Max bolted from the chair, his fists at his side as he glared at her. “All these years—you knew! All this time and you never said nothin’. And him—Zane, he knew, too, and he’s just now coming around. What kind of dad—”
“No.” Rose stood, too, and tried to lay her hand on his arm, but he shrugged her off and moved away. She blinked back scalding tears. “Zane didn’t know. I never told him. I haven’t told him yet.”
Max was red with anger and Rose suspected the need to cry, also. Fury raged in his eyes and she’d put it there. Her heart was breaking.
“He doesn’t know? All this time, living in shelters—in our car—and he was out there all along. And you didn’t tell either one of us?”
The accusing words tore at her heart. “I’m sorry—”
“How could you do that?” he cried, then turned and raced into the woods.
Chapter Six
Zane stopped in front of Rose’s house just as she came hurrying out of the woods. She was still pale and didn’t look happy to see him. So be it. She’d get no sympathy from him. He wanted answers and he wanted them now. He’d tried to stay away, to calm down before coming here, but one look at her and his anger reappeared front and center.
He slammed his truck door while looking around for Max. He didn’t see him. That was good for the moment.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he snapped, striding toward her, meeting her in the center of the yard.
“Tell you?” she snapped back, glaring up at him. “You left me. Remember? Walked away from me like I meant n-nothing to you. Why would I tell you anything? And how dare you, Zane Cantrell, judge my motives!”
Like I meant nothing. The words stung but he wasn’t in the mood for feeling sympathy. Or guilt. “I left you because I was doing what I thought was best for your safety. That was my job. Had I known about Max I would have come back.”
“And that was the last thing I wanted.” The words were bitter. “I would never have used Max as a reason to bring you back. For all I know you might have slept with all of the women you were assigned to watch over.”
The words struck him like a slap. “I’d never done that before,” he said in a low voice of barely refrained anger. He’d loved this woman.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Fine. Believe what you want, but you had no right to keep Max from me. You stole fourteen years with my son from me. Years I will never get back. Doesn’t that bother you in the least?”
She sucked in a heavy breath; her shoulders rose with the power of it but she didn’t say anything. As if she felt like she didn’t have to. Well, he was going to make her understand that from now on she would have to answer to everything that pertained to their son.
“You say you did what you thought was best for our son. How could the best be living on the run? Never having a place to call your own? I could have helped you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You taught me to live that way.”
“I did no such thing. Giving you a new identity in a town, with a roof over your head, is a lot different than living in a succession of battered women’s shelters. How could you choose to live the way you did when all you had to do was contact me? What kind of mother would do that to her son when she had other options?”
She paled and he almost felt bad. Almost. He was too angry.
“You walked away. You weren’t an option.”
“I am now. And you can bet I’ll be getting to know my son. My lawyer will see to that. I want my rights as a parent.” That scared her; he could see it written all over her, from the slumped shoulders to the trembling hand that she pressed to her heart. Good.
“I—I wouldn’t stop that.”
He ignored the way her wobbly words tore at his heart. How could he feel anything for her after this betrayal? “I don’t really care if you would or wouldn’t. I passed the point of caring what you would or wouldn’t want the minute I saw my son.”
His threat hit its mark and he watched her sink onto an old bench. She looked as if her world was spinning. Let it spin. He was working off shock now so let her see what it felt like.
Of course, he wouldn’t do anything at this point to prevent Max from forming a relationship with him. That was exactly what keeping Max away from her would do. But she didn’t have to know that…he had to have time to weigh all of his options.
Looking at her, his anger intensified—there was a part of him that wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her not to worry, that everything would be okay. It was unbelievable to him that he could feel that. Still, those feelings were overshadowed by the part of him that despised her for what she’d done.
“Where is he?” He wanted to see Max. Talk to him again. This time knowing he was conversing with his son. She blinked rapidly and he knew she was fighting tears. He didn’t care. “You can’t stop me from seeing him.”
“I’m not. It’s just…” Her gaze flew toward the trees and then back to Zane. She looked paler than before. “I told him about you a few hours ago.”
“And how did he take it?”
“He’s upset. Understandably. Very angry.” Her voice cracked and she blinked hard, brushing the back of her hand across her cheek when a tear escaped. “How do you think he feels? His mother betrayed him.”
Zane had to harden his heart against the agony he saw in her face and heard in her words. She’d caused this. “Does he think I abandoned him, too?”
She looked at the ground. “I explained that you didn’t know. But I couldn’t explain why you left in the first place.”
He yanked his hat off his head and slapped it against his thigh. “Where is he?” Zane had to talk to him. Had to explain. Had to try to fix this.
“He likes to be alone when he’s upset…but he ran off over three hours ago and hasn’t come back.”
“Three hours!” he roared. “And you haven’t called anyone?” Zane hated the thought of Max out there in those woods upset, angry and alone.
“I was about to call for some help.”
“You should have called me immediately. Aren’t you worried?” The words were meant to cut. How many times over the years had his son needed him and he hadn’t been there?
“How dare you insinuate that I’m not worried! Of course I’m worried sick. It’s not like him. But—”
Zane shook his head and stormed toward the trees he’d seen her coming from when he arrived. His disgust with her was like a living thing between them as she hurried to catch up to him. He didn’t care how mad or angry she was with him. All he wanted was to find Max and make sure he was okay. He was seized with a sense of urgency that seared him almost to the point of helplessness. Was this how a parent felt? He forced down the panic with iron determination. Max was fourteen.
“He’s always gone off to be alone when he has something bothering him. But he always comes back within a couple of hours.”
Her words were breathless as she tried to keep up with him. He didn’t slow down as he scanned the trail and the bushes for signs, anything that might show which way he’d gone.
“I’ve learned to give him the space he needs. But this situation isn’t like losing a ball or doing badly on a test. This has been a shock to him.”
Irritation flared. “Which way did you check earlier?”
She nodded right, so he strode left off the path. What would he say to Max when he found him? The question unnerved him as he pushed forward through the scattered pine and scrub trees. It was quickly apparent to him that Max had come this way and Zane followed the signs, a broken branch here and trampled leaves there. Rose was quiet as she trailed him, maybe she was praying…Zane was. Somewhere in the seconds between panic and anger he’d begun to pray that God would protect his son and that He would give Zane the words and the wisdom to fix the mess they were in. Because he was out of his element.
There was no way he could do this on his own.
Deputy Cantrell was his dad! Max had been letting the knowledge sink in for hours now. All his life he
hadn’t actually known his dad. The man who he thought was his father all this time wasn’t. That fact alone relieved him of so much bottled-up anger that it was unreal. The no-good jerk!
His mom didn’t know it, but Max had always promised himself that when he was old enough, he’d go find David Kimp and tell him exactly what he thought of him. He was glad his mom had taken back her maiden name so he didn’t have to go around wearing the name of a rotten coward. Any man who’d beat up on a woman wasn’t nobody to be proud of, that was for sure.
Max wondered if Zane’s name was on his birth certificate. What did it say? Man, he couldn’t believe his mom had lied to him.
All this time she’d kept all these secrets.
He slapped his hands to his thighs and from where he sat, cross-legged on his favorite rock, he stared out across the valley. He loved this place. Mule Hollow had all sorts of terrain. Flatland littered with rocks and cacti and deep valleys that were like places he’d only seen in movies and magazines before he came here. This was one of those places. Not like Los Angeles, where he’d always felt hemmed in. Out here he felt free and happy, especially sitting here in his thinking spot—his dreaming spot.
He’d gone from furious to calm to excited in a matter of minutes. Sure he’d been mad at his mom but he knew her…knew that all she’d ever tried to do was protect him and find a better life for him. He wasn’t a kid anymore. He’d considered himself a man for a lot longer than the adults had and he figured this was his moment to step up and prove what he was made of. All this time he’d been trying to prove he wasn’t like his dad—like David. He’d thought he had his blood running through his veins and it had killed him…But that wasn’t so.
He grinned. He couldn’t help it—he had a dad! A hero dad.
Zane hadn’t been around, but he hadn’t known he had a son. If he had known he would have been around—he was a Texas Ranger after all. Just thinking about the possibilities made Max want to jump up and down like a little kid.
He had a Texas Ranger dad!
It just couldn’t get any better than that.
All these years he and his mom had wandered around, hiding. They’d even lived in their car for a few weeks, though he didn’t really remember it. And all this time he’d been ashamed because his dad was an embarrassment to the human race—but that hadn’t been the truth. His mom had lied to him all this time.
Max thought about that, and, yeah, it bothered him, but he decided he didn’t care. What he cared about was that he had a dad who was a hero. A hero!
He bolted up, unable to keep all the feelings inside anymore. He jumped in the air and let out a yell, pumping his fist. Life just could not get any better than this!
The only thing that would have been better was if they’d been a family together all that time. The idea froze him in his tracks.
What if…what if there was a way for that to happen now?
Max’s heart started pounding like a thousand stampeding horses. Ever since he and his mom had moved to Mule Hollow, he’d been praying she’d marry a good cowboy. He’d seen how happy all the ladies were who’d gotten married and he wanted that for his mom. But this, this was way better.
He started walking. It was time to go home because he had things to do. Plans to make. Big plans!
He knew just the people to help him, too. The idea made him walk faster, pushing tree limbs out of his way as he went.
He lived in Mule Hollow with a bunch of women who made happily-ever-after happen all the time.
You betcha that’s what they did! And now, it was his mom and dad’s turn at a happily-ever-after…he could hardly wait.
He was going to make this happen.
“Ohhh!” Rose cried when she tripped on some underbrush and landed on her hands and knees. She’d been tramping through the woods after Zane for the past fifteen minutes. The man had become a raging bear storming through the trees and her short legs just couldn’t match his pace.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, spinning toward her, the tone more a demand than inquiry.
“No,” she snapped, using the moment on her knees to take a deep breath. She was so worried about Max she didn’t know what to do. Add Zane on top of that and the fear that he might file for custody, and she was a wreck. He’d mentioned his lawyer.
“Are you sure?” he asked, startling her by stooping down in front of her. His expression was grim and his anger at her still very evident, but no one would ever say Zane Cantrell didn’t come to their rescue. Oh, no, the man was Mr. Rescue all the way.
“Let me look at your hands,” he said, and before she had time to react, he grabbed both her wrists and turned her palms up.
“No, I’m fine,” she said, jerking her hands only to have his grip tighten and hold her still. The last thing she wanted was for him to touch her. The man’s touch did things to her system that she didn’t welcome. Even now, while she was so angry with him she could slap him, her heart was pounding. From rage, she told herself, but she was afraid it was a lie. It was infuriating!
“I don’t need your help,” she ground out through clenched teeth.
“Yeah, you’ve made that obvious. Now hold still,” he demanded, and bent his head to examine her palms.
They were too close and she was not comfortable at all. Rose tugged her hands again, which only caused him to shoot her a glare.
“I’m telling you to hold still, Rose. I mean it. Your hands are scraped.”
Needing to be free from his touch, she wrenched her hands away and stood up. “What we need to do is find my son,” she snapped, and started through the woods again calling Max’s name.
Her life had turned back into a nightmare and she felt powerless to fix it.
What if he tried to get custody?
She was a good mother. But she was terrified. Would a judge look unsympathetically on the fact that she’d chosen to live in shelters rather than give her son the chance to have a better life with his dad? Max was fourteen. She was almost certain he would be given a choice of which parent he wanted to live with, but the thought of him being put in that situation pained Rose.
And as angry as he was at her right now, if he were given the choice, he might choose Zane. She broke into a cold sweat at the thought. She was literally sick with second-guessing her choices. Every conceivable bad scenario of her life was racing through her mind.
Where was he? She called his name again. Zane echoed it from half a foot behind her. The man was practically breathing down her neck!
When Max suddenly came into view, her heart leaped with joy and relief. Thank You, God.
“Hey,” he said, as if nothing was amiss. He gazed at Zane, clearly surprised to see him with her. “What’s up?” he asked with a grin.
“‘What’s up?’” she snapped. “What kind of question is that, young man? You had me worried sick! Where have you been?”
“I’ve been sitting on a rock thinking and letting everything sink in. I’m sorry, Mom. Really. But you have to admit you gave me a hunk of stuff to think about.” His attention switched back to Zane.
She realized, surprisingly, that he wasn’t mad. Or upset. Instead, he was clearly infatuated with Zane. She was totally confused. Her son had a certain way of processing things—he’d always met things head-on after he mulled them over. As he’d matured, this trait had grown stronger. Still, he’d been so angry when he’d stormed off, and this was so much bigger than anything he’d faced before, that the grin on his face was unexpected. It worried her.
“So, I hear you’re my dad,” he said, shocking her further.
Surprise flickered in Zane’s eyes, but he hid it well. His quick nod belied the confusion she knew he must be feeling. As he held Max’s gaze with sincerity, Rose’s heart caught. Once upon a time, she’d looked into Zane’s eyes and believed that sincerity with her whole heart. She looked away and inhaled slowly. There was no one else who could look at her and make her believe she could jump tall buildings in a single bound. It was a dangero
us thing and scared her for her son…because it only meant she’d fallen that much further when she realized Zane’s heart hadn’t been as steadfast as his eyes would have one believe.
She prayed he wouldn’t hurt Max like he’d hurt her. She would do whatever it took to prevent that from happening, but for now, there was nothing she could do except watch in wonder as her son had his first conversation with his dad.
“Yes, I’m your dad. I didn’t know,” he said. “But your mom had her reasons for not telling me.”
Zane wasn’t going to try to use her actions against her with Max. Relief surged though her. She’d been afraid he might, but then, this was the most gracious way to handle it for both of them and in Max’s best interest. She gave Zane a grateful nod when he glanced her way.
“Mom told me you watched over her when she was in the witness protection program. That’s so cool.”
“It was my job. Your mother was very brave to do what she did.”
Rose felt a tinge of regret at another reminder that looking out for her had been merely a job to Zane. She knew it was illogical after all this time for it to hurt, but it did.
Max grinned at her and she wanted to scream at him to stop. He had to be hurting inside but was pretending everything was okay. He’d just met his dad. His mom had lied to him. And yet he stood here grinning and looking at her like she hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Mom is the bravest woman I know.”
His words broke her. Blinking back tears, Rose felt her heart shatter. She wasn’t brave at all. She was a hypocrite. All these years, she’d hidden from the most important thing in the world…the truth.
She spun and started toward the house, not wanting him or Zane to see the tears. “Let’s go home,” she managed and walked blindly back the way they’d come.
Chapter Seven
“So, how are you?”
Rose gave her boss, Ashby, a “What do you think?” look as she brought an armload of clothes out of the dressing room of Ashby’s Treasures. “It is an impossible situation.”
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