Danny (Downton Cowboys Book 1)

by Miley Maine

  “Yeah.” Her look was meditative. “He is good, isn’t he?”

  She sat down under the canopy, and I joined her, keeping close as I laid my hand on her thigh.

  “How’d you think he’d be as a big brother?” The words just flowed.

  She scoffed, “Eh, right now? He’d be asking a million questions.”

  I turned to her, and our gazes locked. “Do you mind?”

  “I guess he’s bound to ask them anyway.”

  My heart skipped a beat.

  I quickly glanced to make sure that Billy was still busy with his quest before shifting to look her deep in the eyes.

  “Baby, I—” I took her hand in mine, pressing gently as I smiled. “I want another child with you.”

  Her soft smile grew wider, and her eyes sparkled. “I’d like that.”

  “Yeah?”

  She nodded, biting her lower lip. “Nothing would make me happier.”

  “Gosh, you’re beautiful.” I leaned in and kissed her lips, flushed and warm, they softly melted into mine.

  “What are you doing?” Billy’s voice made us both flinch, pulling back as swiftly as we could.

  Gigi giggled as she placed the back of her hand over her lips, while I playfully pulled him toward me, tugging so that he dropped onto my lap before I started to tickle him. “Grown-up stuff.” I mimicked a cartoonish evil laugh while he cackled and squirmed.

  She said yes.

  I was over the moon.

  A minute later, Billy got distracted once again when he spotted a ladybug on the moist grass. He went off to examine it, and I turned once again to her.

  “Look, I’m really excited, but I’d love it if we could keep this between us for now.”

  She tilted her head as she poured us some wine.

  “Y’know…Rita won’t exactly be too keen on being away from two grandkids.”

  “Oh.” she tittered, handing me my glass. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. I won’t tell her.” She took a sip. “Besides, she won’t be far away; I really hope she can understand that. The town is so close by.”

  “Well, you know her.” I raised an eyebrow.

  “Yeah,” she sighed, looking down at her fingernails. “I do.”

  For the rest of the day, I didn’t see Rita at all. And quite honestly, it was marvelous.

  As day turned into night, and the sun made its appearance for another glorious dawn, I woke up hoping that the day would be as calm as the one before it.

  Unfortunately, Rita’s shrill voice snuck to my ears as I went downstairs. She was in the kitchen, trying to make herself useful while Gigi prepared our meal.

  “I gotta go into town in a bit.” She forced a solemn heaviness into her tone. “Need anything from there?”

  Oh, the dutiful mother.

  “Thanks, Mom, Pete ran a shopping round for me yesterday.”

  “Right, Pete,” she sighed. “Sounds like you don’t need your mother anymore.”

  “Mom, really?” Helpless Gigi’s desperation was evident. “You think I need you for errands?”

  “Well, you clearly don’t need me here at all.”

  “Uh—”

  “Good morning.” Announcing my appearance, I tried to save my poor wife. After I kissed her, I glanced in Rita’s direction. “Good morning, Rita.”

  She moped as she picked up a jug of orange juice, walking out toward the dining table. “Good morning.”

  Was that audible exhale meant to upset me?

  I was still on cloud nine by effect of our little secret. Even Rita couldn’t ruin my mood.

  As I walked out, I was met with Billy’s enthusiastic morning energy and Russ’s respectable greetings. We gathered around the table and proceeded to eat.

  “Gigi, what did you say your friend’s name was? The realtor?”

  “Mandy? Mandy Dawson.”

  “Right. Well, I’ll check her office when I get to town. I’ll also keep an eye out for any suitable houses with a for sale sign.” She shot a nasty grimace my way. “I don’t think I can stand this any longer.”

  Gigi visibly bit her lip in anger, quietly looking at her father and I respectively before tossing a piece of bread into her mouth. She clearly didn’t want to get into another argument in front of Billy.

  As soon as she noticed that he was done eating, she whispered, “Sweetie, you can go wash your hands and play in your room now.”

  “Okay,” he smiled, hopping off his chair and disappearing up the stairs.

  She then turned to Rita. “I’d really appreciate it if you try and think about the things you say in front of Billy from now on. He’s not a baby anymore, and he understands what you’re saying.”

  “Oh?” She aggressively raised her eyebrows. “So he’s old enough to comprehend what I say, but too young to be influenced by him?” Without looking, she pointed in my direction.

  “Hey, if you got something to say to me, why don’t you say it to my face?” I roared.

  Abruptly pushing herself up, her movement quaked the entire table. “Oh, I’ll say it, Cowboy.” She narrowed her eyes. “You’re not good enough for my daughter,” she hissed. “You are so beneath her, so much, it baffles me.”

  “Oh,” I tittered while I kept my cool, sitting back as I rested both my hands on the table.

  She continued, leisurely enunciating every syllable. “You are ill-mannered, uncivilized, and uneducated. The best you could do for a living is cohabitating with cow shit and manure—”

  “You’re out of line!” Gigi fiercely shoved her chair backward as she soared up.

  “No, no.” I steadily raised a hand. “I want her to get it off her chest.” I then turned back to Rita. “She clearly had better aspirations than this.” With both hands, I gestured around.

  “How dare you?” she seethed. “We’re outta here as soon as we find a house away from you.”

  “And why force it?” I shrugged, still seated as I maintained my stance. “I’ll pay for you and Russell to stay at the Mexborough hotel until you find the perfect house,” I smiled provocatively.

  Her face lost all color, and for a moment there, I could swear that she hadn’t seen that coming.

  Not only were we offering to add to whatever money they had for a new house, but I was now extending the bargain to a stay in a hotel she could only assume was luxurious.

  Her eyes hesitated for a second as they examined Russ’s face. He didn’t seem to mind, but he wasn’t jumping on the opportunity either.

  “Very well.” She tried to keep her stare grave as she addressed me. “I’ll pack everything, and we’ll be out of your hair in an hour.”

  As she marched out of the house, Gigi scampered behind, whispering, “I’ll go help her.”

  I slowly stood up, lifting my plate.

  Russ awkwardly cleared his throat as he pushed himself up. “Will you let me assist?”

  “Wouldn’t you rather be with Rita?”

  He scoffed, and I understood exactly what he meant. I tittered, “I’ll wash; you dry.”

  The following hour went by peaceably, with Russell and I bonding over dishes and tales of his wife’s lifelong temper.

  “To tell you the truth, I’m quite relieved,” he chuckled.

  “You don’t like it here?”

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong. You’ve done very well for yourself, Son. But even before we came, I knew this was a mistake. Rita can’t handle not being the boss.” He tilted his head as he wiped a glass dry. “I learned to swim with the current for my peace of mind. But Gigi…you…this ain’t a life for an independent couple.”

  “Yeah, I guess I should’ve figured.”

  “You live, you learn, eh?” he snickered.

  “You know what?” I handed him the last plate. “Some coffee will do us both good right now.”

  “Don’t you wanna go check on Gigi?”

  “You raised a strong woman, Russell,” I smiled. “She can handle it.”

  “No work?”

  “It
can wait.” I opened the pantry and pulled out two mugs. “The porch will be nice. I’ll join you in a minute.”

  I watched him limp out for a moment before turning back to the coffee maker. The rich aroma floated into my nostrils, and I couldn’t remember the last time I felt such a release.

  Finally, Rita was going to be kept at an appropriate distance. I never wanted to deprive Gigi of her parents, and the settlement we had reached was the best I could hope for.

  Taking the coffee outside, I found Russell settled on the corner of the bench, quietly admiring the view.

  “Y’know,” he too his cup, “there are parts of town that overlook some breathtaking views like this one.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Now that’s a compromise I won’t be willing to make,” he chuckled before taking a sip.

  “Oh yeah?”

  He nodded. “She can pick a pink house with a clown for an attic for all I care, so long as it has green I can look at.”

  “That can easily be arranged. Mandy is very resourceful.”

  For a few moments, our palates silently enjoyed the coffee while our eyes appreciated the land.

  “Gigi will never grow up to be her mother, I hope you know that.” He looked down at his half-full mug.

  “Of course, I wasn’t thinkin’ that at all.”

  “Yeah?”

  I tittered, knowing that I was about to make a clichéd confession. “I see more of you in her than I see of Rita.”

  He suddenly laughed, throwing his head back as his shoulders shook.

  “What’s so funny?” I smiled.

  “Guess the poor girl spent her life trying so hard not to become her mother, that she accidentally became her father.”

  I watched his elated expression with a snort. “Is that a bad thing?”

  He cheekily shrugged. “Depends where you’re standing.”

  We both chuckled, and I realized that his self-deprecating humor was one of the things I enjoyed most about his character.

  The man knew his strengths and weaknesses and wasn’t ashamed of laughing at himself. I wondered if I had a father like that, how would my life have turned out?

  Shaking away thoughts of should-haves and could-haves, I settled for accepting him as my father-in-law. Wholeheartedly grateful that he was who he was, I reveled in the few moments of bonding we got to enjoy.

  I also celebrated the fact that I was finally going to get my life with Gigi back.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Gigi

  After I helped Mom pack everything—angry as she was—I made her promise to call me from the hotel once they’d settled in their room. Generous as always, Danny had Michael book them a suite, and drive them to town himself.

  Danny had gone out to catch up with the day’s tasks when the phone began to ring. Billy and I were working on a new drawing project of his, an attempt on my side to distract him from the fact that his grandparents were gone.

  I got up and picked up the receiver. Mom’s voice came from the other side of the line, simultaneously solemn and angry.

  “Hi, Gigi. We’re in our room,” she scoffed. “Your husband didn’t need to be such a show-off.”

  “What?”

  “He booked us a whole suite,” she shrieked. “Is this his way of proving that he was better than us?”

  “Wow, he’s just being nice.”

  “Nice?” she jeered. “He could’ve been nice to my face if he wanted to.”

  “You have a way of pushing him to the edge, Mother. So please, let’s not go over this again.”

  I heard her voice muffle in what I think was her trying to tell Dad something before her attention returned to the call at hand. “Well, I’m not going anywhere. Just so you know, I wrote to Matty.”

  That bullshit again. I rolled my eyes. “How’s that any of my business?”

  “It’s your business because I told him everything,” she spitefully declared.

  “Like?”

  “That your precious husband threw me and your dad out.” She spoke quickly and angrily, her voice rising in tone and pitch. “That he gave Billy a pony from which he fell and broke his arm because that’s no appropriate gift for a child. That your husband is in no way sensible—"

  “Oh, wow, Mom!” I audibly exhaled. “That’s a low blow, even for you,” I hissed, trying to keep my voice low so Billy wouldn’t hear me.

  “Low? He’s the one who’s responsible for almost killing my grandson!”

  Not knowing how else to respond, I sarcastically tittered, “Oh my God.”

  “And just so you know—” she added with a provocative tone, teasing me the way schoolchildren annoyed each other. “I also told him that I think you’d take Billy and go with him if he had the sense to come get you.”

  “That’s absurd, and you know it,” I insisted in disbelief that she would give herself the liberty of making such an invitation on my behalf.

  “Is it, now?” she snickered. “Well, he knows where to find me, too. I gave him the address to the hotel. We’ll see who’s being absurd now, Honey.”

  I was seeing red, and if the conversation had progressed any longer, I would have said some things we would both deeply regret. “Mom, do whatever the fuck you want. I gotta go.”

  Before she had the chance to respond, I slammed down the receiver so loudly it made a loud clunk.

  “Mommy? What’s the color of a whale?” Billy innocently asked from across the living room.

  “You can do it in blue, sweetie,” I sighed.

  He was lying down on the carpet with his papers and coloring markers splayed out around him. Oh, how I had missed the innocence of childhood.

  I spent the next hour or so immersed in activities with my son, trying my best to forget about my mother’s infuriating call.

  Before lunchtime, I felt sick to my stomach, and a thought suddenly occurred to me.

  I needed to warn Danny.

  Dizzy and queasy, I recalled my mother’s spiteful letter.

  The last thing I wanted was for him to find Matt on his property again, rude and unannounced.

  Sending Billy up to his room, I went over to the phone and dialed his office number. He immediately picked up.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Babe.” I tried to force some cheerfulness into my voice. “Do you have a minute?”

  “I always have time for you,” he chuckled softly.

  I tittered. Still nervous as my stomach turned. “Listen, Mom did another stupid thing that I think you should know about.”

  “What now?”

  As I recited everything she had told me, his responses came as muffled “Uh-huh’s” and “Hmm’s” while he attentively listened.

  “Again, I’m sorry. She’s being totally ridiculous.”

  “You don’t need to apologize unless you gave her reason to do any of that.”

  “Honey, you know I wouldn’t.”

  “Then the apologies are not yours to make.” He paused. “Listen, I got a client coming in for a meeting in a minute. I’ll send Michael to pick up lunch. Don’t think I can make it home until dinner.”

  “That’s okay, Baby. Good luck.”

  “Thank you,” he softly continued. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  For the rest of the afternoon, the uneasy feeling in my gut continued to trouble me, rendering me unable to eat lunch.

  Why would my mom do such a thing? And how could her actions still affect me the way they did? Was I becoming one of those people whose mental woes reflected on their physical state?

  I hoped that it was not the case. After all, Billy was still far too young to deal with an ill mother. And that was the last thing Danny needed, just when my mother finally went away.

  Distracting myself with Billy’s games, I decided to take him out to the garden and maybe even visit his new pony and feed him. I wanted him to reacquaint himself with his new friend and not be afraid.

  When we stepped into the
stables, Pete greeted us with his usual friendly grin. The smell of the whole place made me feel worse, and I wondered if something was seriously wrong with me.

  We spent some time there as Billy playfully visited with the horses and spoke to his pony.

  “When the doctor takes my cast back, I can ride again,” he whispered, and I smiled.

  Pete approached me, and with a shy smile, murmured, “He’s a brave one, ain’t he, Ma’am?”

  “Just like his daddy,” I proudly confessed.

  After our little tour, we went back home, and I gave Billy a shower. I was starting to feel seriously hungry, but my reaction to the smell of the shampoo made me realize that I wasn’t yet ready to eat.

  An hour before dinner, the phone rang, and Billy ran to get it.

  “Mommy? It’s Daddy,” he hollered while I was in the kitchen. “He wants to talk to you.”

  “Coming.” I made my way there, quickly drying my hands in a towel. “Hello?” I smiled into the receiver.

  Danny chuckled. “Guess who just called me?”

  “Who?”

  “Rita.”

  My insides were immediately tied into a knot. “Uh, and?” I cringed.

  “Nothing.” He went on chortling. “She was trying to threaten me with her little letter to your ex.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “No, no. Don’t worry about it. I was civil and politely let her know that nothing she would do would concern me.”

  The confidence in his voice made my heart sing. My Danny had finally believed that there was no force in the world strong enough to drag me away from him.

  “Yeah?” I giggled.

  “Yeah, I mean…she can write him, phone him, bring him here for all I care. You’re my wife and Billy’s our son, and there’s nothing in his power that he can do to change that.”

  “I’m happy you know that, Danny. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say this.”

  “Your mom’s at a safe distance now, and her bark may be noisy, but her bite ain’t gonna hurt me.”

  We hung up on a sweet note, with him promising to come home once his last meeting was done.

  When I went back into the kitchen, Billy came up to me with a coloring book my father had given him.