Texas Daddy

He moved forward, trying to put the puzzle pieces together. He had to know her. Most people outside of family and close friends couldn’t tell him and his twin apart. With a growl, she yanked at the twisted bike again.

“I hate to admit it, but I think I do need help.” She looked at him, her light blue eyes as endless as a clear summer sky.

Then it hit him.

“Nikki Bergmann?” He hadn’t seen the oldest Bergmann sister in over twelve years. Back when he went to all the girls’ basketball games just to watch her play. He pretended to be there for his sisters, but his attention was all on her. “I didn’t know you were back in town.” Shocking, considering around here people told everyone’s business before they even knew what was happening themselves, and half the time it was wrong.

Just yesterday he had been at her family hardware store, and her sisters hadn’t said a thing.

With a scowl, she pulled at her brace. Rain started coming down so hard the hills around them vanished from sight. The bump around her middle moved. Under closer inspection, he could see she had some kind of small animal tucked in her jacket.

Crazy woman. This was getting ridiculous. His sisters made sure he had been raised to respect women, but he wasn’t going to stand out here waiting to be fried while she battled her ego. And he couldn’t leave her.

“Let me get the bike off you.” Without waiting for her permission, he flipped the chain on its side and snapped the joints. Pulling the ruined bike free of the broken chain, he tossed it aside.

He put one arm under hers and ran for the cabin. She gave a few objections, but she didn’t refuse his help this time. “What kind of critter do you have hidden away?” His daughter had a habit of saving baby animals. What was it with females and babies? Well, not all females. Mia’s mother had left without a single hug or smile for their newborn daughter.

Nikki grunted, interrupting the dark turn of his thoughts. They arrived at the steps of the porch, and the sound became a low frustrated growl. Her muscles bunched with tension. “I can’t get my leg high enough to make the step.”

“I’ll pick you up.” He bent to scoop her up. At first she was stiff. “I’m just going to put you on the porch.” With a nod, he felt her fit muscles soften.

The bundle squirmed again, and she giggled, sounding like a young girl for a moment. He remembered her being the serious older sister. They had lost their mother young, and Nikki had taken on the responsibility of mothering her younger twin sisters. Everyone knew their stepmother had been no help and left them with a half sister to raise.

She pulled away and he almost lost his balance. “Easy, Bergmann. Is it still Bergmann?” He tried to ease her to the boards as she struggled to stand on her own.

She grabbed his arm and nodded. He wasn’t sure if it was to save him from falling or to keep herself upright. He did like the idea that she wasn’t married.

“Here, sit on the bench. So what do you have there?” He tried to peek in, but she was zipped up all the way to her neck. “Give it to me and then we can get you untangled from that brace.”

She had to sit at an odd angle to accommodate her leg trapped in the mangled brace. The hinge was locked. Once settled, she pushed her hood back.

For a moment he forgot to breathe. Her face was so much like the young teen he adored, but deeper, more lived in, more beautiful than he remembered. He had been fascinated with her.

Now, as a woman, she took his breath away. She pulled the black fitted gloves off and uncovered long graceful fingers, no rings. Next she slowly lowered the zipper to expose a spotted fawn. A newborn, by the size of the tiny thing.

He sighed. She should have known better. “Nikki, you never pick up babies. Its mother will be back looking for it.”

She brought her eyes up and shook her head. “I know that. The doe was there, but she was... Well, I’m not... I couldn’t leave a baby there, alone.”

Lifting his hat, he pushed his hair back. “No. Let me take her to the shed. The biggest risk at this point is shock. I’ll put her in the covered area with my horse.”

For a moment her arms tightened. “Will she be safe? She’s too little to be alone.” There was a moment while she gazed at the fawn. He wanted to hug her and reassure her that the baby would be fine. He suspected this tough woman hid a soft heart.

“Actually the moms leave them alone all the time, but hidden. There are some wooden crates she can hide in, and we can keep your jacket on her. She seems to like you.”

Nikki’s summer-blue eyes narrowed as if she was deciding if she could trust him. He waited.

With a nod, she gathered up the sleeping fawn and handed her up to him. The long fragile legs kicked out as they transferred her to Adrian’s arms. Once he had her close to his chest, she looked up at him with huge dark eyes.

Mia was going to flip. His daughter was obsessed with furry babies, and this was about the sweetest one he could imagine. “The ranch has the supplies and facilities to care for her. We’ve raised a few other wild animals along with some calves and goats.”

“Sounds like you’re a regular Noah.”

“No, just a cowboy. I’ll be right back.”

After getting the little one tucked away and checking on Zeta, he headed back to Nikki. Stuffing away the uncomfortable feelings she created, he took the steps in one leap. He didn’t need to start a new relationship, and he doubted Nikki would be interested anyway.

Back in high school, she had been three grades ahead of him and his brother. So far out of his league he doubted she even knew he existed. He paused at the edge of the porch and looked at her. She had known he wasn’t his twin, George. Most people still confused them, but she knew.

She rubbed her face. “Thank you for helping. I’m so embarrassed. I can’t believe I managed to get my bike snarled with this stupid brace.” Her muscles bunched as she pulled at the twisted metal.

He went to his knee and placed his hand over hers. “Easy. I think you’re making it worse.”

She leaned her head back and sighed. “Did she settle in?”

“She went right back to sleep, snuggled in your jacket.”

“Thank you for helping. Being impaired always frustrates me. I’m not patient on a good day, and this is not anywhere close to a good day. Right now I want to rip my leg off I’m so mad at it.”

“You joined the navy, right? Is that where you got your injury?” Silence hung between them as he worked with the tangle of metal. If he had a flathead, maybe he could create a wedge. “Are there tools in the cabin?”

She tried to push herself up.

“No, stay here. I’ll check.” The cabin was a bit bigger than it looked from the outside. After going through a few cabinets, he found the utility closet. Inside was an old red toolbox and a worn well-read Bible. Vanessa Cortez-Bergmann was printed in gold letters at the bottom. He set it on the table. Nikki might want her mother’s Bible.

On the porch, he found her struggling with her brace. “So is it your injury that brought you home after all these years?” He went to work on the chaos of chain and brace.

“You have a lot of questions.”

The rain eased a bit, as the thunder rumbled off in the distance. He glanced up at her and found her eyes closed. She seemed to be counting her breaths. What would she say if he told her she had been his first crush in school? When not going to her games, he’d hang out at her family’s hardware store just to get a chance to see her or hear her voice. George’s teasing had been relentless.

He had more questions, but if she didn’t want to talk, he could handle the silence.

She sighed as he moved his focus back to untangling the chain from her brace. The shredded spandex material and mud that covered her knee proved she’d lost the battle between her bike and the rocky hillside.

“I’m out of the navy. I’m an adventure guide in the Grand Canyon. I’m good at my job, so that’s not how I got injured. I need six more weeks of physical therapy before they will even consider releasing me back to work.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose, as if telling him that much had drained her.

“Home is a good place to recover. Family can take care of you like no other.” He didn’t make eye contact, hoping to keep her talking. “Are you staying?”

“I’ve already missed a couple months of work. I was in the middle of buying my own outfitter company when I had the accident and my roommate decided there were more opportunities elsewhere. If I can get the new doctor to release me sooner, I can be back faster, plus I’m saving money instead of spending. Is that enough information?”

Looking up from his work, he winked at her. “In the last ten years, I haven’t been past San Antonio. Sounds like you’ve had an adventure.” And she wanted to get back to it. She had plans to leave. He didn’t even know her anymore, so he didn’t understand his disappointment.

“I thought bull riders did a lot of traveling. Last I heard, you were on the road for some big purses and the next big thing to hit the PBR.”

“I don’t ride bulls anymore.”

The edge of the brace popped, and she sucked in her breath. Her hands fisted on the edge of the bench.