A Home for Haley (6 page)

“Too loud. They bark when they’re
protecting something. They huff—like they’re doing now—when they’re calling
pups.”

“Maybe I should start huffing with
Ryan. See if he pays attention.”

Ethan’s robust laughter filled the
night air, and it pleased her. “Well, well, my shy new nanny is not always
serious,” he said, nudging her with his shoulder.”

She shot him a quelling look. “Of
course I’m not always serious.” He cocked his head and studied her. She looked
away and leaned back against the swing, sighing. “Okay, I have to admit, it’s
been a long time since I felt like kidding about anything.”

“I understand.” He took her hand.
“I wasn’t being critical. I was glad to hear you joking. It becomes you.”

She swallowed hard, suddenly
fighting back tears. “I feel guilty when I have fun,” she finally managed to
say around her tight throat.

Ethan reached over and rubbed the
back of her neck. “I did, too, for several years after Tommy died.”

Haley jerked away from his touch.
“Dale’s
not
dead.”

“I didn’t say he was. I was going
to say that it would be even more difficult for you because you haven’t had
closure. You don’t know for certain what’s happened with your husband.”

Tears threatened to spill from
Haley’s eyes. “I know he’s still alive. He’s got to be.” She surged out of the
swing. “I need to go to bed.” She started to retrieve her coffee cup.

“Leave it. I’ll take it in.” He
caught her arm. “It’s okay, Haley. Really. It’s okay to enjoy life.”

Barely holding back tears, she
hurried into the house and up the stairs, telling herself he was right. She
didn’t need to feel guilty for having a little fun. She hurried into her and
Ryan’s bedroom and closed the door behind her. Ryan was sound asleep. She went
to him and stroked his soft curls. “I wish your daddy could have seen you fish
today,” she whispered. “He would have been so proud of you.”

Tears burned her throat as she
changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. She squeezed her eyes shut and
thought of Dale, and like she did every night, she prayed for his safe return.
When she finally drifted off to sleep, she dreamed of her and Dale and Ryan
being a family again. But somewhere in the middle of the dream, Dale
disappeared and she and Ryan were, once again, all alone.

****

Ethan stood by the horse corral and
listened to the sounds of night, wishing he hadn’t upset Haley. He’d only been
trying to help, trying to show her that life did go on and would get better,
even when you didn’t feel like anything would ever be okay again.

He ran a hand over his face and
gazed toward Tommy’s grave. He knew how Haley felt and he also knew it was
normal, but he probably should have kept his mouth shut. The chance was so slim
that Haley’s husband was alive, it was practically nonexistent, but if he were
in Haley’s shoes, he wouldn’t give up hope, either.

He should call his buddy Chris at
the Pentagon, and see if he could dig up some information about Dale Donahue.
It was a long shot, but worth it. Haley deserved to know the truth. She not
only deserved the truth, she needed it. His own grief when his dad and Tommy
died had been pure and simple, no hope mingled with his all-consuming sadness,
and it had been torture. When his uncle had been killed in Nam, he thought his
Aunt Jo might fall apart. To this day he hated thinking about that. Haley deserved
the chance to have a good life, and she couldn’t do that living in limbo. No
one could.

And Ryan. His chest tightened just
thinking of that little boy. He deserved a mother who was happy and carefree, not
forever suspended in a web of hope that her husband would miraculous appear.

He would call Chris first thing
Monday and get the ball rolling. If Dale were dead, at least Haley would be
surrounded by people who cared about her while she dealt with the finality of
her husband’s death.

“Damn,” Ethan muttered, thinking
how much he liked Haley. She was a remarkable woman and she was fast becoming a
friend. He walked across the yard and climbed onto the top of the corral fence,
remembering how comfortable he’d felt with her this evening. He couldn’t
believe he’d spilled his guts to her about his ex. He hadn’t talked about Elisa
to anyone except his own family. And he’d kept even that to a minimum.

A loud scream splintered the night
air. The horses whinnied and bunched together. Ethan jumped down from the
fence. “Whoa there. Easy. Easy boy.” Keeping his voice low and soothing, he
patted each horse, wondering what the hell was going on out in the hills.
Another scream filled the night. One horse reared, pawing the air. “Whoa, easy
does it,” he murmured, approaching the frightened animal.

Hank raced out of his bunk at the
back of the barn in jeans and bare feet, holding a rifle and looking like a mad
rattlesnake ready to strike. Even bare footed he was several inches taller than
Ethan.

“Unless I had way too much whiskey
tonight, Boss, that was the scream of a cougar.”

Ethan plopped his hands on his hips.
“Well you musta had too much whiskey because we don’t have cougars in Tennessee.”

Hank’s blue eyes narrowed. “We had
that damn renegade mountain lion less than a year ago. And old man Amos has
one. The idiot. Keeps it in a pen.”

Ethan cursed under his breath. “It
better not get my ostriches or old man Amos is really gonna be really old when
I’m done with him.”

Hank raised his rifle at a sound
behind the corral. A woman squealed. “Don’t shoot. Please don’t shoot,” she
whispered, shrinking back.

“What are you doing out here?”
Ethan growled at Haley, irritation climbing up his throat. Damn, she should
have stayed in the house, not come out here where there might be danger.

“I heard an awful scream and saw
you when I peeked out the kitchen window. Hi,” she said to Hank. “I’m Haley,
the new nanny.”

Hank nodded. “Hank Bradley. Nice to
meet you. We’d better get the ostriches penned up, Ethan, before that cougar
has one for dinner.”

Haley’s mouth fell open. “Is that
what made the awful scream?” she asked, hugging herself.

Ethan walked to her. “Nah, just one
of Hank’s women.”

“He thinks he’s funny.” Hank
started back toward his bunk. “I prefer the quiet type, Boss. I keep telling
you that.” Haley laughed and Hank looked back over his broad shoulder at her.
“You a screamer?”

She flushed hot as a steaming
kettle. Ethan could all but see the heat rolling off of her.

“Don’t mind him,” Ethan said. “He’s
got no manners. Get dressed, Hank, so Haley doesn’t have a heat stroke staring
at you, then we’ll go round up the ostriches. Tomorrow, though, we’re going on
a hunt.”

“No need for that. I’ll set a live
trap tonight.” Hank stepped into the barn.

Haley jumped when one of the horses
snorted. “There really are cougars out here?”

“Not supposed to be, but Hank’s
positive that’s what we heard. I’d have to agree with him even though it
doesn’t seem very likely.”

She grabbed the front of her pink cotton
robe and squeezed it. “The kids and I walked all over the place today,” she
reminded him.

Ethan’s heart all but jumped out of
his chest. “Holy hell.” He glanced toward the hills. “Hank’s bait will probably
catch the cat tonight. I imagine it’s hungry. But stay near the house tomorrow.
Ryan’s just the right size to attract a cougar.”

Haley’s hand flew to her throat.
“Can’t we just go back to the city first thing tomorrow?”

He studied her face, protectiveness
surging through him “Sure. We’ll head out right after breakfast, let Hank take
care of the problems here. But now I’ve got to go help him move the ostriches
into the barn. You get inside the house.”

She hesitated. “Please let me know
when you’re back inside safe.”

Her concern touched him. “No need
to worry about me. Hank’s got his rifle and he’s tougher than any cougar.”

She glanced toward the barn. “He’s
big and gruff.”

Ethan laughed. “Gruff or not, most
women fawn all over him. The big lug’s got a heart of gold. Trouble is it’s
usually for animals, not people. He’s not too keen on people.”

“Because?”

“Because they’re too damn nosey,”
Hank answered coming out of the barn. “You ready, Boss?”

“I wish you’d quit calling me
that.”

Hank grinned. “I like to irritate
you.”

“That’s the damn truth.” Ethan
motioned Haley back to the house. He watched until she shut the front door
behind her. He’d just as soon shoot that cougar as trap it. And to hell with
Amos if it was his. Ethan wasn’t about to let his family be in danger. And that
included Haley. He couldn’t explain it, but no way would he let any harm come
to her.

“Follow me, everyone. I’ve got
something to show you.” Picking up Ryan, Ethan led the crew outside and over to
Hank’s red pick-up. A huge mountain lion paced inside a large cage in the back
of the truck.

“Oh my God.” Haley stopped dead in
her tracks and grabbed Ryan out of Ethan’s arms. Her eyes rounded with fear and
awe as she hugged her son close. “He’s huge.”

“Yes
she
is. Don’t go any
closer. She’s scared and she’s hungry. Hank caught her early this morning, but
the bait wasn’t enough to satisfy her appetite.”

Dottie crept closer and pointed to
the cougar with her cane. “That’s Amos’s cat, Lucille.”

“You positive?” Ethan asked. Dottie
edged forward. “Don’t get any closer, Mom.”

Dottie stopped. “She’s missing a
toe on her back left foot. After the county picnic this summer, Amos took me to
see her. She was as gentle as a kitten. I even petted her.”

“Well, don’t pet her now,” Hank
ordered, walking up with a slab of meat, cracking the cage door, and shoving it
through. She snarled and grabbed the meat.

Hank cursed under his breath. “Amos
and I are gonna have to have us a little talk this morning. He should have told
people his cat got out. She shouldn’t be this hungry if she’s only been roaming
around for the night.”

“I wonder how she got loose,” Dottie
said.

“Doesn’t matter,” Hank said. “She
did and she’s dangerous. Lucky for us she hadn’t quite killed the lamb she
grabbed last night when I showed up, or else the live trap I set after she
darted away would never have lured her in. I figured she might be some idiot’s
pet, because if she’d known what she was doing when she grabbed that lamb, it
would have been dead in a New York second.”

He shoved his cowboy hat up with a finger
then motioned toward the barn with a nod. “The lamb’s in there with a broken
leg and a horrific slash on the side of its throat. Doubt it makes it. Riley’s,
gonna be madder than a stuck pig when I tell him about his lamb. This cat needs
to be in a zoo.”

Haley took a step closer. The
mountain lion eyed her and flicked the end of her tail, biting down harder on
her meal and snarling. “I kind of feel sorry for her.”

“Me too, but Hank’s right.” Ethan
put a hand on Kayla’s shoulder. “I want to show you what her tracks look like,
so you’ll know if you ever run across them again to get back home as fast as
your legs will carry you. You, too, Haley.”

“I’ll pass on any more hikes, thank
you very much.” She hugged her son so tight he pushed against her and scowled.
She eased her grip.

Ryan waved at the cat. “Hi kitty.”

“Not a kitty,” Ethan corrected. “I
can’t say I blame you, Haley, for not wanting to hike anymore, but you need to
know this anyway. Just in case.”

“Just in case what?”

Ethan ran a hand over his face. “In
case she gets loose again and comes close to the house. Now let’s go look at
the paw tracks.”

Haley pursed her lips. “While we’re
at it, why don’t you show me bear tracks, too?”

Ethan hoisted Kayla onto his
shoulders. “We rarely have bears in Tennessee.”

“So Dottie told me, but we’re not
supposed to have cougars in this part of Tennessee, either.” Haley looked
pointedly at the cat.

“She’s got you there, Boss.” Hank
climbed into the pick-up. “I’ll go deliver her back home. If you hear shouting,
don’t concern yourself. I think I can hold my own against a sixty-five-year old
man.”

“He’s sixty six,” Dottie chimed in.

Ethan raised his eyebrows. “Care to
share any other statistics with us, Mom? Favorite foods? Waist size? Good
dancer?”

“Fried chicken. Don’t know his
waist size, but I’d guess around thirty eight, and I can’t dance with my bad
knee, so how would I know?” She plopped her hands on her hips. “And he loves
that cat, Hank, so don’t be mean to him.”

“I wouldn’t dream of being mean to
an old fart like him, Dottie, but he’s got to listen to reason. Someone could
have been hurt, maybe killed. This animal is wild by nature and she was hungry.
Do I need to spell it out?”

Dottie shook her head. Hank slammed
the pick-up door shut and started the truck, then pulled out.

Ethan shot his mom a wicked grin.
“I didn’t know you and Amos were such good friends.”

“There’s lots you don’t know about
me.” Dottie glared at him. “Amos is lonely, and we talk some. That’s about it.
But I know he loves Lucy, and she normally wouldn’t hurt a fly. She purrs when
you pet her.”

“She probably purrs when she’s
chewing on you, too.” Ethan started toward the field. “Let’s go look at cougar
tracks. All of you need to know what they look like.”

“You honestly would let Kayla hike
again?” Haley asked, as she followed Ethan.

“What’s she supposed to do? Stay
cooped up all day whenever we come here?”

“Don’t bite your nanny’s head off,”
Dottie ordered. “She’s right. Kayla needs to stay close until you know Lucy can’t
get loose again.”

“Cougar Kitty will be in a zoo if I
have any say about this. And I won’t let Kayla, or any of you, hike until this
gets settled.”

Kayla tugged on her father’s hand.
“I want to see her paw prints.”

Ryan kicked his legs, hitting
Haley’s stomach with each kick. “Me too.”

She lowered him to the ground, but
kept a firm grip on his hand. “Why don’t we go on a safari next weekend? That
might be a tad safer.”

“Great idea.” Ethan started up the
hill. “I’ll look into it.”

Rolling her eyes at Dottie, Haley
followed Ethan into the woods to get her first, and hopefully last, look at a
cougar’s paw print.

****

 “I promise I’ll make an appointment
for my surgery after the family reunion.” Dottie stared at Ethan across his
mahogany desk, all but daring him to dispute her, and he knew better than to
utter a word. “I think that’s fair,” she continued. “After all, I want to enjoy
the family reunion and I wouldn’t have time to recuperate before then. What can
a few more weeks hurt?”

“Hopefully nothing.” Eyeing his
mother, Ethan stacked some scattered papers into a pile, and then shoved them
to a corner of the desk. “Let me know as soon as the date is set for surgery.”

Dottie let out a long-suffering
sigh. “I guess I don’t have much choice but to tell you, seeing as how you’ll
have to take me to the hospital.”

“Good point.” She narrowed her gaze
at him. He held up his hands in surrender. “Don’t look at me like that. I saw
you stumble this morning in the kitchen.”

Dottie glared at him. “Ryan’s toy
was in my way. I tripped on it.”

“Then I’d best tell Haley she needs
to keep things picked up better.”

“Don’t you dare. She works herself
to death as it is. Besides, Ryan is my buddy.”

In other words, you didn’t
really trip over his toy
. “You’re not going to be able to play with him
before long, Mother, so please make the appointment. Get this over with.”

Shooting him daggers, Dottie snatched
up her phone from the desk and called her surgeon. After leaving a message, she
ended the call. “Satisfied?”

“I’ll be more satisfied when
they’ve set the date.” Ethan stood and walked around his desk. Reaching down,
he took her hand. “I’m just trying to take care of you, Mom. Kayla and I need
you. And so do Ryan and Haley. I think she feels close to you.”

“And me to her.” Dottie’s brown
eyes warmed. “She’s such a sweet woman, and she’s had way too much to bear
these last few years.”

“Yes she has, but I think it’s
helping her to be with us. Don’t you?”

“Absolutely. We care and she knows
it.” Dottie shook her head and drew in a deep breath. “I wish you’d hear
something about her husband. You and I both know what it’s like to lose someone
we love. I don’t think I could stand the not knowing. Haley’s not sleeping well.
I’ve heard her in the kitchen in the middle of the night several times.”

Ethan dropped his mother’s hand and
plopped down on the matching, over-stuffed leather chair beside her. “I didn’t
know that. When I called Chris last Monday about her husband, he said it would
probably take a while to find out anything, and he couldn’t make any
guarantees.”

Dottie wrung her hands. “I sure
hope you’re doing the right thing.”

“Me, too.” Ethan pondered his
action for about the millionth time. “It’s what you and I would want, but
Haley? I’m not so sure. I do know this, though. She can’t move on with her life
when she’s in limbo.”

Ethan’s phone rang and Ethan
unclipped it from his belt. His sister’s voice greeted him. “Hi Big Bro. Is Mom
there?”

“I’m fine, thank you for asking.
And yes, Mom’s here. She’s sitting in my office. We were talking about the family
reunion and her surgery.”

“She’s going to do it?”

“Yep. She just called her doctor to
get it scheduled.”

“Good news. Hey, I talked to your
new nanny yesterday. She seems nice.”

“She is nice. We’re all excited to
see you, Ashley. Thanksgiving and Christmas went by way too fast.”

“Yeah, it did. It was great being
with you guys.”

“We feel the same. Hold on. Mom’s
motioning me to give her the phone.” He handed off his cell and left the study
so his mom had some privacy.

He wandered to the kitchen where
Haley was making the kids an afternoon snack. “I hear you talked to my sister
yesterday.”

“Yes. It’ll be nice to meet her.”

“Ashley’s a lot of fun. You’ll like
her.” Ethan picked up a section of sandwich and popped it into his mouth. “Yum,
a homemade meal.”

He reached for another and she
slapped his hand away. “Don’t poke fun. I’m the nanny, not the cook.”

 “And a fine nanny at that.”
Grinning, he pulled down two plastic glasses and set them on the counter. “You
doing okay? I’ve been so busy we haven’t had a chance to talk in a few days.”
He’d missed it, too, but he needed to get the dude ranch up and running before
the big reunion—a reunion he was thrilled to be hosting.

“I’m doing fine.” Haley poured
apple juice in a glass.

Ethan watched her pour the juice
and noticed her hand tremble. He took the pitcher from her and poured the other
drink. “Mom said she’s heard you up at night lately. You can’t keep going
without sleep, Haley. Trust me, I know.”

She looked up at him with tired
eyes. “I sometimes go through spells without sleeping. It’ll get better.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. After Tommy
died, I finally threw in the towel and got drugs.” He shook his head. “Hated to
do it, and still don’t like admitting it, but there you have it. I had to get
some sleep.”

“I had sleeping pills in the
beginning, but I was scared to take them. Scared I wouldn’t hear Ryan if he
woke up.”

“I’m a light sleeper and I would
hear him, so take the pills. I promise I’d come wake you to do your mama duty.”
She gave him a half-hearted smile. He was glad to see any kind of smile.
Actually she’d done a lot more smiling all the way around lately. Or had been
until recently. “You slept better out in the country, didn’t you?”

“Until the cougar woke me from the
dead.”

“That cougar is now at the zoo.
You’d a thought Hank had asked Amos to cut off his left nut the way he reacted,
but Hank finally talked him into it. Told him it’d be better for the cat all
the way around. She’d have a pen about five times the size of the one at his
house, and maybe a mate at some point.”

“Hank strikes me as someone who
doesn’t take no for an answer.”

Ethan nodded. “Did you know he
pulled the lamb through? Fifty two stitches in its neck, but the little fella’s
going to make it. The kids will love giving him a bottle.”

Haley smiled. “I’ll have to get
pictures of that.”

“Good idea. Pictures of country
living at its best. Baby lambs. Fresh eggs. Clean air. All the good stuff in
life.”

Haley wiped her hands on a rag.
“Kayla and Ryan are dying to go back out there. They were grumpy all weekend
because you went without them. Once they know about the lamb, you won’t get a moment’s
peace until they’re back out there.”

“I know. That’s why I’ve kept my
mouth shut. That, and the fact that I didn’t want to get their hopes up in case
the lamb didn’t make it.”

“Hank must really have a way with
animals.”

“He’s a vet. Used to work at a zoo
actually. He’s one of the best exotic animal vets in the country.”

“Really?”

“Yep. And a few people actually
like the guy.” Haley’s brows shot up. He grinned. “Actually most people like
him even though he pretty much saves his charm for animals. Says people don’t
deserve it.”

Haley frowned. “All people?”

Ethan chuckled. “Just about. He’s
always been kind of a loner, but since his son died, even more so. He still
likes a woman every now and again though.”

Haley arched her brows even higher.
“And you know this how?”

“I keep count of the notches on his
bedpost.”

Haley rolled her eyes. “Be serious.”

Ethan held in a laugh. “No bed post
notches, but women fall all over him. I don’t get it. He’s a bear most of the
time.”

“A good looking bear,” Haley added.

Ethan threw up his hands. “There you
go, sounding like all the others.”

Haley shrugged. “Just an
observation. You’re a good looking man, too.”

Her response pleased him. “And
you’re a very pretty lady.” She blushed and he couldn’t help but grin. It still
surprised him that a woman like Haley existed. She really had no idea how
attractive—make that hot—she was.

Ryan ran into the kitchen, Kayla
chasing him, and he was glad for the interruption.

 “Gotcha,” Kayla hollered as she
grabbed Ryan and began tickling his tummy.

“You two hungry?” Haley set the
plate of sandwich sections on the table and then washed Ryan’s hands and face
while Kayla stepped onto a stool and washed her hands in the kitchen sink.