Aiden stopped in his tracks as he made eye contact with Morris, who was currently sprawled across the counter, his oversize orange body stretched as long as possible, one of his legs dangling over the edge. He was clearly at home here, his bushy tail flicking up and down slowly as though he didn’t have a care in the world. Must be nice.
“You couldn’t sleep, either?” he asked, heading to the coffeemaker.
Morris lifted his head, clearly unimpressed, his gaze following Aiden as he moved across the kitchen. Aiden stood at the counter, staring out at the full moon lingering in the early-morning sky, where it swaddled the mountains in a hazy fog until it met the land. His land. Acres of property, which his dad had told him he’d never be able to afford. But he had, because he’d turned that bar around and made it ridiculously profitable.
There are people who are doctors, and there are people like us. You’re not smart like Logan, so get it out of your head and be grateful you don’t have to worry about college or any of that, because you’ll inherit this bar. I hope you’re not stupid enough to run it into the ground and ruin it like you ruined our family.
Aiden pushed that memory off, disturbed that his dad’s voice kept popping into his head. He’d been great at compartmentalizing, especially after his dad died. But now… Maybe the idea that he might be a father and had left his kid without a dad for over fifteen years made him realize his dad had been right about him—because Aiden had already ruined another family.
Or maybe it was hearing that Janie was studying to be a vet. That she’d taken in his kid and still managed to go to school, and Aiden had given up that dream. What was his excuse?
He stared out the window as the smell of coffee filled the kitchen. It wasn’t quite spring yet, the ground still hard and brown from the cold winter. They would probably be in for at least another snowstorm or two before they could count on warmer weather. But soon, winter would pass, would bleed into spring like it always did, exactly the same as every year—except this one might be completely different.
He poured himself a glass of water and downed half of it before setting it on the counter and opting for coffee. Morris yawned, stretched out his paw, and tipped over Aiden’s glass of water. Aiden caught it before it could hit the ground and shatter, but water splashed all over him. “What the hell, Morris?”
Morris just looked at him, nonplussed, and hopped off the counter. He’d done it on purpose. Even their cat didn’t like him.
Aiden tensed at the sound of someone whispering. He quietly left the kitchen and spotted Morris jumping on the couch and Janie sitting up. “Did I wake you?”
He heard a sigh, and then the table lamp turned on. Janie was sitting up, wrapped in a blanket, a tangle of gorgeous, shiny hair around her head. She snatched her glasses from the end table and put them on. “Couldn’t sleep, actually.”
Her gaze flickered over him, and then her face turned red. He hadn’t bothered with a shirt because he didn’t think he’d see anyone and he was used to being the only person in the house. His plan had been to take his coffee back to his room.
“I, uh, didn’t think you’d be awake. I’m just going to go grab a shirt. Coffee is brewing if you want some,” he said over his shoulder, heading back to his room, trying to brush off the strange sense of intimacy that hit him when she looked at him.
When he came back, Janie was in the kitchen, still wrapped up in the blanket, drinking coffee. She quickly poured him a cup. He found the hurried gesture odd but chalked it up to the nerves of being in a stranger’s home. “Thanks,” he said, accepting the mug.
He noticed she went out of her way to not touch him, and if he hadn’t been fast, the cup would have ended up on the floor. “So…why couldn’t you sleep? Is it the couch? I really don’t mind switching with you.”
She shook her head, her eyes on him as she took a sip of coffee. “No, no. It’s not the couch, it’s…” She let out a weak laugh. “Life.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah. Tell me about it.”
“You’re not on any social media,” she said abruptly, tilting her head, her eyes on him intently.
He swallowed, having the distinct feeling he was being evaluated again. That was fine. Deserved. “I’ve lived in Wishing River my entire life. I know everyone I need to know, and I know way too much about them already. Why would I want to see these same people online? Selfies and all that? No thanks.”
She smiled as though that answer was acceptable.
“You were looking me up?”
She shrugged, the blanket falling slightly, revealing a glimpse of the smooth, creamy skin of her shoulder and the strap of a pink tank top. He tore his gaze from that and kept his eyes on hers. “I had looked you up before, but it dawned on me as I was lying on the couch that we really don’t know much about you. And you don’t know me, either, but I don’t just sleep at strange guys’ houses, especially not with my nephew, who I’m supposed to be protecting.”
He kept his expression neutral and definitely didn’t open his big mouth until he could appropriately filter his thoughts. His first thought was that Will was so big he’d be the one defending his aunt in all likelihood. The second was that he wasn’t strange. But she was right to be wary; he got that. “I can understand that,” he said. “All you have is my word that I’m not a serial killer or anything. I’m actually just a boring guy who runs a bar and has a small ranch. I hoped my references would help. My partying days are long over. Right after Maxi left, actually.”
Janie bit her lower lip, those green eyes steady on him, before taking another sip of coffee.
Maxi. Just saying her name again made him tense. She had been the one woman to mess him up—she’d been a train wreck back then, and so had he. He preferred to think of that time in his life as his young, stupid, and resentful phase. Luckily, his brush with death had forced him to grow up and accept that sometimes dreams didn’t come true and life could still be decent. It had also proven his dad had been right about him being worthless.
He’d figured out that he didn’t want to ditch everything he had for a woman, for the kind of life he could never have. When shit went sideways with Maxi, he’d promised himself never again. He would never again put himself out there and risk it all. He hadn’t trusted anyone since, and he’d never fallen in love. Perfectly fine. When he looked back on that time with Maxi, he also knew that it hadn’t been love with her. Not the kind that lasted, that was real. He’d been infatuated. He’d always been a sucker for a woman in trouble.
“I’m definitely going to need Maxi’s number,” he said, trying to sound casual. “She and I need to talk.”
“Of course.” Janie nodded, her deep green eyes guarded behind her glasses, and he was reminded again of how different she was than her sister. Janie was a woman who had a quieter beauty than Maxi. She was beautiful in her own right, but she was more serious. No flash, no drama.
They stood in the kitchen, sipping coffee in silence, until Janie spoke. “Your house is really nice. Very clean.”
He almost laughed, despite the gravity of this entire situation. “Thank you. I can’t take full credit for it, though. I have a cleaning lady who comes in every two weeks.”
Her eyes flickered with surprise. He supposed, from her perspective, it seemed he wouldn’t be the type to hire someone to clean, but once he made this place his own, he realized he liked cleanliness and order and simplicity. He just didn’t have time to maintain it himself. So he hired someone. And there had been a stick-it-to-his-dad component to it, if he was honest with himself. His dad had never thought he’d be able to afford anything, let alone a cleaning service.
“Well…she does a great job,” Janie said.
He took another sip of the hot coffee. “Do you want to go sit in the other room?”
She didn’t answer right away, and he actually held his breath, hoping she wouldn’t say no. “Sure.
”
Relieved, he moved aside so she could walk through the doorway before him but accidentally stepped on her blanket. When she yanked at it, coffee sloshed all over her.
“Sorry, that was my fault,” he said, cringing and grabbing a dish towel in a hurry.
When he turned back around, she was holding a corner of the blanket in one hand and her dripping coffee mug in the other, a stunned expression on her face.
“Shoot, are you okay?” He stared at the coffee splashed on her collarbone and chest.
“So hot,” she sputtered, flailing her hand around.
His life had turned into some kind of comical hell, he realized as he sort of jabbed the towel at her and inwardly agreed about the hot part. First the cat, now this. And this…was like sensory overload. Her tank top revealed way more than he wanted to see on a woman who probably hated him. It was completely inappropriate of him to be checking her out, noticing cleavage, or anything like that. But she was the hottest woman he’d ever seen dressed in baggy flannel pants and a plain tank top. And she was frowning at him. She had let go of the blanket in favor of the towel and was drying the coffee off her chest.
He leaned down to pick up the blanket, but she had the same idea, and, in her effort to not bonk their heads together, she stumbled backward. Instinctively, he grabbed onto her arm to steady her. “Sorry, my fault again,” he said, quickly dropping her arm and holding the blanket out to her. He caught the racing of her pulse in her neck before she wrapped herself up.
“Thanks.” Her voice was shaky, and she quickly spun around, heading for the family room. He picked up both their coffees and followed her in, deciding he was going to have to shut out his attraction to her if it was going to keep distracting him like this. He would just pretend it didn’t exist. He would think of her as family.
“Uh, here,” he said, placing the coffee on the end table beside her.
“Oh right. Thanks,” she said, not making eye contact with him and picking up her mug. He sat on the opposite couch and placed his feet on the edge of the coffee table.
“I guess this is our new meeting room,” he said, trying to infuse some lightness into their awkwardness.
She let out a small laugh. “I guess so.”
He guided his thoughts back to Will, because that was safe territory. “Does Will, uh, usually sleep in?”
Her eyes softened, and she adjusted her glasses. “Yes. He was always an early bird, waking up at five for years, but lately he’s made the shift to typical teenager hours.”
He digested that piece of information. “He seems tall for his age.”
“He is a good head above a lot of his friends. His birthday was last month,” she added.
Aiden’s gut twisted. He’d missed fifteen birthdays. He’d missed fifteen birthdays, Halloweens, Christmases. He’d missed first steps, first words, first days of school. He tried to take a deep breath, clear away the uncomfortable heaviness that had settled there.
“I thought you should know that I tried Maxi again this morning and she didn’t answer.”
He knew why Maxi wasn’t answering: She was a liar. And wouldn’t Maxi be concerned about how Will was handling all this? Unless she had thought Aiden would just hand over the cash and say see ya later.
He took a sip of coffee and focused on their conversation—on making a good impression on Janie. “I ordered the paternity test. It should be here later today.”
“Great,” she said softly.
He sat back in his chair, forcing his shoulders to relax from the stiff mannequin stance they’d taken on. He pulled out his phone, not wanting to drop the subject, because the minute he had some privacy he’d be making a phone call. “We should probably exchange contact information, and you can text me Maxi’s number.”
She placed her mug down and fixed her beautiful green eyes on him in a way that made him feel like he was being sized up. Like she was searching for something he was pretty sure he didn’t have. “Right. I hope you can get some answers out of her,” she said as she sent him a text.
Aiden stared at the number that appeared on his screen. Maxi’s number.
He really had to do this. He had to talk to her again, hear her voice.
A knot settled in his gut, and he wasn’t sure it would ever go away. All of a sudden, his life had been turned upside down, and he was going to have to prove he was someone they could count on—prove that Maxi was the liar and not him. Janie knew nothing about him, except that he’d been involved with her sister and he owned a bar and had apparently tossed aside the woman pregnant with his child fifteen years ago. Not exactly material for father of the year. “I know we have a long way to go before trust is established, but Maxi is the one who lied—”
“Morning,” Will said, appearing in the doorway.
Aiden’s stomach dropped as he made eye contact with Will. He was standing with his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, shoulders slumped forward. He read the insecurity in the boy’s eyes. Aiden hoped like hell he hadn’t heard him call his mother a liar.
Janie stood, holding her mug. “Wow, you’re up early. Did we wake you?”
Will shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “No. Morris kept jumping on and off the bed.”
Janie stifled a laugh. “He was probably nervous. I guess we’ll all be tired today. I’d really like to take a quick shower, if that’s okay,” she said, glancing over at Aiden. “As much as I like the smell of coffee, I’d rather not be wearing it.”
He nodded. “Uh, absolutely. Please make yourself at home. I stocked the bathroom last night, so you should find everything you need.”
“Thanks,” she said, darting out of the room, the blanket trailing behind her. He sat up a little straighter when he realized he had no idea what to say to Will without Janie around. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing, and there was no right thing, either. But it was a good sign that Will hadn’t left when Janie had, right?
“Are you hungry?” Aiden asked.
Will shrugged. “I don’t usually eat a big breakfast.”
Aiden stood and walked into the kitchen. Will followed him in, and Aiden decided to brew a fresh pot of coffee. “Well, if you change your mind, I can make really good bacon and eggs. Any day this week, since you’re staying here.”
Will crossed his arms over his chest. “I heard you call my mom a liar.”
Aiden tried to hide his shock, but he felt like he’d just been sucker punched. He hadn’t expected Will to call him out. “I’m sorry. You weren’t supposed to hear that.”
“If you’re telling the truth, though, what was the point? Why would she have lied for so long?”
Aiden bit down hard on his tongue. How much could you tell a fifteen-year-old about their mother? And this kid would be beyond hurt if he found out the whole truth. His mother had been a liar right from the beginning of their relationship. She was pregnant with Aiden’s baby but wanted Mike to be the real dad. She put her own needs above her child’s. For over fifteen years. “I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe your aunt will be able to figure it out and give you some answers.”
Will leaned against the doorjamb and shifted his gaze. “I’m not sure what Aunt Janie has told you, but she’s broke. Like, down-to-the-last-penny broke. I don’t even think she has enough money to fill her car up with gas. So, while we’re here, I’ll work off whatever it costs for us to stay. I can do chores, clean up the house.” He glanced around the spotless kitchen. Even the trash can was empty. “Or…work outside? Whatever you want. I don’t care. I just need to help her out. It’s my fault she never has money.”
You ruin everything, Aiden. Shame slid through him as he processed what Will had just revealed. He hoped to God this boy hadn’t grown up thinking he’d ruined Janie’s life. That he wasn’t wanted. “I’m glad you told me. Don’t worry; I’ll help her out. You don’t have to do anything for that.”
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Will clenched his jaw and jutted out his chin. “What if you’re not my dad?”
He swallowed hard. “I’ll still help her out. She seems like an incredible woman.”
He nodded, his features relaxing slightly. “She is. She didn’t have to raise me. My mom could never really, uh, manage. Aunt Janie said she has a lot of health problems, so we don’t see her very often because she doesn’t have a lot of energy and needs to rest and see doctors. But Aunt Janie is kind of like a mom to me. We didn’t plan on this. On crashing here. I never expected you’d want to know me.”
That last sentence hung in the room and hovered close to Aiden’s heart. No one had expected him to care that he might have a son. “I’m not the kind of man who runs from responsibility.”
Will said nothing, only stared at the ground.
Aiden cringed when he realized it sounded like he only thought of Will as a responsibility. He knew what that felt like. Aiden had been a responsibility to his dad and nothing more. “But more than that,” he continued, “I would never turn away my own child. I would never tell a woman to leave if she was pregnant with my baby. Ever.”
Will was staring at the ground still. “Do you think you’re my dad?”
He asked the question so softly that Aiden almost hadn’t heard. He took a deep breath, trying to open up and be real. “We won’t know for sure until the test is back…but, I mean, we look a hell of a lot alike. I bet if I got out one of my old school pictures it would be even more obvious. And…I don’t know, there’s something about you that I feel like I know. It’s weird, because I never thought of myself as a dad, but I guess I would think I’d know my own kid. When I saw you and Janie in the bar last night, it was like I knew you. I knew you’d change my life.”
Will’s mouth dropped open. “That is weird. Because I kind of felt the same. I didn’t know what to think of you, and I didn’t want to think you’d be this great guy or anything because my mom’s other boyfriend was a jerk. I thought you might be, too. But that’s okay,” he backpedaled, “like, I don’t need a dad or anything. I just agreed to all this because of my aunt. She had to give up a lot for me, and I feel bad for her. But, yeah. Anyway. When I saw you, I kind of thought…like I knew you, too.”
Wishing for a Cowboy Page 4