Midnight Thunder(INCR) (14 page)

“And I'm grateful for that. I wasn't looking forward to telling you. The thing is, Herb and I had a chance to talk last night, and we're agreed that it might be time to hang it up. We had a good run, and if that's all she wrote, so be it.”

Cade exchanged a look with Damon and Finn. “Maybe so, but we want to see if we can come up with some options. We might as well try, right?”

“That's my feeling,” Damon said. “We just need to check out a few things.”

Rosie's expression was stern. “But no heroics. Is that understood?”

Damon nodded. “Understood. We—” He stopped talking and glanced toward the doorway where Molly had appeared, a package clutched to her chest. “Hey, Molly. What's up?”

“She has something for me.” Cade walked toward her, still unable to believe he had a cousin. No, several cousins.

“Sorry to interrupt.” She held out the package. “But I wanted you to have these.”

“Come on in, Molly,” Herb said.

“Thanks, but I can't.” She straightened her large tortoiseshell glasses. “I have an interview at the college. But thanks for calling with the good news this morning. I'm so glad you're doing better, Rosie.”

“You and me both.” Rosie smiled at her. “Good luck with your interview. They'd be nuts not to hire you.”

“Fingers crossed. See you all later!” She whisked out the door and down the hall, heels tapping on the bare floor.

Cade looked at the package wrapped in plain brown paper. It felt like a book, a fairly large one, the kind people put on coffee tables.

Damon sauntered over. “Are you going to open it or drive us all crazy?”

“He doesn't have to if he doesn't want to,” Finn said.

“No, it's okay.” He took off the wrapping and handed it to Damon. “Hold this.”

“As you wish, my liege.”

“Bite me, Harrison.” Cade had opened it upside down, and all he could see was a plain black binding. The package turned out to be two books, and when he flipped them over, he sucked in a breath. Gallagher Family Tree was embossed in gold on the front of the first book. The second one was identical, except it was for the Chance family.

“Wow, that's cool.” Damon peered over his shoulder. “Do you suppose you're in there?”

“Guess so.” He opened the front cover and on the inside page Molly had written, “To Cade—Welcome to the family. Love, Molly.” His throat tightened and he was terrified that he might lose it. He hadn't cried in fifteen years and damned if he'd do it now, especially in front of everybody.

He shoved the books at Damon. “I left something in the truck. Be right back.” And he bolted out the door.

When he got to the parking lot, his eyes were damp and he realized he couldn't have come out here to grab something from either truck. Damon had his keys and Lexi had hers.

Because she was smart enough to realize that, he wasn't surprised to hear her voice.

“You'll need a key.”

He swiped at his eyes before turning to face her. He didn't know what to say, how to explain.

Apparently he didn't have to. Without a word, she came over and wrapped her arms around him.

With a groan he pulled her close and rested his cheek against her soft curls.

She hugged him tight. “It's a lot to take in.”

“Yeah.” And he held on to her until the knot in his chest loosened and he could breathe. “You know what I keep thinking?”

“What?”

“If my mom had let herself reconnect with her people, she'd be alive.”

“Oh, Cade.” She hugged him tighter. “I don't think she was strong enough to face them.”

“Guess not.”

“But you are.”

“I hope so.” The prospect still made his stomach hurt. “I have to admit I'm real nervous about meeting all of them.”

“But you will meet them, and it'll be great.”

“Yeah.” He knew she expected that of him, but he wasn't sure if he could live up to those expectations. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his head and looked around to see if anyone else had come out, like Damon, for instance, with the keys to Cade's truck. He hadn't, thank God.

She gazed up at him. “Better?”

“Yes. Thanks.” He hesitated. “I didn't have anything to come out here for.”

“I know. We all know.”

“Damned embarrassing.”

“I saw what she wrote. I would have been worried if you hadn't reacted like this. Why do you suppose she delivered it and hurried off?”

“She had an interview.”

“Nice timing, don't you think?”

He stared at her. “So she's as jacked up about this discovery as I am?”

“Maybe not quite as much or in the same way, but I can tell that meeting you has touched her deeply. She's really big on family, which makes this discovery precious to her.”

“I don't know why. She's knee-deep in relatives. What's so special about one more?”

Lexi smiled. “You were the boy who went missing, the little lamb who got lost, the calf who strayed from the herd, the—”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” She'd made him laugh, which he'd sorely needed. He'd been taking himself way too seriously. “We'd better get back in there. We have work to do.”

“Like what?”

“We need to gang up on Finn so he'll call Chelsea and grovel.”

 

13

“O
KAY
,
BUT
I'
M
NOT
groveling in front of you guys.” Finn pushed back his chair. They'd all gathered in the hospital's dining area for lunch, including Herb. They'd brought him in on the discussion at Lexi's insistence. She'd seen no point in bothering Chelsea if Herb and Rosie would nix the idea.

Herb, it turned out, thought crowdfunding was a brilliant concept. He'd understood the significance of Rosie's broken heart syndrome and knew that selling the ranch wasn't a good option. Herb's excitement about getting Chelsea on board had sealed the deal for Finn.

He pulled out his phone. “Just warning you, she might not answer my call.”

“One way to find out,” Damon said.

“See you guys in a few.” Finn walked away.

“What if she doesn't answer?” Herb asked the group at the table.

“I could be wrong,” Lexi said, “but if she's cared for him all this time, I think she'll answer.”

Cade leaned back in his chair and adjusted the tilt of his Stetson. “I hope he doesn't louse it up.”

“Me, too.” Damon polished off his coffee. “Sounds as if he flat out told her his business takes precedence over everything. That's brutal.”

“Maybe for him it does,” Lexi said.

Damon sighed. “It probably does, and I get that. He never should have married Alison, and I don't blame him for not wanting to hook up with someone, knowing it could be the same story, with him working all the time and her complaining about it. But you can put it more diplomatically, like, ‘I fantasize about a day when I can spend time with a terrific woman like you. I'll probably regret this decision for the rest of my life.' Something like that.”

Cade grinned. “I'm guessing you've delivered that line a time or two.”

“Sure.” Damon shrugged. “I'm in no position to settle down, either. If Lexi's two-cat plan works out, then I'll have friendly faces to greet me when I walk in the door. That's all I need.”

“Here comes Finn,” Cade said. “He looks kind of wrecked.”

Lexi mentally crossed her fingers and prayed her instincts were right about a woman she'd never met.

Finn sank down onto a chair and took a deep breath. He did look wrecked. After taking off the old straw cowboy hat he'd continued to wear all day, he ran his fingers through his coal-black hair. Then he repositioned the hat. “She's going to talk to us on Skype tonight at four her time, which will be five ours. And she's not charging us for the initial consultation.”

“Yee-haw!” Damon clapped him on the back. “Congratulations, O'Roarke. I'd buy you a drink, but they don't serve beer in this establishment.”

Finn gave him a tired smile. “Speaking of that, we're stopping to pick up beer on the way home and I'm choosing it.”

“And you're not paying,” Cade said. “Harrison and I are treating you to whatever fancy-ass beer you want, bro.” Then he looked over at Herb. “We'll need to borrow your computer, and I hope to hell you have Skype on it.”

“We do. Rosie's started using it a little bit.” Herb paused to glance at everyone. “I think it's time to tell her what's up.”

“So do I,” Lexi said. “Since Chelsea's agreed to help, then Rosie should know what's going on.”

Cade nodded. “Let's go tell her. If she has some big objection to the idea, then Finn can cancel the Skype call with Chelsea.”

“I'd better not have to cancel.” Finn gave them all a dark look. “That wasn't an easy conversation to have, FYI. She made it clear she was only helping because she's heard me rave about my life at Thunder Mountain and she admires Rosie and Herb.”

Herb smiled. “That's nice to hear.”

“She also claimed to be in shock that I was calling her from Wyoming. She asked if I wanted her to drive past O'Roarke's to see if it was still standing without me being there.”

Cade gave him a look of sympathy. “Any name-calling?”

“Not this time. Oh, wait. When she answered, she said, ‘If it isn't the anal control freak.' So I guess that counts.”

“Here's an idea,” Damon said. “When we Skype with her tonight, you just stay in the background.”

Cade shook his head. “That's the wrong approach. We don't want him to come off as a coward who's afraid to face her.”

“I agree with Cade.” Lexi was eager to meet this woman, even if she'd only be an image on a computer screen.

“Wish I could be there,” Herb said, “but I don't feel right leaving Rosie.” His phone chimed. “And there she is.” He answered the phone. “You bet. We're on our way.” He disconnected and stood. “The doc's there. She has the rest of the test results.”

Thirty minutes later, Rosie's doctor had left the room and Rosie glanced over at the case of Baileys in the corner. “Now that it's official that I don't have heart disease, seems like we ought to bust out some of that booze and have a party.”

“No, that's for you,” Cade said. “And you can't have any yet.”

“We'll party after you get home.” Herb had pulled up a chair so he could hold her hand. “Maybe not tomorrow, but soon.”

“Good.” Rosie glanced around the room. “We definitely need a celebration before my boys take off.”

“We'll have one,” Herb said. “But right now, we have a proposition for you to consider.”

Lexi watched Rosie's expression as Herb described the crowdfunding idea. She seemed to be holding back any possible excitement, as if she might be afraid to hope that the ranch could be saved.

When Herb finished, she didn't say anything.

Lexi swallowed. Surely Rosie wouldn't forbid them to do this, but if she did, then they'd have to abandon the project and the ranch would be sold.

At last Rosie spoke. “Let me make sure I understand. First we have to have some worthwhile project that will get people to donate but will also produce income, like Finn's microbrewery.”

Finn nodded. “Yep.”

“Once we have this worthwhile project, which at this stage is a complete unknown, we then set an amount for the campaign that will pay off the loan and give us the funds to launch the project. Then we have to reach that amount by the deadline of September 1, or the whole thing falls apart and we give all the money back.”

“It won't fall apart,” Lexi said. “It's going to work. Chelsea was the brains behind Finn's operation, and—”

“Hey.” Finn chuckled. “Not
all
the brains.”

“Sorry.”

“Just most of the brains,” Finn said. “She knows the ins and outs of crowdfunding. If anybody can help us find the right project, she can. I should mention that there's a flexible funding option where you can keep the money if you don't meet the goal, but I know Chelsea doesn't recommend that because it looks like you don't have confidence in your project.”

Rosie fell silent again, and Lexi held her breath. She glanced at Cade and he met her gaze, his expression tense.

“Well, if we don't do something,” Rosie said, “we'll lose the ranch.”

Herb took a shaky breath. “Yes, we will.”

“I've already told myself that I can handle that, so if this doesn't pan out, we're no worse off.” She gave everyone a brave smile. “So let's go for it.”

Amid the cheers and the hugs that followed, Lexi kept thinking of Rosie's brave smile. What if they got her hopes up only to fail? What if the letdown affected her and she had an actual heart attack next time?

But she kept her thoughts to herself until she was driving back to the ranch with Cade in the passenger seat. Then she poured out all her misgivings about what they were attempting to do.

He listened to her without speaking. When she was finished, he sighed. “I get all that, and we're taking a risk. But we're taking a risk if we do nothing. The thought of losing the ranch literally broke her heart. What happens on the day that she has to drive away from it forever?”

“That would be awful. She's bonded to that place, I think even more than Herb is. She once told me she hoped to stay on that ranch until she turns toes up.”

“Then I think that's your answer. We have to fight to keep her there. I always wondered if there would be any way I could repay Rosie and Herb for what they've done for me. This is it, Lexi. This is what I can do.”

She nodded. “I know you're right, but I've never taken on such a huge responsibility before. We're meddling in their lives, trying to change the course of history.”

“And what if we succeed? Wouldn't that be the greatest thing ever, to know we stepped in and found a way for Rosie to stay on the ranch until she turns toes up?”

“Yeah, it would.”

Cade pulled out his phone and checked the time. “We'll have just enough time to bring the horses in and feed them before our Skype date with Chelsea.”

“Right.” Damon and Finn were making a beer run on the way home, so Lexi and Cade were on horse patrol. “Don't forget about Ringo.”

“I won't, but let's leave him in the cabin until after the Skype call so he doesn't turn into a distraction. We'll bring him up to the house while we're having dinner.”

“Damon and Finn will love that.”

“Damon and Finn need to get a life.”

“I know, right?” Lexi turned down the road that led to the ranch. “I understand that they both want to be financially successful, but they're sacrificing so much.”

“They are, but I shouldn't make flip comments like I just did. Of course they need to get a life. We all do. In spite of what Rosie and Herb did for us, we're still damaged. The truth is, Damon and Finn don't know how to get a life. As for me, I'm...working on it.”

That little speech stopped her in her tracks. She had no business comparing the guys who'd ended up at Thunder Mountain Ranch with kids who'd had moms and dads, silly arguments with siblings, bedrooms decorated with sports memorabilia and holidays with their extended family. In other words, a normal life.

She glanced at him. “For what it's worth, I think you're doing a great job.”

“Thanks.” He smiled and reached over to stroke her cheek. “You're right about the driving thing. I've never ridden with you, and for the first ten or fifteen minutes, it was weird as hell.”

“I knew that.”

“But I got used to it, and now I kinda like it. You're sexy when you drive.”

“I am?”

“Absolutely. Every time you turn the wheel your breasts move ever so gently under your T-shirt. It's fun to watch.”

“I'm glad that I kept you entertained.”

“Oh, I was highly entertained. When your fingers curl around the gearshift, I just naturally think about how it feels when you hold on to my—”

“Don't say it.” Heat sizzled in her veins. Then she groaned. “Too late. The symbolism of the gearshift is now permanently burned into my brain. Thanks a lot.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“It could be in heavy traffic!”

He laughed. “I'm not worried. You're a great driver. You won't let a little sexual imagery interfere with that. I also like to watch the way your thighs flex when you're braking or stepping on the gas.”

“Stop it right now, Gallagher. You're trying to get me hot, and we have horses to round up and feed.” As she parked next to the barn, she looked at the clock on the dash. “And the Skype call with Chelsea is in forty minutes.”

He opened his door. “Then we'd better get moving.”

Coming from anyone else, that would have been an innocent comment. But it would be hours before they were alone again, and his emotions were running hot. She suspected he had plans that didn't involve feeding horses.

When they'd dated, they'd mostly made out in his truck. But Cade's chores on the ranch usually involved working with the horses, so when she'd gone out to see him, she'd helped with that job.

That meant they'd had a few stolen moments in the barn. More than a few, come to think of it. No doubt he remembered one particularly vivid incident in the tack room when they'd been stranded in the barn during an abrupt and violent thunderstorm.

The sky was clear today, but until Damon and Finn arrived, they were completely alone on the ranch. Forty minutes. It wasn't a lot of time, but it was enough time, especially if you were Cade Gallagher.