Montana Wrangler. Charlotte Carter

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СКАЧАТЬ her son? She and I have never been close. I hardly know Bryan, or even his likes and dislikes. It seems to me you should be Bryan’s guardian. You and Grandma took care of him from the time he was born.” More so than Krissy ever had, Paige suspected.

      “Me and Krissy talked a lot about what to do if something happened to her. Since your folks were gone, we are the only blood relatives around.”

      Paige had been stunned when her parents had sold the hardware store and moved to Arizona. Competition from big-box stores had finally driven them out of business. It turned out that decision, followed by a high-speed car crash, had been a fatal one.

      “Thing is, I’m getting old,” Grandpa continued. “I don’t have many years left. We both figured I might not be around long enough to see the boy through to being a man.”

      Her heart lurched. “Are you ill?”

      “No, child, not that I know about anyway. And the truth is, Krissy loved you more than you might’ve realized.” He took her hand, and she felt him tremble.

      “I love...loved Krissy, too, Grandpa. We’re sisters.” An ache rose in her chest. “But I didn’t really know her. How could I? We haven’t lived under the same roof for more than a dozen years.”

      “I know this isn’t something you expected. ’Course, Krissy didn’t exactly expect to die young either, I don’t suppose. But she was clear about her wishes. I told her she ought to talk to you. See if raising her boy the rest of the way would be all right with you.”

      “That would have at least given me some warning.” Talk about being blindsided. This was as bad as a thousand good ol’ boys in funny hats showing up at the hotel registration desk for a Shriners’ convention that wasn’t on her calendar.

      If Krissy had asked, Paige would have told her right off that she wasn’t prepared to be any child’s parent. Certainly not a boy on the cusp of adolescence.

      “I reckon she was afraid you’d say no,” Grandpa said.

      “I would have, Grandpa.” That admission brought the heat of guilt to her cheeks. What kind of a rotten aunt did that make her? “What do I know about raising a boy? A boy who’s about to be a teenager? I can’t even imagine how I’d manage. And he sure wasn’t keen on the idea. You saw that.”

      He sipped his coffee, then took a bite of a chocolate-chip cookie. “He’ll adjust to the idea, given enough time.”

      “The way he acted, we’ll both be old and decrepit before he’s thrilled with the idea of me being his guardian. I’m practically a stranger to him.” Granted, she should have tried harder to get to know him. But given her life, her goals, she’d have to make huge adjustments in order to do a decent job of raising him. And Bryan would have to leave everything and everyone who was familiar to him. What in the world had Krissy been thinking?

      “In those papers I gave you, there’s a letter from Krissy. There’s probably no law that says you have to take on the boy. But maybe there’s something in there that’ll make you change your mind.”

      Paige sincerely doubted it. But could she actually walk away from her responsibility to Bryan, her only nephew, however ill-advised Krissy’s wishes might be?

      * * *

      Finding Bryan right where he’d expected, Jay leaned over the railing of Bright Star’s stall. A palomino gelding with a blaze on his forehead, the horse had been Bryan’s personal mount and his responsibility since the boy’s ninth birthday.

      Archie, a border collie mix that hung around the stable, rested her nose on Bryan’s thigh as though she sensed the boy’s distress and wanted to help. Oddly enough, when the dog had shown up a year or so ago, Bryan had started calling her Archie before he realized the dog was a girl. The name had stuck.

      “You okay?” Jay asked.

      Bryan lifted his head, his eyes red rimmed. He wiped his nose with his forearm. “What’s all this stuff about her being my guardian?”

      Jay wondered about that, too. Paige Barclay seemed the least likely person he knew to take on a half-grown kid. She hadn’t looked too happy about the idea, either. Which couldn’t have made Bryan feel any better.

      “Guess your mom wanted to be sure you had somebody to look after you.”

      “Not Aunt Paige!” He tossed aside a bit of straw he’d been chewing. “She’s weird. She dresses prissy and doesn’t even know how to ride a horse.”

      Jay wouldn’t call the way Paige dressed prissy. More like citified and fancier than folks around Bear Lake dressed, that was for sure, but nice. Appealing to a man’s eye.

      “Lots of people don’t know how to ride,” Jay said. Krissy had made a few snide comments about Paige’s disinterest in horses. So why had she chosen her sister to be her son’s guardian? A kid who lived and breathed horses? Made no sense.

      “Why can’t Grandpa be my guardian?” Bryan scratched Archie between her ears and got a lick of thanks in return.

      “Your mom must’ve had her reasons.” Jay couldn’t figure out what they were. But then, he’d never figured out what Krissy was all about, either. “Maybe she thought Henry was too old.”

      “I know what we can do.” The boy pushed Archie away and jumped to his feet. “You can take care of me. You’re not too old.”

      Jay did a double take. His heart pounded in his ears. Him? The boy’s guardian? Would that make sense?

      “I’m not a blood relative, Bryan.”

      “What difference does that make? You like me, don’t you?”

      The boy’s agitation and raised voice caused Bright Star to shift away from him. Bryan patted the horse’s rump to reassure him.

      “Yeah, I like you fine. But it’s your mom’s decision, not mine.”

      “Don’t I get a say? I mean, isn’t there somebody I can tell that I don’t want prissy ol’ Aunt Paige? They can’t make me go off with her, can they?”

      “I don’t know, son.” Jay had no idea what the law was about guardianship, but it did seem like Bryan was old enough to speak his mind to a judge or somebody like that. “Tell you what, there’s no reason to panic. Your aunt looked as surprised as you were about your mom’s request. Let’s give it some time, see how everything shakes out.”

      “I can tell you one thing.” Bryan stuck out his chin like a prizefighter challenging his opponent. “For sure I’m not moving to Seattle, if that’s what she or anybody else decides. I’m staying right here with you and Grandpa and Bright Star.”

      Jay wasn’t sure Bryan would have a choice, but he sympathized with the kid’s situation. The boy’s life was bound to change after his mother had tried to jump a gully that was too wide for the horse to make. She should’ve known better.

      Even if Paige wasn’t scared spitless of horses, he sensed she wouldn’t ever do something that foolhardy.

      * * *

      A tear dropped on the letter Krissy had written to СКАЧАТЬ