Madison's Children

“Caitlyn doesn’t live here anymore. She married Judd Calhoun and lives on the Southern Cross.”

The girl’s face fell. “She still owns this ranch, doesn’t she?”

“Yes. She’s part-owner with our sister, Skylar, and me.”

The girl made a sucking lemon type face. “Who are you?”

Maddie didn’t feel she had to keep answering questions, but the worry in the girl’s eyes swayed her. “I’m Madison Belle.” Her glance swept over the trio. “What are your names?”

“I’m Ginny,” the girl responded readily. “And this is Haley and Georgie.”

The boy raised his head. “I’m Georgie.”

“Shh, Georgie.” Haley cradled the boy closer against her. Even with the winter clothes, Maddie could see the girl was very thin, and she didn’t seem to have the strength to keep holding the boy.

“I wanna go home,” Georgie wailed.

“Shh.” Haley stroked his back.

Maddie watched this with a sense of trepidation. Something was very wrong, and she decided to get to the bottom of what the kids were doing here. They surely had parents, and those parents had to be worried.

“Why do you want to see Brian Harper?”

Ginny rested her hands over her swollen stomach in a protective gesture. “He said if I ever needed anything, he’d help me.”

“And we need money to buy bus tickets to Lubbock,” Haley added. “My mom lives there and we have to see her.”

“Mama,” Georgie mumbled.

Maddie listened carefully, but none of it made any sense to her. “So basically you’re running away. I assume you have family in High Cotton.”

“That’s none of your business,” Haley spat in a defensive tone.

Maddie lifted an eyebrow. “You made it my business by hiding in my barn.”

Before the kids could form a reply, the pounding of hooves caught their attention. Cooper Yates and Rufus Johns rode in and dismounted. The cow dogs, Boots, Booger and Bo, followed. Rufus began to unsaddle and feed the horses, seeming oblivious to the kids. But that was Rufus. He spoke very little and minded his own business.

They were the only two cowboys on the ranch and both were ex-cons. Caitlyn trusted them with her life and Maddie now knew why. They were as honest and reliable as the day was long.

Rufus was in his seventies and had worked on High Five all his life. His wife, Etta, was the cook and housekeeper. In his younger days, he’d gotten into a fight in a bar, trying to protect a woman from her abusive boyfriend. Rufus was a big man and one blow from his fist sent the man flying into a table. He hit his head and died instantly. Rufus spent three years in a Huntsville prison for involuntary manslaughter. He came home to Etta and High Five and never again strayed from the straight and narrow.

“Stay here,” Maddie said to the kids, and walked over to Cooper. He removed his hat and slapped it against his leg to remove the dust.

Cooper was a cowboy to the core. There wasn’t anything he didn’t know about ranching, cattle and horses. His passion was horses, and he had worked at several thoroughbred horse farms. The one in Weatherford, Texas, had been his downfall.

Several expensive horses had died from the feed being mixed incorrectly with pesticides to kill weevils. The owner pointed the finger at Cooper. In anger, Coop had gotten into a fight with the man, who’d filed charges. Coop had been convicted for assault and killing the horses.

He spent six months in prison before the truth came to light. The owner had mixed the feed incorrectly to collect the insurance money. Cooper was released, but people now looked at him differently. He was an ex-con and people didn’t trust him, but Caitlyn and Dane Belle had. At Cait’s urging, their father had given Coop a job when no one else would.

Maddie nodded at Cooper’s bay gelding. “I told you Sadie could beat that bag of bones.” She and Coop had become good friends, and each day after work they’d race back to the barn. Coop usually won, but today she’d outsmarted him. She’d gotten a head start.

He slid his hat onto his head in an easy movement. “You cheated, and that old gray mare can’t outrun Boots.” The dog lay at his feet. At the mention of his name, his ears lifted.

“I beg to differ since I was here first and that old gray mare is in the corral eating sweet feed.”

Coop grinned, and he didn’t do that often. His past weighed heavily on him and he was a bit of a loner. Over six feet tall, Coop had sandy-blond hair and green eyes. The townspeople said he was bad to the bone, but Maddie knew he had a heart of gold.

Coop eyed their visitors. “What’s going on?”

“They’re looking for Brian Harper. Do you remember him?”

“Yep. Dane hired him back in the spring, but he left to work in the oil fields.”

“Do you know where?”

“No. Cait might.” Coop glanced at Ginny. “God, she’s pregnant. How old is she?”

“I don’t know, but I’m guessing Brian Harper is the father.”

“That kid had a head full of dreams of making big money. If she wants him to take responsibility, I can tell you that’s not gonna happen.”

“He’s not the responsible type?”

“Nope. Far from it. He’s out for himself and that’s it.”

Maddie hated to hear that. The girl was too young to have a baby. Something inside Maddie twisted at life and its cruelties.

“You might try calling Walker,” Coop said.

“Why?”

“Those are his kids.”

“What?” That shocked her. Walker was the constable and the only law in High Cotton, Texas. She’d met him at a party at Southern Cross. He’d made an offhand comment about her looking as young as his daughter. What he’d really meant was that she looked like a child. No woman wants to hear those words from a handsome man. It still rankled.

“Are all of them his kids?”

“No. Just the two small ones.”

She thought about that for a second and what Haley had said about her mother. “Where is Walker’s wife?”

Coop shrugged. “All I know are rumors.”

“Tell me, anyway. I have to figure out what to do with these children.”

“They say she left him for another man.”

“What about the kids?”