Shoulda Been A Cowboy (27 page)

“
Was anyone else with him?”

Cam shook his head. “There were fatalities in
other vehicles that also hit the semi, but Luke was alone.”

“
Did you tell Luke's folks? Or his
brothers?”

“
Not yet. I wanted to let you know first. I'm
sorry.”

When Jessie started to cry, Cam knew the sound of the
squeaking door wouldn't stick in his mind, but the hiccupping
sobs Jessie didn't try to hold in.

Without another word, Cam wrapped her in his arms. She
clung to him and for the first time all night, he let himself grieve.

Time was a black void of sorrow, but eventually Jessie
eased back and looked at him through red-rimmed, horror-filled eyes.
“Will you come with me to tell Brandt? He'll—we'll—need
to tell Casper and Joan right after, but it'd be…better
coming from him than from me.”

“
Of course.”

“
Let's get this over with.” She
stumbled down the deck steps.

Cam said, “Jess, sweetheart, you're gonna
need shoes.”

She froze and stared at her bare feet. Then back at him
with an expression Cam recognized as shock.

“
Oh. Shoes. Right.” She reversed course and
slipped her feet into a pair of muddy ropers that were propped on the
welcome mat. Wrapping her arms tightly around her middle, she trudged
to the passenger side of the patrol car.

Neither spoke on the short, miserable drive to Brandt's
place. She stared out the windshield as tears dripped down her face.

By the time Cam hit the end of Brandt's driveway,
Brandt waited on the porch steps. Not a lot of social calls this time
of night. Cam parked, but neither he nor Jessie attempted to get out
of the car.

Jessie's voice was barely a whisper. “I
don't want to tell him, Cam. This will ruin him. Brandt and
Luke are so close.” Her voice caught on a sob. “
Were
so close. Oh God. I can't do this.”

“
It's okay. Stay here. I'll take care
of it.” Cam forced himself to open the door. Forced himself to
walk the twenty feet to where his cousin stood. Forced himself to
look his cousin in the eye.

They stared at each other. Then Brandt said just one
word. “Who?”

“
Luke.”

A pain-filled sound cut the night air.

It sliced Cam to the bone. He whispered. “Jesus,
Brandt. I'm so sorry.”

Brandt's gaze zoomed to the passenger side of the
car. “Where's Jessie?”

She was out of the car and sobbing in Brandt's
arms before Cam could answer.

He had to look away. He had to
get
away. Yet, he couldn't leave if they needed him. So he waited
in hellish silence as Brandt and Jessie tried to hold one another up.

“
Cam?” Brandt said hoarsely.

“
Yeah?”

“
Can you do something for me?”

“
Anything. Name it.”

“
Give me a couple hours to talk to my folks and my
brothers before you tell the rest of the family?”

“
Sure.”

“
Thank you.”

“
Anything you need, either of you, just ask, okay?
We're all gonna be here for you. Every one of us in the McKay
family. Count on it.”

“
I appreciate it.” Brandt draped his arm
around Jessie and they disappeared into the house.

He'd been given a momentary reprieve on the family
side of being the bearer of bad news. But he still had to get through
the conversation with Domini.

With a heavy heart, Cam climbed in his car. But a mile
from Brandt's place he had to pull over on the shoulder. He
rested his forehead on the steering wheel and wept.

 

 

Domini recognized the leaden tread coming up the stairs.
Cam. Not Nadia.

She frowned at the clock. Eleven-thirty. Nadia was never
this late picking Anton up. She'd tried to call Nadia's
cell to tell her just to leave Anton over night, but Nadia didn't
pick up. Which was odd.

She released the deadbolt and opened the door for Cam.
Without looking at him, she headed for the living room. The climb up
the stairs took a lot out of him and he hated her looks of sympathy.
“Anton is still here, so I—”

“
Domini.”

The way he said her name, so seriously, so full of
regret and sadness had her spinning toward him.

Her awareness jumped to full alert at the grief etched
on Cam's face.

“
What happened?”

“
There was an accident tonight. A bad accident.”

“
And you were called to the scene?”

“
I wasn't first on scene, but everyone was
called, including help from other counties.”

She touched his arm, wanting to appease him, not knowing
if he'd welcome it. “Oh, Cam. I'm so sorry. That
had to be rough.”

“
Makes it rough when the victims are someone you
know.”

Her stomach lurched. “Someone you knew? Who?”

“
My cousin Luke, for one.”

“
Oh my God. What can I do?”

Cam shuffled his feet. “Can we sit down? I've
been on my feet half the damn night.”

“
Sure.” Domini led him to the sofa. She
wanted to snuggle up, smooth the frown lines from his brow and erase
the haggard look from his eyes. But something about his posture made
her keep her distance.

“
I just left Luke's wife, Jessie, with his
brother, Brandt.” He shuddered. “It about tore me up to
tell them. It was just so goddamn surreal. Like this is all happening
to someone else.”

“
You
had to tell them?”
Jessie's sweet face flickered in Domini's mind. The poor
woman. What an awful thing to deal with.

“
It's part of my job.” He took her
hands in his. “There's no easy way to do this. So I'm
just gonna say it flat out. Luke wasn't the only victim
tonight.”

The first niggling of fear crept in.

“
It was a multiple car crash with multiple
fatalities. Not so uncommon in Wyoming, sad to say.” Cam
briefly ran down what'd happened. As he relayed the
information, he seemed to be watching her very closely. Too closely.

“
Who else was in the accident, Cam?”

“
Nadia and Rex.”

Stunned didn't begin to describe her thoughts.
“What? No. You're mistaken.”

Cam shook his head. “I'm sorry. It's
been confirmed.”

“
No. It can't be. She'll be here any
minute.”

“
Rex owns a red Taurus, right?”

“
Lots of people drive red Taurus's.”

“
The car was licensed to him.”

“
So? That doesn't mean—”

“
Nadia was out with him tonight, wasn't she?
And she hasn't come to pick up Anton. And she's not
answering her cell phone. You know that's not like her.”

Domini stared at him, the horror expanding in her chest.
The room started to spin. White dots danced in front of her eyes. A
din of pain pealed in her brain. Her heart seized as her throat
closed. “Oh no. Please no.”

“
I'm sorry.”

“
Oh God, I'm going to be sick.”

Cam placed his hand on the back of her neck and gently
shoved her head between her knees. “Breathe. Nice and slow.
That's it.”

Her tears plopped on the carpet. She swallowed over and
over to keep the bile down. Gagging on her disbelief.

And through the maelstrom of emotions, Cam's
constant, soothing caresses drifted up and down her back.

Finally, she managed to sit up. “This isn't
a bad dream.”

The awful truth filled Cam's eyes.

“
Nadia. I can't believe… How can she
be dead? I just saw her a few hours ago.” Domini went straight
from a sick feeling to pure panic. She began to hyperventilate
through her tears. “I can't—”

Cam swore. Then his hands held her head and he was in
her face. “Breathe, baby. Come on. Look at me. Focus on me.
Just breathe with me. Inhale slowly. Good. Now exhale. That's
it. Three more times.”

After three long breaths, she started to speak, but he
put his thumbs over her mouth.

“
Huh-uh. We'll talk when I know you ain't
gonna pass out. Just look in my eyes and breathe with me. That's
all you need to do right now.”

Domini let him calm her. It took a while.

He murmured, “Better?”

She nodded. Inhaled once more. “What about Anton?
How am I supposed to tell him his mother…is never coming
back?”

“
I don't know.”

“
What will happen to him? Nadia had sole custody.
She has no family. Anton has no one…but me.”

“
As far as I know, in situations like this, Social
Services will step in and—”

“
No!” Domini jumped to her feet. She shot a
look at the closed bedroom door where Anton was sleeping. Then she
whispered fiercely, “He is
not
going into foster care. Ever.”

“
Domini, be reasonable.”

“
You can't possibly expect me to be
reasonable when I know how bad state care is.”

Calmly, Cam said, “Really? How?”

“
Because my parents died when I was eleven,”
she snapped. “With no family, I was shoved into an orphanage.”

Shock crossed his face, followed by anger. “You
were orphaned? Holy hell, Domini, why didn't you tell me?”

“
Because I don't want to be pitied even more
than I am.”

“
You're not—”

“
You think I don't know what people say
about me? What they've said my whole life? Poor Domini, she's
so quiet she must lack a backbone. Poor Domini, she's scared of
dogs and her own shadow. Poor Domini, she lost her parents and grew
up unwanted. Poor Domini, she can't have—” She
stopped mid-rant, cringing for the near slip-up. “I didn't
tell you because I don't want pity from you.”

“
Pity is the last goddamn thing I'd
ever
feel for you.” Cam softened his tone. “Besides, you're
coming up with worst-case scenarios. Foster care here is nothing like
what you dealt with living in an orphanage in a foreign country.”

“
That's your reasoning? I'm supposed
to turn him over to an agency that knows nothing about him? I lived
with him for two years, Cam. I'm a much better candidate to
take care of him than some random person who's only fostering
kids for the money!”

“
You'd take him on, just like that?”
Cam demanded. “Give up your life as you know it to raise him?”

“
In a heartbeat.” She stared at him.
“Wouldn't you do the same? For Brock? If he died and left
a kid behind, wouldn't you want to make sure he was taken care
of?”

“
Of course.”

“
Then you do understand. You know that nothing you
or anyone else says will change my mind. Anton belongs with me.”

“
Sit.”

Domini paced as her feet tried to keep up with the
jumbled thoughts in her head.

His voice was sharper. “I said sit down. Now.”

“
Fine.” She perched on the very edge of the
cushion, legs bouncing up and down impatiently.

“
Sheriff Shortbull knows the victims left behind
an unattended minor.”

“
How in the world does he know that?”

“
Because I told him.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Why would you do that to
me?”

“
I didn't do it to you.”

“
It feels like it.” God. This was a
nightmare. She knew it wasn't Cam's fault but she
couldn't stop from lashing out at him.

“
Wrong. Goddammit. No matter what I feel for you,
Domini, I am an officer of the court and I have an obligation to
uphold the law. Making Social Services aware of Anton and his
situation might not be what you'd do, but it's what I
have
to do.”

Domini studied Cam like she'd never seen him
before. “And I'll do what
I
have to do.”

“
What's that supposed to mean?”

“
I'll take him away before I'll turn
him over.”

He snatched her hands again. “Don't tell me
shit like that because I can't just ignore it! What you're
talking about is illegal.”