Almost a Cowboy (31 page)

When Utah faced Benson and Eden’s mother, she slapped him sharply across the face—forehand then backhand.

Caroline gasped and pushed forward. “What are you doing? He’s not Hollis!”

Utah’s head rocked with the force, but he took it.
He took the blow for his father.

Benson crowded onto the doorstep with his mother. “Mom, I should have prepared you when I called earlier to say I was coming.”

The woman pasted both hands to her mouth and stared at Utah over her fingertips. In a reedy voice, she asked, “Who are you?”

“Come inside, Mom. I’ll explain.” He shot Utah and Caroline a disgusted look. “Stay out here.”

Utah shook himself and rubbed a hand over his cheek. A red blotch was appearing. Caroline folded her fingers to keep from soothing it. Their journey was almost ended, and she’d go back to her life. She needed to start distancing herself.

They stood on the steps of a comfortable suburban home. The sun beat down on Caroline’s head and made her exhaustion loom to the surface. Her sleepless nights weren’t exactly filled with amazing sex recently. Instead, worry over her article, her mother, and her cat all filtered into her awareness.

No, that was only partially true. Really she’d lain awake last night wondering if she’d lost herself again.

Her mind told her the waters of her relationship with Utah were safe and warm, but she couldn’t be his little Caroline again. She wasn’t the same person.

This disturbed her more than anything—in the past few weeks with Utah, she’d
become
that person again. Sometimes she even wanted to be the old Caroline.

On the road, she’d lost herself.

After a few minutes of standing around, her feet began to ache in her sandals. She sank to the top step and rested her elbows on her knees. Her jeans clung to her damp skin.

Utah sat too, crowding her with his big body. She resisted the urge to lean into him. But she did take a deep breath of his musky male scent.

From inside the house, a shout sounded. “I don’t think their mother’s taking this well,” Utah said, resigned.

“No.”

More minutes passed. Caroline watched a little girl across the street riding her scooter. Birds chirped.

A bead of perspiration tracked down Caroline’s nape, and she rubbed it with a finger.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Utah asked.

Caroline shrugged. “Your father would be my guess. Benson seems as angry as Franklin or Hays.”

“Yep.” He popped his
P
sound.

The door cracked. Caroline whipped around, expecting to see Benson and his mother. Instead a dark-haired young woman stood there. She blinked at them through Davies eyes, but the rest of her face was her mother’s.

“Eden.” Utah clamored to his feet like an unsteady colt.

She continued to stare.

“My name’s Utah.”

She didn’t respond.

Caroline looked at her more closely. Was she firing on all cylinders? Her eyes looked lucid but…

“Eden!” Benson barked from inside.

Her features shivered, and she bit into her lower lip. “I have to go.” Her whisper was barely audible over the humming of the insects around the flowers lining the walk.

She slipped back inside and closed the door.

Utah stared at Caroline. “What the hell was that?”

“I’m not sure.” Except that Eden’s eyes had evoked a memory of Caroline looking into the mirror and seeing that same expression in her reflection.

Utah’s sister was deep inside herself. Utah’s presence had brought her outside, but Benson wanted to protect her. Or hide her away.

The exchange made Caroline’s stomach crawl. She sat again, hard. The mental typewriter keys depressed as she thought of how to go about writing that particular meeting between brother and sister.

After half an hour, Caroline said, “I’m thirsty. Think they’ll ever let us inside?”

“There’s a bottle of water in the truck. Should still be cool. Let me get it.” In a fluid motion that reminded her of long horseback rides across fields, he loped down the sidewalk to the street where they were parked. He returned with the water just as the front door opened.

“Come in.” Benson’s voice was far from welcoming.

As Caroline entered the house with Utah on her heels, her stomach rolled. Everything was dark, the curtains and blinds pulled tight against a single wink of sun.

Fighting to make her eyes adjust to the dimness, she cast a look around the space. Lumps of furniture stuck out to her, but not much else. How did people live in here? No wonder Eden had been so skittish. The sunlight alone would have shocked her.

The young woman stood off to the side, wringing her white hands.

“This is Utah and…” Benson trailed off. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Caroline.” She glanced at Eden. The woman hunched her shoulders.

I know the look of abuse. And if it’s Benson doing the abusing…
She pulled a deep breath through her nose, fighting for control.

Utah found her hand as if understanding her sudden need to be touched. Caroline clung to his calloused fingers.

“I’m sorry to have met you in this situation,” Utah said.

“You look like that bastard.”

Benson shifted from foot to foot. “This is my mother Sandy. And Eden.” He gestured.

Eden raised her chin a notch, warming Caroline’s stomach. So she hadn’t lost all of her spirit.

“How did Hollis die?” Sandy asked.

Utah cleared his throat. “Massive stroke. He died on our family ranch in Utah.”

“He told me years ago about you, did you know?”

He jolted, his hand going lax around Caroline’s. “No.”

Sandy nodded. “When you left for college on that football scholarship, he was so proud.”

Caroline centered her gaze on Benson’s face. Had he known too? His drawn eyebrows revealed that he didn’t.

“I apologize for the way he may have treated y’all. Hollis Davies wasn’t what he seemed.”

Sandy gave a distracted nod.

“What date do you need us by?” Benson interjected.

They’re trying to get us out of here. Fast.

Utah gave him a date, and he nodded.

“We’ll do that. It’s cutting close to the school year, but I’ll be there.”

“Eden too.” Utah flicked his jaw toward the woman who was staring at her feet. Her bare pink toes seemed to glow in the darkness.

“No, she can’t—”

Benson cut his mother off. “Eden has other obligations. I’m not certain she’ll make it.”

“She has to. The will states we all must be gathered for the reading.”

“No. Benson, tell him no.” Sandy’s voice raised an octave. Eden continued to gaze at her feet.

Even in the dim lighting, Caroline saw Benson’s jaw flex. “We’ll try to make that happen. It’s the best I can promise.”

“Fair enough. Caroline, do you have your notepad on you? Will you give them the address?”

She fished the notepad from her back pocket, along with the pen. As she wrote the address, her mind whirled. What dark event in their lives kept them living in the shadows? Were they protecting Eden or suppressing her?

Panic rose in Caroline’s chest. She handed Utah the paper and turned to the door. Needing air. Now.

She broke from the oppressive house and into the sunshine. A second later Utah joined her. His solid arm around her shoulders boosted her spirits instantly. He put her into the truck and kissed the tip of her nose.

Only when they’d driven out of the suburbs did they speak.

“Something odd going on there.”

She shivered. “That’s an understatement. Think we’ll ever find out what it is?”

He shook his head, mouth turned down at the corners. “Guess we can’t win ’em all over. But still…that girl. Eden. I’d give anything for an hour alone with her.”

Caroline wrapped her arms around her middle. “Let’s find Chase and Kent and get home.”

He laid a hand on her thigh, warm and heavy and solid. She released a pent-up breath. “I think I know where Kent’s at. Ready for a long ride?”

She nodded. “Let’s get it over with.”

They blindsided Kent.

SPC specialist Kent Davies listened to what Utah had to say for all of two seconds before lighting into him. For the fourth time since coming out of his mountain hideaway, Utah found himself under a muscled brother, taking punches.

But this time he was pissed.

Beyond fed up with the task his pa had set him to, Utah cocked his fist and gave Kent the business end of his knuckles.

He grunted, head lolling to the side and blood streaming from his mouth. “You knocked my tooth loose, you son of a bitch!”

“You deserved it, pipsqueak.” Utah caught Kent’s fist as it made an arc toward his nose.

Thank goodness Caroline remained in the hotel. After a difficult conversation with her editor taken in private, she’d determined to sit down with her work for the morning. That left Utah to spring his news on one angry member of the U.S. Army.

The tang of crushed grass rose up between their bodies as they struggled on the lawn before the barracks.

“You’re going to get in trouble for fighting,” Utah drawled, shoving his brother’s fist back with every ounce of strength he had. His muscles shook from the effort. Kent was one stacked man.

Kent’s face contorted with fury and exertion. His hat fell off, and they rolled over it.

A man with a sharp voice barked an order. Kent bolted to his feet, grass clinging to his uniform. He jerked into a salute.

“What is this, Davies?” The man glared at his soldier.

Utah gained his feet a little more slowly.

The commanding officer looked between the brothers. “Family disagreement?”

“You could say that, sir.” Kent held himself rigid. On his feet, he stood an inch taller than Utah. On the ground, they could have beaten the hell out of each other for an hour before one of them might have shown an advantage.

But damn, Kent could hit hard. Utah resisted the urge to rub a hand over his stomach, where he’d taken the initial blow. If he lost his spleen, he had his pa to thank.

“I won’t write you up for this, Davies. But if you don’t get off my base in five minutes, you can expect a call tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, sir.”

The officer stared at Utah for a heartbeat before shaking his head. He turned and strode in the opposite direction, leaving Utah with his brother once again.

“Let’s have a beer.”

Kent spat a mouthful of blood. “What the fuck do you want, coming here out of the blue this way?”

Utah opened his mouth to reply, but Kent walked away. In a second Utah caught up to him, remembering the officer’s order to get off base in five minutes. Kent walked hurriedly toward the gates. They passed through and then turned down a sidewalk. A few more men in uniform strode by.

Finally Kent tossed him a look. “You’re not going to go away, are you?”

“No.”

“Damn. Do you know about Chase too?”

Utah nodded slowly, his neck aching from Kent slamming him into the ground. “I know of Chase.”

“He’s gonna be happy to hear this.”

Utah grunted. “As happy as you? I can only prepare myself for such joy.”

For the first time, Kent wasn’t glaring. “Give me the particulars.”

As they walked, Utah related the entire story.
I only have to tell it one more time.

Kent was quiet. Utah waited for him to sucker-punch him again.

“I’d say you aren’t my brother, but I can’t deny we look alike,” Kent said at last.

“We all look alike. Same dark hair, same eyes. Even the sisters.”

“Christ, there’re sisters.”

“Yes.”

They turned down a tree-lined street toward some multi-family housing. “Chase is my twin, ya know.”

Surprise flitted through Utah. “I didn’t know.”

“Yeah, Dad wasn’t too happy to hear he was getting a two for one deal, or so our mother says.”

Utah’s stomach hollowed at his brother’s words. Hollis was damn lucky he was dead, that was all Utah had to say about it.

“I wish I could have met you under different circumstances. And I wish to hell our father hadn’t done this to you—to all of us.”

“Yeah, well, it’s done. I guess we deal with the aftermath.”

“When will I get to meet Chase?”

“I’ll text him once I get home.”

“Not to dig into your business any more than I already have, but do you think it’s a good idea to text sensitive information such as this?”

Kent gave him a penetrating look. “You don’t want to be closer than a fingertip away from my twin when he’s pissed off. Believe me, a text is best.”

•●•