A Real Cowboy Never Says No

by Stephanie Rowe

  And now…what would happen after today? Had she lost her chance?

  Her phone rang suddenly, jerking her out of her reverie. Was it Chase? Hope leapt through her. She jumped up and raced across the room, sweeping it off the kitchen counter. Her heart fell when she saw Taylor’s name on her caller ID, not Chase. With a sigh, she declined the call and walked back over to the couch.

  Her old life seemed so far away now. She didn’t want to go back there.

  Her phone started ringing again, and again, hope leapt through her as she looked down. Taylor again. Fear trickled through her at the repeat call. With foreboding weighing in her heart, she answered the call. “What’s up?”

  “Did you get my message? Tell me you left.”

  “Left? What message? I didn’t see one from you.” Tires rolled on the gravel outside, and she leapt up. “I have to go. I think Chase is back.”

  “No! Don’t answer it! Alan found you! He found the record of the pregnancy test! He’s on his way to the ranch!”

  “What?” Mira’s heart dropped and she raced to the window. A long, black limousine was pulling up in front of the ranch. “Oh, God, he’s here.”

  “Get out the back door,” Taylor said. “You have to go.”

  Mira watched as the rear door of the car opened and Alan got out, along with two other men in suits. Lawyers? “Oh, God,” she whispered. “Where would I go? He’d find me.”

  “Don’t answer any questions!” Taylor said. “You’ll need a lawyer. Don’t let him bully you!”

  The doorbell rang, making Mira jump. She backed away from the door, clutching the phone. Dear God, why hadn’t she married Chase already? Why had they waited? “I have to go. I have to call Chase.”

  Someone pounded on the door, and she ducked into the kitchen, leaning against the fridge as she tried to catch her breath, pressing her hand to her stomach. She wasn’t prepared to face him. Dammit. She shouldn’t have underestimated him. Her hands shaking, she dialed Chase’s number.

  It went straight into voicemail, and she realized he probably had to turn it off in the hospital. She immediately hung up. Could she really bother Chase when his brother was dying?

  “Mira Cabot! Open the door!”

  She closed her eyes, trying frantically to decide what to do. Call Chase again? Add to his stress? But then she thought of his reaction when he’d realized he hadn’t been there for Steen. It was in his blood to take care of those in his circle, and she knew that the baby was in that circle. Regardless of whether there was a place for her in his life, she knew that he would do anything to protect the baby. She had to give him the chance. Ignoring the furious pounding on the door, she dialed his number again. “Chase,” she said into his voicemail, her voice shaking. “Alan’s here. He found out I bought the pregnancy test before you came to town. I don’t know what to do. Call me, as soon as you can. And, I hope Steen’s okay. I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

  She hung up, trying to calm her mind enough to think clearly. She could call the hospital, but she had no idea what facility his brother was in.

  Footsteps sounded on the back porch, and she blanched when she saw shadows fall across the kitchen window. Before she could move, a face appeared in the glass, and she found herself staring straight into the bitter, angry eyes of her baby’s grandfather. His gleam of satisfaction twisted right in her gut, and she instinctively covered her belly with her hands.

  His gaze followed her movement, and then he smiled. “Open the door, Mira.” He held up a manila envelope. “I have a document for you to read and sign.”

  She knew what that document was.

  It had to be a waiver turning guardianship of her baby over to Alan, and she knew that he would have a way of forcing her to sign it right then and there. He had something on her, something she wouldn’t be able to defeat, because he wouldn’t have come until he had everything in line. What would it be? Her parents were dead. Taylor? Chase? What did he have on them? What card was he going to play? What knife was he going to plunge in her belly and twist until she caved?

  Frantically, she dialed the only other phone number she knew in town.

  Gary Keller picked up on the first ring. “Coming for dinner tonight, my dear?”

  Before she could say another word, the back door crashed open, and the man who had beat his son so badly that he’d never walked right again strode into her kitchen.

  It was too late.

  Chapter 15

  “Chase?”

  He looked up in surprise as Zane and Travis walked into Steen’s hospital room. For a split second, relief rushed through him, and then the reality crashed down on him. “Why are you here? They said you couldn’t come in unless he was dying—”

  Fuck.

  He looked down at Steen, at the machines pumping life through him, and he felt his world begin to crush in on him.“They came and got you?”

  Zane looked ashen, and Travis had dark shadows beneath his eyes, even more so than when he’d been at the ranch a few weeks ago. “They said he’s giving up.” Zane punched his fist against the wall, leaving a dent.

  “What the hell, Steen? Why aren’t you trying?” Zane dropped his muscled frame into a folding chair, and braced his forearms on his thighs, staring at their brother. Steen’s muscle had wasted away, and his chest wasn’t even moving perceptibly. “Steen,” he said urgently. “We need you, man. Don’t give up. It’s just a knife wound. You’ve healed worse than that.”

  Still no response from their brother.

  Zane and Chase exchanged grim looks. “I’ve said everything I can think of,” Chase said. “I don’t know what else to say.”

  Zane ran his hand through his hair. “It’s Rachel, isn’t it? He gave up the day all that went down.”

  Chase ground his jaw at the name of the woman who had landed Steen in prison. “Yeah. He changed that day. You could see it in his eyes. They went dead.”

  “Well, fuck it.” Zane hunched forward. “She’s just a woman, Steen. Forget her. You want to give her the satisfaction of dying? Your best payback will be to go live and reclaim your life.”

  Still nothing from Steen.

  Travis leaned against the wall, keeping back. “He looks like he’s been sick. That can’t all be from the last twenty-four hours, can it? He’s thin as hell.”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him in two years.” Chase looked around at his brothers. How long had it been since the four of them were in the same room together? Years, and years. It had to come to this to get them together? It was what he’d been striving for, but hell, not this way. “What about the others?”

  “Quintin will be here tonight. Logan’s coming in tomorrow. Maddox and Ryder should be here any minute. I can’t find Caleb. His number has been disconnected. You got a more recent number?”

  “I don’t know.” Chase dug his phone out of his pocket and tossed it at his brother. “You can check the one in my phone and see if it’s different.” He looked at Zane, who had been in a coma in high school after a motorcycle. “You think he can hear us? Does he know we’re here?”

  Zane shrugged. “I don’t remember anything from when I was out. If I heard you guys, I don’t remember. All I remembered was you standing over me when I was on the side of the highway, shouting at me not to die or you would come to hell and kick my ass.” Accusation flashed in his eyes. “You had that chance with Steen, to tell him not to give up, but you didn’t answer your phone when they called. If you’d talked to him then, he’d have known we cared. But no one was there, and now he’s given up.”

  Chase gritted his jaw, guilt wrenching away at him. “I know.”

  “What the hell, man? What were you doing with her at that pool?” Zane shook his head in disgust. “I went through the house looking for you. Her shit’s everywhere. It’s like she’s claimed the place.”

  Images of Mira’s fuzzy pink blanket draped over the back of the couch popped into Chase’s mind, and a sense of rightness settled over him. H
e liked her belongings in his house. It made the house feel less empty. Suddenly, a yearning to talk to her rushed over him. He was in over his head, and he wanted to hear her voice. She’d lost her father, and she’d somehow kept her mom from giving up after the accident. Maybe she would have an idea. He suddenly wanted to talk to her, to get her advice, to hear her voice—

  “Hey, Chase?” Travis interrupted. “Mira called and left a message. You want to listen to it?”

  “Yeah.” Instinctively, Chase reached for his phone, but he paused when he saw Zane’s hostile glare.

  “Really?” Zane challenged. “You’re going to take her call while Steen could be taking his last breath? Dad put his women before us. Don’t do it. Don’t fucking be him, Chase.” There was a hard edge to his voice, but beneath it was something stronger, the weight of a childhood they had all suffered.

  Chase swore under his breath. Maybe Zane was right. Maybe Steen just needed it to be about him right now. But hell, he didn’t know, and he couldn’t afford to make a mistake. He needed to reach Steen, and he didn’t know how. He looked over at Travis, who was holding out the phone. “She’s been through something like this. Maybe she can help.”

  Travis’s eyebrows went up. “Call her then.”

  “Help? Really? You think a woman can help Steen? A woman destroyed him.” Zane’s voice was bitter. “What the hell happened to you, bro? Since when do you call upon women as your savior? We’re all we need. Us.” He gestured to the three of them. “A woman is the reason Steen’s given up in the first place, and now you want to bring one into this room?”

  Chase ground his jaw, and shook his head at Travis, knowing that an argument with Zane wasn’t what Steen needed to recover. “I’ll get it later. Just check Caleb’s number.”

  Travis’s eyebrow went up. “You didn’t take the hospital’s call, and that was a mistake. You sure you want to skip this one?”

  Chase frowned, studying his brother, fighting to think clearly. Right now, all he wanted to do was get on that phone and talk to Mira, but Zane’s words made sense too. “You think I should?”

  “I think that you made a promise to her kid, and that means you always take the call. You take mine, you take Zane’s, you take Steen’s, but you also take hers. I made a promise to her as well, and if you don’t take the call, then I will.” He held out the phone. “You or me.”

  Zane sat up, looking back and forth between them. “What are you talking about Travis? You’re in with her too?”

  “It’s not about her. It’s about that kid who is going to end up like us if we don’t step in, so yeah, I’m in with her too.” Travis took the phone back, and touched the screen. “I’ll listen to her message.” He began to put the phone to his ear, and Chase lunged to his feet.

  “I’ll do that.” He grabbed the phone from his brother and put it to his ear, walking a few feet away to listen to her message. The moment she said his name, he knew something was terribly wrong, and his heart clenched in fear.

  By the time she finished her message, he was already racing toward the door. He’d just reached it when Zane barked out his name. “Where the hell are you going?”

  Chase stopped abruptly and looked back at the room. He looked at Zane, with his angry scowl. He looked at Travis, who appeared exhausted and drained. And he looked at Steen, who was dying in front of him.

  If he left, Steen might die, and if so, he’d die without Chase by his side. He’d never know if staying could have given Steen the motivation to fight for his life. He’d hold his brother’s death in his hands for the rest of his life.

  If he stayed, Mira and the baby would be Alan’s forever. He knew the old man would waste no time. The trap would be sprung within moments.

  And yet, he had to choose.

  ***

  Zane stood up and walked over to Chase. “Don’t you dare leave.”

  His muscles straining with the need to run to Mira, Chase met his gaze. “The baby’s grandfather is at my house. He found her. He’s going to claim the baby.”

  Zane stopped, his eyes flashing with sudden anger. “He’s there? At the ranch?”

  “Yeah.” Images of what was going down flooded Chase’s mind, and panic surged over him, so intense he could barely think.

  Travis swore. “You gotta go.”

  “What about Steen?” Zane said, not moving out of the way.

  All three brothers looked at him. He was so still, he looked as if he were already dead. His face was sunken, his skin pale, his arms limp. He looked beaten, not just from the stabbing, but from the last four years in prison. Sudden anger flooded Chase, and he looked at his brothers.

  “I’ve been mortgaged up the ass on that ranch for five years,” he snapped. “I’ve been holding over a thousand acres for you guys to come home to, and no one ever does. Steen won’t even fucking let me visit him.” He strode over to the bed and grabbed his brother’s shoulders. “You fucking gave up before you even got stabbed, didn’t you? Did you jump in front of that knife just to get it over with more quickly? Well, fuck that!” He released Steen and whirled around to face Zane and Travis, who were gaping at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Mira is the only one who has moved into that house and let me help her.”

  Zane’s face darkened. “We don’t need help, Chase. We’re not kids anymore.”

  “No, you’re not. I get it.” He looked around the room at his three brothers, his family, the only people who had ever mattered to him. “But you know what? It’s not just that. I’ve sacrificed everything to hold onto that damned ranch for you guys, for me, and for us. None of you have dropped a dime or broken a sweat over there. Mira was up all night with me saving my best stud, even though she’s pregnant.” As he spoke, he realized it was true. For the first time in his life, he had an equal relationship. “She’s there for me as much as I’m there for her, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let her down.”

  He spun toward the bed and leaned over his brother. “Listen to me, Steen. I love the hell out of you, but you’ve been wasting away for too damn long. If you want to die, that’s your choice. I can’t stop you, and neither can the others. If you want to live, we’re here for you, but you have to make the choice yourself, because I need to go save a life. Yours is up to you.” His throat tightened as he set his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I love you, bro, no matter what you choose, but right now, it’s up to you.”

  He squeezed Steen’s shoulder, and then turned away. Zane was blocking the door, but Travis was nodding. “You gotta go,” he said. “I’ll keep you posted.”

  Chase nodded and strode toward the door. “Move, Zane.”

  “It’s your brother.”

  “As you said, he’s a grown man, and he has to make his choice. I can’t hold his hand anymore. I can’t hold any of yours.” He grabbed his cowboy hat off a hook by the door and jammed it on his head. “I can’t change the past, but right now, I can change the future for one kid, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

  Travis pulled the door open and stepped aside. “Keep in touch.”

  “Will do.” He slammed his hand on Travis’s shoulder, and then, after a moment, the brothers embraced. It was quick, but real, a bond that would never die.

  He raced out the door, and he didn’t look back.

  He wanted to. Hell, he wanted to look back at the brother he might never see alive again, but he didn’t.

  He knew what he had to do.

  ***

  Mira pressed her phone to her chest as Alan walked into the kitchen, his smoothly polished black shoes clicking on the floor that belonged to cowboy boots, not dress shoes. Her heart thudding almost uncontrollably, she went still, watching him approach. “What do you want?” she asked, somehow managing to keep her voice steady.

  He was wearing a custom suit, and his gray hair was perfectly coiffed. His skin had a slight grayish tint to it, and it was sagging more than it had the last time she’d seen him. He looked old, but deadly. “I want my grandchild.”r />
  Oh, God. Her stomach dropped to her feet. “What are you talking about?” She met his gaze, not looking away.

  “You’re pregnant with AJ’s child.” Anger flashed across his face, but he quickly masked it. “Do you really think you could hide it from me by coming out here?” His voice was cold with loathing.

  She schooled her features into a blank look, still trying to calm her mind. Panic wouldn’t serve her. “Pregnant with AJ’s child?” she repeated. “What in the world are you talking about?”

  This time, he couldn’t hide the flash of anger, and he stalked across the room toward her, his fingers curving as if he intended to grab her.

  She quickly stepped around the granite island in the middle of the kitchen. “Don’t touch me,” she snapped. “This is my house, and you’re trespassing. Leave now.”

  “It’s not your house. It’s Chase Stockton’s, and he still owes a considerable amount on his mortgage.”

  His mortgage? Could he take Chase’s ranch? No. That was impossible. He was bluffing. “I live here. You don’t. Leave.” She looked at her phone, saw that she was still on the call with Gary, and spoke again, more loudly. “I am going to call 9-1-1 if you don’t leave here in one minute—”

  Alan moved suddenly, lunging across the island and grabbing her arm. He ripped the phone out of her hand and threw it across the room. It shattered against the stone fireplace, and he grabbed her arm, his fingers digging into her skin like talons. “Shut the hell up, Mira. I’ll give you one chance to make the right choice.” He shoved the envelope at her, pressing it against her breasts. “For one million dollars in cash, you will assign me guardianship of my grandchild. The moment it’s born, you walk away, and never come back.”

  Her mouth dropped open. He actually believed she would abandon her own child for money? Obviously, he did, which showed exactly where he placed the value of his own child in that hierarchy. “First of all,” she snapped. “I would never trade money for my child. Second, it’s not AJ’s baby. It’s Chase’s, and we’re getting married.” Her voice didn’t waver, and her gaze was unyielding.