One Night Rodeo (37 page)

She said, “Kyle. Wait,” when he’d reached the door.

He turned back around.

“Don’t go. There’s nothin’ that needs done for a little while. And I really like being curled up next to you. I’ve missed that the last few days. Will you crawl back in here for a bit?”

Oh, sweet woman, what am I gonna do without you?

Kyle hoped he would never have to find out.

Chapter Twenty

C
elia was so damn tired she thought she might be hallucinating when Abe’s truck pulled up. Paranoia slammed into her when both Hank and Abe trudged up the driveway.

She stepped outside. “Please tell me you’re not here because of bad news.”

Hank gave Abe a little shove. “See? I told ya we should’ve called first.”

Abe gave Hank a one-handed shove right back. “We can’t drop by and see how our newly married little sister is doin’?”

“I guess. It’s just sort of weird.”

“Actually, we came by to talk.”

Celia held the door open and warned, “Boots off.”

“Like that ain’t already been drilled into my head at my house,” Hank grumbled.

After shedding outerwear, they followed her into the kitchen and sat at the table.

“Coffee? Beer?” she offered.

“Nothin’ for me,” Abe said.

“Me neither,” Hank said. “We can’t stay long.”

This was freaking her out. They both wore their serious faces. “What’s on your mind that can’t be said over the phone?” Or in front of Kyle?

“After our blowup or whatever it was with you, me’n Abe got to talkin’ about some stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?”

They exchanged a look, then Abe focused on her. “The kind of money stuff that can tear families apart. You never brought it up.”

“You’re surprised? That’s not our way. You guys raised me. You oughta know that.”

“We do. Which is why this is important, sis, so listen up,” Abe said.

“First off, you are aware that all our friends gave us what for after what we said to you and Kyle. But no one came down on us harder than Bran,” Hank said. “It didn’t have anything to do with your friendship with Harper. He said we were idiots. That we should’ve expected you’d want a stake in the Lawson ranch. It’s just as much your heritage as ours.”

Abe sighed. “I know I’m gonna come across sounding like a dick, but I’ve always considered the ranch mine since I was the oldest and to some extent it was on my shoulders to keep it going. Those years Hank was gone off and on bullfighting, when you helped me with the work? I thought of you more as a hired hand and a bookkeeper. Then when Hank came back home full-time, and you were chasing your dream on the circuit, the ranch felt like mine and Hank’s.”

For once, Celia was glad to keep her mouth shut.

“I wasn’t any better,” Hank said. “I built my new house on Lawson land. With Abe’s blessing. I don’t know what the devil has been wrong with us, sis. We cut you out. Completely. Not only being ignorant as to why you stayed away from home, but being clueless that your decision didn’t have a damn thing to do with loving barrel racing and constantly being on the road. You haven’t asked for a penny from us in the last four years. And we didn’t offer.”

“So what we’re tryin’ to say…is better late than never.”

Her gaze snapped to Abe’s. “What do you mean?”

“You do know you could sue us, right? Demand your third of the value of the ranch.”

“But that means you’d have to sell it,” she pointed out. “I’d never demand that—you know that, don’t you?”

Hank nodded. “Obviously we ain’t keen on doin’ that. The best way we’ve come up with to make it fair to you is to offer you a cash settlement.”

Celia looked between her brothers as if they’d lost their minds. “A cash settlement?”

“For your third of the Lawson ranch. We can’t pay you it all at once. But we arranged with our banker to put the first payment in an account for you.”

“What’s the catch?”

They exchanged another look and Abe nodded to Hank. “No catch. Except we wish you’d keep it and the money to yourself for a little while yet.”

“You mean keep it from Kyle.” Why did that annoy her?

Abe reached for her hand. “Don’t give us that surly look. Kyle just had a life-changing windfall. And we’re not suggesting your marriage ain’t gonna last. This money isn’t a windfall for you, Cele; it’s your heritage. If you want to share it with Kyle down the road apiece, feel free. But we’re asking you to wait a bit.”

“Have you told your wives about this?”

Hank shook his head. “Lainie has her own money from her father’s foundation and her job at the hospital. We have a joint household fund we both contribute to, but she doesn’t have nothin’ to do with the ranch income or expenses. So this is our business. Lawson business.”

“Same with Janie. She’s got her own money, a stake in the Split Rock and her job there. We decided to keep some separation between our finances and our relationship this time.” Abe locked his gaze to hers. “Our reason for doin’ this, little sis, is to give you some financial security. You deserve it.”

Her belly fluttered with panic. Had her brothers somehow guessed that she and Kyle were a temporary couple? That she was only sticking with him long enough to get the money he promised her so she could go to school?

Keep telling yourself that, Celia. Convince yourself you’re not in love with your husband.

“Talk to us,” Hank said, startling her.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Maybe you could start by askin’ how much money it is.”

She looked at Abe. “How much?”

“One hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars.”

Celia’s jaw dropped. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Hank laughed. “Pay up, bro.”

Abe dug in the front pocket of his jeans and flicked a crumpled twenty at Hank. “I bet him you’d say, ‘Are you fucking serious?’ He argued you’d say…exactly what you did. Anyway. It’s your money now.”

“You guys aren’t like, hurting yourselves financially by doing this?”

“No. But even if we had to tighten our belts, it’s no more than what you’ve done out of necessity. And since we’ve come clean with you, Celia, come clean with us.”

Shit. “About?”

“How much longer you would’ve been able to stay on the road,” Hank said.

“Not all season,” she confessed. “That’s why Kyle and I arranged to meet in Vegas during the expo. We talked about traveling together this season.”

“As husband and wife?” Abe asked sharply.

Celia looked Abe in the eye and lied. “Yes. Kyle and I had a change in our relationship a while back. We kept it under wraps for our own reasons. Then everything changed, practically overnight. So if we weren’t here running this ranch together, we’d be on the road together.”

“Fair enough.” Hank stood.

“We probably better get. I’m on diaper duty so Janie can try to rest up.”

She followed him back into the foyer. “So what do you do with Tyler while mama’s sleeping?”

Abe grinned. “Try to get him to sleep so I can nap too. Between calving season and havin’ a new baby, I’m exhausted.”

“That’s what Josh says. Kyle’s checking Josh’s herd so he can get a few hours of shut-eye. His wife has been sick, so he’s been on diaper duty too.”

“Mighty neighborly of Kyle to help out.”

“Josh’s gone above and beyond for us, so it’s the least we could do.”

Hank handed her a thick manila envelope. “Here’s everything you’ll need. We already put the money in your account. Next year there will be another deposit for the same amount. Then we’ll reevaluate.”

Like a quarter of a million dollars over the next year wasn’t enough.

“Thanks. I’d say something more poignant but I’m stunned. Seriously stunned.”

“Take care, sis.” Then they were gone.

Celia went into the office and sat at the desk. She spread the papers out.

She’d gone from having forty-one dollars and twelve cents in her checking account to having one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. She looked at the balance but it didn’t feel like it was real money.

And until they were through with calving it wasn’t like she could spend any of it anyway.

As long as she was by the computer, she transferred the information on the last few births from her notebook to the spreadsheet. She checked her e-mail.

But her gaze kept flicking to the papers on the desk.

Hadn’t we promised each other no secrets?

Yes. But this was different. Hank and Abe weren’t telling their spouses either, so it was more of a business decision. Still, guilt ate at her. She shoved the papers into the envelope and hid them in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet.

Chapter Twenty-one

K
yle had just finished helping Josh fix a section of corral nearly leveled by an angry cow, when he saw Abe Lawson’s truck coming down the hill from his house.

He should’ve been happy that Celia’s brother was making an effort to keep in contact with her. But for some reason, Abe’s visit when Kyle wasn’t around pissed him off. He knew it was stupid and petty, but he couldn’t help his resentment.

His resentment increased when he had to hear from Josh, for the one millionth time, how freakin’ lucky he was to have Celia to show him the ranching ropes. Like he was a total dumb ass. Maybe he hadn’t been born to this lifestyle, but he’d been around it for years. And some of the stuff ranchers considered secret knowledge was just plain common sense. He didn’t appreciate being made to feel like the resident idiot.

When has your wife ever treated you like the resident idiot?

Never.

Wife. Right. That was just another issue weighing on him. He wasn’t responsible for the chapel’s licensing issues, but he was responsible for not telling her about the legal glitch when he’d discovered it. Confessing his reasons—hoping she’d fall in love with him for real—seemed like a lame excuse to keep her around as his ranch hand.

It’s more like you’re her ranch hand.

He’d been feeling that way for the better part of a week. Always looking
to Celia for direction before performing a task. Always asking her questions before doing anything so he didn’t fuck it up.

Bottom line? Kyle needed to man up. He needed to be the master of his domain. He needed to figure out some of this shit on his own and not rely on her. ’Cause sure as hell, when she found out they weren’t really husband and wife? She’d be long gone. One thing that hadn’t changed about Celia—when she was upset, she ran.

As a kid she’d run off into the woods or by the creek.

As a teenager she’d raced off on her horse.

Now she just hopped in her truck and left.

Kyle remembered the night she’d run to him, a week after she’d broken up with Breck. In that moment he’d wanted to be the one man she always ran to. The one man she could count on. And he’d set out to become just that man.

“Kyle?”

He looked at Josh. “Sorry. What did you say?”

“I just asked if Celia had a brand preference for tubes.”

Kyle frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Ever had to tube-feed a calf? It happens when the calf is too weak to suck. Shove a tube into the esophagus and force-feed it until it can suck on its own. Some folks like stiffer tubes, some like the softer type.”

“She hasn’t mentioned a preference and we haven’t needed them so far. Why?”

“I know Marshall bought the stiffer kind. That’s what I use. I figured if Celia liked the softer ones, I’d swap her. Ronna bought the wrong kind.” Josh shook his head. “That’s why I don’t send her to the ranch supply store.”

“Everyone makes mistakes.”

“Bet Celia never buys the wrong damn thing,” Josh grumbled.

No, but I probably would.
Not that Kyle would admit it to Josh or anyone else. “Why don’t you return it to the store?”

“No refunds or exchanges.”

“Not even for unopened merchandise?”

“Nope.”

“That sucks. Guess I’d shop somewhere else, especially if you’ve
been a good customer. I’d also point out to the store manager that you can probably buy the same stuff online, but cheaper. And if they wanted to keep you as a customer, they’d relax their policies.”