He stood shaking his head. “That’s not going to work, Shay. I know it. And you know it. We don’t agree on a single thing, especially when it comes to the kids.”
“What do you mean? We agree on lots of things—”
“Not the ones that matter.”
Now her seated position made her feel she was losing ground. She stood to face him. “I told you, my dad followed the rodeo, too, and—”
“And that’s exactly what I’m talking about. We don’t agree on the work I do. We don’t even agree on the gifts I bring home...bring to the kids. Bibs and pajamas. How could I go wrong with those? But somehow, they’re not good enough for you.”
“Bibs and pajamas with horses and saddles on them. They were just your way of trying to get your point across.” Her eyes stung with angry tears. “Maybe I’m wrong about being able to make your relationship with the babies work. You’re not thinking about them at all.”
“I am, probably more than you are. You’re the one pulling strings already, when they haven’t even cut their first teeth.”
“How is that any different from what you’re doing? The last I heard, you’ve got your plans for them all mapped out, too.”
“No. I was showing you an alternative. I’m trying to give the kids options.”
She gasped. “And don’t you think that’s what I want?”
“I think you’re controlling their futures—”
“I’m not.” She stopped and took a deep, steadying breath. Arguing like this would only help to prove Tyler’s claim that they couldn’t agree on anything. “You’re just seeing me the way you are because of how your father treated you.”
“And you’re not holding what I do for a living against me, for the same reason? I’m a cowboy. That doesn’t mean I’m just like your dad.” He shoved his hands into his back pockets. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not staying. That’s what I told you from the beginning, and I never said anything otherwise. As it is, I shouldn’t have stayed this long. You’ve made it plain you don’t trust me, but I’m telling you something you can take to the bank—literally. Not a promise. Fact. I’ll be sending you cash to help support the kids.”
The words hit like a knife piercing her heart.
“I don’t want your charity,” she snapped.
“It’s not a handout. It’s—”
“I know. It’s your obligation. Money. Financial help. And you, at a distance.” Her frustrated sigh bordered on a sob. “How can you walk away from our babies, especially after all the time you’ve spent with them? They’ve bonded with you as strongly as they have with me.”
He said nothing.
She wanted him here, being a daddy to her children. He wanted to negotiate a deal and then write the babies off as a business expense.
She took another deep breath and let it out slowly. “Nothing I’ve said—or can say—will change your mind?”
“No.”
The unyielding response left her speechless from stunned surprise and a flash of rage. The reaction gave her a beat of time to raise her defenses, to realize she was determined to win this battle...even if she’d already been defeated in the war.
She would not let him see her break. She raised her chin. “It’s just as well, then,” she said firmly. “If you’re not prepared to stay for the long haul, you might as well leave town.”
Chapter Sixteen
When a resounding knock thumped against his door, Tyler started. He stared suspiciously across the hotel room. He had left Shay downstairs in Jed’s den only a short while ago. She wouldn’t have had time to reconsider anything he’d said. And surely, she wouldn’t have told Jed about their conversation.
The knock came again.
“It’s open,” he called.
The door swung wide. Cole stepped into the room and shut the door quietly behind him. “Hey, buddy, what’s going on? Tina tells me you’re all of a sudden set on leaving.”
“Nothing sudden about it. I’ve been planning to go for days now. I told her I’d be checking out this afternoon. It’s about time I got back home.”
Home. Where there would be no babies, no Shay. And now, not even a job for him to go back to.
Cole started across the room.
“Don’t get comfortable.” He knew his buddy well. Give the man a minute and he’d talk for an hour or more. Tyler took his duffel bag from the closet and tossed it onto the bed. “I’m leaving as soon as I’ve packed.”
Ignoring him, Cole dropped into one of the armchairs by the window. “So I hear. Just one question. Have you lost your mind?”
Tyler stiffened. “What does that mean?”
“You know what it means, man. You’re a brand-new daddy. And you’re walking away from your kids? From your family?”
“Stop right there. We’re not a family.”
Cole shrugged. “Okay, maybe not at the moment. But you’ll never have a chance of becoming one if you’re nowhere in sight.”
And you, at a distance.
Shay had called that right. He was planning to put miles between him and Cowboy Creek. “What are you, an advice columnist now?” He opened the dresser drawer and scooped up a handful of T-shirts. “You’ve been hanging around these matchmakers too long.”
“Hanging around, heck.” The other man grinned. “I’m a walking, talking advertisement for their services.”
Tyler dropped the shirts into his bag. “I’m glad it worked out well for you. I’m not in the market.”
“You might live to regret that.”
“But I’ll live.”
“What kind of life, though?”
Tyler laughed shortly. “And now you’re a shrink, asking me to contemplate the meaning of existence? Give it up, Cole. Not all of us take to being a dad the way you have.”
“That’ll come with a little practice. Believe me, I didn’t know if I could handle it at first, either. You haven’t been with the kids long enough to know what kind of dad you’ll make.”
“I’m not talking about learning the ropes. I meant not all of us want to be roped and tied.”
That stopped the other man—for about two seconds. “Funny, I used to think exactly that myself. Sorry to hear you saying it, too. And that’s your final word?”
Nothing I’ve said—or can say—will change your mind?
“That’s it.”
Cole sighed. “So be it. Then here’s my final piece of advice, no charge. I know you well enough to realize why you’re running. I also know from my experience it’s something you need to work through on your own. But don’t wait too long, or you might miss out.” He crossed the room, and they shook hands. “The Hitching Post will have a room waiting when you change your mind.”
“I won’t.”
“Suit yourself. But in any case, the room will be here. Don’t be a stranger. Like it or not, the Garlands consider you family.”
They’ve bonded with you as strongly as they have with me.
* * *
TYLER HAD BARELY made it to the bed again with a handful of socks when another knock came to the door. This one sounded soft, almost tentative. His heart jumped to his throat.
He crossed the room and opened the door. Shay’s grandma stood in the hallway. He swallowed hard and stepped back. “Would you like to come in?”
“That is why I’m paying you a visit, love. One of the reasons, at any rate.” Like Cole, she claimed a seat by the window.
This time, he followed and took the armchair opposite. He could be as rude and blunt as he liked with Cole, but Grandma Mo was another story.
“Tina told me you were planning to leave,” she said.
Cole’s wife had a lot to answer for. Keeping his expression neutral, he said, “Yes, ma’am, I am.”
“Is Shay aware of this?”
“Yes.”
“Are you aware you’ll be breaking her heart?”
...you have to know I care about you.
What he had seen from Shay was a far cry from a broken heart. But now, he did see something else she had told him, in action right here. Her grandma was sticking up for her just the way she said Mo did, the way his father had never done for him.
Suddenly, he wished Cole hadn’t left. His buddy could talk his way through a conversation like this one, while he’d never been good at discussing his feelings. He rested his elbows on his knees and linked his fingers together in front of him. “I’m not—” He stopped, cleared his throat, tried again. “I don’t know what Shay told you.”
“She hasn’t told me anything, Tyler. She doesn’t have to. I raised the lass, almost on my own.”
The way Shay would raise their babies. He comforted himself with the thought she did have her grandma to help her.
“She’s still in talking with Jed,” Mo went on. “Once I see her, I’ll only need to look at her to know how she feels. Just as I’m looking at you now and know how you’re feeling. You’re not happy.”
He shrugged. “I’ve got a long drive ahead of me. I’ll be happy when I put it behind me.”
And you, at a distance.
That again. He had to stop replaying everything Shay had said. He had to forget Cole’s unwanted advice and Mo’s gentle insistence that she knew him better than he knew himself.
“Shay and I came to a mutual understanding,” he assured her.
“Did you, now? Well, then, I suppose you’ll both have to live with that.”
What kind of life?
Now those were Cole’s words, not Shay’s. And not his. Trying to block out the noise in his head, he gripped his linked fingers so hard his knuckles cracked.
“Will you be seeing the babies before you leave?” Mo asked.
He swallowed hard. “No. I think it would be best if I don’t.”
“Well, perhaps you’re right. Better to leave things as they are.” She reached over to pat his arm. “This will be hard enough on you and them once you all realize the bond between you is broken.”
* * *
TYLER WAS ALMOST done packing when a third knock came to the door. This one sounded less tentative than Mo’s but not nearly as thunderous as Cole’s. Again, his heart jumped to his throat.
Third time lucky?
He pushed the crazy thought aside and went to the door. His conclusion jumping aside, he had the distinct feeling he wouldn’t find the woman he...the woman he could have found outside in the hallway.
Jed Garland stood with his thumbs in his belt loops and a smile on his face.
And now Tyler’s heart sank. He let the man into the room, then took a quick look through the doorway. At this rate, he expected to find a line of Garland family members waiting their turn to enter. The hall was deserted. He closed the door and turned to Jed. “I don’t think you’re going to have to tell me why you’re here. Let me guess. You talked to Tina.”
“That I did.”
“I thought Cole’s wife was the quietest of your granddaughters.”
Jed chuckled and went to the same seat Mo and Cole had taken.
This conversation wouldn’t be as quick as the other two that had been held in the room this afternoon. He shoved his hands into his back pockets and sat on the end of the bed.
“So, you’re on the run,” Jed said.
Tyler eyed him suspiciously, wondering if the man had just made a judgment call about his decision. Jed rested his hands on the padded arms of the chair and sent him a level gaze. Tyler returned it. “You’re here to try and convince me to stay.”
“Nope. Haven’t got an idea in the world about doing that.”
At the older man’s denial, he blinked in surprise. Shay’s grandma and his own best friend both had made attempts. Maybe Jed wasn’t the matchmaker he was cracked up to be. Or more likely, the man had meant what he said the day they had talked about Shay. “I’m glad you’re not in any danger of destroying your winning streak.”
Jed smiled. “So you remembered that? Yes, I’m grateful for holding on to my record, too. And I’m just as glad not to ruin the reputation I’ve built.”
So much for his earlier suspicions that Jed had been pulling strings to get him and Shay together.
“Some people are made to be matched,” Jed continued, “and some aren’t, and fortunately, I’ve got a sixth sense about which is which.”
Why did that statement bother him? It wasn’t like he had expected Jed to work harder. Or in his case, to work miracles. “Yeah. Well. Your sixth sense must have earned some overtime in the past week or so.”
“It did. I guess you and Shay did some extra work these last few days, too. Taking care of one baby is a chore. Three must have really worn you down.”
“It wasn’t hard at all.”
“No? Routine work, then—all those bottles and diapers and such.”
“It wasn’t routine, either. You’d think with the babies being triplets, they’d all behave the same. But they don’t. They react to things in their own way. They don’t look exactly alike, either.”
“I don’t know how you can figure that at their young age, except when it comes to telling Bree from her brothers, of course. I’d imagine those two boys get you all mixed up.”
No, their mother got him all mixed up. “They’re easy to tell apart. Timothy and Jamie look a lot alike, but they’re not identical. Jamie’s got more hair. Timothy’s bigger and more active, although Jamie’s catching up in both those departments. Bree—” He thought of her and smiled. “Bree’s just a little sweetheart.”
“That she is. It’ll be amazing to watch how much they’ll all change, even from one week to the next.”
“Yeah.” He wouldn’t see that and didn’t want to think about what he would miss. He tapped the duffel bag on the bed beside him. Shrugging, he said, “All of the kids look more like real little people every day. I’ve already seen lots of differences with each of them.”
He would have the time he’d spent with the kids to help him remember them after he was gone. The time, and the photos from the local newspaper.
The article had been the talk of the Hitching Post’s dining room this morning. As soon as breakfast was done, he had driven into town to get his own copy of the paper. The photos didn’t show all the differences he’d learned about the babies, but he had learned them, and no one could take those memories away.
“Speaking of differences...”
Tyler looked up from his duffel bag to find Jed eyeing him.
“I gather you and Shay didn’t have any luck patching up your differences.”
“No.” He tried not to frown.
“Just as well that you’re leaving, then.”
It’s just as well, then. If you’re not prepared to stay for the long haul, you might as well leave town.
Now, he did frown. He had expected that statement from Shay but hadn’t seen the same reaction coming from Jed. The man really must value his reputation. “Yeah. Just as well. But I told you when we talked that I would do the right thing by Shay, and I am.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“I’ll be sending her money regularly.”
“I’m sure it’ll come in handy.”
Handy? “She’ll need the support. For the kids. For food and clothes and diapers and stuff.”
“Well, yes. But I’ve arranged for her to take on more hours here at the hotel.”
“So soon? She just delivered three babies. And they need her at home.”
“Yes. But she wants the work.”
“I can send her enough cash so that she won’t have to add on hours yet.”
Jed spread his hands palm up. “That’s between the two of you. She’ll do all right, though.”
Sh
e won’t need you. That’s what Jed meant. He could hear it in the man’s words and read it in his so-what gesture.
“Of course, money will get tighter as the triplets get bigger.” Jed chuckled ruefully and shook his head. “I remember how it was with my three boys—just one thing after another. They’ll constantly outgrow their clothes, quicker than Shay can turn around. And unlike my boys, she’ll have three kids the same age. Not much chance of hand-me-downs in that family.”
Was it getting hotter in here? He wiped his brow and stared at Jed. “I’ll send her more money as the kids get older.”
Jed nodded. “I reckon that might not be a bad idea. There will be doctor and dentist bills, a chance of braces and glasses, too. And then will come the day they all want cars and college.”
Tyler exhaled heavily. Maybe he’d been wrong about the man. The way Jed was piling all that on, it seemed he was trying to scare him away from shouldering his responsibility. “You’re right about all those things. But the babies aren’t even a week old yet.” He had said that to Shay, too. How could so little time have passed when he felt as though he’d gotten to know them all so well? “Aren’t you jumping the gun, thinking about those things at this stage of the game?”
“That’s just the thing. Raising kids isn’t a game. Of course, there are lots of fun moments and rewards along the way, if we take the time to enjoy them.”
Yeah, for the folks around to enjoy them.
“But that time is going to fly.” Jed shook his head. “No, when all is said and done, caring for a family is a serious business. And it should only be done by folks who plan to take it seriously.”
“I will take it seriously.” He’d be responsible for his actions, would send Shay money for the kids. He would do the right thing to prove himself to Jed. To his parents. To himself.
...at a distance.
Chapter Seventeen
The Cowboy's Triple Surprise Page 15