The Reluctant Wrangler (13 page)

Tanner nailed him with his gaze. “Why is she here? Did you get a hint as to the reason?”

Mac shook his head. “There was nothing in the letter that alluded to a reason. Maybe she wanted money. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that has happened.”

Tanner turned to Jules. “You should have checked her out.”

With her head held high, Jules took her seat. “I did. Was I supposed to get her pedigree? Find out who her family is, her parents’ names? All applicants are thoroughly screened, as they are for any business. Do
not
lay this at my door.”

Running his hand through his hair, Tanner sighed. “I’m sorry. You aren’t to blame. I know you do a thorough job.”

“And I’m sorry, too,” Mac said. “The last thing I wanted to do is hurt either of you, but not knowing why she’s here, I didn’t want you to be blindsided when you discovered who she is. It would have happened, sooner or later, whatever her plans.”

“We’ll have to let her go,” Tanner announced.

“We need to talk to her first,” Jules countered, a stubborn tilt to her chin.

“Maybe you should go get her and bring her here.”

Jules shook her head. “I— No. She’ll know something’s wrong as soon as she sees me, and I’m not going to be the one to condemn her, as you are.”

“Jules—”

“I have her cell-phone number. I can call her and ask her to come to the house.”

Tanner nodded. “If that’s how you want to do it.”

“I’ll tell her,” Mac said.

Tanner and Jules turned to look at him. “That isn’t necessary,” Jules assured him.

“It is,” he answered. Jules didn’t look convinced. “I won’t say anything, only tell her she’s wanted here.”

Jules looked to Tanner, who shrugged. “All right,” she said with a sigh. “If that’s what you both think is best. But please treat her kindly. We don’t know the whole story.”

I
T WAS GROWING DARK
when Nikki opened her eyes and discovered that Mac had gone. Stretching, she smiled. It was wrong to do what they’d done, especially here in
her room, but she didn’t regret it. And no matter what happened next, she never would.

Finally rested, she climbed out of bed, a stab of guilt for sleeping so long hitting her. She slipped into her clothes, but feeling a chill in the air, she exchanged her T-shirt for a short, wooly sweater. Still smiling, she ran a brush through her long hair, then went into the sitting room, wondering if she should find something to eat.

But she wasn’t hungry. Not for food, anyway. Instead, she grabbed the throw on the back of the sofa and snuggled under it. She reached for her grandmother’s letter, but noticed it was no longer in the book where she’d put it. Before she could wonder why, there was a knock on her door.

She smiled when she saw Mac standing in the hallway. “Back so soon?” she asked, teasing, and opened the door wide.

“Tanner and Jules would like to see you.”

His voice was hard, but held no emotion. Tilting her head to the side, she looked at him. “Is something wrong?”

Instead of answering her question, he said, “They’re in Tanner’s office.”

“All right.” She didn’t know what this was about, but there was definitely something wrong with Mac. Her heart leaped to her throat, and her hand flew to her mouth.
Or Kirby.
“Is Kirby—”

“As soon as possible.”

“But…”

His blue eyes hardened. “Kirby’s fine.”

Nodding, she glanced around the room, taking it all in, as if it would give her an answer. Something was
wrong—terribly wrong—and it seemed Mac wasn’t willing to tell her.

Stepping out into the hallway, she closed the door behind her, ready to ask why Tanner needed to see her. But Mac was acting so strangely and was already halfway down the hall.

Once outside, she had to run to try to keep up with him, and by the time she did, they were in the house at the door to Tanner’s office.

“Are you coming in, too?” she asked, a little out of breath.

Instead of answering, he tapped lightly on the door. From inside, she heard Jules’s voice telling them to come in.

Nikki’s gaze went immediately to Tanner, who sat behind a large wooden desk, his hands clasped on top of it. When the door clicked behind her, she turned, expecting to see Mac, but he wasn’t there. She caught sight of Jules, sitting in a high-backed wing chair, across from Tanner’s desk.

Clearing her throat, she tried to smile. “You wanted to see me?”

“Please sit down, Nikki,” Jules said.

Nikki walked to the chair next to her, but didn’t sit. Something wasn’t right. “N-no, I’ll stand, if you don’t mind.”

“Why are you at the Rocking O, Nikki?” Tanner asked, a harsh quality in his voice she’d never heard.

“I’m here because—” A vision of Ayita’s letter, on top of the book by her sofa, flashed through her mind. She hadn’t left it there, she was sure. She’d put it in the book when Mac had come to the door, and he’d gone while— “Oh, my,” she whispered, and sank into the chair behind her.

She turned to look at Jules, who, for the first time Nikki could remember, looked confused and distraught. “Would you mind answering the question?” Jules asked, glancing at Tanner.

Nikki nodded slowly. Her life at the Bent Tree was over, of that she was certain. She’d come under false pretenses, but not to hurt anyone. She’d wanted only to meet her brother.

Lifting her head high, as her grandmother would expect her to do when admitting a wrong, she answered. “I came here for two reasons. The first was to help children.” She glanced at Jules, who gave her a small but sad smile. “The second reason,” she said, turning to Tanner, “was to get to know you.”

“What else?” he answered, his frown formidable.

“Nothing more than that.”

“I don’t believe you.”

His words were like a slap in the face. She’d always been honest, and in time she had hoped to tell him who she was. “I’d like to explain,” she said.

Before Tanner could answer, Jules did. “I’d like to hear it.”

Nikki searched for the right words to tell her story, even knowing it wouldn’t help. “As you both know, I’m half Cherokee.” She saw a slight flicker cross Tanner’s face, but ignored it and continued. “I spent my early childhood with my Cherokee mother. I didn’t know who my father was until I was thirteen.”

“And now you’re claiming—”

“Hush, Tanner,” Jules told him. “Let her finish.”

Nikki didn’t look at him. He’d already guessed what she was going to say. Mac had obviously told them both. Knowing that broke her heart. But there wasn’t time to
examine it. Jules and Tanner needed to hear it from her, not as an accusation.

“My parents were married, but…” She took a deep breath and forced herself to stand. “My mother wasn’t bad. She was young, headstrong and self-centered, and she’s lived with the guilt of what she did.”

She glanced at Tanner. His eyes were narrowed and he was frowning, but it was his hands gripping the chair that drew her attention.

She couldn’t stop now. She had to finish and tell him. Wrapping her mind around the happy ending she’d imagined, she took a deep, shaking breath. “I hope you can forgive her someday. And forgive me, too.”

“No.”

“Sally Rains is my mother, Tanner. Brody O’Brien is my—”

“That’s not possible.”

“Listen to her, Tanner,” Jules said.

“I don’t need to,” he answered, standing. “This is a crazy story, something she made up. I don’t have a—”

“A sister,” Jules finished for him. “And maybe you don’t or maybe you just never knew. If you’d just listen.”

Standing in front of Tanner, Nikki had never felt so alone or so lost. Even Jules had accusation in her eyes, although she was kind enough not to voice it.

“I’m sorry you don’t believe me,” Nikki said, “or think that I’m here for anything other than what I’ve told you. I know how hard it must have been for you when Sally left. It was shameful, and I can understand how you felt and still feel. But she changed. When she left here, she didn’t know she was pregnant with me. She tried…”

Tears threatened in the silence of the room, but she
forced herself to be strong. “She called here when I was two. She asked to see you and Tucker, but a woman answered and refused to tell her anything. She told my mother never to contact or try to see you.” Closing her eyes, she prayed for strength. “She never did again.”

When she opened her eyes, Tanner started to speak, but Nikki wasn’t finished. “I was wrong to deceive you, to not tell you. My mother warned me that we weren’t wanted here. I thought—” She shook her head. “I knew there was a chance you would turn me away, but I thought maybe if you had the chance to get to know me first…”

Jules stood and glanced at Tanner. “Let’s save this for tomorrow. Tanner is—”

“I’d like you to leave, Nikki,” Tanner said as if he hadn’t heard his wife. “Jules can send you whatever pay she owes you, but—”

Jules took a step forward. “You can’t do that,” she told him. “I hired her.”

Nikki had had enough punishment for one night. She would never quit blaming herself, her pride, her desire to know her family. She’d known the second she realized why she’d been called to Tanner’s office that she wouldn’t be wanted.

Without another word she walked to the door and slipped out of the room. She’d taken only a few steps when she realized the enormity of the situation. She’d never see Kirby again. She’d never be able to protect him, to give him a hug.

Through the tears in her eyes she saw Mac standing in the hallway. His face was like a mask, revealing nothing. Squaring her shoulders, she kept walking. He would never know that he had destroyed her. But in a
dark, secret part of her heart, she knew she had been the destroyer by not being honest.

When she reached him, she stopped, praying she wouldn’t cry in front of him. “Tell Kirby…” She took a deep breath. “Tell him he’ll be okay. Look after him, Mac. He trusts you.”

Mac stared after Nikki as she left the house. A part of him wanted to go to her and ask for forgiveness, but he couldn’t. She’d fooled them all, deceived them, just as his parents had deceived him.

Pushing away from the wall, he turned for the office. It was obvious that Nikki was leaving. His mind raced back to the night he’d helped her unload her belongings from her car, but he forced it from his mind. Now was not the time to think about it. There would probably never be a time when he wanted to revisit the past few weeks.

“Back again, are you?”

The soft Irish lilt told him Bridey was behind him, and he turned to see her coming from the kitchen, carrying two coffee cups. “More like still here,” he answered, stopping to wait for her.

“I’ll have to get another cup for you, but—”

“There’s no need for that. I can get my own if I need it.”

She smiled. “I’ve heard the Scots can be quite pleasant and helpful at times.”

Mac shook his head and chuckled, putting aside the reason he was there. “I hate to put a halt to the fun,
Bridey, but I’m not the Scotsman you think I am. I’m only Scottish by name, not by birth.”

One thin eyebrow lifted. “So you say? Well, there’s no matter. We can still be friends.”

They walked to the office together, Bridey talking about how she’d always known, while Mac heard only a part of what she said. When they reached the door, Mac tapped on it for her, and then opened it to let her pass in front of him.

At first glance, he noticed that Jules was standing by the window, looking out, while Tanner was still at his desk. Neither was speaking. “Are we intruding?” he asked.

“Not at all,” Jules said, turning to glance at her husband. “Come in, both of you, and sit down.”

He looked at Bridey, not knowing if he should speak about what had gone on before, before asking, “You fired her?”

“Of course,” Tanner answered.

Jules ignored her husband. “Because Tanner can’t let go of a lifelong grudge.”

“She abandoned us, Jules!” Tanner said, his face drawn with emotional pain. He stood and walked toward his wife. “How do you think I should feel?”

“And Nikki had what to do with that?” Jules asked.

“She never tried to see us, never called again to see if we were all right. I was seven years old!”

His words hung in the air until a voice not yet heard from spoke. “It’s my fault.”

They all turned to look at Bridey, who sat on one of the chairs, a tear sliding down her usually rosy cheek. “What?” Tanner asked.

“Sally called once,” she said, wiping the tear away. “It was a year or two after she’d left, maybe a little longer.
She wanted to come see you boys. I thought she wanted to come back.” She shook her head. “I didn’t give her the chance to say so. I told her you and Tucker were fine, and you didn’t need her. I insisted she never call again and that she never try to contact either of you or try to see you. I said I would call the sheriff and have her taken away if she did.”

Tanner ran a hand over his face. “You never said anything.”

Bridey looked from Jules to Mac to Tanner. “Pride can make a person do and say things they shouldn’t. I was angry with her, and maybe a little jealous. I didn’t want to share you boys with anyone. Not even your mother.”

Jules moved to kneel beside Bridey’s chair. “She didn’t say anything about a daughter?”

Sniffing back tears, Bridey shook her head. “I never gave her a chance.”

Nodding, Jules held her hand. “It’s all right, Bridey. I understand why you did it. You thought you were protecting the boys.”

“But it was wrong,” Bridey answered. Her eyes shimmered with more tears. “How can I ever make it up to you, Tanner?”

He moved to where she sat with Jules and leaned down, close to her. “There’s no need to do that. You did it out of love.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her.

She gave him a watery smile and took it, dabbing at her eyes.

Stunned, Mac didn’t know what to think. “I guess I don’t know what’s going on,” he admitted. “And maybe it’s none of my business…”

“Tanner?” Jules asked, looking at her husband.

Tanner nodded. “He deserves to know.” Turning to Mac, he sighed. “I don’t know where to begin, but I may have done Nikki a disservice.”

Mac didn’t believe anyone had done anything wrong except Nikki, but he was willing to listen. “So what’s the story?”

Tanner settled on his desk. “It’s a long one, but if you’re willing to hear it…”

Mac nodded. Maybe it would clear up a few questions he had.

“My dad, Bridey’s twin brother, was a bull rider. He fell in love with a young Cherokee girl and wanted to marry her, but her parents felt she was too young, so they told him they would give their blessing when she turned eighteen. They may have hoped the attraction would wear off. I don’t know. But as soon as she was eighteen, Brody and Sally married.”

“Too many people marry too young,” Mac said.

Tanner glanced at his wife. “Brody bought the land that’s now the Rocking O, built this house, although a bit smaller, and moved his new wife here. Within a year, she had me. But she was a barrel racer and all she wanted was to rodeo. When I was two, she disappeared, but Brody quickly found her on the rodeo circuit and brought her home. Her parents weren’t happy, from what I’ve been told, but they’d warned him that she was young when he’d married her. A year later my brother, Tucker, was born. Sally stayed for a few years, and then left again. I was seven by then, and Tucker was four. I’ve never seen her since then.”

“Wow,” Mac said. “A mother who left her children. That had to be hard for you to deal with.” At least he hadn’t been abandoned. In fact, quite the opposite.

“Bridey came to live with us, and my dad left to ride
the rodeo circuit, thinking that’s where Sally had gone. But he died when a bull’s hoof connected with his head. I was fourteen by then, and tried to help Bridey raise Tucker.” Tanner shook his head. “That was probably the worst thing I ever did.”

“Jules told me your brother left when he was…fifteen?”

Tanner nodded, but said nothing else.

“So Nikki
is
your sister?”

“It certainly seems that way.”

Jules quickly gave her opinion. “There’s no doubt in my mind that she is.”

Out of the corner of his eye Mac saw Bridey get to her feet.

“I can give you proof,” she said, “if you’ll wait a minute or two.”

Mac was stunned and noticed Jules and Tanner were, too, as Bridey hurried out the door. Tanner paced the length of the room, while Jules simply watched him, a curious expression on her face.

“You know,” she said, looking first at Tanner, then at Mac, “the two of you are quite the pair.”

“What do you mean?” Tanner asked.

“You, Mac,” she said, pointing a finger at him, “have it in your head that Nikki was after something. Do you really think she wanted money?”

Mac stared at her. “I don’t know. All I know is that she wasn’t honest, and that always leads to other things.”

She stared back. “Always?” But before he could answer, she turned to Tanner. “And you.” She shook her head. “You seem to believe she made up the story about being your sister. Did either of you think that you both might be wrong?”

They were saved from answering when Bridey
returned with a photo frame in her hand. “’Tis my mother,” she announced, handing the frame to Tanner. “Your grandmother.”

Tanner looked at the picture, his eyes widening. “Those eyes… And that
mouth.
” He looked at Jules. “All right, you win. She wasn’t lying about being my sister. But that doesn’t excuse the fact that she wasn’t honest about it.”

“And I don’t blame her for that,” Jules answered, and returned to her chair.

Mac turned to Bridey. “You knew it the minute you saw her.”

“I suspected,” Bridey admitted. “At first. But it wasn’t long before I was certain.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” Tanner asked.

Bridey’s smile was sad. “Because for once, I wasn’t going to step in where I shouldn’t.”

No one spoke for a moment, and then Mac broke the silence. “It’s her deception that bothers me,” he admitted. “I don’t know if I can forget about that.”

Jules looked at him, her smile filled with regret. “She had good reason,” she said, glancing at her husband. “I hope that in time—”

She was interrupted by the telephone ringing. “It could be Nikki, although I doubt it,” she said.

Nodding, Tanner grabbed the phone, but Mac could tell by the way he answered that the call wasn’t from Nikki. Tanner handed the phone to Jules.

“This is Jules O’Brien,” she said, then fell quiet. “Oh, dear. Yes, I understand. We’ll be there as quickly as possible. And thank you.”

“Who was it?” Tanner asked.

Mac felt a ton of weight hit him. “Is it Kirby?”

Jules nodded. “He’s been taken to the hospital. They’d like for us to come.”

“Where’s his father?” Mac asked.

Jules didn’t look at him. “They… They didn’t say, exactly.”

Tanner looked at his watch. “You’re going to Oklahoma City?”

Jules nodded.

“It’s late, so the traffic won’t be bad. We should make good time.”

“I’m going, too,” Mac announced. Nikki had asked him to look after the boy, and even though he was still reeling from her deception, he wouldn’t let Kirby down. “I’ll drive.”

“All right,” Tanner said, and turned to Bridey. “Can you stay here with the boys?”

“Linda Davidson will be here in the morning,” Jules reminded them. “If we’re not back, I’m sure she can help. You can explain what’s happened.”

Bridey nodded. “I’m happy to watch the boys. It’s what I do best.”

While Jules explained what might need to be done during their absence, Tanner grabbed his keys and tossed them to Mac. “You get the truck,” he told him. “I’m going to call Morgan and see if he can give us some assistance. Meet me out front.”

“H
E’S IN HERE
,” the nurse said, leading them to one of the examining rooms.

“Thank you,” Jules said.

Behind her, Mac’s body still hummed from the adrenaline of the drive. It hadn’t taken them as much time as he’d thought it would, but then he’d broken most of the
speed limits. He hadn’t been stopped, though. Morgan had led the way, lights flashing.

“Kirby, are you okay?” he heard Jules ask as Mac stepped into the room.

Kirby, looking even smaller than usual, sat on the padded examining table, his left arm in a sling. “I have a broken arm,” he announced with a small smile. But the smile widened when he met Mac’s gaze. “Hi, Mac.”

“How’re you doing?” Mac asked, stepping closer.

“Okay. Where’s Nikki?”

Mac looked at Jules, who said nothing, but the look on her face said it was his fault, and he’d have to live with the consequences. “She—she couldn’t come with us.”

“Is she sick?” Kirby asked.

It was more than he’d heard from Kirby since he’d started work at the ranch. Unfortunately it wasn’t the best time to be asking questions. The only answers Mac had would just upset the small boy.

The door opened and a man Mac suspected was the doctor stepped in. “Mrs. O’Brien, can I speak with you?”

Jules nodded, but turned to Kirby. “You stay here and talk to Mac. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

When she was gone, Mac moved closer to Kirby. “Does it hurt?”

Kirby shrugged. “It did, but they gave me some medicine and said I’d feel better.”

“How did you break it?”

Kirby didn’t answer immediately, and didn’t look Mac in the eye when he finally did. “I fell.”

Mac didn’t believe him. It was the same answer he’d given when Nikki had asked about the scar on his cheek. “Just fell out of bed?”

Nodding, Kirby peeked up at him, and the nod changed to a shake of his head. “I was…jumping on the bed and fell off. I guess I fell on something.”

Same story.
But this time he’d added the bed jumping. Mac still didn’t believe it.

“Mac?”

He turned around to see Jules in the doorway.

“Can you come out here for a second?”

Tanner appeared behind her. “I’ll sit with Kirby,” he said.

Mac nodded, then turned to pat Kirby’s leg. “Stay right where you are, big guy. I won’t be long. I promise.”

“Over here,” Jules called to him when he stepped into the hallway.

“I’m Dr. Stewart,” the man with her said. “Mrs. O’Brien wanted you to see the X-rays of Kirby’s arm.”

Mac followed them down the hall to an X-ray panel. He wasn’t sure how much he could tell from a picture of some bones, but he wasn’t going to argue.

The doctor flipped a switch, and a soft, fluorescent light came on. Mac looked at the X-rays clipped to the front of the light box.

“See that?” the doctor said, pointing to a place in what looked like the middle of an upper arm.

“It isn’t straight,” Mac said, puzzled by the look of the bone.

“It’s called a spiral fracture,” Dr. Stewart explained. “We see them too often, especially with smaller children. Did Kirby mention how his arm was broken?”

Mac shrugged. “He said he was jumping on the bed and fell, but I don’t believe that.”

“Good. I’m glad you’re questioning it.” He looked at Jules, then turned back to Mac. “This kind of fracture is usually a good sign that there’s been abuse.”

Mac suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Both he and Nikki had suspected there’d been things that had happened to Kirby that he wasn’t willing to talk about. This was the proof.

“I’ll show you how the fracture occurs.” The doctor took Mac’s upper arm and wrapped his fingers around as much as possible. “Obviously I can’t show you exactly,” he said with a grim smile. “You’re much bigger than a child. But a spiral fracture is caused when the arm is twisted…like this.”

He attempted to do the same to Mac’s arm to show how it was done, and Mac winced. “I see,” he said rubbing where the doctor had twisted his arm. He turned to Jules. “Somebody is looking into this, aren’t they?”

“His father has been picked up and is claiming he didn’t do it.”

“What about the caseworker? Where the hell was she?” Mac demanded furiously.