Cowboy in Charge

by Barbara White Daille

  He smiled encouragingly at her. “Just give us the gist so we know we’re on the right track.”

  “Well, she tells me she doesn’t want anything to do with Jason, and I... I can understand that. And this morning she tried to put on a good front with me, but I could tell she wasn’t happy he had left the apartment earlier. Then he came back again right after Tina called me, just before I was leaving. And the look on her face—and on his, come to think of it...”

  “There’s more going on than they want people to think?” Tina asked.

  “I don’t know...” Shay considered a moment. “I’m not sure anything’s going on yet. And I wouldn’t even be telling you all this, except I get the feeling they wouldn’t be opposed to something happening. And the funny thing is, I don’t think either one of them is aware of it themselves.”

  Jed grinned. “Now, you see,” he said to Tina, “this is just what I was talking about. Shay was on hand to get the lay of the land, so to speak.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Shay asked.

  “Nothing, for the moment. I’ve got Jason half-convinced nobody from the ranch has time to look in on Layne. I don’t think he’ll be going anywhere, at least for the next day or two. And you’ll be busy with the wedding tomorrow anyway. For now, let’s give ’em this time together, and then after the weekend, we’ll have you take another reading.”

  The two girls exchanged a look.

  “What about Cole?” Tina asked.

  “Same thing,” he said promptly. “Nothing for the moment. Tonight, by the time the boys all get back from living it up in Santa Fe, I imagine they won’t have much on their minds but rolling into bed and sleeping off the effects of having a good time.”

  “What happens if Layne starts feeling better?” Tina asked. She turned to Shay. “She might be having mixed feelings about Jason, but she’s also got strong feelings about being independent. I know it frustrates Cole that she won’t take more help from him.”

  “I know what you mean, and I agree,” Shay said. “I can’t see her letting Jason stay there once she’s well enough to handle things on her own.”

  He nodded. “Even if she does want the boy around, she’ll tell him to go, just to save face.”

  “Exactly,” Shay said.

  “And then what happens if Jason wants his room here?” Tina asked.

  “I’ve got some ideas about it. Now, don’t you girls worry,” he reassured them. “Years ago, Jason mentioned Layne to me often enough. He might not have said how he felt about her, but that was clear to me. Her feelings were even more obvious. Everything Shay just said only makes me more convinced, and talking to Jason this morning did, too. Despite their scrapping, I can see those two are meant for each other.” He smiled. “I’ll come up with some way to keep them together until they finally see it for themselves.”

  * * *

  THE WEEKEND PASSED in a blur for Layne as she drifted in and out of a feverish sleep.

  When she awoke again, muted sunlight was seeping into the living room around the edges of the drawn curtains. The only other light came from the glow of the television screen. Jason sat in the armchair with the remote in his hand, flipping through channels.

  “You awake?” he said.

  “Barely. The kids?” she asked, her voice still raspy.

  “Asleep in their room.”

  She looked again at the sunlight edging the curtains. “What time is it?” she asked, her voice raspy. “What day is it?”

  “Going on seven. And it’s Monday.”

  She gasped and raised a hand to her head. “It can’t be.”

  “Well, it is.”

  She recalled him bringing her mugs of soup to spoon up, cups of tea to drink, the baby to hold close for feedings. She had a dim memory of all that as well as a few trips down the hall to the bathroom. She also had the faint remembrance of hugging her son before Jason put him to bed each night.

  Once or twice she had thought of calling her brother. It surprised her that she hadn’t heard from Cole or Tina, especially now the wedding was over. They all usually touched base with each other by phone every couple of days, or even in person when one or both of them stopped by SugarPie’s.

  But of course they had been busy at Garland Ranch all last week, between visiting with Tina’s aunts and uncles, who had come to stay for the wedding, and preparing for the big day. And by now Cole had his hands full filling in for Pete while he was on his honeymoon.

  They had probably taken yesterday as a well-deserved day of rest.

  In any case, she couldn’t have asked either of them for help.

  As hard as it was to admit, under the circumstances, Jason had timed his reappearance in Cowboy Creek perfectly.

  When she ran her hand over her face, Jason glanced her way.

  “I was really out of it this past couple of days, wasn’t I?”

  He nodded. “That you were.”

  She groaned. “I’ve got to get myself together. Get back to work. I need to call Sugar.”

  “No, you don’t. She called you. I told her you were still out of it.”

  “You talked to her without telling me she was on the phone?”

  “I tried twice to wake you and then gave up. You wouldn’t budge. Sugar said take all the time you need.”

  “I don’t have time, Jason. The bills won’t pay themselves.”

  “In your state, you’ll be lucky to get dressed on your own.”

  “Well, don’t worry,” she said, keeping her voice light, “I won’t be asking for your help.” She retied the robe she had kept on during the worst of her chills. “I could use a change of clothes, though, that’s for sure.” A dim memory edged into her mind, and she looked over at him again. “Those cowboy pajamas you picked out for Scott to wear last night... They’re his favorites.”

  “He told me.”

  What else had her chatty son said? “You took care of both the kids all this time.”

  “Yeah.”

  She ought to be upset by the high-handed way he had walked in and taken charge of her life. But at the moment, she couldn’t manage to gather enough strength for that. She shifted on the couch, trying to sit upright. He leaned across the coffee table and adjusted the pillow behind her. “Thanks.”

  He nodded silently and gestured toward a mug near her on the table.

  Apple juice, still cold from the refrigerator. Greedily, she drank some down and let it soothe her aching throat. She tensed, waiting for the juice to hit her stomach, anticipating the urge to bolt. Nothing happened—thank goodness.

  “In case you’re wondering, your trips down the hall these past couple of days have been flu-symptom free,” Jason said.

  “What?”

  “You’ve provided status updates.”

  She groaned. Forget whatever Scott might have said to him in conversation. What else had she revealed? “That comes from being a mom,” she muttered.

  “Yeah, and from changing too danged many dirty diapers, I’d bet.”

  “You’re racking up experience in that, too.”

  “Well, I’m not a greenhorn anymore, that’s for sure.” He looked back at the television, but not quickly enough to hide the hint of a smile.

  She frowned. He was certainly happy this morning, probably because he saw the end of his babysitting services in sight.

  The thought triggered another memory of the past few days. She had managed to stay awake during Shay’s visit, but once she and Jason were alone with the kids, grogginess had overtaken her. She had given in to it...as if it felt safe for her to sleep with him here, natural for him to watch the kids.

  Those thoughts went beyond crazy. And were much too dangerous.

  Jason sat with his gaze glued to the television again, his thumb busy on the rem
ote. “It always made me nuts when you’d do that,” she said.

  “Do what?”

  “Pause to watch a few minutes of a show, then flip to the next channel just when it was getting interesting.”

  He shrugged. “What’s wrong with that?”

  “You never settled long enough to find out what happened.” Just as he hadn’t stayed long enough with her to see if their marriage would work. But how could she blame him for that? Her throat tightened. She took a sip of juice.

  He didn’t say another word.

  She frowned. Somehow, even in her clouded state these past two days, she had noted something different about him. After Shay’s departure, she recalled their heated argument and his flat refusal to leave her alone with the kids. He had gone to her room to get a fresh cloth for the baby. And he had come back quieter. More thoughtful. More subdued.

  At that point, he couldn’t have known his babysitting job would drag on for another two days. Maybe he had already regretted insisting he would stay. How must he feel now?

  “All that sleep did me a lot of good. You could—”

  “Don’t even suggest it.”

  He settled back in the chair as if to keep her from forcibly throwing him out. The thought made her wince. “I’m sorry about...our conversation the other day.”

  “Conversation?”

  “What I said to you.”

  “Such as?”

  She stiffened. “You’re going to make me spell it out?”

  “Why not? You didn’t have any problem saying it the first time.”

  “All right, I called you a sperm donor. Maybe I shouldn’t have said it. And I’ve just apologized. But it doesn’t matter now. You were right—our relationship’s old history. And that makes me question again why you’re here.”

  He froze for a long moment. The television stayed on the same channel, tuned to an early weather report. The blonde with the toothpaste-ad smile assured viewers temperatures would be mild for the next few days—no surprise for New Mexico even in the middle of winter.

  The silence stretched on. Whatever he was going to say, she wouldn’t like hearing it. She wondered how the temperature would be between them once he finally gave her an answer. Already, she could feel herself growing warm. Uncomfortable. Agitated.

  Chapter Six

  Despite the years they’d been apart, he was discovering he still knew Layne. Which meant he knew his announcement wouldn’t sit well with her at all. Unlike a few days ago when she’d asked him straight-out why he’d come back, she didn’t look on the verge of fainting. And there were no kids in the room to interrupt and save him from having to answer. He had no way of getting out of this conversation.

  That didn’t mean he had to unload everything at once.

  “I want to make up for lost time,” he said simply.

  “What?”

  He almost laughed as he took in the same look of dismay he had seen when he’d mentioned her bathroom reports. Did she think “lost time” meant getting together with her again? The laughter curdled in the back of his throat. He swallowed hard. “I want to pay off the child support I already owe you and make arrangements to keep paying going forward.”

  “I don’t want money from you, Jason. I’ve never wanted it. You knew that.”

  “How could I not know,” he said bitterly, “when one after another, all my letters kept coming back. Guess I should have expected that. You’d made it plain enough after you turned down my offer of alimony and child support—when you swore to me you’d be better off as a single parent. None of those are things I’m likely ever to forget.” To this day, he could also remember the reactions that had surged inside him. Anger. Disgust. Disillusionment.

  Coming back here couldn’t change any of that, couldn’t erase it as if it had never been. All he could do now was put the memories aside and go forward. “That’s all old history, too. I was young and dumb enough—and all right, angry enough at the time—to take you at your word about not needing the support. Now I’m not.”

  “Thanks anyway.”

  His fingers tightened around the remote. The television volume jumped a few notches. The sound of a police siren whined through the room. He lowered the volume again and tossed the remote onto the coffee table. “If you can take money from Jill’s daddy—”

  “Who said I’m accepting anything from him?”

  Damn. She supported not one but two kids on her own? “What happened between you?” He hadn’t meant to ask, but now the question hung there, he realized how much he wanted to know.

  “That’s not any of your business. And I told you, he’s out of the picture.”

  “All the more reason for me to man up and take responsibility.”

  “I don’t need your money. I do fine.”

  “Mommy.”

  Scott’s voice startled them both. They turned toward the door to the hall. The boy stood framed in the doorway, rubbing his eyes just the way he’d done the past couple of nights after Jason settled him in bed.

  Tucking his son in at night and reading him a bedtime story—two things he’d never thought he would get the chance to do.

  Two things he’d probably never do again if Layne insisted on going back to work and kicking him out of her life.

  “The sheriff is coming?” Scott asked.

  “No, honey,” Layne said. “That siren you heard was on television.”

  “Oh.” He crossed the room and climbed up onto the edge of the couch. Layne still sat back with the pillow against the arm of the chair. Scott leaned against her side.

  Jason eyed the boy, then looked at Layne again and said quietly, “I’m not buying into your doing fine, either. Not when you wake up in a sickbed and the first thoughts you have—after your kids—are about the bills you need to pay.”

  “Everybody’s got bills.”

  “Right. Responsibilities they take care of. So let me take care of mine.” He needed her agreement on this. His self-respect demanded it.

  But what exactly had he expected? That he could waltz into town and explain all this to Layne and receive her smile and a handshake? Gentlemen settled their arguments that way. But Layne sure was no gentleman. And she sure didn’t seem interested in ending this argument.

  Even fighting the flu—and still fighting him—she was a beautiful woman. She’d always been beautiful to him.

  The thoughts had him shifting his gaze back to the television. Physical responses had him shifting in his seat. Neither reaction was going to get him anywhere. He knew better than most what happened when Layne’s stubborn streak or his own took control of their relationship. Plenty of times, they’d dug in their heels over something, fought it out, then made up and made love.

  He didn’t have those options anymore. He had to think with his head, not with his...gut reactions. Had to rely on what he knew about her.

  “Look, you told me you waitress for Sugar, which means you don’t bring in a salary. You work for an hourly wage and tips, right?”

  She nodded.

  “Then all these days away from the job had to have set you back. Let me tide you over until you get on your feet.” Let me get you used to accepting financial help from me. Because it’s the least you deserve. “If nothing else, I can buy a few groceries.”

  “I’ve got a full refrigerator and pantry.”

  “You think so?” He forced a smile. “Not since Scott and I have taken over the kitchen. We’re a couple of growing boys. Right, pardner?” he asked, holding his hand palm-out toward Scott.

  “Right!” the kid exclaimed, reaching up for a high five.

  The sound of his laugh turned Jason’s smile into a genuine grin.

  * * *

  “I FORGOT PAPER TOWELS,” Layne murmured.

  They stood in
the cereal aisle at the Local-General Store, Cowboy Creek’s primary grocery store, known to the locals as the L-G.

  “I’ll backtrack and pick ’em up,” Jason volunteered.

  “Me, too, me, too,” Scott insisted.

  The idea of the pair of them wandering away together made her edgy, though she wasn’t sure why. They had spent plenty of time together this week.

  As they went past her and down the aisle behind her again, she caught sight of Shay approaching, carrying one of the L-G’s small baskets. With a sigh of relief, she grabbed at what she hoped would be a good chance to chat. To get a break from thoughts of Jason.

  Maybe not so much, judging by the first words out of Shay’s mouth.

  “Looks like you and Jason are a matched set again.”

  Avoiding Shay’s eyes, Layne tightened her fingers on the shopping cart. “This is not what it looks like.” Aware Jason and Scott might not have left the aisle or another customer might come up from behind her, she kept her voice low. “He just offered to drive me to the store.” And to pay for my groceries.

  The thought of that only increased her uneasiness. She couldn’t let him walk in and take over her life. Especially not when she knew he would soon walk back out again.

  “Jason’s only helping me because I have to pick up such a large order,” she said firmly. Why did she have the feeling she was trying to convince herself as much as Shay? “After all the soup I ate while I was sick, I need to make another big batch for the freezer.” And to buy enough food to refill all the refrigerator and pantry shelves he and Scott had cleared. He hadn’t been kidding about them decimating her groceries. After one glance, she had suddenly felt like Mother Hubbard with her bare cupboards.

  He hadn’t been wrong about her weakness from the flu, either. Though she had wanted to get moving again, it had taken her half the morning to feel strong enough to get dressed and attempt the trip to the store.

  “He’ll be leaving soon anyway, so there’s no point in even talking about him. Thank you for stopping by with the cake,” she added, moving the conversation in a safer direction, though even that made her uncomfortable. She had slept through both Shay’s visit and Sugar’s phone call yesterday. “I’m sorry I missed you. How was the wedding?”