Accidental Father

Sarah yanked back on the reins, and her mount came to a skidding halt. Jake halted his horse, too. “How could you know that?”

“It doesn’t matter. I know.”

Calling from across the field, Maggie rode back to them. “Hey! No fair taking off without the trail boss!”

Frustrated all over again, Jake blew out a long blast of air. Dammit, why did she have to come back now, just when he was finally getting somewhere?

Maggie smiled as she came up to them, politely ignoring the tension in the air, though her eyes said she’d seen everything. “Guess what? I was wrong about Ross’s motives. He has a project to finish that can’t wait.”

With enormous difficulty, Jake forced his face into amiable lines. “Did you ask him about the dispatcher’s job?”

“Not yet. I thought I’d let him get used to my riding before I sprang anything else on him.”

Sarah reined her horse away and spoke stiffly to Maggie. “Ready to go?”

“Yep. Jake? You’re welcome to join us.”

“Thanks, but I’m finished here.” Boy, was he ever. “See you tomorrow.” Then, with another tight smile, he nudged Blackjack into a tail-swishing walk and headed for the barns.

Sarah released a trembling sigh and thanked God that Maggie had returned before Jake could ask about Kylie again—and that he hadn’t insisted upon an answer in Maggie’s presence. She didn’t know what she would have said.

She would tell him. But only when there was no chance of anyone overhearing them and they had plenty of time.

“Feel like talking about it?” Maggie asked as they rode along.

Startled, Sarah met her eyes. “Talking about what?”

“Whatever’s going on between you and Jake. That was a tense little scene I rode up on.”

“Tense?” Sarah repeated, stalling for time.

“Tense. There were enough sparks flying between the two of you to burn this pasture to the ground. What’s going on?”

With a laugh and a shrug, Sarah eased her horse into a faster walk. “I don’t know. We just rub each other the wrong way. Maybe we were enemies in another life.”

“Or lovers,” Maggie joked.

Sarah gripped the reins in a stranglehold and changed the subject. Soon she had Maggie excited about choosing patterns, fabrics and trims for the quilt she wanted to make for her baby, and the conversation was as far removed from Jake Russell as it could get. But beneath it all, Sarah was ashamed because she’d finally told an out-and-out lie.

How many others would she be forced to tell before this was over?

A few minutes later, still battling his frustration, Jake led his horse past the tack room and into the barn, blinking as his eyes adjusted from bright sunlight to the comforting dimness of dark, sturdy beams. His mood began to level out. He’d been here twice since he’d relocated, and the same observations he’d made the first time occurred to him again. There was no new wood in sight. The barn was old, silent—almost churchlike if you could get past the earthy smells of hay, leather and manure. Sunlight streamed through windows speckled with hay chaff.

He doubted it had changed much since Ross Senior had been alive.

Frowning at the uselessness of his thoughts, Jake led the stallion into his stall, unsaddled him, then closed the stall door and carried his gear to the tack room.

He was startled to see Jess adding liniment bottles to the shelves near the medicine cabinet. He’d been so preoccupied, he’d passed Ross’s older brother without seeing him. Not good for a lawman whose instincts needed to be needle sharp.

Jake hung his saddle on a peg, then smiled and walked over to the Brokenstraw Ranch’s co-owner. “Hi. Didn’t see you in here when I went by.”

“Figured you didn’t,” Jess said over his shoulder. “How was your ride?”

“Great. We kicked out a few nice mule deer. Horse picked up some major burrs, though.”

“That’s not the horse’s fault.” Jess chuckled. “You were the guy holding the reins.”

Jake chuckled, too, as he took a currycomb and brush from a shelf. “True enough. Maybe next time I’ll let the horse steer.” For a moment, he almost asked Jess if the area he’d ridden through today held any special meaning for the Daltons, then changed his mind. If it did, maybe they wouldn’t want him riding there anymore.

“Well,” Jake said, unable to extend the conversation, “guess I’d better get to it, or it’ll be midnight till I get back to town. See you.”

“Yeah,” Jess called back. “See you.”

Heart thumping, Jake returned to Blackjack’s stall, Jess Dalton’s face frozen in his mind. Their similarities were staggering. But maybe that’s because he was looking for similarities. They were both about the same height, same black hair, same build—same black Stetson. But Jess’s eyes were brown, probably like his mother’s, and he carried himself loosely, the mark of a man at peace with himself. Jake envied him that. He had too many unresolved issues in his life for that kind of peace.

He’d just started grooming his horse when Jess walked in and dumped a scoop of grain into Blackjack’s bin. The animal nosed into it.

“Hear you’re looking for a new deputy,” he said.

Jake grinned, trying to act nonchalant. “A part-timer, anyway. You looking for work?”

“Me?” Smiling, Jess put his shoulder against the stall. “No, there’s more than enough around here to keep me busy. At the moment, just keeping Ross settled is a full-time job. His boots haven’t touched the ground since Maggie told him about the baby.”

Jake fought to calm his nerves. “How about you? Looking forward to the new addition to your family?”

“We all are. The Dalton clan’s pretty small as most families go.”

Not as small as you think. “I see a lot of your aunt Ruby.”

With a low laugh, Jess stroked Blackjack’s neck as the horse continued to feed. “Aunt Ruby’s a handful. Stay on her good side, and she’ll give you the key to her heart. Tick her off, and she’ll find you a first-class room in hell.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

“If you want to eat, you’d better. Around here we’ve got Ruby’s for food and Dusty’s for drinks. There’s not much else but grass, trees and mountains.”

“Grass, trees and mountains work for me,” Jake returned. “Speaking of which, you’ve got a nice spread.”

“Thanks. But that was our dad’s doing—and his father before him.”

“Your dad’s gone?” Jake asked, hiding a guilty twinge because he already knew the answer.

“For a while now. He and Ross’s mom died when Ross was in high school. Small plane accident.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Me, too. I still miss them both. But, as I said, it was a long time ago.” Jess glanced at his pocket watch, then tapped the side of the stall with the grain scoop. “Well, I’d better shove off. Casey’ll be putting supper on the table.”

Jake hid his regret behind a smile. “Nice talking to you.”