Western Hearts: A sweet, cowboy romance (Cowboys of Aspen Valley Book 1) Read online

  The familiar passage drifted into her mind, and she puzzled it over, wondering where it had come from.

  Then she remembered. It was from the Bible. Her mother used to read the Bible to her and Hayes.

  “You hold my hand almost as tight as Uncle Kip does when we’re in Calgary,” Tristan whispered.

  Nicole started. “I’m sorry,” she said, loosening her grip. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  He smiled up at her. “That’s okay. Uncle Kip always says he holds tight because he never wants to let us go. That makes me feel good.”

  Nicole’s heart faltered at his words. Of course the boys would be attached to Kip Cosgrove and he to them. This was the only life the boys had known.

  But they weren’t Cosgroves, she reminded herself. They were Williamses, despite what Kip may claim.

  Yet as she followed Justin into the dusky coolness of the barn, she felt her own misgivings come to the fore. Her own memories of being moved from home to home.

  But she never returned to her biological home, like these boys were going to. She could never go back to where the people she lived with were related to her by blood, but these boys could. She would give them the true family she’d never had and in doing so, maybe, just maybe—

  Her thoughts were cut off by the ringing of her cell phone.

  It was her father.

  “Hey, Father,” she whispered, following Tristan into the dusty pen. The floor was strewn with straw and Justin was crouched in the corner, his behind stuck in the air as he reached under a pile of lumber.

  “Can you talk?”

  “Yes. I’m with the boys.”

  “I want to talk to them. Now.”

  Nicole hesitated. This was the first time she’d been alone with the boys since she’d met them. She hadn’t had an opportunity to let them know that not only did they have another aunt, but they also had a grandfather. She highly doubted Kip Cosgrove let them know either.

  “I haven’t explained everything to them yet—”

  “You’re telling me they don’t know about me?”

  Her father’s gruff voice created a storm of guilt in Nicole. “I haven’t found the right time to tell them,” she whispered.

  Justin wriggled backwards then turned around with a triumphant grin. He held up a squirming, mewling puppy. The little creature was a bundle of brown and black fur with a shiny button nose.

  “I got one,” he squealed. Nicole knelt, still holding the phone as Justin brought the puppy over to her. “You want to hold it?” he asked.

  “That’s one of them, isn’t it?” her father asked. He broke into a fit of coughing, a sure sign to Nicole that he was upset. “I need to talk to them. Please, let me talk to them.”

  It was the please that was her undoing. She couldn’t remember her father saying those words more than a dozen times in her life.

  “Just give me a few seconds,” she whispered to her father. “I need to explain the situation.” She smiled at Justin and held out her hand. “Yes, I’d love to hold it,” she said. “Why don’t you hold my phone for me, and I’ll take the puppy?”

  Justin managed to release his grip on the puppy and take the phone. Nicole gathered the warm, silky bundle in her arms, her heart melting at the sight of its chocolate-brown eyes staring soulfully up at her. She crouched down in the straw covering the floor of the pen, preferring not to think what might be living in it.

  “He likes you,” Tristan said as she settled down.

  “Who are you talking to?” Justin asked, looking at her phone.

  “Why don’t you come and sit by me,” she said, keeping her voice low and quiet. “I have something to tell you.”

  Curious, Justin knelt in front of her, still holding the phone, Tristan cuddled beside her. She stroked the puppy and looked from one pair of trusting eyes to the other. “You know that you had a mommy, right?”

  “We don’t know where our mommy is,” Justin said. “She ranned away.”

  Nicole pressed back an angry reply. Their lack of knowledge wasn’t their fault. “Your mommy didn’t run away,” she said. “Your mommy loved you both very much, and your mommy had a father who loved her very much too. That father is your grandmother.”

  “Our grandpa is dead,” Justin said. “Uncle Kip told us.”

  “Now you know that you have another grandfather,” Nicole said. “And he’s alive and he lives in Toronto.”

  “You mean like Paul and Liam and Kirsten and Leah and Emily and Jenna from Auntie Doreen? They have a grandpa,” Tristan squealed. “Uncle Alex’s daddy.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Where is our other grandfather?” Justin asked.

  “I was talking to him on the phone you’re holding,” Nicole said, tilting her head toward the phone Justin clutched. “You can talk to him if you want.”

  Justin frowned. “Uncle Kip lets me pretend to talk on his phone,” he said.

  “You don’t have to pretend,” Nicole said gently. “Now I’ll hit a button and put it on speakerphone so we can all hear all of us talk.” She tapped her phone, then held it out. “Justin, say hello to your grandfather.”

  Justin lifted his shoulders, suddenly self-conscious. “Are you my grandpa? This is Justin.”

  “Yes, I am. How are you?”

  Justin frowned, then said, “I’m fine. How are you?”

  She heard a faint cough, then her father replied that he was fine.

  “Where are you?” Tristan asked.

  “I live in Toronto and I would really like to see you.”

  Too late, Nicole realized she should have done this on FaceTime. Then the boys could have seen their grandfather and he could have seen them.

  One step at a time, she reminded herself.

  Nicole let Justin chatter on about the puppies and hauling hay. Her father made a few responses, but he didn’t have to say much around Justin.

  “Father, this is Tristan. He wants to say hi,” Nicole said, taking the phone away from Justin.

  Tristan was more reserved, but soon he was giving out information as freely as his brother.

  The phone distorted her father’s voice but it wasn’t hard to hear the joy in it. Joy she hadn’t heard in her father’s voice since Hayes left home.

  “Hey there, did you guys find the puppies?”

  Nicole jumped, startling the puppy, then she craned her neck backwards to see Kip standing in the doorway.

  What was he doing? Checking up on her?

  “What are you doing with Ms. Williams’s phone?” Kip asked, frowning at Tristan.

  Tristan looked up, his smile dropping away as soon as he saw his Uncle Kip.

  “We’re talking to our grandpa,” Justin announced. “He said we are going to stay with him. In Toronto. Can we go, Uncle Kip? Can we?”

  Nicole’s heart dropped when she saw the thunderous expression cross Kip’s face.

  “I think you should give the phone back to Ms. Williams, then go back to the house.”

  “I want to talk to my other grandfather some more,” Justin whined.

  “Tristan, please give the phone back to Ms. Williams and go with Justin to the house.”

  Nicole glanced at the little boy who was obviously listening to something her father was saying. Tristan looked from Kip to Nicole, confusion on his features.

  “Don’t go,” she heard her father say. “Don’t listen to him.”

  She had to put poor Tristan out of his misery.

  “I’ll take the phone, sweetie,” she said, holding her hand out.

  “No. Nicole. I need to talk to them.”

  “Sorry, Father,” she said quietly. She turned the phone off speaker, then walked away from Kip. “The boys have to go.”

  “Those boys shouldn’t be there,” her father said. “They should be here with me.”

  “I know, but not everything is settled yet.”

  Her father started coughing again, then got his breath. “I’m phoning that lawyer first thing Monday
morning. We shouldn’t have to wait for these DNA tests. We know Hayes was their mother.”

  Nicole glanced over her shoulder at Kip standing in the doorway of the barn watching the boys walk to the house. Obviously, he was sticking around to talk to her. “We have to move slowly on this,” she said to her father.

  “Those boys have to come back to their home,” he said quietly. “You of all people know why Hayes’s boys need to come back.”

  As always, his words held a subtext of obligation that was never spoken directly but always hinted at. “Of course I do,” she replied. “I have to go.” As she said goodbye, she felt a moment of sympathy for her father, all alone back home.

  She couldn’t help comparing his lonely situation to Mary Cosgrove’s. Mary had one daughter with six grandchildren, and she had another daughter and son and two more grandchildren under her roof.

  The boys weren’t Cosgrove’s. It was as if she had to drum that information into her mind. If she didn’t, then she would start to feel sorry for Mary.

  And for Kip.

  She pocketed her phone and turned to face Kip.

  “Why did you do that?” he demanded.

  Any sympathy she might have felt for the man was brushed away in the icy blast of his question.

  “If you’re thinking I deliberately brought the boys out here so they could talk to my father on the phone, you’re mistaken. He just happened to call while I was out here.”

  “And you just happened to let the boys talk to him.”

  “May I remind you that he’s their grandfather?”

  “That hasn’t been proven beyond a doubt.”

  “You were willing to let me visit them based on this doubt.”

  Kip’s eyes narrowed and she knew she had gone too far. “Only because my lawyer told me I should. No other reason.”

  Nicole knew Kip had not let her willingly onto the farm. She was here on suffrage only. “Regardless of how you see the situation, the man I just spoke to is Hayes’s father—”

  “And he was never part of the agreement.” Kip took a step closer, and it was all Nicole could do to keep her cool. “You’re not to let the boys talk to your father again without talking to me about it,” he warned, his voice lowering to a growl. “Those poor kids lost their father six months ago, and they don’t need to have any more confusion in their lives.”

  Nicole struggled to hold his steely gaze. “Finding out that they have a maternal grandfather can hardly be confusing to any child. In fact, many people would see it as a blessing.”

  That last comment came out before she could stop it, as did the tiny hitch in her voice. She hoped he would put it down to her anger rather than the fact that she had found herself jealous of these boys. Jealous of Kip.

  He had family that had no strings attached. A mother who doted on him and a sister who, despite her rebellious ways, still cared for him. He didn’t have to try to earn his mother’s love. Try to atone for what he did.

  Kip’s mouth settled into a grim line, and she felt as if she scored the tiniest point.

  “That may be, but at the same time I’m their uncle and guardian and responsible for their well-being. Anything you do with them gets run by me. The boys are my priority, not you, or your father.”

  Nicole bit back a retort, realizing that to some degree he was right. Much as it bothered her, she couldn’t argue with him.

  Kip shoved his hand through his hair and released a heavy sigh. “I’ve got too much happening right now. I can’t give the boys the explanations they will need if you start complicating their lives.”

  Nicole held his gaze and for a moment despite her anger with him, sympathy stirred in her soul. Sympathy and something more profound. Respect, even. Regardless of whatever claim Nicole may have, this man was putting the welfare of Justin and Tristan, boys that were not his children, before everything else. Even though his guardianship put them at odds, at the same time she respected what he was doing.

  She thought of how easily her biological father seemed to give her up. How happy her aunt had been when Social Services came to take her away for good. Despite her aunt’s antagonism, Nicole had wished that she could stay, but her aunt wanted her gone.

  Those boys don’t know how good they had it.

  In fact, Nicole was jealous that they had this strong, tough man on their side. A man who had made sacrifices for his nephews. A man who was willing to fight for them.

  What would have happened in her earlier life if she’d had the same kind of advocate? If she’d had someone who was willing to go to the mat for her welfare? What if she’d had someone like Kip on her side?

  “I’d like you to leave now,” Kip said quietly.

  Nicole opened her mouth to protest.

  “It’s past five,” Kip said.

  “Of course,” was all she said, knowing that regardless of how righteous she thought her cause was, she had overstepped by not at least consulting him. “I’ll be back tomorrow then.”

  Kip just nodded.

  Nicole got up and walked past him, then got into her car. As she drove off, she could see him in her rearview mirror watching her.

  He could watch and glower all he wanted. She wasn’t letting him intimidate her.

  She had rights and she was going to exercise them regardless of what he thought of her.

  Chapter Seven

  “I’m not doing the dishes again.” Isabelle glared at Kip, her hands on her hips. “Sunday is a day of rest. At least that’s what I thought Pastor Muller said.”

  As Kip tried to match her glare for glare, he also tried not to feel guilty about all the work he hoped to get done today.

  “I’m not your servant,” she muttered.

  He ignored that. “No. You’re my sister and a member of this household. And until that changes, you pitch in by getting the dishes done,” he said, struggling to sound reasonable. Then he turned to his mother. “And you make sure she does it and don’t you even think about doing it yourself.”

  Mary gave him a quick nod, which didn’t give Kip much confidence.

  Didn’t any of the women in his life listen to him? He spun around just as he heard a knock on the door.

  What was Nicole doing here already?

  “Tristan. Justin,” he called out. “Finish up. Ms. Williams is here.” He sent the boys upstairs to change out of their Sunday clothes about an hour ago and they still weren’t down.

  “It’s not fair, you know,” Isabelle whined, leaning back against the counter.

  Nicole stepped into the kitchen. “Um…I think you have a problem,” she said. “There are some cows roaming around the yard,” she continued. “I’m guessing they’re not supposed to be there.”

  “What?” Kip frowned, then as her words registered, he pushed past her and stepped outside, then groaned in disbelief.

  Over two dozen cows and calves were milling about out of the fence.

  There went the afternoon, Kip thought, his heart dropping into his gut. His mind flipped through all the scenarios of why the animals would be loose. Open gate. Broken fence.

  Not that it mattered. For now, he had to get them away from the hay bales, and even more important, away from the granary filled with oats. They would bloat if they got into that.

  “What can I do?” Nicole asked.

  Was she kidding? Kip spared her a quick glance then strode down the steps. “I’m thinking you should just stay out of the way.”

  As soon as he spoke the words, he realized how snappy he sounded and instantly regretted it.

  But he had no time for niceties. He had to figure out what to do. Not that he had a master plan that she could help him implement. He was pretty much winging it.

  As he got closer to the moving herd, he slowed his steps, planning, thinking. The gate to the pasture wasn’t open, so that left one thing. Broken fences.

  He shifted his hat back on his head as he glanced around the yard, trying to figure out what to do with the herd. Where to put them and
how to get them there.

  For now, they were at least moving in the right direction.

  He stepped up the pace, trying not to look like he was chasing them, trying not to spook them. He hurried his steps, trying to stay behind them, keep them moving back to the pasture without spooking them.

  So far, so good.

  Of course, one cow let out a bawl, spun around and they all decided to change their focus and head down the driveway.

  “No, you stupid creatures,” he yelled, moving even more quickly.

  Please, Lord, don’t let them head down the driveway.

  Because once they did, they would be on the run, and it would take hours and hours to get them back again.

  He changed direction and ran, knowing he didn’t stand a chance of getting them turned around. Not on foot and not without his horse, but he had to try.

  Sweat poured down his back, anger clenched his gut and then, suddenly he heard, “Hey. Get back there.”

  He looked up and there were Nicole and Isabelle standing by the driveway waving dishtowels. Were they kidding? Dishtowels against two dozen 1,200-pound cows on the loose?

  Miraculously the cows stopped, dust slowly settling around them. Kip caught his breath, trying to assess. Then a calf broke free from the herd but again, to his surprise Nicole got the animal turned around.

  “Let’s get them into the corrals,” he called out. “Isabelle, get to the gate.”

  “How about a please,” she said, glaring at him.

  “This is not the time, missy,” he called back.

  Thankfully, Nicole moved over to the fence and climbed over it, leaving Isabelle standing guard. Even from here Kip could see the fear on Nicole’s face, but surprisingly she kept moving.

  She opened the gate to the pasture, then came back over the fence, staying clear of the cows.

  “Start moving slowly toward them,” Kip called out. “Don’t get right in front of them. Work at them from the side.”

  Nicole nodded and started walking at an angle toward the herd. It was probably a good thing she was afraid. She moved slowly and took her time.

  “Stop there, Nicole,” Kip yelled.

  Kip moved toward the herd just enough to get them going. Then, thankfully, the cows in the lead turned around. The ones behind them followed their example, and soon the herd was turned around and walking back to the pasture.