What She Knew

“Oh. I see. Zach mentioned there was a question about the little girl. I didn’t connect the dots. Forgive an old man.” His smile lit up his eyes and made her think about her own pop. He would be close to the same age as Dr. Logan now. Her father’s eyes had been hazel, like looking across the sea.

“Thanks for understanding.” Amber’s eyes started welling up. That was embarrassing. She shoved her feelings aside, wiped a rogue tear and focused on the baby in her arms.

Amber followed Dr. Logan into the kitchen. She’d believed that she’d dealt with her sense of loss with her parents a couple of years ago, but emotion brimmed just under the surface. “Thank you for coming, Dr. Logan,” Zach said with an outstretched hand.

He took Zach’s offering first and then Rylan’s.

“How about you sit right here,” Dr. Logan said to Amber, motioning toward the chair next to the kitchen table. “This won’t take but a second.”

He made goofy faces at Brooklyn. The baby laughed. He played peekaboo, and the little angel’s laugh caused an ache in Amber’s chest. Doc opened his medical bag and pulled out a swab. He used it to collect a sample from the inside of the little girl’s cheek.

Rylan paced circles on the tile floor behind Amber.

She avoided eye contact with her cousin because she could already read the disapproval on his features. He wouldn’t want her around Rylan any more than her brother Will would.

Rylan had made a few mistakes, she’d give Will that much. And she knew deep down her brother still cared about his former best friend even though he’d refused to talk about him the first year Rylan was gone. Anyone who mentioned Rylan’s name got a dirty stare before Will excused himself and left the room. Something had happened between them, and she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what it had been. And she’d tried. She’d quietly asked around, but either no one knew or no one was talking. Knowing her brother, no one knew but Will and Rylan. Will had gone quiet and Rylan signed up for the military.

Will was stubborn. Especially when he thought he was right.

The problem was that she had no idea how her brother felt about Rylan anymore. Her relationships with her siblings had changed after losing their parents. In some ways the loss had brought them all closer. In others it had taken a toll. Everyone had been busy in the last few years changing their lives in order to take over their rightful places at the ranch.

Nothing felt settled. Of course, that could just be Amber. She was the broken one.

Brooklyn cooed once more at Dr. Logan, who could win Dad of the Year based on his exchange with the baby. In fact, Amber figured she could learn a few things from the man.

Again, the thought of Rylan being a dad struck a strange chord. She needed to get a grip. They were old friends and nothing more. He needed help and had been back in town only a week or two. He’d reached out to her as a friend, and she was helping because of their past and because the recent holiday season had her feeling melancholy. That was all. Her body might have an inappropriate reaction to seeing Rylan again, but logically she knew better than to put too much stock into it.

So the military had filled him out and he looked even more gorgeous than before, if that was even possible. That wasn’t all. Something was different. They were both eight years older; both had changed.

“One more sample and I’ll be on my way,” Dr. Logan said, looking toward Rylan.

Amber figured that Rylan would want to know immediately about the results and part of her wanted to know, too. Again, the thought of Rylan being a dad blew her away. He hardly seemed old enough, but he very much was. Several of her brothers were married and had children.

Reality was a hard smack. When had everyone gotten this old?

Okay, granted, being in their twenties and early thirties wasn’t exactly old. She meant when had everyone matured enough to have families of their own? It felt like only a minute had passed since she’d been running in the fields with one or more of her brothers and some of their neighbors playing Keep Away or Freeze Tag.

And now?

She’d blinked and everything was different.

“Any chance you can share the results with Rylan the minute they come in?” she asked the doctor.

“I think that would be okay as long as the sheriff doesn’t have a problem with it,” Dr. Logan answered.

All eyes flew to Zach.

“I’m fine with it.” The sheriff raked his fingers through his hair. “I’d want to know as soon as possible if this was me. Official word is for the courts.”

“Thank you,” Amber said, and she could see some measure of relief on Rylan’s face. Otherwise, he looked pretty out of his element.

The doctor finished his tests in a matter of minutes. He handed one to Zach and placed one in his carrying case. “I won’t have the results until Monday. The lab’s closed for the day.”

Amber figured it was going to be an uncomfortable night, but they could power through.

“Thank you.” Rylan walked Dr. Logan to the front door.

Amber turned to Zach. “There’s a diaper bag with a handwritten note in it.”

“I’ll take it into evidence.” Zach excused himself and then returned a minute later with a paper bag.

“It’s in there,” she said.

Zach was careful to remove the note. “Maybe we’ll get lucky with a fingerprint match.”

“Mine will be on there. Sorry.” Amber wasn’t sure she wanted Brooklyn’s mother to be in the criminal database. That would mean her mother had committed other crimes, which was not exactly ideal.

Amber’s stomach performed that annoying flip-flop routine when Rylan came back into the kitchen.

“I better run. Let me know if Dr. Logan sends word to you, okay?” Zach held tight to the evidence bag that now had a companion.

“We will,” Amber answered before Zach let himself out.

Rylan motioned toward the coffee machine on the counter. “You want another cup?”

“Yes, please.” Amber didn’t want to think about how right it felt to be in this man’s kitchen. There was a lot she didn’t know about Rylan, like what he’d been doing for the past eight years. “What did you do in the military?”

He rolled massive shoulders. “Not much. I was a diver.”

She’d known a Navy SEAL once who used that line. It also meant that he wouldn’t tell her much more. She glanced around the room. “You’re still getting settled in?”

“Yep.” He turned the tables on her when he asked, “What have you been up to for the past eight years?”

“I’m the one asking questions,” she shot back.

“Why is that?” He picked up her coffee mug and walked toward the machine.

“You’re the one who asked for my help, remember?” She wasn’t ready to talk about her past with anyone.

“Is that how this works?”

“It is if you want me to stick around,” she said playfully.

“I do. So, I guess you’re in charge.” He poured a cup and started the second.

“Be honest. How come you and my brother stopped talking?”

Rylan froze for a split second but then recovered quickly and went back to work. “People change.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Amber didn’t see how two best friends could become so distanced in two seconds flat. She understood people growing apart or moving in different directions in life, but this had been like stepping in front of a bus.

“It’s not important,” he said, dismissing the conversation. He turned around with two mugs in his hands. “But she is, and that’s my first priority right now.” He motioned toward the baby.

He set the mugs down.

Amber bounced the little girl, who cooed. It was satisfying to be able to help with Brooklyn. Maybe Amber wasn’t all thumbs at taking care of little ones after all. She was getting enough experience with her brothers recently, that was for sure.

“There’s a cold front coming tonight,” Rylan said.

“That does tend to happen this time of year.” Christmas was a few weeks ago. It had always been Amber’s favorite holiday. Except for the past few years. Since losing her parents, she hadn’t found her footing. Being with her brothers and their families had been the best part about it. Amber couldn’t help but notice the absence of her parents even more this time of year.

“All I have is what’s in that diaper bag.” He took a sip of coffee. “She’ll freeze in what she’s wearing.”

“Don’t be dramatic, Rylan. She’ll be fine. You’ll wrap her in extra blankets,” she said.

“And what if she kicks them off? I’m a whirlwind sleeper. What if she’s the same?” His look of concern was endearing. Her stomach performed another somersault routine. “Let’s worry about getting some lunch first. Then we can think about sleeping arrangements later.”

Rylan didn’t speak for a few minutes. He looked tired and concerned.

“However this turns out will be okay, Rylan. You know that, right?” she asked.

“No, it won’t.”

RYLAN DIDN’T HAVE the first idea how to be a dad. He was probably going to damage the child beyond repair if she turned out to be his. Part of him was still holding out hope that there’d been some mistake. It wasn’t Brooklyn’s fault. The kid was adorable. He was the problem.

Besides, a mother would have to be desperate to leave her child with someone she hadn’t seen in a year who’d never met the child. To make matters worse, he didn’t even remember the child’s mother. What kind of jerk did that make him?

“Tell me what you’re thinking, Rylan.” Amber’s voice—a voice he’d thought about more than he should admit while he was overseas—cut through his heavy thoughts. Telling his best friend that he’d kissed his little sister before shipping off had been a disaster, especially after the mistakes Rylan had made. He didn’t blame Will for not trusting him. Rylan hadn’t deserved his friend’s confidence.

Even so, Will’s reaction had set Rylan off. Will had blown up. Rylan had gotten offended. He’d been so hotheaded back then. Ready to fight the world and, stupidly, his best friend when his reaction wasn’t what Rylan was hoping for.

There was more to it than that. Rylan had been pushing boundaries and heading toward dangerous territory. Will had tried to intervene and talk him down from doing stupid things. What had Rylan’s response been to his friend’s concern? He’d told him to get a life and had gone off and messed up royally.

“I’m thinking that I’m in a whole mess of trouble.” The baby was one thing. Rylan had come back to make amends for his mistakes. Now, his life had just gotten a whole lot more complicated.

“Well, it’s no use feeling sorry for yourself,” Amber said a bit more emphatically than he liked.

He couldn’t help but smile. “That’s not what I was doing.”

“What do you call it then?” There was a hint of mischief in her eyes, and he didn’t want to think it was sexy even though he did.

He missed talking to Amber. With her, conversation wasn’t work like with most people. She had a quick wit and sharp sense of humor, but it was her intelligence that drew him in. Seeing her again was supposed to stop him from thinking about her. That, like many of his plans of late, had gone to hell in a handbasket the second he put eyes on the woman.

She was still beautiful. More so now that she had a few curves. She had big eyes, not saucers because that description would be way too plain. And they were the most beautiful shade of brown. Her nutmeg-colored hair fell past her shoulders in that braid. She’d grown it out a little more, and it looked good on her.

“Where do you think her mother could be?” Amber asked. She must’ve noticed that he’d been staring at her with the way her cheeks flushed.

“That’s a great question,” he said.

“A woman would have to be awfully desperate to convince a person to drop off an angel like this at a man’s house sight unseen.” Amber’s brow shot up. “Why’d you really come back to Jacobstown?”

Rylan shrugged. He wasn’t ready to talk about the real reasons, and there were many. He settled on, “It’s where I’m from.”

“I figured you’d end up in the city,” she admitted.

“Fort Worth? Nah.”

“No, I was thinking someplace farther than Fort Worth. Austin, maybe. San Antonio. I didn’t think you’d come back here,” she said.

“Austin’s nice. I have work here, though,” he said. What he meant to say was that he had work to do. He had retribution to pay, and would never be able to get on with life as a man if he didn’t right a wrong. He didn’t want to go into the details until he figured out how to go about it.

There was another reason why he’d come back to Jacobstown. He had nowhere else to go.

“You came back for a job?” she asked.

“Something like that,” he said. “Why all the questions? Don’t you think I should be here?”

“I never said that,” she said quickly. “I’m just surprised. I figured you put this town behind you and didn’t want to look back.”

“I served in the military. I didn’t sign up to live on Mars.” A big part of him didn’t want to look back at Jacobstown; facing this town again was harder than he expected. But he could never move forward until he made amends for the past. The Willow family deserved that and more.

“Why not?” she asked with a smirk.

“Mars doesn’t have a Jacobstown,” he quipped.

“You always said you couldn’t wait to leave this town, to get out and make your mark on the world.” She took a sip of coffee, which wasn’t an easy feat with a baby in her lap. She managed to balance both without letting Brooklyn grab the cup.

“I was fifteen years old the last time I said that. What did I know?” He stood and walked over to the window. The wind had picked up, and he could see the oak tree in his backyard sway.

“Your head was filled with ideas about what you were going to do when you turned eighteen,” she continued. She fell quiet for a few minutes, bouncing and playing with the baby on her lap. “Did you find what you were looking for out there?”

Rylan didn’t answer.

Instead, he took another sip of coffee and contemplated the storm.

“It’s going to get a lot worse out there. You okay with being here if it really comes down?”

Amber looked up at him and locked on to his gaze.

“A storm never stopped me, Rylan.”

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