonna make me go live with her, are you? ’Cause I don’t wanna leave you, Dad.” She wrapped her skinny arms around his neck and squeezed.

  Most of the time Charlie was hell on wheels. Once in a while, like now, she showed a soft side and Travis treasured those moments. “We’ll always be together, Twinkie, I promise.”

  She giggled.

  “Charlie?”

  “What?”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Dad.” She squirmed from his hold. “I wish you could marry Ms. Sanders, then she could be my first mom and Julie could be my second mom.”

  There would be no marrying Ms. Sanders if Travis couldn’t talk himself out of the mess he’d made of things between them. He helped Charlie off the hay bale. “Let’s go inside.” He intended to drive over to Sara’s and camp on her front porch until she agreed to hear him out.

  As soon as they stepped into the foyer, Travis was greeted by Renée, Duke’s very pregnant wife. “There you are.” She shoved a glass of eggnog in his hand. Charlie joined her cousins in a game of Twister taking place in the family room.

  Travis studied his sister-in-law. “You look tired.”

  “Don’t tell Duke that. He almost canceled our flight today because of the baby.”

  “You weren’t supposed to fly.”

  “No. But this is Timmy’s first Christmas with his cousins and I didn’t want him to miss out on the fun.”

  Renée was a lot like Sara—putting others before herself. Travis grabbed her elbow and escorted her to the couch in the front parlor. He placed a throw pillow on top of the coffee table for Renée to rest her feet on.

  “Typical Cartwright male.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Bossy, yet compassionate.”

  Travis grinned.

  “The Cartwrights are a fascinating family,” Renée said. “And your sudden appearance after all these years only adds to their intrigue.”

  Travis switched the subject back to his sister-in-law. “When’s the little Dalton due?”

  “The second week in January, but I’m guessing earlier.”

  “How does Timmy feel about having a sister or brother?”

  “Truthfully, I think he’s relieved Duke and I won’t be able to focus all our attention on him. After the surgery to repair his club foot we hovered too much. Duke wouldn’t allow Timmy to participate in any sports until long after he’d received the okay from his physician.” Renée sighed. “It’s difficult not to be overprotective.”

  “Does Timmy like horses?” Travis asked.

  Renée rolled her eyes. “Detroit doesn’t have horses. Timmy wants to play ice hockey, but Duke’s worried he’ll injure his foot, so he signed our son up for the swim team.” She laughed. “I think it’s only a matter of time before Timmy plays hockey, because Duke’s become a huge Red Wings fan.

  “How’s Charlie adjusting to Oklahoma?” Renée asked.

  “Having family around has really helped her cope with her grandmother’s death.”

  “How are you coping?”

  “Asking as a social worker or a sister-in-law?”

  Renée smiled. “Both.”

  “I’m good.” Accepting his mother’s death was easy—her betrayal, not so much.

  Matt and Samantha entered the room. “There you are,” Samantha spoke to Renée. “Amy needs your advice in the kitchen.”

  Matt held out a hand and assisted Renée to her feet.

  “Something sure smells good.” She waddled from the room.

  As soon as their sister-in-law was out of earshot, Matt whispered, “Duke said she’s been eating everything in sight lately.”

  The comment earned him a whack on the shoulder from Samantha. “Be nice.” She took Renée’s spot on the couch and Matt sat next to her.

  “You and Charlie should visit Idaho,” Matt said. “Amy and I remodeled the farmhouse, so now all the toilets flush and the showers don’t leak.”

  Travis chuckled, noticing that he was becoming more relaxed around his siblings. “Maybe we’ll accept your invite next summer.”

  “Yeah, I’d wait until winter passes. It’s damned cold there right now.”

  Seconds ticked by, then Matt and Samantha exchanged worried glances. Something was up. “What?” Travis asked.

  “Juanita mentioned there was trouble between you, Sara and Dad yesterday,” Samantha said.

  Trouble? All hell had broken loose.

  “If my mother had taken me away from all this—” Matt spread his arms out wide. “—I’d be pissed, too.”

  “I’m not mad,” Travis said. “Just deeply disappointed in our mother.”

  “You should be,” Samantha insisted. “You were denied all the opportunities and advantages Matt and I received.”

  “I’m making up for lost time.” Travis shrugged. “Dominick’s giving me a chance to prove myself at Cartwright Oil.”

  “You like toeing the line for the old man?”

  “I never thought I’d take to working on the mainland, but it’s been a good change for both Charlie and me.”

  “So Oklahoma is becoming home?”

  Once he convinced Sara to marry him, Tulapoint would be home. “You could say that.”

  “What do you plan to do with your trust fund?” Samantha asked Travis.

  “I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to accept the money. I’m partial to earning my paycheck the old-fashioned way.”

  “We all earn our own way, Travis. That’s not the point. The money in our trust funds comes from our great-grandfather’s first gusher,” Matt said. “The inheritance was passed down to our grandfather and then Dad got it all, since he was an only child. He divided the funds into two accounts for Samantha and me, then later created a third account for Duke. Now, there’ll be another one for you.”

  “The reason I tracked down Dominick was to make sure Charlie had family to care for her if anything ever happened to me.” That he’d found a place for himself at Cartwright Oil and fell in love with Sara was icing on the cake.

  “Humor the old man and accept the money,” Matt said. “Dad can’t take back all the years you grew up without a father.”

  Matt was right. No one could reverse anything that had happened in the past.

  Samantha changed the subject. “Dad said you convinced the Sanders to negotiate a drilling lease with Cartwright Oil.”

  “Dad’s been trying to do that since before Jake Sanders died.” Admiration echoed in Matt’s voice.

  Travis wasn’t sure now was the best time to discuss their mother’s infidelity, but he wanted the subject out in the open so they could deal with it, then move on as a family. “There’s something you need to know about our mother and Sara’s father.”

  Matt’s eyes widened and Travis suspected his older brother had an idea of what Travis was about to say, since he already knew his mother had had an affair. But Travis worried about revealing the truth to Samantha, especially after Dominick expressed a concern about her memory. He hoped he wasn’t making a mistake in bringing up the past.

  “The night of the Oilmen’s Ball, I got back to the ranch around three in the morning and Dominick was waiting up for me in the kitchen. We exchanged a few words and I accused Dominick of being at fault for my mother leaving him.” Travis rubbed his brow. “Dominick finally told me the truth about what happened between them.”

  “I can’t remember.”
Samantha tugged Matt’s shirtsleeve. “Did Dad ever tell us why Charlotte left?”

  When Matt remained silent, Travis told the story. “She had an affair with Jake Sanders.”

  Samantha pressed her fingertips to her mouth as tears welled in her eyes.

  Matt’s face paled. “I knew about the affair but not with whom. Are you sure you heard right?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t understand how Dad kept the affair between Charlotte and Jake from going public,” Matt said. “That kind of news spreads like wildfire.”

  “What else did Dad say?” Samantha asked.

  “That Jake Sanders had intended to leave his family and go off with Charlotte but right around that time his wife, Mary, turned up pregnant with Sara, so he stayed.”

  “I wish Dad had told us the truth.” Matt shook his head in disbelief. “No wonder he’s always had it out for Sanders.”

  “Mom never mentioned Jake’s name to me and there was never another man in her life that I knew of. I think she believed Jake would one day come for her.”

  “Do Sara and her brothers know?” Samantha whispered.

  “I haven’t had a chance to ask Sara yet.” If she continued to refuse to speak to him, Travis might never get the opportunity.

  “It’s all so sad.” Samantha wiped away a tear that escaped her eye. “I think Dad would have forgiven Charlotte if she’d come back.”

  “He never would have been able to trust her with Jake Sanders living next door,” Matt said.

  Right then, the doorbell rang and feminine voices rose in the hallway—Travis identified one as Sara’s. A shot of adrenaline coursed through his bloodstream as he rushed into the hall.

  “Sara?” He’d been trying to make contact with her for the past twenty-four hours and here she stood a few feet away.

  “Hello, everyone.” Sara’s gaze remained glued to Travis. “May I speak to you and your father in private?”

  Travis studied Sara’s lovely but worried face. She’d curled her hair and made up her eyes the same as she’d done the evening of the ball. She looked feminine in her long suede skirt and silky blouse. He yearned to take her in his arms and kiss her.

  God, he’d missed her.

  “Dominick’s in his office.” He grasped her elbow—because he desperately needed to touch her—and led her to the office. He knocked twice on the door, then stepped inside. “Sara has something she’d like to speak to us about.”