Counterfeit Courtship (23 page)

“Yes, I know.”

His heart began to thump harder.

Five years peeled away and he was twenty-two again, meeting Molly for the first time. She'd been full of light and goodness back then, the same as now. Just being in her company made him wish for...more. But he knew he could never reach so far above his station in life. He'd learned that cruel lesson from another woman and her upright, proper parents.

“Talk to me. Tell me what's happened.”

He handed her Ned's note.

Feeling oddly nostalgic, he held silent while she read. During Ned and Penelope's courtship, Molly had acted as chaperone. CJ had been attracted to her from the start. But he'd never let her know. Lillian's harsh words had taught him a valuable lesson. No decent woman from a respectable family would have a man like him, a man with the last name Thorn.

Penelope had taken the risk and married Ned. Look how that had ended.

“Oh, Ned.” Molly's hand flew to her mouth. “How could you?”

“I've been asking myself that same question.”

How could his brother surrender custody of his own daughters to CJ?

Eyes shadowed with sadness, Molly returned the piece of paper. Her fingertips grazed CJ's knuckles. The touch was barely a whisper, yet he felt the impact like a blow to the gut.

He closed his fist around the words Ned had penned. In a quick, careless scrawl of ink across paper, his brother had become the man CJ feared was deep inside every Thorn. He shuddered to think what would become of Ned now that he'd given in to the dark side of his nature.

“I suppose I understand how he could give up on himself,” Molly said. “But how could he give up on his own children?”

CJ heard the tears in her voice, saw the sorrow in the slump of her shoulders. He wanted to comfort her.

He took a large step back instead.

An awareness of her as a woman had been gnawing at him ever since she'd taken over Sarah and Anna's full-time care following Penelope's funeral.

Though he'd often wondered why Molly continued to serve his family, and CJ hadn't interacted with her very often, he'd been grateful for her help. The girls adored her and he didn't take that for granted. She'd been the stable force in all their lives. He realized that now.

Once, months ago, CJ had offered to pay Molly for her kindness. She'd been insulted by the mere suggestion and so he'd never brought up the subject again.

Did she understand how much his family relied on her? How much
he
relied on her? Every day, he felt her presence acutely, hovering on the edge of his life but not really part of it.

“I hadn't realized Ned's grief was this great. I thought...” Her brows pulled together in confusion. “How did I miss this?”

“We both missed it.”

Ned hadn't begun drinking immediately following Penelope's death, yet it hadn't been very long afterward. When CJ had first confronted his brother, Ned had claimed he didn't have a problem. He simply missed his wife. Apparently, the loneliness hit hardest at night, and he needed help sleeping. He'd promised CJ that it was only one drink, after the girls were in bed.

CJ had wanted to believe his brother. For a while, there'd been no reason not to trust Ned's word. Still, CJ should have been more observant. He should have seen the signs that Ned was slowly spiraling out of control, in the same way their father had.

“Surely your brother will come to his senses and return in a day or two.”

“Perhaps.” CJ spoke without conviction. There was an unmistakable finality to Ned's actions. By leaving a note that included awarding CJ custody of the twins, his brother had made his intentions clear.

What had Ned been thinking?

CJ knew nothing about raising children, especially girls. He was a rancher, most comfortable around cows and horses. The Triple-T was barely showing a profit. He couldn't run the ranch and take care of two small children at the same time.

His life had just changed dramatically. He needed to move back into the main house. The twins couldn't sleep here alone. He'd have to learn new skills, too many to sort through at once.

“I should start breakfast before the girls wake up.”

Molly's words brought CJ great comfort and reminded him that decisions didn't have to be made today. Watching her in the pale dawn light, he wondered just how much she did around the house when he was out working the ranch. “I'd be grateful.”

“It's my pleasure.” She turned quiet, thoughtful. “I see no reason to upset the girls just yet. We probably should tell them as little as possible and hope that Ned changes his mind.”

This was one of the reasons CJ admired Molly. She always put the twins' needs first. “We're in agreement.”

Her smile filled him with the sense of peace he craved, but always hovered just out of reach. He cleared his throat. “I'll head over to the bunkhouse and see if anyone spoke with Ned this morning. Maybe he told one of the men where he was going.”

Or maybe Cookie knew something about Ned's departure.

Frowning, CJ reached for his hat, slapped it against his thigh. He wasn't looking forward to speaking with his ranch cook. The grizzled former army captain wouldn't be sympathetic. He'd warned CJ this day was coming.

CJ had chosen to believe matters weren't all that dire and that Ned would eventually snap out of his grief.

“We're moving the herd to the north pasture today.” He paused at the door. “If Ned shows up—”

“I'll send Cookie to find you.”

“Good enough.” CJ opened the door, paused when Molly called out his name.

He turned back around. The hem of her lavender dress swung in soft waves around her ankles as she approached him. Her eyes, so blue, so beautiful, held the strength of her determination. In that moment, CJ felt a little less alone.

“I want you to know I'm not going anywhere.” She gave him a warm, kind smile that reached inside his heart and squeezed. “We're in this together. We'll take it one day at a time.”

She couldn't know how much her support meant. As he stared into her startling blue eyes, CJ fought to contain thoughts of what might have been, were he a different man. But he couldn't change who he was or where he came from.

“Thank you, Molly.”

“You're welcome.”

She was so good, so pure, so
beautiful
. She deserved better than a Thorn. She'd
had
better. She'd married a preacher.

CJ could never measure up to a man of God. He wouldn't even try. All he could do was work to make his ranch a success and ensure that the twins had a safe, stable home. One day at a time, as Molly said, he would provide a secure, loving home for his brother's children. Who, according to Ned's note, were now CJ's.

He jammed his hat on his head. “I'll see you later this afternoon.”

“The girls and I will be right here.”

For now, that was enough. He turned and walked out of the house.
One day at a time
, he told himself. With God's help, CJ would face the future one day at a time.

Copyright © 2016 by Mills & Boon