Count on a Cowboy (22 page)

Now, I’m asking your forgiveness for all the years I wasn’t the father you needed. Please, don’t stay away from the ranch
because of me. I won’t be around much longer. I’ve reconciled with the Lord, and your mother. I need to tell you that I loved Chris and you more than life.

I’m so proud of you, Trent. I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. But mostly, I don’t want you to have any regrets. Chris wouldn’t want you to spend any more time grieving him. He loved you and would want you to live your life to the fullest. That’s what I want for you, too.
Come home to the Lucky Bar L, and make a good life.

Goodbye, son.

Love,

Your father

Trent put down the letter as a rush of tears filled his eyes until the dam burst. He cried for the brother he’d lost, for the dad who had to carry this burden all these years, and for himself because he missed them all.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but he finally realized his dad was right. He needed to bury this for once and for all. He needed a new beginning.

What he needed was Brooke.

Chapter Seventeen

“Mother, you need to calm down, or you’ll have to go back to your room,” Brooke said as she sat on the sofa in the living room at the care facility.

Coralee Loretta Harper had a look of defiance across her once flawless face. Now her skin was lined by years of drinking and hard living. Although her beauty had faded, she was still slender and graceful.

Her mother turned her blue gaze toward her daughter. “You can’t make me.”

Brooke folded her arms. Her mother was lucid today, but very agitated, and demanding to get her way. Some things never changed. “Try me.”

Coralee glared, but finally sat down on the sofa. “You promised me, Brooke. You were going to bring Laurel here for me.”

Only back from Colorado two days, Brooke had to go to work at the casino right away. It seemed that she’d have her dealer’s job for a while. The manager’s position at Dream Chaser Hotel that she’d been offered was for their Reno, Nevada, location. She had to turn it down. So she wasn’t in the best mood today.

“I told you already, not everyone can stop their lives to do what you want.”

But Brooke always had. She was at the top of that list for enabling her mother, or she would have never gone to Colorado. She felt a rush of happiness, knowing she was glad she had gone to Hidden Springs. She met her sister, her father and her first lover, even if their time together had been so short.

She’d tried not to think about Trent, but gave up. She’d relived their week together over and over again during her drive back. Even though he couldn’t offer her a future, she had no regrets about loving the man.

Her mother’s voice broke through her reverie. “Did Laurel at least say when she was coming to see me?”

It had surprised Brooke that she hadn’t heard from Laurel. Maybe her sister was upset because she hadn’t told her the entire truth. And what about Rory? Wouldn’t he at least acknowledge that Brooke was his daughter, or had Diane prevented him from contacting her?

“Well, I want you to call her, and tell her to come,” her mother demanded.

The pretty redheaded director, Erin, walked into the public room that was shared by the four residents at Carlton Care Facility. Up until three months ago, that had included Erin’s disabled husband, Jarred. The ex-marine had been severely wounded in Afghanistan. He’d died due to complications from his injuries. Brooke had only met Jarred once while she’d worked here some weekends. She wondered how Erin had dealt with the loss.

“Maybe she’ll come visit you tomorrow, Coralee,” Erin said. “Now, it’s time for you to go to bed.”

Coralee pouted. “It’s still early.”

Erin was persistent. She had to be, dealing with Alzheimer’s patients. “Once you get bathed and into your gown, it will be bedtime.”

Coralee finally relented. She stood and walked away with Carol, the second shift nurse.

“Put on the blue gown,” Brooke called to her. “The color makes your eyes shine.”

That got her a smile from her mother. “It’s my favorite, too.” Coralee’s whole mood changed as she left the room.

Brooke collapsed on the sofa and Erin joined her. “I didn’t realize there would be such a change in her in just a week.”

“She actually did very well while you were gone.” Erin looked her in the eyes. “She just knows how to push your buttons.”

Brooke knew that was true. “I’ve let her have her way for so long, I don’t know how to stop.”

“At this stage of her disease, it would be impossible for Coralee to change.” Erin reached across and covered Brooke’s hand. “Let’s talk about you now. Tell me about your sister and your father.”

Brooke forced a smile. “Laurel is wonderful, but I’m not sure she’ll come to see Coralee. We talked about it some, but then I had to leave suddenly.”

Over the years growing up, Brooke hadn’t had many friends. That had changed when she met Erin. Over the past six months they’d shared a lot. She’d told Erin about all the wonderful things she got to do while in Colorado, then how it all fell apart.

“None of them have called me,” Brooke said. “Not that I blame them. I wasn’t exactly truthful when I first arrived.” She was hoping Trent would contact her. “Trent never made me any promises, either.”

“That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have called you,” Erin said, shaking her head. “At least to see if you made it home.”

“I turned off my phone. I can’t expect them to drop everything. Trent even told me from the beginning that he didn’t do commitments.”

Erin gripped Brooke’s hand. “That seems to be a typical guy’s line.”

She put on a smile. “It still was the best week of my life. I met my sister and father.” She hated how much she hurt leaving them. Aching to be a part of a family. Guess that wasn’t in the picture for her. She stood. “I’d better go and say good-night to Coralee, then I need to head home and get some sleep.”

Erin stood and hugged her. “If you need me, I’m here for you.”

At the sound of the doorbell, they broke apart. “Who could that be this late?” Erin and Brooke went to the door and checked the security camera. On the porch were Laurel and Rory.

Brooke gasped. “Oh, no. It’s my sister, Laurel, and Rory.”

Erin smiled. “Should I send them away?”

“No! I just don’t know what to say to them.”

“Try hello,” Erin said, then released the lock on the door and opened it. “Welcome to Carlton Care Facility, I’m Erin Carlton.”

Laurel spoke first. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Carlton. I’m Laurel Quinn, Brooke Harper’s sister.”

Rory stepped in behind her, holding his cowboy hat in his hand. With a nod, he said, “Mrs. Carlton. I’m Rory Quinn, Brooke’s father. We were wondering if we could speak with her.”

Erin motioned with her hand. “Yes, she is here.”

At the mention of her name, Brooke released a breath, trying to relax.
Stay calm
, she told herself, then stepped into the entry. “Hello, Rory and Laurel.”

Laurel smiled. “Hi, Brooke.”

Erin spoke up. “Why don’t we all go into the other room and get more comfortable, and you can talk with her?”

Brooke led the way and they followed her into the living room, but no one sat down. She had no idea what to say to them, but since they were here, she felt hopeful.

Laurel spoke first. “I should start, Brooke. I’m sorry you felt you had to leave. It’s not what I wanted at all.” She glanced at her father. “I probably didn’t tell you how happy I was that you’re my sister, but now knowing that you’re my twin—” she shook her head “—I feel even closer to you.”

Brooke nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away. I’d planned to, but you had gone to Denver...” She stole a quick glance at Rory. “I couldn’t just blurt it out.”

Rory stepped forward. “And I didn’t help matters by blaming you for everything your mother had done.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s okay. You have to protect your family. I understand that.”

Rory nervously toyed with his cowboy hat. “But you are my family, Brooke. Just as much as Laurel is mine.”

Her heart skipped a couple of beats. A flood of emotion filled her and spilled out in tears. “I’m still a stranger to you.”

“I don’t want us to be strangers, Brooke. I know you’re an adult, but if there’s any space in your life for me, I’d like to get to know you.”

“Really?” She glanced back at Laurel. “I don’t want to intrude in your lives. I mean, Diane doesn’t need me to disrupt her family.”

“Mom is the one who arranged our flights to come here today. She also sends her apologies for not being fair to you. She knows now that she shouldn’t have blamed you for what Coralee had done.”

Rory took over. “Diane wanted us to be sure to let you know that you’re welcome at our ranch and in our family.”

Brooke’s hand covered her mouth, but she couldn’t stop the tears.

“I’m so sorry, Brooke,” Rory said. “If you’ll give me another chance, I’ll try and do better.”

She nodded. “I’d like that.”

Rory smiled and pulled Brooke into a tight embrace. “I want you to be part of our family, Brooke,” he whispered. “Will you be my daughter?”

Brooke sobbed and held on to the big man. She’d always been afraid to dream of a family, because she didn’t want to be disappointed. She wiped away her tears and looked at him. “I always wanted a...dad.”

Rory kissed her check. “Well, you got me for keeps.”

Laurel came and hugged her, too. “You’re even more than my sister, you’re my twin.” She hugged her tighter. “I can’t wait for you to come back to the ranch.”

Brooke raised a hand. “I can’t come back for a while, Laurel. I mean, Coralee is here. I also have my job.” She had to take care of her mother.

“Speaking of Coralee, if it’s not too late now,” Laurel said, “I guess it’s time I met our mother.”

* * *

A
ROUND TEN O’CLOCK
that evening Trent looked around the not-so-ideal neighborhood. It was run-down, and graffiti decorated a lot of the block walls. He’d parked his rental car at the curb in front of Brooke’s apartment complex. It was hard to believe that she lived here.

What kind of childhood had she had growing up in a place like this? A lot worse than he could imagine. Well, he didn’t want her staying here any longer than necessary. She needed to go back to Colorado with him, but that might take some convincing.

He checked his phone and found a text from Laurel saying they’d talked with Brooke at the care facility. Everything had gone well. Trent had dropped them off earlier to see Brooke and Coralee. They were going to take a cab back to the hotel. Now it was Trent’s turn to convince Brooke that he wanted her in his life.

Brooke’s familiar compact pulled in and parked under the streetlight, then she got out of the car. Hoping not to startle her, he called her name as he got out of his car and immediately identified himself.

She swung around, looking shocked. “Trent?”

He walked toward her, fighting the urge to take her in his arms. “Hi, babe.”

She tensed. “What are you doing here?”

He didn’t blame her for being suspicious. “I need to see you. Why did you leave without talking to me?”

She shrugged. “Rory didn’t want me there, so I thought it best I leave. I left you a note.”

“I got it, but I thought we were closer than that.”

“Closer than what, Trent? You said you didn’t do relationships. Besides if you were so upset, why didn’t you call me?”

“I did call, but I couldn’t leave a message. I had a lot of things to deal with first before I showed up at your door.” He glanced around the area. “Could we talk inside?”

She hesitated, then nodded. Together they walked past several apartment doors. Some had children’s toys scattered around the yard and others, overflowing trashcans. He could hear loud voices coming from some of the units. Not a place he wanted her staying in. Finally they came to hers and she unlocked the door, then flicked on the lights and walked in.

He glanced around the tiny room with a small kitchenette. The furniture was worn and out of date, including the small box television that sat on a table. The one thing he did notice was that the place was immaculately clean.

Brooke tossed her keys on the table and set her purse down. She gave him a defiant look as if challenging him to say something. “Home sweet home. This is how I live, Trent.”

She wasn’t happy to see him and he couldn’t blame her. Ignoring her comment, he walked across the room and cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. Long and hard, then easing into a slow devouring of that sweet mouth of hers, so eager for her familiar taste. Finally he let her go. “God, I’ve missed you.”

She fell back a step, then she composed herself. “Well, you shouldn’t have come here. Your life is in Colorado and mine is here.” She glanced at him. “I won’t ever forget the week we had together, but you were right. There’s no future for us. I don’t want you to think that I expect anything when I come to visit Rory and Laurel.”

He was thrilled that her father and sister had worked things out. But he wasn’t going to let this woman push him away. “Oh, I expect a lot, Brooke. I’m going to expect to spend time with you. You’re not getting rid of me.”

She blinked those big green eyes.“But I thought...”

He took her hand and sat her down on the sofa, then seated himself next to her, never letting go of her hand.

“First of all,” he began. “I was wrong about a lot of things, and that includes needing anyone in my life.” His gaze met hers. “You made me see a lot of things, Brooke. And my father’s letter helped show me that, too.”

“Oh, Trent, you read them?”

“Only the last one he wrote to me,” Trent confessed. “But I’m planning on reading the rest of them soon.” He released a breath. “Yesterday I saddled Rango and rode out to the ravine...where Chris died.” He felt the emotion clogging his throat, but he pushed through it. “I’ve avoided the place for years, but yesterday in the early-morning sunlight, I found peace and even felt close to him. It’s the first time in a very long time.”