Lonestar Homecoming

by Colleen Coble

  Gracie glanced around the comfortable space.A braided rug was in front of the double bed.The only other furnishings were a chest of drawers and a lamp.The blue and yellow quilt on the bed invited her to fall onto the mattress.

  Allie stepped forward and pulled back the covers. “Just lay her right here.The other room is identical to this one.”

  Gracie laid her daughter in the bed, then pulled the covers up around her. Hope was out cold. Gracie doubted she’d awaken before morning.

  Michael loomed in the doorway, with his two children in his arms. “Where should I put them?”

  Gracie stared at the bed. “Allie’s right.There’s no way you can get two kids in bed with you. Put them here with Hope.”

  She darted around to the other side of the bed and pulled back the covers, then stood aside for him to settle the children.They were small enough that they each had their space. Neither of them stirred when he laid them down. Gracie and Michael watched the sleeping children for a long moment.

  “I think they’ll sleep all night,”Allie said, echoing Gracie’s thoughts. “Your room is just past this one.” A faint call came from across the hallway, and Allie tipped her head to one side.“That’s my son. I’d better check on him.Your room is on this same side, the next door.” She hurried out.

  Gracie drew in a deep breath. “I could drag a chair in here and sleep in it.That way I’d be here if they needed me.”

  “I think Allie is right.They’re dead to the world.” Michael’s voice was gentle. “You don’t have to be afraid, Gracie. I won’t touch you. You stay on your side of the bed, and I’ll stay on mine.”

  That dratted heat washed up her face, and she couldn’t look at him. “I’m not afraid.”

  “Liar,” he said with a smile in his voice. “I’m exhausted. Honestly, I plan to drop into bed, roll over, and snore.”

  “Me too,” she admitted, only now sensing the crushing fatigue weighing her down.

  She went past him to the door, then turned for one last glance at the zonked kids. Evan was snoring. Caesar lay on the floor. She stepped into the hallway, then to the next door.The quilt on this bed was in shades of brown, and the walls were painted warm terracotta.

  The bed dominated the room. She gulped and turned to see Michael watching her. “Which side do you want?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t care. I’m not picky.”

  “I’ll take the side closest to the door, in case the kids call out.” Still not looking at him, she sat on the edge of the bed to kick off her flip-flops. The bed springs creaked. “Sounds like I need to go on a diet,” she muttered.

  “You’re perfect just the way you are,” Michael said. He went around to the other side.The springs groaned under his weight as well. “Sounds like I’m the one who needs a diet.”

  “Muscle weighs more than fat,” she said, then nearly groaned. What a stupid thing to say. She scampered under the covers.The sheets smelled of fresh air with a hint of lemon.

  “I’ll get the light,” Michael said, getting back up and heading for the wall switch.

  The room plunged into darkness.The curtains blocked any beams from the barn light or the moon. Gracie heard him fumble back across the room, then bang against the dresser before the covers rustled on the other side of the bed. She heard him unzip his jeans, then they hit the floor. He was getting undressed? Heat flooded her whole body. She rolled onto her side and lay as close to the edge as she could without falling onto the floor. She should have expected that. He didn’t bring any pajamas, and jeans were hardly comfortable to sleep in.

  “You still awake?” he asked.

  She debated whether to answer, but she knew he had to sense her lying there barely breathing. “I’m awake.”

  “I’m glad you weren’t hurt tonight, Gracie.Your perception saved us all.Was it your synesthesia?”

  “No, I never pay much attention to that. It’s just something I have.”

  “It’s a sixth sense. It might tell you more than you realize.”

  Would it? “It hasn’t kept me from making stupid decisions in the past.”

  “Maybe you just weren’t listening.”

  She was listening now—to the deep tones of his voice. Michael’s words made her feel as safe as when she was in her mother’s lap, listening to a story. Did it mean anything at all?

  He cleared his throat. “You kept your head, too, and helped me get the kids out. Some women would have gone into hysterics. Kate would have. I’d have had to carry her out as well as the kids.”

  “I’ve been on my own a long time,” she said. If her pulse would quit pounding in her ears, she could hear better.The warmth from his body began to seep across the bed. He shifted, and the bed springs groaned again. “I want to hold up my end of the bargain.” His breath touched the back of her neck.

  “You’re doing even more than that,” he said. “You don’t have to be afraid to tell me anything, Gracie. I’m not going to walk away.”

  “Because Hope and I are your responsibility now?”

  “Responsibility isn’t a dirty word.”

  It wasn’t, but she was beginning to realize she wanted more than his obligation. “And it’s not a bad thing to put family first,” she whispered. “There’s a balance.”

  “I’m trying to find it.”

  If she reached out, she’d be able to touch him. “So am I.”

  The covers rustled, then his warm hand encased her shoulder. “There’s something between us, Gracie.We both know it. The question is, what are we going to do about it?”

  With him so near, she couldn’t think. She wet her lips. “What do you want to do about it?”

  “I’d like to think about making this a real marriage someday. I think I could love you, Gracie. In fact, I think I’m already halfway there.” There was an audible clicking when he swallowed.

  He had just bared his soul. Gracie couldn’t leave him with his backside hanging out the barn door. She rolled onto her other side to face him, close enough for his breath to touch her face. “I’d like that, Michael. I. . . I care about you. I don’t want to, but I do.”

  “Why don’t you want to? I won’t hurt you.”

  She wasn’t worthy of his love, but oh, how she wanted it. “I want a husband who loves me more than he loves his job. Who puts me first.Think that will ever happen, Michael?”

  She heard him exhale. “Can you stop running, Gracie? I’ll try if you will.”

  She inched a bit closer, and so did he, until they lay nose to nose in the middle of the bed. His lips brushed her forehead. She lifted her face to meet his kiss. His lips were so warm and tender. She could stay wrapped in his embrace the rest of her life. Her palm flattened against his chest.

  Then, with a deafening creak, the mattress crashed to the floor and they were entangled in sheets. In the next room, Caesar began to bark ferociously. Gracie giggled, then couldn’t stop until tears ran down her cheeks. So much for romance.

  18

  MICHAEL’S NECK ACHED FROM SLEEPING ON THE SOFA. AFTER LAST NIGHT’S fiasco with the broken bed, he and Gracie had each taken a couch, and he’d been too tired to follow up on their intriguing conversation. But this morning he sat up, rubbed his eyes, and glanced over to where she had spent the night on the love seat.

  He saw only rumpled covers, but he heard the sound of laughter from the kitchen. Caesar was barking too.The kids were up. Allie and Rick too.Was he the last one out of bed? That never happened. He stumbled to his feet, nearly tripping when they became entangled in the sheet. He hopped into his jeans, then tucked in his T-shirt before heading in the direction of the kitchen.

  The laughter died when he stepped into the kitchen. Gracie’s cheeks flushed the second she saw him, but at least she didn’t glance away like usual. Her eyes drew him in.

  Bacon sizzled in the skillet and mingled with the aroma of the coffee. “Smells good,” he said. Caesar came to greet him, and Michael rubbed his dog’s ears.

  “Daddy!” Jordan ran to h
im, and he scooped her up. “We get to ride to school with Betsy today.Was there really a bomb at our house?” Her dark eyes expressed doubt at what she remembered from the night before.

  “Yes, but it’s gone,” he assured her. “I’m not going to let anything hurt you.”

  “Are you going to find the bad guy?” Evan asked, biting into a piece of toast smeared with strawberry jam.

  “You bet I am.” Michael set Jordan in the chair by her half-eaten breakfast. “Better chow down.The bus will be here soon.”

  “Aw, Daddy, I want to stay home with you,” Evan said. “What if the bad guy comes back?”

  “He won’t.You don’t have to be afraid he’ll hurt me. I’m tough.” Michael flexed his arm. “Feel that?” He let Evan press on his biceps. “You think anyone can hurt your dad?”

  “No!” Evan yelled. “Daddy is the strongest.” He pushed away his empty plate, then clambered up Michael’s leg and into his arms, where he planted a sticky kiss on his dad’s cheek. “I love you, Daddy.”

  A boulder rolled into place in Michael’s throat. “Love you, big guy.” He gave his son a squeeze. A flash of yellow at the window caught his eye. “Uh-oh, here comes the bus. Got your lunches? Books?”

  “They’re by the door,”Allie said. She herded the three kids toward the front door. Hope watched with a forlorn expression.

  “Want some breakfast?” Gracie rose and went to the stove.

  “Sure,” Michael said, “if there’s enough. I can get it.You don’t need to wait on me.”

  “I want to, and there’s plenty.” She forked up bacon from the skillet and mounded scrambled eggs on the plate. “Toast?”

  “No, just bacon and eggs.” He liked watching her. Her movements were economical and efficient. The kitchen was her natural element. “Thanks,” he said when she put the plate in front of him.

  He should be focused on finding the cartel that had targeted him, but he couldn’t marshal his thoughts past the faint fruity scent that clung to her. “I’m going to go to work today.”

  “But you’re still on sick leave!”

  “I’m just going to poke around, not report for duty. I’d like you to stay here.”

  Her slim shoulders lifted in a shrug. “There’s nowhere else for me to go.The sheriff said we couldn’t go back to the house until he gave the all-clear.”

  “Right. Remember what’s happening today?”

  She nibbled on a piece of toast. “You and I need to meet at the judge’s chambers to finalize the adoptions at four. I thought I could help Allie with the chores. And, of course, do Hope’s lessons.”

  “After the adoption papers are signed,we can admit her to school and let her take the admissions test under her new name,” he said.

  She lifted her blue eyes to his. “I can never repay you for that, Michael,” she said.

  “I love Hope,” he said, realizing it was true.

  Her dimple flashed. “She’s easy to love.”

  So are you. His tongue wouldn’t release the words. “Those chores might be in the barn,” he warned her. “Around the horses.”

  She laid down the toast. “I’m not going to ride the horses. Just feed and water them. Allie won’t let anything happen to me.”

  He smiled. “You don’t sound too sure of that.”

  “I’m in no danger today. Unlike you.The bomb was on your door.” Her gaze met his. “I wish you’d listen to reason.We could move far away. Vargas put a reward on your head for revenge. If you get deeper into the investigation, your actions may spike the intensity. Instead of bounty hunters after you,Vargas will have his men trying to take you out.”

  “I can’t keep looking over my shoulder.We all need to see this threat resolved. I’m going to stop Vargas’s men.”

  “What if you can’t stop him, and there’s no resolution to be found?” She rose and stepped to where he sat. Cupping his face in her hands, she stared into his eyes, stealing his breath, “What about last night?”

  “I meant every word.”

  “That talk about seeing where this relationship would lead? It won’t lead anywhere if you’re dead.”

  He seized her hand. “I’m not going to be dead. All I’ll do today is feed the livestock at our place, then go into the border patrol office and go through some records.”

  “What records?”

  “I thought I’d start with the records of the incident that started all this.The shooting that turned deadly.”

  “Your brother?”

  He nodded. “Pickens wants me to stay out of that, but I don’t think I can.”

  “Will Pickens let you look at the files?”

  “He’s out of the office today. A meeting in El Paso. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

  Her eyes widened, and a smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “What? Going against orders? What about duty and all that?”

  “I have no choice.”

  “But how can you just walk in there and go through stuff? Do they let the army have access to the computers?”

  He shrugged. “I’ll just give it a try and see if anyone stops me.My first responsibility is to my family, even if it gets me written up.”

  His own words rocked him, but he managed to hide it. He hadn’t always put his duty to his family first. Being with her was changing him, stirring something inside that he wasn’t sure how to name.

  AFTER MICHAEL LEFT, GRACIE DRAINED THE LAST OF HER COFFEE AND SET her cup on the table. “What can I help you with today?” She wished she could sit around and daydream about what had almost happened last night.Touching her lips, she thought of Michael’s kiss. And the promised honeymoon from their friends. Maybe they could actually talk about that.

  “You okay, Gracie?” Allie asked.

  Gracie jerked her hand down and forced herself to pay attention. “I’m fine. Did you decide how I might help?”

  “I’m teaching some of the kids their first lessons about horses today.You can join me if you like.” Allie wiped her toddler’s face with a damp washcloth. Matthew screwed up his face and banged on the tray of the high chair with his fist.

  Gracie shuddered. She didn’t want to do horse stuff.The alternative plan she’d considered this morning began to coalesce.

  “All done,” Allie said, lifting down her son. He ran off toward the living room. “You’re welcome to join in, but don’t feel you have to. If you’d like to take my car and run up to Alpine or do some shopping, go right ahead.”

  She could go past the house. Gracie imagined herself driving up the lane, knocking on the door, seeing her father. The action might require more courage than she possessed. But it wouldn’t hurt to drive by, would it?

  She glanced at her watch. She had to meet Michael in eight hours. There was barely time. “If you’re sure you wouldn’t mind, I do have some errands I could run.”

  “Leave Hope with me. She’ll like playing with the new kittens.” Allie stepped to a hook on the wall and retrieved a keychain. “Here you go.There’s a map in the car.”

  “Thanks.” Gracie knew every inch of the road to Pecos. “I might be gone most of the day.You’ve got my cell number if you need me or the car.”

  Allie made a shooing motion. “If I need a vehicle, we’ve got others. Go, enjoy yourself. Don’t worry about anything here.”

  Gracie’s fingers closed around the keys. “Thanks.”

  Allie walked her to the door. “Should you call Michael and let him know you’ll be out? He might worry.”

  “He won’t worry if he doesn’t know. I’ll be fine.The guy was after Michael, not me. I’m the one who should be worried.”

  A frown furrowed Allie’s forehead. “What if he calls here?”

  “Tell him to call me on my cell. I’m not hiding anything from him, but he’s such a worrywart I’m not going out of my way to tell him about it.” She hugged Allie, then Hope. “You be good, honey. Miss Allie has some kittens for you to play with.”

  Hope’s eyes widened. “Can I have one?
”

  “We’ll have to ask Daddy.”

  She hurried to the car. Under a blue bowl of sky, the ribbon of highway snaked through the desert past the striated rocks standing sentry along the road.When she was a kid, she used to imagine they were Apaches with their bows drawn, ready to attack.Allie’s car, a red Ford Escort, performed well on the narrow road. Recent rains had brought the wildflowers into full bloom, and Gracie ran her window down to inhale their aroma. Sage and creosote overshadowed the slight floral scent of the colorful blossoms.

  She followed Highway 67 north to 17. Once on the familiar road, the crushing weight of what she was about to do pressed on her chest. What if someone recognized her? The years hadn’t changed her much since she was a green eighteen-year-old.At the same time,maybe they’d changed and moved on. Pecos was hardly a Mecca for job seekers.There had always been people moving in and out when she was growing up. She could hope for a town very different from the one she left.

  Her father used to tell her stories about his first trip to Pecos. He was a hippie in the sixties. The local police arrested him and cut his hair before they turned him loose. He swore he’d never set foot there again, but then he met her mother, and she convinced him to give the town another try.

  Gracie’s lips curved up at the memory, and she accelerated when she saw the sign that said the town was two miles away. Salt flats and exposed gypsum fled past her window. She pressed harder on the gas when she saw the water tower in the distance.

  She slowed as she came to the road that led to the ranch. Should she turn in or not? The steering wheel cranked, almost by itself, and she was driving past the oak and cottonwood trees that lined the narrow humped road. Her old home was just ahead on the right. Her foot eased off the accelerator, and she stared as the ranch came into view.

  The gray-green paint on the one-story glistened in the sun. It must have been redone lately, but it was the same shade it had always been. White shutters and a red door and trim gave it a smart, hip appearance.The barns beyond the house had new roofs and fresh red paint on their boards. She stopped the car in the middle of the road.

  Taking the inheritance from her grandmother apparently hadn’t harmed her father’s financial footing. All she had to do was turn in to the blacktopped driveway and pull up to the porch. She could get out and press that doorbell. Her dad would open the door. He’d either embrace her or shut the door in her face.