Front Range Cowboys (5 Book Box Set)

by Evie Nichole

  “Very,” Rhonda agreed. “We had almost a whole week of quiet.”

  Moments later, Maggie saw Bella poking her head through the door. She didn’t look like she wanted to come inside Maggie’s office. Not that Maggie blamed her. The little girl had to be getting tired of getting in trouble because of a bunch of bully boys.

  “Come in, Bella,” Maggie called out. “And close the door please. We need to chat.”

  Bella gave a dramatic sigh and shut the door behind her. Then she perched on the edge of a chair and scooted her little bottom farther onto the seat. “I didn’t mean to hurt Julian’s eye. He was just being so mean that I had to do something!”

  Maggie opened her mouth to speak but shut it when she realized there was something different about Bella’s description of events. “He was so mean? How was this different?”

  “Normally, Julian and Bentley make fun of my hair and stuff. They tell me I look like a Q-tip or something else really stupid. Then Sawyer will run around in circles with his hands over his head like he’s pretending to be a Q-tip. Right?” Bella actually sniffed as though she was going to cry. She swiped her arm across her nose and sniffed. It nearly broke Maggie’s heart to see her this way. “Today, Bentley said that my daddy is so mean that he chased my mommy away and made her fall in love with someone else. Then Julian started making fun of me saying that if I’d been a pretty girl, my mommy would have stayed with my daddy. Sawyer was just making faces. That’s why I didn’t punch him. He’s stupid. He’s too stupid to say mean things. He just does whatever the other boys do.”

  Maggie was absolutely horrified. Not just by what Bella was describing but by the idea that these third grade boys knew such intimate details about Bella’s life. She cleared her throat and tried to stop herself from showing too much outward reaction. “I’m really sorry, Bella. That was very mean. I can’t even begin to imagine how much that hurt your feelings.”

  Bella’s little lower lip pooched out. “How do they know why my mommy left us? I don’t think my mommy left because Daddy was mean or ‘cause she loved someone else. She just didn’t get along with Daddy.”

  Holy shit. Those boys knew more about Bella’s situation than she did. This wasn’t right. Laredo had done something that seemed kind of rare for him. He had protected his daughter from the truth of what her mother had done. He didn’t talk bad about Bella’s mom in front of her. Nobody did. They were all aware that saying bad things about the mother would just hurt the daughter. So, who had opened that kettle of fish and fed it to some schoolyard bullies?

  “Bella,” Maggie said gently. “You still shouldn’t be punching boys in their faces. All right? It’s not a very good way to solve a problem. But I understand why you were so angry. This was very different from how they’ve usually acted. Isn’t it?”

  “Uncle Darren told those boys that only losers pick on other kids and that boys who pick on girls are just making it so when they get older, those girls will never give them the time of day.” Bella made a face. “I don’t think I know what time of day means, but it sounds bad. Since we had gym, the boys haven’t bothered me though. They’re too busy playing football at recess to bother.”

  “That’s good.” Maggie stood up and walked around her desk to Bella. She put an arm around the girl’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “I’m going to walk you back to class. Then those boys and I are going to have a little talk.”

  It didn’t take Maggie long to walk with Bella out of the main office and down the hallway. Rhonda gave them a very curious glance as they passed her desk, but said nothing. Maggie had no doubt that Rhonda would demand a full accounting later on. But at the moment, Maggie didn’t even know what to tell her. It was as if some adult had given those boys really personal information about Bella, and that didn’t sit right with Maggie.

  “Here you go, sweetie. Looks like you’re back in plenty of time for reading. I know that’s your favorite.” Maggie opened the door and gently squeezed Bella’s shoulder. “I will check on you later, honey.”

  “All right.” Bella offered Maggie a tight smile and went to her seat.

  Maggie nodded to Bella’s teacher and then went right next door to Sarah Farnsworth’s classroom since she was the one with Julian, Bentley, and Sawyer in her class. As soon as Maggie opened the door, she knew something was off. She could not put her finger on it, but the smirk on Sarah Farnsworth’s face was way out of line.

  “Excuse me, Mrs. Farnsworth.” Maggie forced herself to be pleasant. “Could I have a word?”

  Sarah huffed out a huge sigh and rolled her eyes. “Class, I’ll be just a minute. Continue reading to yourselves and we will do some more reading aloud when I come back.”

  It seemed to take forever for Sarah Farnsworth to exit the classroom for the hallway and shut the door. If she had been a child, Maggie would have accused her of dragging her feet. Finally, Maggie was standing face to face with a woman who obviously did not like her one bit. Of course, it did not help that Sarah Farnsworth and Olivia Witherspoon were best buddies.

  “Mrs. Farnsworth, I just had a rather interesting conversation with a young lady who was bullied horribly by three boys in your class.” Maggie folded her hands in front of her and waited to see what Mrs. Farnsworth would say.

  “So what?” Farnsworth’s smile was rude. “Bella Hernandez is a brat. Everybody knows that. The girl fights like the rancher’s daughter she is. They should have left her in a cow pasture instead of bringing her to a school with decent children. The worst part is that people like you”—Sarah Farnsworth pointed her finger at Maggie—“keep coddling that brat. We all know you’re sleeping with her uncle though. Maybe you’re screwing the uncle and the father. Who knows? Those Hernandez people are about as low class as it gets.”

  The personal attack caused Maggie to recoil as though she’d been struck. Her mouth gummed up, and she fought the urge to turn around and run away. She didn’t like confrontations. They weren’t her thing. Yet ever since she had met Darren Hernandez, she had been finding herself involved in one right after the other! Now she had to say something or poor Bella was going to get the short end of the stick in this bully episode.

  Maggie mustered every bit of courage she had. “Are you out of your mind?” she asked Mrs. Farnsworth. “It does not matter one little bit what you think of Bella’s father or Bella’s uncle. And the rest of it is just gossip! You’re repeating something and you don’t even know if it’s true.” Maggie realized something very awful and hoped that she was wrong. “Those boys were talking nonsense rumors too. Did you tell them those things about Bella’s family? Did you repeat those things to them? How can you call yourself a teacher if you do such a thing?”

  “I—I didn’t!” But the way Farnsworth was backing toward her classroom said otherwise. She was grabbing at the door in an attempt to turn the knob. “Go talk to Ms. Witherspoon. Once that Hernandez brat is expelled for this fight, then it won’t matter what you think.”

  “Expelled?” Maggie burst out. “Why would Bella Hernandez be expelled? School policy says that fighting is referred to the guidance counselor for mediation. If the guidance counselor feels there is a genuine problem that requires disciplinary action, then the principal is involved! And believe me, the only students who deserve to be expelled are the boys who just shouted that poor little girl’s private business all over the playground. But if they got their information from where I think they did, then they aren’t going to be in trouble at all! Do you get me, Mrs. Farnsworth? If you and Ms. Witherspoon think you’re going to punish the Hernandez family like this, you’d better think again!”

  Maggie had never been so angry before in her life! She turned on her heel and headed back toward the nurse’s office. She needed to find out where these boys had gotten their facts, and she needed to make sure that person paid the price for their meddling once and for all.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Darren Hernandez held out his hand and still felt utter and complete amazement w
hen the tiny person beside him wound his fingers into Darren’s and held on tight. Darren had held Bella’s hand before when they crossed the street or when she was dragging him somewhere, but this was different. Maybe it was silly, but Darren liked to believe that he could feel that Jaeger was his son.

  The hospital was busy with doctors and nurses going to work or going about their tasks. People dodged to and fro as they tried to find offices in order to get to their appointments on time. And every once in a while, there would be a gurney flying on by with a patient strapped on board.

  “Are all of these people sick?” Jaeger asked, looking around. “This is a lot of sick people.”

  “Not all of them are sick.” Darren stopped in front of the elevator. He started to push the button and then realized Jaeger might like to do it. “Push the button for seven, please.”

  “You’ll let me?” Jaeger looked up with blue eyes wide with wonder. “Mama says it’s annoying when kids want to do that.”

  “It doesn’t annoy me.” Darren was getting pretty sick of hearing what Carly said or did. He knew this was going to take a while, but seriously. The woman had been a complete bitch as a mother. “So, go ahead and push. Your grandma’s hospital room is on the seventh floor.”

  The little boy reached up on tiptoe and touched the button with a seven on it. Then he stood back as though the most amazing thing had just occurred. “Elevators are exciting!”

  The elevator finally came, and the two of them crammed inside with about ten other people already going up. Darren had his first experience of being paranoid that he was going to lose sight of his child in a public place and kept his hand gently on Jaeger’s shoulder the whole time.

  “Am I going to go to school?” Jaeger asked suddenly.

  Darren saw half a dozen other people turn their heads surreptitiously to see how Darren handled this question. Were people always so nosy? Or was he just feeling paranoid and on display? He sighed. “Have you ever been to school before?”

  “No. Mama said you wouldn’t pay for it.”

  “I see.” Darren nodded slowly. How did the whole school thing work these days anyway? “Well, you turned five in March. So, that would make you old enough for kindergarten. Would you like to go?”

  “Yes.” There was zero hesitation. Apparently, Jaeger was ready.

  “I work at a school,” Darren said slowly. He wondered if it was possible to let Jaeger just visit the kindergarten classroom this afternoon. “I’ll text my friend Maggie and see if you can hang out with the kindergarten class while I’m at work this afternoon.”

  “Maggie isn’t just your friend,” Jaeger informed Darren.

  How slow was this thing moving! Now Darren knew everyone was staring at him. He’d have been staring at him too, and laughing his ass off.

  “Oh, really?” Darren managed to keep his voice neutral. “Then, what is she?”

  “She’s your girlfriend. I saw you kissing her the other night when I was in the car. But I didn’t know who you were then.” Jaeger seemed to be puzzling this through in his head.

  Darren was mentally freaking out. He and Maggie had pretty much been all over each other in the parking lot at Tony’s the other night. Jaeger had very likely been in his mother’s car. That meant it was entirely possible that Jaeger had indeed seen Darren kissing Maggie. This parenting stuff was hard.

  Darren was saved from responding by the ding of the elevator as the doors whooshed open for the seventh floor. Darren hustled Jaeger out of the elevator and down the hall to the nurse’s station. The ladies were smiling broadly at the cute little boy, and for once they weren’t gawking at Darren. It was kind of a nice change.

  “We’re here to visit Nancy Valdez, if that’s possible,” Darren told the nurse in charge. “This is her grandson.”

  “Oh my.” The woman put her hand on her heart. “Nancy has been worried sick about this boy. She will be so glad to see you two.”

  The nurse—whose nametag read CLAUDIA—was busy ushering them down a long hallway. There was a lot of the antiseptic hospital smell, the scent of bedpans and other unpleasant odors, and, of course, the beeping of machines and the muted noises from televisions on low.

  Finally, they reached a room with the name VALDEZ written on the sign. Claudia led them inside, and Darren didn’t know whether to be glad or nervous that Jaeger was clutching his hand so hard.

  “Here she is, sweetie,” Claudia told the little boy. “She’s very sick, but she’s glad to see you. She talks about you all the time. She loves you very much.”

  “Jaeger?” A weak, reedy voice rose from the pile of blankets and tubes on the bed. “Is that my butterbean?”

  “Gramma!” Jaeger started to cry. He turned and buried his face in Darren’s hip.

  Darren lifted the boy into his arms and stepped closer to the old woman. “I’m Darren Hernandez, Jaeger’s father.”

  “I know who you are.” Nancy Valdez was shriveled and looked as though she had one foot through death’s doorway. “I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad they called you. You’ve taken care of him the best you can. My girl—his mama—she’s just not ready.”

  “Gramma, will you be okay?” Jaeger sniffed. He reached down and took the hand his grandmother lifted to him.

  “Butterbean, I am tired and I am sick. But I feel so very glad that you’ve met your daddy.”

  “Why?” Jaeger asked, wide-eyed and squeezing Darren as though he thought he might evaporate.

  “Because you need someone to take care of you, and your daddy has been making sure you and I were taken care of for years now. Do you understand that?” Nancy’s voice grew stronger. “Your mama didn’t tell you the truth about this man, Butterbean. Your daddy is a good man. He’ll love you. I promise. You just stay with him and everything will turn out the way it’s supposed to.”

  Darren was in awe of this woman who could set aside the feelings of a mother in order to be a good grandmother to this boy. He could not imagine how heartsick she was about how Carly had turned out. But Jaeger would grow up and things would be better.

  “I’ll take good care of him,” Darren told the woman. “I promise.”

  “I know you will.” Nancy patted Jaeger’s hand. “I’m going to let you go now, sweet boy, because I’m tired and very sick. I’ll see you again someday though.”

  “In heaven?” Jaeger guessed.

  Claudia was now crying, and there were silent tears falling down Nancy’s sunken cheeks. “Yes, Butterbean. I’ll see you in heaven.”

  Walking out of there was the hardest thing that Darren had ever had to do. Yet he knew that the old woman wanted him to go. She had seen her grandson. She knew that he was going to be cared for. She had already given up on her daughter, not that Darren would ever blame the woman for that. There wasn’t much to be said for Carly at this point.

  “I miss Gramma,” Jaeger whispered as Darren carried him to the elevator.

  The boy wasn’t making any attempt to put his feet on the ground. He seemed happy enough to be in Darren’s arms. “I know you do, kiddo. I think she’d be tickled that you miss her. She loves you a lot. She was so glad to see you I think you made her whole day special.”

  They got to the elevator in the seventh floor lobby, and Darren got real close to the button on the wall. “Would you like it if I leaned down and let you push?”

  “Yeah. That would be fun.” Jaeger perked up at least a little.

  Darren leaned over until Jaeger was practically hanging upside down and let the boy press the button for the elevator. Once they got inside, Darren did it again. He pointed to the button for the number one and leaned over for Jaeger to push. The elevator was just as crowded this time around, and Darren noticed there were more than a few people giving the little boy sympathetic looks.

  “Is someone sick?” An older woman gave Jaeger a look of sympathy. “You look so sad.”

  “My gramma,” Jaeger supplied.

  The woman gushed over Jaeger, and Darren realized
that Nancy Valdez had done a pretty darn good job of raising his son. Darren would always be thankful to Carly’s mom for at least teaching Jaeger how to be polite and respectful to others, because he sure as hell hadn’t gotten that from his mother.

  “Maybe your daddy will take you for ice cream in the lobby,” the woman suggested, winking at Darren. “They have cotton candy flavored. I know my grandson always loves that when we come here.”

  “Oh!” Jaeger turned around so quick that Darren nearly lost his grip. “Can we?”

  “It’s not even lunchtime.” Darren only meant to tease.

  Jaeger’s little face fell as though he’d just been told Christmas was canceled.

  “Hey, my man,” Darren chuckled. “I was just kidding. I think ice cream sounds perfect right now. We’ll stop. I promise.”

  It felt like he had handed his son the moon. Darren could not believe the way that Jaeger lit up. In fact, it felt as though there was something else going on here. Darren had a bad feeling that he was going to be stepping on Carly’s baggage for many years to come. There was no telling how much crap she had put in this kid’s head. Maybe she’d told him that ice cream had magic powers or something. Or it was more likely that she’d told him kids weren’t allowed to eat it. That way she could get as much as she wanted for herself and never buy any for Jaeger.

  They got out of the elevator on the lobby floor, and Darren went directly to the snack shop. The scent of coffee was strong, but Darren could see the ice cream machine in the back of the little café area.

  Darren handed Jaeger a plastic ice cream bowl. “Would you like to hold down the lever so you can decide how much you want?”

  “Really?” Jaeger’s hushed tone of reverence was almost laughable.

  Darren helped his son choose a flavor and then fill up his bowl. Then he got a small bowl for himself and paid at the counter. The woman working the register was a pretty brunette who could not stop staring at Darren as he helped his son get started on the ice cream. Darren had never believed that women liked men with kids, but apparently, this phenomenon was true, at least to some extent.