The Littlest Cowboy (11 page)

His arms tightened around her convulsively. He held her hard now and rocked very gently from side to side. “Damn,” he muttered.

“I was nine years old, Garrett. But it feels like yesterday.”

He held her tighter.

“Mom,” Chelsea cried softly, “Jesus, Mom, why?” Something warm trickled down her face, surprising her. Shocking her. Tears. She hadn’t cried since that night. But she was crying now. And she couldn’t seem to stop the tears. Garrett’s shirt dampened with them, then became soaked with them, and still she cried. So many years’ worth of teardrops and she wasn’t sure she’d ever stop crying again.

W
hen she heard her brothers’ booted feet coming up the steps, Jessi turned away from the screen door and put a finger to her lips.

Wes frowned at her. Elliot tilted his head.

She waved them closer, still shushing them, and when they were close enough, she pointed.

In the kitchen, Garrett held the mite of a woman in his great big arms. He held her very close and stroked her hair while she sobbed as if her heart were breaking into a million bits. And as they watched, Chelsea’s hands rose slowly until they closed on Garrett’s shoulders, and she clung to him as if she were holding on for dear life. The tears she shed were not pretty ones. She sobbed out loud with great heaving spasms that should have torn a woman her size right in half.

As tears brimmed in her own eyes, Jessi turned away and walked quietly off the big front porch. She didn’t stop until she’d reached the gate to the east pasture, where horses grazed contentedly, and then she leaned against it, blinking her eyes dry.

She wasn’t surprised when Wes’s hand lowered to her shoulder. “What happened in there, Jessi?”

Jessi turned around and flung herself right into her brother’s arms, and he hugged her tight. “Oh, Wes, it’s more horrible than I thought! I know I shouldn’t have been listening at the door, but I couldn’t help myself when I heard what she was saying.”

Wes eased her away from him and searched her face with those black eyes that seemed to see right inside a person.

Jessi wiped her eyes dry with the back of one hand, then shook her head. “We can’t let her go back east. I’ll tell you that much. That girl needs a family like nobody I’ve ever seen.”

“She isn’t a stray dog, Jessi,” Wes said softly. “You can’t just decide to keep her.”

Jessi sniffed. “I’ve
already
decided. Now all I have to do is convince her she belongs here.”

Elliot had joined them by this time and heard most of what they said. He stood very still, staring thoughtfully back toward the house.

Wes shook his head slowly. “We have enough trouble on our hands, Jessi. My gut tells me that this woman is only gonna bring more.”

“I don’t care,” Jessi told him. “I want her to stay.”

“Contrary to what you’ve been led to believe, little sister,” Wes replied, “you can’t have everything you want.”

“Well, now, I wouldn’t be too sure about
that.
” Elliot looked at them briefly, then right back at the house again. “When’s the last time
you
saw Garrett hugging on a female the way he was hugging on that one?”

“Don’t be stupid, Elliot. Garrett’s never given a damn about women.”

“There’s a first time for everything, Wes. And from what I saw in that kitchen, I’d say our big brother’s perched himself right on the very brink of giving a damn.”

“Yeah,” Jessi said slowly, drawing out the word as the solution became clear in her mind. “All he needs is a little nudge.”

“No way.” Wes’s narrow eyes went from Jessi to Elliot and back again.
“No.
You two stay the hell out of this. I mean it. We don’t need any women cluttering things up around here, and…ah, hell, Jes, don’t look like that. I didn’t mean you. Just think about it for a minute. Look at Adam and Ben, both nursing broken hearts. You want to put Garrett through the same garbage?”

“Just because love didn’t work out for Adam or Ben doesn’t mean it won’t for Garrett,” Jessi argued. “Come on, Wes! Garrett is different.”

“Chelsea Brennan is trouble.”

“Maybe she is,” Jessi went on with a little pout. “But she’s
in
trouble, too. And since when has trouble been anything the Brands couldn’t handle?”

Wes shook his head, turned on his heel and started to walk away.

“Wait, Wes.” He stopped, but didn’t turn to face her. “Just listen. Let me tell you what I overheard in that kitchen.
Then
decide whether you want to help her or not.”

He turned slowly, grimacing. “I didn’t say we shouldn’t help her, kid, just that we shouldn’t force-feed her to Garrett.”

“Didn’t see nobody forcing him just now,” Elliot said, earning a scowl. He grinned at Wes and nodded to Jessi. “Go on, hon. Tell us what you know.”

G
arrett had never felt more big and awkward and clumsy than he had when he’d held Chelsea’s small body in his arms. But he’d also never felt weaker. Made his knees turn to jelly to think about the hell she’d been through. And the thought that she’d actually talked to him about it, that she’d let him comfort her even a little bit, filled him to brimming with something else altogether, something he didn’t even try to put a name to, because he knew he couldn’t.

Chores were finished, dinner over. And, as was their habit of an evening, the Brands gathered in the huge living room to rehash the day. Elliot and Jessi sat close together on the sofa, exchanging glances now and then that told Garrett they were sharing a secret. Wes had the settee to himself and looked pensive. Garrett had opted for the big easy chair, and Chelsea sat in the rocker close beside it, while Ethan crawled around the floor in a diaper and T-shirt, rushing from one pair of legs to another with all the energy of a frisky colt.

This time, he headed for Wes’s legs and turned himself around to plop down onto his backside, staring up at Wes expectantly. Wes didn’t notice.

“Ga!” Ethan announced when Wes hadn’t looked down at him quickly enough to suit him.

When Wes did look, Ethan put his hands up in the air. International baby code for “Hey, pick me up, you big dummy.” A panicked look came into Wes’s eyes.

“Oh, go on, Wes. He won’t bite you,” Jessi teased.

When Wes still hesitated, Jessi jumped to her feet, scooped the baby up and deposited him gently on Wes’s lap. Ethan grinned from ear to ear and reached up to grab Wes’s slightly hawkish nose.

Elliot burst out laughing, and Wes scowled at him as he gently removed the baby’s hand. Ethan snuggled into Wes’s lap, resting, for the moment. Wes looked stunned.

“I still don’t understand why his mamma left him here with us,” Jessi mused, returning to the sofa. “And his name couldn’t have been a coincidence. Garrett, are you sure you didn’t—”

“Jessi, I’ve sworn on a stack of Bibles I didn’t father this baby. You telling me you
still
don’t believe me?” Being accused in front of Chelsea was somehow worse, though Garrett wasn’t quite sure why.

“Of course I believe you! I was gonna say, are you sure you didn’t meet Chelsea’s sister somewhere, maybe a long time ago? I mean, she must have known you sometime.”

Garrett looked at Chelsea, saw the silent question in her eyes. “No, I didn’t tell them,” he said. “Why don’t you get that photo and show it to Jessi. See if she remembers.” He hoped she would. Because he’d feel better if he were sure Chelsea believed what he’d told her, and having Jessi confirm his recollection would go a long ways toward convincing her.

“I don’t know why I didn’t show you all right at the beginning. Instead, I stormed in here like a…” She shook her head.

“Like a wet hen?” Jessi offered.

“No,” Elliot said. “No, I’d say she was more like a wounded bear.”

“She can’t be a bear, Elliot. She’s way too small,” Wes countered. “She came in here like a Texas wildfire.”

They were all grinning at Chelsea, treating her just the way they treated each other, and at first Garrett thought she’d be offended. But she shook her head again in self-deprecation and smiled back at them as she got up from the rocker.

She headed upstairs and Garrett watched her go, wondering how anything as delicate-looking as she was could have such a steel core. She came back seconds later and handed the photograph to Jessi, who waited at the bottom of the stairs.

Jessi studied it, tilting her head. “She looks familiar.” Jessi passed the photo to Elliot, who passed it to Wes. “I know!” Jessi shouted, startling both Ethan and ol’ Blue. “Remember, Garrett, it was over a year ago? That girl you found out on the River Road with the flat tire.”

“That’s right,” Elliot said. “You changed her tire and then had her follow you back here and stay to dinner. I remember now. Hell, she was out to here!” He held his hands out in front of his belly in an exaggerated account of her size.

Wes shook his head. “She was
not
out to there, Elliot. She was obviously pregnant though. She seemed scared or something. Remember? We offered her a room for a night or two, but she was in a hurry to move on.”

“Didn’t she tell us her name was Ann or something? Ann Smith, wasn’t it?” Jessi said softly as if thinking aloud. “Why would she have given us a false name?”

Chelsea came close to where Garrett sat, taking the photo from Wes as she passed, and stared down at it. “Maybe she was running from him even then. God, why didn’t she just come back to me?”

“If she knew she was in trouble, Chelsea, she might not have wanted to get you involved. Or maybe…maybe she never got the chance to get that far,” Garrett said gently.

Chelsea nodded.

“I still don’t know why she’d name the baby after Garrett and then bring him back here,” Jessi said.

“I do,” Chelsea replied, her voice raw. She looked around the room at each of them. “Garrett told me about her visit here, and I’ve had some time to think about this. And I think I know exactly why she did what she did.”

Garrett tilted his head, eager to hear Chelsea’s theory.

“She was here, even if it was just for a short time. And she knew…she saw what you have.”

Garrett frowned, but Chelsea went on.

“When Michele and I were little, we used to pretend a lot. Our favorite make-believe game was the one where we had a big family. Lots of brothers and sisters. A nice big house, with a yard.” She looked down at ol’ Blue. He cocked his ears and whined, then hauled himself to his feet and came to her for a pat, which she gave. “Even a dog,” she said, stroking his head and smiling. But it was a sad smile. “We’d get out all our dolls and stuffed animals and they’d all play a part in the fantasy.” She drew a breath, swallowed hard. “When my sister walked through your front door, she must have seen our childhood make-believe world come true, in everything you have right here. And not just because of the big house, or the dog, or the number of people here. Because of the love that fills this place. She must have thought this would be the happiest home in the world for a child. So later, when she had to find a safe place for her baby, she thought of this place.”

“So, she brought little Ethan here and left him on our doorstep,” Jessi said. “And it was probably the highest compliment anyone’s ever paid us, Chelsea. Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to have these big lugs. Thanks for reminding me.”

Elliot cleared his throat, averting his gaze momentarily. Wes just stared down at that baby in his lap as if he was seeing him for the first time.

“Chelsea, we haven’t talked about this before,” Garrett said as she took her seat in the rocker once more. “You don’t have to now, if it’s too much. But I checked with the Texas Rangers in El Paso earlier today. They said Michele died of a drug overdose and that they had no reason to suspect foul play.”

Chelsea’s eyes widened and she looked up at him fast. “You didn’t tell them about Ethan—”

“No. Of course not. I don’t want his father coming for him any more than you do. But that’s going to have to be dealt with sooner or later. The man has a legal

claim–”

Chelsea reached across the short distance between his chair and hers, clasping one of Garrett’s hands with two of her own. “Garrett, no. You can’t let him take Ethan. Not ever. He killed my sister. I know he did.”

Her eyes were enough to send his heart slamming against his rib cage. But he was a sheriff after all. He needed facts, “Don’t you think your…past experiences…might be clouding your judgment, though?”

She shook her head, squeezing his hand more tightly. “The heroin was injected. My sister never did drugs in her life. She was running scared and she left her baby. She wouldn’t have done that just so she could go shoot herself up with drugs. She wouldn’t have left Ethan unless she knew she was in danger. Those things alone would convince me, Garrett. But she also had a phobia about needles. She never would have injected anything into her own body. She’d have passed out at the sight of a hypodermic.”

Garrett frowned. “Did you tell the Rangers that?”

“No. I wasn’t even thinking clearly, and then I came here and…” She released his hand, closed her eyes. “I just left her there. I shouldn’t have done that; I shouldn’t have left my sister there alone.”