Disarming the Rancher Read online

  “That’s a great story, Buck,” Raleigh said and the others agreed.

  “I’ve been around this business a long time. Maybe I can get through to him,” he said. “Plus, I need to get him to ease up on Jake a little bit. The kid needs a break. He refused to come down to breakfast, which isn’t like him. Now, he’s off somewhere on his own. He needs to know we care.”

  Raleigh hoped someone could reach Kenny. The more she thought about it, the more she realized his bad judgment and quick temper probably had a lot to do with what he’d been going through at home. Being away all the time would strain any relationship, even a solid one. Kenny wasn’t helping matters by spending too much time with his groupies on the road. Being unfaithful would wreck even the strongest marriage.

  “I really hope you can work some magic with him,” she said to Buck. “And I agree that he’s been too hard on Jake.”

  “No one would argue there,” Tim said. “What started out as good-natured ribbing has gone too far. We can do better.”

  Buck gave a nod before heading outside.

  Raleigh grabbed her coffee cup and walked over to the pot for a refill. Out the window, she saw Kenny pacing near the barn while on his cell. He immediately waved Buck away as he approached. Instead of leaving, Buck walked over to the nearest tree, crossed his arms over his chest, and then leaned back like he had all the time in the world.

  She smiled. Patience won wars.

  Raleigh excused herself, coffee in hand, and headed to the computer in the Marshall’s office. She couldn’t help but think it was a shame he had this huge house and no one to share it with after his wife died.

  It seemed like such a waste not to fill this place with family, especially on holidays. Raleigh remembered the Christmas Eve she’d spent at the ranch when her nana got stuck in Houston with a freak ice storm. When she thought of warmth and holiday and family, it was the smells that had come Lucia Firebrand’s kitchen she remembered. Cookies baking in one oven and a pig roasting in another. Mom Firebrand was at their massive island rolling out homemade pasta before dropping it into massive pots of boiling water on the stovetop, her red sauce simmering.

  She sat down at the Marshall’s desk, thinking those meals should have happened here. She tapped the space bar on the keyboard, and the spreadsheet filled the screen.

  “Do you have a minute?” Mom Firebrand stood at the doorway. Worry lines etched her forehead.

  “For you? Always,” Raleigh said without hesitation. “Where’s the baby?”

  “Her mother took her for a walk.” Mom Firebrand didn’t take a seat. Instead, she paced and twisted her hands together. The bad sign caused Raleigh to sit up a little straighter.

  “I need to talk to someone, and you’ve always been like a daughter, so I hope…” Mom Firebrand threw her hands up in the air. She signed the cross and blew out a breath. “Brax is not my son.” She immediately whirled around and mumbled a familiar prayer. “But he is my son in here.” She put her hand over her heart. “He’s mine in every sense of the word and I’ve been keeping this terrible secret from him because I was afraid of losing him.”

  Raleigh needed a minute to recover from the bomb that had just been dropped on her. She didn’t want to know this about Brax and she certainly shouldn’t know before he did. Her mind snapped to the file. She instinctively reached for the drawer.

  “It’s not there. I took it.” Mom Firebrand gasped. “He didn’t see it, did he?”

  “No. But he deserves to know.” Raleigh dug deep to find a calm voice while panic welled up from the inside. Brax not a Firebrand? Everything about him was tied to being a cattle rancher…and a Firebrand.

  “I should have told him, but how?” Mom Firebrand sank into a chair and it was like all the life force had been drained from her body. Her bones seemed to melt into the chair and, for the first time, Raleigh could see all the wrinkles in the older woman’s face. “How do you tell someone you’ve loved and cared for and held in your arms since he was a tiny baby that he’s not your son? Because the moment he was placed in my arms he was mine.”

  “I know you did what you thought was right for him and it’s easy to see how much you love him, but wouldn’t you want to know if you were adopted?” She couldn’t bring herself to scold Mom Firebrand and it wasn’t Raleigh’s place to. Her heart broke for the conflict adoptive parents must feel.

  Mom Firebrand shot a confused look. And then recognition dawned.

  “He’s not mine but he’s a Firebrand,” she clarified.

  Raleigh regretted mentioning it. She was walking into a sinkhole of information she didn’t feel she had a right to know. Mom Firebrand should be having this conversation with Brax instead of her and it felt all kinds of wrong to be sitting in this chair where Brax should be.

  “He’s the same age as Corbin, so my husband paid a guy to change the birth certificate,” Mom Firebrand continued.

  “I’m honestly at a loss for words,” Raleigh said.

  “About what?” Brax stepped into the doorframe.

  Mom Firebrand winced and let out a yelp before scurrying out of the room. She signed the cross as she flew past Brax. The sounds of her hastening footsteps echoed down the hall.

  Brax didn’t budge. He stood there, staring at Raleigh when she wished he would go after his mother.

  “At a loss for words about what?” he repeated.

  Panic made it feel like she’d just licked glue. Her throat was dry and her tongue felt like it was swelling up.

  “I-uh-um.” She locked gazes with him as she jumped up. “I just can’t.”

  “That answer doesn’t carry water.” Brax spread out his feet in an athletic stance and folded his arms across his chest, essentially blocking her exit.

  “It’s not my place, Brax.” She couldn’t be the one to turn his world upside down. He might still be a Firebrand but that could have meant a lot of things. He might be his uncle’s child or…the Marshalls?

  It would explain the file. Had the Marshall arranged for the birth certificate to be changed instead of Brax’s father?

  Raleigh knew what it was like to grow up without parents. It had been pretty awful at times despite Nana more than making Raleigh feel loved and protected. She shuddered to think what her life might have been like without Nana.

  But this was far worse.

  “Let’s go find your mother, Brax,” she insisted.

  “You know something and you’re refusing to tell me.” The hurt in his voice gutted her.

  “I hope you know how much I want to.” She couldn’t meet his gaze. She couldn’t be the reason he was in pain. He might think she could stop it but what she knew would only make it worse.

  “Then do it, Raleigh.”

  A sob escaped before she could suppress it. She shook her head. Digging her heels in like this ripped her heart out. “Go talk to her. Please.”

  She glanced up in time to see the daggers. They scored a direct hit and she could see their friendship would never recover.

  “Your mom loves you very much,” she said by way of explanation.

  “Now you’re defending her?” he took a step back like he’d taken a bullet, and then disappeared down the hallway.

  If Brax put a move on, he might be able to catch his mother before she got out of the house. Raleigh’s refusal to put him out of his misery was a gut punch. He thought they’d become close—close enough that she should know how much it meant to him to figure out what was in the file. And he was one hundred percent certain she knew the contents.

  Having Raleigh and his mother in league behind his back felt like a knife jab. He had trusted Raleigh, and he wouldn’t make that mistake again. When the investigation wrapped and she got back on the road, it wouldn’t wreck his world now. Because he’d started to believe it might.

  He would do all he could to speed the case along, doubling down if need be.

  Mother was gone by the time he reached the kitchen. He stepped outside and caught sight of her scurrying across the yard.

  “Hold on there,” he shouted.

  His mother froze. She didn’t turn around, which didn’t surprise him. Even from this distance, he could see her shoulders shaking. She’d been in an emotional state when she’d bolted out of the office.

  Brax realized this news wasn’t going to be good. At this point, he just wanted to get it over with and move on. Get whatever it was out in the open where it could be dealt with.

  He ate up the real estate in between them in several quick strides.

  “Tell me what is going on, Mom,” he said.

  She put her face in her hands and shook her head.

  “I don’t know how to. It’s been too long and I should have…but I didn’t…and now…how can I?” She didn’t look at him and he knew in his gut this news was going to be worse than anything he had previously imagined. And his mind had gone to some pretty dark places.

  “Say it outright,” he urged, knowing he could never fully lose his temper with his mother no matter how frustrated he became. “Get it off your chest.”

  “What if you…” She stopped herself, dragging out the last word.

  “I can’t offer any reassurance if I don’t know what you’re going to say, and I can’t imagine you could have done anything you couldn’t be forgiven for. You’ve been an amazing mother and I love you.” Those words were absolutely true.

  She looked at him with red-rimmed eyes.

  “You aren’t my biological son,” she said on a hiccup. “Which doesn’t mean that I love you any less than the others.”

  Brax watched as her mouth moved but it was as though she’d yanked the earth out from underneath him. The world started spinning and he had to walk over to a tree to anchor himself before he face-planted in the dirt.
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  Raleigh couldn’t let Brax deal with the news he was about to receive alone, and he would want to isolate himself. Besides, she couldn’t concentrate on the financials no matter how hard she tried. Her chest hollowed out after looking into his eyes and she had to find a way to make him understand there was no way she could deliver the kind of news that could rip his heritage from him.

  She listened for his voice as she made her way toward the back of the house. Tim and Randy were still in the kitchen as she walked inside.

  “Have you seen Brax or his mother?” she asked.

  They pointed toward the back door in unison.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “Word of warning,” Randy started, “Mrs. Firebrand looked to be in an emotional state.”

  “Thanks for the heads-up,” Raleigh stated. She didn’t have time to explain.

  The minute she stepped outside, she saw Brax walking away from his mother. Mom Firebrand scurried off in the opposite direction and for a split second, Raleigh was torn. She wanted to make sure the woman who’d been so kind to her and Nana was okay. But she needed to know that Brax would be.

  Raleigh cut left, following him toward the barn. He disappeared from view and she wondered if he would hop on Bullet’s back and race out of there and onto the property. Her only hope was that he would want to stick close to the house considering the ATV driver had been so close to Firebrand property.

  When she reached the door and there was still no sign of him, she exhaled. Inside, she scanned the open layout. He was nowhere to be found. Until she looked up and saw a piece of hay floating down from the loft.

  She raced to the metal staircase and took steps two at a time.

  “It’s me,” she said, figuring he deserved a warning as she climbed.

  “Go away,” came the response, his voice a low growl.

  “No can do,” she countered, slowing her pace. She could try to justify not telling him the news, but she hoped he understood why it wasn’t her place to tell him now that he knew what it was. He had to know. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be up here.

  She stopped as soon as he could see her. A muscle in his neck pulsed. Gaze narrowed, lips thinned, the man looked like he could rip someone apart with his bare hands. The moment they made eye contact her heart lurched. The intensity of his gaze warned her not to take another step.

  “Okay, if I keep coming?” she asked.

  “No,” he bit out.

  Raleigh froze, unsure of what to do next. A growing part of her needed him to know how sorry she was and how awful she felt for this entire situation.

  “There’s nothing you can do or say. It’s family business and that means none of yours,” Brax said through clenched teeth. His jab had the impact of a stomach punch.

  Normally, she would be ready to fight back if someone came at her with anger. But this was Brax. He just found out everything he believed about himself and his family was a lie. It was impossible not to feel like she’d betrayed him in some small way but not telling him the minute she knew. The no-win situation weighed heavy on her mind and in her heart.

  But what could she say?

  “I’m sorry about—”

  “You’re sorry? Why on earth would you need to apologize?” Brax seemed to barely have a grip on his frustration. Like bottled up steam ready to explode.

  “Forget it,” she said, refusing to stand there any longer, unable to look at him while he was in so much pain and not be able to do anything to make it better. “I’m going to go since my presence seems to be making this already awful situation even worse and that’s not my intent.”

  Raleigh looked up and caught Brax’s gaze. He stood there, staring her down, not saying a word.

  She tucked her chin to her chest to hide the tears welling in her eyes. And then headed down the winding staircase. The minute her boots hit the floor, she took off running and didn’t stop until she was far away from the barn, any Firebrands, and especially Brax.

  “You up there?” Adam’s voice drifted up the stairs.

  Brax had half a mind not to answer his bro…half-brother.

  “I’m coming up. Don’t shoot.” Adam sounded like he was only half kidding. Hands high in the air, he made it to the top step.

  “I don’t have a gun and you aren’t the problem,” Brax quipped.

  “At least you’re still talking to me,” Adam said.

  “Did you know?” Brax asked.

  “Didn’t have a clue and it doesn’t change a thing between us as far as I’m concerned,” Adam stated with the kind of conviction that said he meant every word.

  “How did you find out?” Brax asked.

  “I ran into Mom,” he said.

  It was a wise move not to plead her case right now. She’d had thirty-six years to tell him the news. Thirty-six years to find ‘the right time’ or ‘the right way’ or both, as she’d explained. Thirty-six years to come clean.

  “I’m just going to sit right here, if you don’t mind.” Adam took a seat at the top of the stairwell. “We don’t have to say anything.”

  Brax appreciated how well his brother knew him. And, no, he didn’t want to talk.

  He couldn’t be certain how many minutes passed before he finally spoke up. Half hour? Forty-five? He flexed and released his fingers trying to work off some of the pressure that felt like a boiling pot with the lid still on.

  “It’s messed up,” he finally said.

  “I agree with you one hundred percent.” Adam’s voice was calm in the storm.

  On the one hand, his father had cheated on the only mother Brax had ever known. Then, there was the fact his own mother had died during childbirth. How his family had managed a cover-up of this proportion was beyond him. He guessed the Firebrand name could move some pretty big mountains considering his own birth certificate had been doctored.

  “Wouldn’t someone have noticed an extra child showing up?” Brax asked.

  “Our grandfather had a lot of influence. He obviously helped cover this up,” Adam said.

  Brax shot his brother a look.

  “Have you ever seen anyone question him? Or anything that goes on here at Firebrand?” Adam asked.

  “Not really. Not when I think about it.” The old man wielded a lot of power. He had a good side too. One that employed locals and gave generously to charities in order to help those who were less fortunate. He pitched in for fundraisers and made certain the town had a proper Christmas celebration, covering all the expenses not raised.

  All this and he personally had an empty house on the big days. Their grandfather was a man of contradictions.

  “I can’t wrap my brain around any of this.” Brax issued a sharp sigh. “I’ve been your brother my entire life.”

  “And still are,” Adam didn’t miss a beat.

  The barn door opened and a familiar chorus of voices chimed in.

  “Anyone up there?” Corbin’s voice cut through the air.

  Eric’s quickly followed with his signature whistle. “Hey, man. What’s going on?”

  Corbin whispered something unintelligible. Eric grunted an apology.

  “Can we come up?” Eric asked.

  They seemed to have locked onto Brax’s location. They didn’t wait for permission. They were already shuffling up the metal staircase by the time he told them they could do what they wanted.

  “Free country,” he said under his breath.

  “So, is that how it is now?” Eric asked, feigning insult.

  “I don’t know what to think anymore,” he admitted, hating how this news might change his status among his brothers. He was the bastard child, the mistress’s son.

  “All I care about is the fact you’re my brother. I don’t need a birth certificate to tell me that,” Corbin said.

  “You do realize we’re the same age now,” Brax said. There was no rhyme or reason for his announcement, except it bugged him that his second-born status was in question.

  “Have you spoken to our old man?” Corbin asked.