Cowboy in the Extreme

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell him anything. That’s up to you, Kim.” Frustration laced her brother’s voice. “But like I said, it’s time you two talked. You owe it to Lucy.”

Kim swallowed a retort and handed Brandon the phone, then inched closer to the doorway to check on Lucy again. Thankfully, she was still sleeping.

Was Johnny right? Was it time for her to confess to Brandon?

But what if she told him and he tried to take Lucy from her? He had money now....

“Johnny…yeah…” Brandon cut his gaze toward her, a dozen emotions flitting across his rugged face. The scar on his forehead he’d gleaned from one of his daddy’s beatings puckered as he frowned. “Don’t worry. I’ll be ready if he shows up.”

He disconnected the call, then handed Kim the phone. The simple brush of his fingers across hers sent a bolt of desire through her.

She jerked the phone to her and closed her hand around it, praying he hadn’t seen her reaction as she stepped into the den.

“Pack a bag for you and Lucy,” Brandon said, following her inside. “You’re going to my place for the night.”

Panic streaked through Kim. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Brandon.”

His jaw hardened, the vein at the base of his neck throbbing the way it always had when he was trying to control his anger. “This is not up for debate. I told Johnny I’d take you two to my ranch so you’d be safe for the night, and I intend to keep my word.”

Their gazes locked, and she remembered other promises he’d made to her. One in particular. The night they’d first made love, he’d promised to love her and take care of her forever.

A promise he hadn’t kept.

Was he remembering that, too?

“I’ll talk to Johnny—”

“I’m not arguing.” He jerked his thumb toward the house. “You either pack a bag, or I’ll do it for you.”

Kim had forgotten how bullheaded Brandon could be. That when he set his mind to something he charged after it and refused to let anything or anybody stand in his way.

Just like he had when he’d decided to better himself and buy his own ranch. Not that that had been a hard choice. Ranching was in his blood just as it was her brother’s and in hers. But with his awful childhood, he hadn’t had it easy. In fact the cards had been stacked against him.

Old hurts stabbed at her. She’d wanted them to work together to build a home and a ranch. But he’d chosen Marty to do those things with.

No. There was no way she could spend the night in Brandon’s house, not in the place he’d shared with his wife.

“I appreciate the offer, Brandon, but you can’t tell me what to do anymore. Lucy and I will be fine here.”

Anger flashed in his eyes. “You’d rather face Carter alone if he returns?”

At this point, she didn’t know if she was more afraid of Carter or Brandon. Carter had a temper, and if he was coming for Lucy and she opposed him, he might hurt her. After all, he’d had five long years for his anger to fester.

But he didn’t have the power over her that Brandon had.

Then again, she didn’t know how Brandon would react when he finally learned the truth about Lucy.

He had a bad temper, too. And now he had money and power....

“Please, just go, Brandon. I’ve taken care of Lucy all these years by myself. I can do it now.”

He twisted his mouth sideways the way he used to do when he was working his thoughts to make a point. “Really? Then you and Lucy have visited Carter?”

She shook her head. “No.” Carter hadn’t wanted to see her. And jail was no place for a little girl.

Brandon gripped her arms. “Then he’s not going to be happy with you when he arrives, is he?” Brandon’s gruff voice rose a notch, and Lucy suddenly stirred.

“Mommy?” Lucy rolled over and looked at them. Her eyes widened with fear at the sight of Brandon gripping her arms. “Don’t hurt my mommy!”

She jumped off the sofa and threw herself at Brandon, slamming her fists into Brandon’s legs. “Stop it, don’t hurt my mommy!”

BRANDON’S HEART CLENCHED at the terror in the little girl’s cries, and he immediately released Kim. Dear God, Lucy thought he was going to hit her mother.

Shame engulfed him, memories of his own childhood flashing back. His daddy beating his mama. His sister’s screams of terror. Him in the middle, trying to protect them both.

Kim stooped down to pull Lucy away. “It’s okay, Lucy. He wasn’t hurting me.”

“But he yelled at you.” Lucy’s lower lip trembled as Kim picked her up; then she rubbed her teary eyes and looked up at Brandon.

Brandon forced his hands to hang limply by his sides, determined to prove to the child that he wouldn’t hurt her or her mother.

But his chest clenched when he looked into Lucy’s big green eyes.

Pale green eyes that looked just like his own.

He staggered back, shock bolting through him as the truth hit him.

Lucy wasn’t Carter’s little girl.

She was his.

Chapter Three

The truth echoed in Brandon’s head over and over as if he’d been sucker punched.

Lucy was his.... Lucy was his.... He had a daughter....

A daughter he’d never known about.

Because Kim had kept it from him.

The anguish and rage hit him so hard that Brandon staggered backward, then gripped the sofa edge to keep from reaching for Kim and shaking her. How could she have done this to him?

For years he’d forced himself to accept the fact that he’d never have a family. Never have a son or daughter of his own because he was too afraid he’d pass on that horrific genetic disorder. Krabbe’s Leukodystrophy, the doctor called it. The bone marrow transplant had miraculously given her a few extra years, but she had still suffered.

And for four years now, he’d had a living, breathing little girl who was his blood kin. A normal child.

One he’d made with Kim.