So why hadn’t he ever returned to Sweetgrass? It wasn’t as though he didn’t know Ian was still there. They kept in touch. Not a lot, but he’d taken comfort, he realized, from simply knowing that Ian had stayed, that like the land to which he so clearly belonged, he was steady, a rock when life offered so few.
Mackey hadn’t even returned for David Butler’s funeral because he’d been out of the country. He’d sent a big flower arrangement, but what did flowers matter against the life of a really good man? He hadn’t seen David in the intervening years, but even in the midst of all their hell-raising, David had been someone whose core you just knew was good.
Quite a change from the people who made up his life now, most of whom were only loyal as long as you had something to offer. That had gotten worse once he’d become stunt coordinator on his last three films. He’d acquired a whole legion of new friends.
Friends. Riiight. Not since he’d left the Teams had he experienced what it was like to know someone had your back. And before his teammates, there had been the Four Horsemen.
He grinned and shook his head. Not too arrogant, were we, sporting a moniker like that?
So here he was, topping the last hill that kept Sweetgrass from his view.
And there it was. The courthouse still stuck up above the trees, the river that fed from the spring still winked in and out…
But as he came around the final bend, his heart thumping in anticipation, he glanced eagerly for sights he recalled.
Wow. What had happened?
The little town that had been small but thriving in his youth was little more than a ghost town now. So many familiar stores gone—Miller’s Grocery, Sweetgrass Drugstore, Gold’s Department Store…all dusty shells.
Ruby’s… He was a little afraid to look.
And then his tight chest eased.
At least Ruby’s Cafe was still there. Was the woman herself inside? Surely Ian would have mentioned if anything were wrong with the old girl. She’d given all of them a smack to the head or a pop with her flyswatter over the years, but only when they deserved it or rated a tease. She’d been just as free with her love.
And her food. Somehow their plates were always piled higher, in those years when they burned calories like daylight, when they were bottomless pits of hunger after—
After Jackson’s mom died. When the gentle, loving Mary Gallagher left their lives, Ruby had taken up the slack. His own family had moved on by then—in the wake of divorce, his mother had returned to her Kentucky hometown, and his dad had kept traveling as he always had and likely always would. When Mackey had dug in his heels and insisted on graduating high school with his buddies, his folks had seemed relieved to be done with their duties early.
Ian and his dad had taken him in for his senior year, and after graduation, Mackey had joined the Navy and signed up for SEAL training as soon as he was allowed. Life had led him to faraway countries, and he’d never belonged anywhere again.
He parked and opened his door but didn’t get out. He didn’t belong here now, either, but…once he’d almost felt that he did. Not permanently, no, but what in life was permanent? Now, breathing this same air, seeing familiar surroundings so changed, he knew it was good he’d learned to be alone over the years because he wouldn’t belong here ever again.
Foolish to have thought otherwise.
He shouldn’t have come. Not sure why he had.
Then the front door of Ruby’s opened and sound spilled out, along with the aroma of Ruby’s chicken-fried steak.
Okay. Maybe that one thing hadn’t changed. In a life of constant movement and shifting sands, maybe there were still a few things you could count on.
He wasn’t used to hoping for much. Constant exposure to danger had taught him the value of living in the now.
So…now he would eat.
“So tell me again why folks will want to eat in the dark?” Ruby Gallagher complained.
“Nana…” Her granddaughter Scarlett Ross grinned as she plated an order. “They’re called low-intensity lights. They save on electricity.”
“Well, yeah, because folks will be eating in the dark.”
Scarlett chuckled, and Ruby thought she would never get tired of amusing this beloved child of her child, nor would she ever take for granted the sheer joy of cooking beside her in this place where for so many years Ruby had worked alone, exerting every ounce of her will to keep this town alive.
Now they were making plans for the future, something Ruby hadn’t dared while trying to simply survive. Scarlett had come up with a humdinger of a use for the old decommissioned courthouse building Ruby had sunk all her money into. The idea was just crazy enough that it actually might work.
Assuming they ever found the money to launch it.
She had an idea where she could get the funds, but the situation was complicated. Jackson Gallagher, her great-nephew, the town’s pariah, had more than enough and had repeatedly offered help to Ruby, assistance that she’d declined all these years since he’d left town under a cloud of disgrace.
She hadn’t mentioned him as a possible investor, though, because she didn’t know how she’d explain where she’d gotten the money. No one knew she’d been in touch with him for most of the last seventeen years, his condition for maintaining contact with her.
No one, that is, except the father who’d banished him, though fat lot of good it had done for her to violate Jackson’s trust for what she thought was a higher cause. She’d been stunned when James had refused the phone number. Told her Jackson was dead to him.
She couldn’t understand hardening your heart to your child like that. What had happened to Jackson was a tragedy, pure and simple. He would gladly have given his own life to save Beth Butler’s, and why his own father couldn’t see that, well…James had much to account for. Of course he’d been grieving the loss of his wife, but that was no excuse for turning his back on his children when they most needed him. Her nephew had turned into a bitter, unforgiving man.
Jackson had been thrown out into the world all alone, and God knows what he’d suffered before he’d finally contacted her. She sensed that he’d gone through much more, out there alone in the world, than he’d ever explained. Though he had used his phenomenal brain to accrue a great deal of wealth, he was no less haunted than the lonely boy who’d made a call one dark night. He kept a low profile and operated primarily overseas.
His trust was a precious commodity, given to few. She’d abridged it once for what she’d thought a higher purpose, but she would not do that again.
But she never gave up hope of bringing him home. Seventeen years was too long to be alone, and best she could tell, Jackson was about the loneliest person on the planet, all his wealth and success notwithstanding.
She believed he needed Sweetgrass, and Sweetgrass needed him. His sister Rissa needed him.
Even more, Veronica needed him, the girl he’d loved and left behind all those years ago. She was pretty sure she was the only person in town who knew that the two had been sweethearts, if in secret. Their families were bitter enemies.
She glanced over the pass-through, and her jaw dropped. “Well, will you look at that?”
Scarlett glanced up. “Wow. Who is he?”
Ruby smiled and shook her head, even as she was drying her hands on her apron and moving toward the dining area. “That, honey, is the one and only Randall Mackey.”
She stepped from the kitchen and opened her arms. “Young man, you get over here and give me a hug this minute.”
His head whipped around, and that devil’s grin widened. Mink-brown hair and piercing green eyes, he’d always been far too handsome for his own good, and now he was even more so.
Silence fell. His posture was still wary, as if he wondered whether he’d find welcome here.
Then the buzz began as he threaded his way between tables, getting stopped along the way by folks eager to shake his hand and clap him on the back.
When he reached her, he swept
her off her feet, his charm as potent as ever. “Ruby, I swear you haven’t changed a lick.”
She smacked his shoulder for old times’ sake. “I see your silver tongue hasn’t, either.”
He grinned at her, then held her close for a second. “I missed you, Ruby. I didn’t know how much.” When he pulled back and set her on her feet, she saw the darkness in his eyes and knew that this boy had seen some bad times. His eyes didn’t match his stunning smile. They would get to the bottom of this later, but for now she’d focus on putting him at ease. Lord knows, his boyhood hadn’t been easy, and she suspected adulthood had been no kinder.
She squeezed his waist as she stood there, the top of her head well below his shoulder. “Got chicken-fried steak in the kitchen with your name on it. You still like lots of mashed potatoes and extra gravy?”
He laughed. “Wow. People who actually like to eat. Damn, I’ve missed you, Ruby.” He smacked his flat belly and kissed her cheek. “I have died and gone to heaven. Bring it on!”
“Got someone for you to meet first,” Ruby said, grasping his hand and drawing him toward the kitchen. “Scarlett—come meet the world’s biggest scoundrel.”
Mackey laughed. “I really have missed you.”
A stunningly beautiful woman emerged from the kitchen, her petite stature and black hair proclaiming her relationship to Ruby, but despite her casual work wear, something about her revealed a level of sophistication that clearly marked her as Not From Here.
“Scarlett, this is Mackey. Mackey, this is my granddaughter, Scarlett Ross.”
“So you’re the one who gets to stay with Cousin Crankypants,” she said, extending her hand.
It took him a second. “Are you talking about Clarissa?” Ian had told him he’d be staying at the Star Bar G. Jackson’s dad had to be apoplectic. He covered her small hand with his.
Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and he liked her immediately. “Go ahead—call her that. Then stand back.”
He frowned and glanced at Ruby. “Little Clarissa?”
Scarlett’s laugh came straight from the belly. “Oh, I want to be there. Please tell me I can tag along.”
“Now you shush, Scarlett. Just because you and Rissa rub each other the wrong way now and again…”
“Now and again…” Scarlett shook her head. “I think you’d better stay with us. I mean, just because you do dangerous stunts for a living, that’s no reason to put your life in danger with no pay.”
“Wow. I haven’t seen Clar—um, Rissa?” At Ruby’s nod, he continued. “She was, what, twelve when we graduated? I mean, she was sort of a tomboy, but she was a sweet kid.”
“She got over it,” Scarlett said drily.
Ruby glared at her. “You try living with my nephew and tell me how cheerful you’d be.” She glanced at Mackey. “I have room at my place, too.”
“Whoa. So should I take a bullwhip and chair out there?” What the hell? He turned to Scarlett. “Thanks for the invitation, but Ian made it pretty clear that he didn’t need anyone else mucking up what little private time he has with you.” He scanned her and winked. “And now I see why.”
“You really are a player, aren’t you?” But she was smiling. “Come on. You and Ruby have a seat, and I’ll get your food ready. We can’t let a hungry man go unfed.” She gestured toward a booth that had miraculously opened up, then waved and returned to the kitchen.
“Cousin Crankypants?” he said to Ruby.
“A lot has happened since you left.” She led the way to the booth.
Mackey followed.
Chapter Two
“Clarissa!” bellowed James Gallagher. “Get in here, young lady.”
Young lady. Code for I am not happy.
Her dad seldom was, but she’d learned to work with it, mostly by ignoring him. The days of enduring his lectures were done and gone. He couldn’t run this ranch without her, and he knew it.
They rubbed along together okay, she guessed. Mostly.
She’d spent the first few years, after it was only the two of them, trying as hard as she could to take her mother’s place. Trying to be good enough, to make life run smoothly enough to return him to the father she’d known when she was little, the one who called her his little girl and sneaked her treats.
But that man had died when his beloved Mary had died. A long time had passed before she’d realized that he never noticed her good behavior or good grades. He didn’t care that she fixed his coffee just so or learned to cook what he liked to eat when the last housekeeper quit.
So she’d gone a different path. She’d awakened one morning and realized that nothing was ever going to be as it was when her mother was alive and hope had lived in every corner.
So she’d set out to be the son he’d never had, to demonstrate that all those years that Jackson had been fighting his heritage, she’d been paying attention. She knew as much as her dad did about this place, about how to run it, how to stock it and be a good steward of the land.
He might have noticed, but he never said so. Never thanked her. Never let go of the reins. Not once talked about the day when she’d take over.
He just went his silent, stubborn old bastard way.
And she went hers. She began to focus on something she was really good at: training horses.
And waiting him out.
Because more and more, the hands came to her to make decisions her dad wasn’t making, to pay attention to things he was letting slide.
“Clarissa! Where the devil are you?” He rounded the corner of the barn.
“Don’t yell. This new colt is fractious.” She kept her own voice calm and her volume low.
He crossed his arms over his chest and stood there waiting.
He might not love her, but he did love horses. It was about their only point of connection.
Sometimes she even thought he might be a little proud of how in demand she was becoming for her skills at taming the untamable.
At last she was done with the colt and released him to the pasture, then walked toward her father. “What’s got your knickers in a twist?” Not for her any cowering from his wrath, not anymore. He’d learned that he couldn’t break her, and she thought he might respect her for it.
“I just got a phone call.” A muscle jumped in his jaw. “What the hell do you think you’re doing bringing Randall Mackey onto my place?”
My place. As if she hadn’t sweated blood over it, too. As though she had no right to claim it.
“I’m doing Ian a favor. You know, Ian, the one you wish was your son instead of your real one?” She didn’t begrudge Ian her father’s high regard. Heaven knows he’d earned it. “You don’t have to see him. He’s staying in Cooter’s house.”
“Cooter will need it.”
“Cooter’s not coming back from the nursing home, Dad. You know that.”
“Next thing I know you’ll be sticking me there.”
If only. Instead of grinding her teeth down, she laughed. “You’ll live to be a hundred. You’re too mean to die.”
For a second, she thought she saw amusement flicker, but he turned on his heel. “A few days, that’s all. Then he’s gone—and I better not see his face, you hear me?”
“Then I guess you’ll be eating in your room.”
He stalked off without comment. She watched him go and simply shook her head. He’d been ruler of his domain so long, had isolated himself on the throne so completely that he couldn’t stand the slightest indication that he was not omnipotent.
Truth to tell, however much he was the most difficult man she’d ever dealt with, he wasn’t all that different from some of the horses she’d trained. He bit and snapped and kicked, but in the end, she just stayed the course.
And she won.
A part of her didn’t like the prospect of winning this battle, though, because the cost was that her father would get left behind. He was a proud man and the best cowboy, bar none, she’d ever seen. He was the land and the land was him, and for as lon
g as she possibly could, she would buttress him and do whatever she had to for him to remain in charge, to see himself as the ruler of the Star Bar G.
He was mean and cold and hell on wheels to deal with, but then, some of the best horses she’d ever known were, too.
At that moment, she saw their foreman Pedro headed her way, his expression indicating yet another problem to be solved.
And Mackey was in town.
She glanced down at her filthy jeans, her battered boots, the mark on her arm where Coyote had nipped her. For a second she wondered how many hours in the bathroom would be required to make her attractive to a man who regularly rubbed elbows—or knocked boots—with some of the world’s most beautiful women.
Way more than she could spare. She wasn’t much on lotions and potions, and her horses didn’t care. Instead, she just settled her hands on her hips and waited for Pedro to make her day.
“Those two…” Ruby interrupted what she was saying to cluck her tongue, but she was smiling.
Mackey tracked the path of her gaze to see a tall man’s head and chest visible over the pass-through to the kitchen. The man dipped his head and nuzzled Scarlett’s nape.
She squealed and whipped around.
He promptly caught her to him and laid a scorching kiss on her smiling mouth.
Wow. He’d seen his old buddy Ian with a lot of expressions on his face, but he’d never seen him goofy. Gobsmacked by a woman, though admittedly a beautiful one.
“Don’t know what those two are waiting for,” Ruby muttered. “Surely my granddaughter can see there’s not a better man on this earth than Ian McLaren.”
Mackey couldn’t disagree. He’d been as tight with his fellow SEAL team members as any group of men can be—when you hold each other’s lives in your hands, you’d better know them as well as you know yourself. He’d loved his brothers in arms, had been willing to give his life for any one of them in a heartbeat.
But he’d never had a better friend than Ian—when they were kids, at least. He didn’t know Ian the grown man, not really, and Ian couldn’t begin to understand the world Mackey had inhabited.
Texas Wild: The Gallaghers of Sweetgrass Springs Book 2 Page 2