The Belles of Texas

He set Georgie on his feet in the big kitchen. “It’s about suppertime, what—”

Haley made a run for the downstairs bathroom and he could hear her throwing up. Dammit! He didn’t know how to help her. She’d started having problems when she was about six. The doctor thought she might have irritable bowel syndrome, but she didn’t. More tests were run and the diagnosis was a nervous stomach. She needed a stress-free environment and a healthy diet void of spicy and high-acidity foods. No matter what he and Trisha had tried, nothing completely cured Haley’s problem.

The divorce had triggered a major upset, and Walker could see his daughter wasting away before his eyes.

“Haley sick,” Georgie said, twisting his hands.

“Yeah.” Walker tousled his son’s hair. “She’ll be okay.” She had to be. “Daddy will be right back. Do you want to watch a movie?”

“Uh-huh.”

“How about Shrek?” he asked, making his way into the living room.

“No. Finding Nemo,” Georgie shouted from behind him.

Walker found the movie and slipped it into the DVD player and pushed buttons on the remote. Georgie grabbed his Curious George off the sofa and settled in front of the TV. Walker hurried to the bathroom.

Turning the knob, he saw that the door was unlocked. He tapped so as not to invade her privacy.

A muffled “Go away” came through the door.

“Haley, sweetheart, it’s Daddy.”

“Go away.”

He couldn’t do that. “I’m coming in.” He opened the door and glanced around. The bathroom was large and had an antique bathtub with claw feet. Everything in the room was antique from the pedestal sink to the pull-chain toilet. Haley was sitting by the toilet, her back to the wall, her forehead on her drawn-up knees.

Ignoring the horrible smell, he sank down by her. Honestly, he didn’t know what else to do.

“Are you okay?” He stared at his boots, searching for the right words.

“Just leave me alone,” she muttered against her knees.

“I’m your dad and I’m not leaving you alone—ever.”

“Oh, yeah.” She raised her head and his heart took a jolt at her pale face. “You leave us with Aunt Nell all the time.”

“I have a job, and I’m not leaving you alone here at the house.” They’d had this conversation before. It was the only thing Haley had opened up about.

“Why not?” Her watery eyes suddenly cleared. “I’m ten years old and I can take care of Georgie. If something goes wrong, we live in the middle of High Cotton and I could get help in no time.”

“So you think you’re responsible enough.”

“As much as Aunt Nell.”

He mulled this over and wanted to meet her halfway. “I’ll think about it.”

She placed her head on her knees again.

Several seconds went by. “We need to talk about today.”

She didn’t respond.

“I don’t know where your mother is.”

Her head shot up, her eyes filled with something he couldn’t describe. It was almost like fear. Was his daughter afraid of him?

“You do, too.”

“Haley, I don’t.”

“You’re lying.”

“I have no reason to lie.” He tried not to raise his voice. “You’re old enough to know your mother left of her own free will. I have sole custody of you and Georgie.”

“You made her leave.” The fire was back in her eyes. “You were gone all the time helping other people and you should have been home helping us.”

“Your mother and I had problems for a long time, and yes, a lot of it was because of my job. I can’t change that now, but I can be here for you and Georgie.” He paused and prayed for a break in her implacable armor. “Please give me a chance.”

“I want to see Mama,” she sobbed against her knees. “I have to see my mama.”

He tried to put his arm around her, but she jerked away. Oh, God, his heart stopped beating and he hurt for her. He felt her pain deep inside him—a place that was created the day he became a father.

The mass in his throat clogged his vocal cords. “Your mother…”

She lifted her head, tears streaming down her face. “I know she left us, and you know where she is. You just won’t tell me. I…I…” Sobs racked her thin body, and this time he pulled her into his arms and held her, searching for those magical words that would help them both. But they were elusive, and he hated that he was so bad at being a parent.

“Please, Haley. Give me a chance.” His words were hoarse, and he had to swallow a couple of times to get them out.

Before she could say anything, Georgie came running in and wiggled into his lap. “Oh, it stinks in here.” He looked up at Walker. “I’m hungry.” The odor didn’t seem to bother his appetite.

“Suppertime,” Walker said, and tried to act normal. “Haley, would you like chicken noodle soup and a grilled cheese sandwich? You usually can hold that down.”

“I guess.” She straightened and moved as far away from him as she could. That hurt a little more.

“I want peanut butter and jelly.” Georgie gave his menu choice. “Grape jelly. I don’t like any other kind.” Walker had made the mistake of using strawberry one time and Georgie had never forgotten it.

“I know, son.” Walker stood with the boy in his arms. “And we can have ice cream afterward.”

“Yay!” Georgie clapped his hands. Haley was silent. She was silent all through dinner. She was silent as they washed the dishes. Instead of watching TV, she took a bath and went to bed.

Soon he tucked Georgie in, but Walker couldn’t sleep. His mind was in overdrive. His children’s well-being was at the front of his mind—always. All he could do was be here for them and maybe Haley wouldn’t try to run away again.

Not only was he worried about his kids, but Ginny was on his mind, too. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself, not to mention that he’d have no hope of his daughter ever forgiving him.

An hour later, he still wasn’t asleep. He got up, dressed and went into Georgie’s room and gathered him into his arms. He carried him to Haley and tucked him in beside her.

“Daddy,” she mumbled sleepily.

“I’m going to check on the Grubbs family. Take care of Georgie.” He handed her the portable phone. “Call my cell if there’s a problem.” She wanted responsibility, so he was going to give it to her—for a while.

“Oh.” Her voice sounded excited.

In less than thirty minutes he was back. Earl was passed out on the sofa. Verna, his wife, said everything was fine. Ginny seconded that and Walker felt a lot better.

He fell into bed exhausted, but the worry over his kids was always there. What was he going to do? He needed help.

Blue eyes edged their way into his subconscious. His eyes popped open. Madison Belle. It was hard to explain his reaction to her. When he was a senior in high school, he and his dad had gone on a fishing trip to the Gulf Coast. They’d rented a cabin on a secluded cove outside Rockport, Texas. The cabin was shaded with gnarled, bent oaks, tempered and tried by the Gulf winds. The water in the cove held him mesmerized. It was the purest blue he’d ever seen, as if it had been untouched by nature and its wrath. He thought he’d never see that color again.

Until he looked into Madison’s eyes.

She had that same purity. That same quality of not being tainted by the ups and downs of life. It had to be an illusion. No woman could be as pure or as good as Madison appeared.

For a cynical man like himself, he knew it was an illusion. His motto was to avoid the woman in case she could look into his soul and see all his sins.

MADISON SLEPT VERY LITTLE. She couldn’t stop thinking and worrying about Walker’s kids. And Ginny. She was so young to be pregnant. Her family situation seemed dire, and she wondered how the girl would cope?

A baby.

Maddie would give everything she had for a child. It seemed so unfair, but she’d come to grips with her situation long ago. Every time she thought about it, though, she felt that empty place inside her that would never be filled.

She had a ready-made family waiting for her in Philadelphia. All she had to do was accept Victor’s marriage proposal. Victor’s wife had died five years ago, leaving an eleven-and a fourteen-year-old who needed a mother in their lives. But Victor was a friend, a very dear friend. She didn’t have passionate feelings for him. Hadn’t even gone to bed with him. She’d told him how she felt, and he’d said those emotions would come later. She didn’t believe that.

Soon she’d have to go home and face Victor and her future. But for now her life was here on High Five. Maybe she was in denial. Maybe she was hiding. Or maybe she believed in miracles and love.

She went to sleep with that thought.

The next morning she dressed in jeans, a pearl-snap shirt and boots, her customary garb. Oh, yes, she was a cowgirl now and she was getting damn good at it.

She hurried to Gran’s room as she did every morning. Gran was up and winding her white hair into its usual knot at her nape.

“Good morning, my baby.” Gran smiled at her.

Maddie sat on the stool beside her in front of the mirror. Gran called her three granddaughters “baby.” At thirty-one, Maddie was past being a baby, but it was useless to mention that to Gran.

“Caitlyn’s coming to pick me up. I’m going to Southern Cross for a visit,” Gran told her, patting her hair.

Maddie lifted an eyebrow. “So the honeymooners are having company?”

Gran slipped on her comfortable shoes. “I’m not company. I’m the grandmother. Besides, we were all at Southern Cross for Thanksgiving.”

“Everyone but Sky.” Maddie worried about her baby sister and wished Sky would just come home.

“Sky has a mind of her own.”

“Mmm.” Maddie linked her arm through the older woman’s. “Let’s go down for breakfast.”

“Yes, my baby. It’s the first day of December and we have to start thinking about the upcoming holiday.”

Maddie would rather not. But soon she’d have to tell her mother that once again she wouldn’t be in Philly for Christmas.

The scent of homemade biscuits met them in the hallway. “Oh, my, isn’t that wonderful?”

“Makes my mouth water,” Gran replied.

Etta pulled a pan of biscuits out of the oven as they entered the kitchen. “Good morning, lazy bugs.”

Maddie glanced at the clock. It was barely seven, but she saw the dirty plates on the table. Cooper and Rufus had already eaten and gone.

Grabbing a biscuit, she juggled it to the table. It was hot, hot, hot. She opened it on a napkin and dribbled honey over it. Picking it up, she headed for the door. She had to catch up with Cooper and Rufus.

She took a bite of the biscuit and stopped in the doorway. First, she had something else to do.

“I need to make a phone call,” she said to Gran and Etta.

On the way to her study, she finished off the biscuit. Damn, she’d forgotten her coffee. Where was her brain? In Worryville.

She licked her fingers and punched out the number Cait had given her yesterday. Walker’s number. He answered on the first ring.

“This is Madison Belle,” she said quickly.

“Ms. Belle.” His deep, strong voice came through loud and clear. “Is there a problem?”

She curled her sticky fingers around the receiver. “No. I was just wondering how the kids are?”

“Mine are fine. Haley’s getting ready for school and Georgie’s eating breakfast. Anything else?”

Yes. Lose the attitude.

“And Ginny?” she asked without even pausing.

The silence on the other end was loaded with four-letter words, and they weren’t nice.

She waited, licking her fingers.

After a moment he replied, “Ginny is fine, too. I had a talk with her father about what was going to happen to him if he hits her again. I checked on her last night and the family was fine.”

“That was so sweet of you.”

“I’m not sweet, Ms. Belle,” he shot back in a voice tighter than a rusted padlock.

“But your gesture was,” she reminded him just because it annoyed him so much.

“Anything else, Ms. Belle?” The way he said Ms. Belle was beginning to irritate the crap out of her.

“You might try working some of that ‘sweet’ into your attitude.” The words were out before she could stop them. Not that she tried very hard.

“And you might try minding your own business.”

“Ginny needs someone to help her, and I’m beginning to think that Haley might, too.” After saying that, she slammed down the phone.

She reached up to see if steam was gushing out of her ears. She was so angry. How could he be so…so ungrateful? And stern. And rigid. And infuriating.

Blood pumped through her veins with renewed fervor. She hadn’t felt this angry in a very long time. She took a long breath and blew it out her mouth. Mr. Attitude hadn’t heard the last of her.

CHAPTER FOUR

MADDIE HURRIED TO THE BARN to catch up with Coop and Ru. A little exercise was what she needed to untangle all the anger inside her. After all, Walker was the children’s father and she was sticking her nose into his business. But she cared. Children were her weakness. In this situation, though, she needed to tread carefully. Or not. Annoying Walker might become the highlight of her day.

In the doorway to the barn, she stopped short. Cooper was shoving bullets into a rifle, and Rufus held another one in his hand. Her heart skipped a beat.

“What’s going on?”

Coop turned to her. “Ru got a call from Mr. Peevy. Wild dogs killed two of his baby calves last night. We have to be prepared.”

“Prepared?”

Coop handed her the rifle, and she just stared at it. “Put it in the scabbard of your saddle.”

She shook her head. “Oh, no. I don’t do the gun thing, and since you’re on probation, you shouldn’t, either.”

His face darkened. “I promised Cait to help you run High Five, and I’m not going to let a pack of feral dogs slaughter our calf crop.”

She could see the anger in his eyes, which was very rare. Ever since he had the fight with the man who had framed him, Coop kept his anger on a tight leash. Although Coop was cleared of all wrongdoing in the killing of the horses, he was on probation for the assault. The man refused to drop the charges. Maddie understood Coop’s anger. Anyone would have lashed out at being used as a scapegoat in an insurance scam, but she didn’t want him to get into any more trouble.

Gently, she touched his arm. “I know High Five means a lot to you, but you have to be careful.”

He took a deep breath. “I’ll be very careful. Out here no one knows.”

“Let’s keep it that way.”

“Okay.” He raised the gun in front of her again. “Learn to use it. You have to be able to protect your animals.”

Against every objection in her head, she took it. The gun felt heavy and deadly in her hands. Her first instinct was to throw it on the ground and say no way. But High Five was still struggling and they couldn’t afford to lose a calf crop. The last hurricane had ripped through the ranch and had caused tremendous damages. They were still rebuilding. She had to step up and do her job, like she’d told Cait she could.

But a gun?

This is where the city girl and the country girl collided. Who was Madison Belle?

“There are six bullets in the magazine,” Coop was saying. “It’s already loaded.” He pointed to a spot on the gun. “There’s the safety. Always keep it on. If you have to shoot, push it to off and line up your prey with this guide on top. Then pull the trigger.” He tapped a forefinger against the guide.

“I’m not sure I can do that,” she admitted.

“Would you like to practice?”

“No, thanks.” Firing the gun wasn’t on this city/country girl’s agenda. “Hopefully I won’t ever have to use it.”

“Mr. Peevy’s place is about five miles away. The dogs could travel in another direction, but like I said we have to be prepared.”

She placed the gun by her saddle, not able to hold it one minute longer. “How do they become feral dogs?”

“People haul dogs they don’t want out to the country and leave them. The dogs begin to scrounge for food. They meet up with coyotes or wolves and mate. Suddenly there’s a pack of them, all hungry and killing everything they can to survive.”

“How awful.”

“Yeah, animal activists have tried to change things to no avail. Sometimes you just can’t stop people. Animal shelters are full and now charge if you bring in a dog. People who don’t want a dog are not going to pay. It’s a vicious cycle and ranchers pay the price.”

“Miss Dorie used to take in every stray dog that showed up at High Five,” Rufus said, shoving his gun into his saddle scabbard, “but since Mr. Bart died she lost interest in a lot of things. If one shows up, I take it to the shelter so they can find it a home.”

“Good for you, Ru,” Maddie replied.

“And Booger’s a stray we kept. He’s part Australian blue heeler and learned to work cattle. He’s a natural. Wish we could keep ’em all, but we can’t.”

“If everyone did that, there wouldn’t be a problem.”

“But we have a problem now,” Coop said. “Ru and I were talking, and we think it might be best to round up all the cows fixing to calf and keep them in the pen next to the corral. Except the hurricane took down the fence, so we have to repair it first.”

“Go for supplies and we’ll get busy.” That was an easy decision to make.

Coop hesitated.

“What?”

“Cait always went for supplies. Ms. Nell doesn’t want me in her store.”

“Well, that’s insane.” Maddie couldn’t believe Cait tolerated such behavior. “Make a list and I’ll pick up everything.” And she’d have a talk with Ms. Nell, too. Since she was sticking her nose in other people’s business, she might make it a trend.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER she walked through the double worn doors of Walker’s General Store. A bell jingled over her head, and it reminded her of the summers she’d spent at High Five as a kid. This was a favorite spot of the Belle sisters—candywise the store had everything.

She breathed in the scent of apples, spices and cedar, a hint of the upcoming holidays. The store was the same as it had been when she was a child: faded hardwood floors, a rustic wood ceiling from which sundries hung, and shelves of gallon jars filled with every candy a child could want.

The aisles were cluttered with everything imaginable, from buckets and fishing poles to barrels of apples, pears and oranges. Homemade quilts hung on a wall. A couple of Christmas trees were propped in a corner. A feed and hardware department was at the back. Every now and then the scent of oats wafted through the tantalizing aroma of the holidays.

Maddie walked over to the counter where Nell Walker stood waiting on a customer. Cigarettes took pride of place in the glass case beneath. A gallon jar of jawbreakers sat on the counter among chewing tobacco, gum and tempting candy bars. She always went for the jawbreakers—they were her favorite. She resisted the urge to stick her hand in the jar.

Instead, she studied Ms. Walker. She had aged since Maddie had last seen her. Her gray hair was cut short like a man’s and the lines of her stern face were set into a permanent frown. A tall, big-boned woman, Nell Walker exuded a persona of toughness and rigidity, the same as her nephew.

The customer left and Nell swung her gaze to Maddie. “May I help you, Ms. Belle?”

She noticed that Nell’s eyes were a cold gray like a winter’s day. As she pulled the list from her pocket, she thought that Nell looked very unhappy.

“I’d like to pick up some supplies.” She placed the list in front of Nell.

Nell looked it over and then shouted, “Luther.”

A man in his sixties ambled from the back.

“Is your truck out front?” Nell asked Maddie while glancing at the list and scribbling it into a record book.

“Yes.”

“Give Luther your keys and he’ll load your supplies.”

“Oh, okay.” She’d never done this before so she wasn’t sure how it worked. Digging in her purse, she found her keys and handed them over.

As Luther took the list and walked out the door, Nell said, “I’ll put everything on your bill. Anything else I can help you with?”

Maddie swung her purse strap over her shoulder. “Yes, there is.”

Nell raised frosty eyes to Maddie’s, and for a moment, a tiny moment, her resolve weakened. She stepped closer to the counter. “A lot of days I’m busy and don’t have time to come in for supplies, so I’ll be sending Cooper Yates, my foreman, in for them. I hope that’s not a problem.”

“I don’t want him in my store.” The words were delivered like an errant baseball smacking someone against the head. Unexpected and painful.

Nervously, her hand tightened on her purse strap, but no way would she bend. Coop deserved better than this kind of treatment. “Fine. If that’s the way you feel, I’ll just take High Five’s business into Giddings, and I’m sure Caitlyn will agree to do the same for Southern Cross.”

A telltale shade of pink crawled up the woman’s face. Losing two ranches’ business would hurt the store. Evidently hitting her in the pocketbook was talking her language.

“I don’t want ex-cons in here. It’s bad for business, but—”

“Is there a problem?” Walker strolled from the back, Georgie on his heels. Georgie smiled and she smiled back for a second.

Then she glanced at Walker, tall and imposing in a white shirt, snug jeans and boots. His Stetson was pulled low and hid his eyes, but just the sight of him made her heart go pitter-patter.

She took a breath. “Yes, there is. Ms. Walker refuses to allow Cooper to pick up supplies.” She stood her ground when she wanted to take a step backward. The man was just so…so intimidating, frustrating and…handsome. There, she’d admitted it. He was too handsome for her peace of mind. And that sincere note in his voice was sidetracking her.

“Is this true?” Walker asked his aunt.

“We can’t have ex-cons in here. Business will drop.”

“Caitlyn and I will certainly take our business elsewhere if the status quo doesn’t change.”

“It will change, won’t it, Nell?”

Nell puffed out her chest. “I was just about to tell Ms. Belle that.”

Walker swung his gaze to her. “Good, then there’s not a problem.”

Her insides did a crazy flip-flop. What was wrong with her? Earlier she was annoyed at his attitude, but now she was acting like a ridiculous teenager. Before she could gather her wits, Georgie stuck his hand into the jar for a jawbreaker. Nell quickly slapped his hand with a resounding swat. Georgie let out a wail.

Walker gathered the boy into his arms, his eyes turning as cold as Nell’s. “You will not hit my child.”

“He eats too many sweets and he’ll choke on those things.”

Maddie walked over to a jar on the shelf and used the scoop to fill a bag with jelly beans. “Put this on my bill,” she said to Nell, and handed them to Georgie. She waited for Walker to say he could pay for his own kid’s candy, but he didn’t say a word, just looked at her. “It’s okay, isn’t it?” she asked, to hide her nervousness under that gaze.

“Yes.”

“See?” she said to Georgie. “These are smaller and chewy. They’re good.”

Georgie wiped away a tear and poked his hand into the bag. He popped two into his mouth and nodded with a grin.

The door jingled and Luther came in and handed Maddie her keys. “All loaded and ready to go.”

“Thank you.” She looked at Nell. “I trust we won’t have any more problems.”

“No, ma’am.”

“Bye,” she said to Walker and Georgie, and headed for her truck.

Walker watched her leave with a funny feeling in his gut. God, he was falling for her caring attitude. No. It was just a natural reaction to her kindness to Georgie. He had enough problems without even thinking of Ms. Belle and her pure, pure blue eyes.

He had parked out back. His office was next door so it was always easy to leave Georgie with Nell. After resigning from his search-and-rescue unit in Houston, he hadn’t planned on going back to work. But Mr. Pratt, the constable, had passed away, and the commissioner’s court, by way of Judd, begged him to take the job.