The Cowboy’s Daughter

by Jamie K. Schmidt

“Spit it out already,” Emily said. Her waist-length hair was tied in a long braid down her back. Kelly resisted the urge to tug her off the ladder by it.

  Shrugging, she figured she might as well get it over with. “Trent is Alissa’s father.”

  “What?” Janice steadied Emily when the ladder wobbled.

  “Does he know?” Emily asked.

  “He does now. He never knew I was pregnant. He never got my calls, and his manager never gave him my messages. I told him a few weeks ago. It was the first time I’d seen him again since that night when he got a ninety-five on Firecracker.”

  “Do Mom and Dad know?” Janice said, biting her nail before she realized it was covered in paint. She spit out paint and wiped her mouth.

  “No. I haven’t broken the news to them yet.”

  “Why not?” Emily asked.

  “I wasn’t sure of Trent. I wasn’t sure how Dad would react. And now, it seems I’m not the only one Trent impregnated.”

  “Shut the front door,” Emily said. “Do we need to go over there with some pitchforks?”

  “No, it happened five years before he met me.”

  “You shouldn’t have kept this a secret,” Janice said. “Not from us. We wouldn’t have judged you.”

  “It didn’t matter,” Kelly said. “I was wrong when I thought he’d ghosted me, and that he didn’t want Alissa. And now while we’re waiting for the paternity test results, I feel so guilty. This should be a done deal and he should already have a relationship with Alissa.”

  “You’ve done nothing wrong,” Emily said, climbing down the ladder and hugging her fiercely.

  “Intellectually, I know that. But all I want to do is cry.”

  Janice joined in the group hug. “How is Trent reacting to all this?”

  “He’s busy getting ready for his grand opening. He’s got mutton busters and middle schoolers and a few high schoolers lined up. He’s even booked a one-on-one training session. And when he’s not busy he’s with Lana, the possible mother of his other child. He’s teaching Michael.”

  “That says absolutely nothing about how he feels about you and Alissa,” Emily said.

  “I’m afraid to ask him.”

  “What’s changed?” Janice asked, all “voice of reason” in her posture. Meanwhile, Emily was looking around for weapons.

  “Alissa has a half brother. Maybe. I think I need to know for sure before I can move on from this. Right now, I’m just glad we’re keeping busy.”

  They looked up when a Range Rover approached, going at a fast clip. Emily groaned. “Not this guy again.”

  It parked next to the Sykes Construction trucks and a handsome man in an orange safety vest and camouflage pants stepped out of it. He went around to the other side and opened the door for their mother and Alissa.

  “That has to be Donovan Link,” Kelly mused.

  “Unfortunately,” Emily said. “I’m surprised he’s not wearing a hat with deer antlers on it.”

  “I’d bet he’d have a nice rack,” Janice joked.

  Donovan was fine to look at, but there was something about him that made you think he wasn’t going to steal your wallet, but he knew where it was.

  “Mommy!” Alissa came running up to her.

  “You’re going to get paint all over you.” But Kelly picked her up and put her on her hip. Every day she was getting bigger and, pretty soon, Kelly wasn’t going to be able to pick her up anymore. Suddenly, it was all too much. Trent had a right to share moments like this with his daughter. She should be there, alongside Lana and Michael, if need be. Otherwise, she could lose him to his new family.

  “Hey, guys, I need to take a break. Give me a call when you want me to come and pick you up.”

  “Where are you going?” her mother said. “I wanted to introduce you to Donovan.”

  “Hi,” Kelly said, holding her hand out. “Sorry about the paint.”

  “Not a problem.” He flashed her a killer smile and she couldn’t help but smile back. “I was hoping to take a look around. Your mom said one of you could give me a tour.”

  “Emily can do it,” Janice volunteered. “We were just heading back to the ranch and she wanted to look for spots for the wind turbines.”

  “What about the painting? That’s not going to finish itself,” Emily complained.

  But Kelly had already buckled Alissa into her car seat in their rental car. Janice eased in next to Alissa, and her mother took the passenger seat.

  “He’s such a nice man,” her mother said. “I’m hoping he can make Emily see reason.”

  “That’s a recipe for disaster,” Janice said, peering out the window at them. “I think they’re arguing already.”

  “Your sister means well, but she doesn’t think things through.”

  “She has her own way of doing things, Mom. That doesn’t mean she’s wrong.” Kelly felt the need to defend Emily—even if her mother’s feelings reflected her own.

  Kelly dropped her mother and sister off at the ranch house and drove up to the studio.

  “Where are we going, Mommy?” Alissa asked.

  “We’re going to spend some time with Trent.”

  *

  The bull-riding school didn’t have enough room for them to hang out and relax. So, after Alissa had her fill of riding on Flower and they’d finished their chores, Trent suggested they head over to the Bluebonnet Inn where they could use Billy’s key to swim in the pool.

  The water was bathtub warm, but it was fun to do a few laps. Kelly was thrilled to see Alissa and Trent horsing around in the water. Alissa would splash him and he’d pick her up and toss her. Kelly gave up on trying to keep her hair dry, and by the time hunger chased them out of the pool, she was almost yawning as hard as Alissa.

  They came back to the school after a quick food shopping trip. Trent grilled up hotdogs for Alissa and a steak for the two of them. She made a Caesar salad since that was the only green food Alissa would eat, although she ate more croutons than lettuce. But Kelly took it as a win.

  When Alissa went for a second handful of chips, Kelly stopped her. “You’ve had enough.”

  “Just three more?” She turned sad puppy dog eyes on Trent.

  “Maybe, just three?” he suggested.

  Kelly raised an eyebrow at him and, thankfully, he backed down.

  “Your mom said no.”

  Alissa scowled.

  “Keep it up and no dessert,” she said.

  Since dessert was a scoop of vanilla ice cream in between two chocolate chip cookies, Alissa decided to pick her battles, and finished all her salad instead of asking for more chips.

  Once everything was cleaned up, they headed back to the ranch house where Alissa demanded a bedtime story from Trent. Her sisters fell over themselves and giggled when they saw the three of them together. They were terrible actresses and Kelly knew she was going to have to tell her father soon, because they were going to give it away with their antics.

  She practically had to slap Emily’s phone out of her hand because she kept taking pictures of Trent and Alissa together. Her father seemed out of it. He was still recovering from the long hours on the trail. But her mother kept giving them all curious looks. It was a ticking time bomb, and she knew she had to come out and tell everyone. But first, she wanted to know about Michael and Lana. After Alissa was tucked in, she and Trent took a bottle of wine and sat on the porch swing together.

  “Today was nice,” he said, kissing her forehead. “Thank you for that.”

  Emily giggled and took a picture of them on the swing.

  “I’m going to shove that phone somewhere unpleasant,” Kelly warned.

  The porch door slammed shut.

  “Is that what having siblings is like?”

  “Unfortunately,” Kelly said.

  They swung a bit, sipping their wine. “Any word about the test results?”

  “No, I’d tell you. And I will, as soon as I hear. I just want you to know, there’s no doubt in my mind that A
lissa is my daughter.”

  “Shhh,” she said.

  “Your father was snoring his fool head off in the recliner and your mother is still upstairs.”

  “Still,” Kelly said. “This is not how I want them to find out.”

  “I’ve been patient, Kelly. It’s time to tell them.”

  “Let’s get the tests out of the way first.”

  “Why? Is there a doubt?” he asked agitated.

  “No, don’t be an idiot. I was only with you. I was thinking more of Lana and Michael. If we’re going to rock my family’s world with the news you’re her father, I’d rather tell them at the same time that she has a half brother.”

  “I guess that makes sense.” Trent stared broodingly into his wineglass.

  “Unless you’re sure about Michael, too.”

  “I’m not as sure about Michael,” he admitted.

  “Why?”

  “I don’t remember every woman I’ve ever been with, that’s true. You were unforgettable.” He brushed a stray lock of hair that had slipped out of her ponytail behind her ear. “I didn’t remember sleeping with Lana at first. But after I thought about it, I did. I also remembered that I wasn’t the only one she was with in Rio de Janeiro.”

  Kelly straightened up so fast, the swing jerked and she almost sloshed wine on herself. “Did you tell her that?”

  He shook his head. “There’s no point in it. The tests will prove if Michael is my son or not.”

  “But you’ve been spending so much time with them. Isn’t he going to be disappointed if the test is negative?”

  “I’m sure he will be at first, but this will allow him to find his real dad. Frankly, I don’t think Lana was very interested in finding out who it was or she would have done this sooner. I think me and my big mouth escalated the situation. Besides…” He kicked back so they were rocking slowly again. “Michael is still going to attend my school. It’s not like I’m going to kick him to the curb, just because he’s another man’s son, if that’s the case. Billy didn’t turn me away and I want to pay that forward.”

  “You’re a good man,” she said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

  “Yeah, but I’m not a very patient one.”

  “Soon.” Kelly linked her fingers through his. “What’s another week or so?”

  “Have you figured out the best way to tell your father? Because he’s going to be the hard one, from what you said.”

  “We do it as a family. Me, you, Alissa and my sisters.”

  “He’s not going to feel ganged up on?”

  “Trust me. There’s safety in numbers.”

  “Are you going to come see me tonight?” he breathed in her ear, and nibbled at her earlobe.

  “I’d love to, but I can’t. I promised Janice and Emily I’d go on the cattle drive with them tomorrow.”

  Trent winced. “Don’t you have ranch hands to do that?”

  “Yes, but my father made a sexist remark to Emily and now we all have to suffer for it. Besides, Janice thinks this might be a great event to add to her women’s retreat.”

  “What does Nate think of this?”

  “I don’t repeat language like that.” Kelly giggled.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Trent watched the last of prospective students drive away, their parents’ cars kicking up dust and putting grooves in the smooth dirt. The open house had been a big success, but he was going to have to come up with some money to pave a parking lot before Frank saw the mess the cars were making of his land.

  The buzz of an ATV caught his attention. Speak of the devil, here he was. Squinting, Trent looked to see if Alissa was with him. Kelly and her sisters would be out with the cattle until lunchtime, but Alissa was staying with her grandparents. Unfortunately, Frank seemed to be alone. At least, Trent didn’t have to haul Flower out. The poor sheep was pooped. He might have to buy another one so they could alternate days.

  Kelly had gotten some really cute pictures of Alissa riding Flower and he couldn’t wait to put them up in the studio.

  “You son of a bitch,” Frank snarled when he got into earshot.

  “Excuse me?” What the hell had gotten into him?

  Trent jumped back onto the paddock because Frank was coming in fast and angry like a bull on that ATV and he didn’t think he was going to stop. But he did, hitting the brakes hard enough that the machine spun in a circle. Confused, Trent hopped down and walked over to him.

  Red-faced, Frank rushed at Trent, swinging wildly. “I’ll kill you, you bastard.”

  “Frank.” Trent dodged and stepped away. Frank chased after him, swinging and hollering insults and threats. “What is going on?”

  “She told me. She told me.”

  Oh hell. Jeez, Kelly, a little warning. “I would have liked to have been there when she did.”

  “I bet you would have. You coward.” Winded, Frank bent over and put his hands on his knees. “If I’d have known, I never would have had you on this ranch.”

  “I’m sorry this has upset you. Kelly should have made it clear that I…” Trent stopped. What if Frank was pissed about the bull or something else? He didn’t want to make the same mistake twice. “Wait, what are we talking about?”

  “As if you didn’t know.” Frank was gulping air, his sides heaving from exertion.

  “Why don’t you come inside? Have a cold drink and we can discuss this like men.”

  “Don’t talk to me about men. Where were you when my baby was pregnant?”

  Something snapped inside Trent. Where was he? Was this guy for real? “I didn’t know she was pregnant. But where the fuck were you?”

  It was like he’d waved a red T-shirt in front of Corazon del Diablo. Frank put his head down and charged. Trent didn’t want to do this, but he wasn’t going to have the old man chase him around the pen. At the last minute, he put to use the skills he’d learned when bullfighting as a boy, and stepped aside, giving Frank a hard shove.

  Frank went down to his hands and knees. Spit dribbled out of his mouth. “You think you’re so tough, picking on an old man.”

  Trent wasn’t proud of shoving Kelly’s father, but it was in self-defense. “You came out here and attacked me in my place of business.”

  “This is my land,” Frank roared. “I want you off it.”

  Frank’s face was turning purple.

  Trent had to calm him down. This was getting way out of hand. “I have a lease. I’m not going anywhere. Now, I’m not sure what the hell Kelly told you…”

  “Kelly didn’t tell me a goddamned thing. She’s next.” Frank stayed on the ground, his breathing becoming more ragged.

  “Frank, I’m worried about you. Let’s go inside and sit down.”

  “Shove your worry up your ass.”

  “You’re acting crazy irrational. Why don’t you tell me what’s gotten you so riled up?”

  “I was leading my sweet, angelic granddaughter on her pony and she says to me, ‘I know who my daddy is.’ So, I ask who, thinking she’s going to tell me it’s some TV star. She tells me it’s you. Then she tells me she has a brother.”

  “I don’t know where she got that information.” Trent wasn’t going to deny it, but he wasn’t sure Frank was thinking clearly enough right now to lie.

  “She said she overheard you talking last night.”

  Trent took a deep breath. What if that hadn’t been Emily at the door giggling? What if it had been Alissa? “Where is she now?”

  “Her grandmother has her. I was too mad to think clearly. I plucked her off the pony and handed her to Sarah and came straight here.”

  Trent hunkered down so they were eye-to-eye. “What were you hoping to accomplish?”

  “I was going to beat the ever-loving shit out of you for leaving my daughter in the lurch.”

  “I only just found out Alissa was my daughter a few weeks ago.”

  “You treated my daughter like she was a floozy.”

  “My relationship with your daughter is none of
your business, but you better watch your mouth when you’re talking about the woman I love.”

  “Love? Get the hell off my ranch or I’ll come back here with a shotgun and force you out.”

  “You come back here with a shotgun and I’ll throw your ass in jail.”

  “If I was thirty years younger, you’d be eating your teeth right now.”

  “You don’t have to like me, Frank. But I am Alissa’s father. And I’m going to be in her life. I might even be your son-in-law someday, so let’s end this right now. Forget it ever happened and go on.”

  “I’ll never forgive you,” he said.

  “For what? A five-year misunderstanding that I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for gladly? Fine. I don’t need your forgiveness. But I need you to get up, put your big girl panties on and deal with it.” Trent held out his hand to help him up and Frank slapped it away.

  “I didn’t speak to my daughter for two years,” Frank growled between ragged breaths.

  “Well, whose fault is that? I wouldn’t talk to you either if you kicked me out when I needed you most. Did you tell her you’d never forgive her, either?”

  “She should have told me. She should have trusted me.”

  “When you act like this? Why the hell should she?”

  “Because I’m her father, damn it.”

  “Maybe she should have told you,” Trent reasoned. “But she didn’t. And there’s nothing that can change that. So, let’s shake hands and go on from here.”

  “You need to get off my property.”

  “If you want me off the property I signed a legal lease for, then you’re going to need a really good attorney. Because I’m not going anywhere.”

  Frank coughed. “This ranch isn’t going to last the three years of that lease. I’ve got creditors coming out of the woodwork, but I’ll see you out of here before I have to sell.”

  “I wouldn’t underestimate your daughters. They’re smart women. They’ll find a way to save this ranch, in spite of you.”

  Grimacing in pain, Frank hauled himself up to his feet. “You’re going to do right by my little girl.”

  “That’s between her and me.”

  “Who is this brother Alissa was talking about? Did you knock up some buckle bunny?” He made a face of distaste.