Lone Star Heartbreaker (7 page)

Ten minutes later, they were seated around the table, passing dishes right and left. Tableware clinked as plates were passed and servings dished out.

Tyler took a bite of the savory roast beef. How long had it been since he'd visited the big house for one of his mom's Sunday dinners? Not only had she been out of town for the past several weeks, so there hadn't
been
any family dinners; before that, he'd been too injured to do much socializing.

He'd spent his time feeling sorry for himself and just wanted to be left alone to lick his wounds.

And even though he was much better, he hadn't been too thril ed when his mother had practical y ordered him to come home with her earlier this afternoon. But now, seated at the table in the kitchen where he'd grown up, surrounded by his family, he was glad he'd come.

"Could you pass the butter, please?" Caitlyn asked, jarring him out of his sentimental reverie. She sat on the bench to his left with Kelsey scrunched in the middle next to Austin and Theresa on the end.

When he handed over the butter dish, their fingers brushed. The electric current that jolted between them nearly knocked him for a loop. Caitlyn's quick intake of breath told him she'd felt it, too.

"Thanks." She buttered a rol , and continued eating, keeping her eyes on her plate. But Tyler knew she was as aware of him as he was of her.

Conversation vol eyed back and forth across the table. Austin and Pete argued about the best and most economical ways to apply pesticides on cotton crops. Dal as and Gil ian were discussing something in low voices. Ruth and Kelsey and Theresa discussed an upcoming shopping trip to Lubbock, and Jessie and Cameron were busy feeding little Daniel in the high chair.

Caitlyn listened with only half an ear. Most of her attention was centered on the silent man seated to her right and on the way her body stil tingled from the slight contact when he'd passed the butter dish. Final y, when a lul occurred in the conversation, she looked up from her plate. "Okay, I have to ask. What's with al of you being named after cities and towns in Texas?"

Everyone looked at her and then at Ruth. The older woman smiled and wiped her mouth on a napkin. "Wel now, I'l tel you, my dear. Daniel and I were married several years before the children came along. Every year, we celebrated our wedding anniversary by taking a little vacation and exploring different places in this great state of ours. It became sort of a tradition; one we kept up until he passed away."

"You must have loved him very much," Caitlyn said.

"Oh, I did. He was the love of my life. And Lord, how he loved his children." Ruth sniffed and dabbed her eyes with her napkin. "Anyway, when our first son was born, we decided to name him Dal as. And naming the children after our favorite places became a tradition, too."

"What a lovely thing to do," Caitlyn said. Her chest hurt and her stomach felt hol ow. What would she give to belong to such a close-knit family? One that had lived on the same land for generations? So different from her life as a child of a military parent. Never staying in one place long enough to put down roots or make lasting friendships.

Kelsey turned toward Caitlyn. "I was named for a town, too. Not my first name, but my middle one."

Caitlyn smiled down at the young girl. "Oh? What is it?"

"Girard. It's an itty-bitty little town not far from here. That's where my mother and dad first kissed. Isn't that cool? Not my new mom; I mean my birth mother."

"Very cool." Caitlyn looked past Kelsey to her father. He was gazing down at his daughter, a winsome smile on his face. Ruth had said his first wife had died in childbirth. The man had clearly loved her very much. But he must have gotten past his sorrow, because he'd married again and seemed to love his new wife very much, too.

What would it be like to be loved like that? Another glance at Tyler, and her stomach plunged to her toes. He was looking at her like he wanted to gobble her up.

But that was lust, not love. Stil . . .

She broke eye contact and looked at the baby in the highchair. "So what about little Daniel? What town is he named after?"

Jessie wiped her son's mouth and cleaned his smal pudgy hands. "I'm afraid Cameron and I broke with tradition and started a new one since our favorite Texas town is Salt Fork. It doesn't exactly lend itself as a name for a child; so we named him after his two grandfathers:
Daniel George
McCade."

"And so their memories live on in little Daniel. So sweet." Ruth sighed, then scooted back her chair. "Al right now. Who wants dessert?"

The dishes were cleared and everyone settled in to eat the homemade peach cobbler and vanil a ice-cream. After a little while Kelsey broke the silence that had descended around the big table. "I have a question. What are we going to do about the Founder's Day Jubilee?"

"What do you mean?" Ruth asked. "We're going to go and enjoy the festivities just like we do every year. Although, I don't think anything wil top last year's Jubilee." She glanced at Caitlyn and explained. "That's when Jessie had the baby."

Jessie shook her head. "I can't believe he's almost a year old."

"I can't believe Gil ian and I delivered the little guy," Dal as said. "Cameron's the doctor in the family. He should have been the one. Not me. Not me, ever again."

Cameron smiled. "Hey, let's not get into that again."

Gil ian grabbed hold of Dal as' elbow and snuggled against him. "Maybe if we time it right, Cameron can deliver our baby. You know, kind of keep it in the family."

"You mean start a new tradition?" Dal as asked.

"Sure, why not?"

Dal as shuddered. "Not on your life, sweetheart. For one thing, Cameron's not your obstetrician."

"I'm not anyone's obstetrician," Cameron said. "Although I can deliver babies if I have to."

"Wel , you're not going to deliver our baby." Dal as kissed his wife's hand. "When it gets close to Gil ian's delivery date, we're going to camp out in Abilene so we'l be near her doctor and the hospital."

"Good cal ," Cameron said.

"But that's months and months away from now," Kelsey said. "What about the games? The Jubilee is next Saturday. Isn't anyone else worried about them?"

Caitlyn set her spoon down and looked around the table. "What's the Founder's Day Jubilee and what kind of games are you talking about?"

Kelsey sighed a big sigh. "The Jubilee is like a carnival or county fair that's held around the Fourth of July. There are lots of booths and food and drinks and fireworks. But the best thing is the track and field games. And the McCades have won three years in a row. But without Uncle Ty, we're going to be doomed."

"Why do you say that?" Caitlyn looked at Tyler, who was staring at his niece.

"Because he's the one who plans everything. He comes up with the greatest strategies. Except he can't play in the games this year. We're doomed, I tel you.
Doomed
."

"Now wait a dang minute," said Tyler. "Just because I've got a bum leg and I'm stil on crutches doesn't mean I can't come up with strategies.

Nothing's wrong with my brain, kiddo."

Kelsey sat up straight in her chair. "You mean you think we might stil have a chance to win?"

"Sure I do. We're McCades, aren't we? When we set our minds on something, we usual y get it done. Right?" Tyler spoke to Kelsey, but kept his eyes on Caitlyn.

She didn't flinch or look away. She held his eyes and watched him intently.

That was good.
Very good
.

Tyler dug into his peach cobbler with renewed vigor. Life suddenly looked a whole lot brighter.

CHAPTER FOUR

The Founder's Day Jubilee in Salt Fork, Texas, was a big attraction for many smal towns in the surrounding counties. People came from far and wide to sample the foods and sweets and to enter the contests for their animals, handmade goods, canned fruits and pickles, cakes and pies.

There were the dunking booth, cakewalks, apple bobbing and the ever-popular kissing booth. Brightly colored carnival rides thril ed kids of al ages.

Caitlyn had lived in many places during her twenty-eight years; she'd seen many county fairs and bazaars, and she never tired of the festive atmosphere and child-like joy the events engendered deep in her heart.

She spent the day walking beside Tyler, sometimes in the company of his brothers and sisters-in-law, sometimes with Ruth or Kelsey, but much of the time they were alone, just the two of them if one didn't count the crowds of people in attendance.

Al day long, she'd been hyper-aware of him walking on his crutches by her side. His big body gave off a delicious heat and his aftershave smel ed heavenly.

At seven o'clock, the sun was just starting its descent toward the western horizon, but it was stil fairly high in the sky on this bright summer evening.

They'd lucked out with the mild weather for the Jubilee. The thermometer had only hit ninety-five. It could have been much higher and hotter. Already, the breeze was cooler.

Caitlyn ate her blue snow cone and marveled at how much hotter it felt here in West Texas than it did back home in San Antonio, although it certainly got hot there, too.

The snow cone paused halfway to her mouth.
Home.
San Antonio wasn't her home any longer. She'd cut al ties and moved west. She didn't know exactly where she'd settle down, but the longer she stayed at the Diamondback Ranch, the more loath she was to leave.

Kelsey appeared before them stopping their slow progress along one of the paths between the booths. "It's nearly time for the games. They're running a little late; some kind of technicality," she said. "I'm getting everybody together and we'l meet down by the track. Start thinking up strategies, Uncle Ty. We're going to need them." She trotted off in the direction of the cakewalk.

Caitlyn smiled as she tossed the last of her snow cone in a trash barrel. "Your niece is quite the little organizer, isn't she?"

"She's a pistol, that's for sure. I guess we should head over to the track." He maneuvered his crutches and turned around, starting off toward the area roped off for the competitions.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Caitlyn asked, noticing the grim set of his lips.

He glanced at her. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, I don't know. It won't be easy standing on the sidelines watching the races. From what I've heard, you not only plan the strategies for winning these games, you're also the star athlete of the bunch."

"Who told you that?"

"Oh . . . a little bird."

Tyler snorted. "Right. It was my mom, wasn't it?"

"Hmm. She might have mentioned it the other day when she stopped by my camper for another glass of iced tea. Just between us girls, she said."

"Mothers. Gotta love 'em." Tyler shook his head. "Yeah, it's going to be tough to watch instead of competing. I love these games. We al do. But Cameron's here this year. He's the
real
athlete of the family. And besides . . . it al evens out. Gil ian has to sit out because she's pregnant, so that leaves Kelsey partnering with Dal as."

The grim look left his lips, replaced with a smile and a sparkle in the blue eyes. "You can help me coach. And just you wait and see, sweetheart. I wasn't blowing smoke when I told Kelsey we stil had a chance to win. I may be crippled, but I stil have a trick or two up my sleeve."

****

When the games final y ended, the sun had set and the ful moon had risen in the black sky amidst mil ions of glittering stars. Another Founder's Day Jubilee was coming to a close.

"Come on, people!" Kelsey hol ered, holding the First Place trophy triumphantly above her head. "Let's get a move on. We don't want to miss the fireworks. They're Grams' favorite part of the Jubilee."

The McCades fol owed in a procession to the grandstands with Tyler and Caitlyn bringing up the rear. Tyler tried to step lively, but truth was, his left leg hurt like a son of a bitch. He'd be glad to sit down and rest a while. He'd be even gladder when he could go home. Except then he'd be alone.

Usual y that didn't bother him. In fact, he preferred it most times.

But today, he'd enjoyed being with Caitlyn. They'd talked a lot and exchanged many a steamy glance. It was a new experience to actual y forge a friendship with a woman, to get to know her on a more personal level. Usual y he kept his dealings with women light and unfettered. Casual sex and nothing else.

Caitlyn moved closer and smiled that smile that made his stomach clench. "No wonder they cal you Mr. Do or Die McCade. And here I thought it only referred to your competitive streak at the air shows. I see it's more than that. Much more."

Tyler grinned back. "What can I say? I play to win." And he'd certainly like to win with her.

Their gazes locked for a moment, then she broke eye contact and pul ed back. "I like to win, too. And now I've seen a true master at work. Your strategies can be summed up in two phrases
: Give no quarter
and
Take no prisoners
. The other teams never had a chance today, did they?"

He shrugged. "There's always a chance. Nothing's for certain in this life. Nothing's a sure thing."

She looked at him oddly, but didn't say anything. They'd reached the grandstands where they could sit and watch the fireworks display. Al the McCades walked up to the top of the bleachers to sit in their favorite spot. Tyler stopped at the bottom and gazed at al those concrete steps. No way could his leg take that much more abuse.

"Why don't you and I sit down here?" Caitlyn plopped her butt on the bottom bleacher and patted the place next to her.

Tyler sighed in relief and sank down beside her. The understanding and sympathy in her eyes should have raised his hackles, but he was too tired and aching too much to feel anything but gratitude for her consideration. Damn, he'd be happy when his legs final y healed.

It wasn't long before the first fireworks exploded in the night sky. Spectacular bursts of bright colors cascaded down, one right on top of the other, the booms echoing on the soft summer breeze. The
oohs
and
ahhs
of the crowd rose and fel with each new display.