Cowboys Mine (3 page)

She had to pause to take in what he’d said. When her
father mentioned Colton and North, she was certain the trip was over. She’d
kill them for opening their big mouths after their claim of a truce last night.
But as much as she was pissed they’d be tagging along, at least she was still
allowed to go.

“You’ve taught me how to use a rifle, daddy. I can
take care of myself,” she assured.

“I’d just feel better. You’re my little girl, my
only one, and I can’t bear to have anything happen to you.” He kissed her atop
the head and then patted Bessie on the rump. “I’m sure you won’t even notice
the twins. They’ll be busy having fun of their own.”

True enough. Colton would be chasing after every new
cowgirl he saw. She’d probably never see either of them. She returned to her
task, her initial worry fizzling away.

Once she finished with Bessie, she moved on to Ruby.
She was the smaller of the two, but she had a beautiful coat with unique
markings.

“Hey there, pretty girl.” Colton peeked from around
the corner with a few wild daisies in his hand.

“I’m not talking to either of you. You promised not
to make trouble, but you went running to my dad as soon as I turned my back.”

He ran a hand through his shaggy blond hair and sat
on the milking stool a few feet away. “We’re doing this for your benefit, Eva.
You think we have free time during fall harvest? We’ll be up to our ears in
work when we get home, plus we’ll have to leave our mother alone for nearly a
week.”

“Then why bother?”

He was quiet for a moment, looking up at her as if
she’d spoken a foreign language. “Because we love you.”

She exhaled, all the bravado she’d built up since
yesterday draining down to her cowgirl boots. As much as they drove her nuts
most days, she loved the McReed brothers too, always had, always would.

“Well…thank you for offering. I’ll help you with
your chores when we get home.”

He rose to his feet, setting the flowers on the
stool before standing tall. And boy was he tall now. The brothers made her feel
like a prairie mouse in comparison.

Eva tried to do everything around the ranch to ease
the burden on her parents, but Colton and North were built like workhorses,
able to do in an hour what would take her all day. She’d still try and help
them when they got home, even if it was just doing laundry and cleaning
chickens for their mother.

Colt ran a hand over Ruby’s neck. “You’ll win,” he
said with a smile. She was glad for the change of subject. She wasn’t in the
mood for fighting any longer.

Eva shrugged. “I have no idea what I’m up against.
Guess I’m kind of nervous.”

“Nervous? Look at Bessie. She’s a regular
butterball. I’ve been dreaming of turning her into steaks.”

“Hey!”

He laughed, tugging her pigtail as he walked off. “Your
dad’s lending us the motorhome. I’ll come after breakfast tomorrow and get it
hooked up to my truck.”

“See ya.”

She planned to stop by their ranch after dinner and
do what she could to help. She could clean, cook, bring in firewood, and do a
million other things. Their mother shouldn’t have to suffer because Eva was
taking her sons away for a week. It was the least she could do.

****

North was ready to drop after pulling off his boots.
He’d harvested more fields in one day than he’d ever done, hoping to get as
much as possible finished before following Eva down to the city. The timing was
shit, but he had no choice in the matter now. They’d made a promise to Mr. Ford
and had to follow through.

Colton was in the shower, the static of water loud
when he entered the quiet bungalow. He’d wanted to jump in himself, but he’d
just wait until morning. His mother’s door was open, and when he peered inside
it was empty.

“Ma?”

There was no one else in the house, and he wondered
where she was since her car was parked out front. He was tired of the lies,
guessing games, and constant sneaking around.

North had saved extra for a rainy day, harvesting
neighbors’ fields during his free time. He’d left the money on the kitchen
table in the morning so his mother wouldn’t have to worry while they were gone.
She’d be able to pick up any supplies, groceries, or gas she needed.

The money was gone.

He opened the fridge since she hadn’t made anything
for dinner. The white interior blinded him, only condiments and a drawer full
of apples available. He closed it with a rattle and decided he was too tired to
care. All he wanted to do was get to bed.

The front door opened, the cool breeze sneaking in.
“Hey,” said Colton, tossing his Stetson onto the hall table. He began tugging
off his boots.

North frowned. “I thought you were in the shower.”

“Just finished bringing in the livestock.”

Panic welled up inside him. He rushed over to the
bathroom and pounded on the door. “Ma, you in there?”

When there was no response, he banged on the door
more, the entire frame rattling. She had to be in the bathroom.

Colton joined him, bracing a hand against the wall
beside the door. “Ma, open the door or we’re breaking it down.”

The shower was still going strong, humidity escaping
from underneath the door. They looked to each other, a silent agreement passing
between them. North reared back and rammed the door with his side and shoulder.
It crashed open, the hinge snapping from the pressure. The shower curtain was
half pulled off the bar and their mother was lying naked in the tub unconscious,
the water streaming down on her body.

Colton grabbed a towel off the rack and dropped to
his knees, covering her nudity and pulling her upper body up. North turned off
the water.

“Ma, wake up! Talk to me,” Colton shouted, lightly
patting her cheeks.

North noticed the empty bottles of pills on the
tiles, a few spilled out. His fears vanished and numbness took over. “She’s
fucking wasted.” He kicked the bottles before knocking in the cupboard under
the sink with his heel.

Colton carried her to her room, coming out a few
minutes later. “She’s okay. She’s talking,” he said.

“I ain’t worried,” he lied.

His brother exhaled. “She promised to stop. She’s
gonna take Aunt Laura’s offer to get help in Newcaster.”

North paced the room, throwing up his hands in
defeat. “And you fucking believe her? She spent all the damn food money on
pills again. What else is new? I’m sick and tired of her so-called promises.”

“You’ll get her upset if she hears you.”

“What about me? Am I not allowed to get
upset
? Do you think it’s normal to come
home and find your mother high as a kite and nearly drowned in the bathtub,
Colt?”

His peripheral vision caught movement to the right.
Their mother was standing in the hallway, her pale blue bath robe wrapped
around her. Rather than getting clean as promised, she’d reached a new low.
North blamed himself. He never should have trusted her with cash money when her
addiction was stronger than her resolve to quit.

“Fightin’ over me?” Her words were slurred, a sign
she was not even close to the sober woman he loved.

“You could have killed yourself,” said North. “You know
you can’t keep doing this.”

Her eyes widened when she was close enough to see
him clearly. He knew what she saw, and it cut him deeper every time. “Don’t
you
talk to me! I have nothin’ to say to
you, Jess. Get out of my house! Get out and never come back!” She staggered
over to him, tears falling and arms flailing. He stood in place, not moving a
muscle as she pummeled him with her closed fists. “
You bastard!”

His throat clogged with emotion, his jaw set hard. This
wasn’t the first time it had happened, yet every attack hurt as much as the
first.

“Ma, cut it out,” said Colton, carefully restraining
her arms. “It’s just North, you know that.”

“Get him out, Colton. I want him out of our house!”

Colton looked up at him with sympathy as he held her
back. North turned around and made haste getting the fuck out of the house. He
burst out onto the porch, savoring the burning cold against his heated flesh.
Unshed tears were begging for release, but he refused to cry, refused to let
himself be hurt by her again. Part of North wanted to hate her, to leave and
never come back. The other part pitied his mother, knowing it was his no-good
father that started her path of self-destruction.

He’d been glad his father left. At least it ended
the years of harsh beatings. Their old man would use his fists or belt on them
every time he’d come home drunk, which were most days, especially near the end.
North took more than his share of abuse so he’d spare their mother. It was
worth the added pain. When she began to mourn the fact her husband had left her,
North felt a sense of betrayal, like all those years of suffering on her behalf
were for nothing. Years later, she began to abuse different substances, finally
settling on prescription drugs. Nearly every time she got high, she saw Jess
McReed when she looked at North. It was one of the reasons he could barely
stand to look at his own reflection.

He leaned over the porch rail, trying to settle his
emotions while Colton got her tucked back into bed. She’d be fine in the
morning, not able to remember a minute of tonight. But North would remember.

The steady beat of horse hooves approached. He
looked out into the darkness, finding nothing until the golden Appaloosa
appeared in the overhead lamp light.
Eva
.
He stood up straight and met her in the front yard before she got too close to
the house.

“Hey!”

“What are you doing here? It’s late,” he said.

“I came to help your mom. I would have come earlier
but my dad gave me a list of chores longer than my arm.” She smiled sweetly and
attempted to dismount. He pressed his palm against her thigh to keep her from
getting off.

“You need to leave, Eva. Now’s not a good time.”

A blood-curdling shriek came from inside the house.

“What was that?” Eva prodded the horse forward until
it was practically on the porch. She leapt down and raced to the door, swinging
it open without hesitation. North was right behind her, grabbing her arm to
keep her from entering.

Colton was struggling to settle their mother because
she was in a fighting mood.
 
He didn’t
want Eva to see their mother like this, or even to expose her to such a toxic
environment. Eva represented everything good and wholesome in his life and he
didn’t want to spoil her.

“Oh my God, what’s happening?” she asked, her hand
over her mouth as she watched the train wreck of his life.

“It’s him!” His mother pointed at the doorway where
they stood. “Get that bastard off my property. He has no right to be in my
house!”

“Get her out of here!” shouted Colton, his eyes
pointed daggers when he saw Eva.

North pulled Eva out, but she tried to shrug him
off, so he hoisted her up over his shoulder instead. “Put me down, North!”

He grabbed the reins of her mare and kept walking
until they reached the edge of darkness. North set her down on her feet and
passed her the leather lead. “Go home, Eva. I told you she was sick. This ain’t
no place for you tonight.”

“Why was she saying those things to you? I don’t
understand.”

“She’s just sick,” he repeated. Maybe if he said it
enough times he’d believe it himself.
 
“I
need you to listen and go home now.”

Eva mounted her horse, and then she stared down at
him. Her face was a mix of confusion and pity—something he didn’t want from
anyone, especially her. “Call me if you need me,” she said just above a
whisper. She turned the horse in the direction of the white brick house and
then disappeared into the darkness.

Chapter
Three

By seven o’clock in the morning, Colton was at the
Ford ranch hooking up the mobile home. They’d always called it the silver
bullet growing up. It was an older model camper with an upper sleeping area,
small kitchen, and modest living space. It would be cramped with the three of
them, but cheaper than the pricey hotels around the rodeo—if there was even
availability, which he doubted.

The sky was clear so they’d have an easy trip along
the highways and back roads. He hadn’t spoken with his twin since last night,
and the tension between them was thicker than molasses. He’d only gotten a
couple hours sleep.

“I hooked the livestock trailer up to my truck
already,” said Eva. “Are you guys going to follow me with the camper?”

Colton hadn’t even heard Eva approach, too lost in
his own thoughts. He was thankful she didn’t mention last night. It was much
easier to live in beautiful ignorance. When he’d seen her in the doorway with
their mother on a rampage, he felt a piece of his heart fracture. His two
worlds were best kept separate. The Ford family was his saving grace, and he
didn’t want to burden them with their personal problems, or embarrass their
mother in front of neighbors when she wasn’t herself. When sober, Karen McReed
was a good country woman with a kind heart, everything he could want from a
mother. He just wished those days were not so few and far between.