A Family For The Soldier. Carolyne Aarsen

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СКАЧАТЬ spite of knowing Cody wasn’t his, it wasn’t hard to see the resemblance. The little boy’s brown eyes and sandy hair were exact replicas of his and Ben’s, and he looked identical to Grady and Ben when they were babies.

      He could see how people might believe he was the father. That Chloe might believe he was bothered him more than he cared to admit.

      “Is he okay?” Grady asked, hobbling over to his grandmother, the injury in his leg making itself known as he faltered.

      “He’s just fussy. Missing his mom, I think.” Mamie Stillwater shot a meaningful glance over her shoulder at Vanessa, who was now lounging on the couch leafing through a magazine she had bought on their way back from the hospital.

      Vanessa must have caught the tone in Mamie’s voice, however, because she shot to her feet, her hands out for Cody. “Hey, sweetie,” she cooed, taking him from Mamie’s arms and walking back to the living room. “Did you miss your momma?”

      “Can I get you something to drink? Some coffee? Hot chocolate?” his grandmother asked him, her eyes still on Vanessa who sat on the couch again.

      “Coffee would be great,” he said.

      “I’m fine,” Vanessa said to her, then turned to Grady with a coy smile and patted the couch beside her. “Come and sit down, soldier,” she said.

      Grady hesitated, then walked over, wavering between politeness and his own struggles with Vanessa. Though he knew Cody wasn’t his child, he was clearly Ben’s and therefore his nephew. However, Vanessa didn’t seem very motherly.

      His thoughts whirled as he struggled to find the peace that had been eluding him for the past few years. Ever since that hay bale had fallen on his father and injured his back, Grady’s home life had spun out of control. His father’s chronic pain had created tension, which had led to fights, which finally had sent his mother away.

      Living with his father had been difficult before; it had become almost impossible after the accident. Reuben Stillwater had turned into a bitter, angry and critical man.

      Grady, who had often wanted to leave the ranch and Little Horn, saw his chance when he met with a recruitment officer from the army at high school. As soon as he’d graduated, he’d joined the army looking for discipline and order. He desired adventure and an escape from Little Horn. He had joined special ops, wearing his green beret with pride.

      But escape had resolved the issue only temporarily. Running special ops in Afghanistan had drained him. Had created an increasing yearning for home. When he’d been injured that horrible day, he’d known his career was over.

      However, coming back to the ranch to discover a woman he neither admired nor desired was telling everyone he had fathered her child wasn’t the vision he’d held in his head during the lonely nights in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He had longed for the open spaces of the ranch, the simplicity of working with cattle and horses.

      As he leaned back and glanced at Cody gurgling his pleasure in Vanessa’s arms, a picture of Chloe flashed in his head. She looked as pretty as ever. Prettier if that was even possible, with a simple charm he remembered from their youth.

      As if someone like her would look at someone like you, he reminded himself.

      “He sure knows his mommy,” Vanessa said, tickling the little boy under his chin. “Don’t you, darling?”

      His grandmother returned with two steaming mugs of coffee. She set down one within arm’s reach of Grady and settled herself on the large leather couch across from them both, her eyes on Vanessa and the baby.

      “Busy happenings in the county today,” Mamie said, her gaze flicking from Vanessa, still absorbed with Cody, to Grady sipping his coffee. “Yesterday Tom Horton discovered a couple of his brand-new ATVs were stolen.”

      “They figure the same people who’ve been rustling the cattle and stealing equipment are to blame?” Grady asked.

      “Lucy Benson is quite sure it is. This must be so difficult for her.” Grandma Mamie tut-tutted. “Byron McKay is calling for her to quit as sheriff and she’s not getting any closer to the culprits.”

      “Byron McKay likes to throw his weight around,” Grady said.

      “He’s a big-time rancher, isn’t he?” Vanessa put in, tucking Cody against her while she opened the magazine with her free hand. “I heard he’s got one of the biggest spreads in the county.”

      “He’s wealthy enough,” Mamie said. “And he likes to let the members of the cowboy league know it.”

      “He’s not president yet, is he?” Grady asked.

      “Oh, no,” Grandma protested angrily, as if the idea horrified her. “Carson Thorn still holds that position and the other members will make sure Byron doesn’t ever get in charge.”

      “This league... That’s the one that threw the fancy party I was at two weeks ago. What do they do exactly?” Vanessa asked.

      “The league formed over a century ago as a service organization,” Grandma Mamie said. “They provide help and resources to the ranchers in the area. There are chapters all over Texas.”

      “What kind of help? Like with the branding and stuff?” Vanessa seemed quite interested in the dealings of the league, which puzzled Grady.

      “It started to fight cattle rustling and give support when times got hard for fellow ranchers.” Mamie gave Grady a warm smile. “Grady and Ben’s great-grandfather, Bo Stillwater, was one of the founding members.”

      “They aren’t helping much for all the cattle rustling going on,” Vanessa said, still turning the pages of her magazine one-handed, seemingly oblivious to her little boy, now, thankfully, sleeping in her arms. “I heard that Byron McKay got some fancy machinery stolen and another cattleman lost some animals. And that town sign thingy is still gone. Not too on the ball, are they?”

      “I’m sure they’re doing what they can,” Grady said, cradling the cup of coffee, feeling a sudden chill. Coming home to stories of a rash of thefts of cattle and machinery and equipment was disheartening. The community of Little Horn, with the help of the Lone Star Cowboy League, had always pulled together. Though he had been back only a few days, he already sensed mistrust growing between the local ranchers.

      “Funny how nothing’s disappeared from this place, though,” Vanessa said with a sly look. “Maybe the thieves are those kids you’ve got working on that, what is it, ranchers something or other?”

      “Future Ranchers program,” Grady said, shooting her a warning look. “And you might want to watch what you say about the girls we’ve got helping here. The Markham sisters’ ranch has been hit, as well.”

      “But that Maddy Coles. I mean, she’s a foster kid. She probably has all kind of weird friends.”

      “That’s enough,” Grady snapped, angry at her allegations, then frustrated at his shortness with her.

      Too many things were happening at once, he thought. His brother, Ben, in the hospital, Vanessa and her ever-changing insinuations, all the upheaval the thefts had caused in the community.

      Seeing Chloe hadn’t helped his СКАЧАТЬ