Once a Rancher

by Linda Lael Miller

  Jude had a day of work ahead of him and then he was going to get back in the game of living and experiencing life again. He walked into the bedroom and grabbed a T-shirt from a drawer and pulled it over his head. Shoving his arms into a Western shirt, he thought about Annabel. He liked her and enjoyed her company. He’d have to be dead from the waist down not to.

  As he sat on the bed to put on his boots, his eye caught the photo on his nightstand. He picked it up. It was a photo of him holding Zane on the day after he was born. Jude looked so young and scared cradling the tiny baby wrapped in a blue blanket. All the fear of that day showed in the sad darkness of his eyes. Memories floated across his mind like dark thunderclouds about to dump a lot more tears on him.

  What are we going to do, Jude? We don’t know anything about babies.

  Jude hadn’t had an answer. He’d been shell-shocked and trying to grasp what this meant for their future. So they’d done what naïve scared teenagers do: they ignored the problem in hopes it would go away. It didn’t.

  Paige started to show, but she’d never been slim and wore big bulky blouses so no one could tell she was pregnant. But he knew. They would sit in his truck and Paige talked about what they needed to do. Jude listened. But he never said anything.

  I’ve been talking to the school counselor and I told her about the baby. She knows about my premed scholarship to Berkeley and how I dreamed of this for years. She said I had choices and I should consider them.

  Choices? To him there were no choices. Just one—the baby was theirs and they had to raise it. But he never said so.

  Of course, abortion is out of the question. The counselor said adoption might be an option for us. She knows a couple who wants a baby. They’re educated and have a nice home and they would love and care for our baby, something that we can’t do.

  Why not? They were young, but his brother had raised his daughter on his own so why couldn’t Jude? But he never said so.

  We have to make a decision, Jude. We have to do something. The baby’s due in August and we graduate in May. What do you think?

  He’d shrugged.

  You always do that. You never say anything and that makes me so mad. This is your baby, too. What should we do?

  They were sitting in his truck at the high school and he stared out to the vacant parking lot. He knew what he would do, but so many things kept him silent. Paige had had an awful childhood and her dream was to get out of Horseshoe and live a better life. Her mother was an alcoholic and spent most of her time down at Rowdy’s Beer Joint drinking and picking up strange men.

  Many a night Paige would call Jude and he would go pick her up because she was scared of the men her mother brought home. One night a man had come into her room and she’d run outside and slept in the yard. Ever since then she’d been afraid when her mom had a man friend over. No one should have to live like that. Especially someone as sweet and gentle as Paige.

  Can you give up our child? It was the only thing he could say.

  I don’t know. She started to cry and he took her in his arms and told her that whatever she wanted to do he would be okay with it. He never said what he really thought.

  Paige took care of everything and the adoption was set up. Jude hated the whole thing and he tried not to think about it. As August drew near, Paige had gained a lot of weight all over and no one, not even her mother or sister, suspected she was pregnant. And everyone in Horseshoe knew Paige ate when her mom was on one of her drinking binges.

  A week before the due date Jude told his mother he was taking a few days off to get away with his friends. Instead, he picked up Paige and they drove to a clinic in Austin, one the adoptive parents had chosen, to have the baby. They would induce labor so Paige could have the baby early and continue on with her plans to go to California.

  Not a lot was said on the drive. Paige had made up her mind and Jude wanted her to have her dream. She deserved better than the life she had and he didn’t want to take that away from her.

  They went into an office and signed papers. They would sign the adoption papers after the birth. The adoptive parents’ lawyer had set everything up. They would never meet them nor would they see their child. Jude’s hand shook as he wrote his name and he fought tears that stung the back of his eyes. But he was a Rebel and he wouldn’t cry.

  They hugged tightly and Paige was taken to an operating room. He waited. And waited. He wanted to talk to his brother Quincy to tell him what was going on, but Quincy was in the Army and stationed in Afghanistan. And he couldn’t heap another burden on his mother. He had to endure this alone.

  It was hours later when the nurse came out and told him the baby had been born and he could see Paige. They had been asked if they wanted to see the baby and the counselor had advised against it. And against knowing the sex. It was best to make a clean break, she’d said. They would never know if they’d had a boy or a girl. Paige had listened to everything the woman had said and Jude had felt powerless.

  Paige lay in a bed, pale and crying. That shook him. He sat by her bed, holding her hand as she continued to cry. They didn’t say anything. Words now were useless. That night he slept in his truck and the next day, after they signed the adoption papers, he drove Paige back to Horseshoe.

  She had her things packed and they loaded them into his truck and drove away. Paige had already said goodbye to her sister so she didn’t look back. There was nothing left for her in the small town where she’d grown up. Not even Jude.

  Paige cried all the way to the airport. Being young and scared himself he had no idea how to comfort her. They’d made a decision and now they had to live with it. As he stopped at the terminal, she leaned over and hugged him and whispered, “I’m sorry.” Then she grabbed her bags from the backseat and ran into the airport. He never heard from her or saw her again.

  Placing the photo back on his nightstand, he drew a heavy breath. On the way back to the ranch Jude kept thinking I gave my child away. The closer he got to home the more those words hurt and the more he thought about his father, who always told him in the girls/sex speech to always take responsibility. Be a man. Be a Rebel. A Rebel never shirks his responsibility and I expect my boys to never let me down in that respect.

  He’d let his father down. He’d given away his child.

  By the time he crossed the cattle guard to Rebel Ranch he knew he couldn’t live with that decision. He thought he could, but he soon found that blood was thicker than any commitment he’d made to Paige.

  He drove to the barn looking for Falcon in hopes that he could help him decide what to do. But Falcon and four of his other brothers were working on the ranch. His mom’s truck was at the house and he quickly drove there. He had to tell her even though he’d rather take a beating than to see the look of disappointment on her face.

  She was in the kitchen fixing supper and he would always remember the smell of chicken fried steak wafting to him as he talked and told her where he’d been and what he’d done.

  Her response was unusual. “Have you been drinking, Jude? If this was Phoenix I would know it was a joke. But you…”

  He was known for his quietness and his responsible behavior so it was a shock to his mom.

  “No, Mom. I need your help. I can’t let them keep my child.”

  She removed her apron and slammed it onto the counter. “I’ll get my purse.” And then they were on their way back to Austin. His mom called her brother, Gabe, who was interning in a law firm, and he met them there.

  They asked to speak with the administrator of the hospital and he told them that the adoptive parents were already with the baby. He suggested that Jude think about his decision a little more. His child would have a mother and a father, something he couldn’t give it.

  Jude stood on shaky legs and looked the man square in the eye. “I want my kid.” This time he said it out loud.

  It was a private adoption so the administrator called the attorney handling the case. Once he arrived, Gabe asked to see the
contract Jude had signed. It clearly stated that the parents, Jude Rebel and Paige Wheeler, had ten days to change their minds. The man then said they would need Paige’s consent. Gabe pointed out the contract didn’t say that and if the baby wasn’t brought to them soon, he would call the authorities.

  The attorney and Gabe continued to argue about Jude’s rights. Jude was sick to his stomach and had to go to the bathroom to throw up. His nerves were about to get the best of him. As he came out of the bathroom, he saw Mrs. Nancy Carstairs, the counselor who had advised Paige, standing at the end of the hall. That threw him. He didn’t understand what she was doing at the hospital.

  He went back to Gabe and mentioned it to him. Gabe flipped through some papers he’d gotten from the adoption attorney and Gabe gave him an answer: Tom and Nancy Carstairs were the adoptive parents.

  Rage filled Jude. Ms. Carstairs had given Paige advice that would make it easier to adopt their baby. She continued to feed her bad information to make sure Paige gave away their child. He’d stomped down the hall to Ms. Carstairs and he lost his cool for the first time in his life. Gabe had to pull him away and his mom had to calm them down. He wanted to strangle the woman for what she’d done to their lives.

  Gabe told the attorney and the administrator if the baby wasn’t brought to them immediately, he would file charges against Nancy Carstairs for coercing Paige Wheeler into giving away her child. And he would notify the school board in Horseshoe of her deceit. And he would also bring charges against the hospital.

  The Carstairs caved and walked out of the hospital. The nurse in charge of the newborns said she would bring the baby, but not until Jude had a proper car seat and items to care for his child.

  His mother went out shopping while he and Gabe waited. It was the longest wait of his life. His mother had come back by the time the doors opened and the nurse came out carrying a baby wrapped in a blue blanket. He had a son. His breath caught and it took a moment before he could breathe again. He had a son.

  The days that followed weren’t easy. He learned to change diapers, prepare bottles and wake at the smallest of cries. He followed his brother Falcon’s example and raised his kid—because that’s what fathers did. And no one was ever going to take his child again. Because he’d said so.

  “Dad.” Zane ran through the bathroom they shared into Jude’s room. “The entry form for the race is supposed to be in today’s paper. If Uncle Falcon doesn’t bring it in, can I take your truck and go get it at the mailbox?”

  His son loved horses and he was planning to enter the Horseshoe race at the end of April. That was all that was on his mind.

  Jude stood and stuffed his shirt into his jeans. “I’ll get it.” He looked at his son standing there in nothing but his boxer shorts. His dark hair fell into his eyes and he brushed it aside as he often did. All arms and legs, he was going to be a gangly teenager just like Jude. His dark eyes and facial features were all Jude, too. But his sweet nature, which endeared him to everyone, he got from his mother. “Get dressed. It’s time for breakfast.”

  “Okay, Dad.” Zane dashed toward the bathroom. “Don’t forget about the form.”

  As if Jude could forget. Zane had talked about the race nonstop since before Christmas and he’d been practicing with his paint horse Running Bear almost every day. Jude felt sure there wasn’t a horse in the county that could beat him.

  He made his way down the stairs to the kitchen where his mom was cooking breakfast. The smell of bacon frying whetted his appetite. He didn’t know how he would’ve raised Zane if it hadn’t been for his mom. She didn’t criticize or judge him. She just pitched in and helped him and showed him how to be a father. The only drawback was he was thirty-one years old and still living with his mother. That he could handle. Not having his son with him was something he couldn’t.

  “Mornin’, Mom,” he said, snatching a piece of bacon before pouring a cup of coffee.

  She turned from the stove. “Mornin’, son. Is Zane up?”

  “Yes, and I didn’t even have to wake him. He’s so excited about this race that it’s all he thinks about, even in his sleep.” He took a couple of sips of coffee and placed his cup on the counter. “I’m going to the mailbox to get the paper so he can have the form to fill out or he’s going to drive us all crazy.”

  Before he could get to the door, Falcon and Quincy, two of his brothers, came in. Quincy had the paper in his hand. He held it up. “I brought something for Zane. Is he up?”

  Jude picked up his cup. “Yes, and he’s ready for that form. He’s saved up the entry fee and he’s counting the days. Actually, he has a calendar in his room and he’s marking them off.”

  “Who wants breakfast?” his mom asked.

  “I had breakfast with Leah,” Falcon replied. “Our children were asleep and it was nice.”

  “How about you, Quincy?”

  “Elias had a late night so I fixed breakfast for Grandpa.” Quincy filled a cup with coffee and sat at the table.

  “Your grandpa can come over here and eat if he wants breakfast,” their mom snapped in a tone they knew well. “You have a wife and you need to be home with her and not pampering that old man.” His mom and grandfather had a strained relationship that was difficult for the whole family.

  Quincy stretched his shoulders. “Mom, my wife was up at 5 a.m. to be at work at six. We had coffee and went our separate ways. But we took time for ourselves, if you know what I mean.”

  “Quincy,” his mother scolded. But Quincy only smiled. It was good to see his brother happy.

  Jude filled his plate with bacon, eggs and biscuits and sat at the table.

  Falcon flipped through the hometown paper, which usually had nothing in it but tidbits of gossip. Nothing ever happened in Horseshoe, Texas. But Falcon slid the paper over to Jude, pointing to a page.

  Jude took a swallow of coffee, pushed his plate away and picked up the paper. The headline hit him between the eyes like a two-by-four.

  Hometown Girl Made Good Returns.

  Jude quickly scanned the rest of the story. Paige’s mother had died and she was coming home for the funeral. Oh, man. He never expected this. Darlene Wheeler had fallen and broken her hip not long after Paige had left for California. Her daughter Staci put her in a rehab center in Austin and from there she was moved to a nursing facility. That was the gossip Jude had heard.

  A knot the size of a baseball formed in his stomach.

  Never Never Land pushed to the forefront of his mind. The Wheelers still owned a house in Horseshoe and Staci paid the taxes on it. Jude wasn’t sure why they never sold it. Twelve years had come full circle and it was time to tell Paige what he’d done.

  That was his first thought.

  The second was there was no way in hell. Zane was his and he had to think about his son now. About what this would do to him. Jude had always told him the truth. Zane was about five when he’d first asked about his mother. He wanted to know why he didn’t have one. He almost thought that was normal since his cousin Eden hadn’t had one, either. But Zane was smart and he soon realized that most of his friends had mothers.

  At that time Jude had glossed over most of the story and said Zane’s mother had wanted to further her education so left town.

  As he grew older, Zane asked more questions and Jude decided then not to lie to him because he knew his father would never have lied to him. Again, he told him how young they were and how they didn’t know anything about babies and they had decided to give him up for adoption so he could have a good life. Jude tried to sound matter-of-fact about what had happened, but Zane knew his mother had given him away.

  He glanced at the paper one more time. Paige was returning to Horseshoe. How did he tell her what he’d done?

  Or did he need to?

  She’d made her decision and he’d made his.

  But… That but carried a whole lot of guilt that was gnawing away at his insides.

  Paige Wheeler, Zane’s mother, would be back in Horseshoe
.

  Soon.

  The knot tightened.

  Don’t miss TEXAS REBELS: JUDE

  by Linda Warren, available wherever

  Harlequin American Romance books

  and ebooks are sold.

  Copyright © 2016 by Linda Warren

  ISBN-13: 9781459292529

  Once a Rancher

  Copyright © 2016 by Hometown Girl Makes Good, Inc.

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.

  www.Harlequin.com