“Where was the wreck?”
“A mile from here.”
“So he could have been on his way here.” Darcy’s voice wavered.
“That’s what I think.” Bea rose and headed for the door. “I’ll send Corey in here.”
“Do you think Ned was going to cause another scene here?” Nick asked the second the director left.
“I want to think that Ned was coming to apologize.”
“How do you manage to look on the bright side in the middle of all of this?”
“Because it gives me hope.”
He wished he could see things her way, but knowing Ned as he did, he doubted that was the case. “Possibly unrealistic hope? You must get disappointed a lot.”
“Yes, sometimes I am, but I don’t want to go through life only looking at the negative in a person.”
The sound of footsteps nearing the office silenced Nick’s reply. He hadn’t started out so pessimistic, but during the years he’d lived with an alcoholic father, he’d been disillusioned too many times when his dad had promised to do better and never did.
After Corey entered the room, Nick closed the door and pulled up a third chair while the child sank down onto his seat. Corey’s teeth bit into his bottom lip. His gaze flitted from Darcy to Nick and then back. The child knew something was wrong.
Darcy leaned forward and took Corey’s hand. “Corey, we have some bad news. Miss Bea was just notified that your father was in a wreck. I’m sorry to tell you, but he didn’t survive.”
Corey sat, silent, staring at Darcy as though he hadn’t heard what she said.
“Nick and I are here for you.”
The boy swung his attention to Nick. “Was he drunk?”
“I don’t know. He was coming to see you.” Nick shifted his gaze to Darcy briefly and decided he would believe the best of Ned. “He was only a mile away from here. He, no doubt, wanted to ask for your forgiveness.”
“Why did he come last time?” Corey swallowed hard. “He embarrassed me. He was always yelling at me.”
“Some people drink for courage. They think alcohol helps them to do what they need to. They haven’t figured out that it actually hurts their cause. That doesn’t mean he didn’t love you. He yelled because he was frustrated, more with himself than with anyone.” As he said those words to Corey, he began to wonder if his father had felt that way. Had Dad loved him and just hadn’t known how to show it?
Corey chewed on his bottom lip, fighting the grief sweeping over him. Nick knew that look. At his dad’s funeral he’d worn the same expression, not sure how to feel. Relieved or sad or both? Corey dropped his chin, clenching his hands together in his lap.
Nick didn’t know what else to say. He hadn’t handled his dad’s death well, so how could he counsel another kid experiencing the same thing? He connected with Darcy’s gaze. Maybe she would be better at it. Her look of sympathy, which suggested she knew what Corey was going through—what Nick had gone through too—swamped him. She couldn’t know. She came from a supportive family who made her feel loved.
Corey raised his head, his eyes shiny. “What’s gonna happen to me?”
“You’ll stay here for a while. Nothing should change right now.” He didn’t want the child to go into the foster care system, possibly shuffled from one home to the next. Corey already had a hard time believing anyone loved him. But, for so many reasons, Nick didn’t think he would be a good father figure for the boy. Maybe there was a relative that would come forward.
Darcy clasped his upper arm. “That shouldn’t concern you right now. I’m a lawyer. I’ll look into it for you.”
“You will?” Corey asked with wonderment.
“Sure.” She smiled. “Anything for you. You’ve got people who care about you now.” She peered at Nick and then back at Corey. “Okay?”
He nodded and threw his arms around Darcy. She held him while Corey wept quietly against her shoulder.
Nick’s heart swelled with emotions—love and hope—that he’d thought had been extinguished in him. Maybe there would be a happy ending for Corey.
A few minutes later, as the child drew back, a soft rap at the door prompted Nick to say, “Come in.”
Bea entered with Abby and John Garrett. “They wanted to walk with you to your wing. Dinner will be served shortly.”
Corey rose and went with his houseparents.
Bea waited until he was gone before asking, “How did it go?”
“As well as could be expected.” Darcy glanced at the director and Nick. “Besides Fletcher Phillips, who else is Corey’s relative?”
“We’ll have to investigate that. His dad was the only one listed on the paperwork. Fletcher’s name wasn’t even on it.”
“I’d like to help you with that. I’ve handled cases like Corey’s before.”
Part of Nick wanted to say that he could fill in temporarily until a relative was found, but the phone rang and Bea answered it. The other part of him was relieved he hadn’t voiced that out loud. Pausing in her conversation, Bea cupped the receiver. “This may take a while. We can talk later, but, Darcy, I’ll accept your help.”
Darcy stood and left with Nick. Outside Bea’s office, she stopped. “I need to talk with you somewhere quiet.”
“This sounds serious.”
“It is. There’s something I need to tell you.”
Chapter Ten
This was the moment when Darcy had to tell Nick why she had come to Haven in the first place. She still didn’t know if she wanted to tell Fletcher, but she would have to say something to her biological father because of her growing feelings for Corey. She could give him a mother’s love.
Corey needed a home. She wanted to give him one. And from all she’d gathered concerning Fletcher, he wouldn’t stand in the way. He’d be relieved he didn’t have to do anything.
“Since everyone will be at dinner in a few minutes, I’m sure there’ll be a spare room we can talk in.” Nick led her down the hallway toward the front of the large house. He poked his head into a small room used for parent visits. “This is free.”
Not sure where to start, Darcy turned to face him while he shut the door. She’d come to really care for Nick, and it felt right to share her past with him. If only she knew more about him. She wished he wasn’t such a private man. Regardless, she needed to tell him because of how much he cared for Corey.
“Let’s sit.” She waved her hand at the couch behind her. When she was settled and Nick sat next to her, she drew in a deep breath, held it for a few seconds and then released it. “I have wonderful parents who have loved me from the beginning. But Mom and Dad are my adoptive parents. I’ve known most of my life and it never made a difference. I’m their daughter in every sense except a biological one.”
“I had a good friend who was adopted. He had a wonderful set of parents like you did.”
“When I became sick last year and was diagnosed with celiac disease, which is hereditary, I wanted to know more about my biological parents. It’s no secret I want a family and children, but what would my illness do to my kids? It’s manageable, but what if there was some condition in my birth father’s or mother’s family that was even more serious? I needed to find that out.”
His eyebrows scrunched together. “Why are you telling me this now?”
She rushed ahead and said, “Because Fletcher Phillips is my birth father and therefore Corey is my cousin.”
Nick’s face wore a stunned expression, from his dropped jaw to his wide eyes glued to hers. Then he turned his head, and when he peered back at her, his features were composed into a neutral look, almost a bored one, as though she’d read him her grocery list. The silence lengthened into an uncomfortable sensation.
Finally she said, “Say something.”
“What
am I supposed to say? Congratulations?”
“Definitely not that. I’m not even sure I’m going to tell Fletcher, but then I probably will have to because I want to apply to be Corey’s guardian.”
“Why? You haven’t known him long.”
“I know he needs a family. I’m that. I know Fletcher won’t take him in. Besides him, I’m probably one of Corey’s closest family members.”
Nick surged to his feet. “Well, it looks like you’ve got everything figured out.”
“I thought this would be good news.”
“Is Corey your new pet project? What if he doesn’t want to go with you? This is his home. Not Alabama.”
Ah, he was worried about Corey’s reaction and the boy being states away. Any move could be hard on Corey—and Nick—but the child needed someone who wanted to care for him. “I’d stay until everything is worked out, but yes, I would move him to my home. My parents would accept him into our family as though he were my child. Corey needs a loving family.”
“You’re right. I hate to cut this short, but I’ve got chores still to do at my ranch. Good night, Darcy.” He strode from the room so fast she didn’t even have time to stand before he was gone.
Leaving her to wonder what was really going on.
Did he have hopes of raising Corey now that Ned was gone?
She started after Nick, but by the time she emerged from the house, he was driving away from the boys ranch. Should she go after him?
She’d left her purse in Bea’s office. She hurried back to get it and go after Nick. Her bag in hand, she stepped into the hallway and ran into Corey.
“Are you leaving?” he asked in a quavering voice.
“I was, but if you want me to stay, I can.”
He nodded and then looked down at his feet.
All she wanted to do was hug him and never let him go. She’d always wanted to be a wife and mother, like her own mom was, and had never thought of adopting, but this was right. She gathered him against her, and he clung to her.
Somehow she would have to tell Fletcher the truth before she applied for guardianship as Corey’s relative. And somehow she would make Nick understand how she felt.
* * *
At the fund-raising meeting on Wednesday night, Nick sat across from Darcy. He’d done a good job of avoiding her. Flint was the one who had contacted her about the details of the rodeo on Saturday.
Until he’d had to face the threat of Corey leaving the area, Nick hadn’t realized how much he’d come to love the child. He saw so much of himself in Corey that it was scary. The yearning. The need. The anger. Even now he couldn’t let go of his deep hurt and rage at his father, feelings much like what Corey told Nick he was experiencing. But Nick also realized how wonderful Darcy would be as a mother to Corey. It would be perfect if she adopted Corey and stayed here. Then he could see the boy and continue helping him learn to ride and whatever else he needed. But Darcy had other plans.
As Darcy wrapped up the meeting, he leaned forward, ready to leave as soon as possible.
“I sent out a news release about the fund-raiser to the papers in the area,” Darcy said. “Tomorrow Carol and Josie are going to blanket the surrounding towns with flyers. Thanks, Katie, for designing it and running off hundreds of copies for us. I’ll see everyone early Saturday morning.”
Nick hopped to his feet to go.
“Nick, could you stay a few minutes after the meeting? I have a couple of questions about the animals, and since Flint couldn’t make it, I hope you can answer them.”
As the committee members filed out of the room, he stood looking everywhere but at Darcy. She was Fletcher’s daughter, and now she wanted to take Corey away from Haven, from him. He’d come close to telling her why Corey was so important to him. Now he was glad he hadn’t revealed his relationship with his dad. He still didn’t know what he’d done to deserve a father like his. He’d tried to do everything right, but nothing he had done had pleased his old man.
Suddenly Darcy was in front of him, only a couple of feet away. Concern lit her eyes, tempting him to beg her not to take Corey. To stay instead.
“I need a horse that I can do tricks on. I know this is last minute, but the more events we have in the rodeo the better it will be. I used to trick ride as a teenager and was part of the entertainment at horse shows.”
Trick riding? He knew she had ridden, but that was a skill most riders didn’t have. She’d been so open with him, or so he’d thought, but now he realized she had her own secrets. What else?
“I have a horse at the Flying Eagle that would be a good one to use. You could try Rose and see if you two are compatible. I noticed on the flyer that there was mention of a surprise. Is that it?”
“Yes. But if I don’t do it, I’ll come up with another surprise for the audience.”
“When was the last time you did any tricks?” He could see similarities between Darcy and Fletcher. The same dark blond hair and blue eyes, even down to a cleft in their chins. Why hadn’t he noticed it before?
“Four years ago at a fund-raiser. Not long after that my horse died, and I stopped doing it. We had a special bond.” Her voice caught on that last sentence.
He started to reach for her but stopped. He needed to break ties, not make them deeper. As much as he cared for Corey and didn’t want to see him go, he knew Darcy would make a great parent for the child—in Mobile. If only she wouldn’t leave... “Is that all you want?”
“Yes, but—”
He turned to leave.
“I thought you would be happy that Corey would have a home and not end up in the foster care system.”
Don’t answer her. Walk out the door.
“Are you mad at me?”
Darcy’s question compelled Nick to stop and twist toward her. “Disappointed.”
“I’m not Fletcher. I’m nothing like him.”
“Are you so sure of that? You’ve been in Corey’s life for a short time, and now you think you know what’s best for him. You want to uproot him and take him away from the only place he’s lived to be with strangers. Frankly he’d be better off at the boys ranch.”
“He’ll finally be taken care of and not left to fend for himself.”
“Throwing money at him won’t solve his problems. You told me you were a workaholic. Are you going to fall back into your usual pattern of working all the time? Corey doesn’t need another parent who’s never there.”
She winced, thrusting her shoulders back. “I’ll make time for him. I wouldn’t take him on otherwise, and I’m not going to throw money at Corey. I’m going to love him.”
“For how long? Until you marry and have your own children?” he asked before he could stop himself. She was great with the boys at the ranch, so why wouldn’t she want to start a family of her own? But it was none of his business.
Darcy gasped. “If you could say that, then you don’t know me. I’ll check with Gabe and Tanner. Maybe they have a horse I can ride.”
For the second time, he started toward the door.
“Nick, what’s really going on? Do you want to take Corey? I’m not Fletcher, and I’d never treat Corey like Ned did.”
No, I wouldn’t be a good father for Corey, but I could be a friend. I can’t, though, if he’s in Mobile.
He continued his trek into the hallway and out the door to the parking lot. His pace slowed as he neared his truck. He didn’t want her to have to look elsewhere for a horse she could use for trick riding. Rose would be perfect for her.
When he settled in the driver’s seat, he took out his cell phone and texted her.
Come to the ranch tomorrow morning. My uncle will help you with Rose. I know you aren’t Fletcher.
As he drove to the Flying Eagle, he kept telling himself Corey would have a family and tha
t was all that mattered. But it didn’t lift his spirits. He should be ecstatic for the child. He wasn’t. The sadness of losing Corey overrode all other feelings.
When Nick entered his house by the back door, he hoped he could sneak to his bedroom and wallow in his grief. But Uncle Howard came into the kitchen before Nick could escape.
“Is there anything I need to know about the fund-raiser?” he asked as Nick passed.
“You and I are gonna help set up what we can on Friday afternoon. The rest will be done Saturday morning before the fund-raiser starts at twelve.”
“Are you going to Ned’s funeral at the gravesite in Dry Gulch tomorrow at one?”
“Yes, I told Bea I would take Corey. I don’t imagine there will be many people there. I’m only going for Corey’s sake.”
“Maybe it’s time you forgive your dad—and Ned. You should think about doing it tomorrow while you’re saying your good-byes to Ned.”
“He doesn’t deserve forgiveness. Corey is alone in the world now, not that the man was much of a father to him when he was here.”
“Who are you talking about? Your dad or Ned?”
“Both.”
He stormed down the hallway and disappeared into his bedroom. All he wanted was to be left alone. But he couldn’t rest. Instead, he paced the length of his room, fluctuating between anger at himself for how he’d handled losing Corey and anger at Darcy for coming into his life, turning it upside down and then planning to leave soon with a child he’d grown to care for—a child he loved.
* * *
Darcy finished loping around the corral, performing some of her tricks. She was a little rusty, but it was coming back—the technique and the fact that she missed riding on a horse even more than she’d realized when she rode with Corey and Nick. She dismounted and headed for the gate.
Howard opened it and clapped. “You have surprised this old coot. What made you start trick riding?”
“I saw a lady doing it when I was ten. She was great and so daring. It took a while before I could convince my parents I would be all right. Rose reminds me of the horse I had as a teenager.” Darcy stroked the mare’s neck.
The Cowboy's Texas Family Page 12