Cowboy Country (27 page)

She’d never seen Virgil so scared. Silver had been his responsibility. One he didn’t take lightly and now she was missing. Well, sort of. She didn’t blame Virgil in the least. They all knew about Silver’s penchant for animals.

Dane came out of the trailer with one of his stupid shit-eating grin plastered on his face, his dimples carved deeply into his cheeks. He was notorious for that damned smile.

“She’s with Sterling. He’s taking her to the line shack about two miles beyond the pond.”

She blushed at the thought of that pond but didn’t let her mind go there, for long. “What happened?”

“Far as I could tell she wandered off while Virgil was penning the sheep. She was chasing some ducks or something when a couple of wolves went after her. Rocket lit out after one of them and I let off a shot and chased off the other while Sterling pulled her out of the water.”

“What? Please tell me this is one of your practical jokes.”

“Best I can tell she fell into the pond when the second wolf came after her.”

“Is she okay? That water has to be freezing? Thank God Virgil taught her to swim last summer.”

“Sterling had her wrapped in his heavy jacket. Don’t worry about it. If nothing else, Silver and her daddy will become acquainted, right quick like.”

“That’s not funny Dane and you know it. Silver shouldn’t have to suffer for my decisions. She doesn’t know what happened. And you know your brother, he’s going to come unglued.”

Dane started laughing. He clapped Virgil on the back and said, “Good job little brother, I couldn’t have planned that better myself.”

“Dane, I didn’t plan anything. I had just finished locking the gate when I noticed Silver was gone. I panicked and went looking for her. I was about to blow a gasket until you rode up and told me what happened. But, I didn’t plan any of it.

Dane threw his head back and roared with laughter. “That’s even better. He can’t blame you for it. God, I love it. Payback is such a bitch. I wish I was there to see his face when he finally figures out Silver is his.”

“Dane, you’re
so
not amusing,” Regina said. “I’m seriously freaking out. My daughter is wet, there’s a snowstorm blowing this way, and she’s with her father for the first time and he doesn’t even know it. Do you have any idea how bad this could turn out?”

“Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy, serves the bastard right for not seeing you sooner.”

“Dane!” Lena shouted. Thankfully that one word had the power to wipe most of the smirk from his face.

It didn’t last long because Dane smiled and set off a whole new slew of laughter.

“What is so damned funny?” Regina asked.

Lena joined her, hands on her hips as well.

“That’s another thing—when I left Sterling he was already into Silver for a couple bucks. By the time they get back he’s going to owe her a small fortune.”

Regina covered her mouth and turned away. When she looked back, she couldn’t help smiling herself. She could just imagine Silver announcing he owed her money. Her daughter was very proud of helping to keep the swearing to a minimum, while raking in the dough.

When Lena started laughing it was all she could do not to punch Dane for relishing in Sterling’s misery. This was one sick, twisted and warped, yet remarkably loving family they all belonged to.

****

Silver couldn’t stop shaking as she watched the man who was her father, build them a fire. He was so big, bigger than all his brothers. He was strong too. He unsaddled his horse with one hand as if it was as light as rock he was skipping on a lake. And he was handsome. Even with a patch on his eye he reminded her of that cute, famous pirate in the movies, only her Daddy was much bigger.

She had overheard her Daddy was injured in the war but he looked fine to her. She hugged Rocket trying to warm herself and continued to watch him. She didn’t know what to say to him, but it didn’t matter. It was good enough just to have him this close, to see him in person.

He was better than anything she’d ever dreamed about.

CHAPTER 4

“So kid, all I know about you is your name is Silver.”

The girl yawned and nodded as if she were suddenly bashful. His stomach rumbled. He’d forgotten about lunch.

He smiled at the little girl. “Guess I’m hungry. Could you eat a bite?”

Silver nodded, gnawing on her lip. The action was so familiar but he couldn’t think of who it reminded him of?

“How about we get out of these wet clothes then we’ll start some dinner.”

He had to help her out of her wet things as they clung to her little body. He shrugged out of his own wet shirts, laying them on the ground near the fire. He pulled a chair close and hung her clothes from it. He pulled off his own pants, leaving only his damp thermal britches. He pulled a spare shirt from his saddle bag and put it on Silver, then put on his spare socks to keep his feet warm.

He went into the kitchen portion of the line shack and started a fire in the old wood stove. Between the fireplace and the cook stove they’d be cozy soon. He looked at the cans that dotted the shelves, then to the little girl and asked, “Any requests?”

She shook her head.

“Why don’t you come over here? I’ll lift you up and you can choose what we’ll have for dinner.”

She didn’t hesitate in the least, came straight up to him and raised her arms. He picked her up, holding her in his good arm. “See anything you’d like?”

She nodded, but didn’t speak.

“Would you mind grabbing the cans you want, my arm’s a bit sore. He leaned closer to the shelves, hoisting her up as high as he could. She grabbed a big can of beef stew, a can of green beans, and a jar of peaches. She handed each to him then he put them on the counter.

“Those are all my favorites, how’d you know?”

She shrugged and smiled, then suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. She clung to him tightly then just as suddenly pulled away and looked him in the eyes, hers were rimmed with tears.

“You okay honey?” he asked.

She nodded then reached up and rubbed her hand along his whiskered jaw and flashed him a huge mega-watt smile.

“I need to put you down so I can start dinner.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say. What she’d just done scared the absolute shit out of him. He felt as if he was in some alternate universe where everyone knew things he didn’t. Why was she behaving so mysteriously? As if she knew him.

He was quite proud of the fact that he scared the crap out of most people, but this kid seemed comfortable just being around him, almost fearless. She sort of reminded him of—
himself
.

He proceeded to open the cans, pouring the stew in one pan and the beans in another. The old four burner stove dated back to his great-great grandparents and still worked like a charm.

He heard a clang behind him and turned to find Silver had taken a dish rag from the drawer and wiped off the old metal plates and placed them on the battered table. She continued setting the table without being asked. What a good kid. He hoped her parents were proud of her.

When the food was heated he spooned portions into each of the tins. He grabbed his canteen and pour water into each of the tin coffee mugs she’d set out.

They ate in silence, yet seemed to be sizing each other up. It wasn’t that he was necessarily uncomfortable being alone with her, it was just damned strange.

And that was another thing, every time he swore silently to himself he felt the need to give the kid another buck.

Sterling fed Rocket the leftovers, letting him lick the pans and plates clean. He’d wash them in a bit, as he had already had a large pan of water on the stove heating so he could do the dishes.

The old lanterns he’d lit when they first came into the line shack started to sputter. He’d need to refill them. He blew out the first one, removed the lid on the compartment and began to pour the kerosene. He’d barely had a chance to light it when Silver brought him another. In short order all four were refilled and lit.

“I have to pee.”

Silver was doing a cute little dance, the one he remembered his sister, Darcy, do when she was a little girl. The one she called her “peepee” dance. He stuffed his feet into his boots, shrugged into his jacket and then lifted Silver into his arms, pulling his jacket around both of them. He carried her to the outhouse.

She did her business and they returned to the warmth of the shack.

“Are you going to be okay alone here with me? You’re not going to be afraid that your mommy and daddy aren’t here?”

This made her laugh. “No silly.”

In that moment she reminded him of Dane. If the kid wasn’t Dane’s then she spent entirely too much time in his company. What was starting to baffle him was that he was seeing a bit of each of his brothers and his sister in this child. What a scary thought, any of his siblings as parents. God help the poor kids they had.

With her belly full and the shack now pleasantly warm, Silver let loose a loud yawn, followed by a sigh.

“Guess it’s time for lights out.”

Funny thing is he was exhausted too. “You go crawl into bed. I’m going to use the outhouse myself. I’ll be right back.”

He returned moments later to find Silver, kneeling beside the bed. Her eyes closed, little hands crossed saying her prayers. He quietly moved around the room to give her privacy.

“God bless Mommy, and all my grandmas and grandpas—”

He was glad the kid had a nice family.

“And Uncle Blake, Uncle Dane, Uncle Clayton—”

What the fuck?
Which one of his siblings did she belong to?

“—Uncle Quinton, Uncle Virgil, Uncle Wyatt, Uncle Logan, and Aunt Darcy.”

What a minute—that meant—

“And most of all, thank you God for finally bringing my Daddy home to me. Amen.”

Silver turned and looked at him, smiling ear-to-ear. “Will you tuck me in Daddy?”

How could he have been so stupid? Her name alone should have given it away. Damn—he was an idiot. He had a kid, a beautiful little girl. The spitting image of her moth—.

Regina.

How could she not tell him?

He plastered a false smile on his face. “Sure.”

She scrambled under the covers. He tucked the sheets and blankets around her tightly then sat on the edge of the bed and asked, “Did I do that right?”

“Perfect. I’m glad you came home. Mommy missed you a lot. And I’ve been dying to meet you.”

What else didn’t he know? “Is that so?”

She nodded.

“Do you have any questions for me? I know I have more than few I’d like to ask.”

She yawned again, fading fast. “I have one very important question.”

He waited, wondering if he’d be able to answer it, because right at the moment, there wasn’t a hell of a lot he did know. Although, now that he thought about it, the comments from his family were starting to make a bit more sense. No wonder everyone wanted him to go see Regina.

“Can I have a puppy?”

He chuckled. “We’ll see. You just go to sleep now. We’ll talk about it in the morning.”

She smiled, rolled onto her side, let out a sigh, and softly began to snore.

Sterling sat there and watched her sleep for hours.

He had a daughter, Silver. And that’s about all he knew. He didn’t know her age, her birthday, or anything else.

He didn’t know whether to scream hallelujah or beat the crap out of someone.

How could everyone have kept this from him?

Sure he’d spent the past four and a half years in Afghanistan. One of his last mission resulted in the extinguishing of the United States number one problem. Operation Neptune Spear took out the terrorist. It was a secret mission, one they’d all sworn never to speak of, which was fine by him.

It was during the clean-up that he was injured. The last thing he remembered was telling the guys to be careful. He saw Miller about to trigger a mine. He ran and dove at him knocking them both out of the way, but a secondary IED was triggered and sent him ass over boots, the blast knocked him out. He woke up with his eyes bandaged, temporarily deaf, his arm in a sling, his leg in traction, and one hell of a raging fever. The doctors feared they’d have to amputate his leg. It took six weeks for his ears to stop ringing. Another two before they decided his remaining eye would heal and he’d keep his leg. They shipped him back to the states where he went through some grueling therapy to help re-gain the use of his left arm and  leg.

Now he had to weigh the costs. While he was off playing G.I. Joe as Dane put it, his daughter was being raised by his family and he’d missed it all.

Dane was right. The medical discharge was the best thing for him. Without it, he had no idea when he might have come home.

Damn it. Why didn’t Regina tell him she was pregnant? He knew her inside and out, there had to be a logical reason. But all he could think about was the years he missed getting to know his little girl.

****

Regina paced the floor of the Bronco kitchen. She hadn’t slept a wink. She stayed up all night long cooking.

By the time morning rolled around, she had breakfast prepared, cakes, cookies, pies, and a wide variety of breads ready to be consumed. She was thoroughly and completely a wreck. Yet in spite of her mental exhaustion, her mind was reeling. What was happening at the line shack?

Breakfast and lunch had been served and cleaned up. At two in the afternoon she was read to jump out of her skin. She was out of ingredients and apologized for her frantic cooking.

No one complained they were too busy eating.

By four in the afternoon she’d help Lena with all the laundry, dusting, and chores.

“I can’t stand this. I have to do something. The waiting is killing me.” Regina opened cupboards, checked the pantry, and paced the room looking for something to do.

Lena handed her the basket. “Go collect the eggs from the hen house. It’s early but at least then you’ll have a few more ingredients to play with.”