The Triplets' Rodeo Man

“I will. It’ll be waiting safe and sound for your return.”

“And when will that be? C’mon, Deacon, I want you to spring me from this place.”

“Aren’t you happy here? You seem to be getting plenty of attention from the ladies,” Cricket said, her tone soothing.

“My heart is already taken,” Josiah said. “Anyway, I was hunting for a girl for Jack.”

“When I saw him ride in January, there was a rumor going around that your son has all the female attention he wants,” Cricket said. “Let’s just focus on you.”

“Was he any good at rodeo?” Josiah asked. “I’ve never seen him ride.”

“He was average,” Cricket said.

Jack straightened. Average! That day he’d placed first with his highest score, the best ride he’d ever had.

“Oh,” Josiah said. “I was kind of hoping he was good at the one thing he’s chased all his life.”

“Well,” Cricket said, “some men are late bloomers.”

Jack blinked. The woman was crazy! She didn’t know what she was talking about. He hadn’t been a late bloomer at anything.

“Later on, Jack mentioned he was considering giving up rodeo,” Cricket said, her tone serene. “Let me see…what did he say he was going to do?” Jack strained, listening to the deacon spin her incredible yarn.

“Oh,” Cricket said, “I remember. He said he’d decided to go into ranching. And do a little math tutoring at the high school. Did you know he got a college degree by correspondence course?”

“He did?” Josiah demanded.

I did? Jack mouthed.

“Yes,” Cricket said. “From what I could tell, he’s very smart and a huge believer in education.”

“That makes me very happy,” Josiah said. “I wish I’d known all this so that I could have told him how proud I am when he was visiting me. I didn’t have a chance,” he said sadly. “We always seem to get into a fight right off the bat.”

“Oh,” Cricket said, “Fathers and eldest sons do that.”

“They do?” Josiah said.

“Sure. And eldest daughters sometimes scrabble with their mothers. I argued a time or two with mine. And my brother.” Jack heard cards being shuffled. “Anyway, you can tell him how proud you are tomorrow.”

“Yes,” Josiah said, sounding happy. “I can. And you know, if he really wants to go into ranching, his brothers have started a new breeding business between them. They’d probably really appreciate the help. Heavens knows I’ve got the land. In fact,” he said, lowering his voice so that Jack had to really bend an ear to hear, “it’s time for me to rewrite my will.”

“Oh, dear,” Cricket said, “let’s play Twenty-one and not think about wills, Josiah.”

“Are preachers supposed to know how to play cards?” Josiah demanded.

“It’s either this or dice. Pick your poison, sir.” Jack heard the sound of cards being slapped down on a table.

“I’m going to have to divide up the ranch, you know,” Josiah said. “Last month I realized I was going to have to leave Jack out. But maybe I’ve just misunderstood him.”

“Most likely,” Cricket said.

Jack frowned. Why was the deacon cozying up to his father on his behalf? She wasn’t very honest for a cleric—she was a pretty face who told outrageous fibs. Too bad she was such a storytelling wench; she’d almost had him believing all that sweetness she was peddling. Almost. But now he knew Cricket was a woman who would say anything to get what she wanted.

He wasn’t sure what Cricket wanted, but he’d know soon enough. Everybody had a price. Except him, of course.

She came out the door suddenly and squashed his toe on purpose. “That’s what you get for eavesdropping,” she whispered. “You’re going to have to think fast to keep up with your old man, cowboy. Let’s see if you can do that, okay?”

Then she popped him on the arm like he was no more than a baseball-playing buddy, tossed her enormous handbag over her shoulder—Pop could have fit a case of whiskey in that thing—and headed off, looking remarkably like a tall, but still cute Audrey Hepburn.

Jack stared after her. That was one pain-in-the-well-worn-butt woman. And unfortunately, she had the asset Jack most appreciated on a female—a very sassy derriere.

Somehow that was even more annoying.

J OSIAH LEFT the hospital that night. Jack wasn’t really surprised when he got the call. He would have done the same. Jack figured if anybody was like him, it was the old man. Pop wasn’t going to be a burden, and like his sons, he knew how to hit the escape hatch.

It was up to him to fetch his father. This wouldn’t be the easiest thing in the world because Pop didn’t want his life extended by taking something from Jack. Pop would consider this gesture sacrilegious, wasteful and downright wrong.

He couldn’t blame his father. Since they hadn’t spoken in over ten years, Josiah had every right to his feelings. It was bad luck that only Jack was the perfect donor match, which he’d found out after being tested—something he did only after Laura, Gabe’s nurse wife, left a message for him at a local rodeo that they were running out of options with Pop. It had been a warning, not a solicitation for help. Still, Jack had felt a curiosity and an obligation to find out if he was an eligible donor. Quietly, he’d had the testing done—and bad luck as always, the prodigal son was the “perfect” match. It was the only time in his life he could remember someone using the word perfect to describe something about him.

He was going to have to go find Pop, somehow reel him in to the hospital. Cricket had been right—he was going to have to think hard to keep up with the old man. Pop was sharp from years of business dealings—he was focused, determined and ornery. Fortunately, Jack knew something about determination.

He’d find him. Somehow, he’d drag him back.

C RICKET WENT to the Morgan ranch, pulling into the driveway in her old Volkswagen that had served her well for many years. The sight of the ranch and the large house that graced the property, out in the middle of nowhere, never failed to take her breath away. She parked, shut off her car, grabbed her tape measure and notepad. A promise was a promise. If Josiah Morgan was going to be on a first-name basis with the angels—unless he accepted his son’s kidney, and if the operation and match was a success—she was determined he would come home to a pleasant-looking house.

No one answered her knock at the front door. Cricket decided she could call either Laura, Suzy or Priscilla and ask them to come let her in…or perhaps she could find an open door. If one of the Morgan men were here today working somewhere on the ranch, it was possible they’d left a door unlocked. They wouldn’t mind her slipping in to measure, particularly as she’d mentioned her plans to Josiah.

She turned the knob.

Sure enough, it was unlocked. That meant one of the Morgans was nearby, so she carefully slid the door open and called, “Hello! It’s Cricket Jasper!”

She waited for a “Hello, Deacon!” or something to that effect, but no one answered. Closing the door behind her, she walked into the hallway. “Hello! Gabe? Dane? Pete?”

All the brothers had moved into houses with their brides, leaving the ranch house to Josiah. Pete was the most recent to move, needing private space for his four new babies and wife. He and Priscilla had bought a house only a few miles down the road once the adoption was final, and Cricket was pretty certain Josiah had been crushed by the departure of the babies. “Anybody home?” she called.

Jack appeared in the hall like a ghost. “Hey, Cricket.”

He startled her into the fastest heartbeat she’d ever experienced. “You scared me, Jack!”

He grinned at her. “I can’t exactly claim that I’m home, to answer your question. But I’m here.” He looked around, his gaze returning to the flat stare he almost always wore.

“So what are you doing here?” Cricket demanded, her heartbeat still jumping around.

“What are you doing here?”

“Measuring for drapes.” Cricket slid past Jack, keeping an eye on him. After Josiah’s warning about his son, Cricket had decided her unhealthy crush was something she needed to put away. The man was sexy, but as a deacon she had no business mooning after a hunk who had not one good side but two bad. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll just measure, draw some sketches and go.”

He caught her arm as she went by. Cricket jumped, snatched her arm back.

“Hey,” he said, “I think you and I got off on the wrong foot.”

“No,” Cricket said. “We’re fine. Let’s not trouble ourselves about anything except getting your father well.”

Jack looked at her, his gaze direct, sending a shiver over her. “I heard you telling a bunch of fibs to my father last night.”

She shrugged, clearly not remorseful. “So? Is it wrong to want him to be happy? Is it sinful to put him in a happy frame of mind before he has major surgery?”

He eyed her. “A fibbing deacon.”

She raised her chin. “Never you mind what’s between me and the Lord, cowboy.”

He grinned. “Your conscience is your own, my lady.”

“Good.” She started to turn away, but there was that hand again, holding her too close to him. She wished she didn’t feel an unsettling sizzle everywhere he touched her. This time, she stood firm, refusing to allow him to unsettle her.

“And while we’re examining your unusual conscience,” Jack said. “You wouldn’t help my father escape, would you, Deacon?”

Chapter Three

“What are you talking about?” Cricket demanded. “Escape what?”

“Pop left the hospital in the night. Checked himself out.”

Cricket seemed to consider his words, doubting him. She finally said, “He was fine when I was visiting.”

Jack shrugged. “Guess he changed his mind. Now I need to find him.”

“Is he here?” Cricket’s voice contained a dose of worry.

“No. Too obvious, though I was hoping he’d make it easy on me to take him back to the hospital.”

Cricket held her notepad close to her chest. Perhaps she was afraid he might take a bite out of her, a very tempting thought—but he was no Big Bad Wolf, contrary to his father’s opinion.

“If he doesn’t want to go back, you can’t make him.”

Jack smiled. “Maybe you could give me your best thoughts on where he might be. My brothers haven’t seen him, their wives haven’t seen him. The logical conclusion was that he’d had a yen to see the grandchildren. Then we figured he might be here. No luck.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry I can’t help.”

Thunder clapped outside and a slice of lightning cracked near the house.

“My word,” Cricket said, “that sounded close! If you’ll excuse me, I’ll take my measurements and let you get on with your search. I hope you find him, I really do.”

Jack let her go. She didn’t know where Pop was. Nobody had the faintest idea; no one even knew where all the properties he owned were. He could be anywhere in the United States. Pete had mentioned that he thought Pop had sold the knight’s templary in France, but Jack supposed Pop could just as well have left the country. “He is the most difficult man on the planet,” he muttered, along with a well-chosen expletive or three.

“Did you say something?” Cricket asked, madly scribbling numbers on her notepad.

“Nothing fit for the ears of present company.”

She turned back to what she was doing. “I can’t blame him, you know.”

“Blame him about what?”

“He didn’t want your kidney. He didn’t want anything from you at all. I polished your résumé, tried to make it seem like you were the kind of son who—”

“I heard the polishing.” Jack threw himself into his father’s recliner. “Pop didn’t believe any of that crap.”

Cricket sniffed, went back to ignoring him.

“Where’d you stay last night?”

“With Pete and Priscilla and the four babies.”

He watched her stretch to measure the length of the current rod, admiring her lean body as she moved. “Full house?”

“Yes,” Cricket said. “I love being there. They can use the extra pair of hands, and I enjoy the fun.” She stopped to look at him. “Have you even seen any of your nieces and nephews?”

“Deacon, look,” Jack said, “I haven’t seen my brothers or my father in years. Why on earth would I have seen their offspring, which, by the way, only became part of the family in the past few months?”

She stared at him. “Some people like to make up for lost time.”

Her words needled him. She knew nothing about his family, knew nothing about him. He really didn’t feel like he needed judgment from someone who was supposed to be fairly nonjudgmental.

“Nothing short of a wedding will bring your father back here,” Cricket said, and Jack blinked.

“You don’t have any children?” he asked.

“I most certainly do not.” She bent down to examine the bottom of the windowsill and he didn’t bother to avert his gaze from taking in a scrumptious eyeful of forbidden booty. “Anyway, what matters is whether you have any children. Your father lives for family.”

“Jeez, don’t rub it in.” Darn Pop for being so difficult. He was almost tired of being lectured by Cricket, yet the instrument of his conscience-picking was at least attractive. Rain suddenly slashed the windows, and Jack noted the room had gotten darker. “When you plan for drapes, maybe something heavy enough to keep out the cold in winter and the heat in summer would be nice,” he said, watching the rain run in rivulets down the wall of windows. “No sheer lacy things that just look pretty and serve little purpose.”

“Oh?” Cricket straightened, much to his disappointment. “Planning on living here?”

“I don’t think so,” he said softly. “I haven’t stayed in the same place for more than three nights in many, many years. That’s not likely to ever change for me.”

She looked at him, her gaze widening. It seemed to Jack that she reconsidered whatever she was about to say. Then she put away her things, allowing them to be swallowed by the enormous gypsy bag she carried, and said, “I’ll be going now. It was good to see you again.”

He laughed. “You are a gifted fibber.”

“Just because I have good manners does not make me a liar.”

“Whatever.”

“I’ll see myself to the front door.”

He nodded amiably. “You do that.”

She slipped past him, her carriage straight as a schoolteacher’s. Because she was tall and lean, she moved gracefully, a sight he’d probably always enjoy watching. He really liked the way her dark hair fell around her shoulders, lustrous and probably softer than…hell, he didn’t know what would be as soft as that woman’s hair must be. It just looked silky, and it probably smelled good, too.

This train of thought was taking him nowhere fast. He was behaving like an ass to Cricket, and Pop’s disappearance wasn’t her fault. Jack got up and followed her to the door, where she stood staring out at the rain-whipped blackness.

“You probably don’t have a raincoat in that suitcase-sized purse of yours.”

“I’ll be fine,” Cricket said. “You have enough to worry about without concerning yourself about me.”

“I didn’t say I was worried. But it didn’t escape my notice that your tires are fairly bald, and your car is a tad past old, and the roads will be a mess getting up to the highway. In other words, drive safely.”

She looked up at him. “My, aren’t we the gentleman suddenly?”

He scratched his head. “Tell me again which church you serve as a deacon?”

“I never told you at all.”

“That’s true. I’m just curious what congregation would put up with such a—”

“Jack,” Cricket said, “the only thing on your mind right now should be Josiah.”

“I suspect he’s not driving in this weather. Nor is he out in it,” Jack said.

Cricket hesitated.

“This isn’t going to be a popular theory,” Jack said, “but I’m betting that little Beetle of yours with the gummy tires doesn’t make it to the main road. You’ll be calling someone to hitch you out of the mud in less than five minutes. I’m sure my father would suggest you stay put until the rain passes.”

Cricket closed the door. “I’ll accept your father’s kind invitation.”

He nodded. “I bet if we poke around in the kitchen we’ll find something to eat.”

“I’m not hungry, thank you.”

That was too bad. He’d been hoping she’d be eager to show off some of her culinary skills. “You don’t like me very much, do you?”

“Let’s not make this personal,” Cricket said, making herself at home at the kitchen table while Jack checked out the contents of the fridge.

“Not me,” Jack said. “I’m Mr. Impersonal.”

“Wonder where he is, anyway?”

“You’d know better than me.” There was fresh turkey and cheese in the meat drawer, and Jack felt the evening was improving already.

“There’s a guesthouse on the ranch, right? A few barns?”

“I’ve searched everywhere.” Jack closed the door, leaving the food behind, suddenly lacking an appetite. He felt a confession coming on, and those were never very good for his gut.

Cricket watched him. “What are you doing?”

Jack took a deep breath, slid into the seat opposite Cricket’s. “See, here’s the deal. The old man was rough on us, me in particular. He wasn’t the kind of father who’d play ball with you, he wasn’t around much, he wore us out with his criticism. If I had a penny for every mean thing he said to me, I’d be a wealthy man, I promise. Me, more than any of my brothers, never measured up. And he hated what I loved most, which probably just made me love rodeo more. I didn’t have to be good enough for Pop when I was riding—it was just me and the bull and hanging on for the sake of winning.”

“So what happened?”

“He blamed me for a car accident my kid brothers had when they sneaked out to see me ride one night.” He looked at Cricket, the old, painful memories rushing over him. “The thing that ticked me off the most was that I was crazy about my brothers. We felt like all we had was each other, and I basically got to be the father, in a way. I loved them. I would never have hurt them. I had no idea they were sneaking out to watch me that night.” Still, the painful accusations cut. Remembering the beating his old man tried to give him hurt, too, but even more painful was the fact that he’d fought back. The two of them had gone at each other like prize-fighters, and Jack wasn’t proud of it. “I suppose in the end I let him beat me,” Jack said, “but I took skin from him before he did.”

“I am so sorry,” Cricket said, reaching across the table to pat his hands, which he noticed were splayed in front of him as if he needed the comfort. He moved his hands to his knees under the table, not wanting to appear as if he needed sympathy.

“I don’t even know why I’m here,” he murmured. But he did know, he knew he still loved his brothers, and Pop wanted those grandchildren, and if all it cost to make everybody happy—buy forgiveness—was a kidney, then that was cheap.

“Maybe you are a good man,” Cricket said. “Maybe you really want to do the right thing.”

He looked at her, then slowly shook his head. “I don’t think so.” He would never be good enough to live in her world. Repairing the cracks of his relationship with his family would take more than anything he had in his soul. Thunder and lightning cracked and boomed over the house, snapping the lights off. The refrigerator stopped humming. He thought he heard one of the many pecan trees that bordered the property give a tired groan, a warning that much more wind would drive it to split. “The lights’ll come back on,” Jack said to soothe Cricket.

“I’m not afraid of the dark.”

Of course, she wouldn’t be. She’d probably produce a glow-in-the-dark Bible from her purse, lead a few prayers, invoke the heavenly spirits for safety, and it would never cross her mind that the thing she should be afraid of was him.

Chapter Four

“I remember there was a flashlight somewhere in the kitchen.” Cricket felt along the walls, wishing she could recall where she’d seen a plug-in flashlight. While she had to admit to a sneaky bit of excitement at being in total darkness with Jack, this was the type of thrill she didn’t need in her life. “Aha!” Pulling it from the wall, she turned it on, flashing the light right at Jack’s face. He was smiling, she saw, a sort of catlike grin.

“Feel better?” Jack asked.

“Since I don’t see in the dark, yes, I do.” How dare he pull on her heartstrings and then go alpha-jerk on her? He’d almost had her believing that he wasn’t the prodigal his father claimed he was. She set the flashlight on the kitchen table. “Find another one and we’ll each go our own way. I’ll take Suzy’s old room for the time being.”

“Suzy’s old room is where Pop was staying before he took off,” Jack said.

Cricket replied, “Just tell me where you want me. I’ll be up bright and early, as soon as the rains quit, and gone before you know it.” She wasn’t certain she’d actually sleep under the same roof with Jack, in fact, wouldn’t even consider it if the roads were better. “And this is a secret to be kept between you and me, if you don’t mind.”

He grinned. “Do I look like the kind of man who kisses and tells?”

She grabbed the flashlight. “If you have kissed me, it must not have been memorable. I’ll take one of the rooms that hasn’t been in use.”

He followed her as she went up the stairs. “I’ll sleep on the sofa downstairs. Feel free to yell out if you get scared. I’ll be close by enough—”

She stopped and turned on the staircase, not a hairs-breadth away from him since he’d been following her, his eyes on her rump, if she had Jack Morgan figured correctly. “I can’t see myself calling for you to rescue me from anything.”

“Not even a mouse?” he asked, his eyes dancing with mischief.

“Mice?” she repeated faintly. “Do you have them?”

He shrugged. “I can’t speak to the quality of the upkeep at the ranch. There were many months when no one was here, so I suppose there could be some furry residents.”

“You’re horrible,” she told him. “You’re trying to give me the shivers.”

“You wouldn’t be afraid of a tiny furry rodent, would you, Deacon?”

She snapped back around and marched up the last couple of stairs, heading into the first room she saw. It was empty except for a dresser and a bed, it had its own bathroom, and best of all, the door locked with a satisfying click when she shut it in Jack’s face. “Jerk,” she muttered. “What woman loves a mouse?”

“Good night,” he called through the door.

“Good riddance,” she replied, hugging the flashlight.

J ACK WENT DOWNSTAIRS , moving around skillfully in the darkness, and clicked on the TV as he tossed himself into his father’s recliner. Then he realized the TV didn’t work at the moment. There was nothing for him to do, and that made him miss Cricket’s lively banter, even if she was a bit vinegary for his taste. He liked his women a bit more sweet and willing, and if they threw in a little hero worship, that was even better. Yet Cricket didn’t seem to feel any inclination to adore him, in spite of the fact he was willing to give his father a lifesaving kidney.

Cricket probably wouldn’t be easy to seduce at all. He could spend months wooing her and she’d likely remain cold to his advances.

Why was he even thinking about sex with the deacon? He had as much chance of that as…well, as finding Pop tonight.

He was forced to admit that he was worried about his father. The crusty old man was going to die for his independence. Secretly, Jack admired that. He understood the desire to go down fighting.

Suddenly there was a flashlight beam at his elbow and a tap on his shoulder. “Holy smokes!” he exclaimed, jumping to his feet. “Cricket! I didn’t hear you leave your room!” How she’d made it down the stairs without even a creak, he couldn’t imagine, but maybe thin frames like hers didn’t put pressure on the floor-boards like four rowdy boys could.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said.

He took a deep breath to calm his racing heartbeat and sat down in the chair again. “Is there something you need? If there are no towels in the bath, you can probably—”