Forever My Cowboy Page 4

  He waggled his fingers in response.

  “You may not know Jason’s sister.” Ollie patted the sister on the arm. “This is Jennifer LaChance.” She gestured to the large man sitting across from her. “That big, good-lookin’ guy is Cade Garrett.”

  Jennifer nodded her head and spoke in a throaty voice. “Nice to meet you, even under these circumstances. I just can’t believe Jason is gone.” Her sensuous lips trembled. “I’m sure you feel the same way about your sister.”

  Cade’s jaw worked as he struggled to keep his temper under control. How could she make such a statement? Of course he was mourning his sister. He just wasn’t bawling or hiding behind sunglasses. “Of course I do.” He couldn’t keep the contempt out of his voice.

  Jennifer closed her mouth, and there was a slight twitch of her lips.

  Ollie put a protective arm around Jennifer’s shoulders. “Your brother was always talking about you. He said you were real smart and would always tell us what you were up to. Lots of honors, young lady. He said you were going for a doctorate.” She chuckled. “He called you the brains of the family.”

  The Jennifer person heaved a sigh. “Yeah, that’s me, except I dropped out after the Master of Arts degree.”

  “Your brother sure was proud of you,” Ollie asserted. “Your paintings were all over their house.”

  “Jason was one in a million, all right. I don’t know what I’ll do without him.” Jennifer’s voice sounded a little bitter, which struck Cade as strange.

  He had seen the many paintings on the walls of Sara and Jason’s house. They were mostly landscapes, and he had to admit they were pretty good. However, he didn’t recall his sister ever saying anything much about her sister-in-law except that she was a student. Must be quite a scholar.

  “Well, I’m glad you could make it back for the funeral,” Ollie offered.

  “Yeah, well…I wouldn’t miss my brother’s funeral, and I have to take the children with me. They need my care.”

  Cade felt as though she had punched him in the gut. He had not considered that anyone else would want to be the children’s guardian. He was horrified but remained silent. This was not the place to hash it out with her. Not taking my kids.

  The procession had come to a stop at the small cemetery just west of town. The long limousine rolled to a smooth stop, and in a few minutes, the driver opened both doors wide and held out a hand to this Jennifer person. She glanced at Ollie before accepting the hand and stepping out.

  Ollie followed, then motioned for him to unfold his long legs and emerge into the bright sunlight.

  Cade crawled out and jammed his Stetson on his head, adjusting the brim to shade his eyes. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

  Jennifer, escorted by the limo driver, led the morose parade, and Cade brought up the rear.

  Their destination was an area near a grove of trees. There, a pop-up tarp with folding chairs was arranged underneath, and more chairs on the other side of two open graves. Both of the coffins were being arranged over the gaping voids.

  Jennifer’s escort led her to the front row of the chairs under the tarp and handed her off to Ollie.

  Cade noted that Jennifer was shaking. It seemed she had not come to terms with the fact that her brother was really dead.

  Chapter 4

  Big Jim Garrett followed the hearses and the big black limo containing the victims’ next of kin. He trailed a respectful distance behind in his large, silver double dually truck. His youngest son, Beau, rode beside him, and Beau’s pretty redheaded wife, Dixie, and young daughter, Ava, were in the back seat. The adults were suitably grim, as befitting the family of the deceased. Even little Ava was uncharacteristically silent, perhaps as a result of parental guidance, but thankfully, she remained unaware of the sad purpose of their outing.

  Sara Garrett LaChance was Big Jim’s niece. He remembered her as a beautiful little girl with a winning smile and lyrical laugh. Cade Garrett’s little sister. It was hard to believe such a beautiful life force had been snuffed out.

  Big Jim huffed out a sigh. He knew things like this happened…to other people. True, he had lost his beloved Elizabeth when the church bus in which she was riding was involved in a rollover accident. Revisiting that event still caused him great pain, but somehow, he had been able to raise their three boys as he thought Elizabeth would have wanted.

  Now he was driving down the highway, following the remains of his beloved niece and her husband, pondering the fairness of life and agony of death. As a Christian, he believed in life after death but, in his heart, knew he was not ready to let Sara go.

  It seemed totally unfair that a young couple with as much going for them as Sara and Jason had met such a cruel and untimely end.

  He pulled into the cemetery and brought the truck to a stop. He sat, letting it idle for a moment, while Dixie freed Ava from her car seat.

  “Now you need to be really quiet for a while, honey,” she said. “Something sad happened, and we want to be respectful.”

  Ava looked at her uncertainly.

  “It’s okay, Ava. Daddy’s going to carry you.” Beau opened the door and held out his arms. Ava immediately threw herself at him, only to be enveloped in a bear hug.

  Big Jim turned off the engine. “You kids go on ahead. I’ll bring up the rear.”

  He watched them join the crowd of people converging on the spot where the young couple would be interred.

  Dixie’s admonition echoed in his ears. We want to be respectful. What he really wanted was to scream and throw things. How could he have lost a young member of the family? A lovely young woman and her husband, a thoroughly likable fellow, had been ripped from the people who loved them…and now Big Jim Garret had to be respectful and not shake his fist.

  * * *

  Jenn sat down on the folding chair. It was hard and unforgiving. She stared at the two caskets, being readied to go down into the earth eternally. A shudder wracked her body, and she sucked in a gasp of the thick warm air. It was baking, and there was no breeze to stir the heat. She felt as though she had been packed in a plastic bag. It wasn’t officially summer yet, but North Texas could be brutally hot in the spring.

  Jason is in that box. He’s gone from me forever.

  Her mouth felt dry. She tried to swallow but couldn’t.

  That man, Cade Garrett, came to sit on the hard chairs. He didn’t sit next to her but left a chair between. Maybe he thought he was being respectful. Mostly, it felt as if he was rejecting her very presence at this event.

  She stole a glance at him. Grim. That best described his demeanor.

  “I—I’m sorry you lost your sister. She was very nice.” Jenn stared at the two coffins, wondering which one contained whatever was left of her beloved brother.

  He shot a hard glance at her. “Yes, she was the best.” His voice was gruff. He cleared his throat. “I, uh…I’m sorry about Jason. He was a great guy. He and Sara were very much in love.” He heaved out a deep sigh. “I thought they had the perfect relationship…the perfect little family.” He removed his headgear and fell silent.

  The preacher came to offer his condolences to both relatives and then took his place near the two caskets. He spoke some words meant to be comforting, but Jenn could hardly hear them.

  She felt as though something precious was being ripped away from her. Sorrow was all that was left. Now she was completely alone in the world.

  Her parents were dead, and Jenn had many responsibilities now that they had passed on. Only her brother had been her ally. He had always been there for her.

  What will I do, Jason? What will I do without you?

  The preacher was winding up his spiel. After a few more miserable minutes, Jenn was urged by Ollie to place a long-stemmed red rose on each of the coffins before they were lowered into the ground. She stood up, feeling queasy, gripping the rose
s.

  That’s the last thing she remembered before she passed out at the graveside.

  When she woke up, she was in the limousine, propped up against Ollie, who was dabbing at her face with a damp cloth. “There you go. She’s coming around now.”

  Jenn’s head was throbbing, and she felt nauseous. Her sunglasses seemed to be missing.

  A strange woman was sitting on the other side of her, taking her pulse. “Here. Drink this.” The woman offered a bottle of water.

  “Thanks,” Jenn whispered. She took a big swig of the water and tried not to throw it up. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Dr. Ryan. Camryn Ryan. How are you feeling now?”

  “What happened to me?” Jenn asked.

  “You were lucky.” Ollie shook her head. “You almost took a header into the open grave. Cade saved you and carried you to the car.” She smiled and heaved a huge sigh.

  Jenn remembered feeling weak, as though her legs could no longer support her. Her head was throbbing and she was afraid she might throw up at any moment.

  “It was probably just heightened emotion,” Dr. Ryan pronounced. “And the heat. Why don’t you take her home so she can rest and relax?” The doctor looked at Cade when she said it, but Ollie spoke up.

  “Sure, I can take her right back to the inn.” She smiled encouragingly.

  Jenn nodded. “My—my car. I left it at the church.” She blinked, but even that hurt. “I parked it about a block from the church. There were so many cars already there.”

  “I’ll bring your car to the inn. Don’t worry about it,” a deep male voice growled out.

  Jenn opened her eyes, noticing that Sara’s grumpy brother was sitting in the limo seat opposite her. She had to squint to bring him into focus. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Dr. Ryan pressed her business card into Jenn’s hand. “Rest tonight and come see me tomorrow. I want to follow up and make sure you’re feeling better.” She patted Jenn’s hand and crawled out of the limousine. “It’s better to check you out and make sure it’s not something more serious.”

  Jenn felt an immediate sense of loss. The doctor had seemed to be genuinely in charge, and that meant that Jenn didn’t have to be.

  “Let’s get you back to the inn,” Ollie said.

  “The driver can drop me at the church. I’ll figure out how to get your car back to you.” The man named Cade held out his hand.

  She stared at the hand for a moment before she realized he was asking for her keys. She fumbled in her handbag and gave them to him. “Thanks…thanks so much for everything.”

  The driver closed the doors with Jenn and Ollie on one seat, and on the other, Cade Garrett, staring at her with the most intense, almost turquoise blue eyes.

  * * *

  Cade found the car and got in—that is, he tried to get in. He uttered a swear word when he whacked his kneecap against the steering column. He adjusted the seat, sliding it all the way back so his knees weren’t under his chin, and closed the door. He huffed out an impatient sigh.

  He was still reeling over her statement that she would be taking the children. He would just see about that. There was no way that was going to happen. He would meet with his attorney as soon as possible to see what could be done to prevent her from taking any such action.

  This Jennifer woman irked the living daylights out of him. There was just something about her. It wasn’t that she wasn’t a pretty woman. She was actually quite nice-looking, once the big, dark glasses had come off. Her eyes were puffy and a little red, but he could tell that she was quite attractive anyway. But there was no way he would hand over the children to her.

  He shoved the key in the ignition and started the vehicle, giving it a satisfying rev. It had been years since he had driven a sedan, but he managed to get it in gear and moving in the general direction of the Langston Inn.

  He parked the car in front of the inn and went inside, pausing at the front desk. There was an old-fashioned bell, so he dinged it a couple of times. In a matter of seconds, Ollie appeared.

  “I was coming down. You don’t need to make a scene.”

  “Scene?” Cade felt irritated by this statement. “I just came to drop off Her Highness’s keys.” He raised the keys and jangled them. “Give them to Jason’s sister. Good night.” He plopped the keys on the desk and turned to leave.

  “Wait! Don’t you want to see Jennifer? I’m sure she’ll want to thank you herself.”

  “Not especially.” Cade made a break for the door. He stepped through but made the mistake of glancing back to see Ollie’s disapproving glare.

  He didn’t want to bother Mrs. Reynolds or have to make her drag the children out to pick him up after what had been a very rough day, so Cade started walking to his truck, which was parked in the church parking lot. Perhaps he could walk off some of his anger and apprehension over the possibility of losing the children. He had only gotten a short way when he heard a horn toot.

  “Hey, Cade. Where are you going? Need a ride?”

  He turned to see Big Jim Garrett driving slowly. He braked the big silver double dually truck.

  “Hey, Big Jim. Thanks, but I don’t need a ride. I was just heading to my truck.”

  “Aw, get on in and I’ll drive you the rest of the way.” Big Jim Garrett gestured for Cade to join him.

  He climbed into the truck, thankful that he was in the company of a man much like himself, his uncle and a fellow rancher.

  Big Jim looked him over and turned the truck toward the church. “You doing okay, boy? You know that the whole Garrett clan is behind you. Whatever you need. I saw you at the funeral, but when that one little lady fell over, I just took Beau and his family back to the ranch. I didn’t want Ava to have any more questions. How’s the little lady doin’?”

  Cade felt his back teeth grind together. “That was Jason LaChance’s little sister, Jennifer. She’s some kind of city girl, I guess. At least, she appears to be.”

  Big Jim let out a hearty snort. “Pretty little thing.” A muscle in his jaw tightened. “Too bad about Jason and Sara. They were just too young to die.”

  Cade shook his head. “Apparently not.”

  * * *

  Jenn had gone to sleep immediately after being delivered back to the inn. Her sleep had been deep and actually restful. Probably due to the fact that her previous couple of nights’ sleep had been restless and filled with disturbing dreams.

  When she woke up, she was intensely hungry. She had no idea what time it was, but the sun seemed to have gone down while she’d been out of it.

  Tomorrow she would contact social services for the county and make it known that she was going to pick up her brother’s children.

  She lay in the darkened room, staring up at the ceiling, her brain considering the possibilities of finding food as easily as possible. Maybe delivery? Surely they have pizza here.

  Then she remembered that she had stowed some leftovers in Ollie’s fridge. She couldn’t recall what exactly was in the Styrofoam container, but it was food.

  With a little difficulty, she managed to sit up and find her shoes, which Minnie was lying atop. With a little more difficulty, she managed to make it down the stairs without doing a header, but she did grip the banister with both hands.

  “How are you feeling, dear?” Ollie sailed into the lobby, appearing to be deeply concerned about Jenn’s condition.

  “I—I’m better.” She clung to the newel post at the bottom of the stairs, her head throbbing out a tempo of its own.

  Ollie smiled brightly.

  Ollie told her that a lawyer named Breckenridge T. Ryan had stopped by to see her and left his card. She searched around behind the desk and came up with the card, which she handed over.

  Jenn grasped the card, trying to focus on the squiggly writing on the back.

  “He said for you t
o be at his office tomorrow afternoon at three p.m. for the reading of the will.”

  This might be it. Something to save her. Maybe Jason had remembered his baby sister in his will. Maybe something to tide her over until she got a real job. “Thank you. Do you know where his office is?” She squinted at the card again.

  “Right on Main Street, down the street from his wife’s office.”

  “His wife?” Jenn could not imagine why this should be important.

  Ollie laughed and shook her head. “You must remember the doctor who took care of you when you fainted. Dr. Camryn Ryan, she’s Breck’s wife. She wanted you to go in for a follow-up.”

  Jenn sucked in a deep gasp of air. The lovely blond female doctor who had been so kind. She was married to an attorney who might hold her life in a document…and she would find out all about it the next afternoon.

  “Nice… Um, I’ll make an appointment.”

  “This is a small town. Just go into her office. It’s first come, first served.”

  Waiting in a waiting room didn’t sound at all appealing. “I put a takeout container in your fridge, and I thought I would see if I could maybe heat it up…” Her voice trailed off.

  “Is that what’s in the bag? I’ll heat it up for you. Want to come with me to the kitchen? I have a little nook with a small table.” She smiled and gestured toward the back of the building.

  Jenn smiled back. “Thanks.” She followed Ollie to a cheery-looking kitchen decorated in delft blue and white. Some ceramic transferware sat about on countertops or hung on walls. Very quaint. Very retro. And very Ollie.

  Jenn seated herself at the table and watched as Ollie moved confidently around her domain.

  Ollie scooped the contents of the Styrofoam container out onto a plate and placed it in the microwave. While it was heating, she rinsed the container and set it in a bin. She caught Jenn’s expression and gave a little laugh. “Yes, I’m one of those tree-hugging manic recyclers. I take paper, plastic, aluminum, and glass to the recycling center every few weeks.”

  “Hmm…that’s pretty nice.”