He couldn’t say it had ever been uncomplicated, but he had found a groove the past few years. His world consisted of the ranch, his child support payments, regular check-ins with his parole officer and the biweekly phone calls and occasional visits to wherever Sharla in her wanderlust called home that week so he could stay in touch with his kids.
He had tried to keep his head down and throw everything he had into making Evergreen Springs and his horse training operation a success, to create as much order as he could out of the chaos his selfish and stupid mistakes had caused.
Two months ago, everything had changed. First had come a call from his ex-wife. She and her current boyfriend were heading to Reno for a week to get married—her second since their stormy marriage ended just months after Ty’s birth—and Sharla wanted him to meet her in Boise so he could pick up the kids.
Forget that both kids had school or that Cole was supposed to be at a horse show in Denver that weekend.
He had dropped everything, relishing the rare chance to be with his kids without more of Sharla’s drama. He had wished his ex-wife well, shook hands with the new guy—who actually had seemed like a decent sort, for a change—and sent them on their way.
Only a few days later, he received a second phone call, one that would alter his life forever.
He almost hadn’t been able to understand Sharla’s mother, Trixie, when she called. In between all the sobbing and wailing and carrying on, he figured out the tragic and stunning news that the newlyweds had been killed after their car slid out of control during an early snowstorm while crossing the Sierra Nevada.
In a moment, everything changed. For years, Cole had been fighting for primary custody, trying to convince judge after judge that their mother’s flighty, unstable lifestyle and periodic substance abuse provided a terrible environment for the children.
The only trouble was, Cole had plenty of baggage of his own. An ex-con former alcoholic didn’t exactly have the sturdiest leg to stand on when it came to being granted custody of two young children, no matter how much he had tried to rebuild his life and keep his nose out of trouble in recent years.
Sharla’s tragic death changed everything and Cole now had full custody of his children as the surviving parent.
It hadn’t been an easy transition for any of them, complicated by the fact that he’d gone through two housekeepers in as many months.
Now he had his sister to take care of. Whether her ankle was broken or sprained, the result would be more domestic chaos.
He would figure it out. He always did, right? What other choice did he have?
He picked up a National Geographic and tried to find something to read to keep himself awake. He was deep in his third article and the kids onto their second Christmas special before the lovely doctor returned.
She was every bit as young as he had thought at first, pretty and petite with midlength auburn hair, green eyes that were slightly almond shaped and porcelain skin. She even had a little smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Surely she was too young to be in such a responsible position.
He rose, worry for his sister crowding out everything else.
“How is she? Is her ankle broken? How are the babies?”
“You were right to bring her in. I’m sorry things have been taking so long. It must be almost the children’s bedtime.”
“They’re doing okay for now. How is Tricia?”
Dr. Shaw gestured to the chair and sat beside him after he sank back down. That was never a good sign, when the doctor took enough time to sit down, too.
“For the record, she gave me permission to share information with you. I can tell you that she has a severe sprain from the fall. I’ve called our orthopedics specialist on call and he’s taking a look at her now to figure out a treatment plan. With the proper brace, her ankle should heal in a month or so. She’ll have to stay off it for a few weeks, which means a wheelchair.”
His mind raced through the possible implications of that. He needed to find a housekeeper immediately. He had three new green broke horses coming in the next few days for training and he was going to be stretched thin over the next few weeks—lousy timing over the holidays, but he couldn’t turn down the work when he was trying so hard to establish Evergreen Springs as a powerhouse training facility.
How would he do everything on his own? Why couldn’t things ever be easy?
“The guest room and bathroom are both on the main level,” he said. “That will help. Can we pick up the wheelchair here or do I have to go somewhere else to find one?”
The doctor was silent for a few beats too long and he gave her a careful look.
“What aren’t you telling me?” he asked.
She released a breath. “Your sister also appears to be in the beginning stages of labor.”
He stared. “It’s too early! The babies have to be too small.”
Panic and guilt bloomed inside him, ugly and dark, and he rose, restless with all the emotions teeming inside him. She shouldn’t have been outside where she risked falling. He told her she didn’t have to go out to the bus to pick up the children. The stop was only a few hundred yards from the front door. They could walk up themselves, he told her, but she insisted on doing it every day. Said she needed the fresh air and the exercise.
Now look where they were.
Don’t miss
EVERGREEN SPRINGS by RaeAnne Thayne,
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Copyright © 2015 by RaeAnne Thayne
ISBN-13: 9781460387016
The Good Girl’s Second Chance
Copyright © 2015 by Christine Rimmer
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The Good Girl's Second Chance (The Bravos Of Justice Creek 2) Page 20