by Leslie North
She smoothed his hair back and thought about the best way to answer that question. Cal was an addition to their family. He’d never replace the father and grandfather Henry had lost, but another person to love was a good thing. Even if she had been sparking mad at Cal that afternoon.
“I guess you could say that,” she answered.
Suddenly, Henry sat up and wrapped his arms around her neck, burying his face against her shoulder. And she heard a little sniffle come from him. Unexpected. Henry had declared on his birthday the previous fall that six-year-olds didn’t cry. True to his word, he hadn’t shed a tear when he broke his leg or when he was told he’d spend the late winter in a cast. What was upsetting him so much now?
“Momma, I lied to Cal.” Henry’s voice was muffled against her shoulder, but she hadn’t missed that he’d reverted to Momma. He only did that when he was truly upset.
“Tell me how you lied to him,” she said.
“I told him it was okay with you that I rode King,” he sniffled, “even though I knew I wasn’t supposed to.”
“Is that what happened?” Amy had been too upset to interrogate her son earlier. She’d taken a long walk instead to cool off and regain her equilibrium. Most of her anger had been focused on Cal and the way he’d dismissed her worry about putting her child back in the saddle as dumb. Dumb! She’d assumed riding had been Cal’s idea, which was probably not a very rational thought.
“Uh huh.” Henry drew back a little and wiped a hand across his face. “Do you think Uncle Cal’s mad at me for getting him in trouble?”
Her heart broke when she realized what her sweet little boy was worrying about. “I’m sure he’s not.” She tried to sound reassuring.
“But he didn’t say goodbye to me when he left.” Henry’s voice hitched as he spoke.
That was as much her fault as it was Cal’s since she’d pretty much kicked him off the ranch.
“Oh, Henry.” She took a deep breath and tried to figure out how to explain this to a child. “Cal’s not the kind of man who gets mad at children. I was upset, and that made him leave in a bigger hurry than he meant to. That’s all. It wasn’t your fault.”
“What if he doesn’t come back because of me?” Little people could carry such big burdens around with them. She had to dispel that right away.
“He’ll be back,” Amy said. “Grandma invited him to have dinner here in a few days. You’ll see him then.”
Henry’s eyes widened and a smile appeared on his face. “Really?”
“Yes, but we need to talk about this lying business.” She didn’t want to go into punishment mode since they were both tired, but she couldn’t let it slide either. “You know that’s wrong.”
“I won’t do it again.” He looked so solemn when he made his promise.
“I hope not, but just to drive that lesson home, no screen time tomorrow. Understood?” Amy asked and got a nod. It was a small punishment for a kid who spent most of his time outside, but it was a reminder of what not to do.
Henry settled back onto his pillow. “I’m tired now,” he said, but the anxiety was gone.
“Sleep tight, and I’ll see you in the morning.” She gave him another kiss, left his room, and crossed the hall to hers, where she closed the door and flopped down on the bed.
She stared at the ceiling, wondering for the millionth time if she’d made the right decision introducing Cal to the Thorne family. Laura seemed pleased, Henry was ecstatic to have another uncle, and Brian and Jake hadn’t objected, but the problem was that Cal wasn’t staying. He’d made it clear that his visit to Darby Crossing was just a stopping-off place on his highway of life. Cal had other plans for his future—and they certainly didn’t include sticking around in a small town.
Amy sighed. Cal was leaving after the town’s rodeo, and that was going to be tough on Laura and Henry. And on her, she admitted. They would all miss him. But if he brought a little joy to their lives while he was around, was that such a bad thing? She couldn’t imagine that it was.
She rolled off the bed and went to the window, opening it wide to hear the night sounds. They were soothing and familiar. It had been a night much like this one when the accident occurred that changed everything. The family had seen so much tragedy, and Amy worried about Henry especially. He’d lost his father and grandfather at such a tender age. She wasn’t sure if he even remembered them, but he knew he should have them, and that’s what caused her sleeplessness. Her child had been deprived, and no mother liked that.
Cal would bring Henry something. He wasn’t a replacement for Luke, far from it, but any family Henry had was important. She was going to have to heal the breach with Cal. She owed that to her boy. And aside from that, she admitted as she sighed again, she liked Cal too, which was a complicated realization in itself.
Two days later, Amy was on her way to pick up Cal for a photoshoot. She’d arranged their meetup via text, avoiding calling him because she wasn’t sure what she needed to say. Should she apologize? Yes, to a certain extent, but the blowup between them hadn’t been entirely her fault. Still, she knew they needed to have an amicable discussion, and she was nervous about that. Escorting him to the photoshoot was a good opportunity to be friendly.
As she cruised down Main Street on the way to Cal’s hotel, she spotted Carly’s Coffee and Treats. A good cup of coffee and a pastry might help to soften any conversation in which she tried to explain why she had, in his words, “overreacted.” She pulled into a spot and headed for the bakery door. Inside, Carly worked behind the counter. While the two of them weren’t close, they had a friendly relationship. Carly was always willing to sling gossip with the best of them.
“Hey, sweetie, I was hoping you’d drop by some time,” Carly said as she finished up with a customer. “I want a minute to chat. What can I get you first?”
Figuring Cal was a regular coffee drinker, she ordered a dark roast for him and a caramel mocha for herself along with some pear tarts to share.
“Step on back here while I make the mocha,” Carly invited, so Amy went around the old-fashioned wooden counter. She’d just leaned her hip against the workstation when Carly shot her a sly smile and began talking. “Would you mind if I ask Cal Pierce out?”
“Huh?” Amy was a little flabbergasted. Carly wanted to date Cal? Did she know he was only temporarily in town?
“He’s the hottest thing to land in Darby Crossing in a long time.” Carly ran a hand across her forehead as if wiping away the sweat. “His buns in those jeans. Well, they’ve just got my wheels a-turnin’. And I’m not the only one. He wouldn’t lack for female company—but only if you’re okay with it.”
“Why does it matter what I think?” She wasn’t Cal’s personal secretary. She didn’t keep his date book.
“Well, you know.” Carly frothed the milk for the mocha as she talked. “He looks so much like Luke that we all kinda thought it might be weird for you—watching him flirting with someone else.”
It wouldn’t be, actually—weird, that is. Luke had been a flirt. It was harmless, he’d never cheated on her, and she hadn’t really minded. But the idea of watching someone who looked like him smile and chat with another girl? That wasn’t a problem. The thought of that lookalike being Cal? That was a whole other story.
Carly mixed the mocha and poured it into a paper cup before drizzling caramel across the top. “So what do you think? Is it okay? Or should I tell the gals in town to hold their horses?”
Hell, no, it’s not okay! Amy wanted to shout. But she couldn’t say that. Because her objection wasn’t because Cal looked like Luke. It was something else, something she was just letting herself realize. Carly went to the counter to wait on a customer, leaving Amy a minute to think. Her imagination was running wild picturing Cal kissing Carly or any other of the local single women. Carly—who was blond and busty and way too pretty. Was that Cal’s type?
She didn’t like it. Not one damn bit, which was ridiculous. She had no claim on him, and she’d never minded when J
ake or Brian dated, so it wasn’t a family protectiveness. She lifted the steaming hot mocha to her lips. Did she want to kiss Cal herself?
Oh, god. She put the drink down untasted. She might, but not because he was some sort of replacement for Luke. He’d already shown her that he was very much his own man.
So her sudden possessiveness of Cal was from her attraction to him? It was a little…alarming, really, when she let herself process it all. Getting involved with him was fraught with potential problems. He was leaving, which was problem number one. What would Laura say? Or Jake and Brian? What kind of dynamic would that set up in the family?
And truth be told, she wasn’t sure it would be wise to put herself emotionally in the hands of a cocky cowboy again. She’d done that once, falling head over heels for Luke. But she was older now and wiser. Shouldn’t that mean she knew better than to make the same mistake?
“Well, sweetie, what do you think?” Carly returned to Amy and took the mocha from her hand, capping it and fitting it into a drink carrier with the coffee for Cal. “Is he fair game?”
“Sure, of course,” Amy said with a forced smile. She really wanted to snarl and grit her teeth, but she’d worked in public relations enough to know how to control her features and tone. “He comes with a warning, though. He has no plans to stick around these parts. As soon as the rodeo’s over, he’ll be on his way, and I don’t think a relationship would be enough to keep him around. He’s mentioned that small towns aren’t for him.”
She wanted to screech “don’t date him” but hoped her warning would have the right effect.
“That’s perfect. I just broke up with Todd,” Carly said with an eye roll. “You know him, he works at the feed store. Trust me, sweetie, I’m not ready for anything serious after that. I want to have some fun, and I think your rodeo star is just the ticket.”
None of the responses that came to mind were appropriate, so Amy just smiled, wished Carly good luck, picked up her order, and left the bakery. Before starting her car, she rested her head against the steering wheel for a few seconds, trying to erase the mental image of Cal and Carly in an amorous embrace. The only way she could get that picture out of her head was to replace Carly with herself. That was a lovely image, but not something that was ever going to become a reality.
7
Cal had to hold in his smile when he walked into the photographer’s studio. The studio was really the guy’s living room with a green screen draped in one corner and an array of props—including a saddle, a pair of cowboy boots, and a kid’s stick pony. Cal didn’t have any idea what he was supposed to do with that last item.
Cal’s game plan for the day was to keep his head down and do the photoshoot without making a fuss. That had seemed like the best way to deal with being around Amy for the first time since their…disagreement. When he’d gotten in the car, she’d said a quick good morning and handed him coffee and a pastry bag. Now she was keeping her distance while the photographer set up the first shot. Doing photoshoots was nothing new to Cal; doing them in front of a woman he needed to apologize to was daunting.
Getting to offer that apology was going to be tough since Amy was avoiding eye contact and even flushing slightly when she caught him looking at her. What was that about? Was she still pissed at him?
While Cal posed with the saddle and boots, Amy sat on the couch studying her phone’s screen, only glancing up when a question was directed at her. He tried to keep his focus on the shoot as the photographer posed him in front of the green screen without props. He shuddered to think what background the guy might add, but knew that at the end of the day, it didn’t matter. Cal would autograph the photos they were using as an additional fundraiser, and hope they sold out so the town could have its community center rebuilt and he could move on guilt free.
“If you could straddle the stick pony,” the photographer suggested, causing Cal to raise his eyebrows. His sister’s kids had stick ponies, but they were preschoolers. He looked at the toy. At least it wasn’t pink and didn’t sing “I’m a pretty pony” like his niece’s did when you squeezed the ear, but he still felt ridiculous.
“What do you want me to do with this?” Cal held the stick pony at arm’s length.
“Ride it,” the photographer said as if it was obvious.
Cal caught Amy’s eyes on him and saw a slow smile creep across her face. She was paying attention to what was going on after all.
“All right,” Cal said and stuck the stick pony between his legs, pretending to gallop on it. Amy burst out laughing, and Cal couldn’t stop his own laughter since hers was so infectious.
“What?” The photographer lowered his camera and looked between the two of them. He sounded defensive and a little hurt when he spoke again. “I think the kids will like this shot. It makes Cal more relatable for them.”
“Oh, definitely,” Amy said in agreement. “I think it’s a great idea. Moms and kids are going to go nuts for it.” Her words were enough to mollify the photographer—or maybe he was just dazzled by her smile. It’d had a similar effect on Cal.
Cal spent another twenty minutes posing for pictures before they were cut loose.
“You took that well,” Amy said as soon as they got back in her car. “Thanks for your patience. I’m not sure how those pictures will turn out, but every little bit helps the cause.”
“He took about two hundred shots.” Cal wasn’t grumbling, just stating a fact. “Some of them have to be decent.”
She shot him a sideways glance. “Should be.”
A comfortable silence fell between them, and he knew that this was his chance to apologize for what happened at the ranch. He’d been in the wrong on several things, and he knew it, which meant he had to take responsibility for his actions. But he almost hated to disrupt the better vibe between them. Amy seemed as though she was ready to move past what had happened, but he couldn’t make himself do that until he’d cleared the air.
“Hey,” he said as they pulled out of the photographer’s driveway. “I’m sorry about what happened on Sunday with Henry.”
“No biggie,” she said, keeping her eyes on the road.
“I think it was,” Cal persisted. “I called my sister for some perspective. She read me the riot act about how I’d overstepped.”
“Your sister?” He got a glance from her.
“Jennifer. She has three kids of her own, the oldest is five,” he said. He had no idea how she was keeping up with them while working full time for his parents’ construction business. “Anyway, she informed me that it wasn’t about whether or not it was safe for Henry to ride, it was about me making a decision for a kid that wasn’t mine. I’m truly sorry about that, and it won’t happen again. I hope you know that I’d never do anything to put your son in harm’s way.”
“I do know that,” she said, giving him a smile. “And I’m sorry I snapped at you. I shouldn’t have—but seeing Henry on King again hit me hard. He fell while trying to ride around barrels, which was bad enough, but that day…” She bit her lower lip.
“What?” He kept his tone gentle.
“The ambulance ride, the hospital…the whole thing made me relive the day Luke and his dad were killed.” She seemed caught in a memory before snapping herself out. “I knew Henry’s injury wasn’t that serious, but it’s hard to be rational about things like that.”
“Sounds perfectly rational to me,” Cal said. “He’s your little boy. Of course you’d worry.”
She brushed the hair back from her face and sighed. “I’m so scared of losing Henry. I’ve tried to get past that anxiety.”
“Grief and fear are tough enemies to beat.” Cal thought about leaving the discussion with that, but he wanted to give her something more. “Like me, Jennifer’s adopted, but she joined the family as a teenager. She was thirteen and angry with the world, and I think grieving because her real family didn’t want her. She was afraid that no one ever would. She’d spent two years in the foster system before my parents adopted
her.”
“Poor girl,” Amy said sympathetically.
“Yeah, it wasn’t pretty,” Cal said, remembering those first months. Jennifer lashed out at everyone. The smallest thing riled her, and his parents had despaired of ever reaching her. But they’d persisted. “It took time, a lot of counseling, and some power tools, but she got better.” People didn’t realize how controlling the past could be. It had almost dragged Jennifer under.
“How did power tools figure in?” Amy swung her gaze to him.
“My parents own a construction and remodeling business,” Cal explained. “Jennifer realized that she was good at carpentry and finish work. She spent a lot of time in the shop working out her angst. Still does. I don’t think she has much angst now, but she loves building. She’s an architect now.”
“Your folks gave her what she needed,” Amy said, a thoughtful note in her voice. “That was wise of them.”
His parents were wise people, and he felt damn lucky that they’d adopted and raised him. Now that he knew his birth mom, he realized his life would have been good either way, but he was still grateful. He did wonder, though, what Amy needed to move on from her husband’s death. Or was that even possible? He'd like to think it was because he liked her, and it seemed to him that she deserved to be happy.
“Do you mind that I accepted Laura’s invitation to dinner?” he asked as they pulled into the driveway of his bed and breakfast.
“No…well, I did mind,” she said, “but now that we’ve talked, I’m glad you’re coming. Henry is, too.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing him again.” Cal felt a smile come to his face. He wished her goodbye and got out of her car. Having dinner at the ranch had several advantages. He’d get to see Henry, who seemed like a great kid, and he’d have another chance to spend time with Amy. He liked her, more than he’d liked a woman in a while.
That thought stuck with him throughout the day until he met up with Rafael at the local tavern for beers and a burger. As Cal walked in he was surprised to see Jake Thorne sitting with Rafael, but Cal didn’t mind getting better acquainted with his half-brother. Word had already gone all over town that Cal was related to the Thorne clan, and he was sure people would take notice of them together. If he was going to be sticking around for a month, he’d rather the town get all of their staring and gossiping out of their systems sooner rather than later.