The Cowboy's Promise
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Teresa Southwick
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HarlequinChapter One
There’s no place like home. And for Erica Abernathy home was Bronco Heights, Montana—where everyone had an opinion, and not always a positive one.
She was driving her loaded-to-the-roof SUV down the road to the big house on the Ambling A Ranch, where she’d grown up. The trip from Denver had been long, but now that she was so close, she wouldn’t mind a couple thousand more miles between her and what was coming.
She loved her family, but wasn’t looking forward to their reaction when they saw her. There would be so many questions.
Although that happened every time she came home for a visit. Usually some variation of “Do you like city life in Denver?” Or “Are you dating anyone? Getting serious about a special man?” And the ever popular, “Can we look forward to an engagement soon? We can’t wait to be grandparents.” Erica glanced down at her pregnant belly that was getting closer to the steering wheel every day.
“You’re going to make them grandparents, little one. But they are not going to be happy with me.”
Erica stopped her car in front of the large home constructed from Canadian red cedar and native Montana rock. The building materials were a salute to pioneers and the generations of Abernathys who came before and settled this land. Sturdy logs supported the second story roof over the front entrance. The sun had just set, and inside lights blazed through the tall windows.
There was a chimney sticking up over the pitched roofline and smoke drifted out of it. She could picture the fireplace in the great room, where flames would crackle and snap. That wasn’t about providing atmosphere. Montana could get darn cold, and it wasn’t unheard of to have a freak snowstorm the beginning of October. Shivering, she pulled her poncho up more snugly around her neck.
She’d missed this place. In spite of what her family thought about her choosing a career in Colorado over it, she did love the ranch, the land, the mountains. And after twelve years, she was back to stay, just like her parents always wanted. But when Angela and George Abernathy saw her, they were probably not going to ask about city life in Denver. They would have way too many other questions.
She sighed. Procrastination wasn’t going to make this first step any easier. “Here goes nothing...”
She walked up to the front door and rang the bell. It was her childhood home, but she hadn’t told them she was coming. It didn’t feel right to simply walk in.
Suddenly the front porch light flashed on, the door was opened and Angela Abernathy stood there. She was in her early fifties with dark blond highlighted hair. Her blue eyes widened and she blinked once, then smiled with pleasure. “Erica! Sweetheart, what a surprise.”
“Hi, Mama.”
“This is wonderful. Don’t stand out here in the cold. Come inside. Please tell me you’re staying. And for more than a day this time.”
“Big fat yes.” She forced cheerfulness into her voice. “I definitely am.”
“Is there a holiday I don’t know about?”
Boom, there it was. First judgment. The subtext was that since her grandparents’ funerals five years ago she only showed up on holidays and hadn’t visited since last Christmas. And her mom hadn’t yet noticed the main attraction.
“Why didn’t you tell us you were coming?” She pulled her daughter close for a hug, then backed away, looking shocked. “Erica?”
She walked farther into the brightly lit entryway and pulled her poncho off over her head. Her mother’s eyes went wide and her jaw actually dropped. In her rebellious teens, there was a time when Erica might have taken pride in pulling off the miracle of rendering her unflappable mother speechless. Not so much now. Or like this.
“You’re pregnant.” Her mother stated the obvious. “Very pregnant. Why didn’t you tell us you’re going to have a baby?”
Her token teen mutinies were small potatoes compared to this, but every time Erica had disappointed her parents, it ripped her heart out. This was, pardon the pun, the mother of all rebellions and no matter how old she was, or how much career success she had, making them proud was always her intention.
“I was going to tell you—” No points for good intentions. She lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. “I couldn’t figure out how to say it.”
Angela’s gaze dropped to the ring finger on her left hand. “Is there a marriage you couldn’t figure out how to tell us about either?”
Erica flinched at the words. Not that her mother’s tone was sharp, but because it wasn’t. The hurt in her eyes and reproach in her voice were like pokes in the chest, jabbing her heart. This was why she’d put off the conversation. The problem was, the longer she had dragged her feet, the worse it got. That was her bad, just one on a very long list.
“No, Mama. I’m not married.”
“Is it Peter’s baby?”
Erica should have expected the question but hadn’t. “No. I told you we broke up over a year ago.”
Regret was stark in her mom’s eyes. “You did but I just thought—” The breakup had stunned Erica because they’d dated for a long time. Peter Barron was handsome, smart, fun, successful and she’d really cared about him. They had a relationship that was the envy of all their friends. She’d been so sure he was The One. So, she brought up the subject of having children. His answer was adamant and unequivocal: he didn’t want any kids. Ever. And he wasn’t going to change his mind.
She’d tried to tell herself it didn’t matter. She could be content, fulfilled and live a happy life with Peter while having a successful career of her own. It could be enough. But every time she saw a pregnant woman or a baby in a stroller, she got a knot of emptiness and longing in her stomach. Like a protest from her uterus. The yearning for a baby, the ache to be a mother, just wouldn’t go away.
“Erica, who is the father?”
The quiet question snapped her back to the present. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
The anxiety in her mother’s blue eyes increased, and her face went pale. “Did something happen to you?”
“No.” She reached out, took her mother’s hand and Angela squeezed it hard. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She’d given her poor mother a lot of shocks since she walked through the front door. Maybe she should tell her the truth. It was possible that she would understand. Angela Abernathy had two babies in two years, a boy and a girl. She thought her family was complete. Then right around the time she turned thirty, she accidentally got pregnant and realized how very much she wanted another baby. But she miscarried and the loss was devastating. After several more tries and losses she was told she couldn’t carry a baby. It nearly destroyed her.
When Erica was suddenly staring thirty in the face, she remembered her mother’s difficulty with pregnancy. Erica had no potential husband material on her horizon and worried that the inability to carry a baby at a certain age was genetic. She wasn’t willing to wait and hope for a man to come along. She wouldn’t risk what might be her only chance and pulled the trigger on going the single mom route. A big part of her hadn’t believed IUI—intrauterine insemination—would work, but it did, and she was thrilled.
If anyone would understand the primal longing to have a baby, it was this woman.
“Mama, I really want to talk to you about this—”
The sound of heavy footsteps coming closer stopped her. Before she saw him, Erica heard her father’s voice.
“Angela? What’s taking so long? Who was at the door?” And then George Abernathy walked into the entryway and saw her. Emotions swirled in his eyes from pleasure to shock.
“Surprise.” She’d always been Daddy’s little girl, but she’d never seen him look at her quite like this before.
He was fit and tan but the color drained from his face. “Good Lord, Erica. What in the world—”
“You’re going to be a grandfather, Daddy.” She tried to smile, but her mouth was trembling and her heart was beating way too fast.
“Did you come here alone?”
“You’re asking if I’m married. The answer is no.”
He waited for several moments, then rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “Are you all right? You look well.”
Erica was pretty sure telling him the details would make things worse. Her father was old-fashioned and set in his ways. She knew her brother, Gabe, had butted heads with him over trying progressive ranching techniques. Stubborn was her dad’s middle name, and Gabe finally gave up. Now he was more involved with real estate wheeling and dealing than the ranch. No, admitting to her father that she’d gone to a sperm bank was the last thing she planned to do.
“I’m fine, Daddy.”
He looked down for a moment as if gathering his thoughts. Then he met her gaze and his eyes churned with confusion and hurt. “We’re your parents and we have concerns—”
“I know. And I love you both very much,” she interrupted. “But please believe me when I say I’m fine. Obviously I’m going to be a mother and more happy about this pregnancy than I can even put into words. I will do my very best to do as spectacular a job with my child as you guys did with Gabe and me. When the shock wears off, I hope you’ll be as excited about this baby as I am. I know how much you want to be grandparents.”
Neither of them responded to her impassioned speech but simply stared at her. Then they looked at each other and seemed to exchange silent agreement not to say anything more.
Finally her mother asked, “How long are you staying?”
“Would it be all right if I lived here until I find a job?”
“Of course you can stay with us—” Then her father stopped as her words sank in. “Wait. You left Barron Enterprises?” George Abernathy didn’t shock easily, but this was the second time in five minutes he’d looked completely bewildered.
Erica was on a roll apparently. “I was fired actually.”
“I don’t understand. Not long ago you got that big promotion,” her mom protested.
“I did.” To chief administrative officer. In the last few years, these two had been so busy quizzing her about her marriage prospects, she hadn’t been sure the move up the corporate ladder had even registered with them. “But Mr. Barron Senior, called me into his office to tell me I was being transferred to the Miami office. I didn’t want to go.”
“Why would he do that?” her dad asked. “Doesn’t the chief administrative officer work out of the corporate office in Denver?”
Wow, she thought. He really had been paying attention. She’d been hoping to gloss over this part. “Peter married one of the receptionists at work. And she’s pregnant.” Even though she didn’t love him anymore, that news had come as a blow. The lying bastard. “His wife has been a little hostile to me, since everyone at the company knows he and I were together for a long time.”
“You said he’s not the baby’s father,” Angela reminded her.
“He’s not. But the woman apparently had a problem seeing me every day.”
“So, Peter’s father fired you because the new wife is an insecure twit?” her mother scoffed.
Erica was glad they seemed to be annoyed with someone besides her. “Apparently.”
“That’s wrongful termination,” her father chimed in. “You can’t let them get away with that.”
“Way ahead of you, Daddy. I already have an appointment with an attorney.”
“Good for you,” he said.
“The thing is, after I moved in with Peter I sold my condo and banked a nice profit. When we split up, I rented an apartment while I figured out what I wanted to do.” And how big a place she would need if she got pregnant. “I have savings, but no job means no income until I can find another one. There’s no telling how long that will be, so my savings have to last.”
Her father nodded his understanding. “And if you file a lawsuit against Barron Enterprises, it could be a long time until there’s a financial settlement.”
“Exactly. So, I was hoping you guys wouldn’t mind if I stayed here until I get back on my feet,” she said.
“Of course.” He didn’t hesitate. “You’re back where you belong. Even if it means coming home with your tail between your legs.”
Erica refused to flinch at the words. Her father was right. She’d thought she had everything figured out and was thrown a big curve. She refused to call it a mess because that reflected on the child she was carrying, and the choices had been hers. The way it had played out made her feel like crap, and now she needed help from the family she’d neglected.
“Thank you, Daddy.”
Her dad nodded, held out his arms to her and she stepped into them for a much needed hug. “I love you, honey. I think I speak for your mother when I say we’re glad you’re home, but we aren’t finished talking about this baby’s father.”
Erica was finished, but wisely chose not to say that. The line was drawn in the sand, and she knew which side of it she was on.
Her dad helped her unload the car and take some things upstairs to her old room. She appreciated that very much and knew all of this must be hard for him. After that, she felt an overwhelming need to see her big brother. Fortunately his house was on the ranch and was located not far from her parents, so Erica walked over.
For the second time that day, she knocked on a door and waited to shock the person who opened it. But she was the one who got a surprise when a pretty, petite woman with long, straight blond hair stood there instead of her big brother.
“Hi. I’m Melanie Driscoll.”
“You’re the woman who’s going to marry my brother. I’m Erica.” She couldn’t believe they hadn’t met. “Mom called me right after he proposed, and she said the ring is fabulous.”
“I think so.” Melanie held out her left hand with a platinum band supporting a spectacularly large diamond.
“Gorgeous.” Erica smiled. “When’s the wedding?”
“Next summer.”
“I’m so glad to finally meet you.”
“Same here.” The other woman’s gaze dropped to her belly. “And I hear congratulations are in order for you, too. Your mom called.”
“I figured.”
Melanie shrugged. “Gabe is still on the phone with her.”
“My ears were burning,” Erica said wryly, and slid off her poncho as she stepped into the warm house.
Melanie gave her the once-over. “I’ve known you all of a minute but I have to say, you’re positively glowing. The baby bump is so cute and you’re beautiful.”
“You should probably get your eyes checked. I’m as big as a barn.”
“Hardly. When is the baby due?”
“November.”
“You look fantastic,” Melanie said. “How do you feel?”
“The first three months were a little rough with morning sickness. But since then I’ve been great. Not too tired. I love being pregnant.” She smiled at the other woman. “I’ve known you all of a minute, but I have to say this. I’m so glad my brother has the good sense to marry you.”
“I’m the lucky one. I’d given up on finding someone and then, there he was.” She turned an adoring gaze on the man in question when he came up beside her.
Gabriel Abernathy was a tall, broad-shouldered force of nature. When he looked at Melanie, his blue eyes were flirty. Then his gaze landed on Erica and turned serious.
“I just got off the phone with Mom.”
“Hello to you, too,” she said.
“Come here.” He held out his arms.
She walked into them and sighed when he hugged her. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“Same here. But I have to ask—what the hell are you doing, Erica?”
“I’m having a baby.” She put her hands protectively on her belly. “And I want this child more than anything in the world.”
“Mom told me you won’t say who the father is.” With his hands on his hips and looking all serious at her, Gabe looked a lot like their father.
It had been a long, emotional day, and Erica was just about at her limit. “Don’t you start on me. I left for Colorado to go to college. I stayed to have a career. Every time I make a decision, I’m being judged in a bad way. And you all wonder why I don’t come home more often.”
“It’s not judgment. It’s just that—” he dragged his hand through his spiky dirty blond hair “we miss you. Me. Mom. Dad. Grandpa Alexander. Gramps.”
Guilt zinged her hard. Gramps—her great-grandfather, Josiah Abernathy—was in his midnineties and had been diagnosed with dementia. The subtext of her brother’s words was that no one knew how much time he had left and she’d been focused on career which didn’t leave a lot of free time.
She pushed the guilt away. “I was entitled to a life that I chose. Not Mom and Dad. They wouldn’t have been happy with anything but me marrying a local rancher. I wanted more. To travel. Broaden my horizons.”
“And you did.” Again he glanced at her belly. “But you’ve lost time with Gramps. Precious time. And he doesn’t say much at all anymore.”
“I’ll go see him soon—” A lump in her throat cut off more words. She did love Gramps and felt badly that he was declining. There was no good excuse except that life happened. One day turned into the next and before she’d realized it, twelve years had gone by.
Erica didn’t want to fight with her brother. She’d come here to get away from the tension at the big house. That thought pulled her up short. Wasn’t that what they called prison? It was time to change the subject.
“So, tell me how you and Melanie met,” she said enthusiastically.
“Mel moved to Bronco from Rust Creek Falls for a job. She ended up looking into the Abernathy family history. Gramps’s history.”
So much for a subject change, Erica thought. But Gabe was smiling lovingly at his fiancée. And this was the happiest she’d ever seen him look.
“How did that happen, Melanie?”
“It’s Mel,” she corrected, then her expression turned from tender to concerned. “I have a good friend in Rust Creek Falls named Winona Cobbs. It came to my attention that she and Josiah Abernathy were secretly in love when they were very young. She got pregnant. When she gave birth, she thought the little girl was stillborn and had a breakdown. But that’s not what happened. The baby was alive.”
Gabe jumped into the story. “It turned out that Gramps’s parents forced him to leave town and put the baby up for adoption. We think somewhere in or around Bronco.”
“Oh my God.” Erica couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “How did you find all this out?”
“When the Ambling A Ranch in Rust Creek Falls was sold, the new people found Josiah’s journal in the house. There was a letter inside to Winona. Somehow he found out who adopted their daughter, Beatrix, and promised he’d find a way to bring her back to Winona.”
Erica was holding her breath. Waiting for the happy reunion part of the story. When it didn’t come, she said, “And?”
“Because of the dementia, he can’t give us any information. A friend of mine who’s really good with social media did an internet search with what information we have and got a hit.” Melanie looked up at Gabe, and disappointment was all over their faces. “It turned out that was just someone looking for money.”
“People like that make me so angry.” Not only that, Erica was feeling even more guilty about neglecting her great-grandfather. “What now?”
“Good question,” Mel said. “So far we’ve only turned up frauds and weirdos.”
Erica looked at her and saw concern. “There’s more, isn’t there?”
“Winona was hospitalized recently. She’s ninety-three and frail. I’m worried that if something doesn’t break soon, we’ll lose her before we can reunite her with her daughter.”
“That would be awful. What are we going to do?” Erica demanded.
“What’s this ‘we’ stuff?” he asked.
“I want to help.”
“Really?” Gabe looked surprised.
“Yes, me. I’ll do whatever I can.”
“Why?”
“He’s my great-grandfather.” And that wasn’t her only reason.
Erica was definitely shocked that Josiah had a daughter out of wedlock that the family never knew about. But she felt a parallel to his story. Her own secret. She was having a baby, and no one was going to know how this child came to be.
“I love him,” she said simply.
“I know that.” But his tone and expression were skeptical, as if he didn’t expect her to stick around.
And why would he? She didn’t come home enough when her life was going great. Until it fell apart, she’d acted as if she didn’t need any of them.
“I know I should have made more of an effort to visit. But I’m here now and I want to do whatever I can to help. I’ve certainly got time—”
Gabe’s expression turned sympathetic. “Mom told me about Peter and his father.”
Erica saw the blaze of fury in his eyes but knew that it wasn’t directed at her. She loved him so much for that.
She let out a sigh. “It’s been an emotional and eventful couple of weeks.”
Mel put her arm around Erica. “You’ve been through a lot recently. Everyone needs a minute to get used to the new normal. It’s all going to be fine.”
“Listen to her, baby sister. She’s a smart lady.” He smiled tenderly at the woman he was going to marry. “And I’m taking her out to dinner tonight.”
“Why don’t you come with us?” Mel asked her.
“I don’t want to intrude.”
“You won’t be. Right, Gabe?” She turned her big blue eyes on him.
He nodded. “Definitely, you should come. There’s a new restaurant in town. Barbecue but better. DJ’s Deluxe.”
“I’m the CFO now and have connections,” Mel said. “Come with us. A change of scene will be good for you. We could all use a distraction.”
“I could sure use one.”
“It’s settled then,” Mel declared.
Erica watched her brother hold his fiancée’s jacket for her to slip on. He put his arm around her for a quick hug, then took her hand and laced their fingers together.
Oh man, he’s got it bad, Erica thought. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
She didn’t for a moment regret that she was pregnant, but seeing Mel and Gabe together, loving each other, made her a little envious. On the upside, her baby was going to have the best aunt and uncle in the world.
