Home on the Ranch: Texas Cowboy, Be Mine

by Trish Milburn

  True, she still didn’t know everything there was to know about Hunter, but he seemed solid, steady, honest. And like Sloane had said, she didn’t see him suddenly disappearing. Which was good news because Angel was pretty sure she was falling for him.

  She just hoped he was there to catch her instead of letting her face plant on the ground as he walked away.

  Chapter 10

  Angel held Hunter’s hand as they climbed the park trail that led to an overlook with a gorgeous view of Blue Falls Lake and the surrounding Hill Country. Over the past two weeks, they’d spent as much time together as possible, which usually meant that she went out to his ranch or she met him in town for a quick lunch or cup of coffee because he was understandably concerned about leaving his mom alone for too long. But today, Mildred had offered to take Evelyn first to a doctor’s appointment, then to the hair salon and finally out to lunch. A girls’ day that had the added benefit of giving Hunter a break, time to spend with Angel.

  When they reached the overlook, she was breathing heavily. She could blame it on the climb, but she was in pretty good shape. Honestly, her need for more oxygen had more to do with the fact that she and Hunter were more alone than they’d ever been. And every time she was with him, she was more certain she was falling in love. Each time it became a bit easier to push her doubts and concerns away. He’d given her no reason to believe he was anything other than what he seemed on the surface—a good man who was crazy about her. She now understood the phrase “drunk on love” because sometimes she felt unsteady around him.

  When they reached the top of the trail and the trees lining it gave way to the expansive view, she was struck anew by the beauty of her little slice of the world.

  “I don’t think I could ever get tired of this view,” she said as she gradually caught her breath.

  “Me, neither.”

  But when she glanced over at him, she realized he wasn’t talking about the panorama in front of them. He was staring at her.

  “You know you could have had that view without hiking up this trail,” she said with a smile.

  “Yeah, but I wanted you all to myself.” He pulled her into his arms and dropped a tender kiss on her lips, one that gradually heated until his hands were threaded through her hair and she was gripping the front of his shirt as if she might topple off the cliff if she didn’t hang on.

  When they finally came up for air, she placed her cheek against his chest. “That never gets old.”

  “No, it doesn’t.” He settled a kiss atop her head.

  They stood that way for a bit longer before the sound of voices coming up the trail intruded.

  “So much for being alone, huh?” she said.

  He made a sound of frustration, but took her hand and led her to the edge of the overlook as a family of four came into view.

  “It really is beautiful up here,” she said.

  “Yeah, makes you realize how lucky we are.”

  Angel’s heart expanded. He couldn’t know how much it meant to her to hear him say that after the last man she’d been serious about had left Blue Falls, her and his child behind as if none of them meant anything to him.

  “What is it?” Hunter asked.

  She looked over at him, wondering if he could detect the truth in her eyes. Part of her wanted him to, but another part was scared to say the words yet. What if despite how he seemed to feel about her his feelings weren’t as deep as hers? She didn’t want to scare him off before those feelings might eventually deepen to the point hers already occupied.

  “I’m just glad you almost hit me with that two-by-four at the gallery.”

  He smiled. “I wish it hadn’t taken almost injuring you for you to get up the guts to ask me out.”

  “But I did. That’s all that matters.” She wanted to kiss him again. In truth, she wanted a lot more than that. But the top of a public trail with a vacationing family close by didn’t seem the best place to take their relationship to the next level.

  She considered how difficult it was for him to find time away from home, how he had no one else to help shoulder all the burdens he had to bear, and wondered if they’d ever be able to grab more than a couple of stolen hours here and there. She had to believe the universe hadn’t brought them together only to keep them just enough apart to be endlessly frustrating.

  As the family marveled over the view and took a series of selfies with the glimmering lake in the background, Hunter took her hand and led her to a nearby bench.

  “I have something I want to give you,” he said once they were seated.

  “Oh?” Her mind raced, trying to figure out what it might be.

  When he pulled a small envelope from his pocket and extended it to her, her mind skidded around a corner toward what could fit in an envelope. He didn’t seem like the poem-writing type. A lottery ticket seemed...well, odd.

  “What is it?”

  “Open it and find out.”

  Was it her imagination or did he look nervous? Okay, that officially made her nervous, too, as she took the envelope and opened it. Inside was a woman’s name and phone number.

  “I don’t understand.” She looked up at Hunter to find him watching her.

  “She was a nurse at the hospital when you were left there. She remembers you.”

  Angel felt as if a huge boulder made of ice settled in her middle. “How...?” She couldn’t get out anything beyond the single word, one that didn’t come close to capturing all the questions bombarding her.

  “I asked Pete Kayne how someone would go about finding a birth parent if no one knew who that parent was.”

  Angel shot to her feet. “Why would you do that?”

  She’d spoken so loudly she was aware she’d startled the family. They moved toward the trail to leave.

  Hunter looked confused by her outburst. “Because you said you’d like to know about your heritage, for your sake and for Julia’s.”

  “Yes, but it was my decision when and if to pursue that.” He’d gone behind her back, and with something so personal? He’d kept it from her until springing the big surprise? She spun and walked over to the edge of the overlook, gripping the top rail of the fence there to protect visitors from slipping off the edge.

  Several seconds passed before she heard Hunter approach her slowly. To his credit, he didn’t try to touch her.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I remembered you saying that sometimes you wished the decision would be made for you so you didn’t have to wrestle with it. I thought maybe you needed help taking the first step, like I did asking you out.”

  “It’s not the same thing.”

  “No, it’s not. I’m sorry.” Damn, he sounded like a scolded dog might if it could talk. But he was the one in the wrong here.

  “I can’t believe you talked to Pete about me.”

  “I didn’t. I asked him a generic question. I never mentioned you.”

  “You should have known he’d assume it was about me. Why else would you ask about such a thing when everyone knows you’re not adopted?”

  “I just wanted to help, that’s all.”

  “I didn’t ask for your help.” She realized that sounded harsh, but this was the absolute last thing she’d imagined happening on their day together. “Listen, I understand that you thought you were helping, but I don’t tend to like big surprises like this, no matter what I said. They never work out well for me.”

  “It’s just a name. I didn’t contact her. You can do that or you can burn it.”

  Angel jerked at his response. He hadn’t exactly raised his voice, but he didn’t sound pleased, either. She took a deep breath and tried to look at the situation from his point of view. He’d given her what he probably considered a gift, one she’d inadvertently led him to believe she might appreciate, and she’d basically thrown it back in his face. Still, this wasn’t a
necklace or a bottle of perfume or even a lottery ticket. He’d given her something that could take her one step closer to finding out who she really was, and she still had conflicted feelings about whether that was a good idea.

  Did she want to find the woman who’d abandoned her? Did she want to hear some excuse about why she’d done so? His gift would force her to make a decision about if she wanted to pursue the truth or not. Before, she could easily avoid it because she had no clue where to start, but Hunter had illuminated the first step on the path. Now she had to decide whether to follow that path or turn her back on it.

  “We should get back,” Hunter said and turned toward the trail without making eye contact with her.

  Without thinking, she reached out and gripped his arm. His gaze didn’t immediately meet hers, but after a few seconds of her looking at that profile she loved so much, he made eye contact.

  “I’m not mad.” Okay, she was a little mad, but the thought of fighting with Hunter made her stomach twist and her heart hurt.

  He gave her a little sad smile. “It’s kind of you to say that, even though it’s not true.” He shook his head and shifted his gaze toward the trail. “I told you I wasn’t very good at this dating thing.”

  What was he saying? Was he pulling away at the first sign of conflict?

  “Don’t you dare do that.”

  He looked at her again. “What?”

  “Pull away. Just because I’m upset doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you. I’m not the one who throws people away. I’m the one who gets thrown away.”

  Her voice broke as she spoke the truth that she’d carried deep inside her every single day of her life, the fear that at any point she could be abandoned again, kicked out of her adoptive family, tossed aside by friends, hated by her daughter, laughed at by the photography world. The logical part of her brain knew she was being ridiculous because there had been no evidence of any of those things happening, and yet it was wedged so deep into the core of her being that she couldn’t seem to shake the fear. She’d even dreamed of Hunter laughing in her face as he turned his back on her and walked away while she reached out toward him and sobbed. The fact that the dream hadn’t made her walk away from him first out of a sense of self-preservation told her how much he’d come to mean to her. And how vulnerable she was now that the thought of losing him threatened to crush her.

  Had she made a huge mistake, yet again, in allowing herself to care so much? But damn it, he’d made it so easy. Even now, when she was upset about his going behind her back, she wanted to pull him into her arms and kiss him silly.

  Hunter’s expression changed as he turned toward her and placed his hands against the sides of her face. “I would never throw you away. Never.”

  She wanted to believe him, she really did, but her history kept demanding she remember that what someone said didn’t always match what they did. Sometimes they could claim to care about you and still walk away.

  Hunter rode slowly across the pasture, wishing his dad was still around to impart some wisdom about women. Because Angel’s reaction to his gift had thrown him for a loop.

  He reined to a stop and took off his hat to wipe the sweat away from his forehead. A scan of his surroundings showed that the recent rain had given the place new life. The cattle munched the fresh vegetation, not paying him any mind.

  After putting his hat back on, he took a deep breath and wondered what Angel was doing in that moment. They hadn’t talked in the couple of days since their trek to the overlook. Though he’d meant well, he realized he’d overstepped. It hadn’t been his intention. He hadn’t even asked Pete to dig around for specifics having to do with Angel. He’d done that on his own, also thinking he was helping.

  Since he and Angel had parted ways after they’d returned to where he’d picked her up in town, Hunter had done his best to put himself in her shoes. How would he feel if his mother had abandoned him, leaving him with no connection to his real identity? Would he want that connection or would he harbor a good-riddance attitude toward the person who’d borne him? He couldn’t answer that question because he couldn’t imagine it. And maybe that was the problem. He couldn’t truly put himself in Angel’s shoes or understand how she might feel right now.

  Although he did understand the feeling of utter frustration when decisions were made that affected his life but over which he had no control. His father’s death and his mother’s diagnosis were prime examples of that.

  The ringing of his phone broke the silence. His immediate thought was that it was his mom, that he might have to race back to the house because she needed him. But when he saw Angel’s name on the display, his heart leaped in an entirely different way. She wouldn’t call to tell him she never wanted to see him again, would she?

  “Hey,” he said in answer.

  “I need you to tell me this is a good idea.”

  Okay, not how he expected the conversation to start, but at least they were talking.

  “That depends on what ‘this’ is.”

  “Taking the first step toward finding out who I really am.”

  “You’re going to call the nurse?” Maybe what he’d done had been the right thing after all, despite her initial reaction.

  “Already did. I’m sitting outside her house, trying to decide whether to go knock on her door or drive away and pretend I never knew she existed.”

  He tried to think of the best thing to say so that whatever it was would seem like her idea.

  “You’re already there, so maybe that’s your answer.”

  She sighed. “I’m scared.”

  “No matter what happens, your family will be there for you.” He paused. “So will I. You’re a strong woman. You can do this.”

  He wished he was there to hold her hand, to give her any extra strength she might need. But he wondered if it was better he wasn’t, if this might be something she had to do on her own.

  “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me. I hope you get the answers you need.”

  “Okay, I’m going in.”

  “Call me later?”

  “Okay.” And then she was gone.

  Hunter looked up at the wide blue sky and prayed that this meeting would be a positive step for Angel, that he hadn’t led her to even more heartbreak in an ill-advised attempt to give her something meaningful to show how much he cared about her.

  Loved her.

  So many times he’d wanted to tell her, but he’d refrained by telling himself it was too much, too early. After finally being with her, he didn’t want to scare her away. He could wait to say the words, but in the meantime he’d show her with actions so that when he finally did tell her she’d believe him.

  * * *

  Angel had heard the expression countless times, but was it possible for a person’s heart to literally pound out of her chest? Because hers was so loud that she barely heard herself knock on Camille Worth’s front door. Not for the first time, she wished she hadn’t come alone. She hadn’t told anyone in her family where she was going, not even that she was in possession of Camille’s name and contact information. She didn’t want to have to explain if she chickened out, didn’t want her parents to think that her search for answers in any way meant they weren’t enough for her. It wasn’t a maternal relationship she was looking for with this meeting, just possibly some answers to questions that had plagued her for as long as she could remember.

  She gasped as the door opened to reveal a petite African American woman with beautiful gray hair. Her smile was wide and welcoming, as if Angel had shown up on her doorstep with freshly baked cookies, a basketful of wriggling puppies and a big fat sweepstakes check.

  “You must be Angel,” Camille said, opening the door wide. “Come in, come in.”

  “Thank you.” Angel stepped across the threshold into the cute little cottage in a quiet Austin neighborho
od.

  “Can I get you something to drink?”

  Angel’s instinct was to decline, but honestly her throat was so dry she was afraid she might not be able to hold a conversation.

  “Water would be great.”

  “Coming right up. Sit wherever you like.”

  Angel walked the rest of the way into the living room and took a seat on the end of the couch. Glancing around the room, she spotted a host of family photos full of smiling people. It wasn’t unlike the collection in her own family’s living area. Her mom had more framed photos along the fireplace mantel than some people had in their entire homes.

  As Camille reentered the room, Angel gestured toward some of the photos. “Looks like you have a big family.”

  “Not too big,” she said. “Just one daughter, and she has two kids. A lot of these,” she said, gesturing toward the photographs around the room, “are the babies I helped take care of in the hospital nursery over the years.”

  “You kept in contact with them?”

  “Not all, but quite a few. I worked a lot in the NICU, so I spent a lot of time with babies whose parents couldn’t always be there. That’s where I met you.”

  “I was in the NICU?” Her mom had never told her that.

  “Only briefly, until you were assessed and found to be remarkably healthy, considering.”

  Considering she’d been abandoned, it made sense that the doctors and nurses might have expected her mother to have not had good neonatal care and that Angel could have problems.

  “Do you know who my mother was?”

  Camille gave a sad-looking shake of her head. “I wish I did.”

  Angel’s heart sank. This trip had been for nothing. She’d allowed herself to begin to get her hopes up only to have them crushed. She should have known better.