by Barb Han
Flint froze for a moment. Hands shaking, he laid down his pocketknife as relief surged through him. Tucker was alive and back in Gilt Edge? He had to clear his throat before he said, “Send him in.”
He told himself he wasn’t prepared for this and yet it was something he’d dreamed of all these years. He stepped around to the front of his desk, half-afraid of what to expect. A lot could have happened to his brother in nineteen years. The big question, though, was why come back now?
As a broad-shouldered cowboy filled his office doorway, Flint blinked. He’d been expecting the worst.
Instead, Tucker looked great. Still undeniably handsome with his thick dark hair and gray eyes like the rest of the Cahills, Tucker had filled out from the teenager who’d left home. Wherever he’d been, he’d apparently fared well. He appeared to have been doing a lot of physical labor, because he was buff and tanned.
Flint was overwhelmed by both love and regret as he looked at Tuck, and furious with him for making him worry all these years.
“Hello, Flint,” Tucker said, his voice deeper than Flint remembered.
He couldn’t speak for a moment, afraid of what would come out of his mouth. The last thing he wanted to do was drive his brother away again. He wanted to hug him and slug him at the same time.
Instead, he said, voice breaking, “Tuck. It’s so damned good to see you,” and closed the distance between them to pull his older brother into a bear hug.
* * *
TUCKER HUGGED FLINT, fighting tears. It had been so long. Too long. His heart broke at the thought of the lost years. But Flint looked good, taller than Tucker remembered, broader shouldered, too.
“When did you get so handsome?” Tucker said as he pulled back, his eyes still burning with tears. It surprised him that they were both about the same height. Like him, Flint had filled out. With their dark hair and gray eyes, they could almost pass for twins.
The sheriff laughed. “You know darned well that you’re the prettiest of the bunch of us.”
Tucker laughed, too, at the old joke. It felt good. Just like it felt good to be with family again. “Looks like you’ve done all right for yourself.”
Flint sobered. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
“Like Dad used to say, I’m like a bad penny. I’m bound to turn up. How is the old man? Was that him I saw leaving with Lillie?”
“You didn’t talk to them?” Flint sounded both surprised and concerned.
“I wanted to see you first.” Tucker smiled as Flint laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently before letting go.
“You know how he was after Mom died. Now he spends almost all of his time up in the mountains panning gold and trapping. He had a heart attack a while back, but it hasn’t slowed him down. There’s no talking any sense into him.”
“Never was.” Tucker nodded as a silence fell between them. He and Flint had once been so close. Regret filled him as Flint studied him for a long moment before he stepped back and motioned him toward a chair in his office.
Closing the door, Flint settled into his chair behind his desk. Tucker dragged up one of the office chairs.
“I wondered if you wouldn’t be turning up, since Lillie brought in a package addressed to you when she came to pick up Dad. He often spends a night in my jail when he’s in town. Drunk and disorderly.”
Tucker didn’t react to that. He was looking at the battered brown box sitting on Flint’s desk. “A package?” His voice broke. No one could have known he was coming back here unless...
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HERO’S RETURN,
available March 2018 wherever
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Copyright © 2018 by Barbara Heinlein
ISBN-13: 9781488033209
Sudden Setup
Copyright © 2018 by Barb Han
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