all looked at Elias.
“They’ve been staring at us all morning and I got tired of it.”
“Son, it takes a strong man to walk away from a fight.”
“Well, I’m not one of them.”
“Sadly, that’s true.”
“Ah, Mom.”
“Try to use a little discretion, please.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Elias hung his head.
“Now, let’s have lunch,” his mother said, and they all gathered under a big oak. For September, the heat of summer still lingered and they were glad for the breeze that cooled their sweaty skin.
Grandpa leaned against the oak, his hat on the grass. “Did I ever tell you boys about the time I took on six men and lived to tell about it?”
“Abe, please, let the boys rest before they go back to work.”
“You’re one bossy—”
Falcon cleared his throat and Grandpa’s attention was diverted. His mother and grandfather had never gotten along and after his father’s death their relationship had taken a turn for the worse. He spent half his time trying to cool their tempers. Grandpa was long-winded and loved to talk and his mother hated it. He wondered what it was like to be part of a normal family. His thoughts swayed to Leah and he immediately pushed them away. He couldn’t think about her now.
With lunch over, his mother packed up and headed back to the ranch with Grandpa. Of course, they wouldn’t speak. Once they reached the ranch, Grandpa would go to his house and his mother would go to hers. Yep, that was the Rebel family.
“I’m working with Quincy,” Elias said. “Egan hums now and it annoys the crap out of me. Happyitis has gotten to him.”
Egan caught Elias around the neck. “I’ll sing to you, then.”
“Falcon!” Elias called as Egan dragged him toward the Polaris Ranger loaded with supplies.
It was good to see Egan happy. He’d found happiness with Rachel and they had gotten married in July. After he had been wrongly sent to prison they’d worried he would never find his way back to any type of life. All it took was a woman who loved him to bring him out of the darkness.
Quincy picked up his hat from the ground. “A couple more hours and this fence should be fixed for good.”
Falcon stared at his brother. They were fourteen months apart and similar in size and looks, except Quincy had his mother’s softer personality. Falcon had inherited the roughness of his father.
“Stop putting ideas into my daughter’s head.”
Quincy frowned. “What?”
“You know I want her to go to college. What’s all this about her barrel racing?”
“Do you ever listen to Eden? She loves this ranch and she doesn’t want to leave. Any idea of rodeoing was strictly hers.”
Falcon glanced off to the hot noon sun. “I know. I just want her to be a normal teenager instead of always hanging around this ranch with her uncles. I want her to be a girl.”
“Well, then, you shouldn’t have raised her as a boy.” Quincy slapped him on the back. “But don’t worry, those girl genes are there. Give her time.”
“I want her to experience life away from here, but it scares me to death that I’m going to lose her. I know that sounds crazy.”
“You sound like a father. Just listen to your daughter. That’s all you have to do.” Quincy walked off to join Egan and Elias.
Everyone always called him strong, but Falcon didn’t know if he was strong enough to deal with the Leah situation. The underlying fear he was going to lose his daughter to her mother was something he couldn’t shake.
A time for little girls...
Falcon tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Leah’s face and he knew she wasn’t going to give up on seeing their daughter. She could easily go to the school and meet her afterward. All his threats didn’t mean a thing. He stood to lose everything he loved.
His thoughts tortured him and he got up. Slipping on his robe, a melancholy smile touched his lips. No one, except his mother, wore a robe before Eden was born. With a little girl in the house, they couldn’t walk around in their underwear. A lot of things had changed with the birth of Eden. She’d been the light in John Rebel’s eyes. He would hold her at night while watching television until she fell asleep and then Falcon would put her in her crib.
After his father’s death, Eden would wander around the house calling, “Papa!” She was only four but she missed her grandfather. At the memory, Falcon’s chest ached. He missed his dad more than he could ever explain to anyone. He blamed himself for not doing more to help his dad to stop drinking. But after killing Ezra McCray, John Rebel had demons that only he could face.
Falcon headed downstairs to get Leah’s number off the landline. Everyone used their cell phones these days and there was only a landline in the den, the kitchen and the office. He didn’t turn on a light because he didn’t want to disturb anyone. The kids had school tomorrow and they’d been in bed for over an hour. The moonlight shone through the windows as he made his way down the stairs.
In the den, he searched the caller ID and found the number. He could see fine by his cell phone as he added Leah to his contacts. To get what he wanted he’d have to give a little, but his top priority was protecting Eden, and that included from her mother.
It was after eleven and he hesitated to call her now. It could wait until morning. He heard a noise and a click. Someone was coming through the back door very quietly. He tensed. Everyone was in bed. Who was it?
He waited and saw a figure tiptoe across the den to the staircase. No mistaking the person. It was his daughter. She’d snuck out. How often did she do that? He trusted her and that trust was severely shaken.
He clicked on the desk lamp.
Eden swung around, her eyes huge in her startled face. Her hair was tousled and her blouse was opened slightly, revealing her breasts. Anger surged through him but he managed to control it.
“Oh... Dad. You scared me.”
“I bet. Where have you been?”
“Um... I...um...”
“Come on, think of a good lie, something you can get past your ol’ dad.” He got up and walked through the house to the dining room. Peeping through the blinds, he could see taillights come on as a vehicle neared the cattle guard.
“Who’s that leaving?”
She made a face. “Okay, you caught me.”
Falcon
