The Rancher's Return

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“I didn’t know anything else,” she snapped. “I still don’t.”

“Raven.”

“Never mind. I don’t care anymore. It won’t change a thing. What we had is past. We’ve both moved on. I’d prefer not to discuss the past.” Nothing could give her back those years. Talking about it would only make her feel more foolish.

“Okay. For now.”

“No. Not for now. For always. I mean it. If you want to see Elias, you won’t mention the past or give me a bunch of excuses for why you left and didn’t have the courtesy to contact me. Bring it up again and you’ll have to fight me for visitation. Given your prolonged absence, I don’t think any judge will give it to you.” She couldn’t actually be cruel enough to keep father and son apart, but Donovan didn’t know that.

His heavy sigh was his only response.

“I’ll let you know about the carnival,” she finally said.

“Thank you.”

Raven ended the call without saying goodbye. The conversation had unsettled her so she went inside. Perhaps a long soak in the tub would work some magic. If it didn’t, she was in for a long, sleepless night.

Donovan stared at his phone before he put it down. That had gone sideways fast. Raven had actually threatened to keep Elias from him. He didn’t know if she’d meant it, but it hadn’t been worth pushing her to find out. And really, what difference would it make if she knew the reason he’d left? Nothing would change. They would still have spent the past ten years apart. Their love would still have faded until it no longer existed.

Sure, if she knew the truth she might not hate him, but he knew her heart. She was a kind person and couldn’t hold a grudge. If they spent enough time together, they could become friends again. And if the right time came along, he would tell her the truth. But not right now. She was still shaky and trying to figure out things. He was, too. He couldn’t say anything now. But maybe when they were both settled and he was sure it wouldn’t do more harm than good, he’d tell her about Karl Rivers’s threat. In the meantime, he’d have to live with her thinking the worst of him.

Restless, he left his room and went downstairs. His parents were sitting on the rockers on the front porch, the way they always had on nice nights. It was comforting to know that some things hadn’t changed. The tragedy of his disappearance and presumed death hadn’t torn them apart. They loved each other as much as ever. Now that the threat had been permanently removed and he was no longer in danger, he hoped to find someone to love for a lifetime, too.

Once he’d thought he’d found that with Raven, but he’d been wrong. Their time had passed. Perhaps if he’d lived there for the past ten years, they would have stayed in love. Naturally they’d have gotten married because of the baby. A child deserved both parents. He’d loved Raven and had planned to marry her when they were older, so he wouldn’t have minded moving up the date a few years. Maybe they would have had a happy marriage and added a couple more kids. Or maybe they would have grown to resent each other. Who knew? Still, he wished he had had the chance to find out.

But there was no going back and changing things. Ahead was the only way to go. He’d lost ten years of his life already. He wasn’t going to waste more time wondering what if.

He stepped onto the porch. “I met my son today.”

His parents stopped rocking and looked at him. Though the moon was bright and the sky was filled with stars, he couldn’t make out the expressions on their faces, so he reached inside the door and switched on the porch light.

“Elias?” His father’s voice was soft, filled with guilt.

“Were you going to tell me?”

“Only if Raven didn’t.”

“What? And how long were you going to wait before you said anything?” He didn’t understand how they could keep his son a secret from him.

“We knew you would go see her before long,” his mother said. “You weren’t here a day before you went over there. Ten years away and nothing has changed. She’s still important to you.”

That’s what she thought. Everything had changed. Of course his mother was a hopeless romantic who thought love could survive anything—including a ten-year absence. It wasn’t true, but there was no sense in debating that now.

“Raven took it hard when you left,” Mario continued. “That poor child was a wreck. For a while it looked like we might lose her. When her parents discovered she was pregnant, they told us. To be honest, we weren’t in much better shape than Raven was. We supported her decision to keep the baby, but we weren’t in a position to provide the emotional support she needed. We were barely holding on ourselves.”

“And we were still trying to find you,” Lena added. “When the police stopped looking, we put up fliers and did everything we could think of.”

“Elias doesn’t know you’re his grandparents.”

“No. We love him and see him now and then. We give him Christmas and birthday presents. He thinks of us as his grandparents’ friends.”

“And that’s enough for you?”

Mario nodded. “You don’t realize how bad we were when we couldn’t find you. We were a mess. That child didn’t need us bringing stress to his life.”

Donovan nodded. He understood. Everyone had done the best they could in a difficult situation. He’d suffered a lot when he’d first left home, not knowing if he’d ever return. He’d been young and scared, traveling from place to place, constantly looking over his shoulder. Too cautious to take Karl Rivers at his word, and expecting the man to come after him at any time, it had been years before Donovan had felt comfortable enough to stay in one place. He’d rambled from ranch to ranch, town to town, every few months.

Then he’d met Della and Gabe Turner, owners of an enormous cattle ranch in the middle of Texas. Warm and generous, they treated their ranch hands like family.

After he’d worked on the ranch for a couple of months, Della invited him to have Christmas dinner with her family. He’d turned her down at first, unwilling to get close to anyone. After watching as car after car arrived with people carrying presents, loneliness had gotten the better of him and he’d knocked on her back door. The entire Turner family had welcomed him into the fold. Two of Della and Gabe’s sons were near his age and had come home from college for winter break. They’d hit it off. Being around Dustin and Austin had brought back memories of hanging out with Jericho, Tony and Billy.

That day marked a change in Donovan. While other employers had been willing to allow Donovan to keep to himself, the Turners hadn’t.

Not that they’d forced him to become a part of their family. They hadn’t. Instead they’d seeded the ground with breadcrumbs of kindness. Tired of being alone, he’d followed the trail and found a welcoming family.

With the sons away from the ranch, Donovan had been entrusted with the role of big brother to fifteen-year-old Amelia. As expected, she’d resisted. Once he’d convinced her that he didn’t intend to invade her privacy, they’d become friends. He’d often driven her to town to hang out with her friends. If he happened to stick around longer than she would have preferred, well he was okay with that. The Turners had been good to him and he intended to repay them in the best way he knew—by protecting Amelia.

One night he’d actually had to step in when Amelia’s date had gotten aggressive, refusing to take no for an answer. When Donovan had seen the way Amelia had tried to hold her torn blouse together, he’d come near to losing control. But Amelia’s need for comfort had outweighed his need for revenge.

After that night, he and Amelia had shared a special bond. Their relationship had truly become like siblings. Just as he’d taken his job of protective big brother seriously, she’d taken the role of pesky little sister to heart. She’d decided that he needed a girlfriend and made it her life’s mission to find him one. She was constantly introducing him to her friends’ female relatives or even women she had just met. Although Donovan had found some of them attractive, he’d guarded his heart, never let any of them get close to him.

Leaving Raven behind had broken him. He would never let himself love that way again. His life had become transitory and his stay on the Turners’ ranch while good, was temporary. He wouldn’t subject himself or anyone else to the pain that would come when he left. Looking back, he’d been right not to become involved with anyone. He wouldn’t be returning to Texas. He had a son and he’d never leave Elias behind.

“I understand. But eventually I want to tell Elias that I’m his father. I intend to be a part of his life.”

His parents exchanged a look. “Did Raven say anything else?”

“No. We’re still finding our way. Eventually we’ll work out everything. When that happens, Elias will know that you’re his grandparents. Are you ready for that?”

His mother smiled. “Absolutely.”

“Good.”

Donovan was finally getting his life and family together. It wasn’t the way he’d pictured it years ago, but it still could be good.

Chapter Five (#ub1b7a1a1-5190-5079-b93f-591c63c7310f)

Raven stood beside her fiancé, thanking the many guests who had showed up to pay their respects to Karl Rivers. Raven hadn’t known the older man very well—she’d caught him looking at her oddly on more than one occasion and she’d never felt entirely comfortable in his presence—but she felt it was her duty to stand by Carson in his hour of need. He’d been there for her when she’d needed him. Though her parents had supported her during her pregnancy and helped her raise Elias, Carson’s friendship had been invaluable.

Carson had been a bit of a nerd in school and despite his father’s money and influence, or perhaps because of it, he’d been targeted by bullies. Donovan had taken it upon himself to protect Carson, letting everyone know that if they messed with Carson they would answer to him. He’d never spelled out what would happen if anyone bothered Carson, but he hadn’t had to. Donovan had been the most popular kid in school and no one wanted to risk being on the outs with him, so the bullying had stopped.

When Donovan disappeared, Carson began to come around. He’d spent time with her and Elias, being the friend she’d needed. He’d accompanied her whenever she’d chased a lead that she hoped would help her find Donovan, and he’d held her as she’d cried when the information didn’t pan out. But most of all he’d been a good, supportive friend. No matter how often she told the story of how she and Donovan fell in love, or the times they’d spent riding or fishing or doing nothing, he listened. He’d never once told her she needed to put the past behind her.

She’d been surprised when he’d gotten her a diamond engagement ring and proposed in front of Elias and her parents last Christmas. Her mother had clapped her hands in delight but her father hadn’t said a word. Elias had been too busy studying the titles of his new treasure trove of books to pay much attention to what the adults were doing. Her first thought had been of Donovan and how they’d planned to get married one day. She’d then reminded herself that Donovan was gone and she needed to move on. Who better to do that with than her trusted friend? She wasn’t in love with him, but he’d been confident that they’d make each other happy. So she’d said yes.

“I need a break,” Carson whispered, pulling her out of her musing.

“Of course.” Most of the people had eaten and left already. The last few stragglers probably needed a nudge from the minister to leave.

They wandered outside to the covered patio and walked across the manicured grounds until they found a quiet corner. “I don’t understand the need to hang around after a funeral. Didn’t it occur to anyone that my mother and I would like some time alone?”

“I think they mean well.”

Carson shrugged and blew out a breath. He looked tired and sad. Raven didn’t expect that he’d slept much these past few days.

“Where is your mother?”

“She has a headache so she went to her room to lie down. I guess that wasn’t a big enough hint.”

“They don’t mean to be rude. They probably think their presence is comforting to you. If you want, I can get the pastor to make an announcement letting everyone know you appreciate their kindness but that you and your mother want to be alone.”

“Maybe later.” He stared over her shoulder for so long that she turned and looked. There was no one there.

“Are you okay?”

“I think we should move up the wedding.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s not like it’s going to be a big ceremony.”

“True.” He’d initially wanted a big wedding and reception but she’d balked. She wanted something simple, just family and very close friends. “But we’ve already set the date.”

“It was just a thought.”

He sounded put out but she let it pass. He’d buried his father a few hours ago so she was willing to make a few allowances.

“I heard that Donovan is back in town.”

She stiffened. Of course he’d found out. The community was small and word traveled fast. A story this fantastic was bound to make the rounds in double time. Even though they’d never discovered why he’d vanished, everyone had hoped and prayed for his return.

So sure enough, when Donovan had returned alive and well, people had been overjoyed. The love the ranchers and townspeople had for him hadn’t faded. Still, with everything that had been going on in Carson’s life, she was surprised he’d heard. “Yes. He came back two days ago.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“Your father had just died. I didn’t think you would be concerned about Donovan.”