coming back to the ranch to discover a woman he neither admired nor desired was telling everyone he had fathered her child wasn’t the vision he’d held in his head during the lonely nights in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He had longed for the open spaces of the ranch, the simplicity of working with cattle and horses.
As he leaned back and glanced at Cody gurgling his pleasure in Vanessa’s arms, a picture of Chloe flashed in his head. She looked as pretty as ever. Prettier if that was even possible, with a simple charm he remembered from their youth.
As if someone like her would look at someone like you, he reminded himself.
“He sure knows his mommy,” Vanessa said, tickling the little boy under his chin. “Don’t you, darling?”
His grandmother returned with two steaming mugs of coffee. She set down one within arm’s reach of Grady and settled herself on the large leather couch across from them both, her eyes on Vanessa and the baby.
“Busy happenings in the county today,” Mamie said, her gaze flicking from Vanessa, still absorbed with Cody, to Grady sipping his coffee. “Yesterday Tom Horton discovered a couple of his brand-new ATVs were stolen.”
“They figure the same people who’ve been rustling the cattle and stealing equipment are to blame?” Grady asked.
“Lucy Benson is quite sure it is. This must be so difficult for her.” Grandma Mamie tut-tutted. “Byron McKay is calling for her to quit as sheriff and she’s not getting any closer to the culprits.”
“Byron McKay likes to throw his weight around,” Grady said.
“He’s a big-time rancher, isn’t he?” Vanessa put in, tucking Cody against her while she opened the magazine with her free hand. “I heard he’s got one of the biggest spreads in the county.”
“He’s wealthy enough,” Mamie said. “And he likes to let the members of the cowboy league know it.”
“He’s not president yet, is he?” Grady asked.
“Oh, no,” Grandma protested angrily, as if the idea horrified her. “Carson Thorn still holds that position and the other members will make sure Byron doesn’t ever get in charge.”
“This league... That’s the one that threw the fancy party I was at two weeks ago. What do they do exactly?” Vanessa asked.
“The league formed over a century ago as a service organization,” Grandma Mamie said. “They provide help and resources to the ranchers in the area. There are chapters all over Texas.”
“What kind of help? Like with the branding and stuff?” Vanessa seemed quite interested in the dealings of the league, which puzzled Grady.
“It started to fight cattle rustling and give support when times got hard for fellow ranchers.” Mamie gave Grady a warm smile. “Grady and Ben’s great-grandfather, Bo Stillwater, was one of the founding members.”
“They aren’t helping much for all the cattle rustling going on,” Vanessa said, still turning the pages of her magazine one-handed, seemingly oblivious to her little boy, now, thankfully, sleeping in her arms. “I heard that Byron McKay got some fancy machinery stolen and another cattleman lost some animals. And that town sign thingy is still gone. Not too on the ball, are they?”
“I’m sure they’re doing what they can,” Grady said, cradling the cup of coffee, feeling a sudden chill. Coming home to stories of a rash of thefts of cattle and machinery and equipment was disheartening. The community of Little Horn, with the help of the Lone Star Cowboy League, had always pulled together. Though he had been back only a few days, he already sensed mistrust growing between the local ranchers.
“Funny how nothing’s disappeared from this place, though,” Vanessa said with a sly look. “Maybe the thieves are those kids you’ve got working on that, what is it, ranchers something or other?”
“Future Ranchers program,” Grady said, shooting her a warning look. “And you might want to watch what you say about the girls we’ve got helping here. The Markham sisters’ ranch has been hit, as well.”
“But that Maddy Coles. I mean, she’s a foster kid. She probably has all kind of weird friends.”
“That’s enough,” Grady snapped, angry at her allegations, then frustrated at his shortness with her.
Too many things were happening at once, he thought. His brother, Ben, in the hospital, Vanessa and her ever-changing insinuations, all the upheaval the thefts had caused in the community.
Seeing Chloe hadn’t helped his equilibrium, either. He’d thought hearing about her marriage would ease away the feelings he still harbored, but now she had come back to Little Horn. Single and as attractive as ever.
He felt a clutch of pain in his leg and all thoughts of Chloe vanished with it. He wasn’t the man he used to be and he had nothing to offer any woman. He shot a glance at Vanessa. Especially not with someone like her entangled in his life.
“What puzzles me is all the things other people are receiving,” Grandma said. “The new saddles at Ruby’s, the cattle at the Derrings’ and the clothes for their foster children. It’s all very nice and generous, but it’s puzzling.”
“Well, I wouldn’t mind getting some of the stuff being handed out.” Vanessa tossed the magazine aside then stood in front of Grady and held out the little boy, who had woken up again and was stirring in her arms. “Can you take him? I’m tired. Didn’t sleep a wink last night.”
Grady hadn’t slept much, either, but he said nothing. Instead, he set his coffee on a nearby table and took him from Vanessa. Cody stared up at him with bright eyes and gurgled his pleasure, and Grady felt a tug on his heart. He was such a cute little guy.
“I think you should see about getting that Eva chick back, that nanny you hired,” Vanessa said. “I don’t think I can take care of this little boy by myself.”
Then she sauntered off before Grady could say anything more.
When she was out of earshot his grandmother got up and sat down beside Grady, letting Cody grab her finger with his. “I wish we could hire Eva again, but she’s married now and I want to give her time to concentrate on her husband and married life. I wish I knew what to do.”
“We will take care of him,” Grady said firmly. “He’s a Stillwater. Our flesh and blood. Our responsibility.”
But even as he spoke the brave words, he felt a tremor of apprehension. Ben lay in a coma. He had his own injuries to contend with. His grandmother was getting on in years.
If Vanessa wasn’t stepping up, what would Cody’s future look like? Grady knew getting married wasn’t in the picture for him, so he couldn’t count on creating any kind of family for Cody.
His thoughts, unexpectedly, drifted to Chloe. Her warm smile, as generous as always. Her easy nature.
He pushed them aside as irrelevant. He would never be marriage material.
His mother hadn’t been able to live with an injured man; how could he expect Chloe to?
“Got a new patient for you. Is Salma here?”
Chloe looked up from the makeshift desk she had been given in one corner of the physical therapy department at the doctor standing in front of her. With his droopy moustache and thick eyebrows, Dr. Schuster looked as though he should be riding the range rather than diagnosing and treating patients. Dr. Schuster had taken advantage of this impression and adopted an aw-shucks attitude that put many of his patients at ease.
However, right now he looked anything but as he tapped the file he held against his other hand, the frown on his face giving her cause for concern.
“She’s