Texas Strong (14 page)

“Hey, gorgeous.”

The woman who’d been gazing at her nursing baby as though he were a miracle turned up her face to the man beside her.

The love between them could have powered the whole town. “This is Chrissy. She’s new to Sweetgrass. Chrissy, this is my wife Elena, and my sister-in-law Lorie.”

“Hello,” Elena greeted.

“How are you?” Lorie asked.

“Pleased to meet you both.”

Josh spoke to Lorie. “Her son Thad has invited the twins to play Legos, but Eli wanted to come with me. They’re on that side of the room in the round booth.”

“I bet they’re in heaven. How old is Thad?”

“He’s six.” Then her eyebrows flew upward. “You’re Lorie Chandler. I used to watch you—and Josh, come to think of it—on
Legends of Love
. Wow.”

The gorgeous blonde smiled. “That was my old life.” A small sadness flitted over her face, and Chrissy remembered then that once Lorie had been the victim of a stalker.

“I’m sorry. I forgot about—”

“No worries. That was in the past. Old news. Very old news.”

“Lorie is a midwife now,” Josh said.

“Seriously? That’s fascinating. Do you like it?”

“I love it.”

“She delivered all our babies,” Elena said. “Too bad you can’t deliver your own.”

At that point, Chrissy realized that Lorie’s belly was gently rounded.

Hand hovering protectively over her babe, Lorie smiled. “This is our surprise baby. Number five for us.”

“Five. Wow. I’m so jealous.”

“How many do you have?”

“Two, a daughter, Becky, who’s eight now.” She sighed. “I want a baby. Drat you for making me realize that.” At Lorie’s quizzical look, she explained. “No dad in sight. The kids’ father was no father at all, also good riddance. The only good thing that man ever gave me was my babies. They’re wonderful.”

“I look forward to meeting them,” Lorie said. “Is it true that Scarlett will be home tomorrow?”

“That’s the hope.”

“I’m so glad. We just got into town, so we haven’t been over to Austin to see her yet.” She paused. “It’s a very good thing we’ll all be doing tomorrow. Josh and Quinn built me a wonderful clinic, since we’re even further from a major medical center than you are here. Complications like Scarlett’s placenta previa can be very scary.”

“Would you like to sit down?” Elena asked.

Chrissy looked around. “It feels like I should be working.”

“Not at the family dinner,” Lorie said. “You’re not at work now.”

“I’m not family either.”

Elena smiled. “In Sweetgrass, everyone is family. Please….have a seat.”

Chrissy complied, but as she did so, she was seized by the thought that they were wrong.

Not everyone was family.

Tank should be here. And she wondered for the umpteenth time why no one but her seemed to see that.

The work day dawned bright and clear. Chrissy and her kids were at the cafe early to help Ruby set out food to be served buffet-style for breakfast.

Spike walked in with a huge tray of pastries, followed by two of Jackson’s geeks, Vinny and Big D, similarly loaded down. Big D—whose nickname belied his skinny frame and lack of height—veered off at the sight of Brenda, and Brenda’s cheeks reddened as he neared.

Beside Chrissy, Henry stiffened and muttered.

“What was that?” she asked.

One tight shake of the head. “Nothing.”

She glanced from his closed face over to where his eyes glared.

Brenda. And Big D.

Huh. How about that?

“Okay, folks, let’s open the doors. Don’t you be filling your belly first, Harley Sykes.” Ruby slapped his hand off the pastries.

“Aw, now, Ruby.”

“Aw now, poor you. You’re just planning to sit and gab. Save the goodies for the working folks.”

“It’s called live streaming, right, Big D?”

“That it is, my man.”

“I’m gonna be interviewing folks and explaining what’s going on. It’s a public service.”

“Like folks on that internet give one hoot about this little town.”

“Actually, I set up a GoFundMe page for those who want to donate.”

“Donate what? Everyone who cares about Sweetgrass will be here working.”

“No ma’am,” Harley said. “Sweetgrass is gonna get famous. When folks hear that Josh Marshall and Liam Sullivan and Walker Roundtree come here, they’re gonna want to come see our town for themselves.”

Ruby went very still. “Have you lost what’s left of your mind? You know Josh and the rest come here to be themselves. They’re not to be exploited. We all agreed about that.”

Harley looked downcast. “Aw now, Ruby…”

“I mean it. You undo that Gowhatsit page, Big D, whatever that means, and you, Harley, either talk about something else or get your bony behind to work like the rest of us. No publicity.”

“But it would help Sweetgrass grow, Ruby. That’s what you spent years trying to make happen.”

“Not over the internet! Sweetgrass is doing just fine.”

“You don’t have enough help, you know that, and with Scarlett gone—”

“You mind your own beeswax, Harley Sykes, before I ban you from the cafe for life.”

“Aw, now, Ruby—”

“Son, you should be home sleeping instead of trying to work,” Gordon McLaren said. “You barely catnap at the hospital. You can’t keep up this pace forever.”

Ian cast a weary smile at his father. “Thanks, Dad, but we don’t know for sure that Scarlett and Georgia will be released today, and when I left early this morning, the nurses said it would be afternoon at the earliest. Scarlett and I agree that I need to be here to represent our family. Everyone pitched in when Georgia and Scarlett nearly—” Even now he got choked up when he thought of how close he’d come to losing both of them. “What’s happening today is important for all of us in Sweetgrass.”

“Jackson would have paid for all the work to be done, you know that.”

“Just because Wiz is rolling in the bucks doesn’t mean that’s how we do things. He’s been amply generous to his hometown, but nobody here wants to be a charity case, especially not me.” Ian glanced over at his father. “That’s not how you raised me.” His dad was a proud man who’d taught him to take responsibility for his own life, and Ian knew it grated on Gordon that after his stroke he couldn’t do everything he once had. Gordon didn’t like leaning on others any more than Ian did.

“Anyway,” he continued. “Much as I hate to leave my girls, Mom is there, and she’ll take good care of them.”

“That she will,” Gordon acknowledged. “It was a good thing you did, son, giving your little girl your mother’s name along with Scarlett’s mother’s. Took a big man to grant her that sign of forgiveness.” Gordon clapped Ian on the shoulder.

Ian stared off into the distance. Forgiving the mother who’d abandoned him as a little boy hadn’t been easy, and he’d resisted until he’d realized that his little Georgia deserved to have as many people in her corner as life would allow. His mother hadn’t expected Ian to forgive her, and God knew he wouldn’t be able to if he spent too much time thinking about how much her leaving had damaged him. He thanked his lucky stars every day that the man beside him had stepped up and devoted his life to raising Ian even when he, too, had been devastated by Sophia’s loss.

Gordon had been quicker to forgive than Ian, and he’d asked, in his own simple way, for Ian to ease up on her. The surprise of a half-brother he’d come to really like had forced Ian to deal with her, but it wasn’t until that night that still had the power to give him nightmares that he’d really seen his mother as the woman she was, not the specter that had rendered him so unwilling to trust his heart. He’d almost missed out on the miracle that was Scarlett’s love because of that distrust.

Sophia had stepped up that terrifying night and had been there for them, had remained calm and given Ian strength when he’d been bone-deep scared that he’d lose both the child he’d never expected to have and the woman who was his life’s greatest blessing. In the days since Georgia’s birth, his mother had quietly stepped in to do whatever he and Scarlett needed, being careful not to intrude but always ready to help.

“I’m trying, Dad. And she’s been great, I admit it.”

“That’s good, son. Really good.” The expression on his father’s face told Ian that his mother’s decision to stick around meant more to Gordon than simply her help for her grandbaby.

“You’ve really made your peace with her, haven’t you, Dad?”

“I told you her leaving was as much my fault as hers. I fell like a ton of bricks for her all those years ago, but I didn’t understand her the way I should have. She deserved better care than I gave her.”

“And you want to care for her now.” Ian wasn’t sure why he was pushing the point.

“Love doesn’t die that easy, son.”

Ian blinked.

“You got a problem with that?”

Wow. Ian shook his head. “She’s really sticking around? For good?”

“If I have anything to say about it.” His dad stood there, tall and commanding, the way he used to be before the stroke had damaged his confidence. Before him was the man who’d given Ian roots deep in this land and made him know he would never be alone, the one who’d taught Ian everything he knew about being strong and principled.

It was really great to see that man again. Ian had never minded helping out his dad and taking over the responsibilities Gordon could no longer manage, but he had grieved for the toll Gordon’s condition had extracted from his father. “So it might be time to start building Scarlett that house I promised her?”

“The ranch house will be your home as long as you want it, son, but your mother is going to live there now, too. There’s room for all of us.”

There was—barely. But Ian and Scarlett now occupied the master bedroom, and his parents deserved to be there. To have a place of their own if they were truly going to be together again. Scarlett was in love with the family history tied to Ian’s grandmother’s kitchen, but now that she was settled in Sweetgrass and had sunk her own roots here, maybe she’d like a kitchen of her own design. “I’ve had my eye on a spot for some time now, but we didn’t want to leave you alone.” He grinned and tried not to wince at the same time. “But if you’re going to be honeymooning with Mom, you two deserve some privacy—if you can wait until I get our house built.” He frowned. “You are going to make an honest woman of her, right?”

Gordon chuckled. “Who’s the dad here? You making sure I don’t take advantage of your mother?”

Ian smiled, but he was also staggered to realize that he was a dad, too, now. That little Georgia would one day have boys chasing after her and run the chance of getting her heart broken or being taken advantage of by—

Gordon laughed, and Ian was startled to realize he’d actually growled. “Georgia can’t date until she’s forty. I won’t have some young buck thinking he can—”

His dad roared with laughter and slapped his thigh. “Welcome to fatherhood, son, where the worries never stop.” He grinned widely. “And if little Georgia is half the beauty her mama is, you better keep your shotgun oiled and ready because you are going to be real busy keeping those young men away.”

Ian felt himself pale. “Dad.” The enormity of the challenge ahead slammed into him.

Gordon grinned again and clasped his son on the shoulder. “I see your brother Michael is already working. Let’s go hammer some nails, son. You got some time to get ready before you have to deal with little Georgia dating.”

By rote, Ian walked at his father’s side, recognizing the truth of that.

But his mind was whirling with all that lay ahead in the quest he’d taken up, to protect and nurture and guide his sweet, innocent little daughter down the rocky road that was life.

“Yeah. Let’s go hammer some nails.”

Chapter Seven