The Littlest Cowgirls--A Clean Romance

by Melinda Curtis

  “Gabby,” Mitch said again, gentler this time. He put his arm around her and hugged her.

  “Go ahead, Dad. Ground me.” Gabby swiped at a tear.

  Ashley enfolded her into her arms next. “And you haven’t told anyone all this time?”

  “No-o-o.” Gabby’s voice shook. “And you know how hard it is for me to keep a secret.”

  Mitch shook his head. “That doesn’t change the fact that you organized the town to stalk somebody.”

  “True brilliance,” Shane proclaimed, earning a scowl from Mitch.

  “But, Gabby—” Ashley knelt in front of her “—who posted the picture of me and Wyatt today?”

  “That. Was. Me. Too,” Gabby admitted between sobs that grabbed hold of Wyatt’s throat and wouldn’t let go. “But. Then. Grandma Gen...”

  “Say no more.” Ashley stood and gave Wyatt a look that said he was going to have to swallow his pride about this, too.

  Not yet.

  The anger still thrummed in his veins. So much money. It would have been his best role yet. His father would call him a fool for getting involved with anyone in Second Chance. And he’d be right, except...

  He’d be wrong, too.

  Not yet.

  There was damage to be controlled. “Her laptop is back at the inn,” Wyatt said. Probably sitting at the check-in desk.

  Mitch caught Wyatt’s gaze. “Gabby wanted to edit something before we left and I wouldn’t let her.”

  “I’m sorry, Wyatt,” Gabby said thickly. “Do you think Laurel will forgive me for the original post?”

  “Of course she will,” Mitch reassured her.

  “And Wyatt will, too,” Ashley said, giving Wyatt a look that said he had to be the bigger man.

  But Wyatt stomped away.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  AFTER THE DRAMA of the day, it was surprising that the wedding rehearsal went off without a hitch.

  Ashley shouldn’t have been surprised, not when Wyatt and his cowboy hat were nowhere to be seen. Not when her sister took charge as if she’d been a boss her whole life.

  Laurel told everyone she was only going to huff and puff up the hill one time, and then they were all going to eat.

  As a newly promoted junior bridesmaid, Gabby was self-conscious walking up the grassy hillside. But she did fine, and when Ashley joined her at the top next to Mitch and Shane, they all turned to watch Laurel make her bridal march.

  “Slow down, Dad,” Laurel had to say twice, because their father wanted to charge up the hill as if he was taking the fort at the top. “Just this once.”

  And Ashley understood what Laurel meant. She wanted to be the Monroe twin everyone watched that day.

  * * *

  WHAT A RELIEF to have all her secrets in the open.

  Or if not exactly a relief—because Gabby still felt guilty about all the drama she’d caused—at least she was getting what she deserved. A cold shoulder from Wyatt.

  She sat next to Dad at the rehearsal dinner, but didn’t feel like talking to anyone.

  There was an empty seat at the table next to Ashley, and Gabby felt sorry about that, too. Not only had Wyatt not accepted her apology, but apparently he wasn’t going to be Ashley’s wedding date, either. And just when they’d seemed to be hitting it off.

  Gabby noticed her new grandmother kept looking at her new grandfather, who’d brought a young woman as his date. If Gabby was infatuated with Devin, Grandma Gen was in love with her ex-husband. Dinner hadn’t even started and she’d already drunk two glasses of wine.

  Cam called for everyone’s attention and announced the courses and how they paired with the wine. He used a lot of words Gabby had never heard before and talked about notes in food until her eyes glazed over.

  Gabby hid a yawn behind her hand and watched Devin, who sat at the opposite end of the table. He was talking to his aunt Kendall, who sat across from him and was a racing boat captain. And who knew that was a valid career path?

  Gabby’s gaze drifted around the table, barely touching her beet salad before they brought the main course—chicken Kiev.

  Holden was talking about interest rates in a voice loud enough that everyone could hear. But suddenly he stopped and stared at Devin. His face grew redder and redder, as if he was mad. But at what?

  Gabby had a feeling of uneasiness that had nothing to do with accidental postings on the internet. She took a bite of chicken Kiev. One thing was certain. Cam’s food beat Dad’s cooking every time. It was worth sitting through a lecture on food notes and nuances.

  Holden wiped his face with his napkin. Not his mouth. His entire face.

  For whatever reason, Gabby’s gaze kept drifting.

  Holden pressed a hand to his chest as if he had heartburn or perhaps had accidentally swallowed a bone.

  The back of her neck got goose bumps. Gabby clutched Dad’s arm. “Do you have Dr. Carlisle’s number?”

  “I do,” Dad whispered. “But it’s not a good idea to invite her over.” He glanced toward Holden.

  “Dad.” Gabby latched on to his arm with both hands without taking her eyes from Holden. “Call her. Now.”

  Holden gasped for breath.

  Gabby ran around the table and squeezed between him and his even stuffier father. She loosened his tie. “Tell me you swallowed a chicken bone.” She stared into his cold gray eyes. “Tell me you’re not having a heart attack.”

  “Dad?” Devin rushed to his father’s side.

  “No bone.” Holden gasped. “Can’t breathe.”

  Gabby drew a deep breath, as if she could encourage him to do it with her. “All right.” Heart attack. She’d helped Roy through one before, not that she hadn’t been scared to death while doing so. “The important thing is not to panic.”

  “Out of the way, little girl.” Holden’s father dragged her out from in between their chairs.

  Gabby wormed her way back between them, refusing to be treated like a little kid. “I know CPR and first aid. You need to slow down your breathing, Holden. Dad’s called Dr. Carlisle. She’ll be here any minute.”

  Fortunately, Dr. Carlisle rushed in carrying her medical backpack. “What happened?” She didn’t bat an eye as Gabby related the symptoms she’d seen. Then the doc took over.

  No one seemed to notice when Gabby backed away from the table on shaky legs. She made it to the lunch counter and a stool before her legs gave out.

  Devin joined her. “That was cool. How’d you know how to do that?”

  “I’ve been studying.” More than geometry and language arts. Gabby watched Laurel waddle toward them. “Things tend to happen around here, you know.” Medical emergencies, she meant.

  “I’m going to study premed.” Devin stared over where his dad sat slouched in a booth. “But I didn’t see it coming. Thank you.”

  Which would have really made the scare okay, except Devin patted her on the head before he went back to support his dad.

  “You were prepared.” Laurel hugged her. “Dr. Carlisle thinks it’s just stress, but they’re going into Ketchum to run tests at the hospital.”

  “So it’s not that bad?” So this wasn’t the third bad thing Wyatt had predicted?

  Gabby clung tighter to Laurel.

  * * *

  “I DON’T KNOW how you’ll survive in this getup, Ash. I didn’t want to make your costume like this. It’s too heavy.” Laurel moved around Ashley in her small apartment, talking with pins in her mouth while she tugged at fabric. “It’s supposed to be close to ninety degrees on Sunday and you’re going to do the play twice? All I can say is hydrate.”

  “I can handle it.” Ashley wore the man’s thin wool suit under the black-and-pink dress.

  “Ashley can handle it.” Mom sat at the kitchen table with a mug of tea cradled in her hands. “I raised you girls right.”

&n
bsp; Ashley caught Laurel’s eye. Their mother was tipsy and morose tonight.

  Mitch came out of the bedroom. “Anyone know why Wyatt didn’t come down for dinner?”

  “Like I’d invite him when he wouldn’t forgive Gabby?” Laurel jabbed a pin too far and stuck Ashley.

  “Ow.” Ashley pulled away. She might not be able to handle this last fitting. “He’s wrestling with a lot of decisions right now, not just about his movie roles.” But about who he was as a person.

  “I’m going to go up and check on him,” Mitch said.

  The three Monroe women all turned to stare at him.

  “He’s a good man, Laurel.” And Mitch left it at that.

  Nobody said anything for a few minutes after he’d gone.

  Laurel huffed. “Do you think he’s a good man, Ash?”

  “I do.” Ashley didn’t hesitate to defend the man she loved. “We did more than kiss in the woods, you know?”

  “What?” Laurel teased. “I didn’t know.”

  “I’m almost out of tea,” Mom said mournfully.

  “Talk. We talked,” Ashley reassured them. “I’ve talked more to him than anyone.”

  “Even me?” Laurel straightened, pressing her hands into the small of her back.

  “Even you.” Ashley nodded, not without a stab of guilt almost as sharp as her sister’s needle.

  That brought about another silence, during which time Ashley wished she was a fly on the wall in Wyatt’s room, if only to hear what Mitch had to say.

  “You don’t trust people easily.” Laurel came closer, tugged the dress back, and back, and back, until Ashley had to take a step or lose her balance. “And Mitch... Darn hormones. My gut instinct is that Wyatt needs to be involved in these girls’ lives.”

  “Never trust your gut,” Mom said. “Always check the figures on the back end.”

  Laurel and Ashley laughed.

  “Maybe you need to give Wyatt a chance to prove himself, Ash.” Laurel gathered Ashley’s hair and held it off the collar of the dress, presumably to check the seams back there. “Not just as Mike Moody, but as Wyatt Halford. That picture of you two kissing at the A-frame was smoking hot.”

  “You don’t mean that, do you?” Did she? Ashley felt her cheeks heat. “You’ll change your mind about him again tomorrow.”

  “I don’t think I will. Not about his being good for you or the babies.” Laurel let Ashley’s hair down, smoothing the material over her shoulders. “You know...when the people you love put their faith in someone...you should, too.”

  “Who is that woman your father brought this weekend?” Mom took a swig of her drink.

  “Time-out.” Making sure she wasn’t going to get stuck by a pin, Ashley moved carefully out of Laurel’s reach, plucked the mug from her mother’s hands and dumped its contents into the sink. “Is that what this bender is all about? Dad?”

  “Hey.” Mom stared morosely at the sink. “That was the last of my...tea.”

  “I’m not picking a fight with you, Mom.” Ashley gathered up her skirts because they were indeed heavy, weighing almost as heavily as the responsibility for Laurel’s future happiness. “Mom, I...we...need you to be sober for the wedding.”

  “And the babies are coming,” Laurel said.

  Gabby opened her bedroom door. “Not to mention someone has to talk to all those muckety-mucks you invited to the wedding.” She closed the door almost immediately.

  Something straightened in Genevieve’s spine. “Gabby, what did I tell you about keeping secrets?”

  “I’m not listening to you,” came the reply. “Secrets are bad.”

  “Go, Gabby,” Ashley murmured.

  “Your guest list wasn’t really a secret, Mom. We have the RSVPs.” Laurel sighed. “Honestly, Mitch and I should have eloped.”

  “Hey, none of that talk.” Ashley enfolded Laurel in a hug, although with so many layers of clothes between them, it wasn’t quite the sisterly clasp of old. “Everything’s going to be fine. Your wedding is going to go perfectly. Cam has everything he needs for catering. Sophie’s handling decorations. And Mitch is tackling whatever else comes up. No problemo.”

  “Easy for you to say.” Mom ran her hands over her face. “You aren’t competing with a woman who looks half her age.”

  Ashley released Laurel. “You aren’t competing. You’re divorced.”

  “Maybe Wyatt will agree to be my wedding date instead of yours.” Mom stood, eyes glittering. “That would give your father pause.”

  “But it wouldn’t make Dad come back,” Ashley said gently. She’d forgotten her mother’s hard outer shell protected a plethora of vulnerabilities. “And he wouldn’t make you happy if he did.” Theirs had been a turbulent marriage. “You know what’s going to make you happy?”

  “What?” Mom’s lower lip trembled.

  Gabby’s door creaked open.

  Even Laurel seemed to be waiting for Ashley’s next words.

  “When those baby girls get here, you’re going to be needed again,” Ashley said simply. “Laurel and Mitch are going to be stretched to the limit, running this inn and the Mercantile, as well as keeping up with Gabby. They’re going to need you, Mom. And much as you hate to hear this, Dad doesn’t need you...or me, or Laurel, or Jonah.”

  Her speech motivated a group hug—both Monroe twins, their mother and Gabby.

  “Well.” Mom’s expression wavered between a brave smile and tears as she stepped back to stand alone. “That’s your father’s loss, isn’t it? Letting his children go?”

  “Yes.” And Ashley hoped it wasn’t going to be Wyatt’s.

  * * *

  “CAN I COME IN?” Mitch stood in Wyatt’s hotel room doorway.

  Wyatt was tempted to close the door in his face. According to his agent, he’d probably already lost the record-breaking payday from Jess. And that wasn’t even what he cared about most that he’d lost today.

  “I brought whiskey.” Mitch produced a bottle from behind his back. “I’m not above bribing my way in. But if you close the door on me, I’ll just use my passkey.”

  Wyatt let him in. He sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard.

  Mitch took the glasses from the bathroom and poured them each a drink. He stared at the mattress on the floor, and then claimed a seat next to Wyatt on the bed, also leaning against the headboard, like they were best friends or brothers.

  They were something, all right. Tied together by Laurel’s babies.

  For a few minutes, they sipped their drinks and stared in the direction of the window. All that was visible were the peaks of the Sawtooth Mountains laced with thickening clouds.

  Wyatt swirled his whiskey. “I know I owe Gabby an apology.”

  “It’s good for her to wait for forgiveness.” Mitch leaned his head back, bumping the headboard. “She needs to learn to think before she acts. Though it helps me to hear that you plan to forgive her, so I’ll sleep tonight even if she doesn’t.”

  “You are one tough dad.” Fair, but tough. The girls would be in good hands. “I used to think life was fairly simple. Mess up things with your family. Go make a movie. Mess up things with a woman. Go make a movie.”

  “Learn you’re a father. Go make a movie?” Mitch gave him a wry smile. “You can’t run from life forever.”

  “Is that what I was doing?” Wyatt drained his whiskey and held out the glass for more. “Thanks for saving me hours of therapy.”

  “So?” Mitch poured him another two fingers. “What is your hesitation regarding parenthood? Is it just the whole mortality thing? Do you need me to reassure you there are no gray hairs on that famous head of yours?” He chuckled, but he would, already being a dad. “Because I can guarantee you will never be tested as much by these girls as you will by some of those stunts I’ve seen you do on film.”

  Wyatt didn’t
believe that for a second. “Would your statement still hold if we were having this conversation before we saw Shane? You were pretty mad.”

  “At Shane. For good reason. He should have told Gabby she couldn’t post pictures of you while you stayed here. And instead, my princess posted pictures and made herself vulnerable to the wicked queen’s manipulation.” Mitch raised his glass. “I’m allowed one derogatory comment about my soon-to-be mother-in-law after how she behaved today.”

  “She has been hitting the tea quite a bit.” Wyatt stared into the shallow depths of his amber whiskey. “I shouldn’t judge, seeing as how I’m drinking now.”

  Somewhere down the hall, a woman laughed. It wasn’t Ashley’s laughter, but it made Wyatt pine for her all the same.

  “But seriously, Halford.” Mitch turned to him. “We can do this if you’re man enough.”

  “This?”

  “Coparent.”

  “You come up here and sit in my bed and tell me I might be lacking the nerve to be a father? And yet you still offer me the job?” Wyatt tsked. “If I was Holden, I’d tackle you.”

  Mitch sipped his whiskey around a smile. “If you were Holden, you’d lecture me to death about my retirement plan first. Parenting is hard but not impossible. You just have to be present. Meaning aware or tuned in.”

  “Jeez. You do realize I’m only home a few weeks out of the year? The more you talk, the more I realize I’m not father material.” Wyatt Halford, actor, playboy, millionaire, wasn’t cut out for being a dad. “Seriously.”

  “You say that now, but I bet that both our fathers had second thoughts when they were told they were going to be a dad. It’s all part of the process.” Mitch gathered his whiskey and his glass and got to his feet. “I have faith in you, Mr. Halford. You’ve proved yourself to me and most of Second Chance. The question is, do you have faith in yourself?”

  “The right answer is no, because I...” He hated that he hesitated. “I just don’t know how this can work without me being Uncle Wyatt.”