Counting on Love (Contemporary Cowboy Romance) (Carson Hill Ranch series: Book 3)

by Amelia Rose

  “Amy…” Carey growled, pouting at the unfairness of being pushed away.

  “Yes, yes, the clothes come off in a minute,” she joked, rolling her eyes for emphasis. “But your brother, remember? The young guy who’s both in pain and apparently addicted to pills? Him?”

  Carey let out an exasperated sigh, but sat up straighter and nodded. “We’ve convinced my dad to take him to see another doctor. They’re supposed to go to Dallas and see a specialist, and run a bunch of tests when they’re there. Casey thinks that once Joseph realizes we believe him and that we’re trying to get him real help, he won’t need to drink or take so much medication.”

  “You know addiction doesn’t work that way. It’s not just some mental crutch he can simply get over, it’s a very real physiological thing,” she warned him. Carey nodded again.

  “Yeah, but I think Casey has another point. We think part of Joseph’s problem is that he can’t do the things he loves, the things he’s done since he was born. He’s a cowboy, but his own body isn’t letting him be a cowboy anymore. Once the body heals, then his spirit can heal, too.

  “So, to help him heal, he has to be able to know what he can and can’t do yet. We thought we’d put him in charge of teaching Gracie the ropes and helping Seamus and Jacob learn to make new tack, stuff like that. This way, he’s still out there doing cowboy things on the ranch, but at a much less strenuous level.”

  It was Amy’s turn to think but finally, she nodded. “It makes some sense, I guess. In his mind, if he can’t be a cowboy any more, he might as well be a zombie, right? And the pills let him do just that.” She nodded, the decision made in her mind. “So get him help, and at least see what this second opinion has to say. But I’m not sure that taking someone under his wing will be enough to make him feel like he’s a part of the ranch again. You’ll have to really watch him to see how it goes.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Carey answered firmly, his crooked grin melting any resolve Amy had been holding onto. She slipped her t-shirt off over her head before going to work on the buttons of Carey’s shirt, pressing their flesh together as she kissed him more hungrily than before.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Whatcha have there, kiddo?” Miranda asked, coming around the corner as Gracie moved stealthily toward the front door, her arms loaded down with odds and ends. Gracie looked up in surprise.

  “Um, just some stuff I thought would make the hay loft more comfortable. You know, kind of like a tree house, only without the tree,” she answered quickly, smiling at her own silly attempt at humor.

  “Oh, right. And also, if said tree house was actually a hayloft situated right above about thirty smelly horses,” Miranda joked. “And if this tree house of yours was bathed in perpetual darkness. Do you really need to redecorate the hayloft at this time of night?”

  “Well, if I don’t do it now, I’ll forget,” Gracie hedged. “I always mean to bring this stuff up there but then I forget, and then the next time I’m reading up there, I don’t have a blanket and the hay is all scratchy and…”

  “Okay! I get it! It’s a pressing matter!” Miranda said with a laugh, throwing her hands in the air in surrender. “Um, I’m not sure the food is a good idea, though. That could draw vermin. Let’s leave that here, and you can come in for meals like a normal person, okay?”

  “Oh, okay,” Gracie answered, her face falling slightly as she planned out how she’d have to sneak back with it after bedtime. She moved to hand over the plastic dish of leftovers and snack foods, but the shift in her carefully arranged pile sent some of her books falling to the floor.

  Miranda reached down and scooped up the books but instead of replacing them on the pile, she walked towards the door and held it open for Gracie. “Come on, I’ll carry these. You go ahead.” Gracie froze. “Don’t stand here letting the cold air in, come on! I’m right behind you!”

  Gracie still didn’t move but instead, she reached for her books. “Um…I got this. Here.”

  Miranda eyed her suspiciously before setting the books down on a side table, throwing her hands on her hips, and staring her little sister down. “Gracie Billings, what is going on? And I want the entire truth, right now.”

  The girl’s shoulders slumped in defeat before she began to cry. “There’s a homeless person in the hayloft, and I’m taking this stuff up there to…”

  “What?” Miranda interrupted, struggling to keep her voice down. “There’s a homeless man in the barn?” She looked around to see if anyone had heard them, pulling her sister toward the coat closet in the front entryway.

  “No, a homeless girl. She’s one of the girls who lived in the cabin, remember?” Recognition flashed across Miranda’s face at the memory, and she put a hand across her eyes briefly, thinking this through. “Please don’t say anything to Bernard or Casey! They’ll send her away!”

  “Gracie, don’t be ridiculous, they won’t send her ‘away’ and they certainly won’t do it at this time of night. But she can’t live in the hayloft!” Miranda took the items out of Gracie’s arms, settling them next to the pile of books, before regarding her sister’s worried expression with a mixture of pride at her compassion for someone, and confusion on how they could make this work. “Come on, let’s go get her out of the barn.”

  Together, Miranda and Gracie crossed the wide yard to the stable and climbed the ladder to the loft. Gracie held out her flashlight, pointing its beam to the floor, then called out to Emma. Emma stuck her head up from behind a hay bale, but her expression turned somber when she recognized that there were two dark figures behind the light, not just one.

  “Gracie? You told on me? No! I trusted you,” Emma began, a whimper forming in her shaky voice.

  “It’s okay, Emma. This is my sister, Miranda,” the girl explained. “I didn’t mean to tell her, but she figured out I was hiding something. But she’s going to help you, I promise,” Gracie said, enunciating her last words with a direct look at her sister.

  “That’s right, Emma. You can’t stay up here, you’ll freeze. Come on in the house and have something to eat. You can bunk in Gracie’s room for the time being.” Miranda held out a hand to the scared girl, relieved when she stood up and stretched out her own thin hand. Miranda helped her through the dark loft until she was safely on the ground, then smiled at her as she led the way to the main house.

  Inside the warm, brightly lit house, Emma seemed to visibly shrink, wanting nothing more than to become invisible. She looked around at the huge chandelier overhead and the gleaming staircase that followed the curve of the light to the vast second floor, and felt insignificant, out of place even. She was dirty, damaged goods, and had no place in a house like this.

  “Come on, Emma, I’ll show you my room!” Gracie said, excited at now having the closest thing to a sleepover she’d ever had. “Up here!” She took off up the stairs, leaving Miranda to nudge Emma forward with a promising nod. Emma reached out to put her hand on the stair rail but pulled it back before she could soil it, then followed Gracie into one of the rooms.

  “Who was that?” Joseph asked as he slowly pulled himself up from the leather sofa facing the roaring fire. He looked toward the second floor door where Emma had disappeared, amazement clearly written on his face.

  “Oh, just this girl…” Miranda began noncommittally, watching the bewildered but interested expression on Joseph’s face. This was the first thing he’d shown any interest in for months, and was standing there, half slack jawed at having seen a new face.

  “A girl? Really…” Joseph answered, still dazed as he watched for her. The look of genuine interest on his face gave Miranda a whole new direction for her plan, and her heart nearly exploded in her chest at the idea that was forming. Instead, she reached out her arm toward her younger brother-in-law.

  “Need some help getting upstairs?” she asked, holding her elbow crooked in his direction. He nodded mutely and reached for her, still watching the door above him. Miranda’s legs nearly gave out from the amount
of pressure he put on her arm as he struggled to walk to bed. Tears stung her eyes and she quickly blinked them away before he could notice how sad his situation made her.

  Miranda couldn’t get to bed fast enough. She helped Joseph to his room then checked on Gracie and Emma. Gracie was wearing the poor girl out in her excitement, but Miranda was thrilled to see a smile on Emma’s face when she peeked in on them.

  “Lights out, okay? Emma walked all the way from town, remember?” Gracie nodded, slightly dejected at having to cut the girl time short, but became exuberant once again when Miranda handed in a clean set of sheets for Emma to use, reminding Gracie to use the original sheets on the bed for her spot on the floor.

  “Oh no, I can’t. I can’t take your bed, too. I’ll just sleep right here,” Emma said, patting the floor beside her.

  “Nonsense, Gracie’s thrilled to have someone to talk to. It’s the least we can do, okay?” Miranda stepped in and helped with the bedding, getting both teens situated before turning the light off and closing the door behind her.

  It was all she could do not to run to her own room. She threw open the door and launched herself onto the bed. Casey looked up from the TV in surprise at her attack.

  “I have the best idea ever, Casey…it’s brilliant!” she gushed, ignoring the rest of the story for a second as she pulled Casey to her for a long, hard kiss.

  Chapter Twelve

  Casey and Carey alternated rhythmic blows with their oversized hammers, slamming the first of four thick wooden fence posts into the ground. The sun had only lit up the sky by a fraction and wouldn’t be above the trees for at least another four hours, but broken fences let cows out and coyotes in. It had to be done.

  “Why are we the only two jackasses dumb enough to be up at this hour doing this?” Carey asked, without really expecting an answer.

  “Because we’re the only two smart ones on the place,” Casey replied, not missing a beat with his hammer. “When the other guys finally wake up and get to work, we’ll be heading in to put our feet up for the rest of the day.”

  “Speaking of putting his feet up…” Carey left the rest of his sentence hanging in the cold air between them, opening up the conversation but never quite acknowledging it.

  “Yeah? What about it?” Casey demanded, knowing where this was going and not liking it one bit. He stopped his hammer blows and stood with the head of his sledgehammer propped on the toe of his boot, other hand on his hip, breathing hard. “What are you talking about?”

  “You know full well what I’m talking about,” Carey replied, matching his brother in both his stance and his attitude.

  “Joseph,” they said in unison, rolling their eyes at the coincidence and resuming the hammering.

  “What are we supposed to do about him?” Carey asked.

  “There’s nothing to do. We’re doing it. We’re taking him to the doctor, end of story.”

  “That’s not the end of the story, Casey, and you know it. What good does it do him to haul him off to the city when you and Dad are convinced he’s just a drugged out faker?”

  “Hey! That’s not fair! I never once called him a faker!” Casey shot back angrily, still matching Carey blow for blow on the fence post.

  “But you’re thinking it.”

  “It doesn’t matter what I’m thinking, does it? I’m doing what you wanted. I’m taking him to Dallas to get checked out. When we finally have word once and for all that he’s healed, then I won’t mind kicking his ass a little and making him get himself together.”

  “If you’re so convinced he’s healed, why haven’t you kicked his ass already? Huh?”

  “What are you running your mouth about? What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I mean, if you think he’s faking and this whole trip is just about getting some doctor to confirm what you think you already know, why even pretend? Go ahead and kick his ass, as you put it.” Casey didn’t answer, and he didn’t lift his hammer to swing again. “See what I’m saying?” Carey asked. “You don’t know for sure that he’s not in a lot of pain. You want so badly for him to just be faking, you’re taking him to this doctor hoping there’s nothing wrong, but you don’t entirely believe that. If you did, you’d have already laid into him for getting slobbering drunk the other night.”

  “That’s not…I mean…”

  “You don’t have to explain it to me, Casey. I get it. I want all of this to be okay, too. But you’re the one who’s taking him to Dallas, you and Dad. The least you two can do is give him the benefit of the doubt and be willing to listen when the doctor tells us what’s wrong. You can’t drag him up there and have the outcome already worked out in your mind.”

  The two brothers resumed their work without another word, the cracking of their hammers against the fencepost the only other sound out on the ranch.

  ****

  “Do you need anything else to eat?” Joseph asked attentively, looking up from his own breakfast and noticing that Emma had finished eating. She shook her head nervously, prompting Joseph to wave Gracie over. “Grab her some more juice and another biscuit, okay, kiddo?”

  “Sure thing, Joseph! Anything else to go with it, Emma?” Emma shook her head, uncomfortable with all of the attention. She’d run away from one wonderful family so she couldn’t bring shame and humiliation on them, and now she found herself in an even more awkward situation. She wished she could just become invisible somehow, and the thought of stealing away to the small cabin was pushing itself forward in her mind.

  Miranda and Casey grinned at each other while watching the pair from across the massive kitchen. “Do you really think it will work?” Casey asked Miranda, causing Carey to look up from his own plate on Casey’s other side.

  “Will what work?” Carey demanded, reminding himself to finish eating his bite of breakfast before speaking. Bernard had been very clear about the required use of basic table manners on Miranda’s first day on the ranch, a habit that all of the ranch hands had let fall by the wayside for too long.

  “Miranda thinks we have a solution to Joseph’s problem. Look over there.”

  Carey turned his head slowly in the direction Casey had pointed, trying not to be obvious about spying on their younger brother, then turning his head back sharply to the pair next to him. “Isn’t that…”

  “Shhhhh!” Miranda said, watching the young couple to see if Carey’s question had caught their attention. “Keep it down! Yes, it’s Emma Gray, from town.”

  “When you say ‘from town’, you don’t actually mean she’s the one who…”

  “SHHHHH!” both Casey and Miranda hissed, Casey shoving his brother in the shoulder roughly.

  “Keep your voice down!” Miranda hissed again. “This is an important, elaborate, top secret plan, and if you screw it up, I’ll have you dragged behind a horse all the way across Texas!” Carey bristled, then sat up straighter. His sister-in-law had a mean streak, he had been sure of it, and this threat just proved it.

  “So what’s this top secret plan?” he asked, leaning closer to them and dropping his voice to a stage whisper. Miranda glared, but Casey explained.

  “We think that if Joseph has a reason to get up and get moving, especially once the doctor checks him out, then he’ll have a reason to try to get well and maybe lay off the drugs and the drinking.” Casey looked over at Joseph and Emma, a look of hope on his face. He nudged Carey, who also looked over to the end of the table where they were eating. The twins looked back at each other and nodded in approval.

  “Why are your brothers watching us eat?” Emma asked Joseph quietly at the far end of the table, leaning toward him so no one would know they’d caught on.

  “I don’t know, but I bet it’s because they’re jealous that I’m getting to eat with someone as pretty as you,” he answered with a broad, confident grin. He speared a forkful of eggs and ate, then watched Emma intently as she moved the food around on her plate before taking a bite herself.

  “That can’t be it,”
she finally managed to say, still looking down at her plate. Emma was uncomfortable with any kind of attention, let alone having people staring at her and Joseph asking her permission to sit with her. She wondered where Gracie had gone off to so suddenly.

  “That’s the only possible reason I can come up with,” he explained with a warm laugh. “So, Gracie didn’t exactly tell me what you’re doing at Carson Hill. Are you visiting someone who works here?”

  Emma was spared from having to answer when Gracie returned with a platter so overloaded with food that she almost dropped it in front of them. “Sorry, I had to literally fight a big guy for the last pieces of bacon but I know they’re your favorite, Joseph.” She settled back into her chair and took a long drink of her juice, watching Emma and Joseph smile at each other. She turned to look down the table, questioning her siblings silently with her eyes. When they motioned frantically for her to get away from there, Gracie coughed lightly, then spoke. “Oops! I just now realized it, but the chore board says I have to help in the kitchen today. Gotta run!”

  “What chore board…” Joseph began, but a withering look from Gracie stopped him.

  “I’ll catch up to you later, Emma. Just yell if you need anything!” she called over her shoulder, snatching up her cup and plate then disappearing behind the partition to the sink. She peeked out at the pair from beneath the metal blinds that divided the window where dirty dishes were stacked after every meal, not wanting to miss any of the potential romance.

  “What was that about?” Emma asked, still looking at the various relatives watching them from different distances around the large room.

  “I’m gonna go out on a limb here but I’m thinking we’re being set up,” Joseph said, eyeing his family members angrily. Across the room, his siblings were immediately distracted by some nonexistent thing beneath the table.

  “Set up?” Emma demanded in horror. “As in, like, set up on a date?”