by Linda Warren
It bothered him that his daughter had only mentioned her mother a couple of times. He expected a lot of questions, but Eden was busy with school and barrel racing and seemed to accept Leah’s decision to leave them behind for a new life. The divorce papers still hadn’t come and he wondered about that. But he didn’t call. He left well enough alone. He had enough problems running the ranch without adding more to his plate.
The family was having a meeting in the office. They were going into the winter months and they wouldn’t be as busy as they had been in the spring and summer. But they had cattle and horses that needed feeding regularly in the cold months.
His mother sat beside him at the desk and the others lounged around the office.
“Paxton and Phoenix are going to be rodeoing through December and Egan wants some time off to finish his house. He and Rachel want to be in by Christmas. Does anyone else want time off? This would be the time to do it.” Kate looked around the office at her sons.
“I’ll be helping Egan,” Jericho replied. “But I’ll also be here to help with the feeding.”
“Thanks, Rico, but take some days. You’ve earned it.”
“Thank you, Miss Kate, but I’m happy right here.”
“I’m going to a paint auction, and it’s going to take about a week at the end of October. And I might take some extra days,” Quincy said.
“Fine.” Their mom nodded.
“Anybody else?” Falcon asked. “Jude, Elias and me can handle just about anything that comes up here.”
“Who said I was going to be here?” Elias piped up.
“You have to speak up, son,” his mother told him. “We can’t read your mind.”
“Thank God for that.” Elias laughed.
“So you want some time off?” Falcon looked at his brother.
“Damn straight.”
“When?”
“The boy doesn’t know what he wants.” Grandpa, sitting in the only comfortable chair in the room, added his opinion. “He’s gonna take me to Abilene in about two weeks.”
“May I ask why?” Falcon really didn’t want to know the answer. He had no idea what Grandpa was up to and most of the time it was best not to know.
“There’s a woman up there I want to see. Went to high school with her and we’ve been writing each other.”
“For heaven sakes, Abe. Aren’t you tired of chasing women?” His mother was in full attack mode now and the meeting was getting out of control.
“It’s none of your business, Kate, so stay out of it.”
“When you use my boys as your personal servants, it’s my business.” His mother stiffened beside him and Falcon thought he should put a stop to it, but sometimes it was best to get all the anger out in the open so he let them go at it.
“They’re John’s sons and my grandsons!” Grandpa shouted.
“Why don’t you say what’s really bothering you, Abe?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You blame me for John’s death.” His mother said something that brought all of them to full attention.
Grandpa pointed a finger at her. “You should’ve stopped him from drinking so much.”
“Don’t you think I tried? I poured whiskey down the drain more times than I can count, but he always went back into town and bought more. How was I supposed to stop that? And why didn’t you? You were his father. He looked up to you. Why didn’t you stop him?”
A tear rolled from Grandpa’s eyes and everyone was frozen in place, not knowing what to do. They’d never seen Grandpa cry before and it was a heartbreaking moment.
“I tried. Don’t you think I tried?” Grandpa’s words were barely audible but they heard them.
Egan knelt by Grandpa’s chair and patted his arm. “It was nobody’s fault, Grandpa. I always felt if I’d spent more time with him he wouldn’t have drunk so much. I think we all felt that. But no one’s to blame for what happened but Dad. There was nothing any one of us could have done differently, especially Mom. Dad wouldn’t let anyone fight his battles, you know that.”
“Yeah.” Grandpa brushed away a tear. “He was pigheaded. I guess he got that from me.”
Jude rubbed Grandpa’s shoulder. “Yep. We all have our share of that.”
Silence enveloped the room as each dealt with their thoughts of their dad.
Elias was the first to speak. “Grandpa, this is the first I’ve heard of a woman in Abilene. Not that I’m against chasing women, but I thought we were going to look at quarter horses.”
“What?” Falcon glanced up. “Quarter horses? We have all the horses we need here.”
Grandpa glared at Elias. “You had to open your big mouth.”
Elias shrugged.
“Why are you interested in quarter horses?” Falcon asked again.
Grandpa looked him square in the eye with a obstinate expression Falcon knew well. “Cupcake’s birthday is coming up in January and I want to buy her a good horse so she can work cattle.”
“Cupcake has all the horses she needs. Quincy just gave her a very expensive paint and she has a quarter horse, Starfire.”
“Starfire has no fire,” Grandpa shot back. “She needs a better horse.”
Falcon scooted forward in his chair. “Let’s get something straight. My daughter is not going to be working cattle. There are enough of us to do that. She’s going to start having a life of her own away from Rebel Ranch.”
“Why?” Grandpa demanded. “Why are you so anxious to get rid of her? She belongs here with us.”
And a new topic was born that tore at Falcon’s insides. “Do you think it’s easy for me to make these decisions for her? I’d love for her to stay here, but I want more for her. I want her to experience a world away from here and if she wants to come back, then it’s her decision. It’s not easy letting go, Grandpa, but I have to and I hope you understand that.”
“I’ll miss her,” Grandpa murmured.
“We all will,” Quincy added. “But Cupcake is not going far and we’ll all be there to support her barrel racing. She’s getting very good.”
“I’m buying her a new truck, something that can pull a horse trailer better than that little Ford she has,” Falcon said.
“What am I going to give her, then?” Grandpa asked.
“I thought you were going to give her the silver dollars your grandfather gave you,” Falcon said.
Grandpa slapped his leg. “Damn, I forgot I promised her those. Now I have to find them. Not sure where I put ’em.”
“I’ll help you look,” Quincy promised.
Their mother joined the conversation again. “I’m giving her a big party that day, which happens to fall on a Saturday. It’ll be a family affair and I’ll invite some of her friends. Is that okay?”
“Yes, Mom. She’d be disappointed if we didn’t celebrate her birthday.”
“Paxton and me are taking her out drinking for her birthday,” Phoenix chimed in.
Falcon frowned. “You’re not taking my daughter out drinking.”
“What you don’t know, big brother, won’t hurt you.”
“But I’ll hurt you if I find out about it.”
Phoenix two-stepped across the room. “You have to catch me first.”
“Idiot,” Falcon mumbled under his breath, and everyone laughed, bringing some much-needed relief to the tension in the room.
Soon they all filed out to go to work, including his mom, and Falcon welcomed the quiet. What a meeting. It was emotionally draining to put up with the bickering between his mother and grandpa, but this morning got a lot of resentment out of their systems. He hoped. But with the Rebels that was all he could hope.
The landline rang and he picked it up. “Rebel Ranch.”
“I�
��d like to speak to Falcon Rebel, please.”
It was a man’s voice Falcon had never heard before. “This is Falcon.”
“I’m David Thornwall.”
Leah’s new love. Falcon was stunned and said the first thing that came into his mind. “Why are you calling me?”
“If you care anything about your wife, you will come to Houston to see her. That’s all I’m going to say.”
“What are you talking about?” Visiting Leah and David was the last thing he wanted to do.
“I can’t say any more than I have. Her address is...” He rattled off an address and Falcon jotted it down because there was a pad in front of him. “I’m breaking her confidence, Mr. Rebel, and I don’t do this lightly.”
“I don’t understand this. Leah told me she was starting a new life and—”
“I said what I had to. The rest is up to you.” The line went dead.
Falcon sat in a stupor. What the—? He got up and paced around the office. None of this made sense. He had Leah’s number and he pulled out his cell to call and then put it back in his pocket. There was only one way to get to the truth, but he didn’t have time to go to Houston.
He had a lot going on at the ranch today that needed his attention. Traveling to Houston would take the whole day, but it sounded serious. He reached for his hat and went out the door.
The family had just talked about vacation days. Falcon decided to take one to find out what was going on with Leah.
Chapter Eleven
A time to talk...
Falcon found the address without a problem. The Bellaire subdivision was off Loop 610 and easy to find. He drove down tree-lined two-story homes with manicured yards. When he found the number, he pulled up to the curb. It was a brown two-story brick and the crepe myrtles were still in bloom. The garage door was down, but a BMW was parked outside. It wasn’t Leah’s car.
He had no idea what he was going to find there. The answer was inside, so Falcon got out and walked up to the front door. He rang the bell and waited. A tall man in a dark blue suit opened the door.
“Mr. Rebel?”
Falcon nodded. “Where’s Leah?” He wasn’t in the mood to exchange pleasantries.
“Please come in.” The man stepped back and still Falcon hesitated.
“I’d rather not. Why did you call me?”
“If you’ll come in, I’ll explain. Leah’s upstairs.”
Falcon didn’t have a choice if he wanted answers. He removed his Stetson and stepped inside a large foyer with an Oriental rug. The house was formal, just the opposite of Rebel Ranch, where everything was casual. He had the urge to wipe his boots. Instead, he followed the man into a large living area and then into a kitchen. A Mexican woman came from another room, carrying a laundry basket. She glanced at him and then at David.
“You’re interfering, Mr. David. She’s not going to like it,” the woman said, shaking her head.
“Take care of the laundry, Alma.”
The woman made a face and disappeared back into the room.
“Have a seat, Mr. Rebel,” David said.
“Just tell me what’s wrong with Leah.”
“I’ll get coffee.” David walked over to a big Keurig coffeemaker. Coffee was the last thing Falcon needed, but he could see David wasn’t listening to him.
David placed two filled coffee cups on the table. Falcon looked at them and asked, “What’s wrong with Leah?”
“Please sit. This is going to take a while.”
Falcon gave in to the inevitable and pulled out a chair. Before he could sit, a very pregnant blonde came into the room.
“David, who was at...” The blonde’s words trailed off as she noticed Falcon. She frowned at David. “What have you done?”
Falcon could almost see the sweat popping out on David’s forehead. “Mr. Rebel, this is my wife, Anne.”
Wife? What was going on? He was totally lost for words. The man had a wife!
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Rebel, but if you’ll excuse me, I’m going home.” She reached for her purse on the granite countertop and glanced at her husband. “When you get home, expect a lot of attitude.”
“Anne—”
The woman slammed the door.
David ran a hand through his hair. “I’m going to receive a lot of flack about calling you, so please sit down and let’s get this over with. I feel I’m doing the right thing, but maybe I shouldn’t have called.”
Falcon hooked his hat over the back of a chair and took a seat. “What’s going on here?”
David sat across from him. “I’m just going to say it, Mr. Rebel. Leah has a brain tumor.”
The color drained from Falcon’s face and his stomach roiled. “W-what?”
“Leah had severe head injuries from the accident. It was at that time the doctors discovered the tumor. It was very small, benign and not life threatening. She had so many other problems the doctors decided to wait before addressing the tumor. It took years before Leah could get back on her feet and the doctors continued to monitor the tumor. She probably had it for a very long time, maybe even as a child.”
Falcon swallowed hard. “Was that the reason she never came home?”
“Yes. As soon as she was better, her plan was to return to her family. She didn’t want to call you while she was down because she didn’t want you to have to take care of her.”
“I’m her husband. I should’ve been called.” Anger began to uncurl in his stomach.
“That was her decision.”
Falcon tried to stay focused. “After all this time, why hasn’t the tumor been removed?”
“She was set to do it about four years ago, then my mother had a stroke and Leah put it off because she said she couldn’t do it while my mother was sick. That’s the type of person Leah is. She was at my mother’s bedside every day and my mother got better. Once again she rescheduled the surgery to remove the tumor.” David shrugged. “Leah wanted to go home so badly but there always seemed to be something to stop her.”
“What stopped her this time?”
“My mother had another stroke and was bedridden. We hired nurses around the clock, but Leah wouldn’t leave her. Leah’s childhood was really sad and...”
“She told you about her childhood?” Once again anger started to take hold. Why would Leah tell him and not Falcon?
“She told my mother first and my mother told me. Somehow my mother and Leah made a connection. They were like mother and daughter. As much as Leah wanted to go home, she couldn’t leave my mother. Mom died a few months ago and Leah made plans to remove the tumor. But by then the tumor had started to grow and now has abnormal cells. It’s pressing on her optic nerve and some days she can barely see. She’s dizzy quite often and has headaches.”
“She fainted at our house.”
David frowned. “She didn’t mention that.”
“I put it down to nerves, but I can see now it was much more.”
David nodded. “Yes.”
Falcon’s thoughts were all jumbled but he kept coming back to the same old question. “Why didn’t she want me here when she had the surgery?”
“As a doctor, and as someone who’s talked to the neurosurgeon many times, we feel the tumor is now interfering with her thinking. She gets very angry when we mention that. Her main concern was that she didn’t want you to have to take care of her if after the surgery she was blind or incapacitated. She didn’t want you or her daughter to witness that.”
“But we’re her family.”
“The family she ran out on, as she puts it. She blames herself and just cannot put you or her daughter through that.”
“Has the surgery been scheduled?”
“Yes, it was supposed to have been Monday, but it was canceled.”
>
“Why?”
“Another complication has come up.”
Falcon looked at the man and knew something bad had happened. He braced himself. “What? Has it gotten worse?”
“I’ve told you all I can tell you, but I feel as her husband you need to be here. She will have to tell you the rest of it.”
“Listen, you called me, and I want to hear all of the story. I want to hear the whole damn truth of why you kept my wife here in Houston when she could have come home years ago.”
David held up his hands. “It’s always been Leah’s decision. We have never held her here against her will. Honestly, I felt she was afraid. She was afraid you would never forgive her and she was afraid her daughter might hate her. She kept putting it off and...”
“What?”
“Anne, what happened to...” Leah stood in the doorway. She glanced from David to Falcon. Her mouth fell open and she quickly recovered from the shock of seeing him. Her gaze centered on David. “I’ll never forgive you for this.” She turned on her heel and left the room.
Falcon slowly got to his feet. “Evidently she doesn’t want to see me.”
David also stood. “There’s never been anything but friendship between Leah and me. She’s been a very good friend to my family and my mother. We were blessed to have her in our lives, but I feel I have risked our friendship now. I believe in my heart your wife needs you, though.” He headed toward the back door. “I’m going home to face my wife’s wrath. Take the stairs and Leah’s room is the first door on the right. Good luck, Mr. Rebel. I hope Leah comes around.”
“Thank you for calling. I’m not real sure how to handle this, but I know I’m not leaving until Leah tells me the whole truth.”
“Give her a chance to be angry. Hang in there because I believe she still loves you. She may never admit that though. Now, I have to walk home because my wife has taken the car.”
“Do you need a ride?”
“No, thanks. I live about three blocks away and I need the walk to clear my head to face Anne.”