Lone Star Father
Jessie didn’t comment, her pensive gaze shifting between the dog and her father in the parking lot. Scarlett’s experience as a social worker insisted there was something off about the father-daughter relationship. “You and your dad will be staying in the High Noon room.” She entered the code into the machine Gunner had taught her to use when she’d moved to town a few months ago.
“What’s a high-noon room?” Jessie asked.
“Lydia helped your uncle renovate the motel last summer and instead of numbers on the room doors, she picked Western movie titles.” Scarlett waved a hand. “The movies were way before your time.”
Jessie’s attention returned to the window. “What’s there to do here?”
“Not much, but Paradise Ranch has a petting zoo, which might be busy next week when all the school kids are on spring break.”
“I’m homeschooled.”
This time Scarlett stared out the window. “Your father supervises your studies?”
Jessie shook her head. “My mom did, then Mrs. Valentine helped me. She’s smart. She used to work at a bank.”
“Who’s Mrs. Valentine?”
“My foster mom.”
Foster care. That explained the uneasiness between father and daughter.
Jessie sat next to Fang and the dog climbed into her lap. “My mom died.”
“I’m so sorry, Jessie.” Scarlett’s heart swelled with compassion. “How long did you live with Mrs. Valentine?”
“Since September.”
Six months. “I moved here from Wisconsin not that long ago. I’m a social worker in Mesquite.”
“Mesquite?”
“A town about fifteen minutes from here.”
“Mrs. Delgado’s my caseworker. She’s nice.”
Scarlett wanted to know why the young girl had been put into foster care after her mother had died, but if she asked too many questions, Jessie might shut down.
“Fang belonged to Mrs. Valentine, but he liked me better, so she gave him to me.” Jessie rubbed the mutt’s head.
“When I was your age, I had a dog named Charlie,” Scarlett said. “He slept with me in my bed.”
“Fang sleeps with his head on my pillow. I wake up to dog breath in my face.”
Scarlett laughed, then stopped abruptly when Reid entered the lobby. His hands were fisted at his sides and when his gaze landed on Jessie, the muscle in his jaw bunched. Scarlett had heard bits and pieces about Reid from her cousins but no one understood why the middle Hardell brother chose to keep his distance from the family. She’d always been a champion for the underdog and hoped Reid and his brothers could make peace with the past.
“What’s wrong?” Jessie asked.
“Nothing.” He uncurled his fingers and looked at Scarlett. “Sorry about all the commotion. Jessie and I should have stopped at a motel in Mesquite or Rocky Point.”
“She works in Mesquite.” Jessie pointed to Scarlett.
Scarlett came out from behind the desk. “It’s good that you stopped. Otherwise you wouldn’t have heard about the baby.” She spoke to Jessie. “Gunner and Lydia named their daughter Amelia after the older woman you saw in the parking lot.” Her gaze swung between Reid and Jessie. “Me and my cousins are named after our great-grandmothers, but Aunt Amelia never had children, so Lydia and Gunner thought it would be nice to name their little girl after her.”
Reid appeared unimpressed with the story. He rubbed his brow, drawing Scarlett’s attention to the dark shadows beneath his eyes. “How far did you two drive to get here?”
“We came from El Paso,” he said. “We got a late start.”
El Paso? The last she’d heard Reid had been living in Albuquerque. “I’m sure you’re ready to turn in for the night.” Scarlett handed him a key card. “You’ll be staying in the High Noon room.”
At his raised eyebrow Jessie spoke. “The rooms are named after old movies.”
He pulled out his wallet. “What do I owe you?”
“Nothing.” Scarlett smiled. “You’re family.”
Reid grimaced as if she’d offended him, then put his wallet away.
“Need help with your luggage?” she asked.
“We’ll be fine, thanks.” He nodded to Jessie. “Grab the dog’s supplies and your backpack. I’ll bring the rest of our things.”
Jessie carried Fang out of the office.
“If it’s available,” he said, “I’ll need the room for a few days.”
“You should stay at the ranch. I can move my things out of your grandfather’s room.”
“Why isn’t my grandfather living at the ranch?” he asked.
“When I moved here, Aunt Amelia insisted Emmett stay with her while I searched for an apartment. I was only supposed to use your grandfather’s room for a couple of weeks, but I’ve had so much fun with my cousin and nephews that I’ve been lazy about finding an apartment. Now that you’re here I’ll start looking again.” She moved closer to Reid, catching a hint of woodsy aftershave. “I’m sure it would be okay if I moved my things into Gunner and Lydia’s private room here at the motel.”
“Private room?”
Scarlett nodded. “They made one of the rooms into a combination office and nursery in case Gunner ever brings the baby to work with him.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’d prefer a motel room for me and Jessie.” He opened the lobby door, then motioned for her to precede him outside. “I should have asked first,” he said, “are pets allowed?”
“They are.” She pointed to the walkway between the rooms and the office. “There’s a pet station stocked with plastic doggy doo-doo bags.” Scarlett wanted to talk to Reid longer, but Jessie waited for him in front of their room.
Reid removed the suitcases from the back seat of the truck, then shut the door.
Before he walked off, she said, “You don’t remember, do you?”
The corner of his mouth curved upward. “How could I forget? I cut my lip on your braces.”
Her heart flipped on its end and twirled in a circle before dropping back into place. Reid Hardell remembered their kiss.
Scarlett’s very first kiss.
* * *
“WHERE’S ELMO?” JESSIE dug through the bag of dog supplies in the motel room.
“It might be on the floor in the truck.” Jessie had asked Reid to buy the dog toy after he’d insisted they take Fang to a vet before leaving El Paso. The visit to the walk-in animal clinic had delayed their departure and caused them to get stuck in Friday rush-hour traffic. The busy roads and having to shell out four hundred dollars for vaccinations and a year’s worth of heartworm pills and flea-and-tick protection hadn’t helped Reid’s pensive mood.
Jessie filled Fang’s water bowl. “Are you thirsty?” She spoke in a squeaky cartoon voice and the mutt’s tail wagged so hard, he stumbled sideways, his front paw landing in the water bowl. After he finished drinking, Jessie picked him up and he licked her face. “Stop.” She giggled. “That’s gross.”
Reid’s chest tightened as he watched the pair. The only time he heard his daughter laugh was when Fang gave her kisses. During the six-month probation period where he and Jessie had gotten to know one another, he’d cracked a few jokes but they’d fallen flat. As for smiles... His daughter smiled—just not at him. That’s why he’d been stunned when she’d answered yes after the social worker asked if she felt comfortable enough with Reid to live with him.
Jessie crawled into bed and Fang snuggled next to her, his bug eyes watching Reid unpack.
“Your grandfather isn’t very nice,” Jessie said.
“He’s mad at me.”
“Why?”
“I haven’t been a very good grandson.” He sat on the end of his bed and tugged off his boots.
“Why not?”
Reid didn’t want his problems with his family to influence how Jessie got along with them. “Don’t worry, my grandfather will come around.” Gramps would never take his disappointment in Reid out on a defenseless kid.
“Scarlett’s a social worker.” Each time Jessie stroked Fang’s head, the dog’s eyes closed for a second, then popped open.
“That’s interesting.” It was also interesting that whenever he’d looked into her brown eyes, he’d felt like he was being sucked into quicksand—a warm, soft quagmire.
“Scarlett seems nice.”
Her doe-like eyes had hypnotized him all those years ago and without realizing what he was doing he’d started kissing her.
“Can you get my Kindle from my backpack?”
“Sure.” Reid had learned after meeting Jessie that she didn’t go anywhere without her electronic reading device. And according to Mrs. Delgado, his daughter was of above-average intelligence. After Stacy died, Jessie had been given the option to enroll in a public school but had declined, so the social worker had supervised her studies until Jessie had been placed in a foster home, where Mrs. Valentine took over the homeschooling duties.
Reid knew nothing about homeschooling and hadn’t even been to college. He wasn’t the right person to teach his daughter. They hadn’t talked about Jessie attending a public school, but Reid didn’t see any other option.
He retrieved the Kindle, then checked the clock on the nightstand. One o’clock. “You can read until I finish my shower, then lights out.” He carried a clean pair of briefs and pajama bottoms into the bathroom and then stood under the hot spray, until the tension in his neck and shoulders eased. As his body relaxed, he focused his thoughts on Scarlett. He’d expected to encounter a few surprises returning home after all these years, but she hadn’t been one of them. He’d thought Scarlett had been the prettiest girl he’d ever seen, and she’d only grown more beautiful since then. He grinned when he recalled bumbling their first and only kiss. He’d love to show her he’d learned a trick or two about kissing since then.
He turned off the water and stepped from the shower. After putting on his pj’s, he ran the electric shaver over his face and erased his day-old beard. When he stepped from the bathroom, Jessie was sound asleep with the Kindle resting on her chest. He turned the gadget off and placed it on the nightstand.
His daughter was a tough girl. She kept things inside like he had at her age. Before he turned out the light, he studied her face, searching for traces of himself. Aside from her blue eyes and dark hair he couldn’t see a resemblance. He hurt for Jessie. It was obvious she’d been close to her mother.
And now she’s stuck with you.
But unlike his father who hadn’t given a crap about him, Reid was determined that he’d always be there for Jessie as long as she needed him.
Chapter Two
Scarlett sipped her coffee in front of the hotel window as she watched the sun peek above the horizon Saturday morning.
She’d caught a few winks after Reid and Jessie had retired to their room last night, but she was eager to relinquish her desk duties to the part-time employee Gunner had hired to cover for him while he helped Lydia with the baby.
Her gaze swung to the High Noon room and she envisioned Reid sprawled across one of the double beds as he slept. The cowboy had been her first crush and she’d never forgotten him or his kiss. Every once in a while she’d recall that afternoon and wonder where he was or whom he was with. But she’d never imagined him being a father.
Eventually the streaks of pinkish orange along the horizon gave way to bright sunlight. The pace of life in Stampede was turtle slow compared to the hustle and bustle of Wisconsin’s state capital. Last year she’d despised the tiny Texas town for luring her cousins away from Madison. Not in a million years had Scarlett believed she’d be living here, too.
If not for being duped by Dale, and having been forced to resign from her job, she wouldn’t have packed her belongings and moved south. Fortunately there was a need for social workers, and Family Crisis Services in Mesquite had offered her a job right away.
The door to the High Noon room opened and Jessie stepped outside with Fang. The little Chihuahua was dressed in his Superman T-shirt and his owner wore pajama bottoms, pink fuzzy slippers and a sweatshirt. Coffee in hand Scarlett left the office and followed the duo behind the motel. “Good morning,” she said.
Jessie jumped, then slapped her hand against her chest. “Crap, you scared me.”
“Sorry.” Scarlett sat at the picnic table.
Jessie walked the dog until he did his job, then scooped him off the ground and joined Scarlett, placing Fang on top of the table.
“The plastic bags to pick up his doo-doo are over there.” Scarlett pointed to the waste station.
Jessie put her hand in front of Fang’s face and said, “Stay,” then walked off to clean up the dog’s mess. When she sat down again, she removed a single-serve can of pet food from the pocket of her sweatshirt and popped the lid off. Fang’s tail twirled like a propeller as he gobbled his breakfast.
“Where did you get your coffee?” Jessie asked.
“There’s a Keurig machine in the office. Do you drink coffee?”
The preteen nodded.
Twelve was a little young to get hooked on jitter juice. After the dog finished his meal, Scarlett said, “There’s milk in the office fridge.”
“I like coffee.”
They returned to the office, where Jessie filled a disposable cup with water from the cooler and offered Fang a drink.
“You take very good care of him.” Scarlett watched Jessie make herself coffee, then dump three creamers and two packets of sugar into the cup—definitely not a proper breakfast for a twelve-year-old.
“If you like animals,” Scarlett said, “then you’ll love visiting the petting zoo at your great-grandfather’s ranch.”
Jessie sipped the hot brew, squinting over the rim of the cup. “If we’re allowed to go to the ranch.”
“What do you mean?”
“My dad said he wasn’t a very good grandson.”
Scarlett wondered how much of his childhood Reid had shared with his daughter.
“If no one wants my dad to stay, then we’ll probably go back to El Paso.”
Time to change the subject. “Are you hungry? There’s a box of instant oatmeal in the back.”
“Sure,” Jessie said.
In the makeshift kitchen behind the office, Scarlett microwaved two bowls of apple-cinnamon oatmeal. When she handed Jessie her breakfast, the girl said, “You’re really pretty.”
“Thank you.” Scarlett was aware of her beauty. She’d been blessed with flawless skin, luminous eyes and high cheekbones. As far as hairdos went, she looked good in any style, which was why she wore a wash-ʼnʼ-wear haircut, because it saved her time getting ready for work each morning.
“I used to have long hair.” Scarlett touched her lower back. “All the way down to my hips. My friend told me guys liked long hair so I never cut it.” She finished her oats. “Then I woke up one morning in college and stared at myself in the mirror and said, ‘Why do I care what guys think?’” She smiled. “I cut it all off and I’ve been wearing it short ever since.”
Jessie scratched Fang behind the ears and the dog’s eyes closed. “My mom had long hair.”
Scarlett sat down in a chair. “Were you and your mother close?”
Jessie nodded. “It was mostly just me and my mom.”
“I was close to my mother when I was your age,” Scarlett said.
“Is she still alive?”
“Yes. She taught second grade, but she’s retired now.”
“Do you have kids?”
“No.”
“You don’t want kids?”
“Someday maybe.” Scarlett smiled to cover the sting she felt when she thought of Dale’s daughter Amy. She’d loved the six-year-old as a mother not a social worker. “I have a full caseload of kids at work.”
“My mom wanted more kids, but after Mike broke up with her, she never got another boyfriend.”
Not only did Jessie have a rough time of it, but her mother had, too. “What kind of work did your mom do?”
“She was a supervisor in a warehouse.”
“I like hearing about women bosses,” Scarlett said.
Jessie sat up straighter. “Sometimes she drove a forklift.”
“Impressive. The largest vehicle I’ve ever driven is the van I borrowed from a friend to move to a new apartment.” Scarlett’s cousins had nicknamed her gypsy because she only signed one-year leases at apartment complexes.
Jessie dropped her gaze. “My mom died at work.”
Scarlett pictured a woman passing out at her desk after suffering a heart attack, stroke or brain aneurism. “What happened?”
“She backed the forklift into a bunch of wooden pallets and they fell on top of her.”
Scarlett winced.
“My grandparents died a long time ago,” Jessie said. “That’s why Mrs. Delgado had to call my dad.”
Had to call? “You didn’t keep in touch with your father?”
Jessie shook her head. “My mom said he didn’t want anything to do with us.”
Wow. No wonder Reid and his daughter appeared uneasy with each other.
“His name was on my birth certificate.” Jessie pulled Fang closer to her body as if the animal was a shield. “So I’m stuck with him.”
Stuck? That wasn’t the way things worked in social services, especially with children Jessie’s age. If she hadn’t wanted to be with Reid, her caseworker wouldn’t have forced her to live with him.
The lobby door opened and Fang barked. Reid stepped inside, wearing pajama bottoms, a rumpled T-shirt, his cowboy boots and hat.
Scarlett smiled at the pillow crease along his cheek. “Good morning.” It took immense willpower to maintain eye contact with him and not allow her gaze to drift over his muscular chest and the cotton bottoms clinging to his slim hips.
He dragged a hand down his tired face, then looked at his daughter. “I woke up and you weren’t in the room.”
“Fang had to pee,” Jessie said.
“I bet you could use some caffeine.” While Scarlett made him a cup of joe, a deafening silence filled the room. When she offered him the drink, his fingers skimmed her knuckles and tiny sparks raced up her arm. “There’s cream and sugar on the table.”
“Black is fine.” He took a sip, then spoke. “You hungry?”
“We had oatmeal,” Jessie said.
Scarlett smiled. “I can make you a bowl, if you’d like.”
“I’ll pass, thanks.”
A vehicle pulling into the parking lot caught Scarlett’s attention. “Sadie’s here.” She glanced at the wall clock. “She’s up early.”
The white minivan parked in front of the window and when the rear door opened, Scarlett’s nephews hopped out and raced over to the office. It took both boys pulling on the handle to open the door and when they burst into the lobby, Tommy shouted, “Aunt Scarlett, we got a girl cousin!”
Scarlett laughed. “I heard.”
“It sucks.” Tommy looked at his brother. “Right, Tyler?”
Scarlett frowned at the pair. “Your mom told you not to use that word.”
“I forgot.” Tommy noticed Jessie sitting in the chair and walked over to her. “Is that your dog?”
“His name is Fang,” Jessie said. “And just so you know, boys suck, too.”
Tommy and Tyler exchanged wide-eyed glances.
“You two look alike,” Jessie said.
“That’s ʼcause we’re twins.” Tommy nudged Tyler in the side. “Right?”
Tyler pointed to the dog. “Can I pet him?”
“Sure.”
The boys took turns petting Fang and then Tommy spoke when Sadie walked into the office. “That’s my mom.”
Jessie pointed to Reid. “That’s my dad.”
“We’ve got two dads.” Tommy glanced at Tyler and his brother nodded.
“Sadie, this is Reid.” Scarlett introduced the adults. “And Reid’s daughter, Jessie.”
“You and Jessie couldn’t have picked a better time to visit.” Sadie smiled. “The whole family will be here when Lydia and Gunner bring the baby home from the hospital.”
Scarlett loved her cousin for acting nonchalant about the fact that her husband’s brother had returned to town unannounced and with a daughter no one had known about. Not that Sadie’s easy-going personality put Reid at ease. His gaze swung to the door, then over to the window before returning to the door. The cowboy wanted to flee.
“Scarlett,” Sadie said, “I need you to come with me and the boys to buy party supplies for the baby’s homecoming tomorrow. I’m planning a surprise get-together for the new parents at the ranch.” Sadie nodded to Jessie. “As long as the dog doesn’t mind waiting in the van while we shop, why don’t you come with us.”
Tyler patted Jessie’s thigh. “Will you come?”
Jessie looked at Reid, and he said, “We don’t have any plans.”
“Sure,” Jessie said. “I’ll go.”
Reid’s rigid stance relaxed. He didn’t seem bothered that his daughter hadn’t wanted to spend the day with him.
Jessie scooped Fang off the chair. “I’ll get dressed.”
“Do you have a key card to get back into the room?” Reid opened the lobby door for her after Jessie flashed the card in his face. “Take a twenty out of my wallet on the nightstand in case you see something you want to buy for yourself or the dog.”
Sadie sent Scarlett a curious look when Jessie left without saying a word to anyone. “Boys, have you said hello to your dad’s brother? This is your uncle Reid.”
“I thought Uncle Gunner was Dad’s brother,” Tommy said.
“Your father has two brothers.” Sadie smiled at Reid.
“Nice to meet you, boys,” he said.
“We’re five.” Tommy walked over to Reid and squinted up at him. “My dad wears a cowboy hat but his is black.”
Scarlett hid a smile behind a pretend yawn. The boy’s forthrightness took getting used to.
“Are you older than my dad?” Tommy asked.
“Nope. I’m thirty-two.” He studied the twins. “I can’t tell you apart.”
“That’s ʼcause we look alike,” Tyler said.
Scarlett laughed. “You can tell them apart by remembering that Tommy asks a lot of questions and Tyler’s favorite hobby is reading.”
“Do you got more kids?” Tommy asked.
“No. Just my daughter, Jessie.”
Tommy wrinkled his nose. “She’s a girl.”
Reid’s mouth flirted with a smile and Scarlett was mesmerized by the twinkle in his blue eyes. “Jessie’s a girl all right.”
“Is Fang a boy dog?” Tommy asked.
Reid nodded.
“Okay, enough questions.” Sadie pointed across the room. “Pick out a book and read while we wait for Jessie.”
Tyler walked over to the refurbished post office mailbox compartments and opened one of the doors. He removed a children’s book from the slot, then climbed into a chair. Tommy sat next to his brother and listened to him read.
“When does Virginia take over for you?” Sadie asked Scarlett.
“Not until eight but Gunner said she usually shows up early.” Scarlett turned to Reid. “Virginia lives across the street from our aunt.”
Sadie laughed. “She’s what Aunt Amelia calls a colorful character.”
“Colorful is right,” Scarlett said. “Virginia is pushing sixty, but dresses like a twenty-year-old.”
Reid reached for the door handle. “Jessie’s got my number in her cell phone if you need to get ahold of me.”
“Before you go,” Sadie said. “I have a message for you from Logan. Your brothers would like you to meet them at the Saddle Up Saloon at noon.”
“Sure. Where should I pick up Jessie later?”
Sadie waved a hand. “Come out to the ranch. Jessie will enjoy helping the boys feed the petting-zoo animals.”
“See you later then.”
As soon as the door closed behind him, Sadie said, “He couldn’t escape fast enough.”
Scarlett watched Reid cross the parking lot. “I’d love to be a mouse in the bar when the Hardell brothers meet later.”
“Let’s make a list of party supplies while we wait for Virginia to arrive.”
Scarlett retrieved a notepad and a pen from the desk drawer, eager to hear how Sadie planned to decorate for both the baby and the black sheep’s homecoming.
* * *
REID PARKED THE pickup behind the old Woolworth building in downtown Stampede. It was five minutes before noon and his gut was tied into a pretzel knot.
The Hardell family reunion would be a far cry from a Hallmark movie scene. He’d be lucky if he escaped the gathering with his surname intact.