The Cowboy's Secret Son

by Trish Milburn

  He ignored her insistence that she could handle everything on her own and went to stand next to her. From this moment forward, he’d do whatever he had to do to convince her she wouldn’t have to face anything on her own ever again. She turned her suspiciously bright eyes up toward him. He placed his hand over the top of hers.

  “Tell me what to do.”

  She relented. “You can finish chopping these. Evan, get the big salad bowl.”

  Evan moved to do as he was told, and Nathan didn’t miss how she looked at the boy with surprise.

  “He’s been difficult lately?” he asked low where Evan couldn’t hear him.

  Grace sighed. “He didn’t want to leave the ranch, or you.” She tried to smile, but she couldn’t quite pull it off. “Turns out you weren’t the reason I lost him. I did that all by myself.”

  “Grace.” He tried to comfort her, but she moved toward the refrigerator. It hurt to watch her in pain, and he hoped that by the end of tonight everything would be in the open and Evan would accept him and stop being cold to his mother.

  As they sat down to dinner several minutes later, Nathan kept up a running conversation with Evan but his gaze insisted on drifting to Grace. He wanted so much to pull her into his arms and tell her that he loved her, that she didn’t have to be sad or scared anymore. But they needed to get the necessary conversation with Evan over with so she’d at least stop dreading that.

  “Why’d you come to see us, Nathan?” Evan asked as Nathan was watching Grace move a bite of salmon around on her plate with her fork. Her eyes lifted to his and there was knowledge and acceptance there that the time had come.

  Nathan returned his attention to his son. “Well, your mom and I have something we need to talk to you about.”

  Evan shifted his eyes between Nathan and Grace.

  Grace slid her hand across the table and wrapped it around one of Evan’s smaller ones. Nathan was glad to see the boy didn’t pull away.

  “You know how I’ve always said that your father lived somewhere else, that maybe you’d get to meet him someday?”

  Evan nodded.

  “Well, Nathan is your father.”

  Evan’s eyes went wide. “Really?”

  Grace nodded. “Yes, really.”

  “That’s awesome!” Evan slid from his seat and ran around the table to hug Nathan.

  Nathan’s heart flipped at the gesture, but when he looked at Grace, she was biting her bottom lip and tears were very close to spilling down her cheeks. He clasped one of her hands to reassure her. She gave a little squeeze back then stood and started clearing the table.

  “Does that mean I get to live at the ranch?” Evan asked.

  Nathan was still watching Grace so he saw her slip the moment Evan asked that question. He shot to his feet and got to her just before she hit the floor. His heart slammed against his ribcage as he watched her eyes roll back in her head.

  Evan fell to his knees beside her. “Mom! Mom!” Evan shook her, trying to get her to wake up. The fear in his voice ripped at Nathan, telling him just how scary it must have been for Evan to watch his mother’s battle against cancer.

  Pure, potent fear of his own, like nothing he’d ever felt, seared every part of Nathan. “Come on, Grace, wake up. Evan, call 9-1-1.”

  Evan hesitated for a moment, as though he was afraid to leave his mother’s side. Nathan squeezed the boy’s shoulder, forcing him to look at him. “It’s okay, son. I’ll stay with her.”

  Evan hopped up and raced for the phone. When Nathan returned his attention to Grace, she stirred and her eyes opened partway though they remained unfocused.

  God, please let her be okay. I’ll do whatever she wants. Just let her be okay.

  For a short moment, her eyes focused on him. “Take care of Evan.”

  Fear shot through him at the tinge of finality in her words. Before he could respond, she went back under.

  GRACE AWOKE TO A familiar but hated beeping. The antiseptic smell of a hospital made her nose twitch. She slowly opened her eyes, expecting a harsh glare but finding the room only dimly lit. And Nathan asleep at an uncomfortable angle in the chair next to her bed. Pieces of the moments before she collapsed started coalescing in her mind. Her revealing the truth to Evan. His joy at the news, then his question about living at the ranch. The way the world had spun around her. Nathan calling her name before she faded into oblivion.

  She bit her lip as tears pooled in her eyes. Evan knew the truth, knew she’d hidden it from him. He’d already wanted to stay at the ranch. How much more must he want to stay with his newly discovered father now?

  Nathan grunted and shifted in the chair. She stared at him and noticed how furrowed his brow was, as if he was having a nightmare. Just as she was about to reach out and touch him, a nurse walked in the door. Grace jerked her hand back to her side.

  “Oh, good, you’re awake. You gave a lot of people a scare,” the petite blonde said quietly with a glance at Nathan.

  “What’s wrong with me?”

  “Dehydrated for one. The doctor will be here in the morning to talk with you.”

  “What time is it?”

  “A little after 2:00 a.m.” She nodded toward Nathan as she checked Grace’s vitals. “And this one hasn’t left your side since they brought you in.”

  He hadn’t? Her heart sped up at that, and the nurse gave her a knowing smile before making a note in her chart then leaving the room.

  Nathan shifted again then opened his eyes. It took him a moment to focus on her. When he did, he jerked upright.

  “Grace! You’re awake.”

  He looked so worried. She wasn’t sure why that surprised her, but it did.

  “Just for a few minutes.”

  “How do you feel? Do you need anything?”

  “Some answers.” She hadn’t meant to say it aloud, but it was out there now. Best to get everything done and not procrastinate, right?

  He sat up straighter. “Okay.”

  “Where is Evan?”

  “At Emily’s. He refused to leave, so she had to wait until he fell asleep.”

  She grasped his hand where it rested on the side of the bed. “You must think I’m irrevocably broken.”

  “No. Just tired, stressed. Having to do too much on your own. Well, that stops right now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I love you.”

  Grace froze, afraid her deepest desire had manufactured the words she most wanted to hear.

  “You heard me right,” Nathan said as he shifted from the chair to the edge of the bed. “I love you, Grace Cameron, and I want you and Evan to come back to the ranch because I don’t plan to live another day without you next to me. And while I’ll move to Arkansas if I have to, Texas is in my blood and Evan would have deep roots there. I know I’d be asking you to give up a lot, and that’s not fair, but you could start a good business in Blue Falls, maybe in the extra space at the gallery. I—”

  “Nathan.”

  “Yes?”

  “Say it again.”

  That slow, sexy smile transformed his face. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” She took his hand between hers and held it next to her heart. “I think I always have.”

  GRACE WATCHED THE minutes tick by the next morning, anxiety building exponentially with each one. She needed to know why she’d fainted, had to be sure the cancer hadn’t returned just as she’d found the ultimate happiness. Could fate be so cruel? Hadn’t she paid enough?

  She glanced toward where Nathan stood looking out the window.

  He’d said the words. She believed them.

  And that changed absolutely everything.

  She’d convinced him to go back to her house
for a few hours only by teasing him that he needed a shower. She’d threatened to not talk to him again until he’d gotten some sleep in an actual bed. He’d gone but been back in time to accompany her breakfast tray into the room.

  Voices outside the room drew her attention. Dr. Hamilton, her personal physician, walked in accompanied by the nurse who’d been in to check on her right after the shift change that morning.

  The doctor extended his hand. “Good morning, Grace.”

  Grace shook his hand. “Hello.”

  Nathan came to sit beside her and clasped her hand, lending support. He knew why she was worried. They’d talked about a possible recurrence of her cancer into the wee hours. Remembering his words gave her a needed boost of strength.

  We’ll deal with whatever it is together. I’m not letting anything take you away from me.

  “We got your test results back this morning,” Dr. Hamilton said. “Nothing of any true concern there.”

  Grace couldn’t let go of her fear quite yet. “The cancer—it hasn’t come back?”

  “No, still clear. It looks like you were dehydrated. Sometimes stress can affect our bodies like this, a warning sign to try to chill out. Oh, and you’re pregnant.”

  She couldn’t have heard him correctly. “What?”

  “Barely, less than a month, but you are pregnant. So, drink plenty of fluids and come see me next week.” He smiled and patted her hand. “We’ll get you discharged soon.”

  Grace couldn’t process the doctor’s words as any kind of truth. She simply sat and stared at his retreating back until Nathan started laughing.

  “Why in the world are you laughing?”

  “Oh, no reason. Just the fact that I must be really virile because every time I make love to you, you get pregnant. We must be meant to be together.”

  She swatted him, outwardly scolding while inside the happiness swelled. She was going to have another child, and with Nathan, the man she loved with all her heart, body and soul. “That’s not a reason to be together.”

  He captured her hand and kissed her fingers. “Is my being madly in love with you reason enough?”

  Tears pooled in her eyes, an overflow of emotion she wasn’t big enough to contain.

  Nathan nodded toward her. “Happy tears?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Good.” He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. “Because I have something very important to ask you.” He opened his hand, and a wooden ring with carved, painted wildflowers lay on his palm. “During those weeks after you left, I had Ryan make this for me because I want you and Evan, and now this new baby, to be my family.” He lifted her hand and caressed her ring finger. “Will you marry me, Grace Cameron?”

  She bit her trembling lip and could barely see through the tears, but she nodded. “Yes.”

  Evan surprised her by rushing into the room and jumping onto her bed. He gave her a huge hug, which she returned with a bursting joy in her heart to have him back.

  “Does this mean I can call Nathan ‘Dad’?”

  Grace noticed the look of stunned wonder on Nathan’s face, and she couldn’t imagine how she’d ever doubted the man before her. She caressed the top of Evan’s head. “Yes, it does. And you know what else?”

  “What?”

  “You’re going to be a big brother.”

  It took a couple of beats for her meaning to sink in. When it did, Evan lifted to his knees on the mattress, pumped his fist, and said, “That’s awesome!”

  Nathan met her gaze with what could only be love shining in his. “Yes, it is.”

  Epilogue

  “You look beautiful,” Emily said over Grace’s shoulder as they both stood in front of the full-length mirror.

  Grace smiled as she ran her hand over the soft, flowing layers of silk organza. With her complexion, she didn’t normally wear white, but today it was absolutely perfect.

  Today, she would become Grace Teague.

  “I feel like it’s all a dream,” she said.

  Emily squeezed her shoulder as Laney stepped into view on the other side.

  “More like a dream come true,” Laney said.

  Grace reached up and squeezed their hands where they lay on her shoulders. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” Emily asked.

  “For being my best friends, for being there when I had no one else in the world.”

  Emily hugged her from behind. “You would have done the same for us. Now stop with the mushy before you make me cry. I don’t want to do my makeup again.” Emily stepped away, her bluebonnet-blue dress trailing after her.

  Grace bit her bottom lip to keep from crying herself. Emily had been wonderful over the past month. When Grace had given her best friend the news that she was getting married and moving to Texas, Emily hadn’t been upset. She’d been thrilled—not that Grace and Evan were moving away, but that they’d found the love and support of a family they both deserved. And in true Emily style, she’d cast the situation in a positive light, saying that Grace could just open a second office of Dynamic Duo Designs in Blue Falls.

  Together, they’d gotten the Franklin Mountain Lodge project under way and worked out a plan in which they each could travel to help the other when big jobs demanded it.

  And they’d bought a new copier that Emily had actually hugged on sight. The memory caused a wide grin to spread across Grace’s face. If Emily could show that much love for a copy machine, how much more could she give a real live man?

  “You do know that I have to play matchmaker for you now, right?” Grace said. “And I have an accomplice.” She nodded toward Laney, who stood inside the adjoining bathroom putting the finishing touches on her upswept hairstyle.

  “Goody, more matchmaking!” Laney clapped her hands.

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” Emily shook her bouquet of white calla lilies. “I’m way too busy for a man, especially now that my partner is running off and leaving me.”

  “Hey!” Grace grabbed a pillow off the bed—Nathan’s bed, soon to be her bed—and tossed it at Emily.

  Her friend dodged it with a burst of laughter. Grace managed to hear a knock at the door over the commotion.

  “Come in.”

  The door opened to reveal Merline, looking lovely in a mint-green dress that didn’t have an ounce of mother-in-law frump in it anywhere. It suited her.

  “Sounds like you all are having a good time in here.”

  Emily walked over and hooked her arm around Merline’s. “They’re ganging up on me, Merline. They’re in a matchmaking mood.”

  Merline looked thoughtful for a moment. “I do still have two available sons.”

  Emily rolled her eyes as Laney and Grace laughed.

  “It’s a conspiracy!” Emily said in dramatic fashion, eliciting more laughter from around the room. “I think I need a drink.”

  “Trudy can get you something in the kitchen,” Merline said. Trudy, the ranch’s long-time cook, was on the verge of retiring, but she’d insisted on staying to help with the wedding.

  Some unspoken message seemed to pass between Merline and Grace’s two bridesmaids because Laney and Emily made a quick exit. When the door closed behind them, Merline turned toward Grace and smiled.

  “You are absolutely stunning.”

  “Thanks. You are, too.”

  Merline walked forward and took Grace’s hands. “I am so happy for you and Nathan. And, honestly, I’m happy for me. Not only do I get grandchildren out of the deal, but I get the daughter I never had.”

  A lump rose in Grace’s throat, and tears threatened. “I’ve never told anyone this, but all those years ago, when I was tutoring Nathan, I used to fantasize about you being my mom. You were so different than my
mother—loving, fun and full of appreciation for life. Mom always seemed like life was a penance she had to pay or something.”

  Merline squeezed Grace’s hands. “I think your family was unhappy and afraid to admit it. Somewhere along the way, they just fell victim to a warped sense of how things should be. But none of that is your fault. You deserve happiness and beauty because you bring that to others.”

  Grace bit her trembling lower lip.

  “You officially become my daughter today, but you were already my daughter in my heart,” Merline said.

  Grace wrapped Merline in a tight hug. “Thank you,” she whispered past the growing constriction in her throat.

  Merline held her for several moments before stepping back. “I have something for you.” She pulled a small white box out of her bag and handed it to Grace. “I don’t know how much Nathan has told you about my family, but my mother raised my brother, sister and me alone. She worked a great deal to make ends meet, so I was shocked when she gave me this on my wedding day.”

  Grace’s hands shook as she opened the box to reveal a string of pearls. “Oh, Merline, I can’t take these from you. They hold too much meaning.”

  “No arguing. Passing them on to you is as it should be. You’re a part of my family now. And maybe you’ll have a daughter to give them to one day.”

  Grace thought about the child she carried, wondered if it might be a daughter. She imagined how wonderful Nathan would be with a little girl. He’d protect her with the ferocity of a lion and teach her to ride and appreciate the land that had been in her family for generations.

  Merline took the necklace and stepped behind Grace to put it on her. The pearls felt cool and warm all at once, full of love and history.

  “Now, I think it’s time for you to make a very important walk. Your escort is waiting for you, and I must say he looks rather dashing.”