The Cowgirl's Forever Family
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Helen Lacey
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HarlequinChapter One
Brooke Laughton shot up in bed.
Rubbing her eyes, she quickly checked the clock. Nine twenty. She’d been in bed for less than fifteen minutes. The dogs were barking, which meant either one of the horses were out, a feral cat had found its way into the chicken run again—or someone was skulking around the ranch house.
Swinging her legs off the bed, she pulled on the sweatpants she’d discarded fifteen minutes earlier and grabbed her sweater. The dogs were still barking and she heard a sound—the slam of a car door. Tension snaked up her spine. Not that she was scared. She could handle herself and the rifle she kept stashed in her wardrobe. She grabbed the gun, shoved her feet into a pair of loafers and left the room. The floorboards creaked as she made her way down the hallway and when she reached the living room doorway, she blinked at the lights beaming through the front window.
Headlights.
Brooke went to the front door and placed the rifle by the jamb. She had a security screen and since the dogs were still going ballistic, she felt safe enough to open the door and see what was going on. A light blanket of snow covered the ground and she quickly whistled to her border collies, Trixie and Renaldo, and both dogs immediately left the car and raced up the porch to stand point on either side of the door.
The sensor light flicked on and she waited. A few seconds later the driver’s door opened and a tall figure emerged. No one she knew, she thought, or the dogs would have started whining. Instead they both growled low in the backs of their throats. Waiting for her response. Waiting for her reaction.
A man walked toward the house and stopped at the bottom of the steps. He was tall, broad shouldered and dressed in dark trousers and a long-sleeved white shirt and tie and a long coat. He looked respectable enough. And handsome, if you went for the urban, short hair, clean shaven, city boy look.
Not that she did.
She whistled again for the dogs to stop growling and they silenced quickly. But she didn’t open the screen door. He might look respectable and harmless, but you could never be too sure. Maybe he was lost? Some of the road signs were hard to see in the dark.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“That depends. Are your dogs going to attack me?”
Oh, yeah, city boy. New York if she wasn’t mistaken. “Not unless I give the command,” she replied. “Are you lost?”
“I’m not sure,” he said and walked up the steps, ignoring the dogs, who were now whining more than barking. “I’m looking for the Laughton Ranch?”
He wanted the ranch? Her ranch. Panic set in. Was he from the bank? It seemed unlikely at this time of night...but who would know how these things worked.
“So, you found it,” she said, still keeping the locked door between them.
He nodded, looking slightly relieved. “Is Matthew Laughton around?”
He wanted Matt? Then he wasn’t from the bank. This was something else. She wondered what her wayward brother had done. And who was this guy...a cop? Or worse—a Fed? She felt ridiculous even thinking it. Maybe a bounty hunter? He didn’t look like that, either. But nothing would be a complete surprise when it came to Matt.
“He’s not here.”
The man stepped closer and she got a better look at him. He was remarkably handsome and her belly did a silly flip, which she promptly disregarded. Good-looking men were nothing but heartache.
The man’s gaze narrowed. “When will he be back?”
Brooke shrugged. “I have no idea. What’s this about?”
The man reached inside his pocket and withdrew a small business card. “My name is Tyler Madden and I need to see Matthew Laughton urgently.”
The dogs had settled and that was enough to convince Brooke he wasn’t a threat, so she opened the screen door slowly, pushed it back on the hinges and took the card. She read the words and her stomach sank.
Tyler Madden. Attorney.
She hated lawyers. And this one appeared no different from the other arrogant, slick, condescending mob who were trying to swindle her and steal her ranch—except he was drop-dead handsome. She took a galvanizing breath and spoke in a stern voice. “I don’t know where he is, Mr. Madden. I haven’t seen my brother for five years.”
It was the truth. In a way. Matt hadn’t set foot in Cedar River since their parents’ funeral. But he did still text her every week to let her know he was okay. Which she wasn’t about to admit to this lawyer. This stranger.
“You’re his sister?” He paused, as though accessing some memory. “Brooke Laughton?”
“How do you know my name?”
“It’s my job to know all the facts in a case.”
A case? Her brother was part of a case? It sounded serious. Oh, Matt...what have you done now? A chill coursed over her skin. “Please tell me what this is about. What has Matt done? Is he in trouble?”
“Trouble?” He shook his head. “Not exactly. But I do need to speak with him about something important.”
Brooke sighed heavily. Did she continue to have the discussion on her doorstep or invite him inside? “Lawyers hours are usually nine till five. Isn’t it a little late for a house call? Can’t this wait until the morning?”
He shrugged. “I’m booked into a hotel in town, but when I missed the turnoff I realized I was close to your ranch. And since the issue I need to discuss with your brother is one of high importance, I didn’t think the time mattered.”
It was a logical explanation. Sort of. “That’s easy enough to do,” she said. “They rerouted the highway about seven years ago. There’s only this place and the bigger ranch next door along this road now.” And if she wanted to know more she figured she needed to let him inside. “I suppose you should come in and explain what this is about.”
He hesitated for a second and then spoke. “Ah...sure. Just give me a minute.”
When he turned around and headed back toward the car Brooke stared after him. Maybe he wasn’t so harmless after all? What was he doing in the car? Looking for an axe? A gun?
She glanced at her rifle by the jamb and quickly shook the thought off. Trixie and Renaldo were now by the car, jumping around, seemingly happy that he wasn’t a threat. She trusted her dogs’ instincts. But as he approached the house again she regarded him incredulously.
Because he was carrying a baby.
A baby...
By the time he got to the porch her disbelief had fired up her temper. “You brought a baby with you? In the middle of the night and in this weather? What kind of parent are you? Of all the stupid—”
“This is not my baby,” he said quietly, cutting her off as he walked up the steps, then quickly brushed his shoes off on the mat and came across the threshold.
Brooke stared at the child. It was clearly a baby girl, dressed in an immaculate pink jumpsuit and hood and wrapped in a warm blanket, and she was sleeping peacefully against his shoulder. She looked about a year old, not that Brooke had any experience with infants.
Nor will I...
She pushed the thought from her head. Now wasn’t the time to reminisce about what she would never have. Could never have.
“Then whose...”
“Can I put her down somewhere?” he asked, ignoring her question. “Perhaps the sofa?”
Brooke nodded and closed the door. “Of course. This way.”
He motioned to the rifle by the door. “Was that intended for me?”
“If you were a threat...then, yes.”
“I’m not a threat to you,” he assured her.
“I guess I decide that once you tell me what this is about.”
She led the way to the living room and pointed to the big chintz sofa. He gently set the sleeping child down and secured a couple of cushions around her. Once he was done he straightened and let out a short sigh.
“This is about Cara,” he said, looking at the baby and then back to Brooke. “And she’s your niece.”
The breath rushed from her throat and she glared at him. “My what?”
* * *
Tyler hadn’t intended to show up on Brooke Laughton’s doorstep in the middle of the night. But he was all out of patience by the time he realized he’d missed the turnoff for Cedar River and since he was so close to where he needed to be, he took his chances. The long flight from New York, the mix-up with the rental car and a screwy GPS had done nothing to improve his mood. And Cara had been unusually restless most of the trip. He really should have brought the nanny with him to look after her. But he was all out of patience with that idea, too. He hadn’t liked the woman and her bossy ways. She was more drill sergeant than nanny. It was better this way and meant one less complication to deal with.
He was in Cedar River, South Dakota, to fulfil a promise he’d made to a dying girl and to an old man to whom he owed an enduring debt. He’d promised Ralph Jürgens that he would try and place Cara with her biological father, and that’s what he would endeavor to do.
Tyler looked at the woman standing barely three feet from him. She was pretty in a hometown kind of way. Her thick blond hair was tied up in a messy ponytail and she had freckles across the bridge of her nose. She had nice features and clear skin and although the sweats she wore were shapeless, he was sure there were curves underneath. But it was her eyes that caught his attention. Indigo eyes. So blue they appeared violet. The baby had the same color eyes. If he’d had any doubts that twelve month old Cara was Matt Laughton’s child they quickly disappeared.
“Your brother’s child.”
She gasped. “I don’t believe it. Matt wouldn’t be so—”
“Irresponsible?” Tyler finished for her. He knew enough about Matthew Laughton to figure that being responsible wasn’t on his radar. “Now, we both know that’s not true.”
Her chin hiked up. She had a temper, that was for sure. He wasn’t sure why it intrigued him, but it did.
“If Matt had a child he would have told me.”
“He doesn’t know about the child,” Tyler explained. “Which is why I am here. If you can give me a number where I can reach him we should be able to sort this out quickly.”
She didn’t look like she was prepared to give him anything. Except perhaps a punch in the nose. It only took a few minutes in her company to realize that Brooke Laughton wasn’t about to simply comply with his demands and give him Matthew’s contact details. She wanted answers. And her next words confirmed that.
“Not until you explain the situation to me fully, Mr. Madden.”
Tyler sighed heavily and motioned to the other sofa. “Shall we sit?”
She eyed him warily, but nodded and plonked herself on the single love seat by the fireplace. Tyler sat on the sofa, rested his elbows on his knees and looked around the room. There was a large family portrait above the fireplace and she looked to be around fifteen in the photograph. There were other pictures on the mantel—an old couple he assumed were her grandparents, and another of Brooke with three other women all wearing evening gowns and holding up champagne flutes. Family and friends—they were clearly important to her. A few Christmas cards sat on the mantel but there was no tree or gifts in the room.
Christmas. It was barely a week away. And not his scene. Maybe it wasn’t Brooke Laughton’s, either. Regardless, with any luck he’d be back in New York before the week was out.
“So?” she asked. “I’d like an explanation.”
Tyler nodded and focused his attention on the woman in front of him. “A little under two years ago your brother had a brief relationship with a young woman called Yelena Jürgens. That relationship resulted in Yelena’s pregnancy. By the time she discovered she was pregnant Matthew was long gone and she chose not to tell him about the baby.”
Her gaze narrowed. “Why not?”
Tyler shrugged lightly. “I’m not privy to what went on in their relationship. He was gone by then and Yelena was alone. I do know that Yelena wanted the child and planned to care for the baby herself.”
Brooke Laughton was quiet for a moment, looking at him and then the sleeping child. “And where is Yelena now?”
“She passed away four months ago,” Tyler explained. “She had kidney failure brought upon by diabetes that she’d suffered with all her life. She was scheduled for a transplant but wouldn’t accept treatment or surgery once she knew she was pregnant.”
He watched as she swallowed hard and he saw a shadow of sadness in her expression. “And so where do you fit into this little story?”
“I’m her grandfather’s lawyer. And friend,” he added quietly. “I’ve known Ralph Jürgens for eighteen years. Ralph is Yelena’s grandfather and her only relative. Her parents were killed many years ago and Ralph raised her.”
“That’s so sad. But...this baby...are you sure she’s my brother’s—”
“Positive,” he said, cutting her off. He withdrew an envelope from the pocket inside his jacket and passed it to her.
“What’s this?” she asked and opened the letter.
“Cara’s birth certificate,” he explained. “As you can see, your brother is named as the child’s father.”
“But that could just be—”
“I met your brother several times when he was involved with Yelena,” he said, cutting through her protest. “And they certainly appeared to have had an intimate relationship.”
She looked shocked. Disbelieving. Cynical. “If Matt knew about the baby he—”
“But he didn’t,” Tyler interrupted. “As I explained, Yelena discovered she was pregnant after your brother left New York. It was only at the end of her illness that she instructed me to find him and tell him he was Cara’s father. Paternity can certainly be confirmed with DNA testing if needed.”
Her gaze narrowed. “You said she died four months ago.”
“Yes,” he replied. “When Cara was nearly eight months old.”
“And it’s taken you that long to track Matt to here?”
Tyler half shrugged. “Not exactly. When Yelena died her grandfather asked me to hold off contacting your brother. Ralph had hoped he would be able to take on the responsibility himself.”
“But?”
“He’s eighty-five and knows he hasn’t got too many years left,” Tyler said flatly, ignoring the way the words echoed deep down in his chest. “He’s too old and frail to care for Cara himself.”
“And there are no other relatives?” she asked, now perched on the edge of the seat.
“No. Just your brother,” he replied.
She gasped a little, like she couldn’t get enough air in her lungs. He watched her, intrigued by the resolve she was showing. Brooke Laughton had gumption and backbone—that was clear. And strength. Something he knew Matt Laughton was severely lacking. But despite her grandfather’s protests, Yelena had insisted Matthew be told about the baby.
“Can I...can I see her?” she asked with uncertainty.
“Of course,” he said and stood.
He got up, took a couple of steps and gently flipped back the blanket covering the baby. Cara stirred a little, but then relaxed and moved her tiny mouth in the way he’d become so accustomed to. Over the past few months Ralph had employed one nanny after the other and when that hadn’t worked, Tyler had taken over and hired the drill sergeant. But he made sure he saw Cara every day, just to ensure she was being cared for correctly.
“She’s so beautiful,” Brooke Laughton said with a sigh.
Yeah...women and babies...it never failed to be one of the wonders of the world.
He knew she was thirty-two, never married and without children. She looked very much like an independent, spirited woman who could look after herself. And yet, there was a softness in her expression as she gazed upon her sleeping niece.
“Yes, she is,” Tyler said quietly. “Like all babies, I imagine.”
She glanced at him. “Do you have any?”
“Kids?” He shook his head. “No.”
“Me, either,” she said softly. “Is she okay... I mean, healthy?”
“Perfectly,” he replied. “She eats well and is generally a happy baby.”
Her brows rose. “You’ve spent a lot of time with her?”
“Since Yelena died? Yes, I have. I had a nanny looking after her at the Jürgenses’ Manhattan apartment but I have tried to see her every day. Ralph is old and not in good health, as I said.”
“Does he agree with your decision to bring her here?”
“He does now,” Tyler replied. “Yelena wanted her daughter to be raised by family. And that family is now your brother.”
* * *
And me...
Brooke’s heart was pounding so hard she was sure the man beside her could hear it.
Cara’s peaceful expression tugged at her, deep down. Her niece. Her family. It seemed like someone had just handed her the moon.
And that someone took the shape of the tall and handsome man now standing barely a foot away from her. He had green eyes, she noticed. And his hair was like the color of Beechwood honey. He had the kind of broad-shouldered, long-limbed build that had always attracted her. Still, he was a bit of a pretty boy. There was nothing weathered about his face. Nothing other than perfect symmetry and a strong jawline.
She looked at the baby again and something uncurled inside Brooke, a kind of deep yearning that took root way down in her womb. “How old is she?”
“Eleven months and three weeks,” he replied. “She’ll turn one at the end of next week. She was born on Christmas day.”
What a wonderful gift, Brooke thought. “Is she walking?”
“Wobbling,” he said, grinning fractionally, and a dimple appeared in his cheek.
Damn...she’d always been a sucker for dimples. “She looks so peaceful,” she said, quickly ignoring him, his green eyes and his dimples.
“Say that when she wakes you up at five in the morning.”
She sat on the coffee table and took a deep breath. Cara’s hands rested against the edge of the blanket and Brooke reached out to stroke her thumb. The baby moved and then sighed and her fingers softly curled around Brooke’s. A feeling unlike any she’d known before uncurled in her chest. This child was her blood. And in that moment she knew she would do whatever she had to, to make sure Cara was raised on the ranch that had been in the Laughton family for five generations.
Which meant she had to contact her brother. And fast.
“Thank you for bringing her here, Mr. Madden. Cara will be well cared for, I assure you.”
“It’s my job to see that she is,” he said quietly and took a seat beside the sleeping child.
Brooke realized that their knees were almost touching. She also realized it was the closest she’d been to a man for over two years. Since Doyle had left. Or since he’d traded her for a woman who could give him what she couldn’t. She pushed past the sudden surge of emptiness in her heart. For the moment she had only one priority, and that was her niece.
“Where is he?”
Brooke lifted her gaze and met Tyler Madden’s inquiring stare. “Matt?” She shook her head. “I told you, I don’t know where he is.”
“So, you’ve had no contact with him for five years?”
“I didn’t say that,” she replied. “I haven’t seen him for five years. But he sends me a message each week.”
“In what form?” he asked, his gaze narrowing. “Email? Smoke signal?”
He really was a lawyer, she thought irritably. He was as condescending as they came. Brooke got to her feet and moved back to the chair. “Text message.”
“You have his phone number?”
“I have a number,” she said. “Whenever I’ve tried to call, it always goes to a voice mail. I’m sure it’s just a burner cell he keeps to let me know he’s okay.”
“Can you call the number now?”
“And say what?” She shot back. “‘Hey, Matt, you’d better get your butt back home pronto because you’re a daddy’?”
“That should do it.”
Brooke’s patience frayed. “Look, Mr. Madden, I know you—”
“Tyler.”
“What?”
“That’s my name.”
Brooke glared at him. He really was annoying. “I think we should keep this professional.”
He laughed softly. “You’re not my client, Brooke,” he said and tucked the blanket back around the baby. “Neither is your brother. Ralph Jürgens is my client, and Cara’s welfare is my priority. So, now we have that settled, I would appreciate it if you would make the call to Matthew.”
Brooke got to her feet. There was no point being stubborn and antagonizing him. “Okay. I’ll make a call.”
She left the room and got to the kitchen in double quick time. Then she came to an abrupt halt and gripped the back of a chair for support. There was a man and a baby in her house! It was enough to make her hyperventilate. Brooke grabbed her phone off the big scrubbed table and flicked through to her messages. Matt had left his last message four days ago.
Hi. All good here. Speak soon. M
It was as vague as any he’d sent over the years. Brooke dialed the number and waited for the familiar peal of an unanswered call. She left a message asking him to call her back, and then tucked the phone into her pocket and walked back into the living room. And stopped in her tracks.
Tyler Madden was sitting on the sofa and Cara was cradled in his arms. Brooke swallowed hard. Her belly and her heart were foolishly doing somersaults. This man was a stranger. And worse...a lawyer. He had a job to do, that’s all. Thinking he looked too sexy for words was just plain old stupid. And she wasn’t a stupid woman. She’d stopped being stupid the day her ex had sprinted out the door.
“You look like you’ve had practice doing that,” she said and stepped into the room.
He met her gaze. “I’ve had some experience. She was restless for a moment.”
Brooke came around the sofa. “Do you come from a big family?”
He ignored her question. “Did you reach your brother?”
“I left a message asking him to call me. I’ll try again in the morning.”
“Thank you,” he said and stood, holding the baby close to his chest. “I should get going. I’ll call you tomorrow to find out if your brother has contacted you.”
“Where are you staying tonight?”
“I have a room at a place called O’Sullivans.”
She nodded as a kind of unease settled in her belly. “It’s the big hotel in town. It’s nice... I’m sure you’ll be comfortable there. Are you...”
His green-eyed gaze narrowed. “Am I, what?”
Brooke straightened her shoulders. “Are you taking Cara with you?”
“Of course,” he replied and took a step away from the sofa. “I’m her legal guardian.”
Brooke’s unease slowly turned into a rising panic. Her guardian? Which meant he was calling all the shots. “So, that means you get to decide what happens to her.”
“It means I get to decide if your brother is a fit and able parent...assuming he returns your call, gets himself back to Cedar River and actually wants to be Cara’s father.”
Her stomach sank. Oh, Matt...please call back.
“And if he doesn’t?”
Tyler Madden glanced down at the baby before he returned to her unsteady gaze. “Then it is my responsibility to find Cara a suitable home.”
“A suitable home?” Brooke echoed, her apprehension growing. “What does that mean?”
“What does it usually mean?” he said. “A home. A family.”
“You mean, she’ll be adopted?”
“Exactly.”
His reply made her blood run cold. Adopted out to strangers? “She’s my brother’s child and therefore my family and I have a right to—”
“This isn’t about your rights,” he said quietly. “This is about doing what is best for Cara. Hopefully, and in accordance to Yelena’s wishes, that is your brother. You need to understand that Ralph has reservations about Matt being a fit parent for Cara. But, he’s willing to do what Yelena wanted if your brother can prove that he is willing to be a father. If he’s not, or if he’s unable to be found, then I’ll consider other options.”
Other options? That’s here, where she belongs...
But Brooke held her tongue. First, she had to get her brother back to Cedar River. Which wasn’t going to be easy. Second, she had to convince Matt that he had to act like a responsible adult and be a parent to the child he’d fathered. That wasn’t going to be easy, either. Matt had been on the run for five years. Since the accident that had killed their parents. He still blamed himself, even though another driver was at fault. Nothing she said eased his grief, his guilt or managed to convince him it was time to come home. But maybe this would, she thought as she gazed at the sleeping child. All she had to do was convince Tyler Madden to give her some time.
Which meant being friendly. Or at least civil.
“I understand you have a job to do and I appreciate that Cara’s welfare is important to you, but please understand that as her aunt and her family, it’s important to me, too. Even if I didn’t know she existed until about half an hour ago, I’m trying to get past the shock and concentrate on doing what’s best for her.”
He stood rigid, looking unmoved by her impassioned speech. She wouldn’t have expected anything else. He was a lawyer doing his job. He had no emotional investment, only duty. She knew enough about lawyers to recognize one that was as cold as a fish.
“Get in contact with your brother,” he said and pulled his car keys from his pocket. “And we’ll see what happens from there.”
Brooke was tempted to snatch the baby from his arms, but quickly ditched that idea. He was big and strong and, despite the civilized suit and tie, she suspected he could handle himself in the courtroom, the bedroom or a street brawl if he needed to, let alone in a tussle with a woman who was barely five feet five inches tall.
She fingered the business card in her hand. “I’ll contact you as soon as I hear from Matt.”
He nodded. “Thank you. Good night.”
Brooke followed him down the hall and watched as he walked through the front door and then down the steps. The dogs sat at heel by the door and she waited while he secured the baby into the backseat of his sedan and drove off, staring at the disappearing taillights. Once she saw the car turn off on the main road Brooke shut the door, took a long breath and pulled the cell phone from her pocket. She dialed Matt’s number again and left another message—this one more urgent than the last.
He had to come home. And until he did, Brooke would do whatever she could to ensure Cara stayed in town. Which meant she’d play whatever game Tyler Madden had planned.
For now.
