Carla Cassidy - The Cowboy's Claim

“Earth to Courtney.” Lynette’s voice pulled her away from the painful memories.

“Sorry. Anyway, Cherry was killed, along with Daniel Jefferson’s wife, Janice. Rumor had it that Daniel and Janice had a fight and Janice called Cherry to pick her up. The two left the Jefferson place, it was snowing and Cherry was driving way too fast. They crashed, and both women were killed.”

“That’s definitely tragic,” Lynette said as she raised her coffee cup to her lips.

Courtney nodded. “Daniel was real torn up about it, and so was Sam. But what nobody knew was that Sam blamed Daniel for his sister’s death. Daniel was a broken man, but then he met Lizzy, who was working as a waitress here, and the two of them fell in love. Sam went crazy and tried to kill Lizzy because she made Daniel happy, and in Sam’s distraught mind Daniel wasn’t allowed to ever be happy again as long as Cherry was gone.”

“So, Sam was caught and arrested and Adam’s acting like the town drunk, and now it sounds like Nick has ridden to the rescue, coming home to take care of things.”

“Something like that,” Courtney replied, tired of the Benson family drama and still reeling from the fact that Nick was back in town.

Minutes later, Mary walked over to where the two of them sat. “Thursday nights are usually slow. Is one of you up for going home early?”

Lynette waved her hand to Courtney. “Go on. I know you have important places to be and people to see. I’ll close it up tonight.”

Courtney breathed a deep sigh. “Thanks, Lynette. I wouldn’t mind getting off a little early this evening.”

“Then go, get on out of here,” Mary said. “Lynette and I can handle things for the rest of the night.”

Courtney didn’t wait for Mary to change her mind. She quickly got up from her chair and carried her cup to the counter. “I’m out of here,” she said as she headed toward the front door. “I’ll see you at noon tomorrow.”

She caught her breath as she stepped out into the hot July night. As she walked to her car, the heat that had been trapped in the asphalt all day long radiated up to her tired feet. She couldn’t wait to get home to the motel, kick off her shoes and just relax. But she had one more important stop to make.

She always sent up a silent prayer when she got behind the wheel of her car and turned the key. Thankfully her prayer was answered and the engine turned over. She’d bought the car dirt cheap because she had more important things to spend her money on than transportation.

She sat for a minute, allowing the interior of the car to begin to cool from the air conditioner, before heading to Sophie Martinez’s home.

She consciously tried to keep her mind blank as she drove the distance to the attractive little ranch house situated on several acres just outside the city limits. She was tired of thinking of the past and wanted only to focus on the future.

Tomorrow night she had a dinner date with Grant, and she was off work all day Saturday and Sunday. She always looked forward to spending time with Grant and some downtime on the weekends.

At the moment she didn’t feel the anticipation that a date with Grant usually brought, and she hated the fact that a simple interaction with Nick had somehow managed to throw her off.

She shoved every thought in her head away as she pulled down the long lane that led to Sophie’s ranch house. This was the moment each day that she looked forward to most, arriving here after hours of being separated from the most important person in her life.

Her tired feet nearly danced to the front door, where she knocked softly. The door opened and Sophie greeted her with a surprised smile. “Courtney, you’re a bit early tonight.”

“We weren’t too busy so Mary let me go for the night.”

Sophie opened the door to allow her into the neat living room with modest furnishings. Sophie was a young widow with two small children. Thankfully there had been enough insurance money to allow her not only to keep her house and the surrounding land but also stay at home with her two little daughters for the next couple of years.

For extra money she had become a licensed day care provider, and her family room off the kitchen had been turned into a kid’s playland.

From that room a cacophony of sound escaped. It was the happy chaos of children at play... The squeals of little girls, the laughter of little boys and the squawk of the cockatiel that hung in a cage on a large stand near the window.

“Sounds like you have a full house this evening,” Courtney said as they headed toward the family room. Usually by the time Courtney arrived there was only one or two extra children.

“The Morrises asked if I could keep the twins late tonight. It’s their anniversary and they wanted to have a nice romantic evening together without the boys,” Sophie explained.

As they entered the family room, Courtney’s gaze automatically darted around the room for the fifteen-month-old dark-haired, blue-eyed little boy who owned her heart and soul.

Garrett. He was clad in a pair of cowboy-printed pajamas and sat on the floor playing with a stack of colorful wooden blocks. When Courtney drew closer, he looked up and his face was wreathed in smiles.

“Ma-Ma!” He raised his chubby little arms toward her.

As she picked him up, her heart swelled full in her chest. “Hi, baby. Hi, Garrett,” she said as she kissed the side of his face. “Were you a good boy today for Sophie?”

“Sophie,” he echoed and pointed to his daily caretaker.

“He’s always a good boy when he’s here. He’s the most laid-back toddler I’ve ever met. He’s freshly changed and ready for bed.”

Courtney smiled and gave Garrett a hug. “Thanks, Sophie. We’ll get out of your hair, and I’ll see you tomorrow around eleven-thirty.”

Sophie walked with her to the door, and a minute later Courtney had Garrett in his car seat in the back of the car. By the time she arrived at the motel, he was fast asleep.

She gently lifted him from the seat and carried him into the motel room they called home. Next to her bed was the crib, where she gently placed the sleeping boy and covered him with a light blanket. She laid her finger lightly on his little cleft chin, as if wanting to hide the characteristic that marked his paternity.

For several long moments she gazed at the son who had been conceived the night of Cherry Benson’s death. That night, as Nick had come at her with silent, horrible grief and she’d embraced him, needing to somehow ease his pain, neither of them had thought about birth control.

And when Nick had blown out of town, he’d had no idea that he’d left her with a piece of him that would change her life forever.

He hadn’t called. He’d offered no explanation. He’d just disappeared. And now it was too late. He had left her without a word, broken all the promises they’d made to each other. He didn’t deserve to have a son, and she had no intention of ever telling him of Garrett’s existence.

Chapter 2

The Benson ranch had always been a source of great pride. Not only had it been financially successful, but Sam had worked hard to keep the large ranch house, surrounding lawn and outbuildings in pristine condition.

As Nick got his first glimpse of home, his heart dropped to his feet as he realized it was far worse than what he’d expected. Despite the summer heat, the lawn was a jungle of overgrown weeds and brush. A tractor-style mower sat amid the mess, as if at some point the operator had simply given up on any attempt to restore order.

Nick got out of his truck, momentarily overwhelmed by the neglect around him. Obviously Cherry’s death had yielded far-reaching effects that none of them could have ever foreseen.