Judy Christenberry - The Cowboy's Secret Son

Abby closed her eyes. She’d dreamed of this moment so many times, played it out in her mind. But telling Robbie who his father was never went smoothly. She’d always anticipated having more time to get the script right. Apparently she was wrong.

Help came from an unlikely source. It was Kate who protested. “You’re being too hard on her, Nick.”

Nick didn’t answer his mother. He merely stood over Abby, never taking his eyes off her, waiting.

Abby knelt down before her son. “Honey, do you remember asking about your daddy?”

“Yes, but it’s okay, Mommy. Don’t cry again.”

Abby tried to hold back the tears she could feel in the back of her eyes. How much she loved this boy! “No, I won’t cry. But—but I—Your daddy—”

Suddenly Nick knelt down beside her. “I’m your daddy, son. I didn’t know about you or I would’ve come for you sooner.”

Robbie’s brown eyes took on a confused look. “Are you sure? ‘Cause Mommy said I didn’t have a daddy.”

Abby took his hands in hers and spoke up, though her throat was tight and her eyes welled with tears. “He’s right, Robbie. Do you know where I got your name?”

He shook his head.

“Your grandfather died just before I went away. When I found out I was expecting you, I wanted you to have something to remember about him, so I named you after him. His name was Robert, too.” Tears were streaming down Abby’s face now, but she didn’t care.

“He never saw me when I was a baby?” Robbie asked.

Abby felt a hand on her shoulders. Kate had come forward to stand beside her. “No, darling, he didn’t,” Kate said, clearly emotional, “but he would if he were here. He was my husband, and Nick’s daddy.”

Robbie turned to look at Nick. “You had a daddy?”

“Yeah, I did. He was a real good dad. And you have a grandma.”

“I do?” Robbie asked, not making the connection.

“I’m your grandma, sweetheart,” Kate said.

“Wow. There’s lots of us, Mommy. This is going to be fun!”

He never ceased to amaze Abby. She’d fretted so about telling him, but Robbie wasn’t upset. He marveled at the idea of having a huge family.

But “fun”? She hardly thought being in Sydney Creek with Nick and the other Logans would qualify as fun. But she couldn’t tell her son that. She looked down at the floor, trying to figure out what to say.

“Isn’t it good, Mommy?”

Of course it was, she told herself. For Robbie. She looked up and forced a smile. “Yes, of course, sweetie.”

“So we’re going to stay here and I can have my puppy?”

“You’ll have to ask your grandma. It’s her house,” Abby said, hugging her son.

“But, Mommy, you’re going to stay, too, aren’t you? You’re my mommy!”

Before Abby could think of an answer, Kate spoke up. “Absolutely, your mommy will stay. She’s part of the family!”

Nick raised his voice in protest. “Mom, what are you—”

Hands on her hips, Kate held her ground. “It is my house, isn’t it, Nick? I say she stays.”

Nick stared at her a moment, then he spun on his heels and walked out of the kitchen.

Abby was speechless. And confused. Kate had come to her defense? As for Nick, he clearly wanted nothing to do with her. Regardless of his mother’s insistence, how could Abby stay? “Kate, maybe it’s best if—”

“No. This is all my fault. I won’t allow him to separate you from your child!”

“What do you mean it’s all your fault?”

Before Kate could respond, Brad put his hands up. “I don’t think I want to hear this.” He started for the hallway. “I’ll go find Nick.”

Abby didn’t know what to say. Stunned, she could only stand there, watching Kate wipe the tears from her eyes.

After a moment, Kate began to explain. “I thought Nick could do better. You probably realized that. Then when his father died, I didn’t want him to go away. I—I needed him. So he missed out on Robbie’s life. And…and now there’s Patricia!” Kate said, bursting into more sobs.

Abby looked down at her son. “Robbie, go watch something on television for a few minutes.”

“Okay, Mommy, but is Nick really my daddy?”

“Yes, sweetheart, he really is.”

“Okay. I’ll go think of a name for my puppy!”

“Now, Kate,” Abby said, leading Nick’s mom to a seat at the kitchen table. “My getting pregnant wasn’t your fault. And no matter whose fault it was, I would never give Robbie back. I love him so much.”

“Of course you do, Abby. And he’s absolutely perfect. But—but I could’ve managed without Nick. I should’ve managed without Nick. Then the two of you would’ve been together.”

“You’d just lost your husband and you had five other children depending on you. You couldn’t have done it all on your own. Look, Nick and I have already had this argument. He made the decision for both of us. I let him do that, but he didn’t have that right. And I didn’t believe in his love. So we all share the blame. But it’s water under the bridge.”

“Oh, Abby, you’re being very generous.”

Abby ducked her head. “No, not really. I’ll admit I blamed you a little, too. But in the end, it was Nick who sent me away. It took me a while to stop being angry.”

Kate stiffened. “I realize he shouldn’t have—”

“No, we need to just let it go. Our time is gone. Now it’s Nick and Patricia’s time. I can accept that as long as he doesn’t take Robbie away from me.”

“I won’t let him do that, Abby, I promise.”

“I want you to tell me if my staying here causes problems between you and Nick. I’ll start looking for a place at once.”

“No. I know Nick is upset, but he can’t be that mean. I won’t let him force you to leave your little boy here while you go away. Robbie would hate him if he did that.”

“Maybe not if he gets that puppy!” Abby said with a small smile through her tears.

“Yeah. He’s just like his daddy, isn’t he?”

“Yes. I’m sorry I kept him from you, Kate, but I didn’t—I didn’t know how to come back.”

“Well, that’s certainly one thing Nick accomplished,” Kate said with a shaky laugh. “A grandson! And you named him after Robert. That was so wonderful of you.”

“I’m glad you’re pleased.”

“Oh, yes.” Kate patted a chair next to her for Abby to sit. “Now we’ve got to find a place for you to settle in. Let’s see. Julie is in Cheyenne, so you can have her room. We’ll put Robbie in Charlie’s room. He’s at college in Laramie. It’s right next to Nick’s room, so that should please him.”

“Perfect, Kate. Thank you for making me feel welcome.”

“You’re the mother of my grandson. Of course you’re welcome.”

Much as she was still surprised by Kate’s transformation, there was still the big question looming over them. “Now we have to talk about Patricia.”

“Oh.”

Abby stared at Kate. “Is she that bad?”

“Well, she’s very pretty…in a prim way.”

“What do you mean?”

“She expects everything to go her way.”

Abby stared at Kate. “With Nick? She gets her way with Nick?”

“No. She’s playing him very carefully. But everything else is done her way or not done at all. She volunteered to cook for Nick once. He agreed, thinking she’d come out and fix dinner for all of us. But she fixed dinner just for her and Nick. And she didn’t even fix enough for him. He works hard all day. You know how hungry he gets. He was polite to her, but after she left, he fixed himself a sandwich!”

“And where did you and the kids go to eat?”

“To the café. Julie and Brad weren’t here. The other three didn’t care. They thought it was great. When we got home, I found she hadn’t had time to wash the dishes. She left them for me!”