Logically, she knew he cared about Scarlett. But seeing how upset he'd been when Scarlett had had the asthma attack earlier... He really loved her daughter. It had been evident in his urgency, his willingness to brave the treacherous roads if need be.
But mostly in the way he'd been so relieved that he'd had to sit down in her kitchen. If she wasn't mistaken, his eyes had gone wet before he'd hid his face in his hands.
He loved Scarlett.
And if he loved her baby that much... he must've loved her too, before she'd pushed him away.
Somebody willing to risk life and limb for her daughter was somebody worthy. He'd been nothing but trustworthy, nothing but tender and kind to both of them. It had been her own fears that had ruined things.
But after this morning, she was rethinking everything.
The movie ended with a happily ever after as only a Disney princess could have, and Scarlett shifted in the bed, her small body rustling the covers as she stretched. "I'm getting hungry."
"Me too, Peanut." She started to sit up, but Scarlett seemed reluctant to move as she lay there, tracing patterns in the quilt.
"Mama?"
"Yeah, baby?"
"Is Santa real?"
Dread pulsed through her, along with the fuzzy memory of overhearing Trey and Scarlett talking about this last night while she'd drowsed on the couch. She'd really hoped to have another year before she'd have to explain the truth about the man in red to her daughter.
"Well...what do you think?"
Head down, Scarlett shrugged.
"Maybe there's not a man who visits every single kid in one night, but I believe in Christmas miracles, so that sorta means I believe in Santa, right?"
Scarlett squinted up at her. "Trey said he believes in Christmas miracles, too."
Of course he would. The man was kindhearted to a fault. He probably made Christmas miracles.
And then Scarlett subject-hopped like only a six-year old could. "Do you think the bad man will come back?"
Rob. Carrie hoped not. With the local police patrolling her street more often than usual, she could only hope whatever had brought him here was over, and he'd left town.
"I don't know, baby. Do you know who that was?" Another thing she dreaded having to explain to her daughter.
Scarlett nodded slowly. "It was my bio-biorogical dad."
"Biological. We don't talk about him very much, but—"
"Cause he's a bad man," Scarlett interrupted.
"Well, yes." And because she was ashamed of the way she'd fallen for him. Still.
"He hurt you."
A hot knot in her throat, Carrie nodded. "You were little—"
"I hid in my closet. But I saw some."
Carrie's breath froze in her chest. She reached out and touched Scarlett's arm. "You can remember that?"
Scarlett nodded. "I was hugging Oreo. He kept me safe." Maybe that was part of the reason her girl was so attached to the stuffed bear. "There was a tiny crack in the closet door and I could see some into the hall."
Carrie swallowed hard. Scarlett had never mentioned this before. She'd taken her daughter to a therapist after the attack, and as far as she knew, Scarlett had never mentioned it to the therapist either. Was she bringing it up now because Rob had shown up again? She hated to think that her daughter had seen her helpless, had seen Rob attacking her.
"After Rob did that, the police told him he can't come near us anymore." It was a simplified explanation of what had happened with the court and the protective order.
"So how come he came here the other night?" Scarlett asked.
"I don't know. I called the police, and they’re watching out for us."
"And so is Trey. He won't let anything happen to us."
That knot in her throat wasn't going away any time soon. "Honey, you know that Trey isn't... that he's just our friend, right? He took care of us last night, but he doesn't live here."
"He could. If you got married to him."
Oh, the simplicity of children.
And wouldn’t Carrie like that? She’d been able to pretend she didn’t have feelings for Trey, but all those lies were stripped away now. Now that he’d come to her rescue. Now that he’d come to Scarlett’s rescue. But her feelings didn’t seem to matter anymore. Trey’d been trying to set her up with someone else. Had actually gotten other men to ask her out. She didn’t know why, hadn’t worked that one out yet. But it proved that she’d rejected him one time too many. Trey would never want her back now. "That's not going to happen," she said softly.
That's not going to happen.
Carrie's words played over and over in Trey's memory as the day wore on. No matter what he'd wished and hoped for, Carrie didn't see him in her future.
That's' what he got for eavesdropping.
Maybe it was a good thing he was leaving for Grapevine.
He needed distance, but he didn't get it as Carrie and Scarlett emerged from the master bedroom. He made omelets for breakfast and tried to pretend nothing was wrong.
He couldn't wait to escape, but the temps hadn't gotten above thirty yet, and it would be taking his life in his hands to drive out there, even only a couple of miles to the motel.
The early morning had taken its toll on them all, and Scarlett was drooping and cranky by lunchtime.
Carrie took her in to get her to lie down. He picked up his keys from the kitchen table, flicking them around in his palm and wondering if he dared get out of here. He’d scraped his truck windows clean earlier, after all.
He'd though Carrie might nap with Scarlett. He could tell she still wasn't feeling well, but she joined him in the kitchen and started to make a cup of tea. “You want some?”
“No. Thank you.”
A few minutes passed in silence as she pulled out the sugar and added it to the hot liquid. "I remembered what it was I'm supposed to be mad at you about." She stood with her back to the counter, holding her cup in front of her.
He also noticed she only said she was supposed to be mad, not that she was mad.
"Why did you send all those guys into the shop for haircuts?"
He nodded to the hallway. "She really asleep?"
When Carrie nodded, he told her about Scarlett's request for a husband for her mom for Christmas.
Carrie looked at him in disbelief. "And you agreed to this plan?"
Yeah, it seemed dumb now. His face was hot. "You can't say no to her, either," he argued.
She laughed. "Sure I can. If I said yes to everything she wanted, I'd be living in a rainbow-colored zoo with seventeen lizards trying to eat the twenty hamsters. She's seven. She doesn't always know what's best."
He stayed silent, not sure how best to extricate himself from this conversation. He figured he was going to have to give up on Scarlett's plan now.
His silence made the smile on Carrie's face fade. Her knuckles whitened on her mug. "I've got it now. Scarlett doesn't know what's best for me, but you do. Is that right?"
He shook his head, her words from earlier still ringing in his ears.
"Do you think I picked random guys?” he asked. “All of those men were good guys who would've done right by you. And believe me, I didn’t enjoy one minute of trying to fix you up.” Even thinking about it now gave him heartburn. "But if I'm not good enough for you, maybe one of them is."
"It was never about that—" She broke off, eyes flashing. "I just can't believe you'd try to pick me out a husband."
He shrugged. "Sorta seems like God made us all to be part of a pair. Family works better when there's a mom and a dad. So yeah, I want you to have the best, and yeah, I think that means you having a real family.” Then his temper flared, and words he’d meant to keep to himself flew out. “But I don't want it to be some other guy."
She set her cup down and stepped toward him, and he was hot enough under the collar that he didn't back down when she stepped even closer.
She poked him with her index finger, but he clasped her hand in his.
>
And used it to tug her closer.
It was stupid. He was stupid, but that didn't stop him as he kissed her.
All the emotions he’d tried to hide—of the past twenty-four hours, maybe the past week, or maybe ever since the breakup—came out in his kiss. The knife of fear he'd felt when Scarlett couldn't breathe. The warmth he'd felt when Carrie’d leaned into him on the couch. The hot anger that she still didn't want him.
Her kiss said otherwise as she clung to his shoulders and pressed even closer.
He couldn't do this to himself.
He gently pushed her away. And stepped out into the icy world.
Chapter 7
"What are you doing out here? Where's the squirt?"
Carrie stood in the Triple H's kitchen staring out the window above the sink. She acknowledged Matt's entrance with a nod but kept her eyes focused out the window on the barn in the distance. It’d been too lonely at home by herself, so she’d used the chance to bring out her groceries for tomorrow’s Christmas feast.
"Your niece talked Trey into taking her to the Daddy-Daughter dance. And somehow, she also talked me into letting her."
Matt chuckled. "I'm not surprised. She's got a way of bringing you around to her way of thinking."
"I'm going to have to get a lot tougher before she turns into a teenager."
He set about making a pot of coffee. "So are you and Trey back together?"
She sighed. "No." After the kiss he'd laid on her in her kitchen, she hadn't seen him until today. She knew he was working extra holiday hours at the feed store, but even when he’d been available, he'd avoided her.
The single men parading through her shop had also dried up. Thank God.
After seeing how well he'd taken care of Scarlett and how worried he'd been, she'd been unable to unsee how much Trey loved her daughter. And the feelings she had for him, the ones that had never gone away, had rushed to the forefront in full force.
She loved him. And he was leaving.
She'd heard through the town gossip chain that he'd taken a job near Grapevine that would start right after the holiday.
She'd done what she'd intended. She’d driven him away. For good.
And the stupid thing was, she didn't want him to go.
"You two girls coming out for Christmas supper tomorrow?"
"Of course. I hope Kelsey likes your gift." He'd begged for Carrie's help, and they'd spent an afternoon at one of the ritzy Dallas shopping malls finding the perfect outfit.
"You and Scar could spend the night here if you wanted. Wake up on Christmas morning at the ranch. She might like that."
Her stomach pinched at the suggestion. "I don't think so."
He was silent for a moment, then, "You really don't feel like the Triple H is your home, do you?"
Oh, she did. It was just...
He shook his head. "I didn't believe him..." he muttered to himself. Then, louder, "Why not?"
She avoided his gaze. "It's personal."
"And I'm your brother." He leaned his shoulder against hers in solidarity.
She might as well spill it all. "Pat never liked Rob. When I told Pat we were getting married, he tried to talk me out of it. He told me if I left to run away with Rob, that I couldn't come back home."
Matt was silent, serious. "And you believed him?"
She shrugged, a sad smile coming. "I thought it was a bluff, but... Pat was so quick to move my boxes of stuff to Rob's place. He and I made up later, but I never really felt welcome out here while he was alive."
Matt put his hand on her shoulder. "Pat loved you. Even if he made a mistake, he left you a third of the Triple H. Gideon and I want you to know it is your home."
Tears made her eyes hot as she shook her head. "It doesn't feel that way."
"It is that way," he insisted. "In fact, I kinda think you and Scar should move out here."
She shook her head with a teary laugh. "And what, Scarlett can ride the early bus to school every day, like we did?"
"Maybe. We've got plenty of hands to cart her to school if you want her to have a ride."
She shook her head. "It's not just that... I don't…"
She couldn't say it.
"Belong?" he guessed. "That's a lie you've let yourself believe. You belong here as much as I do. When we were little, you'd ride more than I would. This land is in your blood."
Again she shook her head. "I can't, not now—" Not without Trey.
The place just felt empty without him.
"You could ask him to stay," he said. "He still loves you."
Her breath caught at the thought. He'd said he wasn't leaving the Triple H because of her, but he'd always known she didn't feel like this was her home. Had he thought it was because of him?
She'd barely acknowledged to herself that her feelings had never died. That she still loved him.
Could he really still have feelings for her, when she'd been so hot and so cold?
Her cell phone buzzed from her pocket. Then Matt's did.
They shared a worried glance.
"It's the sheriff's office," he said. He answered it. "Hale."
He was grabbing his keys and motioning her to follow him before he said another word.
Trey had never felt as out of place as he did right now.
And he loved every minute of it.
He kept nodding to friends and acquaintances, all of them looking like they were choking with ties and suit coats. Every single one was accompanied by a little girl dolled up like a princess.
He felt a huge amount of pride at having Scarlett on his arm in her deep green velvety dress and with her hair in some kind of intricate braid.
Scarlett looked up at him, beaming, as they took a turn around the dance floor, her standing on his shoes.
He wasn't much of a dancer, but she didn't seem to notice.
Something huge and hot had settled into his chest cavity when he'd picked her up at Carrie's earlier.
This might be the last time he spent with her. He was leaving for his new job just after the holiday.
He'd be out of Carrie's way, out of both of their lives.
After what he'd overheard last week, he had to believe Carrie was done with him. That, and the fact that she hadn't made any effort to reach out to him after they'd parted ways.
He was just having trouble getting his heart to accept it.
"Can we have some more punch?" Scarlett asked as the music ended.
"Sure, kiddo." She'd done all right with the red stuff earlier, no spills, so he figured it was okay.
"D'you wanna say hi to Santa?" he asked on their way across the hotel ballroom that'd been turned into a winter wonderland. He didn't recognize the yahoo they'd wrangled into the Santa suit this time, but he had to admit it made for a cute photo op.
She angled a look up at him. "Are you still leaving for Grapevine?"
"Yeah."
"Then no, I don't want to talk to Santa right now."
He wanted to chuckle at her adamancy, but another part of him was sad. During the three-course tea-slash-dinner that'd been served earlier, he'd explained to her why he was moving and where.
She'd nodded in that serious way she had, not crying like he'd thought she might.
They were on the edge of the dance floor when he had a sense that something was out of place. He was already holding Scarlett's hand and tightened his grip on her as he glanced around.
Somebody in the entrance, caddy-corner to the punch bowl, was causing a ruckus. He was in jeans and a ripped brown coat, not dressed for the event. He looked like he hadn't shaved in days.
Trey didn’t know what was going on as he tried to hustle Scarlett farther from the door.
"Sir, you don't have a ticket." One of the organizers, a woman, was attempting to block the man from coming farther into the ballroom. "And this is a Daddy-Daughter dance."
"My daughter's in there."
At the sound of the shout, Scarlett froze, and since they were still con
nected, he had to stop too.
"What's the matter?" He looked down at her, but she'd gone pale and wide-eyed, staring at the stranger.
Suddenly, her hand was squeezing his tightly.
"That's the bad man," she whispered.
Her father?
Trey had never met him, but he felt Scarlett's fear and knew Carrie wouldn't want the man anywhere near her daughter. He looked around for help.
"That's her. Right there! Scarlett!" The shout came as Rob broke away from the organizer lady.
Trey scooped Scarlett into his arms and walked calmly toward Randy Quaid, the police captain who'd already left his daughter at their table and was heading their way. Jim McClellan, a firefighter, had done the same, walking behind the policeman.
"You can't keep my daughter from me!" Rob called out.
Since his arms were full of little girl, he jerked his head toward the man making a beeline across the dance floor. "That's Carrie Hale's ex-husband, and she and Scarlett have a protective order against him."
Trey was man enough to take on Rob, even if the guy was a good thirty pounds heavier. And there was a huge part of him that wanted to tell him a thing or two about beating up helpless women. But his first priority was Scarlett's safety.
So he would let the right people handle it.
"I've got you, kiddo. No one's gonna get close to you on my watch."
And she looked up at him so trustingly that that huge knot in his chest lit on fire.
"Can't you go any faster?" Carrie asked.
"I'm fifteen over the speed limit already," Matt responded.
Maybe it was a good thing he'd shoved her into the passenger seat of his truck. If she'd been driving, she'd probably have been going a hundred.
The call that had hit both of their phones was from one of the organizers of the dance, letting them know that she'd seen Rob trying to get in.
And Carrie was freaking out.
"Trey's not going to let anything happen to her," Matt said, the picture of calmness.
Courting Carrie: a Cowboy Fairytales spin-off (Triple H Brides Book 2) Page 6
