Marin Thomas - Her Secret Cowboy

While the men played cards the women sat in the house and did whatever it was that married women did—probably talk about their husbands. “Don’t get into trouble.” Will walked over to the bunkhouse, opening the letter addressed to him. When he removed the note inside, a photo fell out and landed on his steel-toed boot. He snatched it off the ground and stared at the teenage boy.

What the heck?

Dear Will... He read a few more lines but the words blurred and a loud buzzing filled his ears. The kid in the picture was named Ryan and he was fourteen years old.

Slowly Will’s eyes focused and he studied the photo. The young man had the same brownish-blond hair as Will’s but his eyes weren’t brown—they were blue like his mother’s.

“Buck!” he shouted. “Get your ass out here right now!”

The farmhouse door opened and his sister stepped outside. “Willie Nelson Cash, don’t you dare swear in front of the boys.”

“Take the twins inside, Dixie.” She must have sensed his dark mood, because she did as he asked without mouthing off. Will stared at the bunkhouse, afraid if he went inside he’d tear the place apart. When Buck came out, the rest of the Cash brothers and their brother-in-law, Gavin, followed.

“What’s wrong?” Johnny’s blue eyes darkened with concern.

Will ignored his eldest brother—if Johnny had his way he’d take control of the situation like he’d done all through their childhood. This was Will’s fight with Buck and no one else’s.

“What’s got you fired up?” Porter ran a hand through his shaggy hair and flashed his boyish grin—the one that stopped women from one to ninety-nine in their tracks. “Steam’s spewing from your ears.”

“Shut up, Porter.” Will glared at his younger brother. “This is between me and Buck.”

“I’ve never seen you this pissed.” Conway glanced at his brothers. “Maybe you ought to take a couple of deep breaths before you go off half-cocked.”

“Is that what you tell the twins when they’re itching for a fight?” Now that the handsomest Cash brother had settled down and become a father, he liked to believe he was the mature one.

“Conway’s right.” Mack’s deep baritone voice carried over the heads of his brothers. “Whatever’s got you riled, Will, it’s not like you to attack one of us.”

What Mack said was true, but Will had never been in a pickle like this before. His musician brother could write a song about the news he’d just received and make a fortune off Will’s misery.

“This concerns Buck and me.” Will shook the letter. “You knew all along.”

Buck stepped forward, using his broad shoulders to push his brothers out of the way. “Knew what?” Of all his siblings, Buck was the quietest and through the years he’d assumed the role of family peacemaker. Too bad this was one dispute he wouldn’t be able to settle to Will’s satisfaction.

“Remember Marsha Bugler?”

“Of course. Why?”

“She said you’d vouch for her that she’s telling the truth.”

His brother’s eye twitched—a sure sign of guilt. “The truth about what?”

“That after I got her pregnant, she kept the baby.”

The color drained from Buck’s face.

The tenuous hold Will had on his temper broke, and he let Buck have it. “You’ve kept in touch with Marsha since high school. How the hell could you not tell me that I had a son!”

Buck’s pleading gaze swung to Johnny. “Honest to God, I didn’t know Ryan was Will’s son until a short while ago.”

“What do you mean by that?” Will’s intestines twisted into a giant knot.

“Marsha didn’t tell me you were Ryan’s father until I saw her in March.”

“This past March?”

“A year ago March,” Buck muttered.

Will lunged for Buck, but Johnny held him tight. “You knew I had a son for over a year!”

“She made me promise not to spill the beans until she had a chance to tell you,” Buck said.

“To heck with promising Marsha, I’m your brother.” Will’s chest physically ached at the thought of his own flesh and blood keeping the truth from him.

“Marsha never planned to tell me at first, but I confronted her when I noticed Ryan looked like you.”

Will wasn’t buying his brother’s story. “It took you thirteen years to make the connection between me and Ryan?”

“I only looked up Marsha a few times since she’d moved to Los Angeles and Ryan was never there when I stopped by until...March.”

“How good of friends are you with Marsha? Have you slept with her?”

“It’s not like that between us, Will.”

Will had known the answer before he’d asked the question, but he was desperate to find a way out of this mess. “Is there a chance Ryan isn’t my kid?”

“Marsha’s not a slut.” Buck jabbed his finger in the air.

“If she had sex with me on the first date there’s no telling who she slept with before she went off to college.”

Buck jumped forward, his fist clipping Will across the jaw. Will stumbled, then regained his balance and threw a punch that connected with Buck’s cheek. His brothers attempted to intervene, but Will was too angry to care who he hit. He shoved Mack out of the way then took aim again, but Buck ducked and Will’s fist smashed into Porter’s face.

“Shit, Will! I think you broke my nose!” Porter held his face in his hands and moaned.

Johnny stepped forward and punched Will in the stomach. Will dropped to his knees and wheezed. “Are you going to behave or do I need to tie you down?”

His brother would carry through with his threat. When they were kids, they’d gotten into an argument and Johnny had tied Will’s hands to the porch post with a piece of rope then took off. Will had waited three hours for Grandma Ada and Dixie to come home and free him.

“Everyone get in the bunkhouse.” Johnny scowled at the brothers until they obeyed.

After the yard emptied out, Johnny said, “Let’s go.”

Will followed his brother, because he didn’t know what else to do. He’d never felt so lost, helpless or angry.

They hiked in silence until the family graveyard came into view. Johnny sat beneath the ancient pecan tree, which shaded the tombstones. Unable to articulate his thoughts and feelings Will paced in front of the ornate gate surrounding the plots.

“You’re about to explode. Let it out.”

“Look at me.” Will spread his arms wide. “I’ve got no business being a father.”

“Whether you do or don’t doesn’t matter. The deed is done.”

“I’ve got nothing to show my son. I’m a grown man who lives in a bunkhouse with his brothers. I drive a thirteen-year-old vehicle and the most expensive thing I own is my rodeo gear and my truck.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. You’ve got plenty to offer.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“Like being a father to your son. That’s more than you grew up with.”

Johnny’s words sent a cold chill through Will.

“Did Marsha give a reason why she waited until now to contact you about Ryan?”

“No. I don’t have a clue why she suddenly wants to come clean with me.”

“Then she owes you some answers,” Johnny said.

“How am I supposed to look my son in the eye after I insisted his mother get rid of him?”

“Maybe Marsha hasn’t told Ryan the circumstances of his birth,” Johnny said.

“And if she did? Then what?”

Johnny shrugged. “You cross that bridge when you come to it.”

“Damn.” Will punched the air with his fist. “Ben signed a contract to work on the Mission Community Church.” And the church’s pastor was Jim Bugler—Marsha’s father. Ryan’s grandfather. “I can’t face the pastor after I abandoned his grandson.”