Texas-Sized Trouble

by Barb Han

  “We might disagree about his mother but you’re right about one thing. My brother will always have me,” she defended. She stopped him from going down the neglected child road with Nicholas.

  “It’s not the same as a mother or father being present and you know it.” His voice was a frustrating sea of calm.

  “Why not? I probably should’ve petitioned the courts years ago. I’m old enough now and I have plenty of money to fight for him.” Ryder was striking a chord of truth and it grated on her.

  “Which your father would cut off the second he knew you were involved with his bastard son.” The words were harsh and she knew that he’d used that term to shock her. It was exactly what her father would call Nicholas. And no matter how much it pained her to admit, her father would see this as black-and-white. She had to think that there was still decency in him, but that part of her was shrinking, especially since she had to confront the reality of the way she feared he’d treat her when he learned of her pregnancy.

  “Let me put this to you another way,” Ryder said.

  “I’m listening,” she said, doing her best to calm the tremors in her arms. Hormones made her body do crazy things, not the least of which was shaking when she got angry or nervous.

  “Have you ever asked Nicholas if he wanted to leave his mother?” His voice was a study in calmness.

  “I don’t have to. I see how she treats him with my own eyes,” she fired back, her defenses on high alert.

  “You just made my point. You can’t do what’s best for a teenager without actually consulting with him to find out what he really wants. He may not think he needs what you’re offering and you might end up pushing him further away with your good intentions,” Ryder said, and he was making more sense than she wanted to admit.

  Faith wouldn’t share the fact that she’d been plotting and secretly saving money for years. Her father was watchful of her finances. She wasn’t crazy enough to think that her father’s good will would last forever. She had an overseas account—a safety net—that she’d been building for her and Nicholas. She might actually have to use it now in order to protect her own child. Her father would cut her off in every way possible and freeze her personal accounts the minute he heard the news about the baby. She had no job outside of working for the family, and so he could easily cut off her livelihood. Faith couldn’t imagine that her mother would stand up to the man, not even on her behalf. Her mother wasn’t strong like Faith and she had always issued her mother a free pass in that department. The pregnancy was starting to give Faith a new perspective. She could acknowledge that she felt even more protective of Nicholas. Ryder’s words hit her full force. Was she being unrealistic in thinking that she could make better decisions for Nicholas than he could make on his own? Or worse, had she turned into her father?

  The realization startled her because she knew firsthand how stifling it was to have other people make her decisions. What she was thinking was no different. What a slap in the face that thought was. Ryder was being logical while she was being fueled by sentiment.

  “My hormones make me feel like every emotion I have is on steroids and I may have taken some of that out on his mother,” she admitted. The truth left a bitter taste in her mouth. “I know you understand the need to take care of your own, Ryder. I’ve seen your relationship with your brothers, especially with Joshua, and how well you take care of family. Surely you can at least see where I’m coming from.”

  Ryder didn’t immediately pick up his fork. He just sat there staring at the food, contemplating what she’d said, and that was the best that she could ask for.

  “Under the circumstances, I can see where you’d feel overprotective of Nicholas,” he finally said. “While I don’t have a lot of experience with pregnant women, we’ve had a baby boom at the ranch and I can see how different my brothers are now. They’re more defensive of everyone and everything around them. I’m sure it’s primal. Nature’s way of taking care of these helpless little creatures. But it’s a fine line to becoming overbearing and one you don’t want to cross.”

  “Point taken.” She paused a beat. “I heard about Dallas, Tyler and Joshua. I don’t even know where to start. Congratulations to all of them.” Three out of six O’Brien men were engaged and in settled relationships in various stages of wedding planning, or so she’d heard. Her direct line into that family had been severed when she’d been forced to walk away from Ryder.

  “The ranch has turned into a kid farm,” he said with a laugh, his easy O’Brien charm returning—that same charm that caused a thousand butterflies to take flight in her stomach.

  “Is that a bad thing?” She couldn’t read him when it came to his feelings toward kids.

  “No. Not for my brothers. They seem happier than they’ve ever been. Maybe that’s why I’m feeling tenderhearted right now, so I’ll let it slide that you basically ran off our only real connection to what might’ve happened to Nicholas.” He wasn’t exactly offering forgiveness, but she’d take what she could get from him under the circumstances and be grateful for the progress. Ryder was back on board and he was speaking to her.

  “If you’re being honest with yourself—” he held his hands up in the surrender position “—and I can tell you’ve been taking this seriously, then you have to consider the possibility that your father might be involved.”

  “I wondered how long it would take you to get to that accusation. For a minute, I didn’t think you’d stoop that low.” A bolt of anger shot lightning-quick down her spine as she remembered just how much Ryder disliked her family.

  “It’s worth considering,” he defended.

  “Not to me, it isn’t,” she said.

  “What makes you so sure he’s not involved?”

  “First of all, my father might be a cheating jerk, which makes him a scumbag and bad husband, but he’d never hurt one of his own,” she said, her pulse rising as she defended him. Granted, her father wasn’t father-of-the-year material but she hated how easy it was for Ryder to sling that accusation. This situation was back to the McCabes being the bad guys.

  “Unless he doesn’t consider Nicholas part of the fold. In which case, he wouldn’t give a hoot what happened to him, and I doubt Celeste would give us information about any recent exchanges she’s had with him if there have been any,” Ryder said calmly.

  “Nicholas is as much of a McCabe as I am whether anyone wants to acknowledge him or not,” she cried, voice rising.

  “To you. Maybe. To your father...” He rolled his shoulders and his right brow shot up.

  “He wouldn’t do something like this,” she repeated, and she had to believe it was true.

  “While I’m digging around I plan to investigate every angle. And that’s one.” He set his fork down, signaling that he was done with breakfast.

  “Where to next?” she asked stiffly. She should’ve seen this coming. It always came down to this, to the fact that the McCabes were horrible people. Granted, it didn’t help that her father and brothers seemed eager to support that notion. She brought her hand to rest on her belly. Not all McCabes were horrible people.

  Ryder motioned toward her plate. “We don’t go anywhere until you finish eating.”

  * * *

  RYDER PULLED IN front of the only house with pink siding in a three-block radius of Celeste’s place in either direction. It was similar to hers, bungalow-style and in the same neighborhood a few streets over just as Celeste had said.

  “Let me take the lead,” he said to Faith, who’d been quiet on the ride over, and he hoped that she was seriously considering what he’d said. Without a doubt, Hollister McCabe could be involved and if not directly then indirectly. He knew that she couldn’t exactly ask her father outright without giving away the fact that she’d been in touch with Nicholas all these years. None of which would matter to her if she truly believed that her
father wasn’t involved and/or would be willing to help.

  “Okay. I won’t say a word.” She held up her hands trying to mimic the Scout’s honor pledge. Her eyes tried so desperately to convey sincerity.

  It shouldn’t make him laugh. He recovered quickly.

  “You better take this seriously,” he warned.

  She rolled her eyes at him. “Like I wouldn’t. I was trying to show you that I’m not just a raging head case.”

  “Keep the hormones in check and we’ll get answers faster. Hormones in check. That’s your mantra,” he said as flatly as he could. It wouldn’t do either one of them any good to get too comfortable. Once this was over, they were going to have a sit-down about the pregnancy and Ryder’s role in his child’s life. Working together given their current state of mistrust wouldn’t be easy, but he was seeing firsthand just how important it would be to get along for their child’s sake and he was willing to make a few concessions to ensure that happened.

  “Got it.” The amusement left her brown eyes and he did his best not to let it affect him. She was only doing what he said, taking this seriously and showing that she wouldn’t do anything to get in the way of their investigation.

  Ryder ushered her to the door of 225 Oak Drive, which had a similar wood and glass door combination as Nicholas’s house except this one had a shade so he couldn’t see inside. There was no screen door at this address. He figured he had a better chance of a person answering if they saw a woman standing there rather than a grown man, so he put Faith front and center while he moved off to the side.

  Three knocks went unanswered.

  “We can come back,” he said, realizing it was close to eight o’clock in the morning and probably too early for anyone in the house to be awake and moving.

  “Wouldn’t Kyle have to get up for school?” she asked.

  “Good point. Maybe he already left. I have no idea when kids have to be at school,” Ryder said as he heard movement coming from inside. “Hold on.”

  The door cracked open and a smiling teen with tousled hair blinked his eyes open. Disappointment caused him to frown when he opened the door wide enough to see Ryder. “My aunt’s not here.”

  Ryder nudged Faith, trying to communicate the message that she should take the lead.

  “Are you Kyle?” Faith asked.

  “Yeah,” he said, leaning against the door. And then a scared-doe look passed behind his eyes and he stiffened. “Are you truant officers or something? It’s not even time for school yet.”

  “No, believe me, it’s nothing like that. I’m trying to find Nicholas Bowden. Have you seen him around?” she asked.

  Recognition dawned. “Oh, you know Nicholas? Yeah, he’s a friend of mine. I haven’t seen him in like...forever.”

  “Do you remember how many days it’s been?” she asked. “Two? Three?”

  “It was last weekend, so, like, what...three days.”

  “Are you two close?” she asked. “Is it normal for you to go that long without talking?”

  “Is Nicholas in trouble or something?” Kyle asked. A worry line dented his forehead.

  “No, nothing like that,” Ryder interjected when Faith seemed to blank on an excuse. He put his arm around her waist, ignoring the fizz of energy that came with touching her. “We’re related, well, she is. We’re driving through town and his mom thought you might’ve seen Nicholas. He’s not picking up his cell.”

  The teen’s expression morphed as he tossed his head back. “Got it. No. I haven’t seen Nicholas for three days, maybe more. Not since he and Hannah starting getting hot and heavy. He hasn’t been returning my texts, either.”

  “Hannah?”

  “Yeah, she’s some chick we met, well, he met, while we were hanging out down at Wired.” He glanced from Faith to Ryder like they should know what that meant. “It’s a place where they host LAN parties.”

  They looked at each other blankly.

  “Come on. You don’t know what a LAN party is?” he whined, sounding every bit the teenager that he was.

  “Afraid not,” Faith said with a smile and a shrug.

  “It’s a gaming thing.” He brought his hands up in the air and moved them like he was typing on a keyboard. “Computers.”

  “We’ll take your word for it,” Faith said with the same smile that had been right on target at melting Ryder’s reservations about the two of them dating. He didn’t want to admit just then how much that smile played a role in his attraction to her. Her bright eyes, intelligence and sense of humor had been a welcome surprise, considering all his preconceived notions about her. She’d been quiet in school and he could admit now that he’d believed she was stuck on herself, which couldn’t have been more off base. His experience with McCabes came from knowing her brothers. Once he got to know her, he realized just how wrong he’d been. Faith and her brothers were polar opposites. Ryder had had a few run-ins with Jason, the youngest. That kid had been born ready to fight. O’Briens didn’t start trouble. They didn’t back away from it, either. If trouble was stupid enough to snare one of them, the response came in the form of six angry brothers. McCabes had never been good at math or anything else that required using the head put on their shoulders as far as Ryder could tell. So when he’d run into Faith near the fishing cabin and they started spending time together, he’d been most surprised at her intelligence and wit, which had only made her more beautiful. The fact that he’d felt lost and alone at the time, with darkness all around him, had drawn him to her light even more.

  Kyle also seemed to notice her looks, because the kid was standing there beaming at her. It shouldn’t grate on Ryder’s nerves as much as it did.

  “You know where the girl you mentioned lives?” Ryder interrupted.

  “Sorry. Can’t help you.” The kid’s eyes never left Faith.

  “What about her cell number or social media?” Ryder asked.

  “Sorry.” Kyle shook his head. “This was the first time I’d seen her, and she went for my friend.”

  Ryder understood the logic. Kyle wouldn’t try to connect with her after his friend got together with her, which didn’t help their investigation in the least.

  “How about you? You got a cell?” Ryder asked, and he was starting to get annoyed. He suppressed the urge to put his arm around Faith’s shoulders and show the kid just how far she was out of his league. It was stupid and childish. Ryder knew that on some level. But primal urge had him needing to keep everyone from the male species away from her. He lied to himself and said it was because she was carrying his child. That he was protective of the baby, and not territorial about her.

  “Uh, yeah. Sure. Hold on.” The kid disappeared and then returned a minute later. He’d wet his hair and run a quick comb through it. Now that made Ryder crack a smile. She’s way out of your league, kid. And not even when you get hair on your chest will she give a second look.

  Being stunning had never been Faith’s problem. All the good looks in the world couldn’t replace honesty or the fact that her last name was McCabe—and everything that brought along with it. Not that Ryder had minded the second part once he got past the initial surprise that she was nothing like her family. Sure, there’d been a burst of adrenaline from being with someone he knew better than to want at first. But that had died the second he got to know her and started having real feelings for her. Real feelings? They’d sure felt like it based on the sting he felt when she walked away.

  And she’d rewarded him by returning when she needed him for something. He hadn’t pegged her for the manipulative type. Like his dad had always said, “When people show you who they really are, believe them.”

  He could be objective about Nicholas, whereas Faith couldn’t. Knowing that her brother had met a girl changed his thoughts about what might be happening.

  “Where was the LAN party?�
� Ryder asked.

  “At Marcus’s place on Lone Oak. It’s called Wired and it’s about ten to fifteen minutes from here,” Kyle said.

  “Can you describe Hannah?” Faith seemed to catch on.

  “Wow, yeah, she’s a knockout. Black hair, brown eyes and—” he glanced from Faith to Ryder “—you know, great bod.”

  “And she’s fifteen?” Based on Faith’s frown, Hannah didn’t match the type she thought her brother would go for.

  Kyle shrugged and shot a look like why would she ask that question?

  “Will you let us know if you hear from him?” Ryder asked. This interview was a dead end. Ryder exchanged cell numbers with the kid and walked Faith back to the truck.

  “That was a bust,” Faith said as soon as Ryder took his seat.

  “We’re certain there’s a girl involved now. We didn’t know that before,” he said. That information would change things for Ryder if it hadn’t been for the forged note.

  “His mother mentioned a girl but it must not be the same one since his friend has no idea who she is. Where does that leave us?” she asked on a frustrated sigh.

  “Speaking of Celeste, I want to circle back and drop my cell number in her mailbox. She needs to have a way to contact us if she hears anything.”

  “Good idea,” Faith said.

  “We might find out more about the girl if we hang around Wired,” he said.

  “It’s a waste of time pursuing her. Nicholas would’ve told me if he liked someone,” she said on a sharp sigh.

  “You sure about that?” Ryder had his doubts.

  And his mind kept circling back to her family being involved in the disappearance. He just couldn’t put his finger on why or how.