This Cowboy's Son

Jesse finished his custard.

“Take the container to Angela in the kitchen and head out back,” Jenny told him. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

The screen door slammed shut behind him. Jenny smiled. Kids made so much noise.

Angus put one foot on the bottom step. On his face, Jenny read a disappointment in Matt that ran much, much deeper than her own.

Angus had always wanted to think the best of Matt, and he hadn’t had Jenny’s firsthand experience with Matt’s leaving.

“Angus, I hate to say ‘I told you so,’ but this is exactly what I expected.”

“Where did he go?”

“I haven’t a clue.”

Angus glanced around the grounds. “I guess he’ll come back for his stuff later.”

Jenny smiled grimly. “Oh, yeah, he’ll be back for Master.”

He didn’t think twice about leaving me behind, but he would never forget his horse.

“Then he’ll go for good,” she continued. “I’m sorry, Angus.”

Angus mounted the stairs and rested a heavy hand on her shoulder. If she could ease his disappointment, she would, but the truth was the truth.

She stood and walked around to the backyard where Jesse played on the jungle gym. She helped him across one part that his arms weren’t long enough for.

Jesse put his small feet on her shoulders and she held his waist. They’d played this game so many times in the past year, but they never grew tired of it.

Jesse squealed and giggled and Jenny laughed. The world felt right again.

Matt knew about his son now, but he wouldn’t stay. Jenny could get on with her plans. She could marry Angus and raise her son on the ranch that was in her blood, that she’d wanted to live on her whole life.

She used to sit up by the cotoneasters as a child and look down on the ranch with such a swell of pride, knowing that someday it would all be hers.

Her dreams had started when she was little more than nine or ten. At the time, her world spun on an axis that was sure and constant.

Her parents loved her. One day, she would have a nice man like Daddy to love her. They were going to build a house on the banks of Still Creek.

Mom and Dad had shown her the piece of land they would give her. It was beautiful. She would raise her family there until the house felt too cramped.

Then they would all move to the big house and Mom and Dad would take the smaller house in the clearing by the stream.

Jenny would live on the ranch her entire life, as her Sterling forefathers had done before her and as her children would do long after.

Then they’d lost everything.

Bankruptcy.

Her heart had broken.

She’d lost hope for many years, but things were finally, blessedly right. Everything would be fine.

Jenny heard a noise behind her. Thinking it was Angus or the housekeeper, she turned with a smile.

Matt stood by the back fence.

Her smile fell away.

The look on Matt’s face terrified her.

He watched her and Jesse play with pure, unadulterated longing. He watched his son with hunger.

“I’m staying to get to know him.” He turned and stalked away and Jenny’s world turned to dust.

CHAPTER FOUR

MATT SAW ANGUS step out of the house, so he walked over to confront him. Why hadn’t Angus ever contacted him, told him that he had a son? The betrayals kept mounting.

Maybe he hadn’t known.

When he noticed Matt, Angus’s expression turned grim. Matt’s hope fell. Angus had known.

“You knew and you never called me?” Matt asked, a world of accusation in his voice.

“I found out only after you got here today. Jenny came and talked to me.” He set his hand on Matt’s shoulder. “How are you doing?”

Matt’s teeth hurt. He struggled to relax his jaw. “I don’t really know. I didn’t have the greatest role model. I don’t have a clue what to do with the boy.”

“Give it time,” Angus said. “It will come to you.”

Matt wasn’t sure about that, but he’d stick around to find out. After he’d paid his debt to Angus, he’d see how things were going with the kid.

In the meantime, he had to deal with his anger toward Jenny. Didn’t Angus think it was wrong of her not to tell him?

“How can you still want to marry a woman who would keep a child from his father? Who would lie to a man about something that important?”

“Matt—” Angus cleared his throat. Whatever he had to say was clearly painful to him. “She wouldn’t have lied to me. She wouldn’t have had reason to.”

That hurt, but Angus was right.

Matt had earned his reputation fair and square, and now had to face the consequences. “Angus!”

A happy shout from the side of the house had both men turning their heads. Jesse barreled across the clearing and threw himself against Angus’s knees.

Angus picked him up and tossed him into the air, catching him effortlessly on the way down. He had a great love for children. Too bad his wife had died before they’d had more than one.

Now that one was dead.

Matt watched Angus with Jesse and wondered if he was trying to replace Kyle with the boy.

“I petted a new horse today.” The pipsqueak had a high voice.

Angus turned to Jenny with concern on his face and Matt could tell it was to see how she was doing after confessing to him.

For God’s sake, Angus shouldn’t be worried about Jenny. He should be worried about Matt. Only Matt. He was the one who’d been wronged. Not Jenny. She could have called him at any time in the past five years.

Jesse took Angus’s face in both of his hands and turned Angus’s attention back to himself. “Hank says I can go in the pool on the weekend if it’s warm enough. Wanna come?”

“Sure.” He put the boy down, but as Jesse turned away and headed for the house, Angus stared down at him with his heart in his eyes, full to overflowing with affection, but Jesse wasn’t Angus’s son. He was Matt’s, and Matt hadn’t had the same time to get to know him as Angus had had.

Had Angus bathed Jesse when he was a baby, changed his diaper, fed him? Had he done all of the things Matt could have done with his son?

Jesse babbled to Angus as if they were best friends.

On his way past Jenny, Angus wrapped his arm around her shoulders and the three of them walked into the house like a real family, leaving Matt feeling like an outsider.

Story of my life.

Matt felt his jaw tighten again as though someone was screwing it on too tightly. He loved Angus, didn’t want to be jealous, didn’t want to resent his relationship with Matt’s son and Jenny, but he did.

Why? You don’t want Jenny for yourself and you don’t know if you want Jesse in your life permanently.

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